تنوع ژنتیکی

Onion stands as one of the primary and extensively consumed vegetables at global scale, with numerous genotypes, both native and imported, being cultivated in the country annually. The southern provinces of the country have allocated about 50 percent of the cultivated area to onion cultivation. Therefore, selecting superior genotypes compatible with southern regions is essential to achieve maximum yield. Considering the long history of onion cultivation as one of the native plants of our country, there is a lot of genetic diversity in this plant. However, to date, inadequate breeding programs have been conducted to develop new, high-yield varieties in our country, leading most farmers to rely on local cultivars for cultivation. Therefore, it is necessary to design targeted breeding programs to produce new varieties superior in yield potential, flavor, aroma, resistance to pests and diseases, and other characteristics. In this regard, collecting diverse onion germplasm and evaluating genetic diversity in it is one of the basic steps for designing targeted breeding. The main purpose of this project is to evaluate genetic diversity in yellow and white onion cultivars in terms of morphological traits and selecting superior genotypes. The results of this project are a necessary prerequisite for long-term plans for the production of new varieties of onions.

The research was carried out in the Faryab region, situated in the southern part of Kerman province. We assessed four commercial yellow onion hybrids- Rio Bravo, Soberana, Eiden, and Ascro Goldeneye -and four commercial white onion hybrids-Minerva, Cirrus, Macran, and 4043-using a 4x4 Latin square design during the 2022 growing season. Various observable traits, such as days to bulbing, days to maturity, onion bulb diameter, plant height and leaf length, fresh and dry plant weight, number of edible layers, fusarium infection percentage, and average tuber yield were recorded. To analyze the data, we used descriptive statistics to show the maximum, minimum, and average values of the traits, along with variance analysis, correlation analysis, and mean comparisons.

The analysis of variance revealed significant variations across the measured traits. Within the yellow onion genotypes, Rio Bravo displayed the shortest maturity cycle, averaging 113 days to maturity, while Aiden exhibited the longest maturity duration with an average of 141 days. The Sobrana cultivar consistently outperformed other varieties across all investigated traits and was introduced as the best yellow onion cultivar. Bulb yield displayed strong and positive correlations with bulb diameter, bulb length, plant height, leaf length, number of edible layers, and both fresh and dry plant weight. However, the correlation between days to maturity and bulb yield was low, suggesting that the duration from planting to maturity did not affect the enhancement of bulb yield in yellow onions. The findings indicated that in contrast to yellow onion cultivars, white onion cultivars exhibited a longer average duration to bulb formation and maturity, alongside a lower bulb yield. Among the white onion genotypes, Minerva displayed the earliest maturity, while Cirrus was observed as the longest maturing genotype. Cirrus cultivar exhibited the highest average bulb diameter, bulb length, plant fresh weight, plant dry weight, leaf length, and bulb yield. Conversely, the Macran genotype displayed the lowest mean values for bulb diameter, bulb length, plant fresh weight, plant dry weight, and bulb yield. Additionally, a significant and strong positive relationship was observed among bulb diameter, bulb length, plant fresh weight, and plant dry weight. Typically, onion quality is often assessed based on bulb diameter, where larger bulb diameters tend to correspond with higher bulb yields. Evidently, both in yellow and white onion cultivars, those with higher yields also demonstrated larger bulb diameters.

In the southern regions of Kerman province, the early maturity of onions is very important. Among the yellow onion genotypes, Rio Bravo was the earliest variety. The Soberana cultivar had a higher bulb yield compared to Rio Bravo, but it matured approximately twenty days later than Rio Bravo. Among the white varieties, Minerva was also the earliest maturing variety. However, the Cirrus cultivar had a higher bulb yield compared to Minerva. Yet, in comparison to Minerva, it was both later to mature and more susceptible to fusarium. The selection of onion varieties can significantly depend on the specific conditions of the region and the needs of the farmers. If timing and fusarium sensitivity are crucial factors for farmers, Minerva and Rio Bravo, with lower susceptibility to fusarium, might be suitable options. However, if bulb yield and product quality hold greater importance for farmers, Soberana among yellow onions and Cirrus among white onions are recommended. Additionally, considering breeding goals, these varieties can be utilized in onion breeding programs according to breeding objectives.

Genetic diversity and the use of different cultivars and genotypes are important in pomegranate breeding and cultivation. Although, the quantitative and qualitative fruit characteristics of pomegranate genotypes have been studied in different regions of Iran, there are still regions, including Kurdistan province in the west of Iran, where no report has been published about the pomegranate genetic diversity. The present experiment investigated the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of fourteen pomegranate genotypes collected from four regions in Oraman, Kurdistan. Investigating the biochemical characteristics of fruit juice showed that the amounts of total acidity and ascorbic acid, total phenol, and total flavonoids were significantly different, but total soluble solids, taste index (soluble solids/acidity) and Brima-A index were not different. Also, the examination of fruit color indices showed significant differences in total anthocyanin, color intensity, pure red color intensity, and the ratio of total phenol to anthocyanin. Results showed that identifying and collecting pomegranate genotypes in other regions of Kurdistan province can increase the genetic diversity information of pomegranate. Furthermore, these studies can be utilized to introduce suitable genoypes in Kurdistan province or to implement breeding programs to introduce new pomegranate cultivars adapted to the climatic conditions of Kurdistan.

