Agriculture and horticulture
Mostafa Alinaghizadeh; Mohammad Azimi Gandomani
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Medicinal plant Plantago ovata is effective in treating gastrointestinal disorders and improving intestinal function due to its bioactive compounds, such as mucilage. Given the importance of psyllium as a valuable medicinal plant and the water resource limitations ...
Read More
Background and Objectives: Medicinal plant Plantago ovata is effective in treating gastrointestinal disorders and improving intestinal function due to its bioactive compounds, such as mucilage. Given the importance of psyllium as a valuable medicinal plant and the water resource limitations in many regions, this study aimed to investigate the effect of sowing date on the growth and yield characteristics of psyllium under different irrigation regimes in the climatic conditions of Rafsanjan, Iran.Methodology: This experiment was conducted during the 2022–2023 growing season in Rafsanjan, Iran, at a farm located at 30°24′N latitude, 55°59′E longitude, with an elevation of 1467 meters above sea level. The area has an annual average rainfall of 120 mm and maximum and minimum temperatures of 43°C and -5°C, respectively. The experiment was laid out in a strip-plot design based on a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Irrigation treatments, applied in the horizontal strips, included four levels: 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% of the crop water requirement. Sowing dates (March 10, 2023, March 25, 2023, April 10, 2023, and April 25, 2023) were assigned to vertical strips. Irrigation treatments were initiated after complete seedling establishment (3–4 leaf stage) and continued until physiological maturity. The irrigation water requirement was calculated using AGWAT software, with water volumes of 1430, 1144, 858, and 572 cubic meters per irrigation for 100%, 80%, 60%, and 40% water requirement levels, respectively. Data analysis was performed using SAS 9.4 software, and means were compared using Duncan's test at the 5% probability level.Results: The results showed that the highest plant height (24.1 cm), number of tillers (6), spike length (14.3 cm), and number of spikes per plant (27.7) were achieved under the 100% water requirement treatment and the March 25 sowing date. Additionally, the highest number of seeds per plant (1245), seed yield (1876 kg. ha-1), and biological yield (5357 kg. ha-1) were observed under the same treatment. The highest harvest index (35.9%) was recorded with the 100% irrigation treatment and the March 10 sowing date. Furthermore, the maximum thousand-seed weight was obtained under the 80% water requirement (1.94 g) and the March 25 sowing date (1.88 g). Moreover, the highest mucilage content was reported under the 100% water requirement (23.9%) and the March 10 sowing date (22.4%).Conclusion: Overall, the findings demonstrated that sowing date and irrigation level significantly affect the growth and yield characteristics of psyllium. Delayed sowing and reduced irrigation levels led to significant declines in plant height, yield components, seed yield, biological yield, and harvest index. Therefore, selecting an optimal sowing date and ensuring adequate water supply can improve the performance of this medicinal plant.
Phytochemistry (extraction, identification and measurement of active components)
elnaz farajzadeh memari tabrizi; afsaneh yousefpour
Abstract
Background and objectives: Auxin and nano-humic acid are among the vital compounds for improving the growth and performance of plants, especially medicinal plants. Auxins are plant hormones that play a role in plant growth and development processes, including rooting, stem elongation, ...
