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The silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Hem.: Aleyrodidae), is a key pest of greenhouse crops. Nymphs and adults feed on plant sap and excrete honeydew, resulting in reduction of yield and quality. This pest has a high potential for developing resistant biotypes against different insecticides. Therefore, it is necessary to study the efficacy of different categories of insecticides against B. tabaci. In this research, efficacy of imidacloprid (0.5 l/ha), thiacloprid + deltamethrin (0.75 l/ha), pyrethrum (4 l/ha) andthiamethoxam + lambda-cyhalothrin (0.3 and 0.4 l/ha) with four replications were studied in a completely randomized block design in Yazd and Bushehr provinces of Iran. Mean (± SE) efficacy of imidacloprid, thiacloprid + deltamethrin, pyrethrum andthiamethoxam + lambda-cyhalothrin (0.3 and 0.4 l/ha) were 73.42 ± 3.41, 89.57 ± 2.86, 90.29 ± 2.79, 68.13 ± 3.37 and 75.62 ± 3.76% against B. tabaci nymphs 7 days after treatment in Yazd, respectively; while in Bushehr, they were 57.30 ± 3.37, 68.45 ± 4.65, 64.17 ± 2.87, 30.0 ± 4.56 and 53.0 ± 3.35%, respectively. Thiacloprid + deltamethrin, pyrethrum and thiamethoxam + lambda-cyhalothrin (at 0.4 l/ha) can be suitable candidates in IPM programs of B. tabaci.

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The effect of two salinity concentrations (35 and 40 ‰) on the daily feeding and burrowing activities of the sea cucumber, Holothuria parva was investigated, using the nutritional parameters (intestinal  indices, organic materials, and the absorption efficiency). Although no significant difference between the initial and final sections of the intestinal gut of sea cucumbers in two saline conditions was found, the maximum level of intestinal indices, organic material and absorption efficiency was associated with the 40‰ salinity. The survey results displayed that sea cucumber had better feeding activity in 40‰ than 35‰ salinity.  

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The strawberry spider mite (SSM), Tetranychus turkestani Ugarov & Nikolski, is an important pest of greenhouse cucumber in tropical and temperate regions of the world. The use of the host plant resistance is a basic method to reduce pesticide application in greenhouses. In this study, the biological responses of SSM to six greenhouse cucumber cultivars (Puia, Hedieh, Milad Ghadim, Milad Jadid, Khasib and Negin) were investigated. Non-choice tests were performed to evaluate the interaction between the host plant-mite. All tests of this study were carried out under laboratory conditions at 28 ± 1 °C, 60 ± 5% RH and 16:8 h (L: D) in a walk-in growth chamber. The results indicated that immature development time and adult longevity of SSM was significantly influenced by cucumber cultivars. The highest r, λ, and R₀ were 0.275 (day^-1), 1.316 (day^-1) and 36.180 (offspring/generation) all of which were recorded for the mites reared on the Hedieh cultivar. No significant difference was observed for these parameters among the other cultivars. Mean generation times of T. turkestani reared on Negin (14.020 day) and Milad Ghadim (13.57 day) cultivars were significantly longer than for the other cultivars. This mite had the shortest generation time on Puia cultivar (11.43 day). In conclusion, it seems that Hedieh and Milad Jadid cultivars are the more susceptible and resistant cultivars to the SSM than the other tested cultivars, respectively.

