One of the approaches to agricultural sustainability is using diversity of plant species, including FORAGE crops. A total of 64 accessions of FORAGE grass genus: Agrostis, Bromus, Dactylis, Festuca and Phalaris were sown in a field experiment, and their agro-morphological traits were characterized according to standard descriptors. A high diversity was observed for most of the studied traits on the genus. F test was significant for most of the traits based on one-way ANOVA. Duncan mean comparison method was performed to grouping genus based on the recorded traits. Phalaris located in the highest rank for herbage summer yield followed by Bromus, Festuca and Dactylis in the next group and Agrostis and Poa located in the last group. Results showed FORAGE GRASSES can be seemed as candidate to be used in agronomy systems due to the existence of high potential for forge yield in the studied materials.

Studying the FORAGE quality of range species is among the important factors required for range management. In the present study, the FORAGE quality of range species including Onobrychis transcaspica, Onobrychis radiate, Astragalus brevidens, Melica ciliate, Agropyron pectiniforme, and Sangisorba minor were investigated at three phenological stages. The study was conducted in the rangelands of Bojnourd. At each phenological stage, sampling was performed randomly with five replicates. FORAGE quality indices including CP, ADF, DMD, and ME were measured in the laboratory. The results showed that the FORAGE quality of the study species was higher as compared with flowering and seeding stages, so that with the advancing age of the plant, crude protein, dry matter digestibility, and metabolizable energy reduced and ADF increased. In comparison with GRASSES, Legumes had the highest CP content (14. 53% and the lowest ADF content (43. 91%) in all three phenological stages. Among the study species, the maximum and minimum crude protein content was recorded for Astragalus brevidens and Agropyron pectiniforme, respectively. Analysis of variance showed that the effects of species and phenological stages were significant (P<0. 01) in all FORAGE quality indices.

FORAGE species in mixtures are extensively grown worldwide nowadays, particularly as a step towards sustainable agriculture, however, information on this topic is scanty in our country. Thus a 2-year (2001-2003) field experiment was conducted to determine the FORAGE yield, botanical composition, as well as competition of some FORAGE GRASSES and legumes as mono and dual cultures combinations at Kushkak Agricultural Experiment Center, Shiraz University. The treatments were alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), red clover (Trofolium pratense L.), orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.), smooth bromegrass (Bromus inemis L.), and tall fescue (Festuca arundiacea Screb.) as monoculture and FORAGE legumes along with GRASSES as dual cultures. Results showed that alfalfa monoculture and its dual culture with GRASSES had the highest total dry matter yields with significant differences as compared with red clover and its binary combinations. The FORAGE yields were significantly higher during the 2nd than the 1st year. The highest total dry matter yield of alfalfa together with its binary combinations belonged to alfalfa-tall fescue and alfalfa-smooth bromegrass combinations. The competition of red clover with GRASSES was less pronounced than that of alfalfa. Orchardgrass had a lower competitive ability in binary combinations in both years, unlikely being able to compete with alfalfa; however, it produced a higher proportion of FORAGE yield with red clover during the 2nd year. Alfalfa was a dominant species in alfalfa-smooth bromegrass combination and smooth bromegrass was a dominant species in red clover- smooth bromegrass combination. Overall, alfalfa-smooth bromograss and alfalfa-tall fescue binary combinations produced higher FORAGE total dry matter in either one of the experimental years and it seems that they can endure a longer endurance in the region.

