Iranian Journal of Field Crops Research
Year:2018 | Volume:16 | Issue:2|Papers Count:18

Introduction: The impact of climate on crop yield is mediated through the interaction of temperature, carbon dioxide, humidity, rainfall and the other factors. In general, temperature, solar radiation and precipitation are the most important environmental parameters affecting growth and development of plants and their fluctuations will affect crop yields. Materials and Methods: In this research, three cities located in Khorasan-e Razavi province were studied. 17-years interval data (77-82) of wheat and bean yields and climate parameters was collected from agriculture (Jahad-e Keshavarzi) and meteorological (IRIMO) organizations of Iran, respectively. To investigate temporal variation of wheat and bean yields, time series method and Mankendal test was used. In case of spatial variation of yields, two methods consist of inverse distance weighted (IDW) and Kriging was utilized. To investigate yield correlation among different regions, the thirteen-year climatic variables including monthly rainfall and minimum, maximum and optimum temperatures was obtained from whether center of Khorasan-e Razavi province. The correlation between yield and climatic variables was evaluated via simple and multivariate regression. Results and Discussion: The trend of yield changes over 17 years across Mashhad city showed that yield reduction was 2900, 2200 and 1900 kg during 1374, 1378 and 1386, respectively, and the highest wheat yield was recorded 4100 kg during 1387. In Mashhad city, the highest correlation between wheat yield and climatic variables was obtained in January minimum temperature, so that 40% of wheat yield changes in Mashhad can be described by this variable. The 17-year trend of wheat yield showed a linear increase. Over 17 years, the low yield was 1700, 1400 and 1500 kg in 1372, 1378 and 1386, respectively, and the highest yield was recorded 3749 kg in 1387. In Nishabour county, wheat yield showed the highest correlation, among climatic variables, with March rain and April maximum temperature (r=70. 0). Yield was reduced to 2181 kg ha-1 in 1999 and in 2009 the highest yield -1 was 4050 kg ha. Torbat-e-heydarieh was stable in the final model after regression analysis between yield and climate variables maximum and minimum temperatures in May and March respectively. There was no relationship between climate variables and yield in bean for Neyshabur and Torbat-e-heydarieh. Variations in bean yield may be due to non-climatic factors such as soil, management, pest and disease, weed and etc. In general, according to Mankendal test, minimum temperatures had a more increasing rate compared to maximum temperatures. Among 17 years of wheat yield in three research sites, the least yield was obtained in the year 1999, therefore this year was compared with 2009; the last year of research. Wheat yield was high in many Khorasan-e Razavi province cities in 2009, because rainfall and minimum temperatures were lower during 2009. In the other words, the wheat performance of Khorasan Razavi in 2009 was between 2200 and 4200 kgha-1 and rainfall lay in the range of 100-400 mm and the minimum temperature varied from 5 to 13. 5° C, while the wheat performance in 1999 ranged from 1200 to 2200 kg ha-1 and rainfall varied from 110 to 340 mm (rainfall was less than 160 mm in most cities) and the minimum temperature was within the range of 5-13° C (the minimum temperature was less than 7° C in most cities). Consequently, the wheat performance in 2009 was nearly two times higher than that in 1999. Bean had the best performance (1900 kg ha-1 ) in Mashhad in 1999. At the same time, it had the best performance (1500 kg ha-1 ) in Torbat Heidrieh in 2009, because in 1999, the maximum and minimum temperatures in Torbat Heidarieh were 20. 4 and 7. 3° C, respectively which were less than the maximum (22° C) and minimum (8. 4° C) temperatures in Mashhad. Therefore, the performance of Torbat Heidarieh was less than that of Mashhad in 1999. In 2009, the minimum temperature of Mashhad (9. 5° C) was higher than that of Torbat Heidarieh (8. 5° C); as a result, the bean performance of Mashhad was less than that of Torbat Heidarieh in 2009. The kriging method showed the best results in terms of spatial accuracy. Conclusions: In this study, wheat and bean yields in three locations in Khorasan-e Razavi province were studied over a period of 17 years. The impact of rainfall compared with monthly temperature as irrigation, has been very low and insignificant. There was a meaningful relationship between bean yield changes and climatic variables only in Mashhad station. . From the view point of spatial variation, in year 2010, wheat yield decreased from East to the West and bean yield showed the maximum amount in the center of Khorasan province (Torbat Heydaryieh).

Introduction: In recent decades, agricultural production has become increasingly dependent on the consumption of chemical inputs to obtain higher yields, which in turn has led to major problems such as environmental pollution and consequently, arresting sustainable production. In order to reduce these hazards, application of resources and inputs must lead to long term-sustainable agriculture system as well as supplying the current needs of plant. Proper plant nutrition and soil fertility management can enhance environment protection and moreover, improve input use efficiency and the quality of water, reduce erosion and maintain biodiversity. The valuable medicinal plant “ purple coneflower” , is widely used in pharmaceutical, food, cosmetics and health industries. Although not native to Iran, the plant has been recently categorized as an indigenous plant. This plant has been used in the past for the treatment of snakebite, gums and mouth disorders, colds, cough, and sore throat. In the last 50 years, due to its anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties, purple coneflower is globally well-known and its derivatives are categorized as immune system tonics. Nowadays, products of purple coneflower are presented as blood purifier, antiseptic and sedatives. Therefore, according to background of the use of medicinal plants and change in point of view regarding to this kind of crops as well as increasing global demand for the use of these plants in the treatment of diseases, and considering the harms caused by the consumption of chemical drugs, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive research on medicinal plants. Materials and Methods: The experiment was carried out as split factorial based on randomized complete block design with four replications in experimental fields of Khuzestan Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University between 2013-2014. Foliar application of vermicompost tea was performed at two levels (with and without tea use) and was assigned to the first factor in main plot; the second factor was organic fertilizer which was applied at three levels (zero application, vermicompost and cow manure); and finally biofertilizer was the third factor and had two level (without biofertilizer application and azospirillum biofertilizer). The latter two factors were assigned to the subplots. In this experiment, some qualitative characteristics such as mineral elements, photosynthetic pigments and the amount of substance active ingredients were evaluated. Results and Discussion: According to the results, the highest root and total fenol were obtained from vermicompost treatment, whereas the highest leaf nitrogen, stem nitrogen, leaf phosphorus, stem phosphorus, chlorophyll type a, chlorophyll type b, carotenoid, leaf fenol and stem fenol was observed for the combination of vermicompost and tea vermicompost treatments. The highest flower fenol and chicoric acid content was recorded in vermicompost treatment together with azospirillum biofertilizer. On the other hand, the lowest stem and leaf potassium belonged to the combined treatment of tea vermicompost foliar and azospirillum biofertilizer. Generally, organic and bio-fertilizers, directly and indirectly, increased nutrients absorption in coneflower via improving plant access to macro-micro nutrients as a result of altering physico-chemical circumstances, stimulating the activity of beneficial soil microbes, increasing water absorption, availability of macro and micro elements and presence of hormones such as auxin, humic acid and GA3. Foliar spraying of vermicompost as a complementary to soil fertilizers provides quick and direct absorption of nutrients through shoots. Consequently, the treatments applied in this study simultaneously improved the characteristics of purple coneflower and the amount of its active ingredient. Conclusions: The research showed that the combined treatment of vermicompost and foliar application of vermicompost tea was more feasible in the cultivation of purple coneflower rather than other treatments applied, so it was identified as the ideal treatment.

