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In order to compare of different methods and identify the optimum condition for tomato seed extraction, factorial experiments with 3 replications was conducted. In the first experiment, pulp of two tomato cultivars (Faraon, Dominator) were fermented at two temperatures (25, 35 degrees C) and six periods (24, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144 h). The germination of seeds in laboratory as well as seedling emergence and preliminary growth in greenhouse were studied and measured. The results showed that effect of cultivar on traits (except of seedling emergence) was significant. Also the effect of temperature of fermentation, duration of fermentation and also interaction effects of them on seed germination were significant. Totally seed quality decreased with increasing temperature and duration of fermentation and the fermentation duration from 24 to 48 h at temperature 25 degrees C, is recommended. In the second experiment, tomato seeds were extracted by HCL (pH was arranged to 1, 2, 3 for 10, 20, 30 min), H2SO4 (pH was arranged to 1, 2, for 15, 30 min), Sodium carbonate (5, 10% for 24 and 48 h) and fermentation. Percentage germination, germination rate, length of radicle and length of plumule were used for seed quality assessment. The results showed that interaction effect between pH and duration of HCL treatments was significant for seed germination (percentage and rate) and there was an interaction effect between concentration and duration for germination rate in alkali treatments. Different extraction methods had not detrimental effect on percentage germination, but acid treatments produce very bright clean seeds in compare to other treatments.

In order to determine the effect of compost (CO) on antioxidant compounds and fruit quality of sweet pepper (Capsicum annum L.), an experiment was conducted in open field. Treatments consisted of four levels of compost (0, 5, 10 and 15 ton ha -1 ).The experiment was designed in randomized block design with three replications. Compost treatments positively affected fruit antioxidant compounds of pepper (antioxidant activity, total phenolic and carbohydrate content).But, no significant difference was found in total flavonoid content between compost and control treatments. The highest antioxidant activity and carbohydrate content were obtained in plants treated with10 ton ha -1 of compost. Fruit quality factors (pH, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid and fruit firmness) were influenced by compost treatments. Total soluble solids, and fruit firmness significantly increased in response to compost treatments and the highest values were obtained from the most level of compost treatment (15 t ha -1 ). Thus, these results showed that compost has strong impact on fruit quality and antioxidant compounds of pepper plants under field conditions.

The present research evaluated the diversity of a number of Iranian pomegranate cultivars using fruit morphological characteristics and AFLP markers. Thirty-one pomegranate cultivars were collected from Yazd Pomegranate Collection in Iran to study their diversity. Seven AFLP primer combinations were used to amplify a total of 112 polymorphic fragments (47.26%). By use of AFLPs, a low genetic diversity level was detected among cultivars. The relationship between fruit characteristics was analyzed using the principal component analysis (PCA). The cluster analysis based on both fruit characteristics and AFLP data indicated that cultivars were not grouped according to their geographic origins. Moreover, the correlation between the diversity matrix based on fruit characteristics and Dice's genetic similarity coefficient was insignificant (r=0.06). The results obtained from this study can improve the conservation and management of pomegranate germplasm resources and could be helpful in optimizing breeding programs.