پژوهشنامه اصلاح گیاهان زراعی
پیاپی 43 (پاییز 1401)

Investigation of the interaction of genotype × environment and identification of stable and high yielding cultivars in different environmental conditions is of great importance in plant breeding. The objectives of this study are to investigate the interaction of genotype × environment using GGE bilpot graphic method in advanced cross-breeding lines of bread wheat, to identify and introduce lines with high and stable economic performance.

In this study, the advanced stable yield of seven-line grain obtained from the reciprocal cross of bread wheat (BC2F6) in the form of a randomized complete block design with repetition in Tehran, Kermanshah and Gorgan and crop years (2017-18) and (2018-19) Was investigated. Each line was planted in plots with an eight-meter line at a distance of 25 centimeter. At the end of the season, the spikes were harvested and threshed manually from each plot, and the seeds obtained were measured by a digital scale and reported per square meter.

The results of combined analysis of variance showed a significant difference in the level of one percent probability for the effect of environment and the interaction of genotype × environment. No significant difference was observed for grain yield between the studied lines. According to the results of GGE Biplot, lines L4, L6 and L3 were the closest lines to the ideal line. Simultaneous evaluation of stability and grain yield of L4 and L6 lines identified stable high-yield lines. Examination of the polygonal diagram led to the identification of three large environments. The first large environment included E1 (Gorgan, 2017-18), E2 (Gorgan, 2018-19) and E4 (Tehran, 2018-19) environments, of which L2 was the top line of these environments and the second large environment included E6 environment (Kermanshah, 2018-19) It was that L4 and L6 lines were introduced as the top lines in these environments. The third large environment consisted of E3 (Tehran, 2017-18) and E5 (Kermanshah, 2017-18), where the L3 line showed private compatibility with the mentioned environments.

In general, based on the obtained results, L4 line is introduced as a stable line with high yield and is recommended to obtain the maximum cultivation yield of this line in the studied environments. L2 and L1 lines are introduced as the most unstable lines with the lowest performance and their cultivation is not recommended in any of the studied environments.

Given the growing rate of population and its consequences, such as hungrier people and more demand for food, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) has introduced potato (Solanum tubersum L.) as a food security plant. Thus, the need for expanding potato production is globally felt to manage the increase in food demands and food security (4, 10). The interaction between the genotype and the environment creates complexity in yield prediction and is a challenge for plant production and breeding programs. This study was conducted to achieve a stable high-yielding genotype that is adaptive to climatic conditions of potato-producing regions in Iran.

A total of 20 potato hybrides along with five commercial varieties (Savalan, Agria, Caesar, Luta and Satina) were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with three replicates in the agricultural research stations of five locations (Ardabil, Hamadan, Isfahan, Karaj, and Razavi Khorasan) in Iran, for two years (2016 and 2017). Each of the hybrids and control cultivars were planted in two rows with six meters long. The rows with inter row spacing of 75 cm and plant spacing of 25 cm was taken. The genotype yields were measured after the harvest. Combined analysis of variances was done and comparison of means was done by LSD at one percent probability level. The principal coordinate analysis was used to analyze yield stability.

The results of combined analysis of variance indicated that the effect of genotype, year, location and year – location, location – genotype, year – genotype and year - location – genotype interactions were significant at 1% level of probability. Therefore, the analysis of genotype - environment interaction was performed using multivariate analysis of principal coordinates. Compared to the grand mean, 10 environments under study were divided into two groups including three environments with higher performance than the total average and seven environments with lower performance than the total average. The most stable genotypes based on the MST (Minimum Spanning Tree) and distance from the center of plots were hybrids 1, 8 and Savalan cultivar in low cycles and hybrid 5 was identified in high cycles.

The hybrids 1 (35.57 ton/ha), 8 (35.05 ton/ha) and Savalan cultivar (33.52 ton/ha) which could be recommended for environments with the yield lower than the average mean of all studied environments. Also, hybrid 5 (41.21 ton/ha) was identified for environments with higher performance than the total average.

Wheat is one of the most important crops in the world that plays a key role in ensuring food security. In wheat breeding programs, selection of genotypes with desirable agronomic traits and high yield potential have always been the goal of plant breeders. Increasing the selection efficiency for grain yield depends on genetic knowledge from morphological traits and the effect of these traits on grain yield.

In order to estimate genetic parameters and general and specific combining abilities, six bread wheat cultivars including Falat, Tajan, Bolani, Ehsan, Morvarid and Catbird were planted in a crossing block and direct and reciprocal crosses were performed among the six cultivars to produce F1 generation. The progenies of the crosses with their parents were evaluated based on randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications in Gorgan agricultural research station in 2020-2021 cropping season.

