Agriculture and horticulture
Mohammad Hadi Shojaei Baghini; Mahdi Naghizadeh
Abstract
Background and objectives: Cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) is one of the oldest aromatic plants in the world, known medicinally as the second domesticated medicinal plant in Iran. Drought stress, as oxidative stress, affects plant biochemical, physiological, and morphological responses. One of the ways to ...
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Background and objectives: Cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) is one of the oldest aromatic plants in the world, known medicinally as the second domesticated medicinal plant in Iran. Drought stress, as oxidative stress, affects plant biochemical, physiological, and morphological responses. One of the ways to increase plants' resistance to environmental stress is to use plant growth regulators such as brassinosteroids and melatonin. These hormones increase plant performance in both stress and non-stress conditions. Plant growth regulators, by affecting plant metabolites, stimulating phytohormone biosynthesis, enhancing nutrient absorption, improving defense mechanisms, stimulating root growth, and improving gas exchange, contribute to plants' quantitative and qualitative performance in stress and non-stress conditions. Although some research shows that the use of plant growth regulators such as brassinosteroid and melatonin, which are of natural origin and compatible with the environment, has a significant effect on reducing adverse effects caused by environmental stresses; however, the combined use of these plant hormones is less reported. Therefore, in this research, the influence of the foliar application of brassinosteroid and melatonin on some physiological traits, including amount of malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide, electrolyte leakage, activity of antioxidant enzymes, accumulation of carbohydrates and proline, malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide as well as quantitative and qualitative yield of cumin was examined under water deficit conditions.Methodology: This research was conducted in the research greenhouse of the Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University, Kerman, Iran. A factorial experiment in a randomized complete block design with six replications was carried out in 2022. The experimental treatments included different levels of drought stress (100 % and 50 % field capacity; F.C.), melatonin (0 and 100 μM), and brassinosteroid (0 and 0.75 μM).Results: The results showed that water deficit increased the amount of malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide, electrolyte leakage, activity of antioxidant enzymes (peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD)), as well as raised the accumulation of carbohydrates and proline in cumin plants. Indeed, brassinosteroids and melatonin significantly increased antioxidant enzyme activities and the concentrations of osmolytes. It also decreased the levels of malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide as well and electrolyte leakage in drought-stressed plants. Drought stress resulted in reduced cumin grain yield. In contrast, under these conditions, the percentage of cumin seed essential oil was increased. Foliar application of brassinosteroid and melatonin in stress and non-stress conditions improved cumin yield.Conclusion: Overall, it was concluded that the use of brassinosteroid and melatonin increased the resistance of cumin plants against drought stress by increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes, increasing the accumulation of compatible osmolytes such as proline and carbohydrate, and maintaining the stability of the membrane and ultimately enhancing the yield of cumin seeds. The application of melatonin and brassinosteroid also affected the quality of the product and increased the percentage of cumin essential oil; however, the positive effects of brassinosteroid and melatonin were greater than those of brassinosteroid or melatonin applied separately.
Improvement and breeding
M. Salehi Vozhdehnazari; Z. Shirazi; S. Samavat
Abstract
Due to the similarity in appearance and properties of some medicinal plants, it is necessary to identify them more precisely by various methods. Accordingly, in the present study, Satureja rechingeri Jamzad and S. khuzistanica Jamzad were investigated and compared based on morphological, phytochemical, ...
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Due to the similarity in appearance and properties of some medicinal plants, it is necessary to identify them more precisely by various methods. Accordingly, in the present study, Satureja rechingeri Jamzad and S. khuzistanica Jamzad were investigated and compared based on morphological, phytochemical, and molecular characteristics. S. rechingeri and S. khuzistanica seeds were collected from Ilam and Lorestan provinces, respectively, and after scientific identification, they were planted in the research greenhouse of the Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands. The seedlings were then transferred to the experimental farm of the mentioned institute based on a t-test (n=3). Several important morphological traits including inflorescence length, inflorescence stem internode length, length and calyx diameter, calyx three-large and two-short teeth length, length and corolla diameter, stamen length, stigma length, length and vegetative organ leaf width, length and leaflet width, stem diameter, plant height, number of main and sub-branches, largest and smallest canopy diameter, and length and reproductive organ leaf width were measured at full flowering stage in the third year of planting. The essential oils (EOs) were extracted from the plants floral branches in the third year of planting through water distillation. The EOs yield was calculated and their compounds were identified using ultra-fast gas chromatography (GC-FID). DNA barcoding and ITS marker were used for molecular studies on these two savory species. The results showed that these two species did not differ significantly (P<0.01) for all the morphological traits examined. 13 common compounds were identified in these two species EO. S. rechingeri and S. khuzistanica EOs contained 88.6% and 89.5% carvacrol, respectively. The EO yeild was obtained 3.3% for S. rechingeri and 3.04% for S. khuzistanica. These two species showed 100% nucleotide similarity with each other and were closely related to S. bachtiarica (98%). On this basis, it is probable that these two species are not only independent species, but can also be different accessions of the same species.
Phytochemistry (extraction, identification and measurement of active components)
R. Mohtashami
Abstract
Water stress is one of the most important abiotic stresses limiting growth and plant yield under dryland conditions, which affects the morphological and physiological characteristics of plants. To evaluate morphological characteristics, yield, mucilage, and seed oil of Lallemantia iberica (M.B.) Fisch. ...
