This experiment was conducted in germinator in order to study the effects of water potential on seed germination، germination rate and seedlings growth of four medicinal plants as Trigonella foeaum-graecum L.، Sesamum indicum L.، Cannabis sativa L. and Carum copticum (L.) C. B. Clarke. Four water potential were used including distilled water as control (0)، -0. 37، -0. 59 and -0. 81 Mpa which has been made by different salts (NaCl، CaCl2 and NaCl+CaCl2 in 5 to 1 molar ratio). The experiment was carried out based on completely randomized design with six replications. Results of variance analysis showed that effects of water potential، type of salt composition on germination percentage، rate of germination، root and shoot length were significant. With decreasing water potential، germination rate and percentage decreased. Of cource plants had different responses such as Sesamum indicum was not affected by decreasing water potential where as other significantly were decreased. The effect of salt composition was significant on rate and percentage of germination. The percentage of germination at lower water potential which was made by NaCl+CaCl2 significantly was higher than the same water potential made by only NaCl and CaCl2.

Cleome viscose Linn. with a common name as “Asian spiderflower”, belongs to the Capparidacea family. It is an annual, sticky herb found as a common weed all over the tropical regions of the world. It is a very competitive weed of annual crops. This plant is currently introduced as an invasive plant in soybean fields of Golestan province. There is no management recommendation to control Asian spider flower. Thus large quantities of soybean destroyed by this weed every year. Germination and emergence are the two most important stages in the life cycle of plants. Environmental factors such as temperature, light, pH, planting depth and soil moisture are known to affect seed germination and emergence of weeds. An understanding of the germination biology of Asian spider flower would facilitate the development of better management strategies for this weed. Therefore, the purposes of this research were to study the effects of temperature and water potential on Asian spider flower seed germination.
Material and To evaluate the effect of temperature and water potential on seed germination and determination of seed germination cardinal temperatures of Asian spider flower, an experiment was conducted as Factorial Experiment in Completely Randomized Design with 4 replications in Agricultural Research and Natural Resources Center of Golestan Province during 2013. Treatments were included temperatures with seven levels (15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 38 and 400C) and water potentials with six levels (0, -2, -4, -6, -8 and -10 bar). Germination was monitored daily until germination discontinued and the number of the germinated seeds was recorded. Seeds were observed twice daily and considered germinated when the radical was approximately >2mm long. To quantify the response of germination rate to temperature and to determine the cardinal temperatures for germination original beta, and modified beta, segmented and dent models were used. Water potential data showed a sigmoid trend and a three-parameter logistic model was fitted to data (Equation 1).
Y=Gmax/ [1(X/X50)b] where, G is the total germination (%) at concentration x, Gmax is the maximum germination (%), x50 is the osmotic potential required for 50% inhibition of the maximum germination and Grate indicates the slope of the curve in x50. Statistical Analysis System (SAS) was used for analyzing the data.
Results showed temperature, water potential and interaction between them significantly affected germination percentage and germination rate, the time required to reach 5% (D05), 10% (D10), 50% (D50), 90%(D90) and 95% (D95) seed germination of Asian spiderflower. The results showed that by increasing the temperature to 30 °c, seed percentage and germination rate increased and then decreased. Water potential reductions declined seed germination percentage and germination rate. Comparing different models to determine seed germination cardinal temperatures, indicated that the segmented model described germination rate changes to temperature better that the others. Based on the output of this model, germination base, optimum and ceiling temperatures of the plant were 15.46, 33.21 and 39.64 0C, respectively. The result revealed that increasing the PEG concentration, increased the base temperature and decreased optimum and ceiling temperatures. The Logistic model fitted with germination percentage of seeds in different water potentials to different temperatures. Parameters of the model showed the maximum seed germination percentage occurred in the 25 to 35 0C. Highest and lowest X50 parameter (potential required for 50% inhibition of the maximum germination) observed at 30 and 38 0C, respectively. The results showed that the germination ability of Asian spiderflower occurred at less potentials water in the optimum temperature range.
The results showed that high temperatures were required for seed germination of Asian spider flower. Although water potential has reduced the germination of the weed, we can say this is somewhat drought tolerant plants. Based on the segmented model, cardinal temperature for germination, including base, optimum and ceiling temperatures of the plant were 15.46, 33.21 and 39.64 0C, respectively. Check the seed germination, percentage changes in water potentials at different temperatures showed that the desired temperature the plant's ability to withstand in adverse environmental condition increases. Results of this experiment can be concluded that environmental factors affected the germination of Asian spider flower, and this information could help to predict the spread of Asian spider flower in new areas.

