سودابه مفاخری

To examine the role of symbiotic microorganisms in mitigating or reducing the negative effects of salinity stress on garden thyme, a greenhouse experiment was conducted in a factorial design with three replications at the International Imam Khomeini University. In this study, the effects of coexistence of Trichoderma harzianum fungus, Rhizobium lantis bacteria, and a mixture of fungus and bacteria at three salinity levels (0, 50, and 100 mM) on morphophysiological and biochemical traits of garden thyme were evaluated. Morphological traits assessed included root length, stem length, and wet and dry weights of roots and stems. Additionally, physiological and biochemical traits such as malondialdehyde content, electrolyte leakage, enzymatic antioxidants such as catalase and peroxidase, non-enzymatic antioxidants such as proline, total phenol and flavonoid content, as well as DPPH free radical scavenging activity, were evaluated. The results showed that salinity stress significantly reduced root and stem length, wet and dry weights of roots and stems in garden thyme. Furthermore, oxidative stress induced by salinity increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes (catalase and peroxidase) and total phenol and flavonoid content. On the other hand, treatment with T. harzianum fungus and R. lantis bacteria alleviated the negative effects of increased salinity concentration by improving the measured traits, including increased activity of antioxidant enzymes, decreased lipid peroxidation (MDA), and reduction in secondary metabolites, thereby reducing cell damage and promoting plant growth. In most cases, the simultaneous application of fungus and bacteria had a greater effect on the studied traits compared to the individual use of these symbiotic microorganisms.

Water deficit is one of the most fundamental problems of agricultural systems throughout the world, which influences both yield and quality of the products. Applying compounds such as salicylic acid (SA) can improve plant resistance against environmental stresses. The present study was conducted to evaluate the impact of drought stress and SA application on quantitative and qualitative traits of holy basil (Ocimum sanctum), based on a factorial experiment in the form of a completely randomized design in three replications. The experimental treatments included drought stress at three levels (100, 70, and 50% FC) and foliar application of salicylic acid at three levels (0, 0.75, and 1.5 mM). Obtained results showed that water deficit caused a decrease in plant growth factors, RWC, and the amount of photosynthetic pigments, while foliar application of salicylic acid increased the above-mentioned parameters. Drought stress and foliar application of salicylic acid increased proline content, total content of phenolic compounds, flavonoid compounds and DPPH free radicals inhibition. In addition, the percentage of essential oils increased under drought stress. Also, plants that were sprayed with salicylic acid, showed a significant increase in essential oil percentage compared to the control. By reducing irrigation water, the percentage of eugenol in essential oil was decreased, but foliar spraying with a high concentration of salicylic acid increased the percentage of this compound. The experimental treatments also had a significant effect on the percentage of 1, 8-cineole and estragole compounds. Therefore, the application of a proper amount of SA can be considered a practical and simple strategy for increasing the quality and quantity of holy basil in arid and semi-arid areas.

Hibiscus sabdariffa L., commonly known as Roselle, is a plant cultivated in many regions of the world regions. Roselle has been used as a medicinal herb in traditional medicine for controlling and treating different diseases and physical ailments. These therapeutic effects are attributed to active compounds such as carotenoids, fatty acids, and phenolic compounds, including phenolic acids and flavonoids. One common method to stimulate plants for increased production of active compounds is subjecting them to various types of stresses, such as drought or salinity, along with plant growth regulators. This study investigated salicylic acid's effect on the phytochemical content and various biological properties of Roselle plants under water scarcity conditions.

The experiment was conducted as a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design, including irrigation intervals at three levels: three days (D1), five days (D2), and seven days (D3), and foliar application of salicylic acid at three levels: 0 (SA0), 0.75 mM (SA1), and 1.25 mM (SA2), with three replicates in a research greenhouse at the International Imam Khomeini University. The required seeds for cultivation were obtained from Pakanbazr Company in Isfahan. The imposition of drought stress through irrigation intervals of 3, 5, and 7 days started at the 4-leaf stage of the plants, and the plant spraying with salicylic acid was performed at the 6-leaf stage, three days before the start of irrigation treatments. The measurement of electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde content was carried out to determine membrane stability and lipid peroxidation level. Additionally, the measurement of proline content and the activity of three antioxidant enzymes, including peroxidase, catalase, and ascorbate peroxidase, was performed in different samples. Furthermore, the total phenolic, flavonoid, and anthocyanin contents, as the main secondary metabolites of Roselle plants, were measured. The biological and medicinal properties, including the free radical scavenging activity (DPPH) and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, were also evaluated. The obtained data were analyzed using SAS statistical software version 9.4. Mean comparisons were conducted using Duncan's multiple range test at a significance level of 5%.

