f. sefidkon

Savory belongs to the family Lamiaceae and the genus Satureja. Among the 16 savory species in Iran, 9 are endemic to Iran. The most important composition of the essential oil of these species is carvacrol, which has antiseptic properties and is used in the composition of some organic substances. The flowering branches and the aerial parts of the savoury plant are the most critical usable parts, usually harvested when flowering and dried in the shade and have a fragrant smell. In this study, we evaluated the adaptation of different savory accessions (Satureja spp.) in the climatic condition of Kurdistan province.

Thirty-seven accessions belonging to 10 Saturejaspecies were used in a randomized complete block design experiment in three replications at the Grize Station in Sanandaj from 2009-2013. The seeds were collected from different regions of Iran (Khorasan, East Azerbaijan, Yazd, Mazandaran, Kurdistan, Lorestan, Ilam, Gilan, Isfahan and Zanjan provinces). Savory species include S. sahendica Bornm, S. avromanica Maroofi, S. bachtiarica Bunge, S. spicigera (C. Koch) Boiss, S. mutica Fisch, S. macrantha CAMey, S. atropatana Bunge, S. rechingeri Jamzad, S. khuzistanicaJamzad, and S. isophylla Rech. The seeds were planted using transplanting trays, and at the stage of 8-10 leaves, the healthy plants were selected to be cultivated in unique pots. After levelling the ground and implementing the drip irrigation system, the healthy seedlings were transferred to the foremost field in the research farm. A sampling of savoury branches in the full flowering stage was done in early summer to mid-autumn. Variance analysis and average data comparison were done using Duncan's multiple range test. Using cluster analysis of the investigated characteristics, the accessions were separated into groups with different origins. Also, a variance distribution of the main components of the data was done for the principal components analysis. Essential oils obtained from 3 replicate samples were mixed and analyzed by GC and GC/MS.

Based on the variance analysis there was a significant difference between species and accessions at the level of (p≤0.01) in terms of essential oil yield percentage, essential oil yield per hectare (based on the dry weight of flower and leaf per hectare), total phenolic compounds of essential oil, plant's fresh weight yield per hectare and plant's dry weight yield per hectare, dry weight of leaf and flower yield per hectare, canopy area, the mean of the branch's height and establishment percentage. Also, the effect of the year on essential oil yield was significant. Comparison of the average species of savory showed that the average yield of essential oils in hectares (based on the weight of flower and leaf per hectare) was the highest in S.spicigera, S.mutica, S.rechingeri, S. macrantha, S.khuzestanica, S.sahendica, S.bachtiaricawith 45.20, 38.44, 19.00, 12.40, 12.07, 9.45, 9.26 kg/ha and the lowest in species of S.avromanica, S. isophylla, S. atropatana with 0.74, 1.64, 2.48 kg/ha, respectively. Species of S.khuzestanica, S.rechingeri,S.avromanica, S. mutica, S.spicigera, S.bachtiaricawith 91.90, 90.26, 58.45, 53.03, 51.35 and 50.49, respectively had the highest total phenolic compounds of essential oil and the species of S. isophylla, S. macrantha, S.sahendica, S. atropatana had the lowest with 29.15, 36.55, 36.85 and 37.60%, respectively. Species of S. avromanica, S. macrantha, S. spicigera, S. mutica, S. isophylla, S. sahendica with averages of 93.32, 92.30, 91.76, 83.82, 83.11, 81.44% had the highest survival or percentage of establishment, and S. atropatana, S. rechingeri, S. khuzistanica species had the lowest establishment percentage with 26.44, 31.73 and 38.89%, respectively. Comparison of traits in different species of Saturejashows that the yield of fresh plant weight per hectare is the highest in S. mutica and S. spicigera species with 13637.73 and 13570.76 kg and S. isophylla, S. atropatana and S.avromanica had the lowest values with 1199.43, 1604.31, and 1764.89 kg, respectively. The yield of the dry weight of flowers and leaves per hectare was the highest in S. spicigeraand S. mutica with 2173.94 and 2101.89 kg and S. atropatana, S. isophylla and S. avromanica had the lowest values with 338.45, 427.48, and 457.03 kg, respectively.

Based on the cluster analysis results, S. sahendica, S. bachtiarica, S. macrantha, S. spicigera and S. mutica were prioritized for planting in Kurdistan. S. avromanica, S. Tropicana and S. mesophyll were placed in the second priority for planting, and S. recharger and S. khuzestanica, with an average yield of essential oil of 2.87 and 2.41%, respectively (higher than the native species), due to their sensitivity to cold, the low establishment, the small area of the canopy and finally the lack of dry weight of flowers and leaves can be concluded that these two species are not suitable for cultivation in the same conditions of Kurdistan. On the other hand, based on the biplot diagram, the yield of essential oil per hectare positively correlates with the canopy area and the wet and dry weight of the plant. Therefore, S. spicigera, S. mutica, S. bachtiarica, S. macrantha and S. sahendica species, in addition to the large canopy area and as a result of increasing the dry weight of flowers and leaves in them, showed essential oil yield per hectare in the climate conditions of Sanandaj. Also, S. spicigera, S. mutica, S. macrantha, S. sahendica, and S. bachtiarica species have the highest dry weight yield per hectare with 5992, 5694, 2061, 1046, and 1622 kg per hectare and 20.45 38.44, 12.40, 9.45, 9.26 kg per hectare had the highest yield of essential oil.

