ایرجاللهدادی

The camelina plant is a little-known plant Brassicaceae family. Camelina is an example of renewable vegetable oil that is considered a sustainable energy source. Seed yield and oil quality are the most obvious breeding objectives in the Brassicaceae family, while seed yield in agricultural plants, as their most complex trait, is influenced by a large number of physiological processes and the measurable expression is manifested in the physiological and morphological characteristics of the plant. Therefore, the analysis of physiological (growth) indicators is considered essential to understanding and interpreting changes in plant performance in response to environmental conditions. However, there is very limited information on the comparison of growth and functional traits of Camelina genotypes in the country. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare the effects of physiological characteristics of 40 double haploid Camelina lines in the country.

In this study, 40 Camelina genotypes in terms of physiological traits and yield including leaf area index, crop growth rate, relative growth rate, net assimilation rate, specific leaf area, grain yield and oil yield were compared in a randomized complete block design with three replications in the research farm of Faculty of Agricultural Technology (Aburaihan), the University of Tehran, Pakdasht in 2020. It is worth mentioning that for measurement of the traits studied, the Soheil cultivar, which has long been grown both in the test area and in other parts of the country and is considered one of the well-known and widespread cultivar in the country, is considered as a control and other lines were compared with Soheil cultivar.

The results of the present study showed a significant difference between the Camelina lines in terms of physiological growth characteristics, the differences eventually led to significant differences in seed yield and thus had an impact on seed yield and oil content. This theme also shows and confirms the high and differential roles of genotype on camelina yield. In general, the results of this research showed that there is a positive correlation between the seed yield of camelina with the crop growth rate and the net assimilation rate, and there is a negative correlation with the specific leaf area at the 5% probability level. So, line 134 with the maximum leaf area index (2.34), and line 110 with the maximum growth rate (14.49) and net assimilation rate (8.13 g/m2 per day), in terms of the final grain yield were identified as the superior lines with 3178 and 3120 kg/ha, respectively. Also, the specific leaf area, which is directly related to the amount of light loss, was higher in low-yield genotypes than in lines 134 and 110.

The results of the present study showed the direct effect of seed yield on camelina oil yield. So that the greater compatibility of lines 110 and 134 with the studied culture environment has increased the dry matter accumulation and seed yield in the mentioned lines by increasing the plant growth rate and as a result has brought about a significant increase in seed oil yield in these lines. Since the purpose of cultivating Camelina oilseeds is, in addition to the seed harvest, to obtain oil of adequate quantity and quality, we can consider lines 134 and 110 as a whole as superior and promising double haploid lines, compatible with the climate conditions of the region.

Industrialization and destructive human activities have led to a rapid spread of heavy elements contamination in soil. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of silicon and salicylic acid on yield and physiological traits of corn in Rahimi and Molavi farms (contaminated with heavy metals and located near lead and zinc factors in Zanjan) in 2020, by using a factorial design based on randomized complete blocks. Factors included spraying salicylic acid at zero, 600, 1200, and 1800 µM, and spraying nanosilicon at zero, 600, 1200 and 1800 mM. Based on the results of soil analysis, lead, zinc, and cadmium concentrations in both fields were higher than the allowable limit and this heavy metal contamination was more severe in Rahimi field. Heavy metal contamination reduced plant height, grain yield and yield components, biological yield, chlorophyll content, and proline levels. The highest grain yield and grain weight were obtained with 1800 µM salicylic acid and 1200 mM nanosilicon treatments, and the lowest with the control treatment (without salicylic acid or nanosilicon). The highest chlorophyll content was obtained from 1800 µM salicylic acid treatment on Molavi's farm and the maximum amount of chlorophyll was observed in 1800 mM nanosilicon treatment. Overall, the treatments improved the yield, chlorophyll content, and relative water content of corn leaves. It is recommended to spray 1800 µM salicylic acid and 1200 mM nanosilicon on the corn fields in this area to increase the stress tolerance under heavy metal conditions.

To evaluate the changes in essential oil and chemical compounds of ginger plant under the influence of irrigation interval and NPK macronutrients, an experiment was carried out using randomized complete blocks in the form of a split plot with 9 treatments and 3 replications in Pakdasht Region, in 2021. Treatments included irrigation internals at three levels: V1=4, V2=6, and V3=8 days, as the main factor, and NPK at three levels, F1= (N: 300, P: 100, K: 200), F2= (350, 150, 250), F3 :( 250, 50, 150) (kg.ha-1) as the sub-factor. Extraction of essential oil in this research was done by distillation with water using a Cloninger machine, and the analysis of essential oil compounds was done by gas chromatograph, and 34 chemical compounds were identified. The main components of essential oil in terms of percentage included (α-zingiberene=23.65), (geranial=11.09), (camphene=9.58), (β-sesquiphellandrene =8.43), (β-bisabolene=3.75) and (α-curcumene=2.6). These 6 compounds included 59.1% of the total ginger essential oil, and the other 28 compounds made up only 40.9% of the total essential oil. The results of analysis of variance showed that the interaction effect of irrigation and studied fertilizers on essential oil and main compounds of ginger essential oil were significant at the 1% probability level. The best treatments for essential oil and camphene traits were V1F3, geranial V3F2, α-zingiberene V1F2, and for three traits of α-curcumene, β-bisabolene, and β-sesquiphellandrene was V3F3. Some of the compounds in ginger essential oil were increased by optimal irrigation and supply of essential nutrients for the plant, but some compounds increased under water stress and insufficiency of NPK.

