nasser beikzadeh

The reaction of the photosynthetic apparatus in capturing light energy depended on the arrangement of the leaves, stems, and side branches. This process accelerates in the substrate when the intensity of the absorbed photon flow passes from the light compensation point. To evaluate the effect of greenhouse floor covering on the growth rate of roses, an experiment was conducted as factorial based on a randomized complete design with three replications in a rose production greenhouse in the spring of 2020. The experimental factors included greenhouse floor mulch in four levels (aluminum foil, ceramic, white plastic, and concrete (control)) and the second factor of eight weeks of growth. The results showed that the maximum photosynthesis (17.1 µmol CO2m–2S–1) was recorded from aluminum mulch in the first growth week and the minimum of it (4.05 µmol CO2.m–2.s–1) was observed in the fourth growth week in concrete mulch. The trend changes in stomatal conductance (gs) was similar to the photosynthesis during the eight weeks of plant growth, but in the abaxial lower leaves, the stomatal conductance was higher than the value of abaxial in upper leaves. The maximum amount of weekly growth (18.7 cm) was due to the application of aluminum mulch in the first week of growth. The amount of plant growth was slow in all treatments, however, in the eighth week, the maximum amount of weekly growth with the amount of 13.3 cm was related to aluminum mulch, and the amount of weekly growth in ceramic, white plastic, and concrete mulches was recorded 12.0, 9.99 and 9.2 cm, respectively. In general, the results showed that the use of mulches that have a higher light reflection coefficient is effective and significant in increasing the photosynthetic power of lower leaves and helping to increase plant growth.

Sesame has valuable oil which is beneficial for human health. This plant has one capsule in each leaf node (the place where the leaf joins the stem), and by manipulating plant hormones, the number of capsules in each leaf node can increase, which leads to an increase in yield. To increase the number of capsules per leaf node, a factorial experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design. The first factor was two types of seeds [seeds from one capsule per leaf node (CAP1) and seeds from triple capsule per leaf node (CAP2)], and the second factor was three concentrations of cytokinin (CK) (zero, 50, 100 ppm). The results showed that the maximum plant length (83.5 cm) was obtained from the 50 ppm CK treatment. The application of 50 ppm CK in CAP1 was increased the number of single capsule nodes about 48%. Compared with the control and 100 ppm treatments, the 50 ppm CK treatment had the greatest effect on the number of nodes with triple capsules (7.71), with increases of 38.6 and 72.8%, respectively. The greatest number of triple capsule nodes per plant (10.3) was obtained in the CAP2 treatment by using 50 ppm CK. The greatest amount of fresh and dry weight (84.5 and 30.7 g per plant, respectively) was obtained from the 50 ppm CK treatment group. The maximum number of capsules per plant and number of seeds per capsule were obtained from the 50 ppm CK×CAP2 treatment. Other results showed that the application of 50 ppm CK led to the highest number of seeds produced per plant (6.75 grams). In addition, the exogenous application of cytokinin to plants has the greatest effect on the areas to which it moves or the areas where cytokinin is synthesized, but to improve the effectiveness of this hormone and obtain an economic crop, it is necessary to use an appropriate ratio of other plant growth regulators.

Pear (Pyrus communis L.) is a cold-climate fruit tree belonging to the Rosaceae family, and it is native to Western Asia and Eastern Europe. Fire blight disease is caused by the gram-negative bacterium Erwinia amylovora, and it is considered one of the most damaging and harmful diseases in pome fruit trees in cold and temperate regions worldwide. The most sensitive plant organ in pome fruit trees to this disease is flowers. Fire blight disease has five important stages, from initial infection to the final death of the tree trunk. These five stages include blossom blight, fruit blight, leaf blight, main branches, and trunk blight, and finally, root blight. The first and most important stage of pathogenicity in fire blight disease begins in early spring under high humidity, causing the burning and death of the flower.

