The effect of mycorrhizal fungi and organic fertilizers on quantitative and qualitative traits of two important satureja species

The quantitative yield and essential oil percentage and composition of two important savory species in response to various fertilizers were explored in a field experiment as a factorial study based on a randomized complete block design with three replications in north Lorestan, Iran, in 2017–2019. The first factor was assigned to three mycorrhizal fungi (Funneliformis mosseae, Rhizophagus irregularis, and Glomus fasciculatum), phosphate biofertilizer (Baravar-2), fish manure (800 kg/ha), cattle manure (20 t/ha), vermicompost (5 t/ha), and a control (no fertilization); the second factor was assigned to two savory species, including Satureja khuzestanica and S. rechingeri. The results of the combined analysis of variance for the second and third years showed that the simple effects of fertilizers and species were significant on all recorded traits, except for some constituents of the essential oil. Among the mycorrhizal fungi, R. irregularis and S. khuzestanica outperformed S. rechingeri in all traits, except for essential oil content and yield. The interaction between year and species was significant for all traits. The essential oil content of S. rechingeri in the third year (5.1%) was 18% higher than that of S. rechingeri in the second year (4.3%) and 41% higher than that of S. khuzestanica in the third year (3.6%). According to the results, the foliar application of vermin compost at a rate of 5 t/ha can contribute to the sustainable production of both savory species, improving their growth and essential oil yield

The effect of foliar application of magnetic water and nano-fertilizers on phytochemical and yield characteristics of fennel

Environmental factors, especially nutrients, can influence the production of medicinal plants. Thus, the present study assessed the response of some morphological and physiological characteristics of fennel ecotypes to the foliar application (magnetic water, organic and chemical fertilizers). The study was a factorial experiment based on the randomized complete block design, with three replications and 25 treatments at the research farm of the Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center of West Azerbaijan province, Iran, in the spring and summer of two consecutive years, 2014–2015 and 2015–2016. The first factor was assigned to fennel landraces (Gaziantep, Hamedan, Urmia, Yazd, and Shiraz) and the second factor to the foliar application (nitrogen nano-fertilizer, magnetic water, urea, chicken manure, and the control). Results showed that interaction of fertilizer treatment and landrace increased fresh and dry weight, biological yield, and seed yield significantly. In the first year, the highest fresh weight (166 g) and dry weight (35.5 g) were observed in the Gaziantep landrace fertilized with chicken manure. The highest anethole and fenchone contents (81.75% and 7.92%, respectively) were observed in the landraces treated with chicken manure. Based on the percentages, the Urmia landrace had the highest anethole percentage (83.2%), and the Shiraz landrace had the lowest one (77.5%). The highest fenchone contents (9.61%) and the lowest (2.18%) were observed in the Yazd and Urmia landraces. Due to the positive effect of application of chicken manure on improving the studied traits of fennel, it is recommended to include chicken manure inputs to enhance the efficiency of crops, reduce environmental pollution, and move toward sustainable agriculture

Comparison of different treatment methods of salicylic acid on some physiological traits of white bean under salinity stress

It has been shown that salicylic acid (SA) acts as an endogenous signal molecule responsible for inducing biotic and abiotic stress tolerance in plants. The effect of three application methods (Soil, Foliar and Priming) and four salicylic acid concentrations (0, 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 mM) on chlorophyll a, b and total chlorophyll, carotenoids, proline, protein and soluble sugars of NaCl (4 ds/m) stressed white bean (Phaseulus vulgaris L.) was investigated. The results showed that the effect of applied concentrations and application methods on chlorophyll a and total chlorophyll, proline, protein and soluble sugars were significant. The interaction of concentrations and application methods used was significant on protein, proline and soluble sugars. According to the results, the greatest impact was belonged to the soil treatment which was not significantly different from priming. Among applied concentrations, the concentration of 0.1 and 0.5 mM were the most effective and the concentration of 1 mM was not significantly different from the control

Molecular phylogenetic among saffron (Crocus sakus L.) accessions from Iran, Spain and Turkey by SSR marker