Introduction: Plants grow well only within a specific temperature range. Getting out of this range is regarded as a stress. Low temperature is regarded as one of the important abiotic stress among the main factors threatening the growth of plants in temperate regions that causes disorder in the growth, development and operation of the plant by affecting some of vital processes of the plant. Environmental stresses especially cold stress affects the morphological and physiological features of the plant. Among these effects are damage to the cell membrane and change in its properties, reduction in photosynthesis and carbon dioxide efficiency, change in chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics, synthesis of chlorophyll and reducing the relative amount of water content. Since rapid and effective assessment of plant cold tolerance is important for researchers and also field trials have no regular process and have high error, different kinds of artificial freeze tests such as survival percentage test and regrowth after using stress has been developed. Materials and Methods: In order to investigate the cold tolerance of Fenugreek, an investigation was done in factorial arrangement and in a completely random design in three replications in 2013-2014, in College of Agriculture in Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. The investigated factors include sowing date in four levels ( September 13, October 14, March 5, and April 3), ecotype in 10 levels (Azari, Ardestan, Tall, Dwarf, Shiraz, Shirvan, Mashhad, Neishabur, Hamedan and Hendi) and freezing temperature in seven levels ( control, 0,-3,-6,-9,-12,-15 ° C). The plants grew in pots and cold acclimation in outside conditions then the plants which were planted in September and October as well as March and April. The pots were transferred to the freezer thermo gradient to apply the cold temperature in the middle of January and in the middle of May, respectively. Four weeks after applying the stress, survival percentage, Lethal Temperature 50% of Plant according to the Survival Percentage (LT50su), height, leaf area, Reduced Leaf Area Temperature (RLAT50), dry weight and Reduced Dry Matter Temperature 50 (RDMT50) were measured. Results and Discussion: All ecotypes (except for Azari and Ardestan ecotypes) in the third sowing date could tolerate lowering temperature to-9 ° C in every four sowing date. Lowering temperature to-12 ° C also led to the death of all ecotypes in March and April sowing dates, while in September sowing date despite the death of most Fenugreek ecotypes, both Neyshabur and Mashhad ecotypes could tolerate this temperature. Also, in October 14 sowing date, in Neyshabur, Mashhad and Shirvan ecotypes the survival percentage was high, but the survival percentage of Azari, Ardestan and Tall compared with the control treatment decreased 61, 50 and 39, respectively, and the other ecotypes were destroyed completely. Ecotypes of Mashhad and Neyshabur had the lowest LT50su in the first and second sowing dates but in the third and fourth sowing date no significant differences was seen in this respect. In March 5 sowing date, after lowering temperature to-9 ° C, the maximum percentage of decrease in height compared with control was in Dwarf ecotype (71 percent) and the minimum was seen in Shiraz (33 percent). In spite of this, Dwarf ecotype in the other sowing dates assigned to itself the lowest decrease percentage of height (respectively 35, 24 and 33 percent) and had a better ability to recovery. In every four sowing date lowering the temperature to-12 ° C caused the total mortality of Hamedan, Hendi and Shiraz and they didn't have any leaf surface, but the response of the other ecotypes in October 14 sowing date was different. Two ecotypes Tall and Neyshabur having the highest (92 percent) and the lowest (66 percent) decrease in leaf surface compared with the control temperature were known as the most sensitive and the most tolerant ecotypes in this sowing date. In October 14 sowing date the response of the ecotypes to-6 ° C compared with the other sowing date was better and the highest dry weight was associated with this date by lowering the temperature to 9 ° C two ecotypes of Shirvan and Azari had the highest and the lowest decrease in dry weight (respectively 33 and 14 percent) in the second sowing date. Conclusions: Lowering the temperature to less than-9 ° C causes a decrease in the plant survival percentage and recovering in most of the ecotypes of Fenugreek. In spite of this, percentage of the plant survival depending on the sowing date, so that in the second sowing date the percentage of survival was more than the other sowing dates and except for Shiraz, Hamedan and Hendi ecotypes, the other ecotypes were able to tolerate-12 ° C. Ecotypes of Shirvan, Mashhad, Neyshabur and Dwarf under both of spring and fall sowing dates had a better regrowth than the other ecotypes, while Azari and Ardestan ecotypes under the fall sowing showed a better regrowth than spring sowing date. There was a significant correlation between RLAT50 and RDMT50 with LT50su (r =0. 53** and r = 0. 64**, respectively), probably this subject shows the efficiency and the possibility of replacing each of these indexes in the investigation of the cold tolerance in Fenugreek. To sum up, the ecotypes of Mashhad, Neyshabur, Shirvan and Dwarf showed a better tolerance to freezing than the other ecotypes.

Introduction: Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L. ) is an annual C4 plant that belongs to the family of Portulacaceae. The plant is drought and salt tolerant which contains high amounts of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidant vitamins. Adaptation to both dry and saline conditions makes it a prime candidate as a vegetable in areas with dry conditions and salty soils, which are often present together where land is irrigated. Purslane seeds provide nutritional value, and have beneficial health effect on the body specially in preventing cardiovascular, cancer and hypertension (high blood pressure) diseases, because it contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and other nutrients such as antioxidants, tocopherols and dietary fiber. Nitrogen is the key element in soil fertility and crop production. Attention to the soil quality and health has increased in recent years, especially for sustainable production of medicinal crops. So for production of healthy food in industrialized countries, using natural and on-farm inputs have been considered. One of the practical ways to achieve this goal is planting cover crops and green manure. Given the importance of Purslane as a medicinal plant and due to the fact that there is not detailed information about the nitrogen requirement for this plant, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of green manure and nitrogen on yield and yield components of common Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L. ) in Birjand, Iran. Materials and Methods: The effect of four levels of green manure including: control (No plants), Rocket Sativa (Eruca sativa L. ), Hairy vetch (Vicia villosa L. ), mix rocket sativa and hairy vetch (Eruca sativa + Vicia villosa) and three levels of nitrogen (0, 50 and 100 kg ha-1 ) on Purslane was studied in a split plot design based on randomized complete blocks with 3 replications during growing season 2014-2015 at the Agricultural Research Station, College of Agriculture, University of Birjand, Iran. Each plot was 3m×4m with six planting rows. The space between rows, plots and replications were 0. 4, 0. 5 and 3 m, respectively. Rocket and hairy vetch were planted on November 11, 2014. Rocket and hairy vetch shoots were returned to the soil by plowing just before flowering. Planting of Purslane was conducted on April 30, 2015. The distance between rows and plants were 40 cm and 15 cm, respectively (plant density was 1, 666, 666. 6 plants per ha). Nitrogen fertilizer as urea was applied, as half of fertilizer at sowing and early spring, half of fertilizer after the first harvest. Measured traits were spad index, plant height, number of capsules per plant, number of seeds per capsule, 1000 seed weight, grain yield, biological yield, harvest index, oil percentage, oil yield, fresh and dry stem yield, fresh and dry leaf yield, fresh and dry forage yield and leaf/stem ratio. Results and Discussion: The results showed that the effect of green manure on any one of the traits (except oil percentage) were not significant. The use of green manure compared to the control (no plants) increased seed oil percentage. Due to the gradual releasing of nutrients from green manure and lack of synchronization between the need of the plant and availability of nutrient released by the decomposition, green manure did not affect the next crop. Effects of nitrogen on grain yield, oil percentage and oil yield were not significant. But, effects of nitrogen on all measured forage traits (with the exception of leaf/stem ratio) such as, fresh and dry stem yield, fresh and dry leaf yield, fresh and dry forage yield were significant. Increasing in nitrogen rate enhanced all measured forage traits. Interaction of green manure and nitrogen was not significant on all measured traits. Conclusions: Green manure and nitrogen had not any significant effect on grain yield and quality. The response of grain and forage yield to nitrogen was different; so that nitrogen application did not change significantly grain yield, oil content and oil yield, but the highest forage yield and its components were achieved in treatments 50 and 100 kg N ha-1, respectively. Considering the cost of production and environmental problems, treatment 50 kg N ha-1 is recommended for forage production of Purslane in Birjand, Iran.

