Investigating Nutritional Value of Bassia scoparia Seed in vitro for Ruminants Nutrition in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions

Introduction: Halophytes are plants with ability to survive in saline and alkaline soils and are drought resistant. In many areas of the world, native and introduced halophytes are forage resources, especially for sustaining grazing livestock when other feeds are scarce. Iran is a typical country of wide deserts and saline ecosystems and halophytes plays a major role in the halophytic and xerophytic vegetation of Iran. kochia is a drought-resistant annual plant that its cultivation is increasing in Iran. Due to the possibility of irrigating this plant with saline water, it can play an important role in providing the required feed to livestock in areas with saline soil and water by producing significant grains with high protein content. The aim of this study was to investigate effect of different levels of kochia seed in high concentrate diets on rumen fermentation.Materials and Methods: Dietary treatments included control diet (no kochia seed) and three diets levels containing 10, 20 and 30 % of ration DM kochia seed. In all treatments, soybean meal and wheat bran in the diet were substituted with kochia seed. Gas production and dual-flow continuous culture system were used in this study. In the gas production test, treatments arranged as complete randomized design. The amount of gas produced in the samples was recorded at different hours after incubation and the parameters of gas production, organic matter digestibility and metabolic energy were calculated. In the second experiment, eight dual-flow continuous culture fermenters (1320 ml) were used in two periods (7 days adaptation, 3 days sampling). In each period, fermenters were randomly assigned to treatments. Temperature (38.5°C) and liquid and (10%/h) solid (5%/h) dilution rates were kept constant in the fermenters. Anaerobic conditions were maintained by the infusion of N2 at a rate of 40ml/min. Treatments were randomly assigned to fermenters. Fermenters were fed daily with 97 g dry matter. During sampling days, collection vessels were maintained at 4ºC to impede microbial action. Solid and liquid effluents were mixed and homogenized for 1 min, and a 500ml sample was removed via aspiration. Upon completion of each period, effluent from the 3 days of sampling was composited and mixed within fermenter and homogenized for 1 min. Subsamples were taken for total N, ammonia-N, and VFA analyses. Data were analyzed using the GLM procedure of SAS. Fermenter and period were considered random effects. Comparisons between treatments were completed with Tukey’s test. Effects were considered significant at P<0.05.Results and Discussion: Inclusion of kochia seed in the diet increased gas production potential and amount of produced gas compared to the control diet. Increasing levels of kochia seed in the diet linearly increased metabolizable energy, organic matter digestibility and short chain fatty acid production. Low lignin content and high hemicellulose digestibility could be the main reasons behind higher metabolizable energy and organic matter digestibility observed in kochia containing diets. The observed increase in gas production potential as well as the volume of produced gas in kochia seed containing diets also supports that this feedstuff does not contain antinutritional factors with antimicrobial properties or the amount of these compounds in the grain is not significant. In the dual flow continuous culture study, dry matter digestibility linearly increased with increasing levels of kochia seed in the diet. Organic matter digestibility tended to increase using kochia seed in the diet (P =0.08). An increase in protein digestibility observed in treatments containing 20 and 30 % kochia seed compared to other treatments. Total VFA concentration increased linearly in diets containing kochia seed (P = 0.01). This finding could be the result of higher organic matter digestibility in kochia seed containing diets. Also, it has been suggested that higher rumen fiber digestibility or partial replacement of starch with a digestible cell wall can increase the total VFA concentration by increasing the population of fiber-degrading bacteria, a mechanism that is especially important in high-concentrate diets. Average ammonia nitrogen concentration, the concentration before feeding and 2 hours after feeding decreased in kochia containing diets compared to control diet. Despite the increase in crude protein digestibility in diets containing 20 and 30% kochia seed, the average ammonia nitrogen concentration in these treatments was lower compared to the control treatment. This finding can be the result of higher use of ammonia nitrogen in these treatments. The higher digestibility of dry matter and the tendency to increase the digestibility of organic matter by increasing level of kochia seed in the diet could support this idea.Conclusion: The results of this study showed that using kochia seed in the diet up to 30% of ration dry matter could support optimal rumen fermentation. Due to the low water requirement and the ability of kochia plant to grow in saline soils on the one hand and the desirable energy and protein content of kochia seeds on the other hand, this grain can be used as a suitable option to meet part of the feed needed for ruminants in saline areas. Limited information is available and more in vivo research is needed in this area

Prolonged exposure to freezing stress reduces the ability of chickpea seedlings to effectively tolerate extremely low temperatures

