جلال غلام نژاد

Almond, Prunus dulcis, is one of the most important nut trees on a commercial scale in Iran and in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. Bacterial canker disease with the causative agent Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae is one of the most damaging diseases in the almond orchards of the province, and in recent years, with the spread of canker symptoms, it is observed in the orchards of the province with the release of gum and plastids. This bacterium enters the almond tree through small wounds in the leaves and branches and causes inflammation and blackness in the leaves and branches. To control this disease, the use of copper compounds such as Berdofix and copper oxychloride, in addition to resistance in the bacterial population, has a low effect on yield and plant burn, so alternative methods should be the use of chemical compounds such as potassium phosphite, which causes irritation. In the defense reactions of the plant against pathogens, in this research, concentrations of 20, 30, and 40 mg/liter of potassium phosphite and Bordeaux compound were used to control the bacteria that cause bacterial canker in the laboratory on Nutrient agar medium and garden. The results showed that potassium phosphite is able to control this bacterium at an acceptable level in both laboratory and garden environmental conditions. In addition to being a nutrient, this compound can be used as a harmless compound to control this disease. Concentrations of 20, 30, and 40 mg/L of potassium phosphite were able to reduce the bacterial growth by 40.88, 47.78, and 52.93 %, respectively, compared to the control. In the garden, the number of leaf spots due to the consumption of concentrations of two, three, and five parts per thousand of potassium phosphite were observed as 23, 19, and 14, respectively (compared to the control with 38 spots). In addition to being more economical than copper fungicides, potassium phosphite is also less dangerous for human health and the environment. This research showed that potassium phosphite has an acceptable antibacterial effect as well as fungicide copper chemical compounds.

The present study aimed to investigate the impact of extracts from Harmel, Lavender, Fennel, and Cinnamon on the post-harvest characteristics of "Samurai" rose flowers. To this end, various concentrations of the aforementioned plant extracts were employed, along with fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea and calcium chloride. The findings demonstrated that Cinnamon and Harmel, at a concentration of 2000 ppm, exhibited the highest vase life and the least changes in flower weight, whereas distilled water manifested the highest changes in flower diameter. Furthermore, Harmel, at a concentration of 2000 ppm, yielded the highest relative leaf water content, while Cinnamon, at the same concentration, demonstrated the highest relative petal water content. Notably, the control and fennel treatments at 500 and 1000 ppm resulted in the lowest flowering life. Based on these results, it can be inferred that Cinnamon and Harmel treatments show promise as natural compounds for enhancing the flowering life of cut "Samurai" rose flowers.

In this study, the antifungal effects of four species of plant essential oils, including Thymus vulgaris, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Lavandula angustifolia and Cuminum cyminum, were studied on mycelial growth inhibition of F. oxysporum and F. culmorum isolates. The effect of essential oils was carried out in a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with four concentrations for each essence and three replicates in 25 °C on PDA medium. The results showed that the essential oils of these plants has a significant effect on inhibition of the mentioned pathogenic isolates fungal mycelial growth. The required concentrations for the maximum mycelial growth inhibition of F. oxysporum isolate in 250 ppm for essential oils Cumin, Eucalyptus, Thyme and Lavender were 100, 96, 93 and 89 percent, and for F. culmorum isolates were 99, 96, 92 and 77, respectively. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of the cumin, Eucalyptus, thyme and lavender on F. oxysporum in 50 ppm were 48.8, 29.4, 44 and 38 respectively and for F. culmorum these concentrations were 38.8, 29.4, 44 and 18 percent respectively. The highest and lowest mycelial inhibitory growth was showed by cumin essence in 250 ppm and lavender and eucalyptus essences in 50 ppm, respectively. In all four essential oils, the growth of the fungi decreased by increasing the essential oil concentration. Regarding the antifungal and inhibitory effects of the essential oils of the plants and their low risk for humans and the environment, it seems that plant essence can be used to control plant pathogenic fungi or at least as substitution for the production of new fungicides.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of biochar produced from wastes from pruning of pomegranate trees and compare it with vermicompost Oenothera biennis under drought stress.

