AGROECOLOGY (بوم شناسی کشاورزی)
Year:2019 | Volume:11 | Issue:3|Papers Count:22

Introduction Over the last two decades, Urmia Lake, the second largest hypersaline lake by area in the world, has been largely desiccated and its water volume and surface area have declined by 80%. Generally, this process is attributed to a combination of factors including climate change, water overuse for agriculture within the lake’ s watershed, and mismanagement of water resources. One of the widely suggested solutions in restoration program of Urmia lake for sustainable use of land and water resources is the modification of cropping pattern within the lake’ s watershed. Land suitability analysis helps planners and policy makers in the agriculture sector in deciding on the presence or absence of a specific plant in the optimal cropping pattern. The present study analyzed the cropping pattern and evaluated land suitability for major field and horticultural crops in the Urmia lake basin. Material and Methods All required data were obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture-Jihad. Weighted goal programming (WGP) model was applied to optimization of cropping pattern with considering three goals including maximizing net return (NR), maximizing economic water productivity (EWP) and minimizing water consumption (WC). GAMS software were used to solve the optimization model. Land suitability evaluation was done using Parametric Method for 22 field crops including wheat, barley, grain maize, bean, soybean, sunflower, canola, safflower, alfalfa, forage sorghum, potato, carrot, cotton, sugar beet, garlic, tobacco, tomato, onion, watermelon, saffron and cucumber and 12 horticultural crops including almond, apricot, peach, nectarine, sour cherry, sweet cherry, plum, apple, pear, grape, walnut and pistachio. Results and Discussion The results revealed that during the past 10 years (from 3-years average of 2004-2006 to 2014-2016), cultivated area of irrigated field crops in the study area had declined in contrast to increasing trend of cultivated area for irrigated horticultural crops. Comparison of field crops for this period shows that area of wheat (from 151000 to 110000 ha), alfalfa (from 97000 to 82000 ha), sainfoin (from 15000 to 5000 ha) and onion (from 9800 to 4800 ha) had reduced while the corn silage (from 1354 to 5000 ha) and tomato (from 7382 to 8781 ha) cultivated area had increased in that period. Comparatively, the area of apple (from 62000 to 69000 ha), apricot (from 5800 to 7300 ha), plum (from 840 to 3000 ha) and peach (from 3523 to 5667 ha) had increased between two-time interval (from 3-years average of 2004-2006 to 2014-2016) in contrast to decrement of grape (from 38000 to 34000 ha) cultivated area. Results of land suitability evaluation showed that among the studied field crops, the highest suitable order area (including S1, S2 and S3 classes) were related to wheat and barley by more than 375000 ha followed by canola and alfalfa with more than 350000 ha, sunflower with more than 340000 ha, grain maize with more than 330000 ha and potato, onion and tomato with 330000 ha. Among the horticultural crops, the highest area of suitable order was related to sweet cherry, sour cherry, apricot and apple with more than 350000 ha followed by walnut with more than 340000 ha and peach by about 330000 ha. Results of cropping pattern optimization showed that total water consumption about 378 MCM (11. 7%) reduced compared to current cropping pattern however, total net return and economic water productivity increased about 27. 1% and 43. 9%, respectively. Crops characterized with relatively higher water requirements and lower economic benefits (viz. apricot, cotton, plum, safflower, and etc. ) eliminated from cropping pattern. By contrast, area under crops such as saffron, pistachio, sorghum, sweet cherry, garlic and cucumber crops recommended to optimal cropping pattern mainly because of relatively lower water consumption and higher economic benefits. Conclusion In the present study, geographical distribution of suitable areas and main limiting factors for cultivation of each crop was determined. Generally, in the optimal cropping patterns, total water consumption decreased against an increase in net return and economic water productivity.

Introduction Food security in parallel with the preservation of environment and natural resources, has become a critical issue in the world. Wheat as the main food for human has allocated the high cultivation area each year in the world and in Iran as well. Agricultural systems due to the consumption of fossil fuels and chemical output has introduced as the biggest consumers of energy and natural resources, also it has contributed serious role in bio environment problems (Roy et al., 2005). The environment seeks a system to provide the necessities of current generation, as well as prevention of resources s for the next generation. To study the positive and negative effects of cropping systems, the researchers have introduced multiple methods to study bio environment effects. In this regard, one of the best method is the life cycle assessment (LCA). Management method plays critical role in bio environment effects of cropping systems. LCA study of wheat frequency has conducted in Iran and the world. This study compares two conventional and progressive cropping management systems of winter wheat in Mayamey farms in Shahrood city using the life cycle assessment method. Materials and Methods Life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted using data of winter wheat fields in Mayamey, (Shahrood city) with two conventional and progressive management methods. LCA includes four steps (purpose definition, study practice area, assessment the effect of life cycle, results integration and interpretation). At the first step, the functional unit of one ton was determined, then data was classified, normalized and weighted, finally the indices of global warming, eutrophication of agro ecology, discharge potential for possible recyclable resources, poisoning and land use were analyzed. Results and Discussion The ecology index resulted from LCA method in progressive management is higher than conventional management. The emission rate of effective greenhouse gases for global heating potential index in the studied cropping systems is 461. 98, 309. 48 units equal to CO2 kg for the conventional and progressive management of wheat fields respectively. Potential of acidification index in agroecosystems with different conventional and progressive managements are 4. 43 and 3. 13 units equal to SO2 kg per functional unit. Results shown that the bioenvironment effects of eutrophication potential in dry systems in winter wheat production was 33. 35 in conventional agroecosystem and 23. 75 for progressive agroecosystem per NOx kg dissemination. Results of discharge potential for possible recyclable resources shown the highest gas use is 2. 54 m3. ha-1 in conventional agroecosystem and 1. 53 m3. ha-1 in progressive agroecosystem respectively, while other non-renewable sources such as rock phosphate and potash were 6. 75 and 3. 39 in conventional afro ecology respectively and this amount was 5. 25 for phosphate and 2. 43 for potash in progressive agroecosystem. The study indicated that in conventional managed farm the poisoning effects of heavy metals cadmium for human and dry agroecosystem were 0. 00033 and 1. 40200, respectively, where it was 0. 00030 and 1. 28501 in agroecosystem for progressive management. The occupied land for each ton of wheat was computed as 1840 for progressive management and 1493. 3 m3 for conventional management. Conclusion Results of LCA shown that phosphate resources depletion for discharge potential index of renewable resources and eutrophication of dry agroecosystem has more bioenvironment effects than other indices, also the results of both conventional and progressive management of winter wheat agroecosystem shown that the bio environment effects of progressive management has been more than the conventional management, while it is shown higher yield and the higher use of inputs don't mean higher yield necessarily. Results may be important for farmers and agriculture managers in the region in case of a sustainable management procedure.

Introduction The importance of potato (Solanum tuberosum L. ) is due to its high energy content. Potato is the world's fourth most important crop after wheat, rice and maize and plays a crucial role in human diet because of its high content of protein, essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Potato cultivars are cultivated in different climatic conditions. A suitable cultivar should be compatible with the region and have an acceptable yield. As to growth period length, potato cultivars are divided into early, intermediate and late maturing cultivars. Agria and Fontane cultivars with the highest cultivation area in Khorasan-Razavi province are considered as the main cultivars used in chips production. Sen et al., (2014) found that leaf area index increases 47 days after emergence. In addition to leaf area, the durability of the leaves and their arrangement on the stem affects potato final tuber yield. It has been reported that there is a correlation between leaf area durability and tuber yield. Ahmed et al. (2000) stated that tuber formation occurs in the early stages of growth about three weeks after tuber planting. Considering the lack of sufficient research on potato growth response to climatic conditions and given the importance of high-quality potato production the current study was aimed to evaluate the effect of climate conditions on Agria and Fontane potato cultivars with respect to growth indices under climatic conditions of Jolgeh-Rokh and Fariman regions. Materials and Methods This experiment was conducted to evaluate growth and physiological indices of Agria and Fontane cultivars grown in Jolgeh-Rokh and Fariman regions during 2005-2006. First, soil samples were collected to determine soil physicochemical characteristics. The experiment was a randomized complete block design arranged in factorial. The treatments consisted of two different regions (Jolgeh-Rokh (Razaghi and Khazaee fields) and Fariman (Mahdavi and Shariati fields)) and two potato cultivars (Agria and Fontane). The data were collected by random sampling method. For analyzing farm management, information on all agronomic practices such as land preparation, seeding, irrigation, fertilization, chemical pesticides, required work force, etc. were collected through interviews and questionnaire. During the growing season, every three weeks, three plants were harvested from each field and plant height, leaf area, shoot dry weight and tubers fresh and dry weight were determined. Crop growth rate and relative growth rate were calculated. The data were analyzed using SAS 9. 1. Results and Discussion From the results the Fontane cultivar produced more tubers (40%) than Agria cultivar. The maximum and minimum tuber yields were obtained from Khazaee and Shariati, respectively. 135 days after emergence, the highest plants were related to Fontane cultivar. Furthermore, the highest plants were observed in Khazaee filed. In this regard, it has been reported that plant height is more affected by genetic background and is less affected by the nutritional conditions. The highest leaf area index was related to Fontane cultivar. The maximum leaf area index values were obtained from Khazaee and Mahdavi fields. Leaf area index reached to its maximum 90 days after planting and then started to decrease due to canopy closure, shading, leaf senescence and abscission. Moreover, leaf dry weight linearly increased and reached to its maximum 90 days after planting and the started to decrease. The maximum leaf dry matter accumulation was related to Fontane cultivar. Moorby (2005) stated that tuber growth is the main factor controlling photosynthesis in potato, and reported that any change in tuber growth rate changes dry matter production and accumulation. The maximum and minimum crop growth rate values (90 days after emergence) were observed in Fontane and Agria cultivars, respectively. Conclusion Considering the importance of potato production in Iran, identification and releasing high yielding and compatible potato varieties is necessary. Overall, the results showed that Fontane cultivar was better than Agria in terms of total yield, crop growth rate, tuber weight and tuber growth rate when grown in Jolgeh-Rokh region. Therefore, Fontane is recommended for this region. In addition, the maximum dry matter percentage, as an important trait for industries, was related to Jolgeh-Rokh region.