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The effects of some micronutrients (iron, zinc and silicon) and macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) were evaluated on the root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita and plant growth parameters of cucumber (Cucumis sativus cv. Negin) in two independent trials. Each of iron, zinc and silicon micronutrients was used at 5 mg/kg of soil, as iron sequestrene (Fe-EDDHA), zinc sulfate (ZnSO₄) and sodium siliconate (Na₂O₃Si), respectively. Furthermore, nitrogen at 60, 120 and 180 mg/kg, phosphorus at 25, 50 and 75 mg/kg and potassium at 12.5, 25 and 37.5 mg/kg of soil were used as urea, triple superphosphate and potassium sulfate, respectively. At four-leaf stage seedlings, 8000 nematode eggs and juveniles (2 egg and juveniles/gr soil) were added around the roots. After 60-days, data analysis indicated silicon + iron, significantly reduced the number of galls/g of root by 55 and 42% compared to control, in the two experiments, respectively, but none of these treatments resulted in significant positive effects on the growth or yield of the studied cucumber cultivar. When macronutrients were evaluated, results showed that N₁₂₀P₂₅K₂₅ (120 mg/kg of Nitrogen, 25 mg/kg of phosphorus and 25 mg/kg of potassium) and N₁₂₀P₅₀K₂₅ (120 mg/kg of nitrogen, 50 mg/kg of phosphorus and 25 mg/kg of potassium) significantly reduced the number of galls by 96 and 81% (experiment 3) and 79 and 70% (experiment 4) when compared with control, respectively. These both treatments also improved cucumber growth parameters such as shoot dry and fresh weights, root fresh weight and fruit yield.

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Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) is one of widely-spread viruses of plants with the broadest host range encompassing over 1200 species. One major limiting factor for detection of the virus is unavailability of the virus-specific antibodies especially in developing countries. Recombinant DNA technology facilitates antibody preparation without requiring special equipment. In this study, coat protein (CP) gene cDNA of CMV was subcloned from pTZ57CMVCP into pET21a expression vector and transformed into Escherichia coli strain Rosetta. Expression of CMV CP was examined by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and its identity was confirmed by western blotting, dot blot immunobinding assay (DIBA) and enzyme- linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using anti- CMV antibody. The expressed protein was purified using T7•Tag affinity purification kit and used as antigen for raising polyclonal antibodies in two mice. The purified anti-CMV CP IgG and the conjugated IgG performed favourably in terms of specificity and sensitivity to detect both expressed CP (antigen) and CMV isolates in infected cucurbit plants using plate trapped antigen (PTA)- ELISA, double-antibody sandwich (DAS)-ELISA and western blotting. The prepared antibodies can be applied in serological and sero-molecular tests in studies on the virus and in screening of plants for the infection. This is the first report of preparation of antibodies against CP of an indigenous isolate of CMV.

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Aphis gossypii Glover is one of the major pests of cucumber in Iran. The effects of different concentrations of nitrogen (N1 = 0, N2 = 30, N3 = 60, N4 = 90 and N5 = 120 kg/ha), phosphorus (P1 = 0, P2 = 15 and P3 = 22.5 kg/ha) and silicon (Si1 = 0, Si2 = 100 and Si3 = 200 kg/ha) on life table parameters of apterous morph of A. gossypii were studied. This study was conducted as factorial experiment based on RCD with nine replications in a growth chamber at temperature of 25 ± 3 °C, 60 ± 5% relative humidity (RH) and a photoperiod of 16: 8 h (light: dark). The experiments were carried out using clip-cages that were fixed on leaves of cucumber growing in pots. According to the results, total fecundity of A. gossypii significantly was different among treatments and it was the highest on N1P2Si2 (64.33 offspring) and the lowest on N3P2Si1 (22.67 offspring). The lowest and the highest values of R0 were observed on N3P2Si1and N4P2Si2, respectively. The shortest mean generation time (T) was found on N4P1Si3 and the longest was on N5P3Si1. Furthermore, the lowest and the highest values of r were obtained on N5P3Si2 (0.27 day-1) and N5P1Si1 (0.41 day-1). Our results showed that in simultaneous application, the phosphorus had a more impact on life history and performance of cotton aphid.

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Fusarium crown and root rot of cucumber caused by Fusarium oxysporum is one of the most important diseases in cucumber. Although various methods have been recommended to manage this disease, biological control is considered as an environmentally friendly method. In the present study, antagonistic effects of six Pseudomonas and Bacillus genera strains were investigated against F. oxysporum, where in vitro and in vivo assays were performed under drought stress. All of the strains were capable to inhibit the growth of F. oxysporum. The results of drought stress also indicated that the bacterial strains were able to tolerate different levels of drought stress. In general, Pseudomonas fluorescens VUPF5 caused the best inhibitory effect in all of the assays in vitro and under greenhouse conditions.

