a. tehranifar

Calcium plays a crucial role in improving the growth and quality of cut flowers, and selecting the appropriate calcium source can significantly benefit rose producers. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of foliar application of calcium nitrate, calcium amino chelate, and control (distilled water) on the growth, morphological traits, nutrient concentrations, and vase life of the rose cultivar 'Jumilia.' The research was conducted in the ornamental research greenhouse at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in a completely randomized design with four replications, each containing six plants, over a period of six months from early August 2022 to early February 2023. The results showed that foliar application of calcium nitrate significantly improved the growth traits of roses, increasing stem length, stem diameter, fresh stem weight, flower diameter, and flower count by 38.26, 29.87, 37.47, 19.38, and 12.20%, respectively. Additionally, calcium nitrate application increased chlorophyll a, b, and total chlorophyll content by 20.96, 65.77, and 37.53%, respectively, resulting in a 23.32% increase in photosynthesis rate. The highest carotenoid content and root volume were obtained due to the application of amino calcium chelate. The findings also indicated that calcium nitrate was effective in supplying calcium to the petals, leading to a 13.62% increase in membrane stability index and a 4.1-day extension in vase life compared to the control treatment. Amino calcium chelate played a key role in delaying weight loss and providing calcium and nitrogen to the roots, as well as phosphorus and potassium to the leaves. Meanwhile, the highest nitrogen concentration in leaves, as well as phosphorus and potassium concentrations in roots, were achieved with calcium nitrate application. Based on the results, weekly foliar application of calcium at a concentration of 160 mg/L, especially from calcium nitrate, is recommended to supply the calcium requirements of roses and improve their growth traits and vase life.

Lower winter temperatures may negatively affect winter survival by preventing maximum cold acclimation before freezing temperatures. The process of cold acclimation requires adaptation to both light and low temperatures, depending on the duration of exposure. Accordingly, research is needed to identify strategies to promote cold acclimation and increase freezing tolerance. Therefore, this experiment was conducted to investigate whether a shorter or more extended preconditioning cold treatment can improve the cold hardiness of hollyhock and its threshold of winter hardiness. The results showed that both 14 (CP1) and 28 days of Cold Preconditioning (CP2) decreased electrolyte loss, increased the activity of SOD, CAT, and APX enzymes, inhibited accumulation of Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and delayed the increase of Malondialdehyde (MDA) content, while non-acclimated plants experienced a decrease in MDA. No difference was observed in antioxidant activity and photosynthetic parameters between CP1 and CP2. Although proline and water-soluble sugar contents were higher in plants subjected to 28 days of cold preconditioning than in those treated for 14 days, no significant difference was found in survival percentage. Low temperatures decreased photosynthetic parameters, while increasing leaf contents of Abscisic Acid (ABA) and phenolic. The results suggested that 14-day cold preconditioning could be used to increase cold tolerance for non-acclimated hollyhocks to grow in the field at -4°C.

 Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, the indiscriminate consumption of fossil fuels has led to a dramatic increase in the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Over the past few decades, the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased from 280 to 370 ppm and is expected to increase by about 1.8 ppm each year. Carbon dioxide, such as light, appropriate temperature, water and nutrients, is one of the essential nutrients needed by plants, which is currently less than required by plants. In general, plants need to absorb water from the soil and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use it in photosynthesis, which This is done by absorbing carbon dioxide through the through the pores. In general, stomatal properties have a major influence on the response of plants to carbon dioxide treatment. Leaf  morphology, including stomatal density, may have a significant effect on the response of plants to carbon dioxide. There seems to be a great deal of variation among plant species in terms of how stomata density changes with increasing CO2 concentration. The opening and closing of the stomata through carbon dioxide absorption, regulates the amount of water wasted when adverse environmental conditions. In fact, increasing carbon dioxide in plants reduces stomatal conductance and transpiration, increases water use efficiency, photosynthesis rate and higher light utilization efficiency. 

 This study was conducted as a split plot experiment based on a completely randomized design with three replications in the research greenhouse of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Treatments included three concentrations of carbon dioxide (380 ppm as control, 700 and 1050 ppm) as the main plot and two species of ornamental ficus (Benjamin and Elastic) as sub plots. At first, cuttings were rooted in boxes containing washed sand infused with carbendazim for 8 weeks. After rooting, the cuttings were transferred to culture media containing appropriate soil mixture and exposed to different concentrations of carbon dioxide for 16 weeks. Were affected. Mean daily temperature of 25 and mean night temperature of 18 °C and 65% humidity were considered equal for all treatments. Then, after the treatments, Stomatal traits were measured.

