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The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) is a serious and economically important pest of cruciferous crops worldwide. The nutritional indices of this pest on four host plants including two canola (SLM₀₄₆ and RGS₀₀₃) and two cabbage cultivars (Green-Cornet and Glob-Master) were determined under laboratory conditions (25 ± 0.5 °C, 65 ± 5% RH and 16: 8 L: D h). The highest relative consumption rate (RCR) and relative growth rate (RGR) were recorded on RGS₀₀₃ (95.68 ± 14.52 mg/mg/day) and SLM₀₄₆(0.382 ± 0.041 mg/mg/day), respectively. The efficiency of the conversion of ingested food (ECI) and efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD) were significantly higher on SLM₀₄₆ (2.298 ± 0.646 and 2.471 ± 0.719%, respectively). However, there was no significant difference among cultivars regarding approximate digestibility (AD) index. The highest feeding performance of the larvae of P. xylostella was found on SLM₀₄₆. The nutritional indices are appropriate tools in host plant resistance evaluation and they also could provide profound understanding of the behavioral and physiological bases of insect-host plant interactions.  

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Reproductive parameters and ovipositional preference of Plutella xylostella were assessed on some mutant genotypes of canola (RGS 8-1, RGS 10-2, RGS 8-13, Zar 9-9 and Talaye 8-3) and their cultivars (RGS, Zar, Talaye) under greenhouse condition (21 ± 6 °C, 65 ± 10 RH and a photoperiod of 16L: 8D h). Comparison of the reproductive parameters on RGS and its mutant genotypes revealed that mutant genotype RGS 8-1 was the most susceptible genotype to the pest, having maximum values of gross reproductive rate (182.7 female eggs/ female), net fecundity rate (248.2 eggs/ female) and mean number of fertile eggs (8.98 fertile eggs/female/day). The last parameter was the lowest on RGS 8-13 (3.05 fertile eggs/ female/day). In no-choice condition, the experiment of ovipositional preference indicated no significant difference among mean number of deposited eggs on the three cultivars compared with their mutant genotypes after 24 h. While, in choice test, mutant genotype, RGS 10-2 (151.67 eggs) was preferred over RGS and the two other mutant genotypes. This study revealed that effect of physical mutation on resistance of canola to P. xylostella may vary depending on canola cultivar and different mutant genotypes of the same cultivar. This point should be considered by plant breeders when releasing these mutant plants with appropriate cultural traits for utilizing by farmers.

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  Low stability in vegetable oils has been a quality problem. On the other hand the stability of vegetable oils depends on the composition of fatty acids especially oleic and linoleic acids. The aim of this study is finding one or more optimum ratio of the mixture of sunflower and canola oils that have good stability as well as suitable amount of essential fatty acids. The other aim is survey of dependence of stability to the amount of fatty acids in the mixture of sunflower and canola oils. In this study 7 samples of deodorized (and without any synthetic antioxidant) oils were prepared from several ratios of sunflower and canola mixtures. Metrohm rancimat was employed to evaluate the stability of the samples at 110°c. Fatty acids composition was determined with GC and peroxide ,iodine value and refractive index at 40◦c be measured. There was a strong straight linear correlation between stability and the amount of oleic acid ( r=0.988 , P-Value=0) but there was a straight reverse correlation between stability and the amount of linoleic acid ( r= -0.988 , P-Value=0). Results showed that the canola oil in spite of its higher linolenic acid, had higher stability than sunflower oil. Between the amount of canola oil in mixture (with sunflower oil) and iodine value (r=-1, P-Value=0) and refractive index (r=-1, P-Value=0) there were reverse correlation. Results demonstrated that sunflower oil, in spite of its lower linolenic acid, had very lower stability than canola oil. The reason may be that sunflower oil has high content of linoleic acid, while canola oil has high content of oleic acid.  With the considering the results, it is recommended that canola oil can be added to sunflower oil to increase its stability and nutritional values. Moreover two formulas "70% canola oil+ 30% sunflower oil" and "50% canola oil+ 50% sunflower oil" proposed as suitable blends.