The Rootstock used in this experiment were Dargazi and Pyrodwarf, and the cultivars studied were Koshia and Dargazi. The experiment was conducted in two conditions, orchard and greenhouse. In the orchard, a factorial experiment was carried out in a completely randomized block design with five repetitions. The factors studied were Rootstocks (Dargazi and Pyrodwarf) and cultivars (Koshia and Dargazi). In the greenhouse, a factorial experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design with three repetitions. The factors studied were Rootstocks (Dargazi and Pyrodwarf) and cultivars (Dargazi and Kosha). Gardner scale was used to measure the severity of fire blight infection. In addition, the levels of sucrose, sorbitol, and pH in leaf tissue were measured. The sucrose content in the leaf tissue of  Koshia/Pyrodwarf Rootstock increased from day 0 to 6 and reached its highest level (10%) on the 6th day, then decreased to 5% on the 12th day. In the Dargazi/Pyrodwarf base, sucrose levels increased from day 0 to 6 and reached its highest level (8%) on the 6th day, then decreased to 5% on the 12th day. In the Dargazi/Dargazi base, sucrose levels increased from day 0 to 6 and reached its highest level (7%) on the 6th day, then decreased to 4% on the 12th day. The sorbitol content in the leaf tissue of Koshia/Pyrodwarf base increased from day 0 to 6 and reached its highest level (2%) on the 6th day, then decreased to 1% on the 12th day. In the Dargazi/Pyrodwarf Rootstock, sorbitol levels increased from day 0 to 6 and reached its highest level (1.5%) on the 6th day, then decreased to 1% on the 12th day. In the Dargazi/Dargazi Rootstock, sorbitol levels increased from day 0 to 6 and reached its highest level (1%) on the 6th day, then decreased to 0.5% on the 12th day. On the other hand, the pH of the leaf tissue in the Dargazi/Pyrodwarf base remained constant at 6.2 from day 0 to 12 and increased to 7.4 on the 12th day.

The rootstock used in this experiment were Dargazi and Pyrodwarf, and the cultivars studied were Koshia and Dargazi. The experiment was conducted in two conditions, orchard and greenhouse. In the orchard, a factorial experiment was carried out in a completely randomized block design with five repetitions. The factors studied were rootstocks (Dargazi and Pyrodwarf) and cultivars (Koshia and Dargazi). In the greenhouse, a factorial experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design with three repetitions. The factors studied were Rootstocks (Dargazi and Pyrodwarf) and cultivars (Dargazi and Koshia). Gardner scale was used to measure the severity of fire blight infection. In addition, the levels of sucrose, sorbitol, and pH in leaf tissue were measured. The sucrose content in the leaf tissue of Koshia/Pyrodwarf Rootstocks increased from day 0 to 6 and reached its highest level (10%) on the 6th day, then decreased to 5% on the 12th day. In the Dargazi/Pyrodwarf Rootstock, sucrose levels increased from day 0 to 6 and reached its highest level (8%) on the 6th day, then decreased to 5% on the 12th day. In the Dargazi/Dargazi Rootstock, sucrose levels increased from day 0 to 6 and reached its highest level (7%) on the 6th day, then decreased to 4% on the 12th day. The sorbitol content in the leaf tissue of Koshia/Pyrodwarf Rootstock increased from day 0 to 6 and reached its highest level (2%) on the 6th day, then decreased to 1% on the 12th day. In the Dargazi/Pyrodwarf Rootstock, sorbitol levels increased from day 0 to 6 and reached its highest level (1.5%) on the 6th day, then decreased to 1% on the 12th day. In the Dargazi/Dargazi Rootstock, sorbitol levels increased from day 0 to 6 and reached its highest level (1%) on the 6th day, then decreased to 0.5% on the 12th day. On the other hand, the pH of the leaf tissue in the Dargazi/Pyrodwarf Rootstock remained constant at 6.2 from day 0 to 12 and increased to 7.4 on the 12th day. The collected data from both orchard and greenhouse experiments were analyzed to determine the effects of Rootstock and cultivar on fire blight resistance.