Introduction Oil seeds had an important role in supplying food, heat and pharmaceutical needs. Today oil seeds are considered as the strategic agricultural products in the world. Providing of essential elements for crops, especially micro-nutrients play an important role in increasing the quality of produced food and improving community health. Sulfur is one of the essential elements required for plants, which has been underestimated in recent years. In oil seeds, sulfur plays an important role in seeds quality and growth. These plants usually need more sulfur for suitable growth and higher yield. Synthesis of some essential proteins and vitamins in crops has been faced difficulty due to sulfur deficiency. The addition of organic matter with sulfur in soils with high acidity is an appropriate option for reducing acidity and dissolving the required elements of crops. Materials and Methods The limiting factors in crop production are high soil pH and its effect on availability of nutrients and also organic matter shortages. This research was conducted at Kerman Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center to determine the effect of sulfur and cattle manure on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of sesame varieties (Sesamum indicum L. ) in a factorial experiment with completely randomized block design with 3 replications in 2016. The treatments consisted of powdered sulfur at four levels (0, 2, 4 and 8 tonnes. ha-1), Cow manure at two levels (0 and 20 tonnes. ha-1) and included two Jiroft-13 and Jiroft local varieties. After soil preparation the cultivars were planted on the rows with 50 cm distance. Grain yield, Harvest index, Oil and Protein Content, phosphorus and leaf sulfur content of sesame varieties were measured at the end of the growing season. Results and Discussion The results indicated that the highest level of sulfur (8 tonnes. ha-1) except for harvest index caused a significant increase in the investigated traits compared to the control treatment. The interactions of Cattle manure and sulfur were significant on some traits and the highest grain yield belonged to the Jiroft-13 cultivar in the highest level of sulfur and Cattle manure. The Jiroft-13 cultivar had the highest grain oil and protein content and harvest index as compared to Jiroft local variety. Effects of sulfur and Cattle manure treatments on grain oil and protein were significant and the highest amount was observed in combined application of sulfur and manure. Application of sulfur increased the concentration of this element in sesame leaves and also due to local reduction of soil acidity, it had a significant effect on increasing phosphorus uptake. The results indicate that the integrated use of sulfur and cattle manure as an ecological solution in order to increase growth and quantitative and qualitative production of oil crops, especially in alkaline soils could be considered. Conclusion In general, the results of this study indicate that sulfur application had a significant effect on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of sesame varieties and soil improvement. Application of cattle manure improved physical and chemical properties of soil, resulted yield increase and provided the sulfur oxidation conditions. In alkaline soils, animal fertilizers can be used to release phosphorus and fixed micronutrients. Considering the positive effect of sulfur on soil pH reduction and increasing accessibility to phosphorus and micronutrients, consumption of this substance with animal fertilizers, will make each one more effective. Large amounts of sulfur are produced in the country's oil and gas industries which can play an important role in increasing the quality of oilseed crops. According to the experimental conditions and the obtained results in the absence of cow manure, using 8 tonnes. ha-1 of sulfur is recommended. However, under application of 20 tonnes. ha-1 of cow manure, while using lower levels of sulfur, favorable results can be obtained. Jiroft-13 had a higher yield than local variety and is recommended for Kerman climatic conditions.

Introduction Drought stress is one of the abiotic factors that restricts crop growth and performance in most regions of the world. It causes changes in the growth of medicinal plants regarding the quantity and quality of their active ingredients. Fennel belongs to Apiaceae family that is growing in most parts of Iran. Essential oil that obtained from its seeds used in various industries of pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetics. Wide germplasm resources, genetic diversity among species, low water requirement and drought resistance have been factors for increasing importance of this plant. Despite of tendency to use and produce natural products, and importance of medical application of fennel, few studies have been existed and resulted in using local mass for cultivation in Iran. Studies suggested that for yield improvement, selection should be emphasis on plant height, primary branches, total plant branches and the number of effective umbrella in plant. The purpose of this research is to evaluated the morpho-phenological and quantities characteristics of different ecotypes of fennel and selection criteria for resistance and compatibility under water stress. Materials and Methods This experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications at two locations of normal and end-of-season drought stress at the agricultural research farm of University of Birjand during 2014-2015 growing season. Ecotypes contained: Birjand, Mashhad, Nishabur, Gonabad, Bojnoord, Ilam and a Roman cultivar. Drought stress was treated before flowering by evaporation pan (Type A). Traits such as number of days to 50% flowering, days to 50% maturity, plant height, height of the main umbrella, the number of main branches per plants, the number of umbrellas, effective number of umbrella per plants, the number of seeds per main umbrella, the number of umbelets in main umbrella, Internodal length, internodes number and grain yield were measured. Analysis of variance and drawing By-Plot was carried out with GenStat 12 software. Cluster analysis and Pearson correlation coefficient analysis was performed using SPSS software. Results and Discussion Analysis of variance showed that the genotypes were significantly different for all traits except for the number of branches and the number of umbrella per plants in 1% probability levels. This result indicates that there is genetic variation in these genotypes for evaluated traits in normal and drought conditions. Correlation coefficient analysis showed a significant correlation between investigated traits under both normal and stress conditions. Result of cluster analysis was similar under both normal and stress condition and investigated ecotypes of fennel were divided to two distinct groups. Under normal condition, the highest seed yield was related to Birjand ecotype. Under drought stress condition, however, the highest seed yield corresponded to Mashhad, Nishabour, Khousf and Bojnord ecotypes while Romi and Ilam ecotypes where located in middle class for seed yield trait and lowest seed yield was related to Gonabad ecotype. Based on bi-plot analysis of genotype×traits, under normal conditions ecotypes such as Ilam, Gonabad and Khoosf had the highest value in plant height, internode length, days to maturity and the main branches. Under stress conditions, ecotypes such as Bojnoord, Mashhad, Nishabur and Roman had the best grain yield. Ilam and Khoosf showed moderate yield. Conclusion There was a significant difference between yields of different genotype under both normal and stress conditions that is related to the number of fertilized umbels and the number of umbels per plant. Under drought stress conditions genotypes such as Mashhad, Nishabur, Khosf and Bojnoord had the highest performance and belong in one class, while Ilam and Roman genotypes were in middle classes and Gonabad genotype stay on in lowest yield. The number of umbels per plant, the number of seeds per plant and umbels can be as effective traits on grain yield and can be the best criteria for selection in breeding programs.

