پژوهشنامه اصلاح گیاهان زراعی
پیاپی 49 (بهار 1403)

 Drought is one of the most important global threats to food production, in addition to that, climate change and the increase in the global population also widen the dimensions of this problem. One of the ways to solve this problem is to create new cultivars with greater tolerance to drought stress. Wheat has been one of the most important sources of human food all over the world and it is used in various food products and processing industries. Wheat together with rice and corn provide more than 60% of calories and protein needed for human nutrition. In areas like Iran, where most of the rain occurs in winter and early spring, wheat will face water shortage and drought stress at the end of the growing season. In crops, one of the effective methods that can minimize the effect of this phenomenon in combination with other methods of water deficit management is the use of high-yielding and drought-tolerant cultivars. Despite the numerous scientific sources published in this field, there are still many gaps in these studies, so studying the effects of drought stress is always a research priority. Ilam province, as one of the irrigated wheat production areas, suffers from the lack of cultivars that are resistant or tolerant to low irrigation conditions, so investigating the response of different wheat genotypes in low irrigation conditions as low input production systems is very important and is addressed in this study. 

In order to evaluate some bread wheat genotypes under normal and drought stress co ditions, 36 wheat genotypes were evaluated in the form of a randomized complete block design in three replicates in the crop year of 2019-2019 in Darehshahr city located in Ilam province. The examined traits include spike length, spike number per plant, spike length, peduncle length, sub-peduncle axis, flag leaf length, flag leaf width, number of stem nodes, plant height, number of spikes per plant, number of seeds per spike, number of seeds per plant. plant, number of tillers, hundred seed weight, single plant seed weight and seed yield. Based on performance under stress (Yp) and normal (Ys), drought tolerance indices such as average productivity tolerance index, harmonic mean, geometric meanproductivity (GMP), stress sensitivity index, stress tolerance index, performance stability index (YSI) and Relative Stability Index (RSI) and Performance Index (YI) were calculated. The mean comparison test was performed using Duncan's method and using R software. Simple correlation (Pearson), decomposition into components, decomposition into factors were also performed between the tested traits. SAS 9.1 statistical software was used for statistical analysis of traits. 

The results of the analysis of variance in drought and normal stress conditions showed that there was a significant difference between genotypes in all traits at the probability level of 1%. The most important significant correlation coefficient in both conditions between seed yield was related to the seed weight of a single plant and the number of seeds per plant. Considering the high and significant correlation of grain yield under stress and non-stress conditions with drought tolerance indices, higher productivity indices, geometric mean productivity (GMP), geometric mean  and stress tolerance index  as the best indicators. were chosen. It seems that in order to evaluate stress tolerance, the selection of genotypes should be based on several indicators. Factor analysis at the drougth stress condition indicated that the two first factors expalined a total of 97. 57% of the variance. The first factor was called the performance stability factor and the second factor was named theStability Factor. The biplot diagram also showed that the genotypes of no. 13 and 47 were placed in the vicinity of the ranges related to drought resistance indices (STI, MP, GMP, and HM) and were introduced as superior genotypes. 

According to the data obtained from analysis of variance in both normal and drought stress conditions, the genotypes were significant in terms of all traits. The significance of the studied traits indicates the existence of diversity between genotypes in terms of the studied traits, and some of these traits can be used to evaluate stress tolerance. The best genotypes had the best averages for peduncle length of genotype 33, for the number of seeds per plant of genotype 5, for seed weight of a single plant and seed yield of genotype 1. The heat map shows the relationship between drought tolerance based on different yield and drought stress toleranceindices. Considering the high and significant correlation of grain yield under stress and non-stress conditions with drought tolerance indices, average productivity indices, GMP, geometric mean and stress tolerance index were selected as the best indices that are able to distinguish tolerant genotypes from other Screen the genotypes. The yield index (YI) had the highest correlation coefficient with grain yield under stress conditions. Based on biplot results, genotypes No. 13 and 47 were the most tolerant genotypes under drought stress conditions more than other genotypes and were introduced as superior genotypes.

 Yield under stress conditions has never been an accurate criterion for selecting drought-tolerant genotypes, and the goal of preparing drought-tolerant cultivars has always been to create cultivars that relatively tolerate stress better compared to other genotypes and in the same agricultural conditions, they show less yield loss. In most studies, only the seed yield is considered for the field selection of crops, while some researchers believe that in order to be more efficient in breeding compatible and superior cultivars in arid and semi-arid regions, the indicators that are effective in identifying the stability of cultivars under drought stress conditions should be identified and used them as selection index in addition to seed yield, therefore, the relative uield status of genotypes in drought stress conditions and water conditions is a starting point for identifying and selecting genotypes for improvement in dry environments. In semi-arid regions where the distribution of rainfall is not proportional, the yield potential in stress conditions is not considered the best criterion for drought tolerance, but in addition to yield stability, the comparison of yield in stress and optimal conditions is a more suitable criterion for the reaction of genotypes to moisture stress. Due to the fact that most of the studies related to indicators in crop species and especially wheat are done only in one place and one year and finally in a specific environment and the results are generalized to all environments and the variable effects of year and place are not taken into account in the calculation of indicators. In this regard, this research was carried out to evaluate the genotypes of autumn wheat in terms of drought tolerance, to select the best drought tolerance indices and to identify drought stress tolerant cultivars in different regions of the country's cold climate.

In this research project, 20 genotypes under normal irrigation and water deficit conditions in the form of randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications in the research stations of Karaj, Mashhad, Miandoab and Arak, in the crop years of 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 were investigated. In order to investigate the drought tolerance of the genotypes, different tolerance and stress sensitivity indices were determined for the genotypes under investigation and the genotypes were grouped based on the sensitivity and tolerance to drought by each of these indices. Principal component analyzing was also used in order to summarize the data and draw a diagram based on the first two components and identify the desired indicators. Finally, biplot analysis was used to group genotypes and indices based on drought tolerance criteria.

