Some Fruit Characteristics of Iranian Cornelian Cherries (Cornus mas L.)

Although the Cornelian Cherry is widely grown in the north-eastern areas of Iran, it is not recognized as an important fruit crop as are many other fruit species. Large variability has been observed in all morphological and chemical compositions under study. Fruit weight varied from 1.499 to 3.29 g, whereas seed weight ranged from 0.249 to 0.425 g. The average lengths of fruits were between 15.22 and 22.31 mm, and the average widths of them were between 10.26-16.3 mm. The content of ascorbic acid ranged from 240-360 mg/ 100 g fresh weight. The total soluble solids and total acidity were 5-12.5% and 0.43-1.86% respectively. Grouping of Cornelian Cherry accessions based on 5 factors was performed and were divided into three sub-clusters. The results obtained from this study might be helpful for Cornelian Cherry breeders trying to develop new genotypes and varieties

Assessment of New Kiwifruit Genotypes (Actinidia chinensis (A.Chev.) A.Chev.) From Open Pollination by Molecular Markers and Phenotypic Traits

Molecular markers are useful tool to study genetic diversity and the relationship between genotypes. The evaluation of genetic diversity in species is a start step for breeding program. In this study, molecular markers were used to determine diversity and genetic relationships of 120 kiwifruit genotypes. During two consecutive growing seasons, thirty-two discretional morphological traits were studied by the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) in new kiwifruit genotypes. Average value of polymorphism per primer was 95.1%. Polymorphism information content values for all the primers used ranged from 0.32 to 0.41. High levels of polymorphism were found for all marker systems. Dendrogram generated using unweighted pair group method with arithmetic cluster analysis based on Jaccard’s similarity coefficient and dendrogram generated using Neighbor-joining cluster analysis accessions were separated 120 genotypes into 11 and 5 groups, respectively. For all markers, 171 marker–trait associations were found with the GLM, the significance criteria defined for the traits only at the P≤0.01 level. This study results provide useful genetic information about new kiwifruit genotypes of Iran and indicate that the use of new kiwifruit genotypes in breeding program could be useful for generating new cultivars with novel characteristics

Assessment of New Kiwifruit Genotypes (Actinidia chinensis (A.Chev.) A.Chev.) From Open Pollination by Molecular Markers and Phenotypic Traits

Molecular markers are useful tool to study genetic diversity and the relationship between genotypes. The evaluation of genetic diversity in species is a start step for breeding program. In this study, molecular markers were used to determine diversity and genetic relationships of 120 kiwifruit genotypes. During two consecutive growing seasons, thirty-two discretional morphological traits were studied by the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) in new kiwifruit genotypes. Average value of polymorphism per primer was 95.1%. Polymorphism information content values for all the primers used ranged from 0.32 to 0.41. High levels of polymorphism were found for all marker systems. Dendrogram generated using unweighted pair group method with arithmetic cluster analysis based on Jaccard’s similarity coefficient and dendrogram generated using Neighbor-joining cluster analysis accessions were separated 120 genotypes into 11 and 5 groups, respectively. For all markers, 171 marker–trait associations were found with the GLM, the significance criteria defined for the traits only at the P≤0.01 level. This study results provide useful genetic information about new kiwifruit genotypes of Iran and indicate that the use of new kiwifruit genotypes in breeding program could be useful for generating new cultivars with novel characteristics

Effects of combined Red and Blue light spectra as supplemental light on yield and fruit quality of sweet pepper

