غلامحسین داوری نژاد

The ever-increasing tendency to the use of medicinal plants in the world has grown concerns about their cultivation and production processes. As medicinal plants are more compatible with the nature, special interest and attention has recently been given to herb therapy, and use of medicinal plants, being limited by the rise of pharmaceutical drugs, has become again common and widespread due to a number of reasons. Nigella sativa L. is one of the herbs that has a variety of uses and has been being used in iran’s traditional medicine since old times. Today this plant is considered as one of the most important kinds of medicine. Therefore, it is of great importance to conduct some researches on the herbs around the country due to different ecological requirements. N. sativa belonging to buttercup family, with the scientific name of Ranunculaceae, is an annual, dicotyledonous, herbaceous plant. In several studies, N. sativa has been reported to have anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, strengthening of immune system, and anti-histamine and oil extract properties. Furthermore, several effects such as lowering blood sugar, lipids, and hypertension, excretion of bile and uric acid, protection of liver, kidney and cardiovascular tissues as well as anti-seizure, anti-cancer, anti-microbial and anti-parasitic effects related to this plant have been reported. The aim of the present study is to improve the yield and yield components and oil of medicinal plant N. sativa by anti-transpiration compounds under drought stress conditions.                       

An experiment was conducted at Research Station,Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, in 2012-2013. The research was performed using a split plot experiment based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. The irrigation intervals (8 and 16 days) in main plots and anti-transpiration compounds of chitosan (0.25, 0.5 and 1%), Plantogopsyllium mucilage (0.5, 1 and 1.5%) and arabic gum (0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 %) were put in subplots with three replications. Also, the distance between the main plots in each block and distance between the two blocks were assigned as 100 cm and 200 cm, respectively; so that the moisture content of a plot had no effect on the adjacent plots. Planting date was April16 and planting was performed by hand in 0.5cm-deep furrows. Throughout the growing season, anti-transpiration compounds were applied concurrently with the imposition of drought stress, administered weekly at sunset until the flowering stage. Subsequently, yield, yield components, and oil content were measured.

Results showed that irrigation intervals had significant effects on all studied characteristics with the exception of 1000 seed weight. ncreasing irrigation intervals reduced percentage yield and yield components and oil of black cumin grains. Anti-transpirants compounds did have significant effects on percentage of oil and yield and yield components of black cumin grains. There were significant difference between different anti-transpirants compounds in terms of oil and yield components yield and of black cumin grains. The 8 days irrigation interval produced more grain yield compared with 16 days irrigation intervals (621.56 vs. 484.23 kg/ha). The highest oil (27.74%) and lowest (21.74%), respectively, at treatment anti-transpirants compound chitosan1 percent With 8 days irrigation interval and gam arabic 0.25 percent was obtained with 16 days irrigation interval and chitosan stimulating abscisic acid synthesis in the treated plant would result in stomatal closure, reduction of stomatal conductance, transpiration rate and water content. They also pointed out that the anti-transpiration effect of chitosan was because of its stimulatory effect in increasing abscisic acid concentration in the treated leaves of bean plant. As the above compounds are natural and biodegradable, as well as safer and less expensive than other chemical anti-transpiration compounds, they can serve as a good alternative to the chemical compounds. Cognition and expertise in water relations of plant and drought stress tolerance is considered as the main program in agriculture and the ability to withstand this stress is of great economic importance.

The anti-transpiration compounds led to significant changes in terms of all the studied traits compared to the control, indicating the effectiveness of theses natural compounds. Providing the appropriate conditions, 1% chitosan treatment can enhance the yield under drought stress. Spraying by arabic gum did not improve the growth conditions. According to this experiment, 1% chitosan treatment and 1.5% Plantago psyllium mucilage is considered the most appropriate strategy to enhance the yield of Nigella sativa under drought stress.

Grapevine viruses cause significant losses in the yield of grape. This study describes applying silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to produce virus-free grapevine plants and compares it with chemo and thermotherapy. Preliminary molecular analysis proved the presence of Grapevine fanleaf virus (GFLV) and grapevine leafroll-associated virus-1 (GLRaV-1) in the ʻAsgariʼ, ʻPeykaniʼ, and ʻShahaniʼ cultivar samples, then single node explants were cultivated in the MS medium. Thermotherapy at 35 ± 1 ºC and cycles of 35/38 ± 1 ºC, chemotherapy with ribavirin 0, 20, 25, and 30 μg.ml-1 and using AgNPs at 0, 10, 15, and 20 ppm in medium and 40, 50, and 60 ppm sprayed during acclimatization stage were applied to obtain virus-free explants. The results indicated that using 20 ppm AgNPs in medium and AgNPs combined treatment (15 ppm AgNPs in medium and sprayed with 50 ppm AgNPs in the acclimatization stage) were the most effective treatments for the elimination of viruses. The best treatment led to 100% eradication of GLRaV-1 and 67% of GFLV in ʻAsgariʼ, 100% eradication of GLRaV-1 and GFLV in ʻPeykaniʼ and 100% eradication of GLRaV-1 and 67% of GFLV in ʻShahaniʼ. Furthermore, applying of AgNPs improved plant growth parameters, including plant height, which in infected plantlets was (18.06, 12.36, and 14.92 cm in ʻAsgariʼ, ʻPeykaniʼ, and ʻShahaniʼ, respectively) less than virus-free plantlets. Leaf number was 45, 34, and 27 in virus-free plantlets of ʻAsgariʼ, ʻPeykaniʼ, and ʻShahaniʼ, respectively, but in infected plantlets, it was 24.40, 19.80, and 12. Leaf area increased from 5.34, 5.50, and 5.94 cm2 in infected plantlets to 9.56, 11.43, and 12.33 cm2 in virus-free plantlets of ʻAsgariʼ, ʻPeykaniʼ, and ʻShahaniʼ, respectively. Complementary results proved that chlorophyll content in virus-free is significantly higher than in virus-infected plantlets, which explains and confirms the change in growth parameters after virus removal.

 Grape (Vitis vinifera L.) is one of the most important fruits cultivated in many areas with different climates all over the world. Grape, which is rich in antioxidants, flavonoids, anthocyanins and phenolic acids, is highly regarded in terms of economic value. Salicylic acid is one of the compounds which have been used in recent years for improving the physicochemical properties of many fruits. The application of salicylic acid increases the shelf life of crops by inhibiting ethylene production and respiration, as well as by reducing the activity of some enzymes which are responsible for softening the cell wall. Furthermore, salicylic acid results in the enhancement of phenolic compound production by increasing the activity of some enzymes such as phenylalanine ammonia-lyase.

Materials and Methods:

