1 1680-7073 Tarbiat Modares University 11302 Statistical Analysis of Some Factors Affecting Crude Protein Balance in Lactating Dairy Cows Zamani P. b Miraei Ashtiani S. R. c Alipour D. d Tabatabaei M. e Aliarabi H. f Saki A. A. g Maleki M. h Abdolmohammadi A. i b Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Islamic Republic of Iran. c Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Animal and Agronomy Sciences, University of Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. d Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Islamic Republic of Iran. e Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Islamic Republic of Iran. f Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Islamic Republic of Iran. g Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Islamic Republic of Iran. h Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Islamic Republic of Iran. i Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Razi University, Kermanshah, Islamic Republic of Iran. 1 12 2011 13 7 0 0 03 03 2010 20 09 2010 Some factors affecting crude protein balance (CPB), as a measure of efficiency, were studied using 2824 records of 501 lactating Holstein cows. The CPB (kg d-1) was calculated as crude protein (CP) intake (kg) minus CP yield (kg). Two different statistical methods including principal components (PCs) and general linear model analyses were used to study the effects of different factors. Crude protein balance had a moderate correlation with PCs 1 (-0.206), 2 (0.318) and 3 (-0.281), which accounted for 65.6% of total variations. Age, parity, lactation stage, pregnancy stage, dry matter intake (DMI), milk yield (MY), fat corrected milk yield (FCM), milk fat percentage (F%), milk lactose percentage (L%), milk fat yield (FY), milk protein yield (PY), milk lactose yield (LY), dietary levels of net energy for lactation (NEL), CP, ruminally undegradable protein (RUP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and ether extract (EE) and income over feed cost (IOFC) were correlated to CPB, at least, in one of PCs 1, 2 or 3. In general, linear model analysis CPB was significantly affected by parity and lactation stage and had significant partial linear regression coefficients on DMI (kg d-1), F%, FY (kg d-1), PY (kg d-1), NEL (Mcal kg-1) and dietary levels of CP (%), RUP (%), NDF (%) and EE (%). The quadratic partial regression coefficients of CPB on NEL, CP, RUP and NDF were also significant. The estimates for optimum dietary levels of NEL, CP and RUP for minimizing CPB in the studied population were 1.49 Mcal/kg, 11.29% and 7.58%, respectively. In comparison to NRC’s estimates, it seems that, more NEL, RUP and NDF and less CP are needed to minimize protein balance in lactating dairy cows.
8191 Identifying Training Needs of Agriculture and Natural Resources Faculty Members in Using Information Technology Mahmoodi M. j Pezeshki Rad Gh. k Chizari M. l j Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, College of Agricultural, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. k Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, College of Agricultural, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. l Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, College of Agricultural, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. 1 12 2011 13 7 979 987 04 09 2011 04 09 2011 The main purpose of this study was to identify training needs of agricultural and natural resources faculty members in the use of information technology (IT) for educational and research activities. This study used a descriptive and correlational survey method and the population of the study included all faculty members at the Tehran and Tarbiat Modares Universities, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (N=267). According to Krejcie and Morgan (1970), the sample size for a population of this size was 158. A systematic sampling technique was used to select faculty members in the study. The overall Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the instrument was 0.82. Findings in respect to training needs of faculty members showed that “theories and models of online education” appeared at the top of the list of training needs and the lowest level of respondents` training need were in using Microsoft Word. The T-test result showed that there were significant differences (at the 0.01 level) in the training needs level of the faculty members who had received training during the last 5 years and those who had not . In the case of those who had access to computer and the Internet and those who did not have access, training needs differed at 0.05 level of significance. The results of Pearson's correlation coefficient showed that age had a significant and positive correlation with the faculty members` training needs level of IT use in educational and research activities. In contrast, Internet use per week and willingness for online education had a significantly negative correlation with the faculty members` IT training needs. No significant relationship was revealed between teaching experiences of the respondents and their training needs level in the use of information technologies. 