Effects of environmental factors on growth traits in Ghezel sheep

The present study was carried out to study the effects of environmental factors on growth traits in Ghezel sheep breed. Growth related data (birth weight, weaning weight, month 6 weight, average dailygain from birth to weaning and weaning to month 6) were collected from lambs that have been born during 1994 - 2006 at Ghezel sheep breeding station in west Azerbaijan and data was analyzed usingSAS software. The birth year and herd had a significant effect on all traits (P < 0.01) while the effect of birth type significantly (P < 0.01) affected all traits except birth weight and daily gain from birth toweaning periods. The lamb's sex had a significant effect on all traits except daily gain from weaning to month 6 weight periods. The effect of dam’s age had a significant effect only on daily gain fromweaning to month 6 weight periods. The interactions between birth year and lamb’s sex, birth year and birth type, birth year and herd, lamb's sex and herd and also dam's age and herd were significantlyaffected on all traits (P < 0.01). The interactions between lamb’s sex and dam's age and birth type and dam's age significantly affected weight of birth, daily gain from birth to weaning period and month 6ages, respectively (P < 0.05). In all ages, the male and single lambs were heavier than female and twin lambs. Results showed that environmental factors have an important role in expressing of geneticpotential in the lambs

Susceptibility of Some Grapevine Cultivars and Rootstocks to Crown Gall Disease

The effects of five interspecific hybrid rootstocks on the susceptibility of grafted scions to crown gall were studied forsix years in field as well as greenhouse experiments. The incidence of crown gall on susceptible grape scion cultivars(Vitis vinifera cvs. ‘Thompson seedless’ and ‘Red Sahebi’) was not affected by their grafting onto resistant rootstocks,including NAZ4 (Vitis vinifera cv. ‘Jighjigha’ × Riparia Gloire) and NAZ6 (V. vinifera cv. ‘Gharaozum’ × Kober 5BB),or on self-rooted cultivars when the inoculated vines were monitored over a three-month period in a greenhouse.The weights of the galls induced on non-grafted vines by two of six strains of Agrobacterium vitis and Agrobacteriumtumefacience biovar 1 were significantly different. A. vitis strain AG57 and Agrobacterium tumefacience biovar1 strain 16/6 induced significantly larger galls (8.9 and 5.4 mm respectively) on ‘Thompson seedless’ and ‘RedSahebi’ when these were growing as self-rooted plants than when grafted on NAZ4 and NAZ6. Observations over afour-year period in the field showed that there was no difference in crown gall incidence until the second year. Scionsgrafted onto rootstocks of NAZ4 and NAZ6 had a 21.5% and 6.8% incidence, compared to 55% for self-rooted vines.In another field experiment with naturally infected scions of V. vinifera cv. ‘Asgari’ (a very susceptible cultivar),crown gall was apparent on vines grafted onto all rootstocks after six years. The incidence of crown gall was 18%on NAZ6 compared to 68% on NAZ1. During a five-year period, many self-rooted vines died, compared to only afew scions grafted onto NAZ4 and NAZ6 rootstocks that died. At the end of the study, many pathogenic strains ofAgrobacterium spp. were isolated from the roots of ‘Thompson seedless’ and ‘Red Sahebi’ vines, but not from rootsor vines when NAZ4 and NAZ6 rootstocks were used

Short term response of grapevine grown hydroponically to salinity: Mineral composition and growth parameters