Due to the high genetic diversity in the apricot population of Iran, the first step in cultivar breeding is the pomological evaluation of this population and the identification of superior genotypes. Therefore, in order to identify superior apricot genotypes in the Karaj climate, the quantitative and qualitative traits of 29 apricot genotypes were evaluated based on the Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) during two consecutive years (2016-2017). The results showed a high genetic diversity in the studied apricot population in terms of morphological and pomological characteristics. The highest fruit weight was recorded in the Shahroud -43 (51.57 g) and Shahroud -50 (50.85 g), while the lowest fruit weight was recorded in the Shahroud -42 (15.77 g) and Shahroud -48a (13.90 g) genotypes, respectively. The genotypes Shahroud -50, Shahroud -32, Shahroudi, and Shahroud -15 showed the longest fruit length. In addition, the highest amount of total soluble solids was measured in the Shahroud -13, Nasiri and Ghorban-Maraghe genotypes. Both Moorpark and Shams cultivars also had the highest pH of fruit juice. Based on the obtained results Shahroud -39, Shahroud -50, Shahroud -58, Shahroud -49 and Shahroudi cultivar and genotypes were introduced as suitable genotypes for use as fresh fruits. Also, Shahroud -13, Nasiri, Ghorban-Maraghe, Shahroud -48, Shahroud -37 and Shahroud -43 are suitable genotypes and cultivars for both fruit processing and fresh fruits, due to high sugar content and other desirable characteristics.

 The evaluation of morphological, phenological and agronomical characteristics is one of the first steps for the initial study of germplasm. It can also be conferred as basic information for the breeder to study genetic diversity for particular purposes. Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium) is a perennial herbaceous plant of the family Asteraceae with simple coniferous leaves and alternate arrangement on its branched stems and has composite flowers. The first stage in breeding programs is to study genetic variation of the selected plants. This study was conducted in order to evaluate the genetic variation of flower traits for selected Chrysanthemum genotypes for three years. Researchers use different methods to estimate genetic diversity of plants including DNA markers, isozymes and morphological traits. Use of morphological traits that are easily measured and have high heritability is a convenient tool to assess the level of genetic diversity of plants.

 The origin of the tested genotypes was from the gene bank of the Research Institute of Flowers and Ornamental Plants. The results of random crosses between different chrysanthemum clones were evaluated. The research was conducted for four consecutive years. The aim of the first year experiment was positive selection of genotypes. In fact, the best genotypes were selected. In addition, negative selection of different genotypes was performed. During this selection period, similar genotypes were removed. Selected genotypes (20 genotypes) were evaluated based on a completely randomized design with three replications using seven morphological traits including number of flower per plant, period of flowering, flower diameter, number of petal row, petal length, Fresh weight and dry weight of flower. Statistical analyses including analysis of variance, correlation coefficient, and heritability, phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation were estimated using SAS 9.0 software.

 After performing Bartlett test and confirming the uniformity of variances, combined analysis was performed for three years. The results of analysis of variance showed that the effect of the year was significant only for the number of flowers per plant and the flowering period. The results of three-year analysis of variance showed that there was significant difference among the genotypes for the number of flowers per plant, flowering period, number of petal rows, fresh and dry flower weight. There was a significant difference (p≤0.05) among the years only in flowering period and number of flowers per plant. The highest variation observed between flowering period and flower diameter. The highest coefficient of phenotypic and genetic variation obtained for the number of petal rows, flower fresh weight and petal length. The lowest coefficient of phenotypic and genetic variation obtained for fresh and dry flower weight and number of flowers per plant. The highest positive genetic and phenotypic correlation coefficient estimated between flowering period with flower diameter, number of rows of petals and fresh weight of flowers which is important for the simultaneous breeding of these traits. The results of this study showed that flower diameter, flowering period, petal length and number of petal rows showed high general heritability. Therefore these results indicate that the selection process for these traits is effective and can be used in the breeding programs. The results of this study showed that highest number of petal rows belonged to B136 genotype. Genotype 31 with forty-three days of flowering period had the highest flowering length compared to other genotypes. GenotypeC85 had 202 flowers per plant. These genotypes can be used as parents especially to increase the flowering period and the number of petal rows due to the general heritability of over fifty percent of these traits. It is also suggested that traits such as petal color and resistance to important pests (including black chrysanthemum aphid, flower thrips pest) and important diseases (including Fusarium wilt, verticillium wilt and leaf spot) should be studied. The superior genotype can be selected if statistically significant difference observed among of genotypes.

