Sixty durum wheat genotypes selected from previous evaluation of National Plant Gene Bank of Iran and Cereal Department Collection comprises of local durum wheat and some cultivars from other countries, were studied. The genotypes were evaluated along with nine durum checks for AGRONOMIC TRAITS in an augmented design experiment during 2009-2010 cropping season at Seed and Plant Improvement Institute, Karaj, Iran. Each genotype was planted in six rows of 3m long. The checks were repeated four times among the rows, randomly. The recorded TRAITS were adjusted based on the model of the design. Descriptive analysis of data showed presence of a vast genetic variability among the genotypes for the recorded TRAITS. Correlation analysis among the TRAITS revealed positive correlation between grain yield and grain number per spike (r=0.32**), and grain weight per spike(r=0.38**), whereas its correlation with plant height (r=-0.53**) and length of peduncle(r=-0.42**) was negative. By stepwise regression analysis plant height and date to heading remained in the final model. Factor analysis using principal components, identified 3 factors which covered 67% of total variation in the samples. Plant height, and yield components were present in the factors. Cluster analysis using Ward method grouped the genotypes in six clusters. Fifteen genotypes out yielded the mean of all checks, however only four were superior to the highest yielding checks, i.e. genotypes Nos. 3 (Wc-46198, with 9789 kgha-1), 11(Wc-46031, a Japanese variety with 9927 kgha-1), 10 (Wc-46043, a Japanese variety with 10066 kgha-1), and 55 (P.S.No22, with 10273 kgha-1) which were considered as the best and selected for further evaluations.

Introduction: Phalaris aquatica L. (Poaceae), is perennial grass. It passes summer drought as buds at the base of reproductive tillers attached to the deep root system. Genotypes of Ph. aquatica show a range of incomplete endogenous dormancy. P. aquatica, 2n=4x=28, is an allopolyploid or segmental allotetraploid. Many forage grass species have estimated the heritability of different AGRONOMIC TRAITS. The selection could be operated on a highly heritable trait related to a more complex trait such as forage yield.Evaluation of genetic diversity and study of relationships between TRAITS based on morphological and AGRONOMIC TRAITS can be helpful for organizing germplasm, selecting parents for hybridization, and producing segregating populations. Despite the importance of forage plants in country's animal husbandry, not much attention has been paid to the category of breeding and introduction of suitable forage plants in comparison with other crops. The main purpose of this study was to investigate Phalaris aquatica as a forage species in order to identify the desired genotypes for use in breeding projects.Materials and Methods:The twenty-six Phalaris aquatica genotypes were selected from a large replicated nursery established, mainly consisting of natural ecotypes of Phalaris aquatica from broad geographical areas of Iran. A study was implemented using 26 selected Ph. aquatica genotypes in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications in the Research Field of the Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute (ABRI) of northwest and west region of the country in Tabriz. The Ph. aquatica genotypes were examined in terms of morphological and AGRONOMICal TRAITS, seed and forage yield. Evaluated TRAITS were number of days to flowering, number of days to pollination, plant height, spike length, number of stems, dry matter yield, crown diameter, flag leaf length and flag leaf width. Before performing a data analysis, the assumptions of analysis of variance was tested.Results and Discussion: The results of analysis of variance (ANoVA) showed the existence of genetic diversity among selected Phalaris aquatica genotypes. Mean comparisons also showed that genotype Ph.aq-3 had the highest number of stems and genotypes Ph.aq-6 and Ph.aq-26 had the lowest number of stems per plant, respectively. The largest diameter of the canopy with 48.89 cm was related to genotype Ph.aq-12. Results of correlation analysis showed that dry forage yield has a positive and significant correlation with TRAITS such as spike length, seed yield, number of stems, crown diameter and canopy diameter. In principal components analysis, four components were identified, which in total explained 84.3% of the total variance of the variables. In the first principal component, TRAITS such as dry forage yield, crown diameter and canopy diameter, in the second component, only the leaf length and in the third component, TRAITS such as number of days to flowering and number of days to pollination had the highest coefficients. Cluster analysis also classified the studied genotypes into six sub-clusters. Considering TRAITS such as yield and yield components, genotypes in the third sub-cluster can be a good choice for cultivation. Also, the maximum genetic distance was obtained between the third sub-cluster and the fifth sub-cluster, which according to the goals of the breeder, the genotypes of these two sub-clusters can be used in breeding programs for exploiting their desirable genes.Conclusion: In conclusion, results of present research indicated low genetic variability in the studied Ph. aquatica genotypes and some genotypes with high production capacity or other desirable TRAITS can be used in Phalaris aquatica breeding projects. Genetic diversity can be used at breeding genotypes to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, the studied Phalaris aquatica genotypes will deliver valuable germplasm to employ in Phalaris aquatica breeding programs for forage cultivar production.