 The results showed that high concentrations of carbon dioxide can affect the anatomical traits of Ficus ornamental species. In this study, the results obtained from the analysis of variance of the studied traits showed that the effect of different concentrations of carbon dioxide was not significant only for the stomatal index, but for other traits studied in this study. The main effect of carbon dioxide concentration was significant at 1% probability level.The results showed that the traits of stomata diameter in plant species and different concentrations of carbon dioxide were significant at 5 and 1% probability levels, respectively. Also with increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide the diameter of the stomatal decreased so that the highest stomatal diameter was related to the concentration of 380 ppm and the lowest to the concentration of 1050 ppm. In fact, increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide from the level of 380 to 1050 ppm led to a decrease of 19.91 percent in the diameter of the stomatal. Increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the environment of plants, initially increases the slope of the concentration of carbon dioxide between the surrounding air and the chamber under their stomata, and then more carbon dioxide through the pores leads to a decrease in the slope due to the abundance of carbon dioxide in the chamber below the stomata, This action reduces the diameter of the stomatal. As the concentration of carbon dioxide increased the stomatal cell density and stomatal area. Among the high concentrations of carbon dioxide the concentration of 700 ppm affected most of the traits, including stomatal diameter, stomatal area, epidermal cell density, stomach length and stomach width. though there was no significant difference between high concentrations of carbon dioxide (700 and 1050 ppm). According to the results of this study, it seems that anatomical traits are influenced by environmental factors and are not recognized as a hereditary factor. Among the species, the elastica species showed the most reaction to carbon dioxideal. 

 In general, clarifying the stomatal response to carbon dioxide concentration is important for understanding the stomatal physiology and gas exchange between vegetation and the In general, stomatal properties have a major influence on the response of plants to carbon dioxide treatment. Carbon dioxide at appropriate concentrations can increase growth and also affect the stomach properties to allow the plant to adapt to environmental conditions.

The Turfgrass industry in saline soil is expanding, making it important to use salinity-tolerant turfgrasses. In this experiment, the effect of salinity stress on some biochemical content in salt-sensitive and salt-tolerant tall fescue was evaluated. The Sanandaj and Daran populations with commercial tall fescue (TF) were evaluated as salt-tolerant tall fescues and the Sanajan population was used as salt-sensitive TF. Five salinity levels of irrigation water (0, 45, 90, 135, and 180 mM NaCl) were applied to turfgrasses to identify the tolerance mechanisms in tolerant tall fescue under salinity stress. Results showed that salinity affected all turfgrasses in proline, chlorophyll, 1-1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, as well as sodium and potassium in their shoots. Sanajan population in 90, 135, and 180 mM salinity had the lowest chlorophyll content among all turfgrasses. Salt stress leads to an increase in the activity of proline compared to the control at the first stage (for evaluating osmotic stress) of measurement. In the second stage (to evaluate ionic stress), at concentrations of 135 and 180 mM NaCl, maximum proline was recorded in Daran and Sanandaj populations, respectively. The interaction effect of salinity and TF was significant for DPPH activity. The Na+/ K+ ratio in the Sanajan population was the highest at all salinity levels. In conclusion, the growth and antioxidant capacity of Festuca arundinaceae populations differ in their response to NaCl treatments. In salt-tolerant TF, proline and antioxidant activity increased with increasing NaCl. These may be a mechanism to protect tolerant TF in salt stress, leading to lower accumulated Na+ in tolerant TF, high K+ uptake, and high chlorophyll content. Based on these results, proline content, DPPH radical scavenging activity, chlorophyll contents, and potassium content could use to distinguish tolerant TF from sensitive TF.

 Unbalanced and frequent use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides results in the degradation of soil physicochemical properties, loss of soil-born organisms, reduction of quality of produced crops and reduction of yield plant. Nowadays, due to environmental considerations of chemical fertilizers, use of organic acids for quantitative and qualitative improvement of crops has been increased. Humic materials are natural organic compounds that contain 50 to 90% of organic matters of peat, wood coal and rotten material, as well as non-living organic matters of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Humic compounds indirectly increase soil fertility by providing micro- and macro-elements for root, improving soil structure, increasing medium permeability to water and air, increasing soil microbial population and beneficial microorganisms, increasing cation exchange capacity and the ability to buffer pH of medium or nutrient solution, and providing some special substances for plant roots such as nucleic acids and acetamides.

 In order to investigate the influence of humic and fulvic acids on some growth characteristics in ornamental plant of Scindapsus spp., an experiment was conducted based on a completely randomized design with three replications at greenhouse in Ferdowsi University of Mashhad during 2014-2015. The first factor was humic acid in four levels of 0, 0.2, 0.5, 1 g/l, and the second factor was fulvic acid in four levels of 0, 0.2, 0.5, 1 g/l. Cuttings were taken from the plant in late March. Two weeks after transferring the rooted cuttings to pot, the treatments were applied on plants via fertigation. The traits measured in the experiment included plant height, mean number of nodes, internode length, leaf number, leaf length, leaf width, leaf area, root length, root fresh weight, leaf fresh weight, shoot fresh weight, aerial organ fresh weight, root volume, aerial organ volume, root dry weight, leaf dry weight, shoot dry weight, aerial organ dry weight, fresh and dry weights ratios of aerial organ to fresh weight. Statistical analysis of data was performed by 8-JMP software. LSD test was used to compare the means of the data.