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Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV; genus Cucumovirus, family: Bromoviridae) has the widest host range of any known plant viruses. Seven virus isolates, originated from different ornamental plant species and greenhouses, were biologically purified, mechanically inoculated onto test plants and their serological differences were assayed based on reactivity with 11 CMV-specific monoclonal antibodies. Following total RNA extraction, coat protein (CP) coding region of CMV isolates was amplified. Based on biological, serological and phylogenetic analysis, only one isolate belonged to CMV subgroup II and other six isolates were equally distributed among the two IA and IB subgroups. Aphid transmission assay showed that no significant difference was observed between transmission efficiency of CMV subgroups IA, IB and II members by Aphis gossypii. The genetic variation and evolution of CMV in Iran was studied by sequence analysis of the CP gene and comparison with equivalent sequences of isolates from other continents that exhibited low genetic diversity and close evolutionary relationships among isolates in subpopulations. Analysis of various population genetics parameters and distribution of synonymous and nonsynonymous mutations revealed that most of the amino acid sites were under negative selection and only one site was under positive selection.
 

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One critical environmental stress that limits plant production and development is salinity stress. Recently it has been shown that application of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can alleviate the deleterious effects of environmental stresses. Present study aimed to evaluate the effects of some bacterial strains on proline, sugar, total phenolic compounds (TPC), Phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), photosynthetic pigments and antioxidant activities (guaiacol peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase and superoxide dismutase) of cucumber plants under salinity stress. A completely randomized design was applied with a factorial arrangement of two factors: salinity at three levels (0, 50 and 100 mM) and Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilis strains, with three replications. The results showed that cucumber plants that were inoculated with Pseudomonas and Bacillus strains possessed noticeable variations in proline, sugar, TPC, PAL and enzymes activity compared to un-inoculated control. These results suggest that use of these bacterial strains overcame harmful effect of salinity by accumulation of proline, TPC, sugar, PAL activity and enzymes activity that can be considered as a suitable method to manage salinity stress.

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In this study, the effect of three temperatures was investigated on the functional response of Orius laevigatus to Aphis gossypii in climatic chambers at 20, 25, and 30 ± 1 °C, 60 ± 5% RH, and 16:8 h photoperiod. Different densities of first and second instar nymphs of A. gossypii (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64) on cucumber leaf discs (6 cm in diameter) were separately offered to male and female predators. After 24 h, the number of consumed preys was recorded. Ten replicates per each aphid density were used. Based on the results, predator male and female exhibited types II, III, II and III, II, III functional responses at 20, 25 and 30 °C, respectively. Handling times (T_h) for males were 0.7798, 0.9177 and 0.4476 h and for females were 0.6874, 0.3921 and 0.2831 h at 20, 25 and 30 °C, respectively. Using the indicator variable method, pairwise comparisons of handling times of both males and females were significantly different. The theoretical maximum predation rate (T/T_h) of both males and females were obtained at 30 °C. The results revealed that O. laevigatus is more likely to be an effective biocontrol agent of A. gossypii at higher temperatures around 30 °C. However, additional studies under natural conditions are needed to provide further details of the predator-prey interactions.

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Damping-off disease, caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia solani, is one of the most important diseases of cucumber plant and causes significant yield losses. R. solani possess some characters, such as wide host range and unlimited survival in soil, that make it as pathogen one of the most difficult agents to control. Therefore, the research for finding a biocontrol agent against this disease will be valuable. Two species of mycorrhizal fungi Glomus mosseae and Glomus clarum were evaluated against R. solani on cucumber plants. Mycorrhiza inoculated plants with both species showed a significant reduction in disease severity (DS), 21% and 25%, respectively, whereas the disease severity was 65% for non-inoculated plants. Furthermore, the effects of mycorrhizal fungi were evaluated on growth parameters of cucumber plants. Plants inoculated with both species of mycorrhizal fungi showed a significant increase in both shoot dry weight and root dry weight compared with noninoculated plants. It is concluded that both mycorrhiza species could be an important tool to control some soil-borne pathogens, increase plant nutrients absorption and increase resistance to abiotic stresses.

