In this experiment, the effect of garlic (GP) and TOMATO (TP) powders on performance, blood parameters, sex differentiation and hatchability of Ross-308 broiler breeders were examined and compared with In-Ovo injection of garlic or TOMATO hydroalcoholic extracts. In first experiment, 375 hens and 25 roosters (47 wk.) were randomly allocated to 5 treatments and 5 replicates, for 4 weeks. Treatments included: 1) basal diet (control), 2 and 3) basal diet+ 2 and 4 percent of GP, and 4 and 5) basal diet + 2 and 4 percent of TP, respectively. In second experiment, 200 hens and 20 roosters were randomly allocated to 2 treatments including 1) basal diet and 2) basal diet + 4% of TP (selected treatment of the Exp. 1) in 5 replications from 52-56 wk. During incubation period, experimental treatments included: 1) control group, 2) eggs from hens fed 4% TP, 3) In-Ovo injection of physiological serum and 4 and 5) In-Ovo injection of 0.1 and 0.3 ml of garlic and TOMATO hydroalcoholic extracts. The results of first experiment, adding garlic and TOMATO powders was not significant on egg qualitative traits and blood parameters (P>0.05). All In-Ovo injection treatments increased fertility percentage (P<0.05). The second experiment results showed that treatments had no significant effect on the percent of males and females (P>0.05). In general, addition of 4 percent TOMATO powder to broiler breeders in comparison to In-Ovo injection of hydroalcoholic extracts of garlic and TOMATO, did not increase male 1-d-old chicks’ percentage of hatched chicks.

TOMATO leaf curl virus (TLCY, Family Geminiviridae, genus Begomovirus) is a whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) transmitted geminivirus (WTG) causing a destructive disease of TOMATO in many regions of India, East Asia and Australia. While TLCY isolates from Australia, Bangalore (India) and Taiwan and TOMATO yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCY) isolates from different regions of Asia, Europe and America have a single genomic component (designated DNA A), those from Northern India and Thailand have two components (DNA A and DNA B). Previously, TYLCY-like geminiviruses have been identified from southern provinces of Iran causing leaf curling, stunting, and severe reduction in fruits of TOMATO plants in the fields. We have used degenerate DNA A specific PCR primers to clone part of the genome of an Iranian isolate of TLCY (TLCY-Ir) from field-infected TOMATO plants growing in Iranshahr, Sistan-Baluchestan Province. Degenerate DNA B-specific PCR primers did not amplify a putative DNA B from infected TOMATO under conditions that DNA B fragments were amplified from plants infected with TOMATO golden mosaic virus, a known bipartite begomovirus. The full-length 2763 nucleotide DNA A genome of TLCY-Ir was sequenced and compared to Iranian isolate of TYLCY (TYLCY-Ir, previously sequenced by Bananej et al., (GcnBank accession No. AJ 132711) isolated from TOMATO in the same region.As other monopartite TLCV and TYLCV isolates, both TLCV-Ir and TYLCV-Ir genomes contain six open reading frames, two on the virion-sense strand and four on the complementary-sense strand. Sequence comparisons indicated that TLCV-Ir is substantially different from TYLCV-Ir with only 79% nucleotide sequence identity. Phylogenetic analysis showed while the TYLCV-Ir represents an isolate of TYLCV-Israel (TYLCV-Is) group, the TLCV-Ir is closer to TLCV isolates from southern India (TLCVs-Bangalore 2-5) which are most similar to other WTGs infecting TOMATO and cotton in Pakistan, India and East Asia and differ substantially from T(Y)LCVs of the Middle East, America, Europe and Australia.Presence of two TOMATO - infecting begomoviruses in the same area provides a favorable environment for recombination of these viruses.

Microbial volatiles have an important role in plant growth promotion and protecting them against plant pathogens. In this work, we evaluated whether B. subtilis volatiles promote plant growth and induce resistance against P. syringae pv. TOMATO DC3000. Arabidopsis seedlings were exposed to bacterial volatiles in two compartments I-plate system. Volatiles increased plant growth significantly compared to control. Exposure of plant with bacterial volatiles reduced disease index from 80% to 40%. Pathogenic bacterial population in plant leaves reached up to 1. 1×106 CFU/g aerial part wet weight, in volatile treatment, however pathogen population reached up to 1. 3×108 in control plants. Expressions of PR-1, PDF1. 2, and ChiB have been evaluated as marker genes for salicylic acid, jasmonic acid and ethylene-depended pathways, respectively. Bacteria volatiles boosted the expression of PR-1 and PDF1. 2, significantly. These genes expressed strongly and rapidly which represented plant defense priming by bacteria volatiles. In conclusion, volatiles from B. subtilis GB03 not only improved plant growth significantly but also increased expression of defense-related genes and eventually suppressed disease in Arabidopsis.