The results showed both electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde content increased significantly with increasing levels of applied drought stress on Roselle plants. However, overall, applying salicylic acid treatments led to a decrease in both indicators. The measurement of proline content in Roselle samples showed that the highest amount of proline was observed in plants subjected to the highest drought stress and treated with the 1.5 mM salicylic acid solution. The activity of all three antioxidant enzymes increased with the intensity of the applied drought stress and the concentration of salicylic acid solutions. Roselle's highest levels of phenolic and anthocyanin content were observed in samples sprayed with 1.5 mM salicylic acid solution. The change in anthocyanin content of Roselle plants also demonstrated that increasing the severity of water scarcity resulted in higher levels of this compound. The highest DPPH free radical scavenging activity was observed in Roselle samples grown under the highest drought severity and sprayed with the highest concentration of salicylic acid (61.93%). The highest antioxidant activity was also observed in samples treated with the highest concentration of salicylic acid solution in all irrigation regimes. The highest α-glucosidase inhibitory activity (69.2% and 67.7%) was associated with Roselle samples grown under the highest applied drought severity, sprayed with 1.5 mM and 0.75 mM salicylic acid solutions, respectively.

It can be concluded that the use of salicylic acid as a growth regulator can contribute to the enhancement of phytochemical content, especially secondary metabolites such as phenolic and flavonoid compounds, anthocyanins, and the elevation of defensive parameters such as the activation of antioxidant enzymes, as well as an increase in osmolyte content like proline in Roselle plants. These effects assist the plants in exhibiting greater resistance to drought stress and mitigating the negative impacts of this type of stress on the plant.

Environmental education is the most basic method in protecting the environment, the purpose of which is to find the most appropriate and best system and method of presenting materials and implementing a structure that is the basis for improving environmental awareness at the community level. In the current research, the effect of education in improving students' awareness about the importance of environmental issues has been investigated.

The current research is applied in a descriptive, correlational and relational manner and its implementation method is carried out in the field using a questionnaire and data analysis using SPSS software. For the purpose of investigation, 150 questionnaires were collected by random cluster sampling among the students of the pre-eleventh grade in Karaj city and 150 of the eleventh grade students.

The results of the Spearman correlation coefficient are as follows: Students of the 11th grade who have had a human and Environmental book as part of their courses, their awareness about the environment has increased.

Also, the higher the education level of the students' fathers, the more the students' awareness of the environment has increased. The results of the correlation coefficient between two variables of mother's education and students' awareness about the environment indicate that there is a significant relationship between the two variables at the 5% error rate. In other words, the higher the level of mother's education, the more students' awareness is about the environment.

Tragopogon spp. has many medicinal properties in addition to its edible consumption due to its many useful compounds. One of these identified compounds is inulin, which is present in the roots of this plant. To investigate the effects of low irrigation stress and growth-promoting rhizobacteria (Bacillus subtilis) on inulin content and root morphological traits in some genotypes of Tragopogon spp., a factorial experiment with three factors in a completely randomized design with three replications was conducted in the research greenhouse of Bu Ali Sina University in 2020. The factors included irrigation at two levels of without stress (100% of field capacity) and low irrigation stress (50% of field capacity) as the first factor, genotype at 15 levels (different genotypes of Tragopogon spp) as the second factor, and plant growth-enhancing rhizobacteria (PGPR) at two levels of inoculation with B. subtilis and without inoculation as the third factor. Length, area, volume, diameter, weight, and inulin content of the plant roots were measured. The results showed that the irrigation × genotype × bacteria interaction effect was significant on all studied traits. Low irrigation stress increased length, area, and volume of the plant roots in most genotypes, but decreased root weight and inulin content. Inoculation with B. subtilis affected genotypes differently. Iranian genotype No. 11 (Kaboudar Ahang) had the highest inulin content at different stress and B. subtilis levels, followed by Italian genotype No. 4 at both B. subtilis levels under non-stress conditions. Overall, stress reduced inulin content of the plant roots, but the effect of inoculation with B. subtilis depended on the genotype.

Salinity and accumulation of salts in the soil are one of the most important non-biological stresses that limiting agricultural production in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran. to minimize the effects of stress we can use the foliar application of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Therefore, due to the adverse effects of salinity stress on the growth and yield of many plants, including quinoa, it is necessary to use methods to increase plant resistance to improve growth, production, and crop yield. Therefore, the present study was conducted to study the effect of gamma-aminobutyric acid on reducing the effects of salinity stress and improving the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of quinoa

Two-factor factorial experiment in a randomized complete block design with three replications, was conducted during 2018-2019 in the research greenhouse of Imam Khomeini International University in Qazvin, Iran. The experimental factors included salinity of irrigation water at three levels (0, 8 and 16 dS / m sodium chloride) and GABA at five levels (0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 mM). Quinoa seeds were obtained from the Seed and Plant Breeding Research Institute. After seedling establishment in the four-leaf stage, salinity was applied by adding sodium chloride to irrigation water. Some morphological and physiological traits such as main stem diameter, number of spikes per plant, grain yield, 1000-seed weight, harvest index; SPAD, leaf relative water content, leaf water loss and membrane stability percentage were also measured.

