JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (JAST)
Year:2019 | Volume:21 | Issue:4|Papers Count:22

Trichoderma species are known as effective agents used for biological control of plant pathogenic fungi. The Trichoderma harzianum and its mutant isolates were cultured and their traits including, mycelial growth, antagonistic activity and extracellular proteins and enzymes production (Chitinase and Cellulase) were investigated to select the most effective mutant isolates against plant pathogenic fungus Rhizoctonia solani. Also, the purity and composition of enzyme-rich protein samples were evaluated under denaturing gel electrophoresis. This study clearly showed the possibility of improving mycelia growth rate (from 1. 18 to 1. 33 cm d-1), the antagonistic capability of Trichoderma (from 54. 9% growth inhibition of R. solani to 66%), extracellular proteins and enzymes production for biological control of plant diseases through mutation with γ-radiation. Also, compared to wild type strain, protein production in the mutant isolates increased. Moreover, the highest specific chitinase enzyme activities were observed in mutant isolates T. h M8 (42. 48 U mg-1) and T. h M15 (38. 25 U mg-1). Trichoderma mutant of T. h M8 maintained higher mycelia growth rate and higher ability to inhibit growth of R. solani. The SDSPAGE profiles had several enzyme protein bands such as CelloBioHydrolases (CBHs), EndoGlucanases (EGs), β-Glucosidases (BGLs), endochitinases, and β-(1, 4)-N-acetyl glucoaminidases. SDS-PAGE analysis indicated the presence of different protein bands in the range of 10. 5 to 245 KDa. Interestingly, expression of chitinase in 95 percent of mutants was higher than wild type of T. harzianum. The results showed that gamma mutation could increase the efficiency and amount of enzymes in T. harzianum, while these enzymes are involved in antagonistic properties of T. harzianum.

This study aimed at annual analysis of Iranian date export, using the gravity model and cross-section data for each year from 1994 to 2013. The estimated results of gravity equation show the negative effects of geographical distance and landlocked location, and the positive effects on Iran’ s date export of re-export, political relations, social and commercial ties and access to high seas. The date export relative prices and per capita GDP of partners show that most of Iran’ s date has been exported at low prices and to countries with low per capita income. Moreover, the calculated date export potential indicates that, on average, Iran’ s export has been close to its full export potential in Central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, while it has exploited only 76 percent of its export potential to European countries. More than half of the export potential to Germany, Italy, Denmark, and Sweden has remained unexploited. The lifting of trade sanctions, adherence to international hygienic standards, and investment in packaging industries are the most important suggestions to increase the share of Iran’ s date in the world market.

The trend of export in some developing countries such as Iran shows that, in addition to exogenous factors such as exchange rates volatility and government policies, endogenous variables also affect the volume and value of products export. Among endogenous factors, the role of marketing strategies is very important. In the current study, the role of marketing strategies of market penetration, market development, product development, and differentiation on the export performance of saffron exporting companies in Khorasan Razavi Province in Iran was investigated using spatial panel data regression model. In order to calculate the export performance index, the four components of firm’ s profitability, sales volume, sales growth, and export intensity were considered. Data and information used in the study were obtained from a census of 14 saffron exporting companies during 2011-2016. The results show that marketing strategies of differentiation, market development, and product development had a significant positive effect on the export performance of saffron companies in Iran. Therefore, by applying appropriate marketing strategies in different markets, export performance could be enhanced.

