Incidence and distribution of seed-borne fungi associated with wheat in Markazi Province, Iran

53 seed samples collected from harvested seed loads of irrigated wheat fields in Markazi province in the central of Iran was used for this study. Isolation and identification of seed-borne fungi were conducted according to standard tests described by the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA). A total of 15 fungal species including Tilletia laevis, Tilletia tritici, Ustilago tritici, Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium culmorum, Microdochium nivale, Bipolaris sorokiniana, Alternaria alternata, Curvularia sp., Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus candidus, Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium sp., Mucor sp. and Rhizopus sp. were identified in three wheat cultivars of Backcross Roshan, Alvand and C-78-14. The average of infection level in tested samples to both T. laevis and T. tritici was estimated as much as 7.1% in the province and the minimum and maximum infection levels were found in Lilian (Khomein) and Jirya regions (Arak), respectively. The average of infection rate by U. tritici in seed samples was 1.3% while it was as much as 17.4% for both F. culmorum and B. sorokiniana in the province. The frequency of A. niger and Penicillium sp. was predominant with an infection range of 37.8 and 29.1%, respectively. For the first time, the incidence and infection level of seed-borne fungi in wheat seeds have been determined in the central part of Iran.Key words: Infection rate, seed-borne fungi, seed quality, wheat

The effect of Gestalt therapy and cognitive- behavioral therapy on assertiveness in male guidance students

This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of gestalt therapy and cognitive -behavioral therapy on assertiveness in middle school students. This study was a pre-post test experimental design. By cluster sampling between schools in Sharyar two schools were selected randomly. After conducting Gambrel and Rigy Questionnaire, 30 students were selected and assigned to three groups randomly. 8 sessions of gestalt therapy were implemented for one group and 8 sessions of cognitive- behavioral therapy were implemented for another group. The control group received no intervention. ANCOVA and Post hoc LSD Test were applied to analyze data. ANCOVA showed significant differences between groups. Post hoc LSD Test showed significant difference between the control group and the gestalt therapy and between the control group and cognitive -behavioral therapy group(P≤0/01), but there was no significant difference between the gestalt therapy and the cognitive- behavioral therapy group. Both gestalt therapy and cognitive- behavioral therapy had increased the assertiveness