نشریه علوم باغبانی
سال سی و ششم شماره 2 (پیاپی 54، تابستان 1401)

 Cucumber is one of the important greenhouse vegetables in Iran and the world. This product, in Iran, has the largest area under cultivation in comparison with other greenhouse vegetables, and according to the statistic in 2020, the Office of herbs, vegetables and ornamental plants Ministry of Agriculture, the greenhouse cucumbers area under cultivation in Iran is 15000 ha. Cucumber is the product of warm and temperate season (with mild winters) and is very sensitive to adverse environmental conditions and even rare changes in soil moisture content will have a significant adverse effect on its growth and yield. Cucumber root is shallow, it is fibrous, and its shallow root causes its sensitivity to drought so that its main root penetrates 5–10 cm in heavy soil and 20-30 cm in light soils. This plant has an extensive and almost thin root system that has the possibility of expansion in a wide range horizontally, and, therefore, it can produce mass root, at the depth of 30 cm. In order to study the effect of grafting and water stress on morphological characteristics greenhouse cucumber (Cucumis sativus L), an experiment was conducted as complete randomized block design with three replications.
 This research has been carried out in the city of Pars-Abad, Ardabil province, Iran. The longitude of Pars-Abad is 47°55ʹ E, latitude is 39°38ʹ N, and its height distance sea level is 32 meters. This research was done in the greenhouse of the Moghan Agriculture and Natural Resources Faculty in a complete randomized block arranged in split plot with three replications. To determine the characteristic curve of soil moisture, soil samples was selected and the weight moisture percentage at pressures of -0.3, -5, -10 and -15 bar, which include the important potential of the soil, was determined by using Pressure plate’s apparatus and soil moisture characteristic curve was mapped and soil parameters characteristic curve was determined. this study, the main factor included water stress in three levels of 90, 60 and 40% field capacity and the secondary factor included three rootstocks of Shintoza cucurbits (Cucurbita moschata × Cucurbita maxima), Flexi Fort cucurbits (Cucurbita moschata × Cucurbita maxima, cucumber varieties Nagen 972 (Cucumis sativus L.) self-grafted and check (ungrafted) cucumber varieties Nagen was studied as a scion. In this study, the grafting method of hole insertion was used as the best grafting method for Cucurbitaceous.
 Duncan test results showed that with increasing stress, the diameter of the main root, at the rootstocks of Shintoza and Flexi Fort, increased almost twice as much as the control. The results showed an approximately 3 times increase in the yield, at the rootstocks of cucurbits at different levels of stress and it had a significant positive relationship at 1% level with the length, diameter and weight of root. The highest yield related to the Flexi Fort rootstocks was obtained 2.99 kg per plant in the water stress condition 90% of field capacity and then Shintoza rootstocks ranked second with 2.617 kg per plant, at 60% water stress. The maximum water use efficiency related to Shintoza rootstocks was at 32% and Flexi Fort rootstocks, Nagen and control, were respectively 30, 22 and 36% of Potential evapotranspiration.
 The results showed that, with increasing water stress, unlike the control, which was associated with decreasing linear trend of yield, Treatments with cucurbits grafting at Shintoza and Flexi Fort rootstock, faced with increased water stress, from 40 % to 90 % of field capacity by minor reducing of product. This can be due to increasing root uptake parameters such as length, weight and length of the main root in these Treatments. Correlation analysis showed a significant relationship at **P<0.01 level between a percentage of roots and yield. The results in all applied water stress also showed a high yield of grafted treatments about three times more than the control. Reducing the yield sensitivity factor in cucurbits Treatments, causes the plant could maintain its performance in irregular watering that encounter the plant with tension. The high water use efficiency in cucurbits Treatments shows that it is possible to perform economic optimization in the production based on water consumption scarcity of water.

 Drought is one of the most important environmental stresses that affects various plants such as ornamental plants. The identification and selection of ornamental tolerant genotypes is essential for landscape projects. Understanding the mechanisms that enable plants to adapt to drought stress can help to select the most tolerant genotypes for cultivation in arid and semi-arid regions.

 For this purpose, a research was conducted as a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with eleven genotypes and two levels of irrigation (irrigation as Control and severe drought) at Ramsar Citrus and Tropical Fruits Research Institute.

 The first symptoms of drought stress were observed after 10 days in the Juniperus horizontalis (G1) genotype (the most sensitive genotype) and were not recovered and dried after 15 days. G3 and G5 genotypes (Ravande-mamouli and Ravande-setarei, respectively) showed drought stress after 28 days (most tolerant genotypes) and recovered at the end of the stress period after irrigation. Drought stress decreased photosynthetic pigments in studied genotypes. The content of soluble sugars, proline, and total soluble protein increased under drought stress conditions and the highest amount was observed in G3 genotype 30.8 mg g-1 DW, 30.5 μg g-1 DW, and 965.2 μg g-1FW, respectively. Under drought stress condition, the highest concentration of hydrogen peroxide, malondialdehyde and electrical conductivity were observed in G11, G4, and G10 genotypes respectively compared to control plants. In addition, the most enzyme activity of superoxide dismutase (85.57%), total phenol (181.09%) and total flavonoid (98.46%) was evaluated in G3, G5 and G8 respectively. Also, chlorophyll changes indicate the response of plants to environmental stresses such as drought during drought stress, the concentration of abscisic acid and ethylene increases, which stimulates the activity of the enzyme chlorophilase and causes chlorophyll degradation. The reduction of photosynthetic pigments under drought stress also seems to be related to changes in nitrogen metabolism to proline production and reduced chlorophyll synthesis because the precursor of chlorophyll and proline is glutamate. Furthermore, one of the biochemical changes that occur in plants under drought stress is the accumulation of ROS. Numerous reports have stated that drought stress increases ROS production. Drought-induced oxidative stress causes lipid peroxidation and membrane damage. It seems that in some genotypes with low levels of malondialdehyde, the membrane damage is severe and leads to more electrical conductivity. Genotypes with more electrical conductivity are more damaged by drought stress. In some genotypes, such as G2 and G11, there was a positive correlation between malondialdehyde content and electrical conductivity, but in others, such as G1, there was a negative correlation. Although the amount of malondialdehyde in this genotype is low, electrical conductivity is very high. In other words, this genotype should be a genotype sensitive to drought stress. The tolerance of the plant to various environmental stresses may be related to the level of activity of the enzymes responsible for scavenging ROS. The antioxidant response to water scarcity depends on the severity of stress and type of plant species. Therefore, different genotypes increased their antioxidant activity to reduce the effects of oxidative stress, and the high antioxidant activity was observed for G5 compared with other genotypes which can be contemplated as drought-tolerant genotype. The accumulation of compatible metabolites such as soluble sugars and proline in plants under drought conditions can help to protect them against stress. The proline and soluble sugars accumulation under stress conditions reduce lipid peroxidation and acts as a free radical scavenger. According to the results, drought stress induced accumulation of proline and soluble sugars in the genotypes of Juniperus and the highest accumulation of proline was related to G3. Therefore, this genotype can be introduced as drought-resistant genotype.