Introduction: Drought is dangerous to the successful production of agricultural products around the world. When drought occurs a combination of physical and environmental factors causes internal stress in plants and reduces production. Photosystem II plays an important role in higher plants to response the environmental factors. In recent years chlorophyll fluorescence techniques in ecophysiology have been considered as a rapid, sensitive and non-destructive method. Dry matter reduction can be due to cell swelling and pressure reduction because of reduced leaf area and photosynthetic pigments, especially chlorophyll. RWC is the best criteria of plant water status measurement. When plants affects by drought, salinity, low temperatures and other factors that reduce water potential of the cell sap they should increase their organic solute concentration to continue water absorption under stress conditions (osmotic adjustment). The aim of this study was investigating drought stress effects on photosynthesis and dry matter yield of two forage millet cultivars including Nutrifeed and Pishahang along with a discussion of some physiological characteristics and chlorophyll fluorescence change. Materials and Methods: This experiment was carried out as factorial layout based on randomized complete block design with three replications at the Agricultural Research Station, Shahid Chamran University in 2010-2011. First factor was two forage millet cultivars including Nutrifeed and Pishahang. The second factor was three water stress levels as mild, moderate and severe drought including providing 100, 75, 50 and 25% water requirement. The amount of water in each treatment based on the 50, 100, 150, and 200 mm evaporation from class A evaporation pan that located in meteorology synoptic station in the vicinity of the research farm was calculated. The crop coefficient (Kc) was determined based on evapotranspiration and soil water depletion treatments and then set the curve traced FC and soil moisture, the amount of water requirement was calculated and finally the volume of irrigation water for treatments was provided. Traits including stomatal conductance, relative concentration of chlorophyll SPAD-502 osmotic potential, relative permeability of the membrane, proline, relative water content and chlorophyll fluorescence of the last developed leaf (leaf ligule was observed) in two conditions light adapted and dark adapted leaves were measured. Results and Discussion: Results showed that the effect of stress levels on all traits was significant. The highest and lowest yield of dry matter were observed in the control treatment of Nutrifeed cultivar and 25% water requirement supply of Pishahang cultivar, respectively. Proline and relative permeability of the membrane over drought stress was more than the control in both cultivars and proline increased with increasing drought levels. The highest and lowest relative permeability of the membrane were observed in the Pishahang cultivar at 25% moisture supply and the control treatment of Nutrifeed cultivar, respectively. As increasing the stress intensity, relative water content, dry matter yield, osmotic potential, stomatal conductance, Fv/Fm, and qP, decreased. Dry matter had significant positive correlation with stomatal conductance, relative water content, SPAD value, Quantum yield of PSII, and Fv/Fm. It should be noted that Nutrifeed cultivar compared to the Pishahang cultivar under both normal and stress conditions had better water use efficiency. So it seems that Nutrifeed cultivar could be used as a suitable forage under water deficit conditions. Conclusions: It seems that Nutrifeed cultivar is a suitable fodder crop for livestock feed production in the areas with water restrictions.

Introduction: The side effects of chemical drugs has resulted in more attention of human to use medicinal plants and extract their ingredients for treated of many diseases. Iranian plateau have been introduced as an origin of many medicinal plants and according to the needs of pharmaceutical, food and cosmetic industries to medicinal plants as a raw materials, necessity of cultivation of medicinal plant species in the country is quite clear, because dependency to natural products and the indiscriminate exploitation of them will be extinction of this species. Basil (Ocimum basilicum) is a medicinal plant of the family of Lamiaceae, which it is very important in pharmaceutical industry, food and traditional medicine. Due to serious problems in the past decades resulting excessive application of chemical inputs and plant growth regulators to enhance agricultural production, nowadays, the need for new technologies to produce safe food and to protect environment has been of great interest to the international community. In this regard, the application of alcohols, especially ethanol and methanol solutions, to improve the performance of plants in the agricultural systems are important. Alcohols are the most important compounds in organic chemistry and they have wide frequency in the nature and are easily produced in the industry and chemical laboratories. In addition, use of foliar application of methanol and ethanol on the aerial parts of different plants propound as one of the newest strategies to increase growth and their yield. The objective of this experiment was evaluation of methanol and ethanol spraying effects on morphological and biochemical characteristics of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L. ). Materials and Methods: This experiment was carried out as completely randomized design with three replications at the Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, in 2015. Plants were foliar treated with four levels of ethanol (0, 10, 20 and 40% v/v), methanol (0, 10, 20 and 40% v/v), the same mixture of methanol and ethanol (5, 15 and 25% v/v), and control (without spraying). Results and Discussion: The results of variance analysis showed that the effect of foliar application had significant effect (P<0. 01) on measured indices, so that 40% methanol in the most of morphological characters is superior to the other levels. Alcohol treatments are effective to the growth and development of the vegetative organs of plants. Also, alcohol treatments can increase the carbohydrate accumulation and carbon dioxide concentration. Also, foliar application of methanol along with methanol that produces at leaves by pectin methyl esterase enzyme in cell wall development processes can increase cytokine in production and stimulation plant growth. In the biochemical traits, the most of antioxidant activity, phenol, carotenoids and chlorophyll b related to interaction of foliar application of methanol and ethanol 25%. Methanol increases turgor pressure, sugar content, cell swelling and helps to leaves development and increasing of chlorophyll and carotenoid content. Foliar application of methanol lead to increasing of FBPase enzyme activity such as enzymes that involve in control photosynthetic process. Ethanol converts to formaldehyde after penetrating to plant tissue and finally converts to carbon dioxide. Produced carbon dioxide increases internal concentration of that at leaf and causes to increase of photosynthetic efficiency. Also the most of total chlorophyll and chlorophyll a with 20% ethanol treatment and the most level of sugar were achieved by foliar application with 10% methanol. Conclusions: Generally in this study it can be concluded that foliar application of methanol and ethanol as a carbon source and biostimulant can increase the biomass and yield of Basil.