 It is a fact that chrysanthemums has characteristics such as variation of flower shape and color, plant size, form and flowering period that is widely used in landscape. In this research significant difference observed among the genotypes. Also some of measured traits had a high general heritability due to the positive and significant correlation of these traits that can be used to improve other genotypes and their traits.

 Tomato is a product with a wide range of genotypes with different yields and selection based on this trait and its components can accelerate the breeding programs of this plant. The most important goals of tomato breeders have been to increase yield, disease resistance, early maturity, and improve the quality characteristics of the fruit. Therefore, awareness of genetic diversity in the population is an important step in plant breeding, and to achieve this goal, the studied genotypes must first be identified in terms of genetic potential and favorable agronomic traits. The usual approach for describing and evaluating populations requires cultivating sample populations and evaluating their morphological and agronomic characteristics. In this regard, multivariate statistical methods play an important role in studying genetic diversity and selecting appropriate parents. Unfortunately, the tomato cultivars used in Iran are often not at the favorable level in terms of important traits such as the number of days to fruit ripening, fruit weight, fruit yield, fruit length, and width, and few studies have been done on these traits. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the morphological diversity, evaluate the yield and its components among some imported tomato lines using analysis of variance, cluster analysis, and principal component analysis.

 This study was performed in Sari University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Mazandaran, Iran in 2020. The plant material included 24 tomato lines imported from the Canadian Plant Gene Bank and one check variety. The experimental design used for morphological analysis was a randomized complete block design with three replications. Evaluated characteristics were included of the number of days to first flowering, number of days from germination to first fruit coloring (early ripening), plant height (cm), number of fruits per plant, average fruit weight per plant (g), plant yield (g), length and width of the fruit (cm). After measuring the characteristics at the farm and recording the data, analysis of variance was performed to examine the diversity between lines in terms of the studied variables, and Duncan test was used to compare the means and SAS software was used to test the correlation coefficients of the variables. Cluster analysis for grouping of tomato lines was performed based on the mean of the main data of standardized traits, which was determined by Euclidean distance to determine the distance between the lines, and the UPGMA method was used to merge the clusters. Principal component analysis was performed based on the mean of the main data of morphological traits.

 The results of the analysis of variance showed that there was a significant difference between all lines in terms of the studied characters. Also, principal component analysis based on morphological traits showed that the first two main components accounted for 75% of the total phenotypic variation in the data and the number of days from germination to first fruit coloring (-0.606), the number of days to first flowering (-0.516), fruit weight per plant (0.492), fruit width (0.480), fruit length (0.472), plant height (-0.445), fruit yield per plant (0.395) and the number of fruits per plant (-0.367) had the highest contribution in yield changes. Therefore, these variables might be taken into consideration for effective selection of parents for hybridization programs for broadening the genetic base in the population as well as to develop elite lines or F1 hybrids. UPGMA cluster analysis also divided the studied lines into nine groups. Group IX lines were in good condition in terms of yield traits and components, group VIII lines in terms of maturity and flowering, and group IV lines in terms of fruit number per plant. And the lines in groups I and V were in moderate condition for all traits. According to these results, the cross of the lines in the more distant groups can produce hybrids with high diversity and maximum heterosis.

 According to the main purpose of this study, which was to evaluate the yield and its components and according to the analysis performed, lines 8, 11, and 17 due to showing the least number of days to flowering and early, lines 10 and 14 due to having the highest yield, the highest fruit weight, and highest fruit length and width and lines 2, 9, 15, 21, and 24 due to having the highest number of fruits per plant and the favorable height are also recommended for use in tomato breeding programs.

Cherry is one of the most important fruits in the world, with its good flavor, aroma and appearance. In order to compare the morphological, phenological and pomological characteristics of 10 selected sweet cherry genotypes with four commerical and domestic cultivars, a randomized complete blocks design with three replications was conducted in ​​two years of cultivation of 2016-2018. The results showed that there was a significant difference between cultivars and genotypes in terms of many traits. Among the investigated samples, the Msh-BT genotype, was the earliest flowering (27 March) and the earliest ripening (10 May) in comparison with other genotypes. Also, the Msh-BT genotype had the maximum height, width and volume of the crown and trunk diameter. The highest annual vegetative growth, number of spur and the percentage of twins were related to Msh-3-26 genotype. Msh-F-1 genotype produced the highest length, width and leaf area. In terms of pomological characteristics, the Msh-F1 genotype had the highest length, width, diameter and fruit weight, and the Msh-BT genotype had the least length and thickness of the fruit tail. In addition, Sweet ann genotype showed the highest stone weight, acidity and yield. In terms of flesh and skin colour, stone shape and fruit shape, there was a difference between the genotypes. According to dendrogram, genotypes were divided into three clusters. In general, Msh-BT and Msh-F1 genotypes are recommended in terms of precociousness and large fruit size, respectively and Sweet ann cultivar in terms of high yield compared to Siyah- Mashhad cultivar (control) in the conditions of Khorasan Razavi province.