WOS: 000393732100005Saffron (Crocus sativus L.), considered the most expensive spice in the world, have been used both as a spice and as a drug ever since ancient time. This study aimed to access genetic diversity of 196 individuals representing zo saffron accessions collected from different regions of Iran, Spain and Turkey. Twenty saffron accessions were collected from most ancient cultivation areas in Iran, Spain and Turkey and DNA was extracted and twenty two different primer combinations were used for analyzing genetic diversity. Amplified products were manually scored separately for each primer and different genetic diversity indices were calculated. Twenty two primers in simple sequence repeat marker amplified a total of 44 polymorphic bands with an average of 2.0. The genetic diversity and shannon's information index varied from 0.094 to 0.722 and 0.197 to 0.982, respectively. Average of polymorphism information content and genetic distance values were 0.402 and 0.291, respectively. Cluster analysis using Neighbor -Joining method divided the accessions into four groups. Utilizing principal coordinate analysis and analysis of molecular variance, significant heterogeneity was observed among accessions. The results confirmed that the SSR marker is useful for evaluation of genetic diversity among saffron accessions. Low genetic distance (average: 0.29) and low private bands (14%) among saffron accessions from different geographical regions (Iran, Spain and Turkey) could show the existence of narrow genetic background of saffron, as a result of vegetative propagation and human selection of superior genotypes.EBILTEM institute of EGE University, Izmir TurkeyThis research was supported by EBILTEM institute of EGE University, Izmir Turkey. We appreciate the excellent technical cooperation from Ms. Betul, Duygo, Tala and Tugch

Effects of Iron, Zinc and Manganese and Method of Their Application on Phonology, Yield and Grain Quality of Sweet Corn

In order to evaluate effects of iron, zinc and manganese, and the methods of applying them on yield and yield components of sweet corn, an experiment was performed as factorial based on randomized complete block design with four replications at the Research Farm of Urmia University, during 2009-2010. Experimental factors were micronutrient fertilizers with four levels (control, iron, zinc and manganese) and micronutrient applying method with two levels (foliar and soil application). Results indicated that Interaction between experimental factors on plant height, ear diameter, grain size, 1000-grain weight, biological yield and protein percentage was significant. In most of these traits foliar application of Fe and Zn showed better results than foliar application of Mn. Also, by influenced of micronutrients applying method, foliar application was caused 13.25%, 5.38% and 24.84% increasing in numbers of grain per ear, grain yield and soluble sugar percentage. In additional soluble sugar percentage was influenced significantly by application of micronutrient elements. Based on the results, foliar application of micronutrient elements showed better results than soil application of them

Identification of markers associated with traits for use in marker-assisted selection in saffron

Odredivanje veze izmedu molekularnih markera i agronomskih osobina predstavlja odlican alat za selekciju pomo u markera. U ovoj studiji, multivarijantna stepenasta regresiona analiza korišcena je za procenu veze izmedu SSR markera i nekih agronomskih osobina u ekotipovima šafrana. a analize asocijacija koriš ene su dvogodišnje prosecne vrednosti za izmerene osobine. Rezultati postupne analize regresije otkrili su znacajnu asocijaciju izmedu osobina i proucavanih lokusa. Identifikovano je ukupno 25 SSR markera. Markeri SCA382, SCA15 i SCD219 bili su povezani sa ve inom osobina, i mogu se koristiti kao kandidat markeri u selekciji pomo u molekularnih markera. © 2018, Serbian Genetics Society.Determination of association between molecular markers and agronomic traits provides an excellent tool for marker-assisted selection. In this study, multivariate stepwise regression analysis was used to estimate associations between SSR markers and some agronomic traits in saffron ecotypes. Two-year average values for the measured traits were used for association analyses. The results of stepwise regression analysis revealed significant associations between the traits and some of the studied loci. More than one informative marker was detected for most of the traits. Totally 25 informative SSR markers were identified in two years. Markers SCA382, SCA15 and SCD219 were associated with most traits under both years. These markers are considered to be relatively more reliable. Among the SSR primers, special attention should be drawn to primers SCA382, SCA15, and SCD219, which had the highest associated fragments with most traits in two years and could be considered for use as candidate markers in marker-assisted selection. © 2018, Serbian Genetics Society

Foliar Applications of ZnO and Its Nanoparticles Increase Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) Growth and Yield under Water Stress

Foliar application or minerals is a methodology to promote growth and/or yield and to protect plants against different kinds of stresses. Currently there is a great interest in evaluating the effect of nanoparticles for enhancing the effect of these treatments. This study was performed to evaluate and compare the effect of foliar application of zinc oxide (ZnO) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) on the growth and yield of safflower under different irrigation regimes. Foliar applications of ZnO in all concentrations (4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 g L) led to an increase in biomass yield, number of capitula per plant, number of seeds per capitulum, and grain yield of plants compared with control plants. The maximum increase in the studied traits was obtained with a ZnO concentration of 6, 8, and 10 g L. In a second round of experiments, we observed the effect of nanoparticles and found that spraying with ZnO and ZnO-NPs at a concentration of 10 g L may ameliorate the deleterious effects of water deficit. The results of the present study support the idea that foliar application of ZnO improves safflower yield, especially under drought stress, and showed that using of nanoparticles increases the efficiency of the application