The results showed that the combination of Koshia/Dargaz had higher resistance to fire blight compared to Koshia/Pyrodwarf. Additionally, the pH and carbohydrate content in the leaf tissue of the rootstock affected the growth and proliferation of fire blight bacteria. This study demonstrated varying levels of resistance to fire blight among the studied combinations, indicating significant potential for breeding and improving pear resistance to this disease. The Dargazi cultivar exhibited very high resistance to fire blight in both orchard and greenhouse conditions. Overall, the resistance of the Dargazi rootstock contributed to the resistance of the sensitive Koshia cultivar.

Fire blight caused by Erwinia amylovora is one of the most important diseases of apple and pear trees in the world. The purpose of this research was to determine the antibacterial effect of the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of the fruit and leaf of the Osage orange (Maclura pomifera) against the cause of this disease. The effect of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of leaf and fruit of this plant on the growth of E. amylovora colony in eight concentrations was tested by disk diffusion method. Antioxidant activity and total phenol of these extracts were also measured. The experiment was conducted as a factorial in a completely randomized design with four replications for each treatment in laboratory conditions. The results showed that the type of extract and plant organ are effective in the antibacterial properties, antioxidant activity, and the amount of total phenol. The ethanolic extract of the fruit, at a concentration of 1000 mg/ml with an average diameter 5.57 mm inhibitory halo had the highest inhibitory effect against E. amylovora, antioxidant activity, and total phenol content, while the aqueous extract of the fruit and the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the leaf weren't significantly effective. Therefore, the ethanolic extract of Osage orange fruit has an inhibitory effect on the growth of E. amylovora colony and can be considered as a natural compound in the management of the disease.

In order to determine the effects of organic fertilizers on morphological traits and yield of basil, an experiment was conducted as factorial experiment based on Completely Randomized Design with three replications under controlled conditions. Experimental factors were basil ecotypes (green and purple) and organic fertilizers (cow manure, vermicompost, sulfur granular compost and control. Results indicated that the highest plant height, fresh and dry weight of lateral branches, leaf number, leaf area, leaf fresh and dry weight and plant biomass were found in green basil when vermicompost was applied and the lowest means of these parameters were observed in control. Application of vermicompost, cow manure and sulfur granular compost caused (30, 29 and 28), and (61, 49 and 28%) increase in plant biomass in purple and green basil, respectively. Also, the fitted experimental allometric relationship indicated a significant relationship between average leaf number and average leaf area (r2=0.95). Allometric relationships between root and shoot dry weight also indicated more symmetric growth of these two parameters in green basil compared to the purple. Therefore, the analyze the growth relationships between plant components and production could be evaluated based on morphological components (leaf number, leaf area, root and shoot dry weight) and allometric equations.

Scallion (Allium fistulosum) is one of the essential edible vegetables with various medicinal uses. The seeds of this plant have low germination power, which may disappear due to storage conditions. In this study, the germination characteristics of scallion seeds were experimented with a factorial arrangement based on a completely randomized design with three replications in the physiology laboratory of Khorasan Razavi Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center in 2019. The first factor was indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) at 0 (or control), 100, and 200 ppm, and the second factor was gibberellin (GA3) at the same concentrations. The results showed that the maximum germination percentage was obtained by 200 ppm of gibberellin without using IBA. The maximum rootlet dry weight (7.02 mg) was recorded with 100 ppm of GA3 and IBA. The maximum allometric coefficient was obtained using 100 ppm IBA and 200 ppm GA3. The maximum seed vigor index was observed at 100 and 200 ppm of GA3 with 0 ppm of IBA (2.18 and 2.33, respectively). The maximum seedling vigor length index (0.799) and seedling vigor weight index (6.77 ) were obtained when 200 ppm of GA3 was applied with 0 ppm of IBA. In general, the results showed that the use of different concentrations of gibberellin has a significant effect on increasing germination and vigor index in scallion seeds.

