soudabeh nourzad

The present research was conducted with the aim of evaluating the effect of melatonin treatment on the tolerance of basil plants to the excess of copper and zinc mineral elements.

The effect of melatonin treatment (at two levels of 0 and 100 micromolar) on the tolerance of basil plants to the excess of mineral elements copper (50 and 150 μM) and zinc (50 and 100 μM) as factorial layout based on a completely randomized design with 3 replications and at 2017 in greenhouse conditions at Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman Done.

The triple effect of melatonin and zinc and copper and the double effect of melatonin and zinc on the relative water content of leaves, total chlorophyll, carotenoid, protein, soluble and reduced sugar, anthocyanin and flavonoid were significant at 1% probability level. Membrane stability indices and relative water content of leaves were improved by applying melatonin in the basil plant separately and together with copper and zinc metals. The amount of reducing sugars, chlorophyll, and carotenoids decreased under the influence of zinc and copper toxicity.

melatonin by improving physiological characteristics, especially membrane stability, as well as flavonoid compounds, anthocyanin, and glutathione; It led to the reduction of the negative effects caused by excessive amounts of copper and zinc, especially at a concentration of 50 micromolar of these two metals on growth parameters.

The post-harvest techniques of medicinal plants such as drying, is very important in their production cycle. The present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of different drying methods on some phytochemical traits of Chuchak in the spring of 2020 based on the completely randomized design with three replications. The chuchak samples were collected in the vegetative stage from the gardens of Noor city, Iran. The drying treatments were shade-drying at room temperature (25±3 °C), sun-drying, oven-drying (45, 55 and 65 °C), vacuum oven-drying (45, 55 and 65 °C), microwave-drying (200, 500 and 800 watts), and fresh samples. The studied traits were moisture content based on fresh and dry weight, drying time and speed, ascorbic acid content, protein content, total carbohydrate content, total phenol and flavonoid content and antioxidant activity. The results of the variance analysis showed the significant effect of drying methods on all studied properties of the samples (P≤0.01). The mean comparison showed that the minimum drying time and the maximum speed drying were related to the microwave (800 watts). The highest amount of ascorbic acid (385.72 µg/mg), protein (19.72%), total phenol (47.19 mg GA per 1 g dry matter), total flavonoids (50.96 mg quercetin per 1 g dry matter) as well as antioxidant activity (76.02%) was observed in the fresh plant and then in the oven-drying (55 °C).

Increasing the quality and longevity of cut flowers is one of the important discussions in post-harvest physiology and floriculture industry. The present study was conducted to find natural and appropriate alternatives such as medicinal plant extracts, in order to increase the life after harvesting of rose cut flowers and their potential to replace chemical compounds such as silver nitrate. This research aims to investigate the effect of Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) plant extracts and silver nitrate in concentrations (3 and 5 ppm) and distilled water as a witness on the shelf life of cut flowers. Ilona variety Rose was done. The experiment was carried out under temperature conditions of 20±2 degrees Celsius, relative humidity of 50-55%, white light intensity of 12 micromoles per square meter per second and 12 hours in the form of a completely randomized design with 3 replications to measure the characteristics of shelf life, fresh weight, Dry weight, total chlorophyll a, b, and carotenoids of leaves and stems, total phenol, total flavonoid, and anthocyanin of petals were measured. The results showed that, in general, Thyme and Rosemary extracts and silver nitrate used in this research improved the shelf life of rose cut flowers. The highest amount of fresh weight and gilt life was observed in the treatment of silver nitrate at the level (3 ppm), so that it increased the gilt life by about 13 days compared to the control. The lowest fresh weight and life expectancy belonged to the control treatment. Considering the better conditions of some of the properties measured in the use of Thyme and Rosemary extracts compared to silver nitrate and also the harmful effects of silver nitrate on the environment, it is possible to use rosemary extracts with a concentration of 3 ppm. recommended to increase the shelf life and quality of roses.