The impact of Sinorhizobium meliloti and Pseudomonas fluorescens on growth, seed yield and biochemical product of fenugreek under water deficit stress

Bacteria that colonize plant roots and promote plant growth are referred to as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). For a long-serving period, the PGPRs have been applied as biofertilizers in crops culture. Recent studies indicated the importance of PGPR for controlling the water deficit. The present study investigates the effects of two different PGPRs on some morphophysiological characteristics in fenugreek under water deficit stress. The first factor was application of four PGPR levels including (1. Sinorhizobium meliloti, 2. Pseudomonas fluorescens, 3. combination of S. meliloti and P. fluorescens and 4. control without bacterial inoculation) and four levels of soil water content including 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% of field capacity (FC) was considered as second factor. The results showed that leaf area, shoot fresh and dry weight, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content, and water use efficacy (WUE) were significantly improved by PGPR inoculation and individual use of PGPR was more effective. Decreasing of soil water content up to 0.40 FC and inoculation of two bacteria led to increase of secondary metabolites such as nicotinic acid and trigonelline. However seed yield was decreased in PGPR treated plants

Comparative ontogenetic survey of the essential oil composition in Origanum vulgare L., and Origanum majorana L

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influences of the different harvest stages on the value and components of the essential oil (EO) of wild oregano (Origanum vulgare L.) and European marjoram (Origanum majorana L.). Two species were collected during five stages of vegetative and reproductive growth period with four replications. The content of EO in the dried aerial parts was determined by hydro-distillation of herbs, and its constituents determined by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The analysis showed that the amount of EO in O. majorana was more than O. vulgare. The highest EO content for both species were obtained in the full flowering stage. 78 and 39 components were identified in the EO of O. vulgare and O. majorana, respectively. The main components were germacrene D, (trans)caryophyllene, terpinene-4-ol, and a-terpinene in the EO of O. vulgare, and terpinene-4-ol, y-terpinene, a-terpinene, and a-terpineol in the EO of O. majorana. In general, sesquiterpene compounds had maximum amounts in the EO of O. vulgare in five stages of growth, especially in the beginning of flowering stage. In contrast, monoterpene compounds had maximum value in the EO of O. majorana in the full flowering stage

Application of modern agronomic and biotechnological strategies to valorise worldwide globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus L.) potential - an analytical overview

The globe artichoke [Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus (L.) Fiori], an ancient vegetable originated in the Mediterranean Basin, is currently cultivated in many regions of the world under a perennial cycle or as an annual crop, with the first method being more widespread globally. The growing importance of globe artichoke as modern functional food as well as a source of pharmaceuticals has raised new issues that all producers have to face; hence the necessity of contemporaneous development of new centres of production and new technologies application in traditional regions of growing which can complement the global market. This review is focused on development of globe artichoke technology of production in recent several years which meet the diversified requirements of global and local markets. We considered the recent literature to highlight specific applications of modern farming practices and plant breeding along with genetic variation to globe artichoke production system as well as to postharvest management in order to enhance the value added of this commodity. The latter targets are mainly addressed to particular regions of the world and they are based on farmers knowledge, equipment, scale and methods of production, processing, final market. Our reports are focused on sustainable and environmentally friendly methods which can improve the profitability of production as well as product's quality and quantity traits. We discussed the balanced mineral application which can precisely affect the yield chemical composition, attractiveness and shelf life of globe artichoke heads as well as create the opportunities to attain standardised by-products, valuable on the market of health and convenient food. Further topics were developed, such as introduction of seed propagation, intercropping, grafting, flowering induction, postharvest treatments as linked to different regions and conditions of production. Precise selection of modern management practices was recognised as a main goal to fulfil the requirements of local and global market for fresh, processed and new potential globe artichoke products

Changes in essential oil and morpho-physiological traits of tarragon (Artemisia dracuncalus L.) in responses to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus, AMF (Glomus intraradices N.C. Schenck & G.S. Sm.) inoculation under salinity

This study aimed to evaluate the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) (Glomus intraradices N.C. Schenck & G.S. Sm.) inoculation and salinity effect on qualitative and quantitative changes in tarragon yield. Treatments included inoculation, and non-inoculation of AMF, and five salinity levels of irrigation water (with the electrical conductivity of 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 dS m-1). The results showed the plant height, SPAD value, number of leaves, dry mass of leaves and shoot per plant were reduced under salinity condition. The various levels of salinity decreased the content of tarragon essential oil and some its components consist of α-pinene, limonene, Z-ocimene, E-ocimene, and methyl chavicol while, it increased the content of bornyl acetate, eugenol, methyl eugenol, caryophyllene, germacrene, and α-farnesene. AMF inoculation without salinity had the greatest positive effect on the evaluated traits of tarragon. Also, it improved the morpho-physiological traits under salinity due to alleviation of the harmful effects of salinity. Although the essential oil content was reduced with the AMF inoculation, the methyl chavicol amount was increased by the AMF inoculation under salinity condition

Molecular diversity and phytochemical variability in the Iranian poppy (Papaver bracteatum Lindl.): A baseline for conservation and utilization in future breeding programmes