Policy, research, and extension support are among the various drivers that helped India to become self-sufficient in food production. In order to contribute better towards agricultural development, the extension and advisory agents need new capacities to confront the present challenges in agriculture. The present study was conducted in four Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) zones of Krishi Vigyan Kendra’ s (KVK) selected by simple random sampling without replacement to map the present level of competencies of the extensionists. Twenty KVK from each zone were selected randomly and three extensionists from each KVK were selected by using simple random sampling technique. The total sample size was 240. Mapping of the competency was dealt in two parts viz Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Professional Competency (PC). Correspondence Analysis (CA) technique was used to map the professional competencies of the extensionists. The first part of mapping dealing with EI showed that the respondents had average level of EI. The analysis of the competencies showed that most of the competency statements for the extension professionals were clustered around the center of the biplot showing medium level of PC. Hence, this provides an opportunity to the policy makers to devise suitable strategies to develop these competencies of the extensionists so that they become efficient and effective in their job.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is well known as a pro-environmental technology in agriculture. Therefore, investigating adoption of IPM mechanisms is crucial for agricultural products such as pistachio in Iran. The main purpose of this study was to assess the role of factors affecting IPM adoption by pistachio growers in Kerman Province. Survey was the research method and it was executed using researchersdesigned questionnaire. Totally, 225 pistachio growers were selected as sample size, using two-stages random cluster sampling method. Validity of the questionnaire items was entirely approved by a panel of experts. Cronbach’ s alpha coefficient was used for reliability approval. Findings revealed that individual factors including age, education, farming experience, motivations, participation and innovative spirit in conjunction with economic factors such as income, and technological costs affect IPM adoption procedure. In addition, educational services along with IPM technical knowledge and environmental attitude positively changed IPM adoption. The result of structural equation modeling illustrated that education, innovative spirit, life motivation, welfare motivation, income, technological costs, educational services and IPM technical challenges can significantly predicte IPM technical knowledge by direct effects. Indeed, IPM technical knowledge promotes environmental attitude and directly improves IPM adoption. Some practical recommendations are presented based on the research findings.

The antioxidant capacity of wheat germ protein hydrolyzed by Alcalase was optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The optimum hydrolyzing parameters were found at temperature of 52. 28° C, time 233 minutes, and E/S 1. 46 %. The amino acids profiles of intact and hydrolyzed proteins showed that Wheat Germ Protein Hydrolysate (WGPH) had higher percentage of hydrophobic amino acids than that of intact protein. WGPH prepared in optimum condition was fractionated by RP-HPLC. The obtained fractions were subjected to ABTS assay for antioxidant capacity evaluation. The fraction with higher antioxidant value was then exposed to further analysis by LC-ESI/MS/MS. The sequences of the peptides were found to be TVGGAPAGRIVME (1257. 66 Da) and GNPIPREPGQVPAY (1494. 77 Da).

Lactobacillus sp. are safe organisms for using as probiotic due to their different properties such as useful enzyme products. For example, phytase is an enzyme that has an important role in fish feed digestion. The aim of this study was to isolate and identify Lactobacillus species with phytase activity from dairy products such as milk, yogurt, and cheese and to evaluate the effects of different carbon sources on bacterial growth and phytase activity. For this purpose, Lactobacillus species were screened from dairy products using biochemical tests, and 16S rRNA gene analysis was used to confirm the lactobacilli class. Three of the isolates that showed the best bacterial growth and phytase activity were selected and their 16S rRNA gene sequences were deposited in GeneBank. Then, to determine the optimum growth conditions, three carbon sources including glucose and sucrose at concentrations of 10, 20, 30, 40 g L-1 and wheat bran at concentrations of 10, 20, and 30 g L-1 were used in three replicates. Phytase activity of isolated bacteria including Lactobacillus sp. strains AM11, AM13, and AM14 were measured using zymoplate as well as extracellular enzyme assay. Lactobacillus sp. strain AM11 showed higher phytase activity and growth compared to the other isolates (P< 0. 05). According to the results, Lactobacillus sp. strain AM11 isolates can be used as a feed supplement to improve minerals availability in fish nutrition.

In this study, two essential oils including Cuminum cyminum (L. ) and Lavandula angustifolia (Mill. ) were nano-capsulated by solvent evaporation emulsion method and their fumigant toxicity was investigated against three important stored-products pest, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), Sitophilus granarius (L. ), and Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L. ). Moreover, the sublethal concentrations of phosphine gas in combination with nanocapsules were evaluated to reduce their usage concentration. The synthetized nanocapsules were confirmed by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The chemical compositions analysis of C. cyminum and L. angustifolia by GC-MS revealed that α-Pinene (44. 63%) and Linalyl acetate (61. 74%) were the major components of C. cyminum and L. angustifolia, respectively. The results showed that pure C. cyminum was more effective than L. angustifolia regarding the fumigant toxicity after 24 h treatment on the three mentioned stored products pests. The LC50 values of pure C. cyminum oil after 24 h treatment were obtained as 42. 51 and 78. 99 μ L L-1 air by S. granarius and T. castaneum, respectively. However, the LC50 values of C. cyminum oil nano-capsule form were 220. 34 (S. granaries) and 374. 16 μ L L-1 air (T. castaneum), which were determined as susceptible and resistant pests, respectively. The results indicated that the combination of nanocapsulated form of essential oil with reduced amounts of phosphine could be used as a suitable method for control of stored product pests.

