Journal of Ornamental Plants
Volume:7 Issue: 1, Winter 2017

Genetic variations were studied for 13 accessions of Lolium multiflorum using cytogenetical traits. Karyotype was prepared for 5 metaphases cells of each accession and the traits of total length (TL), long arm (LA), short arm (SA), arm ratio (AR) and centromer index (CI) were determined by micromeasure software. Six accessions were diploid and seven accessions were tetraploid, the basic chromosome number was x=7, and also three and six satellites were observed for diploid and tetraploid accessions, respectively. The accessions had an asymmetry karyotype, and variations were significant (at 1% level of probability) between accessions for karyotypic characters based on analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results of mean comparison showed that the diploid accessions had higher mean chromosome length than tetraploid accessions. The results of cluster analysis by Ward's method based on the values of intrachromosomal asymmetry index (A1) and interchromosomal asymmetry index (A2) showed that the studied accessions were fallen in three groups. The tetraploid accessions had higher intrachromosomal asymmetry than the diploid accessions. Principal components analysis based on karyotypic traits for accessions showed the first two components captured 84.37% of the total variance. Principal component analysis for grouping accessions based on Scatter plot identified four distinctive groups.

The attitude of policymakers and designers of green space is increasing toward to native-ornamental species to plant in the urban space because of their adaptation and resistance against severe weather and ecological conditions which can result in cost minimization and long-term survival in green spaces. Hence, the current study was carried out in the west of Mazandaran Province on three wild and domestic species, including Cyclamen, Primula, and Viola. Morphological traits were the appearance of blossom, length and width of leaf, pedicel, petiolate, and flower. Homogeneity of variance was done by Levene test and two groups, including wild and domestic species, were also compared by independent t-test. Results showed that all measured traits were higher in the domestic species than in wild species except wild species of Viola which had higher length, width, and area than the domestic one. All domestic species showed longer flowering period than wild ones. Two species of domestic and wild Primula enable to be green after flowering period, but domestic Viola and wild Cyclamen disappeared after the period. Moreover, wild Viola and domestic Cyclamen survived after flowering finalization

The essential oil extracted by n-Hexane solvent extraction and hydro-distillation of Arabian jasmine flowers collected from Pothohar region was analyzed by GC/MS. Concrete oil recovery on fresh petal weight basis was 1.78 g (0.17%) and absolute oil recovery from this concrete was 0.09%. Essential oil recovery in hydro-distillation was 0.08 g (0.008%). The colour of absolute oil was very light brown. The readings for specific gravity, congealing point of concrete and refractive index of essential oil were 0.89, 57°C and 1.37, respectively. Overall 35 compounds were identified. Main components (>5%) were benzyl benzoate (15.63%), jasmine (9.90%), linalool (8.58%), isophytol (7.56%), geranyl linalool (6.07%), phytol (5.75%) and palmitic acid (5.01%). Other constituents varied from less than 1% to 5%.

The monitor and prediction of crop developmental stages, particularly harvest time, play an important role in planning greenhouse cropping programs and timetables by cut rose producers. There have been many scientific reports on the application of image analysis technology in estimating greenhouse crop growth stages. In the present research, we studied leaf color variations over time by taking timely images from four commercial rose cultivars and processing them later using image j software in RGB color space. Results revealed a higher correlation between the leaf color variations and the stages of stem growth in both white color (R2=0.89) and colorful cultivars (R2=0.94). Furthermore, it was determined that there was a significant difference in leaf color components within stem layers in all cultivars. A good correlation was also observed between the leaf total chlorophyll measured directly by spectrophotometric method and the data acquired indirectly from SPAD readings. Among the models fitted to the stem height and color variation data, linear and exponential models performed best. However, some differences were observed between the cultivars. The potential observed in image analysis technique in detecting color differences among the leaf layers and its versatility in non-destructive determination of a link between the leaf color changes and rose stem growth give it the utmost merit and applicability in greenhouses. Developing such a model for other important cultivars of greenhouse roses will make it possible to equip rose greenhouses with several powerful and reliable tools in order to assist the growers to precisely adjust the crop harvest time and accurately plan their operations according to the market demand and policy.

This study investigated the effects of the sawdust vermicompost extract (aqueous extract) on yield and chemical quality of Dracaena marginata var.‘Tricolor’ grown under four sawdust vermicompost extract solutions (0, 250, 500 and 1000 ppm). The sawdust vermicompost extract was prepared using non-aerated extraction methods with 1:10 (v/v) of sawdust vermicompost to water and was sprayed three times two weeks on the D. marginata plants. Sawdust vermicompost extract improved mineral nutrients of plants such as nitrogen (2.36%), phosphorus (0.42%), potassium (2.31%), calcium (2.76%), and magnesium (0.23%) compared to controls. When the sawdust vermicompost extract was sprayed on the D. marginata plants, it showed a significant growth of plants. The three-time spray of 1000 ppm vermicompost extract also reflected too great influence over the yield of D. marginata. Plants grown in pots sprayed with 1000 ppm vermicompost extract exhibited higher height (15.33 cm), leaf number (53.00), shoot and leaf fresh weight (66.00g), and shoot and leaf dry weight (13.90 g) than control treatments (P

The effect of five fungicides and tea extracts was tested against anthracnose disease and leaf spot of Azalea during summer (2015) at the laboratory in Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University. Commercially formulated fungicides at 1000, 2000 and 3000 ppm concentrations and the regression of normalized growth rate were used to determine the EC50. The application of different fungicides on Pestalotia sp., Bavistin 50WP, Dithane M-45, Aliette, Benlate 50 WP and Topsin M 70 WP gave significant reduction in colony growth, i.e. 0.5, 0.5, 0.50, 3.38 and 2.56 mm, respectively as compared to control (88.00 mm) in 2000 ppm at recommended doses. The application of different fungicides on Colletotrichum sp. Resulted in significant reduction in colony growth. The fungicides were tested against Colletotrichum sp. at 1000, 2000 and 3000 ppm concentrations, and no growth was observed in Mancozeb, Thiophanate-methyl and Fosetyl aluminum at any concentrations. Three of the tested fungicides suppressed mycelial pathogen growth effectively. However, there were significant differences in the sensitivities exhibited by the examined pathogen isolates. Concentrations of extracts from fresh tea leaves used to control the disease agents could not prevent the growth of fungal colony.

The temperature of cities continues to increase because of the heat island phenomenon and the undeniable climatic change. The observed high ambient temperatures intensify energy problems in cities, deteriorates comfort conditions, put in danger the vulnerable population and amplify the pollution problems. There are some suggested ways to reduce these issues, among them vegetated roofs are shown to be promising. This study describes energy consumption performance of an extensive modular type green roof with different plant selections using a randomized complete design in Mashhad, Iran. Nine species from three major taxonomic and functional plant groups (grasses, ground covers and sedums) namely (Agropyron cristatum, Festuca aurundinacea, Festuca ovina, Potentilla sp., Frankenia thymifolia, Vinca minor, Sedum acre, Sedum spectabile, Carpoboratus edulis) were selected. Temperature fluctuations during four seasons were recorded with three replicates. Experimental trials with growing beds without plants (bare roofs) were also used as controls. Small hand manual thermometers were placed in each module (box) and air temperature was also recorded. The results showed very significant temperature differences between the green and bare roof modules. Larger plants with higher biomasses kept temperatures more stable. Thermal comfort and energy saving was achieved using green roofs in this research and it could be well used in a large scale for growing cities and population energy requirements.