The response of hydroponically grown four ownrooted table grape (Vitis vinifera L.) cultivars ('Red Rishbaba', 'Red Sahebi', 'Dastarchin' and 'Red Sultana') to different salt concentrations (0, 25, 50 and 100 mM NaCl) was studied under greenhouse condition. Growth parameters, total chlorophyll (a+b) and proline contents were determined in leaves and roots. Cl-, Na+, K+ and NO3 - concentrations were measured in lamina, petiole, stem and root. Shoot growth, total dry weight, total leaf chlorophyll (a+b), NO3 --N and K+ contents were significantly reduced (P≤0.05) under NaCl stress, whereas proline, Cl- and Na+ accumulation increased significantly with increasing salinity. 'Red Rishbaba' and 'Red Sahebi' showed a less decrease in total leaf chlorophyll, K+ and NO3 - contents, while proline accumulation in these cultivars was higher than that of 'Dastarchin' and 'Red Sultana'. Also, shoots of 'Red Sahebi' and 'Red Rishbaba' accumulated lower Cl- and Na+ than other cultivars. In conclusion, the overall results showed that 'Red Rishbaba' and 'Red Sahebi' were more tolerant than 'Dastarchin' and 'Red Sultana'.

Leaf water potential, photosynthetic pigments and compatible solutes alterations in four grape cultivars under salinity

A hydroponic culture experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different concentrations (0, 25, 50 and 100 mM) NaCl on own-rooted table grape (Vitis vinifera L.) cultivars (red 'Rishbaba', red 'Sahebi', 'Dastarchin' and red 'Sultana') under greenhouse conditions. Cultivars were evaluated for growth analysis leaf area, leaf water potential and the chlorophyll a, b and carotenoid contents in relation to proline and soluble sugars accumulation. Salinity treatments caused a growth reduction (P ≤ 0.05) in all the cultivars. Also leaf water potential and chlorophyll a, b contents decreased whereas carotenoid, proline and soluble sugars increased with increasing NaCl concentration. 'Dastarchin' and red 'Sultana' showed the salt- sensitivity, the highest loss of growth, leaf water potential and chlorophyll content and the lowest accumulation of carotenoids, proline and soluble sugars. Also salt stress significantly (P &lt; 0.001) increased the rate of lipid peroxidation in the all cultivars particularly in 'Dastarchin' and red 'Sultana'. The increase in malondialdehyde content indicated that salinity induced oxidative stress. There was a significant negative correlation between leaf water potential and NaCl concentrations (r2: -0.781, p &lt; 0.001). A positive correlation was also found between lamina proline contents and NaCl concentrations (r2: +0.964, p &lt; 0.001) for all salinity treatments. Considering overall results red 'Rishbaba' and red 'Sahebi' showed higher capacity to tolerate salinity when compared to 'Dastarchin' and red 'Sultana'.

Estimation of genetic parameters for body weight at different ages in Mehraban sheep

The objective of the present study is to estimate genetic parameters of birth weight (BW, n = 3005), weaning weight (WW, n = 2800), 6 months weight (6 MW, n = 2600), 9 months weight (9 MW, n = 1990) and yearling weight (YW, n = 1450) of Mehraban sheep, collected during 1995 - 2007 at Mehraban sheep Breeding Station in Hamedan province, Iran. (Co)variance components and genetic parameters were estimated with univariate and multivariate animal model using restricted maximum likelihood (REML) procedure. Effect of herd, lamb's sex, and year of birth were significant on all traits (P &lt; 0.05). The estimates of direct heritability for BW, WW, 6MW, 9MW and YW were 0.30±0.05, 0.30±0.04, 0.35±0.05, 0.37±0.04 and 0.43±0.04 respectively. Maternal heritability estimates for mentioned traits were 0.17±0.03, 0.18±0.03, 0.14±0.03, 0.12±0.03 and 0.10±0.02, respectively. The estimates of the direct genetic correlation between BW-WW, BW-6MW, BW-9MW, BW-YW, WW-6MW, WW-9MW, WW-YW, 6MW-9MW, 6MW-YW and 9MW-YW were 0.287±0.09, 0.305±0.09, 0.249±0.03, 0.136±0.07, 0.825±0.34, 0.713±0.05, 0.845±0.52, 0.862±0.06, 0.596±0.09 and 0.712±0.02 respectively. The estimates of the phenotypic correlation between traits were positive and ranged from 0.152 for BW-9MW to 0.835 for 9MW-YW.Key words: Mehraban sheep, heritability, genetic correlation, body weight traits

