Applied Agricultural Research
Year:2018 | Volume:31 | Issue:2 (119) |Papers Count:6

Introduction: Heavy metals have become one of the sources of soil contamination as a result of human-induced mining for metal extraction. Early establishment of seedlings under the unfavorable environmental conditions of mined lands is a major stage that is often faced with failure. This is due to the shortage of precipitation, high evapotranspiration, poor soil nutrients, disturbed layers of soil and instability of soil in the mined lands of arid and semi-arid regions. Hence, facilitating early establishment of seedlings by employing new substances and technologies such as zeolite, superabsorbent and mycorrhiza can be considered an important step towards the restoration of degraded lands in the vicinity of mines in arid and semiarid regions...

Introduction: Intercropping, growing two or more crop types or cultivars on one field, is considered as one of the most important agricultural operations that can improve the utilization of environmental resources through increased plant growth and yield. Diversity and stability of fields, reduction in chemical fertilizers application and nutrient availability such as biological nitrogen fixation, are considered as some of the benefits of intercropping. Hence, selection of legume cultivars in intercrops is important and should be taken into account. Also different intercropping patterns can improve biodiversity at species level (Monti et al., 2016). Maize is a crop that can be included in intercropping systems with various plants due to its high adaptability (Nassiri Mahallati et al., 2010)...

Introduction Sowing date is the variable with the largest effect on crop growth and its yield (Hundal et al., 1997). Planting the suitable variety at the right time results in flowering phase when the risk for freeze damage is the lowest and before the onset of heat stress during flowering and grain filling stages (Khichar & Niwas, 2006). Adequate soil moisture especially in dryland conditions is also important. Correctly matching the time at which growth stages of crop occur with the favorable environmental conditions is the key to maximizing growth and yield (Dadashi & Khajehpour, 2004). Thus, growers need to choose the appropriate varieties for a specific planting time for achieving the optimal flowering period, which can lead to the highest possible yields...

Introduction: Moldavian balm is a herbaceous annual plant belonging to the Lamiaceae family (Gholizadeh et al., 2010). All parts of this plant contain essence, however, the flowers, leaves and young shoots possess the highest quantities of the essence. The essence is comprised of geranial, neral, geranyl acetate and geraniol. An essential element in sustainable agriculture is to use organic fertilizers in crop ecosystems with the aim of eliminating the application of chemical fertilizers. Organic fertilizers ensure human health and safety of the environment. Foliar spraying improves plant nutrient deficiency in a shorter time period than the soil application. In this method, nutrients directly enter the aerial parts of plant and as a result, there will be no problems regarding fertilizer residue deposition in soil and reduced fertilizer effectiveness (Yongzhen et al., 2017)...

Introduction: Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L. ) is an oil-producing plant, which is considered to be a valuable source of seed oil due to its high oil quality and relatively high resistance to salinity and water-deficit conditions (Mozaffari and Asadi, 2006). In the regions where annual precipitation is low and also the distribution of rainfall is unpredictable, drought is the most important environmental stress that adversely affects crop plant performance. Identifying tolerant cultivars with high yield potential is of paramount significance for researchers under the condition with ever-decreasing rainfall, elevated air temperature and increased hot weather. Delayed sowing in the spring cropping of safflower causes accelerated development, reduced vegetative growth and decreased yield and yield components of the plant (Zimmerman, 1972)...

Introduction: Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L. ) is an annual or biennial medicinal plant belonging to the Malvaceae family, which is cultivated for its stem, fiber, edible calyces, leaves and seeds. Sepals of Roselle have medicinal properties and culinary uses (Mohammadpour Veshvaei et al., 2015). Cultivation of medicinal plants using sustainable agricultural system provides the best conditions for the production of these plants, leading to maximum qualitative and quantitative yields (Matinkhah et al., 2003). The purpose of determination of optimum sowing date is to find a suitable window time for plant growth so that different developmental stages of plant coincide with optimal environmental conditions, resulting in enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and consequently leading to storage of adequate amounts of photosynthetic materials...