jalal saba

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik) is a cool season seed legume and a good source of nutrients needed by humans, including protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. The production of high-yielding and high-plant-height varieties is one of the lentil improvement goals. For this purpose, it is necessary to collect and evaluate germplasm as a base population, along with identifying and utilizing lines with high potential and other desirable traits. The environment has a significant effect on the crop production of this plant. Therefore, direct selection is important for seed yield. Since seed yield depends on the yield components, the yield and its components must be regarded as a group at the selection time to improve the yield. To properly increase yield and economic efficiency, we need to collect desirable lines with desirable genes and transfer these genes to cultivated lines to produce desirable cultivars. Consequently, sufficient information is necessary on accessible genetic materials, which is possible by evaluating different traits.

To assess the model of the simultaneous effect of traits on the lentil seed yield for determining the selection procedure in native lentil lines of Zanjan province, an experiment was conducted in the research farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Zanjan University, during two cropping years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019. In both years of the experiment, improved cultivars, such as Kimia, Sabz Kohin, Gachsaran, Maragheh, and Bilehsavar, were used as control cultivars. The first-year experiment was conducted in an augmented design based on a randomized complete block design with 200 lines. Each experimental unit included a 1-m row. The distance between the rows was 25 cm, the distance between plants in a row was 5 cm, and the planting depth was 5 cm. Two rows of Kohin-Sabz lentils were planted as margins at the beginning and end of each block. Due to obtaining a sufficient amount of seeds from the first year, the second-year experiment was carried out as a simple lattice design with two replications and larger experimental units for the lines selected from the first year. Each experimental unit included two 1-m lines. The distance between the rows, the distance between plants in a row, and the planting depth were similar to the first-year experiment. Two rows of Kuhin green lentils were planted as margins at the beginning and end of each incomplete block. The measured traits included phenological and morphological traits, yield, and yield components per plant and unit area.

Among the studied traits, the highest coefficient of variation was obtained for the number of seeds, biomass, straw yield, and seed yield. The coefficient of correlation showed that the number of seeds and seed yield were positively and significantly correlated with phenological traits, such as the podding period, physiological maturity, and seed-filing period, as well as morphological traits such as plant height and first branching height, respectively. A positive and significant correlation was observed between the number of seeds and seed yield with the number of pods per plant and biomass per plant. In regression analysis by the stepwise method, plant height was the first trait entered into the model, which could explain 46.8% of the variation related to seed yield per plant. Then, the number of seeds per plant, 1000-seed weight (TSW), straw yield per plant, and the seed-filling period were entered into the model, respectively, which could totally explain 67.5% of the variation related to seed yield per plant. The results of the path analysis showed that the number of seeds per plant had the most considerable direct and positive effect on seed yield, followed by the direct effect of the TSW, plant height, and seed-filling period, respectively. Therefore, these traits would be recommended as the most important and significant traits in the indirect selection of seed yield in lentils. Most of the indirect effects of the traits on seed yield were positive, and the most indirect effects were related to seed-filling period, plant height, and straw yield through the number of seeds per plant. Besides, the seed-filling period through plant height and the plant height through the number of seeds had an indirect effect on seed yield. In factor analysis based on principal component analysis and varimax rotation, six factors explained about 76% of the data variation. The first three factors included the most considerable volume of data variation. The first factor was identified as phenology and height, and the second and third factors were identified as yield and yield components. Results showed that the selection based on these factors would lead to the genesis of the high-yield lines.

The highest coefficient of variation belonged to these traits: the number of seeds, biomass, straw yield, and seed yield. Seed yield per plant had a positive and significant correlation with the phenological traits of the podding period, seed-filling period, and physiological maturity, as well as morphological traits, namely plant height and the height of the first branch. The number of seeds per plant had the most direct effect on seed yield, followed by TSW, plant height, and seed-filling period. Therefore, these traits can be considered the criteria for selecting superior lines. According to the factor analysis results, six factors could justify 77.306% of the data variations.

As one of the most important cereals, bread wheat is an essential part of food security in the world, which supplies one-fifth of the total calories of the world population. Nowadays, the yield of wheat has been affected by climate change-driven drought as one of the most important abiotic stresses that has become an important threat to food security in the world. Root and stomatal traits are especially important in breeding plants to withstand drought stress. Stomata play a key role in controlling carbon dioxide uptake and water loss through transpiration. Therefore, stomatal characteristics are used as indicators of water status and plant growth, especially in drought stress conditions. Having a wide range of physiological and morphological characteristics, roots play an essential role in absorbing water and nutrients. They are also the first organ that sends signals to control the stomata in response to dryness. Therefore, the difference in the structure of the root system can cause the difference between the performance in different cultivars. This study was conducted to investigate stomatal characteristics and their relationship with the root system and plant performance in 24 bread wheat lines and cultivars.

To investigate the relationship between stomatal dimensions and density with the root system, an experiment was conducted on 24 bread wheat genotypes in the form of a randomized complete block design with three replications in the rainfed conditions of the research farm at Zanjan University Faculty of Agriculture in the crop year 2018-2019. In this experiment, PVC pipes were used to study the root system. Twelve seeds were planted in each tube, which were thinned to seven after germination. In each experimental unit, there were two tubes for each genotype, one of which was used to evaluate traits and final yield, and the second tube was used for root studies. Stomatal traits, including the length and width of stomata and number of stomata per unit area, root traits including root length, root diameter, root volume, root surface, and root biomass, and seed yield were measured in the end. The resulting data from the measured traits were analyzed in the form of a randomized complete block design, and the averages were compared using the LSD method. The data were analyzed using multivariate statistical analyses, including regression analysis, path analysis, and factor analysis, and cluster analysis was used to group genotypes. Statistical calculations were done using SAS 9.0 and SPSS 21 software.