 The results of the current study showed that drought stress significantly affected some biochemical parameters in all eleven genotypes. However, a variation in drought susceptibility was observed among genotypes. The studied genotypes in this experiment had different responses to drought stress and it seems that they utilized different mechanisms for stress tolerance. Genotype of G3 (Ravande -mamouli) was the most tolerant genotype to drought stress based on the highest levels of superoxide dismutase, soluble sugars, proline, and soluble protein. Genotype of G5 was also tolerant to drought stress with high superoxide dismutase activity and the largest amount of total flavonoid production. Therefore, increasing of compatible metabolites and antioxidant system are effective protective mechanisms against oxidative damage under drought stress.

 The use of intercropping and the potential of microorganisms such as Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) is one of the important strategies in sustainable agriculture. Intercropping is multiple cropping systems, in which two or more crop species planted simultaneously in a field during a growing season. Of course, this does not mean that in the intercropping, plants can be planted at a time together, but is the purpose that two or more crops are together in one place, during their growing season or at least in a time frame. Therefore, it is possible that plants are different in terms of planting date, and a plant is planted after the other plant. Potential benefits of intercropping are such as high productivity and profitability, improvement of soil fertility, efficient use of resources, reduction in the damages caused by pests and weeds, better lodging resistance and yield stability. On the other hand, the use of AMF and PGPR as biofertilizers can play a role in improving plant nutrition, plant growth and product quality. The aim of this study was to study the effect of AMF and PGPR inoculation on plant growth indices in bean-Moldavian balm intercropping.

 This experiment was conducted in the Agricultural Research Greenhouse of Urmia University, Located in 11 kilometers Sero road of the city of Urmia, Iran (latitude 36° 57′ N, longitude 45° 24′ E and 1321 m elevation) in 2017. The climate of the area is a Hot-summer Mediterranean climate bordering continental climate with cold winters, mild springs, hot dry summers, and warm autumns. This experiment was carried out in a factorial based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. The factors including microbial inoculation {(AMF, PGPR, AMF+PGPR and without microbial inoculation) and planting patterns (Sole cropping of Moldavian balms and bean, 1 row bean+ 1 row Moldavian balms (1:1), 2 rows bean+ 1 row Moldavian balms (2:1), 1 row bean+ 2 rows Moldavian balms (1:2) and 2 rows bean+ 2 row Moldavian balms (2:2)}. For this purpose, soil samples were prepared from Naqhadeh city in West Azerbaijan Province in Iran. In order to greenhouse tests, the soils added to the pots (in each pot containing 45 kg of soil). In treatments, soil used with microbial inoculation. Microbial strains were used for microbial inoculation including PGPR (P. aeruginosa, P.fluorescens and P. putida) and AMF (Funneliformis mosseae, Rhizophagus irregularis and Claroideoglomus etunicatum). For plant cultivation, been (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and moldavian balms (Dracocephalum moldavica) seeds cultivar were grown in pots. At the end of the growth period, the characteristics of the agronomic traits in the bean plant were including plant height, number of seeds per pod, 1000 seed weight, biomass yield and Seed yield, and in Moldavian Balm were including, plant height, biomass yield and essential oil percentage were determined. In addition, the land equivalent ratio (LER) was calculated to determine the advantages of intercropping. The analysis of variance for the obtained data was done by statistical analysis system (SAS 9.4) software. The mean comparison was done using the Duncan test at the 5% probability level.

 The results showed that the different intercropping and microbial inoculation had a significant effect on all traits, in Moldavian balms and common beans. All the plant growth indices in common bean-Moldavian balm intercropping were the highest in the combined treatment of AMF +PGPR, compared to another treatment. The highest and the lowest seed and biomass yield of bean were achieved in sole cropping with 3.20 and 9.70 g and 1:1 with 1.57 and 4.41 g, respectively. The maximum biomass yield and other traits of Moldavian balm obtained under sole cropping, while essential oil percentage was higher in all intercropping patterns than in sole cropping patterns. The main constituents of Moldavian balms essential oil were Geranyl acetate, Geranial, Geraniol and Neral. The highest LER value (1.67) was obtained from 2:2 intercropping in PGPR inoculation.

 In general, the results showed that all of the plant growth indices of Moldavian balms and bean in sole cropping were higher than other intercropping patterns; however higher LER was observed in intercropping with microbial inoculation. This shows more exploitation of unit area in intercropping. In addition, the greater amount of LER in replacement intercropping than additive intercropping highlights the necessity of appropriate density of plants per unit area in the intercropping. It can be concluded that application of intercropping with combined application of AMF and PGPR leads to improvement on yield and yield components of plant.

Drought is one of the most important environmental stresses. It limits crop production in the world and has adverse impacts on growth of plants and their metabolic processes. By changing some of the metabolic processes, drought stress changes the behaviour of plants and, eventually, makes them resistant to some stresses. Given the water crisis in Iran, and since most of the available water is used in the agriculture sector, there is a need to change the current cropping pattern. The substitution of low-water-use for high-water-use plants could be an important water management strategy. Every physiological and biochemical factor involved in water conservation in plants is an effective factor in introducing tolerant varieties.

The required chemicals ( 80% acetone, 95% ethanol, ninhydrin, glacial acetic acid, benzene, proline, pure glucose, anthrone, sulfuric acid, potassium phosphate, polyvinylpyrrolidone [PVP], EDTA, hydrogen peroxide and guaiacol) were purchased from the Merck Company. This study was carried out in the spring and summer of 2019 in the Research Greenhouse of Islamic Azad University of Bojnourd. The rooted cuttings of 18 dominant grape varieties in the region (Kolahdari, KajAngoor, Fakhri, sefid Beryan, Divaneh, Sahebi, La’l, Siyah, Shiregi, Garmeh, Khalili, SanjariKajAngoor, Keshmeshi, Ghareghat, Maskeh, Asgari, Flame Seedless and White Seedless) were planted in plastic pots with a diameter of 35 cm and a height of 40 cm. The soil was a mixture of blown sand, leaf litter, and garden soil in the 1:1:1 ratio. Before the experiment, all pots were irrigated to reach field capacity.The factorial experiment was conducted using completely randomized design with three replications. The first factor was irrigation cessation (15-day drought stress) and control (irrigation to field capacity level). The second factor was variety (18 varieties).To apply the stress condition, irrigation cessation continued until leaf wilting signs were appeared. Based on previous experience, the duration of tolerance to drought stress was approximately 2 weeks. During the experiment, the minimum and maximum greenhouse temperatures were, respectively, 18.5 °C and 34 °C and natural light was used.

