Association between Grain Size and Shape and Quality Traits, and Path Analysis of Thousand Grain Weight in Iranian Bread Wheat Landraces from Different Geographic Regions

Grain characteristics, particularly grain weight, grain morphology, and grain protein content (GPC), are important components of grain yield and quality in wheat. A set of 98 bread wheat landraces from different geographic regions of Iran were used across 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 to determine the phenotypic diversity and relations between thousand grain weight (TGW), grain morphology and grain quality. A high-throughput method was used to capture grain size and shape. The genotypes were significantly different (P < 0.001) for all traits which reflects the high levels of diversity. A moderate to high broad sense heritability was found for all traits and ranged between 0.68 and 0.95 for grain yield and factor from density (FFD), respectively. Significant positive correlations were observed between TGW and grain size (or shape) exception of aspect ratio (AR) and roundness. However, grain quality traits, especially GPC had significant negative correlation with TGW. Based on stepwise regression analysis by taking TGW as dependent variable, grain volume, FFD, width, perimeter and Hardness Index (HI) were recognized as the most important traits and explained more than 99.3% of total variation of TGW. The path analysis revealed that FFD has maximum direct effect on TGW followed by volume, whereas perimeter and width had relatively less direct effect on TGW. According to cluster analysis, landraces separated into 5 clusters, and cluster III and IV had the maximum and minimum average for the most traits, respectively. Our study provides new knowledge on the relations between TGW, grain morphology and grain quality in bread wheat, which may aid the improvement of wheat grain weight trait in further research

The Effect of Organic and Bio Fertilizers on Maize (Zea mays), and HydroMax Adjuvants Application on Optimizing of Nicosulfuron Herbicide Efficacy

In order to study the effect of adjuvant on nicosulfuron herbicide efficacy improvement in maize weed control under organic fertilizers application, field study was conducted during 2013- 2014 at research field of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. Experiment was arranged in completely randomized design with factorial arrangement of treatments with 16 treatments and three replications. Factors in this experiment were application of organic fertilizers (cow manure and vermicompost) and bio fertilizer mycorrhiza, and a plot without fertilizer as control, nicosulfuron dose at 40, and 80 g a.i ha-1 (Cruz&reg;,4% SC) with and without the adjuvant of HydroMax&trade;. Common purslane (Portulaca oleracea), black nightshade (Solanum nigrum L.), and redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L) were the dominant weeds in the experimental fields. Black nightshade and common purslane had the highest relative density 20 and 45 days after spraying (DAS). Results showed that application of hydromax adjuvant increased herbicide efficiency, significantly. However dry weight of common purslane, black nightshade and redroot pigweed decreased 84, 71, 86 and 71, 79, 100 %, when nicosulfuron applied at reduced dose (40 g a.i. ha-1) with adjuvant 20 and 45 DAS, respectively. On the other hand, seed yield and dry weight of maize increased 49 and 60 % respectively, when nicosulfuron applied at 40 g a.i. ha-1 with Hydromax pulse cow manure.&nbsp

Study of flora and structure of weed communities of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) fields in Khorasan Razavi province

The Khorasan Razavi province is the center of saffron production in Iran and the world. Among factors affecting saffron gap yield, weeds are the most important one. However there is no compiled information about saffron weed flora population and its structural characteristics in the Khorasan Razavi province. In order to identify and determine the density and frequency of weed species on saffron fields in the Khorasan Razavi province, 118 fields in 6 counties during two years (2014 and 2015) were selected based on the cultivation area and yield per area. In each field, weed species were counted in each sampling point and weed population indices including mean relative density, relative uniformity and frequently were calculated and latitude and altitude were recorded by GPS. By using recorded data, population indices of different weed species in the studied saffron farms including mean relative density and relative frequency of species were calculated.  During 2 years, a total of 52 weed species were identified and observed within the saffron fields. Between plant families, Brassicaceae, Asteraceae, Poaceae, Fabaceae and Charyophilaceae were the most abundant families, respectively. The results showed that the highest and lowest number of weed species belong to Kashmar and Gonabad counties, respectively. Based on the frequency index, the important annual weed species on saffron fields of the Khorasan Razavi province wereMouse Barle (Hordeum murinum) and London Roket (Sisymbrium septulatum) and perennial species were Hoary Cress (Cardaria draba) andCommon yarrow (Achillea millefoliam)

The effect of organic and biological fertilizers on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) at the climate of Ardabil region

In recent years, in order to produce organic products and reduce environmental problems, organic and biological fertilizers are used to increase soil fertility, eliminate the nutritional needs and to improve of plants growth. In order to evaluate the effect of organic and biological fertilizers on qualitative and quantitative traits of saffron, a field experiment was carried out as split plots based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at the Research Farm of  Ardebil Agricultural Research Center during two growing seasons of 2015-2016 and 2016- 2017. Treatments included three levels of organic fertilizers: vermicompost (10 t.ha-1), manure (25 t.ha-1) and control in the main plots, and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria in four levels including, control, Azotobacter sp.PTCC 1658, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Bacillus subtilis and the combination of biofertilizer (A. sp. PTCC 1658+ B. subtilis+ P. aeroginosa( in sub plots. Bio fertilizers were inoculated on the saffron corms before sowing in the first year and were applied mixed with irrigation water in the second year. The results indicated that the interaction effects of organic and biological fertilizers increased the fresh weight of flowers, dry and wet yield of stigma and style and qualitative compounds including crocin (Color factor), picrocrocin (Taste factor) and safranal (Perfume factor) compared to control. So that, the application of manure and vermicompost in combination with the total of bio-fertilizers (A. sp. PTCC 1658+ B. subtilis+ P. aeroginosa), increased the dry matter of stigma from 0.86 kg.h-1 to 2.93 and 2.7 kg.h-1 respectively. By using manure fertilizer with biofertilizers, picrocrocin, safranal and crocin, were increased 73, 77 and 83 percent compared to the control respectively. Based on this experiment results, the combined use of organic and biological fertilizers in addition to reducing the environmental pollution, can enhance qualities and quantities of yield of saffron through synergistic effects