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Water stress is one of the most important abiotic stresses limiting growth and plant yield under dryland conditions, which affects the morphological and physiological characteristics of plants. To evaluate morphological characteristics, yield, mucilage, and seed oil of Lallemantia iberica (M.B.) Fisch. & C.A. Mey. ecotypes [Kerman (Kerman province), Naein (Isfahan province), Sanandaj (Kurdistan province), Mashhad (Razavi-Khorasan province), and Malekan (East-Azerbaijan province)] under dryland conditions, an experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design with three replications in the medicinal plants research farm of Yasouj Agricultural Research Center and Natural Resources in the 2016-2017 crop year. The results showed that ecotype significantly affected morphological traits, seed yield, mucilage yield, and oil yield. The highest seed yield was obtained from Kurdistan (529 kg ha-1) and Mashhad (515 kg ha-1) ecotypes. The highest and lowest oil yield was related to Kurdistan (211 kg ha-1) and Kerman (189 kg ha-1) ecotypes, respectively. Mashhad (22.7 kg ha-1) and Malekan (18.2 kg ha-1) ecotypes had the highest and lowest seed mucilage yield, respectively. Although there was no significant difference between the oil and seed mucilage percentage of the ecotypes, the highest (41.3%) and lowest (39.9%) oil content was found in Kerman and Kurdistan ecotypes and the highest (4.4%) and lowest (3.7%) mucilage percentage belonged to Mashhad and Kurdistan ones, respectively. Overall, the results showed that Kurdistan and Mashhad ecotypes are suitable for cultivation under dryland conditions of Yasouj due to higher yield of seeds, mucilage, and seed oil.
Identification, introduction, ecology and ethnobotany
R. Saadati; A. Sattarian; A. Daneshvar; E. Amini
Abstract
Ethnobotany uses the general knowledge of people about the use of plants for different purposes, including home treatment of diseases by plants in different cultures and ethnicities. Golestan is considered as one of the important provinces of Iran for extracting botanical knowledge of natives. The Turkmen ...
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Ethnobotany uses the general knowledge of people about the use of plants for different purposes, including home treatment of diseases by plants in different cultures and ethnicities. Golestan is considered as one of the important provinces of Iran for extracting botanical knowledge of natives. The Turkmen is one of the ethnicities of this province that has been able to make good use of nature capacity. The present study was conducted to collect and classify the medicinal plants used by the natives of the Turkmen villages in Eastern Golestan province in 2018. For this purpose, we visited 30 villages and interviewed 90 natives who used medicinal plants to treat people diseases. The results showed that about 54 plant species have a special place in the ethnobotanical knowledge of the region natives studied among which Silybum marianum L. with 78, Urtica dioical L. with 65, and Calendula persica C.A.Mey. with 62 had the highest use report (UR), respectively. S. marianum with 0.86, U. dioical with 0.72, and C. persica with 0.68 showed the highest relative frequency of citation (RFC). The highest number of species belonged to Asteraceae and Lamiaceae families, respectively. The most consumption of medicinal plants was attributed to the gastrointestinal and cardiovascular diseases. The neurological, respiratory, and blood sugar diseases showed the highest amount of informant consensus index frequency (ICF).
Improvement and breeding
M. Naghizadeh; R. Kabiri; K. Maghsoudi
Abstract
Ascorbic acid and melatonin as the biostimulants affect the biosynthesis of phytohormones, facilitate and increase the nutrients uptake, enhance the defense mechanisms, stimulate the root growth, and finally, increase the quality and quantity of the product by affecting the plant metabolites. This study ...
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Ascorbic acid and melatonin as the biostimulants affect the biosynthesis of phytohormones, facilitate and increase the nutrients uptake, enhance the defense mechanisms, stimulate the root growth, and finally, increase the quality and quantity of the product by affecting the plant metabolites. This study was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications to investigate the effects of foliar application of melatonin and ascorbic acid on the grain yield and mucilage content of Plantago ovata Forssk. in the research greenhouse of Bardsir Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman in 2020. The experimental treatments included the foliar application of distilled water (control), melatonin 100 μM, ascorbic acid 100 μM, and melatonin 100 μM + ascorbic acid 100 μM. The foliar application treatments continued from the time of complete establishment of seedlings (3-4 leaves) to the physiological maturity stage of seeds (four times every two weeks). The results showed that the foliar application of melatonin and ascorbic acid (single and combined application) enhanced the number of tillers per plant, number of spikes per plant, spike length, number of seeds per spike, and 1000-seed weight significantly. The highest grain yield was obtained from the foliar application of melatonin (59.98 g.m-2) and melatonin + ascorbic acid (61.85 g.m-2) without statistically significant differences with each other. The ascorbic acid foliar application also significantly increased the grain yield by 6.61% compared to the control. The foliar application of ascorbic acid, melatonin, and melatonin + ascorbic acid increased the mucilage content by 12.29, 19.89, and 23.80%, respectively compared to the control. The application of melatonin alone or in combination with the ascorbic acid, without statistically significant differences with each other, had the greatest positive effect on increasing the mucilage percentage. The mucilage yield was obtained 10.03, 13.47, 14.94, and 15.64 g.m-2 in the control, ascorbic acid, melatonin, and melatonin + ascorbic acid treatments, respectively. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the foliar application of melatonin and ascorbic acid could improve the quantitative and qualitative yield of P. ovata, and among the treatments their combined application was more effective.
Agriculture and horticulture
S.M. Hasani; D. azadfar; M.H. Arzanesh; Z. Saeedi; S.H. Matinkhah
Abstract
The ecological, economic, and social benefits of agroforestry operations over the integrated agriculture are well-recognized, but failure to use the fertilizers and low profitability of the agroforestry systems may be a reason for the low acceptance of these systems by farmers. In this study, a factorial ...
