Improvement and breeding
S. Jafari; S Mousavi-Fard; A. Rezaei Nejad; H. Mumivand; K. Sorkheh
Abstract
Milk thistle (Silybum marianum (L. Gaertn.)) is a plant with various medicinal uses which is adapted to different climates. To investigate the effects of different concentrations of chitosan (CS) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) on increasing yield and biochemical indices of milk thistle ecotypes, a farm ...
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Milk thistle (Silybum marianum (L. Gaertn.)) is a plant with various medicinal uses which is adapted to different climates. To investigate the effects of different concentrations of chitosan (CS) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) on increasing yield and biochemical indices of milk thistle ecotypes, a farm factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications during two crop years. Experimental treatments included milk thistle ecotype at five levels (Budakalazi, Sari, Khomein, Khorramabad, and Ahvaz) and type and elicitor concentration at nine levels (foliar application of distilled water (control), bulk CS (50 and 100 mg L-1), nano CS (50 and 100 mg L-1), bulk TiO2 (50 and 100 mg L-1), and nano TiO2 (50 and 100 mg L-1)). The results showed that foliar application of CS and TiO2 (bulk and nano) effectively increased yield and defense enzymes. In all these traits, foliar application of CS and TiO2 in nano form was more effective compared to the bulk form and control. Based on the mean comparisons results, the plant yield increased with foliar application of nano CS at the concentration of 50 mg L-1. Also, foliar application of nano CS at the concentration of 100 mg L-1 increased the activity of defense enzymes. In general, foliar application of nano CS increased the yield as well as improved the biochemical traits of milk thistle ecotypes, especially the Budakalazi one, which could be considered as a suitable way to increase the yield of this plant. Considering the higher yield of Budakalazi ecotype, it could be also recommended to be used in breeding programs.
Agriculture and horticulture
A. Abbasi Khammar; M. Moghaddam; A. Asgharzade; M. Mahmoodi Sourestani
Abstract
To study the effects of different nitrogen levels (0, 70, 140, and 210 mg l-1) on some growth, biochemical, and nutrient uptake (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) characteristics and essential oil content in sage (Salvia officinalis L.) under hydroponic conditions, a pot experiment was conducted based ...
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To study the effects of different nitrogen levels (0, 70, 140, and 210 mg l-1) on some growth, biochemical, and nutrient uptake (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) characteristics and essential oil content in sage (Salvia officinalis L.) under hydroponic conditions, a pot experiment was conducted based on a completely randomized design with four replications in the research greenhouse of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in 2019. The results of means comparison showed that with increasing the nitrogen level, the plant growth characteristics increased, so that the 210 mg l-1 N treatment decreased the stem diameter, number of branches, nodes, and leaves, length of internodes, length and leaf width, fresh and stem dry weight, fresh and aerial parts dry weight, and aerial parts dry weight to root dry weight ratio by 54.19, 72.59, 39.49, 82.52, 51.42, 72.20, 71.46, 95.17, 90.31, 95.82, 92.30, and 83.46%, respectively compared to the no N application. The application of 210 mg l-1 N increased the relative content of leaf water (RWC), proline, and essential oil content by 9.57, 266.6, and 14.87% and decreased the electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde by 30.45 and 51.51%, respectively compared to the no N application. Also, the lowest N level decreased the K, P, and N content by 32.65, 85.13, and 56.89%, respectively compared to the highest N level. The results of this experiment showed that different N levels could have different effects on the growth and essential oil content of sage. Based on the present research findings, the application of 210 mg l-1 N could be recommended for the sage cultivation due to the improving effects on the studied traits of the plant.
S. Atashak
Abstract
This study was conducted to determine the effect of short-term Ginkgo biloba L. on total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and malondialdehyde (MDA) after an aerobic exercise in inactive women. In a quasi-experimental study, twenty-four non-athlete women were allocated into a supplement (120mg/day Ginkgo biloba ...
