سهیلا افکار

Lentils are one of the most important legumes, which have a high amount of protein and vitamins A and B, fiber, potassium and iron, and are an inexpensive food for low-income people. The objective of this study was the determination of variability, heritability, correlations between yield and yield components in 14 Lentil (Lens culinaris L.) genotypes using a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results showed that secondary stem per plant and productivity degree had the highest GCV and PCV but the lowest GCV and PVC was found for a number of pod/ m2 and number of the plant. Maximum heritability was estimated for 100-seed weight, number two-seed pod, biological yield, grain yield, productivity degree and plant height respectively. The high genetic advance and heritability were observed for the number of the two-seed pod and biological yield. The phenotypic correlation revealed that rainwater productivity, biological yield and plant height had the greatest, positive and significant association with seed yield. By performing path analysis based on stepwise regression, rainwater productivity had the most direct effect on seed yield, while the number of secondary stems per plant through rainwater productivity had the most indirect and negative effect on seed yield. That means with increasing number of the secondary stem, rainwater productivity is decreased which results in reduced grain yield. As a result, it was concluded that rainwater productivity and biological yield can be good selection criteria for improving seed yield per plant in Lens culinaris.

Seed germination ability is an essential step for optimum stand establishment. Seed priming includes very simple methods that could improve seed germination and establishment of the seedling. Satureja hortenssis L. is an aromatic plant used in the food and pharmaceutical industry. To evaluate the effect of priming on germination of Khuzestan, Isfahan, and Ardestan ecotypes of Satureja hortensis L, a factorial experiment on the base of a completely randomized design was conducted with three replications. Factors are four concentration levels (0, 50, 100, and 200 ppm) of KNO3 and three priming time levels (0, 24, 48 hours). Results showed that germination parameters reduced at 200 ppm of KNO3 and 48 h in the Khuzestan and Ardestan ecotypes, but for the Isfahan ecotype, 24h after treatment with 100 ppm KNO3 most germination parameters were reduced. According to the observed results, the best and most effective treatment for stimulation of germination is different for each ecotype. In conclusion, these results showed that the low concentration of KNO3 increased germination and seedling parameters, but the high concentration decreased studied traits.

Festuca is one of the largest genera of the grass family, which has more than 600 species with different ploidy levels. The aim of this study was to estimate the genetic diversity within 22 populations of three species of Festuca (Festuca arundinacea, F.rubra and F.ovina) using a seed storage protein electrophoresis pattern. These species showed a significant variation in the number of protein bands from 5-13. The highest number of bands was found in G17 (F.rubra) and the lowest number of protein bands was in G5 (F.ovina). Band number 14 was only observed in G3. It is suggested that this band can be considered as a specific band for the identification of this genotype. According to the results of AMOVA analysis, there is a high level of genetic diversity within the species rather than between species that can be due to the out-crossing nature of this genus. According to observed differences for variation parameters among the three studied species, it is concluded that they have dissimilar genetic structures. The results of cluster analysis based on seed storage protein profiles in evaluated genotypes using Euclidean distance matrix and UPGMA method showed four groups. The lowest similarity coefficient was between G14 and G15 (F.arundinacea) with G6 (F.ovina). Hence, it is suggested that they evolved from a different evolutionary process and it is suggested to use them as the parents of new synthetic varieties. The observed diversity in the seed protein pattern in the three species of Festuca, can be explained by allogamy-induced-heterozygosity, species difference or population collection from various regions.

In order to evaluation the diversity of morphological traits and determine antibacterial activity against three bacterial strains including Klebsiella pneumonia, Listeria monocytogenes, and Streptococcus agalactia, three ecotypes of Mentha longifolia were collected from three habitats in Khorramabad, Aleshtar, and Delfan in Lorestan province, Iran. The measured traits were plant height, leaf length and width, number of leaves, branches, and inflorescences, length of inflorescences, and percentage of essential oil. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA with five replications. The result showed that there was a significant difference among the ecotypes in terms of leaf length and width, plant height, and essential oil percentage. Khorramabad ecotype had the highest plant height, inflorescence length, and essential oil percentage. A positive and significant correlation was observed between both plant height and leaf width with essential oil percentage. According to stepwise regression and path analysis results, it was concluded that plant height could be considered as the most important index for the selection of parental lines in the breeding programs. Based on the Minimum Inhibitory (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) indices, it was concluded that the minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations of M. longifolia essential oil ranged from 0.03 to 0.2 mg/mL.The antimicrobial activity showed that L. monocytogenes and S.agalactiae were inhibited by Delfan ecotype essential oil and K. pneumonia was inhibited by the essential oil from the Aleshtar ecotype. In contrast, the three studied bacteria had the lowst susceptibility to the essential oil from Khorramabad ecotype.