Treatments included different levels of organic modifier application (seven levels including no modifier application, application of 10, 20 and 30 ton ha-1 vermicompost and application of 10, 20 and 30 ton ha-1 biochar) and three levels of drought stress (irrigation in 80, 60 and 40% of field capacity (FC)).

The results showed that drought stress significantly decreased leaf length, leaf area, stem diameter, plant height, chlorophyll index and relative water content (RWC) while increased the ratio of root dry weight to shoot and ion leakage. Application of 30 ton ha-1 biochar and all application levels of vermicompost decreased root dry weight to shoot ratio under severe drought stress. All application levels of vermicompost were increased the chlorophyll index under severe stress while different levels of biochar had not significant effect. All amendments significantly increased RWC compared to the control under moderate and severe stress conditions. Application of 30 ton ha-1 biochar and vermicompost decreased ion leakage compared to the control.

It seems that organic amendments can help the plant in stressful conditions by affecting the availability of nutrients and increasing the soil moisture holding capacity. In this study the effectiveness of vermicompost was better compared to biochar, which can be attributed to the higher content of nutrients in vermicompost.

Greenhouse cucumber is one of the most importance economic crops in Iran and many countries of the world. Many diseases threaten cucumber, and in other words, this product is always exposed to pathogenic organisms in its living environment, in which fungi and other plant pathogens cause many losses in vegetable and summer fields in Iran and around the world. Destructive diseases that cause significant damage to vegetable and summer crops in fields and greenhouses every year are seedling death disease and plant death disease caused by Phytophthora pseudofungus. The use of plant extracts and essential oils are of great value because so far no resistance to these types of compounds has been observed in pests and diseases, perhaps the reason for this is the presence of various effective compounds in these compounds and considering. The existing problems regarding the use of fungicides, study and research on new and reliable and low-cost methods for the control and management of plant diseases is a necessity for agriculture mangment in the world. In this study, the antifungal effects of denaei thyme essential oil (Zataria multiflora) & two fungicides fusetyl aluminum & metalaxyl-mancozeb were investigated to control the disease of greenhouse cucumber caused by Phytophthora.

In autumn and winter of 2018, sampling of cucumber greenhouses suspected of contamination was done in Garmsar city, Semnan province, Iran. The pathogenicity test of pseudofungal isolates was performed. Cucumber seeds were transferred to pots after germination and having two leaves. In the three- to four-leaf stage of the seedlings, the soil near the crown and roots was removed and the colony causing Phythophthora disease was placed next to the crown. In the control treatment, only pure culture medium without pseudofungi was used. Disease evaluation was done one month later. The test of mixing these three factors (thyme essential oil & two fungicides fosetil aluminum & metalaxyl-mancozeb) was used for laboratory tests. In this research, in addition to the effect of denaei thyme essential oil, fustil aluminum and metalaxyl-mancozeb were also used in five concentrations of 5, 15, 30, 45 and 60 ppm on Phytophthora pseudofungus. In order to determine the inhibition percentage of denaeithyme extract. Also,denaei thyme extract was evaluated in different concentrations including 250, 500, 1000, 1500 and 2000 ppm. In  greenhouse tests including pathogenicity test, evaluation of the mentioned treatments on the symptoms of the disease caused by Phytophthora sp. The activity of peroxidase, catalase & phenylalanine ammonialyase was also investigated. In tirst, the seeds of the cucumber plant after disinfection and cultivation in pots, in the stage of three to four leaves, according to the method of proving pathogenicity, respectively, the pathogen of Phytophthora sp. were inoculated (Gholamnezhad et al., 2016). After 24 hours, 50 ml of denaei thyme extract and the fungicides used in this research were added to the soil around the roots of the plants infected with the pathogen with a concentration of 1500 and 150 ppm, respectively.

