مقالات رزومه دکتر بهرام عابدی

 Light is the main environmental factor for plant growth and development. Different attributes of light such as intensity, quality and duration affect plant growth and productivity. Light spectrum of growing environment is a determinant factor for plant growth and photosynthesis. The photosynthetic reactions are directly affected by various light parameters including its spectrum and intensity. Photosystem I and II (PSI and PSII) in the electron transport chain of photosynthetic apparatus are involved in converting solar energy to chemical compounds in plants. It has been found that the PSII is sensitive to light quality. Using The OJIP test, we can investigate the efficiency of various biological phases of the electron transport system. Light sources such as metal-halide, fluorescent, high-pressure sodium, neon lamps and light-emitting diode (LED) can be used for production of plants in closed environments instead of sunlight. Manipulation of the light spectrum of the lamps could trigger potential benefits by enhancing plant growth. Nowadays, by using the LED technology, it is possible to study the physiological effect of different light spectra for optimization of growth conditions and for increase the production of plants in controlled environments. This research was conducted to investigate photosynthetic apparatus, growth parameters, stomatal characteristics, transpiration rate and essential oil content of Salvia officinalis under different light spectra.
 
 In this study, the effects of different light spectra were implemented and performed as a pot experiment using soilless media in the plant growth chamber based on a completely randomized design with 6 lighting spectra including White, Blue, Red and three combinations of R and B lights (R30:B70, R50:B50 and R70:B30) with three replications. The light intensity in all growth chambers was adjusted to photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) of 250 ±10 μmol m-2s-1 and light spectrum were monitored using a sekonic light meter (Sekonic C-7000, Japan). Growth condition was set at 14/10 h day/night cycles, 25/22oC day/night temperatures and 40% relative humidity. Three month following plant growth under different light spectra, the plants were evaluated for their growth parameters, stomatal characteristics (stomatal length, stomatal width, pore length or aperture) transpiration rate (E), relative water content (RWC), photosynthetic apparatus (evaluation of OJIP) and essential oil content. Data analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed using IBM SAS software (Version 9.1) and the differences between means were assessed using Duncan’s multiple range tests at p≤ 0.05.
 
 The results showed that the stomata characteristics, photosynthetic performance, growth characteristics and essential oil content of Salvia officinalis were affected by different light spectra. Increasing the ratio of red light especially combined Red and Blue lights (R70:B30) led to the improvement of growth characteristics. Transient induction of chlorophyll fluorescence showed that the highest fluorescence intensities at all OJIP steps were detected in Red light. The lowest Fv/F0 and Fv/Fm were obtained in plants grown under Red light. Occurrence of leaf epinasty and decrease in Fv/Fm indicative of phenomenon of red light syndrome in the plants under Red treatment. Red light caused a reduction in performance index per absorbed light efficiency of (PIABS) and increase in quantum energy dissipation (ΦD0), light absorption (ABS/RC) and electron trapping (TR0/RC) per reaction center. The highest Fv/F0, Fv/Fm and PIABS were obtained under combination of Red and Rlue light. The highest ΦE0 was also detected in combination of Red and Blue light. The narrow and large stomatal apertures were detected under Red and Blue light, respectively. The highest transpiration rate was achieved in plants grown under Blue light LED. Increasing the ratio of Red light resulted in reduction in transpiration rate and improvement of leaf capacity to control water loss via reducing the opening of stomata. The highest amount of essential oil (1/75% v/w) was achieved in plants exposed to combination of Red:Blue light spectra (R70:B30).
 light spectrum during plant growth can change plant metabolism, LED can be used in favor of producing good-quality food in controlled environment agriculture due to their ease of application, waveband manipulation and limited heat production. Our result showed that photosynthetic apparatus, growth parameters, stomatal characteristics, transpiration rate, relative water content and essential oil content of plants were considerably influenced by light spectra. Using OJIP test confirmed that plants grown under monochromatic Red and Blue lights were less efficient to successfully transfer the excitons and most of the absorbed energy by the photosystems was dissipated as heat. In conclusion, combined Red and Blue lights (especially R70:B30) caused favorable growth, photosynthetic functionality and maximum essential oil content of Salvia officinalis. Therefore, combination of R and B lights (R70:B30) should be considered for production of Salvia officinalis under artificial light systems during commercial controlled environment production of plants.