The aim of this study was to investigate of the chemical composition of the essential oil extracted from Mentha longifolia collected from different regions of Lorestan province (Khorramabad, Aleshtar, Delfan) and to determine the antibacterial activities against three certain bacterial strains (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli). The chemical profiling of the essential oil was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. GC-MS analysis revealed that essential oil of M. longifolia from Khorramabad region was constituted by pulegone (54.41%) and 1, 8-cineole (22.05%) as a major component. M. longifolia from Aleshtarwas rich in piperitenone (29.29%), pulegone (17.53%), piperitenone oxide (14.35%), 1, 8-cineole (14.34%) and the main component of M. longifolia from Delfanwas citronelyll acetate (59.93%), aromadrene (5.1%), respectively. A significant correlation between geographical and soil characteristics, except phosphorus and electrical conductivity, with the essential oils components was detected. The results obtained using MIC and MBC showed that the minimum inhibitory concentration of the essential oil of M. longifolia from studied regionwas in the range of 0.03-2 mg/mL. The most effective essential oil in bacterial inhibition for E. coli and S. aureus bacteria was the essential oil from Aleshtar and Delfan, respectively. Two bacteria P. aeruginosa and S. aureus were least susceptible to M. longifolia essential oil from Khorramabad region. The essential oil of M. longifolia from different regions of Lorestan provinc exhibited low to high inhibitory activity against gram-positive and negative bacteria,.which depended to the region of collected plants and studied bacterial strains. In this research, three components citronellyl acetat, citronellal and aromandrene was detected in M. longifolia essential oil for the first time

To study the effects of different intercropping ratios of black cumin and fenugreek on yield, yield components and oil percentage under weedy and weed-free conditions, a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications at Vali-e-Asr Rafsanjan University in 2015. The treatments included five intercropping ratios (black cumin sole cropping, fenugreek sole cropping, 25% black cumin + 75% fenugreek, 50% black cumin + 50% fenugreek and 75% black cumin + 25% fenugreek) and weed management (with and without weed control). Results showed that yield of both plants were greater in sole cropping treatments, whereas the highest plant height, 1000- seed weight and seed oil were obtained from intercroppings. Intercropping systems had a relative advantage than sole cropping and total relative yield (TRY) was more than 1 in all intercropping ratios. The highest TRY was achieved in 25% black cumin +75% fenugreek (1.55) treatment under weed control conditions. Intercropping caused better weeds control, so that the number and dry weight of weeds was reduced in intercropping treatments. The yield loss due to weeds was 87.2% in sole crop and in 25% black cumin +75% fenugreek, 75% black cumin +25% fenugreek and 50% black cumin +50% fenugreek treatments were 34.8%, 27.1% and 25%, respectively. Overall, the result of this research revealed that while 25% black cumin +75% fenugreek intercropping increased TRY, it also improved weeds control.

Festuca species grow in Iran and widespread occurrence of polyploidy has an important role in the evolution of this group. Festuca arundinacea belong to the grass family and include different species that used as forage, turf grass and for soil conservation. The aim of this work was the study of changing in DNA content morphological and phenological traits in different genotypes of F. arundinacea which collected from different regions.

This experiment was conducted using a complete block design with 3 replications. Genetic parameters were estimated for all traits including Day to head emergence, Flowering date, Plant height, Number of. stem per plant, Spike length, 1000-seed weight, Germination percentage, Germination rate, Germination vigor, Stability, Forage yield, Seed yield, Seed weight per stem, Harvest Index, Number of seed per plant. Three-week-old plants, fluorochrome DAPI and Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Sultan (2C= 11.12 pg) as an internal standard for DNA content measurement were used.

