Volume 1 Numbers 1 & 2 2007

CONTENTS AND ABSTRACTS

Number 1

M. J. Malakouti (Iran) Zinc is a Neglected Element in the Life Cycle of Plants: A Review (pp 1-12)

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Invited Review: Zinc (Zn) is deficient in most calcareous soils and consequently in plants, animals and human diets. Zn deficiency is common in agricultural products of most countries, where bread and rice are the main staple foods. Its deficiency are due to soil calcareousness, high pH, low organic matter, drought, high bicarbonates in irrigation water, overuse of P-fertilizers and the absence of Zn-fertilizers in farmers’ conventional fertilizer practices. Its deficiency causes substantial yield losses in different crops. Zn is a component of the enzyme molecular structure besides being a co-factor in regulating the reactions of many enzymes. The first possible effect of Zn deficiency can be seen in reduced levels of cell RNA which in turn halts the protein synthesis, leading to the accumulation of free amino acids. In the past decade more than 2,500 experiments were carried out on different crops, vegetables and orchards throughout Iran. The results revealed that Zn-fertilizers resulted in increased yield as well as crop quality. The conventional notion that Zn-fertilizers increase crop yield by 10-20% is an understatement. In fact, in some cases, especially with non-efficient cultivars such as Durum wheat, it can increase grain yield about 50% and increase macronutrient use efficiencies. A positive and constructive step taken in Iran is the trend of increasing the application of Zn-fertilizers where, currently 30,000 tons of Zn-fertilizers are produced and used annually in the agricultural sector.

R.A. Stern, G. Sapir, S. Shafir, M. Goldway (Israel) The Appropriate Management of Honey Bee Colonies for Pollination of Rosaceae Fruit Trees in Warm Climates (pp 13-19)

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Invited Mini-Review: Most of the Rosaceae fruit trees, such as apple, pear, plum, almond and cherry, exhibit full self-incompatibility. Therefore, their fruit production completely depends on cross pollination. The ultimate pollen carrier in Rosaceae is the honey bee. In the present review, different bee-hive management techniques for improving fruit set and yield are discussed. The main manipulations are of colony density and the timing and number of colony introductions. In pear, it was found that increasing the density from 2.5 colonies ha^-1 to 5 colonies ha^-1 in one introduction at 10% full bloom (FB), did not increase bee activity on the trees and did not improve fruit set and yield. However, introducing the colonies sequentially (1.25 colonies ha^-1 at 10% FB and 1.25 colonies ha^-1 at FB) increased bee activity and consequently improved fruit set and yield. In apple, the combination of both treatments: increasing the density to 2.5 colonies ha^-1 at 10% FB and a second introduction of 2.5 colonies ha^-1 at FB, for a total of 5 colonies ha^-1, increased the number of bees tree^-1, their mobility between the rows and the proportion of “topworkers” compared with “sideworkers”. As a result, fruit set and yield were enhanced. In Japanese plum, highest bee activity, fruit set and yield, were achieved when colonies were introduced at four different times (multiple introductions). Each introduction was of a density of 1.25 colonies ha^-1at 10% FB, 50% FB, FB and FB+3 days (total of 5 colonies ha^-1). For all three species, there was a positive and statistically significant correlation between the average number of bees tree^-1 and fruit set or yield. The optimum number of bees tree^-1 min^-1 at FB was 6-7 for pear, 7-8 for Japanese plum and 12-14 for apple.

Naser Alemzadeh Ansari (Iran) Reaction of Some Southern Iranian Onion Ecotypes to Translocation (pp 20-25)

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Original Research Paper: Onion originated in Iran and its neighboring countries. Dependent on climatic conditions, this crop is cultivated in the Southern region of Iran during spring or autumn. Most onions are short day cultivars. In order to elucidate the characteristics of these South Iranian cultivars, a field experiment was conducted at Shahid Chamran University in Autumn, 2002. In this experiment, 12 cultivars (‘Ramhormozy’, ‘B1’, ‘Ghermaz Azarshahar’, ‘Daaman’, ‘P80’, ‘Shahdad’, ‘Bardseer’, ‘Sarkareh’, ‘Primavera’, ‘Texas Yellow Grano’, ‘Texas Early Grano’, ‘G1’), which are cultivated in southern regions, were sown under a randomized block design with three replications. During growth and development different morphology characteristics, viz. plant height, number of leaves per plant, bulb diameter, neck diameter, bolting percentage, average bulb yield, weight and number of storage leaves of different cultivars were recorded. Maximum plant height was recorded for ‘Ghermaz Azarshahar’ cultivar 16 days after emergence. This cultivar exhibited earlier and more uniform emergence than others. However ‘Primavera’ dominated all other characteristics under study during the transplanting stage of growth, but was equated by ‘P80’ in some characteristics. The effect of stress brought about by transplanting impeded the growth of seedlings for a month. After transplanting stress, the leaf area exhibited a 100 to 200% increase daily in March with the onset of optimum growth conditions from 10 February, to 20 March. Concerning photoperiod sensitivity of cultivars leaf and leaf area production rate decreased from 21 March to 10 April. The reaction of non-native plant cultivars was inconsistent. Some of them produced a floral stem and seed, while others produced a bulb. Maximum and minimum yields were recorded for ‘G1’ and ‘Primavera’, respectively. Among early maturing varieties ‘P80’ produced the maximum number of bulbs.

