فهرست مطالب عزیزاله خیری

In order to investigate the effect of foliar application of different levels of ethanol and methanol on the biochemical characteristics of Digitalis purpurea L., an experiment was conducted based on a completely randomized design with three replications at the University of Zanjan research greenhouse. The treatments consisted of two levels of ethanol (5 and 10%) and methanol (5 and 10%), along with a control treatment (distilled water). The results showed that the maximum amount of total chlorophyll (1.78 mg/g), total carotenoid (0.10 mg/g), total phenol (15.35 mg/g), total flavonoid (58. 2 mg/g) and antioxidant activity (43.76%) were obtained under a 10% methanol treatment. The highest amounts of proline (4.47 mg), soluble sugar (76.20 mg/g), relative water content (76.02%) and leaf nitrogen (1.61%) were observed under a 10% ethanol treatment. The ion leakage index (15.21%) with foliar application of 10% ethanol and catalase enzyme (1.66 mg/g protein) and peroxidase enzyme (0.34 mg/g protein) activity showed a decrease with foliar application of 10% methanol. According to the results, the application of different levels of hydroalcohols improved the biochemical properties of Digitalis purpurea L.

In order to evaluate the effect of salicylic acid, glycine betaine and gamma_ aminobutyric acid foliar spray on anti-oxidant activity of enzymes and non-enzymatic agents of Carla (Momordica charantia L.) under water deficit stress, an experiment was conducted as split plots based on randomized complete blocks design with three replications at Research Farm University of Zanjan during 2017. The treatments consisted of three levels of irrigation (50, 75 and 100% field capacity) as the main plots and two levels of salicylic acid (2 and 4 mM), glycine betaine (50 and 100 mM), and gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) (10 and 20 mM) plus control were used as sub plots. Based on the results, increasing of water deficit stress, significantly increased the activity of catalase, peroxidase and antioxidant activity of leaf, as well as total phenol and flavonoid content and antioxidant activity of fruit, but the amount of vitamin C decreased. The interaction of irrigation regimes with experimental treatments caused a significant increase in measured traits. The highest level of leaf and fruit antioxidant activity was obtained using 4 mM salicylic acid and 100 mM glycine, respectively, in 75% field capacity. Considering that in this study, plants treated with salicylic acid, glycine betaine and GABA in different irrigation regimes had higher enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant activity than control plants, therefore it seems that application of these materials can be effective in producing Carla under water deficit stress resistance.

The licorice is a perennial herb of the Fabaceae family, which is native to the Mediterranean, south of Russia and Asia, but is now cultivated throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia. This plant grows in different regions of Iran. Although, from north to south of Iran, licorice carcasses come to the car, but since this plant is extracted from the ground, it gradually decreases in nature, so that in southern provinces of the country, especially the provinces of Fars and Kerman, this plant danger of extinction, so special attention is increasingly given to maintaining the heritable reserves of this plant more and more. quantitative and qualitative study of this plant in the natural habitats of different regions of the country has a significant role in identifying the best ecotypes for cultivation and domestication of this medicinal plant.

In order to study the diversity of morphological and functional traits of different populations in Zanjan climate, after collecting populations in autumn, they were cultivated in a randomized complete block design with 5 replications. Morphological and functional traits of different populations were evaluated late in the growing season. Plant height, plant width, leaf length, leaf width, leaf number, leaf length, leaflet width, lateral branch, main stem diameter, fresh shoot weight, root fresh weight, shoot dry weight and root dry weight, ratio Root to shoot, shoots yield, root yield, total phenol, total flavonoid and Glycyrrhizic acid were investigated. Data were analyzed using SAS and SPSS software. For cluster analysis, the cluster analysis was performed by input method and factor analysis was done using the Variomax rotation method.