 The present study was conducted in 2014 on 13-year-old Shahroodi grapes that were grown using a head-training system with a spacing of 2m × 2m in "Shahrood" County, Semnan Province. A total of 60 grapevines with uniform age and growth characteristics were selected for the experiment. Salicylic acid was obtained from Merck and solutions were prepared using a small amount of organic solvent and surfactant to reduce the surface tension of the solutions. For the purpose, the Salicylic acid powder was dissolved in a few drops of ethanol and a few drops of Tween 20 for improving solution penetration to the plants, The solution was prepared at concentrations of 0 (control), 1, 2, 3 mM. Then the plants were sprayed two weeks after the fruit set stage (when berries were at the pea-sized stage with a diameter of 4 to 5 mm). The experimental design used in this experiment was a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. After harvesting and transporting of fruits to the laboratory, different characteristics were measured:
Chlorophyll and carotenoid Content
Chlorophyll a, b, and total Chlorophyll and carotenoid content measured according to Arnon (1967) method in grape leaves. The extraction steps were carried out with full precision to minimize contact with heat and light. In order to stabilize the pigments, the samples taken from the central part of the mature leaves were immediately ground in liquid nitrogen. The samples were vortexed two times with an interval of one minute and stored for 1.5 hours at a temperature of 4 degrees Celsius in order to dissolve the pigments in cold acetone solvent. After that, they were centrifuged for 15 minutes at a speed of 6000 rpm. The supernatant after centrifugation of the samples was used to measure chlorophyll and total carotenoids. The absorbance of the samples was read at three wavelengths of 470, 645, and 663 nm using a Shimadzu UV (160) spectrophotometer. Using the absorbance of the samples in these three wavelengths and the equations below, the amounts of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll and total carotenoids were calculated in terms of milligrams per gram of tissue sample weight.
Fruit characteristics
 Fruit characteristics such as fruit yield, fruit firmness (with magnets-Taylor device),  sugar and acid content, and content of phenolic compounds were also measured. The fruit tissue firmness was measured using a firmness tester (model FDKA 32, Wagner) and expressed in Newtons per square centimeter. The characteristics of soluble solids (TSS) were expressed using a handheld refractometer (Ataga, Japan) and expressed in terms of Brix, the pH of the extract was measured using a digital pH meter (Sartorius PP-20, Germany). Titratable acidity or TA was done through the titration of the extract using 0.1 normal sodium until pH 1.8-2.8 and its results were reported using the following formula and under the title of tartaric acid percentage.
Total phenol content
 The amount of total phenol was measured by Folin-Ciocalteu method and spectrophotometry. The absorbance of the reaction mixture was measured after 120 minutes of storage in the absence of light at a wavelength of 765 nm using a Shimadzu UV spectrophotometer (160). The amount of total phenol was expressed from the standard curve in terms of mg of gallic acid per 100 grams of extract in three replicates for each sample and standard.
Total flavonoid
 The amount of total flavonoid was measured by aluminum chloride calorimetric method. In this experiment, 50 microliters of methanolic extract from the flesh and fruit skin were combined with 10 microliters of 10% aluminum chloride and 10 microliters of 1 M potassium acetate. Then, 280 microliters of double distilled water were added to the mixture. After the samples were mixed, they were left at room temperature for 40 minutes. The absorbance of the reaction mixture was measured at a wavelength of 415 nm using a Shimadzu UV spectrophotometer (160) in three replicates. A blank containing double distilled water was used for comparison. The amount of total flavonoids was determined based on the standard curve of quercetin and the results were expressed in micrograms of quercetin per gram of fruit skin and flesh weight.
Total anthocyanin
 The amount of total anthocyanin was measured using the difference in pH method. In this method, the absorbance was measured using a spectrophotometer at wavelengths of 520 and 700 nm along with potassium chloride and sodium acetate buffers with different pH values of 1 and 4.5.

 The results of the data analysis of variance showed that the application of salicylic acid resulted in significant differences in the measured characteristics. Therefore, the use of this compound improved the physical and biochemical quality of the treated grape clusters.Comparison of treatments means showed that using 2 mM salicylic acid brought about a significant effect on the amount of chlorophyll (a, b and total) and carotenoids compared to other treatments, especially control. Salicylic acid application caused a reduction in pH and soluble solids, and an increase in firmness, 100-berry weight and yield. The results of the study indicated a significant increase in organic acids and a decrease in reducing sugars in the grape clusters treated with salicylic acid. The highest amount of tartaric acid was found in the treatment with 2 mM salicylic acid, with an average of 0.66, while the control treatment had the lowest amount of tartaric acid, with an average of 0.52. This suggests that the use of salicylic acid led to a reduction in transpiration and consumption of organic acids. In terms of reducing sugars, the highest and lowest amounts were observed in the control treatment (14%/74) and the treatment with 2 mM salicylic acid (13%/60), respectively. Increasing the concentration of salicylic acid up to 2 mM resulted in the enhancement of anthocyanins and phenolic compounds contents, but higher concentrations (more than 2 mM) reduced the amounts of these compounds in treated fruits.

 Pre-harvest use of salicylic acid could have a positive effect on the improvement of qualitative and quantitative characteristics of grape cv. Shahroodi. However, further comprehensive studies are needed to be conducted to recommend this compound to the growers of fruit trees.

 Pear (Pyrus communis L.) is one of the major fruit trees in the world which grown in temperate zones. In pear breeding program the bigger fruit size with better quality as well as market acceptability are usually in interest. In fruit trees, the size and yield of fruit are closely depended on cultivar and rootstocks. The variations of nutrient uptake, water use efficiency, photosynthesis performance, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses have been reported among different combinations of cultivars and rootstocks. Therefore there is a close relation between cultivar and rootstock with yield and quality of produced fruits. In recent years the semi dwarf clonal rootstocks of pear including OH×F, Pyro and FOX series have received more attention. However the performance of these rootstocks varies depending on scion cultivar, climatic condition, soil type, and planting system.

 This experiment was conducted to assay the growth characters and fruit yield of Dargazi and Louise Bonne (Beyrouti) grafted onto PyroDwarf and OH×F69 rootstocks at the Orchard of Astan Quds Razavi, Mashhad, Iran (36°17' N, 59°36' E; altitude. 985 m) during 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. The experiment in both consecutive years was done as a factorial in the base of randomized complete blocks with four replications. The studied cultivars were grafted onto PyroDwarf and OH×F69 rootstocks in late spring 2016. The used water was pit water with 695 µSiemens/cm EC and pH 7.17. Evaluation of plant growth was carried out at the end of the season. The studied traits were included tree height, internode length, vertical and horizontal growth of shoots in the current season, trunk diameter above, below and in the grafting line, leaf area, shoots angel and the number of sucker per tree. These characters were assayed in three trees per each replication. The trunk diameter at the below and above the grafting line was calculated according to trunk circumference that was measured at 10 cm above and below the grafting point. Leaf area in each tree was assayed with area measuring device. Flowering characteristics (start blooming and end of bloom) were determined. Fruit ripening season was also recorded. Yield of trees was assayed by weighting of produced fruits in each tree with a digital scale. The combined analysis of obtain data was conducted by SPSS and differences among means of data were determined by Duncan's multiple ranges test at P≤0.05. The reported data was the mean of two studied years.

 The obtained results showed the variation in growth and bearing properties of different combinations of Beyrouti and Dargazi cultivars with PyroDwarf and OH×F69 rootstocks throughout the studied years. The analysis variance showed the significant effect of year, cultivar and rootstock on growth characteristics of pear tree. Also the interaction effects of cultivar and rootstock were significant on tree growth response with exception of internode length. The most studied parameters showed a significant increasing during the two consecutive years. During the studied years the height and width of pear trees were increased up to 10.44 and 14.54%, respectively and the trunk diameter was increased by 10%. According to obtained results the growth of Dargazi cultivar was higher than the Beyrouti cultivar. The effect of OH×F69 rootstock on growth increasing of studied cultivars was prominent than PyroDwarf regards to tree height, shoot length and internode length. However the highest trunk diameter and leaf area density of both cultivars was found in PyroDwarf rootstock. Although the time of blooming and fruit ripening of each cultivar was not influenced by the rootstock but the bearing characters were varied between the Dargazi and Beyrouti cultivars. The highest yield of pear fruit was obtained in Dargazi cultivar and grafting onto PyroDwarf rootstock significantly enhanced the fruit yield in both cultivars.

 The rootstocks have a key role on growth and yield of pear trees as well as their responses to abiotic stress. Rootstocks through influencing the physiological characteristics of grafted scions regulate the quantity and quality of produced fruits. The results of present study showed the variation in growth and bearing properties of different combinations of Beyrouti and Dargazi cultivars with PyroDwarf and OH×F69 rootstocks throughout the studied years. The PyroDwarf rootstock greatly reduced the tree growth and enhanced fruit yield of both Dargazi and Beyrouti cultivars. According to the obtained results the PyroDwarf rootstock is recommended for Dargazi cultivar to reach the highest pear fruit yield under similar environmental condition of present study.

Due to the increase in saline lands and lack of suitable lands for growing agricultural products in last decades, the identification of salinity resistant rootstocks is very important. For this purpose, a factorial random experiment was conducted on citrange and sour orange rootstocks with two chitosan levels (50 and 100 ppm) applied in two methods of soil application and foliar spray, under five salinity levels (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 mM) in greenhouse research of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. The combination effect of salinity× chitosan× citrus rootstocks was significant on all evaluated parameters. With increase in salinity level the activity of catalase and super oxide dismutase, and the content of proline and total soluble carbohydrate were increased. Also with increase in of salinity stress, some parameters such as relative water content, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and total protein contents showed a significant decrease.  Generally, foliar application of 100 ppm chitosan caused the highest salinity tolerate in both citrange and sour orange rootstocks. Sour orange rootstock showed the highest resistance against high salinity stress. According to the results, it can be concluded that sour orange rootstock is more susceptible to salinity stress, and chitosan can improve citrus rootstocks resistance against salinity stress.

