محمدعلی شیری

Persimmon is one of the fruits with high nutritional value, and cultivation has grown significantly in recent years. Its primary habitat is East Asia, which has a very high diversity in these regions. Hereditary reserves with natural diversity are very valuable capitals of every country and knowing their genetic quiddity is one of the fundamental issues in breeding programs. Recognition of genetic diversity and classification of genetic resources play a very influential role in successfully designing breeding programs and correctly managing genetic resource maintenance. New persimmon gardens have been developed in different regions of the country in recent years. However, the exact names of the cultivars have yet to be discovered. Moreover, due to persimmon cultivation in the country for many years, this fruit has diversified, and new genotypes have been developed. Therefore, this study aims to introduce comprehensive instruction to identify different cultivars and genotypes of persimmons cultivated in the country.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of different methods of complementary pollination on the qualitative characteristics of kiwifruit cv. Hayward in order to introduce the most effective and practical complementary pollination method.

The present study evaluated the effect of different methods of complementary pollination [open pollination, hand pollination from male flowers of the tumor cultivar, spray pollination with pure pollen and spray pollination with impure pollen (collected from the entrance of bees' nests at the time of opening kiwifruit male flowers) on the qualitative characteristics of kiwifruit cv. Hayward in the Citrus and Subtropical Fruits Research Institute (Ramsar city) in 2021 based on the randomized complete block design in three replications.

The results showed that the amount of titratable acids, maturity index, chlorophyll b, carotenoid, total flavonoid and antioxidant activity were not affected by different methods of complementary pollination. Fruits obtained from spray pollination with impure pollen had the highest single tree yield (98.32 kg per tree), hectare yield (40.39 tons per hectare), number of seeds (1038), amount of soluble solids (7.07 °Brix), chlorophyll a (1.71 mg100 g-1 FW), total chlorophyll (3.11 mg100 g-1 FW), vitamin C (60.27 mg100 g-1 FW), and total fruit phenol (79.62 mg100 g-1 FW). Moreover, these fruits were in more favorable conditions regarding sensory and taste evaluations.

Overall, it is possible to recommend complementary pollination according to spray pollination with impure pollen as the most effective and practical method to increase fruit quality for kiwifruit growers.

The present study was conducted as a factorial study in a randomized complete block design on Hayward cultivar kiwifruit vines for two years. The first factor included the intensity of summer pruning in four levels, and the second factor included pruning time at two levels. The results showed that fruit yield and size were affected by the interaction of pruning intensity and pruning time, and the leaf-to-fruit ratio, light transmission through the canopy, and fruit firmness were affected by pruning intensity. The highest yield, with 126.2 kg/vine, was observed in zero leaf pruning one month after fruit set. Pruning after 3-4 leaves after the last fruit and pruning after the last fruit reduced the leaf-to-fruit ratio and increased light transmission from the canopy of kiwifruit vines. Different pruning treatments increased the firmness of the fruit by about one unit compared to the control, but had no significant effect on the amount of soluble solids, vitamin C, and dry matter. According to the results of this experiment, zero leaf pruning within four weeks after fruit set and pruning after 3-4 leaves after the last fruit within a week after fruit set showed better effects on vine growth, yield, and some quantitative and qualitative traits of the fruit.

Kiwifruit cv. Hayward has a high nutritional value due to its high content of vitamin C, phenolic compounds, minerals and organic acids. This has caused a significant increase in its production and consumption both in our country and in the world in recent years. Fruit quality both at the harvest time and during kiwifruit storage depends on a set of factors related to planting, and harvesting, as well as postharvest factors. Among the most important factors that affect the quality and storage of kiwifruit during the growing season, we can mention the cultivar, tree nutrition, pollination, tree crown management, summer pruning, degree of maturity and ripening, and the amount of fruit dry matter. Controlling each of these factors by considering their interaction effects can not only affect the quality of the fruit effectively and usefully but also increase the storability of kiwifruit.but also increase the storability of kiwifruit.but also increase the storability of kiwifruit.