The results of analysis of variance showed that there was a significant difference among 22 licorice populations for all studied traits at 1% level. The highest plant height in population AH (9 cm) was the highest plant width in population E (86.6 cm), the highest fresh weight in the population D (400.4 gr / plant), the highest root fresh weight in population E (356.2 gr / Plant) had the highest shoots yield in the population D (643.75 gr / m2) and the highest root yield in population E (692.25 gr / m2) and the highest percentage of Glycyrrhizic acid in population D (8.3%). The root yield was significantly correlated with plant height, plant height, main stem diameter, leaflet length, lateral branch number, fresh weight of shoot, root fresh weight, dry shoot weight, root dry weight, shoot yield, total phenol, total flavonoid and glycyrrhizic acid. There was a positive and significant correlation between dry weight ratio of root and shoot in 5%, but no significant correlation was observed between leaf length, leaf width, leaf number and leaf width. Based on the results of cluster analysis, 22 populations were divided into four main groups. Factor analysis showed that the first four factors were able to justify 84.184 percent of the total variance.

The overall results of this study showed that there is a great diversity among the studied populations on the basis of morphological and functional traits. According to the results of D, E, MS, SH, SP, and TF populations, they have desirable traits and proper yields and were identified as the most desirable populations in this research, which indicates high genetic potential among different populations and which can be considered as superior populations in breeding projects in order to create high quality and desirable food industries and the medicine was used.

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) is one of the oldest and most important medicinal plants in Fabaceae, used for curing many diseases since 4000 years ago. This study was conducted to evaluate the genetic diversity of 22 different licorice populations based on morphological and yield traits at the research field of the Faculty of Agriculture, Zanjan University, during 2016 to 2018. Morphological and yield traits including plant height and width, leaf length and width, number, length and width of leaflets, number of lateral branches, main stem diameter, aerial parts fresh and dry weight, root fresh and dry weight, root to aerial parts ratio and aerial parts and root yields (per m2) were measured. Canonical discriminant (CDA) and cluster (CA) analyses were used to group the populations. In CDA, the first two canonical variables were significant. The first canonical variable included plant height and width, main stem diameter, leaf length and the number of leaflets, and the second one included aerial parts fresh and dry weight, root fresh and dry weight, root and aerial parts yields. The second canonical variable had the greatest role in population separation and grouping. Canonical variables divided populations into four main groups and confirmed CA clustering results. In general, the results indicated the good potential of canonical discriminant analysis in evaluating the genetic diversity and identifying the index traits in licorice.

Glycyrrhiza glabra L. is a family of Legominos, herbaceous, perennial and Iran is one of the countries exporting its root. This plant grows in different regions of Iran, hence the study of phytochemical diversity in different regions is important. This study was carried out to evaluate the content of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of 2 cm diameter roots of licorice populations in 15 provinces and 30 regions of Iran in 2017 in October and were transferred to the laboratories of the Department of Horticulture of Zanjan University. Total phenol (Folin–Ciocalteu method), total flavonoid (Aluminum Chloride method), anthocyanin (pH difference method) and antioxidant activity (DPPH method) were studied. The results of analysis of variance of data showed that among 30 populations, for all traits, there was a significant difference in the level of one percent. Total phenol traits ranging from 456.05 to 826 mg gallic acid per 100 g, total flavonoid between 1909.25 to 292.62 mg of quercetin per 100 g, anthocyanin levels ranging from 6.89 to 26.24 mg cyanidine-3-glucoside in Liter, the antioxidant activity varied between 62.07% and 87.14%. There was a significant and positive correlation between phenol total phenotype and antioxidant activity at 1% level, but there was no significant correlation with total flavonoid, anthocyanin and height. Based on the results of cluster analysis, 30 G. glabra were divided into two main groups. The evaluation of populations in terms of phytochemical traits showed a high variation that N, KA, BA, T, E, Y, M, MR, and SB populations