Introduction Nitrogen is a vital and important element for the plant and is available by chemical or biological process. The contribution of nitrogen fertilizer to performance improvement in various studies has been reported to be between 30-50%. Koocheki et al. (2017) reported that the levels of nitrogen fertilizers used in experiments for wheat in the range of 20-250 kg. ha-1 increased wheat yield by 2477 kg. ha-1 compared to control treatment. Biodegradable fertilizers (especially Azotobacter) has been reported positive because they have great potential to improve the nutrition of plants and replace chemical fertilizers, and can minimize or completely eliminate the use of chemical fertilizers and reduce environmental hazards, improve soil structure in cereal, dissolve phosphate and increase growth via absorption of mineral elements. Azotobacter, one of the most reputed free-living bacteria that stabilizes nitrogen in the air, which by using different mechanisms, increases the production of auxin hormone and the development of the plant's root system (increasing root area with more growth), and ultimately helps increase the yield of crops and orchards. The amount of nitrogen consolidated by 20 to 40 kg. ha-1 per year is estimated for cereals such as wheat, corn, sorghum, millet and rice, with a yield increase of 7-12% and a maximum of 39% in these plants. Materials and Methods This experiment was conducted on irrigated barley (Hordeum vulgar v. Bahman) in a farm in the Songhor town, Kermanshah Province, as factorial based on completely randomized block design (CRBD) with three replications during 2014-2015. Factors including Azotobacter chroococcum (0, 100 and 200 g. ha-1) and nitrogen fertilizer from urea source (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 kg. ha-1). In this test were studied LAI, number of tillers, shoot dry weight, hectoliter weight, protein content, biological yield, grain yield, harvest index, number of spikes. m-2, number of seeds per plant and thousand-seed weight traits. Sowing date was 19 November, 2014. Azotobacters used as inoculate with seed treatment and urea fertilizer at planting time just one-third and twothirds were stem elongation. Results and Discussion Analysis of variance showed that the effects of azotobacter and nitrogen as well as interactions between them were significant on all traits. The maximum amount LAI, tillers, shoot dry weight, hectoliter weight, protein content (12. 5%), biological yield, harvest index, number of spikes, number of grains per spike, thousand seed weight and grain yield (871 g m-2) were obtained in treated with 200 g. ha-1 Azotobacter and 200 kg. ha-1 N With the increase the amount of inputs also increased attribute values. Considering the cost of the inputs and amount of grain yield and protein, the consumption of 100 g. ha-1 Azotobacter and 100 kg. ha-1 N about 834 g. m-2 and 26%, respectively, had the most economic output and did not significantly different with maximum consumption of them. Generally, the results showed that the effect of industrial nitrogen on all traits was more than Azotobacter, but optimal use of biological and chemical fertilizers combined treatment with low doses (100 g inoculated with 100 kg. ha-1 N), also had the significant and positive effect on morphological traits and yield. So it may be partly replaced urea fertilizer consumption with Azotobacter. Conclusion The results of this experiment showed that the highest grain yield (871 g. m-2) was obtained from the combined application of 200 g. ha-1 biomass with 200 kg. ha-1 N. In general, with increasing amount of nitrogen from type of urea, the grain yield was between 20 and 71% and the grain protein content was between 20 and 32%, but with the increase of azotobacter (alone), the grain yield increased between 17 and 42%, and the grain protein was between 5 and 10 Percentage.

Introduction Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a common tool for environmentally assessing various agricultural systems based on type and quantity of input consumption and emissions generated during the production. LCA is a method assessing the environmental performance of a given production. The method has been recently developed, providing some detailed information on how to mitigate environmental impacts as well as how to improve sustainability of existing agricultural systems. The aim of this study was to compare environmental impacts of four major crops of wheat, barley, seed water melon and alfalfa in Belherat Rural District of Neyshabur. Materials and Methods Using the LCA, four steps including goal definition and scoping, inventory analysis, life cycle impact assessment and integration and interpretation were taken. The system boundary contains production processes, chemical fertilizers, manure, herbicides, pesticides, irrigation (electricity), seed, fuel and other inputs. Functional unit was equivalent to one ton of economic yield, and all inputs, pollutants and average of economic yields were quantified based on one ton of economic yield. Global warming, acidification and aquatic and terrestrial eutrophication were considered as three important impact categories. The coefficient factors (CF) and weighting factors were used to calculate the environmental index (Ecox). A higher Ecox score represents a higher environmental impact. Results and Discussion Average economic yields of wheat, barley, seed water melon and alfalfa in Belherat Rural District of Neyshabur were 2. 9, 3. 1, 0. 6 and 5. 2 t. ha-1, respectively. The results showed that the global warming potential was a high environmental impact for all four crops including wheat (with 869. 4 kg CO2-equiv. per one tonne economical yield), barley (with 694. 3kg CO2-equiv. per one tonne economical yield), seed watermelon (with 4947. 1 kg CO2-equiv. per one tonne economical yield) and alfalfa (with 2678. 9 kg CO2-equiv. per one tonne economical yield), and the aquatic eutrophication potential was the lowest environmental impact such as wheat (with 3. 08 kg PO4-equiv. per one tonne economical yield), barley (with 2. 4 kg PO4-equiv. per one tonne economical yield), seed watermelon (with 11. 1 kg PO4-equiv. per one tonne economical yield) and alfalfa (with 3. 3 kg PO4-equiv. per one tonne economical yield), respectively. Among the three emissions of CO2, CH4 and N2O generating the global warming potential, the CO2 had the highest proportion. Fossil fuels and nitrogenbased fertilizers are the main sources of the CO2 emission. Among the four crops, seed water melon generated the highest amount of CO2 – almost five times more than other crops-due to the high use of chemical fertilizers. In general, between these four crops, seed watermelon (Ecox 1. 14 per tonne of economical yield) and barley (Ecox 0. 07 per tonne of economical yield) were created the highest and lowest environmental impacts, respectively. In producing seed watermelon, acidification potential – with 0. 58 ECOX for one tonne of economic yield-was found as the highest environmental impact. This environmental impact of seed watermelon was seven times more than wheat and barely a long with about two times more than alfalfa. Among the three emissions of SO2, NH3 and NOX associated with creating acidification potential, NH3 comprised the largest proportion followed by SO2. Nitrogen-based fertilizers were found the major source of NH3 and SO2 emissions. The high environmental impact of seed watermelon is due to its low economic yield that does not cover its input consumption. Conclusion Considering the high contribution of the global warming potential to environmental impacts for these production systems in Belherat Rural District, it is recommended for the study area to manage the use of chemical fertilizers. It is also suggested that effective extension approaches such as conservation agriculture by reducing the consumption of fossil fuels, sustainable nutrition strategies aimed at replacing organic fertilizers with chemical fertilizers are provided to farmers to justify the harmful effects of pollutants on the environment.

Introduction1 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an appropriate technique for evaluating the potential effect of agriculture through assesses of material and energy flow throughout a product's life cycle that take measures for improving environmental performance and to make modifications to a crop system. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a methodology for assessing the environmental impacts associated with a product, process or activity, by identifying, quantifying and evaluating the resources consumed, and all emissions and wastes released into the environment. Due to enhancing utilization of synthetic and chemical inputs in agriculture fields and its consequent environmental impacts, LCA seems to be an appropriate technique to quantify. This study examined the environmental impacts for corn production under Mashhad climatic conditions by using LCA methodology. The analysis considered the entire system, which was required to produce one ton of corn grain. Materials and Methods For this purpose a functional unit was assumed based on ISO 14040 methods. It included the extraction of raw materials (e. g. fossil fuels and minerals), the production and transportation of farming inputs (e. g. fertilizers) and all agricultural operations in the field (e. g. tillage and harvest). In a first step, all emissions and the consumption of resources connected to the different processes were listed in a Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) and related to a common unit, which is one ton of grain. Next a Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) was done, in which the inventory data were aggregated into indicators for environmental effects, which included resource depletion, land use, climate change (global warming), toxicity (human, terrestrial and aquatic toxicities), acidification and eutrophication (terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems). After normalization and weighting of the indicator values it was possible to calculate summarizing indicators for resource depletion and environmental impacts (EcoX). Results and Discussion The global warming potential (GWP) is used to express the contribution that gaseous emissions from production systems make to the environmental impact of climate change and global warming. Terrestrial eutrophication is caused by atmospheric deposition of nutrients on natural land agroecoecosystems. Aquatic eutrophication potential is mainly determined by the nitrate leaching and phosphorus. Acidification potential enhances with increased nitrogen fertilizer application and air emissions of SO2, NOx and NH3. EcoX indicated that the highest environmental impacts were observed in acidification (2. 59) and climate change (0. 61) categories. The study reveals that despite the technological improvements in its manufacture and use during the last years, greater production intensity increases emissions of pollutants (such as N2O, NOx, NH3 and PO4-P) contributing to the greenhouse effect, acidification, and eutrophication. Fertilizers containing heavy metals (including Cd, Zn, Co, Se and Hg) also have a toxic effect. Conclusion LCA can be undertaken to account for all greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted for crop production system so that mitigation approaches focus on the primary sources of GHG emissions. Diesel production and consumption used in field operations demonstrated to be the main source of environmental impacts in the different agricultural management techniques for all impact categories, except for eutrophication. Intensive application of chemical fertilizers led to adverse impact on resource uses efficiency into consideration, enhance environmental impact. Therefore, one of the appropriate strategies to mitigate the environmental effect of agricultural production is achieving suitable yield per unit of area by improving resource use efficiency. It seems that management systems based on low input system including organic fertilizers and minimum tillage could be regarded as alternative management strategies to reduce problematic environmental impacts. Rather than chemical fertilizers, organic amendments have been suggested as a method for ‘ low input agriculture’ to achieve sustainability in dry land agriculture. The most important goal of any life cycle study is, of course, to improve and optimize the system. Acknowledgement This research was funded by Vice Chancellor for Research of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, which is hereby acknowledged.