Analysis of variance of Griffing's diallel method showed a statistically significant difference between genotypes in all studied traits. Mean squares of general and specific combining abilities were statistically significant in most traits. Reciprocal, maternal and non-maternal effects were significant for the number of days to heading, grain yield, and biological yield. In grain yield and biological yield, Ehsan cultivar had the highest general combining ability and was identified as a suitable parent for the genetic improvement of these traits. The Catbird×Bolani hybrid had the highest specific combining ability in plant height, peduncle length, biological yield, grain yield and harvest index, it was determined as the best hybrid in genetic improvement of desirable agronomic traits with high specific combining ability in yield and yield components. The ratio of additive variance from genetic variance for plant height, number of days to heading and peduncle length was greater than dominance variance. The highest degree of dominance was related to the number of spikelets per spike, 100-seed weight, grain yield and biological yield, respectively.

The results of this study showed that in the progenies of the crosses, genetic improvement can be done in plant height, number of days to heading and peduncle length in the initial generations, but for other traits including grain yield and its components, selection should be postponed to more advanced generations.

The selection of high-yielding genotypes is especially important in sunflower. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify interrelationships between different traits and the selection of the best sunflower hybrids.

In this study, 11 new hybrids along with four cultivars Golsa, Ghasem, Shams, and Farrokh were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with four replications in the agriculture research station of Kermanshah during 2019-2020. The phonological, morphological characteristics and yield and its components including days to flowering, days to ripening, plant height, stem diameter, head diameter, seed number per head, thousand seed weight, and seed yield were measured. In this study, the methods of genotype × trait (GT) and genotype by yield × trait biplot (GYT) were used to identify interrelationships between different traits and selection of the best sunflower hybrids.

Based on polygon view of GT biplot, the genotypes No. 4 and 11 had good characteristics regarding seed yield. The vector view of GT biplot showed high correlation between seed yield with stem diameter, plant height and seed number per head. Based on average tester coordinate (ATC) view of GYT biplot, the genotypes No. 5, 3 and 4 in terms of all positive yield-trait combinations were recognized as the best genotypes and genotypes No. 7, 13 and 6 as the weakest genotypes. According to the results, a significant positive correlation was observed between stem diameter, head diameter, plant height and early maturity in combination with seed yield. Therefore, it seems that traits of stem diameter, head diameter, plant height and early maturity could be used as a suitable selection criterion for increasing seed yield in sunflower.

Generally, the results indicated that hybrids No. 5, 3 and 4 were recognized as superior hybrids from the point of yield and other agronomic traits. These genotypes have the potential to be used in research-extension trials for introduction as a new cultivar for cultivation in the Kermanshah region. Also, the traits of stem diameter, head diameter, plant height, and early maturity could be used as suitable criterions in selecting for increased seed yield in sunflower breeding programs.

In order to overcome the contamination problems, as well as the usual method of increasing potato through micro tuber, micropropagation has been considered through tissue culture. The aim of this study was to evaluate the callus induction and embryogenesis in potato cultivars using leaf explants.

For this purpose, micropropagation was performed using leaves from six different potato varieties in different mediums. Seedling of different cultivars in different concentrations of growth regulators, 2,4-D and TDZ showed that the highest amount of callus in 5 mgl-1 of TDZ growth regulator in the culture medium was observed in Batba, Fontane and  Sante. In 12 treatment combinations, the combination of 10 mgl-1 2,4-D and 10 mgl-1 TDZ was performed in leaf explants after three weeks of callus. Then, calluses were tested in a culture medium for embryogenic induction with four different treatments in suspension and solid culture.

In the experiment of embryogenesis study of leaf explants of different cultivars, results showed that explants was placed in a suspension culture of 0.1 mgl-1 Zeatin and 0.1 mgl-1 GA3 and 2.5 mgl-1 BAP and 5 mg/L GA3, and a solid culture medium containing 5 mgl-1 Zeatin and 2.5 mgl-1 BAP and 0.1 mgl-1 Zeatin and 0.1 mgl-1 GA3 had a much better embryogenesis. Among the 12 ‌ treatments applied, the highest callus formation rate was observed in ‌treatment ‌containing 10 mgl-12,4-D and 10 mgl-1 tidiazurone. ‌Results showed in suspension culture medium, 0.1 mgl-1 zeatin and 0.1 mgl-1 gibberellic acid treatment and 2.5 mgl-1 6-benzylaminopurine and 5 mgl-1 gibberellic acid had the highest embryogenesis, but in solid medium, treatment was 5 mgl-1 zeatin and 2.5 mgl-1 6- benzylaminopurine and treatment 0.1 mgl-1 zeatin and 0.1 mgl-1 gibberellic acid have better embryogenesis. Embryos produced in suspension culture medium were coated with calcium alginate and some of them were transferred to solid culture medium for regeneration.

The obtained results showed that it is possible to produce somatic embryos in large quantities in potatoes and these embryos can be used in the production of artificial potato seeds.