To study the effect of foliar application of proline and salicylic acid on growth, morphological and phytochemical traits of Stevia, an experiment based on completely randomized block design in a factorial arrangement was conducted with three replications in the University of Zanjan. Foliar applications of proline in three levels (0, 1, 2 mM) as well as salicylic acid (0, 0.3, 0.6 mM) were applied after establishment of transplants in the field three times with 10 days intervals. Factors including leaf area, leaf fresh and dry weight, total fresh and dry weight, chlorophyll a, b and total chlorophyll, carotenoid, total phenol, total flavonoid and antioxidant activity were studied. Results showed that salicylic acid and proline applications significantly influenced above mentioned traits. The highest average leaf area/ plant (5949.39 cm2), leaf fresh (787.17 g/m2) and dry leaf weight (228.5 g/m2), total fresh (1339.23 g/m2) and total dry weight (327.52 g/m2) were recorded in 1 mM proline in combination with 0.3 mM salicylic acid. Solely applications of proline at 2 mM and salicylic acid at 0.6 mM enhanced chlorophyll a, b, carotenoid and total flavonoid contents. The highest average total chlorophyll (5.23 mg/g fw) observed in 2 mM proline in combination with 0.3 mM salicylic acid and highest phenol (19.94 mg/g dw) recorded in 1 mM proline in combination with 0.6 mM salicylic acid. Collectively, results showed that application of proline and salicylic acid significantly improved vegetative growth and production of active substances in Stevia rebaudiana.

In order to evaluate the effects of salicylic acid, methyljasmonate and their interactions on some features of Echinacea purpurea L., a factorial experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with three replicates in Zanjan climate conditions. Treatments included three levels of salicylic acid (0, 1 and 2 mM) as first factor and methyl jasmonate at three levels (0, 0.5 and 1 mM) as second factor. Traits which were studied were as follow: plant height, leaf area, number of flowers and percentage of plant dry weight as morphological traits, total chlorophyll, carotenoids and flavonoids as physiological traits, activity of antioxidant enzymes such as peroxidase and catalase and essential oil percentage. Results showed that the interaction of 1 mM salicylic acid and 0.5 mM methyl jasmonate had the highest effect on the activity of catalase and peroxidase enzymes activity. Foliar application of salicylic acid at the 1 mM increased the height, leaf area and number of flowers. Among the different concentrations of methyl jasmonate, the concentration of 1 mM had the highest effect on total chlorophyll, carotenoids and flavonoids compared to salicylic acid treatments and the concentration of 2 mM salicylic acid which had the highest effect on essential oil percentage compared to methyl jasmonate treatments. In conclusion, the simple effect of 2 mM salicylic acid and 1 mM methyl jasmonate foliar application significantly improved most of the traits measured in this study compared to control treatment.

In order to study the effects of biofertilizers of nitroxin (0, 2, 4 L.h-1) and biosulphur (0, 2, 4 kg.h-1) Containing “plant growth promotor Bacteria” on quantity and quality of medicinal plant of winter cherry (Physalis alkekengi L.) an experiment in a factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design with nine treatments (Nitroxin 2 and 4 L.h-1, Biosulphur 2 and 4 kg.h-1, Nitroxin 2 L.h-1 + Biosulphur 2 kg.h-1, Nitroxin 2 L.h-1 + Biosulphur 4 kg.h-1, Nitroxin 4 L.h-1 + Biosulphur 2 kg.h-1, , Nitroxin 4 L.h-1 + Biosulphur 4 kg.h-1 and No Biofertilizer) and three replications was conducted in agricultural faculty of Zanjan University in 2016. Results of this experiment showed that biofertilizers of Nitroxin and biosulfur had significant effect on growth indices, yield and quality of winter cherry but weight of Calyx not affected by experimental treatments. The maximum Plant height  (53 cm), stem diameter (6.1 mm), internod distance (7.33 mm), leaf area (422.3 cm2), number of branches (58), Aerial part fresh weight (371.3 g), Aerial part dry weight (78 g) were obtained in integrated treatment of four liters nitroxin with four kilograms of biosulfur. The maximum fruit weight (1.96 g), fruit diameter (1.96 mm), total yield  (6.82 t.h-1), Chlorophyll a (4.01 mg.g-1 leaf fresh weight), leaf nitrogen content (3.02 percent), leaf sulfur content (0.20 percent) were obtained in integrated treatment of four liters nitroxin with four kilograms of biosulfur. Also, the most total phenol (14.07 mg/g fruit DW), carotenoids (12.16 mg/g fruit FW), anthocyanins (17.7 mg mg/g fruit DW), and physaline (1.56 percent) obtained in treatment of four liters nitroxin per hectare. Most of the chlorophyll b (2.76 mg/g leaf fresh weight) in integrated treatment of two kilograms per hectare of biosulfur with four liters per hectare of nitroxin. Overall, based on results it seem that biofertilizers of Nitroxin and biosulfur application can increase the economic performance, quality and quantity characteristics of winter cherry compared to control.