The results showed that among the five fungal isolates studied in this study, isolates P1 & P5 caused more disease (78.52 & 62.68%, respectively). In the test of the effect of different treatments in preventing the growth of pathogenic fungal mycelium, a concentration of 60 ppm of metalaxyl-mancozeb fungicide with 96.32% had the highest effect in the control of the pathogen, but also concentration of 5 ppm of fossil aluminum with a rate of 12.30% had the lowest effect. . In present reserch metalaxyl-mancozeb fungicide 150 ppm by 88.60% inhibition of the pathogen and fusitel aluminum fungicide 150 ppm by 79.37% reduction of disease in the greenhouse were the best treatments during study. These results showed that to increase the effectiveness of this essential oil, it is necessary to use a higher concentration of essential oil compared to the chemical compounds studied in this study.

According to the results of this study, thyme essential oil has a high potential both in terms of antifungal power and induction of plant defense mechanisms against plant pathogens. However, the results of parametric analysis as well as analysis of variance showed that, compared to chemical compounds, higher concentrations of plant essential oils should be used to combat this disease.

Acquired systemic resistance (SAR) is one of the defenses that can make plants resistant to systemic viral infections. Acquired systemic resistance is associated with a hypersensitivity response in the host, and salicylic acid is known as its signal. In this study, the effect of plant inducers such as salicylic acid and jasmonic acid on cucumber viral disease with cucumber mosaic virus, CMV and the expression of some defense genes were investigated. Treatments included plants treated with CMV, salicylic acid (with a concentration of 1.5 mmol), jasmonic acid (with a concentration of 1.5 mmol), as well as salicylic acid and jasmonic with CMV. The results of this study showed that the maximum severity of CMV-induced disease was observed in plants treated only with CMV (68.85%). In the treatment of salicylic acid and jasmonic acid with CMV, the severity of symptoms was significantly reduced (10.23%). Then, the effect of these treatments on the expression of four genes Peroxidase (POX), Catalase (CAT), Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) and Phenylalanine Ammonialyase (PAL) was investigated. The results showed that the expression of these genes in treated plants had an upward trend until the ninth day after treatment. But this upward trend was much less observed in control plants (treated with water and virus). The highest level of gene expression in the studied enzymes compared to the control plant was related to the catalase enzyme (401.7 times), followed by peroxidase enzymes (266.8), superoxide dismutase (152.7) and phenylalanine ammonialyase (101.8). According to these results, salicylic acid and jasmonic acid, increased plant resistance to CMV and reduced the symptoms of the virus in cucumber plant by inducing plant defense mechanisms.

Lantana camara Linn. is a flowering ornamental plant belonging to family Verbenaceae. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of salicylic acid foliar application on flowering improvement and growth characteristics of lantana under salinity stress. In a factorial experiment and completely randomized design (CRD), three levels of SA (0, 0.5 and 1mM) and five levels of salinity (0.5, 3, 5, 7 and 9 dS.m-1) were applied. The results indicated that increasing salinity levels from 0.5 to 9 dS.m-1 significantly reduced all studied growth parameters levels, chlorophyll contents and potassium uptake. While Na+uptake, Na+/K+ and ion leakage were increased relative to control. Also, the results indicated that the salicylic acid significantly increased plant growth and physiological traits. Application of salicylic acid (0.5 mM) improved vegetative, flowering growth and nutrient uptake under salt stress. At salinity level of 9 dS m-1, application of 1mM salicylic acid increased the height of the main branch and the number of flowers by3.22 and 2.14 times, respectively, compared to the control and decreased the sodium uptake by 2.46 times. At the same level of salinity, treatment of plants by 0.5mM salicylic acid increased plant height, stem diameter, increased diameter of main branch, number of flowers and fresh weight of flowers by 70.64%, 2.15, 2.14 and 5.8 times respectively, in compare to the control. Considering that the plants maintained their vegetative growth and flowering well up to salinity level of 7dS.m-1, it seems that the lantana is able to tolerate salinity. In general, It seems that under high salinity levels, salicylic acid (0.5 mM) was the most effective treatment for mitigating the deleterious effect of salt stress in lantana plants.