Evaluation of genetic parameters indicated that the difference between PCV and GCV was low for days to head emergence, flowering date, number of stem per plant, germination percentage, number of seed per plant, 1000-seed weight, germination rate, germination vigor and plant height, which clearly indicated the role of genetic variance was higher than the environmental variance. On the other hand, heritability was ranged between 66-95%. High broad-sense heritability was also observed for all the characters except spike length which indicate selection-based methods have high efficiency for these traits. Due to the low difference between PCV and GCV, high heritability and high genetic advance for days to head emergence, flowering date and germination vigor, it can be concluded that these traits are controlled by additive genetic action and can be improved through selective breeding programs. ANOVA results for relative nuclear DNA amount showed a significant difference between studied genotypes which suggest there is a high intraspecies variation for various genotypes in the different regions. The results of the mean comparison showed that the genotypes can be categorized into 7 separate groups. The highest and lowest relative amount of nuclear DNA was in (G13, G20, G21) and (G22, G16) genotypes respectively. According to previous studies, the change in the relative amount of nuclear DNA can be attributed to the presence of chromosome B and change the length of the chromosome.

It is suggested that day to head emergence, flowering date and germination vigor traits to be used for plant breeding programs. Moreover, the change in relative DNA content and morphological-phenological traits can be considered factors in the evolution of F.arundinacea and adaptation to varying environmental condition.

Mints are herbaceous perennial plants with aromatic leaves that are cultivated for their essential oils. The essential oil of Mint used in pharmaceutical, perfumery and cosmetics applications. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between nine different genotypes of Mentha spicata and M. piperita collected from different regions of Iran according to the seed storage protein profile using the SDS-PAGE method. The electropherogram showed a total of 31 bands of proteins with the molecular weight ranging from 12 kDa to 103 kDa. Among the genotypes G1, G5 and G9 showed the maximum number (26) of protein bands while the minimum number (9) of bands was present in genotype G7. Cluster analysis based on the seed storage protein profile, using the Euclidean distance matrix and the UPGMA method, grouped the evaluated genotypes into three clusters. Five genotypes (G1, G4, G5, G8, and G9) were in group 1, group two contained genotype G3 and the rest of the genotypes were in the third group (G2, G6, G7). Cluster analysis showed that some of the genotypes of two different species of M. piperita and M. spicata were closely related to each other and were in the same group. With regard to M. piperita is a natural hybrid of M. spicata and M.aquatica, this result is expected. The protein variability analysis clearly showed that there was divergence among and within the studied genotypes. It was concluded that this study will be useful for the future breeding and conservation program of Mentha genotypes.

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a winter crop and mostly self-pollinated with chromosome number 2n=2x=16 that it is known as an important source of vegetable protein in the world. It is found that 70% of the total world’s Chickpea production belong to the Asian region. India, Turkey, Pakistan, and Iran are the major countries in Asia that produce chickpea. Iran is important center of chickpea diversity but the productivity of chickpea in Iran is variable and low, which may be related to limiting climatic factors, water availability, genotype and little breeding work in Iranian chickpea cultivars. Presence of genetic diversity among genotypes indicate the genotypes are a valuable resource to increase product quality and productivity. Analysis of genetic diversity can provide practical information for selection of parental material in plant breeding programs and gene-bank management. The objectives of this study were to evaluate genetic variation among chickpea genotypes and to determine the relationships among agronomic traits with seed yield using analysis of variance, comparison of means, correlation coefficient, step-wise regression and path analysis.

The experiment was conducted in the city of Khorramabad 2014-2015, in latitude 33 degrees 36 minutes north and longitude 47 degrees and 40 minutes east of the Greenwich meridian is located. Its height from sea level is 1200 meters. Fifteen chickpea genotypes were supplied from Dry land Agricultural Research Institute, Iran and studied for various yield parameters under field conditions in a randomized complete block design with three replications. in present study 21 morphological characteristics such as plant height, number of primary branches, number of secondary branches, number of total pod per plant, number of node per stem, number of one-seed pod, number of two-seed pod, number of empty pod per plant, pod weight (seed+shell), seed weight per plant, 100- seed weight, number of filled pod, seed yield, number of seed per pod, number of seed per plant, biological yield, straw yield, harvest index, total seed weight (seed+straw), dry weight of stem and productivity effort were evaluated.