The effect of salicylic acid and glycine betaine foliar application on morpho-physiological characteristics of Carla (Momordica charantia L.) under water deficit stress, were studied by an experiment as split plot based on randomized complete block design with three replications in 2017 at Zanjan University Research Farm. The treatments consisted of three levels of irrigation, 50, 75 and 100% of field capacity as the main factor and two levels of salicylic acid (2 and 4 m M), two levels of glycine betaine (50 and 100 m M) as Sub factors were used. The results showed that the increase in water deficit stress significantly reduced the total chlorophyll content, vitamin C content, seed weight, plant length and number of fruits per plant. But increasing in water deficit stress caused a significant increase in the amount of proline and Ion leakage. The application of salicylic acid and glycine betaine increased the Ion leakage and total chlorophyll content, vitamin C, proline, plant length, number of fruits per plant, but did not have a significant effect on seed weight. In general, due to the fact that the use of salicylic acid and glycine betaine have ability to improve the morphological and physiological traits of treated plants. It seems that application of these treatments can increase Carla tolerance to water deficit stress.

Genetic diversity among Russian olive genotypes in three different regions of East-Azerbaijan province (includes Tabriz, Maragheh and Malekan) were assessed using morphological and molecular (AFLP) markers. Results of the quantitative and qualitative traits statistics showed a significant genetic variation among studied germplasm and categorized them in five distinguished groups. The most number of genotypes from Maragheh region were in group 1, while, the group 3 consisted of the majority of genotypes from Tabriz region. All genotypes were analyzed with 14 EcoRI-MseI primer combinations. A total of 439 informative and polymorph AFLP markers was generated and analyzed. Based on Jaccard Similarity Index, the minimum genetic similarity was observed between genotype 19 (from Malekan region) and 27 (from Maragheh). The principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) showed the suitable genomic distribution of AFLP markers among individuals. The highest (0.83 %) and lowest (0.33 %) polymorphic information content achieved by primers combination MTTT-EGA and MGT-ETA, respectively. Cluster analysis using molecular data and UPGMA algorithm, classified the studied genotypes in three distinguished groups. The genotypes at the same geographical region did not classify in the same group based on clustering by molecular data. However, this achieved to a large extent when they were classified groups using morphological traits. This result might be explained in terms of convergent evolution and some in part due to asexual propagation of Russian olive from the limited maternal genotypes and distribution across the different geographical regions.

This study was designed to investigate the total phenolic content, total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity of fruits methanolic extracts from Momordica charantia L., Ecballium elaterium (L.) A.Rich, Cucurbita pepo L. cultivar pumpkin, Lagenaria siceraria L. cultivar Marankka belonging to Cucurbitaceae family. For this purpose, a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications. The matured fruits were harvested from the research farm in Zanjan University during the September to December 2017. Phytochemical characteristics of total phenol content (Folin– Ciocalteu method), total flavonoid (Aluminum Chloride method) and antioxidant activity (DPPH method) were evaluated. The highest level of phenolic and flavonoid contents was recorded for the fruit methanolic extracts  from the Ecballium elaterium (L.) and Momordica charantia L., with 85.5±3.5 mg GAE/g and 12.13±0.8, respectively. The results of DPPH test were showed that the methanolic extract of Momordica charantia exhibited potent activity (97.09%±0.96), followed by Ecballium elaterium (87.8%±1.5) and the lowest antioxidant activity related to methanolic extract of pumpkin fruit (58.02%±2.7). Furthermore, there was a strong correlation between flavonoids content and antioxidant activity (P=0.87) and also there was a positive correlation between phenolic content and antioxidant activity (P=0.54). Generally, the phytochemical analysis showed that, Ecballium and Karella extracts here rich in polyphenol compounds against other sspecies and can be used as food.drug-

