Research Article
Pomology
Mohammad Janali nejad; Hossein Afshari; Behdad Alizadeh; Omid Ghasemi
Abstract
Introduction: Environmental stresses are the most important factors that reduce agricultural yield all over the world. The water stress especially in flowering damages yield and yield quality, however, some studies showed that sometimes it does not have any harmful effect on yield. For instance, some ...
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Introduction: Environmental stresses are the most important factors that reduce agricultural yield all over the world. The water stress especially in flowering damages yield and yield quality, however, some studies showed that sometimes it does not have any harmful effect on yield. For instance, some studies approved that deficit irrigation improves sugar content and then fruit quality. Therefore, in order to evaluate the effects of potassium sulfate, vermicompost and water stress on yield and quality of four years old nectarine (CV Red gold), an experimental study was carried out on a garden which covers 5000 m2 in Eslamdeh (Sari) during 2015 to 2016.
Materials and Methods: A split-split plot experiment based on complete randomized block design (RCBD) with 18 treatments in three replications (totally 54 treatments (trees)) was used in this study. Some complex soil samples were gathered individually from 0-30 and 30-60 cm to determine macro and micro fertilizer demand and were analyzed to determine physicochemical characteristics. Two levels of tree water requirement (50% and 100%) as the main plot, vermicompost in three levels (0, 5 and 10 kg per tree) as subplot, and three levels of potassium sulfate, (0, 200 and 400 g per tree) as sub-sub plothad been applied. The rest fertilizer demand was recommended based on soil analysis. vermicompost, potassium sulfate and other essential fertilizers were applied in late winter and then aeration or digging was carried out. The fruit was picked after ripening and was weighed. Diameter, height and mass weight were measured. Soluble solids, the total sugar content of fruit was measured based on pH-meter, refractometer and Arnon methods. Potassium and chlorophyll were measured by flame photometer and chlorophyll meter.
Results and Discussion: The results showed that the effects of different levels of applied treatments were not significant on fruit pH. In addition, effects of different levels of potassium sulfate on TSS, leaf chlorophyll, potassium sulfate levels of leaf, fruit weight and yield, fruit height, and flesh weight, single fruit weight were all significant at 1 % level. The results also showed that levels of vermicompost on K level of leaf and fruit yield was significant at 1% level, and on fruit weight at 5% level. Effects of other treatments were not significant on other studied traits. Results of mean comparison showed that fruit crop was increased with an increase in vermicompost application. The minimum yield (41.44 kg/fruit) obtained from control and application of 10 and 20 kg/h vermicompost resulted in 58.33 and 60.61 kg/h, respectively. Application of potassium sulfate also showed to be effective on fruit yield. The minimum yield obtained from control, applying 200, 400 g of potassium sulfate, resulted in 54.89 and 61.33 kg/tree. Furthermore, potassium sulfate levels resulted in TSS enhancement. The minimum obtained from control plot (8.083) and maximum obtained from 8.864 and 9.612 with applying 200, 400 g of potassium sulfate, respectively. Potassium application also resulted in fruit level volume. The minimum level observed at control plot (116.2), applying 200, 400 g of potassium sulfate, resulted in 131.5 and 141.3 kg/tree. The interaction effects of different levels of potassium sulfate, vermicompost and irrigation showed that maximum fruit yield obtained from 400 g/K, 10 kg of vermicompost and applying 100% tree water requirement with yield of 70.66 g which was not statistically different with triple interaction of 400 g/K, 10 kg of vermicompost and applying 50% of tree water requirement.
Conclusion: In the current research, the effects of the use of potassium sulfate and vermicompost on maintaining plant balance and fruit quality and also decreasing water use in stress conditions were studied. Results showed that the use of potassium sulfate along with vermicomposts had a significant effect of improving morphological and physiological characteristics of nectarine. Furthermore, they increased nutrition availability for the crop and then increased yield and fruit quality. The following conclusion to be drawn is that fruit was increased with an increase in vermicompost application. Application of potassium sulfate also showed to be effective on fruit yield and TSS enhancement. The interaction effects of different levels of potassium sulfate, vermicompost and irrigation showed that maximum fruit yield obtained from 400 g/K, 10 kg of organic matter and applying 100% tree water requirement with yield of 70.66 g which was not statistically different with triple interaction of 400 g/K, 10 kg of vermicompost and applying 50 % tree water requirement.
Research Article
Medicinal Plants
Zhaleh Zandavifard; Majid Azizi
Abstract
Introduction: St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) is a medicinal plant which used mainly in treatment of mild depression, neurological disorders and has been recently shown to have anticancer potential. The principle medicinal components of St. John’s wort are hypericin, pseudohypericin, ...
