جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « ecotype » در نشریات گروه « زراعت »

 The great importance of identifying, studying, evaluating, and protecting native ecotypes of medicinal plants as human heritage, collecting agricultural medicinal plants and ecological evaluation of their native ecotypes, and introducing their compatible ecotypes is a necessity for farmers. Considering the few studies in the field of the agricultural role of non-native plants such as Dragon's head in Iran to meet the country's nutritional needs, the present research aims to study and evaluate the performance of local medicinal and multi-purpose plant stands of urban sycamore and also to obtain new scientific materials in the case of these local masses has been done in the research farm of University of Tabriz Faculty of Agriculture. It is necessary to explain that in recent years, due to the crisis of water shortage and drought, this plant is in line with changing the cultivation pattern of the region from plants with high water requirement to plants with low water requirement or dry land has been added to the official cultivation pattern of East Azerbaijan province and is being promoted among the farmers of the region.

 To evaluate and investigate the agronomic characteristics and performance of 49 selected Dragon’s head stands from different regions of the country, an experiment was carried out in the form of a simple 7*7 square lattice design with three replications. A field experiment was carried out at the research station of the Faculty of Agriculture of University of Tabriz, located in building number 2 of the Faculty of Agriculture in Basmanj. According to meteorological maps, the climate of this region is among the steppe and semi-arid climates of the world. In this area, although rain sometimes occurs in the summer season, it generally has a dry season in the summer. The area is located at an altitude of 1360 meters above sea level, with a latitude of 38 degrees and five minutes north and a longitude of 46 degrees and 17 minutes east, and its annual rainfall is 285 millimeters. The average annual temperature is 10 degrees Celsius, the average annual maximum temperature is 16.6 degrees Celsius, and the average annual minimum temperature is 4.2 degrees Celsius.

In the comparison of the average traits, the best ecotypes in terms of yield were the ecotypes of Kolvang local population 10 and 15, Tabriz local population 3 and 4 and Ahar local population 1 respectively, simple correlation analysis, stepwise regression, and causality showed that biomass traits, number of seeds per plant, number of seeds in capsule and weight of 1000 seeds are the most important factors affecting the increase of seed yield. By analyzing it into components, the first four components explained 80.44% of the changes related to primary traits. Ecotypes Kolvang 10, Tabriz 3, and number Tabriz 4 yield 1661, 1464, and 1404 kg ha-1 respectively, and 3848, 4119, and 3848 kg ha-1 respectively. They produced 4581 kg ha-1 of biomass and were superior in most traits related to economic performance.

Taking into account the crisis of Lake Urmia and the lack of water in most regions, especially the Azerbaijan region, the medicinal plant Dragon’s head is one of the few plants that can be placed in the spring cycle in most areas of rainfed and irrigated cultivation and in improving the water balance. Lake Urmia and agriculture in the region can play a positive role. Therefore, the ecotypes of Tabriz native population 3, Kolvanagh native population 10, and Tabriz native population 4, which had more grain yield and were superior in most of the traits related to yield, can be considered the most suitable ecotypes of Dragon’s head for use in water conditions and the air of the region advised the farmers for the next crops.

Marshmallow (Althaea spp.) is a plant belonging to the Malvaceae family and is native to Asia, South Africa, and America. It is found in Iranian natural pastures throughout the country. The purpose of this research is to identify the best ecotypes of Golkhtami in terms of phytochemical traits studied in this experiment and to introduce the best ecotypes for further research and to be used as crossbreeding parents in crossbreeding projects.

In this study which was investigated in nine ecotypes and three different species, phytochemical traits including total flavonoid content, total anthocyanin content, tyrosinase enzyme inhibitory activity, and cholinesterase inhibitory activity were evaluated in different ecotypes of marshmallow.

The results showed that the Kermanshah ecotype of Althaea officinalis had the highest amount of flavonoids (18.47 mg of quercetin per gram of extract) and cholinesterase inhibitory activity (28.37 mg/ml based on IC50), while the Bushehr ecotype of A. ficifolia had the highest amount of anthocyanins (6.45 mg) and the Yazd ecotype of A. officinalis had the highest tyrosinase enzyme inhibitory activity (84.25 mg/ml based on IC50). Pearson's correlation coefficients revealed a positive and significant correlation between the investigated traits. In orthogonal comparisons, the Kermanshah, Mazandaran, and Isfahan ecotypes of A. officinalis had the highest levels of flavonoids and cholinesterase inhibitory activity. Cluster analysis by the WARD method showed that the ecotypes related to one species were placed in one group.

These findings suggest that the studied species and ecotypes have high diversity, which can be useful for improvement and selection of phytochemical traits in marshmallow. The investigated ecotypes can be used as the base population and initial parents of the cross in further experiments.

Some important herbs have been overly utilized in all over the world, which threatening them as endangered species. In this regard, in vitro culture has efficiently improved production and propagation rates of these plants. Accordingly, this research aimed to determine the best genotype, and explant for callus induction, as well as the effect of optimum concentration of hormones on traits including length, width, height and the callus volume of the explants derived from Ferula assa-foetida seedlings that have been grown in jars. Therefore, this experiment has been implemented as factorial in completely randomized design with at least 3 replications. Purposefully, the explants were placed in MS media supplemented with different levels of BAP and NAA. After 40 days, the traits including the length, width and volume of the callus were measured for induced callus. Given the mean comparison, the maximum size of target traits have been achieved for root explants cultured medium supplemented with 2 mg.L-1 BAP and 1 mg.L-1 NAA, while none of calluses derived from leaf and stem explants survived. Among the genotypes, the Kerman demonstrated higher callus growth rate than the Yazd, though this trait intensively increased through the time of culture. In addition, the calluses derived from Isfahan showed low growth rate, so it was removed from the present study.