The excessive use of chemical fertilizers has caused a lot of environmental problems, so the use of organic and humic compounds, especially fulvic acid, has been considered in the production of horticultural crops. This research was carried out to evaluate the effect of foliar application of fulvic acid on quality and antioxidant properties of grapevine cv. Fakhri at four levels (0, 2.5, 5 and 10 g/l) using a randomized complete block design with three replications. Grapes were cultivated in a traditional traning system. The vines were sprayed at three stages: 1- Berry formation, 2- Lag phase, 3- Veraison. After harvesting, (Brix 20) qualitative and antioxidant properties of fruits were evaluated. Results of the experiment showed that 2.5 g/l of fulvic acid significantly increased soluble solids, vitamin C, soluble sugars, total phenol, antioxidant capacity of fruits, chlorophyll and leaf potassium content while 10 g/l of fulvic acid increased only titratable acidity of fruits. With increasing fulvic acid concentration evaluated traits decreased, so that 10 g/l fulvic acid did not show significant effect on improving qualitative and antioxidant properties of fruits. Application of fulvic acid did not show significant effect on fruit flavonoid, and carotenoid, phosphorus and nitrogen contents of leaves. As final result, fulvic acid treatment had an important effect on improving the qualitative and antioxidant properties of Fakhri cultivar and 2.5 g/l had the highest effect which is recommended to be considered as a best concentration.

In order to investigate the effect of different nitrogen sources on some quantitative and biochemical characteristics of Saffron Petals, an experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with three replications on the Research Farm of University of Zanjan. The treatments were Azotobarvar-1 bio-fertilizer (containing free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria Azotobacter vinelandii) with two levels (0.1 and 0.2 percent), Nitrokara (containing symbiotic and free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria Azorhizobium caulinodan) with two levels (1 and 2 percent) and combinations of both of them with four treatments (1percent Nitrokara 0.1 percent Azotobarvar-1, 1 percent Nitrokara 0.2 percent Azotobarvar-1, 2 percent Nitrokara 0.1 percent Azotobarvar-1, 2 percent Nitrokara 0.2 percent Azotobarvar-1) compared to control and one nitrogen level (40 kg/ha). The results showed that the highest yield of petals and stigma were obtained in 0.2 percent Azotobacter while the highest average dry flower weight resulted in 2 percent Azorhizobium treatment. The highest leaf nitrogen content and total chlorophyll were obtained in 0.2 percent Azotobacter and 40 kg/ha of nitrogen treatments. Also 40 Kg/ha nitrogen resulted in the highest leaf area. The highest antioxidant, total phenol and anthocyanin of tepal were achieved in 0.1 percent Azotobacter while the highest amount of flavonoid was observed in 1 percent Azorhizobium. The results showed that the application of all treatments increased yield of saffron petals. The 0.2 percent Azotobacter was the best treatment in terms of quantity of petal yield and 0.1 percent Azotobacter resulted in highest antioxidant content and therefore it can be recommended

This experiment was conducted in order to investigate the morphological and physiological responses of vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides L. Roberty), to water deficit stress and salicylic acid application in department of horticultural sciences at the University of Zanjan in 2015. After 6 months of planting transplants into pots, three soil available water levels (40, 70 and 100%) and salicylic acid concentrations (0, 1 and 2 mili Molar) were applied in a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with three replications for 6 weeks. salicylic acid applied through foliar spray weekly. Generally, water deficit reduced root and shoot dry weight and leaf chlorophyll content. Root length, total phenol, proline and electrolyte leakage of leaves was increased by reducing the amount of available water. Salicylic acid application improved negative effects of water deficit in all attributes and its effect was more pronounced in 40% available water treatment. In all available water levels, there was no significant difference between 1 and 2 mili Molar salicylic acid treatments in root dry weight and leaves total phenol whereas in other factors, 2 mili Molar salicylic acid application had better result and plants in this treatment had higher shoot dry weight, proline and chlorophyll content and less electrolyte leakage than 1 mili Molar salicylic acid treatment, suggesting that in order to increase water deficit tolerance of vetiver grass, higher concentration of this plant growth regulator must be evaluated.