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Growth indices (WG and SGR), food (FCR) and protein efficiency (PER and PCE) of fingerling Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus,were evaluated in 3 synchronous examinations with 12 treatments in triplicates. Groups of control, canola meal (at rates of 25, 50, 75 and 100%), cottonseed meal (at rates of 15, 25, 35 and 45%), as the replacements of expensive protein sources (fish meal and soybean meal), and azolla (at rates of 13, 21 and 29% of diet) were studied. Growth indices, total food intake and protein intake of the control were the highest of all. They decreased with increase in plant protein in every group (p<0.05). FCR and protein efficiency indices didn’t show significant differences (p>0.05) between control and canola meal (at rates of 25 and 50%), cottonseed meal (at rates of 15, 25 and 35%) and azolla (at rates of 13 and 21%). Total food intake, protein consumption and growth indices decreased, because all plant protein ingredients were unpalatable. If the problem of palatability is solved, it seems that the expensive protein sources replace with canola meal and cottonseed meal at the rates of 50 and 35% respectively, and azolla can be used at the rate of 21% in diets. 

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  In this research, heat stability of the oils from the current canola cultivars in Iran (Okapi, Hyola 401, Zarfam, and Talayeh) was compared in terms of the resistance to the conjugated diene hydroperoxides production during the heating process at 180 ºC. The stability test results were analyzed based on the polyene index, peroxide value, acid value, and total tocopherol and phenolic compounds. The highest original conjugated diene value (CDV) belonged to the oils from the Zarfam (8.18) and Okapi (7.73) cultivars in Khorasan Razavi province and the Hyola cultivar (7.78) in Golestan province, and the lowest ones belonged to the oils from the Zarfam (5.38) and Talayeh (5.85) cultivars in Tehran and Fars provinces, respectively. The CDVs exponentially increased during the heating process. The oil from the Okapi cultivar totally had the highest heat resistance to the conjugated diene hydroperoxides production. After 4 h of the heating process, the CDV of the oil from the Zarfam-Khorasan Razavi cultivar varied more severely, but finally at the end of the heating process, showed a similar status to the oil from the Okapi cultivar. Heat stability of the oil from the Zarfam-Tehran cultivar was relatively lower than that of the Zarfam-Khorasan Razavi cultivar. The oil from the Hyola-Golestan cultivar had a moderate heat stability among the canola oils studied, and then the oil from the Hyola-Mazandaran cultivar. After 4 h of the heating process, the oil from the Talayeh-Fars cultivar had a similar quality to the oil from the Zarfam-Khorasan Razavi cultivar but its quality decreased more severely than that of the other non-Talayeh cultivars at the end of the heating process. Finally, the oil from the Talayeh-Khorasan Razavi cultivar had the lowest heat stability after 8 h of the heating process. Assuming the same original quality for the canola oils studied, heat stability was in the order of the Zarfam-Khorasan Razavi > Okapi-Khorasan Razavi > Hyola-Golestan > Zarfam-Tehran > Hyola-Mazandaran > Talayeh-Fars = Talayeh-Khorasan Razavi.        

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In the present Study, oil from three major canola varieties grown in Golestan province namely Hyolla401, Hyolla420 and RGS003, have been extracted and stored for four months in dark at room temperature. Oil samples were tested every week for, free fatty acid, acid value, peroxide value, anisidine value, totex value and rancimat test. The results showed  that in all three varieties, free fatty acids, acid value, peroxide value, anisidine value and totex value were increased significantly during storage (α = 0.05). Most changes in free fatty acids, acid value, peroxide value, anisidine value and totex value were observed in Hyolla 420 variety and the least were founded in RGS003 variety. The results of rancimat test showed significant decrease in canola oil stability during storage in all three varieties. The highest oil stability was observed in Hayolla 420 variety. Hyolla 420 variety had the highest level of iron that led to significant decrease in its stability. Chlorophyll is one of the most important factors in oil stability that act as antioxidant in dark condition. The lowest level of chlorophyll were determined in Hyolla4 20 variety that  was in accordance with its low stability.  