One of the most important products of TOMATO is TOMATO paste and characteristics improvement is noticeable. In this research, the effect of whole and break TOMATO preheating on consistency and other properties of TOMATO paste has been studied. The results showed that heating the whole TOMATO at 85°C resulted in better preserving of pectin, color quality, and improving the consistency. Furthermore, in conventional heating process, increasing the temperature up to 100°C led to keep more quantity of pectin and improving the consistency; however, the color quality decreased significantly.

More than 22% of the world's agricultural land is saline, and this trend continues to increase with climate changes. Salinity stress causes leaf color change, osmotic stress, ionic toxicity, prevents growth, photosynthesis and plant performance. Due to their size less than micron, metal nanoparticles have a great absorption and transmission power in plants. Salinity stress is a major problem in hot and dry areas under TOMATO cultivation. For this purpose, investigating the mutual effects of the size and type of zinc oxide and iron oxide nanoparticles on the improvement and change of growth and increasing the resistance to salt stress in TOMATO plants of the early urbana variety were carried out in the form of a completely randomized and factorial design with 4 replications, at a significant level of 5%. In this research, zinc oxide nanoparticles in 25 and 50 nm sizes, iron oxide in 25 nm sizes and sodium chloride in 0 and 75 mM levels were used. Nanoparticles and salinity treatments were both applied to the plants. The results showed that salt stress led to a decrease in plant growth parameters such as shoot and root length, leaf area, RWC, ion leakage. Also, NaCl led to an increase in the accumulation of prolin and other aldehydes, sodium, iron and zinc. The application of nanoparticles had a slight effect in stress-free conditions, but in stressed conditions, these two nanoparticles alone and especially in combination neutralized the effect of salinity and reduced the damage caused by salinity stress.

In this study, the life history characteristics of Trichogramma euproctidis (Girault), an established egg parasitoid species in southwestern Iran, parasitizing Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) were examined at 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, and 33 °C. The results showed that different constant temperatures significantly affected the number of parasitized eggs, development time, sex ratio, tibial length, number of parasitoids per host egg, progeny longevity, and fecundity. T. euproctidis failed to complete development at 18 °C, the lowest temperature tested. The mean developmental duration from egg to adult female decreased from 15.33 days at 21 °C to 7.25 days at 33 °C. An average of 188-degree days was required to complete development above the lower threshold temperature (7.2 °C). Survivorship was 96.20, 97.20, 98.33, 85.46, and 82.22 % at 21, 24, 27, 30, and 33 °C, respectively. The mean longevity of T. euproctidis ranged from 11.60 days at 21 °C to 4.57 days at 33 °C. Mean total progeny ranged from 19.50 / female at 33 °C to 168.70 / female at 21 °C. Data analysis demonstrated that different constant temperatures had a significant effect on the net reproductive rate (R0), intrinsic rate of increase (r), finite rate of increase (λ), and generation time (T). The intrinsic rate of increase (r) improved with temperature from 0.240/day at 21°C to 0.370/day at 27 °C and then decreased at higher temperatures. Generation time decreased from 16.90 days to 7.53 days with increasing temperature. The optimal temperature for development and reproduction of T. euproctidis was 27 °C. The results of this study showed that this strain of T. euproctidis appears to have the potential to be utilized in integrated management programs targeting H. armigera.

Background and Objectives The TOMATO leaf miner, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), is an important pest of TOMATO in Iran. Therefore, this study was done to investigate fluctuations in adult male population of this pest using sex pheromone traps in Sirvan County (Ilam Province, western Iran) during a growing season, which lasted before transplanting to the end of growing season. Materials and Methods For conducting this research, 4 TOMATO farms in Sirvan County were selected and the pest populations were sampled using pheromone traps. The Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to assess the relationship between adult moth density and temperature. For determining optimal sample size, the Green's method was used. Results According to results of the present study, there were seven population peaks at intervals of approximately one month. Flight peak of this pest occurred on May 10, June 14, July 19, August 23, October 4, November 8 ,and  December 6, respectively. The highest population density was recorded on July 19 (397.75 moths) and population density of this pest was declined since late November. Studying the relationship between average number of male moths of T. absoluta captured by pheromone traps and average monthly temperature in a growing season showed that with the increase in temperature, population density of moths was also increased. Results of regression analysis indicated that peaks about abundance of male moth coincided with the previous monthly mean temperatures. Taylor's regression model showed a significant and high correlation between mean and variance regarding density of pest population. Statistically, the aggregation index of TOMATO leaf miner was equal to one. In this study, Green's method was used to estimate optimal sample size. The results showed that the required number of sampling units was decreased with the increase in average population density of the pest so that, when average population density of TOMATO leaf miner moth in each pheromone trap was one per week, the required number of samples with an accuracy level of 25 and 10% was equal to 1.86 and 11.65, respectively, and when average population density of this pest in each pheromone trap was 10 per week, the required number of samples with an accuracy level of 25 and 10% was equal to 0.37 and 2.32, respectively. Discussion Our results demonstrated that pheromone traps can be used as a suitable sampling method for monitoring population of the TOMATO leaf miner. This study provided the data about sampling, population distribution, fluctuations in population of TOMATO leaf miner, and the relationship between population density of the pest and temperature. Our findings can greatly contribute to rational management of this pest in the region.