This study was carried out to assess yield, yield components and quality traits of dragon’s head (Lallemantia iberica L.) ecotypes’ seeds grown using some anti-transpirant agents in rainfed system in two regions of Iran including Karaj & Khorramabad in 2018. The experiment was performed based on a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with a 4×3 factorial arrangement consisting of three replications. The first factor consists of four different ecotypes of dragon’s head (Kurdistan, Takab, Nazarkahrizi and Kalibar) and the second factor including three anti-transpirant compounds (kaolin with a concentration of 5 Percent, chitosan with a concentration of 1 Percent and Ista with a concentration of 2 Percent) and no anti-transpirant (control). The results indicated that the triple interaction of ecotypes, anti-transpirant and location on most of the studied traits was significant. Among anti-transpirant, chitosan had the greatest effect on cultivated ecotype & increased grain, biomass, oil and mucilage yields by 20, 4, 11, and 18 Percent, respectively. Also, Nazarkahrizi, Kalibar, Kurdistan and Takab ecotypes cultivated in Karaj had the highest values in the studied traits under foliar application with anti-transpirant, respectively. According to the studies conducted in this study, the selection of a suitable ecotypes with the region and the use of antiperspirants improve the yield & yield components, quality traits of dragon’s head in rainfed cultivation conditions.

Autumn sowing leads to production improvement and yield stability of Plantago major due to the longer growing season, avoid late summer heat stress, and effective use of rainfall. However, in order to succeed in autumn sowing, cold tolerance is essential. It is crucial to carry out plant selection to evaluate and identify top traits for adaptation to environmental factors and ultimately higher production of valuable plants such as broadleaf plantain. Therefore, evaluation of the characteristics of important plants such as broadleaf plantain plays a fundamental role in the selection of top ecotypes for different purposes of selection and increase of yield in different climatic conditions of each region.

This experiment was conducted as split-plot based on randomized complete block design with three replications at Research Farm of Agriculture Faculty of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (36°15’ N, 56°28’ E, 985 m altitude) during the growing season 2013-14. The experimental factors included six ecotypes of Plantago major (Bojnord, Kalat, Mashhad, Ghaen, Torbat Heydarieh, and Birjand) and four sowing dates (late September, late October, late March, and late April). Irrigation was done immediately after planting and during the growing season according to the need of the farm by furrow method. Survival percentage, spike length, peduncle length, number of capsules, seed in capsule, 1000 grain weight, grain yield, biomass, and harvest index were evaluated. Data analysis was performed in SAS v9.4, and the means were compared by Duncan test at a 95% confidence interval.

The results showed that delay in autumn sowing from September to October reduced the survival percentage in all ecotypes. While, the delay in spring sowing from March to April improved the survival percentage in Birjand, Ghaen, Mashhad and Kalat ecotypes by 12, 8.9, 7.3 and 5%, respectively. The highest percentage of survival in April sowing belonged to Mashhad, Birjand, Ghaen, and Kalat ecotypes and in March sowing belonged to Bojnord ecotype. The highest grain yield (796.9 g m-2) was observed in Ghaen ecotype and the lowest was obtained in Torbat Heydariyeh, Mashhad, and Kalat ecotypes. So that grain yield in Ghaen ecotype was 48, 46, and 59% higher than the mentioned ecotypes, respectively. The highest biomass was observed in September sowing in Bojnord ecotype (2768 g m-2) and the lowest was obtained in April sowing in Kalat ecotype (622 g m-2). Ghaen ecotype had the highest harvest index in all sowing dates. Autumn planting of Plantago major L. leads to reduce in survival percentage compared with the survival percentage of spring planting. Lack of significant difference in grain yield of Plantago major ecotypes in autumn and spring sowing dates indicates the high flexibility of this plant to the date of sowing.

Despite the effectiveness of other factors in the improvement of a plant’s growth, it could be predicted that the Plantago major L. ecotypes that have the ability for establishment in cold conditions are more likely to be in a better position than other ecotypes at other stages of development. Due to the occurrence of heat and drought stresses during the spring growing season and production of suitable biomass for most ecotypes in autumn sowing, the continuation of field and controlled experiments is necessary to evaluate the success of autumn sowing of this plant seems necessary.