Number 2

Naser Alemzadeh Ansari (Iran) Onion Cultivation and Production in Iran (pp 26-38)

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Invited Review: Native onion cultivars have been cultivated in many regions of Iran. Therefore this plant has numerous genetic, biological, and morphological variations. These variations have led to different reactions under various cultivation conditions in natural and experimental environments (both field and in vitro). Among onion diseases, root and crown rot caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cepa, is considered an important fungal disease. Hylemya antiqua and Thrips tabaci are common pests of onions in spring and autumn cultivation. The main ways of protection against them is by using fungicide and insecticide. For eliminating weeds, Iranian farmers use two systems: mechanical and chemical. A combination of two herbicides axonal (Totril^®) and oxadiazon (Ronstar^®) had good results for control of both broad-leaf and grassy weeds. But recently the herbicide Goal^® alone has shown good control in the elimination of all weeds in the transplanting period. The majority of Iranian onion cultivars have a pungent taste, but foreign cultivars cultivated in Iran are sweeter. Onions’ shelf life is short to moderate, thus onion is a strategic plant in Iran. Related to this, a reduction in the number of onions has occasionally been noted in Iranian markets at the end of winter, and recent studies for increasing shelf life have been conducted in Iran to select and increase potassium fertilizers to assess the effect on postharvest quality. Onion consumption is approximately 16 kg per person. Onions are cultivated on 49,957 ha in Iran. The average yield of bulb onion in the irrigation zone is 34,254 kg/ha. One of the main purposes of onion research in Iran is to produce cultivars and hybrids with increased quality and yield.

Saeid Eshghi, Gholamreza Abdi, Enayatollah Tafazoli, Sara Yavari (Iran) Strawberry Research and Biotechnology in Iran (pp 39-41)

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Invited Research Note: Strawberry was imported into Iran about 100 years ago from France. Its cultivation area in Iran is about 3000 ha and the total production averages about 21 Kt yearly. Strawberry can be grown successfully in different parts of Iran. Also, in the South of Iran (tropical and subtropical regions), it is possible to produce an out-of-season strawberry crop in the fall and early winter. Strawberry cultivation and production in Iran has doubled in the last two decades. At present the two main regions of the country producing strawberries are Kurdistan and Golestan provinces. The majority of work on strawberries has been carried out at Shiraz University, Tehran University and at the Kurdistan Agricultural Research Center where the most active centers of strawberry research are found. The adaptation of cultivars, fruit set and quality, hydroponic production, breeding and biotechnology are top subjects that are investigated on strawberry in Iran. In this review a summary of the main findings published by Iranian strawberry researchers in these research fields are presented.

M. Javad Soleimani, Heshmatollah Rahimian, Mahsa Alimi (Iran) Selection, Characterization and Application of Microbial Antagonists for the Control of Wheat Fusarium Head Blight, Using Single and Mixture Strains of Antagonistic Bacteria on Different Cultivars (pp 42-46)

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Original Research Paper: Fusarium head blight incited by Fusarium graminearum, is a devastating disease that causes extensive yield and quality losses to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) throughout the world. One strategy to control Fusarium head blight is the use of antagonistic bacteria. In order to assess the potential of phyllospheric microorganisms in biological control of such foliage diseases, in this study one hundred and ninety isolates of antagonistic bacteria including Pseudomonas, Erwinia and Bacillus spp. from the phyllosphere of healthy and infected wheat, were collected. Among them, by using the dual culture method, only eight isolates with the most antagonistic ability against the growth of pathogenic fungal species (Fusarium graminearum) were selected and purified. According to the results of biochemical and physiological tests, they were identified as three biovars of Pseudomonas fluorescens, an isolate of Erwinia herbicola and some species of Bacillus like B. subtilis and B. cereus. Production of antifungal substances and volatile metabolites, and secretion of lytic enzymes such as protease and cellulase as the inhibitory mechanisms in vitro were evaluated. Furthermore, in greenhouse conditions the effects of antagonistic bacteria on disease severity and incidence caused by F. graminearum, by the application of bacteria were studied. Statistical analysis of data indicated that treating wheat spikes with some of the antagonistic bacteria not only reduced the disease severity and incidence when compared with the control, but also had showed a positive influence on growth and yield of wheat cultivars.