Many QTLs related to AGRONOMIC triats have been registered in soybean (Glycine max) by different research groups during the last decade. Due to the interaction effects of QTLs, environmental and genetic backgrounds on the emergence of QTLs and also to confirm the previous results as well as to identify new QTLs, further studies are still required. In order to map QTL which control some AGRONOMIC triats, a population consisting of 140 F2 plants, derived from a cross between Williams-82xRGR-JAP, were genetypically assessed by employing 17 SSR and 70 AFLP markers. Ultimately, based on the expected mendelian segregation, 12 SSR and 50 AFLP markers were used for the genetic map along with QTL mapping. Phenotypic evaluation was carried out on 140 F2:3 families for 21 TRAITS. In the end, the linkage map consisting of 13 linkage groups were perpared which covered the genetic map of 733 cM in length. QTL mapping was done using composite interval mapping method which collectively detected 13 QTLs for 10 TRAITS. A major QTL with pleiotropic effects was detected between the two markers Satt-365 and Satt-489 in LG- U9. Results of previous studies confirmed the existence of this QTL. A QTL responsible for reproductive duration and as well for the no. of branches (close to Satt-231 marker in LG-U4) was also detected.

Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) from Poaceae family is an aloehexaploid (2n = 6x = 42) and cross pollinated plant that is used throughout the world as a forage plant. Most of economically important morphological TRAITS have quantitative (polygenic) inheritance, and the expression of genes controlling these TRAITS are widely influenced by the environment. So improving these TRAITS with classical breeding methods is difficult and time consuming. In the last 40 years, the development of molecular markers technology and its integration with biometric methods has made possible identification of QTL and developing marker assisted selection. This research was aimed to study the genetic control and identification of genomic regions controlling agro-morphological TRAITS in tall fescue germplasm using association analysis approach. In the molecular experiment, the genetic diversity of ninety tall fescue populations was assessed by 10 EST-SSR and 39 ISSR primers. In the phenotypic assessment, the phenotypic variability of ninety tall fescue populations for 10 agro-biological TRAITS was assessed using randomized complete block design with three replications. Among studied agro-biological TRAITS, the highest variation was observed for plant height and date to pollination. In principal component analysis based on agro-biological TRAITS the studied tall fescue population subdivided into two main groups and four subgroups. In grouping population based on all studied molecular markers via UPGMA and Bayesian methods, the population divided into two main groups including grass and forage groups. The results showed that based on both morphological and molecular markers there are valuable genetic diversity among studied population. In association analysis with both GLM and MLM methods the highest number of markers was identified for data to pollination trait. In the GLM method, some common markers were identified for date to pollination and flowering date TRAITS that could be used to study both TRAITS simultaneously.

New-edible oil genotypes of flax can have contribution in oil seed production. Powdery mildew (Oidium lini) is one of the flax diseases Isfahan region that completely infect the crop. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of controlling the disease on seed yield and other AGRONOMIC TRAITS of flax. In this study, 8 edible-oil genotypes along with a landrace variety of regular flax were evaluated in two adjacent experiments using randomized complete block design with 4 replications. In one of the experiment, the disease was completely controlled by spraying with Calixin in 3 times with interval of 15 days. However, in the other experiment, there was no controlling of the disease and the plants were infected in natural field conditions. The results showed that spraying with fungicide had a significant effect only on plant height (P<0.01) and 100-seed weight (P<0.05). Plant height and 100-seed weight (P<0.05). Plant height and 100-seed weight was decreased and increased, respectively due to spraying. There was no significant interaction effect between spraying and genotypes for any trait. Base upon the results of this experiment, the occurrence of powdery mildew at the final stages of growth in flax and at Isfahan climatical conditions, had no significant negative effect on AGRONOMIC TRAITS such as seed yield.