The results of analysis of variance and mean comparison showed high variability among genotypes for all measured traits. The results of the mean comparison of genotypes showed that genotypes 2, 5, 8, and 16 had the highest yield, and genotype 23 had the lowest yield among the examined genotypes. The highest number of stomata on the upper and lower leaf surfaces belonged to genotypes 5 and 2. In terms of root traits, the highest diameter, volume, length, root surface, and root dry weight at a depth of 0-25 cm were recorded for genotypes 2, 3, 18, and 5, respectively. There was a high and significant correlation between the yield and the number of stomata on the upper and lower leaf surfaces, the length and width of  the stomata on the upper leaf surface, diameter, volume, dry weight, and root surface at a depth of 0-25 cm in the soil. Based on the results of stepwise regression analysis, two variables, the number of stomata on the lower leaf surface and root dry weight at a depth of more than 25 cm explained 91.4% of the changes in grain yield. According to the results of the causality analysis of the number of stomata on the lower leaf surface, the most direct effect had a positive effect on seed yield. The results of factor analysis grouped the studied traits into three factors with 82.48% variability justification. The shares of the first, second, and third factors to explaining data changes were 48.86%, 24.62%, and 8.99%, respectively. Based on the plot obtained from factor analysis, genotypes 2, 5, 8, and 16 had high values for the first and second factors. According to the coefficients of the factors, it can be claimed that the genotypes located in this area have high performance, a high number of stomata, and strong root traits, which were found at the soil depth of 0-25 cm. For this reason, these are the genotypes that could produce high yields by absorbing water from the surface layers of the soil by having a large number of stomata and carrying out more photosynthesis. Moreover, the investigated genotypes were divided into three groups from cluster analysis by the ward method and Euclidean distance. Genotypes 2, 5, 8, and 16 were placed in the first group and had the highest mean values for grain yield traits, number and width of stomata on the upper and lower leaf surfaces, and root traits including diameter, volume, and dry weight at a soil depth of 0-25 cm, and root diameter at a depth greater than 25 cm. The lowest values for stomatal length were observed in both leaf surfaces. These were the best genotypes for cultivation in dry conditions.

A strong superficial root system can provide the plant with water from scattered rains that occur with low frequency at the end of the growth period. On the other hand, the increase in the number of stomata along with their smaller size reduces leaf pores and enables a faster response of the stomata, and the rapid response of the stomata maximizes water use efficiency. Therefore, having a strong superficial root system along with high stomatal density can increase seed yield in dry conditions.

Lentil (Lens Culinaris Medik.) belongs to cool season pulses. It is annual, self pollinated and diploid crop and its seed is rich in protein. Lentil, such as other legumes that are in symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria plays an important role in reducing fertilizer consumption and increasing the productivity of other crops that are in rotation with lentil. Success in breeding programs depends on genetic diversity, heritability and selection. Investigating the genetic diversity is the basis of breeding and releasing high-yielding cultivars with high quantitative and qualitative characteristics and capacities. Therefore, the evaluation of genetic diversity in crops is essential for breeding programs and the protection of genetic resources. For this purpose, it is necessary to collect plant germplasm to be evaluated as a base population, and genotypes with yield potential and other desirable traits are identified and exploited. Due to the low yield potential of the exsistance cultivars, investigating the genetic diversity among native lentil lines and comparing them with control cultivars could assiste the breeder in selecting superior lines in terms of yield potential and agromorphological triats.

To select and introduce new cultivars, native lentil lines collected from the target areas in Zanjan province were evaluated in the two cropping years of 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 in the experimental farm of Zanjan University's Faculty of Agriculture. In both years of the experiment, improved cultivars such as Kimia, Sabz Koohin, Gachsaran, Maragheh and Bilehsavar were used as control cultivars. The first year, the experiment was conducted in the augmented design based on randomized complete bloke design with 200 lines. Each experimental unit consisted of one metere row. The distance between the rows was 25 cm, the distance on the rows was 5 cm, and the planting depth was 5 cm. At the beginning and end of each block, two rows of Sabz Koohin were planted as borders. The second year, Due to echeaving enough seeds from the first year, the experiment was carried out in square lattice design with tow replications and larger experimental units for the selected lines from the first year. Each experimental unit consisted of two one-meter rows. The distance between the rows, the distance on the rows and the planting depth were similar to the first year experiment. At the beginning and end of each incomplete blocks, two rows of Sabz Koohin were planted as borders.