In the present study, first, an in vitro experiment was conducted to study the effects of Thymus vulgaris L., Foeniculum vulgare Mill., Rosmarinus officinalis L., and Mentha piperita L. water extracts on reducing the growth of Fusarium rot disease factor of cucumber (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-cucumerinum (forc)) by the saturated paper disk method. According to the results, the water extracts of Th. vulgaris, F. vulgare, R. officinalis, and M. piperita at a concentration of 250 ppm with the inhibitory zone diameter of 24.66, 17.33, 11.66, and 10.33 mm, respectively, showed the highest antifungal activity compared to the control (the inhibitory zone diameter of 3.66 mm). Then, it followed by a greenhouse experiment to investigate the effects of Th. vulgaris and F. vulgare water extracts on the cucumber cv. Nagene treated with F. oxysporum. The water extract of Th. vulgaris at a concentration of 200 ppm with the disease index of 31% showed the greatest reduction in the disease symptoms compared to the infected control and the F. vulgare treatment with the disease indices of 82.66 and 42%, respectively. Study on the activity of polyphenol oxidase, β-1, 3-glucanase, and peroxidase enzymes under the greenhouse conditions showed that the activity of all three enzymes had an increasing trend. So that the activity of enzymes in the combined treatment of Th. vulgaris water extract (200 ppm) and pathogen increased respectively from 1.12, 1.11, and 0.27 ΔOD/min/mg protein on the first day after the inoculation to 5.25, 4.81, and 2.88 ΔOD/min/mg protein on the 12th day, and it had a significant difference with the control. Considering the results of this research, it was found that the water extract of Th. vulgaris, in addition to the direct fungicidal effect, could increase the activity of defense enzymes in the cucumber plants resulted in the host plant resistance induction against the pathogen.

Salt stress is one of the main environmental factors restricting horticultural crop production. Exogenous salicylic acid (SA) can alleviate salt stress in plants. The objective of this study was to improving growth and physiological chracteristics in salt stressed Lantana camara Linn. by application of exogenous salicylic acid. 

In a factorial experiment and completely randomized design (CRD), three levels of SA (0, 0.5 and 1 mM) and five levels of salinity (0.5, 3, 5, 7 and 9 dS.m-1) with three replications per treatments were applied. 

The results showed that by increasing salinity levels, growth characteristics, chlorophyll a and b and potassium concentration significantly decreased, while the number of necrotic leaves, Sodium and the ratio of sodium to potassium increased. At high salinity levels, application of salicylic acid improved the growth characteristics of the plant such as height, final diameter of the main branch and shoot dry weight and relative water content of the leaves and reduced sodium content in compared to the control. Maximum number of plant branches (4.66), final diameter of main branch (6.11 mm), final diameter of cuttings (9.92 mm), number of leaves (28.66) and fresh and dry weight of shoots (14.80 and 7.46 g) were obtained in plants treated by 0.5 mM salicylic acid and in salinity of 0.5 dS. m-1. 

The use of 0.5 mM salicylic acid at high salinity levels significantly improved the growth and flowering characteristics of the lantana plant. Therefore, the use of 0.5 mM salicylic acid can significantly reduce the damage caused by the negative effects of salinity stress.

 Fruits are among the most important horticultural products that play a major role in supplying human nutrition and health needs. The rate of these lesions even reaches 80% in some cases. The fruits are still alive and breathe in the post-harvest stage. They rot after harvest A high percentage of fruit coatings have a chemical structure and are not edible. In this study, various plant extracts were used.

 In this study, Thomson orange fruit after coating with extracts of lavender, neem, and clove (at concentrations of 2, 4, and 6 x1000 ml solvent), wax, and chitosan (at three concentrations of 0.5, 1, and 1.5 ml solvent), was refrigerated for 100 days at 7 degrees Celsius and approximate humidity of 90%. In this study, various parameters including titratable acidity, soluble solids content, ripeness index, and protein content in Thomson Novel orange fruit, were treated with extracts prepared using aqueous and ethanolic solvents of various plants, were measured. For each treatment, distilled water was considered as control and for chitosan, chitosan was considered as control.