The results of analysis variance showed that drought stress significantly increased the amount of electrolyte leakage (6.29), and activities of peroxidase (0.056 katal per ml) and catalase (0.92 katal per ml). It also decreased leaf relative water content (61.95%), relative chlorophyll content (16.85) and contents of chlorophyll a (3.45 mg/g), chlorophyll b (1.12 mg/g) and carotenoids (2.84 mg/g).Grape varieties respond differently to drought stress and, in general, water scarcity reduces their leaf RWC and chlorophyll contents. According to Schutz and Fangmier (2001), a decrease in chlorophyll content under stress conditions is because of an increase in the production of oxygen radicals in the cell. These free radicals can cause peroxidation and decomposition of the pigments. The intensity and greenness of the leaves reduce with decreasing the chlorophyll concentration and accelerating the process of aging.Reduced greenness of the leaves under long-term stress conditions may be partially due to reduced nitrogen flow into the tissues and changing activities of such enzymes as nitrate reductase. Since nitrogen is a constituent of a chlorophyll molecule, its deficiency in plants may slow down the formation of chlorophyll. Lawlor and Cornic (2002) showed the effectiveness of carotenoid, as an auxiliary pigment, in protecting thylakoid membranes and preventing chlorophyll photo-oxidation. Drought stress increases the activity of the peroxidase and catalase enzymes in both drought-sensitive and -resistant varieties; however, the activity of antioxidative enzymes is significantly higher in the stress-resistant varieties.The studied cultivars were divided into the three groups include of tolerant (White Seedless, Garmeh, Maskeh, Flame Seedless, Fakhri, Khalili and Divaneh), semi-susceptible (Kolahdari, Sefid Beryan, Sahebi, Laal, Shiregi, Kaj Angoor Sanjari and Asgari) and sensitive (Siah, Ghare-Ghat, Kaj Angoor Sanjari and Keshmeshi) cultivars to drought stress. Among the studied cultivars, White Seedless had the highest levels of relative leaf water (77.81%), relative chlorophyll content (28.62), carotenoids (4.81 mg/g) and the lowest amount of electrolyte leakage (31.5) and Garmeh the highest chlorophyll a (6.64 mg/g) and chlorophyll b (2.12 mg/g) contents and peroxidase (0.0618 katal per ml) and catalase activities (0.959 katal per ml).

The grape plant adaptation to drought stress is the result of changes in many morphological, physiological, and biochemical mechanisms, which cause changes in the rate of electrolyte leakage, leaf RWC, proline content, soluble solids, speed of photosynthesis, enzymatic activities, etc. The results showed that the white seedless variety had the highest leaf RWC, relative chlorophyll content, carotenoid content, and the lowest electrolyte leakage. Besides, Garmeh variety with the highest chlorophyll a and b, peroxidase, and catalase contents is amongst the most resistant varieties.

 Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is an annual and herbaceous plant of the family of Lamiaceae. It is used as an antispasmodic, appetizer, carminative, diuretic, lactation aid, and sedative in traditional medicine. In general, basil is rich in phenols and flavonoids. Organic and chemical fertilizers are necessary for each other and both types of fertilizers are needed to create favorable conditions to improve biochemical traits. Overuse of chemical fertilizers has caused several problems in agriculture including changes in the soil structure, contamination of underground waters, and heavy metal toxicity. Agricultural scientists suggest replacing chemical fertilizers with organic products to reduce negative effects on environment and soil properties. In recent years, neglecting the importance of organic matters to improve soil fertility has led to an increase in chemical fertilizer use in Iran. Organic matters due to their positive effects on soil are identified as one of the important pillars of soil productivity. However, more than 60 percent of agricultural soils in Iran contain less than one percent of organic matter. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the influence of vermicompost and copper sulfate on biochemical parameters and the antioxidant activity of basil.

 To investigate the effect of vermicompost and copper sulfate on the biochemical characteristics of Basil's medicinal plant, a factorial experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with a field experiment at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Birjand. The factors included vermicompost in three levels (0, 5, and 10 t.ha-1) and copper sulfate in three levels (0, 3, and 6 per thousand) with three replications. After applying the treatments and after the plants entered the flowering stage, ten plants from each plot were randomly selected taking into account the marginal effects and then samples of the developed leaves of 10 plants were randomly prepared and the biochemical traits of basil were measured. Measured traits included photosynthetic pigments, antioxidants, phenols, anthocyanins, flavonoids, total sugar, and biological function. Statistical analysis of data was performed using SAS statistical software.

 The results of the mean comparison showed that vermicompost had a significant effect on chlorophyll content, antioxidant activity, anthocyanin, flavonoids, sugar, and biological function of basil so that the highest amount of flavonoids (3.26 mg.g-1) with the application of 10 t.ha-1 of vermicompost and the lowest Its amount (2.65 mg.g-1) was obtained from the control. Treatment of 10 t.ha-1 of vermicompost increased plant sugar by 37.05% compared to the control. Copper sulfate also affected chlorophyll a and total, antioxidant activity, phenol, anthocyanin content, sugar, and biological function, so that the highest activity of phenol and sugar (15.29 and 12.99 mg.g-1, respectively) of the treatment of 3 per thousand Copper sulfate and its lowest levels (10.98 and 9.19 mg.g-1, respectively) were obtained from the control. The results of interactions also showed the highest levels of chlorophyll a (1.62 mg.g-1), chlorophyll b (2.57 mg.g-1), total chlorophyll (4.19 mg.g-1), antioxidant activity (92.57%), and anthocyanins (3.03 mg.g-1) was obtained by applying 10 tons per hectare of vermicompost and 3 per thousand of copper sulfate. Furthermore, the highest increase in biological function (20968.3 kg.ha-1) with the application of 5 t.ha-1 of vermicompost and 6 per thousand copper and the lowest (16596.7 kg.ha-1) was related to the control.

 In general, the results indicated a positive effect of vermicompost and copper sulfate on Basil's biochemical characteristics. Therefore, vermicompost (10 t.ha-1) of and copper sulfate (3 per thousand) treatments can be suggested as a suitable treatment. From the present study, it can be concluded that the combined application of organic fertilizers with chemical fertilizers has a useful and effective role in improving photosynthetic pigments, antioxidants, anthocyanins, and the biological function of basil. In the discussion of basil production as a medicinal and vegetable plant, the best results in terms of crop production were related to the combined treatments of organic and chemical fertilizers, because these treatments have increased the production relative to organic treatments alone.

 Fungal Endophytes have symbiosis life within the plant tissues without causing any obvious negative effects. Seaweeds are one of the large and diverse groups of marine plants that play an essential role in marine and oceans ecosystems. Seaweeds show rich diversity of associated microorganisms compare with the other multicellular organisms. Citrus species, are amongst the most important evergreen fruit trees, cultivated in many countries worldwide. There are several obstacles for citrus production in southern of Iran that limiting continuity of citrus production. Lack of suitable soil, is one of the main challenges threatening citrus industry in southern of Iran. Similar to other citrus species, the production of Mexican lime is threatened by certain biological stresses (such as pests, plant diseases and weeds) and non-biological stresses (such as salinity, drought, floods, cold and heat stress). Here, we have evaluated the potential of inoculating Mexican lime seedlings with seaweeds fungi endophyte, Aspergillus niger, to improve morphological, biochemical, antioxidant and photosynthesis pigments characterizes. Endophytes are advantageous group of microorganisms that protect plants from biotic and abiotic stresses. One of the alternative ways to restore normal plant growth may be to use plant growth to stimulate endophytes. Endophytes can play an important role in plant growth. Endophytes from marine environment are gaining special interest because of their existence in the harsh conditions of marines and ocean ecosystem such as temperature, light availability, high salinity and osmotic stress. Fungi have already been isolated from various marine habitat, including marine plants, marine invertebrates and vertebrates. Among these organisms, seaweeds are one of the most prevalent sources of marine-derived fungi for chemical studies. The purpose of this study was the isolation of associated fungi with seaweed species in Persian Gulf to investigate morphological and molecular characterization by using PCR amplifications ITS1-5.8S-ITS4 regions and primitive assessment of their potential as bio-fertilizer.