Pyrus communis L. cv. Natanz is a popular pear cultivar in Iran because of its customer-friendly attribute due to its excellent characteristics. Pear own-rooted plants has better traits such as high vigorous in growth, low levels on tree losses and damaging by insects rather than grafted plants. Meristem culture widely used for micropropagation, in vitro germplasm preservation, and virus eradication purposes in pear. As pear is belonged to difficult-to-root fruit tree cultivars perhaps the rooting stage is the most important stage in propagation process, yet most difficult phase during the in vitro propagation procedure. In vitro rooting of micro-cuts was varied by genotypes (cultivars), type and concentration of auxin, the method of root induction and formation, different additional materials such as PVP, polyamines, and so on. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of different levels of BAP and Fe-EDDHA on shoot proliferation, BAP and GA3 on meristem establishment, and IBA and NAA on micro-cut rooting of pear cv. Natanz in in vitro condition.

Vegetative buds were taken from current growth shoots of Pyrus communis cv. Natanz from Pear collection orchard (25.36 E, 58.54 N, and ASL altitude 1380 m) of Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Centre of Semnan Province (Shahrood city). In the first experiment, new shoots of active buds after 4 weeks grown in PMI medium (MS ×1.5 CaCl2. 2H2O, KH2PO4 and MgSO4. 7H2O) + 1 mg.l-1 BAP were transferred to PMI medium containing different levels of BAP (0.5, 1, 1.5 mg.l-1) and Fe-EDDHA (0, 100, 150 and 200 mg.l-1). In the second experiment, meristems (containing two newest leaf primordia) was excited from in vitro shoots and incubation on MS media containing BAP (0.5, 1, and 1.5 mg.l-1) and GA3 (0.1 and 0.5 mg.l-1) + 0.1 mg.l-1 IBA. Meristems were kept in dark for 4 days then were transferred to growth chamber with photoperiod 16/8 hrs. light/dark. Different concentrations and combinations of two auxins were used for root induction of micro-cuts in third experiment. 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 mg.l-1 of IBA or NAA and two combination solutions of them (1000 IBA+1000 NAA, and 2000 IBA+2000 NAA, mg.l-1). Shoots were immersing dip in solutions for 5 seconds then transfer to PGRs-free PMI medium and kept them to growth chamber. Data of all experiments were analyzed according by completely randomized design (CRD) with five replications. BAP (3 levels) and Fe-EDDHA (4 levels) for experiment 1; BAP (3 levels) and GA3 (2 levels) for experiment 2 were considered as factorial. SAS (v. 9.1) was used for analysis and means were compared with LSD test at 5% of probability level.

Proliferated shoot number was affected by BAP (p≤0.01) and Fe-EDDHA (p≤0.05) concentrations and also interaction of them (p≤0.05), while BAP (p≤0.01) was caused elongation of proliferated shoots and Fe-EDDHA had no effect. BAP (p≤0.05), Fe-EDDHA (p≤0.01) concentrations and BAP×Fe-EDDHA (p≤0.01) interaction had significant effect on leaf production. Shoot tip necrosis was shown in shoots grown in all media based on BAP concentration with different intensities (p≤0.05). Vegetative growth was counted as a power index of medium that in our experiment was under influence of BAP concentrations (p≤0.01), Fe-EDDHA (p≤0.05) and BAP×Fe-EDDHA interaction (p≤0.05). Shoots were proliferated (5.50 shoot.explant-1) and elongated in PMI medium containing 1.5 mg.l-1 BAP with no Fe-NaEDDHA while the lower concentrations of both BAP and Fe-NaEDDHA caused the higher mature leaf production. PMI media containing 1 mg.l-1 BAP + 150 mg.l-1 Fe-NaEDDHA is recommended for Natanz shoot proliferation because of the highest vegetative growth and highest quality in proliferated shoots. MS medium with 0.5 mg.l-1 BAP+ 0.5 mg.l-1 GA3 (81%) and 1 mg.l-1 BAP + 0.1 mg.l-1 GA3 (63%) had the highest meristem establishment, respectively. The established meristems naturally grown in medium supplement with 0.5 mg.l-1 BAP + 0.5 mg.l-1 GA3+0.1 mg.l-1 IBA. Different types of auxin and their concentrations had significantly effect on Natanz pear cultivar micro-cut rooting (p≤0.05). NAA induced rooting in lower concentrations while IBA had positive effect on rooting with concentration increasing. Micro-cuts were rooted via quick dip in 1000+1000 mg.l-1 (IBA+NAA) solution followed by incubation in PMI medium. The rooted shoots well adapted to environmental condition.

Important steps of in vitro propagation of pear is optimized in this experiment. MS medium containing 0.5 mg.l-1 BAP+0.5 mg.l-1 GA3+0.1 mg.l-1 IBA had suitable for meristem establishment. To produce in vitro healthy proliferated shoots of pear cv. Natanz using PMI medium supplement with 1 mg.l-1 BAP+150 mg.l-1 Fe-NaEDDHA is recommended. Micro-cuts were rooted easily by quick immersion of the end of micro-cuts in 1000+1000 mg.l-1 (IBA+NAA) solution for 5 seconds then incubation in PGRs-free medium.

A factorial completely randomized design with two factors including effective microorganisms (EM) at 0, 1% and salinity (at 0.7, 5, 10 and 13.6 dS/m) was conducted in three replication on one year old seedling of pistachio to study the effect of EM on the physiological and biochemical characteristics and nutrient uptake in UCB1 pistachio under salinity stress. Pistachio seedlings have been studied three months after salinity application. The results showed that increasing salinity decreased leaf relative water content, chlorophyll a and b and nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and calcium content of leaf; it but increased proline, soluble sugars and sodium and chlorine content compared to the control treatment. Results of EM application showed that 1% concentration of this fertilizer increased resistance of UCB1 to salinity stress. Also, the interaction effects of salinity and EM on the relative content of leaf water, proline, chlorophyll b, soluble sugar and nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and leaf chlorine were significant. The maximum relative content of water in leaf (87/13%), chlorophyll a (5/83mg/g.FW), chlorophyll b (2/93mg/g.FW), nitrogen (3/21%), phosphorus (0/25%), potassium (2/69%) and minimum content of sodium (7/90%) and chlorine (12/73%) was abserved in treatment with 1% EM and salinity 0/7 dS/m. Based on the results of this study, application Effective microorganism can reduce the damages of salinity stress.

Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) is an important horticultural crop that has high economic value. Pistachio trees display some physiological disorders including abscission of inflorescence buds, fruit abscission, blankness, non-splitting, early splitting and deformation of nuts. Unfavorable environmental conditions in most pistachio orchards and inadequate nutrition during the flowering time and after flowering has increased these problems in recent years. Polyamines such as putrescine, spermine and spermidine are some low molecular weight polycationic compounds that have been shown to play an important role as growth regulators in different stages of growth and development of buds, flowers and fruits and resistant plants to abiotic and biotic stress. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the influence of polyamines in water scarcity condition on growth, nut traits and yield of ‘Akbari’ pistachio trees. The study was carried out in growing season 2016 in a pistachio orchard (Pistacia vera L. cv Akbari) located in Feyzabad, Mahvelat, Khorasan Province, Iran (34° 40´ N latitude, 58° 25´ E longitude, and around 1253 m above sea level). The climate of the experimental area was arid and semi-arid. The mean annual precipitation was about 171 mm. The irrigation of orchard trees was at 36-day intervals. The experiment was conducted as split plot based on a randomized complete block design with three replications and seven treatments including polyamines spray of Putrescine (Put), Spermine (Spm) and Spermidine (Spd) at concentrations of zero (control), 0.1 and 1 mM on “on” and “off” pistachio trees cultivar Akbari at two-time stages full bloom (FB) and two weeks after full bloom (2WAFB). Leaf chlorophyll index was recorded using the chlorophyll meter (SPAD-502, Konica Minolta, Japan). Leaf area from fully expanded leaves was measured by Digital Leaf Area Meter (LI-3100c). The length and diameter of current-year shoots were measured at harvest time. The percentage of flower bud abscission and fruit abscission were calculated on marked shoots. The yield was calculated by weighting the total dried split nuts separated from each shoot. The data were subjected to analysis of variances (ANOVA) using the SAS software (SAS version 9.1). Difference between means was compared using the least significant difference test (LSD) at 5% level (p ≤ 0.05). Results showed that among the treatments, Put (0.1 and 1 mM) and Spm (0.1 mM) applied in the “on” trees significantly increased leaf chlorophyll index. Also, Put spray at two weeks after full bloom indicated better results in increase of length shoot in ‘on’ trees. All of the polyamines reduced fruit abscission in the “on” trees however, Put at 0.1 and 1 mM concentrations with 11.3 and 11.1% was more effective in decreasing the percentage of fruit abscission compared to other treatments. Fruit abscission of pistachio is assumed to be related to improper fertilization, the dominance of fruits in a cluster or abnormalities of reproductive organs. Polyamines have been suggested to improve fertilization, and subsequent embryo and fruit development. It also has been reported that common precursor of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) needed for synthesizing both of PAs and ethylene. Thus, it seems that polyamines reduce the abscission of fruits by the improvement of embryo growth and development or by antagonism with ethylene, possibly by competing for S-adenosylmethionine (SAM). Our study indicated that all of the polyamines decreased the percentage of blank nuts in the “off” trees especially two weeks after full bloom. The results showed that Put (0.1 and 1 mM) and Spd (0.1 mM) were very effective in increasing number of nuts per cluster.  Number of nuts per 100 g, split nuts, and kernel percentage did not differ significantly among treatments. Yield variations were not significantly affected by polyamines in in the “off” trees, but in ‘on’ trees, polyamines of Put, Spm and Spd at 0.1 mM concentration by 46.2, 14.6 and 15.2% and at 1 mM concentration by 38.7, 24.7 and 19.9% increased yield compared to control, respectively. Given to correlation results, the positive effect of polyamines on yield improvement in ‘on’ trees was mainly due to the prevention from fruit abscission and enhancement no. of nuts per cluster. Results showed that application of polyamines treatments in ‘off’ trees only on blank nuts and in ‘on’ trees on leaf chlorophyll index, fruit abscission, No. of nuts per cluster and yield was effected. Foliar application of polyamines was more effective in improving traits of shoot length, leaf area and blank nuts two weeks after full bloom compared to full bloom. The results of this study showed that these plant growth regulators, especially putrescine, had the potential to improve growth, yield and reduce physiological problems of pistachio under unfavorable environmental conditions.

In order to evaluate the effect of kaolin on leaf gas exchangein seedlings of pistachio (Pistacia vera L.), an experiment was conducted as split plot based on a completely randomized design with five replications in open field condition during year of 2013. Kaolin concentration at four levels (0, 5, 10 and 15%) and spraying time at three levels (once, two and three times) in 3×4 factorial as main factor and five sampling time as sub-factors were considered. Results of the experiment indicated that 5, 10 and 15% concentrations of Kaolin reduced leaf temperature by 1.1, 2 and 2.2°C compared to the control. Simple effect of spraying time on photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and transpiration was significant, whereas these traits significantly decreased when spraying was more than two times. Maximum photosynthesis, transpiration, stomatal conductance and intracellular CO2 were recorded in 5% Kaolin. Treatments of control and 15% Kaolin recorded maximum and minimum value in quantum yield with 0.89 and 0.88, respectively. Generally, 5% Kaolin concentration in one and two spraying time increased leaf gas exchange compared to the control due to the reduction in negative effects of high temperature. Nevertheless, high kaolin concentrations (10% and 15%) despite further lowering leaf temperature, decreased the photosynthesis of pistachio seedlings significantly due to increasing light reflection as a result the thick layer of kaolin on leaf and disruption of stomatal activity.

Nowadays Nigella Sativa plant is considered as a one of the most important kinds of medicine. Almost all the metabolic activities of plant cells, including the construction of active ingredients in medicinal plants, depend on water. Lack of absorbable water by plants can lead to the morphological, physiological and biochemical changes, including decrease of cell swelling and growth and thus reduction of leaf area and plant height, stomatal closure and photosynthesis restriction, increase in the soluble compounds for regulating the osmotic pressure, reduction of nutrient absorption and ultimately reduction of crop production. The use of anti-transpiration compounds is considered as a promising tool for the regulation of transpiration in respect of water conservation at an optimal level, where the strategies such as the use of anti-transpiration compounds have the potential for transpiration regulation. The aim of the present study is to improve the biochemical characteristics of medicinal plant N. sativa by anti-transpiration compounds under drought stress conditions.                                                  
The research was done using a split plot experiment based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. The irrigation intervals (8 and 16 days) in main plots and anti-transpiration compounds of chitosan (0.25, 0.5 and 1 %), Plantago psyllium mucilage (0.5, 1 and 1.5 %) and Arabic gum (0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 %) were put in subplots with three replications. The distance between the main plots in each block and distance between the two blocks were also assigned as 100 cm and 200 cm, respectively; so that the moisture content of a plot had no effect on the adjacent plots. Anti-transpiration compounds were sprayed simultaneously with applying drought stress till the flowering stage once a week at sunset. Phenolic compounds, proline, chlorophyll, carotenoids, essential oil were measured.                                                                                                                             
The results showed that there were significant differences between treatments in all studied traits. The best rate of the measured traits was observed at 8-day irrigation interval and chitosan treatment. The results obtained from the study showed that the effect of irrigation intervals and anti-transpiration compounds on the measured traits were significant. The best rate of the measured traits was observed at 8-day irrigation interval and chitosan treatment. The amount of phenolic compounds, proline, chlorophyll and carotenoids increased at 16-day irrigation interval, in which the increase is considered a type of drought tolerance mechanism. Different levels of anti-transpiration compounds decreased the chlorophyll, carotenoids, phenolic compounds, proline, essential oil percentage and yield.
The important processes, including nutrition, photosynthesis, stomatal opening and closure and growth are all influenced by water. Plants are constantly living in tension and develop morphological and physiological changes in the structures and compositions and chemical processes for coping with this tension. In this study, it was observed that the level of phenols, proline, chlorophyll and carotenoids would increase at 16-day irrigation interval, where the increase is considered as a drought tolerance mechanism. The anti-transpiration compounds also led to the significant changes in terms of all the studied traits compared to the control, indicating the effectiveness of theses natural compounds. As the above compounds are natural and biodegradable, as well as safer and less expensive than other chemical anti-transpiration compounds, they can serve as a good alternative to the chemical compounds. Cognition and expertise in water relations of plant and drought stress tolerance is considered as the main program in agriculture and the ability to withstand this stress is of great economic importance.

Given the increasing consumption of nuts as a healthy snack, it is very important to find a way to maintain the qualitative properties of the products during the nourishing process. Plum is one of the most important dry matter in the world, which is traditionally peeled and dried in Iran. The experiment was done as a factorial based on completely randomized design with four replications. The first factor was the method of peeling in nine levels (immersion in brine (15, 11, 8 hours), boiling water (45, 30, 10 seconds) and steam (90, 70, 60 seconds)), and the second factor was the type of drying in three levels (traditional, industrial cabinets and solar inactive cabinets). The results showed that the maximum amount of pH (3.36) was obtained from 30 seconds boiling treatment and solar inactivated cabin dryer. The lowest browning rate (36.07%) belonged to peeling with brine for 15 hours and traditional drying. The highest antioxidant capacity (63.93%) was obtained from peeling with brine for 15 hours and industrial cabinets. The highest content of phenolic compounds (0.12 mg/g dry weight) was ontained in the treatment of peeling with brine for 15 hours and industrial cabinets. The highest total anthocyanin (0.46 mg/100 ml extraction) was ontained in boiling water for 45 seconds.Peeling with brine for 15 hours and industrial cabinets recommended to improve the biochemical properties of dried plums.