The results showed that salinity had a reducing and significant effect on plant growth and development indices. Application of gamma-amino butyric acid improved the traits of SPAD, plant height, stem length, number of spikes, and harvest index. Therefore, foliar application of GABA under salinity stress conditions is recommended as a compatible osmolyte that reduces salinity damage in quinoa. The salinity × GABA interaction was significant for all traits except relative water loss, SPAD index, plant height and number of spikes per plant. At salinity of 16 dS / m, the best GABA treatment increased the leaf relative water content (10%), membrane stability index (29%), stem diameter (11%), 1000-seed weight (37%), grain yield (36 %), plant dry weight (70%), potassium content (58%), potassium to sodium ratio (168%) and decrease in sodium content (117%) compared to non-use of GABA conditions. The maximum leaf SPAD index (39.88), the highest plant height (55.15 cm), and the highest number of spikes per plant (15.03) were obtained in plants treated with 10 mM GABA.

Quinoa is a plant with very high nutritional value that can be an important part of our diet shortly. The results of this study showed that although this plant has a high resistance to salinity, but increasing the salinity of irrigation water caused a significant reduction in its growth and development, on the other hand, the use of GABA as a natural factor that improves plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, was able to greatly compensate for the damage caused by saline water and significantly increase the resistance of quinoa to salinity.

Dragonhead with the scientific name of Dracocephalum moldavica L., is an annual medicinal and aromatic herbaceous plant from Lamiaceae family. In this research, D. moldavica seed oil, aqueous, and ethanol extracts were prepared and quantity and quality of fatty acids, phytosterols amount, phenolic and flavonoid compounds contents, and DPPH radicals scavenging activity were measured. The seed oil was extracted by cold press method. The results showed that the highest amount of palmitic and stearic acids (9.4 and 3.55%, respectively) was obtained in the ethanol extract. While, the highest amount of oleic (9.7%), linoleic (19.53%), and α-linolenic (59.01%) acids were found in the oil. The ethanol extract exhibited the highest amount of total phytosterol (833.86 mg.100 g-1 DW), γ-tocopherol (38.72 mg.100 g-1 DW), and total tocopherol (39.21 mg.100 g-1 DW). The highest total phenolic (17.4 mg GAE.g-1 DW) and flavonoid (112.12 mg QE.g-1 DW) contents were found in the ethanol extract of seeds and lowest of them (near to zero) was found in the seed oil. Also, the ethanol extract showed the highest DPPH radicals scavenging activity. Overall, ethanol is recommended as the best solvent for extracting dragonhead seed extract to maintain more qualitative properties.

Various species of Salvia has been used in the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries.In this study, aerial parts of Salvia hypoleuca L. which is an endemic plant to Iran were collected during the flowering stage in the summer of 2020 from Alamut city of Qazvin province. In the present study, the total content of phenolic, flavonoid, saponin and tannins, four hexane, ethyl acetate, methanolic and aqueous extracts prepared by maceration method were investigated. The antioxidant properties of these extracts were measured by DPPH, ABTS, phosphomolybdenum and iron chelating methods. In addition, α-amylase, α-glucosidase and tyrosinase enzyme inhibitory effects of the plant were measured by spectrophotometry. Based on the results, ethyl acetate extract of the plant had the highest phenolic and saponin content with values ​​of 87.07 mg gallic acid g-1 and 163.84 mg quillaja saponin g-1, respectively. The aqueous extract of the plant exhibited the highest amounts of flavonoids and condensed tannins content with 33.97 and 5.34 mg quercetin and catechin g-1 in the extract, respectively. Ethyl acetate extract indicated the highest ABTS radical scavenging, total antioxidant, ferrous ion chelating activities, as well as inhibitory effects of α-amylase, α-glucosidase and tyrosinase inhibition properties. The high potential of ethyl acetate extract in biological properties, like antioxidant and antiradical activities could be attributed to its high metabolite contents especially, phenolic and saponin compounds. Thus, it could be concluded that this plant is a rich source of functional secondary metabolites and ethyl acetate is the best extractant solvent. The results of this study confirmed the potential of Salvia hypoleuca for medicinal uses, especially for diabetes and skin diseases.

Medicinal plants have been one of the main natural resources of Iran from ancient times. Nutritional management has a significant impact on the quantity and quality of plants. The fastest way to supply nutrients for plant is the use of mineral fertilizers. In spite of significant and positive effect of chemical fertilizer on crops production, excessive use of them can reduce crop yield due to loss of soil biological activity, loss of soil physical properties, soil acidification, and soil nutrient imbalance. In addition, the use of chemical fertilizers can cause environmental pollutions. The use of organic manures as alternative sources of chemical fertilizer increased the yield of many plants and reduced the adverse effect of chemical fertilizers. Organic fertilizers also increased soil moisture, reduced soil pH and increased the electrical conductivity and the ability of absorbing soil nutrients. Therefore to study the effects of biological and chemical fertilizers on quantitative and qualitative yield of Cichorium intybus in different densities, this experiment was conducted.