In the first year, the results of analysis of variance</strong> showed that there is significant difference among lentil lines in terms of canopy temperature difference, podding period, number of seed per plant, seed yield per plant, harvest index per plant, number of seed per area, seed yield per area and 1000-seed weight at 0.01and 0.05 level. in this year, canopy temperature difference, podding period, first branch height, number of pod per plant, number of vacant pod per plant, number of seed per plant, seed yield per plant, harvest index per plant, number of seed per area, seed yield per area and 1000-seed weight had high value of genetic variation coefficient, heritability and genetic advance. lines 14, 68 and 165 were the superior lines in terms of phonological traits. The height of the plant and the height of the first pod in lines 85, 92, 193 and 195 were higher than other lines. Lines 32, 90 and 156 had the highest number of full pods. Lines 122, 163, 165 and 200 had the highest seed yield per plant. The 1000- seed weight in lines 163, 166, 171 and 174 was higher in compared with other lines. The highest seed yield was observed in lines 23, 150, 192 and 200. Finaly, based on the results of comparison of mean with superior control cultivar for each trait by LSD method and considering the degree of importance of traits, the 95 superior lentil lines from 200 examined lines were selected. In the second year, the results of analysis of variance</strong> indicated a significant variation among lentil lines in terms of all studied traits except for the first branch height at 0.01 and 0.05 levels. The canopy temperature difference, number of vacant pods per plant and number of seed per plant had high value of genetic variation coefficient. High heritability was observed in the days to 50% flowering, flowering period, days to 50% podding, days to 50% physiological maturity, seed filling period and straw yield per plant. The canopy temperature difference, flowering period, first pod height, number of vacant pod per plant, seed yield per plant, biomass per plant and straw yield per plant had high genetic advance. lines 150, 155, 173 and 176 were the superior lines in terms of phonological traits. The highest plant height and the highest height of the first pod was observed in lines 146 and 180 and lines 12, 47 and 130 respectively. Lines 1, 131 and 176 had the highest number of full pods. In terms of yield and yield components per plant, lines 1, 131 and 176 had the highest number of seeds and seed yield. The 1000- seed weight in lines 23, 52, 163 and 178 was higher in compared with other lines. In terms of yield and yield components, lines 55, 69, 86, and 176 were recognized as the superior lines. Finally, based on the results of comparison of mean lines with superior control cultivar for each trait by LSD method and considering the degree of importance of traits, the 44 superior lentil lines from 100 examined lines were selected.  <span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">

The evaluated lines were significantly different from each other in terms of most traits. High heritability was observed in the days to 50% flowering, flowering period, days to 50% podding, days to 50% physiological maturatry, seed filling period and straw yield per plant. Comparing to the control cultivars, the evaluated lines had a higher mean in most of the studied traits. Therefor by selecting superior lines in terms of yield potential and agromorphological traits this genetic potential can be used to create superior population and introduce high yield cultivars. 

Genetic diversity of coriander is very important for future breeding programs and genetic resource conservation. To evaluate genetic diversity and population structures, 20 populations of coriander collected from different regions of Iran were assessed using 10 ISSR markers. The markers generated a total of 111 bands in the studied populations of which 80 bands were polymorphic. The average polymorphism ranged from 0.2 to 0.35 per primer. To determine the efficiency of ISSR markers, their polymorphic information content (PIC) and polymorphic percentage were calculated. The average polymorphism was 72.2 percent among the assessed population. Primers P2 showed the best marker parameters and were identified as the most effective primers for assessing genetic diversity in Iranian coriander populations. Cluster analysis based on the Jaccard coefficient by UPGMA classified populations into three groups. According to the results, there is a high genetic diversity among Iranian coriander and ISSR can effectively differentiate the populations. This genetic diversity could be employed by the plant breeders in further breeding programs to introduce new varieties and improve conservation strategies as well.

Coriander is one of the important medicinal plants in the world which has been used widely in medicinal, cosmetic and health care industries.

In order to investigate the genetic diversity of this plant in Iran, 20 Coriander populations were collected from different parts of the country and evaluated out using randomized complete block design with three replications in Karaj Vegetable Research Center of Horticultural Sciences Research Institute in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 crop years. During the growth period, the phenological, morphological and physiological characteristics were recorded. Days to generation, Largest basal leaf length, Basal leaf number, Days to full flowering, Days to Maturity, Plant height, Umbel number per plant, Fertile umbel number per plant, Unfertile umbel number per plant, Umbellate number per umbel, Seed number per umbel, thousand seed weight, Grain yeild per plant, Biomass per plant, Harvest index per plant, Grain yield, Biomass and Harvest index traits were investigated. Data were analyzed using SAS and SPSS software and for Grouping of the population, the cluster analysis was performed by Ward’s method and factor analysis was done using the Variomax rotation method.

According to the results of analysis of variance, there were significant differences between the studied populations in terms of most traits include the largest basal leaf length, basal leaf number, plant height, umbel number per plant, fertile umbel number per plant, unfertile umbel number per plant, umbellate number per umbel, grain number per umbel, 1000-seed weight, seed weight per plant, biomass per plant, harvest index per plant, grain yield, biomass and harvest index. Phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation were high for most of the traits which indicated the high diversity of these traits in the studied populations. The heritability in broad-sense of the traits largest basal leaf length, basal leaf number, plant height, umbel number per plant, fertile umbel number per plant, umbellate number per umbel, seed number per umbel, 1000-seed weight, seed weight per plant, biomass per plant, harvest index per plant, grain yield, biomass and harvest index were high, which makes the response to the selection of these traits expected in breeding programs. Cluster analysis classified 20 studied populations into five groups.

According to the results, the Kermanshah population had the highest grain yield in two years. The higher yield of this populaion was due to having the highest number of umbels per plant, number of fertile umbels, number of umbels per umbel and weight of 1000 seeds. Also, the traits of the length of the longest basal leaf, the number of basal leaves, the number of umbels per plant, the number of fertile umbels per plant, the number of umbels per umbel, the number of seeds per umbel, the weight of 1000 seeds, the yield of seeds per plant, the biomass of a single plant, the harvest index of a single plant, seed yield, biomass and harvest index had high heritability, which indicates the high role of genetic factors and the low influence of environmental factors on the control of these traits.