Sugar is a tonic that produces a large amount of energy in the diet of the world's population. The position of sugar beet in providing part of the sugar required by human society is not hidden from anyone. Given the needs of society, breeding sugar beet hybrids that is high in quantity and quality is inevitable. In addition to plant genetics and environmental factors, the interaction between genotype-environment by affecting various aspects of plant processes, ultimately causes non-uniformity of performance in different environmental conditions. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the stability of different sugar beet hybrids.

155 sugar beet hybrids were obtained as a result of crossing the 155 inbred lines with the commercial monogerm male sterile single cross under code SB36 71 7112. Monogerm hybrids were planted in seven regions of Khoy, Shiraz, Karaj, Kermanshah, Mashhad, Miandoab and Hamedan in 2020 in an augmented randomize complete design with one internal control (Sina) and four external controls (Novodoro, Modex, Loriquet, and Pirola). After harvesting and estimating the sugar yield of each hybrid, the stability analysis of this trait was performed using univariate parametric and non-parametric methods.

Stability analysis of sugar yield of genotypes based on parametric statistics of environmental coefficient of variation 146, 139 and 47 genotypes, Wricks equivalence 6 and 18 genotypes, Finlay and Wilkinson coefficient of regression 126 and 100 hybrids, explanation coefficient of Pinthus 59, 6, 104 hybrids, Perkins and Jenks regression model 8 and 143 hybrids introduced as the most stable hybrids.Non- parametric methods of the sum of ranks of Kang 96 hybrid and Loriquet cultivar, Fox criterion Pirola cultivar, Huhn criteria 96 and 18 hybrids and Loriquit cultivar and Thennarasu criteria 18, 6, 63 and 127 hybrids and Sina cultivar were introduced as the genotypes with good stability.

The results of the present study indicated that the genotype-environment interaction overshadows the quantitative and qualitative performance characteristics of sugar beet hybrids, so this should be considered when breeding new hybrids; Because, estimating the genotype-environment interaction makes it possible to decide on breeding in general or specific adaptation that depends on the stability of performance in a limited or wide range of environmental conditions and take an effective step to develop cultivars that are stable and adaptable with the target environment.

Various environmental stresses, especially water deficit stress have several and major effects on maize growth and production. Drought is one of the abiotic stresses that due to the great variety of rainfall conditions, it is known from Iran as the most important factor limiting the growth and production of crops. Therefore, the effect of water deficit stress on strategic plants such as maize is of particular importance.

In order to assess the effect of water-deficit stress on the activity of antioxidant enzymes and agro-physiological indices in the leaves in some of maize genotypes, a split-plot field experiment was conducted with three replications based on the Randomized Complete Block design (RCBD) was performed under field condition, it was performed on the farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz. Three levels of irrigation (well-watered, intermediate and severe water-deficit stress) and 11 maize genotypes were considered as the main and sub-factors, respectively. After treatment, the electrophoretic analysis of three enzymes in maize leaves including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POX) were carried out on 8% horizontal acrylamide gel and some agro-physiological indices such as malondialdehyde (MDA), H2O2, chlorophyll index (SPAD), relative water content (RWC) and soluble protein content were measured.

Based on the our results, CAT enzyme increased by 100% under severe stress compared to well-watered and MDA content with 120.78% increase, the highest increase activity and leaf chlorophyll under severe water deficit stress showed the highest reduction(-24.05%) compared to well-watered condition. In general, the soluble protein content fluctuated with increasing stress intensity compared to well-watered condition, On the other hand, the difference between the total soluble protein content in the two genotypes SC704 and SC706 with increasing intensity of stress from normal to intermediate stress and severe stress showed the least significant difference inversely.

Examination of maize genotypes with antioxidant enzymes and physiological indices showed that SC704, SC703, AR70 and SC706 genotypes had the highest level of antioxidant enzyme activity and adequate physiological response to water deficit stress, also they showed higher stress tolerance than water deficit stress. In both stressful conditions, SC260 genotype showed the highest susceptibility under water deficit stress condition. Finally, CAT, POX1, SOD1 and SOD2 isozymes as well as H2O2 indices, soluble protein content and leaf chlorophyll could be introduced as efficient isozymes and indices and can be these indices were used to identify superior genotypes under water deficit stress in maize molecular breeding programs.

Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) from the Linum genus and Linaceae family is one of the oldest oil products in the world. A natural population with sufficient genetic diversity is necessary to select the desired phenotypic traits, so the study of genetic diversity and the correct selection of essential tools is the main breed of plant. Agriculture faces many challenges, including human population growth, climate change, land degradation, malnutrition, poverty, hunger and other stressors. Overcoming these difficult challenges will be more difficult in the absence of plant genetic improvement to increase agricultural productivity by addressing the problem of reduced yields and its relationship to pest management and climate change. However, agriculture must change to meet the growing demand of the global population by shifting agricultural growth to the effective development of modern agriculture. In this regard, the study of the diversity of existing populations is of great importance.