Stress decreased the Yield of genotypes, but the amount of reduction was different in different genotypes. The average grain yield for all genotypes under normal irrigation conditions and drought stress at the end of the season was 7.002 and 5.215 tons per hectare, respectively, which showed that the stress conditions caused a decrease of about 25% in grain yield compared to normal irrigation conditions. The environmental and agricultural conditions of different regions and the studied years caused differences in the estimated indices so that the ranking of genotypes changed based on different indices in different years and regions therefore, it is better to carry out studies on stress tolerance indices in several places and several years so that the process of functional changes of different cultivars and genotypes is correctly determined and as a result, there is more confidence in the calculated tolerance and sensitivity indices. Genotypes G4, G2, G16 and G5 showed higher yield in both conditions. STI, MP, GMP, MSTI1, MSTI2, YI, HM, and RR had a positive and significant correlation with grain yield under normal and stress conditions, and therefore, they can be used for more favorable selection of drought tolerant genotypes.  Principal component analysis showed that indicators can be grouped using the first two components. The first principal component explained 53.16% of the changes in the total data and had a positive and significant correlation with yield in normal and stress conditions as well as MP, STI, GMP, YI, MSTI1, MSTI2, HM and RDY indicators. Due to the high correlation of this component with yield under normal and stress conditions, this component was named as the yield potential component under normal and stress conditions. The second estimated component justified 42.33% of the total data changes and showed a positive and significant correlation with yield in normal conditions and SSI, TOL, ATI, SSPI and RR indices. It seems that this component is able to identify genotypes that have high yield under stress conditions. Biplot analysis showed that HM, MP, STI, MSTI1, MSTI2, GMP, RDY, YI, and SNPI indices had a positive and high correlation with performance under stress and normal conditions. So that the sharp angles between these indices showed their positive and very high correlation with each other. RDI and YSI indices had a negative correlation with performance in normal conditions and RR, SSI, TOL and SSPI indices had a negative correlation with performance in stressful conditions.

 In order to achieve varieties resistant to drought stress by using indices, in order to prevent the mutual effects of the environment in the genotype, the experiments should be carried out in many years and places so that the effects of the environment in the calculated indices can be reduced and more reasonable results can be obtained. Finally, G4, G2, G16, G5 and G17 genotypes can be selected as genotypes with high performance under normal and stress conditions.

Oat, as a dual-purpose cereal, has an important role to provide human food and animal feed and fodder regarding to its high amounts of beta-glucan, protein, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and valuable antioxidants. Oat breeding programs have been steadily decreasing compared to other cereals due to decrease in cultivated area. Therefore, identifying and studying sources of diversity in oats is critical and valuable regarding to release new cultivars with better quality and higher grain yield per unit area. Thus, this experiment was carried out with the aim of evaluating different genetic parameters and principal component analysis in order to determine the amount of genetic diversity in oat genotypes.

In this study, 361 oat genotypes of seven species belong to 50 countries from five continents which were received from Australian Grain Genebank (AGG) and kept in the genebank of the Campus of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Razi University were investigated. Estimation of the genetic parameters related to plant height, panicle length, days to 50% flowering, days to 50% physiological maturity, biological yield, grain yield, straw yield, harvest index, thousand seed weight, number of seeds per panicle and number of panicle per square meter of the genotypes were performed. This experiment was conducted in a simple square lattice design with two replications under normal irrigation condition, in two cropping years 2017-2019 in the research farm of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Campus, Razi University, Kermanshah.

Based on the results of the one-year variance analysis, there was a highly significant difference between genotypes regarding all the measured traits which indicates the presence of considerable genetic diversity between these genotypes. The results of mean comparison based on LSD method showed (NILE), (KENT), (LA PREVISION), (ZLATAK), SDO-185), OX87:080-2), (ACACIA), AND (DUNNART) genotypes had the highest grain yield for two years, while, Genotypes (LIGOWA), (NILE), (VENTURA), (YULAF), (NMO-712), (SDO-185), (VDO-931.1), (SLAVUGE), and (no.9278) had the highest mean for biomass in two cropping years. The results of the descriptive statistics showed the wide range of changes for the most of the investigated traits, as it was variable for grain yield from 56.30 to 789.81 g/m2 in the first year and from 39.59 to 627.28 g/m2 in the second year. Based on the results of correlation analysis, the most positive and significant phenotypic correlation was calculated between biological yield and straw yield in both years. The result of phenotypic and genotypic correlation also, showed a significant relationship between grain yield and all studied traits except plant height, panicle length, days to heading, and days to maturity in the first year. Also, it had a significant phenotypic correlation with all traits except plant height and straw yield in the second year. The traits of 1000- kernel weight, plant height, days to heading, and number of panicles per square meter had the highest genetic variance in both years. The range of general heritability in the first year was variable from 70.06 to 95.87%, respectively, for the traits of days to physiological maturity and 1000 seed weight, and in the second year, from 77.85 to 94.91% for biological yield and 1000 seed weight. Grain yield, biological yield, straw yield, number of panicles per square meter, and number of grains per panicle had a high percentage of heritability and genetic advance simultaneously. Based on the principal component analysis the first two main components explained 63.3 and 67.8 percent of the total changes in each year, respectively.

The results of variance analysis of the data obtained from this study indicated the existence of significant genetic diversity among the evaluated genotypes in terms of all measured traits, which can be attributed to the existence of different species with different geographical origins. Comparing the average data, genotypes 336, 349, 356 and 360 were introduced as the genotypes with the highest average grain yield in both years. Based on the results of Principal Component Analysis and Correlations Analysis, it can be found that the attributes of the number of panicles per square meter, the number of grains per panicle, 1000-kernel weight, and biological performance are very effective in breeding programs to achieve superior varieties. The genotypes NILE, LA PREVISION, OX87:080-2 and DUNNART were the superior genotypes in terms of the mentioned traits and grain yield. The estimation of genetic parameters showed that the selection based on the number of panicles per plot, the number of grains per panicle, and plant height plays a significant role in improving grain yield because of having a high broad heritability and significant genetic advance at the same time. According to the results of this study, it is possible to separate the superior genotypes in terms of grain yield and biological yield, and perform subsequent tests for grain and fodder genotypes, separately. Also, valuable traits for easier access to this important issue in subsequent oat improvement programs could be identified.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most important economic and widely used crops in horticulture. It is a self-fertilizing and diploid plant and has 24 pairs of chromosomes (2n=2x=24). The life cycle of this plant is one year, and it is cultivated in greenhouses and fields. There are many varieties of tomatoes that differ from each other in terms of plant growth, quality, fruit shape, and other traits. Tomato fruit has a high nutritional value, consisting of minerals, vitamins, fibers, citric acid, β-Carotene and ascorbic acid. Diversity and selection are the two main pillars of any reformation program, and choosing is based on the existence of desirable diversity in the reformation materials under discussion. To produce varieties of tomatoes with high productivity, quality and resistance, breeders need evaluation of genetic diversity, identification and introduction of new genotypes. In other words, systematic study and evaluation of germplasm is of great importance for current and future agronomic and genetic improvement of the crop. Different methods are used to estimate genetic diversity and group genotypes, and the evaluation of morphological and physiological characteristics can be considered as the first step in the investigation of genetic diversity. Different genotypes of tomato differ in terms of morphological and physiological traits, and fruit yield is influenced by some of these traits. Therefore, the selection of criteria other than fruit yield, which have more stability than fruit yield, can be considered as a selection guide in the selection of desirable cultivars. Accordingly, this study was conducted with the aim of investigating the genetic diversity and grouping of tomato genotypes (53 genotypes) based on morphological and physiological traits.