Selected pesticides widely used worldwide to control key pests on cotton plants were evaluated for integration with the Trichogramma chilonis (Ishii). Chlorantraniliprole showed a mean emergence of approximately 79˗ ˗ 82 and 87˗ ˗ 91% at both 6. 25x and 9. 4x doses when host eggs (Sitotroga cerealella Olivier) were treated at larval and pupal stage of parasitoids, respectively. Helicoverpa armigera NucleoPolyhedroses Virus (HaNPV) revealed mean emergence ranging from 80 to 84% at both 12. 5x and 6. 25x doses in the pupal stage treatment. Spiromesifen demonstrated mean emergence approximately ranging from 82. 35 to 88. 55% at 5x, x, and 0. 5x doses in both the egg and pupal stage treatments, and in addition at 8. 3X dose in the pupal stage treatment. Spiromesifen led to mean emergence of 88. 20 and 79. 52% at 2x and 5x doses, respectively, when parasitoid was treated at larval stage. When individual T. chilonis females were exposed to the previously treated host eggs (S. cerealella), chlorantraniliprole resulted in mean parasitism ranging from 17. 88 to 20. 88 parasitized host eggs at both 5x and 3. 13x doses, while spiromesifen led to mean parasitism of 7. 20 parasitized host eggs at 10. 4x dose and showed significant effect on parasitism by parasitoid. The results indicated that the pesticides tested against emergence exhibited no significant toxic effects on the parasitoid.

Micro-propagated potato plantlets (cvs. Agria and Fontane) were grown in growth chambers under controlled conditions to determine the effect of different levels of CO2 concentrations (400 vs. 800 μ mol mol− 1) on physiological and biochemical traits and yield of minitubers, at the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, in 2015. Irrespective of the cultivar, the elevated CO2 significantly increased Net photosynthesis (Np) and leaf Dark Respiration (RD) compared to the control at 34 and 57 days after transplanting. Higher Np under the elevated CO2 resulted in a higher accumulation of leaflet starch and soluble sugar content. The elevated CO2, compared to the ambient, induced allocation of more dry matter to the underground parts, especially tubers. CO2 Enrichment did not significantly affect the number of tubers and mean tuber weight, however, the elevated CO2 increased yield of Agria and Fontane by 17 and 39%, respectively. The yield of Fontane was increased more than Agria when exposed to elevated CO2, mainly due to greater mean tuber weight than tuber number. The number of large size tubers increased under elevated CO2. The results showed that the greater mean tuber weight might affect tuber yield more than the number of tubers. Our findings suggest that rising levels of CO2 in minituber production systems could be beneficial to improve productivity and tuber yield.

Microcosm experiments were conducted under controlled environmental conditions in order to estimate growth response and phytoremediation ability of A. japonica and A. pinnata. Plants were exposed to solutions of different Cu-concentrations [Cu] (0, 1, 2, 5 and 7 mg L-1) and Zn-concentrations [Zn] (0, 0. 5, 1, 2 and 4 mg L-1) under different incubation periods (0, 3, 6, and 12 days) along with control treatments. Lower metal concentrations [< 2 mg L-1 (Cu) and < 1 mg L-1 (Zn)] enhanced plant growth; however, growth was significantly inhibited at higher concentrations during Longer Incubation Periods (LIPs). Azolla species showed substantial metal removal capacity (on an average, Removal efficiency> 80% for Cu and > 60% for Zn during LIPs). The higher the metal concentrations with LIPs, the higher the metal removal amounts. Plant`s exposure to high (Cu) and (Zn) during LIPs showed changes in color and detachment of the roots that might result in plant death due to phytotoxicity effect. Highly significant relationships (r= 0. 91** & 0. 82** for Cu and r= 0. 93** & 0. 92** for Zn in case of A. pinnata and A. japonica, respectively) between metal removal amounts and metal concentrations in biomass indicated that phytoaccumulation was the possible mechanism for phytoremediation because the metals removed from solutions were actually accumulated into the plant`s biomass. The high value of bioconcentration factor indicated that Azolla species were hyperaccumulators, and can be deployed effectively for phytofiltartion of Cu and Zn.