To evaluate fall dormancy of twenty alfalfa local ecotypes and exotic cultivars, this study was conducted in two separate experiments (conventional or dense planting and spaced planting) using randomized complete block design with three replications in three growing seasons 2014, 2015 and 2016 in two locations (Karaj and Khoy), Iran. First growing season was considered as estabilishment season. Three ecotypes of Hamedani population, four ecotypes of Gharah-Yunjeh population, five ecotypes of warm region populations, two ecotypes from central part of the country and six exotic cultivars were included in this study. In conventional planting, each cultivar/ecotype was grown in two rows of 5 m length and 50 cm row spacing using 20 kg.ha-1 seeding rate, based on seed germination percentage. In spaced planting, each cultivar/ecotype was planted in two rows of 5 m length and 50 cm row spacing and 50 cm distance between plants on row. The recorded traits were plant height, stem number per plant/m-2, dry forage yield, and fall dormancy score. Combined analysis of variance of both experiments showed that mean squares of cultivar/ecotype was significant for dry forage yield, plant height and fall dormancy score. Genotype × location interaction efect was also significant for these traits. Mean comparison of dry forage yield of cultivars/ecotypes showed that Baghdadi with 15.02 t ha-1 and Kiseverdai with 12.3 t.ha-1 in conventional planting, and Bami-1 with 29.6 g.plant-1 and Sequel with 22.1 g.plant-1 had the highest and lowest dry forage yield over two locations and growing seasons, respectively. In both experiments, the local ecotypes related to warm region had the higher fall dormancy scores in comparison to ecotypes from cold region. In conventional planting, Nikshahri, Bami-1 and Baghdadi with 6.9, 6.8 and 6.7 scores, and in spaced planting, Baghdadi and Nikshahri with 6.1 and 6.0 scores showed the highest fall dormancy scores, respectively. Commandor had the lowest fall dormancy score with 3.5 and 3.3 in conventional and spaced planting experiments, respectively. In general, the fall dormancy scores were determined in ecotypes of Ghara-yunje and Hamedani populations (cold region) from 4 to 5, ecotypes from temperate region (KFA7 and Yazdi) from 6 to 7 and warm region (Bami, Baghdadi and Nikshahri) from 7 to 9 scores. Assessment of fall dormancy scores in conventaionl planting experiment led to better estimates, however, it did not affect the grouping of cultivars/ecotypes.

One of the most important medicinal plants of Iran, Poneh belongs to the mint family. Due to the numerous and very useful medicinal properties of oregano, this plant has attracted many studies. In this study 11 different ecotypes of Mentha longifolia belonging to 11 different regions of Iran including West Azarbaijan, Yazd, Gilan, Chaharmahal Bakhtiari, Khuzestan, Lorestan, Kerman, Hormozgan, Khorasan, Qazvin and Ardabil were studied. In order to investigation genetics variety between pennyroyal ecotypes in Mohaghegh Ardebili University, an experiment was implemented in framework of complete random block in 11 ecotypes (treatments) and 3 repeats. DNA was extracted and evaluated using 23 different ISSR primers to evaluate the genetic diversity among ecotypes. The results indicated sufficient polymorphism among these ecotypes. A total of 60 clear and scalable bands were produced, 60 of which are polymorphic. In p9 and p8 markers based on Shannon’s genetics variety, Ni‘s gene variety and multiple-shaped content had the most highest and lowest values between cases respectively. Also two mentioned markers had most highest and lowest values for effective alleles number. According to Shannon’s and Ni’s markers, Kerman and Yazd population had most highest and lowest values for mentioned two features. Also, based on Ni’s genetic distance; genetics distance between ecotypes is variable from 0.285 in Kerman and Qazvin to 0.672 in Hormozghan and Kerman and 0.625 in Yazd and Qazvin.  Grouping is done based on ISSR markers similarity matrix and ecotypes were classified in 3 cases. In PCA, 2 primitive components describe more than 56% of variance. Existence of genetics variety between pennyroyal ecotypes for goals selection possibility.

Syrian mesquite is introduced as a weed in wheat and barley fields, saffron, cotton and vegetables, and in orchards. The spread of this weed in different climates raises the question of how much native plant conditions can affect germination characteristics. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of native plant conditions on germination characteristics in response to environmental stresses (temperature, salinity, and drought).

To investigate dormancy elimination and germination response thresholds of two Syrian mesquite ecotypes (Khuzestan and Fars) to environmental factors (temperature, salinity, and drought), four separate experiments were carried out as factorial based on completely block design with three replications at Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan. Treatments included immersion the seeds with concentrated sulfuric acid (96%) (0, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 min), different temperature (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, and 45 °C), salinity levels (0, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 mM), and different levels of drought stress (0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1 and 1.2 MPa).

The time required for immersion of seeds in sulfuric acid to dormancy breaking for two ecotypes was different. The estimated parameters indicated time of immersion in sulfuric acid to reach 50% germination in the Khuzestan ecotype (11.38 min) was longer than the Fars ecotype (8.10 min). The Khuzestan ecotype was also able to germinate (45%) at 40 ° C, whereas germination in the Fars ecotype was stopped at this temperature. Germination rate and cumulative germination percentage at temperatures below 25 ° C were higher in Fars ecotype than in the Khuzestan ecotype. The results of the salinity experiment showed that 50% reduction in seed vigor index, final germination percentage, and germination rate in the Fars ecotype were 167.48, 404.46, and 307.02 mM respectively and in the Khuzestan ecotype were 0.89. 229, 380.16, and 299.57 mM, respectively. For drought treatments, 50% reduction in final germination percentage, seed vigor index, and germination rate in Fars ecotype were -0.50, -0.38, and -0.39 MPa, respectively, and in Khuzestan ecotype were -0.46, -0.46, and -0.50 MPa, respectively.

Overall, the results showed that native plant climatic conditions (latitude and longitude, elevation, rainfall, and temperature) can affect the degree of seed dormancy, resistance to environmental stresses such as temperature, salinity, and drought.