Pre-harvest citrus fruit splitting is a physiological disorder that causes significant damage to producers of susceptible cultivars by reducing the amount of crop available on the market. Proper management of tree nutrition and paying special attention to the three key elements of potassium, calcium, and boron, which are involved in the strength of cell walls and fruit peel flexibility, can be effective in reducing the fruit splitting severity. Therefore, an experiment has been carried out in the Ramsar (Citrus and Subtropical Fruits Research Center) during 2018 and 2019 to investigate the effects of foliar application of 1.0% potassium nitrate, 1.0% calcium nitrate, and 0.5% boric acid at the end of June drop on reducing the severity of splitting and some fruit traits of Page mandarin. This study is performed according to a combined analysis in time with two factors including years of experimentation and different treatments of foliar application of nutrients, based on randomized complete block design with three replications. The results show that the treatments especially 1.0% potassium nitrate have reduced pre-harvest fruit splitting, increased the yield, and improved the quantitative and qualitative fruit traits. However, they have had no significant effect on the activity of polygalacturonase enzyme, cell density of blossom-end, and navel diameter. Overall, foliar application of nutrients, especially 1.0% potassium nitrate, could be suggested as an effective approach to control pre-harvest fruit splitting and boost the quantity and quality of page mandarin fruit.

Preharvest fruit splitting disorder causes significant damage to producers of sensitive citrus cultivars, therefore, proper management of tree nutrition with key elements reduces the probability the occurrence of this disorder can be effective in reducing fruit splitting. Accordingly, to investigate the effects of foliar application of 1% potassium nitrate, 1% calcium nitrate and 0.5% boric acid in combination with each other at the end of June drop on reducing the intensity of fruit splitting and some traits of Page mandarin fruit two years experimental was done in 2018 and 2019. This study was performed according to a combined analysis in time with two factors including years of experimentation and different treatments of foliar application of nutrients, based on randomized complete block design with three replications. The results showed that foliar application caused a change in the amount of calcium, potassium and boron in the leaves and fruits of Page mandarin. Moreover, it was found that these treatments, especially the combined treatment of three elements, reduced the intensity of preharvest fruit splitting and increased the yield and improved the quantitative and qualitative traits of the fruit, whereas had no significant effect on the activity of polygalacturonase enzyme, cell density of blossom-end and navel diameter. Overall, foliar application of nutrients including the combined treatment of potassium nitrate, calcium nitrate and boric acid, can be introduced as an effective approach to control preharvest fruit splitting and increase the quantity and quality of Page mandarin fruit.

Coronilla varia or Crownvetch is belonging to the Fabaceae family that is wildly distributed in different parts of Iran. The rapid spread of roots and shoots, as well as the ability to grow in stressful conditions, has caused it to be used to control soil erosion. In addition, the possibility of moving and regrowth has made Coronilla an appropriate alternative to turfgrass in green spaces. The aim of this study was to evaluate the response of Coronilla to freezing stress and the effect of glycine betaine on reducing seedling damage.

a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications. Low temperature for one hour in five levels [25 (control), 0, -5, -10 and -15°C] were used as the first factor and spraying with glycine betaine (one day before freezing stress) on two levels (0 and 100 mM) was considered as the second factor. After freezing stress, freezing injury, and physiological (relative water content, ion leakage) and biochemical (chlorophyll, proline, lipid peroxidation, protein, and peroxidase) attributes were measured.

According to the results, exposure to freezing temperatures (-10 and -15°C) increased the damage to Coronilla shoots. The absence of the difference between 0 and -5°C indicates that the temperature of -5°C is tolerable for the Coronilla. Foliar application of glycine betaine reduced leaf damage. The results showed that under freezing stress the relative water content of leaves and roots decreases. The lowest relative water content of leaf with 57.18% and 59.02% was related to severe stress at -10 and -15°C, respectively. Under freezing temperatures, the amount of ion leakage of roots and leaves increased, so that under severe stress of low temperature -15°C compared to 25°C, the amount of ion leakage of leaves increased by 27%. With decreasing temperature, the chlorophyll content of the leaves first increased at 0°C compared to 25°C, then decreased at temperatures below 0°C. While the use of glycine betaine (100 mM) increased the leaf chlorophyll content under freezing conditions. The results showed that with lowering temperatures, the amount of proline in leaf and root increased. In addition, foliar application of glycine betaine increased leaf proline by 7%. On the other hand, freezing stress led to a decrease in leaf (16%) and root (26%) protein at -10°C in Coronilla. In addition, compared to control with lowering the temperature, the high accumulation of malondialdehyde (leaf, 193%; root, 141%), and the activity of peroxidase enzyme in leaves (66%) and roots (156%) recorded.