To evaluate the plant adaptation and effects of irrigation cycles and NPK elements on growth and yield parameters of Zingiber officinale R., a split-plot experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design with nine treatments and three replications in two regions including Pakdasht (Tehran province) and Lahijan (Gilan province) in 2021. The experimental factors included irrigation cycle at three levels (4 (V1), 6 (V2), and 8 (V3) days) as the main factor and NPK elements at three levels (N300P100K200 (F1), N350P150K250 (F2), and N250P50K150 (F3) (kg.ha-1)) as the sub-factor. The results showed that the irrigation×NPK effects was significant on plant height, number of leaves per plant, leaf area, number of branches per plant, leaf area index, fresh and rhizome dry weight, and rhizome yield at the 1% probability level and on stem diameter at the 5% probability level in Pakdasht region. The V1F2 treatment was the best one in this region. In Lahijan region, the irrigation×NPK effects was significant on number of leaves per plant and rhizome yield at the 1% probability level and on plant height and stem diameter at the 5% probability level. The best result in Lahijan was obtained in the V1F2 treatment. Also, in terms of leaf area, number of branches per plant, and leaf area index, V1 and F2 was the best treatments in Lahijan. Fresh and rhizome dry weight had the best results in the V2 and F2 treatments. Overall, the studied traits in Lahijan climate were superior to Pakdasht climate and every 4 days irrigation for Pakdasht and every 6 days for Lahijan had the best results.

Most saline areas where plants do not have suitable conditions for growth are exposed to soil erosion and desertification. Plant species that are highly resistant to drought and salinity can be cultivated in these areas. These plants can prevent soil erosion. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of planting date and salinity on the biological stability of Salicornia iranica against fine dust stress.

This experiment was performed as a factorial split in a randomized complete block design with three replications during the growing season 2019-2020 in the research farm of the college of Aburaihan, University of Tehran, Pakdasht, Iran. Factors tested included: three planting dates: April 1, April 6, April 31 as the main plots, fine dust agent at three levels (control (without applying fine dust), spreading fine dust on the plant for 5 days and 10 days), to Sub-plots were considered in two separate areas: saline area (area one with the salinity of 7.55 dS / m) and non-saline area (area two with the salinity of 2.8 dS / m). The mass used in this experiment was Yazd mass.

The results showed that fine dust treatment and planting date had a significant effect on all traits. The highest membrane stability in zones one and two on the date of first planting in the control treatment was obtained with an average of 79 and 78%, respectively. The highest chlorophyll-a in zones one and two were obtained on the date of the second planting in the control treatment (without application of fine dust) with an average of 76.2 and 77.6 mg per leaf fresh weight, respectively. The highest amount of chlorophyll b in zones one and two on the date of the second planting was obtained in the control treatment (without the application of fine dust) with an average of 58 and 59 mg.g-1 fresh weight, respectively. Comparison of the mean data in region one showed that the highest percentage of relative leaf moisture on the first planting date in non-stress conditions (with an average of 81%) and in region two (salinity 2.8) on the second planting date in the control treatment (Without the application of fine dust) with an average of 80%. The highest and lowest heights of the Salicornia plant were on the second planting date in the control treatment (without application of fine dust) in zone one with an average of 60 cm and the second planting date on the third planting date in the ten-day treatment with a mean of 18 cm, respectively. Was obtained The highest wet and dry forage yields were observed in zones one and two on the second planting date in the control treatment (without application of fine dust) with an average of 218, 9.8, and 107, 77 g.plant-1, respectively.

The results showed that Salicornia performed better in saline soil. On the other hand, the study of traits showed that the planting date could increase the resistance of Salicornia to fine dust stress because in the second planting date, the percentage of reduction in all traits was less than the first and third planting dates. Among the agronomic factors, planting time is one of the most important factors determining plant yield. The planting date for each species in a particular area should be considered according to the ambient temperature and soil at the time of planting and also based on the fact that the plant does not interfere with flowering at high temperatures.

In order to investigate the effects of humic acid as liquid form and mother corm weight on flower yield and active substances of saffron, a field experiment was conducted as factorial layout based on a randomized complete block design with three replications during June, 2016 at saffron research farm of College of Abouraihan, University of Tehran located in Pakdasht, east south of Tehran province. Experimental factors were consisted of four levels of humic acid (0, 25, 50 and 100 L.ha-1) and mother corm weights including small (3-5g) and large (8-10g). Humic acid was applied in early September companion with first irrigation. The results showed that number of flower, fresh weight of flower, and dry weight of stigma and number of days to flowering was significantly influenced by humic acid levels while stigma length was not affected by humic acid. The highest number of flowers (11.3 No.m-2) was obtained in 25 L.ha-1 humic acid as well as large corms, while the lowest was recorded in control (2.3 No.m-2). Also humic acid application improved active ingredients. The highest value of picrocin (92.2%) was obtained from 25 L.ha-1 humic acid as well as large coms. The most safranal (44.81%) was obtained in 50 L.ha-1 humic acid and the least content was observed in control (32.68%). Totally, the results indicated that use of humic acid, while improving soil properties, water saving, dissolution and release of elements, and subsequently more uptake by the roots of large corms led to improved flower characteristics and the active ingredients of saffron stigma.