This experiment was conducted as split split plots in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatments comprised of nitrogen at three levels (0, 50, 100 kg/ha) as the main plot, density at three levels (6, 9 and 12 plants/m2) as sub plot and bio-fertilizer in three levels (non- inoculation, inoculation with Mycorrhiza and inoculation with Azotobacter) as sub-sub plot. Several quantitative and qualitative traits were measured including leaf number, root length, fresh and dry weight, flavonoid content, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium.

Analysis of variance showed the significant effects of treatments on leaves, fresh and dry weight, root length and the amount of plant flavonoids, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Nitrogen consumption based on 100% fertilizer recommendations increased all traits, while the effects of density and bio-fertilizer were different on quantitative and qualitative traits. Seed inoculated with mycorrhiza showed a better result for flavonoid, phosphorus and potassium than seed inoculated with Azotobacter. Among the two-way interaction effects, the density × bio fertilizer and density × the nitrogen fertilizer were significant for plant leaf number and root length.  Mean comparison of density × bio fertilizer showed that the highest number of leaves per plant was obtained at density of 6 plant/m2 and Azotobacter inoculation and the highest root length was observed at density of 12 plant/m2 and Azotobacter inoculation. Mean comparison of density × the nitrogen fertilizer showed that the highest leaf number was observed at density of 6 plant. m-2 and 100 kg ha-1 nitrogen fertilizer and the highest root length was obtained at density of 12 plant m-2 and 100 kg ha-1 nitrogen fertilizer. The interaction effect of nitrogen fertilizer, density and bio-fertilizer was significant only for fresh weight. The maximum value of fresh weight (1848.8 g/m2) is related to the application of 100 kg/ha nitrogen fertilizer, the density of 12 plants/m2 and using Azotobacter. These conditions increased fresh weight to168 percent than conditions of lack of nitrogen and bio-fertilizers under the density of 6 plants/m2 (with 688.5 g/m2 fresh weight).

The results showed that the application of biological fertilizer had a significant effect on improving quantitative and qualitative yield of Cichorium intybus. Furthermore, the combined application of biological fertilizer and chemical fertilizer (based on 100% fertilizer recommendations) in the density of 12 plant/m2 significantly increased root length and weight of the plant. Therefore, biological fertilizers through the improvement of soil structure, and along with chemical fertilizers, increase greatly the quantitative and qualitative yield of plants.

To investigate the effect of mycorrhiza inoculation on increasing the resistance of medicinal plant dill (Anethum graveolens L.) to salinity stress, a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications at the research greenhouse of Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin province, Iran. The first factor was ecotype at two levels (Isfahan and Varamin), the second factor was salinity at three levels (0, 5 and 10 dS/m), and the third factor was mycorrhiza at three levels (0, 75 and 150 g fungi). The results showed that mycorrhizal inoculation improved all the quantitative traits studied so that under salinity conditions, the plants inoculated with mycorrhiza showed better growth than non-inoculated plants. The highest dry weight, plant height, number of seeds plant-1, and 1000-seed weight were obtained in ecotype Isfahan, salinity level 5 dS/m and 150 g of mycorrhiza. Eleven compounds were identified in dill essential oil. The highest percentage of limonene (7.5%) was obtained from ecotype Varamin plants treated with 5 dS/m salinity and 150 g mycorrhiza. The highest percentage of carvone (86.3%) was obtained in ecotype Isfahan treated with 150 g mycorrhiza and non-salinity.

Though chemical fertilizers increase crop production, their long-term use causes soil compaction and decreased fertility, increased air and water pollution, as well as increased greenhouse gases emission, ultimately leading to serious damage to human health and the environment. A greenhouse experiment was conducted during 2018 to evaluate the effects of chemical and bio-fertilizers on the quality and quantity of Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) in a randomized complete block design with four treatments. The experimental treatments included chemical fertilizer (NPK), seaweed extract, humic acid, and control (without fertilizer) with five replications. The results showed that the treatments had a significant effect on most of the traits. The highest plant height, plant dry weight, number of umbels per plant, number of seeds per plant, 1000 seed weight, number of primary branches, chlorophyll content, leaf carotenoid content, and essential oil content were obtained in the plants treated with chemical fertilizer as well as seaweed extract. The highest plant fresh weight was obtained from chemical fertilizer treatment, and the highest number of secondary branches (9.08) and linalool percentage (61.32%) were obtained from the seaweed extract treatment. The results indicated that the seaweed extract could be a good replacement for chemical fertilizers in coriander.