A factorial experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with three replications in Zanjan University (during 1396-97 and 1397-98). Salicylic-acid (control, 50, 100 and 150 mM) and methyl-jasmonate (control, 50, 100 and 200 μM) treatments were sprayed on Echinacea plants (four plants per plot) in the first and second years (two stages, 20 days interval). The results showed that salicylic-acid and methyl-jasmonate have a significant effect on vase-life of flower, leaf-area, fresh and dry weight of roots, chlorophylls a and b and catalase and peroxidase. Also, the highest vase-life of flower was obtained in treatment of 100 mM salicylic-acid and 200 μM methyl-jasmonate and the highest fresh and dry weight of roots and leaf-area were obtained in treatment of 100 mM salicylic-acid and 100 μM methyl-jasmonate. The highest relative water-content of petal and catalase were obtained in treatment of 100 mM salicylic-acid and 100 μM of methyl-jasmonate (first year) and in treatment of 100 mM of salicylic-acid and 50 μM of methyl-jasmonate (second year). The amount of peroxidase was also high in treatments of 100 mM salicylic-acid and 200 μM methyl-jasmonate (first year) and 100 mM salicylic-acid and 100 μM methyl-jasmonate (second year). The highest amount of chlorophyll a in both years and chlorophyll b in the first year were in 100 mM salicylic-acid and 50 μM methyl-jasmonate treatment. Also, the highest amount of total-chlorophyll was obtained in 50 mM salicylic-acid and 200 μmol methyl-jasmonate (first year) and 100 mmol salicylic-acid and 50 μM methyl-jasmonate treatment (second year).

In recent years, climate change has affected the agricultural sector worldwide as well as Iran. Farmers in each region have a different understanding of these changes, and many factors influence their perception. The purpose of this descriptive study is to evaluate farmers' perceptions and factors affecting their perceptions. The statistical population was all 83261 farmers’ households in Zanjan province. Using the Krejcie and Morgan sampling table, 393 farmers were identified and selected through randomized multistage sampling method. The results showed that 74.6% of the farmers had average climate change perception. Results of Correlation showed that there was a significant and positive relationship between farmers' perceptions of climate change and thier education level, social capital, climate change consequences, educational course, rainfed area, access to inputs, agricultural income, age, rainfed quality, irrigated area, information resources used and agricultural experience. Multiple regression showed that social capital, climate change consequences, educational course, dryland area, agricultural income, and information resource used accounted for 58 percent of farmers' perceptions of climate change.

This experiment aimed find the relationship between morphological, physiological traits, metabolites, with SSR markers. Research

To investigate the relationship between quantitative traits and SSR (Simple sequence repeat) markers, an experiment was conducted under both field and laboratory conditions at Zanjan University. In this experiment, 20 SSR primers were used and agronomic and physiological traits with secondary metabolites were measured during the growing season.

Amplified primers generated a total of 38 bands and the average number of bands in all locus was 2.38 bands. The highest number of alleles (5 alleles) and the polymorphic information content (0.9) were for the A2 primer. The stepwise regression analysis results showed that the studied primers (10 primers) had a significant relationship with most traits and the highest R2 in the first year was harvest index (79%), dry weight of stigma (69%), fresh weight of flower (62%), and yield (62%). In the second year, harvest index (67%), number of leaves (65%), number of flowers (61%), and yield (64%) had the highest coefficient of determination. The C25 and C50 primers were associated with 5 and 4 quantitative traits in 2014 and 4 and 3 quantitative traits in 2015, respectively. The C25 and C50 primers identified 2 and 3 alleles in the study population respectively, and considering the number of identified loci, it can be considered as the important primers concerning quantitative traits. The A8, A10, A48 and A2 primers were associated with at least more than 4 traits during the two years of experiment. According to the observed relationship, these marker loci can be used to select ecotypes with marker-assisted in saffron populations. Limitations: No limitations to report.

C50, C25, A8, A2, and C36 primers are candidate markers in marker-assisted selection saffron breeding programs.

The most important goal in all crop breeding programs is to increase yield, and yield improvement requires the use of efficient statistical methods to identify superior genotypes. In determining the superiority of genotype, in addition to high yield, yield stability in different environments must also be considered.Biplot analyses are good tools for selecting superior genotypes and to increase efficiency in selection. In this study, GGE biplot method was used to evaluate the stability of grain yield of 205 lines and lentil cultivar in augmented design during three cropping years in the Faculty of Agriculture of Zanjan University under rainfed conditions. The results of combined analysis of control cultivars showed that the effect of year and year × cultivars interaction were significant for grain yield. Thus, the lines were examined using GGE biplot graphic method. The results showed that the first component and second component explained 68.3 and 28.5 percent (in total 96.8 percent) of total variation respectively, which indicates the high validity of the bipod in the explain. The results also showed that lines 170 and 164 were the best lines in the first year and lines 157 and 183 were the best lines in the third year. Line 167, in addition to having high yield, had lower stable yield. This line was placed in the center of the circle as the ideal line and the lines 164, 170, 147, 122 and 7 were placed in the next ranks. Lines 147, 128, 7, 160, 51, 148, 156 and 160, in addition to having higher yield than the average, had a short distance from the stability axis and had low unstable yield. Lines 8, 57, 157, 86, 186, 83, 140, 164 and 170, despite having high performance, had high unstable yield. Biplat polygonal analysis led to the identification of two mega-environments, among which the first year had the most discriminating ability among the years. Existence of 90º angle between the first and second year showed no correlation between these two years and their conditions were different and greater than 90º angle of the second year with these years showed its negative correlation with the first and second year.

