ناصر عباسپور

In this study, the effect of foliar spray of sodium nitroprusside (100 μM) as a nitric oxide donor on iron deficiency stress alleviation in cucumber plant was investigated. The results indicated that iron deficiency stress reduced growth parameters, total chlorophyll content, Fe content and antioxidant enzymes activity of catalase, ascorbate peroxidase as well as guaiacol peroxidase. Sodium nitroprusside foliar spray resulted in improvement of growth parameters, total chlorophyll content, Fe content and increased activity of antioxidant enzymes. Therefore, these results support the biological function of nitric oxide to improve iron availability and damage caused by its deficiency.

The effect of foliar application of potassium, salicylic acid and gamma aminobutyric acid on morphophysiological traits and nutrient uptake of bread wheat genotypes under soil salinity stress was studied as a research conducted in agricultural research station in Miandoab, West Azerbaijan during the two cropping years 1396-97 and 1397-98. The experiment was performed as a split plot in a randomized complete block design with three replications under soil salinity (0 and 8 dS / m). Main plots included foliar application with growth stimulants: potassium, GABA, SA, control and subplots included seven genotypes ( Orum, Zare, Mihan, Heydari, MS-89-12, MS -89-13 and MS-91-14). The analysis of variance showed that the simple effects of salinity stress on grain yield and foliar application treatments on all studied traits were significant. Also, the simple effects of different genotypes on all measured traits were significant. The interactions of three factors of salinity, foliar application and genotype had a significant effect on all measured traits. Based on the results, comparison of the means showed that GABA foliar application under non-stress conditions with an average of 11366.7 kg / ha in Mihan cultivar produced the highest grain yield, while GABA foliar application under salinity stress conditions with the average of 1876.7 kg / ha produced the lowest grain yield in Orum cultivar. The overall results showed that most of the traits were reduced due to salinity stress. Foliar application of all the compounds in most traits caused an increase compared to the control conditions.

Salinity is a serious impediment to agricultural production in the world. Development of salt tolerant hybrid varieties using marker aided selection (MAS) is a pioneering strategy to combat salinity stress. Here we used retrotransposon based molecular markers and salinity tolerance related characters in a panel of eighty-four sunflower inbred lines for marker-trait association (MTA) analysis. Characters such as grain yield per plant, leaf relative water content (RWC), K+, Na+ and Cl- concentration in leaf lamina and petiole were measured separately under normal and 8 ds/m salt stress conditions. The impact of salinity was significant on grain yield, RWC, Na+ concentrations in lamina and petiole as well as on K+ to Na+ ratio. To study genomic variability and survey of LTR retrotransposons activity, the lines were fingerprinted with retrotransposon-based DNA markers; IRAP and REMAP. In hierarchical cluster analysis using IRAP+REMAP markers data, the 84 inbred lines were categorized in four main groups, whereas in Bayesian model-based cluster analysis, the lines were assigned into 2 subpopulations (K=2). A mixed linear model was implemented to detect marker–trait associations incorporating membership coefficient of individuals in the subpopulation (Q matrix) and relationship coefficient (kinship matrix) as covariates in the model. In association analysis by using IRAP+REMAP markers; 8 and 12 loci were identified to be significantly linked with the studied characters in normal and salt stress states, respectively. After developing specific primers for identified markers, they could be potentially applied in marker aided selection (MAS) programs to achieve suitable parental lines and also the improvement of traits of interest.