Introduction: Silicon (Si) is one of the most abundant elements in Earth's crust. It has been regarded as an essential element in a number of species of the Poaceae and Cyperaceae, however it has not been possible to demonstrate that it is essential to all higher plants because direct evidence is still lacking that it is part of the molecule of an essential plant constituent or metabolite. Recently, the role of Si in plant metabolism has received increasing attention. It has been suggested that Si may be involved in metabolic or physiological and/or structural activity in higher plants in normal condition and exposed to abiotic and biotic stresses. In many researches, it has been found that Si improved water use efficiency, photosynthesis, membrane stability index and yield in crops. The use of nano-compound material has been given a lot of attention by the agricultural researchers, especially by those who examine the characteristics of the seeds, although the exact mechanism of their actions is not well understood. Nanomaterials, because of their tiny size, show unique characteristics. Previous work reported that nano sodium silicate was affected on physiological and yield of potato seedlings in greenhouse. Acidity was determinant factor in foliar application of solutions. However, studies have not been paid attention to this factor. Materials and Methods: This research was conducted as a factorial experiment based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at the faculty of agriculture’ s research greenhouse, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, in 2013. Plantlets of Agria cv. produced from nodal tissue culture in Murashinge and Skoog (MS) medium. After 25 days, Free disease and uniform plantlets exported to plastic pots with 12 cm diameter and 30 cm height. Perlite, cocopite and sand with 3: 3: 4 ratios, formed the substrate. Potato plantlets were fed with corrected Hoagland solution. In the first experiment, Treatments were particle size of sodium silicate (nano and micro) and eleven concentrations (Non-spraying, Distilled water, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800 and 900 mg l-1 ). The pH of Concentrations were measured and was in the range of 7. 5 (distilled water) and 11. 6. In the second experiment, the optimal concentrations nano and micro particles of first experiment and three pH levels (5, 7 and 11. 3) were used. In both experiments, membrane stability index, photosynthesis parameters, chlorophyll a, b and cartenoids, shoot dry weight, silicon concentration and amount, yield and yield components of minituber were measured. Results and Discussion: In the first experiment, the results showed that with increasing silicon concentration up to 400 mg l-1, photosynthesis, chlorophyll a and yield of potato minituber, significantly increased. Membrane stability index increased, transpiration reduced, water use efficiency increased, chlorophyll a and cartenoids of potato leaves increased as a result of nano and micro silicon foliar application up to 400 mg l-1 and effects of nano particles on traits more than of micro particles. But, both of silicon particle sizes had a negative effect on traits in higher concentrations. In second experiment, effect of nano silicon particles to improve membrane stability index, chlorophyll b, mean of minituber weight and shoot dry weight traits was higher than the micro particles by 5. 4, 9. 7, 9 and 12 percentages, respectively. Also, membrane stability index, shoot dry weight and water use efficiency trials, improved in foliar application with pH 5 compared to 11. 3 by 8. 8, 6. 11 and 21. 3 percentage, respectively. Reducing the acidity of nano and micro-particles sprayed silicon was caused to increasing of photosynthesis, decreasing of transpiration, increasing of silicon amount of shoot significantly. Conclusions: Optimal concentration was obtained to foliar application of nano and micro Sodium silicate particles. Overall, the best treatments were 400 mg l-1 sodium silicate and pH=5.

Introduction: Rapeseed shows great sensitivity to farm management and agronomic operations. Specially, planting method, seeding rate and row spacing have big effects on yield. The seeding rate and row spacing are critical factors for achieving optimum plant density and this is one of the most important factors affecting the seed yield of rapeseed. In addition, uniform distribution of plants per unit area is required for yield sustainability. Rapeseed is planted in narrow and wide row spacing. With decreasing in row spacing and increasing of distance between plants, plants distribution becomes more uniform, competition between plants is reduced and finally, seed yield increases. In cold and semi-cold areas of Iran, rapeseed is planted as an irrigated crop. Plants arrangement and distribution in surface area are affected by irrigation system, too. In furrow irrigation, rapeseed is planted only on the upper level of the ridges and thus plant distribution is non-uniform. With the using of sprinkler systems, flat planting is possible and plant arrangement becomes more uniform. Materials and Methods: In order to compare the flat with ridge planting and to determine the best row spacing and seeding rate in flat planting of winter rapeseed, a field experiment was conducted in Hamedan Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Center in 2011-2013 cropping seasons. Combination of four row spacing (15, 20, 25 and 30 centimeters) with three seeding rates (6, 8 and 10 kg ha-1 ) in flat planting method and check treatment (ridge planting with two rows on each ridge using 8 kg ha-1 seeding rate), totally 13 treatments, were studied in a Randomized Complete Block design with three replications during the growing season and in harvest time, some agronomic traits such as number of plants per m 2, plant height, number of branches and pods per plant, seeds per pod, 1000-seed weight, biological and seed yield and harvest index were measured. RCBD and factorial analysis of variance were done using SAS software and mean comparison was carried out using Duncan's multiple range test 5% probability level. Results and Discussion: The plant densities between flat and ridge planting, seeding rates and row spacing were different because of difference in plant arrangement. Ridge planting (check treatment) had the highest plant height, number of branches and pods per plant, and the lowest 1000-seed weight and seed yield in comparison with flat planting treatments. In flat planting, seed yield and yield components significantly affected by row spacing. Row spacing of 15-20 centimeters produced the highest seed yield. In flat planting, using of 6-10 kg seeds per hectare had not significant effects on biological and seed yield. Narrower than the wider row spacing increased grain yield due to more uniform distribution of plants in the ground, Which leads to better absorption of solar radiation in plant canopy and consequently reduce competition between plants. Conclusions: The results of this experiment showed that in ridge planting, competition between plants increased and final plant density reduced. In contrast, flat planting had more uniform arrangement that decreased inter and intra row competition, increased plant density per unit area and finally produced higher biological and seed yield. Average seed yield in flat planting method was 4381 kg ha-1 which was about 18% higher than ridge planting. Based on these results, it seems that flat planting with 15-20 cm row spacing and 6-10 kg ha-1 could be used for winter oilseed rape.

Introduction Fertilizer management is an important process as appropriate blend of fertilizer for agricultural production is quite important. The choice of fertilizer management for environmental programs depends on the prevention of pollution of land and the climate, so fertilizer management is suitable for adaptation to development. The use of abundant amount of cereals, as one of the most important food sources in human societies, has led to the use of these plants as an important source of protein in many areas, so a major part of protein of human needs provide. Materials and Methods In this research, in order to investigate the changes of wheat protein in different fertilizer application systems, a completely randomized block design with three replications was carried out in 2014-2015 in Agricultural Research Station of Zabol University (Chahnymh), 35 km Zabol. In terms of geographical location of 61 degrees and 41 minutes east longitude and 30 degrees, 54 minutes north latitude and altitude of 480 meter of sea level. The weather of this station is cold and dry in winters, and hot and dry in summers, that according to category coupons and amberger ingredient weather warm and dry is considered. Treatments contains: T1: Control (no fertilizer), T2: Cow manure, T3: Vermicompost fertilizer, T4: Chemical fertilizer, T5: Vermicompost+Nitroxin fertilizer, T6: cow manure and Nitroxin fertilizer, T7: cow manure and chemical fertilizer. Study traits including: The grain yield, harvest index, ash, protein, grain nitrogen and nitrogen soil, moisture, organic matter was perched study. Nitrogen at grain and soil by Kjeldahl using equation (1) was calculated. Grain protein using equation (2) was appointed. Ash, with use of the oven and the grill was evaluated. Direction calculation the analysis of statistical data obtained at first to software excel transmit and after assurance of normality of data, the results with using the of statistical software SAS, version 9. 1, and variance analysis, by means test Duncan, at the level % 5 were compared. Results and Discussion According to the results of Anova Table, the effect of different fertilizer systems, on grain nitrogen, at 1 percent probability level was positive and showed significant difference. Organic fertilizer, increases organic matter and humus soil. By increasing the cation exchange capacity, Nitrogen leaching is prevented. Nitrogenous fertilizers cause increasing grain nitrogen and protein according to the results of the analysis of variance and can be acknowledged by the seed protein under different fertilizer systems which were significant at the 1 percent level. The data showed that the highest protein content of 14% was related to the chemical fertilizer and the minimum protein was 9. 44%, was for control (no fertilizer). The researchers with attention to results of their studies reported, with increasing nitrogen, protein increases. Chemical fertilizers in the presence of organic fertilizers and bio-fertilizers, resulted in the highest grain nitrogen amount. The use of nitrogen chemical fertilizer, increased ash in sorghum (Sorghum sudanense L. ). Conclusions The use of manure increased uptake of moisture, and therefore, reduced the amount of dry matter in the grain. Chemical fertilizers, especially nitrogen, are one of the most important components of the amino acids, and amino acids are known as a unit producer of protein, so it has important impact on grain protein amount.