In the present study, 53 genotypes of tomato plants were investigated using a randomized complete block design with three replications under greenhouse conditions at the Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. After disinfecting and planting the seeds in the pot, sampling of the seedlings was performed. Morphological traits such as plant height, stem diameter, fresh and dry weight of the plant, number of side branches, number of leaves, root length, fresh and dry weight of the organ air, fresh and dry weight of roots, fruit number, fruit yield, and physiological traits including proline content, photosynthetic pigments (including chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoid), and total phenolic and flavonoid compounds were measured. Furthermore, the obtained data were subjected to variance analysis, mean comparison, correlation coefficient, factor analysis, and cluster analysis using suitable software.

After analyzing the data, the results of the evaluation of variance showed that the difference of the studied genotypes in terms of all traits except proline trait was significant at the probability level of 1%. Estimation of the correlation coefficients between the studied traits showed a significant correlation between most of the studied traits and fruit yield. Further, the results of the investigation into factors showed that 6 factors explained more than 77% of the total variance, so that the contribution of the first to sixth factors was 24, 18, 14, 9, 7, and 6% of the total changes, respectively. For better interpretation, larger factor coefficients for each factor were considered significant. Because the largest factor coefficients among the coefficients of each factor indicate the attribute or attribute that plays the greatest role in those factors, the factors were named accordingly. In this way, the first factor was named the fruit yield factor, the second the photosynthesis factor, the third the phenolic factor, the fourth the root weight factor, the fifth the proline factor, and the sixth the stem diameter factor. Based on the results of the cluster analysis, it was observed that the genotypes were significantly different in terms of the measured morphological and physiological traits and they were placed in 3 different groups, each of which had 30, 19, and 4 genotypes, respectively, and the genotypes in the group Third, in terms of studied traits, they were better to other groups.

In general, based on the analysis, the genotypes were significantly different in terms of the measured traits. This article shows that there is a suitable diversity among the studied genotypes and it is possible to select based on these characteristics among the studied genotypes and the selection can be effective in their improvement programs. By estimating the phenotypic correlation coefficients, it was found that the fruit yield trait had the most positive and significant correlation with the number of fruits and the amount of photosynthetic pigments. Therefore, these traits can be considered in tomato fruit yield genetic improvement programs. Considering that the average of most of the traits studied for the genotypes belonging to the third cluster (13, 15, 45 and 46) was higher than the total average and the said genotypes were excellent in terms of developmental and physiological parameters compared with other genotypes, the top genotypes identified in this research can be considered and used in future breeding studies in this valuable plant.

Lathyrus sativus L. is an annual plant from the legume family, used as a very valuable protein source for livestock and poultry, as well as for human nutrition. This genus has several useful agronomic characteristics such as high grain yield capacity and high protein content of its grains. Legumes produce economic performance in different environmental conditions and have a high potential for use in marginal areas with low rainfall. In fact, this has made it a popular crop in subsistence agriculture, especially in developing countries. The greatest importance of grass pea is related to the high resistance of this plant to harsh environmental conditions, such as drought, low soil fertility, and resistance to pests and plant diseases, which makes its production and cultivation economical. Salinity stress is an important abiotic stress that has harmful effects on plant performance and product quality and is a limiting factor for plant growth. Although salinity stress can occur in all growth stages of the plant, but considering that the initial establishment of the plant has a great impact on the final performance. Salinity stress in the seedling stage can be one of the most harmful stages for the plant. To improve the salinity tolerance in crops, genetic diversity between and within species can be used through selection and breeding. The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the response of early-maturing grass pea genotypes to different levels of salinity by evaluating some agronomic traits and identifying salinity-tolerant genotypes.

In order to evaluate the response of grass pea early maturing genotypes to salinity stress, 26 genotypes were studied as factorial experiment on based randomized complete block design with two replications at Research Farm of Plant Production and Genetics Department, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maragheh. The salinity treatments were applied to four levels (0, 40, 80, 120 mM) of NaCl and different seedling and agronomic traits such as shoot fresh weight, shoot dry weight, fruit fresh weight, fruit dry weight, number of grains, number of grains per pod, plant height, leaf angle to the stem, leaf length, leaf width, number of leaves, number of shoots, location of the first shoot from the soil surface, root length were evaluated. Also, during the experiment, the date of flowering, the date of pod formation, the date of pod filling and the date of grain maturity were also recorded for each pot. Before data analysis, the assumptions of data variance analysis were checked with tests of normality and homogeneity of variances, and mean comparisons were made using Duncan's method at the 1% probability level. For the grouping of genotypes, cluster analysis was done by Ward's method and Euclidean distance measure using standardized variables. In order to determine the contribution of each trait in the total variation, reduce the amount of data and better interpret the relationships, principal components was used.

The difference between genotypes and salinity levels was significant in most seedling traits and with increasing salinity, the dry forage yield was decreased. Genotypes 19, 14, 13, 21, 10, 7, 25, 15, 24 and 12 were the best genotypes in terms of dry forage yield in seedling stage. Also, in the agronomic traits, differences between genotypes and salinity levels were significant in most traits. In general, the yield attribute decreased with increasing salinity. In cluster analysis with Ward’s alghorithm, the genotypes were divided into three clusters. The first cluster with the genotypes 8, 23, 11, 21, 7, 20, 2, 22, 3, 10 and 26 had the best genotypes for yield improvement. In principal component analysis, the first four principal components explainaed 82.08% of total variation. Based on the results, the first component could be identified as a component of biological yield and the second component as a forage yield. Thus traits of shoot length, root length, seedling length and the ratio of shoot length to root length were significant for the effect of genotype, salinity and the interaction of genotype × salinity at the probability level of 1%. The traits shoot dry weight, root dry weight and seedling dry weight had a significant effect of salinity at the probability level of 1%, and the trait of the ratio of shoot dry weight to root dry weight had not significant difference for any of the effects. Genotypes 19, 14, 13, 21, 10, 7, 25, 15, 24, and 12 were the best genotypes in terms of dry forage yield in seedling stage. In field traits, the difference between genotypes and salinity levels was also significant in most of the traits. In cluster analysis by Ward's method, the genotypes were divided into three clusters. The first cluster with genotypes 8, 23, 11, 21, 7, 20, 2, 22, 3, 10 and 26 had the best genotypes for yield improvement. In principal components analysis, the first three main components explained 82.08% of the total variation. The first component accounted for 38.31%, the second component for 25.31% and the third component for 19.74% of the total variation. Based on the obtained results, the first component can be named as the biological yield component and the second component as the forage yield.

