Journal of Soil Management and Sustainable Production
Year:2015 | Volume:5 | Issue:1|Papers Count:18

In order to study the effect of intercropping of corn (Zea mays L.) with bean (Vicia faba L.) and bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia L.) and farmyard manure (FYM) on corn nutrition, a factorial experiment was carried out on the basis of randomized complete blocks design with three replications during the 2010 growing season. The factors were types of intercropping systems at levels of sole corn, bean+corn and bitter vetch+corn and FYM at levels of 0, 30 and 60 tons per hectare. At the end of growth period, dry forage yield and concentrations of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) of corn shoot were determined in different treatments. The results showed that intercropping of corn with bean increased significantly concentrations of N, P, K, Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn of corn shoot compared to the sole corn (11.0, 11.0, 9.6, 4.3, 17.1, 49.8 and 1.6%, respectively), while it had no significant effect on concentrations of Ca, Mg and Na of corn shoot. Also, intercropping of corn with bitter vetch increased significantly concentrations of N, P, K, Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn of corn shoot compared to the sole corn (6.9, 7.8, 11.7, 6.2, 13.6, 39.5 and 4.8%, respectively). The interactive effects of cultivation type and FYM on concentrations of N, Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Zn and Cu of corn shoot were not significant but the effects of cultivation type on concentrations of P, K and Mn of corn shoot were dependent on the level of FYM application. Application of 60 tons FYM per hectare increased significantly concentrations of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn of corn shoot compared to the control (16.3, 29.1, 37.2, 97.7, 16.2, 15.5, 46.9, 136.9, 26.2 and 28.6%, respectively). Corn shoot dry yield increased by application of FYM, while decreased by corn intercropping with bean and bitter vetch. In general, the intercropping of corn with bean and application of FYM at the rate of 60 tons per hectare can be recommended for improving corn nutrition and its forage quality in the study area and similar conditions.

A pot study was conducted in order to evaluate the effect of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobia (PGPR) on the growth and ionic composition of canola under salt stress conditions, as factorial in randomized complete block design with three replications. salinity in four levels of 0, 3, 6 and 9 dS/m were evaluated with mixture of salts NaCl and MgCl2. Canola seeds were inoculated with selected strains (T2: Sm29, T3: Sm103, T4: Rlp307, T5: Rlp281, T6: Rlp258 and T7: Rlp266) and uninoculated control (T1). In general, with the increase in salinity, the growth parameters (except Chlorophyll) and ionic composition (except Na and K) of canola decreased. The results indicated that inoculation with rhizobia under the salinity, significantly (P<0.01) increased the Chlorophyll (up to 8.34%), leaf area (up to 17%), relative water content (8.78%), shoot and root fresh weight (up to 20.4 and 49% respectively), compared to un-inoculated control. Similarly, inoculation restricted (up to 29%) the uptake of Na+ and enhanced the accumulation of N, P, K, Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn in shoot compared to control. Among the selected strains, T5 (salt tolerance, able to produce IAA, ACC-deaminase and dissolved insoluble inorganic phosphates) performed better under the salinity stress. Probably, the promotion of growth and nutrients uptake by this strain, its due to the better nutritional balance. In general, it can be concluded that inoculation with plant growth promoting rhizobia can ameliorate the deleterious effects of salt stress on nutrition and the growth parameters of canola.

In order to study the effects of fertilizer source and intercropping ratios on macronutrients concentration and uptake of fenugreek and black cumin, a factorial experiment was conducted as randomized complete block design with three replications at Shahrekord University research farm in 2013. Sole cropping of fenugreek (F) and sole cropping of black cumin (B) and three intercropping ratios (F:B 2:1, F:B 1:1 and F:B 1:2) were evaluated as the first factor and three sources of fertilizer (chemical fertilizer, chemical fertilizer: broiler litter as 50:50 and broiler litter) as the second factor. Results indicated that nitrogen and phosphorus concentration of black cumin and nitrogen uptake of fenugreek increased in intercropping treated with integrated fertilizer, by 79%, 70% and 4%, respectively, compared with monocropping treated with inorganic fertilizers. The highest nitrogen and phosphorous uptake obtained in sole black cumin treated with integrated fertilizer. The greatest nitrogen concentration of fenugreek and concentration and uptake of phosphorus were observed in B:F (1:1) treated with inorganic fertilizer and monocropping treated with integrated fertilizer, respectively. The highest concentration and uptake of potassium were recorded in sole fenugreek treated with inorganic fertilizer, however the maximum concentration and uptake of potassium in fenugreek achieved in B:F (1:1) treatment and monocropping treated with integrated fertilizer, respectively. These results suggest that, for intercropping systems, integrated nutrient management can reduce losses of nitrogen and thus may contribute to the environmental protection.