4053 An Analysis of the Exponential Family Models to Predict Yield Loss of Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) Challenged with Water Stress and Redroot Pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) Hamzehzarghani H. m Kazemeini S. A. n m Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran. n Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran. 1 12 2011 13 7 989 1000 20 09 2010 12 12 2010 The performance of different yield loss models from an exponential family was evaluated in safflower-redroot pigweed systems in two field experiments conducted during 2007 and 2008 growing seasons at the research field of Agricultural College of Shiraz University, Iran. The yield loss of safflower was recorded as relative yield loss in experimental plots laid out in split plot design with three replicates. Three different irrigation treatments were allocated to the main plots and consisted of full irrigation or 100% field capacity (FC), 75% FC, and 50% FC, while five weed densities (0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 weeds m-2) were assigned to the sub-plots The Logistic and Gompertz models and a user defined Power-Exponential model were fitted to the data to relate crop yield loss to the weed densities under different water stress conditions. The Power-Exponential model was chosen as the best fit to the data with statistically acceptable model diagnostics. Logistic and Gompertz models showed good fit to the observed data, but underestimated the yield loss under three levels of irrigation. Model performance in all cases was influenced by water stress as models generally showed greater constant and systematic biases under severe water stress (50% FC). Model parameters were used to explain the impact of water stress in crop/weed system. The exponential family models globally performed better over common empirical models such as Spitters, Kropff and Lotz and Cousens models. 4292 Effect of Salinity on Growth and Leaf Photosynthesis of Two Sugar Beet (Beta vulgaris L.) Cultivars Dadkhah A. o o Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran. 1 12 2011 13 7 1001 1012 04 09 2011 04 09 2011 This study investigated the variation between two sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) cultivars with respect to growth parameters and photosynthetic rates of individual attached leaves during salinization. Sugar beet plants grown in sand culture were gradually exposed to different levels of salinity (0, 50, 150 , 250, and 350 mM, NaCl+CaCl2 in 5:1 ratio). Salt concentrations significantly decreased all growth traits. At the highest level of salinity (350 mM), cv 7233- P29 showed a significantly higher leaf area and total dry matter than Madison after eight weeks of salt treatment commencment. Net photosynthesis (ACO2) and stomatal conductance (gs) were strongly affected by salinity. The Na+ and Cl- concentrations in shoots significantly increased as salt concentration increased. Net photosynthesis (ACO2) was plotted against computed leaf internal CO2 concentration (Ci), and the initial slope of this ACO2-Ci curve was used as a measure of photosynthetic ability. Leaves from plants exposed to 50 mM salinity showed little change in photosynthesis, whereas those treated by high levels of salinity had up to 91.5% inhibition in photosynthetic rates and an increase in CO2 compensation point. Leaf chlorophyll content increased with increasing salinity. Although partial stomatal closure occurred with salinization, reductions in photosynthesis were partly non-stomatal at high levels of salt treatment. 7008 Dose Response to Carvone Rich Essential Oils of Spearmint (Mentha spicata L.): in Vitro Ruminal Fermentation Kinetics and Digestibility Taghavi Nezhad M. p Alipour D. Torabi Goudarzi M. Zamani P. Khodakaramian G. p Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamadan, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamadan, Islamic Republic of Iran. Jundishapour Research Center of Medicinal Plants, Kashan, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamadan, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Plant protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamadan, Islamic Republic of Iran. 1 12 2011 13 7 1013 1020 14 09 2010 18 12 2010 The aim of this study was to assess the effect of several doses of spearmint essential oil (SEO; 0, 250, 500, 750 or 1,000 µg ml-1 buffered rumen fluid) on the fermentation kinetic and digestibility using in vitro gas production technique. A total mixed ration (30% roughage: 70% concentrate) was incubated with buffered rumen fluid. In vitro gas production, asymptotic gas production (A), rate of gas production (µ), partitioning factor (PF), microbial biomass (MB), ammonia concentration and digestibility were determined. Increasing the dose of SEO decreased the parameters A and µ. Adding SEO, however, increased PF, ammonia concentration, apparent in vitro dry matter digestibility and true in vitro organic matter digestibility at the lower levels of SEO (250 and 500 µg ml-1). But, at the level of 1,000 µg ml-1, a decrease was observed for these parameters. The increment in PF and digestibility illustrate that SEO has a potential to modulate the rumen fermentation, which may be beneficial (at low doses) for improving nutrient utilization. 4661 Effect of Oak (Quercus libani Oliv.) Leave Tannin on Ruminal Fermentation of Sheep Abarghuei M. J. Rouzbehan Y. Alipour D. Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, P. O. Box: 14115-336, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, P. O. Box: 14115-336, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamadan, Islamic Republic of Iran. 1 12 2011 13 7 1021 1032 04 09 2011 04 09 2011 Six rumen fistulated adult sheep were used to assess the effect of tannins (hydrolysable tannin; HTs) in oak leaves (Quercus Libani Oliv.) on ruminal fermentation parameters in a change-over design experiment for 28 days in 3 periods. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) was used to deactivate the tannins. The three dietary treatments were control (alfalfa hay, barley grain, wheat bran, wheat straw); OL (oak leave, barley grain, wheat bran and urea) and OL+ 80 g PEG. Animals were held in individual pens and metabolism cages. They were adapted to experimental conditions for 21 days before the commencement of the measurement periods. In each period, the digestibilities of dry matter (DMD), organic matter (OMD), NDF (NDFD), crude protein (CPD) and ruminal parameters (pH, ammonia, bacteria and protozoa population), and microbial protein synthesis were measured using urinary purine derivatives in sheep. The DMD, OMD, NDFD and CPD were decreased by oak leaves and the addition of PEG improved CPD (P<0.05). The ruminal pH values for all diets were within the normal range. Ruminal ammonia was similar among the treatments (p>0.05). Hydrolysable tannins in OL diets decreased (P<0.05) urinary allantoin in comparison to the control diet. Addition of PEG increased (P<0.05) allantoin. The uric acid, xanthine and hypoxanthine excretion in urine were not affected by the diet. Feeding OL diet decreased the microbial N in sheep, whereas addition of PEG improved it. The total protozoa count in sheep offered OL diet declined in comparison to those fed the control diet; however, addition of PEG had no effect on it. Sheep fed OL diet had significantly less cellulolytic and proteolytic bacteria than those fed the control diet (P<0.05), but improved (P< 0.05) with feeding of PEG along with OL. It was concluded that diets containing Q. Libani leaves had lower ruminal fermentability than diet containing alfalfa and that supplementation of PEG in OL diet improved the fermentability. 8440 Growth Performance of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Fed with Diets Containing Different Levels of Hydrolysable and Condensed Tannin Buyukcapar H. M. Buyukcapar Atalay A. İ. Kamalak A. Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam, 46100 Kahramanmaras, Turkey. Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam, 46100 Kahramanmaras, Turkey. Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam, 46100 Kahramanmaras, Turkey. 1 12 2011 13 7 1045 1051 22 09 2011 22 09 2011 This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of hydrolysable tannin (HT) and condensed tannin (CT) on growth performance and body composition of Nile tilapia. Hydrolysable tannin and CT were included into diets at four levels (0, 5, 15, and 25 g kg-1 diet). The diet with zero tannin level acted as control and the response of fish fed diets containing tannin was compared to that of the control diet. All the diets were iso-nitrogenous and iso-energetic. Hydrolysable and condensed tannin had a significant (P<0.05) effect on body weight gain (WG), feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), specific growth rate (SGR) and protein efficiency ratio (PER). Weight gain, SGR and PER of fish fed on the diets containing 15 and 25 g HT/ kg diet were significantly (P< 0.05) lower than those fed on the other diets. Feed conversion ratio of fish fed diets containing 15 and 25 g kg-1 HT were significantly (P<0.05) higher than those fed on the other diets. Feed intake of fish fed diets containing 15 and 25 g HT/kg diet were significantly (P< 0.05) lower than those fed on the other diets, except for diet containing 15 g kg-1condensed tannin (CT2). It is concluded that adverse effect of HT is higher on tilapia compared to that of CT and that protein sources of plant origin containing high amounts of tannins, in particular HT, should be used with caution as fish meal substitutes in tilapia diets. 9897 Chemical Composition and Physicochemical Properties of Pumpkin Seeds (Cucurbita pepo Subsp. pepo Var. Styriaka) Grown in Iran Gohari Ardabili A. Farhoosh R. Haddad Khodaparast M. H. Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, P. O. Box: 91775-1163, Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, P. O. Box: 91775-1163, Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, P. O. Box: 91775-1163, Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran. 1 12 2011 13 7 1053 1063 22 09 2011 22 09 2011 Chemical composition and physicochemical properties of pumpkin seeds and fatty acids of their oil were determined. It was found that the seeds contained 41.59% oil and 25.4% protein. Moisture, crude fiber, total ash, and carbohydrate contents were 5.2%, 5.34%, 2.49%, and 25.19%, respectively. The specific gravity, dynamic viscosity, and refractive index of the extracted pumpkin seed oil were 0.915, 93.659 cP, and 1.4662, respectively. Acid value (mg KOH/g oil), peroxide value (meq O2/kg oil), iodine value (g I2/100 g oil), saponification number (mg KOH/ g oil), and unsaponifiable matter content (%) of the extracted oil from pumpkin seeds were 0.78, 0.39, 10.85, 104.36, 190.69, and 5.73, respectively. Total phenolics compounds (mg gallic acid/kg oil), total tocopherols (mg α-tocopherol/kg oil), total sterols (%), and waxes (%) were 66.27, 882.65, 1.86, and 1.58, respectively. Specific extinctions at two wavelengths of 232 nm (K232) and 270 nm (K270) and R-value (K232/K270) were 3.80, 3.52 and 0.74, respectively. Gas chromatographic analysis of the pumpkin seed oil showed that the linoleic (39.84%), oleic (38.42%), palmitic (10.68%) and stearic (8.67%) acids were the major fatty acids. Compared with other vegetable oils, the present study revealed that pumpkin seed oil can be a valuable source of edible oil. 4938 Evaluation of the Effect of Fermentation, Hydrothermal Treatment, Soda, and Table Salt on Phytase Activity and Phytate Content of Three Iranian Wheat Cultivars Sedaghati M. Kadivar M. Shahedi M Soltanizadeh N. Department of Food Science, Isfahan University of Technology, P. O. Box: 84156-83111, Isfahan, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Food Science, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, P. O. Box: 84156-83111, Isfahan, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Food Science, Isfahan University of Technology, P. O. Box: 84156-83111, Isfahan, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Food Science, Isfahan University of Technology, P. O. Box: 84156-83111, Isfahan, Islamic Republic of Iran. 1 12 2011 13 7 1065 1075 26 09 2011 26 09 2011 This study was carried out to determine the effect of fermentation, hydrothermal treatment, soda (Na2CO3), and table salt (NaCl) addition on the extent of phytase activity and phytate degradation in three Iranian wheat cultivars, namely, Mahdavi, Ghods, and Roshan. The samples were milled to three different extraction rates, i.e. whole, 85%, and 75% flours and three kinds of leavening procedure (fermented, soda, and control), and four NaCl percentages (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5%) were used for preparing dough in three replications. To evaluate the effect of heat treatment on phytic acid breakdown, baking was also done. The results indicated that among the wheat varieties, Mahdavi had the highest level of phytase activity and phytic acid content followed by Ghods and Roshan; in which‚ most of the phytate was concentrated in bran fractions. Fermentation (1% yeast at 37ºC for 3 hours), hydrothermal treatment (pH 4.8 at 55ºC for 12 hours) and salt addition (0 to 1.5%) to the dough samples resulted in an increased phytase activity, whereas soda addition (1%) decreased the enzyme activity. Heat treatment reduced phytic acid content significantly. 11373 Properties and Shelf-life of Part-and Full-baked Flat Bread (Barbari) at Ambient and Frozen Storage Majzoobi M. Farahnaky A. Agah Sh. Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran. 1 12 2011 13 7 1077 1090 29 11 2010 29 06 2011 Production of part-baked bread is a successful method to postpone bread staling that has been applied widely for production of loaves. In this research, production and some physical characteristics of part-baked flat bread (Barbari) including hardness, volume, color, weight loss, and microstructure were studied during the storage of the samples at ambient (25ºC) and freezing (-18ºC) temperatures. The part-baked bread had higher moisture content than the control and full-baked breads. However, it had a shelf-life of 72 hours, which was shorter than the control at ambient temperature. Full-baking could level out the effects of staling and, hence, the quality of the full-baked bread was similar to that of the fresh bread. For the frozen samples, the optimum storage time was two months. The undesirable effects of frozen storage were more significant for the part-baked bread. Moreover, full-baking could compensate some of the adverse effects of freezing and the resultant bread had superior quality compared with the control. 11537 Evaluation of Spectral Reflectance of Seven Iranian Rice Varieties Canopies Darvishsefat A. A. Abbasi M. Schaepman M. Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Forest Science, Faculty of Natural Resources and Earth Science, University of Shahre-Kord, Shahre-Kord, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Geography, University of Zurich-Irchel, Winterthurerstrasse 190 , CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland. 1 12 2011 13 7 1091 1104 19 10 2010 17 04 2011 Rice cultivated areas and yield information is indispensable for sustainable management and economic policy making for this strategic food crop. Introduction of high spectral and special resolution satellite data has enabled production of such information in a timely and accurate manner. Knowledge of the spectral reflectance of various land covers is a prerequisite for their identification and study. Evaluation of the spectral reflectance of plants using field spectroradiometry provides the possibility to identify and map different rice varieties especially while using hyperspectral remote sensing. This paper reports the results of the first attempt to evaluate spectral signatures of seven north Iranian rice varieties (Fajr, Hybrid, Khazar, Nemat, Neda, Shiroudi and Tarom plots) in the experimental station of the Iranian Rice Research Institute (main station in Amol, Mazanderan Province). Measurements were carried out using a field spectroradiometer in the range of 350-2,500 nm under natural light and environmental conditions. In order to eliminate erroneous data and also experimental errors in spectral reflectance curves, all curves were individually quality controlled. A set of important vegetation indices sensitive to canopy chlorophyll content, photosynthesis intensity, nitrogen and water content were employed to enhance probable differences in spectral reflectance among various rice varieties. Analysis of variance and Tukey’s paired test were then used to compare rice varieties. Using Datt and PRI1 indices, significant differences (= 0.01) were found among rice varieties reflectances in 19 out of 21 cases. This promises the possibility of accurate mapping of rice varieties cultivated areas based on hyperspectral remotely sensed data. 8256 Rainfall Redistribution by an Oriental Beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) Forest Canopy in the Caspian Forest, North of Iran Ahmadi M. T. Attarod P. Bayramzadeh V. Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Forestry and Forest Economics, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Soil Sciences, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Islamic Republic of Iran. 1 12 2011 13 7 1105 1120 25 08 2010 17 04 2011 Gross rainfall (GR) partitioning into throughfall (TF), stemflow (SF) and interception loss (I) was studied in a pure oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) forest located in the central Caspian region of northern Iran. Measurements were performed on a rainfall event basis in a 5625 m2 plot of the Kheyrud Forest Research Station of Tehran University during 2008 and 2009 growing seasons. GR was measured with three rain gauges located on the ground in an open area approximately 160 m apart from the study plot. Thirty-six manual gauges were used to collect the TF and were placed randomly underneath the canopy. SF was collected with spiral type SF collection collars from six selected beech trees. Interception losses were calculated as the difference between GR and the sum of TF and SF. Over the measurement period, 53 GR events were recorded. Cumulative GR depth was 1,001.5 mm; TF amount was 728 mm; SF was 32.3 mm, and I was 241.2 mm. The average of TF/GR, SF/GR, and I/GR ratios for each rainfall events were 69.4%, 2.5% and 28.1%, respectively. TF, SF, and I were found to be closely related to GR amounts. A strong positive correlation was found between SF/GR and GR (R2= 0.9). Significant correlations were also observed between I/GR and GR (R2= 0.581) as well as between TF/GR and GR (R2= 0.414). It was observed that for small GR events a large portion of the incident GR wetted the canopy and, subsequently, contributed to the evaporation losses of the intercepted rain. Results of the study demonstrate how I represents a remarkable percentage of the incident GR and how TF and SF are both strongly affected by GR itself. 3889 Analysis of Morphological and Pomological Characteristics of Apricot Germplasm in FYR Macedonia Mratinic E. Popovski B. Milosevic T. Popovska M. Department of Department of Fruit Growing, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, Nemanjina 6, 11080 Belgrade-Zemun, Serbia. Department of Fruit Growing Technology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Food, University of “Sts. Cyril and Methodius”, Avenue Aleksandar Makedonski bb, 1000 Skopje, FYR Macedonia. Department of Fruit Growing and Viticulture, Faculty of Agronomy, University of Kragujevac, Cara Dusana 34, 32000 Cacak, Serbia. Fruit Growing Institute, Avenue Aleksandar Makedonski bb, 1000 Skopje, FYR Macedonia. 1 12 2011 13 7 1121 1134 23 06 2010 20 09 2010 Morphological and pomological features were studied for two consecutive years in wild apricot seedlings grown under Macedonian environmental conditions. The population comprised of 19 seedlings, i.e. genotypes, that showed notable fruit and tree traits. Their flowering time and desirable fruit quality features were determined in comparison with ‘Hungarian Best’. In all genotypes, flowering occurred two days earlier than the control in both years, with the exception of end of flowering in the second year, whereas harvest time was later in seven genotypes than in ‘Hungarian Best’. Genotypes showed a range of 23.40±1.62 g to 89.29±2.98 g for fruit weight, 1.81±0.13 to 4.85±0.17 g for stone weight, 11.70±0.41 to14.40±0.55 ºBrix for soluble solids, and 0.89±0.01 to1.89±0.02% for titratable acidity. Soluble solids was higher than 12% in eighteen genotypes. The pH ranged between 3.90±0.06 and 4.70±0.08. The contents of reducing sugars, sucrose, and total sugars ranged from 8.49±0.10 to 10.39±0.66%, 0.66±0.01 to 1.20±0.05%, and 9.34±0.19 to 11.36±0.19%, respectively. The genotypes were grouped into four clusters according to their potential. A high correlation was found among some quality traits. Using a principal component analysis, apricot genotypes were segregated into groups with similar physical and chemical features. These relationships may help in selection of a set of genotypes with better fruit quality performances, which, in our study, wre observed in DL-1/1/04, DL-1/2/03, D-1/04, and K-5/04. Based on this evaluation, 19 outstanding genotypes were pre-selected from the initial breeding population for further studies. 