 Based on the results obtained, the combined use of humic acid and fulvic acid had a significant effect on height, fresh and dry weights of leaf, shoot, aerial organ and root, number of node and leaf and volume of aerial organ, fresh and dry weights of root, length and volume of root and the ratio of fresh and dry weights of aerial organ to root. Thus, combined use of humic acid and fulvic acid caused an increase in all the measured traits compared to the control treatment. Furthermore, an increase was observed in the length, width, and area of leaf, and internode length as the result of application of humic substances when compared to the control treatment. Organic fertilizers increase plant growth by improving soil conditions and increasing availability of plant to nutrients. Humic compounds cause changes in the specific distribution of cytokinins, polyamines and ATP by affecting the activity of root H+-ATPase and the distribution of root nitrate in the stem, thus affecting the growth of the plant stem. Humic materials increase plant growth by using different mechanisms such as hormonal effects, direct effect on plant cell metabolism, increase of cell division, chelating power and nutrient uptake, increase of soil ventilation and enhancement of plant photosynthesis by increasing Rubisco enzyme activity. Increasing nitrogen uptake leads to the increase in the growth of shoots and aerial organs. It also increases the number of branches in plants and increases the production of dry matter by increasing the production of photosynthetic materials.

 In general, according to the results of this experiment, it can be concluded that application of humic substances (humic acid and fulvic acid) together, improved the growth characteristics of the plant and led to the better growth of the plant; therefore, these materials can be a good alternative to plant growth-stimulating chemical fertilizers.

 Major problems of pomegranate production, which is common in almost all of the world's pomegranate growing areas, especially in warm and dry regions, is the splitting of fruit, which is the most damaging to gardeners after pomegranate fruit moth. On the other hand, different studies indicate that girdling affects the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of different fruit trees. In the gird, the trunk skin must be completely removed so that the upper to lower skin relationship is completely cut off. The raw material that is absorbed by the root and rising through the xylem is transformed into a sap in the leaf, and in the return path through the phloem, it hits the barrier and accumulated above the wound site. Due to this process, sugar and plant hormones and starch reach the upper part of the wound girdling in trees for various purposes, such as raising the percentage of fruition of the plant, increasing size and increasing the quality and accelerating the fruition is done.

 An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of girdling time on quantitative and qualitative properties of two red peel sweet and tart varieties in the Mahdi Shahr city, Semnan province. The girdling was taken at three full bloom days, two months after full bloom and four months after full bloom. To do a girdling, a double-edged knife was plunged into the trunk, and the ring-like cutting was done around the trunk. So that the layer of bark was cut from the trunk with a diameter of less than 2 to 3 mm continuously and separated from the trunk completely, so that the relationship between the top and the bottom was cut off. To evaluate qualitative and quantitative traits, 3 fruits were selected from the northern, southern and middle parts of each tree and transferred to the laboratory for measuring morphological and physiological traits. Physiochemical traits including pH, titratable acidity content, total soluble solids and morphological traits including weight, volume, average weight of 100 aryls and percentage of fruit juice, Ariel seed weight percentage, and split percentage were investigated.

 The results indicated that girdling at full bloom and two months after full bloom significantly reduced the percentage of fruit blooming in both cultivars compared to the control (non-girdling) treatment. Also, among the studied cultivars, percentage of splitting in red peel was higher than that of sour-sweet. In addition, girdling at full bloom and four months after bloom was able to increase weight, volume, and average weight of 100 aryls. Among two studied cultivars, sour-sweet showed higher soluble solids content and titratable acid percentage than red peel. It can be stated that photosynthetic materials in the crown of the tree are blocked by conducting a loop on the branch of the plant and prevent the transfer of these materials to the root. This allows the carbohydrates from photosynthesis to be transferred to fruits that are growing. As a result, the fruit grows more and subsequently increases its weight, volume, and number of aryls. In addition, the growth of root is reduced as a result of girdling and water, mineral salts, as well as growth regulators to the canopy and terminal meristem of the plant are slowed down, thereby significantly decreasing vegetative growth to be seen in the tree. Subsequently, with decreasing vegetative growth in the tree, the carbohydrate which is produced in the leaves is allocated to the growing fruits. This also increases the weight and volume of fruit in the tree. Since the girdling treatments are associated with meiosis (in full blooming stage) and in the stage of the growing of fruits cells (4 months after full bloom), it can be justified to enhancement of the weight and reduction of splitting percentage in the fruits of trees which is girdled. The main reason for this difference is the tension entered into the girdled trees at the interval between the application of the treatment and the wound healing.

 According to the results of this study, it was found that the process of girdling results in weight and volume enhancement of the fruit. In addition, the quantitative and qualitative traits investigated in the experiment were different in the two cultivars of red peel sweet and sour-sweet. In addition, girdling was effective on the pomegranate splitting, which is one of the important issues in the plantation of this fruit. However, the timing of the girdling at the full bloom and the four months after full blooming had the greatest effect on reduction of the severity of this complication.

Turfgrasses, as one of the important components of urban landscapes, have played a vital role in this regard. However, the main problems of turfgrass development are the cost of turfgrass seeds, maintenance costs such as moving, as well as the high water requirement in arid and semi-arid regions. Thus, the reduction of lawn culture in the landscape is one of the decision has taken in parks and green spaces organization of Tehran, Isfahan and even Mashhad. For over ten years, researchers have been looking for alternatives to conventional grass lawns to reduce the high cost of maintenance especially irrigation cost in urban landscapes. According to many researches, one of the potential ground cover alternatives that might be used instead of turfgrass is White Clover. Clover (Trifolium spp.) from Fabaceae family is a genus of about 300 species.

