Plant Productions
Year:2014 | Volume:37 | Issue:2|Papers Count:12

In order to study the effect of different levels of nitrogen and bacteria application on the yield of soybean genotypes, an experiment was conducted at Safiabad Agricultural Research Center in 2007. The experiment was implemented as a split split plot completely randomized block with 3 replications. Main plots consisted of 2 levels of bacteria (use and non-use of bacteria), while sub plots included 4 levels of nitrogen (0, 40, 80 and 120 kgN/ha) and sub-sub plots were 3 genotypes (504, L14 and DPX). Results showed that application of bacteria did not have a significant effect on grain yield, biological yield, harvest index, plant height and number of nodesper plant. These results showed the lack of nitrogen fixation bacterial activity in climatic North Khouzestan cinditions.The application of nitrogen led to increasing the number of pods per plant and grain yield. This result indicated that the highest (3822.22 kg/ha) and the lowest (1950.08 kg/ha) grain yield belong to 0 and 120 kgN/ha, respectively. Nitrogen × genotypes interaction effect showed the highest grain yield (4308.33 kg/ha) belonged to DPX genotype with the application of 120 kgN/ha and the lowest grain yield (1890 kg/ha) belonged to L14 without the application of nitrogen. Considering the different genotypes’responses to different levels of nitrogen and the sensitivity of indeterminate genotype (504) to lodging, it is suitable to use 80 kgN/ha for 504 and L14 genotypes, but for determinate growth genotypes (DPX) the use of 120 kgN/ha can also be appropriate.

The effect of putrescine, calcium chloride and salicylic acid was investigated on quality attributes and post harvest life of plum fruit cv. “Shablon” as a factorial experiment with a complete randomized design with three replications. Fruits were treated by dipping in 1 and 2 mM putrescine, 60 and 80 mM calcium chloride and 1 and 3 mM salicylic acid and then they were kept in cold storage at 1-2 °C and 80% relative humidity for 6 weeks. Quality parameters incloding weight loss, fruit firmness, total soluble solids contents, titratable acidity and ascorbic acid content were evaluated once a week. Results showed that the effect of treatment and time was significant in all characteristics at 1% level, and hat all treatments maintained the fruit quality characteristics during the storage period. Time and treatment interaction on weight loss, fruit firmness and soluble solid contents were not significant. The results showed that the effects of treatments on these traits were independent of time while the interaction between treatment and time on titratable acidity and ascorbic acid was significant at 5% level. With the progress in the fruit maintenance period, the amount of acidity and vitamin C content was reduced. Mean comparisons showed that there were significant differences between control and other treatments for all characteristics. Calcium chloride was effective for weight loss prevention. Calcium chloride and Putrescine solution were better than salicylic acid for maintenance of fruit vitamine C content.

In order to investigate the chilling effect and consequently oxidative stress on anti-oxidant system of two rice cultivars a field experiment was conducted in Research Center of Agriculture and Natural Resource of Khouzestan in February and March 2011. The experiment was conducted in a split plot arrangement using a randomized complete block design with three replications. The main plot consisted of three sowing dates, including19th and 28th of February and 10th of March and two rice cultivars (Champa and Dollar) were randomized in sub-plots. Results showed that low temperature decreased the activity of anti-oxidative enzymes including Peroxidase (POX), Catalase (CAT) and Ascorbate peroxidase (APX) of leaf and root of both cultivars significantly. The lowest activity was in Dollar variety. Amount of Malondialdehyde (MDA) increased significantly during chilling stress. The largest amount of MDA was in the leaves and root of Dollar cultivars (59.8 and 20.95 mM. grFW) in second sowing date. Protein content of leaf and root of two cultivars was decreased. Therefore, Champa cultivar due to effective anti-oxidant system and decreased of MDA content was more tolerant chilling and oxidative stress in comparison to Dollar cultivar.