Nepeta crassifolia Boiss. & Buhse, from Lamiaceae family, is an aromatic species with medicinal properties which is endemic to Iran. The seeds and aerial parts of this plant were collected from six different regions of East Azerbaijan province. After drying, the plant aerial parts essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation and their compounds were identified by GC and GC/MS. The collected seeds, after producing greenhouse seedlings, were planted in the field in a randomized complete block design with three replications. In the second year after planting, the flowering shoots were harvested, dried, and distilled. The results showed that there was significant differences among essential oil percentage of natural habitat samples which the highest amount belonged to "Marand" region, but the farm essential oil samples did not differ with each other significantly. The compounds nepetalactone I (4aα, 7α, 7aα) and II (4aα, 7α, 7aβ), globulol, germacrene B, caryophyllene oxide, and 1,8-cineole were identified as the main essential oil compounds of this species. The highest amount of nepetalactone I or II under the natural habitat (69% and 21.7%, respectively) and field (27.3% and 51.5%, respectively) conditions belonged to "Misho" region in "Marand". "Sarab" region also had the highest amount of nepetalactone II under the natural habitat and farm conditions compared to the other samples. The highest amount of 1,8-cineole (21.8%) in the oil was also obtained from the natural habitat of "Kharil" region.

To investigate the effects of planting density and organic fertilizers on the yield traits of Satureja spicigera (K.Koch) Boiss. under the Kermanshah rainfed conditions, an experiment was conducted as a split-plot based on complete randomized block design (CRBD) with three replications in Kermanshah Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center in 2016-2020 crop years. The main factor and sub-factor were fertilizer (rotten cow manure, enriched straw, and field soil (control)) and plant density (2.66, 4, and 8 plants.m-2), respectively. To have the desired densities, plants were grown with a distance of 50 cm between the rows and 25, 50, and 75 cm on the rows. The results showed that the traits including diameter, height, canopy area, fresh and dry weight of plant, fresh and dry yield per hectare, and essential oil yield per hectare were significantly different between the years, plant densities, and fertilizer treatments. The highest fresh yield (3639.3 kg.ha-1) was obtained in the rotten cow manure+ high plant density treatment and the highest dry yield (2105 kg.ha-1) and essential oil yield (72.59 kg.ha-1) in the enriched straw+ high plant density one. The results showed that the best fertilizer and plant density treatment for S. spicigera was straw enriched with ammonium sulfate and 8 plants.m-2.

The genus Pycnocyla belongs to the Apiaceae family and has eight perennial species in Iran. In this study, the essential oil content and chemical compounds of P. nodiflora Decne ex. Boiss. and P. flabellifolia Boiss. were investigated. The aerial parts of plants at seeding stage were collected from two habitats in Hormozgan province through two consecutive years and Kermanshah province in one year, respectively. Stem+leaf [SL] and seed [S] were separated and shade-dried. The essential oil was extracted by Clevenger apparatus and hydrodistillation method for three hours. Percentage and chemical composition of the essential oils were determined by GC and GC/MS. The essential oil content of P. nodiflora was obtained [SL]: 0.23 and 1.21% (two years) and [S]: 0.23% in Tangzagh habitat of Hormozgan and [SL]: 0.02 and 0.06% (two years) and [S]: 0.01% in Abmah habitat. Caryophyllene oxid (7.8-28.1%) and b-eudesmol (15.5-57.2%) were recognized as the main compounds of [SL] and [S] essentials oils of both habitats in this species. In P. flabellifolia, the essential oil content of [SL] and [S] was 0.66 and 0.76%, respectively. The main compounds in [SL] essential oil of this species were cis-β-ocimene (33.8%), trans-β-ocimene (39.6%), and terpinolene (12.9%) and in [S] essential oil were trans-β-ocimene (28%), cis-β-ocimene (31%), and terpinolene (12.6%). According to previous reports on the antimicrobial properties of trans-β-ocimene and cis-β-ocimene compounds on bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis and the predominance of these compounds in the essential oil of P. flabellifolia, studies on antimicrobial properties of this species essential oil is recommended.