Read More
Background and objectives: Auxin and nano-humic acid are among the vital compounds for improving the growth and performance of plants, especially medicinal plants. Auxins are plant hormones that play a role in plant growth and development processes, including rooting, stem elongation, and regulating responses to environmental conditions. These hormones help regulate hormonal balance in plants and can help increase the quality and quantity of plant products. Nano-humic acid is also an organic compound that is obtained from the decomposition of organic matter in the soil and, due to its nano-sized dimensions, has better absorption capacity in plants. This compound helps improve soil properties, increase water retention capacity, facilitate nutrient absorption, and strengthen the plant's defense system. The use of nano-humic acid in combination with auxin can have positive effects on the growth and quality of medicinal plants, including increasing the content of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of auxin hormone and nano-humic acid on the physiological and morphological characteristics of the medicinal plant Valerian.Methodology: The treatments included different concentrations of auxin (0, 15, 30, and 45 ppm) and different concentrations of nano-humic acid (2, 4, and 6 g/l). Both treatments were applied as a foliar spray. This study was conducted in two years as a split-plot in a randomized block design. The dry weight of roots and shoots, and the content of auxin, cytokinin, and carbohydrates in roots and shoots were measured.Results: In this study, the effect of auxin hormone and nano-humic acid on the physiological and morphological characteristics of the medicinal plant Valerian was investigated. The results showed that the application of auxin at concentrations of 30 and 45 ppm significantly increased the dry weight of leaves, so that in the first year, foliar spraying of auxin at a concentration of 30 ppm increased the dry weight of leaves by 15.1%, and in the second year, this increase reached 40%. Furthermore, in nano-humic acid treatments, foliar spraying at a concentration of 6 g/L significantly increased the dry weight of leaves, and it increased by 12.8% compared to not using nano-humic acid. The effect of auxin hormone also increased the chlorophyll content index, so that in the treatment with a concentration of 30 ppm, this index increased by 13.9%. In addition, the use of nano-humic acid at a concentration of 6 g/L also increased the chlorophyll index of leaves by 8%. Regarding root growth, the application of auxin, especially at concentrations of 30 and 45 ppm, increased the dry weight of roots by 33 to 39%, and nano-humic acid at a concentration of 6 g/L increased the dry weight of roots by 19.1%. Moreover, both auxin and nano-humic acid treatments increased the content of soluble sugars in leaves and roots, by 21.7% in the case of nano-humic treatment and by 14.6% in the case of auxin treatment.Conclusion: In general, the results of this study showed that both auxin and nano-humic acid compounds, by affecting the hormonal and metabolic processes of the plant, can significantly enhance the growth and yield of medicinal plants such as valerian and increase the indices of chlorophyll, soluble sugars, and root growth. Both auxin and nano-humic acid treatments enhance leaf and root growth and increase the yield of the medicinal plant valerian by increasing photosynthetic capacity, cytokinin content, and plant source power.
Agriculture and horticulture
Behrooz Esmaielpour; Elham Shojaei; Rasool Azarmi; Zahra Aslani; Seyed Karim Tahami; Mehdi Davari
Abstract
Background and objectives: Savory (Satureja hortensis L.) is an aromatic plant from the Lamiaceae family, known for its bioactive compounds, such as thymol and carvacrol, which possess antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. These compounds have applications in various industries, including food and ...
Read More
Background and objectives: Savory (Satureja hortensis L.) is an aromatic plant from the Lamiaceae family, known for its bioactive compounds, such as thymol and carvacrol, which possess antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. These compounds have applications in various industries, including food and pharmaceuticals. Biofertilizers like mycorrhizal and Trichoderma fungi offer advantages over chemical fertilizers. These include reducing toxic substances in the food cycle, improving soil physical and chemical properties, and being cost-effective and environmentally sustainable. Trichoderma species promote plant growth through various mechanisms, including the biological control of soil-borne diseases by producing enzymes and antibiotics and direct antagonism against pathogenic fungi.Methodology: To evaluate the effect of Trichoderma harzianum on growth parameters, yield, and essential oil composition of savory in organic culture media, a factorial experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design with three replications in the Horticultural Science Greenhouse of Mohaghegh Ardabili University. The experimental treatments consisted of two factors: 1. Organic matter at three levels: Control (soil and sand mixture), Soil and sand mixture with 30% spent mushroom compost and Soil and sand mixture with 30% vermicompost. 