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Introduction: St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) is a medicinal plant which used mainly in treatment of mild depression, neurological disorders and has been recently shown to have anticancer potential. The principle medicinal components of St. John’s wort are hypericin, pseudohypericin, and hyperforin. Light is one of the most important environmental factors affecting plant growth, survival, reproduction and distribution. The light quality, light intensity, duration and photoperiod directly affect plant growth. Light quality refers to the color or wavelength reaching the plant's surface. A prism (or raindrops) can divide sunlight into respective colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Red and blue have the greatest impact on plant growth. Green light is least effective (the reflection of green light gives the green color to plants). Blue light is primarily responsible for vegetative leaf growth. The principle objective of the current study was to evaluate the effects of different spectral quality including red, blue, green and white on the growth factors and production of hypericin.Materials and Methods: This experiment was conducted on the basis of Completely Randomized Design with four treatments and 10 replications in the growth chamber in the Department of Horticulture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (FUM), Iran. In this study, seeds were obtained from the research greenhouse of FUM. Seeds after soaking in running water for 24 hours were planted in small pots (250g). After the seedlings have reached to height of 25cm, each 10 pots were put inside the boxes (20×30cm) made of colored filters. Experiment continued in a growth chamber with day and night temperature 25 and 21°C, respectively, relative humidity 45%, 16 hours of light with the intensity of 1000 lux and 8 hours of darkness for 50 days. Then morphological parameters including plant height, number of stems, number of leaves, number and length of internodes, fresh and dry weight of shoot and root were measured. To count the number of black nodules, the upper, middle and lower parts of seedling were evaluated individually. Hypericin content of the H. perforatum plantlets were measured according to the previous work of Azizi & Omidbaigi, 2002. Data were analyzed statistically by using SAS and Excel software. The significant differences between means were assessed by Tukeyʼs test at P < 0.05.Results and Discussion: The results showed that morphological parameters including plant height, leaf number, internode length, root fresh weight, dry weight of stem and root were affected significantly by light treatments. Minimum and maximum of plant height was related to white and red lights, respectively. Increasing plant height under the influence of red light was due to the variation in levels of growth regulators. Red and blue light by changing of the GA hormone level in the plant and affected elongation of plant stem. Minimum and maximum of leaf number was related to blue and white light respectively. Also, other morphological traits including internode length, fresh and dry weights of stem and root showed significant differences. Internode length for white light was less than red, green and blue light. Maximum of the fresh and dry weight of shoot and root of seedlings was observed under white light. Results suggest that photosynthetic compounds move in plant under the influence of light quality. Also the number of black nodules in three different parts of plant and hypericin content were compared in plantlets under the effect of light quality. Results analysis also confirmed that different lights had the significant impact on the number of black nodules in upper and middle leaves of H. Perforatum seedlings. Seedlings treated with the red light had the highest number of black nodules in the middle section of H. perforatum. In the top third of St. John’s wort seedlings, red, blue and green light was inducted the highest number of black nodules formation than white light. The highest level of hypericin was related to red, white, blue and green lights, respectively. The number of black nodules in the plant and the hypericin content have positive correlation. It seems that in the seedlings treated with the red light, carbohydrates made from photosynthesis most used in biosynthesis of secondary metabolites than plant growth. In fact, carbon allelochemical compounds such as terpenes and phenolics have such metabolism direction to explain the increasing in secondary metabolites.Conclusion: Different light spectra affects plant hormones levels and with alteration in the primary and secondary metabolites lead to a change in the morphological and biochemical traits of plant. In general, it can commented that the quantity and quality of light is able to affect the growth and the active metabolites of medicinal plants and using red and white mixture of light during seedling growth period have an effective role on generation of more strong seedlings with higher potential production of active ingredients.
Research Article
Breeding and Biotechnology of Plant and Flower
Gholamhossein Davarynejad; Sajedeh Karimpour
Abstract
Introduction: Pyrus communis L. cv. Natanz is a popular pear cultivar in Iran because of its customer-friendly attribute due to its excellent characteristics. Pear own-rooted plants has better traits such as high vigorous in growth, low levels on tree losses and damaging by insects rather than grafted ...
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Introduction: Pyrus communis L. cv. Natanz is a popular pear cultivar in Iran because of its customer-friendly attribute due to its excellent characteristics. Pear own-rooted plants has better traits such as high vigorous in growth, low levels on tree losses and damaging by insects rather than grafted plants. Meristem culture widely used for micropropagation, in vitro germplasm preservation, and virus eradication purposes in pear. As pear is belonged to difficult-to-root fruit tree cultivars perhaps the rooting stage is the most important stage in propagation process, yet most difficult phase during the in vitro propagation procedure. In vitro rooting of micro-cuts was varied by genotypes (cultivars), type and concentration of auxin, the method of root induction and formation, different additional materials such as PVP, polyamines, and so on. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of different levels of BAP and Fe-EDDHA on shoot proliferation, BAP and GA3 on meristem establishment, and IBA and NAA on micro-cut rooting of pear cv. Natanz in in vitro condition.
Materials and Methods: Vegetative buds were taken from current growth shoots of Pyrus communis cv. Natanz from Pear collection orchard (25.36 E, 58.54 N, and ASL altitude 1380 m) of Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Centre of Semnan Province (Shahrood city). In the first experiment, new shoots of active buds after 4 weeks grown in PMI medium (MS ×1.5 CaCl2. 2H2O, KH2PO4 and MgSO4. 7H2O) + 1 mg.l-1 BAP were transferred to PMI medium containing different levels of BAP (0.5, 1, 1.5 mg.l-1) and Fe-EDDHA (0, 100, 150 and 200 mg.l-1). In the second experiment, meristems (containing two newest leaf primordia) was excited from in vitro shoots and incubation on MS media containing BAP (0.5, 1, and 1.5 mg.l-1) and GA3 (0.1 and 0.5 mg.l-1) + 0.1 mg.l-1 IBA. Meristems were kept in dark for 4 days then were transferred to growth chamber with photoperiod 16/8 hrs. light/dark. Different concentrations and combinations of two auxins were used for root induction of micro-cuts in third experiment. 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 mg.l-1 of IBA or NAA and two combination solutions of them (1000 IBA+1000 NAA, and 2000 IBA+2000 NAA, mg.l-1). Shoots were immersing dip in solutions for 5 seconds then transfer to PGRs-free PMI medium and kept them to growth chamber. Data of all experiments were analyzed according by completely randomized design (CRD) with five replications. BAP (3 levels) and Fe-EDDHA (4 levels) for experiment 1; BAP (3 levels) and GA3 (2 levels) for experiment 2 were considered as factorial. SAS (v. 9.1) was used for analysis and means were compared with LSD test at 5% of probability level.