Satureja mutica Fisch. & C. A. Mey. is one of the native savory species of Iran that has received much attention due to its high essential oil content and phenolic compound of thymol. Determination the most suitable and best planting density as well as soil fertility is very important in increasing the quantitative and qualitative yield of medicinal plants. In this study, to investigate the effects of plant density and feeding with organic fertilizers on quantitative and qualitative yield of essential oils in Satureja mutica Fisch. & C. A. Mey. under rainfed conditions, an experiment was conducted as split plots in a randomized complete block design with 3 replications in the Research and Education Center of Agriculture and Natural Resources of Kermanshah province in 3 crop years (2018-2020). The main factor included 3 fertilizer treatments and the sub-factor was 3 densities (2.66, 4, and 8 plants per square meter) in rows with a distance of 50 cm and with 3 planting distances (25, 50, and 75 cm). Plant aerial parts were harvested at full flowering stage and their essential oil (EO) was extracted by hydrodistillation method. EO yield was calculated according to the plant dry weight and its chemical compounds were identified using GC and GC/MS. The results showed that percentage and EO chemical composition did not show any difference between the years. There was a significant difference between the fertilizer treatments for the percentage and EO yield and thymol, carvacrol, and other EO chemical compounds at the level of 1%. There was a significant difference between the planting densities only for EO yield. Thymol had a positive relationship with the treatments of enriched straw and then rotten cow manure and the highest amount (53.2%) was observed in the enriched straw treatment. Carvacrol with the highest amount of 9.2%, showed a positive relationship with the rotten cow manure treatment.

Multipurpose use of rangelands is one of the new challenges facing rangeland users, according to which grazing pressure in rangelands can be reduced and an important step can be taken to increase the welfare and empowerment of rangelands, preserve ecosystems and improve ecosystem services related to them. Therefore, the present study aims to evaluate the potential of rangelands in the semi-steppe region, for the use of medicinal plants and forage production, in 12 habitats of the country (including: Arshad Chamanof Sahand, Shiveh Soor of Marghavar of Urmia, DoshKharat of Golestankooh, Derakhtak of Friedan, Aliabad Moshiri of Koohrang, Freeze heights of Binalood, Khoraklat of Razavi Khorsan, Joladak of Alamut, Sar Ali Abad of Gorgan, Rineh of Larijan, Otaghsara of Larijan and Kaboudcheshmeh of Savadkuh) were performed. For this purpose, after measuring the vegetation and estimating the production of medicinal plants; based on ecological, economic and social criteria and indicators; the suitability of each habitat for the use of medicinal plants was determined. Then, by comparing the suitability class of habitats for the use of medicinal plants and their suitability class for livestock grazing, a decision was made regarding the priority of the type of rangeland use. Overall; 17% of habitats, by all criteria, are unsuitable for the use of medicinal plants. 33% have good suitable, 25% have medium suitable and 25% have low suitable. The results suggest that not all rangeland habitats are suitable for the use of medicinal plants, and not all of them are suitable for the use of medicinal plants. This issue should be considered in the policies related to the harvest of medicinal plants from the rangelands, and the use of medicinal plants should be allowed, taking into account the suitability of the rangeland. In rangelands with potential for medicinal plants, it is possible to reduce the number of livestock and grazing livestock in accordance with ecological principles; he used medicinal plants along with livestock. This, in addition to compensating for the economic problems caused by reducing the number of livestock, will also restore vegetation and enhance the richness of medicinal plants.

One approach for medicinal plants cultivation expansion is to sow them in rainfed areas. In recent years, the study of valuable types of medicinal plants, development of cultivation and meeting the needs of the pharmaceutical industry has been one of the goals of scientific and research centers. Savory is a valuable medicinal species in the world. The aerial parts and volatile constituents of Satureja species are commonly used as a medicinal herb and flavoring agents. They can be used as antioxidant, antiseptic, antispasmolidic and as a condiment in food industry. Two of the most important species of savory grow wildly in Iran are S. sahendica and S. spicigera. Both of them are native species to semi-arid zones of Iran, and considered as aromatic and medicinal plant. Wheat straw and cow manure are the two most common soil amendments which have been using for improving soil structure and soil fertility. Limited studies have been performed on rainfed cultivation of medicinal species, especially savory. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of planting bed on vegetative characteristics and yield of two savory species in rainfed conditions.

Experiment was carried out for three years (2018-2020) as split plots based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. The experiment was conducted at the Fereidoonshar (32°56’N, 50°06’E and an altitude of 2491 m). Planting bed as main plot consisted of cow manure (30 ton.ha-1), wheat straw (10 ton.ha-1) and control (without manure and straw); species as subplot consisted of S. sahendica and S. spicigera. Morphological traits including plant height, crown diameter, canopy area per plant, canopy area per square meter, and number of stems per plant; and yield traits including total dry weight, leaf dry weight and stem dry weight were thetraits which were measured over the study. The recorded data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and least significant difference (LSD) on 0.05 probability level for comparison of means using SAS (ver. 8.2) software.