In order to evaluate the yield components, seed yield, and oil content of Camelina doubled haploid lines, an experiment has been conducted based on a randomized complete block design with 40 doubled haploid lines (as treatments) and three replications in the research farm of College of Aburaihan- the University of Tehran, Pakdasht during 2020. Since the yield characteristics and oil content of Camelina lines are unknown in the Iranian climate, the study investigates seed yield components, as well as oil yield and oil content of 40 Camelina lines. The results show a very significant difference between Camelina lines in terms of yield components, which ultimately leads to significant differences in grain yield, thus affecting the grain oil yield. Although none of the lines has had absolute superiority in all components of grain yield, in terms of final grain yield, line of 134 with 3178 and line of 110 with 3120 kg/ha are identified as superior lines. Therefore, according to the purpose of this study, in order to select the best Camelina line with maximum grain and oil yield, 134 and 110 lines are introduced and recommended as superior and promising lines that are compatible with the climatic conditions of the Pakdasht region.

To evaluate the effect of living mulches on weed control and yield of Black cumin (Nigella sativa L.)  weeds by living mulch, a factorial split experiment has been conducted in the form of a randomized complete block design with four replications in the research farm of Aburaihan Campus, the University of Tehran in the 2017-2018 crop year. Factors of seedbed planting (stale seedbed and simple), type of living mulch (berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.), fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.), and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), as well as planting time of living mulch (two weeks before and at the same time of black seed cultivation). The first factor is in the main plots and the combination of the second and third factors, in the subplots. Results show that fenugreek and alfalfa have been more successful in terms of weed control than clover with a 40% reduction in weed density and biomass, compared to the control without either live mulch or weeding. Also, in order to achieve the highest percentage of black cumin yield traits (83.02, 93.44, and 50.50), the number of capsules per plant, number of seeds per capsule, and 1000-seed weight are compared to the control. It is recommended to cultivate fenugreek at the same time as black cumin. In case of alfalfa, pre-sowing is also recommended. Stale seedbed planting system does not play a positive and significant role in weed control and increase in black seed yield traits. It is also better to grow fenugreek at the same time as black seed to get more seed yield in black cumin, but in case of alfalfa, it is better to plant earlier than black seed in the absence of any significant difference among planting times. It seems that alfalfa and fenugreek control weeds by accelerating canopy closure, increasing weed competition with black seed, not interfering negatively with black seed growth, and providing nitrogen to black seed have increased its yield.

To study the effect of slow release hydrogel-urea complex (SRHUC) on chlorophyll fluorescence and morphological parameters of barley under drought stress, an experiment was performed in 2017-2018 as factorial in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications in the greenhouse of Aburaihan campus of University of Tehran. The combination of factorial levels were as fertilization factor containing nitrogen (N) from urea source in five levels of no N application, equivalent 125 and 65 kg.ha-1 N without and with SRHUC as CU-N125, CU-N65, SRHUC-N125 and SRHUC-N65, respectivly and drought stress in three levels of 70, 50 and 30% FC. Drought stress decreased flag leaf area and the lowest value (13.12 cm2) belonged to 30% FC. Furthermoreit decreased flag leaf dry weight, total number of tiller and SPAD index. SRHUC-N125, SRHUC-N65 and CU-N125 have showed the highest values of maximum (Fm) and variable (Fv) fluorescences. In 50% FC, N-containing treatmenats had the highest Fv/Fo and SRHUC treatments showed the highest performance index based on absorption (PIABS) that were equal to 1.66 and 1.60. In 30% FC, the lowest value (10913) of minimum fluorescence (Fo) was related to SRHUC-N125. SRHUC-N125 caused the highest flag leaf area (16.8cm2), stem diameter (4.2 mm) and SPAD index (43.6). It can be concluded that better N availability in Goharan cultivar, had favorable effects on chlorophyll fluorescence and growth parameters, especially in drought stress, and SRHUC application might result in more appropriate chlorophyll fluorescence and growth characteristics.

Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important component of human, livestock and poultry diet and its quality is increasingly being considered by the world market. In maize grain, protein and amino acids are important nutritional parameters that in addition to genetics, can be greatly affected by environmental factors and crop management practices. On the other hand, the increasing need for quality parameters such as protein requires the development of rapid and accurate measurement tools. Near-infrared (NIR) is a proven method for measuring the concentration of protein and amino acids, as it is described as a fast, low-cost, non-destructive and green method.

In order to determine the effect of some agronomic factors on protein, total essential (EAA) and non-essential amino acids (NAA) and their relationships with maize grain yield, a field experiment was conducted in 2018 in a split-split plot factorial arrangement and as Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications where was considered irrigation intervals as main factor (12 days and 6 days intervals), planting date as sub factor (21 June and 22 July), maize cultivars (KSC704 and KSC260) and nitrogen fertilizer rate (zero and 400 kg ha-1 Urea) as factorial treatments. Irrigation with 6 days intervals, 400 kg ha-1 Urea and planting date 21 June were considered as typical non-stress conditions and common cultivation system of the region. At the physiological maturity stage, plants harvested from the second and third row of each plot were used to determine grain yield. The ears were shelled and the kernels were dried in a laboratory oven at the temperature of 60 °C until completely dry. Then grains were ground and the percentage of grain protein, EAA and NAA, were measured using a near infrared (NIR) spectrometer (model FOSS NIRS XDS – Denmark) in the wavelength range of 1100 to 2500 nm with five intervals. Data obtained were examined by analysis of variance using the F test by SAS (version 9). The F values were considered significant at the error probability level of 5% (p < 0.05). Minitab software (version 17) was used to calculate the correlation and regression coefficients.

