Salinity is one of the major threats facing the cultivation of field crops. The response of six rice (Oryza sativus L.) cultivars to different sodium chloride levels; 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 mM were investigated during germination and early seedling stages. Germination percent, mean germination time (MGT), shoot and root length and dry weight were all decreased as the levels of NaCl used increased. Percent reduction in dry weight over control was increased as the NaCl levels increased. Forat and Amber 33 were more salt tolerant cultivars with regard to germination percent, while Hwazawi cultivar was more sensitive. Hwazawi cultivar recorded the lower MGT while Amber 33 cultivar showed the higher MGT. Length of radicle and plumule of all cultivars were differently affected by salt, as Hwazawi and Mushkab cultivars showed more reduction in length while Amber 33 was less affected. Forat cultivar dry weight was more affected by salt compare to other cultivars. The effect of NaCl on salt tolerance index of cultivars was significant. The ranges of salt tolerance indices among salt levels were very wide, ranging from 95.42 at 30 mM of NaCl to 71.38 at 150 mM of NaCl. Interaction between salt levels and cultivars showed varying degree of differences. It is concluded that the different cultivars differ in their salt tolerance with respect to seed germination and seedling growth.

No abstract

Basil plant (Ocimum basilicum L.) is aromatic and medicinal plants, cultivated for producing essential oil, and utilizing in culinary, biopesticides, and pharmaceutical productions. Notwithstanding, basil production can be used in different markets. Nitrogen deficiency is the main factor influences basil production in the world. Thus, this study was performed during the summer season of 2019 to evaluate the impact of the application of urea fertilizer (applied at seven rates; 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 kg N/ha) on chlorophyll, agronomic traits, seed yield, and essential oil production. Using a moderate rate of urea fertilizer is proposed to be sufficient for some agronomic traits. Moreover, a nonlinear-relationship between essential oil and urea fertilizer rate was found. This study”s results proved that utilizing urea fertilizer at a moderate rate can increase agronomic traits and essential oil of basil.

A field experiment has been used two purple cultivars of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) during summer of 2019 at Al-Diwaniyah Station for Crop Cultivation and Development, Al-Diwaniyah city, Iraq, to study the effect of different rates of NPK on some vegetative characters and oil yield. The treatments comprised different rates (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 g.L−1) of NPK foliar fertilization which were applied after 50 DAP. Obtained results revealed that NPK had significant effect on all parameters tested in both cultivars. Red Rubin cultivar showed a linear relationship between all parameters tested and NPK rates. However, only one parameter; plant height, showed this relationship in Dark Opal cultivar at which, all other four parameter showed polynomial relationship. The maximum values for the parameters were obtained at the 3.0 g.L−1 NPK treatment for Red Rubin cultivar and at 1.5-2.5 g.L−1 NPK treatments in most parameters for Dark Opal. It can be concluded that NPK application had a pronounced beneficial effect on basil plant.

Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) is a well-known multi-functional plant with anti-inflammatory, cardiotonic, antiangiogenic, and anticancer effects. The therapeutic value of this plant is due to its phytochemical constitutes, especially parthenolide. Tissue culture techniques have been applied to improve the bioactive components of many herbal plants. Hence, this study, was carried out to establish a protocol for micropropagation of the feverfew plant and to quantify parthenolide content in its micropropagated and conventionally grown plants. To establish an aseptic culture, different concentrations of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) were investigated for seed surface sterilization. Besides, the effects of plant growth regulators (PGRs) on the callus induction, shoot organogenesis from callus and in vitro rooting were evaluated. Additionally, the parthenolide yield of the micropropagated and conventionally grown plants was determined by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results showed that surface sterilization of feverfew seeds with 6% NaOCl for 15 min obtained 65.00 ± 2.69% aseptic seeds. Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 0.4 mg/L thidiazuron (TDZ) and 2 mg/L 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D) resulted in 86.00 ± 1.72% callus induction. The highest number of shoots (5.00 ± 0.15) per explant was obtained in the treatment of MS medium supplemented with 5 mg/L zeatin. MS medium fortified with 3 mg/L indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) produced the maximum number of roots per plantlet (8.90 ± 0.35). A total of 90% of the micropropagated plantlets survived when planted in perlite + peat moss (1:1 v/v); the micropropagated plantlets were successfully established in the ex vitro conditions. According to parthenolide analysis, its level was significantly higher in the micropropagated plants than conventionally grown plants. Among different solvents, ethanolic extraction obtained the highest parthenolide content of the feverfew plant. Hence, it can be concluded that micropropagation of feverfew could be applied to produce disease-free planting materials and to improve the parthenolide content of the feverfew plant.