 The main aim of this study was investigation the role of endophytic fungi (Aspergillus niger), in improving the growth of Mexican lime seedlings. Cladophoropsis membranacea, green seaweed, was collected from coastal region of Bushehr province. Fungal endophytes were isolated and identified based on morphological and molecular methods. Molecular characteristic was investigated using PCR amplification of ITS1-5.8S-ITS4 regions. Mexican lime seeds were sterilized with 0.5% sodium hypochlorite for 20 minutes and then completely distilled three times with distilled water. Seedlings pots containing autoclaved soil were placed in the greenhouse of the Faculty of Agriculture, Hormozan University. Isolated fungi by MT420720 accession number was used as bio-fertilizing agents in eight months old Mexican lime seedlings. The suspension was adjusted to a concentration of 1×106 cell per ml. For better contact of seedlings with fungi, inoculation was performed three times. After three months, morphological (trunk diameter, stem length, root length and width, leaf and branch number, leaf, stem and root dry and fresh weight), biochemical (Protein, MDA and SPAD), antioxidant (CAT, POD, SOD, APX and Gr enzymes activity) and photosynthesis pigments (Chlorophyll a, Chlorophyll b, Total Chlorophyll and Carotenoids) characterizes in treated Mexican lime seedlings were analyzed. The experiment was arranged in randomized complete design with three replications. Analysis of variance of traits was performed using SAS software version 9.4 and the means were compared using LSD method with a probability level of P≤0.05.

 The genera of Aspergillus was the most frequent isolates of the isolated fungi. The results show that most traits were significant compared with control. For example, leaf number (144.42%), root fresh weight (144.13%), stem fresh weight (94.85%) and root width (105.55%) were significantly higher compared with control (P>0.001). Fungal inoculation can significantly improve the photosynthesis pigments such as chlorophyll a (10.98%) and carotenoids (40.62%) (P>0.001) compared with control. In antioxidant capacity of seedling, CAT, POD, SOD, Gr and APX enzymes were analyzed. Fungal inoculation can increase the enzymes activity. For biochemical traits, fungal inoculation can significantly increase SPAD number and decrease MDA in inoculated seedlings compare with control (P>0.001). 

 The results showed that the use of entophytic fungi increased the growth of Mexican lime seedlings. Thereby it can be used as an effective tool for growing salinity-sensitive plants such as Mexican lime in saline conditions.

 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.

 One of the most important factors affecting the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of plants are genetic and environmental factors and their interactions. Golder (Otostegia persica Boiss.) is one of the endemic species of Iran and is in the list of top 10 medicinal plants used in Baluchistan, Iran. Therefore, in this study, some morphological and phytochemical characteristics of this plant were investigated in the natural habitats of Baluhistan. Essential oil components of leaves and flowers of Kooh birk-Mehrestan population also measured. Also, with the aim of investigating the soil properties on the establishment and growth characteristics of Golder, the soil edaphic characteristics of plant communities were evaluated.

 This study was conducted in 2017 in some natural habitats of Baluchistan, Iran. Research was performed in the form of a nested plan as completely random design with three replications in the cities of 1- Saravan (Villages of Kooh Sont and Nahuk), 2- Khash (Villages of Panj Angisht and Posht Kuh), 3- Sarbaz (Padik village and Kalat Sarbaz) and 4-Mehrestan (Villages of Zard and Birk kooh) using field survey. Edaphic traits such as soil texture and chemistry were measured. Morphological traits including plant height, internode distance, leaf length and width were measured using instruments such as graduated rulers and calipers. Phytochemical traits including Phenol, Flavonoids and Carbohydrates in different parts of the plant and also the components of essential oils in leaves and flowers were studied. Soluble carbohydrate by Coles and Ansel method, photosynthetic pigments by Arnon method, total phenols with fullene-cicalto reagent by McDonald method, Flavonoids by aluminum chloride colorimetric method and adsorption of any reaction compound at 415 nm wavelength by spectrophotometer were measured. Data analysis was performed by SAS software (version 9.2) and the means were compared by Duncan's multiple range test at 5% level.

 The lowest (7.80) and highest (8.50) pH levels were measured in Zard and Kooh Birk respectively. Lowest (1.29) and highest (4.38) EC levels in Panj angosht and Nahuk respectively, the lowest (43.53(dS m-1)) and highest (50.73(dS m-1)) Na levels in Kooh Birk and Nahuk respectively, the highest N (11.10%) and P (0.32 (ppm)) in the Posht kooh of Khash, the highest amount of total K (62.20 (ppm)), absorbable K (72.17(ppm)) and the highest percentage of silt (38.30) were obtained in the Kooh sont area of Saravan. In evaluating the growth characteristics of plant in different regions, the maximum internode distance, highest number of lateral branches, petiole length, leaf length and width and number of main branches in Kooh Birk region of Mehrestan city and highest plant height in Nahuk region of Saravan city were measured. Comparing the amount of phytochemical compounds in different organs of this plant, it was observed that the highest amount of flavonoids is present in the leaves and the highest amount of phenols and carbohydrates are present in the stem. The lowest amount of all three compounds was measured at the root. Maximum amount of leaf Flavonoids (1.83 mgQE/g), stem Phenol (mg GAE/g 1.86) and root Flavonoid (0.11 mgQE/g) in Panj angosht area of ​​Khash city, stem and root Flavonoids (0.45mgQE/g and 0.11mgQE/g) and stem Carbohydrate (1.99 mg/g) in Zard area of ​​Mehrestan city, leaf Phenol (mgGAE/g 2.38) and root carbohydrate (1.73 mg/g) in Posht kooh region of Khash, and maximum amount of leaf carbohydrates (1.99 mg/g) in Kooh sont area of Saravan were obtained. Analysis of the chemical composition of the essential oil using a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS) showed 12 compounds per leaf and 31 compounds per flower. The highest and lowest essential oil components were Thymol (12.0%) and Decane (2.1%), respectively. Also, the highest and lowest components of essential oils in flowers were Benzene, 1- (1,5-dimethyl-4-hexenyl) -4-methyl- (CAS)) (13.0%) and (0.4%), respectively. Therefore, the lowest essential ingredient was Decane, both in leaves and flowers. In general, the results of this study showed that there is a considerable diversity among the studied populations in terms of all the studied characteristics. This indicates that environmental factors similar to genetic factors are effective in creating diversity in morphological and phytochemical characteristics of this plant.

