AGROECOLOGY (بوم شناسی کشاورزی)
Year:2018 | Volume:9 | Issue:4 |Papers Count:20

Agriculture itself serves a dual role as an energy user and also energy supplier in the form of bio-energy. Recently, the energy use in agriculture has been intensified in response to the rising population, the increasing of standards of living and the limitation sources of energy. Efficient use of energy is a possible pathway for reducing the environmental impacts of energy inputs in agriculture, and providing sustainable agricultural production, since it brings financial savings, fossil resources preservation and air pollution reduction. …

Introduction:Dwarf chicory (Cichorium pumilum Jacq.) is an annual species from chicory genus in Asteraceae family grows in Western and Southern parts of Iran which is used as a traditional medicinal herb. To date there are a few studies on this species which have been carried out under field conditions. Dwarf Chicory can be used for cancer treatment. In many studies, the presence of phenolic and terpene lactones has been confirmed in chicory tissue. Each type of fertilizer (chemical, organic and biofertilizer) has its advantages and disadvantages but due to the problems caused by the use of chemical fertilizers, organic and biological fertilizers can be used as alternatives to chemical fertilizers to increase soil fertility and produce sustainable agriculture. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of organic and chemical fertilizers and biological fertilizers on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of dwarf chicory (Cichorium pumilum Jacq.) in different cuttings. ...

Introduction:Medicinal and aromatic plants are major crops of domestic and industrial interest. The essential oil yield, seed yield and biomass of medicinal and aromatic plants are seriously affected by interspecific competition, meaning proper weed management becomes crucial. Competition with weeds is detrimental for medicinal and aromatic plants production for two main reasons. The first reason is that, in acting as an important stress factor, the interference of weeds is supposed to generate variations in photosynthesis rate and direction, pushing plants to allocate more carbon to roots (competition for nutrients or water) or shoots (competition for light). …

Introduction:Sustainable agricultural development is an important goal in economic planning and human development worldwide. A range of processes and relationships are transformed, beginning with aspects of basic soil structure, organic matter content, and diversity and activity of soil biota. Eventually, major changes also occur in the relationships among weed, insect, and disease populations, and in the balance between beneficial and pest organisms. Ultimately, nutrient dynamics and cycling, energy use efficiency, and overall system productivity are impacted. …

Introduction: These days, using different chemical fertilizers has different negative effects such as imbalance soil nutrient, soil, water and air pollution and decrease quantitative and qualitative yield of crops, which increase environmental hazardous and production costs. Organic fertilizers providing the plants nutritional requirements and stabilizing soil fertility without having undesirable impact on the environment and crop quality. It has been reported that integrated organic and chemical fertilizer consumption in agro ecosystems increase chemical fertilizers efficiency and also decrease environmental impacts. …

Introduction: Agricultural intensification has serious environmental consequences such as depletion of non-renewable resources, emission of greenhouse gases, threatening of biodiversity and pollution of both surface and underground water resources. The life cycle assessment (LCA) provides a standard method for assessing environmental impacts from various economic activities, including agriculture, and covers a wide range of impact categories across the entire production chain. …

Introduction:Agricultural sustainability is the ability of an agro-ecosystem to either maintain or to implement the productive characteristics and taking into consideration both the ecological-environmental and socio-economic aspects. Sustainable agriculture implies long term maintenance of natural systems, optimal production with minimum input, adequate income per farming unit, fulfillment of basic food needs, and provision for the demands and necessities of rural families and communities. ...

Introduction:Specific characteristics of canola and its adaptability to the various climatic conditions, have increased the importance of this product, and has turned it into a hope to supply the edible oil needs of the country. Canola, like other crops, with its own ecological characteristics, with the lack of any of these features lead to the development of the crop in some parts of the country. …

Introduction:Recently, there is an increasing concern about the effects of pesticides on non-target organisms. Residual of pesticides cause environmental pollution and put in danger the human health. The problem is always in contact with pesticides, there are numerous risks related to the environmental and human health threat at different levels of their cycle, including production, sale, use in the field and ultimately for residue in food occurs. This study consider the harmful effects of pesticides in Hashtgerd study area and their potential and environmental risks using EIQ index. ...