The aim of this experiment was to compare three common turfgrasses with two clover varieties as turf replacement to reduce landscape maintenance cost specially moving cost. So, some growth and qualitative factors of clover lawn: Trifolium repens var. Calway and Trifolium repens var. Pipolina (micro clover) and three turfgrasses of Festuca arundinacea L. and Lolium perenne L. and commercial sport turf mixture (from NAk-Nederland Ltd.) were compared together. This research was conducted in randomized complete block design with three replications in the research field of the Department of Horticultural Science and Landscape Engineering‚ Faculty of Agricultural‚ Ferdowsi University of Mashhad‚ Mashhad‚ Iran, during 2016 and 2017. The site (59º 38′ E and 36º 16 ′ N; elevation 989 m) is located in an arid and semi- arid region with mean annual rainfall 233.8 mm and long term averages of maximum and minimum temperature are 22.5 ºC and 9.3 ºC‚ respectively. Turfgrass plots were established by directly sowing the seeds in April, 2016. The planting rate of the seedling considering their pure live seeds (PLS) were 45 g.m-2 for Lolium perenne, 34 g.m-2 for Festuca arundinacea, 6.5 g.m-2 for Trifolium repens, 5.5 g.m-2 for micro clover and 39 g.m-2 for commercial mixture of sport turf. The plots were 1 m2 (1m×1m) in size and were prepared after plowing and leveling the soil. The seeds were hand sown and covered with a thin layer of leaf compost and sand.

According to the results in the first evaluation of emergence percentage, Lolium perenne had the highest emergence percentage. After 36 days from culture, all plants had 92-98 % coverage which did not have any significant difference among grasses with clover lawns. In terms of density, uniformity and weed density, there was no significant difference between the studied plants. In the other hands, white clover showed the best quality after clipping in both years. At the point of growth index, which have done in this experiment by measuring height and dry weight of clipping, grass lawns had the higher growth index in compered to clover lawn in both years. Festuca arundinacea and Lolium perenne had the highest growth index and white and micro clover had the lowest growth. Also, with air warming, Festuca arundinacea became dominated plant in height and clipping dry weight. In July, Festuca arundinacea produced the highest clipping dry weight by 40 gr.m-2, Lolium perenne (19.52), commercial sport turf (15.68), white clover (6.24) and micro clover (0.36) gr.m-2.

One of the problems of landscape is reduction of maintenance costs such as mowing. So, the low growth of white and micro clover is a positive factor in reduction of the moving costs than turfgrasses. Also, the coverage and proper density of clover lawns are similar to grass lawns and did not have a significant difference with them. The character of low growth can be effective in reduction of irrigation costs in white and micro clover, which requires more research and examination in future. This is a positive point in the white clover and micro clover that do not need to move or cut every months. Almost, clover moving is recommended for removing their flower. Therefore, it is recommended to use white and micro clover as a replacement with less maintenance costs in landscape. Finally, the results of cultivation of grass and clover as monoculture in this study can be used to produce clover-grass mixtures suitable for the climate of our country (arid and semi-arid regions), instead of importing turf mixtures from European countries.

High temperatures, low average rainfall, drought, and high evapotranspiration are limiting factors in arid lands. Therefore, when constructing landscapes (green spaces) in these regions, strategies should be developed to mitigate these climatic influences. One practical strategy is utilizing different types of mulches on the surface of the soil. This study was conducted as a randomized complete block design experiment with four replications during 2014 and 2015 to examine the performance of organic and inorganic mulches as non-living mulches and ground cover plants as living mulches. Ground cover plants were Carpobrotus sp., Potentilla reptans, Vinca minor, Frankenia sp. and a mixed turfgrass. Non-living mulches were turfgrass clippings, wood chips, sawdust, gravel, rubble and scoria (volcanic rock). Bare soil was used as the control treatment. The results demonstrated the application of mulches could modify soil temperature at 5 and 15 cm depths in different seasons of the year. The living mulches especially Carpobrotus sp. and turfgrass reduced the temperature more than the non-living mulches. The soil covered with sawdust and wood chips preserved soil moisture content over the soil covered with other types of mulches. It would appear the selected mulches could decrease the irrigation intervals through increased water holding capacity of the soil. The outcomes of this research could assist landscape managers operating in extreme climate conditions of arid and semi-arid regions to advance the management of soil moisture and temperatures with the objective to improve sustainability.

The Hollyhock (Alcea rosea) is a summer flowering biennial plant that is native to China and belongs to the Malvaceae family. It is one of the most valuable ornamental plants, whose 36 species are cultivated in Iran. It is an increasing garden escape, especially in urban areas, and is usually found at foot of walls, in ruderal areas, and in cracks of pavements and old walls. Also, it is sometimes seen on riverbanks (for instance on dikes of the river Maas), dumps or road- and railway banks. Alcea rosea has been used as an herbal plant in folk medicine for treatment of different diseases such as common cold and cough. This plant is antiphlogistic, astringent, demulcent, diuretic and expectorant. Drought is the most significant environmental stress in agriculture worldwide, and improving yield under drought is a major goal of plant breeding. Seed germination and early seedling growth are potentially the most critical stages for water stress. When subjected to drought stress, plant metabolism is interrupted or inhibited by increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation, resulting in reduced germination, weaker root and shoot growth and even mortality. Plants have evolved oxygen-scavenging systems consisting of non-enzyme antioxidant metabolites, such as proline and various antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase.