2. Trichoderma harzianum inoculation at two levels: Inoculated and Non-inoculated (control). A 2 cm layer of coarse sand was placed at the bottom of the pots to ensure proper drainage. Savory seeds were initially grown in small pots and later transplanted to the main pots at the two- to three-leaf stage. Standard agronomic practices, such as irrigation and weeding, were maintained throughout the experiment. At the end of the study, vegetative traits (plant height, leaf area, dry weight of stem and root, number and length of secondary branches), physiological traits (chlorophyll index), nutrient content (N, K, P, Mg, Zn), and essential oil yield and composition were assessed.Results: The results demonstrated that organic fertilizers and Trichoderma inoculation significantly improved vegetative growth and quality traits compared to the control. The highest dry weight of aerial organs (4.82 g) was recorded in the vermicompost treatment, while Trichoderma inoculation resulted in 4.87 g. The highest chlorophyll index (26.86) was observed in plants treated with Trichoderma and vermicompost. Nutrient analysis showed that Trichoderma inoculation significantly increased phosphorus (3606.3 mg/kg), nitrogen (2.55%), and magnesium (55.64 mg/kg) content. In organic substrate treatments, vermicompost application resulted in the highest levels of zinc (47.87 mg/kg), nitrogen (3.06%), and phosphorus (4143 mg/kg). The highest carvacrol content (71.90%) was observed in Trichoderma-inoculated plants, while the highest essential oil yield (0.599 mL per pot) was found in plants treated with Trichoderma and vermicompost.Conclusion: The findings suggest that organic substrates combined with Trichoderma fungus can serve as an effective alternative to chemical fertilizers, enhancing both yield and essential oil quality in the organic cultivation of savory.
Improvement and breeding
Hoshang Rahmati
Abstract
Background and objectives: Oenothera biennis L., known as evening primrose, has a unique place in medical science and nutrition science due to the particular arrangement of fatty acids in the glycerol molecule and rare gamma-linolenic fatty acid. Soil and water salinity is one of the main obstacles to ...
Read More
Background and objectives: Oenothera biennis L., known as evening primrose, has a unique place in medical science and nutrition science due to the particular arrangement of fatty acids in the glycerol molecule and rare gamma-linolenic fatty acid. Soil and water salinity is one of the main obstacles to producing agricultural and horticultural products in arid and semi-arid areas. Salicylic acid plays an active role in the plant's response to various abiotic stresses, including salinity, and research on this plant hormone is important in the production of agricultural products.Methodology: This research was conducted as a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with two factors and three replications in greenhouse conditions during the crop year 2021-2022. The first factor included four levels of sodium chloride salt at zero, 50, 100, and 150 mM, and the second factor included two levels of zero and 2 mM salicylic acid. For each experimental unit, 5 plants (five pots) were randomly selected and the number of branches, plant height, wet weight of aerial parts, wet weight of roots, dry weight of aerial parts, and leaf area were measured. Also, the traits of proline amount, total protein, relative water content of leaves, and pigments of chlorophyll and carotenoid were measured for each experimental unit.Results: Variance analysis showed that the application of salinity stress treatments had a significant effect on all traits at the 1% level; on the other hand, the application of the salicylic acid treatment on plant wet weight and chlorophyll b had a significant effect at the 1% level, and for the trait of chlorophyll a did not have a significant effect, but in other traits, it had a significant effect at the level of 5%. It was also observed that there was no significant interaction effect only in the trait of carotenoid amount, and for the traits of proline and chlorophyll a, this effect was significant at the 1% level, as well as for the traits of plant height, plant wet and dry weight, root wet weight, leaf area, number of branches, relative water content, protein, chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll, the interaction effect of salicylic acid and salinity were significant at 5% level. The results of the mean comparison showed that the increase in salinity stress levels decreased all agricultural traits and most physiological traits, which was insignificant up to the level of 50 mM and significantly above the level of 100 mM. Also, salicylic acid caused a significant increase in most traits.Conclusion: The evening primrose plant had moderate resistance to salinity and the application of salicylic acid treatment improved the agronomic and physiological characteristics of evening primrose up to the stress level of 50 mM (6.5 dS/m) and at the stress level of 100 mM (1.9 dS/m), the application of 2 mM salicylic acid moderated the effects of salinity stress in the plant, but at a stress level of 150 mM (13 dS/m), the agronomic and physiological characteristics of the plant decreased significantly, and the application of salicylic acid treatment caused a more decrease. Based on this, 2 mM salicylic acid is recommended to help improve the performance of the evening primrose plant up to the salinity stress level of 9 ds/m.