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To study the effects of plant density and nitrogen rates on the ability of canola (Regent  Cobra; an inbred variety) to compete with weeds, an experiment was conducted as a factorial complete block design with four replications. The treatments included four levels of plant density at 150, 190, 230, and 270 plants m-2, and four levels of nitrogen (N) fertil-izer at 0, 46, 92, and 138 kg ha–1. Results indicated that different levels of plant density and N fertilizer had significant effects on the canola’s leaf area index (LAI) and dry mat-ter accumulation, as well as on the weed’s dry matter at three stages of plant growth (ro-sette, stem elongation, and 50% flowering). The addition of N fertilizer resulted in in-creasing plant LAI and decreasing weed dry matter. Densities of 150 and 270 plants m-2, along with 138 kg ha–1 nitrogen showed the highest LAI at the rosette and stem elongation stages. The LAI at different plant growth stages was an important factor in enhancing ca-nola’s competitiveness with weeds. There were significant differences between different plant density and N fertilizer levels for traits such as plant height, pod bearing stem length, biomass and seed yield. An increase in plant density significantly decreased the pod bearing stem length and total pod numbers per plant (i.e. pod numbers in main branches and sub-branches), but increased plant height. The highest seed yield was ob-tained with 190 plants m-2 along with 138 kg N ha–1. This study revealed that optimum plant density as well as N fertilizer may increase the competitive ability of canola against weeds.

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Physical properties of four common Iranian varieties of canola seeds (Hyola, Okapi, Orient and SLM) were evaluated as a function of their moisture contents. The average seed length and thousand seed mass varied linearly from 1.925 to 2.262 mm and from 3.06 to 4.84 g, respectively. The average diameter, geometric mean diameter, and sphericity varied non-linearly from 1.475 to 1.911 mm, 1.625 to 2.02 mm and from 0.82 to 0.93, re-spectively in a moisture content range of 5.27 to 23.69% wet basis (w.b.). Among the va-rieties, Hyola had the highest values for length, diameter, geometric mean diameter, sphericity and thousand seed mass at all moisture levels. Maximum and minimum values of bulk density were obtained for SLM (738.8 kg m-3) and Hyola (666.06 kg m-3). The fill-ing and emptying angles of repose ranges were determined as 25.37-28.54o and 25.48-28.68o, respectively. At all moisture content levels, the static coefficient of friction was the greatest against rubber (0.372-0.460), followed by plywood (0.358–0.449), galvanized iron sheet (0.301–0.419) while fiberglass sheet (0.260-0.414) while the least for glass sheet (0.253–0.392). Among the four canola varieties, Orient and SLM showed respectively the least and the greatest static coefficients of friction at all moisture levels studied.

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Sclerotinia Stem Rot (SSR), caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is believed as the most important disease of canola (Brassica napus) in Iran. Temporal analysis of the disease epidemics was carried out by evaluating SSR in 80 fields in four locations of: Gorgan, AliAbad, Kalaleh and Gonbad in Golestan Province during 2006 and 2007. Scouting of the fields to record disease incidence (I) and disease severity (S) was started before the end of flowering and continued weekly up to harvest time. Disease Progress Curves (DPCs) were studied using mathematical growth models and their goodness of fit determined based on such statistics as coefficient of determination (R2), standard error of estimates (SEE) and residual plots. Gompertz model with a mean R2 of 94.69% was selected as the most appropriate model for describing SSR progress in field conditions of Golestan Province. Rates of increase (rG) per unit of disease in the canola fields were 0.003 to 0.077 (with an average of 0.03). This is the first temporal study of canola SSR in Iran.

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An 8-week feeding experiment was carried out on beluga (Huso huso) juvenile to evaluate the effects of different levels of fish oil containing n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (n-3 HUFAs) on fish growth and fatty acid composition. The requirements of beluga juvenile for n-3 HUFAs were studied by feeding fish diets containing six different levels of n-3 HUFAs ranging from 1.56 to 17.25% (% of total fatty acids). Weight gain, feed conversion ratio, condition factor, specific growth rate and protein efficiency ratio were not significantly different among dietary treatments, nor was the body composition (including: moisture, protein, lipid and ash) of beluga juvenile (P> 0.05). There were no significant differences among plasma protein, glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride contents of dietary treatments (P> 0.05). However, haematocrit values were significantly lower in diets 1 and 2 (P< 0.05). The fatty acid composition of fish showed a pronounced change from the initial carcass with fatty acid composition changes in experimental diets. The fatty acid composition of the beluga carcass fed on diets containing various levels of n-3 HUFAs reflected the dietary fatty acid composition. The n-3 HUFAs contents of the lipids of fish increased with an increase in dietary n-3 HUFAs levels. Results suggested that minimum levels of n-3 HUFAs in diet have no effect on growth and n-3 HUFAs are not a restrictive factor on growth in beluga.