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) belongs to the Liliaceae family and has more than 800 species around the world (Fritsch et al., 2010). This plant after onion is the second and most consumed alium genus, which has high nutritional value due to its minerals. Asexual propagation of garlic during the centuries may resulte in a genetic restriction. However, the study of ecotypes shows that phenotypic variation is significant in size, color, leaf length, growth habits and agronomic traits such as stress and drought tolerance. In according to Iran was the most important exporting country at the world in the past, the study of ecotypes to meet the demands of domestic markets as well as the export of this product is a necessity. Due to the fact that in south of Kerman province for cultivation and production of garlic from different ecotypes of the country, incompatibility of some ecotypes has caused a lot of problems for the farmers of the region. On the other hand, different planting dates (September to December) it is common in this region where the best ecotypes and planting dates have a great importance for obtaining high yield and can be of great help to the farmers of the region.

In order to achieve the best ecotypes and planting dates, as well as to estimate the genetic diversity and heritability of traits, an experiment was carried out for two years at the Agricultural Research Center of Kerman Province. The experiment was a factorial based on randomized complete blocks design with three replications. Five planting dates and six garlic ecotypes included experiment factors. Traits of flowering percentage, number of coating layers, number of cloves, clove weight, onion weight, onion diameter; dry matter content and yield were measured during growth season. Analysis of variance and mean comparison carried out with using SAS software. Correlation matrix and cluster analysis based on Ward’s method conducted with use of SPSS software. Finally, for the ranking of ecotypes based on all traits, use of Arunachalam and Bandyopadhyay (1984) method.

The results of compound analysis indicated that different planting dates differed in terms of most of the traits, in terms of dry matter and number of coating layers, and it was also determined that the effect of ecotype on all traits was significant, so that Ecotypes of Mazandaran and Guilan had the highest yield. Sandhu et al. (2015) reported a significant difference between ecotypes in terms of all traits. It was also found that the percentage of flowering, number of clove, clove weight, onion weight and yield were affected by the interaction of planting date in ecotype so that the highest yield was related to Jiroft and Shahdad ecotypes in the planting date of September 15. Among the ecotypes studied in this experiment, Gilan and Mazandaran ecotypes had flowering and flowering in other ecotypes was zero. Flowering is a genetic trait and this trait varies among ecotypes. The desirable characteristics of ecotypes related to the south of the country were non-flowering, which shows the superiority of these ecotypes to the ecotypes of Gilan and Mazandaran, although the ecotypes of Gilan and Mazandaran were superior in terms of yield. High broadscence heritability, high genetic and phenotypic coefficients of variation for flowering percentage, number of cloves, clove weight and onion weight were observed, indicating that these traits are more influenced by genetics and the probability of observing traits is higher in the next generation with the same quality. The cluster analysis divided the ecotypes into three groups. This indicates the genetic similartiy of each group ecotype.

Finally, the ranking based on Arunachalam and Bandiopadia (1984) showed that the most suitable ecotype among the studied ecotypes is the Jiroft ecotype so that there is no delay in its cultivation.

To improve salinity stress tolerance in Iranian promising alfalfa ecotypes, including Shorkat, Gharghologh, Gharaghozloo, Rehnani, Roodasht Isfahan and Gavkhooni, a recurrent selection scheme was carried out at roodasht and kabootarabad field stations, Isfahan, Iran, during 2012-2017 growing seasons. Six Iranian promising alfalfa ecotypes were planted in the autumn of 2012 and irrigated with saline water of 6 to 15 dS.m-1 during spring and summer of the following year. The ecotypes were evaluated in late summer of the same year using phenotypic characteristics of the plants including; stem no.plant-1, plant height, leaf: shoots ratio, and reaction to pests and diseases, and desirable plants were marked and selected from each ecotype. Seed from selected plants of each ecotype were harvested and bulked. Next year, 13 entries including six selected bulk ecotypes, six Iranian promising ecotypes, and one foreign cultivar (Bulldog) were evaluated using randomized complete block design with four replications. Results showed that derivative ecotypes of Gharaghozloo and Rehnani with average forage production of 80.2 and 79.7 ton.ha-1 fresh forage yield, 19.4 and 19.4 ton.ha-1 dry forage yield and average plant height of 61.3 and 62.3 centimeter, respectively, were salinity tolerant ecotypes. The derivative ecotypes of Gharaghozloo and Rehnani had 19.3% and 19.7% protein content, respectively. These derivatives obtained of 9.5 and 5.5 winter dormancy scores, respectively. They only damaged 10.2% and 7% by weevil. Overall, the derivative ecotypes of Gharaghozloo and Rehnani were identified salt tolerant and are suitable for being grown in saline areas and used in alfalfa breeding programs for development of synthetic alfalfa cultivars.

Salvia santolinifolia Boiss. is a perennial and aromatic plant which belongs to Lamiaceae family and grows wild in south of Iran. It is used indigenously for various purposes including hemorrhoid, hypertension, anti-inflammatory and anti-diarrhea treatments. Due to the drought stress of recent years and the limited spread as well as extensive harvesting of S. santolinifolia from natural habitats, conservation of its germplasm is too important. In current study, genetic diversity of some wild populations of S. santolinifolia grown in Hormozgan province was studied based on morphological markers for use in breeding programs and potential assessment of this plant in natural environment.