Introduction The conventional agricultural ecosystems (agroecosystems) are the complex systems which in order to produce the higher amount of food, fiber, feed and fuel have been significantly manipulated. Rapid growth of world population and demand for agricultural products resulted in higher pressure on agroecosystems. In recent decades achieving to maximum production was the main goal of conventional agriculture. In order to increase yield on production usually these agroecosystems need to external inputs such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides which have the negative effects on human health and also environment. Sustainable and healthy agroecosystems are based on profitable farms that use fewer external inputs, integrate animal and plant production where appropriate, maintain a higher biotic diversity, emphasize eco friendly technologies that are appropriate to the scale of production, and efficiently use the renewable forms of energy. For example diversifying the farm with several crops or using appropriate rotation helps to reduce the risk of biotic and abiotic stresses. The complex nature of agroecosystem implies that any evaluation of agroecosystem health must consider the dynamics of multiple components. The current paper presents an applied method to evaluate agroecosystem health using a number of main indicators. Materials and Methods In order to study the agroecosystem health in four eastern provinces of Iran (i. e. Sistan and Baluchestan, South khorasan, Razavi Khorasan and North Khorasan) during 2002-2011 the current survey was conducted. The required data and information obtained from statistical database and also questionnaires. For each year the total value of agroecosystem health calculated using 29 different indices. Different indices calculated based on their scientific definitions. For example property distribution index calculated by dividing the total area of agricultural lands on number of farmer in each city. Because of different nature of selected indicesand also wide range of them, in order to facilitate comparison all of the calculated indicesnormalized using the equation (1), in this equation Xnorm is the normalized value of each index, Xmax and Xmin are the highest and lowest value of X, respectively. Equation (1):    max min min X X Xnorm X X    Results and Discussion Based on results the highest value of structural health was calculated for Sistan and Baluchestan province and the lowest value was for Razavi KhorasanIt seems that in Sistan and Baluchestan the higher values for some of the indicessuch as area under cultivation of forage and perennial crops, appropriate use of agricultural machinery and also plant diversity improved the structural health. The similar results also observed for organizational health. Lower use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers are the main reason for better conditions of organizational health in Sistan and Baluchestan province. The result for functional health was different and the best condition of functional health observed in Razavi Khorasan whereas the worst condition observed in South Khorasan. The higher value of functional health of agroecosystem in Razavi Khorasan province mainly is because of good conditions of soil structure and higher yield of different crops such as forage, vegetables, industrial crops and cereals. Considering the total agroecosystem health the highest value observed in Razavi Khorasan followed by Sistan and Baluchestan, North Khorasan and South Khorasan. Based on our classification total agroecosystem health in South Khorasan province was very poor and in other provinces was poor. The main reasons for the low value of agroecosystem health in all of the studied provinces are: soil compaction, low rainfall, using traditional methods of irrigation, insufficient cultivation of forage and perennial crops and also nitrogen fixing legumes. The fertilizer use efficiency in all of the provinces is low and these conditions could be harmful either for human and environment health. Conclusion Based on results the total agroecosystem health in South Khorasan province was very poor whereas in other three provinces total agroecosystem health was poor. The main reasons for bad condition of agroecosystem health in these provinces are: soil compaction because of unsuitable use of agricultural machinery, the low amount of precipitations, nitrogen use efficiency and area under cultivation of perennial, forage and nitrogen fixing crops. It seems that solving these problem using different methods such as increasing agrochemical use efficiency, applying good rotation and increasing water use efficiency could improve the total agroecosystem health in the eastern provinces of Iran. Acknowledgements The authors acknowledge the financial support of the project by Vice President for Research and Technology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran.

Introduction Investigating the competitive effects of watergrass (Echinochloa oryzoides) as a new-introduced weed species in rice production of Guilan province is of major importance. Consequences of watergrass– rice competition are influenced by each species proportion and density; although could be greatly affected by relative weed seedling emergence time. Furthermore to analyze crop-weed competition, the variation in plant traits that confer competitive ability should be considered. Total dry matter and leaf area as the basic processes in vegetative growth, and plant height, dry weight, and leaf area index as the indications of the relative size, photosynthetic capacity, and productivity, affect competitive ability. Rice traits were associated with competitiveness against weeds included Initial biomass, crop growth rate, leaf area index, and biomass at tillering. Documenting watergrass and rice differences in growth or structure and plants changes over the course of a growing season contribute to explain the severity of watergrass as a weed in transplanted rice. The objectives of this study were to compare growth characteristics of weed and crop species and investigate growth pattern changes during the growing season. Materials and Methods During two years of a field study, the effect of watergrass seedling ages at the time of transplanting (10, 20, and 30 day), and planting proportions of watergrass: rice in each hill (0: 4, 1: 3, 2: 2, 3: 1, and 4: 0, (weed: rice)) were examined as a factorial based on randomized complete block design with three replications. Growth characteristics of rice and watergrass under full-season competition evaluated by six and five destructive samples respectively in first and second years of experiment. At each sampling interval, plants were returned to the laboratory, where the height (by recording the highest extended leaf), the number of tillers (by hand counting total number of tillers) the leaf area index (by measuring the leaf area with an automatic area meter (Li-cor, LI-2500)), and dry weight of leaves, stems and total plant (by drying at 75 C until a constant weight was reached) were determined separately for each weed and rice species. Sampled plots were not sampled at subsequent harvests. Below-ground biomass was not included in the measurements. Results and Discussion According to the results, tiller number, leaf area index, leaf dry weight, and total dry weight of rice increased with increasing seedling number in plant proportions; while final height did not affect. For watergrass, tiller number and total dry weight were also influenced by plant proportion, and increased as weed ratio at the planting proportion was raised. Planting proportion caused no significant effect on final height, maximum leaf area index and leaf dry weight of watergrass, and differences among treatments disappeared over the growing season. At the planting proportion of 1: 3 (weed: rice) tiller number of two species was similar in most samples, but was higher for weed than rice at the other mixtures. Maximum leaf area index, leaf maximum dry weight, and total dry weight of watergrass in all planting proportions were higher than rice. Weed seedling ages had significant effects on tiller number, leaf area index, and leaf dry weight of two species, and also total dry weight of watergrass at the first year, but such an effect did not observe in the second year. Conclusion Totally based on results, it could be stated that watergrass is more competitive than rice; where the relative aggressiveness of component species was significantly higher for rice than weed. this is probably because of more growth compensation ability of weed through rapid growth and high tillering when it germinate later in the growing season, and because of its stronger competitiveness relative to the rice.

Introduction Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients and plays a major role in crop yield improvement. Currently, under the global pressure to increase grain yield while simultaneously minimizing environmental risks, the nitrogen use efficiency has become a challenging issue. Corn (Zea mays L. ) nitrogen use is of continued interest due to agronomic performance and environmental issues. Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), nitrogen uptake efficiency (NUpE) and nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUtE) are the main indices normally used to investigate the nitrogen efficiency of plants. However, nitrogen harvest index (NHI) and nitrogen partial factor productivity are also issues of importance. The aim of the present study was to evaluate all these indices for corn cultivars released in Iran during the last 40 years to find the trend changes during the course of their release. Materials and Methods In order to evaluate the trend of changes of nitrogen use efficiency for corn cultivars during the course of their release an experiment was conducted in growing season of 2014-2015 in the experiment farm of Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. The experiment was based on split plot with complete randomized block design (CRBD). Treatments included eight different levels of nitrogen (nitrogen applied from urea source (46%) N: 0, 100, 200 and 300 kg N ha-1, animal manure: 0, 10, 20 and 30 ton ha-1 corresponding to 0, 100, 200 and 300 kg N ha-1 respectively). Nitrogen fertilizer was allocated to the main plots and six cultivars of corn, (704 and 647 released as very old cultivars, 500 as an old cultivars and 705, 706 and 260 as new ones were allocated to sub plots. Sub plots were 2. 25×3 m with three replications. Results and Discussion Results showed that grain, stover and biological yields, harvest index, nitrogen use efficiency, nitrogen uptake efficiency and nitrogen utilization efficiency were affected significantly by cultivars and fertilizer levels. Maximum and minimum stover yield was obtained with 704 (very old hybrid) and 260 (new hybrid), respectively. In contrast with these results, showed that the new cultivars have significantly higher yield than old corn cultivars. Although corn cultivars had significant effects on nitrogen harvest index, this was not affected by fertilizer levels and types. With increasing in nitrogen and manure fertilizer levels, grain and biological yields increased significantly. Although in most fertilizer levels maximum grain yields were observed in the 704 cultivar, but with increase in nitrogen amount from 0 to 300 kg, the most grain yield increases were obtained 117 and 103% in the 500 and 705 cultivars, respectively. On the other hand, in compared to manure fertilizer, nitrogen increased almost yield traits, so that, with exception of 500 and 647 cultivars, in other cultivars manure fertilizer decreased nitrogen use efficiency in compared to equal nitrogen fertilizer significantly. Maximum and minimum nitrogen use efficiency and nitrogen harvest index were obtained with 260 and 704 cultivars. However, two mentioned cultivars showed significant differences, while other cultivars had no significant differences. When different levels of manure fertilizer were applied, statistically similar effects were obtained on corn yield and nitrogen efficiency indices, as compared to equal levels of nitrogen fertilizer. With evaluation of different corn hybrids and nitrogen fertilizer levels reported a negative linear correlation between nitrogen use efficiency and nitrogen levels. With increasing nitrogen fertilizer levels, nitrogen use and utilization efficiencies and partial factor productivity of nitrogen decreased significantly, but with increasing manure levels this trend was observed only for nitrogen use efficiency and partial factor productivity of nitrogen. Conclusion In general, no consistent trends were observed between new and old hybrids and also between nitrogen fertilizer levels and types in terms of nitrogen efficiency indices. Furthermore, yield characteristics responses of corn cultivars to fertilizer levels and types had no significant trends. According to these results, it could not be state certainly that in the last four decades, corn cultivars breeding in Iran leading to improved nitrogen efficiency indices and therefore efficient use of fertilizers.