A field study was conducted around Pb slag contaminated sites in Ibadan, Nigeria to assess the intake of trace metals by cows reared around the contaminated sites as indication of heavy metals contamination. Levels of Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn in blood, milk and faeces were determined in 20 cows exposed to the sites and 20 reference cows from uncontaminated areas. Chemical analysis of pasture GRASSES and leachate from the contaminated sites showed high levels of Pb. Range and mean levels of Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn in the FORAGE GRASSES are: 209-899 (425±79.0), ND-1.87 (0.94±0.23), 4.01-8.78 (6.26±0.62) and 17.4-202 (79.2±23.5) mg/kg respectively. The mean values of 8.81±0.06, 0.041±0.003, 0.20±0.01 and 1.00±0.004 mg/L were obtained l for leachate Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn. Difference in blood and milk Pb was highly significant (p<0.01) between the two groups of animals. Mean, median and range blood Pb concentration of 349±82.0, 312, <DL-1380mg/L, milk Pb concentrations of 347±144, 313, <DL-630mg/L and faecal Pb concentrations of 2.08±1.46, 2.00, 0.25-6.75 mg/kg were found in test animals whereas Pb was not detected in the tissues of the control animals. Analyses of blood, milk and faeces were found to be good indicators of environmental exposure to Pb. Test cows accumulated significantly higher levels of Zn in milk than in blood. Reverse is the case for Pb and Cu. The high concentration of Pb detected in both environmental and biological samples implies the need for sound management of hazardous waste.

Introduction: Water scarcity is one of the major limiting factors to agricultural production across the globe and it is predicted that drought spells will occur more frequently in the future due to the long-term effects of global warming (Rivero et al., 2007). This has led to a decrease in canopy size, loss in photosynthesis and consequently reduced crop yields. Alfalfa, being perennial and multi cut, as well as having an efficient root system, can tolerate water limited conditions by dormancy and is able to restart its biological activities after irrigating (Mc Williams, 2002). The mechanisms of response to water stress are complex and include activation of growth regulators in molecular and physiological levels. In addition, the yield potential and stability of some Iranian alfalfa ecotypes in different locations have been investigated previously (Mofidian & Moghaddam, 2013). Material and Methods: The experiment was carried out with 10 warm and cold region alfalfa ecotypes in two distinct environments at Seed and Plant Improvement Institute (SPII), Karaj, Iran, over the years 2016-2018. The environments included full irrigation and no watering for 20 days from 22th of June. To conduct a preliminary evaluation of the ecotypes response to water stress, stress susceptibility index (SSI) based on fresh FORAGE yield was calculated. The most important physiological traits measured in this study were as follows: relative water content (RWC), chlorophyll content index (CCI), canopy temperature depression (CTD), and stomatal resistance (SR), Chlorophyll a and b contents and carotenoids. Combined analysis of variance and mean comparisons were done by SPSS Ver. 22 and Excel 2016. Results and Discussion: The effect of no watering stress on all of the physiological traits was significant (P<0. 01). The ecotypes showed a significant difference in dry matter yield and all physiological measurements except for electrolyte leakage and chlorophyll b content. The year effect indicated a significant difference for chlorophyll b (P<0. 05); carotenoids and dry matter yield (P<0. 01) but it was not found to be significant for the rest of traits. Among the interactions, environment × year interaction showed no significant effect for all the studied traits. Although, ecotype × environment interaction was significant just for carotenoids (P<0. 01), ecotype × year interaction was significant for Dry matter yield, RWC, CTD and SR (P<0. 01); and CCI, chlorophyll a (P<0. 05), as well. Under full irrigation regime and cut-off irrigation treatment, RWC was respectively 66. 26 and 44. 06 percent, which indicated that water stress decrease RWC by 32 percent. Electrolyte leakage averaged 26. 51 percent under the stress environment, exhibiting a 72 percent decrease in cell membrane stability relative to full irrigation scenario. The chlorophyll content index in non-stress condition was 38 percent greater than that of under stress condition. The canopy temperature depression decreased by 43 percent during water stress imposition. No water shortage treatment led to the least stomatal resistance of 22. 22 s/cm; however, this value was 37. 87 s/cm under water-limited conditions, which showed a difference of 70 percent. Conclusion: The minimum stress susceptibility index at the first and second year, 0. 35 and 0. 51, were observed in BAGHDADI and BAMI ecotype respectively, which, among the investigated alfalfa ecotypes, were found to be the most resistance to no watering for 20 days. Overall, KFA6 ecotype showed the minimum electrolyte leakage (13. 79 s/cm) and stomatal resistance (23. 69 s/cm), respectively. Moreover, KFA6 ecotype had the maximum photosynthetic pigments of 1. 623 mg in fresh leaf (gr) that led to the production of 17. 48 t/ha dry matter yield and superiority of 14 percent as compared to the two-year mean of all ecotypes under full irrigation and no watering conditions. Keywords: Canopy temperature, stomatal resistance, cell membrane stability, photosynthetic pigments, and alfalfa. References: Mc Williams, D. 2002. Drought strategies for alfalfa. Extension handbook, Department of Extension Plant Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico. P-1-5. Rivero, R. M., Kojima, M., Gepstein, A., Sakakibara, H., Mittler, R., Gepstein, S., and Blumwald, E. 2007. Delayed leaf senescence induces extreme drought tolerance in a fl owering plant. Proceeding of National Academic Science, USA 104: 19631– 19636. Mofidian, S. M. A., and Moghaddam, A. 2013. Analysis of ecotype location interaction in cold-region alfalfa ecotypes. Iranian Journal of Crop Sciences, 15(2): 71-85.

