Research paper
Mousa Arshad; Masoud Haghshenas
Abstract
Fruit ripening involves marked physiological and biochemical changes that affect fruit color, taste, aroma, texture, and nutritional value. A significant amount of research has shown that chitosan interacts with other postharvest treatments, which can enhance the impact of the chitosan coating. This ...
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Fruit ripening involves marked physiological and biochemical changes that affect fruit color, taste, aroma, texture, and nutritional value. A significant amount of research has shown that chitosan interacts with other postharvest treatments, which can enhance the impact of the chitosan coating. This study considered the effects of chitosan coating and melatonin on banana shelf-life and fruit quality at the green mature stage. The studied variables had three levels of melatonin 0, 75, and 150 mg L-1, two levels of chitosan coating 0, 0.25, and 0.5%, and three storage durations 3, 6, and 9 days. Fruits were harvested at the green mature stage and stored at 25 °C and 80% RH for 9 days. The results showed that melatonin and chitosan coating interacted and significantly affected green mature banana quality and shelf-life during the storage time. Chitosan and melatonin interaction delayed the decrease in chlorophyll and the increase in carotenoids, fruit maturity, and color change. Our results showed that on the ninth day of storage under chitosan (0.5%) treatment along with melatonin at a concentration of 150 mg L-1, the total chlorophyll content became 3.89% lower than that under control conditions. The level of antioxidant enzyme activity in the treated samples after 3, 6, and 9 days of storage was more than in the control sample. The results showed that chitosan (0.5%) and melatonin (150 mg L-1) successfully increased the shelf life of banana fruits.
Research paper
Nibras Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar; Azizolah Khandan-Mirkohi; Seyed Alireza salami; Hossein saremi; Samira Shahbazi
Abstract
The biocontrol ability of two strains of Trichoderma fungi on infected Freesia corm by Fusarium disease and eventually growth and performance enhancement of this plant was investigated as laboratory and greenhouse experiment. Laboratory experiment includes five Trichoderma strains as T1, T20, Th4 related ...
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The biocontrol ability of two strains of Trichoderma fungi on infected Freesia corm by Fusarium disease and eventually growth and performance enhancement of this plant was investigated as laboratory and greenhouse experiment. Laboratory experiment includes five Trichoderma strains as T1, T20, Th4 related to T.harzianum species, T2 related to T.artoviride species, and Tvi related to T.virens species. Dual culture test and investigation of the inhibition and colonization rate were carried out with 11 treatments in three replications. Results revealed that strains T1 and T2 have completely covered the pathogen in 96-hours of culture by 70.07% and 68.98% and successfully inhibited the colonization of the disease agent by 84.53% and 80.72%, respectively compared to the other strains. Then, a greenhouse experiment was performed with 8 treatments with suspension of Trichoderma strains separately alone or combined in the presence of Fusarium fungus isolate on the Freesia cultivation based on RCBD design. Results showed that the strains with different levels were able to increase the growth and yield of Freesia plant and control Fusarium disease. In general, T2 strain were more effective in increasing plant growth and height of flower stem of Freesia, while T1 strain specifically improved the diameter of corm. Both T1 and T2 strains demonstrated effectiveness in controlling and reducing the severity of Fusarium disease and enhancing the growth quality of Freesia.Keywords: Biocontrol, Isolates, Ornamental plants, Pathogen, Probiotic, Strains.
Research paper
Vences Cuyno Valleser; Jean L Valleser
Abstract
Ethrel®, which contains ethylene, is used as a ripening treatment for fruits. However, there is no available information on its application as an artificial ripening agent for cacao pods. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of the varying ethephon concentrations (0, 1000, 2500, and 5000 ...
