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The experiment was conducted during the 2018 season at the research station of the College of Agriculture and Forestry (University of Mosul, Iraq) to investigate the effect of volcanic rock dust (VRD) (0, 125, 250 g m-2) and the fertilizer chelated Iron Fe-EDTA (0, 100, 200 mg L-1) on the bacteria Rhizobium fabae, and the growth and yield of two broad bean (Vicia faba L.) varieties, Histal and Aquadulce. A randomized complete block design was used with three replicates and least significant difference (LSD) to compare means at a significance level of 0.05. Results showed that VRD 250 g m-2 obtained the highest significant mean for the following traits: leaf area index (LAI), number of branches per plant, leaf contents of chlorophyll and total iron, number of effective bacteria nodules per plant, 100-seed weight, plant yield, and percentage of protein in the seeds. On the other hand, 200 mg L-1 Fe-EDTA obtained the highest significant mean of all the traits for both varieties, except for LAI and number of branches per plant. The application of Fe-EDTA per plant had no significant effect on the leaf content of chlorophyll for both varieties and the percentage of protein in the seeds for variety Aquadulce. The interaction of VRD 250 g m-2 with 200 mg L-1 Fe-EDTA achieved the highest significant average for all the traits, except for plant height.

Short vase life and post-harvest losses of cut flowers are major threat to floriculture industry. There are different preservative solutions that have been used to extend the post-harvest life of cut flowers. Hence, this study was executed at Floriculture laboratory of Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad during 2018-2020 to explore the efficacy of different preservative solutions on vase life and post-harvest quality of cut roses. There were 6 treatments viz, (T1= Distilled water, T2= Silver nitrate @ 100 ppm, T3= 8-Hydroxyquiroline citrate @ 100 ppm, T4= Sodium thiosulphate @100 ppm, T5= Sodium benzoate @100 ppm, T6= Sucrose @ 40 g/L) and two rose cultivars Kardinal and Gold medal. The experiment was arranged according to complete randomized design (CRD). Results designated that longest vase life (15 days), maximum soluble solid contents (9.3 Brix) and longest opening period (7.4 days) were acquired with silver nitrate @100 ppm solution while maximum flower size (6.77 cm2) and largest head diameter (8.6 cm) were achieved with sodium thiosulphate when applied at the rate of 100 ppm in cultivar Kardinal. All other chemical solutions also displayed positive effects. Keeping in view the remarkable impact of Silver nitrate on vase life and quality of cut roses, it is recommended for commercial growers and cut flower industry for preservation of cut roses for longer time.

A field study was conducted for assessment five different varieties of pomegranate (Tarnab gulabi, NARC-1, NARC-2, Kandhari and Sultan) under subtropical agro-climatic conditions. The investigation was conducted under RCBD (randomized complete block design) with five treatments and three replications. Various morphological (plant height, leaf area), fruit physical (fruit size, fruit weight, seed%, juice % and peel %) and biochemical (TSS, pH, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid contents, total sugars, reducing sugars and non-reducing sugars, total antioxidants and total phenols) parameters were studied. Findings noted were subjected to variance analysis at 5% probability. Wide morph-biochemical variation was observed for most of the examined traits. Results showed that NARC-I showed highest value for fruit weight (224.07g), juice % (34.33%), non-reducing sugars (4.53%), titratable acidity (1.67%) and total antioxidant contents (4.53 DPPH inhibition %age) in juice. Kandhari had maximum seed % (42.67%), peel % (39.23%) and vitamin C (12.13 mg/100ml) contents. Highest plant height (11.23 feet), leaf area (1031.4mm), juice pH (3.43), TSS (19.20 brix), reducing sugars (11.70%) and total phenols (11.70 µg GAE L-1) was observed in Sultan strain. Based on the outcomes of this investigation, it can be concluded that Sultan performed better in terms of vegetative and fruit physical and bio-chemical attributes under subtropical agro-climatic conditions of Faisalabad.