Improvement and breeding
Ashraf Aghababapoor Dehkordi; Saadollah Houshmand; Shahram Mohammady; Rudabeh Ravash
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Zataria multiflora Boiss. is an important medicinal plant species in the Lamiaceae family, native to Iran and some neighboring countries. Water scarcity is a significant limiting factor for crop growth and production. Reduced efficiency of chemical fertilizer uptake under drought ...
Read More
Background and Objectives: Zataria multiflora Boiss. is an important medicinal plant species in the Lamiaceae family, native to Iran and some neighboring countries. Water scarcity is a significant limiting factor for crop growth and production. Reduced efficiency of chemical fertilizer uptake under drought conditions and their adverse environmental effects necessitates using sustainable agricultural practices. Mycorrhizal fungi, through their symbiotic with plants, provide essential nutrients to plants and mitigate the adverse effects of biotic and abiotic stresses on plants. This study investigates the influence of mycorrhizal symbiosis under drought stress and non-stress conditions on morpho-physiological characteristics of eight Z. multiflora ecotypes.Methodology: This study was conducted on eight Z. multiflora ecotypes collected from Safashahr, Neyriz, Khanekhore, and Fasa (located in Fars province), Faridan, Baharestan, Kalat Ghazi (located in Isfahan province), and Qasreghand (located in Sistan and Baluchestan province). Two-year-old plants of these ecotypes were subjected to two levels of drought stress, consisting of 50% and 90% soil field capacity, representing drought stress and non-drought stress conditions, respectively. Mycorrhizal fungi were applied at two levels (with and without) in a factorial experiment based on the completely randomized design with three replications, conducted in a greenhouse of the Agriculture Faculty, Shahrekord University, Iran. Drought stress was applied through reduced watering, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were inoculated in holes at a depth of 4-5 cm around the roots in the pots. The symbiosis was confirmed through root staining. Morpho-physiological traits, including plant length, width, crown area, leaf area, dry plant yield, and chlorophyll "a" and "b" content, were measured. After variance analysis, the means were compared using the LSD test. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to determine trait correlations, and stepwise regression was employed to identify traits affecting dry plant yield.Results: The results of the analysis of variance showed that ecotype, drought stress, and mycorrhizal application had highly significant effects on plant length, plant width, crown area, leaf area, dry plant yield, and chlorophyll "a" and "b" content. The significance of the two- and three-way interaction effects of ecotypes with drought stress and mycorrhizal application in all studied traits indicates the different responses of ecotypes to drought stress and mycorrhizal fungus application. Comparing the means of the two drought stress levels indicated a significant reduction in all traits under stress conditions. Mycorrhizal application in non-stress conditions significantly increased the traits. Using mycorrhizal fungi under drought stress conditions compensated for part of the reduction caused by drought stress in the traits, resulting in an increase ranging from 14% (plant width) to 210% (dry plant yield) compared to drought stress conditions. The comparison of ecotypes in each combination of stress levels and mycorrhizal application levels suggests that plant length and width, crown area, leaf area, and plant dry yield increased. The intensity of response or change in these ecotypes to drought stress and mycorrhizal application varies. The correlation coefficients and stepwise regression results indicate the critical role of leaf area and plant length in dry plant yield under both non-drought and drought stress conditions.Conclusion: In this restudy, high variability was observed in the evaluated traits such as plant length and width, canopy area, leaf area, plant dry yield, and chlorophyll "a" and "b" levels in the Z. multiflora ecotypes. On the other hand, the different reactions of these ecotypes to drought stress indicate the high genetic potential of this native plant in Iran. Therefore, it can be used to select superior genotypes. Considering the increasing and significant effect of most of the characteristics studied, including yield due to the application of mycorrhizal fungus, this fungus can be used in producing Z. multiflora under standard cultivation conditions and drought stress.