Light spectrum of growing environment is a determinant factor for plant growth and photosynthesis. Photoregulation is an effective strategy to improve productivity of plants. Light sources such as metal-halide, fluorescent, high-pressure sodium, neon lamps and light-emiting diode (LED) can be used for production of plants in closed environments instead of sunlight. Nowadays, by using the LED (Light Emitting Diode) technology, it is possible to study the physiological effect of different light spectra for optimization of growth conditions and for increase the production of plants in controlled environments. Due to high marketability, producers continually investigate to maximize yield and productivity of sage.The main purpose of this study was to examine and compare different combinations of LED light spectra on morpho-physiological and biochemical response of sage plant. In this study, the effects of different light spectra were implemented and performed as a pot experiment soilless media in the plant growth chamber based on a completely randomized design with 6 lighting spectra including white, blue, red, red30: blue70, red50: blue50 and red70: blue30 with tree replication. The light intensity in all growth chambers was adjusted to photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) of 250 ±10 μmol m-2s-1 PPFD intensity and light spectrum were monitored using a sekonic light meter. Growth condition was set at 14/10 h day/night cycles, 25/20oC day/night temperatures and 40% relative humidity. In this study, different morphological traits (plant height, root length, root volume, stem diameter, number of leaves, Leaf length, Leaf width, Leaf area, specific leaf area, Number of nodes, Internode length, Number of branches), vegetative parameters, photosynthetic pigment concentrations and biochemical characteristics were measured analyzed. Data analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed using IBM SAS software (Version 9.1), and the differences between means were assessed using Duncan’s multiple range tests at p ≤ 0.01. The results showed that the morphological, growth and content of photosynthetic pigments of sage plant were affected by different light spectra. R:B combinational lights caused a better growth in comparison with monochromatic R and B lights. The plants grown under red light had the tallest stem in comparison with the stem lengths of plants grown under other light spectra. The highest shoot and root fresh weight were measured in 70:30 red: blue light. Highest root dry weight and root volume were detected under R70B30 and lowest values of them were observed under R light. In the present study, increasing the ratio of blue light led to the generation of short and small plants, while increasing the ratio of red light led to the improvement of growth characteristics. Concentrations of all photosynthetic pigments in the sage leaves were significantly influenced by the light spectra. The highest Chl a and Chl b concentration was observed under R50B50 and R70B30 lights. Highest total Chl content was detected under R70B30. Highest amount of total phenolic content and antiradical activity was observed in leaves of plants grown under 70:30 red: blue light. Growth and morphology and content of photosynthetic pigments of plants were considerably influenced by light spectra in this study. In conclusion, combined red and blue lights (red70: blue30) by inducing of production of more photosynthetic pigments improved growth and improving growth of sage plant. Therefore, it can be expressed that the presence of both wavelengths (blue and red) is necessary for a better and more complete growth of the plant. In general, it can be suggested that the use of LEDs can result in better economic production-controlled environment systems.

 Unbalanced and frequent use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides results in the degradation of soil physicochemical properties, loss of soil-born organisms, reduction of quality of produced crops and reduction of yield plant. Nowadays, due to environmental considerations of chemical fertilizers, use of organic acids for quantitative and qualitative improvement of crops has been increased. Humic materials are natural organic compounds that contain 50 to 90% of organic matters of peat, wood coal and rotten material, as well as non-living organic matters of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Humic compounds indirectly increase soil fertility by providing micro- and macro-elements for root, improving soil structure, increasing medium permeability to water and air, increasing soil microbial population and beneficial microorganisms, increasing cation exchange capacity and the ability to buffer pH of medium or nutrient solution, and providing some special substances for plant roots such as nucleic acids and acetamides.

 In order to investigate the influence of humic and fulvic acids on some growth characteristics in ornamental plant of Scindapsus spp., an experiment was conducted based on a completely randomized design with three replications at greenhouse in Ferdowsi University of Mashhad during 2014-2015. The first factor was humic acid in four levels of 0, 0.2, 0.5, 1 g/l, and the second factor was fulvic acid in four levels of 0, 0.2, 0.5, 1 g/l. Cuttings were taken from the plant in late March. Two weeks after transferring the rooted cuttings to pot, the treatments were applied on plants via fertigation. The traits measured in the experiment included plant height, mean number of nodes, internode length, leaf number, leaf length, leaf width, leaf area, root length, root fresh weight, leaf fresh weight, shoot fresh weight, aerial organ fresh weight, root volume, aerial organ volume, root dry weight, leaf dry weight, shoot dry weight, aerial organ dry weight, fresh and dry weights ratios of aerial organ to fresh weight. Statistical analysis of data was performed by 8-JMP software. LSD test was used to compare the means of the data.

 Based on the results obtained, the combined use of humic acid and fulvic acid had a significant effect on height, fresh and dry weights of leaf, shoot, aerial organ and root, number of node and leaf and volume of aerial organ, fresh and dry weights of root, length and volume of root and the ratio of fresh and dry weights of aerial organ to root. Thus, combined use of humic acid and fulvic acid caused an increase in all the measured traits compared to the control treatment. Furthermore, an increase was observed in the length, width, and area of leaf, and internode length as the result of application of humic substances when compared to the control treatment. Organic fertilizers increase plant growth by improving soil conditions and increasing availability of plant to nutrients. Humic compounds cause changes in the specific distribution of cytokinins, polyamines and ATP by affecting the activity of root H+-ATPase and the distribution of root nitrate in the stem, thus affecting the growth of the plant stem. Humic materials increase plant growth by using different mechanisms such as hormonal effects, direct effect on plant cell metabolism, increase of cell division, chelating power and nutrient uptake, increase of soil ventilation and enhancement of plant photosynthesis by increasing Rubisco enzyme activity. Increasing nitrogen uptake leads to the increase in the growth of shoots and aerial organs. It also increases the number of branches in plants and increases the production of dry matter by increasing the production of photosynthetic materials.

 In general, according to the results of this experiment, it can be concluded that application of humic substances (humic acid and fulvic acid) together, improved the growth characteristics of the plant and led to the better growth of the plant; therefore, these materials can be a good alternative to plant growth-stimulating chemical fertilizers.