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The ecological, economic, and social benefits of agroforestry operations over the integrated agriculture are well-recognized, but failure to use the fertilizers and low profitability of the agroforestry systems may be a reason for the low acceptance of these systems by farmers. In this study, a factorial split-split plot experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications to investigate the effects of bio-, organic, and chemical fertilizers on the improvement of yield, qualitative traits, and the greater profitability of this system. The medicinal species at two levels, fertilizer at five levels, and tree species at two levels were considered as the main-, sub-, and sub-sub plots, respectively. The tree species including cherry (Prunus avium L.) and walnut (Juglans regia L.) were selected for the agroforestry system and the medicinal species including coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) and flixweed (Descurainia sophia (L.) Schur) were cultivated understorey of this system. Four fertilizer treatments including the organic manure (3 kg.m-2)+humic acid organic fertilizer (AgriPlus) (0.5 kg.100 l-1 of water.100 m-2), Mycomix endomycorrhizal biofertilizer (100 g.m-2), Bioazospir bacterial fertilizer (200 g.100 kg of seed), and chemical fertilizer based on the soil analysis (75 kg of urea, 150 kg of triple superphosphate, and 150 kg of potassium sulfate at the beginning of sowing+100 kg of potassium sulfate 30 days after sowing and another 100 kg two months after sowing per hectare) were examined with the control (without fertilizer). The results showed that the plant height and 1000-seed weight at the 5% probability level and the plant fresh and dry weight, number of seeds per spike, seed yield per plant and hectare, and percentage of protein, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium per seeds at the 1% probability level were significantly affected by the fertilizer treatments in flixweed. In coriander, the plant height, leaves and stems fresh yield, number of seeds per umbel and plant, biological and economic yield, and percentage and essential oil yield were significantly affected by the fertilizer treatments at the 1% probability level, too. In flixweed, the organic fertilizer, bioazospir, mycorrhiza, and chemical fertilizer caused the highest amount of studied traits, respectively and the control treatment caused the lowest one. In coriander, the mycorrhizal fertilizer, organic fertilizer, bioazospir, and chemical fertilizer resulted in the highest amount of studied traits, respectively and the control treatment caused the lowest one. Also, both medicinal plants showed much better performance in the combined cultivation with the cherry tree. Among the various combinations in the cultivation, the combined cultivation of coriander with cherry tree was selected as the best one.
Improvement and breeding
S.G. Sajjadi; A. Tavassoli; M. Dadmehr
Abstract
To investigate the effects of hydrogel on growth, yield, and some secondary metabolites of roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) under drought stress conditions, an experiment was conducted in a farm located in the south of Dalgan city, Sistan and Baluchestan province in the 2017-2018 crop year. This research ...
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To investigate the effects of hydrogel on growth, yield, and some secondary metabolites of roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) under drought stress conditions, an experiment was conducted in a farm located in the south of Dalgan city, Sistan and Baluchestan province in the 2017-2018 crop year. This research was carried out as a split plot experiment in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The experimental treatments included drought stress as main plot at four levels (irrigation at FC (field capacity), 85% of FC, 70% of FC, and 55% of FC), and hydrogel consumption as sub plot at three levels (A200 hydrogel consumption, silicate hydrogel consumption, and no hydrogel consumption). The quantitative traits including plant height, number of sub-branches per plant, number of flower per plant, plant fresh and dry weight, sepal fresh and dry yield, and harvest index and qualitative traits including content of anthocyanin and sepal phenolic compounds were measured. The results showed that the highest amount of quantitative traits was obtained from full irrigation treatment with the consumption of A200 hydrogel. But there was no significant difference between this treatment and the treatments of full irrigation with silicate hydrogel consumption and full irrigation without hydrogel. Also, no significant difference was observed between the above three treatments and the treatments of both types of hydrogels application in 85% and 70% of FC. The qualitative traits increased with increasing the stress intensity. The hydrogel consumption in comparison with not consuming it led to a decrease in the amount of anthocyanin and sepal phenolic compounds due to the modification of stress conditions by hydrogel.
Agriculture and horticulture
A. Pirvash; M.A. Sheikh-Mohseni; F. Nejadhabibvash
Abstract
The nutrients are considered as the most important factor affecting morphological traits and secondary compounds in the medicinal plants. The method of plant nutrition is very important in the effective absorption of these elements. To evaluate the effects of different nitrogen sources including urea, ...
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The nutrients are considered as the most important factor affecting morphological traits and secondary compounds in the medicinal plants. The method of plant nutrition is very important in the effective absorption of these elements. To evaluate the effects of different nitrogen sources including urea, nitrogen-nanofertilizer, and amino acids on the morphological characteristics and concentration of polyphenolic compounds of Echinacea purpurea L., a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with 27 treatments and four replications. The experimental treatments included the urea fertilizer at three levels of 0, 100, and 200 kg ha-1, foliar application with nitrogen-nanofertilizer at three levels of 0, 1, and 3 g l-1, and foliar application with commercial amino acid Fermolife at three levels of 0, 1, and 3 g l-1. The traits were measured at the full flowering stage of plants. The results showed that the highest amount of fresh and dry weight of leaves and fresh weight of roots was obtained in the 3 g l-1 nitrogen-nanofertilizer treatment and the highest amount of aerial parts dry weight was measured in the combined treatment of 1 g l-1 nitrogen-nanofertilizer and 3 g l-1 amino acids. Most of the plant traits were increased by the foliar application of nitrogen-nanofertilizer and amino acids compared to the urea fertilizer use. The effect of different nitrogen fertilizers on the concentration of polyphenolic compounds in the plant was also significant. The highest amount of total phenol was obtained in the simultaneous application of 200 kg ha-1urea, 3 g l-1 nitrogen-nanofertilizer, and 1 g l-1 amino acids treatment. Overall, the results showed that feeding E. purpurea with the nitrogen fertilizers could improve the morphological traits and total phenol concentration in the plant.
Agriculture and horticulture
H. Hammami; N. Imani
Abstract
Water deficit is one of the most important challenges for the agriculture, especially in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world.Due to the high potential of some medicinal plants for cultivation under environmental stresses, cultivation of these plants in the low-yield fields can be considered. ...
