Senad Murtić

Genetic Diversity and Demographic History of Wild and Cultivated/Naturalised Plant Populations: Evidence from Dalmatian Sage (Salvia officinalis L., Lamiaceae)

Dalmatian sage (Salvia officinalis L., Lamiaceae) is a well-known aromatic and medicinal Mediterranean plant that is native in coastal regions of the western Balkan and southern Apennine Peninsulas and is commonly cultivated worldwide. It is widely used in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Knowledge of its genetic diversity and spatiotemporal patterns is important for plant breeding programmes and conservation. We used eight microsatellite markers to investigate evolutionary history of indigenous populations as well as genetic diversity and structure within and among indigenous and cultivated/naturalised populations distributed across the Balkan Peninsula. The results showed a clear separation between the indigenous and cultivated/naturalised groups, with the cultivated material originating from one restricted geographical area. Most of the genetic diversity in both groups was attributable to differences among individuals within populations, although spatial genetic analysis of indigenous populations indicated the existence of isolation by distance. Geographical structuring of indigenous populations was found using clustering analysis, with three sub-clusters of indigenous populations. The highest level of gene diversity and the greatest number of private alleles were found in the central part of the eastern Adriatic coast, while decreases in gene diversity and number of private alleles were evident towards the northwestern Adriatic coast and southern and eastern regions of the Balkan Peninsula. The results of Ecological Niche Modelling during Last Glacial Maximum and Approximate Bayesian Computation suggested two plausible evolutionary trajectories: 1) the species survived in the glacial refugium in southern Adriatic coastal region with subsequent colonization events towards northern, eastern and southern Balkan Peninsula; 2) species survived in several refugia exhibiting concurrent divergence into three genetic groups. The insight into genetic diversity and structure also provide the baseline data for conservation of S. officinalis genetic resources valuable for future breeding programmes.

Biostimulant prevents yield loss and reduces oxidative damage in tomato plants grown on reduced NPK nutrition

ABSTRACT Plant biostimulants are substances which have the capacity to modify physiological processes in plants in a way that provides potential benefits to growth, development or stress response. Effects of biostimulant application on two tomato hybrids (Ombeline F1 and Bostina F1) submitted to reduced nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) nutrition aiming at prevention of oxidative stress generation as well as yield and fruit quality loss were investigated in this study. According to obtained results, foliar applied Viva® biostimulant decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD, EC 1.15.1.1) and peroxidase (POD, EC 1.11.1.7) activity in tomato leaves even when recommended NPK nutrition was reduced at 40%. Fruit quality parameters (total soluble solids, total acidity, ascorbic acid and lycopene content) and yield were also maintained in reduced macronutrient fertilization when biostimulant was added. Combination of biostimulant with reduced NPK fertilizer enabled stability of cell homeostasis in tomato plants and their better adaptation to stress conditions. The possibility of biostimulant being used as environmental friendly tool in the reduction of mineral fertilizers without negative consequences regarding yield and fruit quality was discussed.

Cherry tomato productivity as influenced by liquid organic fertilizer under different growth conditions

This study was carried out to examine the impact of liquid organic fertilizer Ergonfill (LFE) on the yield and quality of cherry tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. Sakura F1) under different growth conditions. The experiment was set up in a randomized blocks design with four variants in three replications. Experiment variants were as follows: drought-stressed seedlings with and without LFE treatment, and non-stressed seedlings with and without LFE treatment. Exposure of cherry tomato seedlings to controlled water stress conditions significantly increased fruit quality parameters (total soluble solids, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, lycopene, total phenolic and flavonoids, total antioxidant capacity), but decreased yield. LFE treatment significantly increased by the all examined parameters under normal growth conditions as compared to untreated plants, and for total phenolic and flavonoids content, total antioxidant capacity and total soluble solids this increase was statistically significant. Positive impact of the LFE application on cherry tomato quality is result of fertilizer composition, as well as ability of cherry tomato plants to use bioactive substances in fertilizer for its growth and development.

Grafting influence on the weight and quality of tomato fruit under salt stress: Grafting influence on tomato under salt stress

1 University of Banja Luka, Faculty of Agriculture, Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 University of Banja Luka, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Agriculture, Novi Sad, Serbia

Uticaj različitih stimulatora na parametre razvoja kadifice (Tagetes patula L.)

Kadifica ( Tagetes patula L.) se ubraja u grupu jednogodisnjih cvjetnih kultura, a zbog svojih dekorativnih osobina posljednjih godina zauzima sve veci udio u proizvodnom asortimanu proizvođaca cvijeca u Bosni i Hercegovini.Sve veca potražnja za rasadom kadifice namece potrebu intenziviranja njene proizvodnje i podizanje njene kvalitete, a jedan od nacina kojim se to pokusava postici je primjena razlicitih stimulatora rasta. Cilj ovog rada je bio ispitati uticaj stimulatora rasta Bio-algeena S-92, Slavola i Ergonfilla na parametre rasta i razvoja kadifice ( Tagetes patula L.). Od parametara rasta i razvoja kadifice u ovom istraživanju ispitivani su: sadržaj pigmenta u listovima i povrsina listova, te precnik cvijeta i broj cvjetnih glavica po biljci. Rezultati istraživanja su pokazali da ni jedan od primijenjenih stimulatora rasta nije iskazao statisticki znacajan uticaj na povecanje estetski važnih parametara kvaliteta cvijeca: precnika cvijeta i broja cvjetnih glavica na biljci iz cega se može zakljuciti da kadifica nije zahtjevna kultura za uzgoj jer je u stanju uspjesno razviti svoje cvjetove cak i ako joj se u toku uzgoja ne dodaju stimulatori rasta. Preduslov za ostvarenje navedenog je da supstrat u kojem se kadifice uzgajaju svojim fizickim i hemijskim karakteristikama zadovoljava sve kriterije potrebne biljkama za njihov uspjesan rast i razvoj.