The results of analysis of variance showed that the effects of planting bed, year and their interactions on the measured traits were significant in many cases. Results showed that the highest values of plant height (46 cm), crown diameter (35 cm), canopy area (3980 cm2) and number of stems per plant (23) were seen in S. spicigera. Also, the highest rates of total dry weight and leaf dry weight were seen in S. spicigera, 695 and 470 kg.ha-1, respectively. Wheat straw treatment reduced aerial parts dry weight in two species in the first year, but in the second year it caused an increase. Cow manure made a slight increase in two species growth only in the first year. The highest values of all measured traits in two species were achieved in the last year of measurements, as the values of leaf dry weight for S. spicigera and S. sahendica were 1018 and 855 kg.ha-1, respectively. The highest values of leaf area index and harvest index were observed in the first year of the experiment including 4.59 and 72, respectively.

Cow manure was able to significantly increase the yield of the two species in the first and second years, especially for S. spicigera. Although the use of wheat straw reduced the rates of morphological and yield treatments of the two species of savory in the first year, but increased them in the second year, so It is recommended to cultivate savory after decomposition of wheat straw. The role of increasing vegetative growth and plant yield under the influence of increasing plant age was quite obvious. On the whole, in order to produce savory under dryland conditions similar to this research, cultivation of S. spicigera withouth usng manure or straw could be recommended, although incorporation of these amendments into the lower depth of the soil could be more effective on this species growth and yield.

To investigate the effects of different nutritional treatments on morphological characteristics, essential oil yield, and the amount of some elements in the soil and plant branches of Satureja khuzistanica Jamzad, an experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design with three replications and 14 nutritional treatments during two growing seasons (2017-2018, 2018-2019). Treatments included 1- C (control), 2- NPK (Chemical fertilizer 50-25-25 kg.ha-1), 3- CM30, 4- CM60 (CM: Cattle manure 30 and 60 ton.ha-1), 5- CM30+NPK, 6- CM60+NPK, 7- V5 (Vermicompost 50 ton.ha-1), 8- V5+NPK, 9- GM (Glomus mosseae), 10- GI (Glomus intraradices), 11- S0+T, 12- S250+T, 13- S500+T (S: Sulfur 0, 250, and 500 kg.ha-1, T: Thiobacillus), and 14- V5+T. The analysis of variance showed the significant effect (p < /em>≤0.01) of year×fertilizer treatments on the all morphological characteristics, percentage and essential oil yield, and the amount of potassium and sulfur of plant branches. The highest plant height in the first and second years was related to the CM30+NPK and CM60 treatments, respectively. The highest number of branches in the first and second years was observed in the CM30+NPK and GM treatments, respectively. The CM30+NPK treatment had the highest shade width in both years. Also, the highest amount of dry matter of flowering branches in the first and second years was related to the CM30+NPK and V5+T treatments, respectively. According to the results, the highest essential oil percentage in the first and second years was observed in the GM and S0 + T treatments, respectively. The application of V5+NPK and V5 +T treatments significantly increased the essential oil yield in the first and second years, respectively. The results also showed that the highest potassium content of branches in the first and second years was related to the GI and V5 + NPK treatments, respectively. Also, the highest sulfur content of branches in the first and second years was obtained in the V5 and S500 + T treatments, respectively. In general, the present study showed that the use of biofertilizers increases the efficiency of essential oil percentage and the amount of nutrients in this plant. Also, it could be recommended to use vermicompost along with the chemical and biological fertilizers to increase the essential oil yield of Satureja khuzistanica.

Achillea tenuifolia Lam. belongs to the Asteraceae family that is one of the most popular aromatic plants in Iran with great variation in both morphology and essential oil components. The aim of this study was determination of essential oil content and composition of A. tenuifolia populations in field condition. Seeds of 17 populations of A. tenuifolia collected from their natural habitats were cultivated under the same environmental conditions in the research farm of Alborz Research Station, Karaj, Iran. The aerial parts of the plants were collected at full flowering stage and dried in shade (room temperature) and their essential oils were obtained by hydro-distillation. The oils were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Based on the results, the oil yield varied from 0.16 to 1.59% (w/w dried weight). Populations from Divandareh with 1.59% and Khoy2 with 0.16% had the highest and lowest oil yield, respectively. According to the cluster analysis, the populations were placed in two clusters. Germacrene D was the main compound in all oils, but the essential oils of populations in cluster 1 contained higher amount of germacrene D (up to 64.5% in Semnan population). α-Humulene (up to 15%) and 1,8-cineole (up to 11.7%) were the other major components in the oil of cluster 1 populations. The lower amounts of these three compounds (in addition to E-β-farnesene and piperitone) and higher amount of more volatile compounds like p-cymene, β-phellandrene, camphor, and α-thujone and presence or absence of other minor compounds placed the other populations in cluster 2. Each cluster divided in two groups because of different percentages of some component such as cubenol, viridiflorol, methyl hexadecanoate and phytol. Therefore, based on the demand for processing, the proper population can be chosen for vast cultivation.