In order to examine the effect of drought stress on germination indexes, various antioxidant enzyme changes and non-enzyme antioxidant metabolites in Alcea rosea, an experiment was conducted in complete randomized design with three replications. The drought stress treatment was conducted in five levels with osmotic pressures 0, -2, -4, -6, and -8 bar and with using PEG (Poly Ethylene Glycol 6000) on two ecotypes of Alcea rosea (ecotype 1= Mashhad and ecotype 2= Tehran). The seeds are at first sterilized with hypo chloride sodium for two minutes and then washed superficially three times with distilled water. 25 seeds were transferred to a glass petri dish with 10 cm diameter, and for the duration of the experiment, 5 ml solution with different levels was added to each petri dish. After 14 days at 25±1 ºC temperature, the number of geminated seeds in each day was counted and recorded. In the first part of the experiment, after the end of the germination period, the following growth parameters were measured: germination percentage, germination rate, root and shoot length, and the fresh weight of seedling. In the second part, the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), malondialdehyde content, lipid peroxidation in terms of malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and proline index were measured.

The ecotype, drought treatments and their interaction had significant effects on growth parameters (germination percentage, germination rate, radicle and plumule length, and seedling fresh weight), as well as physiological and biochemical parameters (SOD, POD, CAT, MDA and proline). The highest germination parameters were recorded at Mashhad ecotype. Germination percentage and germination rate were severely affected by drought. Maximum percentage of germination (36) was recorded at control group followed by 32.1 at -2 bar and -4 bar PEG treatments in ecotype 1. Germination percentage in two ecotypes further declined to 33% at -8 bar compared to the control treatment. In both ecotypes, plants had the highest germination rate in control media (zero osmotic potential) but germination rate decreased significantly by decreasing water potential. Germination rate of control seeds of ecotype 1 was 11.7, while that of ecotype 2 was 8. 3. Germination rate in two ecotypes further declined to 56% and 38 %, at -8 bar compared to the control treatment, respectively. Ecotype 2 displayed a significant reduction in radicle and plumule length compared to the ecotype 1. Generally, the radicle and plumule length decreased significantly in relation to the drought stress caused by PEG. Ecotype 2 in -8 bar PEG treatment had the highest (41 and 32%) decrease in radicle and plumule length compared to the control temperature. In two ecotypes (Mashhad and Tehran) of Alcea rosea, increasing PEG concentrations resulted in a decrease in fresh and dry weights. Water absorption is the first germination stage. Due to the probable resistance of the ecotype one, water absorption rate is higher, and as a result, the percentage and rate of germination have increased. Ecotype 1 exhibited higher leaf SOD activities in response to -2 bar compared to -8 bar, but the SOD activities in ecotype 2 showed a general increase trend with increases in the PEG concentration. Drought stress resulted in lower antioxidant enzyme activities (POD) in leaves of both ecotypes compared to that observed at the control treatment, but the activity of CAT increased with the increase of drought stress. In both ecotypes, exposure to -8 bar resulted in significantly higher leaf MDA activities. Plants exhibited higher proline in response to -8 bar treatment compared to the control. By increasing the PEG concentration from control to -8 bar, proline content increased about 90 percent. In this experiment, drought stress reduced the rate and germination percentage and delayed subsequent plant deployment. When plants are subjected to drought stress, their metabolism is interrupted or inhibited by increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation, resulting in reduced germination, weaker root and shoot growth and even mortality. The recent experiment showed that the activity of two superoxide dismutase and peroxidase enzymes decreased with increasing drought stress, and the activity of the catalase enzyme increased; this is in agreement with the results reported by other studies. On one hand, the increase in the activity of the catalase enzyme indicates that it is perhaps the most important enzyme involved under drought condition, which increased over the course of 14 days. On the other hand, limiting the activity of enzymes and increasing the amount of proline showed that increasing the resistance to drought stress in the plant depends on the accumulation of contaminating substances such as proline.

Due to the higher resistance of the ecotype 1 and increase in water absorption, the percentage and rate of germination were increased. If water absorption is disturbed by the seed, the germination activity is slowly applied and the later growth of the roots will decrease the germination rate. Therefore, it seems that Mashhad ecotype with increase of catalase and proline has the highest drought tolerance compared to the other ecotype at germination stage. There was a significant correlation between germination percentage with SOD and POD.

