International Journal of Horticultural Science and Technology
Volume:10 Issue: 2, Spring 2023

This research was conducted to evaluate the effect of thickness of floating beds on the growth and yield of okra, Indian spinach, cucumber and red amaranth, from 2013 to 2014, at Gopalganj district in Bangladesh. The single-factor experiment was conducted as a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. There were three treatments viz. 1.5 m, 2.0 m and 2.5 m thickness of floating bed, the raw material of which was solely comprised of water hyacinth biomass. The thickness of the floating bed was reduced each month due to a gradual decomposition of water hyacinth, and as the rotten material fell into the water and soil. The rate at which the floating bed became thinner accelerated through time. For okra, the maximum plant height (150.67 and 151.77 cm, respectively) was found in response to the 2.5 m thick bed which was significantly similar to the 2.0 m thick bed in both growing seasons. Bed thickness of 2.5 m led to more branches (6.67 and 6.67, respectively), leaves (47.00 and 49.67, respectively), fruits (25.00 and 26.00, respectively), fruit length (14.56 cm and 14.02 cm, respectively), fruit diameter (6.29 cm and 6.08 cm, respectively) and yield (7.99 and 8.09 t ha-1, respectively). Minimum values were observed in response to the 1.5 m thick bed in both years. A similar trend was also observed in the case of other three corps, i.e. Indian spinach, Cucumber and Red amaranth, regarding their growth and yield, as a function of bed thickness. From an economic viewpoint, the 2.0-meter thick bed was found suitable for the production of the said crops.

Due to the calcareous nature of most soils in areas under date cultivation, this study was conducted to improve the quality and quantity of date fruits in Zahidi cultivar using the foliar applications of organic matters and micronutrients at two stages of date growth. For this purpose, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of foliar applications of organic matters and micronutrients on contents and properties of biochemical compounds and minerals in Zahidi date fruit. The study was performed as a randomized complete block design with 11 treatments in three replications on 33 date palms for two consecutive years. The treatments were applied in two stages (at the beginning and end of the Kimri stage) on fruits and upper leaves. Treatments included amino acids, Aminabon 50 (0.5 and 0.1 g L-1), seaweed (0.25 and 0.5 g L-1), micronutrients (0.1 and 1.5 g L-1), and four combined treatments obtained from different concentrations of amino acids, seaweed, and micronutrients. Spraying with distilled water served as the control treatment. The results showed that the treatments had a significant effect on all studied traits. The highest content of copper was observed in response to amino acid + micronutrients (1.63 mg kg-1). The effects of amino acid + seaweed + micronutrients on the other traits were observed in the highest statistical class. In general, the latter combined treatment was the most efficient with the lowest content of soluble tannin (26.46 mg g-1) compared to the control (32.12 mg g-1) and to the other treatments.

This research aimed to evaluate the effects of different potting media and pot sizes on yield and quality attributes (TSS%, Vitamin C, pH) of cherry tomato in the winter season under field conditions. Cherry tomato was cultivated in four different size pots by using four types of potting media. Plastic pots ranged in capacity (2L, 6L, 10L and 14L). Each treated pot was filled with air dried field loamy soil without fertilizer (control) and organic fertilizers, namely, cow dung (1:1), poultry litter (1:1) and vermicompost (1:1) which were used as treatments. In total, 16 treatment combinations were arranged in a randomized complete block design. The highest total number of fruits and fruit yield per plant of cherry tomato was obtained from the plants raised in pots with cow dung mixture soil (1:1). Organic fertilizers in pot soil significantly affected the TSS% and pH value of ripened fruits. The pot size affected the total fruit yield per plant significantly, and the best yield was 2.2 times higher than that of plants in the smallest pots. The highest total number of fruits per plant (108.75), fruit yield per plant (504.25g) and yield per hectare (20.17t) was obtained from plants in 14L size pots by using cow dung mixture soil (1:1). It was concluded that the 14L pot and cow dung mixture soil (1:1) were the best treatments for the cultivation of cherry tomato in homestead gardening.