 In general, the results of this experiment showed that the habitats of Khash are better in terms of soil chemistry and major phytochemical traits. Kooh birk region is the best area for harvesting the aerial parts of this plant.

 Grape (Vitis vinifera L.) is one of the most important economic plants in the world including Iran. One of the most basic effective factors of the growth of fruit trees is knowing their nutrition. Micronutrients are as important as Macronutrients for better growth, yield and quantity in plants. Garden plants suffer from severe zinc deficiency, followed by boron, manganese, iron and molybdenum. Foliar application of fertilizers is a useful tool to increase the nutritional effects of fertilizers or eliminate nutrient deficiencies during the growing season. The aim of this study was to study the nutritional effects of consumption of different compounds of micronutrient fertilizers of zinc chelate, iron and manganese as foliar consumption on the morpho-physiological traits of grape plant.

 Field experiments were carried out to evaluate the effects of micronutrients alone and in combination on growth and fruit yield in grape grown at Iran, Zanjan province during 2016-18.  Physical and chemical properties of the soil were evaluated before the experiment. During the two years of the research, no organic or chemical fertilizers were used except for the combination of fertilizer treatments of the relevant design. Treatments consist of foliar consumption of micronutrients fertilizers included two levels of EDDHA-Zn (0.1 and 0.3 %), EDDHA-Fe (0.1 and 0.2 %), and EDDHA-Mn fertilizers (0.1 and 0.2 %) and control levels (0 %) for them. This experiment was implemented in a factorial format based on a randomized complete block design with three replications and repeated for two consecutive ys.  The measured traits consist of Length of the First inflorescence (X1), Number of Inflorescences per Branch (X2), Number of clusters per branch (X3), Number of Clusters per Plant (X4), Weight of a Cluster (X5), Cluster Size (X6), Berry Size (X7), Number of Berries per Cluster (X8), Weight of single Barry, X10: Leaf Area Surface. Leaf Dry Matter (X11), TSS (X12), Sugar Fruit Juice (X13), Fruit Juice Acidity (X14), Fruit Dry Matter (X15), Fruit Firmness (X16), Yield per Plant (X17), Yield per Hectare (X18). The experiment was performed in factorial format with three factors, each at three levels, based on a randomized complete block design with three replications in three locations (g; G) and in each location for two consecutive ys (Y). The analysis of each g was analyzed in the form of factorial experiment design and the effect of location factor was analyzed in the form of factorial-split (time) composite analysis in place. In the statistical model used, time and place factor considered as random and treatment was fixed.

 Evaluation of morpho-physiological traits showed that the use of these fertilizers individually or in combination has significant positive effects on all measured traits (18 traits) at different stages of development. The simple effect of the factor of the y was significant only on some of the measured traits and the two and three-way interactions between this factor with the levels of treatment in the majority of traits were not significant; which indicates the probability that the factor of the y has no effect on the measured traits. Based on these results, the treatment combination of Fe 0.2 + Zn 0.3 + Mn 0.2 % EDTA was superior to other combinations, and traits of the number of inflorescence and number of clusters per branch and number of clusters per plant showed the best response than other measured traits. Consumption of micronutrients, especially iron, zinc and manganese, has favorable effects on yield indices, better fruit formation and fruit production per unit area, which affects photosynthetic activities and important metabolic pathways in plants, leading to produce higher amounts of primary metabolites such as higher sugar production in fruit, increase in soluble solids, also increase in growth indices such as leaf area, more yield-related traits such as number of inflorescences and number of spikes per branch and per plant, number and the dimensions of the cube are in clusters. On the other hand, these compounds help to absorb the main nutrients and play an active role in initiating metabolic processes such as cell wall development, respiration, photosynthesis, chlorophyll formation, enzymatic activities, production of growth regulators, and nitrogen fixation and reduction. Accordingly, these compounds were able to show better performance compared to the control level by accelerating the absorption of other nutrients, strengthening biochemical pathways and growth indices.

 According to these results, the application of three fertilizers of zinc, iron and manganese EDTA individually or in combinations of two or three of them, especially at high concentrations simultaneously, is superior in comparison. And the treatment composition of 0.3% zinc + 0.2% iron + 0.2% manganese EDTA and then 0.3% zinc + 0.2% iron + 0.1% manganese EDTA has more significant and positive on measured traits and therefore as fertilizer compositions are recommended in vineyards in the form of leaves.

 Inefficient management of strawberry fields is one of the important factors in significantly reducing the strawberry fruit yield and quality. Nowadays application of polyethylene soil mulch is widely considered in the cultivation of fruits and vegetables, with various purposes such as improving quality, increasing yield and reducing weeds. The thermal and light environment around the plant due to the use of polyethylene mulch, can affect the quality and yield of strawberry fruit.

 In this study, In order to investigate the effect of colored polyethylene mulch on fluorescence parameters, leaf chlorophyll and strawberry fruit yield (cv. Camarosa), an experiment was carried out as completely randomized block design with four experimental treatments including; colored polyethylene mulch (black, red, white) and control (traditional cultivation without mulch) in three replication in the Caspian Sea region, Iran during the 2016-17 and 2017-2018 years. The experimental plots were 5 m long and 1.5 m wide, with 4 planting rows separated by 30 cm in each plot. Then polyethylene mulch was laid on the ridge and the plants were planted at a distance of 20 cm in a row (1 October). Three harvest times (170, 185 and 200 days after planting) were determined to assess the characteristics of harvested fruits.

 Based on the results, the effect of mulches color on fruit yield was significantly (P ≤ 0.01). Considering fruit yield at the first harvest (175 DAP) and the second (185 DAP), red mulch showed the highest fruit yield and the lowest was observed in the control treatment. While at the third harvest time (200 DAP), it was the black and white mulches that resulted in the largest amount of yield. The effect of colored polyethylene mulch on the acidity (pH) and titratable acid (TA) of the fruit was not significant, but the amount of soluble solids (TSS) of the fruit at different harvest times showed a significant difference between the experimental treatments. So that in the first harvest time (170 DAP) and the second (185 DAP), the highest amount of soluble solids was observed in treatments with colored polyethylene mulch. The results also showed that colored polyethylene mulches effect on fluorescence parameters and leaf chlorophyll content was significant (P ≤ 0.05). The results showed that mulch color had a significant effect on Fv/Fo ratio, Fo and leaf chlorophyll content. During the both years, the highest Fv/Fo ratio, Fo and leaf chlorophyll were related to colored polyethylene mulches, and the lowest was observed in the control treatment, while colored mulches did not affect the Fv/Fm ratio. In fact, it can be explain that the plant's response to the colored polyethylene mulches, compared to the control treatment, improves fruit yield and increases the strawberry photosynthetic system.

