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Ageing induces seed deterioration expressed as the loss of seed vigor and/or viability. Priming treatment, which consists in soaking of seeds in a solution of low water potential, has been shown to reinvigorate aged seeds. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of naturally and accelerated aging on seed germination traits and enzyme activities (proxidase, catalase and superoxid dismutase) in three Achillea vermicularis accessions. Naturally aged seeds were provided from base (stored 10 or15 years at -18 °C) and active (stored 10 or 15 years at 4 °C) cold rooms of Natural Resources Gene Bank of Iran. A two years harvested seeds of the accessions were aged under moisture of 100% and temperature of 40 °C for 48 and 72 hours. The seeds were primed by incubation for 24 hours at 15 °C in solution of polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG6000) −0.3 Mpa (as osmo-priming), gibberellic acid 250 and 500 ppm (as hormone-priming). Non-primed seeds were used as control. ANOVA suggested significant different among three accessions of A. vermicularis for all germination traits and enzymes activities. Results showed that responses of different accessions to aging and priming treatments were significantly different. The data demonstrated that catalase is a key enzyme for seed repair against ageing ROS-induced damage during priming treatment.

The Achillea L. genus has a wide distributional range, and the differences in oil composition may be affected by different environmental factors such as soil mineral fertilization, the climate conditions and the culture site. To evaluate the effect of temperate climate on content and chemical combination of essential oil of Achillea filipendulina Lam, A. arabica Kotschy and A. eriophora DC., this study was carried out.Essential oils were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Yield of essential oil of A. filipendulina, A. arabica and A. eriophora cultivated was 0.9, 2.25 and 2.3%, respectively .The major components of A. filipendulina were santolina alcohol (37.2%), borneol (12.7%),1,8- cineole (8.7%), germacrene D (6.22%), and camphor (4.09%). In A. arabica, the major compounds were p-cymene (14.61%), piperitone (13.09%), camphor (12.81%) and 1, 8-cineole (11.97%). In A. eriophora, principal compounds were camphor (19.57%), 1, 8-cineole (19.06%), camphene (9.61%) and α-pinene (7.35%). Our results demonstrate variations in the qualitative and quantitative composition in the oils obtained from the aerial parts of the studied species. Also, chemical profile of A. filipendulina was slightly affected under temperate climatic conditions, suggesting its ability and flexibility to be cultivated in temperate zones.

Fifteen yarrow populations from different species Achillea millefolium L., A. biebersteinii L. and A. nobilis, from different geographical areas of Iran were studied using 24 morphological traits and peroxidase profiles. Comparison of mean values of different phenotypic traits show A. millefolium and A. biebersteinii L. had higher plant height and crown diameter; however, A. nobilis had higher dry matter yield and 1000-grain weight. Clustering pattern, made on the basis of different phenotypic traits, grouped the Achillea populations differently and gave no clear indication of origin or species. The results of peroxidase profiles revealed that the genetic diversity of A. nobilis samples was considerably higher than in A. millefolium and A. biebersteinii. Principal coordinate analysis revealed a clear separation between the different Achillea species. The results demonstrated that the study of genetic diversity and relationships among Achillea species using phenotypic traits and peroxidase profiles provides important information for the collection, conservation and the planning of future breeding programs.