In order to evaluate the effect of micronutrients of iron, zinc and manganese on characteristics of borage, an experiment conducted in the base of randomized complete block design with three replications at University of Zanjan in 2015. Treatments were levels of 0 (control), 3 and 6 per thousand of micronutrients of Fe, Zn and Mn with total of 15 treatments. Foliar micronutrients applied in both stem elongation and flowering stages. Results showed that Highest 1000-seed weight and Seed yield obtained in combination of 3 g/lit iron and zinc (Fe1晽) treatment and the highest number of inflorescences were in treatment of zinc and manganese at 3 g/lit (Zn1㉽). Foliar application of iron, zinc and manganese (Fe1晽縲) 3 g/lit, showed the greatest effects on the content of chlorophyll and anthocyanin. Combination of iron and manganese at 6 g/lit (Fe2㉽) had the greatest impact on seed oil content and foliar application of iron plus manganese 3 g/lit (Fe1㉽) had the greatest impact on the level of Peroxidase. In conclusion, the results showed that the application of micronutrients of iron, zinc and manganese had significant effects on indices such as: Seed yield, Oil percentage, 1000-seed weight, chlorophyll and anthocyanin content.

Peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) from Lamiaceae family is one of the most widely used medicinal plants. In addition to therapeutic effects, it is used as flavoring in the production of various foods and medicinal products. In addition to genotype, the quality and quantity of active ingredients in medicinal plants are influenced by environmental factors. This research was aimed to study the effects of drought stress and jasmonic acid on the quality and quantity of peppermint as a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design at University of Zanjan in 2015. The treatments consisted of three irrigation levels [50%, 75%, and 100% (control) of field capacity] as main factor and three concentrations of jasmonic acid (0, 50, and 100 mg l-1) as sub-factor. Rhizomes of plants were used for plant production. The plant samples were collected at flowering stage and after drying in the shade, the essential oil was extracted with water distillation method by Clevenger apparatus. The essential oil components were identified by GC and GC-MS. The results showed that the highest fresh and dry weight, height, total chlorophyll and relative leaf water content were obtained in control with 100 mg l-1 jasmonic acid. The highest peroxidase enzyme content was obtained at 50% field capacity drought stress with 100 mg l-1 jasmonic acid. The highest essential oil content was obtained at 75% field capacity drought stress with application of 50 mg l-1 jasmonic acid. The main essential oil components were menthol, menthon, 1,8-cineole, cyclohexanol, and methyl acetate. The highest amounts of menthol, menton, and 1,8-cineole were obtained from 100 mg l-1 jasmonic acid and the highest amount of cyclohexanol was obtained from 50 mg l-1 jasmonic acid. However, application of jasmonic acid decreased the amount of methyl acetate from 7.24% in control to 0.56% in 100 mg l-1 of JA treatment.

Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is one of the most important medicinal plants that its essential oil utilized in different medicinal industries. In order to investigate the effect of nitrogen and iron nutrients on morphological characteristics and essential oil content and yield of Sweet Basil, this research was performed in agricultural research farm of the University of Zanjan. The experiment conducted based on randomized complete block design in factorial arrangements with three replications. Factors include four levels of nitrogen (0, 60, 120 and 180 kg.ha-1) as urea and iron in three levels (0, 2 and 4 g.L-1) as nano iron chelate. Results showed that nitrogen and iron applications significantly influenced on number of lateral branches, number of nodes, plant height, fresh and dry weight, essential oil content and total essential oil production. The highest content of essential oil (i.e. 0.84%) was recorded in 2 g.L-1 iron followed by the combination of 2 g.L-1 iron plus 180 kg.ha-1 nitrogen (i.e. 0.79%) compared to 0.51% essential oil in control treatment. The highest fresh and dry weight, and total essential oil production was recorded in 2 g.L-1 iron in combination with 180 kg.ha-1 nitrogen. In this treatment the total essential oil production (13.6 kg.ha-1) was reached to almost twice of the control (7.1 kg.ha-1). Collectively the results showed that the best treatment for highest vegetative growth leading to high fresh and dry weight and essential oil production achieved in 2 g.L-1 iron in combination with 180 kg.ha-1 nitrogen.