The difference between genotypes and salinity levels was significant in most seedling traits, and dry forage yield decreased with increasing salinity. Thus, the characteristics of shoot length, root length, seedling length, and the ratio of shoot length to root length were significant for the effect of genotype, salinity, and the interaction of genotype in salinity at the probability level of 1%. The traits dry weight of shoot, dry weight of rhizome and dry weight of seedling had a significant effect of salinity at the probability level of 1%, and the trait of the ratio of dry weight of shoot to root had no significant difference for any of the effects. The results of seedling stage showed that genotypes 2, 6, 10, 13 and 26 (local) had high yield and genotypes 1, 3 and 5 had the lowest forage yield. The field results showed with the increase of salinity levels, a decrease in yield was observed.

Generally, with increasing salinity, forage yield decreased. The genotypes 10, 20, 22 and 23 the most tolerant genotypes and genotypes 16, 17, and 18 were identified as the most sensitive genotypes.

Oilseed rape is one of the most important sources of vegetable oil in the world, and its seed contains more than 40% of oil, and the meal obtained from oil extraction has more than 35% of protein, and currently it ranks third among oil plants after soybean and oil palm. in the world. The existance of environmental stresses, such as drought stress, causes a significant decrease in oilseed rape yields. Therefore, breeding for drought tolerance is very important, and creating high yielding and early maturing or drought tolerant cultivars is one of the important goals of breeders. The purpose of this study was to determine the best general and specific combiners and the amount of heterosis compared to the superior parent in spring rapeseed using line×tester analysis in two conditions of normal irrigation and drought stress.

Seven high-yielding rapeseed lines were crossed with five testers with a range of early maturity in the 2018-2019. The first generation hybrids along with 12 parents (47 genotypes in total) were evaluated in the randomized complete block design with three replications in two conditions of normal irrigation and terminal drought stress (irrigation cut off at the beginning of podding stage) in the 2019-2020. The studied traits included physiological maturity date, plant height, number of pods per plant, pod length, number of grains per pod, height of the first pod from the ground, 1000-grain weight, seed yield, oil percentage and oil yield.

The results of analysis of variance in both normal irrigation and drought stress conditions showed a significant difference between hybrids for all investigated traits, which indicated a significant diversity between genotypes. In analyzing the effect of hybrids into the relevant components, the interaction effect of line × tester was significant for all the traits under normal irrigation conditions and also under drought stress conditions except for the height of the first pod from the ground, and oil yield. The effect of parents versus hybrids was significant in normal for all traits except the number of seeds per pod under normal irrigation conditions and except for plant height, pod length and number of seeds per pod in drought stress conditions, which indicates the existence of heterosis for these traits. For the trait of physiological maturing, among the lines, line 6 showed the highest negative general combining ability under normal irrigation and drought stress conditions, and tester 5 showed the highest negative general combining ability among the testers under normal irrigation and drought stress conditions. Tester 5 was contributed in early maturing T5×L3 hybrid under drought stress conditions. L1 and L5 in both conditions and T2, and L3 and L4 in normal irrigation conditions and T1 in drought stress conditions were identified as the best general positive and significant combiner for the number of pods per plant, and hybrids T5×L1, T1× L5, T2×L4, T4×L4, T1×L7, T1×L6, T2×L7, T3×L2, T5×L7, and T4×L3 were the best specific combiner to increase the number of pods per plant in both experiment conditions. T4 was the most significant positive general combiner under normal irrigation conditions and drought stress for the 1000-grain trait. Also, regarding the positive significant specific combining ability for this trait hybrids T2×L7, T3×L7 in both conditions, and in addition hybrids T1×L7 and T5×L4 under normal irrigation conditions and hybrids T1×L6 and T3×L5 under drought stress conditions showed the highest amount. The most significant positive general combining ability in grain yield was determined to T5 and L1 and L6 in both conditions. The best significant positive specific combining ability were T2×L7 and T3×L7 in both conditions. The highest positive and significant amount of general combining ability of the amount of oil, was given to T3 and T5 and L6 in both experimet conditions, and T4 and L7 in normal irrigation conditions and L5 in drought stress conditions. T1×L6, T5×L1, T2×L5, T3×L1, T5×L3 and T4×L4 were among the best hybrids in both conditions. In normal irrigation conditions, T2×L3, T4×L3, T5×L1, T4×L6, and T5×L3 and in drought stress, T5×L1, T2×L3, T2×L4, T4×L4, T4×L3, T4×L5 and T2×L7 had the highest amount of heterosis in the positive direction for the number of pods per plant. The trait of the number of grain per pods, T2×L3, T4×L3, T5×L1, and T2×L5 under normal irrigation conditions and T5×L6, T3×L6, and T5×L3 under drought stress condition had the highest amount of heterosis.

The estimation of traits' combining ability showed that T5 and L1 and L6 were the best general combiners to increase grain yield. T3×L7 and T2×L7 hybrids were the best specific combiner for increasing grain yield under normal irrigation and drought stress conditions. Also for the 1000-seed trait, T3×L6, T4×L1, T5×L4 and T1×L1 hybrids under normal irrigation conditions and T3×L7, T1×L6, T2×L6 and T3×L3 hybrids under drought stress conditions have the highest amount of heterosis. The number of pods per plant and the number of grain per pods under normal irrigation conditions, T2×L3, T4×L3 and T5×L1 had significant positive heterosisTherefore, their parents can be suggested for hybrid varieties production programs.

The evaluation of the genotype × environment interaction effect provides valuable information regarding the yield of plant cultivars in different environments and plays an important role in evaluating the stability of the yield of breeding cultivars. Genotype × environment interaction effect, especially in stressful environments, are important limiting factors in the introduction of new cultivars; therefore, it is very important to know the type and nature of the interaction effect and reach the verities that have the least role in creating interaction effects. Various methods have been introduced to evaluate the interaction effect, each of which examines the nature of the interaction effect from a specific point of view. The results of different methods may not be the same, but the best result is obtained when a genotype with different evaluation methods shows similar results in terms of stability. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the genotype × environment interaction effect in experiments conducted in different environments, to determine the relationships between genotypes and environments and to introduce the most stable red bean genotypes.