Improvement and breeding
Ghobad Salimi; Fatemeh Javadi
Abstract
Background and purpose: The medicinal plant Ocimum basilicum L. is one of the most important medicinal plants. It is native to tropical regions from Central Africa to Southeast Asia and has antimicrobial, antioxidant, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory properties. Drought stress is one of the most ...
Read More
Background and purpose: The medicinal plant Ocimum basilicum L. is one of the most important medicinal plants. It is native to tropical regions from Central Africa to Southeast Asia and has antimicrobial, antioxidant, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory properties. Drought stress is one of the most important abiotic factors that can severely affect plant growth and yield. This study aimed to investigate the effect of mycorrhizal fungus on some physiological and biochemical properties of the medicinal plant O. basilicum L. under drought stress.Methodology: This experiment was conducted in the research greenhouse of Islamic Azad University, Kermanshah branch in 2022. The experiment was performed as a factorial experiment in a Random completely blocked design with two factors (mycorrhiza fungus) in three levels including control (without inoculation with fungus), G. etunicatum and G. mosseae, water drought stress at three levels (without stress, 75 and 50% of field capacity) were performed in four replications. The traits measured in the experiment include, the number of leaves, relative water content, ion leakage, photosynthetic pigments, proline, carbohydrate, antioxidant activity, phenol content and clonization percentage.Results: The results of analysis of variance analysis showed that the effect of mycorrhizal fungus on all the traits measured in the experiment was significant, and also, the effect of drought stress on all the investigated traits was significant except for the amount of phenol and total chlorophyll. The interaction effect of two factors, mycorrhizal fungus and different levels of drought stress, on the characteristics of ion leakage and carotenoid content was significant. Mean comparisons of data showed that the highest number of leaves (70.5) was observed in the treatment of G. mosseae fungus, and the lowest number of leaves (58) was in the treatment without fungus. The highest relative water content of leaves (79.059%) was in non-stress conditions, which had a significant difference with the stress conditions of 75 and 50% of crop capacity. The highest electrolyte leakage percentage (33.02%) in the stress condition was 50% of the field capacity in the control treatment, which was not significantly different in the same condition as the G. etunicatum fungus treatment. Inoculation with mycorrhizal fungus increased the content of total chlorophyll so that the highest amount of total chlorophyll (0.96 mg/g of fresh weight) was obtained in the treatment of G. mosseae, which was not significantly different from G. etunicatum and also inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi increased the content of chlorophyll a and b by 91.8%. Inoculation with mycorrhizal fungus increased the proline content by 25.33%, too. The highest antioxidant activity (21.13%) was obtained in treating G. mosseaefungus. The lowest amount of essential oil was observed in the 50% of the field capacity treatment, 25.96% less than the control treatment. Drought stress decreased the percentage of root colonization in G. mosseae by 55.77% and in G. etunicatum by 57.93%.Conclusion: Mycorrhizal fungus improved the morphological and physiological characteristics in green basil plant.symbiosis with G. mosseae fungus under drought stress conditions with increasing proline and antioxidant activity, improved physiological traits and resistance to drought stress in green basil plant.
Improvement and breeding
R. A. Khavari-Nejad; M. Moghadami Rad; S. Sadatmand; F. Najafi
Abstract
Background and objectives: Madder (Rubia tinctorum L.) is a perennial and herbaceous plant. Madder's root is known as its most important economic part, and it is rich in anthraquinone derivatives. Madder is a plant with medicinal, nutritional, color and health benefits. Recent ...