Purpose: The use of supplementary light in regions with low natural sunlight is necessary to fulfill the increasing consumer requests for fresh vegetables. This study aimed to investigate the effect of different combinations of red and blue LEDs on yield and quality of greenhouse-grown sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) fruits during the growth period. Research method: The experiments were conducted in Rasht, Iran as split plots in the form of a completely randomized design in three repetitions (four plants per plot) on two cultivars of sweet pepper (Padra and Shadlin). With the appearance of the first flower buds, plants were exposed to different light treatments including: three combinations of red (R) and blue (B) LEDs (T1:R8B1, T2:R7B2, and T3:R6B3), with a same intensity of 200 μmolm-2s-1 as supplement light to the natural light, together with natural light as control treatment (CT). Sweet pepper fruits were harvested weekly over 27 weeks and fruit yield and quality were assessed. Findings: Supplemental light using LEDs significantly increased yield and fruit quality parameters (except titratable acidity and maturity index) compared to the control. Marketable yield was differed among the light treatments and plants exposed to T3 showed the highest marketable yield (14.58 kg/m2). The effect of supplemental light on total yield was more detectable when the average daily light integral was the lowest (for example, the difference between T3 and the control treatment in January was 1.27 kg/m2, while this difference was 0.68 kg/m2 in June). No significant difference was observed between cultivars and T3 was the best treatment in most parameters. Research limitations: No limitations were found. Originality/Value: In the northern regions of Iran, even in the months that do not seem to have light limitations, the use of supplementary light is recommended to increase the yield of sweet peppers in the greenhouse

The Effect of Bio-Fertilizers and Phosphorus on Physiological Characteristics, Antioxidant Enzymes Activity and the Essential Oil Content of Green Mint (Mentha spicata L.) under Arsenic Stress Condition

Arsenic is one of the toxic heavy metals for plant growth and development. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the effects of phosphorus and bio-phosphate fertilizers to suppress the harmful effects of arsenic on green mint growth and development. Green mint plants were grown under arsenic stress conditions (0, 50, and 100 mg kg-1 soil) and after that treated with the bio- phosphate (0 and 50 mg/kg) and phosphate (0, 50, 100, and 150 mg kg-1 soil) fertilizer. The results showed that arsenic stress significantly reduced growth characteristics, so with increasing arsenic content the harmful effects on morphological and physiological characteristics increased. The incorporation of bio-phosphate and phosphorus fertilizers suppressed the negative impact of the arsenic stress and improved leaves number, plant height, leaf area, root, shoot fresh and dry weight. The activity of antioxidant enzymes, proline content and essential oil percentage was increased with the application of phosphorous and bio-phosphate fertilizers under arsenic stress. The average activity of catalase and peroxidase enzymes in the treated plants with phosphate and bio-phosphate fertilizers was significantly higher than the control. Furthermore, the application of phosphorous increased the activity of catalase and peroxidase enzymes from about 3 to 3.5 times and about 2.3 to 2.5 times more than the control, respectively, under arsenic stress conditions

Evaluation of the callogenesis of Centella asiatica, a medicinal plant

Centella asiatica, is well known to be a valuable medicinal plant for producing valuable compounds such as asiaticoside, asiatic acid, madcasoside and madcasic acid. The plant is believed to improve memory, lower blood pressure, be a strong antioxidant and anticancer. Therefore, it is important to optimize tissue culture methods in order to facilitate the extraction of medicinal compounds, gene transfer as well as improvement of medicinal properties of the plant. Calli prepared from various medicinal plants can be used to increase the amount of medicinal compounds in the cell suspension culture and gene transfer. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different concentrations of two hormones, BAP and NAA, on leaf explant for callus initiation, as one of the important sources of secondary metabolites production. For this purpose, leaf explants were treated with 6 different concentrations of BAP (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 mg/L) and 5 different concentrations of NAA (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2 mg/L). The results of this study showed that the best callus was obtained by the combination 1.5 mg/L of BAP and 0.5 mg/L of NAA, resulting in the leaf explants with callus induction of 100%, fresh weight of 1.457 gr and callus diameter of 1.459 cm. The results showed that two hormones of BAP and NAA have synergistic effects on the increase of the quality and quantity of the produced calli