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The oil extracted from three major canola cultivars (Hyolla401, Hyolla420 and RGS003) grown in Golestan Province was analyzed for physico-chemical properties, fatty acid composition, minerals content, and stability during 16 weeks of storage. According to the results, the highest iodine value and refractive index belonged to Hyolla401. The highest saponification value was observed in Hyolla420. There was no significant difference (P< 0.05) between the relative densities of the three cultivars. Study on the mineral content showed the highest level of iron and phosphorus in Hyolla420 and the maximum sulfur content in RGS003 cultivar. Oleic acid (ω-9) was the major fatty acid in all cultivars and the highest level was found in RGS003 (include % of oleic acid here). The highest level of essential fatty acids, linoleic acid (ω-6) was found in Hyolla420 and linolenic acid (ω-3) in Hyolla401. In all three cultivars, erucic acid content was low and within the permitted level (include % of oleic acid here). The Hyolla420 had the highest content of free fatty acid, acid value, peroxide value, anisidine value and Totox value compared to the other cultivars, during storage. However, result of oil stability based on Rancimat test showed that the Hyolla420 cultivar had the highest induction time during storage, which was in agreement with its low polyene index (PI).

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Enzymatic acidolysis of canola oil through caprylic acid was investigated to produce certain medium chain Ttriacyliglycerol (TAG) structured lipids (SLs). Lipozyme TL IM, an sn-1,3 specific Thermomyces lanuginosa lipase, and Novozym 435, a non-specific Candida antarctica lipase, were utilized as the biocatalysts in a batch reactor. Reaction conditions were designed according to Taguchi’s approach, considering three levels of fatty acid to oil ratio (1:1, 2:1, and 3:1), three levels of enzyme load (4, 8 and 12%, w/w), three levels of temperature (45, 55, and 65°C) as well as three levels of reaction time (15, 30 and 45 hours). Results indicated that fatty acid composition of canola oil was modified by the above acidolysis reactions. The highest mole percent of caprylic acid incorporation (37.2 mole%) was obtained after 15 hours of incubation in the presence of Lipozyme TL IM at 55°C, fatty acid to oil ratio of 3:1 and at 12% of enzyme level. However, with Novozym 435 the highest level of incorporation (38.5 mole%) was obtained after 45 hours of reaction at 45°C, fatty acid to oil ratio of 3:1, and at 8% enzyme level. Novozym 435 was able to incorporate more caprylic acid in the oil than did Lipozyme TL IM. SLs prepared using either Lipozyme TL IM or Novozym 435 differed in terms of their TAG compositions. According to the obtained results, SLs produced by use of Lipozyme TL IM lipase contained higher levels of MLM-type (Medium-Long-Medium) triacylglycerols than those produced using Novozym 435 lipase (21.2 and 9.9%, respectively).

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Oleogelation (organogelation) is a novel method to structure edible oils. In the last decade, much research has been done in this case. Oleogelation provides the possibility to remove trans fatty acids and reduce saturated fatty acids in structured oil. The aim of this study was to investigate the production of oleogels from canola oil using ethylcellulose and polyglycerol polyricinoleate as oleogelator and surfactant, respectively. For this purpose, six different formulas of oleogels were prepared. The oleogels were made with 80 to 90% w/w oil, 7.5 to 20 % w/w ethylcellulose and 0 to 5 % w/w PGPR. Atomic force microscopy was utilized to image the microstructure of oleogels. Images showed an increase in diameter of ethylcellulose strands by increasing ethylcellulose concentration. Decreases in diameter of ethylcellulose strands were observed upon PGPR addition. Fatty acid profile of the canola oil and its oleogels was analyzed by gas chromatography. Prepared oleogels were stored at two different conditions (ambient temperature and refrigerator), for 60 days. Peroxide and thiobarbitoric acid values of oleogels were determined after production and once every 30 days. Results showed no significant differences between fatty acid profile of canola oil and its oleogels. Oxidative stability of oleogels was improved by increasing ethylcellulose concentration. The oleogels stored at refrigerator had better shelf life than others at ambient temperature. Generally, by increasing ethylcellulose concentration from 10 to 20%, and adding PGPR, increase in gel strength and uniformity was observed which allows to use oleogels in texturized fats and margarine formulation.