There exist a lot of reports about the positive and significant effect of natural zeolite on vegetative and reproductive characteristics of plants such as cereals, vegetable transplants, ornamental tree and shrubs, bedding flowers, pot plants, turfgrass and cut flowers. However, in the relation to bulbous plants, there seems to be no report. Thus, this research was conducted to investigate the effects of natural zeolite on vegetative and reproductive characteristics of Narcissus tazetta L. cv. Shahla. The experiment was performed as a completely randomized design (CRD) with seven treatments (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 g zeolite kg-1 soil mixture) and 4 replications. The results indicated that although there were significant differences between treatments in vegetative and reproductive characteristics such as flowering stem length, flowering stem fresh and dry weight, leaf area, floret length, leaf and root fresh weight, root depth and bulblet number, the only positive effect of zeolite was observed in root fresh weight and root depth which was obtained with 10 g.kg-1, significantly different compared to control. In other measured characteristics such as flowering stem diameter, leaf and floret number, leaf and root dry weight did not show a significant difference between treatments. In general, considering the obtained results, 10 g zeolite kg-1 is recommended for pot production of this plant. However, due to unfavorable effects on flowering stem diameter and leaf area, the application of zeolite on bulbous plants requires further research and it is difficult to solely judge bated on the present study.

Grapes are one of the temperate fruit crops most frequently damaged by freezing temperatures. An investigation was carried out to evaluate the effect of freezing temperatures during the dormant season on four commercial grape cultivars. Factorial experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design with three assemblage dates (end of autumn, middle of winter and end of winter ), temperature treatments (25, -10, -12, -14, -16, -18, -20 and -220C) and cultivars (Kolahdary, Red rasin, Yaghoti and White rasin) with three replications in Horticultural Sciences Laboratory of Ferdowsi University Mashhad in the year 2010. It was concluded that in -220C, electrolyte leakage of cultivar Kolahdary at the end of autumn and Yaghoti at the end of winter with 60 and 62 % showed highest the value, respectively. Cultivar Red rasin in the middle of winter with %39 had lowest value. Also, cultivar Kolahdary at the end of autumn and cultivar Yaghoti at the end of winter by 24.13 and 27 mg/l and cultivar Red rasin at the middle of winter by 37.33 mg/l had lowest and highest carbohydrate values respectively. The lowest and highest value of re-growth were gained in cultivar Yaghoti and Red raisin by 12 and 45 % respectively. Therefore, due to high carbohydrate content and low electrolyte, leakage Red raisin was selected as freezing tolerance cultivars.

The identification of plants that are able to grow in the presence of oil pollutants or be effective in reducing pollution is very important. The experiment was acnducted in order to evaluate the phytoremediation rate and resistance of Conocarpus erectus L. under different oil sewage concentrations and calcium oxide levels in the Research Department of Horticulture, University of Hormozgan in 2009. Accordingly, four eaves seedlings were treated by oil sewage under five levels (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 ml/kg soil), and calcium oxide under five concentrations (0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 percent). Despite the relative tolerance of seedlings to the oil sewage besed on the plant appearance, the results showed that the increasing of oil effluent concentration to 20 ml significantly decreased the vegetative traits such as shoot dry weight and root dry weight to 67% and 66%, respectively. In addition, 20 ml of waste oil reduced 50.6% peroxidase ascorbate enzyme activity and 62.1%of total solution protein. In comparison to control, waste oil at 20 ml level increased the ion leakage and lipids peroxidation to 51.8% and 42.8%, respectively. On the other hand, calcium oxide reduced damages of waste oil and improved vegetative traits such as shoot dry weight and root dry weight. Calcium oxide treatments also improved ion leakage, lipid peroxidation, and ascorbate peroxidase enzyme, and total solution protein. The use of Conocarpus erectus L for further phytoremediation studies can be useful. According to its relative resistance against oil sewage as well as the desired effects of calcium oxide on the plant, Conocarpus erectus L. could be introduced for phytoremediation in the oil -polluted soils.