The analysis of variance showed highly significant variations

Lentil (Lens culinaris), with its ability for nitrogen fixation, maintaining soil moisture and limiting soil erosion helps in increasing soil fertility. In order to compare and classify of 14 lentil genotypes, an experiment was carried out in the randomized complete block design with three replications during the cropping year of 2011-2012. Analysis of variance indicated remarkable diversities among genotypes under study and significant differences were obtained for seed yield, biological yield, 100-grain weight, number of the pod with couple seed and rain efficiency. Mean comparisons also showed the genotype G10 was the best genotypes for seed yield, biological yield, the pod with couple seed and rain efficiency, so this genotype is advisable for culture by farmers. As the per principal component analysis, first five principal components expressed 83% of total variation in which PC I, PC II, PC III, PC IV & PC V accounted for 41%, 14%, 12%, 8% and 6% of total variation, respectively. Cluster analysis, based on the traits studied, using Euclidean distance following Ward’s method with Euclidean distance divided the genotypes into three groups and the maximum distance was between cluster I and III. Thus the genetically diverged genotypes of the clusters could be used as the parent in hybridization program to get desirable genotypes. It can be concluded that there is remarkable genetic variability among studied lentil genotypes, which could be utilized in the screening of desirable parents and genotypes for lentil breeding programs.

Drought is a major abiotic stress that limits agricultural crop production. Thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) is an aromatic and medicinal plant which is very important for the herbal industry. This study was aimed to investigate the variation some of the secondary metabolites and morphological traits as well as changes in expression of genes involved in the biosynthesis of thymol (including HMGR and TPS2) by real-time PCR. One of the main goals of the present study was to find out the relationship between the transcript of these genes and related metabolites in thyme. This study was conducted in the greenhouse of Iranian Institute of Medicinal Plants of Jahad Daneshgahi (Karaj, Iran) in 2016. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with 5 replication and 4 water deficit stress treatments, including 100% (T1, control), 70% (T2, mild stress), 40% (T3, moderate stress), and 20% (T4, severe stress) of field capacity (FC). Total RNA was extracted from leaves using TRIzol reagent following the manufacturer’s instructions. First strand synthesis of cDNA was performed immediately using 1 µg of total RNA with simultaneous use of oligo-dT (50 µM) primers and random hexamer and reverse transcriptase enzyme following the manufacturer protocol. In order to examine gene expression by real-time PCR, the method of fluorescence dye SYBR green (Fermentase, USA) was used. The amount of thymol and carvacrol were measured by HPLC. Results of morphological traits showed that increasing the water deficit stress caused a decrease in root biomass, shoot fresh weight, plant height, root length, and the number of side branches. Results of gene expression profiling showed that the highest expression of TPS2 and HMGR genes and the highest amount of thymol and carvacrol was obtained in treatment T2 (70% FC). TPS2 and HMGR gene expression changes were similar to the changes of monoterpenes thymol and carvacrol in all treatments and the highest number of monoterpenes and gene expression were obtained in mild water deficit stress treatment in comparison with control, moderate, and severe stresses. Altogether, according to the results of this study, mild stress had a significant effect on increasing the expression of HMGR and TPS2 and led to a higher production of monoterpenes.