Salsola crassa is a perennial halophytic shrublet, commonly grow in saline habitats as well as on sand dunes of Urmia Lake region. Salsola crassa has many uses such as: fuel wood, medicinal uses, forages and fodders. High soil salinity is one of the inhibiting factors that affects forage production in rangelands, so that salinity is the main barrier for seed germination . Therefore, in this study, the effect of different levels of salinity (0, 200, 400 and 600 mM) on the germination traits and phenolic, anthocyanin, flavonoids, malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide content in Salsola crassa were investigated. A factorial experiment with a randomized complete block design including three replicates was conducted. The results showed that phenolic, anthocyanin and flavonoids contents increased under salinity stress (P˂0.05). Salinity levels showed different effects on hydrogen peroxide content, so that the lowest and highest hydrogen peroxide were observed in control and 400 mM plants, respectively. Malondialdehyde content of the seedlings was not significantly affected by salt stress in 600 mM, while 200 and 400 mM treatments showed a high concentration of malondialdehyde rather than control plants. There was a significant positive correlation (P0.84) between hydrogen peroxide content and anthocyanin, phenols and flavonoids contents of the seedlings. The overall results suggest that Salsola crassa seedling has a strong antioxidant system which can effectively scavenge reactive oxygen species in high salinity conditions.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of salinity caused by sodium chloride on the content of ions and understand the level of resistance in four varieties of Canola (Brassica napus L.) namely Talaye, Sarigol, Zarafam, and Opera. The plants were grown in hydroponic solution (1/4 strength Hoagland solution) and greenhouse conditions. When the plants reached the 5-leaf stage, they were treated with concentrations of 0 (control), 50, 75, and 100 mM sodium chloride for 14 days and then harvested. In order to measure the content of nutritional elements of the plant organs, extracts of the desired organs were prepared.
The results of the experiments showed that with increasing salinity, the potassium content of shoots and roots decreased in all 4 cultivars in response to salinity stress, while the content of chlorine and sodium increased. The highest increase of chlorine and sodium elements in response to salinity stress was observed in Talaye and Sarigol cultivars, about 1000 times more than the control plants. The increase in the sodium content of the shoot was higher than that of the root and it increased about 800 times in the roots of Talaye and Sarigol cultivars, it increased about 800 times. Proline and glycine betaine contents of leaves increased in response to salt stress. The amount of soluble sugar in shoot and root also increased in some cultivars, so in the treatment of 100 mM, its amount in the leaves of Talaye variety increased by 43% and in Sarigol by 80%. According to the obtained results, it can be concluded that among the cultivars studied, Opera and Zarafam cultivars have better performance under salt stress than the other two cultivars, and the performance of Sarigol is weaker than other cultivars.

Salinity is a widespread environmental stress that restricts crop production worldwide. Soils in Iran, particularly in arid and semi-arid zones, are affected by salinity stress. Under salt stress, plants show reduced water potential, ion toxicity, and ion uptake interference. Crop plants mainly respond to salinity using various mechanisms, including avoidance or tolerance. Almost all crops are glycophytes and cannot inhibit Na+ and Cl- accumulation in shoots and its out-coming damage to leaf tissues (Munns and Tester, 2008). Tolerant plants produce different osmolytes, such as soluble sugars, proline, glycine betaine, and toxic ion compartmentation. Canola is one of the most important oilseed crops used for edible oil production due to the lower content of saturated fatty acids (Brand et al., 2001). Iran has a potential capacity of up to 5 million tons/year of canola production, while it is not more than 190 thousand tons/year (Zarafshani et al., 2017). McNeilly and Ashraf (2004) concluded that salt-tolerant rapeseeds have lower concentrations of sodium and chlorine in their aerial parts when faced with salinity. Plant species show different capacities of tolerance when exposed to high salinity. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of salinity caused by sodium chloride on the content of ions and to determine salt tolerance ability in four varieties of Canola (Brassica napus L.): Talaye, Sarigol, Zarfam, and Opera. This study aimed to determine the salt tolerance capacity of four different cultivars of rapeseed considering, the content of ions, and the effects of chlorine and sodium ions on physiological and biochemical parameters.

One-week-oldseedlings of the above mentioned four cultivars of canola were transferred to ¼ strength Hoagland solution and grown for five weeks under greenhouse conditions and different NaCl treatments (0, 50, 75, and 100 mM).
100 mg ground dry mass of shoots and roots were added to hot water. Then, each extract (10 ml) was used to determine K+, Na+, and Cl- ions content using flame photometry and chloride analyzer based on titration with silver ions methods. The soluble sugars were measured in the samples extracted by ethanol based on the Dubois et al. (1954) method. The proline contents of leaves and roots were determined using Bates et al. (1973). The extracts of leaves and roots in sulfosalicylic acid (3%) were transferred to toluene after adding acetic acid, phosphoric acid and, ninhydrin reagents to the mixture. Then, the optical density of the upper part of the solution was read at 520 nm using a spectrophotometer. All calculations were made according to a standard curve plotted by known different concentrations of proline. The glycine betaine contents were measured according to Grattan and Grieve (1983). Ground dry mass of leaves and roots were incubated in sulfuric acid and dichloroethane for 1 and 2.5 hours, respectively, and the optical density of the extracts was determined at 360 nm 