100 new imported flax genotypes in a randomized complete block design with three replications in the research farm of ORDC (Oilseeds Research and Development Company) in the 96-97 crop year, morphological traits, yield and yield components were studied.

The results showed that the studied genotypes collected from different geographical areas had a good diversity for all studied traits. Plant yield among the studied traits had the highest correlation with capsule weight per plant, number of capsules per plant, number of sub-stems, number of seeds per plant and biological yield in a positive direction. The factor analysis results showed that 4 of the factors together explain 80% of the data changes. According to the type of traits, these factors were listed under the headings of yield and yield components, traits related to grain, ripeness and number of grains. The cluster analysis results for all traits evaluated them into four groups and showed that the classification of genotypes was not related to the geographical distribution of genotypes, and most genotypes were grouped based on morphological differences.

High genetic diversity among genotypes has provided the valuable genetic potential for the genetic improvement of flax. Considering that the study population is a collection of genotypes from different parts of the world with different appearance characteristics, it is a diverse and valuable population for breeding studies to create cultivars adapted to the climatic conditions and environmental changes of our country. Plant yield among the studied traits had the highest correlation with capsule weight per plant, number of capsules per plant, number of sub-stems, number of seeds per plant and biological yield in a positive direction. It can be concluded that genotypes with higher capsule weight per plant, number of capsules per plant, number of sub-stems, number of seeds per plant and higher biological yield have higher yields. This also indicates that these genotypes were able to maximize resource utilization and thus produce more capsule weight per plant, number of capsules per plant, number of sub-stems, number of seeds per plant and more biological yield. Genotypes 132, 108, 179 and 275 have good potential in terms of grain yield and can be used in future breeding programs.

In recent years, studies have focused on the use of new compounds that can be synthesized inside the plant and increase the photosynthetic efficiency of the plant. Some of these compounds include micronutrients and alcohols. Alcohols such as methanol as a carbon source will increase photosynthetic efficiency and improve plant growth parameters. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles also improve and repair the photosynthetic apparatus in the plant and thus increase the photosynthetic efficiency. For this reason, this study investigates methanol and titanium dioxide nanoparticles on the phytochemical properties of artichoke.

In order to investigate the foliar application of methanol and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles on artichoke, an experimental factorial design based on randomized complete blocks with 4 levels for each of the 2 methanol factors (0, 15, 30 and 45% by volume) and Anatase of titanium dioxide (0, 20, 40 and 60 mg. l-1) was performed in 3 replications in 2019 and 2020. Measured traits included photosynthetic pigments, phenol, flavonoids and antioxidant activity over two years.

Based on the results, the interaction of treatments for all studied traits in both years of the study was statistically significant at the level of 1%. The highest amount of chlorophyll a, b and whole leaves in the first year of zero volume treatment of methanol + 20 mg.l-1 titanium dioxide nanoparticles and in the second year of leaves from 45% volume treatment of methanol + 40 mg.l-1 titanium dioxide nanoparticles was obtained. In the first year, 30% volumetric treatment of methanol + zero mg.l-1 titanium dioxide nanoparticles and in the second year, 15% volumetric treatment of methanol + zero mg.l-1 titanium dioxide nanoparticles with 218.75 and 192.85% increase, respectively, compared to control had the highest carotenoid levels. The highest amount of first year leaf flavonoids was observed in zero volume treatment of methanol + 20 mg.l-1 titanium dioxide nanoparticles which was not significantly different from zero volume methanol + 60 mg.l-1 titanium dioxide nanoparticles. The highest amount of flavonoid in the second year leaves was obtained from the treatment of 45% by volume of methanol + 40 mg.l-1 titanium dioxide nanoparticles with 284.61% increase in control ratio. The highest amount of first year leaf phenol from the interaction of 15% volumetric methanol + 20 mg.l-1 titanium dioxide nanoparticles The highest amount of second year leaf phenol from the interaction of 45% volumetric methanol + 20 mg.l-1 titanium dioxide nanoparticles, respectively with 73.15 and 216.91% increase in control ratio were seen. The highest amount of antioxidant activity in the first year was zero volume methanol + 20 mg.l-1 titanium dioxide nanoparticles and 30% methanol + zero mg.l-1 titanium dioxide nanoparticles with 32.16% increase compared to the control Allocated. In the second year, the treatment of 45% by volume of methanol + 40 mg.l-1 titanium dioxide nanoparticles with the highest increase of 16.24% compared to the control had the highest free radical scavenging power.

According to the results, the combined use of methanol as a carbon source and nanoparticles of titanium dioxide can be useful in improving the phytochemical properties of artichoke.

Soybean (Glycine max) belongs to Leguminous and is one of the legumes that provides food to millions of people and plays a major role in the preparation of chemicals. The Fabaceae family includes legumes, which are the second most important crop family after the poace family. Soybeans are an important thermophilic food product that contains important proteins that support human health.