TOMATO leafminer Tuta absoluta Meyrick (Lep: Gelechiidae) is one of the most important pests affecting TOMATO cultivation in Iran. Given its wide spread distribution, it becomes necessary to apply an effective management method. The high damage inflicted by this pest on TOMATO crops has historically led farmers to use chemical pesticides for quick control, resulting, in pesticide overuse and the development of resistance, rather than effective control against the TOMATO leafminer. Planting resistant cultivars to agricultural pests considered as one of the most important strategies for the cost-effective production of healthy products and the reduction of pesticide consumption. This study investingates the egg laying preferences of T. absoluta on 15 different TOMATO genotypes resulting from the hybridization (crossing) of two commercial cultivars, Sakhiya and Eshkol, using a free choice test under greenhouse conditions. Additionally, trichome density and chlorophyll content were assessed in the studied genotypes. The results revealed that Eshkol 52-2 (2), Sakhiya 9-2 (3) and Sakhiya 8-2 (3) exhibited the highest rates of egg laying, while Eshkol 52-7(2) and Eshkol 52-4 (2) showed the lowest. Furthermore, the genotypes with higher egg-laying rates were associated with lower trichome density. However, the chlorophyll content in Eshkol 52-2 (2), which had the most egg-laying rate, was notably high. Conversely, Sakhiya 9-2 (3) and Sakhiya 8-2(3), which also demonstrated relatively high egg-laying rates, exhibited lower chlorophyll content. The chlorophyll content in the genotypes Eshkol 52-7 (2) and Eshkol 52-4 (2), was relatively low but also the egg laying rate was low.

TOMATO leafminer Tuta absoluta Meyrick (Lep: Gelechiidae) is one of the most important pests affecting TOMATO cultivation in Iran. Given its wide spread distribution, it becomes necessary to apply an effective management method. The high damage inflicted by this pest on TOMATO crops has historically led farmers to use chemical pesticides for quick control, resulting, in pesticide overuse and the development of resistance, rather than effective control against the TOMATO leafminer. Planting resistant cultivars to agricultural pests considered as one of the most important strategies for the cost-effective production of healthy products and the reduction of pesticide consumption. This study investingates the egg laying preferences of T. absoluta on 15 different TOMATO genotypes resulting from the hybridization (crossing) of two commercial cultivars, Sakhiya and Eshkol, using a free choice test under greenhouse conditions. Additionally, trichome density and chlorophyll content were assessed in the studied genotypes. The results revealed that Eshkol 52-2 (2), Sakhiya 9-2 (3) and Sakhiya 8-2 (3) exhibited the highest rates of egg laying, while Eshkol 52-7(2) and Eshkol 52-4 (2) showed the lowest. Furthermore, the genotypes with higher egg-laying rates were associated with lower trichome density. However, the chlorophyll content in Eshkol 52-2 (2), which had the most egg-laying rate, was notably high. Conversely, Sakhiya 9-2 (3) and Sakhiya 8-2(3), which also demonstrated relatively high egg-laying rates, exhibited lower chlorophyll content. The chlorophyll content in the genotypes Eshkol 52-7 (2) and Eshkol 52-4 (2), was relatively low but also the egg laying rate was low.

Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is one of the most important and devastating pest of TOMATO crops throughout South and Central America, Europe and recently Iran that caused severe damages to TOMATO crops in greenhouses and fields. Since antixenosis and antibiosis are the two important resistance mechanisms in Lycopersicon hirsutum to TOMATO leafminer, these mechanisms were evaluated on 12 TOMATO cultivars of Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. (Petomech, Mobil, superstain-B, kingstone, Redstone, Early urbana-Y, Early urbana, Riogrande, Cal-J-N3, Primo early, Falat-111 and Dehghan) in greenhouse with daily temperature fluctuations of 18–27oC during November and December 2013. The first experiment was carried out to appraise the oviposistion preference of TOMATO leafminer on different parts of those 12 cultivars. Survival and duration of eggs, larvae and pupae, weight of pupae, sex ratio of progeny, visual injury rating and number of mines of TOMATO leafminer on 12 TOMATO cultivars were examined in the second experiment. The higher and lower ovposition were observed on Falat-111 (30 eggs) and Kingstone (5.33 eggs), respectively, on the fourth day of the experiment. Incubation period, larval and pupal stadia, pupal weight, visual injury rating and number of mines were significantly affected by TOMATO cultivars. Based on all examined characteristics, TOMATO cultivars were clustered into three main groups. We concluded that three cultivars Mobil, Riogrande and Cal-J-N3 appeared to be relatively more resistant to the damage inflicted.