Engineering and soil mechanical properties are not usually presented in soil maps. Swelling and shrinkage are among the important soil mechanical and physical properties which play a vital role in the stability of buildings and also for tillage practices and irrigation in agriculture. This study was conducted to investigate the spatial variability of model parameters of soil shrinkage curve in Cherlgerd district, Chaharmahal-va-Bakhtiari province. Ninety nine locations were selected and soil clods were collected from the 0-10 cm layer and brought to the laboratory. Soil shrinkage curve was measured, according to Archimedes's principle, by covering the undisturbed clods with an Acrylic Resin which was slowly permeable to water vapor and impermeable to liquid water. Then, the void ratio (e) values were plotted vs. the moisture volume ratio (υ) values. The shrinkage curve data were modeled using Peng and Horn (2005) model and the model parameters (er, es, a, n and m) were optimized for each soil. Spatial structures of the model parameters were identified by the means of Moran's I index. Selected soil physical and chemical properties and topographic attributes were employed as auxiliary data in regression-kriging method. Using ordinary-kriging (OK) and regression-kriging (RK) methods showed that for spatial prediction of er, es and a, the RK method was superior when compared to the OK method. However, the RK was not successful for spatial prediction of n and m; this could be due to low coefficient of determination of the regression equations relating parameters n and m to auxiliary soil and topographic attributes. Trends of spatial variability showed that paired parameters er and es or a and n have high spatial correspondences which were consistent with the co-dispersion coefficients in the mentioned maps. Overall, the results of this research indicated that soil shrinkage model parameters possess spatial variability in the study region and the obtained spatial information could help sampling strategy for modeling soil shrinkage in future. Moreover, the results might be useful for precise spatial management for engineering purposes and agricultural and tillage fundamental applications in the region.

There are many problems in yield, quality and persistence regular bearing in olive trees, one of these problems is nutritional imbalances. This study was carried out in order to evaluate nutritional status of olive orchards in Tarom region of Zanjan province. Samples of soil and leaf were taken from 79 olive orchards in June 2012 and 2013 and analyzed by using appropriate laboratory methods. Deviation from optimum percentage (DOP) for each nutrient was calculated. The optimum concentration of nutrients in leaves of orchards with high yield for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) were 1.8, 0.1, 1.2, 1 and 0.275%, respectively and for manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu) and boron (B) were 20, 25, 4 and 30 mg/kg, respectively. The results showed that the average order of nutrients requirement according to DOP in the orchards is B>Mg>K>N>Zn>Mn>P>Ca>Cu. On the other hand all orchards with low yield, in terms of nutrient is in unbalanced status and nitrogen deficiency in 36%, potassium in 84%, magnesium in 93%, zinc in 35% and boron in 95% is predictable.

It is essential to understand ununiformity and variability of soil properties for proper cultivation management. Study scale and tillage management affect random component of soil spatial variability. To study the effects of these factors on variability of soil properties in adjacent lands of different tillage type, soil sampling was performed linearly along contour line from the middle position of slope with 5 m intervals. In overall, 45 soil samples were collected from a field with conventional up-down tillage and 40 samples from an adjacent field with contour tillage. Soil samples were analyzed for, soil texture, bulk density, saturation percentage, mean weight and geometric mean diameter of aggregates, organic matter and calcium carbonate equivalent. The data obtained were analyzed based on t-test by SPSS. All of the studied soil properties were significantly (P<0.05) different between the two fields. But the trend analysis showed that these differences could not be due to tillage in all cases. Spatial analysis of the data for all data sets and the data of each field separately, showed different spatial pattern for each soil properties and the semivariograms were modeled differently for the two fields. The range and the degree of spatial dependency were also different. For example, the fitted model was spherical for sand, silt, clay, bulk density and organic matter with the ranges of 46, 18, 36, 97 and 37 m respectively, in the fields with contour tillage, while the models were Gaussian, Gaussian, exponential, linear and linear with the ranges of 245, 51, 336, 217 and 217 m, respectively for the mentioned properties when all data set were analyzed.

