International Journal of Horticultural Science and Technology
Volume:3 Issue: 1, Spring - Summer 2016

Olive (Olea europaea L.) consumption and production are socially and economically important in Iran. The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the vegetative characteristics, floral biology, fruit characteristics, oil percentage, and yield of eleven olive cvs. (‘Arbequina’, ‘Amygdalolia’, ‘Bledy’, ‘Roghani’, ‘Zard’, ‘Sevillana’, ‘Koroneiki’, ‘Conservalia’, ‘Gordal Sevillana’, ‘Manzanilla’, and ‘Mission’) in Kazeroun olive research station, Fars province, Iran. This experiment, conducted in completely randomized blocks design with three replications, was active for five years, 2004 until 2008. The results exhibited morphological trait differences across the cultivars. ‘Amygdalolia’ and ‘Conservalia’ were suitable in subtropical areas for canning and oil, ‘Sevillana’, ‘Manzanilla’, and ‘Gordal Sevillana’ as canning ‘Arbequina’ and ‘Koroneiki’ can be grown as oil cultivars in subtropical climate.

The main objective of this work was to assess the effectiveness of salicylic acid (SA), calcium chloride (CaCl2) or sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), and packaging on some qualitative properties of apricot fruit during cold storage. The experiments were conducted using a completely randomized design as factorial, with three replicates. Fruits were dipped in SA (0.1 or 0.5 mM), CaCl2 (1 or 2%) or NaHCO3 (0.2 or 0.5%) solutions for 3 min at 22°C. Then, fruits were placed into polyethylene trays and wrapped with cellophane films to create a passive modified atmosphere packaging, whilst the second group remained unwrapped. Fruits were stored in a cool room at 0.5 ± 0.5°C. Regardless of chemical treatments, total soluble solids (TSS), organoleptic characteristics, and shelf life were higher in packed fruit compare to unpacked fruit. The TSS, weight loss and firmness were lower in fruits covered with cellophane compared to unwrapped fruit. Fruits that treated with SA (0.5 mM) and covered with cellophane film had the lowest TSS while treated fruit with CaCl2 (1%) with no cover indicated the highest TSS. Generally, there was a significant decrease in fruit firmness under the cellophane layer compare to unpacked fruits while in treated fruit with CaCl2 (1%) firmness in packed fruit was obviously higher than unpacked fruits. The best visual quality and taste were obtained in treated fruit with CaCl2 (2%), followed by SA (0.5 mM) when they were packed with cellophane film. The highest shelf life obtained in treated fruit with SA (0.1 mM), followed by NaHCO3 (0.5%). Overall, a combination of chemical treatments and packaging with cellophane film improved fruit quality and extend shelf life significantly compared to the control.

Water deficit conditions, in addition to reduced water uptake, result in a reduction in nutrient uptake, and consequently, a substantial reduction in growth parameters, yield and quality. Substrate inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) as an environmentally friendly biofertilizer is an important strategy to improve the growth parameters and quality of products in such conditions. Therefore, an experiment was conducted on zinnia, under different irrigation regimes (40, 70 and 100% of field capacity; FC) and different substrate inoculation levels with Glomus mosseae (0, 2.5 and 5%), in order to examine their possible symbiosis and root colonization on morphophysiological and biochemical parameters in a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design with three replications. The results showed the positive and significant effects of AMF on morphophysiological traits under all irrigation regimes compared to the control treatment (without AMF) such as flower longevity and antiradical properties. With increased drought stress, root:shoot ratio, flower diameter, flower longevity, water use efficiency (WUE), the chlorophyll content and nutrient uptake were significantly decreased, while the decreasing trends of these parameters were much lower in pots treated with AMF. The lowest cell membrane stability and highest free radicals were observed in 40% FC without AMF. The maximum antiradical and antioxidant properties occurred at the lowest irrigation level with the highest AMF inoculation level. The results indicated a significant increase in flower diameter and longevity, in 70% FC with 5% AMF inoculation treatment compared to the control. Compared with the control, WUE was significantly increased at a 5% AMF inoculation level.