In this research, 14 red bean lines along with Yakut, Ofog and Dadfar control cultivars were cultivated in the form of a randomized complete block design with three replications in Khomein, Borujerd, Shahrekord and Zanjan research stations for 2 crop years under the same conditions. After combined variance analysis, according to the significance of genotype × environment interaction, AMMI and GGE-Biplot analysis methods were used to determine the compatibility and stability of genotypes. After AMMI Analysis, the stability parameters of AMMI were calculated. In addition to the AMMI stability parameters, the simultaneous selection index was also calculated for each of the indices, which was the sum of the rank of the genotypes based on each of the AMMI stability indices and the average seed yield rank of the genotypes in all environments.

The significance of the double and triple interaction effects of genotype with year and place (environment) in this study showed that genotypes showed different responses in different environments, and in other words, the difference between genotypes is not the same from one environment to another, and in these conditions, the stability of grain yield can be evaluated. The contribution of about 2.5 times the interaction effect of genotype × environment from the total sum of squares, compared to the effect of genotype, indicated the possibility of the existence of mega-environmental groups in which some genotypes show their maximum performance potential in those environmental groups. Genotypes G12, G5 and G17 had the highest seed yield among the genotypes with yields of 3288, 3136 and 3111 kg per hectare, respectively. AMMI analysis showed that the first to seventh main components were significant at the 1% probability level, and despite the significance of all model components, the first and second main components had the largest contribution to the expression of genotype × environment interaction (66.5%). Based on AMMI1 biplot Genotypes G4, G5, G16, G17 and G12 had the highest values (positive and negative) of IPCA1. In contrast, genotypes G8, G3, G2, G7 and G11 had IPCA1 values close to zero. However, only the genotype G11 showed a performance higher than the average total yield and therefore it can be introduced as a stable genotype with high general compatibility. Based on AMMI2 biplot, genotypes G2, G7, G3 and to some extent G8 and G13 were introduced as stable genotypes, but only G13 genotype had a higher yield in all environments, so this genotype can be introduced as a stable genotype with good yield.; also, every two years, the same place under investigation had a high correlation with each other, so that Bro1 and Bro2 environments on the one hand and Kho1 and Kho2 environments and finally Zan1 and Zan2 showed a high positive correlation (the same effect) to create a mutual effect. In total of the simultaneous selection indices calculated based on AMMI analysis, genotypes G11, G17, G7, G13 and G12 were introduced as stable genotypes with high yield. GGE-Biplot analysis based on average yield and stability showed that genotypes G1, G2, G3, G8 and G7 had the highest general stability compared to other genotypes despite having the lowest yield. On the other hand, G12, G5 and G17 genotypes had the highest yield with less stability. No ideal environment was observed. But Kho1, Kho2 and Sha1 environments are closer to the ideal environment than other environments and they can be used to distinguish the studied genotypes to some extent. On the other hand, G12 genotype can be considered as a desirable genotype that has high average yield and high yield stability. In the same way, G17, G5 and G11 genotypes were in the next stage compared to the ideal genotype and to some extent they can also be considered as desirable genotypes.

According to all the results, G12 genotype can be considered as a desirable genotype that has a high average yield and also has yield stability, and G17, G5 and G11 genotypes were in the next stage.

Lentil (Lens Culinaris Medik.) belongs to cool season pulses. It is annual, self pollinated and diploid crop and its seed is rich in protein. Lentil, such as other legumes that are in symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria plays an important role in reducing fertilizer consumption and increasing the productivity of other crops that are in rotation with lentil. Success in breeding programs depends on genetic diversity, heritability and selection. Investigating the genetic diversity is the basis of breeding and releasing high-yielding cultivars with high quantitative and qualitative characteristics and capacities. Therefore, the evaluation of genetic diversity in crops is essential for breeding programs and the protection of genetic resources. For this purpose, it is necessary to collect plant germplasm to be evaluated as a base population, and genotypes with yield potential and other desirable traits are identified and exploited. Due to the low yield potential of the exsistance cultivars, investigating the genetic diversity among native lentil lines and comparing them with control cultivars could assiste the breeder in selecting superior lines in terms of yield potential and agromorphological triats.

To select and introduce new cultivars, native lentil lines collected from the target areas in Zanjan province were evaluated in the two cropping years of 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 in the experimental farm of Zanjan University's Faculty of Agriculture. In both years of the experiment, improved cultivars such as Kimia, Sabz Koohin, Gachsaran, Maragheh and Bilehsavar were used as control cultivars. The first year, the experiment was conducted in the augmented design based on randomized complete bloke design with 200 lines. Each experimental unit consisted of one metere row. The distance between the rows was 25 cm, the distance on the rows was 5 cm, and the planting depth was 5 cm. At the beginning and end of each block, two rows of Sabz Koohin were planted as borders. The second year, Due to echeaving enough seeds from the first year, the experiment was carried out in square lattice design with tow replications and larger experimental units for the selected lines from the first year. Each experimental unit consisted of two one-meter rows. The distance between the rows, the distance on the rows and the planting depth were similar to the first year experiment. At the beginning and end of each incomplete blocks, two rows of Sabz Koohin were planted as borders.

In the first year, the results of analysis of variance</strong> showed that there is significant difference among lentil lines in terms of canopy temperature difference, podding period, number of seed per plant, seed yield per plant, harvest index per plant, number of seed per area, seed yield per area and 1000-seed weight at 0.01and 0.05 level. in this year, canopy temperature difference, podding period, first branch height, number of pod per plant, number of vacant pod per plant, number of seed per plant, seed yield per plant, harvest index per plant, number of seed per area, seed yield per area and 1000-seed weight had high value of genetic variation coefficient, heritability and genetic advance. lines 14, 68 and 165 were the superior lines in terms of phonological traits. The height of the plant and the height of the first pod in lines 85, 92, 193 and 195 were higher than other lines. Lines 32, 90 and 156 had the highest number of full pods. Lines 122, 163, 165 and 200 had the highest seed yield per plant. The 1000- seed weight in lines 163, 166, 171 and 174 was higher in compared with other lines. The highest seed yield was observed in lines 23, 150, 192 and 200. Finaly, based on the results of comparison of mean with superior control cultivar for each trait by LSD method and considering the degree of importance of traits, the 95 superior lentil lines from 200 examined lines were selected. In the second year, the results of analysis of variance</strong> indicated a significant variation among lentil lines in terms of all studied traits except for the first branch height at 0.01 and 0.05 levels. The canopy temperature difference, number of vacant pods per plant and number of seed per plant had high value of genetic variation coefficient. High heritability was observed in the days to 50% flowering, flowering period, days to 50% podding, days to 50% physiological maturity, seed filling period and straw yield per plant. The canopy temperature difference, flowering period, first pod height, number of vacant pod per plant, seed yield per plant, biomass per plant and straw yield per plant had high genetic advance. lines 150, 155, 173 and 176 were the superior lines in terms of phonological traits. The highest plant height and the highest height of the first pod was observed in lines 146 and 180 and lines 12, 47 and 130 respectively. Lines 1, 131 and 176 had the highest number of full pods. In terms of yield and yield components per plant, lines 1, 131 and 176 had the highest number of seeds and seed yield. The 1000- seed weight in lines 23, 52, 163 and 178 was higher in compared with other lines. In terms of yield and yield components, lines 55, 69, 86, and 176 were recognized as the superior lines. Finally, based on the results of comparison of mean lines with superior control cultivar for each trait by LSD method and considering the degree of importance of traits, the 44 superior lentil lines from 100 examined lines were selected.  <span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">