In this study, salinity stress has increased the sodium content of shoots and roots in all four cultivars. This increase is more in Talayah and Sari-Gol cultivars than the other two cultivars. Also, the sodium content of the shoots is higher than the roots. In some cultivars of the rapeseed plant, the barrier mechanisms that prevent sodium from entering the roots, less Na accumulation in the aerial organs, and maintaining high ratios of potassium to sodium, especially in young photosynthetic tissues, probably have increased tolerance to salinity (Atlasi Pak, 2016). However, in all cultivars, the potassium contents of root and shoot significantly decreased under different salinity. Other researchers also considered the increase of sodium absorption in the roots and its competition with potassium absorption under salt stress as the cause of the decrease in the amount of potassium in the roots (Mittal and Dubey, 1991). The reduction of potassium in the roots and shoots has also been reported in rapeseed under salinity. The researchers stated that the amount of potassium in the shoot is directly related to the growth rate as brassica species that have more ability to retain potassium will be more tolerant to salinity (He and Cramer, 1993). The results of the present research showed that the chlorine content of aerial parts and roots increased with the application of salinity. It was also observed that the amount of chlorine in aerial parts is about 3 times higher than the sodium content of aerial parts. It could be due to the higher inhibitory effects of Cl on plant growth rather than Na in Canola (Teakle and Tyerman 2010). According to the results obtained in this study, changes in osmolytes concentrations showed different patterns. This variation was higher in soluble sugars than the others. However, proline and glycine betaine contents increased with increasing salinity in all cultivars. Various studies showed a positive relationship between the accumulation of osmolytes, such as GB and proline, and stress tolerance in plants. Some studies showed that an increase in the concentration of these two osmolytes under stress is not an adaptive stress response. The accumulation of GB in response to salinity has been found in many crops, including corn (Sorghum bicolor) (Weimberg et al., 1984). 

According to the results, salinity treatment causes changes in the ion content of roots and shoots including a higher content of Na and Cl and a lower content of K. In addition, based on the highest amounts of chlorine in aerial organs in all four cultivars (3 times greater than Na), it can be concluded that the decrease in growth in all cultivars could be related to chlorine toxicity, and sodium has intensified the effects. Proline and glycine betaine contents increased under salt stress in four cultivars. Overall, the results showed that Opera and Zarafam cultivars have higher capacities to tolerate salinity than the others.

Salinity tolerance of four grape genotypes [GharaUzum, Hosseini, AghUzum and Keshmeshi] was studied under various salinity levels (25, 50 and 100 mM NaCl). As a result, growth indices were significantly (P<0.05) reduced by salinity, whereas Cl- and Na+ contents in the plant parts were increased. Cl- accumulation exceeded than that of Na+ in all treatments. Among the genotypes studied, GharaUzum and Keshmeshi had the lowest and highest Cl- concentrations in the leaf lamina, respectively. Photosynthesis and transpiration rate as well as stomatal conductance were greatly reduced by salinity and were shown to be highly correlated with leaf Cl- content. GharaUzum showed lower reduction in photosynthesis parameters. Soluble sugars, proline and glycine betaine contents increased in the leaf lamina of all the genotypes studied treated with moderate salinity (50 mM). In conclusion, the results showed that GharaUzum and Keshmeshi had the highest and lowest salt stress tolerance among the genotypes studied, respectively.

Silicon plays an important role in increasing plant resistance to drought-stress. In this study, the effect of silicon on drought-stress in seedlings of gall oak (Quercus infectoria Oliv.) was investigated. The seedlings were transferred from forest nursery of Marivan Natural Resources Office to Urmia University and were subject to an experiment as a factorial design based on complete randomized blocks in three replications. Seedlings were irrigated by two types of silicon (coarse and nanoparticles) in different concentrations (0, 50, 100 and 150 mg L-1) pre-treatment during a 30-day period based on field capacity. Then, drought stress was imposed on three levels, which consisted of control (based on field capacity), moderate stress (based on 50% field capacity) and severe stress (water withholding) for 21 days. The results showed significant and main effects of silicon type on the amount of silica, drought stress on proline and silicon concentration on proline and silica. However, the interaction effects of drought stress with silicon type and drought stress with silicon concentration were significant only on the proline. None of independent and interaction effects of the fixed factors on growth parameters and the amount of carbohydrate were significant. Generally, silicone application had only a significant effect on severe drought stress in reducing proline content, but there no difference was observed between coarse and nanoparticles. The absorption of silica was obviously higher in the nanoparticle type. Finally, the application of silicon at a concentration of 50 mg L-1 in severe drought stress conditions was concluded to enable increasing the tolerance of Q. infectoria seedlings against drought stress.