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Ethrel®, which contains ethylene, is used as a ripening treatment for fruits. However, there is no available information on its application as an artificial ripening agent for cacao pods. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of the varying ethephon concentrations (0, 1000, 2500, and 5000 ppm) on cacao ripening in a completely randomized design with three replications. Unripe cacao pods containing fully developed embryos were utilized in this study. Cacao pods treated with 5000 ppm ethephon ripened five days earlier than untreated samples. For 1000 to 2500 ppm ethephon treatments, days to ripening were achieved at 3 days after treatment (DAT). Furthermore, by 7 DAT, 100% of cacao pods treated with 2500 to 5000 ppm ethephon had ripened. The control treatment had the lowest percentage of ripened pods (50%) at 7 DAT. Total soluble solids (TSS) and titratable acidity (TA) of ripened cacao pods at 7 DAT were not altered substantially in response to ethephon concentrations. The highest TSS/TA ratio (29.13) was recorded from cacao treated with 2500 ppm ethephon. In contrast, untreated cacao pods had the lowest TSS/TA ratio (23.49). Our findings suggest that ethephon can be used as a plant growth regulator (PGR) for cacao growers to accelerate the ripening of cacao pods.
Research paper
Borzou Yousefi; Roya Karamian
Abstract
White savory (Satureja mutica Fisch.) is an oil-bearing plant, with applications in traditional medicine, pharmaceutical industries, and food additives in home-made dishes. The current research comprised a greenhouse experiment in factorial arrangement based on a completely randomized design (CRD). It ...
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White savory (Satureja mutica Fisch.) is an oil-bearing plant, with applications in traditional medicine, pharmaceutical industries, and food additives in home-made dishes. The current research comprised a greenhouse experiment in factorial arrangement based on a completely randomized design (CRD). It included four salinity levels (0, 50, 100, and 150 mM NaCl), two salicylic acid (SA) levels (0 and 2 mM), and three replicates. By increasing of NaCl concentration, the content of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoid significantly were declined. Increasing NaCl up to 100 mM caused a significant increase in proline and soluble protein content. The amount of proline at 150 mM NaCl showed no significant change compared to 100 mM NaCl, but the soluble protein sharply decreased at 150 mM NaCl. The enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase significantly were enhanced by increasing NaCl concentrations. Saturated water deficiency was augmented significantly, and Leaf fresh and dry weights were decreased significantly at 100 and 150 mM NaCL. SA enhanced chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, carotenoid content, and leaf fresh and dry weight, depending on the NaCl treatments. SA applications considerably boosted peroxidase and catalase activity at all NaCl treatments. Also, SA significantly improved superoxide dismutase activity at 50 and 100 mM NaCl, but decreased it at 150 mM NaCl. SA significantly reduced saturated water deficiency and proline content despite all NaCl treatments. SA mitigated the adverse effects of NaCl on S. mutica by improvement of antioxidant activity, photosynthetic pigments, and physiological characteristics.
Research paper
Omid Sohrabi; Abdollah Hatamzadeh; Azim Ghasemnezhad; Habibollah Samizadeh; Vahid Erfani-moghadam
Abstract
Medicinal plants have been used historically for various treatments and in human nutrition. Due to their natural occurrence and biodegradability, medicinal plants can be an eco-friendly alternative to toxic chemicals such as pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides. An in-vitro experiment was conducted ...
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Medicinal plants have been used historically for various treatments and in human nutrition. Due to their natural occurrence and biodegradability, medicinal plants can be an eco-friendly alternative to toxic chemicals such as pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides. An in-vitro experiment was conducted to test the impact of six medicinal plant extracts on tomato growth and callus induction. Two concentrations of each extract (50 and 100 mg L-1) were added to the Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium culture. Results showed that Juniperus sabina extract (50 mg L-1) accelerated tomato seed germination by 100% in vitro, compared to the control group in MS basal medium. Callus growth (CG) and callus weight (CW) increased by 50% and by more than 200% when using Taraxacum officinale (100 mg L-1) and Conocarpus erectus (50 mg L-1) extracts, respectively. Biochemical analysis revealed that the extracts were rich in phenolic compounds (348 mg g-1 of total phenol), flavonoids (162 mg g-1), antioxidants (61%), and auxin. Antioxidant activity, plant growth regulators (PGR), and plant defense elicitation probably contributed to these outcomes. Plant extracts also affected the biochemical content of calluses, except total phenol. We recommend using these plant extracts to increase growth, accelerate seed germination, and promote callus induction. Optimal concentrations and combinations of medicinal plant extracts for maximum benefit to different plant species and their growth-related values require further research.