In order to study three vegetative rootstocks M9, M7 and MM106 on some growth and biochemical Characteristics of Apple cvs. "Golden delicious" and "Red Delicious", an experiment in factorial design based on randomized complete blocks with four replications in orchard of Mashhad agricultural research center was performed in 2021. Some characteristics: including trunk diameter, current shoot growth, leaf area, chlorophyll, phenol content, anthocyanin and antioxidant properties in leaf sample were measured. Results showed that in the interaction of rootstock and scion had a significant effect on the trunk diameter, leaf area and anthocyanin. The highest amount of anthocyanin (0.466 mg.g-1FW) at "Golden delicious" on M9 rootstock was measured. Also, "Red Delicious" on MM106 rootstock had the largest trunk diameter (47.81 cm2) and "Golden delicious" on MM106 rootstock showed the highest leaf area (31.45 cm2). The results of this study showed that MM106 rootstock by showing high levels of growth Characteristics compared to the M9 and M7 was placed in a better position. And M9 rootstock by having biochemical Characteristics was better than two other rootstocks. Cultivars on M9 rootstock with highest amount of anthocyanin was suggested as a valuable grafting compounds in terms of health benefits under Mashhad Climatic Conditions.

This study is to investigate the effect of Thiobacillus inoculant and sulfur bio bacteria on less water stress in Khatouni melon plants.

the aim of the experiment was conducted with split plots in a three-replication randomized complete block design.Irrigation regime as the main plot with levels of 100, 75 and 50%of melon water requirements and fertilizer treatments as a sub-plot with three levels of thiobacillus (without inoculum, 250 and 500 kg sulfur per hectare along with 5 and10 kg of bacterial with a population of 107 bacteria per gram inoculum).

The results study indicate that all studied agronomic traits affected by stress, so that drought stress had a significant impact on all traits. On the other hand, sulfur plus thiobacillus reduced the negative effects of water stress and led to significant increases in total chlorophyll content, carotenoids, number of fruits per plant, and fruit weight at various levels of drought.Thus,application Third level of sulfur, A significant effect of drought stress interaction with the sulfur application was seen on all traits studied except for conductance at level of one percent.

The application of sulfur and thiobacillus can improve growth traits and increase yield, irrespective of its irrigation level. Moreover, the use of sulfur and thiobacillus in the treatment of dehydration results in 75% of the water requirement of 500 kg sulfur per hectare with 10 kg of Thiobacillus. It was also observed that with increasing dehydration stress , effect of sulfur and thiobacillus on improving growth traits declined.

 Major problems of pomegranate production, which is common in almost all of the world's pomegranate growing areas, especially in warm and dry regions, is the splitting of fruit, which is the most damaging to gardeners after pomegranate fruit moth. On the other hand, different studies indicate that girdling affects the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of different fruit trees. In the gird, the trunk skin must be completely removed so that the upper to lower skin relationship is completely cut off. The raw material that is absorbed by the root and rising through the xylem is transformed into a sap in the leaf, and in the return path through the phloem, it hits the barrier and accumulated above the wound site. Due to this process, sugar and plant hormones and starch reach the upper part of the wound girdling in trees for various purposes, such as raising the percentage of fruition of the plant, increasing size and increasing the quality and accelerating the fruition is done.

 An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of girdling time on quantitative and qualitative properties of two red peel sweet and tart varieties in the Mahdi Shahr city, Semnan province. The girdling was taken at three full bloom days, two months after full bloom and four months after full bloom. To do a girdling, a double-edged knife was plunged into the trunk, and the ring-like cutting was done around the trunk. So that the layer of bark was cut from the trunk with a diameter of less than 2 to 3 mm continuously and separated from the trunk completely, so that the relationship between the top and the bottom was cut off. To evaluate qualitative and quantitative traits, 3 fruits were selected from the northern, southern and middle parts of each tree and transferred to the laboratory for measuring morphological and physiological traits. Physiochemical traits including pH, titratable acidity content, total soluble solids and morphological traits including weight, volume, average weight of 100 aryls and percentage of fruit juice, Ariel seed weight percentage, and split percentage were investigated.

 The results indicated that girdling at full bloom and two months after full bloom significantly reduced the percentage of fruit blooming in both cultivars compared to the control (non-girdling) treatment. Also, among the studied cultivars, percentage of splitting in red peel was higher than that of sour-sweet. In addition, girdling at full bloom and four months after bloom was able to increase weight, volume, and average weight of 100 aryls. Among two studied cultivars, sour-sweet showed higher soluble solids content and titratable acid percentage than red peel. It can be stated that photosynthetic materials in the crown of the tree are blocked by conducting a loop on the branch of the plant and prevent the transfer of these materials to the root. This allows the carbohydrates from photosynthesis to be transferred to fruits that are growing. As a result, the fruit grows more and subsequently increases its weight, volume, and number of aryls. In addition, the growth of root is reduced as a result of girdling and water, mineral salts, as well as growth regulators to the canopy and terminal meristem of the plant are slowed down, thereby significantly decreasing vegetative growth to be seen in the tree. Subsequently, with decreasing vegetative growth in the tree, the carbohydrate which is produced in the leaves is allocated to the growing fruits. This also increases the weight and volume of fruit in the tree. Since the girdling treatments are associated with meiosis (in full blooming stage) and in the stage of the growing of fruits cells (4 months after full bloom), it can be justified to enhancement of the weight and reduction of splitting percentage in the fruits of trees which is girdled. The main reason for this difference is the tension entered into the girdled trees at the interval between the application of the treatment and the wound healing.