Abstract The Kanibarazan Wetland located in West Azarbaijan province is one of the wetlands of the Ramsar International Convention with 907 hectares. This Hunt- Banned region has semidry to mid semidry climate. The plants in the studied area were regularly collected every month during growing seasons 2013 from two habitats : Aquatic and nearby wetland habitats. Then plants were deposited in the herbarium of Kharazmi university (FAR), Tehran. A total of 118 different plant species collected in this study belong to 42 families (2 bryophyte, 33 dicotyledone, 1 ceratophyllaceae, 6 monocotyledon) and 99 genera. Among these families represented in the area, 17 families (11 dicotyledone, 1 ceratophyllaceae, 5 monocotyledon) including 32 genera and 35 species are belonged to aquatic wetland habitat and 25 families (2 bryophyte, 22 dicotyledone, 1 monocotyledon) including 67 genera and 83 species are belonged to nearby wetland habitat. Classification based on life form indicates that the therophytes with 62% abundance in nearby wetland habitate and 35% in aquatic habitate comprise the largest proportion of the plants in the studied area. The most extended chorotype is related to Iran-Turanian region (50% in nearby wetland habitat and 38% in aquatic habitate). Key word: Kanibarazan, Life form, Chorothype, Flora

Air pollution could affect growth and quality of the urban landscape trees in addition to residents' health. Planting of tolerant plants have significant influence on improvement of the urban air quality and can reduce harmful environmental pollutants damages. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of air pollution on plant chemical factors in box elder (Acer negundo) in Urmia. The study consists of five different gardens with different degrees of air pollution. Almost five even age plants in each garden were samples. Leaf samples from each tree of outer branches and in low, middle and high height of crown sections were collected. Then carbohydrates, proline, the main and secondary pigments contents were measured. Morphological parameters such as diameter at breast height, height and crown diameter in order to define correlation with chemical factors were recorded. Also their relationship with the level of air pollutants was investigated. The results indicated that carbohydrates and proline amounts of box elder species have a significant difference among studied areas and have been increased with air pollution degree. While pigment contents was lower in polluted region compared to control. No significant correlation between plant chemical and morphological parameters on one hand and significant correlation between plant chemical factors and air pollutants indicates that only pollutants have an effect on plant chemistry characteristics and dimension of box elder trees not effective. Based on the results, box elder can be a resistant species in urban green space because of carbohydrates and proline storage in polluted area.

In order to understand the response of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) to salt stress, the comparative analysis of leaf proteome of Basma S. 31 genotype were performed. Plants were treated with or without 200 mM NaCl for 12 days. The proteins were extracted from leaves, and then separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis. The fresh weight and length of shoot of studied genotype showed greater decrease with increasing salinity. The number of 19 protein spots (out of 468 protein spots) was differentially expressed in leaves under NaCl treatment. Although the levels of some proteins were reduced by salt-treatments, an increase of accumulations in some proteins was observed under salt stress. The number of protein spots with increased expression, were higher than the number of protein spots with decreased expression (10 and 9 protein spots, respectively). Results revealed that, spots of 16 and 7 were highly and lowly up-regulated with 6.1-fold and 1.48- fold, respectively. Also, the spot of 18 with 4.4- fold was highly down-regulated among all spots. Salinity is a complex phenomenon that causes not just osmotic and toxic ion effects, but also nutritional and metabolism imbalance. According to the results, it seems that salinity can change the expression levels of some special proteins in leaves of tobacco that may in turn play a role in the tolerance to saline conditions. So, it is believed that increased expression of proteins with low molecular weight that regulate cellular activity, can be effective in tobacco salt tolerance.

Salinity is an important environmental factor that limits plant growth and production. Grape is classified as salt sensitive plants. The object of this study was to evaluate effects of salinity on membrane lipid peroxidation, antioxidant components, and antioxidative enzymes activity in ten grape genotypes native to the regions around Urmia Salt Lake.Malondialdehyde content and protective enzymes activities in roots and leaves of ten genotypes increased significantly (p≤0.05) under salinity. Salinity had an obvious effect on the accumulation of total phenolics content and induced phenylalanine ammonia-lyase enzyme activity in all genotypes. H6 showed low increases in Malondialdehyde content, also this genotype showed good enzymes activities and total phenolics content and PAL activity. There were significant positive correlations (p≤0.01, r2=0.7) between antioxidative enzyme activities, total phenolics content, and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity in the leaves of all genotypes. It seems that H6 showed a higher capacity to tolerate salinity compared to the other genotypes.