The duration and intensity of freezing stress are the most critical factors determining injury in autumn chickpeas, limiting their production and development. To evaluate the effects of freezing temperature and duration on the survival rate (SU%), as well as the physiological and biochemical characteristics of autumn chickpea seedlings, a study was conducted using five different temperatures (0, -6, -8, -10, and -12°C) and five different durations (1 h, 2 h, 3 h, 4 h, and 5 h) of exposure to freezing stress. The SU% of chickpea seedlings decreased to zero after exposure to temperatures of -10°C and -12°C for 5 hours. As the temperature decreased from -8°C to -12°C and the duration of exposure to freezing stress increased from 1 to 5 hours, the leaf membrane stability index decreased by 33%, 48%, 46%, 57%, and 58%, respectively. The highest and lowest total pigment contents were observed after 1 hour at 0°C and 5 hours at -12°C, respectively. The maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv’/Fm’) was not affected by temperatures as low as -8°C in any of the time treatments during the recovery period. However, this parameter’s value decreased as the freezing stress duration increased. At -12°C, the activity of ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, and peroxidase increased by 44.6%, 38.3%, and 33.0%, respectively, as the duration of stress was increased from 1 hour to 5 hours. A positive and significant correlation was observed between plant dry weight, membrane stability index, photosynthetic pigment content, and Fv’/Fm’ with SU% after exposure to freezing stress. The minimum temperature and the maximum duration of freezing stress tolerance in chickpea seedlings were observed at -12°C for two hours. Our findings confirm that prolonging the freezing duration disrupts the defense mechanisms of chickpea seedlings. Therefore, future studies on breeding chickpeas tolerant to freezing stress should concentrate on attributes strongly correlated with SU%

Evaluation of Drought Stress Thresholds in Ornamental Barberry (Berberis thunbergii cv. Atropurpurea) Shrub in Mashhad Condition

Introduction: The population growth and water requirement for domestic consumption, industry, agriculture and urban development in Mashhad megacity, increase pressures on freshwater resources. Therefore, planning for water use optimization is necessary. The new allocation of water resources for landscape greenish, especially in arid and semi-arid is difficult. Therefore, water allocation to landscape is valuable and should be used efficiently. According to water resource limitation, using drought-tolerant plant species and determine threshold of drought tolerance in landscape can improve water use management. Plants that naturally survive in your area are the ones best adapted to your soil, climate and rainfall. By selecting plants that either avoid or tolerate dry conditions, a beautiful, thriving landscape can be made possible. Drought-tolerant plants survive long periods of drought by storing water internally or by developing extensive root systems that sink deep into the soil. Many drought-tolerant plants have additional protection through a waxy coating that reduces evaporation or hairs on the leaf surface that reflect some of the light, insulating the plant. Most drought-tolerant plants use several of these features to survive on low amounts of precipitation. Japanese barberry is a compact woody deciduous shrub with arching branches. Leaf colours include green, bluish-green to dark red and purple. B. thunbergii's progress in the United States has, to date, been held in check to the south by, probably, its need for cold winter temperatures for stratification of the seeds, and to the west by, probably, drought conditions. Although very drought tolerant once established, a very dry terrain would tend to discourage its incursion. Rugged, adaptable, no serious problems or pests, easy to maintain, transplants readily, shade and drought tolerant, deer resistant is typical ad copy found at any site offering this shrub of colourful fall foliage. In this regard, drought stress tolerance thresholds of ornamental barberry plant in Mashhad landscape were evaluated. Materials and Methods: In order to determine the qualitative and quantitative drought stress tolerance thresholds of ornamental barberry (Berberis thunbergii) plant an experiment was conducted basis on randomized complete block design with three replications in Plant Production Complex of Mashhad Municipality. Treatments included; 100, 80, 60, 40, and 20% of culculated water requirements based on evaporation pan data. Two years old plants with similar size were transplanted from pots to field in 16 March 2012. Treatments were applied after establishment in 28 April and sampling was arranged in 6 August, 23 August, 6 September, and 7 October. During the growing season, the evaporation level was daily measured from pan Class A. In each sampling two plants sampled randomly from each plot for measuring the plant height, highest branches, number of branches, fresh and dry weight, dry mater percentage, irrigation water use index and freshness index. Results and Discussion: Results showed that with increasing severity of drought stress plant height of barberry reduced significantly, but there were no significant difference between 100 and 80% of water requirement treatments. The highest branches reduced by diminishing water application volume but there were no significant difference among 100, 80 and 60% of water requirement application. The maximum of branch number was observed at 60 percent water requirement, however, there were no significant difference between 100 and 60% of water requirement treatments. The number of branches in 60% was 26% lower than 80% of water requirement. Therefore, application of 60% water requirement with 23 branches per plant produced highest branch number. The highest and lowest plant fresh weight was measured in 100% and 20% water requirement application, respectively. Application of 60% of water requirement produced statistically on the same biomass production of 100% of water requirement application. The lowest freshness index was observed in 20 and 40% of water requirement, but there were no significant difference among 60, 80 and 100% of water requirement applications. Conclusion: Generally, results showed that ornamental barberry plant is a drought resistant plant and it can be alive by only 20% of its water requirement application, but for having freshness ornamental barberry in urban landscape, at least 60% of its water requirement should be applied. Based on the present results, water application of ornamental barberry could be reduced to 60% of calculated water requirement. It could be saved water application of barberry up to 4400 m-3.ha-1 in a growing season in Mashhad condition