Agrobacterium rhizogenes transformed soybeans with AtPAP18 gene show enhanced phosphorus uptake and biomass production

Low-phosphorus stress is a challenging factor in limiting plant development. Soybean is cultivated in soils often low in phosphorus. However, on average 65% of total P is in the form of organic phosphates, which are unavailable to plants unless hydrolyzed to release inorganic phosphate. One approach for enhancing crop P acquisition from organic P sources is boosting the activity of acid phosphatases (APases). This study seeks to understand the role of an Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) purple APase gene (AtPAP18) in soybean. Thus, the gene was isolated and a final vector (AtPAP18/pK7GWG2D) was built. Composite soybean plants were created using Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation. A. rhizogenes K599 carrying the AtPAP18/pK7GWG2D vector with egfp as a reporter gene was used for soybean hairy root transformation. Analysis of Egfp expression detected fluorescence signals in transgenic roots, whereas there was no detectable fluorescence in control hairy roots. The enzyme assay showed that the APase activity increased by 2-fold in transgenic hairy roots. The transformed hairy roots displayed an increase in plant soluble P and total P contents, as compared with the control plants, leading to improved biomass production. RT-PCR analysis revealed high expression levels of AtPAP18 in transformed hairy roots. It is noteworthy that these primers amplified no PAP18 transcript in control hairy roots. Taken together, the findings demonstrated that overexpression of the AtPAP18 gene offers an operative tactic to reduce the utilization of inorganic phosphorus (Pi) fertilizer through increased acquisition of soil Pi, especially improving the crop yield on soils low in available P

Association between Grain Size and Shape and Quality Traits, and Path Analysis of Thousand Grain Weight in Iranian Bread Wheat Landraces from Different Geographic Regions

Grain characteristics, particularly grain weight, grain morphology, and grain protein content (GPC), are important components of grain yield and quality in wheat. A set of 98 bread wheat landraces from different geographic regions of Iran were used across 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 to determine the phenotypic diversity and relations between thousand grain weight (TGW), grain morphology and grain quality. A high-throughput method was used to capture grain size and shape. The genotypes were significantly different (P < 0.001) for all traits which reflects the high levels of diversity. A moderate to high broad sense heritability was found for all traits and ranged between 0.68 and 0.95 for grain yield and factor from density (FFD), respectively. Significant positive correlations were observed between TGW and grain size (or shape) exception of aspect ratio (AR) and roundness. However, grain quality traits, especially GPC had significant negative correlation with TGW. Based on stepwise regression analysis by taking TGW as dependent variable, grain volume, FFD, width, perimeter and Hardness Index (HI) were recognized as the most important traits and explained more than 99.3% of total variation of TGW. The path analysis revealed that FFD has maximum direct effect on TGW followed by volume, whereas perimeter and width had relatively less direct effect on TGW. According to cluster analysis, landraces separated into 5 clusters, and cluster III and IV had the maximum and minimum average for the most traits, respectively. Our study provides new knowledge on the relations between TGW, grain morphology and grain quality in bread wheat, which may aid the improvement of wheat grain weight trait in further research

Phenotypic Variability Assessment of Sugarcane Germplasm (Saccharum officinarum L.) and Extraction of an Applied Mini-Core Collection

The sugarcane germplasm collection located in Khuzestan, Iran, is one of the most important genetic resources with valuable accessions from different continents. However, this collection has not been properly used by breeders due to the extremely large population. The aim of this study was to phenotypically characterize the sugarcane germplasm and form a mini-core collection. Hence, 13 morphological traits were evaluated on 253 accessions. The primary germplasm was grouped into 10 clusters based on partial repeated bisection (RB) data, where the smallest cluster contained three accessions from two breeding centres (USA and Cuba). Using principal component analysis (PCA), the first two PCs (principal component) explained 59.5% of the total variation. A mini-core of 21 accessions was created by using the maximization strategy, with a low mean difference percentage (MD = 2.31%) and large coincidence rate of range (CR = 93.96%). The sugarcane mini-core represented the major diversity of the primary collection. The means and medians between the mini-core and the primary collection did not differ significantly. Accessions with high sugar and cane yield, originating from the USA, Cuba, Argentina, and South Africa, were in the mini-core collection. In this paper, we established, for the first time, an applied mini-core collection in sugarcane germplasm. The mini-core collection, as a breeding collection, is a highly suitable, manageable, and efficient subset for the enhanced use of sugarcane germplasm in breeding programs