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The compatibility studies of Pseudomonas fluorescens (Pf1) with azoxystrobin at differ-ent concentrations viz., 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 ppm revealed that it was compatible with all the concentrations of azoxystrobin tested and the growth of the bacterium was unaffected even at the maximum concentration of 300 ppm. The field experiment revealed a foliar application of Pf1 (2.5 kg ha-1) and azoxystrobin (250 ml ha-1) combined, reduced downy mildew as well as powdery mildew disease severities more than azoxystrobin (250 and 500 ml ha-1) alone. An application of Pf1+azoxystrobin treatment recorded only 2.22 and 1.00 Percent Disease Index (PDI) of downy mildew and 1.85 and 0.50 PDI of powdery mildew during the first and second seasons, respectively. The treatment also recorded a maximum fruit yield of 14.30 and 15.65 tonnes ha-1 for the first and second seasons, re-spectively. Application of Pf1 along with azoxystrobin significantly increased the survival of Pf1 in the phylloplane of cucumber crop. In addition, there was multifold increase in peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, phenylalanine ammonia lyase, ß-1, 3 glucanase, chitinase and phenolics in plants treated with Pf1+azoxystrobin.

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Objective: Sea cucumber is a traditional food and medical item and has been reported to exhibit Antioxidant, antifungal, anti tumoral and antibacterial bioactivity. The objective of this study is to describe the antibacterial activity of 4 extracts of Holoturia. Sp (sea cucumber), collected from Hengam Island of Persian Gulf. Materials and Methods: Methanol, hexane, aqueous and chloroform extracts from body wall tissue of the sea cucumber were screened for antibacterial activity against three strains of Escherichia coli Top 10 F´, TG1 and K12 using disc diffusion and broth microdilution tests methods. Result: The growth of all these strains were inhibited using concentration from 0.78 to 100 mg/ml of methanol, hexan and chloroform extracts. Among the extracts just methanol and chloroform with 100 mg/ml had bactericidal effect on TG1 and K12 strains. On the other hand, Aqueous extract had induced growth in of the all strains. Conclusion: The results suggest the possibility of applying sea cucumber as source of potential anti bacterial agents, whose compounds can be good candidates to make antibiotic products.

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The selection of a growing medium is one of the most important decisions in the culture of hydroponic crops. In order to select a suitable medium for hydroponic cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Negin), an experiment was carried out on growing media containing different particle sizes of perlite and organic substrates in a run-to-waste system in a greenhouse experiment. The growing media tested were: very course perlite (VC-P, 70% by volume in the range of 2-3 mm), course perlite (C-P, 70% by volume in the range of 1-2 mm), medium perlite (M-P, 70% by volume in the range of 1 mm), fine perlite (F-P, 70% by volume in the range of 0.5-1 mm), very fine perlite (VF-P, 70% by volume < 0.5 mm), sawdust (Sd) (100%), one mixture of VC-P and Sd (50:50, v/v), one mixture of VC-P and poplar chip (Ch) (50:50, v/v) and one mixture of VC-P and wheat straw (St) (50:50, v/v). The eight treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replications. The results showed that there were significantly differences in the mean fruit weight, plant height, and leaf area of cucumber with respect to media containing very course (VC)-grade perlite (horticulture-grade perlite) and its incorporation with organic substrates, and media containing different grades of perlite (from very course to very fine-grade perlite). The incorporation of wheat straw (50:50) into VC-grade perlite brought decreases of about 35% in the mean fruit weight of cucumber, respectively. Media containing fine grade-perlite led to a significant increase in mean fruit weight (50%), plant height (25%), and leaf area (70%) of cucumber as compared with media consisting of very course-grade perlite. It was concluded that the medium containing fine-grade perlite had the best performance for cucumber plant growth.

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The natural and bioactive compounds from marine animals can be used as functional compositions for healthcare. Collagen and gelatin of marine animals could be having pharmacological and cosmetic applications. In the present study collagen was extracted from the body wall of sea cucumber (S.horrens) collected from Chahbahar Bay and its Amino acid composition was investigated. Also, gelatin from this collagen was extracted according to acidic hydrolyzed method and the functional properties were studied. The type of purified collagen was identified by the SDS-PAGE method. The results indicated the extracted collagen was the type I, because it had a α₁ chain by the molecular weight of 125 KDa and a heavy band of β chain with the molecular weight of 250 KDa. The collagen contained high amount of Imino Acids and the glycine was the dominant Amino acid. The melting and gelling point of the Gelatin was 30⁰C and 5⁰C, respectively. The viscosity of the gelatin was 2.065 cp, lower than other fish species and mammals.                           