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The use of synthetic antioxidants has reduced due to its harmful effects on consumer health. The present study was conducted to evaluate the antioxidant properties of Mentha pulegium as a source of natural antioxidants. In order to prepare extracts of Mentha pulegium from a methanol solution, a ratio of 5: 1 was used. The levels of tocopherol and phenolic compounds of the extracts were measured by spectrophotometric methods. Finally, methanolic extract of Mentha pulegium at concentrations of 400 ppm and 800 ppm was added to canola oil, and after heating for 24 hours at 180°C, color index, conjugated dienes value, acid value and peroxide value were evaluated to comparison with the sample containing TBHQ. The results showed that extract at concentration of 800ppm has thermal stabilization efficiency comparable to TBHQ(p<0.05). Therefore, Mentha extracts can be recommended as a potent source of natural antioxidants for the stabilization of canola oil or other unsaturated vegetable oils.
 

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Aphids in unsprayed canola (Brassica napus Linnaeus) fields in Isfahan province (central Iran) were sampled for two growing seasons, 2011-2013. Sampling unit was a whole plant and 20 plants were sampled weekly. In the laboratory, heat-extracting and sub-sampling techniques were used to estimate the density of aphids. To determine the relationship between population growth rate of the aphids and degree-days,linear regressions were done between log of aphid density and accumulated degree-days. Homogeneity tests were done using pairwise comparisons between slopes. Aphids' preference for upper (10-15 cm upper part of stem) and lower (the rest of stem) parts of the plant was analyzed using Student’s t-test. Aphid fauna included: Cabbage Aphid [CA; Brevicoryne brassicae (L.)], Green Peach Aphid [GPA; Myzus persicae (Sulzer)], and Turnip Aphid [TA; Lipaphis erysimi (Kaltenbach)]. The GPA developed small population in comparison with CA and TA and was occasionally found. The population density of CA and GPA tended to show two peaks and, during flower initiation, population began to decrease. The average population growth rates of GPA and CA were 0.001 and 0.003, respectively. Homogeneity tests indicated that, at all sites and years, GPA showed reduced growth rate compared to CA. On average, 36 and 64% of CA and GPA populations were found on the lower parts of plants, respectively. This indicated that CA preferred upper part while GPA preferred lower part of the plants. The obtained results could be used to make a contribution to systematize the field monitoring of predominant aphids in canola crop.

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Plant quality in herbivores’ diet may affect the performance of both herbivore and its parasitoids. In the present research, parasitism capacity of Diadegma semiclausum (Hellen) on Plutella xylostella (L.) reared on different genetically manipulated Brassica plants including the canola’s progenitor (Brassica rapa L.), two cultivated canola cultivars (Cultivar-Opera and Cultivar-RGS₀₀₃), one hybrid (Hybrid-Hyula₄₀₁), one gamma mutated (Mutant-RGS₀₀₃), and one transgenic (Transgenic-PF) genotype was determined. All experiments were carried out in a growth chamber at 25±1˚C, 65±5% RH, and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L: D) hour. The value of the net parasitism rate (C₀) of D. semiclausum was 14.94, 20.12, 14.95, 12.20, 13.94, and 12.55 hosts on B. rapa, Cultivar-Opera, Cultivar-RGS₀₀₃, Hybrid-Hyula₄₀₁, Mutant-RGS₀₀₃, and Transgenic-PF, respectively. The transformation rate from host population to parasitoid offspring (Q_p) on all genotypes was close to 1 (C₀ R₀). Moreover, the value of the finite parasitism rate  was 0.271, 0.285, 0.277, 0.202, 0.205, and 0.202 host parasitoid^-1 day^-1 on the above-mentioned genotypes, respectively. The finite parasitism rate considers the finite rate of increase, the stable age-stage distribution, and the age-stage specific parasitism rate; therefore, this parameter could be used to assess the efficiency of a parasitoid. In conclusion, D. semiclausum had higher parasitism capacity on canola’s progenitor and the cultivated genotypes which were more suitable for parasitoid’s host based on secondary metabolites concentration.