Water stress is considered as a main environmental factor limiting crop growth and yield, including grape in Mediterranean areas.Selection for drought-tolerantvarieties is possible through investigation of their performance under stress conditions. The estimation of physiological characteristics as reliable indices can be used as a tool to select tolerant plants. For this reason, varieties and genotypes of one plant species are usually investigated through physiological characteristics and its relation to drought tolerance. Investigation of the effects of water stress on some growth and physiological characteristics in grape plants has revealed that plant height, number of leaves and nodes, leaf area and the percentage of dry weightdecreased under increasing drought stress. Salicylic Acid is a naturally occurring plant hormone whichinfluences various morphological and physiological functions in plant. It can act as an important signaling molecule and has diverse effects on biotic and abiotic stresses tolerance capacity.
In this research, two-yearold grapesplanted in plastic pots containingingredients of humus, soil and sand (1:2:1) were used. The experiment was conducted using a factorial based on randomized complete block design with three factors including irrigation periods (every 5, 10 and 15 days), salicylic acid concentrations (0, 1 and 2 mM) and grape cultivars (Rasheh andBidanesefid) with 3 replications in thegreenhouse of faculty of agricultureinUrmia University. Plant height, stem diameter and leaf area and chlorophyll indicesweremeasuredby usingruler, digital caliper (Model22855 NO: Z), leaf Area Meter (ModelAM200) and SPAD-502 chlorophyll meter (Minolta Crop, Japan),respectively. In order to determine proline content, malondialdehyde (MDA), total protein and total soluble sugars, spectrophotometric methods [51,25,6and28] were utilized,respectively.
Based on comparing the averages related to the interaction of various levels of drought and salicylic acid, increasing watering intervals resulted in significant decrease in parameters of plant height, stem diameter, leaf area, leaf number and chlorophyll index,and increase inproline content, malondialdehyde, total protein and total soluble sugars.Furthermore, according to the obtained results, plant height, stem diameter, leaf number, chlorophyll index, accumulation of prolineandtotal protein in grape cv. Rashehwere higher than Bidanesefidone.Drought effected the mitotic division, andelongation and expansion of cells, leading to reduced growth and crop yield. It was concluded that plant height, stem diameter, and leaf area decreased noticeably byincreasing water stress. The reduction in plant height could be attributed to decline in the cell enlargement and higher rate ofleaf senescence in the plant under water stress. The reduction in leaf number under severe water deficit was partially due to leaf senescence. Reduction inthe number of leaves could be a response by plants to minimize the transpiration surface. Sorghum plants have also been reported to have a similarbehaviorthroughwhichthey conserve water by reducing the number of leaves. When exposed to chronic water deficit, they showed an initial decrease in the daily increment of leaf area and eventually a decrease due to accelerated senescence. Dropping of the leaves during severe stress markedly reduces the evaporative surface and allows the plant to conserve water.It is well known that proline contents in leaves of many plants are enhanced by several stresses including drought stress. The efficiency of exogenous SA depends on multiple causes such as the species, developmental stage of the plant, manner of application and concentration of SA.Plant height, stem diameter, leaf number, leaf area, leaf total soluble sugar and chlorophyll index increased by applying 2 mM salicylic acid comparedwith 0 and 1 mM doses. The findings of this study showed that salicylic ¬acid was able to enhance the tolerant capacity of the grape plant to the drought stress. According to theobtained results, Rashehcultivar showed a greater resistance to drought stress. Salicylic acid prohibits auxin and cytokinin loss in plants and thus enhances cell division and plant growth. Salicylic ¬acid maintainsphotosynthetic aspects like chlorophyll content at proper level and thus helps plants to grow and developwell. In this study, the drought stress increased the amount of MDA.MDA and other aldehydes in the dry conditions are the result ofactive oxygen species (ROS) such as super oxide radical, peroxide, hydrogen and radical hydroxide, whichareproduced underoxidative stress conditions. The species of active oxygen leads to lipid's per oxidation as a result of injury or damage to the cellular membrane, especially chloroplast membrane.Salicylic acid increases the activity of antioxidant enzymes such as CAT, POD and SOD which in turn protect plants against ROS generation and lipid peroxidation. Salicylic acid treatment also providesa considerable protection from the enzyme nitrate reductase, thereby maintaining the level of diverse proteins in leaves.Mohammadkhani and Heidari (48) found that the initial increase in total soluble proteins during drought stress was due to the expression of new stress proteins.