The results revealed that higher irrigation, nitrogen, early planting date, and KSC260 cultivar increased grain yield by 18.26, 8.03, 29.06 and 7.70%, respectively. The interaction effect of irrigation and nitrogen on protein concentration was significant (P ≤ 0.05). Lower irrigation and higher nitrogen fertilizer increased the protein by 0.78% compared with non-fertilizer treatment. The protein concentration in the KSC260 was higher than KSC 704 by 1.06%. The effect of irrigation on all amino acids excluding valine, lysine and tryptophan was significant and they were increased as irrigation intervals increased. Applying urea increased all amino acids except lysine. The effect of planting date on some amino acids was significant and they often were higher by late planting date. The effect of cultivar on all amino acids excluding asparagine, lysine and tryptophan was significant and was higher in KSC260 than KSC 704. Higher irrigation and nitrogen application decreased EAA to NAA ratio by 0.20 and 0.09%, respectively (P ≤ 0.05). Grain yield was positively correlated with protein, TAA and NAA concentration (Pearson’s r = 0.37, 0.35, 0.40, respectively). There was a positive and significant relationship between protein with EAA and NAA and the highest relationship was observed between protein and NAA (a=0.1545, R² = 0.32%, P ≤ 0.001).

Findings suggested that using higher irrigation and nitrogen fertilizer increased maize grain yield and also essential amino acids concentration, and decreased the ratio of essential amino acids to non-essential ones. Due to the high complexity and sensitivity of measuring qualitative characteristics such as protein concentration and composition, replicating this experiment in different years and locations is recommended, taking into account the higher levels of influential factors.

The present study was aimed to investigate the effects of the application of different levels of nitrogen fertilizer and inoculation of different strains of Rhizobium bacteria on morpho-physiological, biochemical, yield and yield components of guar under different levels of drought stress.

The experiment was performed as a split factorial in a Randomized Complete Block design with three replications in the 2019-2020 growing seasons. Experimental treatments included different irrigation regimes (complete irrigation, cessation of irrigation up to 50% of flowering and 50% of podding) as main plots and treatments of different levels of nitrogen fertilizer (control, 50 and 100 kg.ha-1) and inoculation of Guar seeds with different strains of Bradyrhizobium japonicum (non-inoculation, and strains of RS150 and RS153) as subplots. Traits of plant height, shoot dry weight, number of leaves per plant, number of seeds per m2, 1000-grain weight, grain yield, biological yield, chlorophyll a, b, and total chlorophyll, carotenoids, soluble sugars, grain protein and enzymatic activities of catalase and superoxide dismutase were evaluated in the present study.

The obtained results indicated that the application of low irrigation resulted in reducing all traits except indices of soluble sugars and the enzymatic activities of catalase and superoxide dismutase. On the other hand, different levels of nitrogen fertilizer and Rhizobium inoculation significantly increased all studied traits. Also, it was observed that although the strain of RS150 significantly increased chlorophyll b content and enzymatic activities of catalase and superoxide dismutase than the RS153 strain, the application of RS153 strain was maximal in other traits.

In general, complete irrigation was required in the study area, and increasing nitrogen fertilizer levels up to 100 kg.ha-1 had no adverse effects on morphological traits, yield, and yield components of guar plants growing under drought stress. Furthermore, the application of Bradyrhizobium japonicum moderated the negative impacts of drought stress.

Studies to assess quality of dent maize grain are noteworthy because of its wide use as food, feed and ethanol production. This study aimed to evaluate the concentration and composition of starch and oil in maize grain in response to different cultivars (KSC704 and KSC260), planting dates (20 June and 21 July), irrigation (12-day and 6-day intervals) and nitrogen (0 and 184 kg N ha-1) rate as the strip-plot factorial statistical model during the 2018 growing season in Pakdasht county of Iran. The results suggested that nitrogen application increased grain yield by one tonnes ha-1. In addition, KSC260 had higher grain yield than KSC704 by 0.96 tonnes ha-1. All compositional variables except stearic acid were affected by the interaction effect of irrigation and nitrogen rate. In low irrigated treatments, nitrogen application reduced the amount of oil, palmitic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid. In low irrigated condition, nitrogen application had no effect on increasing the concentration of starch and amylopectin. The use of nitrogen fertilizer reduced the amount of stearic acid by 0.05 g kg-1. In conclusion, the balance between irrigation and nitrogen utilization seems to be important for improving the oil and starch properties of maize grain.

There are some reports on seed development in medicinal plants, but no information has been reported in seed development of Nigella sativa. The purpose of this study was to investigate seed quality traits including time to maturity and physiological maturity, germination and dormancy changes in 14 different ecotypes of black cumin.

A randomized complete block design was conducted at the Aburaihan Campus of University of Tehran in 3 replications and 7 harvest times during two years of 2018 and 2019. Treatments were 14 native black cumin ecotypes (across Iran), germination temperature and post-flowering time during seed development on the mother plants. The studied traits included seed weight and moisture content and seed germination percentage during seed development. For germination test, a factorial experiment was conducted based on completely randomized design in three replicates which treatments consisted of different incubation temperatures and 14 ecotypes of N. sativa.

The results showed that the moisture content during development on the mother plants had a decreasing trend. In the first sampling, the highest percentage of moisture was observed in Arak ecotype and had a decreasing trend until harvest. At full maturity, seed moisture content in all ecotypes were less than 18%. Ecotypes of Zabol1, Bajestan, Sarayan, and Ashkedaz required the lowest time after flowering to reach their maximum seed weight, thus there was recommended for regions with short growing season. The Khaf ecotype with 2.3 mg seed weight had the highest weight and the Hamadan ecotype with 0.072 mg/day had the highest seed filling rate. In the ecotypes of Tafresh, Zabol2, Eghlid, Semirom, Arak, Hamadan, Razan, and Gerdmiran germination started 20 days after flowering and had an increasing trend until physiological maturity. In ecotypes such as Isfahan, Eshkezar, Zabol1, Sarayan, and Khaf germination started from 20 days after flowering and up to 30 days after flowering there was an increase in germination percentage, but after this time the percentage of germination decreased and reached zero until the full maturity, which in fact primary dormancy induced to the seeds.