Exposure to TiO2 nanoparticles improves the physiological characteristics of drought‐challenged chickpeas (Cicer arietinum L.)

Abstract Drought stress markedly affects plant growth and crop production. In turn, treatment with some metal‐based nanoparticles (NPs) such as TiO2‐NPs could improve the plant tolerance against drought stress. In the present study, the effects of different levels of moisture regime (40%, 60%, and 90% field capacity [FC]) in conjunction with various concentrations of TiO2‐NPs (0, 5, 10, 20, and 40 mg. L−1) on chickpea were studied. Exposure of drought‐challenged chickpea plants to TiO2‐NPs raised antioxidant enzyme activity compared with plants grown under drought without TiO2‐NP treatment. The highest activity of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) was observed at 40% FC and application of 40 mg. L−1 TiO2‐NPs. Moreover, peroxidase (POX) activity has increased with the enhancing concentration of TiO2‐NPs to 20 mg. L−1 at 90% FC. In comparison, the application of 40 mg. L−1 TiO2‐NPs and decreasing levels of FC caused a rise in the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD). Exposure to TiO2‐NPs raised the amount of total phenols and 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picryl‐hydrazyl‐hydrate (DPPH) at different levels of moisture regime. The content of malondialdehyde (MDA) at 60% FC has decreased by 22% after treatment with 20 mg. L−1 TiO2‐NPs compared with control plants. Also, treatment with TiO2‐NPs heightened the proline content, and the highest amount of proline was obtained at 40% FC by applying 20 mg. L−1 NPs. The treatment with TiO2‐NPs in the moisture regimes led to higher chlorophyll and carotenoid production in chickpea plants. Taken together, the application of TiO2‐NPs could raise the defense potential of chickpea plants against oxidative stress caused by the generation of reactive oxygen species

Stress memory in seedlings of primed seed chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) using sodium nitroprusside under cold stress

Pea cultivation has been developed as a rich source of protein in many countries. The spring cultivation of chickpeas has low performance and efficiency due to the short length of the growth period and the confrontation of the reproductive period with drought and high temperature stress. Autumn cultivation of chickpeas is introduced as an important solution in reducing the yield caused by high temperature and drought stress during the flowering time of spring cultivation. However, in autumn cultivation, sensitivity to cold is the main limitation. So, the present study was performed to investigate the effect of nitric oxide on stress memory due to seed priming with sodium nitroprusside for cold tolerance of chickpea seedlings under simulated autumn temperatures. This experiment was conducted as a factorial in a completely randomized design with nine replicates at the Research Center for Plant Sciences of Ferdowsi University, Mashhad Iran, in 2020. Experimental factors included seed priming at two levels (control and sodium nitroprusside) and chickpea cultivars, including a susceptible genotype (MCC505) and a cold-tolerant cultivar (Saral). This experiment evaluated the gene expression of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and ascorbate peroxidase) in the seedling stage. The results revealed that superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and ascorbate peroxidase genes were expressed in sodium nitroprusside and control treatments. In the Saral cultivar, sodium nitroprusside increased the gene expression of superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and ascorbate peroxidase enzymes by 29, 88, 54, and 63%, respectively. On the other hand, the gene expression of these enzymes in the control treatment may be due to the effect of temperature on them. There was a significant increase in the expression of superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and ascorbate peroxidase genes in the Saral cultivar compared to the MCC505 genotype. In general, sodium nitroprusside increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes in the Saral cultivar through the expression of antioxidant enzyme genes