Analysis of SSR and AFLP Markers to Detect Genetic Diversity Among Selected Clones of Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) cv. Keshmeshi

To assess the genetic differences between clones of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) cv. Keshmeshi, ten selected clones from a clonal selection programme were analysed by 23 Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) and seven AFLP primer combinations. No intra-varietal differences between the clones could be detected by SSRs, whereas eight out of the 499 AFLP fragments generated by the seven primer combinations were polymorphic. The number of markers ranged from 44 (E34-M34) to 97 (E31-M32), with an average of 71.3 fragments per primer combination. Cluster analysis based on the AFLP data separated all the clones of Keshmeshi in two groups. The first group included nine white berry skin clones without any genetic differences, and the second group with only a red berry skin clone. AFLP could only distinguish the red berry clone of Keshmeshi from other white berry clones

Genetic evaluation of body weight traits in Iranian native Ghezel sheep

The aim of the current study was to estimate genetic parameters and trends for body weight traits at different ages in Ghezel lambs. Traits included were birth weight (BW), 3-month weight (3MW), 6-month weight (6MW), 9-month weight (9MW), and yearling weight (YW). Data and pedigree information used in the present study were collected at the Breeding Station of Ghezel sheep during 1986-2009. (Co) variance components were estimated using REML procedure and breeding values of animals were predicted with Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (BLUP) methodology under univariate analysis. Three different animal models were fitted. The models consisted of the direct additive genetic effect but differed in combinations of maternal additive genetic and maternal permanent environmental effects. Genetic trends for each trait were obtained by regressing the means of predicted breeding values on year of birth. The estimates of direct heritability were 0.285, 0.371, 0.388, 0.450 and 0.179, respectively. Also, the maternal heritability was estimated 0.113, 0.031, 0.021 and 0.030 for BW, WW, 6MW and 9MW, respectively. Direct genetic trends were positive and significant for BW, WW, 6MW (p<0.01), 9MW and YW (p<0.05) and were obtained 2.34, 46.20, 55.11, 33.40 and 24.01 (g/year), respectively. Also, maternal trends for BW, WW, 6MW and YW were positive and highly significant (p<0.01) and were 3.37, 17.05, 12.56 and 16.30 (g/year), respectively. The results indicated that considering maternal effects in the statistical model make accurate estimates of genetic parameters. Also, improvement of growth traits in Ghezel sheep seems to be likely in selection programs

Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Activities of Skins and Seeds of Foreign and Iranian Grapes

Grape skins and seeds are sources of phenolic compounds that contribute to the sensory characteristics and beneficial bioactivity of wines and other processed foods. Grape seed and skin extracts from foreign, wild and Iranian cultivars were assayed for their antioxidant properties and phenolic compositions. Finally, the results were compared with those of Vitis vinifera cv. Muscat of Alexandria and V.labrusca. Among the skins of grape cultivars analyzed, those of Lalsiyah contained the highest amount of total phenolics (1067.5 mg 100g-1 gallic acid equivalent of fresh weight) and antiradical activities (0.79 m mol g-1 trolox equivalent of fresh weight). In contrast, Dedeskiramfi contained highest amount of seed total phenolics (2277.3 mg 100 g-1 GAE of fresh weight). The phenolic content of different grapes depends mainly on the grape skin color. The total phenolic content of W8 and W11 with white skins was significantly different from grapes with dark skins. Lalsiyah skin contained the highest amount of total flavonoid, total anthocyanins content, total procyanidin monomers and antiradical activity. Since, total phenolic content is an index of potent antioxidant capability; Lalsiyah will be good resource of antioxidant in food and pharmaceutical industries

Amount of Macronutrients and Micronutrients in Petiole of Some Iranian and Imported Grape Cultivars