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Water deficit is one of the most important challenges for the agriculture, especially in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world.Due to the high potential of some medicinal plants for cultivation under environmental stresses, cultivation of these plants in the low-yield fields can be considered. Therefore, to reduce the negative effects of water deficit on the growth of Hibiscus sabdariffa L., a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications in the research greenhouse of agriculture faculty, Birjand University in 2017. The experimental treatments included the amount of irrigation water at four levels (100, 80, 60, and 40% of the field capacity) and irrigation treatment with magnetic water at three levels (non-magnetic water (control), magnetized water with one, and two times passing through the magnetic field). The results showed that the effects of irrigation water amount treatments on the all measured traits and magnetic irrigation treatments on the all traits except leaf number were significant. Also, the interaction effects of irrigation water amount × magnetic irrigation treatments were significant on the plant height, number of bolls per plant, fresh and dry weight of aerial parts, dry weight of roots, and dry weight of sepals. Reducing the amount of irrigation water from 100 to 40% of field capacity caused a decrease in the spade number, stem diameter, number of leaves, and fresh root weight by 34.7%, 23%, 40.6%, and 27.6%, respectively. The mean comparison of interaction effects of irrigation water amount × magnetic irrigation treatments showed that irrigation with double-magnetized water improved all the traits compared to the irrigation with non-magnetic water. Therefore, it seems that the application of magnetic irrigation can be considered as one of the strategies to reduce the negative effects of water deficit.
Agriculture and horticulture
F. Darabi; N. Abbasi; M.J. Zarea
Abstract
To investigate the role of putrescine and 24-epibrassinolide on the morphophysiological changes of Ocimum basilicum L. in the water deficiency tolerance, an experiment was conducted as a factorial split plot in a randomized complete block design with three replications in the research farm of Agriculture ...
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To investigate the role of putrescine and 24-epibrassinolide on the morphophysiological changes of Ocimum basilicum L. in the water deficiency tolerance, an experiment was conducted as a factorial split plot in a randomized complete block design with three replications in the research farm of Agriculture Faculty, Ilam University during 2017-19 crop years. The experimental treatments included the drought stress at three levels (40, 80, and 120 mm evaporation from Class A evaporation pan) in the main plots and putrescine foliar application at three levels (Put0: 0, Put1: 0.5, and Put2: 2 mM) and 24-epibrassinolide foliar application at three levels (Br0: 0, Br1: 0.5, and Br2: 2 μM) factorially in the subplots. The results showed that the multiple interaction of year, drought stress, putrescine, and 24-epibrassinolide had a significant effect on the traits including chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and basil essential oil percentage, so that the foliar application of 2 mM putrescine and 2 μM 24-epibrassinolide at all levels of drought stress, especially 80 mm evaporation from the evaporation pan, caused a further increase in these traits in both years of the experiment, which was higher in the first year than the second one. The optimal irrigation treatment (40 mm evaporation from evaporation pan) with application of 2 mM putrescine and 0.5 μM 24-epibrassinolide and drought stress treatments (80 and 120 mm evaporation from evaporation pan) with application of 2 mM putrescine and 2 μM 24-epibrassinolide had more leaves and secondary branches. The results of this study showed that the drought stress had an important role in reducing the basic factors in basil growth. In general, according to the results obtained, the foliar application of 2 mM putrescine with 2 μM 24-epibrassinolide to improve the physiological activities and increase the essential oil content, and 2 mM putrescine with 0.5 μM 24-epibrassinolide to increase the seed yield could be recommended in basil under drought stress conditions.
Agriculture and horticulture
H. Heydarnejadiyan; A. Maleki; F. Babaei
Abstract
To investigate the effects of different levels of drought stress, and foliar application of zinc nanofertilizer and salicylic acid on the yield and yield components of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.), a split-plot factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications ...
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To investigate the effects of different levels of drought stress, and foliar application of zinc nanofertilizer and salicylic acid on the yield and yield components of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.), a split-plot factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications in the village of Sultanabad, Razan city in Hamadan province in two years, 2018 and 2019. The main factor included the irrigation regime at three levels of irrigation after 50 (no stress), 75 (moderate stress), and 100 (severe stress) mm evaporation from Class A evaporation pan and the sub-factors consisted of foliar application of zinc nanofertilizer at two levels (without fertilizer and zinc nanofertilizer spray) and salicylic acid at four levels (0, 2, 4, and 6 mM). The drought stress decreased the number of umbels per plant, number of umbellules per umbel, number of seeds per umbellule, 1000-seed weight, and grain yield and increased the percentage of essential oil. The highest number of umbellules per umbel was obtained in the severe drought stress treatment with the application of zinc nanofertilizer and salicylic acid with a concentration of 4 mM. The application of zinc nanofertilizer under no stress, moderate, and severe drought conditions increased the grain yield by 14, 5.3, and 4.5%, and the essential oil content by 6, 2.9, and 9.9%, respectively. The concentration of 6 mM salicylic acid had the highest essential oil percentage (2.8%).
M. Ababaf; H. Omidi; A.M. Bakhshandeh
Abstract
This research was aimed to investigate the foliar application of Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) on growth parameters, yield, some morphophysiological traits, and alkaloids of rosea periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus L. (G. Don) under drought stress conditions. The field study was conducted based on split-plot ...