In order to study the diversity of morphological and functional traits of different ecotypes in Hormozgan province, 120 genotypes belong to four ecotypes (including Abmah, GhotbAbad, Dorahi-Meymand and Sirmand) were collected in a nested design at flowering stage in winter and spring of 2018. 20 vegetative and reproductive characteristics such as plant height, plant width, leaf length, leaf width, branch number, number of flowering branches and inflorescence length were investigated. Data were analyzed using SAS, R and SPSS softwares. For cluster analysis, the cluster analysis was performed by input method and factor analysis was done using the Variomax rotation method.

The results of variance analysis showed that significant differences (p≤0.01, 0.05) were found among the studied S. santolinifolia ecotypes for studied traits. Some morphological characteristics such as plant height, diameter of canopy, branch number, subdivision number, leaf length, leaf width and inflorescence length were significant at 1% probability level. The main stem diameter was significantly different at the 5% probability level. Genetic diversity indices such as Margalef, Shannon-Weiner and Simpson for estimating diversity within ecotypes in S. santolinifolia revealed that all four ecotypes had high diversity within ecotypes. The branch number (58.25%). diameter of canopy (50.11%), number of flowering branches (49.64%), dried weight (48.54%) and fresh weight (47.43%) had the highest diversity among studied ecotypes. The highest plant height was in Sirmand ecotype, the highest diameter of canopy and branch number were in GhobAbad ecotype, the highest leaf length and leaf width were showed in Sirmand and GhobAbad ecotypes and finally, the highest inflorescence length was in Dorahi-Meymand ecotype. The correlation coefficients between evaluated traits showed significant positive and negative correlations between some important traits. PCA analysis results demonstrated that studied characteristics divided in 6 groups which justified 68.44% of the total variance. Cluster analysis divided the four ecotypes into two independent groups. The two ecotypes of Abmah and Qotbabad were in one group, while Sirmand and Meimand ecotypes were in another group.

The findings of this study showed that there is high morphological diversity among the wild growing S. santolinifolia ecotypes in Hormozgan province which can be very valuable for use in breeding programs in order to create high quality and desirable food industries and the medicine was used.

Grasspea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is a forgotten plant and its cultivation is important in the scope of sustainable crop production. In a field experiment, using split factorial arrangements in randomized complete block design with three replications, the effects of irrigation regimes; 50, 75 and 100% of evaporation of class A evaporation pan, and different rates of phosphorous fertilizer (triple superphosphate); 0, 60 and 120 kg ha-1 on growth characteristics, seed yield and forage yield of two grasspea ecotypes; Lalehzar and Sharekord, in Lalehzar region in Kerman province, Iran, in 2018 and 2019 growing seasons was studied. The results showed that drought stress significantly reduced pod no. m-2, plant height, seed yield and biological yield. Application of phosphorous fertilizer increased grasspea growth and yield. Overall, Shahrekord ecotype showed higher seed yield (2401 kg ha-1) and biological yield (5612 kg ha-1). The highest phosphorus productivity (39.98 kg seed kg P-1) achieved in 75% of evaporation irrigation regime plus 60 kg ha-1 triple superphosphate fertilizer. Therefore, growing Shahrekord grasspea ecotype in Lalehzar region would be reasonable in terms of saving water and managing the application of phosphorous fertilizer.

For evaluation of the reaction of twenty red beans ecotypes to drought stress, an experiment was conducted in split plot as Randomized Complete Block Design with 3 replications in 2016-2017 at research field of Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, Iran. In this study, the main plots were three irrigation levels and sub-plot were twenty red beans ecotypes which they are sub-population from different regions of Iran. The results showed significant difference between stress levels and between ecotypes for all studied traits (chla, chlb, chlt, carotenoied, Redusing sugars, total porotein and prolin amino acid). Stress caused to significantly decrease in level 0.01 of chla, chlb, chlt, carotenoied, Redusing sugars, total porotein and caused to significantly increase in level 0.01 of prolin amino acid. There were 3 factors that explained 82 percent in non stress condition and 83 percent of total variations in moderate stress condition and 81 percent of total variations in severe stress condition. Cluster analysis (Ward) was used to categorize ecotypes based on biochemical traits. This study showed that the in tolerance of red bean plant to drought stress was most likely due to chlorophyll degradation, reduction in sugars and protein reduction. As a result, these biochemical changes have made the plant susceptible to drought stress.

The recurrent selection was used in this study. For this purpose, 49 alfalfa ecotype seeds collected from all over the country and planted in Khuzestan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center in 1990. Based on forage yield comparison, 20 ecotype were selected in 1993, provided at least 100 compatible stem cuttings, rooted and planted in separated plots and produced 20 seed sample. Based on 20 ecotype performance in 1995, eight ecotypes were removed and seeds of 12 ecotypes were harvested separately and cultivated in isolated region in 1996. The final comparison resultsed in the removal of 6 other ecotypes. After open pollinating between six remaining ecotypes, modified population was obtain in 1998 and planted in the isolated farms for until 2005. This population was compared with the best ecotypes of sub tropical regions including Baghdadi, Nikeshahri, Bami, Yazdi and Mesasersia in a research project during the years 2006 to 2010. The results showed that the improved alfalfa population with 19.3 t/ha total dry matter produced the highest forage yield and was superior to the others that thay have 17.8, 17.6, 16.8, 15.6, and 14.9 t/ha dry forage yield respectively. According to the survey, this improved population was not sensitive to common diseases like as Uromyces striatus, Stemphyllium botryosom, Pseudopeziza medicaginis (Lib.)Sacc. and Green florescence. Due to the superiority of yield and the lack of susceptibility to diseases, this population was named "Omid" alfalfa and was recommended for cultivation in sub tropical regions.