Two experiments were designed to evaluate the addition of essential oils to preservative solution and subsequent effects on postharvest quality and vase life of Gladiolus ‘Sorati’ cut flowers. In first experiment, the solutions of savory (Satureja hortensis.), ajowan (Trachyspermum ammi) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris) were applied at the concentrations of 2, 4, and 6 (mg L−1), distilled water 2% sucrose were considered as control treatment. In second experiment, the cut flowers pulsed with CaCl2 and AgNO3 for 1 h and then transferred to preservative solution contain 2 mg L-1 of savory, ajowan, thyme and distilled water (control). All cut flowers were kept at 25±2oC for 20 days and qualitative properties were evaluated during postharvest periods. Savory 2 mg L−1 exhibited as the most effective treatment for minimizing dehydration of the gladiolus cut flowers by enhancing the water absorption and flower weight rate than other treatments. The interaction of pulsing with CaCl2 and essential oils could maintain the quality of cut flowers.

Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) fruit is an important medicinal plant in Iran. The harvesting time is a crucial for jujube fruit quality. Several characteristics of jujube fruit when harvested at four development stages; white mature (light green), crisp mature (white-red), fully mature (red) and fully ripe (dehydrated brown) were evaluated. Fruit weight, diameter, volume, pulp to stone ratio, firmness, titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids (TSS), ascorbic acid, total phenolics content, protein, ash and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters were determined. The results showed that fruit dry weight, TSS, TSS/TA were increased significantly, while firmness, protein content and ash weight were decreased as jujube fruit harvested at progressed development stages. Ascorbic acid in fruit was decreased from white to crisp mature stage and thereafter increased significantly to fully mature stage. However, the content of total phenol increased significantly from white to crisp mature stage and thereafter decreased at more maturity and ripening stages. Moreover, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters were influenced by harvesting time. The F0 and Fm showed a positive significant correlation with total phenolic, ascorbic acid and protein content and a negative significant correlation with DW. Therefore, chlorophyll fluorescence maybe a helpful, nondestructive technique to evaluate the nutritional quality changes in jujube fruit. Overall, jujube fruit harvested at crisp (white-red) and fully mature (red) stages, seem best in respect of postharvest handling and nutritional criteria.

The gerbera market would benefit from an efficient and simple protocol for high rate regeneration for propagation and genetic engineering. With these objectives, this investigation was done on shoot regeneration via direct organogenesis from leafy petiole explants of Gerbera jamesonii ‘Royal Soft Pink’. Murashige and Skoog (1962) (MS) medium was supplemented with 0.1 mg L-1 indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and additions of various concentrations and combinations of thidiazuron (TDZ: 0, 0.5 and 1 mg L-1) and N6-benzyladenine (BA: 0, 2, 4 and 6 mg L-1). Higher values were recorded for a number of shoots on leafy petiole on the MS medium containing BA in combination with TDZ than on media containing BA or TDZ solely. The highest evaluations for percentage of shoot regeneration (85.43 %) and number of shoots per explant (12.88) was recorded in the medium supplemented with 0.1 mg L-1 IAA and 1.0 mg L-1 TDZ plus 4.0 mg L-1 BA. For rooting of the shoots, MS medium supplemented with three concentrations of a-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA: 0.5 and 1 mg L-1) together with control (MS only) were tried. The optimal results for rooting of shoots were obtained on MS medium containing 1 mg L-1 NAA. The in vitro raised plantlets were acclimatized and transferred to greenhouse successfully.