 Storage potential is an important characteristic for onion. Annually, a large quantity of worldwide onion production deteriorated during storage. The storage ability of onion is influenced by various endo- and exogenous factors including cultivar and storage conditions specially, temperature. Based on literature, there is considerable genetic variation for onion storability in onion germplasms from different origins. Rivera Martínez et al. (2005) evaluated the storability of 18 local and 4 commercial onion cultivars in Spain. Their results showed that there was significant variation for storability among different onion cultivars, and interstingly the local cultivars had more storability than commercial ones. Onion storage could also affected by environmental conditions such as temperature. Benkeblia et al. (2000) studied the effects of various temperatures on respiratory parameters of onion. Their finding showed onion respiration were raised by increasing temperature. Likewise, the positive effect of higher temperature on enhancing the growth of sprouts and elevating transpiration has been reported (Miedema, 1998; Yoo et al., 1997). Although, Afghanistan is considered to be one of the origins of onion (Brewster, 1994) there are no reports on estimating the storability of Afghan local cultivars under different temperature conditions. So this research has been conducted to study the effects of various temperatures on storability of native onion cultivars of Afghanistan.

 In this research, the plant materials consisted of 10 onion cultivars consisting eight local varieties “Hanaaie Harat”, “Zard-e-Harat”, “Ghermrz-e-Harat”, “Mazar-e-Sharif”, “Kabul”, “Sar-e-Pul”, “Ghonduz” and “Balkhaab” originated from Afghanistan, an Iranian cultivar (“Ghermez-e-Azarshahr”), and a commercial cultivar “Sweet Grano”. The cultivars were stored at two different temperature regimes (5 ºC and ambient temperature), during six-time intervals of 20 days. The average temperature of ambient storage was 13 °C ranging from 8-18 °C. The experiment lasted from November 6th, 2011 to March 5th, 2012. This research was performed in a completely randomized design based on split factorial design, with three replications. For each replication, 50 healthy non-sprouted bulbs were packaged in plastic nets. Storage potential related characteristics such as sprouting percentage, weight loss percentage, sprout length, and sprout weight/bulb weight ratio in 20 days intervals were measured. All data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SAS statistical software. Mean comparisons were calculated at 5% probability level using LSD when the F-value was significant (Fisher’s protected LSD).

 The results showed that there were significant differences among cultivars for storage characteristics (weight loss percentage, sprouting percentage, length of sprouts and sprout weight/bulb weight ratio). “Ghonduz” and “Ghermrz-e-Harat” local cultivars had the most and least storage ability, 50% of bulb sprouting after 105 and 35 days, respectively. Rivera Martínez et al. (2005) and Ramin (1999) also reported Spanish and Iranian local cultivars had more storability compared to commercial cultivars. In 5 °C, weight loss of onion bulbs followed a linear model during storage period. But, in ambient storage, it was higher at the beginning and the end of storage period, showing the adverse effects of high temperatures on bulbs weight loss during storage. The interaction between cultivar and time was also significant. It showed onion weight loss differs in various intervals.  It could be attributed to the genetic variation and morphological difference such as number and thickness of dry scales of onion bulbs. In ambient storage condition, onion sprouting percentage showed a sharp increase in early storage intervals and became stable in the late intervals. Under 5 °C treatment, it raised as a linear model with very slow slope. It seems that weight loss and sprouting of onion bulbs in ambient storage is dependent on temperature and relative humidity of environment. This finding is in agreement with previous reports (Baninasab and Rahemi, 2006; Forudi, 2005). The sprout length and the ratio of sprout weight to bulb weight was lower in 5 ºC than ambient temperature. Abdalla and Mann (1963) and Yoo et al. (1997) also reported that smaller sprouts were observed in lower temperatures. 

 In this experiment, the effects of temperature on storability of some local cultivars of onion originated from Afghanistan were studied in different intervals. It was found that the storage potential of onion bulbs could be influenced by genetic factors and environment conditions such as temperature. Findings of this research showed that sprouting percentage, weight loss percentage and onion sprout growth were less under 5 °C treatment than ambient temperature. Therefore, it was concluded that storing onion bulbs in low temperature conditions can reduce the onion spoilage and improve their storage life. Additionally, cultivars showed highly significant variations for all characteristics related to storage ability. Our findings showed that some local cultivars are more storable than commercial cultivars. Among the cultivars, “Ghonduz” cultivar has more storage potent as compared to all studied cultivars. Our results confirmed that local cultivars can be a good source of desirable genes related to storability. Subsequently, they can exploited to broaden the genetic base of breeding matreials.

