SOME TREES AND FRUIT CHARACTERISTICS OF IMPORTANT STANDARD AND LOCAL POMEGRANATE (Punica granatum L.) CULTIVARS GROWN IN KOCAKOY (DIYARBAKIR) DISTRICT

In this study, it was aimed to determine certain tree and Fruit characteristics of important Standard and local pomegranate cultivars grown in Kocaköy (Diyarbakir) province. In this context, 2 pomegranate species (Hicaz and Zivzik), 5 local pomegranate species (Hınara Tırş, Hınara Zer, Hınara Meğoş, Hınar Şirin and Hınara Sor) and 2 local pomegranate genotypes (Hınar-1 and Hınar2) were studied. In the study, Fruit weights ranged from 129.90 -314.59 g; Fruit heights ranged from 54.78-74.28 mm; Fruit diameters ranged from 62.92-86.43 mm; Fruit Volume strange from 129.20-293.50 ml; Fruit juice amounts ranged from 34.90-90.90 ml; Fruit densities ranged from 1.0-1.23 gr/ml; 100 seed weights ranged from 24.46-37.690 g; calix heights ranged from 9.65-21.00 mm and calix diameters ranged from 16.40-27.60 mm. In addition, Soluble solid contents (SSC) ranged from 14.60-17.29% brix; total acidity ranged from 4.02-24.51%; pH ranged from 2.55-4.15 and shape indices ranged from 0.69-0.94. Moreover, sub skin color, upper skin color, seed hardness, fruit taste, seed color, upper fruit compartment, sub fruit compartment, compartment number, compartment appearance, easiness in separating arils and Fruit pulp weights of the genotypes and cultivars were also determined.

Influence of ultraviolet irradiation of perennial grasses seeds on their sowing quality

A new direction in pre-sowing seed preparation is environmentally friendly and energyefficient ultraviolet irradiation, which increases germination, reduces seed infection, and improves growth force. In this regard, the experiment of studying the effect of UV irradiation on the sowing qualities and morphophysiological parameters of the seeds of the birds-foot trefoil and awnless brome was laid at the UdmFRC UB RAS in 2019. Use of UV rays of range A with a wavelength of 315–400 nm for 5 min reduced the infection of the birds-foot trefoil seeds by 3.2%, increased the length of the sprout by 0.81 cm and the strength of growth — by 5.4% in comparison with untreated seeds. There was also a tendency for a decrease in seed hardness by 2.5%, an increase in root length by 0.41 cm, and the degree of seedling development by 0.12 points. The most effective for awnless brome seeds was UV treatment for 35 minutes, which led to an increase in germination by 14.5%, a decrease in seed infection by 5.8%. There was also a tendency to improve the morphological parameters of seedlings: the length of the sprout increased by 0.9 cm, the length of the root — by 0.88 cm, the length of the coleoptile — by 0.30 cm. The strength of growth in this variant was 9.3% higher than in the control without treatment. In general, the treatment of perennial grasses seeds with ultraviolet light reduced infection, increased laboratory germination and strength of growth, and reduced seed hardness.

EFFECT OF SEED PRIMING ON GERMINATION OF OKRA (Abelmoschus esculentus var. Arka Anamika)

Seed priming is an effective, eco-friendly method to promote seed germination and seedling vigor of okra to overcome the reduced and delayed germination in fresh or stored okra seeds caused by seed hardness. An experiment was carried to evaluate the effects of different priming on okra seeds germination and seedling vigor using Arka Anamika variety at Horticulture lab of Agriculture and Forestry University, Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal. Investigation was carried out with 6 treatments (T1: seed priming with tap water, T2: seed priming with 200ppm NAA solution, T3: seed priming with 10% PEG-200 solution, T4: seed priming with 200ppm GA3 solution, T5: seed priming with 5% Trichoderma solution and T6 no priming) with 4 replications in Complete Randomized Design (CRD). Seeds primed with T1 to T5 were soaked for 24 hours and shade dried for 6 hours before sowing. Priming with T4 was found to be best in terms of maximum seed germination (60.12%), seed vigor index (5772.68 cm), mean germination rate (7.53 seeds per day). The highest shoot length (81.40 mm) was observed at T1 whereas enhancement of root length occurred with the priming with T3. All treatments had a significant positive effect on all the germination parameters in comparison to control. The study concluded that GA3 priming enhanced germination as well as seed vigor in okra and hydro priming and tricho-priming can be used as an alternative to GA3 priming among farmers in Nepal.

Fruit Breeding in Regard to Color and Seed Hardness: A Genomic View from Pomegranate

Many fruit trees have been whole-genome sequenced, and these genomic resources provide us with valuable resources of genes related to interesting fruit traits (e.g., fruit color, size and taste) and help to facilitate the breeding progress. Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.), one economically important fruit crop, has attracted much attention for its multiple colors, sweet and sour taste, soft seed and nutraceutical properties. In recent years, the phylogenesis of pomegranate has been revised which belongs to Lythraceae. So far, three published pomegranate genomes including ‘Taishanhong’, ‘Tunisia’ and ‘Dabenzi’ have been released on NCBI with open availability. This article analyzed and compared the assembly and annotation of three published pomegranate genomes. We also analyzed the evolution-development of anthocyanin biosynthesis and discussed pomegranate population genetics for soft seed breeding. These provided some references for horticultural crop breeding on the basis of genomic resources, especially pomegranate.