In order to investigate the response of two soybean cultivars to the hormone at different stages of growth and the effect of hormones on yield and yield components, a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design with three replications was conducted in the research greenhouse of Graduate University of Advanced Technology in 2020. Soybean plants were treated with salicylic acid and methyl jasmonate and with two hormones simultaneously, and control pots were treated distilled water. During the growing period, fertilization was performed with complete Hoagland fertilizer and after a proper growth period, the samples were harvested at physiological maturity. After sowing, the seeds of Rhizobium were given in two stages in order to induce soybean roots.

The results of this study showed a significant difference between cultivars in terms of different hormone application: In control plants that did not receive any hormones, these morphological features are minimum The results showed that there were significant differences in the number of nodules per root, pod weight per plant, leaf area, and harvest index under the interaction of cultivar and hormone. The results of comparing the means showed that the simultaneous application of salicylic acid and methyl jasmonate increased the growth and yield of the cultivars.

Among morphological traits (shoot height, root length and width, number of lateral roots, fresh and dry weight of shoot and root and pod weight) in hormone treatment conditions for Williams cultivar showed more increase than L17 cultivar. The results of this study can be used in research for the practical use of such compounds and to enhance performance and important traits in performance.

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) with a cultivated area of ​​nearly one and a half million hectares and with a production of about three million tons per year after wheat is the main crop in the country. The main objectives of this study were to (i) examine the variation within the barley national germplasm, (ii) compare the introduced germplasm with the check cultivars, and (iii) characterization of barley inbred lines based on multiple traits under irrigation conditions.

  A national temperate barley germplasm consisting of 108 inbred lines in the non-repeating Augment design with four controls in three blocks were evaluated in the farm of Neishabour Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Station in cropping year of 2018-19. Several main traits i. e., days to heading, days to maturity, plant height, thousand kernel weight and grain yield were recorded for preliminarily evaluation of the germplasm. Several simple univariate methods and genotype by trait (GT) biplot analysis were used to examine the variation within germplasm and to provide information to enable better germplasm utilization in the national temperate barley breeding program.

Wide variation was observed for the genotypes based on the studied traits. The comparison of genotypes based on multiple traits confirmed the possibility of finding contrasting groups. Based on GT-Biplot polygon, Nosrat cultivar along with 1, 34 and 5 lines were displayed high grain yield, grain filling period and day to maturity. The highest grain yield was 9.208 tons per hectare and belonged to line number 1.The vector view of GT biplot showed high correlation between grain yield with grain filling period and date to maturity. According to resulting from biplot of barley lines in comparison with ideal genotype, line no. 1 was identified as the ideal genotype. Also the closest genotypes to it were Nosrat cultivar and 34, 5, 4, 74, 41 lines. The high heritability for the traits (except for thousand kernel weight and plant height) is encouraging from a standpoint of increasing the selection efficiency. In conclusion, the GT biplot offers a useful analytic tool for examining the variation among large sets of lines, for exploring multiple trait data and for aiding in multi-trait selection.

It was found that the genotypes with the highest grain yield had high the duration of the grain filling period, late in maturity and early in flowering under irrigated conditions. Based on the results, Nosrat cultivar along with lines 1, 34, 5, 4, 74 and 41 were the most high-yielding genotypes.

Drought stress is the most prevalent and limiting factor in the growth and productivity of crop plants. According to the challenge of deficiency in precipitation or consecutive droughts in recent years in Iran and as a result of a shortage of irrigation water in wheat production, knowledge of the relationship between grain quality and grain yield under drought stress can be particularly important to identify lines with drought tolerance. The present study, hence, evaluated the effects of drought stress on the grain quality of 104 F5 lines derived from a cross between Barat × Nogal in wheat.

The effects of drought stress on grain-quality-related traits of wheat were investigated using 104 F5 lines under normal and drought conditions. A randomized complete block design with three replications was used in each environment in the 2020-2021 cropping season. Grain yield, protein yield, grain hardness, Zeleny sedimentation volume, protein content, bread volume, gluten content, and gluten index were evaluated.

Analysis of variance showed that there was significant genetic variation in the lines for all traits in both environmental conditions. Stress and stress × line interactions were also significant for all of the studied traits. Mean comparison of lines showed that the quality in bread wheat was improved under drought stress conditions due to increment in protein content and grain hardness. The highest grain protein content was found in lines 10, 52, 54, 68, and 71 with 12.96% under normal conditions, while it was found in lines 10, 28, 32, 61, and 93 with 13.94% under drought-stress conditions. Although the growth and consequently grain yield were limited under drought stress conditions, increased concentrations of grain‐derived ingredients including protein content, gluten content, gluten index, and Zeleny volume were noted. On the other hand, grain protein showed a significant and positive correlation with the Zeleny volume and water absorption in both environmental conditions.

From the work carried out it can be concluded that firstly, selection of wheat lines in respect to grain quality must be undertaken separately for each of the normal and stressed environments, and secondly that the grain quality of wheat lines under drought stress conditions was significantly better than that of normal field conditions.