Breeding new crop cultivars with efficient root systems carries great potential to enhance resource use efficiency, plant adaptation to unstable climates and improve yields. Current study was conducted to investigate the relationship between root characteristics with yield and yield components in 24 lines and cultivar of bread wheat using complete randomized block design with three replications in rainfed conditions of research farm of the University of Zanjan in 2017-18 and 2018-19 growing seasons. The results of combined analysis of variance showed the difference between year and high diversity between genotypes measured for most traits. According to the results of the study of genetic parameters, the highest heritability was related to the number of grains per spike (70.328%) and the heritability of the most root traits was low. There was a negative correlation between yields with the most root traits but root diameter. The results of sequential path analysis showed that in the first stage of chain 1000-grain weight, number of spikes per square meter and number of seeds per spike affected grain yield, and in the second stage, root dry weight and diameter greater than 25cm deep and root volume to a depth of 25cm with effects on 1000-grain weight, root volume greater than 25cm deep and root dry weight to a depth of 25cm with effects on spike number per square meter and root volume to a depth of 25cm with effects on seed number per spike, they Indirectly affected grain yield. The results of factor analysis led to the identification of four factors that explained 82.45% of the differences between the data. Based on the results of cluster analysis, the studied genotypes were divided into three groups. The cultivars and lines in the second group had the highest yield with the highest root volume, diameter, dry weight, surface and length to a depth of 25cm.

In order to investigate the relationship between quantitative traits and ISSR markers, an experiments were carried out under farm and laboratory conditions at Zanjan University. In this experiment, 20 primers of ISSR marker were used and the agronomic traits (including flower number, fresh weight of Stigma, fresh weight of flower, dry weight of Stigma, dry weight of flower, stigma length, saffron yield, corm number, feresh and dry weight of corm, number of leaf, leaf length, leaf width, leaf area, leaf dry weight, biomass, harvest index), physiological traits (transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, photosynthesis) and secondary metabolites (picocrocin, Safranal and Crocin) were measured during the growing season. Three primers of total did not amplified. 17 ISSR primers amplified 133 loci among 20 saffron ecotypes, with an average of 7.82 loci per primer. The highest number of alleles were for the I-8 primer (15 alleles).

Abstract
Climate change has had a significant impact on agriculture, and farmers are reacting differently. The purpose of this descriptive correlational study is to identify the Adaptation strategies used and the factors affecting farmers' behavior in this area.
 
The statistical population of this apllied-correlational study consisted of all farmers of Zanjan province who 393 were selected by using Krejcie and Morgan sampling table and were selected through a multi-stage randomized sampling method.
 
The results showed that farmer's use of 14 adaptation strategies was above average and in other 15 strategies was below average and 79.1% of farmers had used adaptation strategies on average. Correlation coefficient showed that climate perception, training attendance, adaptation knowledge, access to credit, non-agricultural income, agricultural income, rainfed land area, irrigated land area, access to inputs, use of information resources, social capital, soil quality of farm, farm expericne, household size and exposure to climate change had positive and significant relationship with farmers' adaptation strategies. Multiple linear regression showed that access to inputs, use of information resources, irrigated land area, social capital, training attendance, exposure to climate change and rainfed land area explainded 51.4% of the variance of farmers' adaptation behavior.
 
This study showed that the higher the human, social, and physical capital of farmers, and the more they have been affected by climate change in recent years, the more they use adaptation strategies. It is suggested that more planning be done to increase the human and social capital of farmers, as well as to inform farmers about the long-term effects of climate change on the agricultural sector.

The bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) quality is highly dependent on the presence and composition of the gluten proteins in the grain. In this research, bread-making quality of four Iranian bread wheat cultivars (Morvarid, Sardari, Parsi, and Sepahan) was ranked from the highest to lowest based on farinographic and chemical analyses of the wheat flour and bread specific volume. To identify and compare miRNAs involved in grain development between Iranian wheat cultivars with good and poor bread-making quality, RNA-seq data of seven wheat cultivars (four cultivars with good quality and three with poor) at two grain developmental stages were downloaded and analyzed from the NCBI database. Five conserved miRNAs were selected from the identified miRNAs and their expression pattern at two grain developmental stages (10 and 20 days after anthesis) were evaluated in four Iranian wheat cultivars using Real Time PCR. The results showed that the expression pattern of miR159a, miR164a, miR172a and miR827a during grain development in all studied cultivars had an increasing trend, while the expression pattern of miR396c showed a decreasing trend. miR164a and miR396c showed the highest and lowest relative expression in Sepahan and Morvarid (with the lowest and highest 1000-grain weight), respectively, which can be due to their negative regulatory roles on grain size. Also, with increasing the baking quality of the studied cultivars, the relative expression of miR159a and miR172a involved in the synthesis of starch and grain storage proteins, respectively, reduced and the expression of miR827a involved in the remobilization of nitrogen from leaves to grains, increased indicating negative effects of miR159a and miR172a and positive effect of miR827a on the bread-making quality of wheat cultivars.

The diversity of the genetic traits material is the basis of any breeding program and the existence of maximum variation is the greatest chance for success in the selection, especially in variable climatic such as rainfed conditions. Regarding the importance of lentil genetic resources for use in breeding programs of this plant, this experiment was conducted to investigate the diversity of important agronomic traits and selection of native lentil plants in dryland fields of Zanjan province.

For this purpose, 1040 plants of lentil from fields in five regions (including Khorramdareh, Khodabandeh, Ijrood, Mahneshan,and Zanjan (Armaghankhaneh) of Zanjan province were collected in the rainfed conditions at 2014-2015 cropping season. Plants were evaluated in terms of yield and morphological traits including plant height, height of the first branch from the ground, height of the lowest pod of the ground, number of pods, number of hollow pods, number of full pods, number of seeds, 1000-seed weight, seed weight, straw weight and biomass. To compare the populations of lentils, analysis of variance was performed in a completely unbalanced randomized design and populations were grouped by cluster analysis by Ward method. In order to select the best genotypes in each population, considering breeding goals, traits were sorted by degree of importance and superior genotypes were determined in each population.