Peach fruit (Prunus persica L.) was harvested at the stage of commercial harvest and was then treated with 0, 1, 2, 3 mM citric acid (CiA). A factorial model was planned on a completely randomized block design with three replications. Two factors were used in the experimental design, i.e. 4 storage durations × 4 concentrations of CiA. The impact of CiA was evaluated on postharvest quality parameters, decay incidence (DI), vitamin C, total phenolic compounds, and antioxidant capacity, as the peach fruits were maintained in cold storage at 0 ± 0.5 ˚C and 85-90% relative humidity (RH) for 40 days. By the end of the storage time, peach fruits that were treated with 3 mM CiA showed statistical significance and resulted in the highest values of fruit firmness (FF) (1.75 N), titratable acidity (TA) (0.24%), vitamin C (VC) (3.58 mg.100g-1 FW), total phenolic compounds (TPC) (58.49 mg GAE.100g-1 WF) and antioxidant capacity (AC) (52.96%). CiA treatments significantly controlled the DI by about 30.17 % and remarkably extended the shelf life by about 11.66 days, compared to the control samples during the cold storage. Our findings suggested that using CiA, especially at 3 mM, could be a promising treatment in helping to maintain edibility and to inhibit decay in peach fruits. While these can play an important role in the marketing and export of peach fruits, other benefits include a low cost of the chemical inputs and more safety for human consumption. AbbreviationsCitric acid (CiA), Decay incidence (DI), Vitamin C (VC), Total phenolic compounds (TPC), Antioxidant capacity (AC), Fruit Weight loss (FWL), Fruit firmness (FF), Titratable acidity (TA), Total soluble solid (TSS), Relative humidity (RH)

In a two-year pot experiment, the response of Miyagawa satsuma mandarin on Swingle citrumelo rootstock was investigated in soils with different ranges of lime. Furthermore, in a field experiment, the plant growth trend, yield, and quality were studied in two regions (plain and piedmont) for 10 years. In the pot experiment, the highest shoot dry weight was obtained from soils with 14% total lime and in soils with more total lime, shoot dry weight decreased sharply. The most chlorosis rate was obtained in soils with more than 30% lime. The highest total Fe in the roots and the least signs of leaf chlorosis was detected in the soils with less than 9% lime. The average Fe concentration in the roots was about 7.5 times more than that in the leaves, indicating accumulation and deposition of Fe in the roots. The amount of available Mn was excessive in most soils but leaf Mn in most cases was less than adequate. The Mn concentration in the roots was 3.2 times more than that in the leaves. The field experiment showed that tree volume in the plain was always higher than that in piedmont. The trees of the piedmont had alternate bearing cycles. The yield increased from 23 kg per tree at the beginning of the reproductive period to 80 kg in the final year of the experiment. The best harvest time in both regions was early October. Generally, use of this rootstock in soils with less than 9-14% total lime, is recommended.

Olive (Olea europaea L.) is a historic and significant Mediterranean tree that has been widely used for its curative properties and oily nature. Images of 150 randomly selected fruits were captured and processed in three replications to investigate the genetic diversity among 98 olive genotypes. The difference in all traits between genotypes was significant (P˂0.01), indicating a high level of genetic diversity among the olive genotypes. D1 outperformed other genotypes in terms of fruit area, major axis length, convex area, filled area, and equiv. diameter. The major axis length of the fruit exhibited a significant positive correlation with the perimeter, equivalent diameter, major axis length, and area of the stone (P≤0.01). Also, there was a significant, positive correlation between the minor axis lengths of the fruit and stone. The explained percentage of the traits’ associated markers indicated that the fruits’ major axis length had the highest cumulative coefficient (39%) with five bands. The IJS9-A and ScoT21-B genes regulated the most significant number of traits. The former regulated seven characteristics, i.e. fruit area, major axis length, minor axis length, convex area, filled area, equivalent diameter, and perimeter. In comparison, the latter regulated six characteristics, i.e. fruit area, major axis length, convex area, filled area, and the equivalent diameter of the fruit. Cluster analysis was used for categorizing genotypes into two groups. The findings of this study can be applied in hybridization and production programs for developing genotypes with more suitable fruits.