Luffa is a plant from the Cucurbitaceae family with the scientific name of Luffa cylindrica. In addition to the food consumption of mature green fruit and the medicinal and health properties of seed oil, it is important due to the fibrous spongy texture of its dried fruits. There is a great variety in terms of shape, size, quality of sponge, etc. among different cultivars of Luffa, the study of which helps plant breeders to identify the genetic capacity of traits associated with its important breeding goals.

In this study, the genetic diversity of 5 indigenous Lufa genotypes related to Mazandaran, Kerman, Sistan and Baluchestan provinces, and 3 non-Indigenous genotypes related to China, Brazil and Afghanistan were studied by evaluating the ITS (Internal transcribed spacer) ribosome region. After sampling of young leaves, DNA was extracted by Dellaporta method, and PCR was performed using a pair of ITS primers. After sequencing and qualification, amplified products were aligned and dendrogram of phylogenic relationships and difference and similarity matrix of sequences were determined.

In this research, from a total of 703 sites, 175 sites had deletion and addition (170 monomorphes and 5 polymorphs) and 528 sites were lake of deletion and addition. Most of the substitutes for the ITS sequence were transversion (55.5%), and only 44.5% of the substitutes were transitional type. Also, the mean ratio of thymine, cytosine, adenine and guanine was 9.18, 8.28, 19.9 and 42.4% of the total nucleotides. The average numerical value of DN / DS ratio was 0.86. The overall average of the genetic distance between the samples examined, for the ITS marker, using the Maximum Composite model was 0.107.

Studying the relationships between tested genotypes based on the ITS region, as analyzed in this study, showed the presence of intra-species variation in the genotypes of Luffa aegyptiaca studied. However, relatively low genetic distances between genotypes may indicate the relative weakness of this marker in the genetic studies of Luffa. Therefore, for a more accurate conclusion it is suggested that this marker is be used as a supplementary barcode with other markers.

The cow cockle has a great potential for producing medicinal products due to its triterpenoid saponins. This experiment was aimed to investigate different cow cockle ecotypes under drought stress conditions and select the tolerant ecotype(s) based on agronomic traits using selection indices under different irrigation regimes.

This experiment was carried out as a split-plot experiment based on a randomized complete block design with three replications in 2020-2021 at the Ghezel Moghan Seed Production Company in Parsabad. The main plots were assigned to three treatments of irrigation cycle of 7 days (no stress), 10 days (mild stress), and 14 days (severe stress), and sub-plots were allocated to eight cow cockle ecotypes native to the northwest of Iran.

The analysis of variance showed the effect of drought stress on all studied traits and the effect of ecotype on all traits except for seed weight per plant was significant. Also, their interaction effect was significant in most of the studied traits such as plant height, number of branches, seed weight per plant, number of filled and hollow capsules, straw weight, grain yield, biological yield, and harvest index and was nonsignificant for the percentage of full capsules, plant biomass, and 1000-grain weight. Ecotype E7 under normal conditions had the highest plant height, number of branches, number of full capsules, and seed weight per plant, but in severe stress conditions, it showed the lowest height, number of branches, number of full capsules, seed weight per plant, 1000-seed weight, straw and seed yield per unit area and was the most sensitive ecotype to drought stress. Ecotype E6 had the least decrease in plant height, number of branches, seed weight per plant, straw and seed yield per unit area, and harvest index in both stress conditions and was the most tolerant to drought stress. Estimation of the ideal genotype selection index (SIIG) and Multi-trait genotype–ideotype distance index (MGIDI) for different ecotypes showed that the E6 ecotype with the highest SIIG value and the lowest MGIDI value in all three stress conditions was the most tolerant, and E3 and E8 ecotypes were in the next rank and were classified as ecotypes with relatively high drought tolerance. Also, in both moderate and severe stress conditions, ecotype E7 with the lowest value of SIIG and the highest value of MGIDI showed high sensitivity to drought stress.

In general, the E6 ecotype was desirable in both normal and stress conditions and was one of the ecotypes with high drought tolerance. Also, in both moderate and severe stress conditions, Eotype E7 showed high sensitivity to drought stress

Due to the very high diversity among the genotypes of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), it has shown a very high adaptability and stability in different climates. Therefore, this experiment was performed to investigate the morphological and genetic diversity of 14 quinoa genotypes and compare them with the control genotype of the region (Titicaca).

This experiment was conducted using randomized complete block design with three replications in the research farm of Gorgan Agricultural Meteorological Research Office. The studied genotypes including 4 late genotypes and 10 early genotypes were obtained from the Seed and Plant Improvement Institute of Karaj and were sown on August 11, 2019. Nine traits including plant height, stem diameter, number of sub-branches, panicle length, number of panicles, panicle width, biomass, 1000-seed weight and yield per hectare were evaluated during the growing season.