The results of descriptive statistics indicated a high variation among studied traits, especially number of hollow pods (117.98 %) and seed weight (55.82 %) Also for height of first branch, number of pods, number of seeds and seed and straw weight great variations were observed. Therefore, the selection for these traits in evaluated populations seems to be effective. The lowest coefficient of variation was related to plant height (10.79 %), first pod height (18.83 %) and 1000-seed weight (25.90 %). Analysis of variance results showed that there were significant differences between them in terms of all measured traits at 0.01 level. Ejroud population had the highest mean for most of the traits evaluated. Cluster analysis categorized these populations into three groups. The Armaghankhaneh and Ejroud populations were each grouped separately, and the three populations of Khoramdareh, Khodabandeh and Mahneshan formed the third group. Ejroud population had the highest percentage of deviation from the total mean for yield traits and also morphological traits that are important for mechanized harvesting. Finally, 492 superior genotypes were selected for study in rainfed conditions based on experimental design for yield traits and effective traits in mechanized harvesting.

There were suitable variations within and between the lentil populations in terms of agro-morphological traits. Cluster analysis also categorized these populations into three groups. Because of the difference in plants in different regions due to the genetic variation of the plants, as well as the impact of the climate and their different growth environment, therefore, for selection of superior genotypes, evaluation and selection were carried out separately in the regions. Since lentils are self-pollinated and cleistogam and have high rate of elf-pollination (99%), so the populations of the lentils are homozygous so the seeds of selected genotypes are pure lineage and the method of this study was selection of pure lines. Pure lines from selected genotypes can be used in breeding programs.

Each year a large amount of saffron petals which make up a significant proportion of saffron flowers are discarded as waste while this part of the flower also contains compounds such as phenol, anthocyanin, flavonoid and antioxidant properties. Two separate experiments were conducted using randomized complete block design with three replications in order to evaluate secondary metabolites, total phenol content and antioxidant capacity of petals in eight saffron populations under normal and once irrigation conditions  at the research farm of university of Zanjan on three year old saffron plants. In order to measure and determine secondary metabolites, total phenol content and antioxidant properties of saffron petal extract, UV-Visible  Metering Spectra, folin-Ciocalteu and DPPH were used, respectively. Combined analysis of variance under normal and once irrigation conditions showed that the difference between secondary metabolites and antioxidant properties was not significant in the two irrigation conditions. While, total phenol content was significantly higher under the once irrigation condition, the  Torbat-e-jam population had highest total phenol content (86.66 mg gallic acid per gram of methanolic extract) under this condition. In both irrigation conditions, the evaluated populations exhibited suitable amounts of picocrocin, safranal, phenol and antioxidant properties which can be considered to be of use for us in the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries.

In order to primary select high yielding and adapted wheat lines for rainfed conditions, 165 inbred lines of wheat with four controls were examined in a 13 × 13 square lattice design with two replications in the agricultural research station Zanjan university in 2011- 12. Days to tillering, days to stem elongation, days to booting, days to heading, days to anthesis, plant height, awn length, 1000- grain weight, grain yield, biomass and harvest index were evaluated. The result showed that the lines have significant differences. The results of cluster analysis by Ward method, categorized lines into three distinct groups. The results of principal component analysis and biplat have relatively large computability with the grouping of lines, too. This grouping was relatively consistent with grouping of cluster analysis. According to the results of grouping and importance of traits in drought resistance and yield under stress conditions, third group lines that were early lines with very favorable yield characteristics, tall and earlyness as the best lines among the 169 lines is introduced and using these lines is recommended for future breeding programs.

Oxidative stress is one of the most important consequences of drought stress. Salicylic acid is a phenolic compound which serves as a growth regulator in the induction of resistance to drought. In order to investigate the role of salicylic acid on some Anti-oxidant Enzymes and some biochemical attributes of medicinal pumpkin under drought stress, an experiment was designed 2014 in Zanjan University’s Research Farm. The study was arranged as factorial experiment based on a randomized complete block design with three replications including drought stress at four level; control, mild stress, moderate stress, and severe stress have been arranged in four levels including (100, 85,70 and 55%FC). Salicylic acid treatments included Salicylic acid were applied as foliar application spray in 4 levels: zero mg/l (solution spray with distilled water), 0.5, 1, and 1.5 mg/l. Measured traits that included peroxidase, catalase, Beta-sitosterol and oil yield proline, electrolyte leakage, malondialdehyde (membrane peroxidation index) content. The results showed that increasing drought stress levels reduced the oil yield, but in contrast, increased the Beta-sitosterol, membrane peroxidation, electrolyte leakage, anti-oxidant enzymes such as catalase and peroxidase, while application of salicylic acid at 0.5 and 1 mg/l decreased oxidative stress, membrane peroxidation and Electrolyte leakage through increasing the anti-oxidant enzymes activities such as catalase and peroxidase and proline which led to a balanced rise in oil yield and Beta-sitosterol in mild and moderated stress. These results shows an increase in plant resistance to drought as a result of salicylic acid application.