Introduction: Among the different environmental stresses, drought is a major limitation in reducing crop yields. Rapeseed is a plant adaptable to areas with limited rainfall during winter and spring and dry air at flowering, grain filling and maturity stages. Water deficit stress during pod filling stage in rapeseed reduces the number of grains per m 2, oil percent and grain yield. Positive and significant correlations were reported among grain yield with pod numbers per plant and grain number in a pod in winter genotypes of canola, under normal and drought stress conditions. Strong negative relationship between grain yield and canopy temperature during reproductive stage of Brassica napus L. genotypes have been reported. The results of studying rapeseed genotypes under drought stress indicated that the chlorophyll a and b content of all genotypes declined due to drought stress at flowering and grain filling stages, but greater reduction in grain yield was observed when stress was imposed at flowering stage. The objectives of this study were to recognize some of the physiological and agronomic characteristics related to drought tolerance in spring genotypes of rapeseed and to study the grain and oil yields and yield components relations under normal and water deficit stress conditions. Materials and Methods: The experiment was carried out in the East Azarbaijan Agriculture and Natural Resources Research and Education Center (46 2 E, 37 58 N, 1347 m a. s. l. ) with semi-arid and cold climate according to Koppen climatic classification system, during 2015 and 2016 cropping seasons. The experiment was conducted as split plot based on a randomized complete blocks design with three replications. The experimental factors were drought stress with three levels: non-stressed and drought stress from flowering and pod formation stages and genotype in 5 levels: RGS003, Zafar, Sarigol, Zarfam and Dalgan. Each plot consisted of 6 rows in 5 meters. Plants were harvested on the 5 th th and 17 of July during the first and second years of experiment respectively. During harvest time, in order to control boarder effects, plants from the sides of each plot were removed. Measured traits were leaf temperature, relative water content, stomatal conductance, leaf chlorophyll index, pod number per plant, grain number per pod, 1000-grains weight, grain yield and grain oil percent. Ten plants in each plot were used to determine grain yield components. Moreover, seed oil content was determined by NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) method. Results and Discussion: Occurring drought around flowering and pod formation stages led to a significant increase in leaf temperature and significant decrease in leaf relative water content, stomatal conductance, leaf chlorophyll index, pod number per plant, grain number per pod, 1000 grains weight, oil percent, grain and oil yields. But the effects of drought from flowering stage were too hard. Therefore, in case of water resources limitation, irrigation during flowering stage will be more important than pod formation stage. RGS003 genotype with higher relative water content, stomatal conductance and leaf chlorophyll index and lower leaf temperature, indicated the highest grain and oil yields. The highest grain and oil yields with 1120 and 466 Kg h-1 respectively were obtained from RGS003 under non-stress condition. Also RGS03 in all water conditions indicated higher yields and could be used to cultivate in areas with normal and limited irrigation water resources. The significant correlations among leaf temperatures, relative water content, stomatal conductance and leaf chlorophyll index with each other and grain and oil yields and yield components were seen. It seems that these traits can be used to select drought tolerant spring genotypes of rapeseed. Conclusions: It can be concluded that spring rapeseed is more sensitive to occurring drought stress from flowering than from pod formation stage. Thus, water supply at flowering stage could be more effective in rapeseed yield production. Leaf temperatures, relative water content, stomatal conductance and leaf chlorophyll index can be used to screen high yielding spring genotypes of rapeseed for late season water deficit condition.

Introduction: Rapeseed oil is the third source of vegetable oil in the world. It is considered as safe oil nutrition, due to its lowest and moderate content of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, respectively. According to the latest statistical reports, its farming area are extending every year (has extended from 60 to 200 thousand hectares, in last year). Using of fertilizers in appropriate time and amount plays key role in production of high quality and quantity agricultural products. Therefore, in this research yield components and seed quality parameters have studied for revealing the best time of boric acid and zinc sulfate fertilization. Materials and Methods: All of analysis steps were conducted in the Agricultural Research Institute, University of Zabol, Iran (UOZ). The boric acid and zinc sulfate spray effects on vegetative and reproductive stages of rapeseed were studied in a complete randomized block in factorial arrangement with three replications. Treatments were included foliar spraying in four levels: control (no spraying), boric acid (2 g l-1 ), zinc sulfate (2 -1 g l ) and both boric acid + zinc sulfate (2+2 g l-1 ), and also time of foliar spraying were at 90 days after planting (vegetative stage), 120 days after planting (reproductive stage) and both vegetative+ reproductive stages. They were evaluated characteristics such as plant height, thousand– seed weight, seed yield, biological yield, harvest index, SPAD number, protein percentage, oil yield and percentage, seed and straw nitrogen percentage, boron uptake content in seed and straw, and finally zinc uptake content in seed and straw. Nitrogen, protein, Boron and zinc amounts were determined by keldal method, multiplying the percentage of nitrogen in 6. 25, Azomtin-H method using spectrophotometer at 420 nm, and atomic absorption, respectively. Also, SPAD number value and oil content were measured by chlorophyll meter SPAD 502 Plus model and Soxhlet extractor, respectively. Statistical analyses were performed using SAS software and the means comparison was done using Duncan test at the 5% probability level. Results and Discussion: Time of foliar spraying of vegetative+ reproductive showed significant different with other treatments for the most of study characteristics. The time of foliar spraying effect was significant on all of characteristics except thousand seed weight and SPAD number. Also type of foliar spraying showed significant effect on all of characteristics except SPAD number. It was observed Maximum seed yield (2610 kg ha-1 ), oil yield (1569. 6 kg ha-1 ) and seed protein percentage (42. 2%), respectively, in boric acid+ zinc sulfate and vegetative+ reproductive stage that increased 66. 8%, 76. 7% and 52. 8% in compared to control. The maximum magnitude of seed and straw nitrogen uptake content with rate 6. 7% and 2. 9% were obtained from boric acid+ zinc sulfate in vegetative+ reproductive stage. Spraying of boron and zinc increased concentration of these nutrients with rate 36. 3% and 39. 2% in compared with control respectively. Conclusions: The results of this study indicated, foliar spraying of both boric acid+ zinc sulfate (2+2 g l-1 ) in 90 days after planting (vegetative stage) and 120 days after planting (reproductive stage) stages in order to produce Rapeseed in this region and similar climate conditions are recommended.