Maryam Boroujerdnia, Naser Alemzadeh Ansari (Iran) Effect of Different Levels of Nitrogen Fertilizer and Cultivar on Growth, Yield and Yield Components of Romaine Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) (pp 47-53)

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Original Research Paper: In order to determine the effect of nitrogen fertilizer rates and cultivars on growth and critical yield of lettuce, an experiment was conducted at Shahid Chamran University of Ahwaz, Iran during 2005-2006. This study was arranged in a spilt plot experiment based on a randomized complete block design, in three replications. The treatments included four nitrogen rates (0, 60, 120, and 180 kg N ha^-1) as the main plot and two lettuce cultivars (‘Pich Ahwazi’ and ‘Pich Varamini’) as the sub-plot. Sampling was done in 86, 100, 114, 126, 142, and 156 days after sowing. The criteria measured were plant length, fresh and dry weights of leaves, leaf area, number of leaves, crop growth rate (CGR), leaf area index (LAI) and yield. Results indicated that different levels of nitrogen fertilizer on all growth characteristics were significant at P<0.01. Nitrogen fertilizer caused head formation to accelerate and delayed the bolting date of lettuce. Cultivar had a significant effect on growth characteristics, on fresh and dry weights of leaves and on leaf number but not on plant length and leaf area. The highest yield was obtained with 120 kg ha^-1 treatment by ‘Pich Ahwazi’. Also, it took ‘Pich Varamini’ longer to form a head and to flower than ‘Pich Ahwazi’.

Abdolkarim Chehregani, Hosein Lari Yazdi, Shiva Hoseini, Ahmad Majd (Iran) Toxic Effects of Diesel Exhaust Particles on the Ovules and Embryonic Sac Development in Phaseolus vulgaris L. (pp 54-56)

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Short Communication: Diesel Exhaust Particles (DEP) are one of the most important air pollutants. Many researchers have reported the detrimental effect of DEP on peoples’ health and that of different organisms. There are some reports about the effect of DEP on pollen grains and their allergic potential but this is the first investigation on its effect on ovule development in common bean. Phaseolus vulgaris L. plants were grown in similar-sized plots in different groups and treated with different concentrations (0.1, 0.3, 0.6 g/L) of water-soluble parts of DEP. Flowers and small pods were removed, fixed with FAA and subjected to developmental studies. Our results show that DEP can have some abnormal effect during of ovule development in common bean when treated with DEP (0.1, 0.3 and 0.6 g/l). The embryonic sac could not complete its growth and was smaller in DEP-treated plants than in control ones. In DEP-treated plants, vesiculation of the embryonic sac and plasmolysis of nucellar tissue were observed. Accumulation of dark particles, disruption of the nuclear envelope, and cell degradation in the embryonic sac are some of the results of treatment with DEP. SDS-PAGE showed that even though the protein pattern was the same in experimental and control plants, there was a slight quantitative increase of a band with molecular mass of 62 KD in 0.6 g/l DEP-treated plants.

Hossein Afshari, Alireza Talaei, Hossein Hokmabadi (Iran) Studying Artificial Pollination of Four Midseason Male Genotypes of Pistachio (Pistachia vera L.) on Three Iranian Cultivars and Selection of Best Pollinizer (pp 57-60)

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Original Research Paper: In order to achieve good pollination and fruit set in a pistachio orchard, the ratio of male to female trees has to be considered. In addition, the quality of pollen source and ability of the pollen to germinate and pollinate female flowers are important. In this study the effect of overlapping pollen with tree commercial pistachio cultivars on fruit set and other traits were examined. This study was conducted as a factorial experiment with randomized complete design at the Pistachio Research Institute, Iran in 2005-2006. Among the fruits of the three cultivars which were pollinated with four male genotype pollen (R27, R28, N2, N16) only total fruit weight and blankness were affected by pollen type. The highest fruit weight was related to the fruits of cv. ‘Kaleghuchi’ (3.4 g) and the lowest was observed in cv. ‘Ohadi’ (2.2 g). Also, the highest rate of blankness in the first year was observed for pistachio cv. ‘Ahmadaghaii’ (27%) and R27 pollen resulted in the highest amount of blankness in both years (33% in 2005, 25% in 2006). Incidentally, the highest fruit weight and lowest blankness were established by male genotype pollen of N16. No factor such as year, cultivar, pollen type, or any combination or interaction among them affected fruit set. However, in the first year of the experiment fruit set was 14.9%, higher than the second year (14%).