Introduction Temperature influences plant physiological processes, cellular structure and development. Habitat from which plants originate has undeniable effects on plant tolerance to cold temperatures. Plants from higher latitudes exhibit more tolerance to cold stress than plants from lower latitudes. When plants are exposed to cold stress, a sequence of events is triggered inside them, leading to an improved tolerance to the environmental condition. This phenomenon is known as plant hardening. Having access to winter-hardened species and cultivars is one of the important necessities for the development of crop production systems in local microclimates of cold regions. Utilizing genetic diversity in crop plant resources is an important approach towards achieving sustainable agriculture. Diversity in Iran`s FORAGE germplasm for traits such as early maturity, high ratio of leaf to stem, dense ground cover and high yield has been shown in temperate regions such as Karaj and Mashhad (Abbasi, 2009, Abbasi et al., 2017). Testing a selection of these germplasm accessions can determine their potential for growing under water-limited conditions in cold regions. Hence, different genera and species of legumes in national plant gene bank of Iran originated from high latitudes were used to be evaluated under cold growing conditions. Materials and Methods A total of 124 annual-FORAGE accessions from 40 species and 10 genera were selected based on the previous research works and were planted in an experimental filed at Jolge-Rokh agricultural research station. The number of accessions in each genus included Trifolium (36 accessions), annual medics (28 accessions), Onobrychis (9 accessions), Vicia (21 accessions), Melilotus (17 accessions), Lolium (6 accessions), Bromus (5 accessions), and Phalaris (1 accession), Lathyrus (1 accession) and barley (1 accession). Each accession was planted in two 2-meter long rows spaced 50 cm apart using an augmented experimental design. Some of the traits characterized in this study from autumn to spring included growth rate in spring and autumn, cold-tolerance score, plant height etc (IPIGRI, 1984). Statistical descriptive parameters were determined for the evaluated traits. One-way ANOVA (analysis of variance) and Duncan's multiple tests were performed on data of each trait. The analyses were carried out by SPSS 15. Results and Discussion Meteorological data showed that there were a total of 68 days of freezing temperatures in the region from November till March. The lowest absolute temperature recorded was-17. 4 ° C in December. Also, the mean of daily minimum temperature for December, January, February and March was below zero and the mean of daily maximum temperature for December, January and February was-10 ° C, indicating the occurrence of cold stress in the region. The results of one-way ANOVA analysis for the investigated genera and species showed that there were significant differences among their traits at 1 % probability level, particularly prior to cold stress. Lolium and Bromus were the most tolerant species among the narrow-leaved FORAGEs and the tested germplasm. Among FORAGE legumes, sweet clover exhibited the highest tolerance to cold temperatures. Although the species vicia, Lathyrus and Iranian clover were not tolerant to cold, they were found to be beneficial in terms of soil conservation and sustainability due to the production of proper vegetative cover prior to the cold spell, which lasted till the spring of the next year. Based on the results of this investigation, the studied species and genera can be classified into the following groups: 1-Cold-tolerant FORAGE GRASSES including accessions of Lolium: 14TN00072, 14TN00038, 14TN00052, 14TN00054 and accessions of Bromus: 10TN00049, 10TN00012, 10TN00036, 10TN00039, and 10TN00026. 2-Cold-susceptible FORAGE GRASSES such as accessions: KC126013 (L. temelentum) and barley. Although this group was sensitive to cold, they produced good vegetative cover on ground before the occurrence of cold, which can be used as mulch for soil protection throughout the year. 3-Cold-tolerant legumes, such as accessions of Melilotus: 58TN00025, 58TN00047, MahNo313, 58TN00182, 58TN00223, 58TN00140, 58TN00181, 58TN00080, and 58TN00190 4-Cold-susceptible FORAGE legumes: they were categorized into two groups, one group produced good vegetative cover on ground before the cold spell such as accessions 44TN00047, 44TN00041, and 44TN00005, and the other group failed to produce enough vegetative cover on ground such as some accessions of annual medics, Onobrychis, and Trifolium.