12040 Seasonal Sensitivity Analysis for Climatic Variables of ASCE-Penman-Monteith Model in a Semi-arid Climate Bakhtiari B. Liaghat A. M. Department of Water Engineering, College of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Irrigation, College of Agriculture, University of Tehran, Karaj, Islamic Republic of Iran. 1 12 2011 13 7 1135 1145 22 09 2011 22 09 2011 Seasonal variations of climatic parameters are significant in arid and semi-arid regions and sensitivity of each parameter may differ in different seasons. No work has been done in this regard in Iran. Therefore, in this study, sensitivity analysis of the ASCE-Penman-Monteith grass reference evapotranspiration (ETo) equation was investigated on the basis of variation of mean air temperature (Tmean), vapor pressure deficit (VPD), wind speed at 2 meter height (U2), and short wave solar radiation (Rs) in the semi-arid climate of Kerman, southeast of Iran. The sensitivity coefficients were derived for each variable on a daily basis. The results showed that the computed ETo was sensitive to VPD in all months, to U2 during March to November, and to Rs during the summer months. The change in ETo was linearly related to the change in the climatic variables, with in most cases. The sensitivity coefficient for Rs was higher during the summer months and lower during the winter months. Increase in ETo with respect to the increase in the aforementioned climate variable changed by month. On an annual average, 1 C increase in Tmean, 1 ms-1 increase in U2, and one MJ m-2d-1 increase in Rs resulted in, respectively, 0.11, 0.37, and 0.09 mm d-1increases in ETo. A 0.4 kPa increase in VPD resulted in 0.85 mm d-1 increase in ETo. Generally, various meteorological parameters should be measured with high accuracy in order to use the combination model. 12232 Genealogy and Molecular Diversity of Iranian Grapevine Progenies Hadadinejad M. Ebadi A. Naghavi M. R. Nikkhah R. Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, University of Tehran, Karaj, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Horticultural Science, College of Agriculture, Persian Gulf University, Boushehr, Islamic Republic of Iran. 1 12 2011 13 7 1147 1161 22 09 2011 22 09 2011 Grapes are among the world most planted horticultural crops. Since the last century, attempts have been made to improve the quality of grapes in the world. Meanwhile, the necessity of having knowledge about the history of progenies families led to the link between genealogy and breeding. Considering some previous mislabeling, in order to find out the accuracy of the controlled crosses as well as determining the possible parents and genealogy of the hybrid progenies, 23 grapevine genotypes were studied by using 14 SSRs loci. These progenies included 12 promising lines selected from 22 crosses as well as their parents that included four seedless and seven seeded cultivars from Iranian Grape Breeding Program, The highest similarity between a female parent and its progenies, which was obtained from dice similarity coefficient and cluster analysis, was about 0.65, belonging to 'Alibaba' and its three progenies (S54, S55, S40). Results rejected any cross-selfing in female parents and also discriminated progenies from parents. Due to possible common genetic backgrounds in the parents, assigning progenies to their parents by cluster analysis or allele counting was impossible. Therefore, parentage analyses were done within likelihood based assignment approach using CERVUS 3.0 software. By this approach, true parents could be identified from candidate parents based on calculated positive and negative LOD scores. Also, by using this approach, genotyping errors, which were previously derived from low number of SSR loci or similarity in the parents' backgrounds, decreased in the final results. In addition, full sib and half sib relationships between S55 and S54 with S40 were obvious. Furthermore, wherever prevention of inbreeding depression is required, the results could be used to select convenient parents for backcrossing. 7958 Wheat-Rye Translocation in Iranian Bread Wheat Cultivars and Their Ion Distribution in Response to Salinity Stress Mirzaghaderi G. Zeinali G. Rafiepour M. Karimzadeh G. Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, P. O. Box 14115-336, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. 1 12 2011 13 7 1163 1172 25 08 2010 17 04 2011 The short arm of rye (Secale cereale L.) chromosome 1 (1RS), besides being part of the rye genome, is present in many hundred wheat cultivars as either 1RS.1BL or 1RS.1DL wheat-rye translocation. In this study, the distribution of the wheat–rye translocation was examined in 33 Iranian winter and spring wheat cultivars, nine of which had a known donor of 1RS.1BL translocation and the other 24 were randomly selected cultivars without a known source of 1RS.1BL in their pedigree. The presence of the translocation was verified in 4 cultivars, using genomic in situ hybridization analysis. We also compared the Na+ exclusion and K+/Na+ ratios in leaf and root of the identified 1RS.1BL translocations and in eight randomly selected non-translocated (NT) control cultivars grown in hydroponic solutions, containing 0 and 200 mM NaCl. Mean comparisons showed that the 1RS.1BL cultivars (Atrak, Dez, Falat, Rasul) had significantly lower rates of whole plant dry weight and root dry weight in the presence of 200 mM NaCl compared with NT control cultivars. No significant difference was observed between translocated and NT cultivars for Na+ concentrations and K+/Na+ ratios in their leaves or roots. Although, there are many useful genes in 1RS arm, it has no substantial contribution to Na+ exclusion in comparison with NT controls at seedling stage. 1808 α-Amylase Activity of Stored Products Insects and Its Inhibition by Medicinal Plant Extracts Mehrabadi M. Bandani A. R. Saadati F. Mahmudvand M. Department of Plant Protection, College of Agricultural and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Plant Protection, College of Agricultural and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Plant Protection, College of Agricultural and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahed University, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. 