In order to investigate vase life of cut foliages of cycad, the current research was carried out using various treatments of natural preservative solutions. Silver nitrate and sucrose were added to all treatments except the control treatment. Preservative solutions included coconut juice with two levels of 50% and 100%, lemon juice with concentrations of 0, 100, 250 and 400 ppm, silver nitrate with fixed concentration of 40 ppm and sucrose with fixed concentration of 3%. The combination of coconut juice and lemon juice resulted in 4 treatments. The experiment was carried out in 3 replications each containing 6 cut leaves. The aim of the experiment was increasing the vase life of cut foliages as the most important parameter. Some measured parameters during about four months of the study were vase life, chlorophyll content (chla, chlb, chl total), carotenoid, total soluble solid, water loss, external factors like changing, and fresh and dry weight of foliages. Among natural treatments, the best treatments for cycad cut foliages were 100 ppm lemon juice with 50% coconut juice which caused cycad’s cut leaves to preserve for 89 days (against 57 days in the control treatment).

There is considerable concern that use of high nitrate and nitrite containing vegetables such as spinach could cause diseases. This research was conducted with the objective of examining the nitrate (NO3-) and nitrite (NO2-) accumulation in the aerial parts (leaves and petiols) of 44 Iranian spinach (Spinaciaoleracea L.) land races that were obtained from field grown plants. Statistical analysis was conducted by using standard procedures for a randomized complete block design (44 treatments and 3 replications). Nitrate and nitrite contents in the aerial part of samples were determined using UV-Visible Spectrophotometric. Results indicated that the nitrate content in the aerial part of Iranian spinach land races ranged from 3526.5 to 8806.5 mg.g-1 dry weight. The ‘Saleh Abad’ (from ‘Qom’), ‘Rehnan’ (from ‘Isfahan’), ‘Sar Asyab-1’ (from ‘Kerman’), ‘Sirjan’ (from ‘Kerman’), ‘Qazvin’, ‘Zanjan-2’ and ‘Khoram Abad’ were found to contain maximum accumulation on nitrate (8806.5 to 7092 mg.g-1 dry weight). Nitrate concentration in leaves of ‘Sar Asyab-2’ (from ‘Kerman’) and ‘Mahan’ (from ‘Kerman’) was significantly low (3526.5 to 3594 μg.g-1 dry weight, respectively). The nitrite contents were lower (between 73.8 to 188.7 mg.g-1 dry weight( than nitrate content in all Iranian spinach land races. The different spinach land races show the significant effect on the nitrite contents in this study. Spinach land races which were collected from ‘Khoram Abad’, ‘Varamin-1’, ‘Mahan’, ‘Bojnord-1’, ‘Qom’, ‘Sari-2’and ‘Ravar’ (from ‘Kerman’) showed the lowest average of nitrate contents among other land races, with a range of 73.8 to 89.51 μg.g-1 dry weight. While the highest nitrite content in spinach land races were with a range of 188.7 to 163.1 mg.g-1 for ‘Sar Asyab-1’ (from ‘Kerman’), ‘Yazd’, ‘Hamedan’, ‘Karaj’ and ‘Bor An’(from ‘Isfahan’). Results indicated that the mean of nitrate or nitrite content in these land races were statistically significant.The variation of nitrate content in the leaves of Iranian spinach land races also make them ideal for breeding program.

In order to determine the yield response, essential oil content and secondary metabolites of chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) to biological and chemical fertilizers a two-year field experiment was conducted at Persian Gulf University (Bushehr region) during the 2009 and 2010 growing season. Experimental treatments including sheep manure (15 t/ha), sheep manure + mycorrhiza (as biological fertilizer) and chemical NPK (70-62-0 kg/ha in the form of urea and triple superphosphate respectively) were arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Results showed that the highest dry flower yield (939.72 kg ha-1) was obtained under sheep manure nutrition system in the second year. Also, the highest amount of flower diameter (2.39 cm), plant height (35.11cm) and dry biomass (3497.6 kg ha-1) were obtained with chemical fertilizer in the second year. In contrast, biological nutrition system (sheep manure + mycorrhiza) led to the highest harvest index (45.26 %) in the 2nd year and had significant priority in 5% level to other treatments for root colonization. In both years except for phosphorous content, chemical nutrition system was the superior treatment for N and K percentage in plants. This treatment has also the highest essential oil extractction efficacy (0.357 %) in the 2nd year; however, the highest Chamazulen amount (8.22%) and Apigenin 7-glocoside (1.44 %) were obtained in plants treated with biofertilizers. Altogether, our findings suggest that chamomile nutrition with biofertilizers compared to the chemical fertilizer could obtain acceptable dry flower yield, essential oil and secondary metabolites. Therefore, it could be a good strategy for decreasing chemical fertilizers, and ensuring the economic profits, environment health and food security for consumers.