Read More
Background and objectives: Madder (Rubia tinctorum L.) is a perennial and herbaceous plant. Madder's root is known as its most important economic part, and it is rich in anthraquinone derivatives. Madder is a plant with medicinal, nutritional, color and health benefits. Recent pharmaceutical studies have shown that the anthraquinones of the madder root have selective inhibitory effects on cancer cells. In this research, according to the water and soil limitations of the tested area, the use of biodegradable calcium carbonate and phosphate fertilizers to produce madder was suggested. So, considering climate change and water shortage as severe risks to sustainable development, the cheapness of madder production and its multiple uses, the planting and production of this plant are mainly used in semi-arid areas.
Methodology: In field conditions in Ardakan, Yazd, this research was tested in factorial form in a randomized complete block design with two factors and four replications. Calcium carbonate agent was supplied at five levels of 0, 20, 50, 100 and 150 kg hˉ1 and phosphate from triple superphosphate fertilizer at four levels of 0, 50, 100 and 150 kg hˉ1. In each four-by-four-meter plot, four rows of seeds were planted, two side rows and two plants from the sides of the remaining lines were removed as marginal effects, and the rest of the plants were considered statistical populations. Irrigation water's electrical conductivity was measured during the growth period, and its average was 11.6 ds mˉ2. The plots were irrigated immediately after planting the seeds. Four days later, irrigation was done again. In the fall of the second and third years, soil was again given to the plants along with the desired treatments. Madder plants were harvested in the third winter year. Root fresh-weight biomass was weighed immediately after harvesting. After drying the roots at 104 °C, the dry weight of the roots was measured. A spectrophotometer also determined the content of anthraquinone and hydrogen peroxide in the roots.
Results: The results of bivariate analysis of variance of the data showed that the simple and reciprocal effect of different calcium carbonate and phosphate treatments on functional indicators of biomass, root fresh weight, root dry weight, anthraquinone content and root hydrogen peroxide in this research was significant at P≥ 0.05. The comparison of averages showed that the highest values of biomass, root wet weight, root dry weight, anthraquinone and hydrogen peroxide were observed in the combined treatment of 20 kg h-1 of calcium carbonate and 100 kg h-1 of phosphate, compared to the control. The lowest value of performance indicators investigated in this research was observed in the combined treatment of 150 kg h-1 of calcium carbonate and 150 kg h-1 of phosphate, compared to the control. The simultaneous use of these two fertilizers had a complementary effect on each other. This was because the application of 20 and 50 kg h-1of calcium carbonate and 100kg h-1 of phosphate had an increasing impact on the anthraquinone and hydrogen peroxide content in madder roots. The comparison of the averages showed that in the combined treatment of 20 kg h-1of calcium carbonate and 100 kg h-1of phosphate, compared to the control, the highest wet weight of the root increased by 71%, the highest dry weight of the root increased by 91%, and the highest anthraquinone content increased by 142% was observed. The comparison of the averages showed that in the combined treatment of 50 kg h-1 of calcium carbonate and 100 kg h-1 of phosphate, compared to the control, the highest biomass index was observed, with an increase of 79%.
Conclusion: The results showed that the functional indices of root fresh weight, root dry weight, anthraquinone content and biomass of madder increased significantly under the combined treatment of 20 kg h-1 of calcium carbonate and 100 kg h-1 of phosphate. It is suggested that madder be cultivated using calcium carbonate and phosphate fertilizers to increase the anthraquinone compounds under the influence of biodegradable and inexpensive external environmental stimuli in regions similar to the climatic conditions studied in this research.
Identification, introduction, ecology and ethnobotany
Y. Asri; M. Rabie
Abstract
Background and objectives: In different ecosystems, factors such as altitude, rainfall, temperature, lighting, humidity, and soil nutrients are essential variables that affect the metabolism and accumulation of secondary metabolites. Therefore, it is vital to know the factors affecting ...