Dill (Anethum graveolens L.) commonly known as Shebet in Farsi is an annual, glabrous and aromatic herb belonging to the Apiaceae family. Dill is one of the first known multipurpose plants which have been used as a spice and medicine. Dill seeds used as a carminative, antispasmodic, sedative, lactagogue, diuretic, stimulant and to treat hemorrhoids, bronchial asthma, neuralgia, dysuria, genital, ulcers and dysmenorrhea. Using organic manures and Bio-Fertilizers such as nitrogen fixing bacteria and phosphate solubilizing bacteria has led to a decrease in the application of chemical fertilizers and has provided high quality agricultural products by using correct nutritional sources through organic manures and bio-fertilizers, yield and active substances of medicinal plants can be maximized. Therefore, the main objective of the present field experiment was to investigate the possibility of replacing urea fertilizer with bio-fertilizers in the production of Dill

Field experiment was conducted at Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran. The experiment consisting of 8 treatments was conducted as factorial based on Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The treatments included: The treatments consisted of four growthpromoting bacterial strains (Azotobacter, Azospirillum, Pseudomonas stutzeri and Pseudomonas putida) that were combined in equal proportions and used as bio fertilizer. Bio-fertilizers prepared separately or in combination with different levels of urea (100, 50 and 25% recommended amount of urea for Dill).

The results showed that biological fertilizers, individually or in combination with nitrogen fertilizer, increased growth, seed production, essential oil content, essential oil composition and leaf chlorophyll content; compared to control. Essential oil analysis of coriander seeds showed that the most important compounds are Carvone, limonene and Apiol that were significantly affected by biological and chemical fertilizers. Using 50% of the recommended amount of urea fertilizer with bio fertilizer, increased the quality and quantity of Dill yield. In fact, the use of combined fertilizers is suggested to reduce the using of chemical fertilizer

Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) that belongs to the Fabacecae family, has been commonly used as a traditional food and medicine (Mehrafarin et al., 2011). Several experimental and clinical studies support beneficial effects of fenugreek in the management of metabolic diseases and inflammatory disorders. Water shortage is one of the most important limiting factors which reduces the growth of fenugreek and other plants around the world and the most common environmental stress (Abedi and Pakniyat, 2010). In recent years, the excessive use of fertilizers and chemicals in agricultural production systems has increased the risk of environmental pollution and agricultural products. Bio-fertilizers as an alternatives or supplementary for chemical fertilizers, can guarantee the sustainability of agricultural production systems (Han et al., 2006).Therefore, considering the importance of bio fertilizers and water shortage, this experiment was conducted to study the effect of mycorrhizal and green algae bio fertilizers on morpho-physiological traits and the relationships between these traits under low and conventional irrigation regimes.

In order to study the effect of bio fertilizers on reducing the impact of drought stress in fenugreek, an experiment was conducted in two-factor factorial format in a randomized complete block design with three replications in greenhouse conditions. The first factor was irrigation at two levels comprising without stress (irrigation based on 100% soil capacity) and low irrigation stress (irrigation based on 40% soil capacity), and the second factor was biological fertilizer at three levels (without bio fertilizer, use of mycorrhiza fungi and use of green algae). The studied traits included chlorophyll, leaf relative water content, membrane stability index, plant fresh weight, grain yield, number and width of leaf stomata, number of pods and number of seeds per pod.

The results of variance analysis showed that irrigation effect was significant for all traits except for the number of stomata. The effect of bio fertilizer on all traits was significant, and interaction between irrigation and bio fertilizer was significant for most of the traits except for the relative water content of the leaves. The highest grain yield (4.55 g. plant-1) and the highest plant fresh weight (18.06 g. plant-1) respectively, were obtained under non-stress conditions and using mycorrhiza. Using mycorrhizal bio fertilizer under stress conditions improved the majority of traits compared to non-use of bio fertilizer. Under stress conditions, plant fresh weight had positive and significant correlation with the membrane stability index, grain yield, stomata number, stomata width and number of seeds per pods (Table 6 above the diameter of the table). Under non- stress conditions, the correlation of plant fresh weight with grain yield, stomata number, stomata width, number of pods and number of seeds per pod was positive and significant (Table 6 below the diameter of the table). Under stress conditions, positive and significant correlation was observed between grain yield with membrane stability index, plant fresh weight, stomata number, stomata width and number of seeds per pod (Table 6 above table diameter). Under non- stress conditions, there was a positive and significant correlation between grain yield with fresh weight of plant, stomata number, stomata width, number of pods and number of seeds per pod (Table 6 below the diameter of the table). The stepwise regression showed that the number of seed per pod in stress and non-stress condition had the highest effect on grain yield, while the number of stomata in non-stress conditions and the number and width of stomata in stress conditions had the highest effect on plant fresh weight.

A significant increase in quantity and quality of yield is achieved by paying attention to the relationships between yield and yield components and their effect on each other. The number of seed per pod; and the number of stomata and stomata width can be respectively used to improve grain yield and fresh weight of fenugreek under stress conditions.