In this study, 50 Iranian fennel landraces from different phenological types, were evaluated for their oil content and fatty acid profile. Landraces were categorized into three phenological groups: Late (180 days), Medium (140 days) and early maturity habit (110 days). The highest fatty acid content among the early, medium, and late maturity types were detected in Hamedan (19.5%), Marvdasht (23%), and Sari (21%) consequently. The highest yield of oil per square meter among the early, medium, and late maturity types were detected in Fasa (65.3 ml/m2), Meshkin Shahr (92.5 ml/m2), and Sari (71.4 ml/m2), consequently. The main component of fatty acid profile were, petroselinic/ oleic acid (52-64%), linoleic acid (26-39%), palmitic acid (0.3-4.1%), stearic acid (1.3-2.4%), linolenic acid (0.6-3.6%), and myristic acid (0.35-1.07%). It was observed that landraces with high petroselinic and oleic acid content originated from arias with a dry and warm environment, while landraces with high linoleic acid content originated from regions with a humid and cool climate. This pattern shows potential evolutionary adaption of biochemical pathways to the environmental condition. Our data showed that fennel oil contains a lower ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, and a higher ratio of monounsaturated to polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids. In conclusion, our result indicated that bitter fennel, furthermore of a medicinal plant, has a high potential for oil production with a high percentage of unsaturated fatty acids, and is a good candidate as at least a new table oil crop.

The effects of seed priming on the germination properties of A. hookeri, an important subtropical vegetable in Korea, were tested in Petri dishes and soil. In the Petri dish, the effects of two priming solutions, calcium chloride (CaCl2) and polyethylene glycol (PEG), and five priming times (6, 12, 18, 24, and 48 h) were evaluated. The results indicated that both CaCl2 and PEG priming enhanced the germination of A. hookeri, but PEG priming resulted in a higher germination percentage, energy, rate, and time to reach 50% germination compared to control and CaCl2 priming. We further investigated whether seed priming had the same effect on A. hookeri germination in the soil. For this experiment, we selected two priming conditions that showed the best result for each group in a Petri dish by observing germination properties and initial growth characteristics. We found that both priming solutions positively affected the germination and early-stage growth of A. hookeri; however, CaCl2 priming had a more potent effect. These results suggest that seed priming can be effectively used to improve the germination properties of A. hookeri although its effect can differ depending on the environment of seed germination and growth.

Freezing damage is a significant environmental challenge that limits both the geographic distribution and production of pomegranates in the world. The objective of this research was to search for useful correlations between freezing tolerance and soluble carbohydrate and proline content, as well as stomatal density in different parts of the leaves, to allow indirect selection of winter hardiness in pomegranate cultivars. Our results showed that freezing tolerance at the non-acclimated stage (August) was not strongly correlated with freezing tolerance during deep winter dormancy in January. Cold tolerance in summer was strongly correlated with leaf stomatal density; however, a moderate correlation was observed between cold tolerance in winter and leaf stomatal density. The results showed that 'Alak', the most cold-tolerant cultivar in summer and winter, had the highest leaf stomatal density. 'Agha Mohammad Ali' cultivar had the lowest leaf stomatal density and cold tolerance in summer; however, this cultivar showed considerable cold tolerance in winter. Moreover, with the except of 'Agha Mohammad Ali', stomatal density in summer was related to soluble carbohydrate concentration in the stems, which could justify the correlation between stomatal density and winter hardiness in pomegranate trees. It was found that LT50 values in January were negatively related to soluble carbohydrate concentration in stems. However, there was no statistical correlation between winter hardiness in January and proline content in the stems. These results suggest that soluble carbohydrates and stomatal density are suitable indices for predicting freezing tolerance of pomegranate cultivars throughout the year and growing season, respectively.

Silybum marianum (L.) is a medicinally important herb known for producing the liver-protecting compound silymarin, an isomeric mixture of flavonolignans and taxifolin. In this study, a protocol (plant growth regulators in various concentrations and combinations of coconut water) for the initiation of callus and silymarin production using different types of explantes (root, hypocotyls, cotyledonary leaf) of S. marianum L. was established. The free radical scavenging activity of silymarin extracted from callus cultures of these explants was investigated. In comparison to other plant growth regulators and explants studied, root explants cultured on MS medium enriched with 5.0 M NAA + 2.5 M BAP + 10% coconut water produced the most friable callus and had the highest possible level of silymarin and free radical scavenging activity. NAA + BAP + coconut water was found to be the best hormonal combination for callus initiation and mass production. This research will aid in understanding the influence of plant growth regulators and different types of explantes on the production of valuable secondary metabolites in S. marianum L. in vitro cultures.