Results and Discussion: Proliferated shoot number was affected by BAP (p≤0.01) and Fe-EDDHA (p≤0.05) concentrations and also interaction of them (p≤0.05), while BAP (p≤0.01) was caused elongation of proliferated shoots and Fe-EDDHA had no effect. BAP (p≤0.05), Fe-EDDHA (p≤0.01) concentrations and BAP×Fe-EDDHA (p≤0.01) interaction had significant effect on leaf production. Shoot tip necrosis was shown in shoots grown in all media based on BAP concentration with different intensities (p≤0.05). Vegetative growth was counted as a power index of medium that in our experiment was under influence of BAP concentrations (p≤0.01), Fe-EDDHA (p≤0.05) and BAP×Fe-EDDHA interaction (p≤0.05). Shoots were proliferated (5.50 shoot.explant-1) and elongated in PMI medium containing 1.5 mg.l-1 BAP with no Fe-NaEDDHA while the lower concentrations of both BAP and Fe-NaEDDHA caused the higher mature leaf production. PMI media containing 1 mg.l-1 BAP + 150 mg.l-1 Fe-NaEDDHA is recommended for Natanz shoot proliferation because of the highest vegetative growth and highest quality in proliferated shoots. MS medium with 0.5 mg.l-1 BAP+ 0.5 mg.l-1 GA3 (81%) and 1 mg.l-1 BAP + 0.1 mg.l-1 GA3 (63%) had the highest meristem establishment, respectively. The established meristems naturally grown in medium supplement with 0.5 mg.l-1 BAP + 0.5 mg.l-1 GA3+0.1 mg.l-1 IBA. Different types of auxin and their concentrations had significantly effect on Natanz pear cultivar micro-cut rooting (p≤0.05). NAA induced rooting in lower concentrations while IBA had positive effect on rooting with concentration increasing. Micro-cuts were rooted via quick dip in 1000+1000 mg.l-1 (IBA+NAA) solution followed by incubation in PMI medium. The rooted shoots well adapted to environmental condition.
Conclusion: Important steps of in vitro propagation of pear is optimized in this experiment. MS medium containing 0.5 mg.l-1 BAP+0.5 mg.l-1 GA3+0.1 mg.l-1 IBA had suitable for meristem establishment. To produce in vitro healthy proliferated shoots of pear cv. Natanz using PMI medium supplement with 1 mg.l-1 BAP+150 mg.l-1 Fe-NaEDDHA is recommended. Micro-cuts were rooted easily by quick immersion of the end of micro-cuts in 1000+1000 mg.l-1 (IBA+NAA) solution for 5 seconds then incubation in PGRs-free medium.
Research Article
Pomology
Mahmood Esna-Ashari; Esfandyar Hassani Moghadam
Abstract
Introduction: Iran has the most diverse and richest gene pool of pomegranate cultivars in the world. Drought is the most common environmental stress and the most important limiting factor of agricultural production in the world and limits production in almost 25% of the world's agricultural lands. One ...
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Introduction: Iran has the most diverse and richest gene pool of pomegranate cultivars in the world. Drought is the most common environmental stress and the most important limiting factor of agricultural production in the world and limits production in almost 25% of the world's agricultural lands. One of the most harmful effects of dehydration stress is disruption of the process of absorption and accumulation of nutrients. Among nutrients, potassium is one of the most important cations required by plants, which has been reported to accumulate during osmotic stress. The role of this cation in osmotic regulation and stomatal control has been described. Due to the fact that drought stress is one of the limiting factors for agricultural production, therefore, research on the mechanism of plant resistance to water scarcity is important. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the response of six Iranian commercial pomegranate cultivars to drought stress based on the amount of some leaf nutrients.Materials and Methods: The executive operations of this research were carried out in the research greenhouse of Lorestan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center with a temperature of 25 °C and a relative humidity of 70%. The experiments were performed due to similar climatic conditions of Lorestan and Kermanshah provinces. The plant materials used in this study were annual rooted seedlings of six pomegranate cultivars. This study is a factorial experiment with two factors: 1- Pomegranate cultivar in six levels (RababNeyriz, NaderyBadrood, ShishehcapFerdous, ArdestanyMahvelat, Malase Yazd and ShirinShavar Yazd) and 2- Drought stress in three levels including non-stress drought (80% of field moisture, control), moderate drought (60% of field moisture) and severe drought (40% of field moisture) were screened in a completely randomized design with three replications in the greenhouse. All data obtained from the experiments of this study were statistically analyzed by SAS-9.1 software and the comparison of the mean of the simple effect of the treatments was performed using Duncan's multiple range test. The comparison of the mean interaction of the treatments was performed by SAS and MSTAT-C software using Duncan's multiple range test. Graphs were drawn using Excel software.Results and Discussion: The results of this study showed that the amount of nutrients in all studied cultivars was affected by drought stress, but the response to stress was different. The amount of nutrients of iron, zinc, copper, manganese, sodium and phosphorus based on dry weight decreased under drought stress conditions while the concentration of potassium under drought stress increased. Based on the results of this study, Rabab Neyriz and Malase Yazd cultivars had more tolerance to drought stress in terms of nutrient uptake compared to other cultivars, respectively. Highest levels of iron (126.9 mg.g-1), zinc (39.9 mg.g-1), copper (13 mg.g-1), manganese (51.8 mg.g-1) and potassium (2.11% was obtained from Rabab Neyriz cultivar. Therefore, the use of this cultivar in drought stress conditions is recommended. Among the studied cultivars, Naderi Badroud and Ardestani Mehvalat had the highest sensitivity to drought stress and Shirin Shahvar Yazd and Shishecap Ferdows cultivars showed moderate resistance in this regard.Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it showed that Rabab Neyriz and Malase Yazd cultivars have high tolerance to drought stress and are also able to show a better response to nutrient uptake under drought stress conditions. Between these two cultivars, Rabab Neyriz cultivar had higher absorption of iron, zinc, copper, manganese and potassium and was considered the superior cultivar in this regard.
