Garden asparagus ( L., 2n =2x = 20) is an important vegetable crop cultivated worldwide. A narrow genetic base has been pointed out in the current cultivars. Wild related asparagus species could be a valuable resource to extend genetic variation of this crop, but their use have been scarce between cultivated and wild asparagus species, A. persicus (2x) and A. breslerianus (8x), were obtained by hand-pollination. The genetic origin of hybrid plants loid hybrids between cultivated asparagus and both A. persicus and a wild accession of were detected by SSR markers in progenies obtained from open pollination. In this case, the genetic polymorphism among 21 asparagus accessions belong to 10 dioecious species ( (2x, 4x, 8x, 10x), A. verticillatus (2x), A. breslerianus (8x), A. brachyphyllus (6x), A. pseudoscaber (6x), A. acutifolius (4x), A. persicus (2x), A. macrorrhizus (12x), A. maritimus (6x) and A. prostratus (4x open pollination condition were analyzed by using 26 amplicon were found among the accessions. The utility rate of this information for detecting of hybrid plants was tested by employing progenies from the diploid species included A. persicus, wild accession of A. ofand A. verticillatus. Fifteen and nine hybrid plants were detected in progenies from A. persicus and wild accession of respectively, whereas no

<p>Eggplant is one of the most popular and vital vegetable crops in the world. Various plant bio-regulators have been used in different crops to increase uptake of nutrients thereby leading to improvement in growth, flowering, fruit quality, storability and yield. The scope of this study was to evaluate the effects of calcium lactate and salicylic acid foliar application on growth parameters, physiological characteristics and shelf-life of eggplant fruit. Obtained results showed that the highest applied concentrations of calcium lactate (4 mM or 0.8 g l-1) and salicylic acid (1.5 mM or 0.2 g l-1) foliar application led to the highest values of measured growth parameters and yield. Applying of calcium lactate and salicylic acid foliar treatments could increase tissue firmness and ascorbic acid content of fruits. Foliar application of calcium lactate 4 mM (0.8 g l-1) and salicylic acid 1 mM (0.13 g l-1) was the best treatment to decrease percentage of fruit decay. In conclusion, our results showed that foliar application of calcium lactate and salicylic acid can be useful and inexpensive treatment to improve growth parameters, physiological characteristics and post-harvest properties of eggplant fruit</p>

Some of the most cultivated commercial cultivars of asparagus are susceptible to abiotic stresses. Different species of asparagus plant are distributed in different regions of Iran which could be useful genetic resources for applying in asparagus breeding programs. The purposes of the current study were to evaluate morphological variation of A. azerbaijanensis accessions and drought tolerance assessment of Iranian asparagus in order to introduce superior accessions. Two different accessions of A. azerbaijanensis species were collected. A number of 30 plants were selected and 22 morphological traits were then evaluated. A factorial experiment based on completely randomized design was performed in order to drought tolerance assessment of 9 Iranian asparagus accessions. The average of spear length and diameter in Ahar and Makou plants were 48.94 cm and 4.70 mm, respectively. Based on results, plants of Ahar accession produced short and thick spears but on the other hand, Makou accession plants produced longer and thinner spears. Score 8 (80% similarity rate) was averagely chosen by panel members in terms of similarity rate of A. azerbaijanensis accessions spears taste to that of Mary Washington commercial cultivar. The highest percentage of seed germination was recorded in Baladeh and Gazanak accessions (71.66 and 70.83%, respectively). Baladeh accession showed the highest carotenoid content under drought stress conditions (0.43 mg g Fw− 1). Suitable size and delicious taste of spear in A. azerbaijanensis species has made it a suitable candidate for commercial cultivation and also improving spear characteristics by using selection method. Baladeh and Gazanak accessions could be introduced as superior accessions with high drought tolerance rate. High resistance rate of these accessions can be related to their ploidy level and distribution areas characteristics.

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