Hybrid vigor estimation in some fresh Cucumber Hybrids

Since cucumber is one of the most economically important horticultural crops, production of hybrid seeds is very important for obtaining a profitable fruit yield. Detecting the best combination of the parents is one of the most important stages in each breeding program. By selecting parents with high heterosis in their progenies, breeders will be able to generate hybrids with high yield. This study was, thus, undertaken to examine heterosis effect on yield, yield components, and some qualitative characteristics in some fresh cucumber fruit hybrids and to select the best cross. Eighteen cucumber hybrids along with a standard national hybrid “Guilan 2” generated by VBG Company and a standard international hybrid 'PS' were planted in the Research Field of Lorestan University, Khoramabad, Iran, during 2013-2014. There were significant differences between genotypes for all measured characteristics. The mean comparison for different traits showed that B10×A4 hybrid had the highest total and marketable fruit yield and B12×A0 hybrid had the greatest early fruit yield. The greatest high parent heterosis, mid-parent heterosis and standard heterosis were belonged to B10×A11 and B10×A4 hybrids, for total fruit yield and marketable fruit yield, respectively. The greatest mid-parent heterosis and high parent heterosis were also related to B12×A0 and B10×A15 hybrids, for early fruit yield and time to first female flower appearance, respectively. Since there were notable differences between studied hybrids in terms of a number of examined traits, they can be used in crossing programs with the aim of releasing suitable hybrid cultivar

Assessment of General and Specific Combining Ability and Heterosis of Some Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) Lines for Vegetative Traits

Introduction: Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is one of the most widely cultivated vegetables. Plant length is a quantitative trait is controlled by many genes. These traits are difficult to study due to the complex nature of their inheritance. The combining ability estimation is useful in determining the breeding value of cucumber lines by suggesting the appropriate use in a breeding program. In studying combining ability, the most commonly utilized experimental approach is the diallel design. General combining ability is a measure of additive genetic action; and specific combining ability (SCA) is deviation from additivity. General combining ability is a main effect and SCA is an interaction. The aim is to determine the breeding value of the cross. Heterosis has been utilized to exploit dominance variance through production of hybrids. There are reports on positive and negative heterosis in cucumber however, there are differences between reports. This research was conducted to estimate general and specific combining ability and heterosis in cucumber inbred lines and hybrids to produce hybrids with high yield and quality. Material and Methods: In the spring of 2014, the seven parental lines and their 21 F1 hybrid were planted at the University of Guilan, in loamy sand field. Three replications were arranged in a randomized complete block design. The sandy loam soil was prepared by plowing and disking and formed into raised beds by plowed and harrow prior to plant establishment. Rows were on 1 m centers and plants were about 25 cm apart in the row. Prior to planting 150 kg·ha-1 of nitrogen from urea and 100 kg·ha-1 of phosphorous from triple superphosphate and 80 kg·ha-1 of potassium sulfate was applied. Side dressing with the same amount of nitrogen and phosphorus occurred at 50% flowering stage. Irrigation with 250 m3·ha-1, three times weekly, was begun at plant first flowering. In each replication, 12 individuals of each line or hybrid were spaced 25 cm within a row (plot) on 1 m centers. Data were collected from 12 plants per plot of each accession. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) of data were performed and where appropriate, ANOVA was followed by LSD mean comparison of trait values. For the combining ability analysis (GCA), measurements of plants within each plot were averaged, and means were used as experimental units for analysis by the computer program Diallel. Results and Discussion: Genotypes has significant effect on all measured characteristics. The highest plant length was related to B6 line and the lowest plant length was related to A0×B6 and B12×B6 hybrids. The highest number of lateral branch was related to B10×A11, B12×A0 and Guilan while the lowest number was related to A0, B12×B6, A15×A11. The highest plant length to first fruit was related to A4×A11 hybrids and the lowest plant length to first fruit was related to B10, B12, B10×A15 and B12×A4. The mean square of general combining ability (GCA) were significant only for plant height up to the first fruit but the mean square of specific combining ability revealed significant differences for all traits that indicated the important effects of dominance genes in inheritance of traits. Plant height up to first fruit has further general combining which reflects the non-additive genes action. The highest parent and standard negative heterosis for plant length was related to B12×B6 hybrid. This hybrid also showed the highest negative heterosis for number of lateral branch. The highest high parent negative heterosis for plant length to first fruit was related to A11×A4 hybrid while the highest standard negative heterosis was related to A0×A4 hybrid and the highest positive heterosis for this trait was obtained from B10×B12 and B12×A4 hybrids. Conclusion: Although heterosis is affected a plant length is the primary target for increasing yield in high density cultivation, the biological complexity of this trait makes it difficult to draw meaningful conclusions in order to track individual causal elements involved in heterosis. Cucumber breeders might develop determinate or indeterminate cultivars based on high GCA for certain traits. Cucumber breeders might develop cucumber cultivars with optimal vegetative growth based on high general combining ability for their traits. The results revealed B10 and A4 lines are proposed for hybrid production with optimum vegetative growth. The hybrid obtained by crossing of B12 and B6 are proposed for cultivation with high plant density