For the investigation of effects of nano Zinc chelate foliar application on drought stress resistance of Dracocephalum kotschyi, and it's qualitative and quantitative characteristics, a field experiment, was conducted during 2016 growing season at research field of Imam Khomeini International University of Qazvin, Iran. The experiment was laid out in Factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design with 6 treatments and 3 replications. The experimental factors were; drought stress at three levels (100, 60 and 30% of field capacity) and nano zinc chelate at two levels (with and without foliar application). Results showed that with increasing of drought stress intensity, fresh and dry weight of plants as well as plant height were significantly decreased, but foliar application of zinc caused increasing in these traits. The maximum essential oil percentage (1.53%) was observed in plants treated with moderate drought stress and Zn foliar application. Zinc application could increase the amount of chlorophyll a, however the highest chlorophyll content (0.85 mg/gFW) was obtained by 100% FC irrigation. Main constituents of D.kotschyi essential oil are limonene, verbenone, neral and citral. The maximum percentage of limonene (30.72%), verbenone (33.72%) and neral (7.37%) were found in plants that treated with medium drought stress (60% FC). However the amounts of limonene, neral and verbenone were increased in presence of zinc foliar application.

Different parts of the greater celandine herb contain important alkaloids such as chelodonin, chloritin, sanguinarine, and berberine. Sanguinarine is a four-member benzofenanthridine that is widely found in Papaveraceae, Fumariaceae and Rutaceae. This biologically active alkaloid, singuainarin, has a wide range of potentially useful pharmacological properties, such as anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor. The first step in biosynthesis pathway of sanguinarine alkaloid requires the transformation of S-reticulin to S-skolorine, which catalyzes by berberine beridge enzyme encoded by the BBE gene. In order to prepare plant materials for gene isolation, and the expression of BBE gene in four drought levels including severe, moderate, weak stress and non stress (40, 55, 70 and 100% field capacity, respectively) in three organs, root, stem and leaf, an factorial experiment was carried based on completely randomized design with three replications. RNA was extracted from root, stem and leaf to isolate the cDNA encoding BBE enzyme and study the gene expression. The cDNA encoding BBE enzyme with approximate length of 1500 bp was isolated from root and successfully integrated into PTG19-T plasmid and cloned at E. coli. The sequencing results showed that the isolated gene with a length of 1441 bp could translate to a peptide chain with 483 amino acids. The predicted BBE peptide chain had NX(S/T) motif as glycosylation sites, the flavin binding domain for the binding of flavinated histidine, SGGH motif, and the Glu sequence which plays an important catalytic role in the formation of berberine bridge in flavoprotein enzymes. Based on the mean comparison results, the highest and lowest expressions of this gene were obtained on root under weak drought stress (FC 70%) and on leaf and shoot under non-stress condition (100% FC), respectively. In general, it can be concluded that the weak drought stress can increase the BBE gene expression, and possibly this could result in higher production of sanguinarine in celandine.

The greater celandine (Chelidonium majus L.) contains important alkaloids such as Sanguinarine. Sanguinarine is an active alkaloid with potentially antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties that is widely found in plants of Papaveraceae family. In this research, the isolation and sequencing of (s)-cis-N-methyl stylopine 14-hydroxylas (MSH) coding gene was performed as one of the key enzymes in Sanguinarine pathway from celandine. Then, the changes in cmMSH gene expression were investigated in roots, leave and stems at four salinity levels (0, 25, 50, and 100 mM) in a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design. In the present study, the cDNA encoding MSH enzyme was isolated from root and successfully integrated into PTG19-T plasmid and cloned at E. coli. After confirmation of recombinant clones by PCR, plasmids of recombinant bacteria were extracted and the gene segment sequenced. The sequenced segment had 784 nucleotides with an open reading frame of 261 amino acids which the derived protein with functional domains including helix K region, heme-binding region and aromatic region belonged to the Cytochrome-P450 protein family. In the phylogeny tree, the protein sequence of isolated cmMSH gene had the most similarity with methylstylopine 14-hydroxylase enzyme of poppy species. Mean comparison of gene relative expression showed that 50 mM salinity had maximal effect on increasing of cmMSH gene expression in root tissue. Also, the expression pattern showed that with increment the salinity up to 50 mM, the expression of cmMSH gene increased in leaves and roots, but with increment the salinity to 100 mM the gene expression decreased 35% in both tissues.

Nanoscale science and technology is production of structures with nanoscale dimensions and utilization of their properties in modern tools and systems. The nanoparticles produced by biomedical sciences are used in medicine, optics, electronics and mechanics. In this study the antimicrobial and antifungal effects of silver nanoparticles from aerial parts of sesame were studied by diffusion disc and well methods. Spectrophotometer with a wavelength of 300 to 600 nm and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used to verify the production of silver nanoparticles and to measure size and shape of the nanoparticles, respectively. Produced silver nanoparticles were spherical in the range of 18 to 70 nm. FTIR was done to indicate the potential role of different functional groups in the synthetic process. Based on the results of this study, nanoparticles produced by aqueous extract of sesame showed effective antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and pathogenic fungi, Candida albicans. Therefore useless organs of sesame can be used as a biological source for the synthesis of nanoparticles in an industrial scale with a very low cost.