Introduction: Minimum tillage (MT) and no-tillage (NT) are collectively described as conservation tillage. Conservation tillage reduces production costs, saves water, increases soil organic matter, prevents soil erosion, mitigates greenhouse gases from the soil, improves air quality, protects wildlife habitat and biodiversity, improves production and ensures environmental safety. Cover crops are considered as a support for sustainable cropping system. Some researchers have declared that using cover crops or maintaining sufficient residues of previous crops increase soil fertility and soil organic matter levels in the long term. According to strategic importance of organic matter and the significant role of tillage practices and crop residue management on crop production and soil quality improvement, a 4-year field experiment was conducted to determine Cucurbita pepo yield, yield components and selected soil quality indices, under different tillage and cover crop managements. Materials and Methods: A four-year field experiment (2011-2014) was carried out at Bu-Ali Sina University Experimental Field in Dastjerd, Hamadan, as a factorial randomized complete block design with three replications. The area is located at 37 km of Hamadan, between 48 ◦ ◦ 31' E and 35 01' N with 330 mm annual rainfall and 1690 m altitude. Treatments consist of three levels of tillage practices (including, NT: no-tillage (direct seeding), MT: minimum tillage (chisel plowing + disk) and CT: conventional tillage (moldboard plowing + disk)) and two levels of cover cropping (including, C1: with legume cover crop (lathyrus sativus) and C0: without cover crop) and were applied for four consecutive years. Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo)was planted in the fourth year. Plant and soil samples were analyzed for grain yield, seed numbers per fruit, fruit diameter, 1000-grain weight, fruit yield, soil porosity, bulk density and alkaline phosphatase activity in 2014. Data obtained were analyzed using statistical software SAS ver. 9. 4 and the means were compared using LSD test at 5 % probability level. Results and Discussion: The highest levels of grain yield (142 g m-2 ), seed numbers per fruit (348), fruit diameter (78. 2 cm), fruit yield (3. 53 kg), soil porosity (%53. 7), and alkaline phosphatase activity (3413 μ g ρ NP g-1-1 h ) were observed in minimum tillage with Legume cover crop treatment (MT-C1); the lowest amounts of aforementioned traits, however, were obtained in CT-C0 treatment. Conservation tillage treatments (no-till and minimum tillage) with Lathyrus as cover crop demonstrated the lowest soil bulk density (average 1. 1 g cm-3 ) and the highest porosity (average 53. 7%) compared to other treatments. In conventional tillage without cover crop (CT-C0) the highest soil bulk density (1. 42 g cm-3 ) and the lowest soil porosity (40. 8 %) were observed; these indicators were not statistically different from that of minimum tillage without cover crop treatment (MT-C0). Furthermore, NT-C0 and MT-C0 showed no difference for the two same indicators. No-tillage with cover crop treatment (NT-C1) demonstrated the highest phosphatase activity (3413 μ g ρ NP g-1-1 h ). Moreover, this treatment was statistically similar to MT-C1 and CT-C1 in this respect. On the contrary, this index was significantly lowest (1861 μ g ρ NP g-1-1 h ) in the traditional management (CT-C0). Cover crops increase available nutrients, microbial population, microbial biomass activity and moderate soil temperature by enhancing soil organic matter. Conservation tillage on its part further improves these effects by preventing the rapid decomposition of organic matter, which eventually increases pumpkin yield and yield components as well as soil quality indicator. Conclusions: Generally, after four years of applying different tillage practices with legume cover cropping, it was concluded that incorporation of Lathyrus sativus cover cropping with conservation tillage (either no-tillage or minimum tillage) is the most appropriate management for the studied area (Hamadan) in view of pumpkin yield and soil quality improvement.

Introduction: Adjusting the distance between planting rows is one of the most important aspects of management in the process of crop production. The row spacing is effective on land cover, the amount of radiation, crop competitive ability against weeds, and pests and pathogens population and these methods affect the efficiency of crop production system. In general, row distance in cotton planting is more than other crops, ranged normally between 76 to 102 cm. But today, cotton cultivation in low row spacing (25-50 cm) and very low (row spacing 18-25 cm) is preferred. The advantages include increased potential for higher yield, declined production costs through reducing soil erosion in prone areas, reducing water losses, increased photosynthesis efficiency, reducing the cost of weed control and the possibility of mechanized harvesting which saves time. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in the factorial experiment in the Randomized Complete Block Design with four replications at research farm (No. 1) of Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (36° 49' N, 54° 19'E and 12m above sea level), 2012. Experimental treatments included row spacing at three levels (20, 40, and 80 cm), and three cultivars of Sahel, Sepid and Golestan. During the plant growth period changes in plant height, leaf area index and shoot dry weight were measured. Also, in the maturity, some other parameters such as the first boll height from the ground surface, the number of monopodial branches, the number of sympodial branches, the length of the highest monopodial branches, the number and weight of boll and yield were measured. In addition, after the separation of fibers from seeds, accelerated aging tests, germination at low and high temperature (warm and cold tests) and electrical conductivity test were applied to evaluate the seed quality. For better evaluation of seed samples, after warm and cold germination tests, the normal seedling percentages from the two tests were added together (vigor index). Thus, all seeds produced were classified in terms of seed vigor into four categories: excellent, good, medium and weak. Results and Discussion: In this study, structure and geometrical characteristics of the plant were significantly affected by row spacing. Thus, the reduction of row spacing from 80 to 20 cm, reduced plant height and, the number and length of monopodial and sympodial branches. However, the leaf area index, dry matter and boll height increased significantly. Despite significant reduction of boll number and size per plant with the reduction of row distance, lint yield remained unaffected due to an increase in the number of plants and the number of bolls per unit of area. The highest seed quality observed in Golestan cultivar at a row spacing of 20 cm while for the other two cultivars it occurred at row spacing of 40 cm. The lowest seed quality in all three cultivars obtained in row spacing of 80 cm. Based on the seed vigor index (total normal seedlings in warm and cold germination tests) none of the seed samples could be categorized in an excellent group. The Golestan cultivar with row spacing of 20 cm could be placed in a good group and the other seed samples were found to be medium to weak. However, the least seed vigor index was found in Golestan and sepid cultivars in 80 cm row spacing and in Sahel cultivar in 20 cm row spacing. For Sahel cultivar, the maximum seed vigor index obtained in 40 cm row spacing. Conclusions: There are advantages in narrow and ultra-narrow row spacing in comparison of traditional row spacing for cotton planting. These include generally, the reduction of plant height, increased height of boll formation which facilitates mechanized harvesting, and the increase of LAI and dry matter per area. Other advantages are the stability of lint yield and fiber quality, and ultimately increased seed quality in cultivations with lower row spacing.

Introduction: A major component in a crop growth model is leaf area development, which has crucial influence on photosynthesis and transpiration. Leaf area development involves the appearance of new leaves, expansion of the newly emerged leaves and senescence of old leaves. Modeling of the leaf growth has been extensively studied in many crops including cereals. Methods of predicting leaf area development are diverge from those dealing with the individual component processes of leaf growth viz. leaf appearance, leaf expansion and leaf death to the models predicting leaf growth at the whole plant or whole crop levels. Leaf appearance and expansion are most sensitive growth processes to environmental conditions and their dependence on temperature revealed in a range of cereals including wheat and barley and legumes including cowpea and soybean. Effects of temperature on leaf appearance rates are usually quantified using some form of thermal time. Air temperature above the canopy has most frequently been used to calculate thermal time. Genetic differences in senescence have also been reported among crop genotypes. Quantitative information regarding leaf area development in wheat especially in environmental conditions with high temperatures for the purpose of crop modeling is scarce. Furthermore, genotypic variations have not been evaluated. Therefore, the goal of this research was to determine parameters related to leaf production and senescence in wheat cultivars in warm environmental conditions. Materials and Methods: The aim of this study was to quantify leaf production and senescence of 15 different wheat cultivars. Two field experiments with 15 wheat cultivars (Atrak, Bayat, Chamran, Chenab, Dez, Ineia, Kavir, Marvdasht, Shiraz, S78-18, Yavaroos and shova-Mald) were conducted at the research farm of the Islamic Azad University of Ramhormoz Branch, south-western of Iran in 2005-6 and 2006-7 using a randomized complete block design with four replications. The relationship between main stem leaf numbers (HS) versus degree-days was described using bi-linear regression model. Results and Discussion: The results indicated that leaf production on main stem started with receiving 108. 5 degree-days after sowing. The leaf appearance rate and along with it phyllochron had no significant across all data. Mean leaf appearance rate ranged from 0. 0047 to 0. 0082 leaf/˚ Cd. At 13 out of 15 cultivars. The cession time (degree-days) of effective leaf production on main stem was not significantly different and ranged from 831. 0 to 852. 0 ˚ C d. Leaf senescence on the main stem started when the main stem had about 4-6 leaves and proceeded at a rate of 0. 065 % per each unit increase in degree-days. The relationships found in this study can be used in simulation models of wheat. Conclusions: Based on results, there was no significant difference between wheat cultivars in terms of parameters related to leaf production and senescence on main stem except the time of cessation of the linear increase in leaf number on main stem. The relationships presented in this study describe leaf production and senescence under wellwatered condition and reflect the effects of carbon and nitrogen availability and remobilization under these conditions. However, they do not account for the effects of shortage of carbon, nitrogen or water on leaf development. Other relationships are required to predict these effects.