 According to the results of this study, it was found that the process of girdling results in weight and volume enhancement of the fruit. In addition, the quantitative and qualitative traits investigated in the experiment were different in the two cultivars of red peel sweet and sour-sweet. In addition, girdling was effective on the pomegranate splitting, which is one of the important issues in the plantation of this fruit. However, the timing of the girdling at the full bloom and the four months after full blooming had the greatest effect on reduction of the severity of this complication.

Numerous studies have been performed on the effect of rootstock and cultivar on physicochemical traits of apple fruit with their results showing different effects of these two factors. In order to study three vegetative rootstocks on some quantitative and qualitative characteristics of apple cultivars "Golden Delicious" and "Red Delicious", an experiment was carried out in factorial design based on randomized complete blocks with four replications in orchard of Mashhad Agricultural Research Center in 2021. Fruit quantitative and qualitative characteristics, including weight, volume, density, length, diameter, firmness, pH, total soluble solids, phenol content, antioxidant properties and anthocyanin have been measured. The highest amount of total phenol (652.9 μg.g-1FW) and anthocyanin (35.9 mg.g-1FW) has been measured in "Red delicious" on M9 rootstock. The results of this study show that "Red delicious" has had the highest amount of diameter (78/64 mm) and weight (166/9 g). The highest amount of fruit firmness has been observed in M9 rootstock (5/64 kgcm-3). In general, the results of this study indicate a different effect of rootstock and cultivar interaction on the studied characteristics. Depending on the purpose of gardener, different grafting compounds can be recommended "Red delicious" on M9 and MM106  rootstock with highest amount of total phenol and anthocyanin is suggested as a valuable grafting compounds in terms of health benefits under Mashhad Climatic Conditions.

 Cucumber is a vegetable with a low capacity for storage; it usually loses quality 14 days from the beginning of storage. The benefits of cold storage are not the same for all the fruit or vegetables, some given vegetables are more suitable for cold storage than others. However, pre-cooling is always advisable, because the products takes profit from the benefits of low temperatures in cold storage rooms. Due to the short shelf life of cucumber and the high speed of reducing its quality, various methods are used to maintain the quality of cucumber, such as edible coatings. Propolis, also called “bee-glue,” is a natural resinous substance produced by honeybees from plant exudates, beeswax, and bee secretions in order to defend the hives. Propolis has an important role in prevention of food loss weight and waste, thus helping to ensure food safety and security. The concoction of aqueous propolis extracts has a lower cost as compared to hydroalcoholic extracts and it is believable that both, aqueous and hydro alcoholic extracts, present similar concentrations of phenolic compounds resulting in a product of appropriate functional characteristics. Herein, the biochemical composition and efficacy of propolis in maintaining the postharvest storability of food products were discussed to provide a comprehensive guide to farmers and food processing and storage sectors and to scientists.

 In order to investigate the effect of two factors of hydro cooling and propolis as an edible coating on cucumber shelf life, this study was conducted in the spring and summer of 2019 in the laboratories of horticultural sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. The factorial experiment was based on a completely randomized design. Experimental treatments included three levels of propolis alcoholic extract (0, 4 and 8%) and two temperature treatments (4 (hydro cooling temperature) and 25 ° C) in 4 replications.Weight loss, tissue firmness, extract pH, total soluble solids, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, total phenol and antioxidant activity were measured. The experimental data were analyzed using Jump-8 statistical software and the means of treatments were compared by LSD test at 5% probability level.

 Results showed that the interaction of treatments had an effect on fruit weight loss percentage, firmness, and antioxidant activity, chlorophyll and total soluble solids. Thus, the highest percentage of fruit weight loss was observed in the control treatment (without propolis) in 4°C (5.02%). Foliar application of fruits led to an increase in firmness of fruit tissue with propolis in both concentrations of 4 and 8% compared to the control treatment (no foliar application with propolis) in both temperature treatments. The highest total chlorophyll content was in 8% propolis treatments + temperature of 24 °C (8.96 mg / gfw), treatment of 8% propolis + temperature of 4 °C (8.68 mg/gfw) and treatment of 4% propolis + temperature of 4 oC (7.93 mg/gfw) significantly. In addition, antioxidant activity increased in the treatments of 4 °C+ foliar application with propolis 4 and 8%. In general, although fruits treated with 24 ° C showed more weight loss than 4 °C, the use of both concentrations of propolis improved the above trait, reducing the amount of fruit phenol and tissue firmness and other biochemical traits. Studies have shown that the chemical composition of the propolis samples which a certain breed of bees (Apis mellifera intermissa) made have 17 different chemical compounds. They noted that the main phenolic compound was caffeic acid (0.85 mg·g−1 EAP) and the main flavonol compound was pinocembrin (0.82 mg·g−1 EAP). Significant (P ≤ 0.05) differences were observed in dragon fruit quality when treated with different concentrations of ethanolic extract of propolis (EEP) (0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.0%) and stored at 20 ± 2 °C and 80 ± 5% relative humidity (RH) for 20 days, which matched our results. Passos et al. (2016) reported test panel did not detect significant differences amongst coated and not coated cv. Prata bananas up to six days of storage. Propolis extracts.