In order to investigate the effects of Piriformospora indica and Trichoderma tomentosum fungi on basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) growth under copper nitrate levels, a pot experiment in factorial arrangement with three replicates was done during 2012. Treatments were four levels of copper nitrate (0, 100, 200 and 300 mg kg-1 of soil) and four levels of fungal coexistence (non-inoculation control, inoculation of Piriformospora indica and Trichoderma tomentosum fungi alone and co-inoculation of two fungi). The seeds were inoculated before sowing and copper nitrate was fertigated four weeks after planting. The studied parameters were plant height, stem diameter, branches number, leaf number per plant, both stem and leaf fresh and dry weights. Results indicated that all measured parameters except leaf fresh weight showed a positive response to copper nitrate concentrations. In terms of plant height and dry weight of leaf and stem a quadratic equation while for other traits a linear equation was fitted. Interaction between copper nitrate and fungi inoculation was significant for branch number, leaf number, leaf, stem and plant fresh weights and plant and leaf dry weights. Co-inoculation of two fungi had the most positive effect (ranged from 14 to 50%) on the mentioned traits. In conclusion, results of the present study represented a positive effect of copper nitrate, mycorrhizae-like fungi and Trichoderma especially for simultaneous application of two fungi along with copper nitrate on basil growth and yield improvement.

The location of extracellular enzyme activities in soil aggregates can be influenced by slope position. This study aims to determine the effect of slope position on aggregate distribution of organic C and L-glutaminase activity. The soils were collected from different slope positions (shoulder, backslope, footslope and toeslope) at two pasture ecosystems (Fereydoonshahr and Chelgerd, central Iran). A wet sieving procedure was used to separate soil aggregates and then mean weight diameter (MWD) was calculated. Soil organic C (SOC) and L-glutaminase activity (LGL) were measured in the separated aggregates. Results indicated that slope position influenced aggregates distribution and stability through its effect on soil physico-chemical properties. The LGL activity was significantly influenced by slope position which was consistent with the pattern of SOC content (Fereydoonsahr: r=0.7, P<0.001; Chelgerd: r=0.8, P<0.001). The SOC and LGL decreased by 34 and 56% with decreasing the size of aggregates in Fereydoonshahre area and by 20 and 68% in Chelgerd area. Furthermore, SOC storage and LGL activity derived from macroaggregates decreased as the stability of aggregate decreased along the hill slope. Overall, topography (slope position) as a soil-forming factor can change the distribution of SOC and LGL activity in soil through its influence on aggregate distribution.

This study was conducted to investigate the impact of land use change on some carbon components in Safashahr area, Fars province. Four land uses (destroyed rangeland, agricultural land, new and old apple orchard) were selected. Sampling was done randomly from two depths (0-20 and 20-50 cm) of each land use. Particulate organic matter (POM) and extractable carbohydrate by hot water were measured in both bulk soil and aggregate particles and mineralassociated organic matter and carbon pool were measured in bulk soil. Results showed that particulate organic matter, carbohydrate and carbon pool in old apple orchard increased significantly. Results also showed that the particulate organic matter in old apple orchard, agricultural land and new apple orchard increased 333, 120 and 113%, respectively. As components of organic matter have been accumulated in the macro-aggregates and these aggregates have high sensitivity to soil degradation, it is expected that the factors which control the stability or degradation of these aggregates may control organic carbon pool of soils as well.

The aim of this research was to evaluate some soil physical quality indicators using remotely sensed date, GIS and geostatistical methods in Baft area that is one of the most important centers of agricultural production in Kerman province. Therefore, soil samples were collected from 0 to 20 cm depth of 183 points based on regular sampling pattern (every 250 meters) and soil physical indicators including air capacity, plant-available water, relative field capacity and soil structural stability indices were determined. Afterward, data were geostatisticaly analyzed. Subsequently, related kriging maps of each index were prepared in ArcGIS. To investigate the impact of land use on determined indices, the land use map of the area were generated using Landsat 8 images. The results showed that the soil structural stability index is within the inappropriate ranges in the studied area. Generally, regarding to kriging maps the low ranges of this index can be contributed to higher amounts of silt particles in the central parts of the area. In the regions, high density planting has occurred. Another reason affecting the low soil structural index could be related to the low organic matter content (lower than %2) in most parts of the area. The studied area was considered suitable regarding air capacity. The soil of region had a good capacity for saving and preparing of plant accessible water and proper relative field capacity.