Analysis of variance showed that there was a significant difference between genotypes in all studied traits. Late genotypes Q104, Q102 and Q101 had a significant increase in most traits, especially grain yield, compared to control and other genotypes. Comparison of correlation coefficients between traits has shown a positive and significant relationship between grain yield and all studied traits except 1000-grain weight. The highest correlations of grain yield were with biomass, stem diameter, panicle width, height and panicle length, respectively. In addition, the clustering of genotypes based on agronomic traits has divided the genotypes into 3 groups, with the highest average yield related to the second cluster including late maturity genotypes Q104 and Q102 and the lowest related to the first cluster. In this study, the highest genetic and phenotypic variance, heritability and genetic gain were related to plant height and grain yield.

Among the studied genotypes, late genotypes Q104, Q102 and Q101 and among early genotypes, Q12 and Q18 showed better performance than other genotypes. Therefore, these genotypes can be suitable options for cultivation of this plant in this region.

Moldavian balm (Dracocephalum moldavica L.) is a medicinal plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family which uses as stomachic, sedative and healing of wound. Non-uniform establishment of medicinal plants in arid zones soil especially under abiotic stresses such as salinity is the most important problems in cropping and developing of these plants.

In order to study the effect of salinity stress on some physiological traits related to salinity stress of 14 ecotypes of Dracocephalum moldavica L., an experiment were carried out using randomized complete block design with four replications under normal and salinity stress conditions. Two conditions in this experiment were carried out using normal water with 2.3 dS.m-1 and saline water with 14 dS.m-1 electrical conductivity. Proline concentration, chlorophyll a and b concentration, carotenoid concentration, relative water content, sodium and potassium concentration and sodium to potassium ratio were measured in this research.

The results of combined analysis of variance revealed that salinity stress had significant (p<0.01) effect on concentration of chlorophyll a and b, relative water content, concentration of sodium and potassium and sodium to potassium ratio. Stress × ecotype interaction was significant (p<0.01) in all the studied traits except proline concentration. Combined analysis of variance showed that the differences among ecotypes were significant (p<0.01) in all the studied traits. Salinity stress led to a significant decrease in concentration of chlorophyll a and b, concentration of potassium and relative water content and a significant increase in concentration of sodium and sodium to potassium ratio. Results of this research showed that Faridan, Isfahan and Maragheh had more concentration of potassium under normal and salinity stress conditions and so these ecotypes could be suggested for cultivation under both conditions.

Mean comparison of data for studied ecotypes showed that Faridan, Isfahan and Maragheh ecotypes could be suggested for cultivation under both conditions.

Leaf stripe disease of barley is caused by the seed transmitted hemi-biotrophic fungus Pyneophera graminea which has spread in to important areas of barley production in Iran especially in Khorasan Razavi province. The fungus survives as a mycelium in the pericarp, the hull and the seed coat, but not in the embryo. During the seed generation, its growing mycelium penetrates the coleorhiza and it colonized the plant systematically starting from the root tip. Once infection spreads into the young leaves, growth switches to a necrotrophic phase with the production of a host-specific glycosyl toxin that causes longitudinal dark brown necrotic stripe between the leaf veins, as well as spike sterility. Finally become necrotic, lead to severe yield reduction when seed infection is high, especially in organic farming systems. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the resistance of domesticated commercial cultivars (23 cultivars), promising candidate genotypes (23 genotypes) and foreign genetic resources (30 cultivars).

In this study, the resistance of 46 commercial cultivars and promising genotypes with 30 cultivars resistant to barley leaf stripe reported in scientific sources to leaf stripe disease with six morphological traits including days to heading, plant height, number of seed in spike, one-thousand grains weight and days to maturity was evaluated in randomized complete block design with three replications during two cropping years (2017-2019) in Mashhad Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center. Infection of plants occurred naturally. Evaluation of resistance of genotypes by Delogo method was calculated based on the percentage of infected plants as well as components of variance, heritability, genetic and phenotypic coefficients using SPSS software and formula.

All of the traits were significant and highly significant among the genotypes during two years. The highest coefficient of genetic diversity was observed in the number of rows in spike and the number of seeds per spike and the lowest was observed in the number of days to flowering. Heritability above 90% was obtained for most of traits. A positive correlation was shown between most of the traits. The highest coefficient of variation is belonged to disease incidence. The percentage of infection in the first year varied between 0 and 54.5% and in the second year ranged from one to 64.5%. Disease incidence for first year was observed, 23 highly resistant genotypes, two resistant genotypes, 13 moderately resistant genotypes and eight susceptible genotypes and also for second years evaluated 21 highly resistant genotypes, five resistant genotypes, 13 moderately resistant genotypes and seven sensitive genotypes.