Introduction1 Trachyspermum ammi (L. ) Sprague or commonly Ajwain is an herbaceous herb belonging to the family Apiaceae and vastly grows in Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India as well as European regions. Known as Zenyan or Nankhah in medical and pharmaceutical manuscript of medieval Persia, seeds of Ajwain were highly used by traditional healers for different ailments. Due to its various chemical constituents, the herb seeds were also evaluated for its numerous pharmacological properties. Moreover, numbers of chemical constituents have been reported for the herb. In addition, fiber (11. 9%), carbohydrates (24. 6%), tannins, glycosides, moisture (8. 9%), protein (17. 1%), fat (21. 1%), saponins, flavones and other components (7. 1%) involving calcium, phosphorous, iron, cobalt, copper, iodine, manganese, thiamine, riboflavin and nicotinic acid are of reported phytochemical constituents of Ajwain. Other studies showed that there was a difference among investigated ecotypes of Ajwain for following characters including plant height, number of branches, number of umbels, number of umbellets in an inflorescence, biological yield, single plant yield, and for number of secondary branches and oil content at 5% probability level. According to high correlation analysis between grain and oil yields, breeding for these two traits can be consistent in Iranian ecotypes of Ajwain. Oil contents percentage in ecotypes from south and center were more than other parts of Iran. Materials and Methods This study was carried out at Research Station of the Agricultural Research and Education Center of Khorasan Razavi, Iran during 2012-2013 crop years. In this experiment, 27 genotypes of Ajwain from different parts of the country were collected by the Natural Resources Genes Bank of Iran. Gene banks is a source for the right seed and look into several issues in order to improve levels of germplasm distribution and its utilization, duplication of plant identity, and access to database, for pre-breeding activities. In order to evaluate the morphological and phenological traits and to measure essential oil percentage, yield and yield components of Trachyspermum ammi for achieving superior germplasm. It was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Seed samples were first cultivated in the greenhouse and then transferred to the field and cultivated in drip irrigation conditions. Both fresh and dry weights were collected and measured for each sample. Seed size, yield components, biomass and grain yield as well as essential oil percentage were measured in all the cultured germplasm. All phenological stages including stem elongation time, flowering time and seeding time were counted and recorded during the growth period. Results and Discussion In this research, analysis of variance showed that there is a significant difference at 5% probability level between genotypes for a number of traits in different groups for 50% flowering time in 1. 5 months, plant biomass 72-245 g. plant-1, seed yield 38-61. 3 g. plant-1, and essential oil 3. 08-11. 22%. The highest positive direct effect (39%) on the yield of Ajwain essential oil was observed on biomass trait which has a positive and high correlation (53%) with the number of days to maturity. Different accessions of Ajwain have a potentially important source of genetic variation for the improvement of the cultivated species. Genetic and environmental conditions play a significant and interrelated role on the emergence of traits. The selection of these traits is influenced by genotype and phenotype. High levels of genetic advance represent an incremental gene activity, while low levels represent the non-additive activity of the gene. The knowledge of genetic variability in a given crop species for characters under improvement is important in any plant breeding program. Understanding the nature and magnitude of variability among Ajwain genotypes for traits of economic importance is the goal of this study and it is vital to plan effective breeding programs. Conclusion As plant biomass has the highest positive direct effect on the yield of ajwain essential oil and a high correlation (53%) with the number of days to maturity, the selection of these traits should be considered with greater attention and emphasis on breeding programs. They were determined as suitable criteria and characters in plant breeding to produce the best of ajwain genotypes.

Introduction One of the more challenging aspects of sustainable farming is the development of an appropriate fertility management. Soil management in sustainable agriculture improves the soil fertility supplying with composted materials. In a sustainable agriculture, compost is used to maintain and improve fertility. Compost is a soil amendment produced through the metabolism of an organic substrate by aerobic microorganisms under controlled conditions. Composting is an ancient agricultural technology going back to biblical times that still has an important application in modern agriculture. Compost supply a primary source of nutrients for the crops, as well as prepare a supplementary nitrogen source that compliments fertilizer nitrogen to provide a more sustainable farming system. Additionally, it is rich in the microorganisms that recycle organic matter. Compost also boosts the plant and soil enhancing activity of soil life. Tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill. ) belongs to the family Solanaceae and is a popular grown vegetable which ranks third of worldwide vegetable production. It is used as an ingredient in many recipes, sauces, salads and drinks. Tomato fruit has much nutritional value comparatively low prices than other vegetables. It was also reported that tomato is an important source of nutrient and antioxidant such as lycopene and vitamin C. The objectives of this study were to evaluate different compost types and rates on growth, yield and total uptake nitrogen of tomato. Material and methods An experiment was performed as factorial layout based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at the Agricultural Research Station, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad during growing season of 2014-2015. Considered factors were cow manure, household compost, spent mushroom compost and vermicompost with three levels of low (3 t. ha-1 for vermicompost and 10 t. ha-1 for other manures), medium (6 t. ha-1 for vermicompost and 20 t. ha-1 for other manures), and high (9 t. ha-1 for vermicompost and 30 t. ha-1 for other manures), and two application methods (row and broad). Uptake N was measured by using Kjeldahl. The treatments were run as an analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine if significant differences existed among treatments means. Multiple comparison tests were conducted for significant effects using the LSD test. Results and discussion The results showed that there were substantial differences among treatments for yield, dry matter and total nitrogen uptake between various manures. Difference between treatments for total yield production was significant for the level of manure application and the method of manure application. In common with other field experiments, we observed significant improve in yield where composts have been applied to field crops. This experiment showed there is no significant different for total yield production and total nitrogen uptake between different composts but, household compost produced less dry matter. The highest and the lowest final yield were related to cow manure and vermicompost with 102. 82 and 89. 08 t. ha-1, respectively. Furthermore, the maximum and the minimum uptake N were observed in cow manure and Household compost with 123. 2 and 82. 04 kg N ha-1, respectively. Conclusion Compost types and rates had remarkable efficacy on growth, yield and total uptake nitrogen of tomato. The results showed the marketable yields for tomato crops which clearly display the beneficial effect of compost types and levels usage. By increasing soil organic matter, compost can enhance the soil’ s capacity to hold water and nutrients, and such changes can dramatically affect the yield of non-irrigated crops. Compost in sustainable tomato crop production in specific and in general plays an important role in agro-ecosystem management. As a matter of fact, Compost can be used instead of other chemical fertilizers to improve the tomato crop production. Acknowledgement This research 38324 was funded by Vice Chancellor for Research of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, which is hereby acknowledged.

Introduction Isabgol belongs to the plantaginaceae family. It is known for its gentle laxative, cooling and diuretic properties. Some recent researches have shown that they may be effective in lowering cholesterol and controlling certain types of diabetes. Water is the limiting factor for biomass production in many countries around the world, particularly in arid and semi-arid areas. On the other hand, drought has been a serious problem in Iran in recent years. Drought stress reduces the biomass of many crops and medicinal plants as well as decrease of the concentration of nutrients in plants. Several scientists have shown that a plant under stress will produce secondary metabolites that may influence its medicinal properties. Water is one of the most important environmental factors that have a significant influence on the growth and active ingredient of medicinal plants. Water shortages cause serious damage in plant growth and development. During drought and salinity absorption will decrease due to the high concentration of salts in the root zone and increasing the osmotic potential of the soil nutrients. Therefore, a decrease in the soil moisture reduces rate and amount of nutrient absorption by plants. Organic fertilizers under drought stress mitigate impact of drought stress by increasing proline, soluble sugars and absorption of potassium and phosphorus and increase crop yield (Rahimzade, 2009). Bio-fertilizers are inputs containing microorganism which are capable of mobilizing nutritive elements from complex and nonusable form to simple and usable form through biological processes. Also, bio-fertilizers can be substituted and an ideal candidate for commercial fertilizers in sustainable agriculture. The present investigation aims to study the use of deficit irrigation and different bio-fertilizer treatments in an appropriate manner, to achieve the highest quantitative and qualitative yield of isabgol. Materials and Methods A field experiment was conducted based on split-plot in randomized complete blocks design with three replications at Darmian city, South Khorasan in 2014-2015 growth season. The main-plots were levels of drought stress including 40, 60, 80 of field capacity (FC) and sub-plots were different bio-fertilizers including nitroxin, phosphate barvar 2, combination (nitroxin + phosphate barvar 2) and control (spray with water). In this experiment traits measured including plant height, number of tiller per plant, number of spike per plant, number of seed per spike, thousand– seed weight, seed yield, turgid index, mucilage percentage and mucilage yield. Results and Discussion The results indicated that the number of tiller and spike per plant and thousand-seed weight were significant (p≤ 0. 01) under drought stress and bio-fertilizer. The highest number of seeds per spike was obtained from 80% field capacity with nitroxin application and the lowest was obtained from 40% FC and non-application fertilizer. By increasing drought stress, the number of seeds per spike decreased. Interaction of drought stress and biofertilizer had significant effect on plant height, number of seed per spike, seed yield, swelling index and mucilage percentage. The highest 1000-seed weight was obtained from 80% FC, which did not have significant difference with 60% FC. The highest numbers of seed per spike and seed yield were obtained from 80% FC along with nitroxin application and the lowest of them were obtained from 40% FC and no fertilizer (control), which increased by 47. 4 and 54. 3 percent, respectively. The maximum mucilage percentage was achieved from 80% FC along with phosphate barvar 2 application, although not significant across other fertilizer treatments. Conclusions In general, for achievement of maximum isabgol yield, inoculate seed with bio-fertilizer and providing plants water requirements would be appropriate.