In the past few decades, the use of remote sensing techniques for mapping and monitoring salinity changes in soils has been developed. This research was done in the army field of Gorgan in 2011-2012 to assess possibility of application of this technique. In the first step, 101 soil samples were taken from the soil (30 cm depth) during two stages (end of March and the start of May) and Electrical Conductivity (EC) and pH were measured by EC- and pH- meter. Then in the next step, different vegetation-based indices such as SI1, SI2, SI3, BI, NDSI, PD322, IPVI and DVI were extracted from ETM+ (Landsat 7, 7 band, 2012) along with thermal basecompound bands. Then brightness value was determined. Data correlation between samples was taken and brightness index and accuracy tests on studied indices revealed that SIs had the correlation with ground control points. Among SIs, SI1 and SI2 had the highest capability to provide salinity maps for dataset 1 (wheat tillering stage, R2=0.57) and dataset 2 (after wheat harvesting, R2=0.646), respectively. DVI also was the weakest index for salinity enhancement using both sampling data (RMSE=1.68).

Soil is known as a suitable reservoir for carbon sequestration. The objective of this study was to investigate the capability of haloxylon on sequestration of carbon in sand dunes of Yahya Abad, Sabzevar, in northeastern Iran. Eighty soil samples were taken from two depths of 0-5 and 5-10 cm under and between haloxylon trees. Eight soil profiles under and between haloxylon trees were described and sampled to explore subsurface variations of soil organic carbon (SOC). The results showed that SOC in 0-5 cm has increased from 0.18% in between trees to 0.79% under trees and similarly, in 5-10 cm has increased from 0.11 to 0.29%. SOC has decreased exponentially with increasing depth. A strong correlation was found between soil organic carbon and electrical conductivity in 0-10 cm depth due to accumulation of salts in haloxylon litters that has increased both SOC and electrical conductivity of surface layer. The SOC storage under and between haloxylon trees at 0-100 cm depth were estimated 27718 kg ha-1 and 14915 kg ha-1 respectively, Differences of these values represents carbon sequestration. The amount of carbon sequestration to depth of 10 and 40 cm was 5367 and 10155 kg ha-1 that is 36 and 68% of total carbon sequestration. The results of this study confirmed the importance of haloxylon in carbon sequestration in desert environments.

Wind erosion climatic factor is a measure of explaining the role of climatic factors on wind erosion. Humidity and wind speed are climatic characteristics that must be considered as erosion parameters. In this study, linear moment analysis (L-moments) and wind erosion climatic factor were used to evaluate the regional climate’s tendency effect on wind erosion in Yazd province. Wind erosion climatic factor was calculated from the wind speed quantiles and other available meteorological data. Climatic factor analysis was done by Monthly average and daily maximum of wind speed and other available meteorological data from 14 meteorological stations in Yazd province. Three homogeneous groups of wind speed were considered based on results of regional analysis. Then regional wind speed quantiles were calculated and their results used for calculating wind erosion climatic factor values for two 6-month wet and dry periods that belongs to every homogeneous region. In addition, erosion climatic factor values was estimated for each station by using Weibull distribution and the results were compared with the values of the regional erosion climatic factor. Results showed that estimated values using the regionalbased approach have smaller mean square error than the Weibull method. Therefore, this method can assess the regional risk of wind erosion in arid and semi-arid environments.

Organic acids exuded by plant roots increase solubility of soil micronutrient complexes. This study was carried out to evaluate adsorption isotherms of 4 acidic and 4 calcareous soils at presence of organic acids (citric, malic and oxalic acids). Iron sorption and desorption isotherms are defined in two systems including; 1; soil-water-metal, 2; soil-water-organic acid-metal. Data fitted to different adsorption/desorption isotherm models including Langmuir (Cs=kbCe/ 1+kCe) and Frundlich (Cs=kCe1/n) and appropriate model was developed for quantitative behavior of iron adsorption/desorption. The results showed that in acidic soils, Fe adsorption data fitted well with Frundlich (R2>0.98, P<0.001) and in calcareous soils, data were fitted with both equation (R2>0.94, P<0.001). Paired comparisons test showed that presence of organic acids had a significant effect on iron adsorption, in which the citric acid significantly decreased in 71 percent of maximum absorption in soils. In both acidic and calcareous soils presence of organic acids caused reduction in unmoved iron. Organic acids effectiveness sequence in unmoved iron in acidic and calcareous soils was citric acid>oxalic acid>malic acid>control, respectively. It can be concluded that complexing organic acids with Fe decrease its adsorption and promote its availability for plant.