The evaluated lines were significantly different from each other in terms of most traits. High heritability was observed in the days to 50% flowering, flowering period, days to 50% podding, days to 50% physiological maturatry, seed filling period and straw yield per plant. Comparing to the control cultivars, the evaluated lines had a higher mean in most of the studied traits. Therefor by selecting superior lines in terms of yield potential and agromorphological traits this genetic potential can be used to create superior population and introduce high yield cultivars. 

Maize (Zea mays L.) is the third most important cereal after wheat and rice, which accounts for 26% of total cereal cultivated area and 37% of their production. Maize is a valuable raw material for extracting oil, starch, alcohol, glucose, plastic, lactic acid, acetic acid, acetone and paint, and it is possible to made paper, cardboard, and nitrocellulose from its stalks. As an important nutrient, phosphorus plays important role in energy transfer, photosynthetic oxidation-reduction reactions, as well as in biochemical compounds including nucleic acids, structural proteins, enzymes, and signal transmission. Due to the predominance of calcareous soils with high pH in arid and semi-arid agricultural climates, the amount of available phosphorus is limited. In order to increase available phosphorus for plants, large amounts of phosphorus chemical fertilizers are needed regularly. However, a large amount of phosphorus in fertilizers may be converted to insoluble phosphate, immediately by reaction with calcium in the soil after its application. On the other hand, indiscriminate use of phosphorus chemical fertilizers leads to many environmental problems such as surface runoff of phosphorus, eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems, reduction of biodiversity and abnormal changes in soil salt concentration and pH. Breeding cultivars that absorb phosphate or phosphorus more efficiently is one of the solutions to deal with the stress of phosphorus deficiency as a trait with low heredity. The use of selection indices can be an effective method for the indirect selection of traits with complex genetics.

93 maize genotypes prepared from different research centers were evaluated in terms of agro-morphological traits under normal and phosphorus deficit conditions using completely randomized design with three replications in the crop year 2016-2017 in an open area conditions. For this purpose, after analyzing the soil of different regions, soil with low phosphorus content (7.240 mg/kg) was selected and the pots (15 kg) were filled with soil and sand in a ratio of two to one. Usable soil phosphorus was determined by the Olsen method in the soil science laboratory of Urmia University. In both optimal and phosphorus deficit conditions, soil was strengthened with nitrogen fertilizers (in the amount of 9 g/pot (during three stages during the growth period)), potassium sulfate (in the amount of 13.5 g/pot), Sequestrin (1.5 g /pot), manganese sulfate (0.225 g/pot), zinc sulfate (0.99 g/pot), copper sulfate (0.3 g/pot) and boric acid (0.21 g/pot). In optimal conditions, phosphorus fertilizer in the form of triple superphosphate was added to each pot in the amount of 6 g/pot. Phosphorous fertilizer was not added to the soil in the phosphorus deficit conditions. With the beginning of the tasseling stage, various agro-morphological and chemical traits were measured. In the physiological maturity stage, the ears relating to each replication were separated from the plants. Seed yield per plant was determined by separating the seeds on the ears of each plant and weighing it. In order to select the desired genotypes, four selection indexes including Smith-Hazel, Pesek-Baker, Brim and Robinson indices were calculated. In this study, the same weight was considered for the attributes, which is done in this way in most studies. To select the best selection index, different criteria, including the genetic gain of traits (∆G), expected gain (∆H) and relative efficiency of selection index (RE) were calculated.

According to analysis of variance results, the effect of genotype and stress was significant on all studied traits at the probability level of 1%. Also, the interaction effect of genotype × stress was significant on all studied traits except for flag leaf length (FLL), flag leaf width (FLW), number of leaves (NL), plant height (PH), stem diameter (SD), ear length (EL), number of rows per ear (RpE), number of grain per row (GpR), ear diameter (ED) and 100 seeds weight (HGW). In the normal conditions (without stress) in the Smith-Hazel index (optimal index), the highest coefficient (7.21 and 3.98,) was observed in FLW and ear length (EL) traits, respectively, and the lowest ones (-3.03) was observed in RpE trait. In the phosphorus deficit conditions, the highest coefficient (3.91) was observed in EL and the lowest ones (-5.35) was observed in RpE trait. In the Pesak-Baker index, under normal conditions, the highest coefficient (5.64) was observed in GpR trait and the lowest ones (-9.28) was observed in EL. In phosphorus deficit conditions, the highest coefficient (8.49) was seen in FLW trait, followed by EL (4.53) and the lowest ones (-2.17) was observed in RpE. The highest coefficient in Robinson's index under normal conditions was 2.21 for LW, which was -5.91 for that under phosphorus deficit conditions. In this index, the lowest coefficient was seen in RpE (-0.92). In Robinson's index, under phosphorus deficit conditions, the highest coefficient (1.46) was seen in EL, and the lowest ones (-5.92) was seen in FLW, followed by RpE with a value of -2.13. The Smith-Hazel index with expected gain (∆H) value of 296.306 and 229.374, and relative efficiency of (RE) of 1.0011 and 1.0839 and the Brim with expected gain (∆H) value of 296.217 and 233.083, and relative efficiency of selection index (RE) of 0.9995 and 1.0836, in normal and phosphorus deficit conditions, respectively, were the best indices. Under both normal and phosphorus deficit conditions, biomass yield, seed yield, and plant height had the highest coefficients for these indices. Based on both indices, genotype with cod number 7 and the genotype with cod number 10 are introduced as superior genotypes under normal and phosphorus deficient conditions, respectively.