 In addition to a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity, contain hydrophobic composites that assist in ameliorating attributes as biodegradable films on fruits.

Almonds are considered as saline sensitive fruit trees. The effect of four types of saline soils with different salinities (2, 4, 8 and 16 dS m-1) along with inoculation with two sterile bacterial and control isolates from three groups of saline, alkaline and saline alkaline bacteria isolated from rhizosphere of Khorasan Razavi almond orchards on induction of resistance against salinity in almond grafted on GN rootstocks was evaluated under salinity and soil alkalinity conditions. The highest 3- Indole acetic acid content, dissolution of mineral phosphates and exopolysaccharide were observed in alkaline, saline and saline isolates, respectively. Soil salinity significantly reduced plant height, leaf area, fresh and dry weight of shoots and roots, soluble, insoluble and total sugars. The highest plant height (61.2 cm) and was observed in the halophilic group and the lowest was recorded in alkaliphilic group. Halophilic bacteria caused the highest increase in fresh weight of shoots. However, the fresh weight of the roots was the highest in the group of haloalkaliphilic bacteria. The ratio of fresh weight of shoots to roots was 0.86, 0.87 and 0.74 for the halophilic, alkaliphilic and haloalkaliphilic, respectively, indicating that the effects of haloalkaliphilic bacteria on root growth were greater than shoot growth. Inoculation of haloalkaliphilic bacteria increased root and shoot water content in high salinity soils (16 and 8 dS m-1, respectively). In general, the use of haloalkaliphilic bacteria had the highest effect in improving the growth of roots, alkalis and saline-like plants by increasing the morphological and biochemical properties of almonds, respectively.

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.

To evaluate the effect of Trichoderma application under drought stress conditions on biochemical properties and photosynthetic pigments of basil, an experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications. The studied treatments included 3 levels of irrigation (50, 75, and 100 Percent of field capacity) as the first factor and inoculation with Trichoderma (concentration 108) and non-inoculation with Trichoderma as the second factor. The results showed that the highest fresh and dry weight of leaves was observed in the treatment of irrigation area of 100 Percent of field capacity without the use of Trichoderma (control). Wet weight (17.69 Percent) and dry stem (17.27 Percent), chlorophyll a (0.66 Percent), chlorophyll b (0.64 Percent), total chlorophyll (0.66 Percent), proline(52/25 Percent) and the relative content of leaf water (1.37 Percent) in the irrigation level treatment of 100 Percent of field capacity along with the application of Trichoderma increased compared to the control and the amount of electrolyte leakage (7.5 Percent) in the treatment of 100 Percent of field capacity Decreased with the use of Trichoderma compared to the control.. The amount of carotenoids (31.74 Percent) and antioxidant activity (17.22 Percent) in the irrigation surface treatment of 50 Percent of field capacity with the use of Trichoderma were observed more than the control. According to the results, the application of Trichoderma harzianum increased proline, soluble carbohydrates, photosynthetic pigments, and antioxidant activity of the plant under different irrigation levels.

In order to investigate the effect of methyl cyclopropane (1-MCP) and nitric oxide (NO) on extending storability pistachio, an experiment was conducted as a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with two factors and four replications. The first factor included treatment application time at three levels (twenty days before harvest, immediately after harvest, before and after harvest) and the second factor included methyl cyclopropane and nitric oxide treatment (1 and 5 (µmol/L), respectively). The results showed that application of methyl cyclopropane in before and after fruit harvesting time cause 20% decreases in fruit weight loss in compare to control. Also the results show that the treatment of methyl cyclopropane and nitric oxide prevents the increase of fruit acidity during storage time. The treatment of methyl cyclopropane increased fruit firmness in compare to control and NO, 48 and 12% respectively. However, experiment show that before and after harvest, the firmness of the fruit increased by 14% compared to the pre-harvest treatment. The results suggested that methyl cyclopropane treatment increased fruit firmness compared to control and nitric oxide treatment, so that methyl cyclopropane treatment increased fruit firmness 48% compared to control and 12% compared to nitric oxide. The results revealed that the amount of soluble carbohydrates in methyl cyclopropane treatment showed a 20% increase compared to the control. Also, carbohydrates in nitric oxide treatment showed a 16% increase compared to the control. The application of nitric oxide treatment before and after harvesting the total phenol at the end of storage was 30% higher than the control. In general, the results show that the application of 1-MCP before and after harvest maintains fruit firmness, soluble carbohydrates and also prevents the increase of acidity and weight loss of fruit.