In order to determine the most important components of anise grain yield using regression analysis and path analysis, an experiment was conducted with 12 anise population in a randomized complete block design with three replications at research farm of the agricultural faculty, University of Zanjan in 2014 and 2015. The evaluated traits were days to flowering, days to maturity, grain filling period, plant height, number of primary branches per plant, number of secondary branches per plant, 1000-grain weight, number of umbels per plant, umbelet numbers per umbel, number of grains per umbel, grain yield, biological yield and harvest index. Combined analysis of variance showed significant differences between the populations from the all of studied traits. Days to maturity, number of umbels per plant, number of grains per umbel, biological yield and harvest index had significant positive correlations with grain yield. Stepwise regression analysis showed that the number of umbels per plant and number of grains per umbel justify 53 percent of the grain yield variations. Also, path analysis showed that direct effects include the main portion of correlation of these traits with grain yield. Since the traits have not negative relationship together, selection of anise genotypes using these two traits can be recommended to indirect improve grain yield.

Generally, primed seeds produce larger and heavier plants than non-primed seeds. This may be simply due to rapid emergence and extension of leaf growth, or the influence of other physiological processes. The effect of seed pretreatment with salicylic acid (SA) on some physiological and photosynthetic characteristics of the safflower seedlings, cv. Goldasht, was examined under field condition. The treatments were different levels of SA (including zero or hydropriming, 400, 800, 1200, 1600, 2000 and 2400 µM and a treatment of the non-primed seeds as the control). Priming enhanced photosynthesis rate (PN) chlorophyll content index (CCI), relative water content (RWC) and seedling dry weight. Also, primed seeds had higher stomatal conductance (gs) and transpiration rate (E) than the control and the hydroprimed treatments. The lowest intercellular CO2 (Ci) and highest cell membrane stability was obtained in 2400 µM SA. But values of the control treatment were opposite. In addition, highest carboxylation efficiency (CE) and photosynthetic water use efficiency (WUEb) were found in 2000 and 2400 µM of SA. It seems seed priming with SA, increased gs and hence PN by improving RWC status. This was associated with enhanced WUE and CE at higher levels of SA. A positive relationship was found between WUEb and PN, CE and RWC but negative relationship with Ci. It seems that increase in plants dry weight by priming not only was the result of rapid growth rate, but also the enhancement of PN, RWC and chlorophyll content.

Increasing grain yield is the most important goal in any breeding program. Since yield is a complex trait and involves several quantitative components with low inheritance, its direct evaluation is not usually sufficient and therefore it is suggested that its components be investigated instead. The objective of this study was grouping 60 inbred lines along with four check cultivars of wheat from the different phonological and agronomic traits, and selection of superior groups. Therefore, these lines and cultivars were examined in (8 × 8) square lattice design with two replications. In analysis of variance for the evaluated phonological and agronomic traits, significant differences were observed in the most traits that indicate high genetic diversity of these traits. Cluster analysis showed that selection of first cluster of lines for phonological traits and second cluster of lines for agronomic traits with selection for early flowering and high plant height, awn length and biomass could lead to selection of genotypes with high number of spike per plant, seed number per spike, 1000- grain weight and grain yield. As well as, because of more easily evaluation and more heritability, these traits can be recommended for indirect selection of grain yield and its components of wheat under rainfed conditions.

In order to evaluation of genetic variation and comparison of 8 populations of Iranian anises, a study was conducted in the research farm of University of Zanjan in randomized complete block design during 1392 and 1393. Evaluated traits were days to flowering, days to maturity, grain filling period, plant height, number of fertile umbels, umbelet numbers per umbel, grain yield, biological yield, harvest index and grain essential oil percentage. Combined analysis of variance showed significant differences between years and between studied populations, point of all traits except grain filling period. The highest coefficients of genetic and phenotypic variation were found in traits of grain yield, biological yield and grain essential oil percentage and the highest heritability in traits of grain essential oil percentage, biological yield, grain yield, umbelet numbers per umbel and plant height, respectively. Based on cluster analysis, 8 under studied populations were divided into three groups that the first group of populations were better than others in terms of important traits such as days to flowering, days to maturity, plant height, number of fertile umbels, grain yield and biological yield. The results showed that there has been a high diversity between anise populations and yield and essential oil percentage is able to increase by selection in anise populations. Also regarding to excellencey of Qazvin, Markazi and Sabzevar populations, selecting within them can be proposed to improve yield and essential oil percent.

In this research, the effects of seed priming with three anti-gibberellin regulators were investigated on yield and yield components of wheat cv. Azar-2, based on randomized complete block design with three replications under regular irrigation conditions in research field of University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran, in 2012-2013. The experimental treatments were control (non-primed seeds), hydropriming, chlormequat chloride (400, 800, 1200 and 1600 μM), paclobutrazol (35, 70, 105 and 140 μM) and ancimidol (10, 20, 30 and 40 μM). The biological yield decreased in most treatments compared to control. On the other hand, seed priming with all of the growth retardants increased the grain yield. In contrast, the use of three growth retarder totally improved the grain yield of wheat cv. Azar-2. Among the growth regulators, paclobutrazol in 140, ancymidol in 20 and chlormequat chloride in 800 μM had the highest grain yield. Seed priming with mentioned growth retardants increased 1000-kernel weight compared to control. The highest fertile spike/m2 and seed/spike was found in 800 μM chlormequat chloride and 20 μM ancymidol, respectively. By increment in the number of fertile spikes, the length of spike decreased significantly. As a result, there are smaller spikes but with large grains in each plant. It seems that Azar-2 cultivar has a potential for increasing both the number of grain/spike and grain weight. Therefore, it is possible to increase grain yield in this cultivar by improving sink straight from both ways.