Choosing the best covering material for the greenhouse roof is a very important factor influencing the quantity and quality of light entering the greenhouse. Some vegetative and reproductive traits and biochemical characteristics of two tomato cultivars (‘Synda’ and ‘Melody’) grown in some greenhouse units roof-covered with four covering materials (glass, plastic, polycarbonate and corrugated polyethylene) were investigated for autumn cultivation in the Research Greenhouses of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. This experiment was designed in a split plot (main-plot: greenhouse cover; sub-plot: cultivar) based on a completely randomized design. The highest to lowest radiation rates were recorded in corrugated polyethylene, glass, plastic and polycarbonate covers, respectively. The ANOVA results showed that vegetative, reproductive and biochemical traits were significantly affected by greenhouse cover, cultivar, or greenhouse cover × cultivar interaction. Raising the plant health index through increasing the stem diameter and decreasing plant length was influenced by the amount of the irradiation provided by greenhouse covers; it was significantly higher in the corrugated polyethylene and glass covers rather than the plastic and polycarbonate ones. The maximum numbers of days from transplanting to flowering stage were obtained in the corrugated and glass covers (35.5 and 35 days, respectively) for the ‘Synda’ cultivar, and in glass cover (32.2 days) for the ‘Melody’ cultivar. The lowest fruit ripening (60 days) was observed in the ‘Melody’ cultivar under the corrugated polyethylene cover, while the highest value (80.25 days) was recorded in ‘Synda’ cultivar under the polycarbonate cover. Fruit production was the highest in the ‘Synda’ cultivar under corrugated polyethylene (6503.6 g/plant) and glass (6337.3 g/plant) covers, while ‘Melody’ under plastic and polycarbonate covers (1314.2 and 1027.1 g/plant, respectively) showed the lowest amount. According to the results of this experiment, from an economic point of view, based on Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IIR) factors, the greenhouse cultivation of ‘Synda’ cultivar under glass cover is recommended in Mashhad climatic conditions.

Climate change is expected to have impacts on ecosystems worldwide. During the last 50 years, the greatest warming trends have been observed in winter months and significant increases in both the occurrence and duration of winter warming have already been reported. In general, predicted future climate change scenarios will result in less than optimal cold acclimation conditions, leading to decreases in freezing tolerance and predisposition of plants to winter injury. Nonetheless, it is not clear whether water stress induced during cold hardening is of high importance in inducing freezing tolerance in plants or it is an integral part of typical cold hardening process. Since rapid and effective assessment of plant cold tolerance is important for researchers and also field trials have no regular process and have high error, different kinds of artificial freeze tests such as survival percentage test and regrowth after imposing stress have been developed.

In order to evaluate the effect of drought stress on plant freezing tolerance of viola, a factorial experiment was conducted based on completely randomized design with three replications in faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Experimental factors include three water treatments (80% FC, 60 % FC and 40% FC) and 10 temperature levels (Control, from zero to -24 with 3 °C intervals). Pansy seeds sown in a nursery in the summer of 2015 and after reaching the five-leaf stage in the fall plants were transferred to the pots. After the potted plants spend cold acclimation in nature conditions, plants were subjected to water stress including control (80% FC), 60% and 40% FC for two weeks. After drought stress, whole plants were sampled for freezing tolerance assessment and they were transferred to the freezer thermos-gradient. After applying the stress, electrolyte leakage, lethal temperature 50 according to the electrolyte leakage percentage (LT50el) were measured. One months later, survival percentage, lethal temperature 50% of plant according to the survival percentage (LT50su), leaf area, number of flower and bud, dry weight (dry weight of vegetative, reproductive, root and total) and reduced dry matter temperature 50 (RDMT50) were evaluated.

Electrolyte leakage percentage (EL %) and survival (%) were significantly (p ≤ 0.01) affected by irrigation treatments in the freezing conditions. By lowering the temperature from 20 to -24 °C, the EL% significantly increased in three irrigation treatments and it increased in 80% FC compared to 60% (by 16%) at -24°C. plants under 60% FC treatment exhibited higher baseline freezing tolerance (LT50 of −18.4 °C) compared to 80% FC (LT50 of −11.8 °C).Treated plants (except 80% FC) were able to tolerate lowering the temperature to -21°C. Lowering the temperature to -24°C caused the total mortality. According to the LT50su index, 60% FC treatment was less than compared to other treatments. Leaf area significantly increased by 16%, respectively, when plants were under water deficit (60% FC) compared to 80% FC at 0 °C. The maximum number of flower were seen in 60% FC at – 3 °C and the maximum number of bud were observed at 0 °C. The results showed that dry weight was significantly (p ≤ 0.01) increased by drought stress in the freezing conditions. Plants under 60% FC at 0 °C had the highest increase (55, 62 and 64%, respectively) dry weight of vegetative, reproductive and total growth, respectively compared to control. By lowering the temperature to -18 °C in 80% FC vegetative, reproductive and root growth decreased (36, 38 and 42%, respectively) compared to control plants. RDMT50 significantly affected by drought stress. There were significantly correlation between EL with LT50el and RDMT50 (r =0.25* and r = 0.72**, respectively). In total, plants under 60% FC showed highest freezing tolerance compared to the other treatments.

In the current study, we found that the greatest gain in freezing tolerance was associated with cold and that the effect of drought stress on freezing tolerance varied with temperature. Drought stress resulted in an improvement in freezing tolerance of viola (lower LT50). Among the different parameters evaluated, 60% FC treatment at 0 °C most consistently induced increases in survival percentage, reproductive and vegetative growth which suggested a synergistic effect between drought exposure and low temperature. Higher dry weight of viola plants may contribute to better plant overwintering capacity. In addition, future research should explore the effect of repeated mild drought events on freezing tolerance of acclimated plants, by using strategies such as wilt-based irrigation scheduling, partial root zone drying, and deficit irrigation.