Research Article
Growing vegetables
Saeid Khosravi; Maryam Haghighi
Abstract
Introduction: Brassinosteroids promote plant growth by enhancing some metabolic activities such as photosynthesis, nucleic acid biosynthesis, proteins and carbohydrates. Mechanisms of resistance and tolerance in plants have been developed to tolerate water deficit stress. One way to deal with drought ...
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Introduction: Brassinosteroids promote plant growth by enhancing some metabolic activities such as photosynthesis, nucleic acid biosynthesis, proteins and carbohydrates. Mechanisms of resistance and tolerance in plants have been developed to tolerate water deficit stress. One way to deal with drought is to use plant growth regulators. Brassinosteroids were first extracted from the pollen of turnip (Brassica napus) and were considered as the sixth group of plant growth regulators. These compounds stimulate growth and cell division and affect electrical properties, membrane permeability, stability and activity of membrane enzymes. Nowadays, brassinosteroids have been extracted from various plants and their structure and function have been identified.Materials and Methods: This experiment was conducted in a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design on Capsicum annuum L. Castello cultivar under the average daily temperature of 25 °C and 18 °C at 75% relative humidity in greenhouses. Research conducted by the College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, with four drought treatments using polyethylene glycol 6000 solutions at four levels of 0, -6, -7, and -8 bar. Brassinosteroids were sprayed in two 1 μM control levels. Pepper seeds planted in transplanting trays containing 1 to 2 volumes perlite and vermiculite substrate. When the actual leaf of seedlings appeared, the root thoroughly rinsed with distilled water and then were transferred to black plastic containers with a diameter of 16 and height 13cm and 1L volume containing Johnson's nutrient solution including four dry treatments using 6000 polyethylene glycol solution and aerated in control for 15 minutes every 5 minutes. At the end of the experiment, vegetative factors such as fresh and dry weight of different parts of the plant, plant length, and volume, and physiological factors such as proline and abscisic acid content and chlorophyll fluorescence changes were measured.Results: The results of the analysis of variance table showed that brassinosteroid had no significant effect on most vegetative traits except root volume and weight and all physiological traits except chlorophyll fluorescence and the mentioned traits increased with the application of 1 mM brassinosteroid. However, the main effects of drought except for amino acid and the interaction of drought and brassinosteroids were significant on all traits. The results of the main drought effects showed that the root fresh weight at -8 bar and dry weight at -7 bar significantly decreased, whereas fresh and dry weight of the shoots at lower than -6 bar. The onset of decline showed that the root length and volume appeared to decrease with the onset of stress by -6 bar and the plant length also reduced with the first stress level. Drought stress at -6 bar level decreased chlorophyll fluorescence, chlorophyll index and Abscisic acid while at -7 bar decreased protein and increased proline. The results also showed that the amount of sulfuric, essential and unnecessary amino acids were significantly reduced by drought stress and brassinosteroid had no effect. Total amino acid content decreased with drought stress but there was no significant difference with control. With increasing drought stress, the fresh and dry weights of shoots decreased and the intensity of shoots decreased. The intensity of shoot growth decreased with the use of brassinosteroids at moderate stress but the mentioned trait showed the same adverse effects at all levels of stress. Brasinosteroid application decreased stress indices such as proline (7%) and abscisic acid (50%) and this decrease was more pronounced in proline, especially in more severe treatments. Amino acid and protein levels decreased with drought stress, and the use of brassinosteroids could not be effectively affected by this reduction, especially for the compounds and the amount of amino acids.The results of biplot analysis showed that the vegetative and protein traits had better mean in stress condition in the presence and absence of stress and in higher stress severity and application of brassinosteroid affected root fresh weight and abscisic acid content more than the other traits. While in mild stress it seemed to be more effectively on the steroid and most of the vegetative and physiological traits than the control.Conclusion: It seems that the application of brassinosteroids on pepper seedling in drought stress at a concentration of 1 μM is effective in maintaining vegetative properties and reducing negative effects of stress and reducing stress indices.