Leaf stripe disease has a significant effect on reducing barley yield, so it can be managed by identifying resistant cultivars. Based on the results, the studied cultivars and genotypes showed various reactions to disease, ranging from susceptible to highly resistant. Most genotypes were observed as highly resistant and moderately resistant. According to results two-row genotypes had a higher resistance level than six-row genotypes to leaf stripe. Based on the results, a number of commercial cultivars, including Walfajre, Dasht, Bahman, Behrokh and Nik have been resistant or semi-resistant to this disease

Soybean is one of important oil seed crops through the world due to its high protein and oil contents. In order to evaluation the genetic diversity of this plant concerning to its compatibility to different climate conditions, the divergenet population in order to perform breeding programs is of great importance following by introduction of new cultivars. Thus, introduction of new cultivars is one of significant and available ways of plant breeding which facillitate to targeting in this issueIn order to determine the exist genetic diversity in new soybean germplams and to explain for future breeding programs, 119 new soybean genotypes (from Australia gene bank) Awere assessed according to augmented experiment with four control samples (Saman, Katol, Kosar and Sahar cultivars).

To determine genetic diversity among the new soybean germplasm and achive information in direction of further breeding programs, 119 new imported genotypes (gene bank of Australia) were analyzed based on augmented design with four control samples (Saman, Ktol, Kosar, and Sahar). Each genotype was cultivated on 2 meters' line. The genotypes studied were evaluated based on morphological and phenological traits including number of days from plantation to flowering time to maturing, plant heighth, number of nodes, number of lateral shoots, plant yield, oil and protein percent. 

Based on obtained results from statistical parameters among all imported genotypes in Karaj region, the highest phenotypic variation coefficient was related to plant yield (84.23), number of null capsules (75.8) and the number of seeds per plant (75.28), and also the lowest phenotypic coefficient of variation was related to protein percentage (3.96), oil percentage (4.27) and the number of days to complete maturity (9.33). The mean comparison showed that the genotypes including Clark curly pubesce, GH 66-6-14, Seedmakers 1-E and Delmar had the highest seed yield per plant. The results of cluster analysis showed that the evaluated genotypes for all traits studied divided into four groups which the one, two, three and four groups contained 23, 49, 8 and 9 genotypes respectively.

The genotypes of GH 66-6-14, GH 66-6-6, Valder, Seedmakers 1-E, Lee late and Clark curly pubesce showed the highest yield and its component than control samples and could be able to be used in further breeding programs.

In order to investigate the effect of foliar application of main elements and micronutrients on morpho-physiological and yield traits of rice plants with the aim of increasing yield and reducing the use of chemical fertilizers, experiments in the cropping years 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 in the research farms of Nowshahr city (Mazandaran) was implemented.

The experiment was performed as a factorial design in the form of a randomized complete block design with 3 ‎replications. Experimental treatments include four levels of fertilizer (control, ‎macronutrients (N, P, K), micronutrients (N, Fe, Mn, Zn), and macro + micro (N, P, K, Mg, Mn, ‎Fe, Cu) as foliar application in tillering, stalking and pregnancy stages), and rice cultivars ‎‎(Fajr, Amrollahi, Hashemi). The measured traits included flag leaf length and width, flag leaf area, flag leaf chlorophyll, number of tillers per plant, number of spikes per plant, grain yield, biological yield, harvest index, soluble carbohydrate, and grain protein.

The results showed that experimental treatments had a significant effect on all traits. The data analysis of variance results showed that experimental treatments had a significant effect on all traits. In addition, foliar application of fertilizers at different levels compared to the control had a significant effect. The highest grain yield (567.7 g/m2), biological yield (1400 g/m2), carbohydrate (44.48 mg/g dry weight), and grain protein (11.40%) were obtained in Fajr cultivar and d2 fertilizer treatment.

The results of this experiment showed that the method of foliar application of nutrients, in addition to reducing fertilizer losses, improves plant traits due to rapid leaf absorption.

Considering the importance of salinity in wheat and the multigene nature of this trait, the present study was conducted to investigate the expression of key genes involved in the response of wheat to this stress and to create their network.

In this study, the expression of key genes (HKT, DREB, bZIP, NAC, and WARKY) involved in wheat (ARG, AFLAK, and SIRVAN) response to two salinity levels (14 and 21 dS/m) as a factorial experiment with completely random design were examined in three replications. Finally, their gene network was mapped using Pathway Studio 9.0 software.

The analysis of HKT, DREB, bZIP, NAC, and WARKY gene expression showed their differential levels under salinity in wheat cultivars. So that most of their expression increased in the resistant cultivar AFLAK and semi-resistant cultivar ARG, while decreased in the sensitive cultivar SIRVAN. The gene network also revealed that these genes play an important role in the response of wheat to salinity stress as components involved in regulatory and transfer processes through interaction with protein kinases and protein phosphatases.

Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that the response of wheat to salinity is controlled by a complex network of regulatory genes such as transcription factors, transporters, protein kinases, protein phosphatases, etc. They can be used in future wheat breeding research.