Sesame is an annual self-pollinated plant with a high seed oil and protein content. It is considered as an oilseed plant for human consumption. For a breeding purpore, quantitative and qualitative characteristics of seed total protein of different sesame varieties (Oltan, Zoodras , Yekta , Hendi , Varamin , Chini , Karaj 1 , Moghan local,Nazok tak sakheh and Nazok chand shakheh) were evaluated. Protein extracts were analysed using Kejeldal and gel electrophoresis methods. Total average of 24.02% was observed for seed protein content of all varieties. Analysis of varieties revealed a significant variation at (p < 0.01) between varieties. The profile of seed storage proteins had a relative mobility from 0.20 to 0.94. The observed bands varied in intensity and scattered in three zones of the gel . All bands were monomorphic and no variation was observed between the varieties. It was concluded that this characteristic does not carry the necessary value for breeding purposes.

Micronutrients play a great role in the production of high quality seeds, especially in terms of germination. Therefore, providing seeds with sufficient amounts of these is an important consideration in seed production. The present study was conducted as two separate experiments in the Seed Laboratory of Yasouj University in 2015. In the first experiment, the sesame seeds (cv. Darab 1) obtained from a previous split plot experiment based on RCBD, consisting of three irrigation levels (after 75, 110 and 145 mm evaporation from class A pan) and four foliar applications comprising water, zinc sulfate, boric acid and mixture of zinc sulfate and boric acid, were investigated in germination experiments in the minimum temperature (i.e., 15°C). The second experiment was a factorial based on RCD with three replications. The first factor in the eight levels included seeds soaked in water, ZnSo4, H3Bo3 and ZnSo4 H3Bo3 and seeds with high contents of Zn (159 m Kg-1), B (15.3 m Kg-1) and Zn (139.5 m Kg-1) B (14 m Kg-1) and dry see as the control. The second factor was accelerated aging periods at three levels (0, 2 and 4 days) at 45°c and RH = 100%. The results showed that with a delay in irrigation time, compared with water foliar application, foliar application of micronutrients (Zn, B, Zn), and significantly increased germination traits. The results also suggested that, compared with seeds soaked in nutrients, seeds with high Zn and B contents significantly increased germination indices and antioxidant (catalase and peroxidase) activities, especially under accelerated seed aging.
Highlights: 1. The role of maternal sesame plant (cv. Darab 1) foliar application by zinc and boron elements in germination, vigour and storage capability of seeds was studied.
2.The effect of seeds soaked in solutions enriched with zinc and boron elements on germination, vigour and storage capability of seeds was examined.

In this research was performed, cryopreservation to method vitrification with two types of solution protecting PVS2 and PVS3 in 7 times (20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120 and 140 minutes). This experiment factorial was studied in the form of with completely randomized design (CRD) with two factors protective solution (two level) and time levels (seven level) and three replications. The results of analysis of variance for treatment time and soluble type in three traits, percentage germination, root and shoot length was significant at the level of 1% (P<0.01). Interaction between the time treatment in solution type for the length of root and shoot length were significant at the level of 1% (P<0.01) for germination percentage was insignificant at the level of 5% (P<0.05). Overall, analysis of variance showed that is effective the protective solution type and levels of treatment time in the process of vitrification and the cryopreservation Sesame plant in assessment indicators.

Seed deterioration of seed is one of the most important limiting or even hindering factors in germination. The main purpose of this study was to determine the effects of salicylic acid and gibberellic acid hormonal on improvement and prevailing seed deterioration in two sesame cultivars. This studywere carried out at the Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding Seed Laboratories of College of Agriculture، University of Tehran (Karaj) during 2012-2013. The sesamum cultivars Darab2 and Darab14were the ones studied. The experiment was designed as a factorial of completely randomized design with tree replication. First، germination characteristic measured and then seeds were aged through Controlled deterioration test. Treatments including: two sesamum cultivars; 2 level deterioration (24 and 48 hr) with controlled; and 6 hormonal concentration (25، 50، 100ppm giberellic acid - 25، 50، 100 ppmsalicylic acid) with controlled. The characteristics were measured، including: germination percentage (%)، germination index (GI)، germination speed (GS)، vigor1 and vigor2. Hormonal treatments were applied to both pre-treatmentand post-treatmentin two separate experiments. The results showed that seed deterioration in both level reduced seed trait measured. Darab14 the more resistant to deterioration than darab2. But، with primed hormonal concentration in two conditions pre-treatment and post-treatment، investigated characteristics for two cultivars improvement and prevailing deterioration had taken place. In Darab 2، all concentrations of gibberellic acid in 24 h deterioration level in testing hormonal pre- treatments were better. But، in Darab 14، at both levels deterioration، the hormonal post-treatment showed better results. Our results suggested that salicylic acid 50 ppm، was the most effective treatment in this study.