In the last decades, resistance to salt stress has been studied intensively in plants. Many ornamental plants have widespread presence in green areas of coastal regions. In such regions, plants are subject to seawater aerosol and surfactants, both of which are frequent in the coastal areas of Mediterranean environment. The objective of this study was to investigate the antioxidant enzyme activities of two ornamental plants, namely, Callistemon and Viburnum, under the effects of these stressful conditions. To analyze the performance of these plants stressed by 8 weeks treatments with seawater aerosol and surfactants, we measured the antioxidative defense mechanism, considered as enzymatic response, Proline (Pro) levels, Chlorophyll (Chl) and MalonDiAldehyde (MDA) contents. To better understand the response mechanisms, two different growing periods were studied: from January to March and from May to July. The higher temperatures of the second period negatively affected the response of the plants. Salt stress considerably reduced the chlorophyll content in both species, especially in the second period. In particular, the sea aerosol treatments caused 29% and about 45% reduction in Callistemon and Viburnum plants, respectively. The amount of Pro in Viburnum was very small (154. 35 nmol g-1) compared to Callistemon (1466. 94 nmol g-1). An opposite trend was noticed for MDA. ROS-scavenging enzymes, such as SuperOxide Dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and Glutathione Peroxidase (GPX) in plants exposed to treatment with sea aerosol plus anionic surfactant were significantly higher. Between the two species, Viburnum showed more efficient action mechanisms to overcome aerosol stress.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the sole and interactive effect of drip irrigation regimes (50, 70, and 100% of Crop Water Requirement, CWR) and different mulches [No Mulch (NM); Mood Chip Mulch (WCM); Composted Wood Chip Mulch (CWCM), and Plastic Mulch (PM)] on some morphological and physiological traits of tomato, Water Use Efficiency (WUE), and soil properties (soil moisture and temperature) under field conditions. Results showed that yield and its components were significantly influenced by different levels of irrigation. Different mulches increased fruit yield by 12– 46% over nonmulch conditions. The highest marketable yield (5. 78 kg plant-1) and total yield (5. 77 kg plant-1) were obtained by the plants under the highest water level (100% CWR) along with PM and WCM, respectively. The lowest percentage of cracked fruits and blossomend rot fruits was observed in the plants under 100 and 70% CWR along with WCM. In addition, the highest WUE (18. 27 kg m-3) was obtained with 70% water application under WCM. In general, the study revealed that drip irrigation with wood chip mulch had a significant role in increasing the yield of tomato and saving irrigation water under field conditions.

Old traditional cultivars are valuable genetic resources for crop improvement, but a great number of them have disappeared in the past century. This study aimed to characterize traditional cultivars of different Prunus species collected in small family orchards in southwestern Spain and to evaluate their genetic diversity and relationships. One hundred and twelve accessions belonging to 36 traditional cultivar denominations were analyzed using eight SSR loci transferable across the genus Prunus. The most useful loci to analyze different Prunus species were UDP96-005, BPPCT-002, UDP98-410 and ps02a12. A total of 152 alleles were observed, and 112 were unique to certain species. Sixty-eight different genotypes were found, revealing the possible existence of homonyms among traditional cultivar names. The clustering analysis was consistent with the taxonomic classification of the different species studied and with the geographical origins of the accessions within each species. The results showed wide genetic variability of traditional cultivars of stone fruits grown in small family orchards, which highlights the need to preserve them using both in-situ and ex-situ strategies. Twenty-eight of these accessions are currently conserved ex-situ at the University of Sevilla, Spain. The use of highly transferable SSRs has been proven as efficient in multi-species surveys performed on-farm.

After exposing Pea (Pisum sativum L. )-rhizobia symbiosis to two levels of NaCl (namely, 100 and 150 mM) in perlite culture, the salt-stressed plants were analyzed for nodulation, plant dry weight, total phenols, Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), Peroxidase (PO), PolyPhenol Oxidase (PPO), and Electrolyte Leakage (EL). In results, it was observed that the shoot dry weight of all examined P. sativum-rhizobia symbiosis had a statistically significant increase. It was also ascertained that the presence of salt increased the root length as well as the root dry weight. This increase ranged between 76 and 80%, respectively, under 100 and 150 mM NaCl. The same trend was detected for the nodule number and dry weight, which increased in response to salt stress in P. sativum-rhizobia symbiosis. Under salt stress (150 mM), shoot N content was three times more than in root. A relationship was revealed between nodulation and growth that was associated with N level in shoot and root. Generally, EL values were affected by salt in leaves with variations ranging between 22 and 37% under 150 and 100 mM NaCl supply, respectively. Concerning H2O2 content in leaves, significant differences were noted in comparison to the control treatment that was stabilized after 30 days of inoculation. After 50 days of inoculation, H2O2 content in leaves was almost six times higher than after 10 days. In general, salt stress did not affect PO activity. However, PPO activity increased over time, exceeding 10 μ mol g-1 FW.