Two species Nepeta cataria L. and Nepeta bracteata Benth. (fam. lamiaceae) are native to Iran. To study the quantity and quality of the two species essential oil in the field, the seeds of eight populations from these two species were collected from natural habitats and planted in a randomized complete block design in Alborz Research Station of Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands (Karaj, Alborz province). The flowering branches were harvested at the full flowering stage and after room temperature-drying, their essential oils were extracted by hydrodistillation, and analyzed and identified by GC and GC/MS. The essential oil yield of N. cataria populations varied between 0.02 (Karaj) and 0.50% (Arak). Twenty-three compounds were identified in the essential oil of this species, and the main compound in all populations was from nepetalactone isomers. NepetalactoneIII (4aα,7β,7aα-nepetalactone) and nepetalactoneI (4aα,7α,7aα-nepetalactone) constituted 44.4 (Karaj) to 91.6% (Arak) and 0.8 (Karaj) to 15.9% (Bafgh1) of the essential oil, respectively. NepetalactoneII (4aα,7α,7aβ-nepetalactone) was observed only in the population Bafgh2 (21.2%). The amount of 1,8-cineole in the essential oil of different N. cataria populations varied from 0.4 (Taft1) to 12.8% (Karaj). The essential oil yield of N. bractaeta populations was obtained between 0.02 (Ardakan) and 0.70% (Taft2). Twenty-seven compounds were identified in the essential oil of this species, and the main compounds were 1,8-cineole (1.0, 9.6, and 41.0% in Tabas, Ardakan, and Taft2, respectively) and geranyl acetate (0.9, 3.4, and 39.8% in Tabas, Taft2, and Ardakan, respectively). In general, the results showed that the N. cataria populations were all from the same chemotype, but N. bracteata populations were from two chemotypes (ct. geranyl acetate and ct. 1,8-cineole).

Qualitative and quantitative variations in the essential oil of wild growing Origanum vulgare L. ssp. gracile plants were studied in response to different phenological stages (pre, full and post-flowering). The essential oil of air-dried leaves was isolated by water distillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus and was analyzed by Gas Chromatography (GC) and Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). The highest (1.87%) and the lowest (1.01%) essential oil content were obtained from post-flowering and pre-flowering stages, respectively. In total, 24 components were identified and quantified in three phenological stages representing 96.75, 97.63, and 98.59% of the oil, respectively. Carvacrol (46.62, 46.5 and 27.6%), ρ-cymene (7.76, 13.54 and 37.08%) and γ-terpinene (21.54, 13.91 and 6.82%) were the main constituents of essential oils in pre, full, and post-flowering stages, respectively. Oxygenated monoterpenes (43.35-61.32%) and monoterpene hydrocarbons (30.81-48.02%) were the main classes of identified compounds in three essential oils. According to the findings of this research, the post-flowering stage can be considered as the most appropriate time for obtaining the highest essential oil content, but to achieve the highest rate of phenolic compounds, the pre-flowering and full-flowering stages can be recommended.

The genus Nepeta is one of the largest genera in the Lamiaceae family, and Iran is one of the main centers of origin of this genus. The genetic diversity estimation of the genus Nepeta germplasm provides a basis for future biodiversity conservation efforts and also for the selection of high-productive genotype(s) for the field production improvement. In this work, eleven RAPD primers with suitable banding pattern and prominent polymorphism were used for the estimation of infraspecific genetic diversity of N. kotschyi based on 21 populations. The study included 19 and 2 populations belonging to var. persica and var. kotschyi, respectively. Eleven primers amplified totally 225 scorable RAPD loci, 204 of which were polymorphic. The average number of bands per primer was 20.5, 18.5 of which were polymorphic. Primers OPF 05, OPB 15, OPT 14, OPO 07, and OPF 14 were the most powerful for the detection of the genetic diversity across the samples. Cluster analysis showed six genotypic groups. N. kotschyi var. kotschyi populations were placed in a group separated from the samples belonging to N. kotschyi var. persica. The same analysis showed that the genetic diversity pattern corresponds to the geographical distribution of the populations. Of the total variation in the studied germplasm, 32% was related to inter-populations and 68% to intra-populations variation. The results indicated the high potential of RAPD markers to resolve the status of the studied genotypes in regard to inter- and intra-populations diversity and to diversify N. kotschyi varieties previously resolved by morphometric methods.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the most common opportunistic bacteria in nosocomial infections, which has a significant resistance to antimicrobials. Due to the restrictions in the use of antibiotics, the tendency to replace them with natural products has increased. In this study, the antimicrobial effect of four species of Satureja essential oils (S. mutica, S. bachtiarica, S. rechingeri and S. khuzestanica) on virulence factors of P. aeruginosa was evaluated. The minimum inhibitory concentration of Satureja essential oils was determined by microdilution broth method against standard strains of P. aeruginosa including PAO1 and 8821M. In the following, the effect of sub-minimum inhibitory concentrations (sub-MIC) of essential oils was investigated on virulence factors of this bacterium including motility, biofilm formation and alginate, elastase, and alkaline protease production of these two strains. All four Satureja essential oils had antimicrobial effects against the standard strains of P. aeruginosa, and also sub-MIC concentrations of the essential oils significantly reduced the virulence factors production of these strains. In this study, the suitable antagonistic effects of Satureja essential oils were observed against P. aeruginosa standard strains. By further study, these essential oils can be used as an antimicrobial compound against this bacterium.