Comparison of the average effect of polyethylene mulch on strawberry fruit yield during the growing season in both years, showed similar results. Polyethylene mulches can increase yields by increasing soil temperature, increasing nutrient availability, increasing root uptake in nutrients and increasing the efficiency of soil microorganisms. Based on the results, in the first harvest time (170 DAP), second harvest time (185 DAP) and third harvest time (200 DAP), the yield of strawberry fruit in both growing season showed that the highest yield was related to treatments with The colored polyethylene mulch and the lowest yield was observed in the control treatment. Red mulch had the highest fruit yield during the first and second harvests, but gradually decreased during the third harvest. It seems that red color, in addition to increasing yield, has also caused early ripening of the fruit. The amount of soluble solids (TSS) of the fruit at different harvest times showed a significant difference between the experimental treatments. During the first harvest (170 DAP) and the second (185 DAP), the highest amount of soluble solids was observed in treatments with colored polyethylene mulch. Based on the findings, the effect of colored polyethylene mulch on fluorescence parameters and chlorophyll content of leaves indicated that the color of polyethylene mulch had a significant effect on the amount of Fo and chlorophyll content of leaves. Therefore, the use of polyethylene mulch due to the increase in yield and quality of strawberry fruit compared to its traditional cultivation method seems very beneficial.

 Strawberry with the scientific name Fragaria × ananassa Dutch from the Rosaceae family is an important commercial fruit in the world, which is widely considered in terms of nutrition due to its rich content of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. Water scarcity stress is one of the important sources of abiotic stresses, so that it reduces growth, development and yield during the vegetative, reproductive and maturing stages of the crop. Studies have shown that application of nano-fertilizers can be useful in order to achieve high yield while reducing the amount of fertilizer consumption due to its higher absorption due to its high specific surface area. Despite its low consumption, zinc is involved in chromosome synthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, photosynthesis, sugar-to-starch conversion, protein metabolism, auxin metabolism, pollen grain formation, biological membrane preservation, and resistance to infections by pathogens. Zinc is also needed for chlorophyll production, pollen grain yield, fertility and pollen grain germination. Zinc as a coenzyme is also involved in the activation of many enzymes in the biosynthesis pathway of secondary metabolites. The use of zinc nanoparticles can have very positive effects on the quantitative and qualitative properties of strawberry fruit during low solubility

The present study was conducted in the greenhouses of the Department of Horticulture, Urmia University.Sabrina cultivar strawberry seedlings were planted in culture bags containing 50% cocopeat, 25% pithomass and 25% perlite in three rows containing 27 plants and evenly pruned. The first week was used to establish the plants from water, the second week to the sixth week for vegetative growth of half-concentrated Hoagland solution and from the seventh week to the end of the harvest period, depending on the stages of flowering to fruiting, modified Hoagland nutrient solution was used. By calculating the amount of solution output from each nozzle and the amount of each plant need, the time required for solution was calculated and this time was divided into 5 times a day and was automatically pumped to the foot of each plant. To apply low solubility stress, the first row (without stress) was used with solution 5 times a day, the second row with solution 4 times a day and the third row with solution 3 times a day. Foliar application of different concentrations of zinc chelate nanoparticles was performed once a week (5 times) after pruning of primary flowers, from the fourteenth to the eighteenth week. Zinc chelate nanoparticles were used in three levels (0, 1 and 1.5 g / l) and nutrient solution treatment was performed in three levels (90, 110 and 130 ml) daily. Then fruits that were more than 70% colored were harvested and different quantitative and qualitative characteristics were measured. At the end of the experiment, fruit weight was measured using a digital scale, fruit length and width by caliper, fruit acidity by pH meter, titratable acids by titration method and TSS by refractometer. Chlorophyll a, b and total carotenoids were also measured using Dynamica spectrophotometer (HALODB-20) according to Lichtanthaler & wallborn (1985). Also, fresh weight of shoots and roots were measured in the last stage after fruit harvest. For this purpose, the plants were completely removed from the bed and the roots were washed with water and then exposed to air to remove moisture. The aerial parts were then separated from the roots and weighed 0.001 g by digital scale. To measure dry weight, the roots and aerial parts were placed separately in the bag and then placed in a 70 ° oven for 72 hours and then weighed 0.001 g with a digital scale.

 The results showed that the interaction effect of low solubility treatment and zinc chelate nanoparticles treatment on fruit weight, shoot dry weight and yield was significant, so that the highest amount was in the treatment of 130 ml of nutrient solution and concentration of 1.5 g / l of zinc chelate nanoparticles. Also in fruit length and width, pH, TA, TSS, chlorophyll a and b and carotenoids, the main effects of low solubility treatment and of chelate nanoparticles were significant. As in the treatment of chelate nanoparticles, the highest amount of these traits was observed in the concentration of 1.5 g / l nanoparticles and in the low solubility factor, the highest amount was observed in the control treatment (complete solubility).

 Low solubility stress reduced the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of strawberry fruit. The use of different concentrations of nano-chelate zinc improved these properties, so that the greatest effect was related to the concentration of 1.5 g per liter of nanoparticles. This concentration increased the yield of the product more than 1.6 times compared to the control sample in complete solution and more than 1.7 times compared to the low solution. Also, the growth traits studied were significantly increased by the use of nanoparticles. These nanoparticles also improved the taste of the fruit by reducing the acidity and increasing the soluble solids.

 The use of natural and artificial mulches to reduce evaporation from the soil surface and retain moisture is one of the best measures to make optimal use of limited water resources and increase crop yields. Optimal production of plants in sandy soils has been challenged due to their low capacity in water retention and also production of plants in arid and semi-arid regions due to water shortage and drought stress. Water scarcity is increasing as a result of global warming, and attention is being paid to the methods that lead to water storage. Therefore, it is necessary to increase water consumption efficiency with new technologies. One of the new methods of water retention in the root zone is the use of a water retaining layer below the soil surface. By preserving water and elements in the root zone and creating a stable environmental state, it increases local production and economy by reducing soil erosion and groundwater pollution. Also, due to limited water resources, it is necessary to seek solutions to conserve water and increase water use efficiency. Mulch is considered as one of the best ways to retain water in the soil and reduce soil evaporation. Therefore, in this study, the application of impermeable soil layer on morphophysiological and biochemical traits of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) was investigated using date leaf mulch under deficit irrigation stress.

 This study was conducted in Roudan, Hormozgan, Iran. Main plot includes deficit irrigation stress in three levels (100, 70,40 % of plant water requirement), sub-plot includes mulch in two levels (date leaves and no mulch) and sub-sub-plot includes impermeable layer in three levels (0, 100, 120 cm). Eggplant seeds of the local variety Rudan were planted in the seedling tray and transplanted when the seedlings were about 15 cm long or 5-6 leaf stage. Shortly after transplanting the seedlings to the field, daily irrigation was performed. CROPWAT software was used to calculate 100 % of the water requirement. Stress was applied using drippers with lower flow rate or reduced irrigation hours and by installing water meters.