Research Article
Pomology
Javad Fattahi Moghadam; Seyyedeh Elham Seyedghasemi; Tahereh Raiesi
Abstract
Introduction: The foreign and domestic markets are demanding for high quality citrus varieties. The physical and chemical properties of the newly released cultivars are also important for fresh market or processing. The fruit quality is a complex combination of size, firmness, taste, texture, pleasant ...
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Introduction: The foreign and domestic markets are demanding for high quality citrus varieties. The physical and chemical properties of the newly released cultivars are also important for fresh market or processing. The fruit quality is a complex combination of size, firmness, taste, texture, pleasant aromas caused by a chemical compounds (soluble solid content, sugars, organic acids, aromas) and bioactive properties. Therefore, it is important to consider these indices for the introduction of a new cultivar. In this regard, the Citrus and Subtropical fruits Research Center has focused on improving its appearance, internal and organoleptic quality in releasing the new Jahangir cultivar compared to the Clementine as control.Materials and Methods: In this study, Jahangir fruits a hybrid between Clementine mandarin (female parent) and Salustiana orange (male parent) (Citrus clementina Hort. Ex Tanaka × C. sinensis (L.) Osbeck cv. Salustiana) was used for comparison with Clementine (Citrus clementina Hort. Ex) Tanaka) as control during the last two years lead to the cultivar introduction. Fruits were randomly selected from different locatiosn on the tree (15 fruits from three trees) and evaluated at harvesting time (zero storage point). Then 30 fruits per box selected and placed in cold storage (5 °C, 85% RH). Different physico-biochemical and sensory characteristics of fruits were evaluated at 0, 20 and 40 days intervals during storage. Characteristics evaluation were including fruit lenght, width, thickness, arithmetic, geometric, equivalent and harmonic means, fruit aspect ratio, sphericity, surface area, true volume, apparent volume, volume error, density, peel and pulp firmness, peel thickness, weight, juice percentage, seed number, peel color indices (L*, a*, b*, hue angle, chroma and CCI), total soluble solid (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), technological index (TI), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total phenol, ascorbic acid and antioxidant capacity during experiment.Results and Discussion: Results showed that fruit size (length and two diameters), weight, means of arithmetic, geometric, equivalent and harmonic diameters, surface area and true volume of Jahangir mandarin were significantly higher than Clementine. The different mean diameters of each cultivar was the same as that equivalent diameter that is the most real mean fruit diameter. The higher spherical coefficient (>1) also indicated that Jahangir fruit was longer than the control. Additionally, aspect ratio of Jahangir was also higher than Clementine, which means that Jahangir fruit was a few flat than control. Jahangir had higher levels of L*, b*, C and hue than the control of clementine. In contrast, Jahangir's a* and CCI indices were lower than those of clementine. Therefore, except for L* which is slightly lower than citrus standard (65-70), other indices in both cultivars were conformity within the citrus standard range. Seeds of Jahangir were more than control but both were in the mid seed group (9-15 seeds) of citrus. Jahangir peel was also less easily peeled than control. The weight loss of Jahangir fruit was significantly (almost half) lower than that of clementine at each sampling but increased during storage. It seems Jahangir has a peel with higher density and adhesion than to clementine, which partly prevents the fruit from dehydration. The amount of TSS of fruit juice was higher than that of clementine at harvest and storage but increased in both cultivars during storage. In addition, TA (0.34%) was lower in Jahangir fruit than Clementine (0.45%). Therefore, the ratio of TSS to TA was much higher in Jahangir mandarin (44.25) than clementine (26.16). Juice percentage of Jahangir fruit (44.87%) was significantly higher than Clementine (40.12%). The high percentage of Jahangir fruit juice is a positive trait for this cultivar. Technology index changed depending on cultivar and also during storage. This index was higher in Jahangir fruit than in Clementine with 6.45 and 4.67, respectively. The antioxidant capacity only affected significantly by storage time which showed a decreasing trend during storage. Ascorbic acid content was only affected by cultivar and was higher in control than Jahangir. Lower levels of ascorbic acid in the Jahangir may be due to increased respiration that results in the elimination of ascorbic acid. The phenolic content of Jahangir fruit was higher (0.43 mg/g) than clementine (0.4 mg/g). PCA analysis showed that most of the Jahangir samples placed in the left part of the PCA graph which were dominated by the traits such as taste, sweetness, good peel and pulp appearance and overall acceptance and were more accepted by the sensory evaluators.Conclusion: In this study, different qualitative characteristics of Jahangir fruit compared to Clementine which are important for the producers. Accordingly, the Jahangir fruit was larger in size but slightly flatter than the Clementine fruit. Jahangir fruit peel color indices were within the standard range of citrus fruits. Jahangir fruit is favored among commercial available mandarins due to ease of peeling, high juice percentage, technology index, vitamin C, phenol and antioxidant capacity. It also had better storability than Clementine because of less water loss and decline of organoleptic properties.
Research Article
Pomology
Behzad Kaviani
Abstract
Introduction: The use of biofertilizers instead of chemical fertilizers has an effective role in increasing the health of plants, animals and humans and reducing environmental pollution. Biofertilizers are gradually being replaced by chemical fertilizers. Strawberry is a fruit with high nutritional value. ...