In order to study the effects of chemical and biological fertilizers on yield and yield components of fennel an field experiment was conducted in Agricultural Facultyof ShahidChamranUniversity of Ahvaz2011. In trial study was carried out as a two-waysfactorial which was assigned as randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Chemical fertilizers at three levels (C1=0-0-0 kg/ha NPK, C2=60-60-48 kg/ha NPK and C3=120-120-96 kg/ha NPK)were the first factor, anddifferent biologicalfertilizers at six levels B1=control, B2=Biosuperphosphate+Nitroxin, B3=Nitroxin, B4=Biosuperphosphate, B5=Biosulphur and B6=Sugar cane waste compost) were the second factor.The result showed that chemical fertilizer had significant effect on all traits except secondary branches number,number of sub-umble in umbel, seed number at sub-umbel,seed weight and harvest index traits. So that by increasing chemical fertilizer rates until(120-120-96 kg/ha NPK), all measurement traits were increased.The biological fertilizers had significant effect on all traits except secondary branches number1000 seeds weight and harvest index traits.So that the highest number of umbel per plant and seed number at sub- umbel, biological and grian yield were obtained at sugar cane waste compost. The highest sub-umbel per umbel was obtained at Nitroxin + Bio superphosphate. Moreover, the interaction result showed that the highest (237.7 kg/ha) and the lowest(103.2 kg/ha)fennel grain yields were obtained at sugar cane waste in combination with 120-120-96 kg/ha NPK. In general, the result showed that the application of biofertilzers in combination with chemical fertilizers can improved the grain yield and yield components of the fennel.

With respect to arid and semi-arid climate of Iran, using methods which mitigate detrimental effects of water deficit on horticultural products would be of significant importance. Kaolin is an anti-transpiration material the application of which has been expanded during the recent years. For this purpose, the effect of three different levels of kaolin (0, 3 and 6%) as well as three different levels of irrigation (100, 65 and 40% potential ETcrop) on chlorophyll content and chlorophyll fluorescence in olive leaves “Dezful’ were examined as factorial test based on a completely randomized design in three replications (each replication including 3 pots) in the greenhouse of Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University (Tehran, Iran). The obtained results demonstrated that chlorophyll a and total chlorophyll were reduced under water deficit. The amount of reducing of chlorophyll a and total chlorophyll in 80 days after treatment was greater than that in 40 days after treatment. In addition, the amount of total chlorophyll in the sprayed plants with 6% kaolin was the highest (1.425 mg/g fresh weigh of leaf) in 80 days after treatment. Furthermore, it was shown that by reducing of water content to 65 and 40% ETcrop the content of chlorophyll “a” was greater than the plants which were sprayed at kaolin concentrations of 3 and 6% in comparison with the control. Meanwhile, the results of fluorescence parameters showed that maximum fluorescence indices (Fm), fluorescence variable (Fv) and ratio of fluorescence variable to maximum fluorescence (Fv/Fm) were reduced under drought stress. However, the kaolin treatment had no significant effect on these indices. Generally, it can be expected that spraying of the olive gardens in Iran with kaolin, especially in regions exposed to water deficit can moderate the drought stress and mitigate the detrimental effects of water deficit, while improving photosynthesis efficiency of the leaf.