In order to study the effects of applying chemical and biofertilizers on some quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Dracocephalum kotschyi Bioss., a factorial CRD experiment including 18 treatments with 4 replications, was conducted at Imam Khomeini International University research greenhouse. The treatments were: vermicompost (0, 10 and 20 V/V), phosphate biofertilizer (application and no-application) and chemical fertilizer (0, 50 and 100% of the recommended amount equal to 0, 0.48 and 0.96 gr/pot respectively).The essential oil was extracted by hydro distilation method by using a clevenger apparatus and were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Results were showed that the maximum plant height, number of branches per plant, number of inflorescences per plant, fresh and dry weight and the highest percentage of essential oil were obtained as a result of using 20% vermicompost. Plants treated by 50% of recommended NPK% vermicompost showed the highest rate of photosynthesis and transpiration. The maximum nitrogen concentration in leaf tissue was obtained from applying 100% of the recommended amount of NPK渪⦆謩薫. Applying 100% recommended NPK% vermicompost, resulted in higher phosphorus concentration in leaves. The highest concentration of potassium in leaves was obtained from plants treated with 20% vermicompost. 26 different compounds were identified in the essential oil among them limonene and verbenone were the main components. The highest amounts of these two compounds were obtained under 20% vermicompost treatment. According to the results vermicompost is an efficient substitute for chemical fertilizers in production of D.kotschyi.

Nanotechnology is a principally attractive area of research related with production of nanoparticles of variable sizes, shapes, chemical compositions and their possible application for human being benefits. Creation, manipulation and utilization of metallic nanoparticles, because of reduction of materials dimensions, affect the physical properties and results in displaying extraordinary thermal, optical and electronic properties of nonmaterial. The biological approaches to synthesis of nanoparticles are better than chemical and physical procedures because of low energy and time expenditure.
In this study the possibility of production of nano-silver particles from dried flower buds of Clove was investigated and antibacterial and anti-fungal activities of produced nanoparticles were studied by diffusion disc and well methods. The displayed UV-visible spectra, with a wavelength of 300 to 600 nm, identifies formation of silver nanoparticles, whenever the colorless initial acclimated mixture turned to brown. The centrifuged powder samples were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) methods. Based on the results of this study, produced silver nanoparticles were spherical in the range of 27 to 69 nm and showed effective antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Therefore clove can be used as a biological source for the synthesis of nanoparticles in an industrial scale with a very low cost.

Increasing the productivity and quality of irrigation water is a key factor in solving the greatest challenge of agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions. In this research, the effect of irrigation with magnetic water and ordinary water on different levels of drought stress was investigated on morphological, physiological and biochemical properties of corn (KSC703). The present experiment was conducted in the form of factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with four replications at the research greenhouse of Imam Khomeini (RAH) International University, Qazvin in 2016. The experimental treatments were consisted of irrigation with ordinary water and magnetic water by the amount of 75, 50 and 25 percent of field capacity with control (without tension). The results showed that the measured traits were significantly affected by irrigation treatment, so that, the highest stem diameter (1.87cm), the maximum leaf width (5.92cm), the highest plant height (126cm), the highest amount of chlorophyll (45.97), the highest percentage of nitrogen (4.05 percent), phosphorus (0.39 percent) and potassium (3.78 percent) of corn leaf, was observed in the treated plants by magnetic water and without tension conditions. The highest amount of total protein (0.63 milligram per gram dry leaf) was obtained from magnetic water treatment and irrigation by the amount of 75 percent of the agricultural capacity. In general, magnetic water had a positive and significant effect on the most measured traits and could somewhat reduce the negative effect of low water in corn.

Any improvement in agricultural system that results in higher production should reduce the negative environmental impact of agriculture and enhance the sustainability of the system. Seaweed extracts (SWE) are known to cause many beneficial effects on plants as they contain growth promoting hormones, trace elements, vitamins and amino acids. Humic acid plays a vital role in soil fertility and its application increases the plant growth and nutrient uptake. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of SWE, humic acid and chemical fertilizers on the morphological and biochemical characteristics of Trigonella foenum-graecum L.
Material and The experiment was carried out in 2016 at the Agricultural Research Greenhouse at Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran. The experiment was based on a completely randomized design with four treatments including: SWE, humic acid, chemical fertilizers and control and 7 replications. The pots were filled with 5kg of farm soil, which was evenly mixed with recommended level of chemical fertilizers (N; 0.08, P; 0.06 and K; 0.1 g/kg soil) for chemical fertilizer treatment. Seeds were sown at a depth of 1.5 cm in each pot. Seedlings were thinned to five plants per pot 10 days after emergence. In 4 leaves, appearance stage, SWE and humic acid treatments were applied as a foliar spray every 14 days, for three times before harvesting. Growth parameters were measured in correct time. The biochemical constituent pigments such as chlorophylls and carotenoids and also total ascorbic acid in leaf were estimated in control and treated plants using standard methods. Dried seeds of Fenugreekwere subjected to hydro distillation for 3h using a Clevenger-type apparatus to produce oil and essential oil percentage was measured.
In relation to the mean comparisons, the maximum shoot length and the highest number of pods per plant was obtained in plants receiving SWE and NPK. Maximum plant fresh and dry weights were observed in plants received SWE. All fertilizer treatments increased the number of seeds per pod but there were no significant differences between the treatments. The highest chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll contents, total carotenoids, ascorbic aicd and essential oil percent were obtained in plants that received SWE.
Foliar application of seaweed extract fertilizer on fenugreek plants significantly increased all the examined growth parameters of the plants compared to the control. These results agree with previous studies where growth and plant vigor of dill, coriander and fenugreek plants were enhanced by seaweed extracted treatment. Seaweed extracts create equilibrium in growth as a result of the present auxins which will increase vitamins and hormones produced in the treated plants. Results showed that treatments had a significant effect on total chlorophyll, chlorophyll 'a' and 'b', total carotenoids and essential oil content of fenugreek. Seaweed extracts contain cytokinins as well which induce the physiological activities and increase the total chlorophyll, carotenoids and ascorbic acid in the plant.