Therefore, if the planting of seeds is done immediately after harvest, ecotypes of Tafresh, Zabol2, Eghlid, Semirom, Arak, Hamadan, Razan, Gerdmiran are suitable. Incubation temperature also showed that the highest germination percentage for all ecotypes was observed at 10 °C and decreased with increasing temperature and reached zero at 30 °C. Ecotypes of Hamadan, Semirom, Zabol1, Tafresh, and Gerdmiran had the highest germination percentage at 10 °C among the studied ecotypes. Therefore, dormancy in black cumin is probably Type 1 of nondeep physiological dormancy.

Environmental stresses, especially drought and salinity stresses are considered as inhibitors of plant growth and development. The salinity stress cause delay in germination, decrease in the rate and percentage of germination and delay in the emergence of roots and stems in the germination stage. It seems that if seed could pass through the germination stage under stress conditions, the seedling will have more opportunity to grow and develop, and will have the higher ability to tolerate and overcome adverse environmental conditions. This greatly depends on the biochemical and physiological structures of the seedlings. The response is also species and genotypes dependent and depends on the length and severity of the salinity, the age, and stage of development. Differences in the salt tolerance have variation among species within a genus, and of genotypes within a species. black caraway (Nigella sativa L.) is an annual plant with valuable medicinal properties belong to Ranunculaceae family. Because Black caraway growth is slow at the beginning of the season, and on the other hand, salinity and drought are some limiting and effective factors on germination and other stages of plant growth, the aim of this study was to evaluate different N. sativa ecotypes in terms of tolerance to salinity and drought.

In order to investigate the effects of salinity and drought stress on seed germination factors of fourteen black caraway, two separate experiments were carried out in a completely randomized design in the Seed Technology Laboratory of the University of Tehran in 2018. The treatments consisted of fourteen black caraway ecotypes (Ashkzar, Arak, Isfahan, Eqlid, Bejestan, Khaf, Khomeini Shahr, Razan, Zabol 1, Zabol 2, Sarayan, Semirum, Gardmiran, Hamedan), six salinity stress levels (0 , 40, 80, 120, 160 and 200 mM) and four levels of drought stress (0, 0.3, -0.6 and -0.9 MPa) with four replicates in each level. Salinity stress levels were due to different concentrations of sodium chloride and levels of drought stress were due to different concentrations of polyethylene glycol 6000. Distilled water was used to create a zero stress level (control treatment) in both experiments. To conduct the experiments, 50 seeds were placed on filter paper in 8 cm diameter Petri dishes containing 7 mL of each solution. Petri dishes were kept in the growth chamber at a constant temperature of 20°C. The number of seeds germinated was recorded daily until no germination was observed for two consecutive days. The Germin program was used to calculate germination percentage and rate of germination. In addition, to illustrate the germination response to drought stress, the hydrotime model was used.

salinity experiment; The highest Ymax (germination percentage) was found in Razan, Arak, and Ashkzar ecotypes (99.5, 99.33 and 99.16% respectively) and the lowest in Khomeini-e-Shahr ecotype (85.83%). The highest salinity tolerance threshold (X0) was detected in Semirum ecotype (37.17 mM). Arak ecotype had the highest rate of germination (0.013 per hour) in salinity conditions. Thus, Semirom ecotype was the most tolerance ecotype due to the higher salinity tolerance threshold. Drought experiment; The minimum hydrotime constant (θH= 284.040 MPa h) was related to the Bejestan ecotype, and the lowest water potential (Ψb(50)= -0.563 MP ) was observed in the Isfahan ecotype. Since there is a positive correlation between the less water potential )Ψb(50) ( and the emergence percentage and rate of seedling emergence, the Isfahan ecotype was the most tolerant among biotypes that were studied.

In general, the results of these experiments showed that salinity and drought stresses reduced the percentage and rate of germination. Germination percentage response shape and germination rate were different between various ecotypes. Hydrotime model and salinity regression have high ability in separating ecotypes for germination components. The Bejestan and the Isfahan ecotypes are recommended for cultivation in drought conditions. In salt stress conditions, the Semirom ecotype was the most tolerant ecotype among ecotypes.

Conditional dormancy (CD) is a dynamic state between dormancy (D) and nondormancy (ND). Seeds at the conditional dormancy stage germinate over a narrower range of temporal conditions. Conditional dormancy is usually observed in seeds with physiological dormancy. However, primary conditional dormancy has also been seen in some freshly harvested seeds. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether freshly harvested oilseeds have non-dormancy or conditional dormancy.

A factorial experiment was conducted based on a completely randomized design with four replications at Seed Technology Laboratory of Aburaihan Campus, University of Tehran, Iran, in 2018. In this experiment, seeds of rapeseed were collected from 20 different locations in Golestan and Mazandaran provinces. Following that, a germination test was carried out at different temperatures (5, 15, 20, 30, 35°C), and the germination percentage and seed germination rate were recorded. In order to break seed dormancy, two treatments were used: gibberellic acid and after-ripening. For after-ripening treatment, seeds were stored in a paper bag in a dry and dark environment for 6 months. For gibberellic acid treatment, a solution of 100 parts per million (PPM) of gibberellic acid was prepared and added to the Petri dishes. Subsequently, the percentage and rate of germination were recorded.