Read More
Background and objectives: In different ecosystems, factors such as altitude, rainfall, temperature, lighting, humidity, and soil nutrients are essential variables that affect the metabolism and accumulation of secondary metabolites. Therefore, it is vital to know the factors affecting the active substances of medicinal plants. Therefore, researchers try to increase the production of effective substances by different methods. We can mention the research conducted in the field of the effect of ecological factors on the essential oil compounds of different populations of Nepeta crispa, Salvia sharifii, Satureja rechingeri and Stachys pilifera. This study investigated the relationship between climatic, topographical, and edaphic parameters as necessary factors that influence the morphological traits and essential oil compounds of the medicinal endemic species Dracocephalum ghahremanii Jamzad.Methodology: Three habitats of D. ghahremanii were selected in Semnan province with different environmental conditions, and 15 plots of 4 m2 were established by systematic random method. In each plot, the plant height, canopy diameter, cover, biomass and leaf area of the studied species were measured. Flowering branches were collected from natural habitats with three replications, and essential oils were extracted using a hydrodistillation method using a Clevenger apparatus. GC-FID and GC/MS identified the essential oil compounds. Five soil samples were randomly taken from inside the plots in each habitat, and some soil physicochemical parameters, including pH, EC, OM, N, P, K, lime and soil texture, were measured. Analysis of variance and comparison of data mean was done using SPSS software. The most important environmental factors affecting morphological traits and essential oil compounds were determined using the correlation analysis method in SPSS software and the principal component analysis (PCA) method in Minitab software. The conservation status of this species was determined using the IUCN method and based on the criteria of EOO and AOO using GeoCAT software, as well as data related to population size and habitat quality.Results: Comparing the average morphological traits of D. ghahremanii showed that the highest and lowest values of morphological traits are related to the Tash region with an altitude of 3043 meters and Tang Kavard with an altitude of 2032 meters, respectively. Variance analysis of morphological traits also showed a significant difference between the plants of the three regions in terms of leaf area at the level of 1% and in terms of plant height, canopy diameter, canopy cover and biomass at the level of 5%. The analysis of D. ghahremanii essential oil showed that its chemical composition differs in three regions. In Tang Kavard region, (E)-β-Farnesene, trans-Cadina-1(6),4-diene and (E)-Caryophyllene, in Dibaj region,(E)-β-Farnesene, trans-Cadina-1(6),4-diene and Caryophyllene oxide, and Tash region, Caryophyllene oxide, α-Vetivone and Carvone hydrate were identified as dominant compounds. Analysis of the variance of common essential oil compounds of this species also showed a significant difference between the averages of these compounds at 0.1%. Physicochemical parameters of D. ghahremanii habitats had significant differences. Variance analysis of the values of these parameters showed that there is a significant difference between the three regions in terms of OM, N, P, K, lime, sand and silt at the level of 0.1%, pH at the level of 1% and EC and clay at the level of 5%. Correlation between the characteristics of this species with some environmental factors showed that altitude, annual precipitation, annual temperature, minimum temperature of the coldest month, maximum temperature of the hottest month, lime, OM, N, P, sand and silt have the most significant correlation with morphological characteristics and essential oil compounds. Considering that the area occupied by this species in the studied populations (AOO) is 0.750 km2 and its presence area in the province (EOO) is 691.046 km2, its conservation status in Iran was determined as Critically Endangered (CR).Conclusion: As a general conclusion, the increase in altitude has increased the functional characteristics (morphology and phytochemistry) of D. ghahremanii. Despite the relative similarity of the dominant compounds in the essential oil of this species, the composition of the essential oil (percentage of major and minor components) was different in the three investigated regions. Among the environmental parameters, altitude, annual precipitation, OM, N, P, K and silt were the most critical factors affecting the morphological traits and the percentage of oxygenated terpenes, which can indicate the importance of high altitude habitats in terms of essential oil content and compounds with higher antioxidant properties for this plant. Based on these findings, the maximum temperature of the hottest month, the minimum temperature of the coldest month, and the absolute minimum temperature of lime and sand were the most important parameters affecting the percentage of hydrocarbon terpenes. These results can be significant for extracting D. ghahremanii essential oil from natural habitats or commercially cultivating this plant to extract the secondary compounds in its essential oil.
