Improvement and breeding
S. Madadkhani; A. Kheiry; M. Arghavani; M. Sanikhani; Z. Mohkami
Abstract
The use of elicitors to produce the environmentally friendly biological products and in conjunction with the modern agriculture can increase the qualitative and quantitative growth of plants and reduce the effects of environmental stresses on them. To investigate the effects of biostimulants under the ...
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The use of elicitors to produce the environmentally friendly biological products and in conjunction with the modern agriculture can increase the qualitative and quantitative growth of plants and reduce the effects of environmental stresses on them. To investigate the effects of biostimulants under the low irrigation stress on the morphological and phytochemical characteristics of Dracocephalum moldavica L., a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized block design in the Zanjan University research farm in three replications in 2019. The main factor was the irrigation (100 and 70% of field capacity) and the sub-factor was the foliar application of elicitors including saffron extract (0.01 and 0.05%), ginseng extract (0.5 and 1%), amino acid L-cysteine (50 and 100 μM), and control treatment (no foliar application) at the four-, eight-, and twelve-leaf stages. The morphological and phytochemical traits were evaluated at the 90% flowering stage of the plants. In the present experiment, the highest amount of total chlorophyll (35.68 mg / g FW), carotenoids (9.18 mg / g FW), and relative leaf water content (83.20%) was obtained under the full irrigation conditions stimulated by the 50 μM L-cysteine treatment. While under the water stress conditions, the highest content of total phenols (33.17 mg GA / g DW), total flavonoids (1.53 mg QE / g DW), and antioxidant capacity (95.37%) was obtained in the no foliar application of elicitors treatment. The highest essential oil percentage (0.38%) was observed in the 100 μM L-cysteine treatment under the full irrigation conditions. Although the morphological parameters of D. moldavica had their highest values under the full irrigation conditions, the low irrigation stress led to the synthesis of higher amounts of phenolics and flavonoids and the stronger antioxidant capacity.
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
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%).
Agriculture and horticulture
M. Nikbakht; M. Solouki; M. Aran
Abstract
To study the effects of foliar application of Zn element via nano- and chemical fertilizers on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of medicinal plant bitter apple (Citrullus colocynthis L.), an experiment was conducted in a randomized complete blocks design with three replications at the Agricultural ...
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To study the effects of foliar application of Zn element via nano- and chemical fertilizers on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of medicinal plant bitter apple (Citrullus colocynthis L.), an experiment was conducted in a randomized complete blocks design with three replications at the Agricultural Research Institute of Zabol University in 2019. Experimental treatments included foliar application of zinc nano-chelate at two concentrations (1000 and 2000 mg L-1), zinc sulfate at two concentrations (1000 and 2000 mg L-1), and control (water foliar application). The results showed that foliar application of Zn had a significant effect on the yield and number of fruits per plant, and the seed phenol content with the highest amount of these traits in zinc nano-chelate treatment at the concentration of 2000 mg L-1. Also, Zn foliar application increased the seed soluble carbohydrate content with the highest amount of this index in zinc nano-chelate treatment at the concentration of 1000 mg L-1. Zinc foliar application increased the concentration of Zn element in the leaves, while it did not affect the concentrations of N, P, and K elements. Generally, the application of zinc nano-chelate was more effective on the yield and number of fruits per plant, and seed phenol content than zinc sulfate.
Improvement and breeding
H. Hasan-beigi; M. Saidi; M. Mohammadi
Abstract
To investigate the effects of foliar application of gibberellic acid (GA3) and salicylic acid (SA) on the morphophysiological, biochemical, and yield characteristics of Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench, an experiment began as a factorial in a randomized complete blocks design with three replications at ...
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To investigate the effects of foliar application of gibberellic acid (GA3) and salicylic acid (SA) on the morphophysiological, biochemical, and yield characteristics of Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench, an experiment began as a factorial in a randomized complete blocks design with three replications at the research farm of Agriculture Faculty, Ilam University, Iran, by sowing the plants in 2018 and continued by evaluating the plant characteristics for the two consecutive years (2018 & 2019). The experimental treatments included the foliar spray of plants during vegetative growth period with GA3 (0, 100, and 200 ppm) and SA (0, 100, and 200 ppm) as well as their combinations. The results showed that the highest plant height, number of flowers, and fresh and dry weight of the plants (in both years) were obtained in the GA3-200 ppm treatment and the highest amount of total chlorophyll and carotenoids (in both years) in the GA3-100 ppm one. The highest capitol diameter and fresh and dry weight of flowers in the first year and the highest anthocyanins content in the second year were observed in the GA3-200 ppm treatment. Also, the highest capitol diameter in the second year and the highest anthocyanins content in the first year were obtained in the SA-100 ppm treatment. In addition, the highest fresh and dry weight of flowers in the second year was recorded in the SA-200 ppm treatment. The highest essential oil amount of flowers, shoots (without flowers), and total essential oil (in both years) were obtained in the GA3-100 ppm+SA-100 ppm combination treatment. Considering that increasing the plant dry matter yield as well as essential oil content were the most important objectives of this study, the GA3-200 ppm treatment for the plant dry weight increase and the GA3-100 ppm+SA-100 ppm combination treatment for the essential oil content increase could be suggested as the best treatments.
