JOURNAL OF PLANT ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY
Year:2014 | Volume:9 | Issue:2 (34)|Papers Count:8

One of the most important antinutrient compounds in oak fruit is its phenolic compounds. There are various methods to reduce these compounds in food sources. In this study the effect of soaking methods with alkali solution of 0.5 and 1 normal NaOH, and water was investigated for 0 (control), 2, 6, 12, and 24 hours on the reduction of phenolic and some organic compounds of the fruit in two species of Oak (Quercus castaneifolia and Quercus persica) collected from north and west of Iran. The results showed that the two species were significantly different only in their total carbohydrates. Fruit of Q. persica had higher total carbohydrates than that of Quercus castaneifolia. There were no significant differences between two species regarding percentage of total protein, total fat, dry matter, ash, and total phenol content. Analysis of variance of the data showed that the main effects of species, various treatments of solvent and their soaking time were significant (P£0.01). On the other hand, interaction of species by solvent, species by soaking time, solvent by soaking time, and solvent by soaking time by species were not significant. Solvent of 1 normal NaOH had the highest effect on decreasing total phenols in both species. Regarding various time of soaking in the studied solvents all treatments with the exception of 0.5 normal NaOH and at shorter times significantly decreased total phenols content compared with that of the control.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the adaptability of three species of lichens in spring, summer and winter. To this end, antioxidant enzyme activities of three species of lichens from Moghan plain were studied. Lichens of Lecanora muralis and Ramalina farinacea were gathered randomly from mountains of Angout (Tazeh Kand city in Ardabil province). Also the lichen of Xanthoria parietina were collected randomly from Catalpa bignonioides tree around the lake of Pars Abad, Moghan Town. The results revealed that the activities of antioxidant enzymes of peroxidase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, and superoxide dismutase in all three lichens were higher in winter (cold season) and summer (warm season) than those of spring. Superoxide dismutase and polyphenol oxidase enzymes in two species of L. muralis and R. farinacea showed a significant increase in the summer and catalase and peroxidase enzymes in these two species had a significant increase in the winter. In the species X. parientina, peroxidase, catalase, and ascorbate peroxidase enzymes showed a significant increase in the summer. Therefore, the results suggest that changes of antioxidants enzymes probably lead to seasonal compatibility in these species.

Industrial factories around the cities are one of the reasons of pollution in these cities. Identification and use of resistant plants for landscaping of these areas help to purify the air in these areas. In the present research, the effects of air pollution in the polluted region of Ahvaz Steel Complex on some resistance factors in two dominant tree species, namely, Conocarpus erectus and Syzygium cumini were studied and compared with those of the same species sampled from a clean area (Faculty of Agriculture, Chamran University of Ahvaz). The results showed that the leaf area sampled from industrial area reduced significantly in the two species compared to that of clean area whereas soluble sugars significantly increased under pollution condition. Proline content in Syzygium cumini increased significantly under the influence of air pollution. On the other hand, in this plant the concentration of ascorbic acid, malondialdehide of leaves and air pollution tolerance index reduced significantly but in Conocarpus erectus, only malondialdehide content of the leaves increased significantly. Moreover, pollution had no significant effect on the other parameters in this plant. Thus, it was concluded that both species might be classified as susceptible plants but Conocarpus erectus was more resistance to the air pollution in the study area as compared with Syzygium cumini.

This study was carried out to investigate the changes in the active ingredients of essence and antioxidant activity of extracts obtained from flowering branches of wild mint Mentha longifolia (L.) Huds) at both vegetative and reproductive stages under field conditions (with and without using manure) compared with the plants growing in natural habitats. For this purpose, the shoots of the plants were collected at both vegetative and reproductive stages from its natural environment in Abbas Abad region in Golestan Province, as well as from plants grown on farms with cow manure and without manure. The results of extract analysis showed that syringol was highest on a farm where cow manure was applied whereas azulene was highest in natural environment. In addition, the antioxidant activity was evaluated using three methods, i.e. total antioxidant capacity, free radicals scavenging activity, and reducing power assay. With the consideration of total antioxidant capacity and reducing power, plants grown under natural conditions had the highest level of antioxidant activity at reproductive stage compared to the farm conditions (with and without manure). The free radical scavenging activity and reducing power were also the highest at the vegetative and reproductive stages under no-manure condition.