Introduction1 In intercropping systems, inputs in a unit area have been reduced but use of available resources is optimized, leading to increased production and promotion of evaluation indices. In a study on maize and peanut intercropping, the highest index of land equivalent ratio (LER=1. 04) was obtained in 100% corn + 100% peanut. In addition, barley and peas as well as garlic and chickpea intercropping, improved the LER and the other intercropping indices. Therefore, the main objective of this research was the estimation of the yield and intercropping indices of garlic (Allium sativum L. ) and peas (Pisum sativum L. ) in two regions of Sari and Gonbad Kavoos. Materials and Methods The present research was conducted at research farms of Gonbad Kavoos University and Sari region during 2013-2014. The experiment was arranged based on randomized complete block design with three replications. Treatments were nine levels including sole cropping of garlic and pea, beside replacement series of 25: 75, 50: 50 and 75%: 25% pea: garlic as well as additive series of 25, 50, 75 and 100% pea +100% garlic. Plot size was 1. 8 × 6m with six rows of cultivation. Plant densities in the control treatment were the same for both garlic and peas, with a 30 × 10 cm square and rectangular plant arrangement with six lines of six meters long and 360 plants per plot. In the incremental mix of 25% pea + 100% garlic, 50% pea + 100% garlic, 75% pea + 100% and 100% pea + 100% garlic 90, 180, 270 and 360 plants of peas were added to each plot of garlic, respectively. Results and Discussion The results showed that the highest garlic yield (9800 kg ha-1) was obtained in pure cropping in Sari region, which increased 14% as compared to the Gonbad Kavoos region. The yield of pods (1060 kg. ha-1) and seed (348. 3 kg. ha-1) decreased (up to 64 and 61%, respectively) in pure cropping of peas in the Gonbad Kavoos region. In additive series, LER and relative crowding coefficient in100% of garlic + 100% peas was 1. 33 and 1. 49 as well as 1. 1 and 2. 54 in Sari and Gonbad Kavoos, respectively. Actual yield loss (AYL=-0. 15 and-0. 20) were observed only in Sari and in additive series of 75% peas + 100% garlic and 100% of peas + 100% garlic, respectively. In contrast, the intercropping advantage (0. 38) was observed in Sari where the 25% of peas intercropped with 75% of garlic, increasing up to 15% as compared to the Gonbad Kavoos region. Furthermore, partial competitive ratio (CRa) for pea and garlic was affected by different planting arrangements. The highest CR value for garlic (1. 55) was recorded when 25% pea was added to 100% garlic. The higher root system and leaf area of pea helps to its advantage in intercropping system. The partial advantage of intercropping for garlic was affected by planting arrangement. The maximum partial advantage was obtained in replacement series of 755 garlic +25% pea. Conclusion In general, results of the present research clearly showed that intercropping of garlic and peas improved yield performance and intercropping evaluation indices. In additive series, a mixture of 100% pea + 100% garlic with relative crowding coefficient of 5. 17 was the best combination of intercropping in terms of yield improvement in both regions. The presence of garlic in the mixture, particularly in the Gonbad Kavoos region, dramatically reduced the adverse effect of cold temperature on seed yield of peas and prevented the severe reduction of yield. Therefore, in each region where it is possible to cultivate these two plants, it is recommended that garlic considered as the main plant and peas with a density of 75% or more could add to the mixture. Acknowledgements We are grateful to the University of Gonbad Kavoos for its contribution to the implementation of the project as well as Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University for cooperation and the availability of the laboratory and required facilities.

Introduction Drought is not a characteristic of a region and may occur in any weather regime. Therefore, reasonable management is required to deal with this natural disaster which can be creating a management system and providing accurate information at different time scales. Meteorological, agricultural, hydrological and socioeconomic drought are defined based on lack of rainfall, lack of soil moisture, shortage of rivers stream and the shortage of some commodities affected by the drought trend. One of the effective methods for analyzing various kinds of drought is the evaluation of drought indices, which aims to provide a simple and quantitative assessment of drought characteristics. The purpose of this research is to investigate the Spatial and temporal monitoring of agricultural drought in the Wheat cultivated area using standard precipitation index in west of Golestan province. Material and Methods In this research, in order to monitor the spatial and temporal distribution of drought in the years of 2000 to 2016 in AQ-Qala, Ali Abad, Gorgan, Bandar-e-Gaz, Bandar-e-Torkaman and Kordkouy counties, 15 meteorological stations with common statistical database (1984 to 2016) were used to estimate the rainfall. After calculating the standard precipitation index (hereafter SPI) and more reliable correlation of May’ s three-month SPI index (hereafter SPI3) with the mean wheat yield, this index was zoned with ordinary Kriging interpolation method and then drought was assessed. In order to prepare a drought risk map, SPI3 rasters were reclassified as binary (BOOLEAN) for a time span of 17 years (2000 to 2016). Then, a map of the drought frequency was provided by the overlaying of Boolean maps. Using drought frequency maps of the SPI index, a final agricultural drought risk map was generated. Results and Discussion In 2000, 88% of the total area were affected by moderate drought and another 12% (the majority of which was in Aliabad) was affected by moderate classes of drought. But in 2007 and 2016 there was no drought in the investigated counties. In this research, by studying the drought severity and drought risk maps, it was clarified that the SPI index was an effective index in evaluating the drought patterns in different temporal and spatial scales and during drought periods. Also, the results showed that six studied counties in Golestan Province were classified into two risky drought areas (including severe and extreme classes). Risk map showed that in the applied statistical time period (2000 to 2016), an extensive part of the study area (about 98%) is at extreme risk class. Also, a small northern part of the Bandar-e-Torkaman (about 2% of the total area) has experienced an extreme drought. In fact, the magnitude of the drought range in this region is greater due to coexistence with the Turkmen desert and its dry and semiarid weather conditions, which leads to a potential for drought sensitivity. Conclusion The results revealed a positive correlation between wheat yield and SPI3 in AQ-Qala, Ali Abad, Gorgan, Bandar-e-Gaz, and Kordkouy counties. The effect of meteorological drought on the crop production can be a concern (especially in drought-prone areas) and suggests that SPI3 can be helpful for predicting drought-induced yield loss. These results indicate that the western region of Golestan province is one of the areas where droughts will increase in the future. Therefore, rain-fed cropping systems will be in danger in the future, and some of the agroecosystems currently dedicated to the cultivation of rain-fed products will be excluded from the production process. rainfall reduction in recent years, has been led to retreat the Caspian Sea in Bandar-e-Torkaman area, as well as the eliminating of many crops in recent years, which reveals that the consequences of these droughts have been emerged. Therefore, agricultural policy makers need to consider the replacement of crops with high efficient water usage instead of current ones in cropping patterns in the coming years, as well as be concerned more about land salinization.