Humic acid and fulvic acid are natural and organic materials, which are derived from various sources such as soil organic matter (humus), soil, peat, oxidized lignite and coal. In order to evaluate the effect of humic substances on physiological characteristics of two ornamental plants of granium (Plargonium spp.) and scindapsus (Scindapsus spp.), an experiment was conducted as 4×4 factorial, based on completely randomized design with three replications, in Research Greenhouse of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad during 2014-2015. The first factor was four levels of humic acid (0, 0.2, 0.5 and 1 g/L) and the second factor was fulvic acid at four levels (0, 0.2, 0.5 and 1 g/L). Results showed that the use of humic acid and fulvic acid caused an improvement in most measured physiological traits in geranium and scindapsus. In granium plant, application of humic acid at low concentration could improve plant growth characteristics. The content of chlorophyll and stomatal conductance in granium increased by humic acid application (0.2 and 0.5 g/L) as fertigation compared to control treatment. Combined application of humic acid and fulvic acid in this plant, also improved soluble sugar content of the plant and reduced the electrolyte leakage as compared to control. In scindapsus, using humic acid at the highest concentration, solely or in combination with fulvic acid, resulted in the improvement of growth traits, so that the combination of humic acid and fulvic acid resulted in increased soluble sugar and SPAD index in this plant. Moreover, chlorophyll content of the plant was increased by the application of humic acid (1 g/L) as fertigation in comparison with the control treatment. These compounds increase plants’ growth by improving their growth conditions. According to the results of this study, application of humic acid and fulvic acid as organic fertilizers is recommended for improving growth in geranium and scindapsus ornamental plants.

The present study was carried out to investigate biochemical, morphological, and physiological processes involved in the adaptive processes of cut roses grown in arching and high-rack culture systems under water deficit condition. Rose plants ‘Club-Nika’ were subjected to three water regimes [control (100% of irrigation needs), moderate water stress (75%), and severe water stress (50%)] factorially combined with two training systems defined as arching and high-rack systems. Water deficit significantly reduced morphological and qualitative traits as well as water relations of cut roses. Water deficit significantly reduced Net CO2 assimilation rate (PN), transpiration rate (E), and stomatal conductance (gs), whereas it did not affect Water Use Efficiency (WUEi) and intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci). Surprisingly, water deficit did not affect chlorophyll content [chl a, chl b and total chl (a + b)] and proline accumulation of leaves. Considering the lack of change in intercellular CO2 concentration, it seems likely that both stomatal closure and metabolic impairment limit photosynthetic CO2 assimilation under water deficit. Regardless of irrigation regimes, rose plants trained with high-rack culture system showed a superiority for most of the qualitative and quantitative attributes compared to those trained with arching system. The high-rack system resulted in 60% higher extra-quality stems (> 60 cm) compared with the plants trained with arching. It can be concluded that cut roses respond to water deficit through adaptive changes in physiological and morphological levels to reduce water loss without any negative impact at biochemical level.

The present research was done to evaluate proline, proteins and sugars of flower buds of pistachio trees during phonological stages. This study was conducted using a split-plot design with three replications considered time as main factor (5 Stages) and cultivars (Ahmad-aghaee, Ouhadi, Kaleh-ghochi and Akbari) as secondary factor. The experiment was conducted at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad and Institute of Pistachio Research of Iran (PRI). The Studied Variables included proline, soluble sugars and total protein which were assessed during rest (winter), flowering (beginning of spring) and after spring frost. The highest (27.36 mili mol/gram weight of fresh flower bud) and lowest (7.86 mili mol/gram weight of fresh flower bud) rates of proline were found in Ahmad-aghaee after chilling injury and bud swelling, respectively. The highest rate of total protein was shown by Akbari (70.79%) and Ouhadi (71.25%) at flower burst, and the lowest amount was obtained at bud swelling of Ouhadi (25.39%). Results indicated that sugars accumulated during winter and reduced by beginning of spring. Amount of proline increased during flowering and after spring frost. overall proteins were fixed and low after falling leaves (autumn) to bud dormancy (winter), but its amounts increased after bud dormancy till after flowering and spring frost.