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This research was aimed to investigate the foliar application of Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) on growth parameters, yield, some morphophysiological traits, and alkaloids of rosea periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus L. (G. Don) under drought stress conditions. The field study was conducted based on split-plot factorial in the randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications at the research farms of Shahid Chamran University in Ahwaz city in 2016-17. The experimental treatments included drought stress as the main factor at three levels of 40% (control), 60% and 80% of maximum allowable depletion (MAD) and foliar application of jasmonic acid (JA) at two levels (0 and 10 µM) and salicylic acid (SA) at three levels (0, 0.1, 1, and 10 mM) as subplots. Based on the results of the mean comparison of main effects, drought stress (80% MAD) reduced 36.6% of fresh weight and 25.4% of the dry weight of the plant compared to the control. The treatment 10 mM SA resulted in 13.4, 125.5, and 59.6% increases in plant height, leaf area and flower dry weight, respectively, compared to the control. The foliar application of JA increased flower dry weight and plant fresh weight by 16.3 and 8.6%, respectively. The results showed that the foliar application of SA in concentrations of 1 and 10 mM caused the highest content of vincristine and vinblastine, respectively. The interaction of both PGRs and drought stress showed the highest alkaloids content. The highest vinblastine and vincristine under severe drought stress were obtained in foliar application of 1 mM SA+10µM JA and 10 mM SA+10µM JA, respectively.
S. Mohsenzadeh; M. Farrokhmanesh; R. Masoudi
Abstract
Medicinal plants have potentially cytotoxic effects due to their secondary metabolites, and it is important to know their cytotoxicity. Echium amoenum Fisch. et Mey., native to the northern part of Iran, is one of the important medicinal herbs in traditional Iranian medicine. It has large red flowers ...
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Medicinal plants have potentially cytotoxic effects due to their secondary metabolites, and it is important to know their cytotoxicity. Echium amoenum Fisch. et Mey., native to the northern part of Iran, is one of the important medicinal herbs in traditional Iranian medicine. It has large red flowers that turn dark purple after drying, and its decoction has medicinal uses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity of aqueous extract of E. amoenum petals on human cells. In this study, the cytotoxic effects of different concentrations of E. amoenum extract on human glioblastoma cells was studied by MTT assay in a completely randomized statistical design with three replications. The results showed that the aqueous extract of this plant with IC50=19.28 mg ml-1 had a cytotoxic effect on human glioblastoma cells. The morphology of the treated cells changed from polygonal to spherical. The results of the present study showed that although the aqueous extract of E. amoenum petals had beneficial effects, it should be used with caution according to the instructions, because as it has a cytotoxic effect on human glioblastoma cells, it may also have a cytotoxic effect on healthy cells.
F Kashkooli; A. Abdali Mshhadi; M.H. Gharineh; A. Lotfi Jalal Abadi; A. Zareei Siahbidi
Abstract
Medical pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L. var. Styriaca) contains valuable edible oils and compounds that are used to prevent and treat prostate cancer. To evaluate the effects of vermicompost (no application, 5, and 10 t ha-1) as the main factor, biological nitrogen (no application and application of Barvar ...
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Medical pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L. var. Styriaca) contains valuable edible oils and compounds that are used to prevent and treat prostate cancer. To evaluate the effects of vermicompost (no application, 5, and 10 t ha-1) as the main factor, biological nitrogen (no application and application of Barvar 1), and biological phosphorus (no application and application of Barvar 2) as sub-factors on the yield and yield components of medical pumpkin, an experiment was conducted as a split-factorial based on a randomized complete block design with three replications in Islam Abad-e-Gharb, Kermanshah province, in 2015. Studied traits included male to female flower ratio, number of fruits plant-1, number of seeds fruit-1, average dry fruit yield, stem length, number of days to flowering, seed yield, and seed oil yield and percentage. Vermicompost had a significant effect on the number of seeds fruit-1, dry fruit yield, and flowering date. The highest oil yield (30 kg ha-1) was obtained from the combination of bio-phosphorus application and non-application of vermicompost treatments, and the highest seed yield (195 kg ha-1) was obtained from the combination of bio-nitrogen, non-application of bio-phosphorus, and non-application of vermicompost treatments. A combination of non-application of bio-phosphorus and bio-nitrogen and application of 5 t ha-1 vermicompost treatments resulted in the least male to female flower ratio (39); however, the highest one (66) was obtained in the combination of non-application of bio-nitrogen, application of bio-phosphorus, and 10 t ha-1 vermicompost. In general, the highest seed and oil yield was obtained from a single application of bio-nitrogen and bio-phosphorus fertilizers, respectively.
F. Agah; M.A. Esmaeili; M. Farzam; R. Abbasi
Abstract
The consequence of climate change in the natural habitats of arid and semi-arid regions is the reduction of species diversity which highlights the necessity of domestication and cultivation of wild species in agricultural systems. The medicinal plant caper (Capparis spinosa L.) is one of the valuable ...
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The consequence of climate change in the natural habitats of arid and semi-arid regions is the reduction of species diversity which highlights the necessity of domestication and cultivation of wild species in agricultural systems. The medicinal plant caper (Capparis spinosa L.) is one of the valuable native plants in the natural arena that can be cultivated by recognizing patterns and stages of its growth in natural habitats and copying it .For this purpose, in order to study the ecological needs, phenological stages and growth habits of the valuable medicinal plant caper, the natural habitat of this plant in Mazdavand section of Sarakhs was selected and studies were conducted during 2016. The time interval for each phenological stage was calculated based on the number of days and growth degree day. Growth characteristics (canopy area, large and small canopy diameter and number of branches) were measured and the trend of changes was compared with sigmoid, quadratic, power and linear models. The results of ecological study showed that the habitat studied was affected by drought most of the year. Also, soil analysis showed that soil texture was silty loam, and soil acidity was in the alkaline range, and high amounts of EC at different soil depths also indicated high levels of salts in the soil. The habitat soil was poor in terms of macroelements (N, P and K) and organic carbon, and the amount of these elements were much lower than the optimum level in agricultural soils. Results showed that caper needs 211 days and 2745.3 degree days to complete its growth stages. Investigating the trend of growth changes in the habitat showed that the plant had a relatively high growth rate for canopy expansion in the first three months and after that growth rate decreased over time. Its growth pattern was best predicted by the sigmoid model. According to the results of the study on the growth habits of caper in the natural habitat and considering how it is spread on the land surface and its perennial life, it is recommended that the planting arrangement for caper in agricultural systems be designed so that the plants have enough space for canopy expansion.