Agropyron pectiniforme having moderate to high yield and quality traits is cultivated for pasture regeneration and forage production in rangelands of Iran. In order to study genetic variability in Agropyron pectiniforme based on morphological traits, 16 populations were examined in the field trial using a complete block design with three replications during 20042005 in Karaj, Iran. Data were collected on heading date, plant height, tiller number, spike length, forage yield, seed yield and thousand grain weights. Results showed significant differences between the populations for all of the recorded traits (P≤0.01). Populations Zangan487, Tabriz-707 and Gorgan-7565 with averaged values of 96 to 119 g/plant and 25 to 33 g/plant had higher forage and seed production, respectively. Among them, Zangan-487 had early maturity date and Tabriz-707 had higher seed thousand grain weights. Phenotypic correlation between forage and seed yield was positively significant (P

Chickpea (Cicer arietnum) as the third most important grain legume in the world is not only an important source of feed but it also improve soil fertility by adding nitrogen. This work was aimed to study the variability of morphological trait, to estimate PCV, GCV, heritability, and expected genetic advance of quantitative traits of Chickpea. The genotypes were planted in a randomized complete block design with three replications. PCA analysis showed first four factors Justify almost near to 80 percent variance among studied characters. Cluster analysis with Ward method classified all genotypes in three groups and the highest genetic distance was observed between cluster 2 and cluster 3. It is shown that the number of seed per pod trait has the highest PCV and GCV. The highest heritability was found for number of fertile pod (0.86), seed yield (0.84) and 100-seed weight (0.84) whereas high heritability coupled with high genetic advance was found for biological yield. So biological yield can be the most important criteria for selection parental lines in breeding programs. Also in regard to the highest genetic distance between cluster 2 and cluster 3, genotypes of two clusters could be used for intercrossing to develop improved cultivars.

Peppermint (Mentha piperita L., Lamiaceae) is one of the most important medicinal and aromatic plants. Menthol is the major monoterpene constituent of peppermint’s essential oil, which is used for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food industries. This work was aimed to study the expression pattern of important genes (Pr, Mfs, Ls) in menthol biosynthesis pathway in different plant’s organs (leaf, flower and stem) at the beginning of flowering stage. The peppermint plants were supplied from Iranian Institute of Medicinal Plants and were transferred into a greenhouse in pots. Analysis of variance showed that there is a significant difference between leaf, flower and stem, with respect to mRNA transcript level. The results of this study indicated that the level of gene expression of Pr, Mfs and Ls were altered in the different organs. There are direct relationship between the content of menthone and menthofuran and level of gene expressions of Pr and Mfs genes in flower and leaf respectively. It can be concluded that probably the expression of Mfs and Pr genes in these organs may be regulated at transcriptional level.

Peppermint (Mentha piperita L.), a herbaceous and perennial species whichis produced mainly for the medicine and food. The peppermint plants were initiated from 10 cm-long rhizome cuttings followed by transferring into pots. The 48 h-treated plants with methyl jasmonate (MJ) concentrations (0, 0.1, 0.5 mM) were assessed for their total soluble proteins, malondialdehyde (MDA), chlorophylls a, b and total, anthocyanin, total carbohydrates, carotenoid, activity of antioxidant guaiacol peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzymes. The data were analyzed using completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. Mean comparisons were carried out, using Duncan''s multiple range test. MJ treatment caused significant changes in soluble proteins, chlorophylls (a, b and total), MDA, carbohydrates and antioxidant enzymes (SOD and POD) but had no effect on antocyanin and carotenoid. These results indicate that MJ can effectively improve the defense system and antioxidant capacity of peppermint.

To study the genetic variation among 24 genotypes of tall fescue (F. arundinacea), a randomized complete block design of three replications was conducted under spaced plant conditions in Karaj Research Institute of Alburz, Iran. Analysis of Variance showed high and significant differences (P<0.001) for between genotypes all the 15 morphological characteristics of: heading date, stem height, fertile tiller number, seed yield, panicle length, panicle seed yield, seed number in panicle, thousand grain weight, harvest index, stand of plant, flowering date, forage dry matter, viability percentage, speed of germination, and germination vigor. Genotypes G1, G2, G4, G6 and G8 appeared to be the most suitable genotypes for both seed and forage production. Principal component analysis, the most effective variable among seed yield characters was identified. Four independent components accounted for 87.7% of total variations. The first principal component indicates that stem height, fertile tiller number, seed yield, forage dry matter yield were important characters for classification. Viability percentage and germination vigor were the important characters of the second component. Based on Ward’s cluster analysis, the 24 entries were divided into 4 groups. Genotypes in clusters 1 and 2 averaged higher than the overall means for seed and forage dry matter yields.