 The results showed that the highest plant height (78 cm) belonged to date palm mulch, layer impermeable at depth of 120 cm and 100% water requirement. The use of date palm mulch and impermeable layer, especially the impermeable layer, has led to an increase in the number of leaves and fruits in the eggplant. The highest number of leaves (189) belonged to the treatment without mulch and with an impermeable layer of 120 cm soil depth in 100 % water requirement and the lowest (75.13) belonged to the treatment without mulch and impermeable layer in 40 % water requirement. The highest number of fruits belonged to the treatment without mulch and impermeable layer at depth of 120 cm and 100 % water requirement and the highest amount of dry matter (12.5%) belonged to the treatment of date palm mulch and impermeable layer at depth of 120 cm and 100 % water requirement and the lowest (1/9%) belonged to date palm mulch without impermeable layer and 70% water requirement. The results showed deficit irrigation stress reduced the amount of chlorophyll a, b and total in eggplant. The use of date palm mulch and impermeable layer in water requirement of 70 and 40 % has increased the amount of chlorophyll, which seems to be used in case of water shortage, reduce the adverse effects of dehydration and prevent the destruction of chlorophyll in eggplant. The highest amount of total chlorophyll belonged to the 100 % water requirement, without the use of date palm mulch and impermeable at depth of layer 120 cm. The highest amount of proline in this study belonged to treatment without date palm mulch, application of impermeable layer at depth of 0 cm and water requirement of 40 % and the lowest belonged to the treatment of date palm mulch, application of impermeable layer at depth of 120 cm and 100 % water requirement. The highest amount of eggplant water use efficiency was obtained in 40 % water requirement, use of date palm mulch and impermeable layer at depth of 120 cm. The results of this study also showed that deficit irrigation stress reduced fruit yield in eggplant and the use of date palm mulch and impermeable layer also increased eggplant yield. This increase in fruit yield is especially noticeable in the use of date palm mulch and impermeable layer at depth of 120 cm.

 It seems that the impermeable layer and date palm mulch have reduced the negative effects of water stress on the plant, increased fruit yield and water use efficiency and reduced the effects of stress.

 Management of municipal wastes as well as their reuse is one of major concerns of researchers in recent decades due to the expansion of urbanization and increase in production of municipal waste. Composting and use of municipal waste is one of the solutions used in the management of these materials. Implementation of various additives to enrich and improve the properties of the produced compost is one of the common methods to increase the efficiency of produced compost. Different organic and inorganic compounds are used to enrich the produced compost. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of two organic compounds (blood powder and bone powder) and a mineral compound (phosphate soil) on the composting properties of municipal waste. It was also our goal to find the effect of these treatments on growth characteristics and concentration of nutrients in shoot of spinach was evaluated.

 This research was conducted in two stages. The purpose of the first part was to investigate the effect of organic and inorganic additives on the properties of municipal waste compost. Experimental factors included four types of composts including control compost (without additives); compost plus 1% blood powder; compost plus 1% bone powder and compost plus 5% phosphate soil. After sieving the waste and removing the waste leachate, about 60 kg of waste was weighed for each treatment and placed in plastic barrels with a volume of 100 liters for better control of aeration conditions. The compost ripening factors were stable after 90 days, when it was screened and materials were separated, then some of its properties include acidity, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, total nitrogen, C/N ratio, iron, humic acid, fulvic acid,  and other parameters including humification ratio, humification index and degree of polymerisation were measured. In the second phase, the effect of compost enriched with blood powder, bone powder and phosphate soil treatments was compared with control treatment (without compost) on growth characteristics and nutrient concentrations in spinach shoots in a greenhouse experiment. For this purpose, pots (with a diameter of 25 cm and a height of 30 cm) were packed with 8 kg of soil in which enriched composts was mixed in 5 g compost/kg of soil ratio. After preparing the pot, the humidity reached 65% of the field capacity and after 25 days, 6 spinach seeds (Spinacia oleracea L.) were planted. After 50 days of planting, the plants were harvested and parameters such as shoot dry weight, leaf area, nitrogen, iron and phosphorus were measured.

 Results of enriched compost showed that the highest amount of reduction in EC (with 14.5%) and OC (with 8.9%) was resulted in phosphate soil treatment and the highest reduction in C/N ratio (with 46.8%) was related to blood powder treatment. Regarding to the other variables, the highest N and Fe concentrations was related to the blood powder treatment with 2.5% and 706.6 mg/Kg and the highest P content with 1.66% was observed in phosphate soil treatment which had a significant difference with control. Regarding to the Humification indices the highest difference with the control treatment in Fulvic acid content with 24.5% was related to bone powder treatment, that of Humic acid content with 32.4% and Polymerization rate with 43% was related to phosphate soil. In this experiment, the amount of organic carbon was expected to increase in blood powder and bone powder treatments, which was not the case. This may be due to the effect of these treatments on increasing microbial activity such as microbial respiration and increasing the decomposition of organic carbon which ultimately leads to a decrease in the amount of organic carbon. The increase in EC in organic treatments compared to inorganic treatments may be due to weight loss of organic matter and release of various mineral salts. The effect of experimental treatments in the greenhouse section also showed that highest difference in plant dry weight compared to the control was related to the blood powder treatment with 59% increase and regarding to the leaf area with 31.9% increase through application of the blood powder and phosphate treatments. The highest amount of Fe and N absorption in spinach shoots was also observed in blood powder treatment with 1177 mg/Kg and 3.13% respectively. Phosphate soil with high amounts of phosphorus increased the amount of this element in the shoots of spinach. The two combinations of blood powder and bone powder caused a significant increase in these elements in the compost and in most of the measured parameters, due to their high amounts of nitrogen and iron. These two organic substances were significantly different from the control.

 The results of this study showed that the enrichment of municipal waste compost using organic and inorganic additives can compensate for the lack of some elements in the compost and further increase the growth of spinach. Adding blood powder increased the concentration of iron and nitrogen in the shoot and decreased the C/N ratio compared to the control treatment. Also, the positive effect of phosphate soil and bone powder are effective in increasing the phosphorus content of compost. In addition, the combination of phosphate soil with municipal waste compost due to the formation of more stable materials such as humic acid and folic acid prevents their subsequent wastage. Finally, it can be concluded that in this experiment, two treatments of blood powder and phosphate soil have the best effect on enrichment and they had increased growth characteristics of spinach and in general, and blood powder was selected as the best treatment.

 Pear (Pyrus communis L.) is one of the major fruit trees in the world which grown in temperate zones. In pear breeding program the bigger fruit size with better quality as well as market acceptability are usually in interest. In fruit trees, the size and yield of fruit are closely depended on cultivar and rootstocks. The variations of nutrient uptake, water use efficiency, photosynthesis performance, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses have been reported among different combinations of cultivars and rootstocks. Therefore there is a close relation between cultivar and rootstock with yield and quality of produced fruits. In recent years the semi dwarf clonal rootstocks of pear including OH×F, Pyro and FOX series have received more attention. However the performance of these rootstocks varies depending on scion cultivar, climatic condition, soil type, and planting system.