Morphological and biochemical variability of Froriepia

Froriepia (Froriepia subpinnata Ledeb. Bail.) is an endangered, indigenous, vegetable, also reported to have medicinal properties. There is insufficient information about yield, nutrient content and other biochemical compounds in this plant. The project was undertaken to develop information on morphological and phytochemical variation. There was variation among 52 accessions gathered from Guilan Province, Iran. There was a significant, positive, correlation between leaf dimension, plant height, and attributes related to biomass. Total phenols were 355.6–941.3 mg GAE∙100 g−1 FW, total flavonoids were 204.33–540.74 mg CAT∙100 g−1 FW, total carotenoids were 1.52 to 3.15 μg∙100 g−1 FW, and antioxidant capacity was 31.36–81.82 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging (DPPH%). Chlorogenic acid was the dominant phenolic compound in the plant. Path analysis indicated the maximum direct effect on antioxidant was for total phenols (0.316). The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean cluster, based on combined morphological and biochemical traits, indicated three distinct groups with high inter- and intra-regional variation. The Froriepia accessions possess valuable biochemical and antioxidant properties for potential medicinal use

Callus induction and organogenesis capacity from lamina and petiole explants of Anthurium andreanum Linden (Casino and Antadra)

This paper describes a rapid and efficient protocol to propagate Anthurium andreanum Linden cultivars Casino and Antadra in presence of IBA, NAA, 2,4-D, KIN and BA through callus induction and organogenesis. Segments of lamina and petiole (micro-cuttings or explants) were cultured in MS basal medium with different concentrations of NAA (0.0, 0.01, 0.1, 0.5, 1 and 2 mg/L) and BA (0.0, 0.5, 1, 2 and 3 mg/L) to produce callus. After 65 days, the most callus production was observed in medium containing 0.5 mg/L NAA + 3 mg/L BA in dark conditions. Production of callus in younger explants grown in dark was better than that the older explants grown in light conditions. The development of shoots and plantlets was initiated later from calluses. NAA (0.0, 0.005, 0.01 and 0.02 mg/L), 2,4-D (0.00, 0.05 and 0.1 mg/L), KIN (0.0 and 1.0 mg/L) and BA (0.0 and 1.0 mg/L) were used for shoot proliferation. The best proliferation of shoots per callus (22.83 shoots per cm of callus) was observed on medium supplemented with 0.01 mg/L NAA + 1 mg/L BA after 8 weeks in a 16/8 h light and dark cycle under a photoperiod of 50 μmol/m/s. Callus production and shoot proliferation were better in Antadra cv. than those of Casino. IBA (0.0, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mg/L), NAA (0.0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.25 mg/L) and KIN (0.0 and 0.2 mg/L) were applied for rooting of proliferated shoots. In root induction media, the largest number of root (11.50 roots per plantlets) was obtained on medium supplemented with 1 mg/L IBA + 0.2 mg/L KIN. Rooting was significantly higher in Casino cv. Regenerated plants were transferred to peat: perlite: sand (1:1:1) after hardening and they showed 96% of survival