The effect of extending the pruning time and reducing the pruning intensity was investigated on vegetative response and production of three Italian olive cultivars (‘ Raggia’ , ‘ Maurino’ and ‘ Leccino’ ) in central Italy. From 2009 to 2011, pruning was performed on 5-years-old olive trees in early spring (after bud break) at two intensity levels (minimal and heavy) and in late spring (after full bloom) at a heavy intensity. A control set of plants was left unpruned during the experiment. Results showed that the absence of pruning minimized water sprouts growth and initially generated the highest yield. The productive advantage offered by not pruning decreased at the third year. After 3 years of no pruning, the plants showed an excessive height, shading of the central portion of the canopy, and negligible vegetative growth, inducing an early senescence of the productive branches and necessitating the removal of a massive amount of dry material by applying a severe pruning operation (rejuvenation) at the end of the trial. The early spring minimal pruning technique led to the lowest amount of pruning material and provided a consistent increase in plant production compared to heavy pruning. Late spring pruning did not provide competitive advantages in terms of vegetative re-sprouting control nor yield compared to early pruning. This preliminary study suggests early spring minimal pruning in central Italy as the best practice to increase stability in yield and to control the vegetative growth of olive trees in semi-intensive orchards.

Breeding high-quality wheat cultivars is one of the main targets of breeding programs. Identification of High Molecular Weight Glutenin Subunits (HMW-GS) and Low Molecular Weight Glutenin Subunits (LMW-GS) alleles that confer high quality may be one of the easy ways to determine promising wheat lines in early generations. HMW-GS and LMW-GS alleles of 64 bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ) genotypes from a Turkish breeding program including advanced lines and cultivars were identified using Sodium-Dodecyl-Sulfate PolyAcrylamide Gel (SDS-PAGE) electrophoresis method. In total, 26 alleles were identified including three alleles at the Glu-A1 locus, 6 alleles at the Glu-B1 locus, 2 alleles at the Glu-D locus, 6 alleles at the Glu-A3 locus, 7 at the Glu-B3 locus, and 2 alleles at the Glu-D3 locus. The most prevalent alleles among the 64 genotypes in the study were 2* (67. 2%), 7+9 (42. 2%), 5+10 (68. 8%), A3c (28. 1%), B3b (35. 9%), and D3c (92. 2%). The previously announced good flour quality conferring alleles 1, 17+18, 5+10 at Glu-1 loci and A3b, A3c, B3b, B3c, B3d, B3g at Glu-3 loci were also identified in the present study, indicating that these alleles can be used as markers for selection of higherquality genotypes in wheat breeding programs. Introduction of the allele structure of the studied genotypes may enlighten the way for the wheat breeders in the crossing decisions.

Clovers (Trifolium spp. ) are one of the main forage crops in temperate regions. This research was conducted to identify water-stressed tolerance among Iranian wild annual clovers under different climatic regions. Seventeen accessions, belonging to seven species, were planted in a field in two consecutive years, at two locations (Mashhad and Urmia) in Iran, under normal and water-stressed conditions. Combined analysis of variance, Scheffe analysis, and Duncan’ s new multiple range test showed significant differences in forage production among clover accessions as well as species. In addition, drought-tolerance/susceptibility indices were calculated for each accession and species. Then, these indices were applied in factor analysis. Extracted Bi-plot based on factor analysis confirmed the results of Duncan and Scheffe analyses. In water-stressed conditions, T. resupinatum (cultivated accession) produced the highest forage in Urmia with 349 mm annual rainfall, whereas in Mashhad, with 149. 8 mm annual precipitation, T. purpureum and T. echinatum (both, wild species) had the highest production. The accessions as well as species were ranked based on their forage production for each location and experiment. Ultimately, this work proposed some new Trifolium species, such as T. echinatum, T. diffusum, and T. purpureum, for forage production in agronomic systems.