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Introduction: The use of biofertilizers instead of chemical fertilizers has an effective role in increasing the health of plants, animals and humans and reducing environmental pollution. Biofertilizers are gradually being replaced by chemical fertilizers. Strawberry is a fruit with high nutritional value. Choosing the right nutritional conditions such as fertilizers and suitable cultivation beds to achieve high quantitative and qualitative yield in this plant is inevitable. In recent years, the use of humic acid has been common in enhancing the vegetative and generative characteristics of crops. Humic acid is a rich source of potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen. The method of application of humic acid has an effective role in improving the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of plants. The leaf application of humic acid was effective in increasing the amount of phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen. The amount of potassium and phosphorus in strawberry fruit is more than other elements. Combining some cultivation beds (perlite and composts) and fertilizers such as agricultural waste (rice bran and tea wastes) into soil cultivation beds have an effective role in improving the quantity and quality of plants.Materials and Methods: A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of foliar application of humic acid and different cultivation beds on nutrition uptake of strawberry. Different concentrations of humic acid (0, 300, 600, and 1000 mg.l−1) were applied as foliar application in two steps (late March and late April) on strawberry cultivated in different beds (usual soil, usual soil + rice bran, perlite, or tea wastes). This study was carried out as two factorial experiment in completely randomized design. Soil nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, soil pH and electrical conductivity and leaf and fruit nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content were measured. Measurement of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium was carried out by Kjehldal, spectrophotometry and flame photometry, respectively.Results and Discussion: The interaction effect of humic acid ×cultivation beds on nitrogen and phosphorus content of leaves and fruits was significant at 1% of probability level and on fruit potassium at 5% of probability level. The interaction of these two factors on leaf potassium was non-significant. The results of comparing the mean comparison of humic acid and cultivation beds on soil elements showed that the highest amount of nitrogen was obtained in the treatment of 600 mg.l−1 humic acid and in the cultivation bed of usual soil+rice bran. The highest amount of phosphorus was obtained in the treatment of 1000 mg.l−1 humic acid and the cultivation bed of usual soil + tea wastes. The highest amount of potassium was obtained in the treatment of 600 mg.l−1 humic acid and in the cultivation bed of usual soil + tea wastes and the lowest one was obtained in the same bed without humic acid. Results showed that the highest potassium content (518 mg.l−1), and phosphorus (4.84 mg.l−1) of fruit were obtained in plants treated with 1000 mg.l−1 humic acid cultivated in usual soil + rice bran. The highest nitrogen content of fruit was obtained in plants cultivated in usual soil +tea wastes. The plants grown in this cultivation bed with humic acid application at 1000 mg.l−1 had maximum content of leaf nitrogen (5.47%). The highest content of leaf potassium (4.50 mg.l−1) and phosphorus (6.32 mg.l−1) were obtained in plants treated with 600 mg.l−1 humic acid in the cultivation beds of usual soil and usual soil + rice bran, respectively. The application of humic acid at 1000 mg.l−1 and using usual soil+rice bran as bed is recommended for strawberries production as potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen are the most important elements for increasing the quality of strawberry fruits , respectively. A positive association has been reported between the use of humic acid and the increase in growth, yield and product quality in strawberries and other plants. Humic acid can improve quantitative and qualitative production of crops by providing more available essential elements and increasing plant resistance to various biological and non-biological stresses.Conclusion: Strawberries are widely cultivated worldwide due to their high nutritional value. Chemical fertilizers have been used as a way to increase crop yields, but have led to problems such as nitrate accumulation, short pot life, and poor quality and environmental pollution. Therefore, organic fertilizers have been recommended. A stimulating effect of humic acid on biomass production and plant growth is to increase the uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Proper cultivation bed plays an important role in the optimal growth and development of plants. According the result of this study, the use of beds containing agricultural waste and foliar application of humic acid increased the growth, yield and quality of strawberry fruit.
Research Article
Medicinal Plants
Mehdi Rastegar; Hassan Mumivand; Alireza Shayganfar; Abdolhossein Rezaei Nejad
Abstract
Introduction: In the last decades, human activities have had adverse effects on the atmosphere and the stratospheric ozone layer, resulting in an increase in the ultraviolet radiation on the ground, especially in highlands. Among living organisms, plants are the most exposed to ultraviolet rays due to ...
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Introduction: In the last decades, human activities have had adverse effects on the atmosphere and the stratospheric ozone layer, resulting in an increase in the ultraviolet radiation on the ground, especially in highlands. Among living organisms, plants are the most exposed to ultraviolet rays due to their high and unavoidable need to light for photosynthesis, and are therefore more vulnerable to them. Plants show different responses to ambient UV radiation. The response of plants to ultraviolet light is manifested in two general ways, including tolerating the destructive effects of this radiation or/and avoiding it. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of ultraviolet light on growth, morphological and phenological characteristics of three cornflower cultivars under greenhouse conditions in 2018.
Materials and Methods: The experiment was performed as a split plot in a completely randomized design. Ultraviolet light was considered as the first factor in four levels (including: control, ultraviolet –A radiation, ultraviolet -B radiation and ultraviolet A + B radiations) and three cornflower cultivars (including: ‘Kornblume pink’, ‘Kornblume rot’ and ‘Kornblume blau’) as the second factor. The UV treatment was applied by lamps made by Q-Lab Co, USA. It should be noted that the 40-watt lamps used in this study were broadband and had the highest compliance with ultraviolet B (in the case of UV-B lamps) and ultraviolet A (in the case of UV-A lamps) received from the sun on the ground. So they provided the best possible simulation. During the growth period of plants, phenological traits were recorded and morphological traits and biomass traits were measured at the end of the experiment.
