Mehdi Hosseinifarahi; Habib Alah Moazen; Azam Amiri; Mohammad Mahdi Jowkar; Javad Mottaghipisheh
Abstract
Seed priming is an established approach to the aim of accelerating germination and increasing germination percentage, which can be followed by high-quality seedlings and optimal plant growth. Culture media can influence the growth and nutritional status of seedlings at the nursery stage. In order to ...
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Seed priming is an established approach to the aim of accelerating germination and increasing germination percentage, which can be followed by high-quality seedlings and optimal plant growth. Culture media can influence the growth and nutritional status of seedlings at the nursery stage. In order to study the impact of seed priming and culture medium on germination performance and seedling growth, two separate laboratory and greenhouse experiments were planned in which the seeds and seedlings of sweet pepper and eggplant were subjected to various chemicals (i.e. growth regulators and nutrients) in the culture media. The results showed that the chemicals had a significant effect on seed priming by improving seed germination and root length in both plants. While putrescine improved seed germination, the highest germination percentage and root growth of both plants were observed in the salicylic acid treatment. Seed priming by humic acid was more effective than ZnSO4 and KNO3 in encouraging seed germination. The application of peat moss (solely or in combination with other culture media such as cocopeat and perlite) improved the growth parameters and nutritional status of commercially ready seedlings. The highest shoot weight (fresh and dry) in both plants were observed in seedlings grown on peat moss. Apart from improvements in vegetative features, peat moss enhanced the uptake and accumulation of nutrients such as N, P, K, Ca, and Mg, compared to cocopeat and perlite. In general, the results indicated that salicylic acid was the best priming treatment and peat moss was the best culture medium for the commercial production of eggplant and sweet pepper seedlings.AbbreviationsC: Cocopeat, Pe: Perlite, PM: Peat moss, P: Phosphorus, N: Nitrogen, Mg: Magnesium, K: Potassium, Ca: Calcium, SA: Salicylic acid, HA: Humic acid, GP: Germination percentage, Put: Putrescine, KNO3: Potassium nitrate, ZnSO₄: Zinc sulfate, DW: Distilled water, PAs:
Vida Fozi; Mehdi Hosseinifarahi; Foroud Bagheri; Azam Amiri
Abstract
Currently, the use of chemicals is reduced due to environmental problems and their negative impacts on human health. Besides, their use has been prohibited in some cases. Postharvest decay caused by fungal pathogens is one of the most important challenges facing the fresh citrus industry. So, the use ...
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Currently, the use of chemicals is reduced due to environmental problems and their negative impacts on human health. Besides, their use has been prohibited in some cases. Postharvest decay caused by fungal pathogens is one of the most important challenges facing the fresh citrus industry. So, the use of pomegranate peel extract (PPE) at the concentrations of 0, 33, 50, and 100% were used to reduce decay and maintain the postharvest qualitative characteristics of mandarin fruit. After treatment with PPE, the fruits were stored for 20 days. Traits such as weight loss, decay percentage, total soluble solids, total acidity, fruit firmness, color index, and sensory evaluation were investigated every five days. The lowest weight-loss percentage (14.71 %) was obtained for the fruits treated with 100% PPE as compared with the untreated fruits (42.28%). The fruits treated with PPE maintained firmness compared with the untreated fruits. The fruits treated with PPE showed the lowest acidity reduction at the end of the storage period. At the end of the storage period, the fruits treated with 100% PPE and the untreated fruits showed the lowest and highest fruit decay (16.3% and 39.6%), respectively. The results showed that the application of PPE increased the overall acceptance of panelists from the treated samples. By increasing the concentrations of PPE to 100%, all sensory parameters were improved and could gain a better acceptance by panelists. The highest level of utility and final acceptance in pomegranate peel-treated fruits were obtained at 100%. The untreated fruits showed a lower overall acceptance rate. The findings showed that the postharvest application of PPE improved the qualitative characteristics and sensory properties, so it is recommended to use 100% PPE to reduce the decay and extend the postharvest storage of mandarin.
