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Salvia mirzayanii Rech. & Esfand is an Iranian endemic plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family which has many pharmacological effects including antioxidant, anti-cholinesterase, antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-inflammatory and enhancing cognition and memory. It is considered as an endemic species of Iran, that is in danger of extinction. The bulks aromatic plants come from wild populations whose essential oils compositions as well as their biological properties are severely affected by the geographical location Therefore, the aim of the present study is to provide more information on the variation of essential oil composition of S. mirzayanii collected from four different geographical regions. The aerial parts of four populations of S. mirzayanii were collected from different natural habitats of Fars province in southwest of Iran. Chemical composition of S. mirzayanii were isolated by hydrodistillation using clevenger type apparatus and analyzed by GC-FID and GC/MS. The major compounds in four populations were a-terpinyl acetate, Eudesm-7(11)-en-4-ol, bicyclogermacrene, d-cadinene and 1,8-Cineole in four populations. Polyphenolics content were identified by HPLC analysis. Predominant phenolic constituents in all extracts were chlorogenic acid, vaniline and rosmarinic acid, p-cumaric acid, trans-ferulic acid and quercetin. The DPPH radical inhibition was measured by using a micro-plate reader. The best antioxidant activity was related to ecotype3 with 1281.48 µg/mL and the highest amount of total phenol is related to ecotype1 and ecotype4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chamomile is one of the well-known herbs in the world, with numerous medicinal, cosmetic and health benefits. In this study, a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design technique to evaluate the three different dosses of nitrogen (N1 = 0, N2 = 50 and N3 = 100 kg·ha-1) from urea 46%, and three different vermicompost dosses (V1 = 0, V2 = 4 and V3 = 8 t·ha-1) and three different zeolite superabsorbent levels (S1 = 0, S2 = 50 and S3 = 100 kg·ha-1) on flower yield and essential oil of chamomile in Kazeroon, Fars province in 2017. The results showed that increasing the amount of nitrogen and vermicompost increased the plant height, flower diameter, number of flowers, flower yield, essential oil content, biological yield and essential elements content of the Chamomile. In the interaction of N x V, the highest and lowest dry flower yields were observed in N3V3 (456 kg·ha-1) and N1V1 (316.9 kg·ha-1) treatments, respectively. The interaction showed that the highest and the lowest of essential oil content were observed in N3V3 (2.82 kg·ha-1) and N1V1 (1.56 kg·ha-1), respectively. The highest content of chamazulene compound were obtained in N2V3S3 treatments with 6.40% and the highest content of α-bisabolol oxide A related to N2V3 treatments with 53.50%. Based on the interaction results of N x V x S, the highest biological yield was observed in N3V2S3 with 2012 kg·ha-1. The reason for the results can be due to the high moisture storage capacity of the superabsorbent and vermicompost, which can increase the availability of water consumption. In general, it seems that with increasing nitrogen and vermicompost ratios of soil, not only the nutritional availability of the plant (especially nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) increased, but also the physical structure and vital processes of the soil by creating a suitable substrate for root growth -- increased the production of chamomile flower yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In southern Iran, intensive tillage operations and residue removal have been the major cause of declining crop productivity and nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE). A 2-year field experiment (2016–2017) was conducted to test four nitrogen (N) rates (0, 101, 152, and 202 kg N ha−1) and tillage practices (conventional, CT; reduced, RT; and no tillage, NT) effects on irrigated wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown with or without corn (Zea mays L.) residue removal, using a split-plot design with three replications near Shiraz, Iran. After 2 years, wheat yields were tended to be increased with increasing N rates from 101 to 202 kg N ha−1 under RT with residue retention. Increasing N rate decreased NUE values particularly N physiological efficiency (PEN). Likewise, the lowest NUE was obtained under NT, while RT and CT either showed similar effects or RT was superior over CT. Furthermore, the NNI value around 1 was obtained at 152 kg N ha−1 under RT, when crop residues were retained or removed. Our research has shown that replacing CT with conservation tillage (especially RT) with residue retention and 152 kg N ha−1 can greatly protect wheat yield and optimize NUE values under wheat- and corn in a rotation, but it is based on the short-term results and evaluation of long-term experiment