Results and Discussion: The results showed that UV-B radiation and simultaneous application of UV-A and UV-B radiations resulted in the reduction of the most morphological traits and yield traits including plant height, internode length, leaf width, leaf area, flowering stem length, plant fresh and dry weight, leaf dry weight, flower dry weight and number of flowers. However, flower yield was not affected by ultraviolet radiations. UV-A treatment reduced the flowering stem length and fresh and dry weight of plant in compared to the control treatment, but it had no significant effect on plant height, leaf width, leaf dry weight, flower dry weight and number of flowers. Plants response to ultraviolet radiation is very different. In many species, it has been observed that UV-A does not have a negative effect on plant growth, while, UV-B reduced the growth and yield of plants. It seems that the main reason for the reduction of plant growth and production is prevention of cell division caused by ultraviolet radiation. Degradation of plant pigments (chlorophyll) is also one of the main reason of photosynthesis decrease led to plant growth and yield reduction. The results of the present study showed that the application of UV-A reduced the number of days until the emersion of the first flower bud and the number of days until the opening of the first flower in cornflower cultivars compared to the control. UV-B treatment forced cornflowers to earlier flowering than UV-A. However, the fastest entry into the reproductive and flowering phase of cornflower cultivars was observed with the simultaneous application of UV-A and B radiations. Plants mechanisms against environmental stresses mainly depend on their origin and genetic factors. These mechanisms include three main strategies including “avoidance”, “tolerance” and “escaping”. One of the most important ways to reduce the life cycle is early flowering. It seems that the process of early flowering and completing the growth in cornflower species is a kind of stress escaping under ultraviolet radiation stress.
Conclusion: In this study, ultraviolet radiation reduced the growth and development of all three species of cornflowers. However, UV-A treatment showed the least negative effect on flower yield of plants. On the contrary, UV-B radiation and simultaneous application of UV-A and UV-B radiations reduced the growth and development of cornflowers, but did not have any significant negative effect on the flower yield (as the main useable organ of plant). Therefore, it seems that the ultraviolet radiation can be considered as a positive factor due to its positive effects on the production of secondary metabolites and early flowering and lack of significant negative effects on plant flower yield. Finally, ‘Kornblume pink’ cultivar, with higher flower yield and earlier flowering, is more suitable for cultivation than other cultivars.
Research Article
Medicinal Plants
Nahle Taghvaeefard; Askar Ghani; Seyyed Mehdi Hosseinifarahi
Abstract
Introduction: The harvest time and type of plant part have important roles in obtaining maximum amounts of active substances from medicinal plants. Medicinal plants vary in terms of phenological stages and maturity and each medicinal plant can be evaluated separately in research. Determining the exact ...
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Introduction: The harvest time and type of plant part have important roles in obtaining maximum amounts of active substances from medicinal plants. Medicinal plants vary in terms of phenological stages and maturity and each medicinal plant can be evaluated separately in research. Determining the exact time of harvest and selecting a plant organ for maximum yield of secondary metabolites can be very important and economically effective. Othroj-Saghir (Citrus medica var. medica Proper) or Othroje-Kabir (Citrus medica var. macrocarpa) is one of the most important citrus species. The southern provinces of Iran, especially the southern cities of Fars province, are the largest areas in which this species is cultivated. In addition to fruit juice, other parts of the fruit especially the flavedo, can be used for medicinal purposes and in food industries. In this study, for the first time, some physical and biochemical changes of different parts of Citrus medica var medica fruits were evaluated during fruit ripening. Also, some active substances (i.e. essential oil content, flavonoid components, etc.) of the flavedo were measured as the most important medicinal parts of the fruit through different stages of ripening.
Materials and Methods: In this study, the effects of fruit ripening on the biochemical properties of different parts of Citron fruit were evaluated. A factorial experiment was set up according to a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with two factors and four replications. The first factor included four levels: different stages of fruit maturity (green mature, intermediate, yellow ripe and over ripe stage). The second factor had four levels: the different parts of the Citron fruit (i.e. outer skin or flavedo, inner skin or albedo, pulp and juice). The most important measured traits were flavon and flavonols, total flavonoids, total phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity. Physical changes in different parts of the fruit (fresh and dry weight of flavedo and albedo, fresh weight of fruit, fruit diameter and height of fruit, etc.) were measured.
Assessments also carried out to identify several features of fruit juice such as acidity, total soluble solids (TSS), titrable acidity (TA) and vitamin C during fruit ripening. Chemical measurements were aimed at determining the most important phytochemical compounds of the flavedo section during fruit ripening. These features included the essential oil percentage and yield, chlorophyll content and polyphenols constituents (rutin, trans-ferulic acid, hesperidin, hesperetin and quercetin by HPLC).