In the present investigation, 72 accessions of the Iranian poppy (Papaver bracteatum Lindl.) were analyzed for genetic diversity and population structure using start codon targeted polymorphism (SCoT) and inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers along with four important phytochemical traits to provide baseline knowledge for the Iranian poppy’s breeding and conservation plans. Twelve ISSR and thirteen SCoT primers generated a total of 98 and 186 fragments with a mean of 8.17 and 14.31 fragments per primer, respectively. Polymorphic information content for ISSR and SCoT primers ranged from 0.39 to 0.45 and 0.28 to 0.34, with the resolving power ranging from 21.61 to 3.97 and 13.08 to 28.02, respectively. Neighbour-joining (NJ) based clustering grouped 72 accessions into three main groups based on two markers studied (ISSR and SCoT) and the combined data (ISSR + SCoT), which associated with their eco-geographical regions. Population structure based analysis divided 72 accessions into 3 subpopulations using ISSR markers, when SCoT was used eight subpopulations were observed. However, when the combined data was used only three subpopulations were found, which corresponded to the grouping observed with the NJ method and these results were supported by principal coordinate analyses (PCoA). Phytochemical analysis revealed that plant capsule has higher total amounts of the alkaloids; thebaine, morphine and oripavine than stem tissues. Interestingly, for the geographical parameters, latitude showed a significant and positive correlation with thebaine extracted from both stem and capsules and the regression results confirmed these associations. Taken together, our results indicated that three populations Ploor, Eil-Teymoor and Anjomane due to their high contents of alkaloids like thebaine as well as the Taham population due to its high content of morphine and oripavine have a strong enough potency to be used in the pharmacy industry.Peer reviewe

Application of modern agronomic and biotechnological strategies to valorise worldwide globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus L.) potential - an analytical overview

The globe artichoke [Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus (L.) Fiori], an ancient vegetable originated in the Mediterranean Basin, is currently cultivated in many regions of the world under a perennial cycle or as an annual crop, with the first method being more widespread globally. The growing importance of globe artichoke as modern functional food as well as a source of pharmaceuticals has raised new issues that all producers have to face; hence the necessity of contemporaneous development of new centres of production and new technologies application in traditional regions of growing which can complement the global market. This review is focused on development of globe artichoke technology of production in recent several years which meet the diversified requirements of global and local markets. We considered the recent literature to highlight specific applications of modern farming practices and plant breeding along with genetic variation to globe artichoke production system as well as to postharvest management in order to enhance the value added of this commodity. The latter targets are mainly addressed to particular regions of the world and they are based on farmers knowledge, equipment, scale and methods of production, processing, final market. Our reports are focused on sustainable and environmentally friendly methods which can improve the profitability of production as well as product’s quality and quantity traits. We discussed the balanced mineral application which can precisely affect the yield chemical composition, attractiveness and shelf life of globe artichoke heads as well as create the opportunities to attain standardised by-products, valuable on the market of health and convenient food. Further topics were developed, such as introduction of seed propagation, intercropping, grafting, flowering induction, postharvest treatments as linked to different regions and conditions of production. Precise selection of modern management practices was recognised as a main goal to fulfil the requirements of local and global market for fresh, processed and new potential globe artichoke products

The Effect of Noise on the Dirac Phase of Electron in The Presence of Screw Dislocation

The effect of noise on the Dirac phase of electron in the presence of screw dislocation is studied. An uncorrelated noise, which coincides with the nature of thermal fluctuations, is adopted. Results indicate that the Dirac phase is robust against existing noise in the system

Morphophysiological and phytochemical responses of fenugreek to plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) under different soil water levels

Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) is a valuable medicinal plant, which is widely distributed throughout the world. It has been known that plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have positive effects on the quality and quantity of medicinal plants under different soil water levels. For this reason, a factorial experiment was conducted on the basis of a randomized complete block design (RCBD) to evaluate PGPR effects on the morphophysiological and phytochemical traits of fenugreek under different soil water levels. This study was conducted in two separate experiments: after the six-leaf stage and after the flowering stage. In the experiments, the treatments were plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) including the control, Sinorhizobium meliloti, Pseudomonas fluorescens, a combination of S. meliloti and P. fluorescens, and different soil water levels (i.e. 100, 80, 60 and 40% of field capacity (FC) in three replications. The results showed that the highest seed weight per plant was obtained by inoculation with the S. meliloti and P. fluorescens combination at 100% FC after the two developmental stages. The maximum concentrations of nicotinic acid and trigonelline were observed for the combination of S. meliloti and P. fluorescens at the soil water content of 40% FC after the six-leaf stage and for S. meliloti at the soil water content of 40% FC after the flowering stage. The correlation and stepwise regression analyses showed positive effects of PGPR application on the morphophysiological and phytochemical traits of fenugreek plants under different soil water levels

Morpho-physiological and biochemical responses of bladder cherry (Physalis alkekengi L.) induced by multienzymatic biostimulant, IBA, and citric acid

Plant enzymes, growth regulators and organic acids are the main groups of plant biostimulants (PBs), and their combined use in the final formulation may be important for increasing the quantitative and qualitative composition of plant products. This study aimed to determine the effects of a multienzymatic biostimulant (MB), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), and citric acid (CA) on the morphological and phytochemical traits of bladder cherry (Physalis alkekengi L.). The treatments included different concentrations of MB (0, 0.5 and 1.0%), IBA (0, 25, and 50 ppm), and CA (0, and 500 mg dm−3), which were sprayed four times during the vegetative stage, at 12-day intervals, 35 days after planting. The results showed that the treatments had a significant effect on plant height, stem number, diameter and weight, leaf number and weight, fruit number, diameter and weight, the amounts of total phenols, alkaloids and flavonoids, and on the radical scavenging activity. The most effective formulation for improving the fruit yield of bladder cherry was 1% MB with 50 ppm IBA and 500 ppm CA. However, the best treatment for increasing the total phenolic and alkaloid contents, and radical scavenging activity was 0.5% MB. In general, the maximum values of most traits were obtained by spraying the plants with 0.5 and 1% MB combined with IBA and CA. The concentration of alkaloids, the main pharmaceutical metabolites of bladder cherry, increased as a result of the application of the multienzymatic biostimulant