 The results have shown that the wax treatment showed the highest acidity with 1.82 and then 1.5% chitosan treatments and neem with 2x 1000 with values ​​of 1.87 and 1.74 in the fifth sampling period (100th day). Control and chitosan treatments showed the highest amounts of soluble solids in the fifth sampling period, with values ​​of 10.66 and 10, respectively. This process was the same for solubility as the solids content. Regarding the amount of protein, the highest amount was related to the treatment of wax and chitosan that was 1.5%, and then ethanolic lavender was 6x 1000 with values of 80, 80, and 75.33, respectively.

 The antimicrobial effect and quality enhancement of the properties of the products have been proven by some natural compounds. Therefore, for commercial use, these results should be tested by coating the fruit using different concentrations on fresh products at the commercial level. As a result, the treated fruits are significantly different regarding titratable acidity, soluble solids content, ripeness index, and protein content. Among the applied treatments, the treatment of wax and ethanol lavender extract was 6x1000 and ethanolic clove was 6x1000, and chitosan coating was 1.5% better than the other treatments, and lavender extract and chitosan can be used as two natural compounds. While they are safe for human health, they have medicinal properties and are also halal.

Pistachio is one of the most important export crops of Iran. One of the diseases that damages pistachio trees in most pistachio growing areas is Gumosis disease caused by Phytophthora drescleri. Mycorrhizal fungi are the most successful microorganisms in the field of biological control and one of the effective agents to reduce the root rot diseases incidence caused by P. drescleri. Nutrients are also able to increase the level of tolerance or resistance of plants against to some diseases. In this study, mycorrhizal fungi and various nutrients were used to control the root rot disease. In this study, ammonium sulfate, potassium sulfate and triple superphosphate compounds were used against the root rot disease in vitro. The results showed that the highest amount of growth inhibition of pathogen was related to 2500 ppm concentration of ammonium sulfate with 67.16%. In the second section of the study, the effect of different treatments including mycorrhiza and ammonium sulfate alone and their combination in the reducing P. drescleri disease on characters such as fresh and dry root and shoots and shoots. The levels of phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium were evaluated. Finally, the expression levels of the two peroxidase and catalase genes was measured. The results showed that the combination of fungal mycorrhiza and ammonium sulfate always had the highest dry and fresh weight of shoots and roots among the treatments applied in both cultivars in the absence of pathogen.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential effects of biological fertilizer (BF) and biochar (BC) application on flowering and morphophysiological charachteristics of Narcissus. A factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design was conducted in12 treatments with three replications. The BC was applied by mixing dry soil at three levels (0, 2 and 4%w/w), whereas the BF was used at four levels (0, 20and 40 g Kg-1  mycorrhizal fungi(MF) and Nitrozist biofertilizer). The MF was used in direct contact with the underside of bulbs and bulbs were dipped in Nitrozist biofertilizer solution for 5 minutes. According to the results the highest fresh weight of flower, number of flowers, flower diameter, flowering stem diameter, height, leaf fresh weight, chlorophyll a, b and total leaf and potassium uptake were obtained in the combined treatment of 2%biochar by 40 g Kg-1 MF. Generally, in the most of studied traits, alone use of BF and BC improved the growth and flowering characteristics of plant compared to the control. However, the best results were obtained in the combined treatment of 2%BC and 40 g Kg-1 of MF, while by increasing the levels of BC and BF in combination with 4%BC and BF the desiered results were not obtained.

Narcissus is a bulbous plant in the Amaryllidaceae family. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of biological fertilizers and biochar on morphological and physiological properties of Narcissus cv. ‘Shahla’ (Narcissus tazetta L. cv. ‘Shahla’). The experiment was carried out in a factorial arrangement with a completely randomized design in a greenhouse at Ardakan University, in 2019-2020. The biochar was applied by mixing dry soil at three levels (0, 2 and 4 %w/w), whereas the biofertilizer was used at four levels: without amendment (control), 20 and 40 g kg-1  mycorrhizal fungi (MF) and Nitrozist biofertilizer (that bulbs were dipped in Nitrozist biofertilizer solution for 5 minutes). Results showed that a higher value for diameter of the largest flower (36.73 mm), diameter of sepal (10.53 mm), flowering stem (26 mm), number of leaves (8.66), width of leaf (20.44 cm), dry weight of root (3.18 g/pot), bulb diameter (1.66 mm), caretenoeid (2.22 mg g-1), chlorophyll (98.05 SPAD), calcium (3.83%) and phosphorus (0.96%) concentrations were obtained in combination of 2% biochar and 40 g per pot mycorrhizal fungi. For most studied traits, the use of biofertilizer and biochar alone improved the growth and flowering characteristics of plant compared to the control. However, the best results were obtained in the combined treatment of 2% biochar and 40 g kg-1 of mycorrhizal fungi, while by increasing levels of biochar and biofertilizer in the combined treatments the desired results were not obtained.