Improvement and breeding
M. Gerami; D. Akbari Nodehi; M. Amiri; E. Darvakh
Abstract
Background and objectives: Nowadays, due to the revelation of the harmful effects of chemical drugs for most users, the desire to use medicinal plants has increased significantly. Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is one of the most important medicinal plants of great interest in ...
Read More
Background and objectives: Nowadays, due to the revelation of the harmful effects of chemical drugs for most users, the desire to use medicinal plants has increased significantly. Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is one of the most important medicinal plants of great interest in various pharmaceutical industries due to its valuable and vital secondary metabolites, such as essential oil. However, salinity is considered a major constraint for its productivity. Soil and irrigation water salinity is a major constraint for crop production. In salinity-rich soils, the osmotic pressure increases, and the plant must burn more vital energy to absorb water. Increasing the salinity tolerance of plants for sustainable food production, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, can reduce the need for irrigation and, thus, production costs. Since using calcium nanoparticles increases nutrient utilization efficiency, reducing soil toxicity, minimizing the adverse effects of over-fertilization and reducing the frequency of fertilizer application, the present study investigates the effect of calcium nanoparticles on physiologic and biochemical properties of basil medicinal plant under salinity stress. Materials and Methods: The plants were treated with calcium nanoparticles in five levels by spraying with concentrations of 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 g/l and salt concentrations of 0.75 and 150 mM along with Hoagland solution in a completely randomized design in a greenhouse environment with three replications. Some growth characteristics such as height, number of leaves, leaf area, fresh and dry weight, amount of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll and carotenoid content of the plant were measured. Some biochemical characteristics such as flavonoid, soluble sugar, anthocyanin content and antioxidant enzymes such as catalase and peroxidase were also measured. The least significant difference (LST) test was used to compare the means in SAS software.Results: The results of ANOVA showed a significant effect of calcium nanoparticles on most morphological traits. Also, different salinity levels alone significantly affected the studied traits (p<0.01). Following the reduction of the osmotic potential of the soil solution due to salinity stress, water absorption decreases and as a result of stomata closing, the photosynthesis and respiration decrease. The mean comparison of the simple effect of calcium nanoparticles on chlorophyll pigments showed that with increasing the nanoparticle level, chlorophyll content increased, and as a result, photosynthesis improved. The simple effect of different salinity levels on some traits (phenol, soluble sugar, peroxidase enzyme and anthocyanin) showed that increasing the salinity level caused an increase in these traits. So, at the concentration of 150 mM salinity, phenol content with 8.02 mg of gallic acid per g of dry weight showed the highest amount compared to the control sample of 10.5 mg. Also, the soluble sugar content was the highest at this salinity concentration, with 139.9 mg/g dry weight, compared to the control, with 110.9 mg/g dry weight. The interaction effect of calcium nanoparticles and salinity on basil's morphological characteristics and carotenoid content was insignificant. However, it was significant in the chlorophyll content, the amount of flavonoids and catalase (p<0.01). In fact, with nano fertilizers, the plant can absorb more nutrients, and while reducing the leaching of elements, the yield of the product increases.Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the physiological and biochemical characteristics of Basil were affected by salinity stress, and the interaction of nano calcium with salinity stress reduced the effects of salinity stress. Therefore, spraying the nano-fertilizer in an appropriate concentration is suggested to improve the yield of basil in salinity stress conditions.
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 ...
Read More
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, ...
Read More
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. ...
Read More
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 ...
Read More
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 ...
Read More
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 ...
Read More
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 ...
Read More
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, ...
Read More
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. ...
Read More
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 ...
Read More
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 ...
Read More
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 ...
Read More
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 ...
Read More
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 ...
Read More
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 ...
Read More
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 ...
Read More
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.