Introduction:The excessive use of chemical fertilizers causes environmental pollution that is led to imbalance of essential elements in agricultural production system. Organic matter application as compost in the soil can improve chemical quality and biochemical properties that increase essential elements for plant nutrition. Application of organic manure can significantly increase the soil aggregate as well. Reported that application of 7 ton ha-1 of vermicompost increased number of leaves, stem dry weight, and corn plant height as compared to control and water holding capacity increases. …

Introduction:Intercropping is the cultivation of two or more crops simultaneously on the same field. The most common goal of intercropping is to produce a greater yield on a given piece of land by making use of resources that would otherwise not be utilized by a single crop. The main aims of intercropping are reduces the insect populations and plant diseases, reduces hillside erosion and minimizes labor cost on the control of weeds. Guar belongs to the legume family and drought resistant plant which is cultivated as a forage and seed crop and vegetable in warm and dry regions of Asia and Africa. This plant is a precious plant in intercropping system, because it had a development root system as a source of fertilizer and located in symbiosis with nitrogen- fixing bacteria. In fact, use guar is necessary for second crop. …

Introduction:The imbalance between anthropogenic emissions of CO2 and the sequestration of CO2 from the atmosphere by ecosystems has led to an increase in the average concentration of this greenhouse gas (GHG) in the atmosphere. Enhancing carbon sequestration in soil is an important issue to reduce net flux of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Soil organic carbon content is obtained from the difference between carbon input resulting from plant biomass and carbon losses the soil through different ways including soil respiration. CO2 emission varies largely during the year and is considerably affected by management type. The goal of this investigation was to study the effects of application of manure and chemical fertilizer on CO2 flux and carbon balance in agricultural system. …

Introduction:Competition for nutrient sources, especially nitrogen, is one of the reasons of corn yield reduction in the presence of weed. Weeds compete with corn for nitrogen uptake and affect its growth and development. Thus management and optimum application of nitrogen fertilizer may help corn to compete against weeds. More consumption of nitrogen fertilizer would change the competition ability of weed and crop. Comparison of cropweed growth-related characteristics is a way to assess their rate of competition. The main objective of the current study was to evaluate the effects of different weed densities and nitrogen levels on growth indices of corn, red root pigweed and millet. …

Introduction:Sesame (Sesamum indicum) plays an important role in human health because of its high oil capacity (47 - 52%).. Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis protects host plants against the detrimental effects of drought stress through mechanisms of drought avoidance. Strategies of drought avoidance in mycorrhizal plants rely on the ability to maintain an adequate hydration status on the level of whole plants as characterized by relative water content. So the aim of current study was to evaluate the symbiosis effect of two different species of mycorrhizae fungi on yield and physiological characteristics of sesame landraces under different drought stress levels in Urmia.

Introduction:The historical trend of Iran annual average temperature of shows a 0.05oC.year-1 increase which indicates that future emissions of greenhouse gases will continue to increase temperature and consequently cause to climatic change in the country. This change in environment will have a serious impact on different growth and development processes of crops. Increasing temperature could affect physiological processes like photosynthesis, respiration and partitioning of photo-assimilates. The negative impacts of climate change on potato production are reported in the literature. The present study was conducted to quantify the potential impacts of climate change on phenology, growth and tuber yield of potato. …

Introduction:Climatic conditions are the most effectiveness than from the natural environment variables for agricultural production On the other hand the base of agriculture development, especially in semi-arid zone is the accurate knowledge of environmental characteristics and its management practices. Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), due to the extensive roots and permeability and the ability to set the number of leaves and fruits under water stress, is a suitable crop for planting in arid and semi-arid climates. South Khorasan Province is a dry, desert and mountainous region with post-semi-arid and semi-arid climates. …

Introduction:Summer Savory (Satureia hortensis L.) is the representative plants of Lamiaceae family, which has high significant nutritional and taste values. Its pharmacopoeial raw material is herb (Satureiae herba), which contains many different biologically active compounds beside essential oil and minerals like calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, and zinc. Sustainable agricultural systems has became an important issue throughout the world. It is obvious that intensive cultivation has led to a rapid decline in organic matter and nutrient levels as well as affecting the physical soil properties. …

Introduction:Climate change is a global concern. In wheat production, agricultural operations such as plough, applying fertilizers, pesticides, planting, irrigation, harvesting, processing and transformation, need some forms of energy. In a study to investigate the energy input in wheat production in Gorgan region, Iran, it was observed that among all the direct energy inputs, fuel consumed in agricultural operation had the highest place with an average of 3390 MJ ha-1 and the second place belonged to supplying electricity with an average of 309 MJ ha-1. …

Introduction:In conventional agricultural systems to obtain the highest performance continuous use of chemical fertilizers is inevitable. The health of the plant, soil and living matter depends on the rotation of food elements in the ecosystem. This cycle is disrupted as a result of the loss of soil fertility, its food imbalance and inappropriate cultivation practices. Bio-fertilizers are composed of beneficial microorganisms, each for a specific purpose, such as nitrogen fixation, release of phosphate ions, potassium, iron. …

Introduction:Oilseed rape (Brassica spp L.) is one of the valuable oilseed crops which has been attracting attention in recent years. Iran is located in a semi-arid region, and water shortage has caused problems, namely providing drinking water as much as water supply for crop production. Not only does Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) make plant growth stimulating hormones like Auxin and Gibberellin but also can ease stress conditions by producing ABA. …