Effect of Different Light Sources on Morphology and Growth of Potato Plantlets under in-vitro Conditions and their Effect on Minituber Production in Greenhouse

Introduction: Conventional seed programmes take more than 10 years and diseases during each round of field multiplication become increasingly common and especially those transmitted through seed tubers. In contrast, the production of large volume of propagation material in protected environments requires only a few additional years of traditional seed multiplication in the field to produce the desired seed with an improved health status. This is useful especially in countries where there are no vector-free production areas for producing high quality potato seed tubers. In the last few decades, alternative seed production programmers have been developed in which the first multiplication steps are speeded up using in vitro plantlets, microtubers or minitubers. In the area of controlled environment agriculture (CEA), one of the most commonly discussed topics is lighting. The lighting system is generally the most expensive component of a controlled environment agriculture facility in terms of upfront costs as well as ongoing expenses (electricity use as well as replacement lamps). Naturally, advances in lighting technology are of great interest to the controlled environment agriculture community for these very reasons. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are the most recent lighting technology to enter the controlled environment agriculture arena and have great potential to improve performance and reduce the overall cost of controlled environment lighting. Growth and morphogenetic effects of light (quality, intensity, and duration) and phytohormones are well documented, but their modes of action and mutual interactions are far from clear. One of the important questions is whether at least some of the morphogenetic effects of light are mediated by changes in phytohormone levels. This experiment was conducted in order to study the effect of different light sources on morphology and growth of potato plantlets under in-vitro conditions and their effect on minituber production in greenhouse to decrease energy consumption and production costs. Materials and Methods: A factorial experiment was conducted based on completely randomized design with six replications under in-vitro conditions and four replications in greenhouse. Factors were consisted of cultivars (cv. Agria and Savalan) and light sources (LEDs emitting red, blue, white, combination of red and blue and also tubular fluorescent lamps as control). The experiment was carried out at the tissue culture laboratory of Yeka Seed Technology of Iran. Disease-free potato in vitro plantlets of Agria and Savalan cultivars were derived from the potato germplasm bank of Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran. The plantlets were propagated using single-node cutting. Eight explants were cultured in sterilized culture vessels containing 30 ml of MS and pH was set to 5.8 before adding agar and autoclaving. Culture vessel were closed with polycarbonate caps and sealed with household plastic foil and were placed in a growth chamber at 24 °C and 16 h photoperiod for 4 weeks. Results and Discussion: Results indicated that red spectrum caused an increase in plantlet height and Agria had a higher plantlet height under in-vitro conditions. Root length was higher in red-blue combination and no difference was observed between cultivars under in-vitro condition. The highest and lowest leaf area was obtained in white and red spectrum, respectively. Also, Savalan showed a higher leaf area in comparison with Agria. The lowest node number in plantlets was observed in red spectrum and the highest in white. The highest and lowest internode length was related to red and blue spectrum, respectively. Fluorescent light was resulted in the lowest plantlet fresh weight and no significant difference was observed among other treatments according to this parameter. Stem diameter and number of branches was not affected by different lights. Results of greenhouse study indicated that light conditions before transplanting of plantlets did not affected minituber number, while minituber weight was significantly affected by this factor and the lowest mean of this parameter was obtained in red spectrum compared to the other treatments. Conclusion: Generally, results showed that less leaf area plantlet in vitro was also less leaf area in greenhouse (red light emitting diode). Leaf area is an important criteria for photosynthetic and biomass production. Therefore, in this experiment fresh and dry matter production was affected by this characteristics and red light showed the lowest dry matter production. LEDs could be considered as suitable light sources producing plantlets comparable with those grown under fluorescent light under in-vitro conditions along with saving energy and ultimately lower production cost

Investigation on morphological characteristics, grain and oil yields of castor bean at different plant densities and irrigation intervals

Because of importance of castor bean oil in different industries and limited water resources in many parts of Iran, an experiment was conducted to determine the effect of irrigation intervals and plant densities on grain, oil yield and yield components of castor bean, at Experimental Station, College of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Four irrigation intervals (one, two, three and four weeks) and four plant densities (1, 2, 3 and 4 plants per square meter) were compared in a split arrangement based on completely randomized block design with four replications. The plant characteristics were studied in terms of plant height, inflorescence height, the first inflorescence height from soil surface, inflorescence number, branch number, number of capsule per plant, number of grain per plant, biomass per plant, 1000 grains weight, grain yield, harvest index and oil yield. Result showed that the effect of different irrigation intervals was significant on all of characteristics under study except harvest index and oil percentage (