Olive is one of the most important horticultural products that plays an important role in the economy of Golestan province. In order to obtain the highest qualitative and quantitative productivity, an experiment was carried out in a factorial randomized complete block design using nine treatments with three replications in an olive orchard in Gorgan in 2010. Three levels of boric acid (0, 50, and 100 mg/l) and of urea (0, 500, and 1000 mg/l) were sprayed. The results showed that application of urea mixed with boric acid significantly increased fruit weight and number at 0.01 probability level. The highest fruit number was produced using 100 mg/l of boric acid and 500 mg/l of urea and it was significantly different from the control. Spraying application of boric acid and urea significantly increaced B and N content of the leaves.The results of the study revealed that the treatment (acid boric at 100 mg/l and urea at 500 mg/l) resulted in the highest oil content of olive.

Turfgrass is effective in controlling wind and water erosions of soil, absorbs dust, increases oxygen in the air, and plays an important role in decreasing noise pollution and intensive lights. The aim of this research was to study the optimum production conditions for turfgrass and to select the best bed culture in Gorgan. To do this, a randomized complete block design was used. The effects of four types of bed mixture, i.e. sand, soil, rice hulls, and mushroom compost on some qualitative traits of sod were studied. The studied traits were the percentage of dry matter, visible quality, rolling ability, growth rate, and the chlorophyll content. Seedbeds were comprised of different volumetric proportions of soil + sand + mushroom compost, and soil + sand + rice hulls together with a plastic net used for planting. Among the selected mixtures, the bed consisting of soil, mushroom compost, and sand with 1:2:1ratio was superior to other treatments in growth rate, visible quality, and rolling ability and it was considered as the most suitable seedbed. Among the beds containing rice hulls, the bed which was composed of soil + sand + rice hulls with 2:1:1ratio ranked second following the beds containing mushroom compost. As a whole, the results showed that the visible quality, growth rate, rolling ability, and chlorophyll content in the beds containing mushroom compost was significantly higher than those of rice hull mixtures.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of heavy metals (Mn, Pb, and Cu) on the morphology of Ephedra poracera shrubs and the absorption of these elements in different parts of the plants grown in a manganese ore plant in Robat Karim, Tehran Province. Sampling and procedures of the heavy metal analysis were done according to the method recommended in the book of standard methods. Visual analysis of plant bases in the manganese ore plant showed that the heavy metals had negative effects on morphology of the plants in that region. Ephedra plants growing on the quarry showed significant differences for internode length, shoot length, and root length in comparison with the plants growing outside the mine. In fact, plants in the mine had longer stem and internode length but shorter root length compared to plants outside the mine. Analysis of heavy metals in this plant showed that under high concentration of Mn, this element was not accumulated in roots and stems and therefore, it did not exert any significant influence on the plant. However, considerable level of lead was accumulated in the stem and root system of the plant. In addition, copper accumulated in roots more than in shoots and stems.

Biological fertilizers as an alternative and often as a complement to chemical fertilizers can improve growth and physiological processes in plants. In order to determine the effect of biological fertilizers on some qualitative traits of pearl millet forage, an experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications at the agricultural research station of the Islamic Azad University, Gorgan Branch in 2011. In this study, changes in some qualitative characteristics of millet were evaluated as affected by four types of bio-fertilizers consisting of Nitroxin, Barvar 2, Super Nitroplus and control (without biological fertilizers). The best trend of growth indexes was obtained using the biological fertilizer, Barvar 2. Results showed that the highest levels of calcium and phosphorus were also obtained using Barvar 2 biofertilizer. The Nitroxin treatment produced the least amount of fiber. The highest crude protein content was observed in Barvar 2 and Nitroxin treatments and the lowest amount was produced by the control. The results of this study showed that among different treatments, application of biological fertilizer Barvar 2 had a considerable impact on the growth indexes and the organic and inorganic contents of pearl millet.