The taxonomic classification of subfamily Ornithogaloideae has been a subject of considerable controversy in recent decades. Ornithogalum is a relatively large genus in Ornithogaloideae including valuable ornamental and medicinal plants. These wild ornamentals, which are introduced into agriculture recently, are becoming increasingly popular as cut flowers, pot plants, and for gardening. This is the first molecular phylogenetic study that includes 10 of the 13 Ornithogalum species native to Iran. The aims of the present study were to use ITS and trnL-F sequences to explore phylogenetic relationships and to evaluate genetic resources of Ornithogaloideae naturally occurring in Iran, with an increased sampling of species to be compared to previous phylogenetic studies. In the present study, the combined tree resulted in the best-resolved phylogenetic relationships at the generic level. The results of Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian analysis of molecular data were compared to those from hierarchical cluster analysis of morphological characters. Based on the results, all specimens collected in Iran across all previously recognized taxonomic genera in Ornithogaloideae were placed in Ornithogalum sensu stricto and Loncomelos, which is in line with the morphological analysis. Divergent placements of multiple specimens of a single species in L. brachystachys, O. orthophyllum, and O. sintenisii are attributed to the possibility of past hybridization events, although incomplete lineage sorting and ITS paralogy cannot be overlooked. Increased understanding of naturally occurring variation among wild Ornithogalum populations of Iran and the phylogenetic relationships of wild and cultivated species of Ornithogaloideae could contribute to important opportunities to introduce new ornamentals and improve the agricultural performance of ornamental varieties.

In the current study, the phenotypic and molecular properties of twenty-five strains obtained from cankerous tissues or leaf necrotic lesions of different stone fruits were evaluated in north-east of Iran. All strains studied were identified as Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni (Xap) based on phenotypic assays and confirmed by means of specific PCR at species and pathovar levels. All obtained strains were pathogenic under artificial inoculation and exhibited brittle necrotic spots on plum leaves of cultivar Santa Rosa under lab conditions. Then, the pathogenic Xap strains were subjected to molecular assays. In a phylogenetic tree constructed with gyrB sequences, no polymorphism was observed in this gene and Iranian Xap strains were clustered with the reference one in a separate group. The ERIC, BOX and REP primer sets generated reproducible genomic PCR profiles in tested strains and, based on combined data for all primers, a low genetic diversity among Xap strains was revealed. In order to achieve results that are more accurate, application of Xap strains from all geographical regions of Iran will be needed to prove little polymorphism observed in Xap population. The current contribution is the first report of molecular homogeneity of Xap strains that were collected from northeastern Iran.

The insecticidal and antifungal activities of Curcuma longa L. rhizome extracts and two isolated compounds, namely, ar-turmerone and curcumin, were evaluated. Rhizomes of C. longa were extracted with n-hexane, methylene chloride, methanol and water, successively. Hexane, methylene chloride, and methanol extracts exhibited remarkable insecticidal activity against the larvae of Culex pipiens. The LC50 values were 5. 28, 5. 82, and 6. 44 mg L-1, respectively, after 48 h. In contrary, the extracts exhibited weak toxic effect on the third instar larvae of Spodoptera littoralis. The LC50 values of water, methylene chloride, and hexane extracts were 495. 9, 565. 7 and 709. 7 mg L-1, respectively after 48 hours. On the other hand, the extracts showed variable antifungal activity against plant pathogenic fungi, Fusarium oxysporum, Pythium debaryanum, Phytophthora infestans, Fusarium solani and Alternaria alternata. Methanol extract had the highest antifungal activity among the tested extracts with EC50 values of 159. 8, 242. 7, and 322. 2 mg L-1 on P. infestans, F. solani and A. alternata, respectively. Two compounds, namely, ar-turmerone and curcumin were isolated from methylene chloride/methanol (1: 1) extract of C. longa rhizomes and their chemical structures were identified by using spectroscopic analysis. Ar-Turmerone had moderate toxicity against C. pipiens larvae. The LC50 values were 158. 5 and 117. 6 mg L-1 after 24 and 48 hours, respectively. In addition, arturmerone showed moderate antifungal activity against P. infestans (EC50= 588. 9 mg L-1) and weak activity against F. solani (EC50= 820. 6 mg L-1). Curcumin caused 51. 1 and 54. 32% growth inhibition of F. oxysporum and P. infestans at 250 mg L-1, respectively.