In order to study germination characteristics and early growth of Portulaca oleracea, under different treatment of Walnut (W) and Elderberry (E), Two separate experiments were carried out in a factorial arrangement a Completely randomized with three replications over a farm season (1396). Treatments included Walnut and Elderberry hydro-alcoholic extract in concentrations of 0, 20, 60 and 100%. Results of the analysis of the variance of the laboratory and the greenhouse showed that the Walnut and Elderberry hydro-alcoholic extract had a significant effect on all the characteristics, So that the highest inhibitory effect was observed in 100% Walnut and 100% Elderberry. comparison of the average data from the experimental section showed that with increasing the the Walnut and Elderberry hydro-alcoholic extract in the experimental section germination percentage, germination speed, root length, stem length, fresh and dry weights, and indices of Portulaca oleracea seeds vigor index were reduced compared to witnesses. comparison of the average data from the greenhouse segment showed that with increasing the concentration of the extract stem length, Stem dry weight, Root dry weight, Number of leaves plant, Number of roots in the plant, photosynthesis pigments such as chlorophyll a, b and carotenoids increased significantly and proline increased. Also, the growth of the  roots of the plant has a significant decrease in its meaning. which resulted in a decrease in the dry weight and dry weight of the Portulaca oleracea. according to the results obtained in this study Walnut and Elderberry hydro-alcoholic extract at a concentration of 100% concentration can be used to control Portulaca oleracea

Golab apple is a commercial cultivar of Iran, has short post-harvest life due to its high metabolic activity and browning caused by mechanical damage. The experiment was done in factorial based on a completely randomized design with four replications. The first factor was coating in five levels, coating of Aloe vera gel 30% and 60% v/v in combination with Shirazi thyme essential oil with a concentration of 120 µll-1 andwithout any cover) and the second facor was storage duratiom in five levels (0, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after havesting). Results indicated that the coating of 60% Aloe vera gel with essential oil of Shirazi thyme had a significant effect on reducing weight loss and ripening index, so that it decreased the weight loss and ripening index of 3.8% and 31.1% in comparison with control, respectively. Also, the mentioned treatments, leading to retained free-radical scavenging and total phenol accumulation of fruit treated with Aloe vera enriched with essential of Shirazi thyme. The coated apples with Aloe vera gel 60% and also Aloe vera gel 60%+Shirazi thyme essential oil increased the fruit firmness by 55.5% and 62/2%, respectively, compared to control. The results of the sensory evaluation indicated that the coating of Aloe vera gel in combination with the essential oil of Shirazi thyme did not have any negative effect on the taste and appearance of apple (cv. Golab).

In order to study germination characteristics and early growth of Portulaca oleracea, under different treatment of Walnut (W) and Elderberry (E), Two separate experiments were carried out in a factorial arrangement a Completely randomized with three replications over a farm season (2017). Treatments included Walnut and Elderberry hydro-alcoholic extract in concentrations of 0, 20, 60 and 100%. Results of the analysis of the variance of the laboratory and the greenhouse showed that the Walnut and Elderberry hydro-alcoholic extract had a significant effect on all the characteristics, So that the highest inhibitory effect was observed in 100% Walnut and 100% Elderberry. comparison of the average data from the experimental section showed that with increasing the the Walnut and Elderberry hydro-alcoholic extract in the experimental section germination percentage, germination speed, root length, stem length, fresh and dry weights, and indices of Portulaca oleracea seeds vigor index were reduced compared to witnesses. comparison of the average data from the greenhouse segment showed that with increasing the concentration of the extract stem length, Stem dry weight, Root dry weight, Number of leaves plant, Number of roots in the plant, photosynthesis pigments such as chlorophyll a, b and carotenoids increased significantly and proline increased. Also, the growth of the  roots of the plant has a significant decrease in its meaning. which resulted in a decrease in the dry weight and dry weight of the Portulaca oleracea. according to the results obtained in this study Walnut and Elderberry hydro-alcoholic extract at a concentration of 100% concentration can be used to control Portulaca oleracea.

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.

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.

Humic acid and fulvic acid are natural and organic materials, which are derived from various sources such as soil organic matter (humus), soil, peat, oxidized lignite and coal. In order to evaluate the effect of humic substances on physiological characteristics of two ornamental plants of granium (Plargonium spp.) and scindapsus (Scindapsus spp.), an experiment was conducted as 4×4 factorial, based on completely randomized design with three replications, in Research Greenhouse of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad during 2014-2015. The first factor was four levels of humic acid (0, 0.2, 0.5 and 1 g/L) and the second factor was fulvic acid at four levels (0, 0.2, 0.5 and 1 g/L). Results showed that the use of humic acid and fulvic acid caused an improvement in most measured physiological traits in geranium and scindapsus. In granium plant, application of humic acid at low concentration could improve plant growth characteristics. The content of chlorophyll and stomatal conductance in granium increased by humic acid application (0.2 and 0.5 g/L) as fertigation compared to control treatment. Combined application of humic acid and fulvic acid in this plant, also improved soluble sugar content of the plant and reduced the electrolyte leakage as compared to control. In scindapsus, using humic acid at the highest concentration, solely or in combination with fulvic acid, resulted in the improvement of growth traits, so that the combination of humic acid and fulvic acid resulted in increased soluble sugar and SPAD index in this plant. Moreover, chlorophyll content of the plant was increased by the application of humic acid (1 g/L) as fertigation in comparison with the control treatment. These compounds increase plants’ growth by improving their growth conditions. According to the results of this study, application of humic acid and fulvic acid as organic fertilizers is recommended for improving growth in geranium and scindapsus ornamental plants.