Introduction With the ever-increasing world population, over-exploitation of natural resources and the limited availability of arable land, followed by the urgent need to increase food production, which is one of the world's challenges, it is essential to increase crop yield to meet demand and find a solution to more sustainable agricultural ecosystems. Sustainable agriculture is a kind of agriculture that increases the efficiency of resource use that is in balance with the environment. The components of sustainable agriculture are conservation tillage and intercropping. Intercropping is one of the common methods of multi-systems that it is widely used to diversify cultivation in spatial and temporal. One of the most important benefits of crop cultivation is the increase in production per unit of area relative to sole crop due to better use of environmental factors such as water, light, and nutrients in the soil. Soil conservation tillage has been researchers' interest by reducing energy consumption and soil fertility, as well as increasing soil and water production potential. The aim of this research was to study the soil tillage systems on the ecological aspects of crop mixing of soybean and Roselle. Materials and Methods This research was conducted in the research farm of Agriculture and Natural resources of Jiroft, in southern Kerman, Iran during 2016. The experiment was conducted as a split-plot in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The main factor included three levels: no-tillage, reduced tillage, conventional tillage and the sub-factor of different ratios and replacement of mixed soybean and Roselle in eight levels of: sole Roselle, sole soybean culture, 50% Roselle+ 50% Soybean, 75% Roselle+25% soybean, 25% Roselle+ 75% soybean, 100% Roselle+ 50% soybean, 100% soybean+50% Roselle, 100% Roselle+ 100% soybean. Each experimental unit has a length of 4 meters and a width of 3 meters and spaced two rows of one meter. Each plot consisted of 4 rows of planting (all treatments were a row of Roselle and a row of soybeans). The measured traits were the number of boll per plant, 1000-seed weight, biological yield, sepal yield, chlorophyll index of Roselle and soybean, and the amount of anthocyanin of Roselle and protein content in 100% Roselle+ 50% soybean, the soil ratio of land parity (LER). Data analysis was performed with SAS software version 1. 9 and comparison of means was made using Duncan test at a 5% probability level. Results and Discussion The effect of tillage systems and different ratios of planting on the number of boll per plant, thousand seed weight, biological yield, sepal yield, leaf chlorophyll content anthocyanin level in roselle and protein content in soybeans was statistically significant. The comparison of the means showed that conservation tillage provides better results than conventional tillage in terms of number of bolls per plant of Roselle (271. 77) and soybean (13. 77), biological yield in Roselle (20. 1 t. ha-1) and soybean (6. 85 t. ha-1), sepal yield (16. 1 t. ha-1), leaf chlorophyll content (33. 24), anthocyanin (4. 7 μ mol. g-1) in Roselle and protein content in soybean (37. 51 mg). Moreover, the maximum utilization of LER was due to no-tillage (2. 86). The highest ratio of land parity was obtained from 100% soybean 50% Roselle (3. 78). Conclusion The highest proportion of LER was obtained from 100% soybean 50% Roselle, which indicated superior cropping compared to sole crop. Also, in most of the studied traits, the conservation tillage system compared with conventional tillage resulted in higher value. In general, based on the results of this study, systems with notillage and also 100% Roselle+50% soybean be recommended.

Introduction Lallemantia as an annual plant, with scientific name Lallemantia iberica L. belonged to the Lamiaceae family. The seeds contain oil and mucilage, which are used in the textile and pharmaceutical industries. Lallemantia grows well in arid regions; therefore it can be used as an alternative of the common crops in these areas. The reason for the adaptation to drought is due to the existence of drought-tolerant genes. Crop yield and growth are affected by environmental factors such as water deficit stress due to abnormal processes of physiological processes under stress. Due to the fact that plants synthesize different osmotic compounds under stress conditions, they may respond to their exogenous application against stress conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the response of the yield and physiological characteristics of Lallemantia to the application of osmolytes under rainfed and one supplemental irrigation procedure. Materials and Methods This split-plot experiment was conducted at Research Farm of Urmia University (Latitude 45° 10' East, latitude 37° 44' North and altitude 1338 m above sea level) based on a randomized complete block design with three replications during the growing season of 2016-2017. Non-irrigation (rainfed) and one-time irrigation as the main plot, and the foliar application of Osmolytes (proline, glycine betaine, sucrose and distilled water as control) were considered as a sub-plot. The foliar application was performed twice at sunset time. Sampling was done for physiological traits at 80% flowering, and yield was measured at the end of the growing season. The measured traits included leaf Relative Water Content (RWC), chlorophyll index (SPAD), proline, total soluble carbohydrate, glycine betaine, nutrients, plant height, number of capsules per plant, seed number per capsule, 1000-seed weight, biological yield, oil percentage and yield, and mucilage percentage. Results and Discussion The results of analysis of variance showed that the irrigation effect on leaf relative water content, plant height, and oil percentage, and the effect of foliar application of osmolytes on the oil yield were significant at 1% probability level, but 1000-seed weight, seed mucilage percentage, and leaf nitrogen percentage was not affected by irrigation and osmolytes. The interaction between irrigation and osmolytes was significant on the chlorophyll, carotenoid, proline, glycine betaine, total soluble carbohydrates, number of capsules per plant, number of seeds per capsule at 1% probability level, and significant effect on the grain yield, biological yield, phosphorus and potassium at 5% probability level. In both rainfed and supplemental irrigation, the use of proline showed higher chlorophyll index. Proline in both rainfed and supplemental irrigation systems reduced the leaf proline to a minimum concentration. The use of glycine betaine reduced the amount of glycine betaine and total soluble carbohydrates in rainfed and irrigated plants. The highest grain yield (79. 56 g. m-2 for rainfed and 85. 94 g. m-2 for supplemental irrigation) and biological yield (250. 25 g. m-2 for rainfed and 492. 65 g. m-2 for supplemental irrigation) belonged to sucrose spraying. Maximum plant height (36 cm) was related to glycine betaine foliar spraying as well as the sucrose application of irrigated plants, while the shortest plant (33 cm) belonged to rainfed plants. Seed weight, as one of the important yield-related factors that currently represents the length and condition of the reproductive period. Though, foliar spray of proline and glycine betaine increased biological yield and grain yield in comparison with control treatment. Leaf potassium decreased in irrigated plants by foliar application of osmolytes, but this is was non-significant in rainfed cultivation. In spite of a little variation of leaf carotenoid in rainfed plants in response to osmolytes, it decreased significantly in supplemental irrigation by proline and glycyline betaine. Conclusion According to the results, exogenous application of osmolytes including proline, glycine betaine and sucrose, and or one-time supplemental irrigation, compensated the drought-induced yield loss due to prevent complete discharge of soil moisture. Therefore, the application of foliar spraying and supplemental irrigation is recommended as a viable and cost-effective broad-based solution to increase the yield and yield components of Lallemantia iberica.

Introduction Management practices such as soil tillage can be used as a suitable alternative to reduce the crisis and increase the amount of organic carbon in the soil, along with the improvement of soil physicochemical properties. Long use of the conventional tillage system leads to reduced organic carbon content, soil destruction, reduced water penetration into the soil, and ultimately increased water erosion and wind. It has been established that disturbing the soil through tillage operations is not actually required to obtain good crop yields, and also a major portion of energy (25– 30%) in agriculture is utilized for either field preparation or crop establishment, where conventional tillage is mostly followed. The rising cost of fuel and availability of effective package of practices for conservation tillage are now redefining tillage in Iran in recent years. However, the impact of conservation tillage on soil physical environment is not always positive and varies from one soil to the other and also between the cropping systems. Plant residues, by replacing or providing nutrients in the soil, maintain soil fertility, increase organic matter, water capacity, improve physical, chemical and biological properties creating diversity in management methods and different forms of exploiting resources. In other words, increasing agricultural diversity is one of the best and most effective ways to achieve sustainable production. The present investigation was therefore undertaken to determine the effects of tillage and crop residue management on soil bulk density and chemical properties in intercropping of corn and bean under Shahrekord's climatic conditions. Materials and Methods This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different tillage levels and crop residue management on total nitrogen, organic carbon, available P and K, bulk density and carbon sequestration of soil compared to the beginning of the experiment. Hence, an experiment was performed using split-split plot based on a randomized complete block design with three replications in Agricultural Research Field of Shahrekord during 2016– 2017. Tillage with three levels (conventional, minimum, and no-tillage) and four levels of crop residues (0, 30, 60, and 90% of straw yield of wheat) and five intercropping patterns including corn and bean sole cropping, corn and bean ratio with 2: 2, 3: 1 and 1: 3 were considered as main, sub and sub-sub plots, respectively. Total Nitrogen content (TN), available P, available K, and bulk density were measured by the Kejldahl (Bremner, 1970) and Olsen methods (Olsen et al., 1954), flame photometry and Black (1965) procedures, respectively. Data analysis included the analysis of variance and mean comparisons using LSD which carried out using SAS software. Results and Discussion Increasing compaction of tillage with soil degradation mineral decomposition and plant residues reduced total nitrogen, organic carbon, available potassium and soil bulk density. The highest and the lowest available K were related to no-tillage treatment, 90% of crop residue and 2: 2 ratio and conventional tillage treatment, sole cropping, and without crop residue respectively. The lowest soil bulk density related to conventional tillage, 90% residue, and 3: 1 ratio. Conservation of plant residues through protective tillage over time will increase soil organic matter, which will reduce the bulk density of the soil. The highest and the lowest soil carbon sequestration were computed in no-tillage treatment, 90% of crop residue and 2: 2 with 4154. 33 kg. ha-1 and conventional tillage, without crop residue and bean sole cropping with 836. 33 kg. ha-1, respectively. Conclusion Investigation showed that the no-tillage treatments and intercropping increased the efficiency of environmental resources and improved the soil nutrient, significantly. The highest organic carbon and total nitrogen were achieved 1: 3 and 2: 2 ratio, which is indicative of the excellence of intercropping compared to sole cropping. The amount of organic carbon has shown an increase in soil fertility using no-tillage with the conservation of residues and increase percent of bean in intercropping.