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In this study, residues of imidacloprid (Confidor) were measured in greenhouse cucumbers in Mazandaran Province, Iran. Confidor 200 SL was applied at the recommended rate (30.0 g ai ha-1) and its double (60.0 g ai ha-1). Samples were collected at 1 h to 21 days after application and analyzed to determine the content and dissipation rate of Imidacloprid. . Analysis was carried out by the QuEChERS method using HPLC-UV. The average initial deposits of imidacloprid on the cucumber fruits were found to be 1.93 and 3.65 mg kg-1 at the single and double dosages, respectively. Results showed that Imidacloprid was rapidly dissipated in cucumbers following a first order reaction kinetics at both application rates. The amount of dissipation in 21 days was 94.48% and 99.18% for, respectively, the single and double dosages. Residues of imidacloprid dissipated below the maximum residue limit (MRL) of 1 mg kg_1 in 3 days. Half-life (T1/2) for degradation of imidacloprid in cucumber was observed to be 3.40 and 2.70 days at the single and double dosages, respectively. A waiting period of 3 days is suggested for safe consumption of cucumber. Also, results showed that the dissipation was dependent on the initial application dose and followed a first order rate kinetics.

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There is a high degree (>95%) of intraspecies similarity in the coat protein (CP) amino acid sequences within Passionfruit woodiness virus (PWV) and Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), both infecting passionfruit vine in New South Wales. On this basis, a dual transgene containing the translatable cDNAs coding for the CPs of PWV and CMV was constructed in the binary vector pBI121 and used for transformation of Nicotiana benthamiana, a susceptible host to both viruses. The transformation was achieved by co-cultivation of the agrobacteria with the leaf disks prepared from the surface- sterilized leaves. Five transgenic lines including 1-1, 1-5, 1-7, 1-12 and 1-24 were regenerated. Insertion and transcription of the dual construct were confirmed, however, only the CMV CP was feasibly detectable by DAS-ELISA in the lines. Low level accumulation of CMV and/or PWV was evident in the lines. In the initail challenge trial where 1:10 dilution of plant sap was used, a 5-day delay in symptom was generally shown. Inoculations with 1:100 plant sap also gave similar results as with 1:10 dilution. Lines 1-5 and 1-12, which were inoculated with 1:1000 dilution of sap, remained uninfected by CMV till 27 dpi, whereas with PWV, 1-12 became infected by 11 dpi. Four cuttings of line 1-12 reacted diffferently to the challenge inoculations i.e. three of them resisted PWV, whereas two of them were susceptible to CMV. Since PWV CP was not detectable in the transgenic lines but evidence of resistance to PWV was found in them, this was suggestive of an RNA silencing mechnaism involved in the resistance. Because the CMV CP was detectable in the transgenic lines, this suggested requirement for the CP expression in the resistance . The resistance, or apparent immunity, was manifested by an apparent delay in symptom expression and accumulation of relatively low levels of the viruses.

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In the present study, an attempt has been made to use Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) for assessing the technical efficiency and return-to-scale for greenhouse cucumber production in Iran. For this purpose, the data from greenhouses in Esfahan province, during one period of plant cultivation in one year including spring plants were randomly collected. The results indicated that total input energy, total output energy and energy ratio were 436,824 MJ ha^-1, 128,532 MJ ha^-1 and 0.29, respectively. DEA can be used to optimize the performance of any cucumber greenhouse. Based on input-oriented CRS and VRS models of DEA, the average values of pure technical efficiency, technical efficiency and scale efficiency were found to be 0.95, 0.83 and 0.88, respectively. Also the results revealed that, on average, about 30.27% of the total input energy could be saved without reducing the cucumber yield from its present level by adopting the recommendations based on the present study.