The present experiment was carried out to study the effect of planting date on yield and yield componts of some faba bean genotypes in a split plot based on Complete Randomized Block Design with three replicates in Guilan province during 2014-15 growing season. The main factor was four planting dates (20 November, 19 December, 5 January and 1 March) and the split factor was six faba bean genotypes (Guilan landrace, Borojerd landrace, France, Barrakat, FILIP3 and FILIP5). The effect of planting date was significant on all of the studied traits. The effect of genotype was also significant on all traits exept of days to maturity and relative water content. Interactions of two factors were significant on seed yield, number of days to emergence, hundred seed weight, number of seeds per pod and number of pods per plant. The highest ripening time of seeds (175.22 days) was observed in the first planting date and this time in the last planting date was reduced by 42%. Due to the significant interaction of genotype by sowing date, the simple effect of genotype was investigated at each level of sowing date and it was shown that in all four sowing dates, Gilan landrace had the highest grain yield with 3208.04, 1858, 110.8, 605.2 kg ha-1, respectively. Delay in planting incrased the seed nitrogen content by 22%. According to the results of present study and due to climatic ondition, early November is considered as an appropriate time for planting faba beans in the studied area.

Halophytes are able to complete their life cycle in saline soils and can be used optimally if there are proper management plans. Halocnemum strobilaceum (Amaranthaceae) is a perennial and often shrub that grows in the northwest, center and southeast of Iran. The importance of this plant is in soil protection and forage production with the highest percentage of plant composition in saline and alkaline areas of the Golestan province (north of Iran). Therefore, recognizing its genetic diversity, to select the best genotypes is necessary. In this study, the morphological and genetic diversity of 13 populations in Golestan province was investigated. Nineteen quantitative and qualitative traits were selected for biometric and morphological studies and then multivariate statistical analyzes were performed. Four primers were used to assess genetic diversity, producing a total of 27 bands. The present study proved that, morphological characteristics as well as molecular data of ISSR are useful in differentiating H. strobilaceum populations. Both quantitative and qualitative morphological features are important and appropriate for the population differentiation. The present study also showed a high level of inter-population genetic diversity. Ward Cluster Analysis, based on morphological features and molecular data, showed significant information on the relationships of the studied populations.

Iran is the third distribution center of the genus Eremurus with seven species, three subspecies and one hybrid. In order to study inter and intra specific genetic variation, 87 genotypes representing six species including E. inderiensis, E. olgae, E. persicus, E. stenophyllus, E. luteus and E. spectabilis collected from nine provinces were evaluated in terms of quantitative and qualitative morphological traits. Factors analysis showed that five components accounted 96% of total variances. Inflorescence, shoot and plant height, flower color, leaf number and fruit shape were constituted as main factors. Cluster analysis divided genotypes into six clusters at species level. The populations within each group were geographically different, indicating that there was no relationship between cluster pattern based on morphological traits and geographic distribution of the specimens. Calculating correlation coefficients using morphological data showed that there were positive correlations among most of the quantitative traits. Generally, the results showed that Eremurus genotypes have a high genetic diversity in regard to the studied traits. Based on morphological results, E. olgae and E. stenophyllus have breeding potential for cut flower, while E. inderiensis, E. persicus and E. luteus are suitable species for rock gardens and landscape design applications.

In order to investigate phenotypic and genotypic correlations between physiological characteristics related to drought tolerance and genetic variation and estimating the genetic parameters of these indices in rain-fed condition, 19 genotypes of bread wheat were cultivated in a randomized complete block design with three replications in the research field of Agricultural Research Campus Natural Resources of Razi University of Kermanshah, Iran during 2014-15. analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant differences for the grain yield (YS), the cell membrane stability )CMS), the relative water loss )RWL(, the leaf water loss (LWL), the relative water protective (RWP), the water use efficiency )WUE( and the leaf greenish value )LGV( under rain-fed condition. The polygon view of GT biplot showed that genotype no. 12 (wc-4931) was the best genotype compared to other genotypes due to YS, WUE, ELWR and LGV. A high positive genetic and phenotypic relation was observed between WUE and Ys, FV/FM and LWL and, ELWR and LGV. In other hand, High heritability and genetic gain were observed for YS, CMS and WUE that reflect the additive gene action. Accordingly, due to the high propotion of additive effects in CMS, YS and WUE, it was suggested that the evaluation of genotypes must be done at erarly generarion of inbreeding.

Iran is the fourth largest apricot producer in the world. It is important to know the level of genetic diversity in breeding programs. Local genotypes are important because they are environmentally friendly and have beneficial genes in breeding programs. Therefore, this study was conducted with the main purpose to investigate the characteristics of phenology, morphology and pomology of six promising apricot genotypes in order to determine the best genotypes in Khorasan Razavi Province condition.

This study was conducted to evaluate characteristics of  six selected genotypes (‘190’, ‘269’, ‘414’, ‘464’, ‘390’ and ‘177’) compared to ‘Ordubad-90’ (as a control) with the aim of assessing their compatibility in Khorasan Razavi climatic conditions in a randomized complete block design with three replications, at Golmakan Research Station during the 2017-2019. These genotypes were selected randomly from the Azerbaijan apricot populations around 15 years ago and were undergoing preliminary studies in the main habitat and collecting and experimental orchards. During the research period, all genotypes were completely uniform in terms of environmental conditions and garden management. Quantitative analysis of variance was performed using SPSS software and comparison of means using Duncan's multiple range test at a probability level of 1%.