Determination of FORAGE quality is one of the fundamental factors for suitable management. There are spatial and temporal variations in quality of rangeland species. In this study, FORAGE quality of five important GRASSES of Bromus tomentellus, Poa angustifolia, Festuca ovina, Agropyron intermedium and Agropyron trichophorum were measured at three phenological stages (vegetative growth, full flowering and seed ripening) in summer rangelands of Golestan province. For this purpose, five replications were randomly selected from each phenological stage. Quality factors of crude protein, ADF, crude fiber, dry matter digestibility and metabolizable energy were measured using in vitro procedures. The results obtained from chemical analysis were analyzed in a factorial experiment at randomized complete block design with SAS software. Results showed that FORAGE quality differed significantly for different species as well as at different phenological stages (p<0.05). Among studied species, the highest FORAGE quality was related to Bromus tomentellus while the lowest was related to Agropyron trichophorum. The highest and the lowest FORAGE quality were recorded for vegetative growth and seed ripening stages, respectively.

Measuring FORAGE quality of dominant species is a prerequisite of proper management in rangelands. In this research, nutrient values of seven species were evaluated at three Phenological (vegetative growth, flowering and seed production) stages. In this study, a completely randomized design with five replications was used in Bojnord rangelands. Species included: Sanguisorba minor, Onobrychis transcaspica, Onobrychis radiata, Astragalus brevidens, Melica ciliate, Agropyron repens and Agropyron pectiniforme.The measured FORAGE quality parameters included: crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), dry matter digestibility (DMD) and metabolizable energy (ME). According to results, FORAGE qualities in all of the studied species were higher in vegetative growth than flowering and seed production stages. CP, ME and DMD of the studied species were decreased approaching to the end of growing season, while ADF values were increased. Legumes had higher percentage of crude protein (14.53%) and the lower percentage of ADF (43.91%) in all phenological stages, while perennial GRASSES had CP and ADF of 8.1% and 54.14% respectively. High and low CP percentages were obtained inAstragalus brevidnesand Agropyron pectiniforme, respectively. According to the results, significant differences were observed among the species and phenological stages for all measured and calculated FORAGE quality factors (p<0.01).