Chicory (Cichoriumintybus L.) is an important industrial crop which is used for inulin production. Inulin is widely applied as food ingredient due to its health promoting properties. For the first time, attempts were made to investigate thirteen endemic chicory genotypes including three pumilum populations, along with five root chicory cultivars, four witloof chicory varieties and a crispum endive to find their phylogenic relationships based on some diagnostic morphological traits as well as comparing their fresh root yield, total carbohydrate content as indicator of inulin percentage, and inulin yield in RCBD with three replications, 2013-14. In general, with the exception of Firizi landrace which was classified in C. intybus class, the other endemic genotypes exhibited the maximum similarity with C. endivia, as all formed a monophyletic clade. The highest inulin yield was obtained for ‘Orchies’, after that for ‘Schepens’, ‘Tilda’ and ‘Hera’, respectively, due to firstly their higher root yield and secondly their high inulin percentage. On the whole, fault of flowering at the first year of life cycle of endemic genotypes made intensive selection and breeding of Iranian genotypes for bolting resistance priority work before applying them to build root chicory varieties .

Six Iranian accessions of Cucumis melo, including Inodorus, Cantalupensis, and Dudaim groups, were planted and then harvested at two harvesting stages including 21 and 28 days after anthesis for Dudaim group and 28 and 38 days after anthesis for Inodorus and Cantalupensis groups. At the time of harvest, we measured some quality parameters and appearance indices of fruits, such as the number of strips on surface, tendril condition, peduncle condition, presence or absence of the abscission zone formed around the peduncle, netting, presence of trichomes, and force needed to detach the fruit from the plant. Results showed that the best ripening indices for Inodorus, Cantalupensis, and Dudaim groups were not the same. Contrary to Samsouri and lately harvested Khatouni accessions, there were not any abscission zone in Dudaim fruits. In most of the treatments, tendril was yellow or dry in lately harvested fruits opposite to green in tendrils in early harvested fruits. Peduncles were green in all treatments and the force needed to detach the fruit from the plant in most treatments was the highest degree (score 3). Lately harvested fruits had more advanced levels of color, TSS, and firmness than early harvested ones. Generally, the best ripening indices for melon fruits corresponding to each accession were different.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of different silicon supplements and postharvest treatments on growth and yield of gerbera in a greenhouse experiment. Silicon supplements were including potassium silicate at three concentrations (0, 140 and 200 mg L−1), sodium silicate at three concentrations (0, 50 and 100 mg L−1) and rice hull ash (RHA) at three concentrations (0, 50 and 100 mg L−1). Also, postharvest treatments were including sucrose, salicylic acid (200 and 400 mg L−1), methyl jasmonate (15 and 25 mg L−1) and distilled water (as control). The application of potassium silicate, RHA and sodium silicate led to decrease in dry weight of flower. Shoot length and diameter were substantially higher in 140 mg L−1 potassium silicate than those in control treatment. The maximum inflorescence diameter was observed in rice husk ash (50 mg L−1). Capitulum diameter was far greater in sodium silicate at 50 mg L−1 compared to other treatments. Vase life of gerbera flower was greater in 400 mg L−1 salicylic acid and 15 mg L−1 methyl jasmonate than in control treatment. The maximum inflorescence diameter was observed in 400 mg L−1 salicylic acid. This study confirmed that the studied sources of Si, salicylic acid and methyl jasmonate increased marketable quality of cut gerbera flowers.

Iris belongs toIridaceae family and it is monocotyledon. Iris is one of the important ornamental and medicinal plants. 34 iris genotypes (14 species) collected from different provinces of Iran were planted at National Institute of Ornamental Plants (NIOP) Iran. All of the species evaluated for 15 quantitative traits and 30 qualitative traits. Results showed that the highest positive correlation was between inner tepal length and width and the lowest of this correlation was between crest length and width. Cluster analysis using Ward similarity coefficient divided Iris species into three clusters. Also the highest Nei’s genetic distance based on qualitative traits was between I. iberica and I. fosterana and the lowest was between I. germanica and I. paradoxa. The maximum genetic diversity was in Khorasan Razavi populations, and the minimum was in Khorasan (North). According to Shannon index, I. spuria and I. germanica species had the maximum level of genetic diversity. Cluster analysis according to qualitative traits by Jaccard similarity coefficient and UPGMA classified the 34 genotypes into four groups. Classification of populations based on quantitative traits was not similar to classification based on qualitative traits and they were not similar to geographical distribution.