Recently, the application of SA has increased to improve plants’ resistance to stresses such as drought. Hence to investigate SA effects on morphophysiological characteristics of Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill. ) under drought stress, a split plot experiment based on latin square design with three replications was carried out at the research farm of Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman in 2012. Three levels of drought stress (50, 75 and 100% of field capacity) and three concentrations of SA (0, 0. 5 and 1mM) were considered as main and sub-plot treatments, respectively. Foliar application of SA was performed at 3-to 4-leaf growth stage and before application of drought stress. Results showed that the drought stress reduced the number of fertile umbel/plant, the number of fertile umbellate/umbel, the number of grains/umbellate, relative water content, chlorophyll, carotenoids and grain yield, while increased electrolyte leakage when compared with control. Salicylic acid reduced electrolyte leakage, while increased the number of fertile umbel/plant, the number of fertile umbellate/umbel, the number of grains/umbellate, RWC, chlorophyll, carotenoids and grain yield when compared to control (No SA application). Interaction of drought stress × SA on the number of fertile umbel/plant, the number of fertile umbellate/umbel, RWC, carotenoids and grain yield was significant. Increasing photosynthetic pigments, RWC and decreasing electrolyte leakage indicates a reduction in oxidative damage and implies SA role in tolerance of fennel to drought stress.

Background: Infection due to Acinetobacter baumannii has become a significant challenge to modern healthcare systems. The rapid emergence and global dissemination of A. baumannii as a major nosocomial pathogen is remarkable and it demonstrates its successful adaptation to the 21st century hospital environment. Recent studies have discussed about essential oil of Origanum vulgare against a range of bacteria, including various species of Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, Bacillus and Escherichia coli.Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effects O. vulgare essence against multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains of A. baumannii from selected hospitals in Tehran, Iran.Materials and Methods: This oil was obtained using the hydrodistillation method and analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrography (GC/MS). The antimicrobial activity against MDR isolates was achieved using disc diffusion method and macro-broth dilution assay.Results: Analysis of the essential oil revealed the presence of pulegone (68.59%) piperitone (7.8%), piperitenone (7.8%), 1, 8-cineole (1.3%), and carvacrol (1.6%) as the major components. The results showed a significant activity against MDR A. baumannii with inhibition zones and minimal inhibitory concentration values in the ranges of 7-15 mm and 20-35 mL/mL respectively.Conclusions: This investigation showed that the essence oil of O. vulgare had a potent antimicrobial activity against MDR A. baumannii. Further research is required to evaluate the practical values of therapeutic applications.

To determine yield stability and to evaluate genotype interaction with environment interaction, 18 genotype of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and a control group were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with 4 replications in 3 successive years (1997-2000) at 10 research stations. Simple and combined analysis of variance revealed significant genetic differences between yield genotypes for grain yield. The results of combined analysis of variance indicated that genotypic and genotype were significant through interaction with environment. Therefore, different stability parameters including, environmental variance (S2 i), environmental coefficient of variation (C. Vi), mean of variance of interaction (θi ), interaction variance (θi), equivalence (W2i), stability variance «(σ2i ), linear regression coefficient (bi, βi), mean of squares of deviation from regression (S2 di) and years within location MS for a genotype, averaging over all locations (MSy/l)were determined. Based on all the stability parameters, genotype 18 was known-as the most stable one and genotypes 17 and 11 ranked lower. Genotype 5 with the highest yield -was known to be the most adaptable one at fertile environments and is recommended for these locations. In addition, genotype 9 with good yield and low yield variance (1.58) and regression coefficient of less than 1 is suggested for unfertile locations.

Barley is one the most widely cultivated crop in marginal environments which is often exposed to abiotic stresses. It seems that genetic diversity in adaptive characters is the key factor for adaptation to diverse environments. In this research diversity of 500 landraces of Hordeum vulgare, in barley germplasm collection of National Plant Gene Bank of Iran (NPGBI) collected from various climatic zones were evaluated for morphological and phenological traits. The experiment was held in the research field of Seed and Plant Improvement Institute, Karaj, Iran. Traits were measured based on guidelines of Bioversity International. One-way analysis of variance indicated that, traits were significantly different between winter, facultative and spring growth types. Based on mean comparison, winter type landraces had longer growth phase (higher values in days to spike emergence and flowering). Winter and facultative landraces had more values in plant height (88. 92 and 86. 76 cm respectively) and Grain yield was higher in winter barley landraces. The results of multivariate analysis indicated that two-row landraces had higher kernel weight and spike length than six-row landraces, which seems to be a moderator of adverse environmental factors on yield production. The grain yield in two-row and six-row barley was not significantly different. The results in this study indicated that two-row barley landraces were generally spring type and six-row landraces had a winter type. Xerothermic coefficient of two-row barley landraces was significantly lower than six-row types, therefore it can be assumed that six-row landraces were mostly from hot and dry areas.

In this study, two experiments were conducted to compare the performance of eight different genotypes, their correlations, path analysis, and select the best genotype/genotypes of barley in two environments including normal and saline environments in South Khorasan province of Iran in 2015-2016. Results of combined analysis of variance for combined data of both studied environments showed significant effects for the genotype treatment on most of the studied traits. Means comparison data indicated that the highest and the lowest means of majority of investigated characteristics of barley genotypes were related to Salt4 and MBS-90-10 genotypes, respectively. Number of days to maturity and plant height had the highest simple correlation with grain yield in investigated genotypes of barley but these correlations were not significant. In forward regression analysis for grain yield as independent variable, five traits including one-thousand grain weight, number of days to maturity, mean grain weight, canopy temperature, and plant height entered to regression model in five steps with R-square=0. 99. The path coefficient analysis based on grain yield, as a dependent variable implicated that number of days to maturity had the highest positive direct effect on grain yield of investigated genotypes of barley. The highest positive indirect effect on the grain yield was related to the mean grain weight trough the number of days to maturity, therefore, these two traits were the most important phenological and morphological characteristics that affect grain yield of barley under two studied environments and can used as selection criteria in investigated genotypes of barley.

Background and Aim: Medicinal plant extracts are still commonly used in folk medicine in developing countries. The seed of African yam bean (Sphenostylis stenocarpa) is a very expensive food legume in Nigeria. Previous studies on S. stenocarpa plant have proven it to be of an outstanding medical significance. Hence, this study investigated the reproductive-enhancing potentials of methanol extracts of Sphenostylis stenocarpa seeds in male Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: A total of 144 adult rats were used for the experiment. They were divided into 4 groups (A – D) and replicated trice. Group A served as the normal control, while groups B, C and D received three graded doses (800, 1200 and 1600 mg/kg) of the extracts respectively by oral intubation. The rats' gonad characteristics, sperm parameters and hormonal analyses were determined weekly using standard procedures starting from week 0 (day 1) to week 12. The data were analyzed statistically using ANOVA. Results: The mean weekly gonad characteristics of the male rats in the treatment groups showed overall dose and duration-dependent significant differences compared with the control. The body weights of the male rats significantly reduced (p<0. 05), whereas the testes weights, gonad somatic index, sperm count and sperm motility of the rats significantly increased (p<0. 05). Testosterone responded to the plant extracts. The testosterone levels of all the treated rats significantly increased. Conclusion: The methanol seed extracts of S. stenocarpa demonstrated an overall potency to enhance the reproduction in the Wistar rats