 This experiment was conducted to assay the growth characters and fruit yield of Dargazi and Louise Bonne (Beyrouti) grafted onto PyroDwarf and OH×F69 rootstocks at the Orchard of Astan Quds Razavi, Mashhad, Iran (36°17' N, 59°36' E; altitude. 985 m) during 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. The experiment in both consecutive years was done as a factorial in the base of randomized complete blocks with four replications. The studied cultivars were grafted onto PyroDwarf and OH×F69 rootstocks in late spring 2016. The used water was pit water with 695 µSiemens/cm EC and pH 7.17. Evaluation of plant growth was carried out at the end of the season. The studied traits were included tree height, internode length, vertical and horizontal growth of shoots in the current season, trunk diameter above, below and in the grafting line, leaf area, shoots angel and the number of sucker per tree. These characters were assayed in three trees per each replication. The trunk diameter at the below and above the grafting line was calculated according to trunk circumference that was measured at 10 cm above and below the grafting point. Leaf area in each tree was assayed with area measuring device. Flowering characteristics (start blooming and end of bloom) were determined. Fruit ripening season was also recorded. Yield of trees was assayed by weighting of produced fruits in each tree with a digital scale. The combined analysis of obtain data was conducted by SPSS and differences among means of data were determined by Duncan's multiple ranges test at P≤0.05. The reported data was the mean of two studied years.

 The obtained results showed the variation in growth and bearing properties of different combinations of Beyrouti and Dargazi cultivars with PyroDwarf and OH×F69 rootstocks throughout the studied years. The analysis variance showed the significant effect of year, cultivar and rootstock on growth characteristics of pear tree. Also the interaction effects of cultivar and rootstock were significant on tree growth response with exception of internode length. The most studied parameters showed a significant increasing during the two consecutive years. During the studied years the height and width of pear trees were increased up to 10.44 and 14.54%, respectively and the trunk diameter was increased by 10%. According to obtained results the growth of Dargazi cultivar was higher than the Beyrouti cultivar. The effect of OH×F69 rootstock on growth increasing of studied cultivars was prominent than PyroDwarf regards to tree height, shoot length and internode length. However the highest trunk diameter and leaf area density of both cultivars was found in PyroDwarf rootstock. Although the time of blooming and fruit ripening of each cultivar was not influenced by the rootstock but the bearing characters were varied between the Dargazi and Beyrouti cultivars. The highest yield of pear fruit was obtained in Dargazi cultivar and grafting onto PyroDwarf rootstock significantly enhanced the fruit yield in both cultivars.

 The rootstocks have a key role on growth and yield of pear trees as well as their responses to abiotic stress. Rootstocks through influencing the physiological characteristics of grafted scions regulate the quantity and quality of produced fruits. The results of present study showed the variation in growth and bearing properties of different combinations of Beyrouti and Dargazi cultivars with PyroDwarf and OH×F69 rootstocks throughout the studied years. The PyroDwarf rootstock greatly reduced the tree growth and enhanced fruit yield of both Dargazi and Beyrouti cultivars. According to the obtained results the PyroDwarf rootstock is recommended for Dargazi cultivar to reach the highest pear fruit yield under similar environmental condition of present study.

 Barberry is one of the important agricultural products of Iran and has an important role in the economy of farmers, especially in South Khorasan province. Salinity as abiotic stress can cause an ionic or osmotic imbalance in plant cells. Salt stress also restricts plant growth and development by affecting water reducing availability and affecting plant production. Despite the relatively high tolerance of barberry to environmental stresses, increasing soil salinity and irrigation water in barberry growing areas, the growth, and yield of this agricultural product have decreased. The use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) is a new method that has been shown to increase the tolerance of various plants to salinity stress.

 Due to the lack of information about the effect of salinity on the growth and establishment of barberry off-shoot and the role of beneficial soil bacteria in increasing the tolerance of this plant to salinity stress, this study aimed to investigate the role of bacteria on growth, physiological and biochemical properties and uptake of nutrients by barberry off-shoot at different levels of irrigation water salinity. For this purpose, a factorial study was conducted in a randomized complete block design with 3 replications. Experimental factors included plant growth-stimulating bacteria at three levels (control (Without inoculation) and inoculation with Pseudomonas sp. P1 and Pseudomonas sp. P2) and salinity of irrigation water at three levels (control, 6 and 12 dS/m from sodium chloride source). The bacteria used in this study were able to produce indole acetic acid, siderophore, ACC deaminase enzyme, and dissolve insoluble phosphate (tricalcium phosphate) in vitro. For inoculation, inoculum containing each bacterium with a population of 108 cells/ml was prepared in the Nutrient Broth medium and added to the root medium. The plants were irrigated with non-saline water for one month and then with saline water for two months based on experimental treatments. Finally, leaf sampling was performed and various characteristics such as leaf dry weight, chlorophyll, proline, total sugar, RWC and phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and chloride concentrations were measured. Analysis of variance of traits was performed using SAS software and the means were compared using the LSD method with a probability level of P≤0.05.

 The results showed that the salinity of irrigation water reduced leaf dry weight, chlorophyll and carotenoid concentration, relative water content, and potassium to sodium ratio of barberry leaves. Decreased photosynthetic pigments under salinity may be due to decreased synthesis of the main chlorophyll pigment complex, oxidative damage to chloroplast lipids, pigments, and proteins, or increased chlorophyllase activity. In contrast, with increasing salinity, the amount of proline and total sugar and the concentration of phosphorus, sodium, and chlorine in leaves increased. Bacterial inoculation also increased leaf dry weight, chlorophyll, carotenoids, potassium concentration, relative water content, and potassium to sodium ratio, especially in saline conditions. Also in saline conditions, the concentrations of sodium, chlorine, phosphorus, proline, and total sugar in the leaves of barberry off-shoot inoculated with bacteria decreased. It seems that PGPR plays a significant role in the regulation of cellular osmolites, including proline and soluble sugars, by producing various metabolites and increasing the absorption of water and nutrients. The highest amount of leaf dry weight (0.70 g), total chlorophyll (0.92 mg g-1 fresh weight), carotenoids (0.51 mg g-1 fresh weight), leaf potassium (0.48 %), and total leaf sugar (43.7 mg g-1 dry weight) was obtained from the application of PGPR in conditions without salinity stress. Also, the use of bacteria in saline conditions decreased the amount of phosphorus and total sugar and in non-saline conditions increased the amount of these parameters. PGPR through various mechanisms such as the production of auxin, organic and mineral acids, and secretion of proton and phosphatase enzymes increase the availability of phosphorus for the plant, root growth, and absorption of water and nutrients. Increased absorption of water and nutrients has led to increased leaf growth and development and therefore reduced phosphorus concentration (dilution effect).

 According to the results, PGPR by increasing the absorption of water and nutrients such as phosphorus and potassium caused osmotic regulation in the plant and thus increased the tolerance of barberry off-shoot to salinity stress of irrigation water. The ability of these bacteria to improve plant growth in saline conditions could be due to the production of auxin, siderophore, dissolution of tricalcium phosphate, and especially the production of the enzyme ACC-deaminase (as observed in vitro). Therefore, these bacteria can be used to improve the nutrition growth and establishment of barberry off-shoot.