Environmental protection and achieving inclusive development are considered as the important aim of sustainable agriculture. Therefore it seems essential method that can reduce the excessive consumption of chemical fertilizers. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of plant growth promoting microorganisms and effect of combined nutrition systems, chemical and bacterial on phenology stages, yield, yield components wheat grain protein precedent variety N8019. Experiment was conducted in research farm of agricultural research stations Baykola affiliated with agriculture and natural resources research center of mazandaran in 2011. The study was conducted as a split plot and to form randomized complete blocks design with 12 treatments and 3 replications. Treatments included fertilizer (nitrogen and phosphorus) as the main factor in three levels: 1-noconsumption (C0), 2-equivalent to 50% of the fertilizer recommendations (C1), 3-equivalent to %100 of the fertilizer recommendations (C2) and two types of biological fertilizers which contain nitrogen-fixing and phosphate solubilizing rhizobacteria as the subsidiary factor in 4 levels: 1-noinoculation (B0), 2-seeds inoculated with nitrogen-fixing bacteria (B1), 3-Seed inoculation with phosphate solubilizing bacteria (B2), 4-Combined application of bio-fertilizers (B3). The results of the analysis of variance experiment run indicated that effect of different treatments, including the use of %100 chemical fertilizers and biofertilizers on plant phenology, yield and grain protein rate, was significant at the %1 but greatest influence on the aforementioned components is achieved through the combination treatment (%100 chemical fertilizers+biofertilizers) and interaction effects. Thus the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of wheat in the compilation system (bio-fertilizer and chemicals) had a better result than when used alone.

Agaricus bisporus is the most important industrially cultivated edible mushroom. Using organic wastes as substrate for cultivation of edible mushroom can provide a perfect solution for disposal of these waste materials and is part of the world's food requirements. In this study to investigate the usability of various organic wastes as growing bed for button mushroom, four types of substrates were used including Fresh Mushroom Compost (FMC), Spent Mushroom Compost (SMC), Municipal Solid Waste compost (MSW) and Vermicompost (VER). The results showed the effect of different substrates on mushroom yield is significant at 1% and treatment FMC with average 503.5 g, accounted for the highest yield. Furthermore, no mushroom was produced in vermicompost substrate, which can be due to inappropriate physical, chemical characteristics and C/N ratio in this bed. Mushroom protein was also affected by the type of substrate and the highest percentage of protein was found in MSW treatment, which can be probably due to the higher content of available nitrogen in this substrate. Also there were significant differences between the level of mineral elements in treatments and the highest level of phosphorus, potassium, sodium, iron and zinc was observed in the MSW treatment. The results of this study indicate that municipal solid waste compost has potential for use as a substrate of cultivation of Agaricus bisporus but more research is needed to determine the appropriate formulation. Also care should be taken regarding contamination of municipal solid waste compost.

Cadmium is a heavy metal with a strong adverse effect on crop quality. Moreover, it is a mobile element in environment and plants can easily uptake and transfer it to their organs. Cadmium can easily enter human and animals food chains and threaten their health. To study the effects of a water soluble polymer and inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi on cadmium uptake of clover grown on contaminated soils with different levels of cadmium, one factorial experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design and three replications. In these experiments the effects of different levels of a water soluble polymer (0, 150 and 300 kg.ha-1), inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi (Glomus mosseae) and different levels of soil cadmium (0, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 mg.kg-1) on cadmium uptake of clover were assessed. The results showed that plant inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi increased cadmium uptake of root by 72% but decreased that of aerial parts by 18.8% and prevented translocation of cadmium from root to aerial parts. Application of polymer in soil decreased the cadmium uptake in aerial parts and roots. Application of 300 kg polymer per hectare decreased cadmium uptake of aerial parts and roots by 46 and 37.5% respectively.

Heavy metals are one of the most important and the best known pollutants that its entry into the environment causes to appear damages and different diseases. This study aimed to determine the amount of Nickel concentration in soil and leaves of Platanus orientalis, estimate and mapping it in Rasht city area by using geostatistic method. To achieve these goals 126 samples of surface soil (0-30 cm) and 76 samples of leaves (Platanus orientalis) were collected from Rasht city streets. Total concentrations of Nickel in soils and leaves were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. Average concentrations obtained for the Nickel mg kg-1 was 35.59 for soil and 2.7 in leaves. Soil Nickel in the region were lower than threshold alerts and toxicity and about %9.2 of leaf Nickel’s data were above tolerable limit. Spherical model and Linear model fitted better in experimental variogram in GS+ program by using try and error method. Kriging and IDW estimator was used for interpolation. Kriging estimation was mapped by using Arc GIS 9.2 software.