In general, the results of present investigation showed that in both normal and phosphorus deficit conditions, selection based on the Smith-Hazel and Brim indices will increase the biomass yield, seed yield and plant height due to their highest relative efficiency and expected gain. The selected genotypes after validation at the molecular level with different technologies, such as studying the expression of genes involved in tolerance to phosphorus deficit conditions using Real time PCR, can be used in the production of hybrid varieties as a way to reduce the use of phosphorus fertilizers.

The genetic diversity of plant species and their relationship with wild species is very important to improve the yield of crops..The first step in the improvement of medicinal plants is to identify and collect endemic genotypes.Endemic genotypes are very important in the selection of cultivars due to their adaptability to the climate of the region. Mentha longifolia is one of the important endemic medicinal plants of Iran, which is used in various pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries. Essential oil, phenolic compounds, flavonoids and other compounds such as steroids and ceramides are important chemical compounds in oregano plant. In this study, morphological diversity, essential oil and antioxidant activity of 20 Mentha longifolia genotypes in West and East Azerbaijan provinces were investigated. The aim of this research, on the one hand, is to know the potential and range of diversity of Menta longifolia genotypes in its natural habitats in West Azarbaijan and East Azarbaijan provinces. On the other hand, the introduction of regions with superior genotypes in terms of these traits is for use in breeding programs.

The collection of plant samples from some areas of two northwestern provinces of Iran (West Azerbaijan and East Azerbaijan) was done in the spring of 2022. In order to evaluate the morphological traits of the plant in the flowering season, 11 quantitative traits of the plant including plant height, inflorescence length, crown diameterstem diameter, internode length, leaf length, leaf width, number of leaves, number of inflorescences, fresh weight, dry weight and the number of sub-branches were evaluated. After drying the plant samples, essential oil extraction was done using a clonger, and the essential oil samples were transferred to Urmia University Jihad to identify compounds by gas chromatography. Extraction of plant samples was done by ultrasonic method .Antioxidant activity was evaluated by DPPH method. All the obtained data were analyzed with three repetitions and based on a completely random design using SPSS software .LSD test was used to compare the mean data. Data clustering was done based on Ward's method and Euclidean distance square measure. Principal component analysis was performed on the data .Also, in this study, correlation between studied traits was done by R software.

The results of analysis of variance showed that the genotypes collected from different regions have significant differences in terms of plant height, inflorescence length, crown diameterstem diameter, internode length, leaf length, leaf width, number of leaves, number of inflorescences, fresh weight, dry weight and the number of sub-branches are investigated (P < 0.01). The results of the analysis of the percentage and chemical composition of the essential oil showed that the type of genotype had a significant effect on the amount of these compounds in different genotypes of Mentha longifolia (P < 0.01). Among the studied genotypes, the highest percentage of essential oil and the amount of Trans-Caryophyllene and Germacrene D compounds were found in G18 of Iranq region of Tabriz, also the highest amount of Alpha-Terpineol and Spathulenol was found in G16 of Aghajari region of Maragheh. Also, there was a significant difference between different genotypes of mint in terms of antioxidant activity. The maximum amount of antioxidant activity (80.81%) was observed in G3 of Hachesu area in Shahindej. Based on Ward's cluster analysis, the genotypes were divided into three main groups. G1 alone was placed in a separate group due to the high content of Spathulenol and high antioxidant activity. The second group, which includes most of the genotypes (G2, G3, G5, G16, G19, G17, G20, G12, G14, G4, G6, G8, G11, G13, G9, G7 and G10), has a moderate amount of morphological traits, essential oil components and antioxidant activity. G15 and G18 genotypes were placed in the third group. The prominent features of these genotypes were high values of length and number of inflorescences, length and width of leaves, number of leaves, fresh and dry weight of the plant, number of sub-branches, percentage of essential oil, alpha-Humulene, trans-Caryophyllene and GermacreneD and antioxidant activity.Using principal component analysis, 21 primary variables were determined in the form of two principal components.The first component explained 40% and the second component 19% of the total variance. The results of correlation analysis showed that there was a positive and significant correlation between the percentage of essential oil and some morphological traits, the percentage of essential oil and the amount of Germacrene D, trans-Caryophyllene, beta-Farnesene and isomenthon, as well as antioxidant activity and morphological traits.

The findings of this study showed that G15 belonging to Maragheh with an altitude of 1776 m had the highest number of leaves, length and width of leaves, fresh weight, dry weight and number of sub-branches, internode length and number of inflorescences compared to other genotypes.Therefore, it can be said that this genotype has priority for breeding, domestication and crop cultivation projects and is suitable for its introduction to the market as a medicinal plant.In addition, the results showed that the highest percentage of essential oil and the amount of compounds such as Germacrene D, Trans-Caryophyllene, Spathulenol, Beta-Farnesene, Alpha-Terpineol were obtained in genotypes with high altitudes.

Black rust is one of the important fungal diseases that widely affects the quantity and quality of wheat in many regions of the world. The damages caused by black rust disease can be more than other pathogens in wheat and its importance is such that millions of hectares of healthy fields with high production potential can be destroyed in less time. Destroy it completely in one month. Resistance is one of the genetic characteristics of the host that plant breeders use to produce cultivars. Lines that are recognized as resistant in a survey can be used as a source of resistance in another breeding program. Genetic resistance reduces or eliminates the consumption of chemical poisons, and as a result, it is considered as the most economical and healthiest method of combating plant diseases. Accordingly, in order to statistically investigate some physiological markers related to resistance to black rust disease, 24 bread wheat genotypes including 8 cultivars and 16 promising lines were studied. In this study, two varieties MV-17 (disease-resistant variety) and Morocco (disease-susceptible variety) were selected as controls in this study due to their different behavior in resistance to wheat black rust.

Material and Methods: 

This experiment was carried out in 2019 in the greenhouse of the Research Institute of Plant Breeding and Seed Preparation under the conditions of infection and non- infection with the native race TKTTF of wheat black rust disease and in the form of a randomized complete block design with four replications. Physiological traits including relative leaf water content (RWC), cell membrane stability (MP), electrical conductivity (EC), chlorophyll content (SPAD) and chlorophyll fluorescence were measured and recorded.