A laboratory experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of salinity on some morphological and phys-iological parameters in four Canola (Brassica napus L.) cultivars (Talaye, Sarigol, Zarfam and Opera) under salinity stress. Plants were grown in hydroponic solution (Hoagland 1/4 strength) under greenhouse conditions and on five-leaf stage, treated with different concentrations of NaCl: 0 (control), 50, 75 and 100 mM. After 14 days of treatment, plants were harvested and the length of shoots and roots, photosynthesis, chlorophylls and carotenoids contents of leaves were measured on four studied cultivars. In general the results showed that increasing salinity reduced leaf relative water co-ntent, shoot and root lengths and leaf area. Photosynthetic rate was declined in Talaye and Sarigol, but it was elevated in Opera and Zarfam. It should be noted that the changes induced by salinity on photosynthetic pigments was not regu-lar. The results of this study showed that among the investigated cultivars, in vegetative phase, Opera and Zarfam had higher capacity and function to salt stress tolerate than other cultivars. It also seems that Sarigol may be more vuln-erable than other cultivars under salinity stress.

Salinity is a complex phenomenon that involves not just an osmotic effect, but also toxic ion effects and nutritional imbalance. In order to evaluate the effects of severity and duration of sodium chloride stress on some biochemical and photosynthesis parameters of tobacco a factorial experiment was conducted using a randomized completely block design with three replication with using a hydroponic culture in Biotech Center of Urmia university. In this study, the effects of 5 salinity levels (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 mM NaCl) and three time periods (2, 5, and 12 days) were evaluated. The results showed that under sodium chloride stress the dry weight and photosynthetic pigments compared to the control were reduced, while proline content was increased. The results of analysis of variance showed that sodium chloride levels, duration of stress and the interaction of stress and duration of salinity have significant differences on stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, CO2 concentration and water use efficiency (p≤0.01). The sodium chloride levels and the interaction of stress and duration of sodium chloride stress have significant differences on net photosynthetic rate and mesophilic conductance. The net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, intercellular CO2 concentration and mesophilic conductance in 200 mM sodium chloride at 12 days after stress compared to control 74%, 97%, 90%, 48% and 59% decreased, respectively. These results indicate that stomatal limitations might be the main cause of decrease of photosynthesis in tobacco plant under sodium chloride stress.

To study the effects of salt stress on some physiological parameters of grapevine and the effect of foliar application of potassium silicate and zinc sulphate in alleviating saline effects, a pot experiment was conducted under greenhouse condition. Rooted sapling of two grapevine cultivars, ‘Rasha’ (salt-tolerant cultivar) and ‘Bidaneh ghermez’ (salt-semi sensitive cultivar) were subjected to different NaCl concentrations (0, 50 and 100 mM) and foliar application of potassium silicate (0, 150 and 300 mg/l) and zinc sulphate (0, 2 and 4 g/l) in hydroponic conditions. The experiment was conducted using a factorial design (cultivar, salinity levels and foliar application as factors) based on randomized complete block design with three replications. The results showed that relative water content, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration and chlorophyll content decreased with increasing salinity level. The reduction of physiological parameters in ‘Rasha’ was less than ‘Bidaneh ghermez’. Foliar application of different concentrations of potassium silicate and zinc sulphate increased relative water content, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration and chlorophyll content in both cultivars. The most effective treatment was potassium silicate 300 mg/l zinc sulphate 2 g/l, so that at the highest salinity level (100 mM) relative water content, stomatal conductance and photosynthesis in this treatment was 13.75%, 91.14% and 47.56% more than no foliar application treatment, respectively. According to the results of this study foliar application of potassium silicate and zinc sulphate can be used to alleviate salinity effects in grapevine.

