Ali Saebi; Saeid Minaei; Ali-Reza Mahdavian; Mohammad-Taghi Ebadi
Abstract
Precision management of medicinal plant production using mechanical systems, processors, and sensors increases productivity, reduces waste, and manages production processes. This research developed a precision harvesting unit equipped with an automatic height adjustment system for utilization in harvesting ...
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Precision management of medicinal plant production using mechanical systems, processors, and sensors increases productivity, reduces waste, and manages production processes. This research developed a precision harvesting unit equipped with an automatic height adjustment system for utilization in harvesting machines to harvest Hyssop at an optimal height. The unit after development consisted of a power transmission system (converting rotational motion into reciprocating motion), a harvesting platform (cutter-bar, reel, and conveyor), and a system to control the vertical movement of the head. An ultrasonic sensor was employed to detect the highest part of the plant for control purposes. Acentral control board and a driver generated the control signal, with a stepper motor as the actuator. We measured harvesting-related variables, including dry matter, essential oil content and yield, leaf-tostem ratio, and indices related to conservation agriculture to evaluate the developed precision harvesting unit. Results showed that the unit increased the purity of the harvested plant raw material compared to the manual harvesting of Hyssop, a key to extracting more of the target substances, such as essential oil. The steady-state error of the control system measured 2% in adjusting the cutter-bar height for the optimal height of harvesting Hyssop (T15) in elevation and descension modes.
Mohammad Amin Ghezel; Azim Ghasemnezhad; Khodayar Hemmati; Omid Sohrabi
Abstract
The indeterminate behavior of evening primrose is a frequent limitation in its cultivation. Controlling the final growth of plants at a certain stage is important. In the present experiment, different plant extracts were compared functionally with cycocel at different times of application. ...
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The indeterminate behavior of evening primrose is a frequent limitation in its cultivation. Controlling the final growth of plants at a certain stage is important. In the present experiment, different plant extracts were compared functionally with cycocel at different times of application. The experiment was performed as a factorial experiment based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. Treatments included normal water (control), cycocel (zero and 100 ppm), walnut (Juglans regia L.) leaf extract (zero and 25%), oak fruit extract (Quercus castaneifolia L.) (zero and 25%), and cotton capsule extract (Gossypium hirsutum L.) (zero and 25%). Evaluations were made on the seeds, oil yield and yield-components. The foliar application significantly reduced stem length (43-80%) and plant height (13-33%), but increased the percentage of oils (18.75%) and free fatty acids (67.5%). The highest oil content (35%) occurred in response to a combination of walnut, oak, cotton extracts, and cycocel. The highest amount of free fatty acids (23%) indicated more immature seeds and was obtained under the treatment of cotton extract. Natural extracts increased the oil percentage, but reduced the free fatty acid percentage and the stem length. It seems that further studies in this regard can help control non-terminal growth of evening primrose without having a need for breeding programs.
Aminu Mallam Bello; Kazem Kamali Aliabad; Afagh Tabandeh Saravi; Hamid Sodaei Zade
Abstract
Azadirachta indica is a tree with high medicinal value that is conventionally propagated by seed while exhibiting heterozygosity. The aim of this research was to determine the best culture media and plant growth regulators for the micropropagation of Neem. Lateral and terminal buds of A. indica were ...