The results showed that freshly harvested seeds had primary conditional dormancy and germinated in a narrow range of temporal conditions. In addition, cardinal temperatures for freshly harvested seeds were 4.45 and 27.8 for bases and ceilings, respectively. Following gibberellic acid and after-ripening treatments, seeds germinated in a wider range of temperatures and base and ceiling temperatures reached 1.74 and about 40°C, respectively. Thus, germination percentage of seeds treated with gibberellic acid and after-ripening increased at both high and low temperatures. However, the increase in germination percentage was higher at high temperatures than low temperatures. In addition, the effect of gibberellic acid treatment was more than that of after-ripening treatment on the release of dormancy, and after-ripening treatment had an intermediate effect between the gibberellic acid and freshly harvested seeds.

Based on the results of this experiment, the application of gibberellic acid and after-ripening treatments resulted in breaking the dormancy of freshly harvested seeds and increased germination temperature range at high and low temperatures.  Of the two treatments, gibberellic acid had the greatest effect on breaking dormancy and increasing temperature range. Among the cultivars, these changes were maximum in the germination capacity of Hyola 50 and Trapar cultivars and Trapar cultivar had minimum changes.

To investigate the effect of slow-release fertilizer enriched with Fe on grain quality of Narin, a new wheat cultivar, under salinity conditions and assessing the allelic diversity of high molecular weight glutenin encoding genes, a factorial experiment was conducted as randomized complete block design with three replications in research greenhouse of Aburaihan Campus, University of Tehran, Pakdasht, Tehran, Iran, in 2017- 2018. The studied factors were two factors, salinity stress (at three levels including 0, 8 and 12 dS.m-1) and fertilizer (at five levels including no-fertilizer application, ferrous sulfate at 10 and 20 mg.kg-1 soil, super-absorbent fertilizer enriched with ferrous sulfate at 52.5 and 105 mg.kg-1 soil). The studied traits included 100 grain weight, grain yield per plant, grain protein percentage, grain Fe content, grain total soluble carbohydrates, grain hardness index, flour water absorption, moisture content, bread volume and zeleny sedimentation volume. The results showed that 100 grains weight, grain yield per plant, grain Fe content, grain total soluble carbohydrates content and zeleny sedimentation volume increased with application of fertilizer and superabsorbent fertilizer enriched with Fe had more positive effects than ferrous sulfate in many of the studied traits. Salinity stress significantly decreased 100 grains weight, grain yield and total soluble carbohydrates content, but grain Fe content, grain protein percentage and flour water absorption significantly increased with increasing salinity stress. By studying the electrophoretic pattern of high molecular weight glutenin subunits in Narin variety, 2*, 7+8 and 2+12 alleles were identified at Glu-A1, Glu- B1 and Glu-D1 loci, respectively. Based on the results of the present study, it seems that superabsorbent fertilizer enriched with Fe has higher efficiency than ferrous sulfate fertilizer on the qualitative characteristics of wheat grain and flour, especially under salinity stress conditions.

In order to study the effect of slow release hydrogel-urea complex (SRHUC) on yield, yield components and physiological traits of barley under water deficit, an experiment was performed in 2017-2018 and conducted as factorial in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in three replications in greenhouse of Aburaihan campus of University of Tehran. The combination of factorial levels were as fertilization factor containing nitrogen (N) from urea source in five levels of no use of N, equivalent 125 and 65 kg.ha-1 N (without SRHUC) as CU-N125 and CU-N65 and equivalent 125 and 65 kg.ha-1 N with SRHUC as SRHUC-N125 and SRHUC-N65 and water deficit in three levels of 70, 50 and 30% of FC. Water deficit decreased yield and yield components, RWC and SPAD. The highest grain yield in a pot belonged to SRHUC-N125 (41.9 g) and there was no significant difference between CU-N125 (41.5 g) and SRHUC-N65 (39.1 g). For most of the traits, there was no significant difference between SRHUC-N125 and SRHUC-N65 and CU-N125. Under stress, utilization of SRHUC for both N amount could generate a better biological yield and SPAD index. Using N in the form of SRHUC was preferred to using of N without SRHUC, especially under stressed conditions.