Based on the results, it can be concluded that physiological and biochemical traits of Coronilla were affected by freezing stress. According to the results, leaf vulnerability was higher than the root. Low temperature caused damage to Coronilla by reducing the relative water content and ion leakage of leaves and roots. While spraying with 100 mM glycine betaine reduced the negative effects of freezing stress. Also, foliar application of glycine betaine effectively alleviates the adverse effects of freezing injury in Coronilla by increasing the accumulation of compatible osmolytes such as proline in leaves and roots.

Polyamines including spermidine play an important role in the tolerance of plants to water deficit stress. In order to investigate the effect of spermidine on physiological traits of Lilium under deficit irrigation stress, a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications. Treatments were four levels of water deficit (100, 75, 50 and 25% of Field Capacity) and different levels of spermidine (0, 1 and 2mM). Based on these results, severe deficit irrigation (25% of FC) increased proline and electrolyte leakage than control respectively by 174% and 55%. In contrast, decrease of carotenoids and proteins content (33% and 26%, respectively) were observed under severe deficit irrigation conditions compared to the well-watered conditions. Results showed that lower availability to water in the lilium plants, higher activities of enzymes (catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, peroxidase) and malondialdehyde stimulated, but decreased chlorophyll content of leaves. Also, under severe stress (25% of FC), exogenous application of spermidine (2mM) enhanced the the activity of enzymes and decreased the level of malondialdehyde. Therefore, foliar application of spermidine (2mM) and mild stress level (75% of FC) are a procedure capable to save water consumption and maintain the quality of Lilium shoot.

The reduction in the internal energy after harvesting of rose cut flowers accelerates the senescence process and prevents the full opening of the bud. In this experiment's effects of energy, suppliers included sucrose (1%, 2% and 3%), mannitol (100, 200 and 300 mM) and ATP (0.1, 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7 mM) on the vase life of Rosa hybrida cv. Samurai investigated, The results of continuous treatment with sources of energy supply showed that ATP treatment of 0.7 mM had the highest effect on the vase life of cut flowers (14.2 days), which showed 5.8 days increase in vase life compared with control treatment (8.2 days). ATP at 0.3, 0.5 mM concentrations increased the vase life of cut flowers to 11 and 12 days, respectively. Also, the vase life in sucrose 3% was 11.4 days. In the above treatments, solution uptake, relative fresh weight, and relative flower diameter were higher than other treatments. Besides, the activity of peroxidase enzyme and ion leakage of petal during the postharvest period was lower in treated cut flowers with concentrations of 0.7 and 0.5 mM ATP. Results showed that the use of different concentrations of mannitol did not increase the vase life of rose and had a negative effect on the quality of flowers so that the vase life of cut flowers was 1.8 days lower than the control treatment. Our results showed that the supply of energy for cut flowers by ATP treatments can be an effective way to maintain the longevity of rose cut flowers. Therefore, it is recommended to use of ATP (0.7 and 0.5 mM) in vase solution to maintain the postharvest quality of Rose cut flowers.

A major problem associated with cut Gerbera flowers is short postharvest life that resulted in rapid stem bending. The main objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of lignin biosynthesis inhibitors as vase solutions on the vase life of Gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii cv. Danish). Gerbera cut flowers were treated with chemical inhibitors include EDTA (5, 10 and 15mM), NaF (0.06, 0.08 and 0.1mM) and NaN3 (0.05, 0.1 and 0.2mM). Cut stems were placed in these solutions for 20 h at 20°C (Pulse treatment). Results showed that sodium fluoride at 0.06 mM and sodium azide at 0.2mM were more effective in increasing vase life of cut flowers (14 days) than other treatments. Tip burning in ray florets was found at the highest concentration tested of sodium fluoride (0.1mM). Also, sodium azide at 0.2mM showed significant (P<0.01) positive effects on maintenance of fresh weight (51.8%), water uptake (49.81%), flower diameter (44.94%) and anthocyanin content (61.8%) compared to control. In contrast, longevity of cut gerbera was not increased with EDTA treatment. The data showed that EDTA caused high toxicity and hastened the time to bending of stem. Therefore, lignin biosynthesis inhibitors such as sodium azide and sodium fluoride probably extended vase life by controlling wound healing and delaying occlusions at the cut stem ends. Thereby, they facilitate the absorption of solution and reduce the rate of decline in relative fresh weight in the Gerbera cut flowers.