M. Rajabi Hashjin; A. Asghari; M. Zeinalabedini; M.R. Ghaffari
Abstract
Fenugreek (Trigonella L.) is one of the most important and oldest known medicinal plants in the world, used in the treatment of many diseases due to its various secondary metabolites. The plant has more than 135 species growing throughout the world and in most climates. Trigonelline is the most important ...
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Fenugreek (Trigonella L.) is one of the most important and oldest known medicinal plants in the world, used in the treatment of many diseases due to its various secondary metabolites. The plant has more than 135 species growing throughout the world and in most climates. Trigonelline is the most important and most abundant alkaloid and one of the valuable metabolites found in fenugreek that is used to treat diabetes and reduce blood lipids. In this research, 22 genotypes from 10 species of fenugreek including: T. uncata, T. monantha, T. persica, T. anguina, T. stellate, T. spruneriana, T. astroites, T. monspeliaca, T. tehranica and T. foenum-graecum were collected from Khuzestan, Tehran, and Hormozgan provinces and their trigonelline levels were measured using HPLC technique. The results showed that T. foenum-graecum and T. tehranica had higher trigonelline content (1.34 and 0.9 mg/g seed, respectively) than other species. Also, there was a significant difference between genotypes for trigonelline content. The clustering based on Ward’s method separated genotypes into two groups. This study could be the basis for further work on the extraction of pharmaceutical compounds from other fenugreek species, especially native species of Iran such as T. tehranica.
E. Tashakorifard; Gh.R. Mohsenabadi; S.M.R. Ehteshami; S. Asadi-Sanam
Abstract
This study was carried out to investigate different soil fertility management on morphological traits, essential oil yield and quality of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill) forage. The experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design with three replications at the Research Institute of Forests ...
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This study was carried out to investigate different soil fertility management on morphological traits, essential oil yield and quality of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill) forage. The experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design with three replications at the Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands. The experimental treatments included five fertilizer levels (chemical, biological, vermicompost, 75% and 50% concentration of chemical fertilizers + bio-fertilizers + vermicompost). The results indicated the significant effects of different fertilizer treatments on the traits studied. Accordingly, the treatment of 75% chemical fertilizers with biofertilizers and vermicompost improved morphological characteristics, essential oil yield, and quantitative and qualitative yield of forage, recognized as superior treatment. The above mentioned treatment had the highest plant height (95 cm), shoot dry weight (98 g m-2), biological yield (1191.6 kg ha-1), seed yield (138 kg ha-1), and harvest index (11.6%). The highest and lowest percentage and essential oil yield were related to 75% chemical fertilizers+biofertilizers+vermicompost (about 3% and 18 kg ha-1) and 100% chemical fertilizers treatment (about 2% and 13 kg ha-1), respectively. The highest amount of important forage qualitative traits such as digestible dry matter (%), water soluble sugars (%) and ash content was obtained in 75% chemical fertilizers with biofertilizers and vermicompost treatment. While the above mentioned traits had the lowest amount in the application of 100% of chemical fertilizers, compared to other treatments. In addition, forage quality-reducing factors such as neutral and acidic insoluble fiber had the highest values in this treatment. It seems that in order to achieve sustainable agriculture and optimize the organic production of medicinal plants, the reduced concentrations of chemical fertilizers along with bio-resources can reduce environmental pollution in addition to economic production.
M. Dorafshan; M. Soltani Howyzeh; V. Shariati
Abstract
Nowadays, RNA sequencing is an effective and fast choice to study the transcripts of non-model plant species used to identify gene networks and patterns of gene expression producing secondary metabolites in different plant organs. Terpenoids, flavonoids, and alkaloids are the main compounds in fruits ...
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Nowadays, RNA sequencing is an effective and fast choice to study the transcripts of non-model plant species used to identify gene networks and patterns of gene expression producing secondary metabolites in different plant organs. Terpenoids, flavonoids, and alkaloids are the main compounds in fruits and leaves of Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad. In this study, the transcriptome of C. colocynthis fruit was performed using RNA-Seq technique, Iluumina HiSeq2500 platform. After quality control using FastQC and Trimmomatic software, 21,952,885 high-quality reads were produced and the de novo assembly with the Evidential-gene program resulted in the production of 55,311unigenes with an N50 equal to 927 base pairs. The sequence of assembled unigenes was loaded on the KAAS database. A total of 13,657 unigenes were annotated, matched into 134 biosynthetic pathways. The "terpenoid backbone" biosynthetic pathway with 93 unigenes was one of the most numerous identified pathways among 1,552 unigenes of secondary metabolites biosynthetic pathway. By examining the unigenes associated with the biosynthetic pathway of the terpenoid backbone, 29 gene identifiers (K number) of the pathway were detected, which contained all identified genes of the two main biosynthetic pathways, Mevalonic Acid (MVA) and Methylerythritol Phosphate (MEP) pathways, from the beginning of the path to the production of isoprenyl diphosphate (IPP). Identification of the genes in the biosynthetic pathway of the terpenoid backbone makes it possible to realize the commercial development of the medicinal plant products, providing the basis for further research on the identification of biosynthetic pathways of other specific metabolites, metabolite engineering, molecular breeding, and medical plants breeding.
S.J. Jazayeri; M. Mousavinick; A. Ghanbari; B. Bahreininejad
Abstract
In order to determine the effect of fertilizer and plant density on qualitative and quantitative characteristics of guar (Cyamopsis tetragonaloba L.), a medicinal-industrial plant, a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications in 2015 and 2016 crop ...