The walnut family (Juglandaceae) consists of approximately 60 species of deciduous trees is native of the American continents, Europe, and Asia. Pecan (Carya illinoensis) is belonged to the Juglandaceae family and is one of the most valuable nut products all over the world. Embryo culture techniques for plant breeding as well as basic studies in physiology and biochemistry are widely used. The low percentage of germination and the long propagation cycle and the need for stratification treatments from three to six months are the most important barriers to the development of high yielding cultivars through hybridization. Plant regeneration methods from embryo culture in vitro allows overcoming the barriers of hybridization, as well as obtaining higher and faster multiplication rate of plants of an elite genotype.

In this experiment, an adapted native genotype of pecan in Gorgan city, Golestan province, Iran was selected. The mature fruits were harvested after five months of pollination. They were immediately transferred to the laboratory. For cold pretreatment, nuts packed in a paper bag and stored in 4-5ºC for 15 days. The effect of two types of culture medium, growth regulators and seed pretreatment (15 days at 4-5 °C) on germination of mature embryos of pecan has been determined. Murashige and Skoog (MS) and Woody Plant Medium (WPM) and IBA (0 and 1 mgl-1), BAP (0, 1 and 2 mgl-1) and GA3 (0 and 1 mgl-1) media were used to embryo rescue evaluation. The data obtained were statistically analyzed in completely randomized block design (RCBD). Each treatment was replicated at least third, and each replicate consisted of two zygotic embryos. Means of germination period, percent of seed germination, root and shoot length and leaf number in different media and various PGRs combination were compared based on LSD at p ≤0.05.

The results showed, although cold pretreatment for 15 days had no effect on germination period, root length and number of leave but also, effect on germination percentage and shoot length. There are some different hypothesis about the effect of cold pretreatment on embryo germination between researchers. Some researchers believed that, there is low efficiency in embryo germination in lack of cold pretreatment and GA3. Cold pretreatment or GA3 reduce the ABA level and promote embryos germination. The others reported poor germination for somatic embryos when they treated with GA3 and cold pretreatments. Pearce et al. (1987) reported that GA3 and substrate of GA3 can be increased during the chilling process as ABA levels decrease. Furthermore, application of exogenous GA3 induces germination. Tang et al. (2000) reported that somatic embryos germination poorly happened in cold condition and addition of GA3 did not change the poor germination. Kaur et al. (2006) and Peyghamzadeh and Kazemitabar (2010), reported that the embryo germination in Juglans regia L. was higher when GA3 and cold pretreatments were simultaneously applied as compared to those when applied separately. In this experiment, media has no effect on embryo germination period but, could effect on other parameters. As the results showed, MS media showed the maximum percentage of germination, root and shoot length and number of leave in both condition (with and without cold pretreatment). In this experiment root length of germinated pecan embryo was higher in MS medium. Mapelli et al. (2001) reported that seed germination resulted in marked changes in the metabolism of free amino acids in walnut cotyledons. About 52% of the total free amino acids in one-month-old seedlings was present in the cotyledons and about 26% was in the taproot. The concentration of free amino acids in the taproot was similar to that in the embryonic axis, and greater than that in the cotyledons. T11 (1mg/l-1 IBA, 1mg/l-1BAP and 1mg/l-1 GA3) and T12 (1mg/l-1 IBA, 2mg/l-1BAP and 1mg/l-1 GA3) treatments were the highest in germination percentages in both treatment (with and without cold pretreatment). There was no significant differences between 1 mgl-1 and 2 mgl-1 of BAP.

Pecan as like walnut, is considered to be one of the most recalcitrant species in vitro. It is necessary to determine the optimal culture conditions to establish it for shortening time in seed propagation. This seedling could be applied as primary material for breeding programs, grafting and physiology study. The best growth of micro plant achieved in MS medium with 1 mgl-1IBA, 1 mgl-1GA3 and 2 mgl-1BAP.

Optimization of medium components because of being multifactors is very difficult. In order to optimize the plant growth regulators (BA, IBA and GA3) for shoot proliferation of apple cv. ‘Abbasi’ a three-factors experiment was designed and performed in 20 points using Design Expert software according response surface method. A completely randomized design (CRD), based on eigth auxin combinations (IBA+NAA), also were performed for in vitro rooting of microcuttings. Proliferated shoot number was linearly and positively affected by the BA factor, while the response to the leaf number was linearly and negatively affected by BA. The effect of GA3 on proliferated shoot length response was observed in negatively linear model. The abnormal shoot percentage in a quadratic model was influenced by all three factors, BA, IBA and GA3; positively linear by BA, positively quadratic by IBA, and negatively quadratic by GA3. According to the results of this experiment, the optimum concentrations for BA, IBA and GA3 were 1.5, 0.1 and 0.02 mg L-1, respectively, which resulted proliferate shoots with a rate of 2.5 shoots per explant, with 0.9 centimeters in length, 4.3 leaves per shoot, and 4% of abnormal shoots. The percentage of shoot-tip necrosis was not affected by the evaluated factors. NAA was more effective than IBA for rooting of microcutings, and medium aupplelment with 1 mg L-1 IBA or 0.5 mg L-1 NAA can be used successfully for rooting of apple cv. ʽAbbasiʼ shoots in vitro.

In recent years, the growth of pistachio production in Iran has not been in line with the global growth of this product, one of the important reasons for which is the improper nutrition of pistachio orchards, especially nutrition with low consumption elements. Due to the salinity and calcareous soil of pistachio cultivation areas, high pH and bicarbonate concentration, it is difficult to absorb iron from soil by pistachio trees. In order to evaluate the methods of application of iron chelate and its different concentrations on the quantitative and qualitative properties of pistachio and iron uptake, a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The first factor consisted of iron chelate foliar solution (spraying without electrostatic head and surfactant, electrostatic, surfactant and electrostatic + surfactant) and the second factor, iron chelate concentrations (distilled water as control, 0.5, 1, 5 1 kg of iron chelate per thousand liters of water). The results showed that the interaction effect of electrostatic spray treatment with surfactant and iron chelate concentrations had only significant effect on leaf iron concentration and fresh and dry weight of pistachio kernel. The results of the mean comparison showed that the data on leaf iron concentration and dry and wet brain weight were significantly different. So that the highest concentration of leaf iron (302.9 ppm in dry matter) was observed in the treatment of surfactant and electrostatic head and 1.5 kg of iron chelate in one thousand liters of water, which was 3 times higher than the control treatment. The highest dry kernel weight (12.4 g) and wet kernel weight (22.25 g) were observed in the treatment of surfactant and electrostatic head and 1.5 kg of iron chelate per thousand liters of water, which were 3.5 and 7 g, respectively. Control treatment increased weight gain. The percentage of blankness (8.16%) in the treatment of 1.5 kg of kalat iron per thousand liters of water was observed, which was a 3% decrease compared to the control treatment. The concentration of iron in pistachio kernels (52.41 ppm in dry matter) was observed in 1.5 kg of iron chelate treatment per thousand liters of water, which increased up to 3 times compared to the control treatment. The percentage of dehisced nuts (65.25%) in the treatment of 1.5 kg of iron chelate in one thousand liters of water was observed, which increased by 10% compared to the control treatment. Also, the highest concentrations of pistachio kernel iron (42.65 ppm in dry matter) were observed in the electrostatic and surfactant solution treatment, which increased 3 times compared to the control treatment. The highest percentage of dehisced nuts (63.91%) was in electrostatic and surfactant solution spraying, which increased by 4% compared to the control treatment. In general, in this study, electrostatic solution spraying with surfactant with a concentration of 1.5 kg of iron chelate per thousand liters of water had a better effect on the concentration of leaf iron and pistachio kernel, percentage of laughter and wet and dry weight of pistachio kernel than control.