1 12 2011 13 7 1173 1182 25 09 2011 25 09 2011 The experiment was conducted to determine α-amylase activity and the effect of seven plant species extracts including Punica granatum L. (Punicaceae), Rheum officinale B. (Polygonaceae), Rhus coriaria L. (Anacardiaceae), Artemisia sieberi B. ( Compositae), Peganum harmala L. (Nitrariaceae) , Datura stramonium L. (Solanaceae) and Thymus vulgaris L. (Lamiaceae) on α-amylase activity of four stored insect pests including Callosobruchus maculatus F. (Coleoptera: Bruchidae), Rhyzopertha dominica F. (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae), Sitophilus granarius L. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), and Trogoderma granarium E. (Coleoptera : Dermestidae). Also, gut pH and optimum temperature for α-amylase activity of these insects were determined. It was found that α -amylases midgut pH of all four insect species was acidic and optimum temperature was between 30 and 40 °C. Beyond these temperatures, the α-amylases activities sharply decreased. Plant extracts caused inhibitory activity on insect α-amylases varying from nearly 4% to 95% inhibition. D. stramonium and R. officinali extracts had the highest amylase inhibitory activity among the tested extracts, while methanolic extracts of P. harmala, and T. vulgaris (except for S. granaries α-amylase) showed the lowest inhibitory activity. Gel assays revealed that more than one isoform of α -amylase detected in midgut crude extracts of the four insect pests examined could be inhibited by the plant extracts. 720 Regionalization Approach for Extreme Flood Analysis Using L-moments Malekinezhad H. Nachtnebel H. P. Klik A. Natural Resources Faculty, Yazd University, Yazd, Islamic Republic of Iran. Institute of Water Management, Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering, BOKU University, Vienna, Austria. Institute of Hydraulics and Rural Water Management, BOKU University, Vienna, Austria. 1 12 2011 13 7 1183 1196 25 09 2011 25 09 2011 Flood frequency analysis is faced with the problem of data and information limitation in arid and semi-arid regions. Particularly in these regions, the length of records is usually too short to ensure reliable quantile estimates. More than 75% of Iran is located in arid and semi-arid regions and despite the low annual precipitation, often large floods occur. One way to provide more information is to use many records from a region with similar flood behaviour, rather than only at-site data. This research is aimed to delineate homogeneous regions in the study area for further hydrological studies. Estimating regionalized parameters and identification of the best-fit distributions are the other specific objectives of the research. Several watershed attributes in relation to flood were characterized, among which the main characteristics were found by factor analysis. Later, preliminary identification of homogeneous regions was carried out using cluster analysis and region-of-influence approaches. The homogeneity test was done by H-statistic, a testing method based on L-moments. The results of this test showed that a subdivision of selected watersheds into homogenous groups is necessary. Therefore, three homogenous regions were formed. The Z-statistic based on L-moments and L-moment ratio diagrams were applied for identification of the best-fit distribution in each homogenous region. In the regionalization procedure five three-parameter distributions i.e. Generalized Logistic (GLO), Generalized Extreme Value (GEV), Generalized Pareto (GPA), three-parameter Lognormal (LN3), and Pearson type III (PE3) were fitted to the three homogeneous regions and the best-fit distributions were identified using L-moments approach. The results of goodness-of-fit analysis for the three regions indicates that the GEV, LN3 for the regions (1) and (2), and GLO and GEV distributions for the region (3) give acceptably close fits to the regional average L-moments. In general, the GEV distribution could be adopted as the appropriate distribution for the study area. 6168 Potassium Supplying Power of Selected Alkaline-Calcareous Soils in the North-west of Iran Samadi A. Department of Soil Science, Urmia University, P. O. Box: 165, Urmia, Islamic Republic of Iran. 1 12 2011 13 7 1197 1208 25 09 2011 25 09 2011 Solution potassium (So-K) and exchangeable K (Ex-K) extracted by NH4OAc are the major sources of potassium used by plants, but initially non-exchangeable K (NEx-K) can also contribute significantly to plant uptake. Perennial ryegrass (Lolium Perenne, cv. Roper) was successively planted in ten surface soil samples with different clay mineralogical composition belonging to five soil types to determine the contribution of Ex-K and NEx-K to K availability in the greenhouse during 260 d (five cuttings). Before planting, soil samples were leached to remove So-K and Ex-K so that the plants would use more K from the NEx-K pool. The leaching was performed using 0.1 M chloride solution containing Ca and Mg in the molar ratio of 4:1. The soil types having initially high NEx-K contents showed a high K uptake. A highly significant positive correlation was observed between total K uptake and illite content for the unleached soils (r = 0.81, P<0.01) and the Ca/Mg leached soils (r = 0.75, P<0.01). Significant declines in the plant K concentration values were observed between the first and the last cutting: from 4.1 to 2.3 g kg-1 (a drop of 45%) for the unleached soils and from 3.4 to 2.1 g kg-1 (a drop of 39%) for the leached soils. By the