Harvesting time is one of the most important factors affecting the seed quality. In order to determine the effects of harvesting time on quantity and quality of plantago major seeds, two experiments were carried out in the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in 2014. In the first experiment six plantain ecotypes (Birjand, Ghaen, Torbat Hydarieh, Mashhad, Kalat and Bojnord) grown in the field and plant spikes were harvested in six stages with 15 days interval (15, 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 days after 50% pollination), then germination of harvested seed was tested in the laboratory. Number of spike per plant and its length after 50% of pollination increased and reached to the maximum in 75 and 60 days after that, respectively. Kalat ecotype had the fewest and the shortest spikes, while Birjand and Bojnoord ecotypes produced the longest spikes. The maximum seed weight per spike for Kalat and Bojnoord ecotypes was obtained at 90 days after 50% pollination, while in the other ecotypes it was observed at 75 days after that. The highest germination, speed germination length and weight vigor index in Ghaen ecotype was observed at 75 days after 50% pollination, while in the Torbat Hydarieh ecotype they were observed at 45 days after 50% pollination. In Ghaen, Torbat Hydarieh and Mashhad ecotypes delaying in harvest time of 75 days after 50% pollination causes seed losses and reduction in seed germination.

IntroductionOne of the most important factors to obtain the maximum performance or yield in every climatic condition and for each plant varieties is determining the optimum plant density. Henna (Lowsonia inermis L.) is a perennial plant with high value in terms of having medicinal properties and industrial applications. The dye which is derived from green leaves of henna is used for decorating the body with intricate designs and the principle coloring matter is lawsone, 2-hydroxy-1, 4-naphthoqunone. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the agro-physiological reaction of different henna ecotypes to different planting densities in Kerman weather conditions.
Materials and MethodsThe study was carried out as a factorial experiment based on complete randomized block design with three replications in Shahid Bahonar University in 2015. The experiment consisted of four plant densities (25, 33, 50 and 100 plants m-2) and three ecotypes (Shahdad, Roodbar and Bam). Due to its small seeds and germination problems the planting method used was transplanting. In this study, growth indices such as leaf area index (LAI), crop growth rate (CGR), relative growth rate (RGR), leaf area ratio (LAR), specific leaf area (SLA), specific leaf weight (SLW), leaf area duration (LAD) and biomass duration (BMD) were calculated. The net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and transpiration rate were measured in the middle of growing period by photosynthesis meter (CI-340 model, CID Bio- Science companies, USA). At the end, the results were analyzed using the SAS v. 9.1 and MSTATC software’s and diagrams were drawn by Excel software.
Results and DiscussionThe results showed that the studied ecotypes were significantly different in terms of CGR, RGR and stomatal conductance. The highest average of CGR belonged to Shahdad ecotype while there was no significant difference between Roodbar and Bam ecotypes in this case. Shahdad ecotype with the RGR of 0.018 g.g.day had the highest average of this trait. This difference could be due to physiological, morphological and chemical factors as well as allocating pattern of photosyntates, all affects the relative growth rate. The maximum value of stomatal conductance was recorded for Shahdad ecotype (234.6 mmol m-2 s-1), that was not significantly different with Bam ecotypes (229.6 mmol m-2 s-1). There are some reports showing that the number of stomata per unit of leaf area may be changed with plant species and varieties. The differences in studied densities were statistically significant for the measured traits. Results showed that the maximum of CGR was recorded for 100 plants m-2 density. Increase in CGR at the higher densities could be due to the increased number of plants per unit area producing a higher leaf area index. In this research LAI increased with increasing in planting density and the highest average of this trait was obtained from 100 plants m-2. LAD and BMD were affected significantly by planting density. The results of mean comparisons showed that average of LAD and BMD decreased with increasing in plant density from 50 to 100 plants m-2. The same result was obtained for net photosynthesis, transpiration rate and stomatal conductance. Low net photosynthesis in 100 plants m-2 density could be due to high competition between plants for light and food absorption, increase in shading and consequently increasing in respiration. The results showed that total dry yield and leaf dry yield were significantly affected by planting densities. The highest and lowest values of mentioned traits belonged to densities of 100 and 25 plants m-2 respectively.
ConclusionsGenerally between ecotypes evaluated in terms of performance, there was no difference in Kerman weather conditions. Also the highest yield was belonged to100 plants m-2 density. It should be noted that henna is a perennial plant and this planting density for the first year is economically justified but for more than one year old plants, according to changes in body size of the plant, research on the appropriate density seems to be necessary.