Results showed that significant differences between genotypes in terms of flowering dates and fruit ripening. So that, Genotypes of ‘269’ were the earliest (19 March) and ‘190’ were the most late flowering (27 March) and, in the terms of fruit ripening time, genotype of ‘177’ were the earliest (third decade of May) and genotype of ‘190’ were the most late (second decade of July). Also, genotype of ‘414’ had the highest height (302.57 cm), crown width (278.03 cm), trunk cross section (42.75 cm2), annual vegetative growth (58.98 cm) and size index (8.76 m). These results are consistent with the findings of Nejatian and Arzani (2002) and Mesbahi et al. (2014) on a relatively significant diversity in the morphological characteristics of the studied genotypes. There was direct correlation between fruit size and stone size, so that, the highest fruit weight (65 g), stone weight (3.49 g) and kernel weight (1.93 g) was in genotype of ‘414’. This result is agreement with Asma and Ozturk (2005) who reported that there are direct correlation among fruit weight, stone weight and kernel weight in the studied apricot genotypes in Turkey. The highest acidity content (0.67%) belonged to genotype of ‘177’, the highest pH (4.97) was in genotype of ‘390’ and the highest yield (20.66 kg) was in genotype of ‘190’. The obtained results are consistent with the results of Rahnemoon et al. (2005) on the existence of a significant difference between the mean percentage of sugar and the content of total organic acids. Accordingly, with the increase of soluble solids during fruit ripening, the amount of total acid decreased, which is consistent with the results of Asma and Ozturk (2005). Also, there was a significant negative correlation between flowering time and yield at the level of 1% (-0.704). These results are consistent with the findings of Piir et al. (2017).The results of principal component analysis showed that PC1 factor with 47.06% of the total changes indicates fruit weight, stone weight and core weight, which can be called the factor of pomological traits. PC2 factor with 19.63% of the total changes indicates height, crown width and trunk cross section, which can be called the factor of morphological traits. PC3 factor with 15.14% of the total changes indicates the chemical properties of the fruit. The PC4 factor with 7.62% of the total changes indicates the time of beginning of flowering, the number of days from the full blooming stage to fruit ripening and yield, which can be called the factor of phenological traits. These four combinations accounted for about 89.45% of the total variation, and the other variations included a slight variation. These results are comparable to the results of Janatizadeh et al. (2011) regarding cultivars in Shahroud city.

Genotype of ‘177’ is recommended because of its early ripening. Also, genotype of ‘144’ due to large fruit size, genotype of ‘190’ due to late ripening and high yield compared to ‘Ordubad-90’ (control) are recommended.

Violet is one of the most important plant in field of ornamental and medicinal purposes that grow wild in most part of Iran. Therefore, it is important to identify and evaluate the characteristics of Iranian native violets. In this study, 37 morphological characters were measured on 8 wild populations of Viola </em>spp collected from Alborz, Hamedan, Kermanshah, Ardebil and Mazandaran province. Correlation analysis showed some positive and negative correlations between characters such as lamina length from the base to maximum width with lamina sinus depth (r=0.911), number of fimbriae with number of glandular fimbriae along both stipule margins (r=0.914), lamina apex angle and colors corolla (r=0.854), lamina sinus angle with lamina length/lamina width (r=0.854), the lamina dentations has correlation with posterior petal length (r=0.736), stipule width with anterior sepal length (r=0.726). Factors analysis of these characteristics set the traits to six operating groups that justify 89.62% of total variance. Cluster analysis at Euclidean distance of 10, divided the populations into three branchesand important factors in cluster separation contain feature of flower color, flower size, shape of stipule and number of fimbriae on stipule. The results showed that violets with larger flowers such as Kermanshah and Chalous populations, violets with long stolons with fertile buds such as Sisangan population and also violets with large leaves in Kermanshah population and Varian can be used for medicinal and decorative purposes.

Garlic is native to central Asia, with a three thousand years history of human consumption and use. Global consumption has increased fourfold during the 24-years period from 1989 to 2013. Area under garlic cultivation, average yield/ha and total production of the world were 1,468,811 ha, 18,092 kg/ha and 26,573,001 tons, respectively in 2016; and China produces about 80% of world garlic production. The maximum global record has been registered at 2012 with an average bulb yield of 45,270 tons per hectare belongs to Uzbekistan. The area under cultivation of this plant in Iran is about 9000 hectares with an average yield of 10 tons per hectare. Garlic has been used both as a food flavoring and as a traditional medicine, and these characteristics are affected by sulfur compounds. Alliin (C6H11NO3S) with 177.22 molecule weight is a sulfoxide that is a natural constituent of fresh garlic. It is a derivative of the amino acid cysteine. When fresh garlic is chopped or crushed, the alliinase enzyme, which contains pyridoxal phosphate (PLP), cleaves alliin, generating allysulfenic acid, pyruvate (C3H4O3), and ammonium (NH3). At room temperature two moles of allysulfenic acid as an unstable and highly reactive compound that through a dehydration reaction form one mole of allicin (C6H10OS2) with 162.26 molecule weight, which is responsible for the aroma of fresh garlic. In general, alliinase needs few minutes time to effect on every two molecules of alliin to form one molecule of allicin, two molecules of pyruvate and two molecules of ammonium. The generated allicin is unstable and quickly breaks down, for example during sixteen hours at 23°C it converts to a series of other sulfur-containing compounds such as diallyl disulfide. Allicin is part of a common defense mechanism in garlic plants against pest attacks. It is produced and activated after causing physical injuries. Iranian garlic has a good flavor, while with the exception of Mazand cultivar so far there is no other introduced bred cultivar. In this effort, diversity of agromorphological traits, bulb yield and allicin content of some Iranian landraces were studied to breed promising cultivar/s by single-bulb selection method for Hamedan climatic condition.