To study the effect of bio and chemical fertilizers on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Melissa officinalis, a greenhouse experiment was conducted during 2013 growing season at research greenhouse of Agricultural Research Organization of Qazvin, Iran. A Factorial experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with 18 treatments and 3 replications. Factors included: chemical fertilizer at three levels (0, 50 and 100% of current consumption); vermicompost at three levels (0, 15, 30 percent of the pot) and Biophosphate at two levels (with and without application). The results showed that vermicompost had a significant effect on morphological characteristic and essential oil content in lemon balm, so that the maximum plant height, number of branches per plant, seed weight and percentage of essential oil, were obtained by 30 % pot volume vermicompost. The maximum fresh weight (183.33 gr) was obtained by applying 30% vermicompost per pot plus biophosphate. However, the highest plant dry weight (75 gr) was occurred with the vermicompost plus chemical fertilizer. The highest amount of citronellal (47.78%) in the plant essential oil was observed in applying 30% vermicompost per pot. Chemical fertilizers also had a significant effect on the citronellal percentage, so that the use of chemical fertilizer significantly reduced the amount of citronellal. The highest percentage of geranial (19.818%) was obtained by applying 100% of current consumption of NPK. In addition, our results indicated that the combination of vermicompost and biophosphate fertilizers, improved the growth and quality of lemon balm plants.

In order to investigate the effects of biological, chemical and nano-fertilizers on qualitative and quantitative factors of Lallemantia iberica (M.B.) Fischer & Meyer, an experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions in 2016, at the research greenhouse of Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with 9 treatments and 5 replications. Treatments included control (no fertilizer), biophosphat, nitroxin, nano fertilizer, chemical fertilizer, biophosphat×nitroxin, nitroxin×nano fertilizer, biophosphate×nano fertilizer, and biophosphat×nitroxin×nano fertilizer. Analysis of variance revealed that treatments significantly affected the plant height, fresh and dry weight, essential oil content, and essential oil constituents of dragon’s head. The maximum plant height (35gr) was obtained by applying chemical fertilizer, the highest fresh and dry weight (36.05 gr and 5.09 gr respectively) were found in the treatment with nitroxin×nano fertilizer, and the highest essential oil percentage with an average of 0.57% belonged to the biophosphate×nano fertilizer treatment. Twenty-four compounds were identified in the essential oils of L. iberica, of which the main constituents were limonene, linalool, verbenone, ß-caryophyllene, germacrene-D and β-cubeben. The highest limonene (7%) occurred with the nitroxin×biophosphate; the maximum amount of linalool (17.9%) was obtained by nitroxin×nano fertilizer; maximum percentage of verbenone (8.8%) was found in the treatment with biophosphate×nitroxin×nano fertilizer; the highest percentage of β-caryophyllene (12%) was observed with biophosphate×nano fertilizer; the highest amount of germacrene-D and β-cubeben (15% and 11.5%, respectively) in the essential oil were obtained by application of nano fertilizer. In addition, our results indicated that the combination of nano, nitroxin and biophosphate fertilizers could improve the growth and quality of dragon’s head plants.

In order to examine the effect of sodium chloride (NaCl) and gibberillic acid (GA3) on seed germination and seedling growth of five medicinal plants, a study was conducted under controlled conditions. Medicinal plants seeds were exposed to different concentrations of NaCl (0.05, 0.5 and 1.5 mol/l) and GA3 (100, 200 and 300 ppm) aqueous solutions, solely or combined under in vitro culture conditions. the NaCl solutions at 0.5 and 1.5 mol/l concentrations showed negative effects on seed germination in the five tested species even when combined with GA3. However, all tested seeds germinated regularly when NaCl solution with the concentration of 0.05 mol/l was used alone or with various levels of GA3. The NaCl solution with 0.5 mol/l concentration impeded germination of dill, peppermint, coriander and thyme seeds; whereas it increases germination percentage and germination speed of dragonhead. GA3 solution significantly increased seed germination percentage, seed germination speed, and seedling length in all plants except thyme. Simultaneously use of GA3 and NaCl reduced the negative effects of NaCl on the most of measured factors.