Evaluation of diverse germplasm of cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] against bruchid [Callosobruchus maculatus (Fab.)] and correlation with physical and biochemical parameters of seed

The current study was undertaken to identify the sources of tolerance to bruchid in cowpea, by screening a set of germplasm accessions as a source for natural resistance. A total of 103 diverse accessions of cowpea were evaluated for resistance to Callosobruchus maculatus Fab. under no-choice artificial infestation conditions. Significant differences among the cowpea accessions were observed for oviposition, adult emergence, exit holes and per cent seed weight loss (PSWL) caused by the bruchid infestation. The accessions showed variation in physical seed parameters viz., colour, shape, testa texture, length, width and seed hardness. Among the seed biochemical parameters studied, per cent sugar content ranged from 0.322 (IC330950) to 1.493 (IC249137), and per cent phenol content ranged from 0.0326 (EC390261) to 1.081 (EC528423). Correlation studies indicated that PSWL had significant positive correlation (r = 0.335) with exit holes, oviposition (r = 0.219), adult emergence (r = 0.534) and seed roundness (r = 0.219). Adult emergence had a significant negative correlation with seed hardness (r = −0.332). Correlation with biochemical parameters indicated that PSWL had a significant positive correlation (r = 0.231) with sugar content and a significant negative correlation with phenol content (r = −0.219). None of the accessions were found to be immune to bruchid infestation. However, out of studied accessions, EC528425 and EC528387 were identified as resistant based on PSWL and moderately resistant based on adult emergence. These resistance sources of cowpea germplasm can be used as potential donors for development of bruchid tolerant/resistant cultivars.

Dynamics of alfalfa seed hardness change depending on the seed storage time

A significant part of perennial legumes seeds, including alfalfa, after ripening, has a seed coat nonpermeable for water and air, and therefore they do not germinate immediately after sowing. This property is called seed hardness. The purpose of our research was to study seed hardness of the alfalfa samples in the collection of the FSBSI “ARC “Donskoy” depending on the seed storage time. The seed hardness of the studied varieties after 1 month of storage ranged from 31 to 74% on average for two years. The varieties “Sonora 76” (the USA) and “Stavropolskaya 430” (Russia) possessed the highest value of the studied trait (62% and 74%, respectively). The seed hardness of the standard variety “Rostovskaya 90” was 49.5%. After 6 months of storage, the percentage of seed hardness in all studied varieties significantly decreased. The studied indicator of the standard variety “Rostovskaya 90” decreased to 24%. The varieties “Smuglyanka” (Ukraine), “Zvezdochka” (Russia), “Veko” (Canada), “Admiral” (Canada), “Verta+” (Canada), “AZNIHI-5” (Azerbaijan), “Tashkentskaya 1” (Uzbekistan), “Karlygash” (Kazakhstan) with the indicators from 7% to 13% had a significantly lower percentage of seed hardness compared with the standard variety. The varieties “Sonora 76” (USA) and “Stavropolskaya 430” (Russia), with seed hardness of 38.5% and 49%, respectively, significantly exceeded the standard variety “Rostovskaya 90”. After 12 months of storage, seed hardness of the studied varieties ranged from 4 to 22.5%. The indicator for this trait of the variety, taken as a standard was 16.5%. A significantly lower percentage of seed hardness (from 3% to 10%) was in 12 studied varieties, the lowest indicator was shown by the variety “Zvezdochka” (Russia). The two varieties “Sonora 76” (USA) and “Stavropolskaya 430” (Russia) showed a significant excess with indicators of 21.5% and 22.5%, respectively.

SEED QUALITY EVALUATION IN THE COLLECTION OF CYAMOPSIS TETRAGONOLOBA AFTER LONG¬TERM STORAGE UNDER UNCONTROLLED CONDITIONS

Background. Guar or clusterbean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub.) is an annual leguminous plant cultivated for feed, food and industrial purposes. Its seed endosperm is used to extract guar gum, so the guar genetic resources stored in the VIR collection are of strategic importance for the import substitution policy in Russia in the context of their prospective introduction into cultivation in the country’s southern areas. Most of the guar accessions had been preserved by VIR for 40 years or more, so the task was to assess their germination rates and restore their viability. In the process of screening, seed quality parameters of the accessions were examined and analyzed.Materials and methods. VIR’s collection of C. tetragonoloba, initiated by N. I. Vavilov, now contains 111 accessions. Percentage seed viability, germination energy and seed hardness were evaluated in the Long-Term Storage Laboratory for 50 accessions reproduced in 2018 and for 263 older reproductions of 89 guar accessions. In total, 313 seed samples reproduced across 18 different years were analyzed. Statistica 10 software was used to perform a single-factor analysis of variance and find out how germination energy, seed viability and seed hardness correlated with the age of seeds, mean monthly temperature and mean rainfall during the growing season.Results and discussion. After more than 40 years of storage, the guar accessions did not entirely lost their viability under laboratory and field conditions. Very high positive correlations were found for their percentage viability and germination energy with the mean monthly temperature in the year of reproduction. A weak positive correlation was observed between seed hardness and the year of reproduction. Correlations between seed viability and rainfall during the growing season were weak, with a weak negative correlation between seed hardness and rainfall. The viability level of 30-year-old seeds was 50%, so guar may be regarded as belonging to the group of macrobiotic plants.