Satureja sahendica Bornm is an endemic, native, and aromatic plant in Iran, with thymol being its main and major volatile component, which is used in food and pharmaceutical industries. Increasing the oil yield and phenolic compounds in essential oil leads to increased medicinal effects. In this study, the effects of mycorrhizal fungi (Glomus mosseae, G. intraradices, and combination of G. mosseae and G. intraradices) and different levels of water stress [D1= Control (no water stress), D2= No irrigation during stem elongation till blooming, D3= No irrigation at the blooming up to start of flowering, and D4= No irrigation at 50% flowering up to full flowering] were studied on S. sahendica oil, in two years. When the seedlings were transferred to the field, 10 g of mycorrhiza fertilizer (containing mycorrhizal fungus spores) were added to the rhizosphere of each seedling. The plants were harvested at full flowering and the essential oils were obtained by hydro-distillation and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The highest amount of oil yield (66.13 kg ha-1) was obtained using G. intraradices in non-stress conditions in the second year. The highest percentage of thymol was obtained in G. mosseae×control in the first year (74.59%), whereas in the second year, the highest amount of thymol was in G. mosseae×D4 (61.97%). This study showed that with the use of mycorrhizal fungi, even in conditions of water shortage, S. sahendica produced more essential oil with a higher percentage of thymol. With the use of mycorrhizal fungi, the essential oil can easily be increased and the number of compounds changes.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of soil application of potassium fertilizer and foliar application of brasinosteroid on morphophysiological characteristics and essential oil yield of medicinal plant purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench) in response to water availability. Treatments consisted of three levels of water availability (irrigation at 90% (control), 60%, and 30% of field capacity (FC)) in main plots and four amounts of potassium fertilizer (no potassium application (control), 50, 100, and 150 kg K2O ha-1) as well as the foliar application of three brassinosteroid concentrations (distilled water (control), 0.1, and 1 μM) in subplots. Results showed that the highest mean plant height (67.8 cm), number of leaves plant-1(151), number of flowers plant-1 (18.1), flower dry weight (151.9 g plant-1) and aerial parts dry weight (508.6 g plant-1) were obtained in the second year of the experiment under 150 kg ha-1 potassium and normal irrigation treatments. The highest percentage of essential oil (76) was obtained under irrigation at 60% of FC, 150 kg ha-1 potassium, and 1 µM brassinosteroid treatments. In the second year, the maximum amount of essential oil plant-1 (0.67 g) was related to 150 kg ha-1 potassium and 1 μm brassinosteroid treatments. In general, the results of this study showed that irrigation at 60% of FC together with 150 kg ha-1 potassium and 1 μM of brassinosteroid could reduce the effects of drought stress, increase the amount of essential oil plant-1 and improve some morphophysiological characteristics in purple coneflower.

In this experiment, six treatments were performed in a completely randomized block design and in three replications as follows: T1 = control (no fertilization); T2 = fertilization based on farmers conventional fertilizer use (NP); T3 = balanced fertilization (fertilizer recommendation on the basis of soil test); T4= T1+ bio- fertilizer; T5 = T2+ bio-fertilizer and T6= T3+ bio-fertilizer. Samples were taken at two- time intervals. The samples were weighed in dry content. Meanwhile, essential oil extractions were measured by Clevenger Instrument and total antioxidant extracted by DPPH method. Subsequently, data were analyzed by SAS software. The differences were shown significant at 5 percent statistical level. Average yield of dry leave weight and essential oil in two harvest in control treatment were 664 and 7.15 kgha-1, respectively, these values in the best treatment were 1261 and 19.97 kgha-1, respectively. The treatment of balanced fertilization + bio-fertilizer compared with other treatments has the highest amount of antioxidant properties in both harvest. Also, the highest concentration of potassium, iron, zinc and manganese in edible organs (Leaves) in both the yields was found in balanced fertilization + bio-fertilizer. Also results analysis of essential oil showed that percent of citral (neral+geranial) in essential oil in control treatment were 40.52, these value in the T6 treatment wrer52.27.