Introduction: Fire and smoke have been used in traditional agricultural systems for centuries. In recent years, biologically active compounds have been isolated from smoke with potential uses in agriculture and horticulture. It has been reported that smoke plays an important role in many aspects of plant biology such as seed germination, plant growth and flowering. Smoke contains several thousand compounds such as phenolic compounds, alcohols, lactones, aldehydes, acid, ketones, alkaloid and hydroxybenzenes. A biologically active butenolide (3-methyle-2H-furo [2, 3-c]pyran-2-one=KAR1) was isolated from plant-derived smoke. This bioactive compound displays activity in a variety of species concentration as one-part-per-billion. The role of smoke-isolated compound KAR1 in promoting seedling growth has been reported in many plant species. Also smoke-derived butenolide has both cytokininandauxin-like activities when applied at low concentrations. Although most research has focused on smoke as a germination cue for the release of seed dormancy, there is increasing evidence that smoke also has post-germination effects. Moreover, the smoke-water solution is acidic and contains substantial of plant nutrients such as high level of NH4 +, an important source of nitrogen for plant growth. Nitrogen is an essential element for growth and development of plants, especially wheat that it is the most important and strategic cereal crop in world commerce. The objectives of the present study were (1) to evaluate the effect of urea fertilizer and smoke-water on some eco-physiological traits of wheat, (2) to characterize and identify the interaction between smoke-water and usage of different fertilizer levels on crops traits. Materials and Methods: In order to evaluate the effect of smoke-water and nitrogen fertilizer on wheat (Triticum aestivum L. var. Pishtaz) ecophysiological traits, a field experiment was conducted as a split plot based on complete randomized block design with three replications. This experiment was conducted in research farm of Agricultural Faculty of Razi University during 2015 to 2016. In this study application of nitrogen fertilizer in four levels (included 90, 180, 300 and 360 kg. ha-1 ) were assigned to the main plots and five smoke-water concentrations (included 0, 0. 001%, 0. 01%, 0. 1% and 1% v/v) were assigned to the sub plots. Smoke-water is one of the most convenient means of application and its biologically active compounds are readily dissolved in water. The smoke produced by combusting variety of dry plant materials in a controlled system and bubbling it through water to produce smoke-saturated water. Smoke-water for foliar-application treatment was prepared by diluting this stock solution with distilled water to obtain four concentrations. Foliar treatment consisted of spraying wheat plants at three times (from before anthesis stage to final milk stage) with smoke-water concentrations. The control plots were sprayed with distilled water. Before spraying, one drop of Tween 20 as a surfactant was added to 250 mL test solution, including control. Results and Discussion: Results indicated that leaf area index, light absorption, total dry weight yield, radiation use efficiency, grain yield and harvest index of wheat increased in high levels of nitrogen fertilizer treatments in comparison with low levels. Most of these traits significantly affected by increasing of smokewater concentration compared to control treatment. In this study applying high level of smoke-water foliar raised leaf area index, light absorption, total dry weight yield and radiation use efficiency of wheat and eventually influenced grain yield. So that the highest radiation use efficiency (1. 65 g. MJ-1 ) was obtained from usage of 350 -1 kg. ha urea fertilizer and smoke-water at concentration of 1% v/v. also the highest grain yield (922 g. m-2 ) was obtained from usage of 350 kg. ha-1 urea fertilizer and smoke-water at concentration of 1% v/v and lowest grain -2 yield (339 g. m ) was recorded for application 90 kg. ha-1 urea fertilizer and foliar with distilled water. Conclusions: Considering all the results presented, it can be concluded that application smoke-water led to increase wheat grain yield. Our results showed that smoke-water as an organic compound improved all wheat traits in all levels of urea fertilizer. Although, smock-water had more effect in low nitrogen fertilizer level compared to high nitrogen fertilizer level. Therefore, it seems that using of smoke-water in the wheat farm may be lead to decrease the excess use of nitrogen fertilizers.

Introduction: Salinity stress is one of the most limiting factors in plant growth and physiological activities. To extend crop production in saline regions, application of plant promoting growth substances like Chitosan is necessary to modify the adverse effects of salinity. Milk thistle is an agro-medical plant that is familiar as a weed. However, Silymarin (which is produced by Milk thistle as a secondary metabolite) is one the most important material for treating such disease as; liver diseases, blood fat, diabetes, hepatitis, and cancer. Application of bio stimulants is one of the solutions for decreasing adverse effects of abiotic and biotic stresses on plants and increasing quality and quantity of plant yield production, so chitosan is a compound that induces defense mechanisms against stresses. Materials and Methods: This experiment was conducted to evaluate the soil application of chitosan on vegetative, generative and physiological activities of Milk thistle in 2016. The experiment was conducted in Research Greenhouse of College of Agriculture the University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran. The experimental treatments were arranged as factorial based on a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The first factor comprised of four saline irrigation water levels of control (Urban water with 1. 2 dS m-1 ), 4, 8 and 12 dS m-1 and the second factor was application of different levels of Chitosan consisting of control (without chitosan application), 0. 01, 0. 05, and 0. 1 percent of chitosan based on 1-kilogram dry soil weight in Rhizobags. Chitosan with high molecular weight was purchased from Sigma Aldrich. 12 seeds of Milk thistle were sown in each plastic pot (23×24 cm diameter and height) containing 8. 0 kg of soil, at the depth of 2 cm. After 72 days planting, plants with a uniform growth were selected for experiments. At least three plants were randomly selected from each treatment. The plant root and shoot were cut at the base and weighed to determine the dry root and shoot weight. Samples were dried at 60 ο C for 48 hours, and their mean root and shoot dry weight were recorded for each treatment at each replicate. Also, Statistical calculations were done by SAS software, 9. 1 version, and means were compared by Duncan multiple test with 5% probability. Results and Discussion: The result showed salinity stress had significant effect on all of the growth, physiologic and ionic trait (p≤ 0. 01). Mean comparisons in chitosan levels showed the maximum total biomass, leaf area meter, relative water content and membrane stability index were achieved with application of 0. 05% nano chitosan. In 4 dS m-1 saline water, the highest total dry mass was obtained at 0. 01% of chitosan by increasing of 21. 6% compared to control (p≤ 0. 01). In all of the salinity levels, chitosan application increased the leaf area index in compared to control (without chitosan application). The maximum leaf area index (4. 264) was achieved in 0. 05% chitosan concentration under non saline condition. Under 12 dS m-1 salinity, application 0. 05% chitosan concentration decreased by 10. 4% and 16. 5% in sodium content and sodium potassium ration in shoot, respectively. The mechanism of action of chitosan on growth is not clear. It was also found that chitosan may induce a signal to synthesize plant hormones such as gibberellins and enhance growth and development by some signaling pathway related to auxin biosynthesis. Chitosan stimulates vital processes of plants on every level of biological organization, from single cells and tissues, through physiological and biochemical processes, to changes on the molecular level related to the expression of genes. The result of the experiment demonstrated the adverse effect of salinity on growth, physiological activity, and nutrient content in Milk thistle. Application of chitosan at 0. 05% (v/v) in soil could modify the adverse effect of salinity on total biomass, leaf area index, relative water content, and membrane stability index; however, 0. 01% chitosan concentration was more effective on photosystem II efficiency. Conclusions: Based on the result of this experiment, salinity stress has negative effects on growth, physiology and mineral element contents of Milk thistle. Application of 0. 01% of chitosan could modify the adverse effects of irrigation water salinity on Milk thistle. Generally, application of chitosan could decrease Na + effects in the Milk thistle, so the rate of Na + in the shoot and root was decreased under high levels of salinity. The present study demonstrated that chitosan can be used as an ecofriendly compound to protect milk thistle plants as well as to enhance growth and biochemical parameters under saline water.