The experiment was carried out on the basis of a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications in 2015-16 agronomy season at the Agricultural Research, Education and Natural Resources Center of Hamedan Province Located about 6 km north of Hamedan at the altitude of 1740 meters above sea level, longitude 48°, 52̍ E, latitude 34°, 52̍ N. The soil texture of the test site was loam with 24.4, 40.6 and 35 percent of clay, silt and sand, respectively. The soil tillage operation included plowing with the moldboard plow, disc and leveler. The furrow and stack were created with a width of 50 cm. Nine landraces from Hamedan province (Maryanaj, Bahar, Sheverin, Soolan, Toyserkan, Heidareh, Toeen, Hossein Abad and Ali Abad, and other nine ones from Gorgan (Golestan), Oromyeh (West Azarbaijan), Arak (Markazi), Bardsir (Kerman), Amol (Mazandaran), Ramhormoz (Khuzestan), Isfahan (Isfahan), Tarom (Zanjan) and Zabol (Sistan) cultivated on plots having 2 ridges with 4 meters long. Two rows were planted on the ridge with 25 and 10 cm spacing between rows and plants on the row, respectively (40 plant m-2). Bulb planting was carried out on November 17th, and first irrigation was rain-fed on 18th and 19th of November, with 19 and 9.9 mm rain, respectively, and during the fall and winter seasons, all water requirements were met through precipitation. Different landraces germinated from March 12th to March 16th. Pressure irrigation system was installed by re-growing in spring and plants were irrigated every seven to 10 days, depend on air temperature severity, until June 5th. Harvesting of different landraces was carried out by hands from June 26th to July 6th. Evaluated traits for each plot included weight of 30 seed clove, date of germination and maturity, number of plant per plot, chlorophyll a and b and carotenoids content of leaf, chlorophyll index by SPAD, relative water content of leaf, bulb yield, and weight of 30 produced clove, total pyruvic acid, and non-enzymatic pyruvic acid. The evaluated traits for five normal random plants (healthy plants on both sides, and on the opposite side of cultivation lines adjacent to the healthy plant) of each plot were including height, crown diameter, number of leaf, number of fallen leaf, length and width and leaf area, dry weight of plant leaf, dry weight of plant root (to a radius of five centimeters around the bulb) height and width and length of bulb, dry matter of bulb, number of skin layers, number and weight of clove, dry matter percentage. Assessment were also considered based on traits such as, moisture percentage of bulb, leaf area index, sum of chlorophyll a and b, loss weight of cuddle, harvest index, sphericity coefficient of bulb, total number of plant leaf, days number of germination to maturity, enzymatic pyruvic acid and allicin. Traits measurements were done based on "Descriptors for Allium". To measure pyruvic acid, 25 g of cloves with 25 ml of water were completely homogeneous in a mixer and passed through a filter paper after ten minutes. Ten ml of filtrated extract was increased into 100 ml volume with water and a half-milliliter of it was taken and added to 1.5 ml of 5% trichloroacetic acid solution, and after one hour, 18 ml of water was added to sample. Then one ml of resulting solution and each standard solution were transferred to separate test tubes. One ml of water and dinitrophenyl hydrazine 0.0125%, were added to each sample, and were heated in bain-marie bath at 37°C for ten minutes. At the end, by adding five ml of 0.6% normal caustic soda to the test tubes, the concentration of samples were determined in the presence of standard solutions (0.01, 0.225, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 μmol / ml sodium pyruvate) at 420 nm wavelength using spectrophotometer Pharmacia-Biotech model Novaspec II. To assess non-enzymatic pyruvate activity, alinase enzyme must become inactivated, so 40 to 60 grams of garlic clove is initially heated in microwave at 900 watts for three seconds for every gram of sample (120 to 180 seconds). To find relationship between variables, the correlation coefficients between them were calculated. The study of the relationship between traits with bulb yield and alicin yield was done by stepwise regression method. Causal relationships and direct and indirect effects of traits on bulb and allicin were determined by path analysis method. Analysis of variance, mean comparison of traits by LSD method at 1% probability level, correlation determination, stepwise regression analysis and cluster analysis were done by Minitab software version 17.3.1, while Microsoft Word and Excel 2003 softwares were used to draw the graphs and path analysis, respectively.