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In order to determine the effect of fertilizer and plant density on qualitative and quantitative characteristics of guar (Cyamopsis tetragonaloba L.), a medicinal-industrial plant, a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications in 2015 and 2016 crop years. Fertilizer was considered as the first factor at two levels of 60-70-70 and 90-100-100 kg ha-1 nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, respectively, and the second factor was planting density at three levels of 60, 75 and 90 plants per m2. The results showed that in the first year, the effect of fertilizer treatment levels was not significant on the traits studied except seed swelling trait. Planting density affected the number of pods significantly (1%), but had no significant effect on other traits. The interaction of fertilizer and plant density was significant on mucilage production. In the second year, the effect of fertilizer was significant only on biomass and mucilage production. Also, the effect of planting density was significant on biomass and the number of pods, and the interaction of fertilizer and planting density was significant only on the amount of mucilage. The mean comparison indicated the increase in biomass and seed yield in the second year in both factors. By reducing the plant density, the number of branches and pods per plant increased, which increased the yield. In the second year, the amount of crude protein and seed mucilage increased and decreased, respectively. In this study, the amount of seed swelling was not positively correlated with the mucilage amount. Regarding the results of the present study, as well as guar as a legume, and the possibility of supplying part of the plant nutritional needs by the plant itself, if the purpose is mucilage production, the 60-70-70 fertilizer treatment and 60 plants per m2 are recommended under similar conditions to this research.
Y. Shakoori; B. Kashefi
Abstract
Considering the importance of medicinal properties of tarragon, and its propagation problems, tissue culture techniques can be used for its propagation. The aim of this study was to compare different culture media and chemical plant growth regulators on the growth traits and secondary metabolites of ...
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Considering the importance of medicinal properties of tarragon, and its propagation problems, tissue culture techniques can be used for its propagation. The aim of this study was to compare different culture media and chemical plant growth regulators on the growth traits and secondary metabolites of tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus L.). Treatments were culture medium at three levels of Murashige and Skoog (MS), Gamborg (B5) and Schenk & Hildebrandt (SH), and growth regulators at five levels of Kinetin (KIN), NAA, and 2,4-D alone (each with a concentration of 0.5 mg l-1), and two combinations of NAA+KIN and 2,4-D+KIN. The present study was conducted as a factorial based on completely randomized design with four replications. The results showed that culture media and growth regulators treatments had significant effects on callus characteristics, regenerated plantlets, callus secondary metabolites, and plant essential oil and its composition. MS medium caused a higher callus induction percentage and more increase in its fresh and dry weight. MS with NAA+KIN and 2,4-D+KIN caused the highest regeneration percentage (35.5), root length (1.28 cm), root (6.5 g) and stem (2.6 g) dry weight, the amount of callus phenolics, and also the amount of essential oil (2.42%) and ocimene (5.78%). Estragol percentage of essential oil increased by 2,4-D, while NAA enhanced ocimene, limonene, and linalool. The percentage of limonene in treatment with NAA alone and linalool in treatment with 2,4-D+ KIN was higher than those of other treatments. The results showed that the highest growth index, callus secondary metabolites, and plant essential oil were observed in MS medium containing growth regulators. Also, the application of kinetin with NAA and 2, 4-D resulted in improved callus growth, regeneration, essential oil, and some of its compounds production in tarragon.
Z. Movahedi; A. Moieni
Abstract
In Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.), leaf and root are the most important medicinal organs containing valuable secondary metabolites. In this research, the effect of foliar application of iron chelate and nano chelate fertilizers on morpho-physiological characteristics of chicory was studied in the aeroponic ...
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In Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.), leaf and root are the most important medicinal organs containing valuable secondary metabolites. In this research, the effect of foliar application of iron chelate and nano chelate fertilizers on morpho-physiological characteristics of chicory was studied in the aeroponic system.This system is a very suitable method for investigating the effect of nutrients and improving growth and development in different plants under controlled conditions. Experimental treatments included water (control), iron chelate (0.5, 1 and 1.5 g l-1) and iron nano chelate (0.5, 1 and 1.5 g l-1) fertilizers foliar application. Foliar spray was carried out at three stages including 20, 40 and 60 days after seed culture in the aeroponic system on leaf and root ina completely randomized design with five replications. After six months, some morphological and physiological traits were evaluated. The results of ANOVA indicated that the effect of different treatments was significant on plant height, root length, number and area of leaves, fresh and dry weight of root and shoot, photosynthetic pigments and iron content of root and shoot. The results of mean comparison showed that using 1.5 g l-1 of iron nano chelate resulted in the highest plant height (173.5 cm), root length (139.7 cm), root (65.2 g) and shoot (86.1 g) dry weight, leaf area (3448.5 mm2), chlorophylls a (2.43 mg g-1) and b (1.27 mg g-1) and carotenoid (1.25 mg g-1). The control treatment produced the lowest plant height (121.5 cm), root length (92.3 cm), root (15.1 g) and shoot (50.1 g) dry weight, leaf area (2259.6 mm2), chlorophylls a (1.46 mg g-1) and b (0.85 mg g-1) and carotenoid (0.76 mg g-1). In general, the results of this experiment showed a positive effect of iron nano chelate (with a concentration of 1.5 g l-1) foliar spray on the traits studied.
M. Abdollahi Noroozi; M.R. Moradi Telavat; S.A. Siadat; A. Khodaei Joghan
Abstract
In order to evaluate the effect of zeolite and vermicompost on Marigold (Calendulaofficinalis L.), a field experiment was conducted in 2017 in the research field of Ramin University, Khuzestan, in split plot as a randomized complete block design with three replications. Vermicompost (0, 3, 6, 9 t ha-1) ...