Plants produce compounds through several metabolic pathways that can quickly and effectively react to biotic and abiotic stress factors. Some of these compounds meet the ever-increasing human needs for substances such as drugs, nutrients, and agricultural chemicals. Obtaining valuable plant compounds through agricultural operations is very difficult and time-consuming, and the synthesis of plant-derived compounds is often not economical due to their complex molecular structure and properties. Therefore, the production of secondary metabolites in plants through tissue culture is an attractive solution for their production. One of the ways to produce secondary metabolites is to use elicitors or stimulants. Elicitors include chemicals or biofactors that can stimulate the production of secondary metabolites in living organisms. In order to produce the phenolic compound anthraquinone, special conditions and two years of time are needed, but by using tissue culture, the maximum production of this compound can be achieved within four weeks. In other cases, the production of shikonin and taxol through tissue culture has been successfully carried out industrially and its commercial application has also been made. Therefore, the use of tissue culture technology can be effective in the production of secondary metabolites regardless of the geographical origin of the plant.

Due to the increasing demand for organic products, the use of growth-promoting bacteria, which play an important role in the sustainability of agricultural ecosystems, has been considered for the last two decades, and there are limited studies to determine the best efficiency of their consumption method. Accordingly, this study was conducted to investigate the most effective method of application biofertilizers on morph physiological, biochemical and yield traits of Tomato plants in greenhouse conditions.

In order to investigate the effect of consumption method and type of biofertilizers on morphophysiological, biochemical and yield traits of Tomato, a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design in the Research Greenhouse Khorasan Razavi Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education center in 2020. The first factor was three methods of application (seed inoculation with foliar feeding, foliar feeding and soil consumpation and the second factor was types of biofertilizer (control, nitroxin, biophosphate, fertile potassium and a mixture of nitroxin and biophosphorus (rate 1:1).

Analysis of some physical and chemical properties of soil at the beginning and end of the experiment showed that the application of biofertilizers without the use of any chemical fertilizers improved soil fertility and high availability of macronutrient, which showed an improvement in soil health indices. The soil texture remained constant at the end of the experiment but the soil saturation percentage was increased which indicated an increase in the volume of water in the soil compared to the volume of pores during the test period. Almost all properties were better condition at the end of the experiment than at the beginning, including electrical conductivity and soil acidity, which decreased by about 0.5 and 0.3 units, respectively. The results showed that the maximum plant height (176 cm) was obtained by using a mixture of nitroxin and biophosphorus from soil application. The lowest dry plant weight (23.7 g) was recorded from non-use of biofertilizers and the use of a mixture of nitroxin and biophosphorus produced about 52% more dry weight of the plant in compare of control. The application of biofertilizers had a significant effect on increase dry weight of root, so that the root dry weight was increased about 53% in compare of control by using mixture of nitroxin and biophosphorus. In the soil application method with the application of all biofertilizers, the number of fruits per plant was more than 137, the highest of it (145) was obtained from a mixture of nitroxin and biophosphorus. The highest fruit weight per plant (449 g plant-1) was obtained from the application of a mixture of nitroxin and biophosphorus in soil application. The highest amount of photosynthesis (18.2 μmol CO2 m-2s-1) and stomatal conductance (20.0 mmol CO2 m-2s-1) were obtained from the effect of combined nitroxin and biophosphorus fertilizer on seed inoculation and foliar feeding. The highest amount of lycopene (7.69 mg 100-1g FW) and the amount of vitamin C (57.7 mg 100-1g FW) were obtained from the soil consumption of nitroxin biofertilizer.

Increasing diversity in soil microorganisms leads to increased soil fertility. In soil application method, the metabolic activities of bacteria are improved due to the availability of suitable temperature, oxidation and reduction conditions, minerals, organic carbon as a source of energy and water, which leads to the release of nutrients from organic materials. The results showed that due to the high growth of bacteria in the presence of different substrates in the soil and the high surface-to-volume ratio in them, the use of biological fertilizers as soil application was increase morphological and physiological characteristics, yield traits of Tomato plant.

Pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins are induced in response to biotic and abiotic stresses. Some plant proteins, including Mal d 1, Mal d 2, and Mal d 3 in apple, are allergens. In this study, the effects of Erwinia amylovora infection of two apple cultivars, Red and Golden Delicious, on the expression of PR proteins homologous to Mal d 1, 2, and 3 were investigated.

In natural conditions trees with or without disease symptoms were sampled. In addition, seeds of the cultivars were grown in a greenhouse and seedlings were examined in three groups: 1) those inoculated by E. amylovora, 2) those inoculated by sterilized distilled water, and 3) uninoculated. Real-time PCR was used to determine expression of the Mal d 1, 2, and 3 genes (Mal d 1, 2, and 3) in infected and uninfected samples. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS and graphs were produced by Excel. P values < 0.05 were considered significant.

 The analysis of variance showed that in natural conditions the effect of infection on the mean relative expression of Mal d 2 and 3 was significant, and more so in Red than in Golden Delicious. The analysis of variance of the greenhouse samples showed that the effect of infection on the mean relative expression of Mal d 1, 2, and 3 in both cultivars was significant.

Our results suggest that Mal d 2 is more related to plant defense than Mal d 1 or Mal d 3, and is more highly expressed in E. amylovora-resistant than in E. amylovora-sensitive cultivars.

In order to evaluate the different growing media and nitrogen fertilizer (urea) on some morphological traits of Spathiphyllum plant, an experiment was carried out in split plot arrangement based on completely randomized design in three replications in greenhouse conditions in 2018. The main plot consisted of different growing media including T1: Leaf-mold, T2: Vermicompost and T3: A mixture growing medium (peatmoss 20% + cocopeat 50% + perlite 30%) and the subplot was different amounts of urea fertilizer as 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 g/L. Results showed that the mixture growing medium plus 2 g/L urea fertilizer caused significant positive effects on all traits. According to the results of interaction effects, the highest shoot fresh weight (26.5 g/plant), shoot dry weight (3.75 g/plant), root fresh weight (35.5 g/plant), root dry weight (4.87g/plant), length petiole (55.1 cm), and leaf number (12.1) were obtained in the mixture growing medium plus 2 g/L urea fertilizer, while the traits were least in all the studied growing media plus 0 g/L urea fertilizer. Urea fertilizer from 0 to 2 g/L increased the shoot dry weight and petiole length while urea fertilizer in 3 and 4 g/L decreased them. The growing media with EC of 2 dS/m, high porosity, and high water holding capacity can have significant effects on improving morphologic traits of Spathiphyllum plant.

Gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea is the most important disease after strawberry fruit harvest. The use of chemical fungicides can have a negative effect on the health of consumers, so the use of plant essential oils for disease management has been considered. The effect of six plant essential oils on the pathogen and the contamination of strawberry fruits was investigated in this research to identify suitable essential oil to control the disease.

The pathogen was isolated from infected strawberry fruits in northeastern Iran. The inhibitory effect of different concentrations of peppermint, savory, caraway, cumin, eucalyptus and thyme essential oils on mycelial growth and germination of the pathogen spores was tested by mixing them with culture medium. Then, the effect of these essential oils in liquid and vapor phases on the contamination of strawberry fruits was tested. After normalization, the data of these experiments were analyzed by analysis of variance with MSTAT-C software and the means were compared with Duncan test.

Essential oils of caraway and eucalyptus had the greatest effect in inhibiting the growth of pathogen mycelium. Essential oils of caraway, cumin, savory, thyme and peppermint had the greatest effect in inhibiting the germination of pathogen spores. The essential oils of caraway, cumin, savory, thyme and peppermint in the vapor phase, the essential oils of caraway and eucalyptus in the liquid phase, prevented further contamination of the fruit.

The findings of this study show that all of these plant essential oils can significantly prevent the growth of mycelium and germination of pathogen spores and contamination of strawberry fruits, but the effect of caraway essential oil in most cases is better than others. Thus, it can be used as an alternative to fungicides on strawberry fruit.