In order to understand the response of Lotus corniculatus to salt stress, ions content and some growth factors were analyzed in three varieties of this plant, namely, Ardebil, Karaj, and Jolfa. Lotus corniculatus plants were exposed to 0, 50, 100, and 150 mM NaCl in hydroponic condition. The amounts of anions (Cl-and NO3-) and cations (K and Na) in leaves as well as shoot and root dry weights, stem and root length, leaf area, and number of leaves were analyzed. The amount of Na and Cl- significantly increased in all varieties. However, with an increase in NaCl concentration, K and No3- content decreased significantly in all varieties (p

Molecular information of K accumulation in grapes is strongly required. Under salinity condition potassium transporters are inhibited by Na. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of salinity on the expression of K transporter genes in grape. Based on the previous screening study on 18 grape genotypes, ‘H6’ and ‘Gharashani’ (tolerant) and ‘Shirazi’ and ‘GhezelUzum’ (sensitive) were selected. Plants were treated with 50 mM NaCl as a critical concentration that was not lethal for grapevine plants. Interestingly, the expression of VvKUP1, VvKUP2 and VvK1.1 genes highly increased in leaves of sensitive genotypes compared to tolerant ones. Also the expression of VvKUP1 and VvKUP2 genes were similar in the leaves of sensitive genotypes. There was a significant positive correlation (P

Salinity stress is one of the most important abiotic stresses which threaten plants. In order to study the effect of salinity stress on yield and yield components of sunflower and also genetic analysis of these traits in relation with salt tolerance, a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design with three replications was conducted. Pots were arranged outside the greenhouse in an open air area under natural environmental conditions. The studied factors were 2 salinity stress levels (normal and 6 dS/m) and sunflower recombinant inbred lines (102 lines derived from the cross PAC2 ×RHA266 together with parental lines). Results showed the significant effect of salinity stress on all of studied traits except petiole length, leaf width, leaf length, head diameter and seed weight, meanwhile, the effect of genotype was significant on all of the studied traits. Genetic analysis of measured traits was done using a linkage map with 221 molecular markers (210SSR/11SNP) with an average distance of 7.44 cM between markers via composite interval mapping (CIM). 14 and 17 QTLs were detected for studied traits under normal and salt stress conditions, respectively. The maximum amount of R2 (39.7%) was detected for QTL identified for days to flowering in salinity stress conditions. The results showed the existence of co-localized QTLs for some of the studied traits under normal and salt stress conditions. Using co-localized QTLs improve the efficiency of marker-assisted selection in plant breeding programs.

Air pollution severely damages tree growth and quality in urban areas due to constant absorption of pollutants by plants. It has been clearly substantiated that urban green landscapes considerably decrease environmental pollution. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of air pollution on carbohydrate and proline contents in oriental plane (Platanus orientalis L.) trees in Urmia city. For this purpose, five parks of supposedly different levels of pollution were sampled in two phases (i.e. August 2013 and May 2014). Five plane trees of relatively the same age were selected in each park. Leaf samples were collected from the outer branches of trees at three height levels. The carbohydrate and proline contents of the leaves, measured in two steps, were correlated with the level of O3, NH3, SO2, CO and PM10. The results indicated that, except for proline with NH3 in August 2013, the amounts of carbohydrates and proline were significantly (α=1%) higher with increasing air pollution.

Salinity is one of the important environmental factors that limit plant growth and product. Grapes are classified as salt sensitive plants. This paper attempts to evaluate the salinity effects on membrane lipid peroxidation، antioxidant components and antioxidative enzymes activity in four grape genotypes (Vitis vinifera L.، Gharashani، LaaleBidaneh، Sachagh and Shahroodi) that commonly grow in the regions around Urmia Salt Lake. We came to the conclusion that malondialdehyde content and antioxidative enzymes activity increased significantly (P<0. 05) in roots and leaves of all these genotypes. Gharashani and LaaleBidaneh genotypes showed higher antioxidative enzymes activity and lower membrane lipid peroxidation. Also، salinity had a significant effect on the accumulation of total phenolics content and phenylalanine ammonia lyase activity in all genotypes. Gharashani genotype showed the highest total phenols and PAL activity. There was a significant positive correlation among antioxidant enzymes activity، total phenolics content and PAL activity in leaves of all genotypes. It seems that Gharashani and LaaleBidaneh genotypes have a better antioxidant system compared with others and show higher efficiency for salinity tolerance.