Introduction: Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is one of the oldest and most important perennial crops in the world. Several native grapevine genotypes, highly appreciated for their organoleptic characteristics and commercial potential are still cultivated in Iran. Developing viticulture requires the conservation of autochthonous varieties that have evolved several mechanisms enabling them to cope with the local bioclimatic and edaphic conditions. Nutrition is a key component of vineyard management that has the potential to influence various factors in vine production that includes fruit set and quality. To develop suitable nutrient plant growers need to have an understanding of the factors such as cultivars, rootstocks, soil type, irrigation type and nutrients that they are applying in the vineyard. The uptake of nutrients from the soil depends on different factors namely; their soluble content in it, soil pH, plant growth stage, plant genetics and types of soil and fertilizers. Plant species have a variety of capacities in removing and accumulating elements. Vigorous genotypes are more capable of finding the necessary nutrients from the surrounding soil environment. This indicates that it does not require as much nutrient as poor vigor genotypes. So, for sustainable viticulture, it is important to know the interactive influences of cultivars, soil characters, climatic conditions, and irrigation type on vine productivity. Materials and Methods: To evaluate and compare the amount of macronutrient elements (N, P, K, Mg and Ca) and micronutrient elements (B, Zn and Mn) in petiole of some Iranian grapevine cultivars including Bidanesefid Qazvin- Peikany Kashmar- Khalili Shiraz-Rasha and four foreign cultivars Thompson seedless, Flame seedless, Perlette and Black seedless,This study was carried out as –randomized complete blocks design -with-four replications in the Kahriz Horticulture Research station -.A total of 30 adult leaves per cultivar were taken from lower, middle and upper regions of the vines bulked together and transported directly to the laboratory. They were oven-dried for 48 h at 70 °C and grounded to pass through a 1 mm diameter sieve. The concentrations of the -mineral elements were determined using an atomic absorption and spectrophotometer. Results and Discussion: The results showed there was significant difference among study cultivars in respect of elements concentration in petiole-. Among 8 cultivars, the highest and the lowest petiole N concentration were recorded in Flame seedless-and Peikany and Rasha cultivars respectively. P -concentration in Bidane sefid Qazvin was significantly higher than all tested cultivars. The highest and the lowest Mg amounts were measured in Peikany and Bidanesefid Qazvin, respectively. In petiole of cultivars B concentration was in the range of toxicity except Rasha that had the concentration less than -other cultivars. Iranian cultivars had lesscap ability to absorb Zn than abroad cultivars. The highest and lowest Zn were recorded in petioles of Thompson seedless and Peikany cultivars, respectively. It was reported that the mineral content of a grapevine is a combined result of the root systems ability to absorb, trans locate and accumulate the different nutrients. Previous investigations had clearly stated the differences in nutrients uptake and content of many grape cultivars. Furthermore, grape cultivars have shown differences in their nutrients uptake and distribution. These differences may be explained in different ways. First, cultivar may have different absorption capability or tendency for some specific minerals. Second, differences exist in translocation and distribution of nutrients and third, hormone synthesis of cultivar roots and their translocation is done. Finally, some nutrients might be assimilated mostly by roots; thus reducing the amount translocated to the shoots. In addition, some grape varieties may alter soil chemical characters and play a role in improving nutrients uptake. The rootstocks of V. labruscaand scions grafted on them achieve a higher ability in uptaking iron, even in markedly alkaline soils. Such tolerant varieties can mobilize iron by reducing soil pH at root level, thanks to their ability to emit H+ and/or organic acids.In the latter case, iron is absorbed and transferred as a complex. Roots of some cultivars can also reduce Fe3+ to Fe2 + encouraging its migration from roots to leaves. Conclusion: The studied grapevine cultivars displayed a considerable level of variability based on mineral content analysis. The results suggested that significant differences existed in the leaf petioles elemental concentrations among the grapevine cultivars analysis that might be in due part to the ability of the cultivar to accumulate metals. This study could be also used as a reference for grape growers to help them decide the best varieties that might grow under their soil conditions giving the best growth and yield productivity