Landraces comprising of many genotypes that have been screened naturally during long time of crop history and are adapted to their natural areas of planting. They are very important materials to breeders. Sardari bread wheat has a long breeding background. At present it is planted about 0.5 million hectares in the west and the northwest cold drylands of Iran and it has shown good adaptability to this conditions. In order to evaluate of genetic diversity in Sardari landrace, morphphysiological TRAITS of 106 pure lines that were selected by spike selection method, studied during 1995-96 and 1996-97. Studied TRAITS were: spike and grain color, spike length, number of seeds in spike, number of spike lets in spike, grain protein percentage, plant height, number of tillers per plant, 1000 kernel weight, days to maturity and reaction to winter cold, lodging and yellow rust. The results of the study showed that: there was high variation in AGRONOMIC and morphophysiological TRAITS among pure lines. In spite of susceptibility of Sardari to yellow rust, lodging and low seed protein, there were many desirable lines among studied lines that were resistant to yellow rust and lodging along side having high seed protein. Variability existing in studied TRAITS of Sardari demonstrate its stability and adaptability in dryland conditions. Regarding the obtained results, Sardari wheat landrace is one of the important genetic source to wheat breeding in dry condition of Iran and should be protected and kept against genetic erosion.

Introduction: Sesame (Sesamum indicum L. ) is considered as the queen of oilseeds for its high oil quality. Sesame oil is rich in micronutrients, antioxidants and essential amino acids as well as polyunsaturated fatty acids. It has been well documented that AGRONOMIC practices such as time and rate of planting will have a direct effect on sesame grain yield, oil content and quality. Therefore determining the optimum plant density is very important in sesame production. Material and Methods: In the current experiment, the effect of different planting densities (20, 40 and 60 Plants per m2) was investigated on AGRONOMIC TRAITS of six sesame cultivars (Halil, Dashtestan 2, Darab 1, Oltan, Yellow White and Naz Tak Shakhe). The field experiment was carried out as factorial layout based on randomised complete block design with three replicates in research farm of Seed and Plant Improvement Institute, in 2016. Each experimental plot consisted of four adjacent rows, 5 m in length and 0. 3 m apart. To achieve the above-mentioned planting densities, sesame seeds were sown 16, 8 and 5 cm apart on each row on 6th June. If required, the seedlings were thinned at 2-3 leaf stage. The crop was irrigated according to the conventional schedule for the region. Weeds were manually removed throughout the growing season. At physiological maturity stage, two middle rows of each plot were harvested for determination of yield and yield components. Data analysis was performed using SAS 9. 1 and means were compared by the Least Significant Difference (LSD) test at the 5% probability level. Results and Discussion: The results showed that all measured TRAITS except 1000-seed weight and harvest index significantly affected by planting density. Also, the interaction between planting density and cultivar was significant on the number of capsules per plant, seed yield, harvest index and oil concentration. At planting densities of 20 and 40 plants per m2, the maximum grain yield were related to Dashtestan 2 cultivar. At planting densities of 60 plants per m2, Naz Tak Shakhe was found to be the best cultivar regarding grain yield. Although the increase in planting density from 20 to 40 plants per m2, could increase grain yield in all cultivars, the highest grain yield was related to Naz Tak Shakhe cultivar. Furthermore, increase in planting density up to 60 plants per m2, caused severe grain yield loss in all cultivars except Naz Tak Shakhe cultivar which showed 18% increase in grain yield. Conclusions: In general, it can be concluded that cultivars characteristics could be considered as essential parameters to determine the optimum planting density. Therefore, if the plant density is adjusted in such a way that plants could be able to use the environment and AGRONOMIC inputs factors with the minimum intra-specific competition, maximum economic yield will be obtained.

The molecular marker (SSR) has been used to investigate the markers associated with the AGRONOMIC TRAITS including days to 50% flowering, tube ring time, days to maturity, plant height, the number of main stems per plant, the number of tubers per plant, dry matter content, main stem diameter, a single tuber weight, average single tuber weight, and the total yield in potato genotypes. Ten primers used in 16 potato genotypes were investigated and principal component analysis and cluster analysis were used to determine genetic distance and genotype classification. A significant difference was found between all cultivars, indicating high genetic diversity for the TRAITS under study, except for the diameter of stem trait. Yield showed a significant positive correlation with the number of tubers per plant, weight of tubers per plant, single tuber weight, and the number of main stems per plant. Special values resulted from components of 1-5 were higher than 1 in principal component analysis and totally justifying 76.70% of all variables variances. Molecular diversity of cultivars was measured using parameters of polymorphic information, the number of effective alleles, and Shannon index and the average of 39.03 SSR bands was achieved among which 9.41 bands were polymorphic. The average number of polymorphic bands varied for each primer from 1.56 to 2.12. Maximum and minimum polymorphic bands belonged to the HVM70 primer with 2.12 and the Bmacoo40 primer with 1.56, respectively. Also, the mean maximum band (4.4) and minimum band (3.1) belonged to Agra and Deyta cultivars, respectively. The morphologic data did not conform to the molecular data indicating that SSR marker had no genetic relationship with positions controlling the measured morphologic TRAITS. Since the SSR markers were located in non-coding area of genome, no relationship between classifications of molecular markers and morphologic data was unexpected.