Results and Discussion: The results showed that the fruit maturity stage significantly affected most of the studied traits. The highest amounts of flavon and flavonols (0.377 mg quercetin/g dry weight) and total flavonoids (16.38 mg quercetin/g dry weight) were measured in the flavedo at the over ripe stage. The antioxidant activity initially increased during fruit ripening, but it decreased slightly (75.0%) from the yellow stage to the over ripe stage. The lowest rate of antioxidant activity (53.6%) was observed in the green stage and the highest rate (78.4%) was measured in the yellow ripe stage. The highest amounts of antioxidant activity (83.3% and 73.8%) were measured in the albedo and flavedo samples, respectively, and the lowest amount (54.1%) was recorded in the pulp section. The highest amount of flavedo essential oil (2.37%v/w) was measured in intermediate stage. The chlorophyll content with maturity progress was decreased. Progress in fruit maturity was reduced the most components of polyphenols. The maximum amount of hesperidin, as an important phenolic component, was identified in the peel of Citron fruit (1.86 mg/g dry weight) at the green mature stage. Its amount decreased through the stages of maturity, so that the lowest amount (0.68 mg/g dry weight) was measured at the over ripe stage.
Conclusion: In general, the stage of maturity and plant part had important effects on the amount of biochemical traits. The flavedo part of Citron fruit showed superior medicinal properties. Different active substances react variedly during maturity and so the preferable composition should be harvested according to the desired conditions. The best stages to reach maximum essential oil percentage and polyphenol components are the early stages of maturity (i.e. green mature and intermediate stages).
Research Article
Pomology
Salahedin Mslahate fard; Hamid Hassanpour
Abstract
Introduction: The pistachio genus (Pistacia) belongs to Anacardiaceae family. Three species of common pistachio (P. vera, P. khinjuk and P. atlantica) was found in Iran. Bene )P. atlantica (is a dicotyledonous tree with a height of more than 17 meters, is the most important species of Zagros region with ...
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Introduction: The pistachio genus (Pistacia) belongs to Anacardiaceae family. Three species of common pistachio (P. vera, P. khinjuk and P. atlantica) was found in Iran. Bene )P. atlantica (is a dicotyledonous tree with a height of more than 17 meters, is the most important species of Zagros region with valuable main and secondary products. This tree was also used as a rootstocks for edible pistachios and resistant to adverse environmental conditions, so that it grows in different climates in terms of land slope, soil type, different soil fertility levels, altitude (600 to 3000 meters) and temperature range of -25 to 40 °C. Fruit and gum have different uses in food, industry and medicine. Medicinal and oral uses of Bene fruit and gum have long been reported not only in Iran, but also among the natives of all coriander-rich regions, including parts of Algeria, Turkey and Iraq. Bene fruit can be harvested at three stages; First, the unripe stage (in the form of small hollow spheres without a kernel), its skin is brittle and its color is pale green. The second stage, the kernel is completely hardened, but the shell has an ocher red color that tastes sour. The last, the ripe stage, the kernel is completely hardened and the color of the skin is blue-green.
Materials and Methods: This study was conducted to evaluate the diversity and determine some quantitative and qualitative characteristics of different Bene) P. atlantica (genotypes at the green fruit stage. For this purpose, 11 genotypes were randomly selected in an area near the city of Mirabad, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. The fruits were harvested from each genotype and transferred to the laboratory. In this study, some quantitative traits of fruit and cluster as well as total phenol, total flavonoids and total antioxidant capacity were analyzed. Digital calipers were used to measure the length and width of fruit and clusters (mm). Also, a digital scale with an accuracy of 0.001 g was used to measure the weight of fruit and cluster. Fruit size index was calculated by multiplying the measured width by the measured length and expressed as mm2. Total antioxidant capacity was assessed using the DPPH (1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) method. Folin–Ciocalteu method was used to measure the total phenol content.
Results and Discussion: The results showed that cluster weight had the highest diversity and fruit width had the least diversity among the studied traits. Traits such as cluster width, cluster length, total phenol and flavonoid content were also highly varied among genotypes. In this study, the maximum weight, length and width of fruit were 1.28 g, 8.32 and 8.62 mm, respectively. Also, the results of this study showed that there is a significant difference between genotypes in terms of all parameters measured except cluster length at the 1% and 5% of probability level. Overall, the results of this study showed high variability in the majority of traits. The highest length, width and weight of the cluster as well as the width and weight of the fruit were seen in P10 genotype and the lowest was observed in P5 and P6 genotypes. In terms of biochemical characteristics, P3 genotype had the highest total phenol (1034.5 mg gallic acid per gram of FW), total flavonoid (143.82 mg quercetin per gram FW) and antioxidant capacity (93%) and also, the lowest total phenol (370.08 mg gallic acid per gram of FW), total flavonoids (62.25 mg catechin per gram FW) was observed in P7 genotype. According to results of this study, P3 and P10 genotypes can be used for medicinal, food, industrial purposes as well as breeding purposes compared to the other genotypes.
Conclusion: In this study, it was shown that there is a high diversity in the majority of measured traits among different genotypes. The highest morphological traits were observed in P10 genotype. Also, in terms of biochemical characteristics, genotype P3 had the highest total phenol, total flavonoid content and total antioxidant capacity. According to the results, it can be concluded that the morphological characteristics as well as phenolic, flavonoid compounds and antioxidant capacity depend on various factors, including genetic factors and environmental and ecological conditions. Therefore, the observed diversity can be related to genetic structure of genotypes, which can also be considered as a kind of adaptation and physiological response of trees to environmental conditions.