Pistachio is an important export product in Iran. This product is constantly threatened by Aspergillus flavus and its aflatoxin. Researchers are now looking to use alternative non-hazardous methods instead of other methods of management of plant diseases, such as the use of chemical pesticides. Plant extracts as an environmentally friendly method can be a good alternative to chemicals. In this study, the effect of plant extracts including lavender (Lavandula stoechas), thyme (Thymus vulgaris), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and savory (Satureja hortensis) on the amount of degradation and aflatoxin production in vitro, by paper disk methods and mixing the extract with the culture medium, as well as in the storage conditions and on pistachio were investigated. The results showed that using of 2000 mg/L methanol extract reduced the growth of pathogenic fungus by 65.63%. In the tests of using the extracts on the paper disc as well as mixing the extracts with the culture medium, aqueous extract of lavender with a concentration of 2000 μg/ml prevented the growth of pathogen by 39.31 and 55.96%, respectively, and thyme extract with a concentration of 2000 μg/ml inhibited the fungal growth by 29.33% and 39.54%, respectively. These extracts had the highest effect on the pathogen growth. When the extracts were applied directly to aflatoxin, the results showed that the concentration of 4000 mg/L lavender prevented the aflatoxin production in the culture medium by 91.18%. Finally, aqueous extract of lavender at 4000 mg/L showed the highest effect (76.95% compared to control) in reducing the amount of spores produced by pathogenic fungi on pistachio fruit. The results of aflatoxin content in pistachio showed that both studied plants (lavender and thyme) at concentrations of 2000 and 4000 mg/L significantly reduced the amount of aflatoxin produced. Due to the remarkable and good effect of plant extracts on pistachio fruit under both in vitro and in the storage, the studied extracts, especially lavender and thyme, are natural compounds with high fungicidal effect and environmentally friendly effects.

Chrysanthemum morifolium (Ramat.) Hemsl. belongs to the Asteraceae family. It has a relatively long vase life but the flowers wilt after two weeks or more of harvesting. This study aimed to investigate the effect of supplementation of various levels of orange peels extract on chrysanthemum vase life. concentrations of 0, 5, 15 and 25 ppm of orange peels extract was used in the vase solutions. The study was performed as a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design with three replications and the treatments were long-term and short-term (24 hr pulses). The studied characters included vase life, number of stem ends bacteria, total protein content, catalase and peroxidase activity, soluble weight, flower weight, petal water content and chlorophyll content. Orange peels extract increased the vase life of chrysanthemum, the longest vase life (16.33 days) was belonged to long-term treatment using 25 ppm orange peel extract. The lowest population of stem ends bacteria with the 228.84 Log10 CFU ml-1 was belonged to the treatment of 25 ppm orange peels extract which with decreasing the concentration of the extract, the population of bacteria at the stem ends increased significantly. The activity of catalase and peroxidase enzymes was significantly increased by treatment of 25 ppm orange peels extract compared with control treatment as 3.04 and 1.41 mg protein-1min-1, respectively. Overall, the concentration of 25 ppm orange peels extract is considered as an effective concentration for increasing chrysanthemum vase life and quality.