In order to study the effects of different levels of salinity stress on Salvia leriifoliagermination indices, an experiment was conducted at physiology laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in 2014. The experiment was arranged based on a completely randomized design with three replications. Treatments were different levels of salinity including 0, 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175 and 200 mmol, prepared by mixing NaCl and CaCl2 in a 10:1 molar ratio. Evaluated indices were germination percentage and rate, seedling length, germination seedling reduction rate, seedling dry weight and vigor index. Four non-linear regression models (linear, polynomial, 2-piece segmented and Logestic) were compared to describe the germination characteristics in different levels of salinity. The 2-piece segmented model was selected as the best one to predict germination percentage and rate, seedling length, reduction in the rate of germination and vigor index with RMSE 3.22, 0.2, 0.25 and 0.4 and R2 0.99, 0.98, 0.99 and 0.99, and Logistic model was selected as the best model with RMSE 0.01 and R2 0.98 to predict seedling dry weight, respectively. The results showed that by increasing of salinity levels, germination percentage, germination speed, seedling length, dry weight of seedling and vigor index significantly decreased. But there were no significant differences in germination indices up to 90 mmol salinity. Germination of Salvia leriifolia seeds could tolerate up to 90 mmol salinity without any significant decrease in germination properties.

The current study was aimed to investigate the essential oil of Thymus pubescens Boiss. et Kotschy ex Celak chemotypes in five regions of E-Azerbayjanprovince. Samples were collected at the flowering atage. Hydrodistillation method was used to obtain essential oil. Quantitative and qualitative analysis was done by GC and GC/MS methods. Twenty six compounds were determined in the essential oil of experimental sites. Cluster analysis، based on these components with WARD method، showed that five areas were divided into three clusters، so that the first cluster was related to the Sahand area chemotype، the second cluster was related to the Mishoo chemotype and the third cluster included common chemotype in Malekan (Egdelou)، Kaleibar (Yuzband) and Maraghe (Kordedeh). Our results showed that the highest and lowest amount of essential oil was recorded for the first chemotype (Sahand، 0. 31%) and the third chemotype (Egdelou، 1. 34%)، respectively. According to the Principal Coordinate Analysis the major compounds of essential oils were as follows: in the first chemotype: р-cymene (4. 3%)، n-nonanal (9. 8%)، methyl ether thymol (10. 6 %)، thymol (30. 9 %)، thymyl acetate (13. 5%); in the second chemotype: p-cymene (4. 1%)، γ-terpinene (6. 2%)، carvacrol (82. 1%); in thr third chemotype p-cymene (7. 2-1. 6%)، γ-terpinene (6. 5-2. 2%)، thymol (65. 6-27. 6%)، carvacrol (25. 4-3. 7%).

The essential oil yield and chemical composition of the aerial parts of Artemisia sieberi Besser were investigated in two sites of grazed and ungrazed rangelands. Plant sampling was performed from 2 sites in Ahmadabad, located in Semnan province at the beginning of flowering stage in October 2010. The samples of inflorescences of plants were collected from 5 random points of each site. Then, air-dried parts of the plants were subjected to hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus. Analysis and identification of chemical composition of the essential oils were performed by GC and GC/MS. There was no significant difference between the oil yields of Artemisia sieberi in 2 investigated sites. In ungrazed and grazed sites, the main components of essential oils were respectively, Camphor (48/03%), 1,8-Cineole (15/96%), Camphene (10/32%) and Camphor (51/82%), Camphene (10/86%), 1,8-Cineole (9/52%). According to the results, significant differences were recorded for Thuja-2,4(10)-diene (p<0.05) and α –Terpineol (p<0.01) between two studied sites. No significant differences were observed for the percentage of other componenets between 2 investigated sites. Also, comparison of the economic value of oil in one hectare with total area of the grazed and ungrazed rangelands showed that garzing caused a reduction in economic efficiency of oil.

Dracocephalum moldavica L. is an annual species of the Lamiaceae family with local and global importance. The aerial parts of the plant containing essential oil used in medicinal, cosmetic and food industries. In order to study the effects of biofertilizers on quantity and quality of essential oil in Dragonhead including the content of the essential oil and the content of the geraniol, geranial and geranyl acetate in the essential oil, an experiment was conducted at Tarbiat Modarres University in 2009. The factors were vermicompost (0, 15, 30% V/pot), Azotobacter (inoculated and non-inoculated) and phosphatic biofertilizer (inoculated and non-inoculated). A factorial experimental design was applied in a randomized complete blocks with twelve treatments and three replications. Mean comparison was carried out using Tukey multiple range test at 5% level. Results showed that the highest essential oil content (0.74%) and geranyl acetate content in the essential oil (61.1%) were obtained at the third level of the Vermicompost treatment (30%). The highest geraniol and geranial content in the essential oil (24.2% and 18.2%) respectively were obtained with V15× B0 and V15×A0.