Maryam Afrousheh, Mohamad Ardalan, Hosein Hokmabadi, Soheila Hatami (Iran) Visual Deficiency Symptoms of Nitrogen, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese and Molybdenum (Macro- and Micronutrients) on Pistachio Seedlings (pp 61-65)

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Original Research Paper: The effect of nitrogen, iron, magnesium, manganese and molybdenum deficiencies on the growth characteristics of pistachio seedlings (Pistacia vera) were studied in sand culture. Cv. ‘Badami-e-Zarand’ was used in this experiment as common rootstock. The following treatments were employed: 1) Complete Hoagland’s nutrient solution; Nutrient solution lacking either: 2) N, 3) Fe, 4) Mg, 5) Mn, or 6) Mo; 7) distilled water. Seven months after planting, deficiency symptoms mainly included leaf discoloration, necrosis, scorching, defoliation and stunted growth. Seedlings that received complete nutrient solution were healthy with dark green foliage. A reduction in height, leaf area and leaf number was noticed for various levels of nutrient element deficiencies. These typical symptoms of deficiencies of various nutrient elements could serve as a practical guideline for diagnosing nutrient deficiencies of pistachio in commercial nurseries and plantations.

Abdolhamid Sherafati (Iran), Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva (Japan), Hossein Hokmabadi (Iran) Assessment of Vegetative Growth of Twelve Pistachio (Pistacia vera) Cultivars Grown in Northeast Iran (pp 66-68)

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Short Communication: Khorasan Province has over 35,000 ha of pistachio orchards. Pistachio cultivation has increased considerably in the last two decades and pistachio growers have introduced many new genotypes to this region. This research was carried out in order to investigate the changes in vegetative characters of twelve pistachio cultivars (‘Badami-sefid’, ‘Pesteh-gharmez’, ‘Pesteh-garmeh’, ‘Barg-seyah’, ‘Daneshmandy’, ‘Momtaz’, ‘Kale-ghochi’, ‘Akbari’, ‘Owhadi’, ‘Shahpasand’, ‘Abas-Ali’ and ‘Khanjari’) in the Faizabad area, Khorasan Province, Iran over three years (2003-2005) following grafting onto ‘Badami-sefid’ rootstock. The first five cultivars are native to Khorasan Province while the others are native to Kerman and Semnan Provinces. Significant differences (P<0.01) were found in several vegetative characters: yearly shoot length, shoot diameter, tree width, graft length, the number of lateral shoots, leaf size and false growth. Shoot elongation was greatest in ‘Owhadi’ and ‘Kale-ghochi’, 54 cm and 51 cm, respectively, and least (34 cm) in ‘Akbari’. Most lateral shoots formed in ‘Abas-ali’ and ‘Akbari’ and fewest in ‘Shahpasand’. Leaf area, which was about 135 cm² and 67 cm² for ‘Akbari’ and ‘Momtaz’ respectively, was significantly different among all cultivars. After three years, total tree length of ‘Owhadi’, ‘Badami-sefid’ and ‘Kale-ghochi’ was 107, 104 and 103 cm, respectively, while ‘Daneshmandy’ showed the least growth (80 cm). When water salinity in the experimental orchard was more than 6 dsm^-1 and soil alkalinity was high, leaves started to die back in drought/salt-sensitive cultivars. Three cultivars, ‘Owhadi’, ‘Abas-ali’ and ‘Akbari’ showed the most marginal leaf necrosis, while ‘Barg-seyah’ had a unique die back pattern in the false growth section. This growth data may prove valuable for Iranian pistachio growers wishing to establish new orchards, but who are unsure of the appropriate choice of cultivar.

Mehdi Sooudi, Gholam Reza Sadeghi (Iran), Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva (Japan), Mehdi Mohammadi Moghadam, Hossein Hokmabadi (Iran) Seasonal Fluctuation, Percent Damage and Larval Natural Enemy of Grape Berry Moth (Lobesia botrana) in Tehran Province (Shahriar Region) and Ghazvin Province (Takestan Region), Iran (pp 69-71)

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Original Research Paper: Grape berry moth, Lobesia botrana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) is one of the most important pests in vineyards around the world. Since the extent of its damage and the role of natural enemies have not yet been deeply studied in Iran, we decided to assess the situation of this pest in the Takestan region in Ghazvin Province. In this research, we showed that grape berry moth has three generations in this area and that damage caused in the third generation is more extensive than in either the first or second generation. In addition, we identified one new parasitoid larva (Enytus apostata). To produce healthy grapes, we should apply alternative pest control methods like mating disruption, mass trapping and biological control (e.g. inoculation of Trichogramma cacoeciae).