The results shown that Iranian garlic landraces have noticeable diversity of agro-morphological traits, such as weight of 30 seed clove from 21 (Ramhormoz landrace) to 177 g (Hossein Abad landrace), bulb yield from 2059 (Ramhormaoz landrace) to 12090 kg ha-1 (Soolan landrace), Allicin yield from 4.9 (Ramhormoz landrace) to 53 kg ha-1 (Ali Abad landrace), bulb weight from 12.8 (Ramhormoz landrace) to 48 g (Bardsir landrace) and bulb diameter from 28 (Isfahan landrace) to 35 mm (Hossein Abad landrace), which are necessary for breeding programs. It is also confirmed that the adapted landraces from one region may have acceptable production in other regions. According to the present results, landraces from Oromyeh (10866 kg/ha), Arak (9941 kg/ha) and Bardsir (11444kg/ha) produced high yield in Hamedan climatic condition, so that the maximum allicin content were produced by landraces from Ali Abad (53 kg/ha), Maryanaj (51 kg/ha) and Oromyeh (51 kg/ha). Allicin content is calculated based on the bulb yield, and enzymatic pyruvic acid content and its molar relationship with allicin. In the recommended equilibrium of chemical reaction, the alliin coefficient on the one side is two and the coefficients of allicin and pyruvic acid on the other side are two and one, respectively. Bulb weight directly and crown diameter indirectly had highly correlation with bulb yield; and leaf area index, harvest index, bulb diameter and dry weight of plant leaf showed a high correlation with allicin content. The cluster analysis used standardized traits to divide landraces into two main groups as suitable and unsuitable sets to plant under Hamadan climatic conditions.

According to the results of the present study, it is recommended that Oromyeh, Soolan and Heidareh landraces can be used as valuable populations for breeding and introducing the suitable cultivars for Hamedan climatic condition through single-bulb selection method. Characteristics with easy and low cost assessment, such as crown diameter, leaf area index, bulb diameter under field condition; and after harvest measurements, such as bulb weight, harvest index, dry weight of plant leaf traits can also be considered as suitable selection indicators in breeding programs. Thirdly, the current study indicated that the cost of preserving garlic germplasm resources can be decreased by reducing the amount of stored materials, without the significant decline in genetic diversity.

Estimation of correlation coefficients can accelerate walnut breeding programs and provide the ability to improve other traits along with targeted breeding traits. For this purpose, data obtained from two-year morphological evaluation of 325 screened genotypes from Fars, Mazandaran and Ilam provinces were used to study the correlation between morphological traits. In addition, in order to study the correlation between biochemical and morphological traits, biochemical characteristics of 52 superior genotypes out of 325 screened genotypes were evaluated for one year. Based on the results, a linear and strong relation was observed between phenological traits especially budbreak and harvest date. Yield had a positive and strong correlation with budbreak date (0.58**), nut weight (0.64**), kernel weight (0.46*), nut size (0.56**) and lateral bearing (0.53**) and a negative correlation with kernel color (-0.38*). Based on the result of stepwise regression analysis, nut weight, lateral bearing and nut size index were the main components of walnut yield. Correlation study between biochemical traits with altitude and morphological traits showed that oil and protein percentage of walnut kernel was not affected by the physical characteristics of the nut (nut and kernel size and weight). In Contrast, the oil and protein content increased with increasing altitude. A strong and negative correlation was observed between MUFA and PUFA. Also, PUFA: SFA ratio negatively correlated with shell thickness.

This research was carried out to investigate the genetic diversity among local Rosa damascena Mill. genotypes of Kurdistan province for flower yield and its components in Zale research station in 2014. Studied traits was measured on the 4 years old plants that were planted in a randomized complete blocks design with three replications and three plants in plot at appropriate times. Results showed significant difference (p≤0.01) among the genotypes, for flower yield and its components, plant height, number of leaves in plant, leaf length and width, number of flowers in plant, diameter of flower, fresh and dry weight of flowers and petals and the ratio of petal to flower weight, that could provide a basis for improvement of flower yield. Total mean of flower yield was 965.2 g in plant and the accessions of Kamyaran 1, Baneh 2, Saqez 1 and Sarv Abad1 with 1518.55, 1334.91, 1316.43 and 1262.88 g/plant respectively produced the highest flower yield. Flower yield showed a positive and significant correlation with flower number, plant height, number and length and width of leaves, flower diameter, fresh and dry weight of flowers and petals. Results of cluster analysis (CA) classification was in accordance with flower yield and ecological characteristics of genotypes. Results of principal component analysis (PCA) showed a high consistency with the CA result, but in terms of flower yield, its genotypic separation was more clear. In general, the accessions of Kamyaran1 is recommended as a superior genotype for development of Rosa damascene in Kurdistan province.