In order to study the role of fruit tree rootstocks on nutrient content in leaves of two Iranian red flesh apple genotypes and to determine the correlation of nutrients with different secondary metabolites, this study was conducted in Research Garden of Horticultural Sciences of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad during 2017-2019. The rootstocks that used were two dwarfing rootstocks, M9 and B9 and one red flesh apple colony rootstock of Bekran which were tested in a factorial randomized complete block design. The results of this study showed that the rootstock had a significant effect on nitrogen and phosphorus content in leaf samples of two red flesh apple genotypes and Red delicious cultivar, also, rootstock, scion and their interaction had a significant effect on potassium, iron, calcium and zinc content of leaf samples. The effect of B9 on the amount of all elements of scion leaves was negative and the effect of M9 was positive in all cases. The results showed that PAL enzyme activity was positively correlated with nitrogen, potassium, calcium, iron and zinc. Anthocyanin synthesis was also positively correlated with nitrogen content (0.47). The results showed that the amount of potassium, calcium and iron were highly correlated with UFGT activity. Total flavonoid content was also significantly correlated with calcium and zinc (-0.64 and -0.45, respectively) that these effects could be due to the participation of some of these nutrients as cofactors in enzyme activity and or precursors of phenolic compounds and secondary metabolites.

Micropropagation is important for both multiplication and preservation of a wide range of nursery plants, including many fruit crops. A number of studies exist on optimization of growth in in vitro condition for one or two cultivars, but often these results cannot be used for the other genotypes because individual cultivars may differ greatly in their requirements. Therefore, genotype-specific medium are usually empirically developed for many plants including pear. Pear cultivars and species are often recalcitrant to tissue culture manipulations and Murashige and Skoog (23) (MS) basal nutrient medium at full or half strength or with slight modifications is the most media were used. The QL, DKW, and WPM media are also used and they differ mostly in types or amounts of calcium and nitrogen in compared with MS. Developing growth media for specific and unique cultivars is complex and time-consuming. Currently, improved experimental design and using statistical softwares allow much more efficient approaches to be utilized for the improvement of micropropagation media and conditions. Improving of growth medium for in vitro propagation of plants depends on type and quantities of mineral nutrients and plant growth regulators as important ones. The existence of statistical softwares to manage effective factors is very needed to access an optimized growth medium for in vitro propagation of plants. Design Expert is used as auxiliary software to identify essential factors in in vitro culture. Since the in vitro proliferation parameters of Pyrus communis cv. ʽShekariʼ need to optimize for growth better, we were designed and performed a multifactor surface response experiment by Design Expert software to following two goals. First, to find optimized amount of some elements in medium and second, to show the response surface method can be useful for improving in vitro culture.

One experiment was designed by Design Expert software and was performed to improve in vitro proliferated shoots of Pyrus communis cv. ʽShekariʼ. Shoots were grown in a modified MS medium (supplement with 1 mg l-1 of N6-benzyladenine) were used for this experiment. The experiment was included 20 model points randomly based on three nutritional factors: NH4NO3 (0.5-1.5×), Fe (0.5-1.5×) and micro nutrients (1-2×) in different concentration of their MS amounts. Media enriched with sucrose (30 g l-1) and agar (8 g l-1) after pH adjustment at 5.7. Cultures were grown at 25°C under a 16-h photoperiod with 70–90 μM m-2 s-1 irradiance provided by a combination of cool- and warm-white fluorescent bulbs and were transferred to new medium every 3 weeks. Several responses were recorded after two months: Proliferated shoot number, proliferated shoot length (cm), total leaf number, leaf chlorophyll a (mg g-1), leaf carotenoids (mg g-1), and vegetative growth (cm). Responses for each point were the mean of 5 replicates. Experimental design, model evaluation, and analysis were done by Design-Expert® 8 (2010) software and the highest-order polynomial model that was significant for each response was used for ANOVA.

Factors statistically were significant for responses according to ANOVA in linear, 2FI and quadratic models. Reduced NH4NO3 (×0.5) and enhanced Fe (×1.5) induced the higher number of proliferated shoots up to 4.43 folds of control according a quadratic model. NH4NO3 and Fe×Micro had negative liner relationships with shoot length, while leaf number negatively was affected by micros. Fe and NH4NO3 were effective factors on leaf chlorophyll a and carotenoids contents. Increasing Fe (×1.5) and decreasing NH4NO3 (×0.5) led to 2 folds higher production of chlorophyll a and carotenoids. Vegetative growth of Pyrus communis cv. ʽShekariʼ  in a quadratic-order method (negatively controlled by NH4NO3 and micros) increased by high values of proliferated shoot number and shoot length induced by reduced NH4NO3 (×0.5). Optimized amount of three studied factors based on two important responses, maximum amount of proliferated shoot number and length, were 0.9, 1 and 0.5× for Fe, micro and NH4NO3 in MS medium, respectively.

Design Expert software and response surface method were used successfully for in vitro optimizing of Pyrus communis cv. ʽShekariʼ regenerated shoots. Fe, Micro and NH4NO3, were the effective factors for shoot regeneration responses in linear, 2FI and quadratic models. The multifactor investigation in surface response design will enable us to predict an optimal medium for several effective factors and estimate suitable responses. Outputs of these types of experiments provide a suitable background to increase optimization accuracy for future experiments.

Peach fruit has a short storage life due to high water content and respiration rate. In this study the effect of polyethylene (PE) and nano-composite (nano-C) packaging films on quality and postharvest life of peach fruit cv. Alberta was evaluated. Peach fruits were stored at 2°C and 90% RH for 6 weeks. Some properties such as weight loss, fruit firmness, pH, TSS, TA, color indexes, browning, microbial contamination and polyphenol oxidase activity were evaluated weekly. Results showed that both films could maintain fruit qualitative and quantitative properties better than the control. Application of nano-C and PE films led to delay in fruit softening, decrease in weight loss, fruit color darkness, internal browning and polyphenol oxidase in compression with the control. Application of both films resulted in low changes in TA, TSS and pH when compared control. Nano-C film caused a decrease in microbial contamination, whereas the highest microbial contamination observed in polyethylene one. Results also showed that the effect of nano-C film on the maintenance of fruit quality properties such as lightness index, chroma, hue, TA, browning, microbial contamination and polyphenol oxidase activity were more than PE film. In general, application of nano-C may be a useful way for the reduction of fruit weight loss and maintenance of peach quality during cold storage.

To evaluate somatic embryogenesis (SE) induction, mature, immature cotyledon and endosperm explants of Natanzi, Ghosi, Dar Gazi, and Williams cultivars obtained from 40-100 days after pollination were cultured into the White, SH, and MS media containing (2.3, 9 and 18 µM) 2, 4-D. Then, to enhance the efficiency of direct SE, Ghosi cultivar endosperm, the preferable explant was known in before experiment, was cultured in MS medium with hormonal treatments consisted of 2,4-D (0-2 µM) and TDZ (0-9 µM). To germinate and plant recovery, MS medium with different treatments consisted of control, 150 mg/L Fe-EDDHA, 2 mg/L AgNO3, and 1mg/L GA3 were used. Finally, for plant adaptation, two successive experiments, the effect of mycorrhizae at 0 and 0.25 g/Kg levels and the comparison of two fertigation procedures, were separately carried out. The results revealed, the only endosperm of Ghosi cultivar in MS medium produced direct somatic embryos. 0.5 µM 2,4-D had the highest frequency of somatic embryos production (12.66%). The highest frequency of normal embryo obtained in 0.5 µM 2,4-D (71%) and 0.5 µM 2,4-D + 4.5 µM TDZ (70%). The highest germination (9.66%) and plant recovery (12%) obtained in Fe-EDDHA. In the adaptation phase, the usage of mycorrhizae and the second procedure of fertigation were known preferable. Overall, the method presented in this study can be used in molecular studies of this cultivar.

Nigella sativa L. is one of the herbs that has a variety of uses and has been used in Iran’s traditional medicine since old times. Today this plant is considered as one of the most important kinds of medicine. Almost all the metabolic activities of plant cells, including the construction of active ingredients in medicinal plants, depend on lack of absorbable water by plants can lead to the morphological, physiological and biochemical changes, including decrease of cell swelling and growth and thus reduction of leaf area and plant height, stomatal closure and photosynthesis restriction, increase of soluble compounds for regulating the osmotic pressure, reduction of nutrient absorption and ultimately reduction of crop production. The use of anti-transpiration compounds is considered as a promising tool for the regulation of transpiration in respect of water conservation at an optimal level, where the strategies such as the use of anti-transpiration compounds have the potential for transpiration regulation. The aim of the present study is to improve the yield and yield components of medicinal plant N. sativa by anti-transpiration compounds under drought stress conditions.