With increasing the world population and need to provide food, the enhancement of crops yield has become very important. One of the most important actions to achieve this goal is to identify the factors affecting the enhancement of yield. based on studies conducted on balancing the yield components in so many crops was concluded that grain yield is a result of interaction between numerous genes and environment and for this reason direct selection has not proven so successful for that and does lead to remarkable increase in yield and so that the selection for yield components has been suggested as a solution for evermore progress in yield increase (Adams,1967). These results indicated that the number of spike/m2 was the trait related to higher grain yield under irrigated and late season water stress conditions (Okuyama et al., 2004). The correlation between yield and its components alone is not sufficient to understand the importance of each one of these components in determining the grain yield. while, path analysis not only measures the direct influence of one variable upon another, but also provides means of partitioning both direct and indirect effects and effectively measuring the relative importance of causal factors which helps to build an effective selection program (Ali and Shakor, 2012). This experiment was conducted to determine the most effective traits on grain yield and its components in bread wheat under rainfed conditions.
A field experiment was conducted at the research farm of agricultural faculty of University of Zanjan, Iran (North Longitude 36°41', East Latitude 48°27' and 1620 m Altitude). A square lattice experimental design in two replications was conducted in 2012-2013. Evaluated traits included grain yield, number of spike per plant, number of grain per spike, 1000-grain weight, relative water content, rate of water loss from excised leaves, canopy temperature, difference of canopy with its environment temperature, stem diameter and number of xylem vessels. MSTAT-C and SPSS-20 software were used to analyze the data and LSD test was used to compare the means of traits at 0.05 probability level. The stepwise regression analysis was also carried out to test the significance of the independent variables affecting the grain yield. Then, path analysis was calculated for the traits. For this purpose, a simple coefficient correlation was obtained between all traits and the partial coefficient regression (direct effects) of traits was calculated by SPSS. The indirect effects were also calculated by multiplying the direct effects in simple coefficient correlation.
Number of spike per plant and number of grain per spike had positive and significant correlation with grain yield with values of r = 0.41** and r = 0.36**, respectively. Previous authors also reported similar results for relationships of grain yield and these traits (Aycicek and Yildirim, 2006). No significant correlation was found between 1000-grain weight, Relative water content, number of xylem vessels and stem diameter with grain yield. Number of xylem vessels had negative and significant correlation with 1000-grain weight (r= -0.39**).
Stepwise regression is a semi-automated process of building a model by successively adding or removing variables based solely on the t-statistics of their estimated coefficients. In order to remove effect of non-effective characteristics in regression model on grain yield, stepwise regression was used. Results of stepwise regression showed that the number of spike per plant, grain number per spike and 1000- grain weight with R square of 0.87, had justified the maximum of yield changes.
Path coefficient analysis helps to estimate the influence of each variable upon the resultant variable directly as well as indirectly by partitioning the genetic correlation coefficients. Grain yield per plant was selected as resultant variable and number of spike per plant, number of grain per spike and 1000-grain weight as causal variables. The direct effect of number of spike per plant on grain yield was positive (0.89). The indirect effects of number of grain per spike and 1000-grain weight had values of -0.58 and 0.10, respectively. On the other hand, the traits leaf relative water content and stem diameter had positive and significant correlation with number of grain per spike. On the other hand, direct effects of stem diameter and relative water content on grain number per spike were recorded positive with values of 0.42 and 0.28, respectively. In other words, the increase in stem diameter and RWC can be somewhat increased the number of grains per spike in the experimental conditions.
Results of correlation analysis showed that selecting lines with more effective spikes and less number of grains per spike can be recommended as approach of indirect selection for improving grain yield in wheat under rainfed conditions. As a second approach, the selection for more grain per spike in limited number of spike is recommendable. Selection for greater stem diameter also can indirectly lead to grain yield improvement by increasing number of grains per spike.

In order to investigate the effective traits on yield of saffron ecotypes, a study was carried out as a split plot in time based on randomized complete block design with three replications in the research farm of Zanjan University during the growing seasons of 2013-2015. Eighteen saffron ecotypes were studied in this experiment. The traits of number of flowers, fresh weight of flowers, fresh weight of stigma, dry weight of flowers, dry weight of stigma, stigma length and dry stigma yield of saffron were measured. The results indicated that there were significant differences among all studied traits of ecotypes except for stigma length. The correlation matrix revealed that the number of flower and dry weight of stigma had a positive and highly significant correlation with dry stigma yield (r= 0.99 and 0.70, respectively). Analysis of stepwise regression and path analysis showed that the traits of number of flowers, dry weight of stigma and dry weight of flowers were the most effective traits on dry stigma yield. Therefore, these traits can be used to achieve a higher stigma yield.

In order to study the genetic diversity of grapevine in Mahneshan (Zanjan) an experiment was performed during 2012 and 2013. In different phenological growth stages (bud burst, anthesis and fruit ripening) quantitative and qualitative characteristics of 12 genotypes (Marageh, Shahani, Khalili, Ag-ozom, Germez keshmish, Ag-keshmish, Gara-keshmish, Asghari, Pert-pert, Gezel-ozom and Gandomeh) based on IBPGR descriptor were evaluated. Results showed that all of evaluated genotypes belonged to vinifera (european) group. Among the genotypes, Gezel-ozom and Gandomeh had female flowers (with inverted stamens). This two cultivars are very important in breeding programs. Simple correlation analysis results indicated the existence of significant positive and negative correlations among some characters. Cluster analysis of assessed traits at 10 Euclidean distance separated the genotypes into three groups. Five genotypes (Germez keshmish, Ag-keshmish, Asghari, Pert-pert and Ag-ozom) stood in the first group.In the second and third group (Maragheh, Shahani and Khalili) and (Gezel-ozom, Gandomeh, Gara-keshmish and Sahebi) stood respectively. Also the principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the first two main components explained the 78.32% of total variations.