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.

Introduction :

Apple is one of the most important horticultural crops in Iran. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of genotype on physical and chemical properties of fruit; to evaluate the amount of fruit secondary metabolites and correlation between them with the enzymatic browning in some Iranian apple cultivars. Recently red-fleshed apples have been attracted the attention of many researchers and fruit marketers because the flesh of those cultivars contains a high amount of red pigment anthocyanins, which show strong antioxidant activity. These cultivars have a better place in the market for the consumers because of the attractiveness, quality and high levels of anthocyanins and other phenolic compounds in fruits. Development of such new varieties with unique properties is important for improving the apple breeding and processing industry in the world. Phenolic compounds and flavonoids are products of the phenylpropanoid pathway. They are secondary metabolites and are responsible for different functions in the plant life cycle. Secondary metabolites play an important role in the quality of food (color, flavor, and odor). Also production of secondary metabolites may be a part of the plant defense system.

Materials and Methods:

 The fruits of ‘Morabaee-Mashhad’, ‘Top Red Delicious’, ‘Golab Kohanz’, ‘Winter Banana’, ‘Golab-e Kermanshah’, ‘Early Devan’ and ‘Pepin’ apple cultivars were harvested manually from trees at commercial maturity stage in Mashhad city, and ‘Red-flash’ apple cultivar was harvested in Shahrood city (Bekran Village), Iran. Fruits were transported to the laboratory soon after harvest. The measured chemical properties were consisted of total soluble solids (TSS), titrable acidity (TA), TSS: TA, total phenol content (TPC) and Antioxidant. Titratable acidity (TA) was determined by Korean models GMK855 and reported g 100 g-1 of malic acid. Total soluble solids (TSS) was determined at 20 ◦C with a refractometer and reported as ◦Brix. The pH value of fruit was measured with a pH meter at 20◦C. The pH differential method was used to determine the total anthocyanin content. The absorbance of the solution was measured at 510 nm. The total phenolic content was determined by a modified Folin-Ciocalteu reagent method. This experiment was conducted according to the completely randomized design; with thirty replicates. Data were analyzed statistically by SPSS statistical software and differences among means were determined for significance at p< 0.05 using Duncan’s multiple range test.

Results and Discussion:

 The highest and lowest of enzymatic browning was found in ‘Pepin’ and Red-flash apple cultivars, respectively. Red Delicious, Macintosh, and Liberty showed high levels of enzymatic browning. According to some researchers, there is a strong correlation between the amount of browning and total phenol content of apple varieties "Empire", "Rome", "Golden Delicious" and "Delicious"(oseteng and Lee 1987; Milani and Hamedi 2005).  San et al. (2002) revealed that there was a direct correlation between fruit phenolic content and antioxidant activity in 11 fruit species, indicating a significant contribution of phenolic compounds in the antioxidant activity of fruits. The results showed that the effect of cultivar on physic-chemical properties of fruit was significant at 5% probability level. The concentration of total soluble solids was significantly affected by cultivar, the highest concentration of total soluble solids was observed for Red-flesh apple cultivar while the lowest was recorded in Golab-e Kermanshah. Red-flesh and Golab-e Kermanshah cultivars had the highest and the lowest anthocyanin contents andthe highest and lowest of pH values were observed in Red-flesh and Golab Kohanz cultivars, respectively. The highest concentration of total phenolics was observed for Morabaee-Mashhad while the lowest was seen in Early Devan cultivars. The correlation between the enzymatic browning and antioxidant capacity of fruits was -0.507*.

Conclusions:

 The present research confirms that Red-flesh apple cultivar as a native fruit has been of interest to researchers and consumers because of its high amount of soluble solids, anthocyanins and flavonoids content, high level of antioxidant capacity and having a specific flavor and taste. Therefore, it can be a worthy cultivar for apple breeding programs and development in future.

Pistachio is one of the most important horticultural products that plays an important role in exports and foreign exchange earnings of the country. In recent years, some nutritional and management problems have reduced the yield of this product. The current research was conducted to evaluate the foliar application effect of an amino acid Compound and seaweed extract on quantitative and qualitative yield of pistachio. The experiment was factorial experiment in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatments included an amino acid components (Aminosuren) and seaweed extract (Ascophyllum nodosum) both them at three levels (0, 1 and 2 mg.L-1). The results showed that all the studied traits, were significantly affected by Aminosuren treatment at a probability level of 1% except of open-shell percentage and width of pistachio cluster. The effect of seaweed extract on cluster weight, number of pistachios in cluster, cluster length, leaf chlorophyll and carotenoids were significant at a probability level of 1%. the interaction between amino acids and seaweed extracts showed that the highest cluster weight (68.33 g), number of pistachios in the cluster (28.33), cluster length (22.8 cm), Chlorophyll content (3.95 mg.kg-1) and carotenoids (0.759 mg.kg-1) were obtained from the treatment with 2mg/L of aminosuren and 2mg.l-1 of seaweed. According to the results, the combined application of amino acids and seaweed extract could play an important role in improving quantitative and qualitative traits of pistachio.