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This study was conducted to determine the effect of short-term Ginkgo biloba L. on total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and malondialdehyde (MDA) after an aerobic exercise in inactive women. In a quasi-experimental study, twenty-four non-athlete women were allocated into a supplement (120mg/day Ginkgo biloba for 21 days) and placebo groups (120mg/day dextrose for 21 days). All the subjects participated in aerobic exercise protocol with 75% VO2 max on the treadmill for 30 minutes in pre and after supplementation. Venous blood samples were collected to assess the capacity of the TAC and MDA in four phases; 1) at the baseline 2) immediately after exercise test 3) after supplementation and 4) after supplementation and the second exercise test. Dates were analyzed by repeated measure ANOVA and LSD post-hoc test at α≤0.05. The results showed that MDA concentration increased, but TAC decreased significantly after aerobic exercise (P<0.05). However, short-term Ginkgo biloba supplementation led to a significant increase in baseline serum TAC in the supplement group (P= 0.017). Moreover, the increase in the MDA concentration in the supplement group was significantly more than that in the placebo group (P= 0.023). The results showed that aerobic exercise could increase some oxidative stress indices, but, short-term Ginkgo biloba supplementation probably could reduce the exercise-induced oxidative stress by increasing TAC. However, but more research is needed to determine the real effects of this herbal supplement.
M. Ebrahimi; Gh.R. Zamani; Z. Alizadeh
Abstract
As an important medicinal plant in some industries such as pharmaceutical industry, the antioxidant capacity of pot marigold (Calendula officinalis L.) in conferring drought stress, as well as physiological and yield-related traits were studied. A complete randomized block design with three replications ...
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As an important medicinal plant in some industries such as pharmaceutical industry, the antioxidant capacity of pot marigold (Calendula officinalis L.) in conferring drought stress, as well as physiological and yield-related traits were studied. A complete randomized block design with three replications was carried out in the research greenhouse of Birjand University during 2014, 2015. Four levels of drought stress (including 80, 60, 40 and 20 percent of the available soil water content) and two plant types (medicinal and ornamental) were considered in this study. According to the results, with increasing drought severity, APX activity decreased and SOD and CAT activity initially increased and then decreased. Over accumulation of reactive oxygen species along with inefficiency of the antioxidant system had possibly resulted in the impaired enzymatic antioxidant efficiency in the highest level of drought stress. Proline content increased along with increasing drought intensity, so that it was up to fourfold in the highest level of drought stress, compared to non-stressed control. Although proline is an antioxidant compound, no relationship was found between proline accumulation with antioxidant enzymes. Carotenoids, chlorophyll content and chlorophyll index all decrease, and MDA content increased with increasing drought intensity, as a result of damages to chloroplast membranes. Reduced photochemical efficiency of photosystem II was another consequence of intensified water deficit. Drought stress also negatively affected yield related traits, so that dry weight (27%), height (32%), number of lateral branches (33%) and flowers (50%) and flower yield (60%) decreased. We also found that medicinal pot marigold (824.3 kg.ha-1) produced more flower than ornamental one (654.9 kg.ha-1). In conclusion, we found that enzymatic antioxidant system of pot marigold conferred a suitable ability to reduce adverse effects of drought-induced oxidative stress. Hence, increasing pot marigold’s antioxidant activity could result in increasing its physiological resistant to drought stress and consequently improves its yield components performance.
S. Asadi Sanam; M. Zavareh; H. Pirdashti; F. Sefidkon; Gh.A. Nematzadeh; A. Hashempour
Abstract
This research was aimed to investigate the effect of planting date and soil flooding duration on some biochemical characteristics of purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench) in Sari region. The study was conducted in a RCBD based split plot with three replications in the Research Farm of the ...
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This research was aimed to investigate the effect of planting date and soil flooding duration on some biochemical characteristics of purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench) in Sari region. The study was conducted in a RCBD based split plot with three replications in the Research Farm of the Genetics and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute of Tabarestan, Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, in 2012. Experimental treatments included three planting dates (June 30, July 30 and August 29) and three soil flooding durations (without flooding as control, three and five-day flooding) which were considered as main and sub-plots, respectively. Malondialdehyde (MDA), total phenols and flavonoids contents, protein oxidation of the leaves, enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), as well as percentage of DPPH free radical inhibition were determined. Results of this experiment showed a significant increment of malondialdehyde (MDA) content in purple coneflower leaf with the highest level in five-day flooding duration and in August 29 planting date. The highest decrease in total protein was found in the same planting data and flooding duration with 90 % decline than control.The highest activity of antioxidant enzymes of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) was recorded in the purple coneflowers leaves, cultivated in June 30, and flooded for three days, while the highest activity of peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) were observed in plants cultivated in July 30. Five-day soil flooding markedly increased the total phenols and flavonoids content just in plants transplanted in June 30. In addition, the highest percentage of DPPH free radical inhibition was measured in plants subjected to continues five-day soil flooding and cultivated in August 29. In conclusion, it seems that the coneflower plant relatively showed a good tolerance to flooding stress.