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In this study, olive leaves which are rich in phenolic compounds were used as sources of natural antioxidants during extraction of oil from rapeseeds by cold press. This new method was developed to increase bioactive compounds, stability and shelf life of the oil. Canola seeds were blended with 0 (control sample) 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10% of olive leaf and their oil were extracted by cold press. Qualitative factors of extracted oil from were tested in the [production day and every 30 days of 90 days storage at room temperature. The results showed that samples containing more olive leaves had more phenolic compounds. Acidity and peroxide value increased but the amount of phenolic compounds decreased during storage. The highest amount of peroxide value was found for samples containing low percentages of olive leaves. The sample containing 10% olive leaves had the highest acidity compared to other samples. Schaal test results also indicated that the stability of the samples decreased with the addition of olive leaves. Overall the results showed that extraction of rapeseed oil by this new method will produce new product rich of phenolic compounds and similar properties compared to virgin olive oil that has more linolenic fatty acids (omega-3) than olive oil. Generally, extraction of oil from a mixture of olive leaf with rapeseeds produces a bioactive rich oil which can be introduced as a new product.
 

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Microencapsulation is a suitable technology for incorporating active agents into a carrier. In the present study, the weight ratios of two solutions of casein and whey protein in the ratios of 70:30, 50:50 and 30:70, containing 5% by weight of beta-carotene per 100g of wall material for microencapsulation were studied by spray drying method. The results indicated that samples containing 70% whey protein and 30% casein showed the best physical and chemical parameters. The results showed the efficiency of microencapsulation (70.44%), phenolic compounds (4.11 μg/mg), free radical scavenging (36.86%), dye stability of beta-carotene (75.18%) and FRAP (304.15 μmol of iron/gr).  The samples revealed an upward trend during the increase in whey protein concentration. However, the particle size (11.09 nm) showed a decreasing trend with increasing whey protein concentration. In the following, the ratio of 30% casein to 70% whey protein was introduced as the best treatment and then added to the canola oil sample in three concentrations (200, 700 and 1200 ppm). The results indicated that the amount of polar compounds, acidic, peroxide in the oil samples during the upward trend time and the stability index has decreased. With increasing the concentration of microcapsules up to 1200 ppm, the polar content, peroxide and acid numbers were significantly lower compared to their lower concentrations. As a result, the acid number, peroxide and polar number of oil containing 1200 ppm in the lowest amount were 1.13%, 7.46 mA/kg of oil and 42.41%, respectively. In general, the results of this study showed that whey protein/casein is one of the important sources that can be used to coat bioactive compounds.

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This study primarily aimed to identify and suggest appropriate rapeseed cultivars and their optimum sowing time. A factorial split-plot experiment was conducted in a complete randomized block design with three replications during two years (2014-2016). The study was carried out using six rapeseed cultivars, namely, Elvis, HL2012, L155, KR2, HW113 and Danob, three sowing dates (October 7, 17, and 27), and two concentrations of glycinebetaine (0 as control and 0.2%). The sowing dates and the GlycineBetaine (GB) were allotted to main plots and the six cultivars were allotted to subplots. The HL2012 cultivar had the highest seed yield (4,584 kg ha^-1), seed oil content (44.6%) and seed oil yield (2,060 kg ha^-1), which were achieved optimally in the first sowing date. Application of GB increased the average seed yield from 4,089 to 4,419 (kg ha^-1), seed oil from 44 to 44.4% and seed oil yield from 1,818 to 1,976 (kg/ha). The amounts of proline and soluble carbohydrates in the plants increased from the first to the third sowing dates. The early sowing date and the application of GB had positive effects on the quantity and quality of rapeseed oil. The results of cluster analysis showed that three of the six cultivars could be suitable for cultivation in Karaj, Iran.