Pistachio is one of the most important nut crops that has a special place among agricultural products. In recent years, the rate of yield production in Iran was less than that of global amounts, which the plant nutritional problems are of the most important reason for that. Present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of foliar spray with amino acids and seaweed extract on yield and quality of pistachios (cv Ahmad Aghaei). The experiment was carried out as a factorial randomized complete block design with three replications. Treatments was spraying with amino acids (aminosauren) and seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum), both at three levels (0, 1 and 2 mg/L).  Among the treatments, aminosuren had more positive effects on the yield of pistachio, than the algae extract of Ascophyllum. Different concentrations of amino acids and seaweed extracts showed significant effects on leaf area and pistachio yield compared with the control samples. Based on the results, combination treatment of aminosauren and seaweed at a concentration of 2 mg/L had the best effect on yield (4.58 kg/tree), leaf area (109/8 cm2) and nut weigh (18.8 ounces). Finally, according to the results of this study, the combined fertilizer containing amino acids and seaweed can play a significant role in improving the yield and quality attributes of pistachio.

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is an important fruit crop of the world which native to Iran and Afghanistan. Pomegranate is produced throughout the Afghanistan. However, the most pomegranate orchard is in the south-west and the west region of Afghanistan, in the provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Nimroz, Farah, Kapisa, Nangarhar and Herat. The major storage problems are desiccation of the fruit resulting in a brownish colored tough peel and arils, weight loss, chilling injury and fungi decay. Further, the storage temperature recommended for pomegranates has varied from 0 to 10°C from two weeks to seven months depending on the cultivar. Storing pomegranate at low temperature with packaging minimized chilling injury and maintained fruit quality. Heat treatment causes changes in fruit ripening, such as the inhibition of ethylene synthesis and action of cell wall degrading enzymes, due to changes in gene expression and protein synthesis. Pre-storage hot water treatment increases fruit quality and reduce fruit weight loss and chilling injury in pomegranate.

Fully mature, pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) fruits cv. ‘PoostNazuk Kandahar’ was harvested form Kandahar province in 2014. They were immediately transported by plane to the laboratory of Horticultural Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad Iran. After washing and initial measurements, half of fruits were immersed in a hot water (50 and 25°C) bath for three minutes. Hot water treatment fruits were packaged in plastic zippers and the others half were without packaging. All the treated fruits were transferred to cold storage at 5±1°C and a relative humidity of 85 to 90% for four months. Every 30 days each the physicochemical characteristics of pomegranate were evaluated. Experimental design was split factorial by completely randomized design with four replications. All analyses were performed with statistical software (JMP. 8.0, 2009).

The results demonstrated that the combination of hot water (HW) and polyethylene packaging was more effective in extending shelf life and reducing pomegranate fruit decay than the application of each treatment alone during long-term cold storage. The HW (50°C) treatment in combination with polyethylene packaging had significant effect (p< 0.01) on fruit weight loss and chilling injury index (CI) compared with the water (25°C) and without packaging during storage time. Most of fruit weight loss and CI were 37% and 24.7% that related to water (25°C) treatment and non-packaging, and the lowest were in order 1.6% and 2.2 % related to polyethylene packaging and HW (50 C°) treatments. Reduction in weight loss and CI by polyethylene packaging have been reported by other researchers [3, 4, 5, 9, 25 and 31]. HW (50°C) treatments reduced the expanding of fungi decay significant (p< 0.01) caused by use of polyethylene packaging after four months storage. This is agreement with Talaie et al [4], Artés et al [5] and Moradinezhad and Khayyat [31]. The effect of packaging on total phenolic compounds was also significant (p< 0.01). The total phenolic compounds of pomegranates showed an increase during the 120 days storage. Fruit without packaging had higher (443.25 mg/Lit) total phenolic compounds than the fruit stored in polyethylene package (332 mg/Lit), reaching a maximum accumulation, which is in agreement with the findings of other researchers [15, 24, and 38]. The HW treatment alone or in combination with packaging had no significant effect on TSS, TA and pH as compared to the water (25°C) and without packaging. At the end of storage, there was a significant increase in TSS and pH, and significant decreased in TA fruit juice after 4-month storage. Our finding is in agreement with previous reports [4, 5, 25 and 34], however was in contrast with the results of Nanda et al [33] who reported higher retention of TA in shrink film wrapped pomegranates, when compared to control fruit. One of the reasons for increase in TSS probably is decrease of fruit juice and its increase in concentration, during the storage time [1]. Rastegari et al [2] reported the increase in pH of fruit juice during storage, which is probably due to the breakdown of organic acids during the respiratory process.

Combined pre-storage treatments of HW and polyethylene package have more benefits than their individual application on maintaining quality and extending pomegranate fruit shelf life in prolonged cold storage. The pomegranate fruit cv. ‘PoostNazuk Kandahar’ could be stored for at least 20 weak under this combined treatment, effectively extending their marketing period with less decay. However, the unpackaged fruit, spoiled totally by 13 weak. Therefore, it is concluded that a combination of HW and polyethylene package treatment is a simple and low-cost method that has the ability to improve quality and postharvest life of pomegranate fruit cv. ‘PoostNazuk Kandahar’ during cold storage. However, more research is needed in this regard.