Nowruzak (Salvia leriifolia) of Lamiaceae family has a good capability for domestication in Khorasan’s natural habitats. In order to investigate the effect of sowing design and depth in seedling emergence and permanence, a split plot experiment based on a randomized complete block design was performed with three replications. Results indicated sowing design in all three parameters, sowing depth in number of days for emerging were significantly differents

This experiment was carried to find out the effects of foliar fertilization and growing media on some of vegetative and reproductive traits of the new vegetable pepino (Solanum muricatum) in a pot culture in outdoor space during five month period in Mashhad. Foliar fertilization treatments were used in this study including foliar fertilization once every three weeks, once a week and control (no foliar fertilization). Media treatments also included soil, soil mixed with vermicompost, soil mixed with sand, soil mixed with peat moss and a mixture of soil, sand and peat moss. This experiment was conducted in a factorial (3 5) based on a completely randomized design with 6 replications. Traits such as number of shoots, leaf area, number of flower per bush and number of fruits per bush were measured by the stage of ripening fruits. The results showed that the foliar fertilization and media treatments in all of traits except for the effect of media on leaf area were significant different. In foliar fertilization treatments, the treatment of once every three weeks Resulted in significant increas in comparison to the control (P<0.01) and compared to the treatment of once a week showed significant increase in the number of shoots and number of fruit (P<0.01). Foliar fertilization treatment once a week compared to the control except for the number of fruits has also significant increase in all traits (P<0.01). In the growing media, treatment on vegetative and reproductive traits of pepino, the mixed of soil and peat moss showed significant increase in comparison to soil at %1 level on the traits such as number of shoots, number of flowers and number of fruits. This growing media also has significant effect on the traits of number of shoots and number of fruits compared to the mixture of soil, sand and peat moss as well as soil mixed with sand (P<0.01). Effect of growing media on leaf area showed no significant difference.

Many uses of landscape and important roll of ground covers aspect turfgrasses caused extensive of this plant in the cities. This study focuses on shoot responses and tolerance of native and commercial turf grasses under drought stress in a factorial experiment based on unbalanced completely random design on the year 2006. The specious that we used in this experiment included (i) commercial tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) (ii) commercial perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) (iii) native tall fescue population (Festuca arundinacea). The drought stress levels included (i) 50%FC (ii) 25% FC (iii) recovery from drought stress and 3 groups of pots that was always in the field capacity condition. The results of this study showed that dry weight decreased 26.4% in 25% FC traits in compare with control traits under severe drought stress. Decreased in leaf wide, leaf total area, leaf total length and increase in leaf diameter caused decrease in evaportanspiration under drought stress in festuca genus. Parameter of quality change (TQ) and decrease in total chlorophyll content was minimum in native tall fescue and maximum in commercial ryegrass, from perfect irrigation to sever drought stress. Shoot dry weight, leaf width, total leaf area and total leaf length, visual quality and leaf total chlorophyll content increased 18.2%, 103.3%, 74.4%, 28.8%, 64.1%, 40.8% respectively, and mean leaf diameter decreased 53.2% in compare with sever drought stress condition after 14 days rewatering.

Turfgrass is important in urban landscape and by considering that organic matter has a important roll in improving physical and chemical soil characteristics using an organic matter instead of manure and MSW seems necessary .in this research the possibility of using new method of culture such as hydromulching (i.e. mixing seed, organic matter, water, and fertilizer and then distributing it) spent mushroom compost (SMC) has done .for these reason we use two level of SMC 6- month old and one –year old .in two time ,spring and autumn .the experiment design as a factorial Randomized Complete Block Design with 3 replications .Germination ,establishment ,uniformity ,density ,color was measured .results showed that SMC is better than manure especially 6-month old SMC as it is than one-year old SMC .in the spring establishment and germination is better . So using hydromulching by 6-month compost in spring is recommended.

The lack of water is the most important problem in extensive landscape especially turfgrass in arid and semi arid regions. The root responses in native and commercial grasses under drought stress were investigated. This experiment was in a factorial experiment based on unbalanced completely random design on the year 2006. The specious that we used in this experiment included (i) commercial tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) (ii) commercial perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) (iii) native tall fescue population (Festuca arundinacea). The drought stress levels included (i) 50%FC (ii) 25% FC (iii) recovery from drought stress and 3 groups of pots that was always in the field capacity condition. The replicates for control pots and drought/recovery treatments were 3 and 4 respectively. The results showed that root dry weigh of commercial and native tall fescue increased 40%, 11.9% respectively compared with control under severe drought stress. Whereas it decrease 33.6% in lolium perenne compared with control at same condition. Another root traits such as volume, total area and root total length in the native tall fescue increase 60.1%, 34.6%, 70.1% respectively compared with control under severe drought stress. This traits in plus 54% decrease in root diameter caused increased in rank of absorption and depletion of water from dry soil. That it caused better yield of this grass under drought stress. Ability of recovery in most morphological root characters increase in commercial grass after rewatering in compare with severe drought stress condition.

Sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) is an important Iranian-native fruit, considered highly perishable commodity which cannot be stored for any length of time. On this study, effect of three gas compositions (ambient, 5% O2+5% CO2+90% N2 and 10% O2+15% CO2+75% N2) and two storage temperatures (0 and 5 °C) on two sour cherry cultivars namely Erdy jubileum and Erdy Botermo was studied in a CRD (completely randomized design) based on factorial design with three replications. Fruits were examined, 42 days after packaging, in case of such different qualitative factors as weight loss, tissue firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), titrable acidity (TA), pH, and colour. The results indicate a better preservation of qualitative properties such as weight loss, tissue firmness and colour in the modified atmosphere; in 5% O2+5% CO2+90% N2 the lowest weight loss and the highest firmness was defected. In Erdy jubileum at 5°C titrable acidity was the lowest and the favourable impact of the 5 °C temperature treatment on qualitative properties, compared to that of 0 °C.