The research was done using a split plot experiment on a randomized complete block design with three replications. The irrigation intervals (8 and 16 days) in main plots and anti-transpiration compounds of chitosan (0.25, 0.5 and 1 %), Plantago psyllium mucilage (0.5, 1 and 1.5 %) and arabic gum (0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 %) were put in subplots with three replications. Also, the distance between the main plots in each block and distance between the two blocks were assigned as 100 cm and 200 cm, respectively; so that the moisture content of a plot had no effect on the adjacent plots. Planting date was April 16 and planting was performed by hand in 0.5cm-deep furrows. Anti-transpiration compounds were sprayed simultaneously with applying drought stress till the flowering stage once a week at sunset. Plant height, leaf area index, irrigation water efficiency index, leaf temperature and stomatal conductance were measured.

The results showed that there were significant differences between treatments in all studied traits. The best rate of the measured traits was observed at 8-day irrigation interval and chitosan treatment. Providing plant favorite conditions such as reducing plant temperature, increasing morphological traits comparing to rainfed at 16-day irrigation interval. Applying arabic gum did not improve growth but acted as a growth inhibitor. Anti-transpiration compounds led to significant changes in all the studied traits compared to the control, indicating the effectiveness of these natural compounds. Chitosan stimulating abscisic acid synthesis in the treated plant would result in stomatal closure, reduction of stomatal conductance, transpiration rate and water content. It also pointed out that the anti-transpiration effect of chitosan was because of its stimulatory effect in increasing abscisic acid concentration in the treated leaves of bean plant. As the above compounds are natural and biodegradable, as well as safer and less expensive than other chemical anti-transpiration compounds, they can serve as a good alternative to the chemical compounds. Cognition and expertise in water relations of plant and drought stress tolerance is considered as the main program in agriculture and the ability to withstand this stress is of great economic importance.

The important processes, including nutrition, photosynthes is, stomatal opening and closure and growth are all influenced by water. In this study, it was observed canopy temperature and stomatal conductance would increase at 16-day irrigation interval, where the increase is considered as a drought tolerance mechanism. Also, the anti-transpiration compounds led to significant changes in terms of all the studied traits compared to the control, indicating the effectiveness of theses natural compounds. Providing the appropriate conditions, 1% chitosan treatment can enhance the yield under drought stress. Spraying by arabic gum did not improve the growth conditions. According to this experiment, 1% chitosan treatment and 1.5% Plantago psyllium mucilage is considered the most appropriate strategy to enhance the yield of Nigella sativa under drought stress.

In order to evaluate the effect of foliar spray of humic acid on the yield and quality characteristics of pomegranate fruit, an experiment was carried out using a randomized complete block design with four replicates in Mahvalat city during 2014 and 2015. Foliar sprays of humic acid were carried out at four concentrations (0 (control treatment), 1000, 2000 and 3000 mg/L-1) at two stages, full bloom and one month after full bloom. Results obtained showed that humic acid sprays had significant effects on fruit yield, number of fruits per tree, fruit weight and fruit size. The highest yield and number of fruits per tree were obtained with the concentration of 3000mg/L-1 humic acid, whereas the heaviest and largest fruits were obtained with the concentration of 2000mg/L-1. Furthermore, humic acid sprays led to increases in TSS, pH, total anthocyanin and total carbohydrate and decreases in TA, in comparison with the control treatment. Foliar applications of humic acid had no effects on the juice antioxidant activity and total phenols. Application of humic acid increased the leaf concentration of N, K and Zn and decreased the leaf concentration of P, whereas it had no significant effect on the leaf Ca and Fe concentrations. Generally speaking, the results obtained showed that foliar sprays of humic acid led to increases in fruit yield through increases in the number of fruit per tree, fruit size and fruit weight, and also it improved the quality parameters of pomegranate fruit.

Mulching is a useful practice with the potential of conserving moisture, reducing evaporation, modifying soil temperature, and improving aeration as well as releasing nutrients in the soil profile. Mulching involves the use of organic materials (e.g. crop residues, straw, grasses, and farmyard manure) or inorganic and synthetic materials (e.g. polyethylene sheets, and gravels). Application of mulch can notably as a soil management method influence agricultural crop production despite the limited amount of water available in arid and semi-arid areas.
Field studies were conducted in a randomized complete block design with five replications for two years in 2014 and 2015 at Feyzabad city, Iran (34° 40´ N, 58° 25´ E). The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of different mulching treatments on physiological traits of pistachio (Pistaciavera L.) in relation to soil temperature and moisture variations. The treatments were: M1 (whitepolyethylene film mulch covered with two centimeter of soil with width cut), M2 (white polyethylene film mulch covered with two centimeter of soil with circular cut), M3 (green polyethylene film mulch which was as a single layer pulled on water strip so that irrigation water passes under the coverage), M4 (woodchip mulch), M5 (barley residue mulch), and CK (control or no mulching). The measurement (soil moisture and temperature, stomatal conductance and leaf temperature) was carried out periodically on the central trees (4 trees per treatment) every 12, 24 and 36 days after irrigation between 12-15 pm from early-May to late September. The data obtained from the experiment were subjected to an analysis of variance (ANOVA) by using SAS 9.1 software. Difference between means was compared using least significant difference test (LSD) at 5% level (p ≤ 0.05).
The results showed that the mean soil moisture percentage in all mulches especially plastic mulches was higher compared to the control over two years of experiment. During the two years of experiment, treatments of M1, M2 and M3 with 35.2, 35 and 38.9 °C and treatments of M4, M5 and CK with 28.8, 29.6 and 32.8 °C indicated the highest and lowest average soil temperature at 20-30 cm soil depth, respectively. Also, similar results were observed at 50-60 cm soil layer. M3 and CK treatments with 47.7 and 41.1 mmol/m-2s-1 had the highest and lowest mean stomatal conductance, respectively. The mean values of leaf temperature during the growing period under M1, M2, M3, M4 and M5 treatments were 2.2, 1.9, 2.4, 1.7 and 1 °C in 2014, and 1.8, 2.2, 2.2, 1.5 and 1.1 °C in 2015 lower than CK (control) treatment, respectively. According to correlation results significant difference was not observed between stomatal conductance and soil moisture, but the relationship of this parameter with soil temperature and relationship between leaf temperature with soil moisture and soil temperature were significant. Thus, this results demonstrate that stomatal conductance and soil temperature weresignificantly affected by soil temperature, so that an increase in soil temperature to 40 °C, canbe improved these traits if other soil and climatic factors werenot limiting. The results also showed that M3 mulch (plastic mulch on soil surface) despite the higher soil water storage due to providing of soil high temperatures, can be leads to moisture stress in heavy cropping year.
The results of thisstudy showed that organic and inorganic mulches improved the soil moisture content throughout the two growing seasons, thus reduced negative effects of water shortage. Mulch treatments indicated smaller fluctuations in soil temperature compared to CK (control) treatment, possibly due to insulating against heat radiation. The results of our study suggested that increase in soil temperature in M3 treatment, despite higher water storage, had limited impacts on improving stomatal conductance and leaf temperature from early July in the second year. Thus, it seems that high soil temperature in this treatment in ON year that tree's water and nutrients requirement is higher than OFF year acts as a limiting factor and restricts absorption of water and nutrients, resulting in the decrease of physiological activity of trees. Generally, it is conclude that white polyethylene films covered with soil especially M2 and organic mulches due to providing optimum soil temperature, preserving soil moisture and lower cost can be better management options to be applied in pistachio orchards especially in arid and semiarid areas, where traditional irrigation methods with high evaporation level are used.