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Azadirachta indica is a tree with high medicinal value that is conventionally propagated by seed while exhibiting heterozygosity. The aim of this research was to determine the best culture media and plant growth regulators for the micropropagation of Neem. Lateral and terminal buds of A. indica were sterilized with 0.15% and 0.2% mercuric chloride for 10, 11, 12, and 13 min, followed by washing with sterilized double-distilled water three times. At the proliferation and elongation stage, WPM and MS media were tested with different concentrations of BAP either alone or in combination with 0.01 mg L-1 IBA. LS and MS media containing four different levels of IBA (0, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg L-1) were used for the rooting stage. Pulsing technique with different IBA concentrations was investigated at the rooting stage. Hardening of rooted plantlets was done in potting soil containing peat and perlite (2:1), at 23-24 °C prior to transfer into the natural environment. Maximum survival percentage (70.83%) with minimum browning (10.42%) was achieved by sterilizing the explant with 0.15% of mercuric chloride at all times. The longest shoots (3.66 cm) were observed in the media containing BAP (0.5 mg L-1). Furthermore, the highest number of leaves (14.2 leaves per plant) was recorded in MS medium. Additionally, the MS media containing BAP hormone alone at 0.7 mg L-1 produced the highest number of shoots (3.6 shoots per treatment). LS medium supplemented with IBA (4.0 mg L-1) using the pulsing technique gave the best result at the rooting stage.
Hamed Ebrahimzadeh; Mahmoud Lotfi; Mohammad Sadat-Hosseini
Abstract
Doubled haploid method via parthenogenesis induction still remained prominent in Cucurbitaceae breeding due to drastic reduction in time and cost of newly released lines. In this study, different doses of Gamma ray (25, 50, 75, 100, and 200 Gy) were used to irradiate pollen grains for induction of parthenogenetic ...
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Doubled haploid method via parthenogenesis induction still remained prominent in Cucurbitaceae breeding due to drastic reduction in time and cost of newly released lines. In this study, different doses of Gamma ray (25, 50, 75, 100, and 200 Gy) were used to irradiate pollen grains for induction of parthenogenetic haploid embryos in oilseed pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo var. ‘Styriaca’). Parthenogenetic embryos at different developmental stages were rescued in vitro and 348 plants were obtained, of which 134 were recognized as haploid by ploidy analysis. The highest rate of haploid plants was obtained from globular (25.3%) and torpedo (23.8% plants) embryos followed by arrow-tip (13.4%), torpedo (10.5%), stick (10.5%), heart (9%), and cotyledonary (7.5%), respectively. All doses, except 200 Gy, were effective for induction of embryos and haploid plants; in a way that the highest number of haploids was obtained by 100 Gy. Our results indicated that parthenogenetic haploid embryos could be efficiently induced in C. pepo if proper Gamma ray dose and developmental stage of embryos are selected.
Hamid-Reza Fallahi; Morteza Ghorbany; Alireza Samadzadeh; Mahsa Aghhavani-Shajari; Amir-Hassan Asadian
Abstract
In this study effect of irrigation managements including irrigation after 100 and 200 mm pan evaporation as normal and deficit irrigation respectively was investigated in Roselle plants. Effects of humic acid (including 0 and 4 kg ha-1) and mycorrhizal inoculants (including Glomus versiforme (GV) and ...
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In this study effect of irrigation managements including irrigation after 100 and 200 mm pan evaporation as normal and deficit irrigation respectively was investigated in Roselle plants. Effects of humic acid (including 0 and 4 kg ha-1) and mycorrhizal inoculants (including Glomus versiforme (GV) and Rhizophagus irregularis (RI)) were also studied on growth, yield and mycorrhizal symbiosis index of Roselle plants. Drought stress reduced the amounts of morphological indices and yield components, while mycorrhizal treatment particularly RI inoculation and to a lower extent humic acid application reduced the negative impacts of water deficit on growth and yield of Roselle plants. Both inoculants of mycorrhizal fungi increased the economical yield of Roselle under drought stress condition, where the amount of calyx yield for RI, GV and control in 200 mm pan-evaporation treatment was 130, 127 and 66 kg ha-1, respectively. In addition, the highest root mycorrhizal frequency was obtained at normal irrigation × humic application × RI (95%) and the lowest value was observed at deficit irrigation × no-humic × no-mycorrhizal inoculation (31.6%) treatment. In conclusion, combined effects of experimental factors showed that seed inoculation of plants by mycorrhiza and to some extent application of humic acid are two reliable strategies for Roselle production under deficit irrigation.