Oil content and fatty acid composition are the most important factors for assessing and describing oilseeds. On the other hand, seed germination and seedling establishment are affected by seed reserves. In order to investigate the germination characteristics of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) seeds as related totheiroil content and fatty acids composition, series of laboratory and greenhouse pot experiments were conducted in Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Experiments were arranged based on a completely randomized design with 15 treatments and four replications. The experimental treatments were consisted of 15 sesame cultivars: Darab 2, Darab 14, Dashtestan 2, Dashtestan 5, Esfaraen, IS, JL-13, Kalat, Kashmar, Mashhad, Oltan, Sistan, TS-3, Varamin 2822, and Yellow White. The results showed that the low mean germination time (MGT) and mean emergence time (MET) were detected in Dashtestan 2, Dashtestan 5 and IS cultivars. In contrast, the high MGT and MET were observed in Yellow White and Mashhad cultivars. Although, there were no statistically differences between sesame cultivars for seed nitrogen concentration and oil percentage, significant differences were observed in terms of seed phosphorus concentration. The highest and the lowest seed P concentration were obtained in Dashtestan 2 and Yellow White cultivars, respectively. There were no significant correlation between MET and fatty acids, except for oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids. A negative correlation between oleic acid and MET (R2= 0.73**) and also a positive correlation between linolenic acid and MET (R2= 0.73**) was observed. Therefore, it seems that sesame seed vigor highly depends on unsaturated fatty acids composition.

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) seed is a rich source of oil and protein, which could be used for cooking or primary source for some industrial applications. Seed germination is the most fundamental stage of a plant’s life cycle, which is significantly influenced by various abiotic stresses. As a first report, the study attempted to evaluate the effect of environmental factors (i.e., low, optimum and high temperatures (T), water potential (ψ) and salinity) on eight superoxide dismutase (SOD) gene expressions (two Mn-SOD, two Cu/Zn-SOD and four Fe-SOD) during sesame germination. Results showed that all studied treatments remarkably influenced germination characteristics of sesame (P ≤ 0.05). In general, the negative impact of each stress on sesame germination could be ranked as ψ > salt stress > high T > low T, indicating that the germination was more influenced by ψ than salt stress and T. There was a strong association between the decrease in germination parameters (relative to the optimal T) and the decrease in SiSOD expression under various stresses. Our results discovered that the SiSODs expression patterns were stress-specific. However, when subjected to the same stress, the majority of SiSOD genes displayed similar expression patterns. The findings of this study could lead to a better understanding of SOD's role in other plants and the mechanisms involved in plants' stress responses, especially during their early stages of development.

In this research, Sesame (Sesamum indicum L var.shevin) seed germination characteristics under drought stress conditions influenced by different seed priming treatments were investigated. In two separate experiments, germination responses to different temperatures (1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 ° C) and also different drought stresses (water potentials of -9, -11, -13 and -15 bar) were considered. Based on the results, 25 ° C was determined as optimum germination temperature. The -11 bar water potential was also determined as drought stress. Hydropriming and osmopriming of the seeds were performed at three temperatures of 20, 25 and 30 ° C. The duration of priming was determined based on the priming temperature and type. Calcium chloride osmopriming treatment was performed in three concentrations of 1, 2 and 3 mM. The seeds were primed using potassium nitrate in three concentrations of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3%. After priming using the mentioned treatments, the seeds were dried out to initial seed moisture content and then subjected to drought stress (-11 bar) during germination period to determine the best priming treatments. Priming treatments significantly improved seed germination characteristics under drought stress. Overall, The results of this experiment demonstrated that use of hydropriming for the seeds of sesame had the highest germination features. So this treatment can be presented as an appropriate treatment for this plant as it is cost-effective, safe and eco-friendly.