Pear producers around the world are looking for faster return of capital and saving in labor costs, achieved well by high density orchard planting. Choosing a good combination of scion and rootstock is critical for production of fruit trees because the relationship between the rootstock and scion has a decisive effect on plant water relations, leaf gas exchange, plant size, flowering, fruit production, fruit quality and production efficiency. Nowadays in some regions, growers are using quince rootstock for pear orchard establishment. Using the quince rootstock alleviates many problems in pears orchard, but graft incompatibility between pear scion and the quince rootstock, and resistance to frost and alkaline soils are some problems restricting the use of this rootstock. In most pear-producing regions in Iran, pear seedling is used for pear propagation. Due to the problems of pear including overgrowth and late precocity (after 4 -5 years), this research evaluated the effects of pear clonal rootstock (Pyrodwarf, OHF and Quince c) on some growth characteristics in comparison to pear seedling (Pyrus communis).
This research was conducted during 3 years from 2014-2016 in Chenaran (36.6, 59.1) in northeast of Mashhad. Maximum and minimum temperatures were 40 and -22 ˚C, respectively, elevation 1176m and the average annual rainfall 240mm. The same tissue culture rootstocks from two cultivar Pyrodwarf and OHF with Quince rootstock and annual seedling from Dragazi pear were selected in August 2013 and T-budded with three commercial cultivars Spadona, Ntanz and Sebri. In the spring of 2014, after relieving frost danger, the trees were planted in field with row space 4×2m. In order to investigate dwarfing effect of rootstock on scion cultivar, some important vegetative factors that represent dwarfing effect of rootstock including trunk cross sectional area, height of tree, amount of lateral branch growth, tree growth rate during growth season, mean of growing buds on each lateral branch, and stem and leaf water potential were measured. This test was conducted in factorial based on randomized complete block design with 4 replications. Each plot was included one hybrid combination. MSTATC and Excel software were used for data analysis, and differences among means were compared by using LSD test.
Different rootstocks did not show any significant difference in terms of leaf water potential. Leaf water potential during the seasons had a constant time course about scion cultivar on all rootstock so while temperatures rise throughout the season it reduced the amount of leaf water potential. The effect of cultivar was significant on leaf water potential so that the highest water potential was related to Natanz and the least water potential was related to Serbi cultivar. The effect of rootstock and scion both on stem water potential was significant. Therefore the highest and lowest stem water potential was recorded for cultivars grafted onto the seedling and quince rootstock, respectively. In this study, a significant relationship was observed between minimum stem water potential (mid-day) and branch growth rate during the growing season. With reducing stem water potential as a result of temperature increase, the amount of branch growth reduced. The effect of both scion and rootstock on chlorophyll index was significant. In this investigation, all 4 rootstocks had different effects on chlorophyll index. The highest chlorophyll index was related to cultivar Natanz and the least was related to Spadona. Sebrie had medium chlorophyll index. Rootstock effect on vegetative growth of the scion was not significant but the effect of scion was significant at 5% level. Pear seedlings with vigorous growth had more long branches than other rootstocks. In the present research, seedling rootstock also induced higher growth of lateral branches. Furthermore, quince rootstock induced the least growth of lateral branch during 3 years of the investigation. In addition, quince rootstock had the minimum tree height and pear seedling had the maximum tree height. Internode length in dwarfing rootstock was less than seedling. Both scion and rootstock had significant effect on trunk sectional area so that at the end of three years, cultivars grafted on seedling rootstock had the highest trunk cross sectional area, and cultivars on quince rootstock had the lowest TCSA. Two vegetative pear rootstocks (Pyrodwarf and OHF) did not show significant difference from each other. Pyrodwarf and OHF rootstock showed good compatibility with Natanz and Spadona scions like seedling rootstock. On the other hand, the survival percentage on quince rootstock was really low.
This investigation showed that pear rootstock had less vegetative growth than seedling rootstock and induced dwarfing effect on scion growth during 3 years but quince rootstock had more dwarfing effect.

Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.), belonging to the Juglandaceae family, has its natural origin in the mountainous regions of central Asia and especially northern forests of Iran. Most walnut genotypes are seedling and sexually reproduced. Conducting studies on the genetic structure of these genotypes to identify, select and maintain their genetic resources is important. Identifying and collecting local varieties of fruit trees is considered as the first step on the path of breeding programs and lack of information regarding plants genetic characteristics causes the breeding work to be done slowly. Various methods have been used for studying genetic diversity and determining the genetic relationship between European and Asian varieties of walnut and identifying commercial walnut varieties, among which we can mention: Morphologic indices, Alozyme, Isozym, RFLP, RAPD, AFLP and ISSR markers. ISSR molecular marker was used in order to investigate genetic diversity of some genotypes of Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.) in Mashhad orchards. .
To begin with, about 56 walnut trees from 4 orchards in Mashhad (Esteghlal (1), Golestan (2), Alandasht (3) and Emam Reza (4)) were selected and tagged from 2014 to 2016. In the spring of 2014 with the beginning of trees growth and opening of leaves, a number of leaves from each genotype were collected. After DNA extraction, the quality of samples by agarose gel (1 percentage) and electrophoresis method and quantity of them via spectrophotometer device at 260 and 280 nm wavelengths were determined. First, 24 primers of ISSR marker were prepared and after initial evaluation on 5 random genotypes, 9 primers with high polymorphism and repeatability were selected for further investigation. For PCR reaction, Amplicon kit (code 180 301, made in Denmark) was used. Gel electrophoresis images of primers that produced polymorphic bands with suitable resolution were analyzed manually. After scoring the bands, in which 0 used for showing the absence of a band and 1 showing the presence of a band in each sample, 1 and 0 numbers were changed to matrix by using NTedit software. Genetic similarities of samples were calculated by using NTSYSpc software, SIMQUAL method and DICE similarity coefficient. Dendrogram by cluster analysis was drawn by using UPGMA method. Principle coordinate analysis (PCO) was performed using the NTSYS software and grouping samples were evaluated in a two-dimensional plot.
Results showed that from 9 primers in total, 118 bands amplified were in 300 to 3000 base pairs, while 29 bands were polymorphic. The number of amplified fragment for each primer was different so that UBC 844 (14 bands) had the highest and UBC 890 (8 bands) had the lowest amplified bands. The average amplified fragments for each primer was 9.83. The percentage of polymorphic in various primers was different. Maximum polymorphism (80%) of the primers was observed in UBC830. In general, according to the percentage of polymorphic bands, low adjustment to any changes in the environment was indicated. This can be used as an indicator to determine the value of diversity and genetic erosion. In genotypes cluster analysis, clustering was performed based on Dice similarity coefficient and UPGMA method, and 10 clusters were formed. ISSR molecular marker somewhat revealed genetic diversity among walnuts genotypes, whereas the genetic diversity was lower than expected. In general, by reviewing the findings in other parts of the world about walnut genetic diversity and comparing them with the results of this study, despite existing high genetic diversity among walnuts in many areas, some reports of low genetic diversity among walnuts populations have been published and unfortunately in recent years these reports has made more attention. Based on the results of several studies reporting low genetic diversity among walnuts, the following factors can be effective in this problem: natural disasters, human impacts such as deforestation and selection and propagation of superior genotypes, and sometimes walnuts self - pollination. In this respect, there is concern that if this trend of decreasing genetic diversity in the walnut population continues, this invaluable crop will be in danger of extinction. So we should think about a remedy. Finally, this investigation can be used as a start for conducting more researches in the region to maintain and manage this valuable crop germplasm and maximize genetic diversity for performing breeding programs in the future.

Chemical composition, antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxicity of the essential oil obtained from the leaf of Pistacia vera L. var. Sarakhs was investigated in the present study. Chemical composition of the essential oil was analyzed using Gas chromatography- Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) method. Twenty eight compounds, representing 98.28% of the total oil, were characterized. The oil was predominated by monoterpene hydrocarbons (48.8%), sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (35.68%) and oxygenated monoterpenes (11.5%). The antimicrobial activity of the essential oil was investigated against four bacterial strains and one fungus. The essential oil showed a good activity against Gram-positive bacteria particularly Staphylococcus aureus (minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] and minimum bactericidal concentration [MBC] = 16 µg/ml) and Bacillus cereus (minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] and minimum bactericidal concentration [MBC] = 90 µg/ml). However, Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) were resistant to the essential oil (minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] and minimum bactericidal concentration [MBC] = 135 µg/ml). The antioxidant potential of essential oil was examined using DPPH, FRAP and β-carotene/linoleic acid (BCB) assay. The oil was considerably active in the DPPH assay (IC50 = 19.03 ± 0.005 µg/ml). Moreover, in vitro cytotoxic activity was assessed against three cancer cell lines (MCF-7, PC3 and DU-145) using Alamar blue assay, with IC50 value less than 32.20 µg/ml for MCF-7 cells.