Water deficiency has increased the demand for cultivation of drought tolerant crops. In dry regions like most parts of Iran, ecotypes and local varieties often show a high degree of drought resistance. The experiment was arranged in a split plot based on a randomized completely block design that drought stress (50, 75 and 100% field capacity) were considered as main plot and genotype (Rabor, Golbaf and Pishahang) as subplot. The results showed that the traits of leaf water potential, reduction sugar, biological yield and grain yield significantly affected with drought stress at level of 1%. The simple effect of genotype was significant for mentioned traits and photosynthetic pigments. Based on variance analysis, the interaction of genotype×stress was significant only for ion leakage and biological yield. The results of mean comparison showed that drought stress significantly (P≤0.01) decreased biological yield, leaf water content and grain yield, while, ion leakage and reducing sugar contents were significantly increased. The highest biological yield was belonged to Pishahang cultivar in both of normal and stress conditions. Simple correlation among the traits showed that biological yield, relative water content and reduced sugars were the most effective traits on grain yield. In overall, the results showed that Golbaf genotype had the highest grain yield in comparison with Pishahang and Rabor genotypes under water stress conditions.

IntroductionFlixweed is an annual dicotyledonous winter herb from Cruciferae (Brassicaceae) family which grows in many countries of the world. In Iran it is seen in many of wheat and canola producing regions. Flixweed is used for healing a variety of diseases such as measles and smallpox, cough, asthma, edema and tumor. It also has diuretic, anticancer, antipyretic, antioxidant, anthelmintic, analgesic and tonic activities [2]. In temperate and cold regions of Iran, winter cold is one of the most important environmental stresses which affect growth, development and yield of plants. So determination and improvement of freeze tolerance of winter plants such as Flixweed might promote their cultivation and utilization in cold regions. At present measuring the survival after a recovery period which is followed by a freezing test in controlled conditions is a common method for determining the level of plants freeze tolerance. Calculation of LT50 point or critical temperature based on survival percentage of plant is considered as a quantitative and simple method for evaluating the cold tolerance [1]. But sometimes this criterion is not enough alone and other indices (for example dry weight and Reduced dry matter temperature 50% of plants (RDMT50)) are used to achieve a more accurate estimation of cold tolerance level [3]. In spite of numerous medicinal and industrial properties of Flixweed, there is not a lot of information about freeze tolerance of this plant, so the objective of this study was evaluating the freeze tolerance of Flixweed by survival % and some of growth traits after recovery period.
Materials and methodsIn order to evaluate freeze tolerance in some of Flixweed, a factorial experiment was conducted based on completely randomized design with three replications in faculty of agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in autumn of 2009. Experimental factors include five ecotypes of Flixweed (Eghlid, Sabzewar, Hamedan, Torbat-e-Jam and Neyshabour) and 10 freezing temperature levels (from zero to -18 with 2 °C intervals). For this aim, Flixweed seeds were cultivated in pot in autumn and they were grown in natural weather until 5-7 leaf stage. Afterward for applying freezing temperatures, plants were transferred to a thermo gradient freezer. The initial temperature of programmable freezer was 5°C; but gradually decreased in a rate of 2°C.h-1 until reached to desired temperatures. When the freezer temperature reached to -2°C, the plants were treated by the Ice Nucleation Active Bacteria (INAB) to help the formation of ice nuclei in them, also to prevent from super-cooling of samples and to ensure that the mechanism of freeze resistance is tolerance not avoidance. After artificial freezing stress applying (which lasted up to two hours for each freezing temperature); Flixweed seedlings were transferred to greenhouse for recovery. Three weeks after freezing stress, survival percentage (SU %), Lethal temperature for 50% of plants according to the survival% (LT50su), number of leaf and reduced number of leaf temperature 50% (RNLT50), number of node and reduced number of node temperature 50% (RNNT50), dry weight and reduced dry matter temperature 50% (RDMT50) were evaluated. Analysis of variance was performed by MSTAT-C software and correlations between data were carried out by MINITAB 16 program. Mean separation was conducted by least significant difference (LSD) test at 1% probability level.
Results and DiscussionResults showed that Hamedan ecotype had the highest SU% and Neyshabour ecotype had the lowest SU%. In Eghlid and Neyshabour ecotypes, decline of SU% begun from higher temperarures (-8 °C) compared with other ecotypes (-10 °C). This trend was seen for dry weight and number of leaf too. At -12 °C, number of node in Hamedan ecotype decreased 30% approximately than control, while in Eghlid and Neyshabour ecotypes, this reduction was much higher. In this experiment LT50su ranged between -10.2 to -12.1 °C depending on the ecotypes. Ranking of Flixweed ecotypes according to the LT50su, RNLT50, RNNT50 and RDMT50 indices showed that the Neyshabour and Hamedan ecotypes were the most sensitive and tolerant Flixweed ecotypes to freezing stress respectively. In this survey, there was high and positive correlation between survival percentage and dry weight (r=0.69***), in addition there was negative and significant relationship between SU%, LT50su and RNNT50 (r=-0.67*** and r=-0.82*** respectively).
ConclusionAccording to these results, it seems that temperature threshold for winter injury happening in Flixweed is -12 °C. Despite this for better understanding of cold tolerance of Flixweed, further researches are required under controlled and field conditions.

