Effect of Foliar Application of Micronutrients on Plant Growth and Seed Germination of Four Okra Cultivars

In the present study, the effect of foliar application of micronutrient fertilizers on okra plants was examined. Four okra cultivars (‘Boyiatiou’, ‘Veloudo’, ‘Clemson’ and ‘Pylaias’) were sprayed weekly throughout the duration of the cultivation with two commercial micronutrient fertilizers (F1 and F2) [e.g. M1= control (0 ml); M2= 40 ml (20 ml of each fertilizer); M3 = 80 ml (40 ml of each fertilizer). From the results of the present study, it was observed that plant height of ‘Boyiatiou’ and ‘Pylaias’ was increased by application of M2 whereas plant height of ‘Clemson’ and ‘Veloudo’ was either unaffected or reduced. Flower induction increased at both micronutrient levels (M2 and M3) only in ‘Pylaias’. Pod set was higher in treatment M3 in ‘Veloudo’ and ‘Pylaias’ and resulted in higher seed yield.  Pod length and diameter were not affected by micronutrient application, as well as 100-seed mean weight and moisture content; however the number of seeds per pod in ‘Pylaias’ was significantly lower in M2 and M3 than in M1, whereas the percent seed germination of all cultivars was higher following micronutrient application. Germination differed between the control and the micronutrient treatments at all times of harvest and plant parts. In conclusion, the main value of foliar application of micronutrients was to increase germination percentage and reduce hardseedness, especially for cv. ‘Veloudo’, since the occurrence of hard seeds in susceptible cultivars reduces germination, and therefore seed quality. In some cultivars (‘Pylaias’ and ‘Veloudo’ here) micronutrients may also increase seed yield by increasing pod set

Differential Responses for Harvesting Times and Storage on Hardness of Different Varieties of Okra

Okra seed hardness results in slow and nonuniform germination. This study was conducted to determine the effects of time of harvest and storage on seed germination of four different cultivars of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.). The study was carried out at Agricultural faculty of Razi University in years 2009 and 2010. The experimental design was a randomized complete block under factorial arrangement with three replications. Four different cultivars of okra included, Boiatloy, Beloudo, Clemsson Seinless and Pleas and six harvesting times of 20-25-30-35-40 and 50 days after flowering were considered in the present study. The results showed that seed germination increased in 2009 from 3.4%, at first harvesting time, to 46.4% at fifth harvesting time, and in 2010 from 2.9%, at the first harvesting time, to 49.7% at fifth harvesting time. Different cultivars varied in seed germination. In 2009 Plea and in 2010 Clemson cultivars showed the highest germination. Seeds from different parts of the plant also showed different germination rate. In 2009 seeds from the middle part of the plant with 54.3% and in 2010 seed from the lower part with 50.3 % showed the highest germination. In 2009 seeds from the lower part of pod showed more germination, whereas in 2010 seeds from middle part of pod produced higher germination. By increasing time to harvest, the percentage of seed germination after storage highly increased. Different cultivars during storage showed different behaviors on germination. Beloudo cultivar produced more seed germination than other varieties after storage, and Pleas after storage produced lower seed germination. Seeds from the middle part of plant and middle part of pod showed a higher germination after storage

Assessment of growth and yield components following the application of different biological fertilizers on soybean (Glycine max L.) cultivation

In the present study, the effect of five biological fertilizers [b(1) (control), b(2), b(3), b(4) and b(5)] on the yield and quality properties of the seeds of two well-established in Iran soybean genotypes (Glycine max L. cv. Wlliams and Line No. 17) was examined, in order to evaluate their use as an alternative to chemical fertilizers. An experiment was conducted using a factorial arrangement based on a complete block randomized design with four replications. The results showed that by increasing Growing Degree Days (GDD), the Leaf Area Index (LAI) of cv. Williams was relatively higher than that of Line no. 17, whereas Line no. 17 had significantly more chlorophyll (a, b and total) than that of cv. Williams. The highest and lowest weight measurements of 1000 seeds were recorded when fertilizers b(4) and b(2) were applied. Overall, Line no. 17 had a higher total yield of seeds than that of cv. Williams. The application of fertilizer b(1), b(3) and b(5), resulted in the highest seed protein content. In addition, the highest and lowest measurements of seed oil content for cv. Williams, were recorded when fertilizers b(2) and b(3) were applied. Seeds of Line no. 17 had (a) higher phosphorus and zinc content than of cv. Williams, whereas cv. Williams had (a) higher iron and manganese content than of Line no. 17, regardless of the applied fertilizer. K content of seeds had the highest and lowest mean values when b(3) and b(5) fertilizers were applied, respectively. In conclusion, the implementation of biological fertilizers (especially b(3) and b(4)) could be a useful means for minimizing the chemical inputs during soybean cultivation, allowing at the same time for high yield and high quality products

Effect of different hydropriming times on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

In dry land areas of the western half of Iran, chickpea due to exposure to rotation with wheat and barley play an important role in maintaining survival of agriculture in these regions. Seed priming is a simple and cheap method and is highly efficient and acceptable, especially in areas with low fertility. In this study, effects of different times of hydropriming on yield, yield components, phenological characteristics and percentage of protein of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) were examined in a randomized complete block design with three replicates in 2010. Seeds of chickpea were exposed at six different hydropriming times (2 h, 4 h, 6 h, 8 h, 10 h and control). The results of this experiment showed that the effect of hydropriming treatments for main branch and lateral branch number, number of pod per plant, biological yield, grain yield, time from planting to emergence, emergence to flowering, flowering to bloom and pod forming and growth length was significant. However, there was no significant difference between treatments in terms of plant height, number of seed per pod, number of empty pod, seed thousand weight, harvesting index, pod forming to seed pods and blooming to maturity, and percentage of seed protein