is highly recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aerial parts of four populations of Salvia mirzayanii were collected from different natural habitats of Fars province in southwest of Iran. Chemical composition of S. mirzayanii were isolated by hydrodistillation using Clevenger type apparatus and analyzed by GC-FID and GC/MS. The major compounds in four population were α-terpinyl acetate, eudesm-7(11)-en-4-ol, bicyclogermacrene, δ-cadinene, 1,8-cineole, germacrene D-4-ol , cis-dihyroagarofuran , linalyl acetate, α-cadinol , linalool and α-terpineol in four ecotypes. The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of different ecotypes of S. mirzayanii were studied against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans by disc diffusion method. The results showed that the oil exhibited good antimicrobial activity against all medically important pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is an oilseed crop adapted to arid and semiarid regions. In this study, an experiment was performed to evaluate the effects of water deficiency on plant height, 1,000-grain weight, seed yield, harvest index, relative water content (RWC), oil yield, and oil content in 15 safflower genotypes. A splitplot randomized complete blocks design was arranged with three replications. Safflower plants were grown under normal irrigation and water deficit conditions in Sarvestan, Fars Province, Iran during 2016 and 2017 growing seasons. Combined analysis results indicated that water deficit stress had negative effects on all measured indices. Average seed yield declined by 65.91% (2,337.91 to 796.79 kg ha-1) due to water deficit stress. Genotype also had a significant effect on evaluated indices, and the interaction between genotype and irrigation significantly influenced all indices except plant height. Under both conditions, highest RWC, seed yield, and oil yield were observed in Dincer and PI-537598 genotypes. Maximum plant height and 1,000-seed weight in both irrigation conditions were observed in the Dincer genotype. In the normal irrigation condition, maximum harvest index and oil content were observed in the CW-74 genotype. Thus, Dincer and PI-537598 were classified as the best genotypes (based on seed yield, RWC, and oil yield) under both normal irrigation and water deficit stress conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zataria multiflora Boiss. belonging to the family Lamiaceae is an important folkloric medicinal plant in Fars province, Southwestern Iran. In this study, essential oil constituents, phenolic content, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities from the aerial parts of Z. multiflora collected from different natural habitats of Fars province were investigated. The essential oil of all samples was extracted by hydro-distillation using Clevenger type apparatus and analyzed using GC and GC-MS. The main chemical constituents were, thymol (34.41 - 54.35 %), p-cymene (9.49 - 19.85 %), γ-terpinene (7.34 - 16.70 %), carvacrol (5.35 - 15.34 %) and α-pinene (1.63 - 5.25 %). The total phenolic content and the antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts were determined with the Folin-Ciocalteau reagent and by the 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay, respectively. Total phenols varied from 234.66 to 302.28 mg gallic acid equivalents/g dry weight, and IC50 values in the radical scavenging assay ranged from 348.63 to 453.76 mg/mL. The antimicrobial activity of the essential oils was individually evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans using disc diffusion and serial dilution methods. The oils obtained from different geographical habitat showed high activity against four medically important pathogens. The results support the traditional usage and also possible use of Z. multiflora essential oil and extracts in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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To determine the effect of water deficit on growth characteristics of 27 cotton cultivars (GossypiumhirsutumL.), two separate experiments were performed in laboratory and glasshouse in Fars Province,Zarin-Dasht city(28° 36′ N, 54° 41′ E) in August 2015. In both experiments, which last for 10 days, a completely randomized block design with three replications was used. The main factor was water-deficit levels ((0, −4, and −12 MPa in laboratory and (0 and −8 MPa) in glasshouse experiments), and the subsidiary factor was different cotton cultivars. The sensitivity to water deficit was compared based on factors such as germination rate, shoot and root lengths, fresh and dry weights, seed energy, and seed vigor. The results of both experiments indicated that Oltan, Opal, Pak, Armaghan, Super-Elit Golestan, Super-Elit Bakhteghan, SB-35, Super-Elit Arian, Khandagh, Tabela-18, and Sahel cultivars are more resistant and therefore are suitable candidates to increase plant density and uniformity in the farm. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]