2Abstract This study was conducted to evaluate drought tolerance of recombined genotypes of orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) and smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.), and investigate the effect of long-term drought stress on persistence, summer dormancy, and post-drought recovery. For this purpose, 36 genotypes of each species randomly selected from polycross populations, were clonally propagated, and evaluated under normal and drought-stressed conditions during 2013-2015 at the research farm of the Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran. In the fourth year (2016), irrigation was withheld in both moisture regimes for two months, and then plants were re-watered and investigated. For most of the measured traits, high genetic variation was observed among the genotypes of both species. In orchardgrass, the genetic coefficient of variation varied from 4.31 to 65.45% under normal conditions, and from 3.93 to 79.93% under drought stress conditions. In smooth bromegrass, the range of genetic coefficient of variation was variable from 3.56 to 67.18% under normal conditions and from 3.42 to 54.63% under drought stress conditions. This indicated a high potential for improving these traits through targeted selection in breeding programs of the two species. In both species, the higher increase in genetic coefficient of variation under drought stress was observed for recovery-related traits (i.e., degree of recovery and recovery ratio in orchardgrass; and recovery yield, degree of recovery, recovery ratio, and percentage of recovery in smooth bromegrass). Results showed that smooth bromegrass had a better performance regarding recovery-related traits. Furthermore, post-drought recovery-related traits in both species were reduced under drought stress, except for the recovery ratio in smooth bromegrass. However, reductions were higher in orchardgrass than in smooth bromegrass. In the current study, the persistence of orchardgrass genotypes increased under drought stress, and decreased in the smooth bromegrass. Less fodder production during summer by the genotypes of this germplasm showed that these genotypes had incomplete dormancy. Background and Objective: Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) is one of the most important perennial FORAGE GRASSES, which plays an essential role in the livestock industry and sustainable development of environments worldwide (2). Smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) is a drought-tolerant, cool-season grass species grown mainly for hay production (1). Drought stress is one of the most important factors limiting the survival and growth of plants in many regions of the world. Therefore, GRASSES must survive summer, recover in autumn, and actively grow during the cooler rainy seasons. Despite the wide distribution of FORAGE GRASSES in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran, studies about post-drought recovery, persistence, and summer dormancy in these two species are rare. Therefore, this study was conducted to: 1) evaluate the genetic variation of post-drought recovery, persistence, and summer dormancy under two moisture conditions, 2) determine the relationships between these traits with phenological traits, productivity, and drought tolerance, and 3) assess the response of genotypes to drought stress in terms of the evaluated traits. Methods: In this study, 36 genotypes of each species were randomly sampled from polycross progenies. These genotypes were clonally propagated and space-planted in the field according to a randomized complete block design with 12 replications in March 2012. Six replications were allocated to each of the two moisture environments. Phenological and morphological traits were evaluated over three years. After three years of field evaluation, drought recovery of all genotypes was assessed in 2016. For this purpose, after the first harvest of the fourth year, acute drought stress was imposed on both previous moisture environments (normal and drought stress) by stopping irrigation for 60 days until grass foliage was entirely desiccated. All plants were irrigated to the point of field capacity every week to allow drought stress recovery. After six weeks of re-watering, the traits related to recovery were measured. Results: High genotypic variation was observed among genotypes for all measured traits, indicating a high potential for improving these traits. Drought stress negatively affected all traits and reduced their diversity. Moreover, in both species, after withholding irrigation and re-watering, post-drought recovery of genotypes was reduced under drought stress. However, these reductions were higher in orchardgrass than in smooth bromegrass. In this study, the persistence of orchardgrass genotypes increased under drought stress, and decreased in smooth bromegrass. The reduction of persistence under drought stress is likely related to decreased crown diameter, less root growth, and a decrease in growth points. Results also revealed that the genotypes of this germplasm with the characteristic of inhibiting fodder production during summer had incomplete dormancy. These plants were more flexible to drought stress. They had better survival and persistence than the plants with low summer dormancy, indicating that summer dormancy is an important trait for drought tolerance and can be used to develop drought-tolerant cultivars. Conclusions: There was high genetic diversity between the studied genotypes of both species, which can be used in the breeding programs. In both species, post-drought recovery of genotypes was reduced under drought stress. These reductions were higher in orchardgrass than in smooth bromegrass. In the current study, the persistence of orchardgrass genotypes increased under drought stress conditions, while it decreased in smooth bromegrass. Moreover, the genotypes of this germplasm with the characteristic of inhibiting fodder production during summer had incomplete dormancy. There was a significant and positive association between summer dormancy and autumn yield on the one hand and between autumn yield and productivity on the other. Therefore, autumn yield is a compensatory mechanism in the dormant genotypes during the summer, leading to more fodder production in these genotypes during the autumn. References: 1. Casler, M.D., Vogel, K.P., Balasko, J.A., Berdhal, J.D., Miller, D.A., Hansen, J.L., Frits, J.O., 2000. Genetic progress from 50 years of smooth bromegrass breeding. Crop Science 40: 13–22. 2. Jiang, L.F., Qi, X., Zhang, X.Q., Huang, L.K., Ma, X., Xie, W.G. 2014. Analysis of diversity and relationships among orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) accessions using start codon-targeted markers. Genetics Molecular Research 13(2): 4406–4418.