Application of Mycorrhizal Fungi (MF) and biochar can increase water and nutrient uptake in the rooting zone and thus improve crop production. A factorial experiment with completely randomized design with three replications was conducted to investigate the effects of biochar (0, 2 and 4% w/w) and MF (non-inoculation and inoculation with MF) on the morphophysiological characteristics and concentration of elements in calendula (Calendula officinalis L.) in greenhouse condition. The biochar was passed through a sieve of 2 mm and mixed with soil. The application of mycorrhizal fungi was done by direct contact with the root of plant. After six months, the morphophysiological characteristics and the concentration of some macro and micro elements in shoot were measured. The results showed that with simultaneous application of 4% biochar and mycorrhizal fungi increased chlorophyll, flower diameter, plant height, leaf area, stem diameter, plant dry weight and concentration of P, K, Ca and Fe compared to control, significantly. Zn concentration increased in 4% biochar treatment and simultaneous use of 4% biochar and mycorrhizal fungui compared to the control significantly (13.7 and 19.5% respectively). The application of 4% biochar caused a significant increase in Mn concentration compared to the control (91.3 against 86.6 mg.kg-1), while the application of 2% biochar has not a significant difference with control and 4% biochar treatments. The results of the effect of adding biohar to soil after plant growth period showed that available K, Ca, Mg and Mn increased with addition of 4% biochar by 22.2, 18.2, 43.6 and 15.2%, respectively. However, 2% biochar treatment had no significant effect on these soil parameters compared to control. It seems that application of these materials can improve availability of nutrients and plant growth parameters by improving plant growth conditions and affect crop production.

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.), from the family Punicaceae, is a popular fruit of tropical and subtropical regions that is native to the area stretching from Iran to the Himalayas in northern India. Pomegranate has been widely cultivated in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran, which these areas are frequently affected by high salinity. The present study was therefore, carried out with the objective to identify and introduce the most-tolerant Iranian genotypes of ornamental pomegranate to different salinity levels of irrigation water.

A pot experiment was conducted during a six-month period in order to evaluate and compare the salinity tolerance of three Iranian ornamental genotypes of pomegranate during 2017-2018. The experiment was arranged in factorial based on the completely randomized design with two factors included water salinity in 5 levels of 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 dSm-1 and three ornamental pomegranate genotypes (‘Golnar Saravan’, ‘Golnar Shahdad’ and ‘Golnar saveh’) in 4 replications. The properties concerned during the experiment were vegetative growth, the fallen, chlorosis and green of leaves. At the end of the experiment, the vegetative yield and fresh and dry weight of leaves and shoots, ion leakage, relative water content and chlorophyll index were also measured. In addition, leaves were analyzed for elements such as Na+, K+, Cl– and Na/K ratio.

Results showed that with increasing of salinity levels in all three investigated genotypes, growth characteristics, significantly decreased, ion leakage, the relative water content of leaves and chlorophyll index significantly increased. Also with increasing of salinity levels Na+, Cl- and Na+/Cl- significantly increased. In all studied genotypes, plant height and leaf area decreased from salinity level of 5 and 7 dS.m-1 respectively. Increasing in leaf necrosis, and decreasing in percentage of green leaves and also relative water content in ‘Golnar Sarvestan’ were observed from salinity level of 5 dS.m-1and from salinity level of 7 dS.m-1 in ‘Golnar Shahdad’ and ‘Gonar Saveh’. Leaves falldown in ‘Gonar Saveh’ and ‘Golnar Sarvestan’ were increased in salinity level of 7 dS.m-1 and in ‘Golnar Shahdad’ in 5 dS.m-1 salinity level. In two genotypes (‘Golnar Sarvestan’and ‘Golnar Shahdad’) the ion leakage increased in 7 dS.m-1 salinity level and in ‘Gonar Saveh’ in salinity level of 5 dS.m-1. In higher salinity levels (7 and 9 dS.m-1) Na+, Cl- and Na+/Cl- uptake were significantly decreased in ‘Golnar Sarvestan’and ‘Golnar Shahdad’ in compared to ‘Golnar Sarvestan’.

Generally among all studied genotypes, ‘Golnar Shahdad’ has been showed the maximum growth characteristics, and the lowest appearance injury, accumulation of Na+, Cl- in higher levels of salinity. So it seems that this genotype is the most tolerant of the salinity.