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In order to evaluate the effect of zeolite and vermicompost on Marigold (Calendulaofficinalis L.), a field experiment was conducted in 2017 in the research field of Ramin University, Khuzestan, in split plot as a randomized complete block design with three replications. Vermicompost (0, 3, 6, 9 t ha-1) and zeolite (0, 4, 8 and 12 t ha-1) were investigated as the main factor and sub plot, respectively. Results of variance analysis showed that vermicompost and zeolite had a significant effect on flower yield, biological yield, harvest Index, chlorophylls and carotenoids of leaves, petal carotenoids, nitrogen removal, phosphorus removal, and index of the intensity of the color of the petals. Also, interaction effects of vermicompost and zeolite was significant on all top-mentioned characteristics. The highest flower yield (69.53 g m-2) was obtained at 3 t vermicompost per ha and 12 t zeolite per ha. Maximum biological yield (474.84 g m-2) was achieved at 9 t vermicompost per ha. The highest leaf and petal carotenoids were recorded at 9 t vermicompost per ha and maximum chlorophyll a and b belonged to 9 t vermicompost per ha and 4 t zeolite per ha. The highest soil nitrogen harvest was obtained at 8 t zeolite per ha. Maximum soil phosphorus harvest belonged to 9 t vermicompost per ha and 12 t zeolite per ha. In total, knowing that zeolite is more cost-effective rather than vermicompost, increasing the amount of zeolite consumption can enhance flower yield. In the current research, the best flower performance could be obtained at an optimum amount of 3 t vermicmpost per ha and 12 t zeolite per ha.
M. Borzuee; M. Dejam; M.B. Zahedi
Abstract
Lemonverbena(Lippia citriodora (Palau) Kunth) is a medicinal plant belonging to the Verbenaceae family. Propagation of lemon verbena is commonly performed using stem cutting. In order to study the effects of cutting time (autumn, winter and spring), cutting position (apical, medial and basal) and different ...
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Lemonverbena(Lippia citriodora (Palau) Kunth) is a medicinal plant belonging to the Verbenaceae family. Propagation of lemon verbena is commonly performed using stem cutting. In order to study the effects of cutting time (autumn, winter and spring), cutting position (apical, medial and basal) and different concentrations of indole butyric acid (ABA) (0, 2000 and 4000 ppm) on rooting of stem cuttings of lemon verbena, a factorial experiment based on a three-replicated completely randomized design was performed in a greenhouse in Kavar (Fars province) in 2016-2017. According to the results, the autumn taken cuttings showed better rooting compared with both winter and spring taken cuttings. Regardless of auxin application and cutting time, the highest rooting percentage, root number, root dry weight and shoot length were observed in the basal cuttings of larger diameters. The medial cuttings showed higher rooting percentage than apical ones. The rooting-related characteristics including rooting percentage, root number, and dry weight improved as the concentration of IBA increased up to 2000 ppm. While at the highest concentration of IBA (4000 ppm), most rooting-related characteristics showed no significant increase in comparison to 2000 ppm, the length of the newly emerged shoots on cuttings decreased.
N. Daneshvar Rad; N. Sajedi; M.R. Naieni
Abstract
Salicylic acid (SA) and selenium (Se) are compounds with antioxidant properties that cause improved plant growth under stress condition. In order to investigate the effects of salicylic acid and selenium application on some vegetative and reproductive traits, essential oil yield, and potassium to sodium ...
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Salicylic acid (SA) and selenium (Se) are compounds with antioxidant properties that cause improved plant growth under stress condition. In order to investigate the effects of salicylic acid and selenium application on some vegetative and reproductive traits, essential oil yield, and potassium to sodium ratio in roots and shoots of moldavian balm (Dracocephalum moldavica L.) under salinity stress conditions, an experiment was carried out as a factorial based on a completely randomized design with three replications in the green house of Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center of Qom, Iran, 2015. The experimental treatments comprised three Se levels including 0, 20 and 40 mg/L, two SA levels including 0 and 0.5 mM and two salinity levels including 0 and 100mM NaCl. Results showed that salinity stress decreased the number of active leaves per plant and plant height. Salinity stress increased the number of flower per plant and essential oil yield. Results showed that, under salinity stress conditions, the application of Se and SA both alone or combined decreased the negative effect of salinity stress on the number of active leaves per plant and plant height, while increased the essential oil yield. Moreover, the foliar application of Se combined with SA increased the potassium to sodium ratio of leaves under salinity stress. In general, it could be stated that the foliar application of Se combined with SA could be used to relieve the effect of salinity stress in Moldavian balm.
F. Mirzaei; M.A. Behdani; M. Jamialahmadi
Abstract
In order to determine the appropriate planting date and evaluate the effect of sulfur on yield and yield components of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.), a factorial experiment was conducted based on a randomized complete block design with three replications and two factors in Khalilabad, Khorasan Razavi, ...
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In order to determine the appropriate planting date and evaluate the effect of sulfur on yield and yield components of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.), a factorial experiment was conducted based on a randomized complete block design with three replications and two factors in Khalilabad, Khorasan Razavi, in 2016 cropping year. The experimental factors were three planting dates (20 and 30 April and 10 May) and application of granular sulfur at four levels (0, 150, 300, and 450 kg ha-1). The results showed that planting date significantly affected the main stem length, branch number, total biomass, number of seeds per fruit, seed weight per fruit, 1000-seed weight, fruit and seed yield per hectare and oil percentage. Delayed planting from 20 to 30 April decreased the weight of 1000-seed by 14%. The highest seed yield was achieved by applying 300 kg sulfur per hectare. The fruit yield and seed oil percentage were higher in the first planting date and application of 300 kg sulfur ha-1. In general, this study showed that the first planting date (20 April), with the application of at least 300 kg ha-1 of sulfur fertilizer, would provide the best conditions for pumpkin yield.
