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.
Ali Akbarpour; Bijan Kavoosi; Mehdi Hosseinifarahi; Sirous Tahmasebi; Sedigheh Gholipour
Abstract
Due to the development of garlic cultivation, quantitative and qualitative evaluations of garlic ecotypes in different regions are important for breeding purposes. In this study, some vegetative and phytochemical traits of eight Iranian garlic ecotypes were assayed in a RCBD with three replications at ...
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Due to the development of garlic cultivation, quantitative and qualitative evaluations of garlic ecotypes in different regions are important for breeding purposes. In this study, some vegetative and phytochemical traits of eight Iranian garlic ecotypes were assayed in a RCBD with three replications at Darab Agricultural Research Station, Iran during 2017-2018 growing season. The results showed that there is a significant difference among garlic ecotypes in terms of studied traits (P <0.01). In general, Tarom and Tafresh ecotypes showed the highest plant height, number of leaves, length of garlic leaves, leaf width, fresh weight, dry weight and the highest bulb diameter. Highest dry weight of garlic bulb (g) per plant was obtained in Darab (79.0 g), Tarom (75.5 g), and Talesh (75.0 g) ecotypes, with no significant difference among them (P ≥ 0.01). Hamedan and Kerman ecotypes contained higher allicin content, alliin content, TPC, TFC, and TAC than the other ecotypes. Cluster analysis divided ecotypes into three distinct groups. Talesh and Hamedan ecotypes had the lowest similarity (0.34) and Darab and Tafresh ecotypes had the highest similarity (0.97). It can be concluded that Tarom, Tafresh, Hamedan, and Kerman can be recommended for cultivation depending on the quantitative (Tarom and Tafresh) and qualitative (Hamedan and Kerman) goals of cultivation
Abdolhossein Aboutalebi Jahromi; Mehdi Hosseini Farahi
Abstract
Marigold has special importance and application in landscape designing. Nowadays, various species and cultivars of this plant are grown in many climates, where different environmental stresses such as freezing, salinity and drought can lead to vegetative disorders. This study was carried out to investigate ...
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Marigold has special importance and application in landscape designing. Nowadays, various species and cultivars of this plant are grown in many climates, where different environmental stresses such as freezing, salinity and drought can lead to vegetative disorders. This study was carried out to investigate the interactions between salinity and ammonium nitrate on seed germination, vegetative growth and sodium and potassium concentrations in French marigold flowers (Tegeta patula). The experiment was conducted as a factorial arrangement based on a completely randomized design with two factors: salinity (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 mmos cm-1) and ammonium nitrate (0, 15 and 30 g l-1) with four replications. Based on the obtained results, different salinity concentrations were negatively influenced all studied parameters except germination rate. The application of ammonium nitrate recovered the studied parameters to the same level as the control plants. Plant height was decreased by increasing salinity concentrations. The tallest plant was observed in the control treatments. Salinity levels negatively influenced shoot fresh weight. Different levels of ammonium nitrate had significant effects on root dry weight and potassium and sodium contents. Ammonium nitrate led to reductions in root dry weight and potassium content, and an enhancement in sodium content in the shoot. Sodium and potassium levels were increased and root dry weight was decreased by increasing salinity. Enhancement of potassium ions in the marigold following salinity stress can improve its tolerance to salinity stress.