Introduction Medicinal plants are valuable resources that they can play an important role in the health of the community, employment, increasing non-oil exports and preventing the genetic erosion of valuable species. The increasing tendency towards herbal medicine in the treatment of diseases, whether globally or internally, makes it unavoidable the necessity of medicinal plants cultivation in agroecosystems. Isabgol (Plantago ovata Forssk. ) is an annual herbal medicinal plant from Plantaginaceae family, which about 25℅ of its seed weight is mucilage. It has originated from arid and semi-arid areas and is used widely in traditional and industrial pharmacology. The seeds of isabgol contain fatty oil, carbohydrates, proteins, mineral element and particularly mucilage which has many medical applications. Low water requirement and short growth period, makes this plant suitable for planting in semi-arid areas such as Khorasan. However, to the best of our knowledge, so far, the adaptability, growth, and yield of this plant have not been fully investigated in this area. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of plant density and single or combined application of cow manure (CM) and chemical fertilizers (CF) on yield and yield components of the isabgol. Materials and Methods This experiment was arranged as a factorial layout based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at Sarayan Faculty of Agriculture, University of Birjand, Iran during 2017. Fertilization treatments consisted of single (40 t. ha-1 CM and 40 kg. ha-1 CF from the source of NPK) and combined (40 t. ha-1 CM + 20 kg. ha-1 CF and 20 t. ha-1 CM + 40 kg. ha-1 CF) application of organic and chemical fertilizers along with a control (no-fertilizer) which were evaluated at three levels of density (20, 40 and 60 plants. m-2). The measured traits included number of spikes per plant, spike weight, spike length, number of seeds per spike, 1000-seed weight, biological yield, seed yield, harvest index, mucilage percentage, mucilage yield, and seed swelling factor. Data analysis was done using SAS 9. 2 and means were compared using FLSD test at a 5% level of probability. Results and Discussion Among all studied traits, the only simple effect of fertilizer application on seed and mucilage yields and the simple effect of plant density on seed yield was significant. Seed yield increased when plant density was enhanced, so that, this index was 459, 504 and 673 kg. ha-1 for planting densities of 20, 40 and 60 plants. m-2, respectively. Fertilizers' application in all levels of density decreased the seed yield. The highest seed yield belonged to non-fertilizer application and 60 plants. m-2 with 806. 6 kg. ha-1, and the lowest amount of this index was obtained in 40 t CM + 20 kg CF at density of 40 plant m2 with 272. 2 kg. ha-1. In terms of mucilage yield, except the treatment of 20 t CM + 40 kg CF which increased this index by 14%, other fertilizer treatments had no-significant different with control. Considering that the most traits related to yield and yield components of isabgol did not affect significantly fertilizer resources, it can be stated that these plants are suitable for low-input production systems. Therefore, it seems that the application of fertilizer resources in crops that are located prior to isabgol in rotation and availability of remaining nutrients can provide the nutritional requirements of this plant. Conclusion However, our findings of the response of isabgol to fertilizer application were different from the results of many previous studies on it, which reported that the use of cow manure in isabgol production, not only does not reduce seed and mucilage yield but also improved them. Probably, the amounts of fertilizers used in the current study have been higher in the plant requirements. Therefore, doing complementary studies with lower levels of fertilizers can be recommended.

Introduction Rice (Oryza sativa L. ) is the second most important cereal in the world after wheat. Chemical inputs including fertilizers and pesticides are applied to paddy lands to enhance yield and control pests and diseases. Although, this crop has been cultivated organically in some parts of the world. Despite a lot of research, policy and public attention, only a small portion of the total agricultural land has been dedicated to organic farming. Due to the destructive effects of conventional agriculture on the environment through the excessive use of chemical inputs, switching to sustainable agriculture is increasing day by day. One of the pillars of sustainable agriculture is the use of organic fertilizers in agro-ecosystems with the aim of eliminating the use of chemical fertilizers. Organic rice cultivation is emerging as a sustainable alternative in Mazandaran province which has numerous capabilities to transit from conventional to organic agriculture. The present study, therefore, was designed to evaluate the quantitative and quality characteristics of rice in three conventional, low-input and organic agricultural systems in Mazandaran Province. Materials and Methods The present study was conducted during 2015 and 2016 cropping seasons in three different regions of Mazandaran province (Babol, Fereydounkenar and Amol cities). For organic, low-input and conventional agricultural systems, three, four and six fields were selected in these cities, respectively. Selected fields had been under the same agricultural system for at least the last three years. In organic agricultural systems, standard poultry manure and biofertilizers including Azotobacter and Barvar2 were used. Also, Trichogramma bee, sex pheromones, fungicides, and biological insecticides were applied to control the common pests and diseases. Furthermore, the weeds were controlled manually. In the low-input system, minimum amounts of external inputs such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides were applied as compared to the conventional system. At the beginning of the growing season, the farmers were justified to apply all agronomic operations from the seedbed preparation to harvest in accordance with recommendations of the Rice Research Institute of Iran. Agronomic characteristics and physical quality properties including grain yield, conversion efficiency, hull percentage, head rice percentage and chemical properties including protein content, amylose percentage, and gelatinization temperature were determined. Data were subjected to analysis of variance and mean comparison by SAS 9. 4 statistical software. Results and Discussion The results showed that in two regions of Babol and Amol, the conventional and low-input systems had more grain yield than an organic system. Among three regions, the highest grain (4978. 33 kg. ha-1) and biological (8532. 33 kg. ha-1) yields were obtained in the Fereydounkenar region in the low-input system. Those yields were 4. 73 and 2. 80 percent, and 29. 99 and 29. 12 percent more than the conventional and organic systems, respectively. In terms of grain quality characteristics, despite higher percentage of protein content in 2015 and 2016 (6. 27 and 1. 04) in conventional culture, the maximum conversion efficiency (68. 05 and 69. 05) and complete rice percentage (64. 70), seed length after baking (13. 46), the least husk percentage (22. 47 and 21. 86), bran (9. 47 and 9. 08) and broken rice (4. 00 and 2. 14) were recorded in organic farming system. Conclusion In conclusion, low-input sustainable farming would be more appropriate because of its greater yield and less consumption of chemical inputs, which reduces expenses while increasing sales income. In terms of the quality, particularly conversion efficiency, however, organic farming was better than the other two systems. In general, in the present conditions, it is important to consider not only the grain yield but also the yield quality. Accordingly, low-input agricultural system could be recommended to the farmers, but in the long run, the organic agricultural system will be advisable to meet both food safety and environmental health. However, the decision, in this case, requires further studies and perennial experiments.

Introduction Intercropping is an old cropping practice, possibly as old as the settled agriculture, and is widespread especially in low-input cropping systems. One of the most popular intercropping practices is the cultivation of certain annual legumes with cereals. Intercropping is the production of greater yield on a given piece of land by making more efficient use of the available growth resources using a mixture of crops of different rooting ability, canopy structure, height, and nutrient requirements based on the complementary utilization of growth resources by the component crops. Several indices such as Land Equivalent Ratio (LER), Competitive Ratio (CR) and Aggressivity (A) have been developed to describe the competition and the economic advantage in intercropping. The objective of this study was the evaluation of seed yield and competitive indices in relay intercropping barley (Hordeum vulgare L. ) with chickpea (Cicer arietinum L. ) under late-season water stress. Material and Methods An experiment was carried out as a split-plot based on a randomized complete block design with three replicates at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources of Darab, Shiraz University during 2017-2018 growing season. The cropping systems included two factors. The main factor was two irrigation regimes including cutting off irrigation at the beginning of the milk development stage and normal irrigation. The subfactor was 8 different combinations of relay intercropping consisted of monoculture of Zehak six-rowed barley cultivar (b), monoculture of Darab chickpea cultivar (c) sole cropping of barley on December and January (b1, b2), sole cropping of chickpea on December and January (c1, c2), and different combinations of relay intercropping consisted of intercropping of barley+ chickpea on December (b1c1), intercropping of barley + chickpea on January (b2c2), intercropping of barley on December +chickpea on January (b1c2), intercropping of barley on January+chickpea on December (b2c1) and cultivation of barley on January+ chickpea on January (b2c2) with a ratio of 1: 1. Eventually, seed yield and competitive indices were measured. Competitive indices were including land equivalent ratio (LER), competitive ratio (CR), aggressivity (A) and system productivity index (SPI). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed using SAS v. 9. 4 software and the means compared by LSD test at 5% probability level. Results and Discussion The results showed that the late-season low water stress had a significant effect on all studied traits and the highest and lowest percentage reduction of grain yield was obtained in chickpea mono-cropping in December (80%) and January (16. 1%), respectively. Low water stress increased by 58% and 25% LER of chickpea and total compared to the normal irrigation conditions, respectively. Under low water stress and normal irrigation conditions, barley was dominant species and at low water stress condition competitive power of legumes increased. Also, under low water stress conditions, barley on December+chickpea in January treatment showed the highest CR (0. 68) compared to other treatments. In this experiment aggressivity of barley plant was higher in all cropping patterns than chickpea. Finally, SPI was positive in all intercropping treatments. Conclusion The result of the present study showed that the highest LER and SPI were obtained in intercropping of barley in December + chickpea in January under low water stress conditions. It can be concluded that intercropping treatments were superior to mono-cropping treatments especially in intercropping of barley in December+ chickpea in January when plants exposed to water stress. Overall, relay intercropping of chickpea in January with barley in December is the best and useful option in grain yield improvement and can be applied by farmers in semi-arid areas such as south regions of Iran.