In this study، effect of salicylic acid on delaying senescence in rose flowers was investigated. Rose flowers cv. Yellow Island was pre-treated with different concentrations of salicylic acid (SA) during 18 hours. The greatest delay in senescence was obtained with 150 mg L-1 SA، as compared to control was increased nearly twice. Application of 150 mg L-1 SA caused to retard degradation of protein over 8 days vase life. SA suppressed increasing proline up to 4 days، thereafter، its content in SA- treaded and control was the same. Moreover، 150 mg L-1 SA retarded lipid peroxidation and delayed flowers senescence. The results suggested that SA as a preservative solution resulted to stabilize membrane and maintain protein content، delay senescence in cut rose flowers.

In this study، effect of different concentration of ascorbic acid (AsA، 0، 2، 4 and 6 mM) on delaying senescence in cut rose flowers cv. Royall Class was investigated based on factorial design. The results showed that the greatest delay in senescence was obtained with 4 mM AsA as compared to control (distilled water). Therefore، fresh weight and diameter of flowers treated with 4 mM AsA was more than others treatments. Biochemical attributes such as protein، proline، anthocyanin content and lipid per oxidation levels were determined only in DW and 4 mM AsA. Application of 4 mM AsA treatments was shown to retard degradation of protein over 8 days vase life. Proline content in AsA treated flowers was slightly lower than DW flowers but no significant differences were found in treated flowers with AsA. Anthocyanin content declined gradually with onset of senescence، while AsA treatments suppressed decreasing its content. Therefore، treatment with 4 mM AsA suppressed malondialdehyde accumulation and delayed flowers senescence.

In this study, effect of different concentrations of gel extraction from Aloe vera on postharvest quality of strawberry cultivars "Kordestan" at 20 ºC and "Selva" variety at 20 and 4 ºC were investigated. Fruits were immersed in the gel in concentrations at 25, 50, 75, 100% and also distilled water (as control sample), for five minutes. Quality characteristics including weight loss, total acidity, sugar content, firmness, vitamin C content, total anthocyanin and phenolics content and antioxidant capacity were determined. Coated fruits by A. vera gel, significantly reduced weight loss as compared to control. The minimum weight loss was founded from fruits coated with 100% (v/v) and minimum firmness was achieved with control sample at the end of storage. Also, sugar content, vitamin C content and antioxidant capacity in coated fruits were maintained significantly better than control samples. A. vera gel coating had no significant effect on total acidity, total anthocyanin and total phenolics content of Kordestan variety and total acidity, total phenolics content and antioxidant capacity of Selva variety. Heat treatment had significant effect on all postharvest quality indexes of Selva variety, exceptional its antioxidant capacity.

Recently, water deficiency, existence of soil-borne pathogens and low fruit yield and quality which produced in soil culture systems lead to develop hydroponic systems. In the present study, effect of five different growing media including tea waste, tea waste + zeolite (1:1), tea waste + zeolite (3:1), tea waste + zeolite (1:3), zeolite + perlite (1:2) (v/v) as a soilless growing media on tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum, cv. gavrish) growth and fruit quality was investigated. The results showed that the kind of growing media have significantly affected on stem height, root length and fruits quality characteristics such as firmness, vitamin C, total phenol and antioxidant capacity of tomato. Conversely, stem diameter, fruit numbers and fruits color value was unaffected by growing media. With increasing tea waste to zeolite ratio, stem height and root length decreased, as the most stem height was found in zeolite: perlite (1:2) medium. Moreover, positive correlation between total phenol and antioxidant capacity of fruits was observed. Overall, the results showed that using tea waste alone or incorporation with zeolite can be a suitable medium for growing tomato.

In order to study the effect of sodium chloride (NaCl), as a salinity stress factor, on sour orange seed germination indices, an experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with 3 replica‌tions (each replication included 20 seeds) at the University of Guilan, in 2009. NaCl levels were 0, 7.8, 15.6 and 23.4 dS/m. The results showed that various levels of NaCl had significant effect on all the studied traits. Seed germination in 23.4 dS/m treatment started later than other treatments. The highest germination was in control and 7.8 dS/m NaCl treatments. The 15.6 and 23.4 dS/m NaCl treatments had the least germination percentage (85.7 and 46.9%, respectively). The highest germination index (length of germination period) was in 23.4 dS/m treatment followed by 15.6 and 7.8 dS/m and control with no significant difference. T50 was highest in 23.4 dS/m and lowest in control treatments. Mean daily germination, seed growth rate and seed vigor were highest in control treatment, with no significant difference with 7.8 dS/m treatment. Overall, it was found that germination of sour orange seeds is resistant to 7.8 dS/m NaCl, and they are able to germinate and grow in saline soils, as well.