To evaluate the effect of foliar application of nano-particles of Titanium dioxide on yield and yield components of ecotypes of cumin under drought stress conditions, a split-split plot experiment was carried out based on a randomized complete block design with three replications, during 2014-2015 at research farm of Aburaihan Campus, University Tehran at Pakdasht. Treatments were consisted of water stress at three levels (full irrigation throughout growing season, water stress at vegetative and reproductive stages), spraying of nano-particles of titanium dioxide at three levels (none spray, spraying with concentration of 0.015 and 0.03 percentages) and also ecotypes of cumin from nine regions. Based on the obtained results the highest grain yield was for ecotype of Ardakan-Yazd in normal irrigation and spraying of nano-particles at concentration of 0.03 percent with an average of 194.05 grams per square meter, compared to non-sprayed treatment in which 17 percent lower grain yield was obtained. The highest grain yield also was observed at stress conditions in reproductive phase for ecotype of Maneh of North Khorasan at spraying of 0.015 percent of nano-particles with an average of 45.89 grams per square meter, when compared to the control in which 16 percent lower grain yield was obtained. Ecotypes also showed significant differences at level of one percentage in terms of responses to drought stress. Based on the obtained results from spraying of nano-particles at a concentration of 0.03 percent, the negative effects of drought stress were reduced and this treatment prevented from huge yield loss under stress.

IntroductionCumin is one of the most important medicinal plants in Iran and today, it is in the second level of popularity between spices in the world after black pepper. Cumin is an aromatic plant used as flavoring and seasoning agent in foods. Cumin seeds have been found to possess significant biological and have been used for treatment of toothache, dyspepsia, diarrhoea, epilepsy and jaundice. Knowledge of GEI is advantageous to have a cultivar that gives consistently high yield in a broad range of environments and to increase efficiency of breeding program and selection of best genotypes. A genotype that has stable trait expression across environments contributes little to GEI and its performance should be more predictable from the main several statistical methods have been proposed for stability analysis, with the aim of explaining the information contained in the GEI. Regression technique was proposed by Finlay and Wilkinson (1963) and was improved by Eberhart and Russell (1966). Generally, genotype stability was estimated by the slope of and deviation from the regression line for each of the genotypes. This is a popular method in stability analysis and has been applied in many crops. Non-parametric methods (rank mean (R), standard deviation rank (SDR) and yield index ratio (YIR)), environmental variance (S2i) and genotypic variation coefficient (CVi) Wricke's ecovalence and Shukla's stability variance (Shukla, 1972) have been used to determine genotype-by-environment interaction in many studies. This study was aimed to evaluate the ecotype × sowing date interaction in cumin and to evaluation of genotypic response of cumin to different sowing dates using univariate stability parameters.
Materials and MethodsIn order to study of ecotype × sowing date interaction, different cumin ecotypes: Semnan, Fars, Yazd, Golestan, Khorasan-Razavi, Khorasan-Shomali, Khorasan-Jonoubi, Isfahan and Kerman in 5 different sowing dates (26th December, 10th January, 25th January, 9th February and 24th February) were studied. The experiment was conducted during growing season of 2011-2012 in Agricultural Research field of Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Iran; and grain yield was measured in the end of the growing season. Combined ANOVA, Bartlett test and mean comparison (Duncan's multiple range test) was performed using SAS 9.1 software. Considering the significant interaction between ecotypes and sowing dates, non-parametric methods (rank mean (R), standard deviation rank (SDR) and yield index ratio (YIR)), and different methods of univariate stability parameters include: environmental variance (S2i), genotypic variation coefficient (CVi), Wricke's ecovalence, Shukla's stability variance, and Regression technique (Eberhart and Russell parameters) was applied to study Ecotype × Sowing date interaction. Calculation of different stability parameters were done by S116 and Excel softwares. In order to investigate the relationship between stability statistics, the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was calculated by using SPSS 17.0 software.
Results and DiscussionCombined ANOVA revealed that significant differences among sowing dates, ecotypes and ecotype by sowing date interaction. More than 46 percent of variation in yield was devoted to the ecotype by sowing date interaction; on this basis, stability and adaptability studies were performed based on non-parametric methods, Eberhart and Russell regression method and univariate parameters. Based on non-parametric methods (rank mean (R), standard deviation rank (SDR) and yield index ratio (YIR)) Kerman and Khorasan-Shomali were identified as stable ecotypes, and based on environmental variance (S2i) and genotypic variation coefficient (CVi) parameters Khorasan-Razavi and Semnan ecotypes were diagnosed as stable while Kerman and Yazd ecotypes were categorized as unstable ecotypes. According to the results from Eberhart and Russell, Wricke's ecovalence and Shukla's stability variance parameters Isfahan and Golestan ecotypes were categorized as relatively stable ecotypes. Kerman ecotype showed specific adaptability to 24th February sowing date (favorable environment) while Semnan had specific adaptability reaction to 26th December sowing date (unfavorable environment). Khorasan-Shomali showed highest sensitivity reaction to different environments (sowing dates). According to the Spearman correlation the regression coefficient (bi) showed moderate correlation coefficient with Wi and σ2i statistics (rs = 0.567) and with other statistics in this study showed little correlation. Similar results in the study of Becker and Leon (1988) have been reported. Correlation between the deviation from regression (S2di) with Wi, σ2i, S2i and CVi statistics was positive and significant at 5% probability level. YIR and R statistics showed negative rank correlation and coefficient of determination (ri2) and SDR don’t show any significant correlation coefficient with other parametric statistics. Therefore, in this study, the results of these statistics did not match with parametric methods to introduce stable ecotypes.
ConclusionsIsfahan and Golestan ecotypes were categorized as relatively stable ecotypes. Kerman and Semnan ecotype showed specific adaptability reaction to 24th February sowing date (favorable environment) and 26th December sowing date (unfavorable environment) respectively. Khorasan-Shomali showed highest sensitivity reaction to different sowing dates.