Effect of volk oil and potassium nitrate on budbreak, yield and some quantitative and qualitative characteristics of pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) nuts

Purpose: The aim of this study was to improve yield, and characteristics of pistachio nuts of three cultivars by foliar application of volk oil and potassium nitrate. Research method: The study was carried out during the bud swelling stage using a factorial design, following a randomized complete block design with four replications. The experimental factors consisted of three cultivars, namely 'Fandoghi', 'Hasan-Abbasi', and 'Haj-Abdollahi', and three treatments: volk oil (1% and 2%), potassium nitrate (KNO3) (0.3% and 0.5%), and a mixture of volk oil and KNO3 (1% volk oil + 0.3% KNO3, and 1% volk oil + 0.5% KNO3). A control treatment was also included in the study. Findings: The results of this study showed that the highest percentage of open shell nuts (52.17%) was observed in ‘Hasan-Abbasi’ cultivar, and the highest fresh weight of 100 nuts in ‘Haj-Abdollahi’ (202.2 g). The lowest ounce (29.07), the highest dry weight of 100 nuts and 10 kernels weight were obtained 76.26 and 26.56 g in ‘Fandoghi’ cultivar, respectively. The use of 2% volk oil treatment was effective in budbreaking, as well as increasing the percentage of open shell nuts and reducing the percentage of balk nuts. Research limitations: There was no limitation. Originality/Value: 0.5 % KNO3 increased the fresh and dry weight of 100 nuts and decreased ounce of pistachio in all cultivars. Therefore, the use of volk oil and KNO3 treatments can be effective in pistachio orchards, and increase the quantity and quality of the yield

Study of defense genes expression profile pattern of wheat in response to infection by Mycosphaerella graminicola

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of salicylic acid on the gene expression pattern of four enzymes; Phenylalanine ammonialyase, Polyphenol oxidase, Peroxidase and Catalase in wheat-Mycosphaerella graminicola pathosystem. For this reason, Salicylic Acid (2mm) were sprayed on wheat in two-leaf stage before inoculation with the fungal pathogen. Sampling of the plants was done at five time points (0, 3, 6, 12 and 24 h) after inoculation. The scanning of genes expression pattern of encoding enzymes were carried out by reverse northern dot blotting method. The results showed that within 24 hours post inoculation the gene expression of these enzymes significantly increased in this tolerant cultivar. SA enhanced the expression of Phenylalanine ammonialyase and Peroxidase genes in all time points. The expression of Polyphenol oxidase was increased by SA after 12h. On the other hand, increasing the expression level of these genes directly increases the activity of the enzymes which indicates direct role of these gens in plant defense system. SA caused a rapid rise in expression of Catalase gene, but this effect was not continued for 24h