Introduction: Salinity is one of the most important and adverse environmental constraint restricting growth and development of plant particularly in arid and semiarid regions. One approach to improve the salt stress problem is the use of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and Mycorrhiza. The PGPR are a group of rhizosphere colonizing bacteria that produces substances to increase the growth of plants, synthesize different phytohormones, including auxins, cytokinins, and gibberellins, synthesize enzymes that can modulate plant growth and development. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) symbiosis is considered a valuable component in most agricultural systems due to their role in plant nutrition and soil health. Soil microorganisms such as Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi represents a key link between plants and soil mineral nutrients. Thus, they are collecting growing interest as natural fertilizers. Iron is the third most limiting nutrient for plant growth and metabolism. It is well known that iron is important component of many vital enzymes, and also participates in the synthesis of chlorophyll, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), electron transport, chlorophyll biosynthesis and photosynthesis, and a structural stabilizer for proteins, membrane and DNA-binding proteins. The problem of soil salinization is a scourge for agricultural productivity worldwide. Iron deficiency also is a common nutritional disorder in many crop plants, resulting in poor yields and reduced nutritional quality. Since, application of bio fertilizers and iron is one of the most important strategies for alleviation of salinity stress effects. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of bio fertilizers and iron on yield, chlorophyll content and some components of grain filling period of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. ) under salinity stress. Materials and Methods: A factorial experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with three replications at research greenhouse of faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili during 2016. Factors experiment were included bio-fertilizers in four levels (non-application of biofertilizer, application of Azospirilium, mycorrhiza (Glomus Intraradices), both application of mycorrhiza and Azospirilium), foliar application with nano iron oxide at four levels (0, 0. 3, 0. 6 and 0. 9 g l-1 ), soil salinity in four levels (0, 50, 25 and 75 mM NaCl). A two part linear model was used to quantifying the grain filling parameters. In this study, total chlorophyll, chlorophyll a, b, carotenoid, grain filling components, yield and yield components of barley were investigated. Grain dry weight and number were used to calculate the average grain weight for each sample. Total duration of grain filling was determined for each treatment combination by fitting a bilinear model: Effective grain filling duration (EGFD) was calculated from the below equation: EGFD = the highest grain weight (g)/ratio of grain filling (g day-1 ). Results and Discussion: Means comparison showed that the highest yield (2. 46 g per plant), grain filling rate (0. 00279 g day 1), effective grain filling period and grain filling period (39. 96 and 26. 53 days respectively), chlorophyll a (87. 1 mg g 1 FW), chlorophyll b (0. 68 mg g 1 FW), total chlorophyll (2. 55 mg g 1 FW) and carotenoid (0. 6 mg g 1 FW) were obtained at treatment of application Azospirilium, mycorrhiza, 0. 9 g l-1 of nano iron oxide under no saline condition. While the lowest amount of traits was obtained in no application of bio fertilizer and nano Fe oxide under on saline condition. Grain yield was decreased in 25, 50 and 75 mM levels by 5. 23, 21. 93 and 26. 14%, respectively. While, application of biofertilizers and nano Fe oxide compensated 11. 79%, 12. 64% and 15. 45% respectively from yield reduction in compared to control. Conclusions: It seems that, both application of biofertilizers and nano Fe oxide can be suggested as stabilizers stress in barley under soil salinity conditions. So, salinity of 25, 50 and 75 mM NaCl decreased 5. 23, 21. 93 and 26. 14%, respectively from grain yield and application of biofertilizers and nano Fe oxide compensated 11. 79%, 12. 64% and 15. 45% respectively from yield reduction in compared to control.

Introduction: One of the main goals of modern farming is to better understand crop growth and development for optimal use of environmental resources and, consequently, more yield. The study of the growth and development of crops such as Borage (Borago officinalis L. ) during the growing season allows the sensitive stages of plant life to be identified and managed in an optimal way and for them to achieve high yields. Since the weather condition of each region varies in different seasons, it is difficult to determine the time of sensitive stages of growth to unfavorable environmental conditions. One of the main advantages of determining the phenology of a plant is the optimal use of ecological factors to increase its performance, Because according to the meteorological statistics in each area and the determination of the temperature requirement for each phonological stage and the entire plant growth period, many of the issues of planting, including sowing date and plant density, can be identified at the best possible time and achieved more production. Thus, this experiment carried out in order to assessment of required growing degree days (GDD) phenologic stages and growth borage in different sowing and densities. Materials and Methods: A field research was conducted as a split plot arrangement based on randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications at farm at experimental field of Khouzestan Ramin Agriculture and Natural Resources University, Iran during 2016-2017 cropping season. Five sowing date (15 October, 5 and 25 November, 15 December and 5 January) as main plat and four plant densities including of 6, 10, 14 and 18 plants per m-2 as sub plots comprised experimental treatment. Growth degree– day (GDD) accumulation of phenological stages (Emergence initiation, Two true leaves initiation, Flowering stem emergence, Flowering initiation, Full flowering, Seed fill initiation, Complete fill, Seed harvesting initiation, Total growth season), Dry flower yield, Plant height and Leaf area index of borage were measured. Analysis of variance and comparison of means was performed by SAS software and least significant difference test (LSD), 5% level probability, respectively. Results and Discussion: The results showed that the effect of sowing date on the length of different phonologic periods was significant, but the effect of plant density and the interaction between sowing date and plant density on this trait was not significant. The highest and the lowest growth degree– day from sowing to different stages of growth were obtained on 15 October and 5 January, respectively. With delay in sowing, the average number of days and growth degree– day (GDD) accumulation decreased in most phonologic stages. The effect of sowing date and plant density had significant effect on flower yield and plant height. With 720. 8 kg. ha-1 of dry flower yield, first sowing date (15 October) was the best treatment. Increasing of plant density was increased plant height, and flower yield. So that the highest dry flower yield was achieved with an average of 586. 3 kg. ha-1 at a density with 14 plant per m-2. Interaction effect of sowing date and plant density on leaf area index was also significant. So that sowing dates of 15 October at 18 plant per m-2 had the highest leaf area index. Determining the relationship between borage phonologic stages and GDD will be very beneficial in applying the principles of management, especially in determining the appropriate sowing date. Conclusions: For the highest dry flower yield in Ahvaz climate, the best sowing date for borago was 15 October and the best planting density was 14 plants per m-2. There was also significant correlation between flower yield and growth degree-day (GDD) accumulation showed that the regulation of sowing date is very important for completing growth and development stages.