  oilseed rape has a wide range of adaptation and grows well in many regions under variable temperatures. However, the ability of the varieties varies in response to the favorable and unfavorable conditions. Temperature stresses (high or low temperatures) have harmful effects on crops. Generally, temperatures below 10 ° C can damage germination and emergence. Low temperatures can also have a negative effect on the post-emergence stages of crops. The high temperatures can also reduce the total dry matter produced, the number of pods under development, the number of seeds per pod, the weight of seeds, and, finally, the yield of the plant. Also, high temperatures affect the development and maturity of the seeds, resulting in a higher level of yield. Identifying high or low tolerant cultivars can help researchers improve the new cultivars and increase the flexibility of selecting the right cultivar for farmers. There are several methods for evaluating cultivars at low and high temperatures based on farm or laboratory surveys. Field surveys are difficult, unsustainable and seasonal. Because in field conditions, temperatures and humidity fluctuate a lot. Various studies have been done to evaluate the variation of germination in heat or cold stress in different plants such as lettuce, alfalfa, sorghum, cotton, sesame, etc. However, there is not much information on canola cultivars in Iran. The aims of this study was to determine the cardinal temperatures (2) evaluate the tolerance of different genotypes at high or low temperatures and (3) and to study the secondary dormancy potential in Iranian genotypes. In order to, germination tests were conducted in fixed temperatures incubators with 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 oC on 10 oilseed rape genotypes, in 4 replications with 50 seeds. Finally, cardinal temperatures were estimated using segmented (for germination rate) and beta (for germination percentage) functions. The tolerance of genotypes to high or low temperatures were determined using estimated cardinal temperatures. Also, an experiment was conducted to investigate the potential of different cultivars for induction of dormancy, in which seeds of 10 oilseed rape genotypes were subjected to drought stress conditions to determine the percentage of total induction due to drought for each genotype. The percentage of germinated seeds, the percentage of seeds with dormancy and dead seeds can be determined. Finally, the percentage of induction of the secondary dormancy was calculated for each genotype. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS software. Marshall and Squire (1996) showed that the minimum temperature (Tb) for oilseed rape germination was about 3 °C. Soltani et al. (2013) showed that the minimum temperature for oilseed rape germination was 2.7 °C and under dry conditions up to 6.7 °C at -0.8 MPa increased. Also, they showed that the average thermal time for germination (TT50) increased from 29.5 °C/day at 0 MPa to 57.9 °C/day at -0.8 MPa. Results indicated that mean of base (Tb), optimum (To) and ceiling (Tc) temperatures for germination percentage were 4.99, 18.23 and 34,20 oC and also mean of base (Tb), optimum (To) and ceiling (Tc) temperatures for germination rate were 6.18, 24.76 and 39.40 oC. The Heat and Cold tolerance indexes were also different in different cultivars. Okapi cultivar was the most tolerant in heat tolerance index (5.95) and in cold tolerance index (8.48). X-Power had the lowest tolerance to heat (4.78) and cold (6.50). The potential of secondary dormancy induction also was at the highest level in Okapi (about 40 %). It seems that there was connection between secondary dormancy induction and tolerance to temperature stresses which needs more studies.

fatty acid composition of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo convar. pepo var. styriaca), a split plot experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications during 2013-2014. Three planting dates (21 April, 22 May, 22 June) as the main factor and application of methanol (30% V/V) in four levels (control, pre-production phase, post-production phase, seed filling stage) were studied as the sub factor. Results showed that the interaction effect of planting date and application of methanol on seed yield in fruit, seed dry weight, 1000-seed weight, fruit yield, oil percentage and fatty acids compositions were significant at 1% probability level. The highest seed yield, seed dry weight, fruit yield, and oil content were obtained in the methanol foliar application in the pre-production phase in June 22. The highest 1000-seed weight (1155.6 g) was belonged to the methanol foliar application in the post-production phase in June 22. The foliar application treatments in seed filling stage in June 22 and control treatment also in May 22 showed the highest amount of oleic acid. The highest amount of linoleic (43.36%), linolenic (1.86%), and palmitic (21.20%) acids was obtained under methanol foliar application in the post-production phase in May 22, June 22 and April 21, respectively. The control treatment showed the highest amount of stearic acid (11.5٪) in the first planting date (April 21). Finally, the planting date of medicinal pumpkin in June 22 with foliar application of methanol in the pre-production phase in order to increasing of yield, and foliar application in the post-production phase to improve the qualitative traits of oil are recommended.

Salicylic acid as a plant hormone plays an important role in regulating growth and physiological processes in plant. In order to study the effects of salicylic acid hormone and mother corm weight on saffron flowering properties, an experiment was conducted as factorial based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at the saffron research field of College of Aburaihan, University of Tehran during 2016-2017. The first factor consist of salicylic acid in three levels (Normal, priming with 1 and 2 mM concentrations (and second factor was weight of corm in two level that consist of small corm (3-5 gr) and large corm (8-10 gr). The results showed that the effect of corm weight on fresh weight of flower, Length of flower, fresh weight of stigma, length of stigma, fresh weight of pistil, length of pistil and qualitative characteristics of stigma were significant. The amount of these traits was higher in terms of the use of large mother’s corms. The effect of corm weight on dry weight of stigma was not significant. Interaction between salicylic acid and corm weight on all traits was not significant but the results of mean comparisons showed that the highest amount of fresh weight of flower (99.5 kg/ha), dry weight of stigma (1.45 kg/ha) and lowest days to emergence was 47 days after planting that related to salicylic acid in 2 mM. More amount of picrocrocin as a saffron flavor was related to salicylic acid in 1 mM. Crocin percentage in the priming treatment with 2 mM salicylic acid was higher than the other two levels; amount of safranal was high at 1mM. Totally, results of this experiment indicated that planting large mother’s corms with salicylic acid led to improvement of some quantitative and qualitative characteristics of saffron stigma.

In order to evaluate the different doses of salicylic acid, its application methods and corm weight on saffron, an experiment was conducted as split factorial in a randomized complete block design with three replications in 2016 at the Research Field of College of Aburaihan, University of Tehran. The treatments consisted of the first factor of the hormone method (corm priming, foliar application) as the main plot, the second factor of salicylic acid in three levels (no application and application at concentrations of 1 and 2 mM), the third factor was two different corm weight included small corm (3-5 g) and big corm (8-10 g), were studied as subplots. The results showed that the amount of photosynthetic pigment (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoids), soluble protein, leaf soluble protein, leaf total carbohydrate, fresh weight of daughter corm increased with the application of salicylic acid hormone. Big corm also had a significant different on these traits and also increased with hormone applied in comparison with control condition. The highest leaf carbohydrate (4.9 mg/g fw), leaf length (252 mm), leaf area (318 mm), corm soluble protein (1.8 mg/g fw), leaf soluble protein (1.6 mg/gfw) and number of daughter corm (13.5), in priming method and the highest amount of photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, carotenoids (12, 9.5, 1.19 mg/g fw, respectively)), corm carbohydrate (5.2 mg/g fw), and fresh weight of the daughter corms (20.4 g), in the hormone method was obtained by foliar application. Finally, the results of this research indicated positive effects of application of salicylic acid (1 and 2 mM) both methods and big corm on the physiological and biochemical characteristics of saffron.