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of application of organic fertilizers on the yield of medicinal plant, calendula (Calendula officinalis L.). The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with 10 treatments and 3 replications in the research farm of Zanjan University. Treatments included cattle manure, poultry manure, and vermicompost, each at three levels (5, 10, and 15 tons per hectare) and control (without fertilizer). The measured traits were the thousand seed weight, number of capitules per plant, leaf area, plant height, petal dry weight, capitule diameter, chlorophyll content index, flavonoids, carotenoids, and essential oil percentage. Data were analyzed by SAS software, and mean comparisons was performed by Duncan's test. The results showed significant effects of fertilizer on thousand seed weight, capitule number per plant, leaf area, carotenoids, and essential oil percentage at p≤0.01, and plant height, petal dry weight, and flavonoid at p≤0.05. The type of fertilizer had no significant effect on capitule diameter and leaf chlorophyll content. Overall, the results showed that using organic fertilizers had favorable impact on yield, growth characteristics, and active ingredients content of Calendula.

Achillea millefolium L. from Asteraceae family is considered as an important medicinal plant in the world and also in our country which has considerable secondary metabolites, especially essential oils. Active substances of this plant are used not only in old and modern medicine but also in hygienic, cosmetic and medical industry. In this research, we studied yield and chemical composition of yarrow essential oils from 15 different ecological regions of Iran. For essential oils isolation, the aerial parts of the plant were collected from habitats, in June and July 2009 at full flowering stage. Samples were dried at room temperature and the essential oils were prepared by hydrodistillation method.The oil yields were calculated on dry weight basis and the analysis of the essential oils was carried out by GC and GC-MS. The results showed that total content of essential oils was variable from 0.32 - 0.72% in different populations. The color of the essential oils varied from pale yellow to dark blue and a close relation was found between composition and color of the essential oils. According to the results, essential oil of Achillea millefolium L. in populations of Iran showed a great diversity with regard to the type of the chemical compositions (high chemical polymorphism). Regarding the major components of the oils, seven chemotypes were identified as follows: 1) 1,8-cineole, 2) p-Cymene, 3) cubenol, 4) chamazulene, 5) chrysanthenone + camphor, 6) Lavandulyl acetate + camphor, and 7) camphor + Limonene.

Tuberose is one of the most important floral crops in Iran. Long spikes of fragrant flowers make it excellent for cut flower. Due to the beauty and sweet fragrance of flowers, it used in all seasons for flower arrangements. Production of high quality flowers and vase life extension is important for competition in world markets. For this reason this research was conducted on Polianthes tuberosa var Double base on factorial experiment in RCB (randomized complete block design) with three replications. Both gibberellic acid (GA3) and benzyl adenine (BA) were sprayed on bulbs and foliage of plants at four concentration levels. Results showed that gibberellic acid and benzyl adenine treatments had significant differences in all of the measured indices at one percent level. Gibberellic acid increased stem and rachis length in some concentrations and also accelerated flower stalk emerge. Benzyl adenine increased stem diameter, floret numbers and vase life and preceded flowering. Both of these plant growth regulators improved water uptake by cut flowers and increased diameter of second floret but decreased ethylene production of the flowers. Essential oils of flowers were extracted by solvent extraction method. Both of the plant growth regulators had negative effects on essential oils of flowers, but in 1000 mg.l-1 of BA essential oils of flowers were higher than other concentrations.