Evaluation of salinity tolerance in fourteen selected pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) cultivars

Cultivars and rootstocks tolerant to salinity are determinant toincrease the salt tolerance of planted fruit trees including pistachio. In this research, the effect of salinity stress on morphological and physiological traits as well as the concentration of nutrition elements in some pistachio cultivars was investigated based on completely randomized design (CRD), with two factors cultivars and irrigation water salinity. Studied cultivars were Ghazvini, Shahpasand, Akbari, Khanjari, Jandaghi, Italiyayi, Fndoghi 48, Sabz Pesteh Tohg, Ahmad Aghaee, Rezaie Zood Res, Mousa Abadi, Ebrahimi, Kaleh Ghochi and Badami Zarand and levels of salinity were 0.5, 4.9, 9.8, 14.75 and 19.8 dS/m. Each treatment had nine replicas. The results showed that increasing salinity reduced branch height, branch diameter, number of total leaves, and percentage of green leaves, relative humidity content, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and total chlorophylls in all cultivars. But percentage of necrotic leaves, percentage of downfall leaves, relative ionic percentage and cell membrane injury percentage were increased. The results showed that salinity stress affected the young trees through increasing the amount of minimum fluorescence (F0) anddecreasing the maximum fluorescence (FM) and reducing variable fluorescence (FV) as well as the ratio of variable fluorescence to maximum fluorescence from 0.83±1 in the control plants to 0.59±0.015 in Rezaie Zood Res cultivar and 0.61±0.009 in Mousa Abadi cultivar. The results also showed that in the total cultivars studied, the highest amount of Na+ in leaves and roots (2.09±0.04% and 3.04±0.06%), and the lowest amount of K+ in leaves and roots (0.40±0.02% and 0.34±0.01%), were observed in treatment 19.75 dS/m. Overall, Ghazvini was found to be the most tolerant cultivar to salinity stress. This cultivar could well tolerate salinity 14.75 dS/m

Evaluation of an almond collection using morphological variables to choose superior trees

Introduction. Iranian almond germplasm is regarded as one of the most diverse and valuable genetics resources for almond improvement. Materials and methods. In the present study, 155 almond genotypes were evaluated to determine the overall degree of variation and to detect superior trees. The variation was observed for traits related to phenology, morphology, yield and fruit quality. Results and discussion. Nut and kernel traits contributed most of the total variation but there were also significant differences in flowering and ripening times. The majority of important correlations were determined between the characteristics representing nut size and kernel size. Cluster and principal component analyses confirmed considerable diversity in the studied germplasm. Conclusion. Genotypes MSh11, MSh100, MSh97, MSh24 and MSh126 were the best trees in terms of flowering season, consistently high fruit set, large nut and kernel size, and low percentage of double kernels. Furthermore, genotypes MSh9 and MSh110 were very late flowering and could be useful in breeding to improve flowering season of almond

Effects of Nanoparticles on the Environment and Outdoor Workplaces

Today, most parts of different nanotechnologies are growing and developing without any special rules and regulations. This could result in undesirable changes in the environment and affect workers in indoor and outdoor workplaces. Carbon-based nanoparticles, such as fullerenes, nanotubes, the oxides of metals such as iron and titanium, and natural inorganic compounds, including asbestos and quartz, can have biological effects on the environment and human health. The risk assessment of such nanoparticles requires evaluation of their mobility, reactivity, environmental toxicity, and stability. With the increasing use of nanoparticles for commercial and industrial purposes, the debate becomes whether the numerous benefits of nanoparticles can overcome the economic costs, environmental impacts, and unknown risks resulting from their use. To date, few studies have been conducted on the toxic and environmental effects that result from direct and indirect exposure to nanoparticles, and there are no clear standards to determine their effects. Lack of technical information in this regard has provided an appropriate context for supporters and opponents of nanoparticles to present contradictory and ill-considered results. Such an uncertain atmosphere has caused increased concerns about the effects of nanoparticles. Therefore, adequate studies to determine the exact, real risks of the use of nanoparticles are required. The information resulting from these studies can be useful in minimizing the environmental hazards that could arise from the use of nanoparticles. Thus, this paper briefly explains the classification of environmental nanoparticles and how to deal with their formation, diffusion, environmental fate and impacts, and our exposure to them