At the probability level of 1%, a significant difference between genotypes was observed and the interaction effect of disease x genotype was significant for all traits, which indicates the non-homogeneous difference of genotypes for the studied traits in two conditions of infection and non- infection. Also, for all measured traits, there was a significant difference between two different levels of disease infection, which shows the effect of the black rust pathogen on the relative content of leaves, membrane permeability, electrical conductivity, chlorophyll concentration, primary fluorescence, fluorescence It has maximum, variable fluorescence and photochemical efficiency of photosystem II. The results showed that pathogen contamination increases the relative water content, chlorophyll concentration, membrane permeability, initial fluorescence, maximum fluorescence, variable fluorescence, photochemical efficiency of photosystem II and decrease in electrical conductivity. Based on all studied physiological traits of genotypes MV-17, C-98-17, C-98-11, C-98-5, C-98-12, C-98-18, C-98- 16, C-98-3 and CD-94-9 were identified as the genotypes that showed more resistance to the disease agent. There was a high correlation between initial fluorescence, maximum fluorescence, variable fluorescence, photochemical efficiency of photosystem II, membrane permeability and electrical conductivity in response to stem rust. Based on Ward's cluster analysis and detection function analysis, the genotypes were divided into four separate groups in the conditions of infection and non-infection with black rust. They were placed in a group. While, in the condition of no disease contamination, 6, 9, 4 and 5 genotypes were clustered in four separate groups, respectively.

This study showed the effect of East Azerbaijan stem rust TKTTF race on the physiological traits of winter cultivars and lines of wheat. This race caused changes in the studied physiological traits in both experimental conditions, from this output it can be concluded that the resistant lines are more resistant to the disease than the commercial variety and are recommended as selected lines in breeding programs should be used. It is worth mentioning that according to the results of the grouping of genotypes and also the placement of valuable genotypes in terms of relative water content traits, membrane permeability index, chlorophyll content, initial fluorescence, maximum fluorescence, variable fluorescence, and photochemical efficiency. Photosystem II and electrical conductivity in the first and second groups in the conditions of disease infection and non- infection, it was concluded that the results of cluster analysis had a good relationship with the results of variance analysis and comparing the average of the studied traits. The results showed that the physiological traits measured in response to black rust disease have diversity. Therefore, possible genotypes with resistance to this pathogen can be identified by using the changes of these traits. Also, considering the relationship between the results obtained from the evaluation of physiological and pathological traits, the possibility of using physiological traits as indicators related to resistance to wheat black rust disease was benefited. In other words, the physiological indicators used were able to detect the existence of diversity and response to resistance to black rust disease and they can be used as physiological indicators related to resistance to black rust disease of wheat. Examining different traits in different environmental conditions has shown that the way the genotypes act and respond to the pathogen changes with the change of environmental conditions. For this purpose, these studies should be carried out in several years and in different environments. It is also recommended to carry out the above test using agricultural traits at the stage of the sorghum plant as well as biochemical traits related to the disease.

Salinity stress is one of the most important limitations of rice cultivation worldwide. On the other hand, the use of physical and chemical mutagens can be very important not only to the development and combination of new genes or alleles with agricultural importance but also to introduce genotypes more adaptable and stable to adverse weather and soil conditions. For this reason, with the development and progress of rice varieties that are tolerant and adapted to salinity, it is possible to increase the sustainable production of this stable food. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the response of the tenth generation (M10) of rice mutants to salinity stress in the reproductive stage using agronomic and biochemical characteristics.

In this research, 13 mutant lines of Seng-e-Tarem, Hashemi and Khazar cultivars using gamma ray irradiation from Cobalt 60 which have been previously identified as tolerant lines in molecular studies were used along with the tolerant cultivars of Nonabukra and Deylamani and sensitive cultivars of IR29 and Sepidrood. The genotypes were exposed to three levels of salinity (0, 4 and 8 dS/m) from the source of sodium chloride. A factorial experiment based a randomized complete block design (RCBD) and a factorial split based a RCBD with three replicates were used to evaluate agronomic traits along with yield and biochemical traits, respectively. The measured parameters were tillers number (TN), the number of filled (NFG) and unfilled grains (NUG), 1000 grains weight (TGW), plant height (PH), Days to 50% of flowering (DTF) and the paddy yield (PY), and for the biochemical traits, the activity of catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), protein (PN), proline (PR) and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents and electrolyte leakage (EL) percentage.

The results of the variance analysis showed that the effect of salinity and genotype and their interactions were significant for all the measured traits. A wide range of genetic diversity was observed among the genotypes for the agronomic and biochemical traits. Among the traits, PY was identified as the best and the most indicative trait to classify the tolerant genotype under salt stress conditions. Among the investigated mutants at different levels of salinity, the highest PY was recorded in MP6, MP10 and Deylamani genotypes, respectively. PY value in MP10 mutant at the salinity level of 8 dS/m was closed to Deylamani variety (tolerant check). With the increase of salinity from zero to 8 dS/m, the measured traits adversely affected. The cluster analysis diagram of studied genotypes based on agronomic traits and PY at a salinity level of 4 dS/m classified the genotypes into three separate groups. The genotypes MP2, MP3, MP4, MP9, and MP10 were grouped in the second group, in which Deylamani cultivar was also present as a tolerant check. The cluster analysis diagram of agronomic traits and PY at the salinity stress level of 8 dS/m divided the genotypes into four different groups. In the third group, two genotypes of MP9 and MP10 were included with Tarem Deylamani variety (tolerant check). The correlation coefficient between agronomic traits in 8 dS/m of salt conditions showed that PY had a positive and significant correlation with PH (r=0.51), the NFG (r=0.88) and TGW (r=0.63). Also, there is a negative correlation between DTF with PH (r=-0.70) and NFG (r=-0.62) and a positive and significant correlation with TN (r=0.60). Biplot analysis divided the studied lines into four groups based on agronomic traits at a salinity level of 4 dS/m. The first group includes six mutant lines as very sensitive group, the second group includes two mutant lines as sensitive group, the third group with three genotypes including lines MP9, MP10 and Tarem Deylamani variety (tolerant check) as tolerant group and the fourth group with six genotypes included lines MP11, MP12, MP13 and Nonabukra variety (international tolerant check) as well as Sepidrood and IR29 varieties as high salt tolerant group. Also, biplot analysis based on agronomic traits at a salinity level of 8 dS/m divided the studied lines into four groups. The first group consisted three mutant lines as very sensitive group, the second group included six lines as sensitive group, the third group involved five genotypes including MP11 and MP13 lines and Nonabukra varieties (tolerant check), Sepidrood and IR29 as the tolerant group and the fourth group with three genotypes included MP9 and MP10 lines and Tarem Deylamani variety (native tolerant check) as high salt tolerant group. For biochemical traits at 8 dS/m of salt stress, the highest amount of SOD was recorded in Deylamani cultivar (tolerant check), PN for MP2 mutant, PR for MP3 mutant, and the lowest amount of EL and MDA was recorded for MP2 and MP10 mutants, respectively.

In general, PY of MP10 mutant line in salt stress conditions was closed to Deylamani as a native salt tolerant cultivar, therefore could be introduced as a superior line for further research in saline conditions.