This research was conducted to investigate the effects of different seed coating treatments on the seed germination of canola under drought and salinity stresses. In order to, two factorial experiments were conducted based on completely randomized design with four replications in laboratory. In both experiments, one of the factors were 10 different seed coating treatments. The second factor was different in two experiments: in the first experiment, the levels of drought stress of 0, -0.8, -1, and -1.2 MPa were considered, and in the second experiment, the levels of salinity stress of 0, 7, 14 and 21 ds/m NaCl were investigated. Results indicated that the lowest hydrotime constant (θH) were observed in T9 (22.627 MPa h), T3 (22.538 MPa h), and T6 (22.263 MPa h). The lowest base water potential (Ψb (50)) were belonged to T4 (-1.332 MPa) and T1 (-1.324 MPa). The maximum of germination percentage under salinity stress (Gmax) was observed in T2 (86.75%). The highest threshold to salinity tolerance (Xo) was belonged to T3 (16.38 ds/m). The highest germination rate was belonged to T3 in all levels of salinity. Totally, seed coating treatments of T3, T6 and T9 were the best treatments under drought stress and T3 was the best treatment under salinity stress.

In order to investigate the effect of accelerated ageing and priming on biochemical and germination indices of cumin, a two factors experiment was conducted based on completely random design with four replications. Experimental factors were included seed deterioration in four levels (control, 12, 24, 36 hours) and priming in five levels (urea and KH2PO4 in two Osmotic potentials of -1 and -1.5 Mpa, and hydro-priming with distilled water). The highest catalase and ascorbate peroxidase activities as well as soluble protein content were observed in the non-deteriorated seeds primed with KH2PO4 -1.5 Mpa. Also that the highest germination percentage (86%) and germination rate (2.34 seed day-1), seedling length vigor index (4.90) and the lowest mean germination time (8.4 day) related to the nondeteriorated seeds primed with KH2PO4 -1.5 Mpa. The biggest shoot (3.52cm) and root (2.32cm) length attained from not deteriorate seeds that primed with urea -1.5 Mpa. Generally, the results showed that priming by KH2PO4 with osmotic potential of -1.5 Mpa could improve vigor of deteriorated seed of cumin

Saffron is one of the most important crops and medicinal plants in Iran and plays an important role in non-oil exports of the country. Although Iran has the largest area under cultivation of saffron, its yield is low compared with global production. The main objective of this study is to investigate the yield of flowers and quantitative characteristics of daughter corms under the effects of application of plant growth regulators priming and two different corm sizes. A factorial experiment arrangement in RCBD with four replications was conducted, under the terms of pot at the College of Aburaihan-University of Tehran, Iran during 2015. Small (3-5g) and large (8-10g) mother corm sizes were hormonal priming by gibberelic acid (GA3), cytokinin (BA), auxin (IBA) with 250 ppm concentration and before cultivation. The start of flowering, number and flowers yield, fresh weight of flower, fresh and dry weight of stigma, number and weight of daughter corms per mother corms were measured. The results showed that in all traits except the start of flowering large corms weighing of 8 to 10 g were cultivated in comparison with small corms and this was significant at the 1% level. Application of cytokinins hormone in comparison with control for all traits except the start of flowering and weight of daughter corms showed a significant difference at 1%. Application of gibberellic acid hormone treatment also accelerated flowering. In addition, it increased the weight of daughter corms by 56% in large mother corms compared to control and this had a significant difference from control at 1%. Auxin (IBA) in the number of flowers had no significant difference with control and also in other traits, although IBA was better than control, with both BA and GA3 treatments had a significant difference. The results indicated that the use of large mother corms with hormonal priming with BA and GA3 will improve flower and corm yield in the first year.

This study was conducted to study the effects of different priming methods on germination rate and percentage under salinity stress and to determine the stability of primed seeds. In order to accomplish this, three different experiments were conducted separately, including the experiment of water uptake, the experiment of salinity stress, and the experiment of storability of primed seeds. Priming treatments were five levels of control (unprimed), hydropriming (Hyd), priming with humic acid (HA), priming with salicylic acid (SA) and priming with gibberellic acid (GA). Salinity stresses were four levels of 0, 4, 8 and 12 ds/m of NaCl. The stability of prime seeds was investigated over a period of 226 days after priming. The results of water uptake showed that rapeseeds entered into the third phase of water uptake after 18 hours of hydration. The results of the salinity experiment showed that salinity levels of 12 and 0 ds/m had the lowest (74.3 %) and highest (83 %) germination percentage, respectively. In terms of germination rate, there were significant differences between GA (0.034 h-1), HA (0.036 h-1) and Hyd (0.036 h-1) with C (0.019 h-1) and SA (0.027 h-1). Generally speaking, primed seeds germinated better than control seeds at all levels of salinity. The storability of primed seeds and control seeds had no significant decrease during storage. Finally, it was concluded that seed priming increased the tolerance to salinity stress; in terms of storability, there was no significant difference between primed seeds and primed seeds could be stored in the same way as control seeds.