To study the influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi inoculation and drought stress on growth, chlorophyll content and phosphorus uptake of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), a pot experiment was conducted using a factorial based on randomized complete blocks design with four replications. The factors were mycorrhizal inoculation (non-inoculated and inoculated with Glomus mosseae T.H. Nicolson & Gerd. and Glomus intraradices N.C. Schenck & G.S. Sm) and three irrigation regimes (irrigation intervals were every 4, 8 and 12 days). The results showed that drought stress had significant effects on evaluated characteristics. As with decrease of the soil water content, plant height, stem diameter, number and area of leaves, number of axillary shoot, root dry weight, fresh and dry herb yield, chlorophyll content, P concentration in leaves and root colonization decreased. Also, AM fungi inoculation had significant effects on growth parameters and P uptake. Plants inoculated with AM fungi had higher growth, yield and P uptake than non-inoculated plants under droughtstress and non-stress conditions. G. mosseae was more effective than G. intraradices in alleviation of drought stress. It could be concluded that AM fungi are able to enhance the growth and yield of basil under drought stress condition through enhancing P uptake.

In order to study the effects of zeolite, bio and organic fertilizers on N, P, K concentration, essential oil content and yield in organic cultivation of German Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), a factorial experiment in randomized complete blocks design with twelve treatments and three replications was conducted in the faculty of agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, 2005. The factors were PGPR inoculums (inoculated and no inoculated), zeolite (0 and 9 tons/ha) and vermicompost (0, 5, 10 tons/ha). Results showed that the highest concentration of N, P and K in plant, essential oil content and yield were obtained with PGPR inoculums. Zeolite also showed significant effects on the mentioned traits except P concentration. With application of zeolite 9 ton/ha, essential oil content, essential oil yield, N and K concentration were increased. Essential oil content, essential oil yield, N, P and K concentration were also increased with increasing of vermicompost levels as the highest values were obtained with application of 10 ton/ha vermicompost. There was positive and synergistic interaction between PGPR inoculums and vermicompost on N concentration as the highest and lowest N concentration percentage in herb were obtained in treatments of V3B2 (1.48) and V1B1 (1.12), respectively. According to the results, it appears that application of 10 tons vermicompost, inoculation with PGPR and 9 tons zeolite was the best treatment in production of German chamomile essential oil yield in organic system.

A pot experiment in randomized complete block design was conducted to investigate theinfluence of zinc application methods (soil and foliar application) and concentrations (1 and 2 mg kg-1 in soil application and 1 and 3 g l-1 in foliar application methods) on the growth parameters, essential oil contents, yield and composition in costmary (Tanacetum balsamita L.). The aerial part of plants was harvested at flowering stage and air dried under shade condition. The essential oil of air dried organs was extracted by hydrodistillation method using a Clevenger type apparatus and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The results showed that the effect of zinc application on growth parameters wassignificant. Zinc application caused an increase in fresh and dry weight of aerial parts and leaf area and the highest increase was observed with soil application of 2 mg kg-1. The effect of zinc application on essential oil content was not significant but increased essential oil yield significantly. The highest increase in essential oil content and yield was belonged to 2 mg kg-1 of soil application. The results of essential oil analysis showed that 20 components were identified in the costmary essential oil. Carvone and α-thujone were main components of essential oil and they showed little variation under zinc application.

In order to study the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) under drought stress on some physiological characteristics (leaf temperature, chlorophyll index, compatible solute accumulation) of basil (Osmium basilicum L.), a pot experiment was conducted as a factorial trial based on randomized complete block design with four replications. Treatments included application of two mycorrhizal fungi (Glomus mosseae and Glomus intraradices) plus a control check (non-application) and three irrigation regimes (4, 8 and 12 days intervals). Results showed that drought stress had a significant effect on all evaluated parameters, so that reducing soil water content decreased chlorophyll index while increased accumulation of proline and total soluble sugars in leaves as well as leaf temperature. Moreover mycorrhiza colonization had significant effects on all evaluated parameters except proline. The highest and the lowest amount of leaf chlorophyll index and total soluble sugars in leaves were observed in inoculated plants with G. mosseae and control (non-application of mycorrhizal) treatments, respectively.

Sequoia is a very big and ever green tree with 45-90 meter height. It is native to the side of Atlantic Ocean, Which is also cultivated in Iran. The plant materials were collected from one of the Sequoia trees from Rezvanshahr Garden in August. The height to this tree was 40 meter and it was 30 years old. For preparation of tissue culture samples, the end part of shoots in 1-2 centimeter length have been cultivated. The leaves from main tree and also tissue culture sample were hydro- distilled for their essential oils. The oils were analyzed by combination of capillary GC and GC/MS. 72 Compounds were identified in the leaf oil of main tree and 37 compounds were characterized in the leaf oil of tissue culture sample. The main components of the oil from main tree were β- phellandrene and limonene (13.30%), α- pinene (6.83%), terpinene –4-ol (6.47%), g-teroubebe *5.44%) and germacrene B (4.17%), while the major components of the oil from tissue culture sample were α- pinene (26.30%), α- terpinenyl acetate (14.40%), sabinene (13.60%), g- terpinene (7.10%), germacrene D (6.90%), b-phellandrene and limonene (6.60 %) and p-cymene (5.00%). Althoug these components were found in both oils, but the higher percentage of some useful compounds in the oil of tissue culture sample, gave it more effective character.