In order to study the effect of salinity on yield and physiological traits of sunflower and genetic analysis of these traits under salinity conditions, a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with three replications were performed outside the greenhouse in an open air area under natural environmental conditions. The studied factors were included 2 salinity stress levels (normal and 6 dS/m) and sunflower recombinant inbred lines (102 lines derived from the cross PAC2 ×RHA266 together with parental lines). Traits such as grain yield per plant, chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, leaf relative water content, Na+ and K+ concentrations were measured after flowering. The effect of salinity was significant on grain yield, leaf relative water content, Na+ and K+ concentrations as well as on Na+/K+ and K+/ Na+ ratios. For all traits, significant differences were observed between the genotypes studied. Genetic analysis of studied traits was done using a linkage map comprising 221 molecular markers (210 SSR/11 SNP) with an average distance of 7.44 cM between markers via composite interval mapping (CIM) procedure. Totally, 10 and 8 QTLs were detected for studied traits under normal and salt stress conditions, respectively. The phenotypic variance explained by QTLs (R2) ranged from 10.4%- 34.4%. The results showed the existence of co-localized QTLs for some of the studied traits under normal and salt stress conditions including Na+.S.4.1 with Na+/K+.S.4.1, Chl.NS.6.1 with K+.S.6.1. Using co-localized QTLs in different environmental conditions and different years could enhance the efficiency of marker-assisted selection in plant breeding programs.

Nitric Oxide has emerged as an important signaling molecule associated with many biochemical and physiological processes in plants. In this study, the role of SNP (NO donor) in inducing salt tolerance in two grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) cultivars ‘QarahShani’ and ‘Thompson Seedless’ subjected to NaCl stress was investigated. Well-rooted grape cuttings were treated with four levels of salinity (salinized nutrient solution) 0 (control), 50, 75 and 100 mM NaCl and three levels of SNP (Foliar application) 0 (control), 0.5 and 1.0 mM. Results indicated that with increasing NaCl concentration in nutrient solution, leaf area, shoot and root dry weight decreased. Also decrease in leaf chlorophyll content, stomatal conductance and transpiration in higher level of salinity, resulted in reducing photosynthesis in both cultivars especially in ‘Thompson Seedless’. Our findings suggested that the application of SNP (1 mM) under salt stress could improve the growth and phatosynthesis in both cultivars especially in ‘QarahShani’.

Drought is the most important problems that restrict cultivation of horticultural crops in arid and semi-arid regions and olive (Olea europaea L.) as an important fruit trees grows in these regions. In order to investigate the effect of cycocel treatment on some physioligical characteristics of two olive cultivars (Mary and Mission), under the condition of drought stress, a greenhouse experiment was conducted taking into account three factors of: cycocel at three levels (0, 500 and 1000 mg L-1), drought stress of three levels (irrigated at 5, 10 and 15 days intervals) and tow olive cultivars (Mary and Mission) in a factorial experiment in frame of randomized complete block design with three replicates for the lasted four months. The results showed that increased periods of drought have increased the number of stomata per unit leaf area and decreased net photosynthesis, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance and dry weight of leaf, stem and root in both cultivars. Also, results showed that both cycocel concentrations increased the number of stomata per unit leaf area, increase net photosynthesis, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance and dry weight of leaf; but no significant difference in dry weight of stem and root was observed compared with the control. In above-mentioned parameters, Mission cultivar showed higher resistance to drought stress than the Mary cultivar. Collectively, results suggested that the use of cycocel can be improved in photosynthesis under drought stress conditions.

In this study, with the aim of optimizing hairy root growth conditions, leaf, hypocotyl and root explants were inoculated by strain ‘A13’ of Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Then effect of four basal MS liquid media was considered with different combinations and temperature on rate of hairy roots growth. In order to hairy root induction via spary and leaf disc methods, two strains of Agrobacterium rhizogenes (A13 and 9534) were used. For confirmation of transformation but not infection of hairy roots, PCR reaction was performed through specific amplification of rolB and virD genes. Obtained hairy roots in a basal liquid MS medium were cultured under different treatments in based on completely randomized design (CRD) with three replicates and dry weight of hairy roots was measured after two months. Hairy roots were observed in root, hypocotyl and leaf explants after 8 days. The highest percentage of transformation was found in leaf explants. The obtained results showed that the highest (0.19 gr) and the lowest(0.05 gr) rate of hairy root dry weight related to basal liquid MS medium containing 30 g/l sucrose in 35°C and basal MS liquid medium containing 0.2 gr ∕ l NAA hormone,respectively,. The results indicate the main role of culture medium compounds and temperature in enhancing of hairy root biomass.