five cuttings of ryegrass, the concentrations of NH4OAc-K had significantly (P<0.01) declined in all unleached and leached soils. A pronounced decline in NH4OAc-K concentrations (a drop of 86% for unleached soil and 89% for leached soil) were detected in the soils belonging to Typic Calcixerepts containing high amount of illite. The NEx-K uptake by ryegrass ranged from 421 to 859 mg kg-1 for the unleached soils and from 410 to 574 mg kg-1 for the leached soils. Among the soils, NEx-K uptake accounted for up to 96% of the total uptake removed by five harvests of ryegrass herbage. For the unleached soils, NEx-K uptake was significantly (P<0.01) related to total K uptake. There were large differences in NEx-K uptake from soils that had similar NH4OAc-K values. Hence, K buffer power and soil types coupled with available K must be taken into account when planning any application of K. 6816 Response of Greengram [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek] Grown in Herbicide-Amended Soil to Inoculation with Bradyrhizobium sp. (vigna) MRM6 Ahemad M. Saghir Khan M. Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202002, U.P., India Department of Agricultural Microbiology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202002, U.P., India 1 12 2011 13 7 1209 1222 12 04 2010 12 12 2010 The present study was conducted to determine the plant growth-promoting activities of Bradyrhizobium sp. (vigna) strain MRM6 grown in the presence and absence of the selected herbicides, quizalafop-p-ethyl and clodinafop. The herbicide tolerant Bradyrhizobium sp. (vigna) strain MRM6 was further tested for bioremediation and plant growth promoting potential using greengram as a test crop, grown in soils treated with quizalafop-p-ethyl and clodinafop, at both recommended and higher dose rates. The quizalafop-p-ethyl and clodinafop tolerant Bradyrhizobium sp. (vigna) strain MRM6 recovered from the nodules of greengram plants produced a substantial amount of indole acetic acid, siderophores, hydrogen cyanide and ammonia, both in the presence and absence of technical grade quizalafop-p-ethyl and clodinafop under in vitro conditions. Both quizalafop-p-ethyl [40 (recommended dose), 80, and 120 µg kg-1 soil] and clodinafop [400 (recommended dose), 800, and 1200 µg kg-1 soil] decreased the growth of Bradyrhizobium sp. MRM6-inoculated and un-inoculated plants. Quizalafop-p-ethyl at all concentrations showed more phytotoxicity and affected the growth in terms of nodulation, total dry biomass, nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) uptake and seed yield compared to clodinafop or un-inoculated control. When the inoculant strain MRM6 was used with any concentration of the two herbicides, the growth and nodulation parameters of the plants were relatively better compared to the plants grown in soils treated solely (without inoculant) with the same concentration of each herbicide. For example, when strain MRM6 was used with 1200 µg clodinafop kg-1 soil, it increased the symbiotic attributes (nodule number, nodule dry mass, leghaemoglobin), whole biomass, root N, shoot N, root P, shoot P, seed yield, and grain protein by 14%, 62%, 60%, 102%, 23%, 31%, 9%, 10%, 72% and 4%, respectively, compared to the un-inoculated treatment having the same concentration of clodinafop. The present findings suggest that the bradyrhizobial strain MRM6 endowed with multiple properties could be used to facilitate the productivity of greengram under herbicide-stressed soils. 6937 Vegetation Species Determination Using Spectral Characteristics and Artificial Neural Network (SCANN) Ghasemloo N. Mobasheri M. R. Rezaei Y. Department of Remote Sensing, Khajeh Nasir Toosi University of Technology, No. 1364 Mirdamad Cross, Valiasr Street, P. O. Box: 19967-15433, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Remote Sensing, Khajeh Nasir Toosi University of Technology, No. 1364 Mirdamad Cross, Valiasr Street, P. O. Box: 19967-15433, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. Department of Remote Sensing, Khajeh Nasir Toosi University of Technology, No. 1364 Mirdamad Cross, Valiasr Street, P. O. Box: 19967-15433, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. 1 12 2011 13 7 1223 1232 25 09 2011 25 09 2011 Classification of vegetation according to their species composition is one of the most important tasks in the application of remote sensing in precision agriculture. To prepare an algorithm for such a mandate, there is a need for ground truth. Field operation is very costly and time consuming. Therefore, some other method must be developed, such as extracting information from the satellite images, which is comparatively cheaper and faster. In this study, we first introduced a simple method for Determination of the Vegetation Specie in full cover pixels (DVS) using their laboratory measured spectral reflectance curves. Then, based on these pixels, a hybrid method for vegetation field classification, which we call SCANN (Spectral Characteristics and Artificial Neural Network), is introduced. In this method, different vegetation spectral reflectance characteristics at the three extremes of green, red, and near-infrared along with an artificial neural network method were used. Comparing the results of DVS with those of field collected data showed near 100% accuracy. Based on the results of DVS, the results of SCANN showed an overall accuracy of more than 94%. This method is suggested for unsupervised classification using Hyperspectral images.