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.
S. Khalesro; H. Malekian
Abstract
Nowadays, using organic inputs instead of chemical fertilizers is the most important point for achieving soil productivity and suitable plant nutrition in organic farming. The application of these inputs not only protects the environmental health, but also improves the qualitative characteristics of ...
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Nowadays, using organic inputs instead of chemical fertilizers is the most important point for achieving soil productivity and suitable plant nutrition in organic farming. The application of these inputs not only protects the environmental health, but also improves the qualitative characteristics of medicinal plants. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of vermicompost and humic acidon morphological traits, yield, essential, oil content and component of Ajowan (Trachyspermum ammi L.). Thus, a field experiment was conducted in the Agriculture Research Station of Kurdistan University in 2013. The treatments consisted of three level of vermicompost (0, 5 and 10 t.ha-1) and three levels of humic acid (0, 0.5 and 1 percent). The study was conducted in a randomized complete blocks design with factorial arrangement and three replications. The results showed that the highest plant height and number of umbels/plant were obtained at the third level of vermicompost. The third level of humic acid caused the highest values of plant height and number of umbels/plant, as well. The highest number of umbel /plant, seed and biological yield and essential oil percentage were obtained with applying the third level of vermicompost and humic acid. Hence, it seems that organic fertilizers such as vermicompost and humic acid could be applied as a proper alternative to improve the qualitative and quantitative yield of Ajowan.
M. Mohammadi; N. Majnoun Hosseini; M. Dashtaki
Abstract
This research was aimed to evaluate the impact of nano-ferric oxide and zinc sulfate on leaf pigments and elements of peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) in field conditions. The study was conducted in a factorial experiment based on RCBD with three replicates at the research farm of University of Tehran ...
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This research was aimed to evaluate the impact of nano-ferric oxide and zinc sulfate on leaf pigments and elements of peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) in field conditions. The study was conducted in a factorial experiment based on RCBD with three replicates at the research farm of University of Tehran (Karaj-Iran) in 2013. Nano-ferric oxide at four levels (including 0, 0.25, 0.5, & 0.75 g.L-1) and zinc sulfate at three levels (+0, 25 & 50 kg.ha-1) were used. The pigment traits such as anthocyanin, flavonoid (at 270 nm wavelength), total leaf chlorophyll, and elements (Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn & P) were examined. The results showed that nano-ferric oxideand zinc sulfate had significant effect on leaf flavonoid and total leaf chlorophyll; however, the study fertilizers had no significant effect on leaf anthocyanin. Similarly, the interaction effects of nano-ferric oxideand zinc sulfate were significant on all peppermint traits (P<0.05), except leaf anthocyanin content. The highest and lowest rate of leaf iron content were obtained at 0.25 and 0.75 g.L-1 nano-ferric oxide, respectively, showing that application of nano-ferric oxideincreased the leaf iron and chlorophyll content. Totally, the results indicated that leaf pigment variations of peppermint could be optimized through foliar application of zinc sulfate (25 kg.ha-1) and nano-ferric oxide (0.75 g.L-1) fertilizers.
S. Morady; M. Pouryousef; B. Andalibi
Abstract
Foliar application of micronutrients is a useful technique for rapid absorption of minerals in the plants and avoids soil contamination. To evaluate the effect of foliar application of micronutrients (iron and zinc) on yield, yield components, and essential oil of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.), an ...
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Foliar application of micronutrients is a useful technique for rapid absorption of minerals in the plants and avoids soil contamination. To evaluate the effect of foliar application of micronutrients (iron and zinc) on yield, yield components, and essential oil of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.), an experiment was conducted as factorial based on randomized complete blocks design with three replications at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zanjan during the growing season of 2012. In this experiment, the effect of foliar application of Fe (using ferrous sulphate) at four concentrations (0, 1, 2 and 3 gr.L-1) and foliar application of Zn (using zinc sulphate) at three concentrations (0, 2 and 4 gr.L-1) were investigated. Results showed that the majority of measured traits including number of umbels per plant, 1000-seed weight, grain yield, essential oil content and essential oil yield were significantly affected (p≤ 0.01) by combined application of iron and zinc. Therefore, the highest grain yield (2637.96 kg ha-1) was obtained in foliar application of Fe + Zn at a concentration of 0.2%. In addition, the highest essential oil content (2.88%) and essential oil yield (75.71 kg ha-1) were obtained in combined application of Fe 0.3% and Zn 0.2% and the lowest content of mentioned traits was obtained in control.