Introduction and Objective: The main usage of durum wheat is the production of semolina (pasta flour) for pasta products due to its high protein and strong glutamine. The development of the pasta industry, along with the increase in its demand and the favorable weather conditions in many parts of Iran, requires more research, especially in the field of durum wheat breeding with knowledge of the genetic diversity of the studied genotypes. Material and methods:The plant material used in this experiment included 18 winter durum wheat genotypes that were evaluated in dryland conditions in a randomized complete block design with four replications at Moghan Dryland Agricultural Research Station located in Pars-Abad of Ardabil province. The 32 phenomorphological and AGRONOMIC TRAITS were measured in laboratory and field. Results: The difference between the studied genotypes was significant for most of the TRAITS. Mean comparison of TRAITS for durum wheat genotypes in important TRAITS such as total grain yield, total biomass, yield of fertile tillers, weight of main spike, number of leaves, length of spike and length of peduncle, introduced two genotypes as prior genotypes. Total grain yield had a significant positive correlation with some TRAITS such as main spike weight, number of spikelets, number of grains per spike, number of grains in fertile tillers, yield of fertile tillers and awn weight. Cluster analysis classified 18 durum wheat genotypes to three groups. The first cluster included seven genotypes, the second cluster contained three genotypes, and finally the third cluster included eight genotypes. The third cluster in terms of plant height, spike length, peduncle length, number of leaves, stem diameter, number of fertile tillers, weight of single plant, weight of main spike, number of spikelets, number of grains per spike, number of grains per fertile tiller, fertile tiller yield, awn length, awn weight, straw yield, flag leaf length, flag leaf width, total grain yield, total biomass and total straw yield were higher than average. Therefore, the genotypes of this group can be used to improve grain yield. In principal component analysis, the first three components explained for 68.28% of the total variation. For the first component, single plant weight, spike weight, fertile tiller yield, straw yield, total grain yield and total biomass had high positive coefficients. According to the analysis of the main components, the first component, grain yield component, the second component, maturity-related TRAITS and the third component, leaf-related TRAITS were named. These components can be used in the selection of durum wheat genotypes in breeding programs. Conclusion: Among durum wheat genotypes in terms of studied TRAITS, considerable diversity was found, and this diversity can be used in breeding programs for resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses and other breeding purposes.

Seven maize inbred lines were crossed in a complete diallel cross design at the Seed and Plant Improvement Institute, Karaj, Iran, during the 2006 growing season. The parents and 42 F1 hybrids were grown in the research field of Islamic Azad University of Firoozabad, Firoozabad, Iran, using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications, during the 2007 growing season. The Hayman method was used for data analysis. Results indicated over-dominance gene effects for days from silking to physiological maturity, days from anthesis to physiological maturity, plant height, kernel depth, number of rows per ear and grain yield. The most appropriate strategy for the exploitation of these effects is to obtain hybrid cultivars and evaluate these characteristics in hybrid combinations. The gene effect for days from emergence to physiological maturity and number of kernels per row was complete dominance, suggesting that reciprocal recurrent selection would be effective. Ear leaf area and ear length were controlled by partial dominance, indicating that additive gene effects were more important than non-additive gene effects for controlling the inheritance of these TRAITS. Therefore, improvement of these TRAITS through selection of breeding materials is highly feasible. Broad-sense heritability ranged between 47.4% and 89.4% for days to physiological maturity and number of rows per ear; however, narrow-sense heritability varied between 7.3% and 50.6% for days from anthesis to physiological maturity and ear leaf area, respectively. Non-additive gene effects were predominant for controlling the majority of TRAITS.