فهرست مطالب ابوالفضل هدایتی پور

This study aimed to investigate the effects of conservation agricultural methods on the amount of soil organic matter, energy indices, and crop yield in white bean (Dorsa variety) cultivation. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications at the Markazi Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center in the cropping years of 2017-2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020. The experimental treatments were involved: 1- the conventional tillage method (by using moldboard plow+ disc) as a control, 2-Reduced tillage with a chisel-packer plow, and 3-No-tillage method with a direct planting seeder. In each season, the soil organic matter content was measured. The yield and yield components of dry bean seeds were measured at the end of the season by removing the margins. In addition, inputs and outputs energy consumption, gross energy produced per hectare, energy ratio and intensity, and energy productivity were calculated for each treatment. The results showed that the highest and lowest yields were obtained in reduced tillage and no-tillage, respectively, with 2869 and 2076 kg/ha. The three-year average values of soil organic matter in the experimental treatments for each season were 0.430, 0.582, and 0.621%, respectively, with the highest increase seen in reduced tillage treatment. The highest and the lowest energy intensity were obtained for no-tillage and reduced tillage with 38.6 and 27.3 MJ/kg, respectively. One of the reasons for increasing energy consumption and decreasing the yield in the no-tillage method was the high weed population and plentiful consumption of general and specific herbicides. Finally, due to the increase in grain yield, amount of soil organic matter, and improvement of energy indices in dry bean cultivation, the reduced tillage method was evaluated as more suitable than the no-tillage method.

In recent years, due to its availability and low environmental pollution, the use of Earth-Air Heat Exchanger (EAHE) has been developed as an efficient energy system in heating and cooling residential buildings and agricultural greenhouses. In this system, air is circulated by a fan through a pipe buried deep in the ground. Depending on the geographical location and soil type, the soil temperature at a depth of 2-3 meters remains unchanged throughout the season. Of course, this depth varies throughout the year and according to climatic changes. The heat exchange between the soil and the air inside the pipe depends on the type of soil and its moisture content, the length and diameter of the air transmission pipe, the depth of burial and the velocity of the air flow (air velocity). Air circulation can be done in an open-loop or closed-loop circuit.

A factorial experiment was conducted in the form of a completely randomized block design with two factors (pipe length at three levels (34, 17 and 52 meters) and air velocity at two levels (5 and 10 m/s)) in three replications, to investigate the effect of these factors on the coefficient of performance (COP), system efficiency and outlet air temperature. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse in Arak city, Iran, in Joune 2022. This 150 square meter greenhouse was equipped with geothermal equipment. Air was circulated through a 200 mm diameter PVC pipe buried three meters deep in the ground. Air was circulating through an open loop circuit. Dependent variables were measured during the hot hours of the day (from 12:00 to 18:00) for one week at the end of July. The air temperature at the fan inlet and at 17, 34 and 52 meters along the pipe was measured by a single-channel data logger. Hourly changes in outlet air temperature, COP and efficiency were measured in a 24-hour period and plotted using Excel software.

The outlet air temperature for the pipe length of 34 and 52 m did not change when the air velocity decreased from 10 m/s to 5 m/s. But for the pipe length of 17 m, the maximum temperature, COP and efficiency were observed at an air velocity of 5 m/s. Regardless the air velocity, the average temperature of the outlet air for the three levels of the pipe length was 28.5, 25.5 and 25.3°C, respectively. The outlet air temperature was almost the same for the 34 and 52 m pipe lengths. In other words, the optimal length of the pipe is about 34 meters. The mean efficiencies for these two pipe length levels were 0.69 and 0.66, but the COP depended on the air velocity. The average COP for air velocity of 5 and 10 m/s was obtained 1.4 and 2.5, respectively. Based on these results, the best performance of the system in terms of output temperature reduction, cooling efficiency and COP is obtained in situation that the length of the pipe is 34 m and the air velocity is 10 m/s. when the length of the pipe is 17 meters, the temperature of the air outlet at two velocities of 10 and 5 m/s was 29.9 and 27 °C, respectively. The cooling efficiency and COP at two velocity of 10 and 5 m/s, were 0.34, 0.54; and 2.1, 1.7 respectively. If the desired temperature is 28-30 °C, pipe length of 17 m and the air velocity of 5 m/s is recommended. The results of hourly performance analysis showed that the highest difference between inlet and outlet air temperatures, is obtained at middle hours of the day. The higher the ambient temperature, the higher the efficiency of the EAHE system.

This system successfully met the cooling needs of a model greenhouse in the weather conditions of Markazi Province in June. Based on the results, the optimal pipe length and air velocity were obtained as 34 m and 10 m/s, respectively. The average air outlet temperature and cooling efficiency were 25.5, 0.66 and 2.5 respectively. The higher the ambient temperature, the higher the EAHE efficiency. This is mainly due to the higher temperature difference between the outgoing and incoming air during the hottest hours of the day. As a result, system efficiency and COP increase at the hottest hours of the day.

The lack of water resources and increase in water demand are among the effective factors in the imbalance of the water resources in each region, and it is necessary to manage the proper use of available water resources in all activities. Water in the agricultural sector is one of the main factors of production, which should be conveyed by irrigation systems to the field level and made available for the plant roots. The necessity of macro-planning in water management and consumption imposes a comprehensive study of the amount of water consumed in the agricultural sector. Hence, this study was conducted with the objective of directly measuring and field-assessing the applied water, water productivity, and water footprint associated with the primary crops cultivated in Markazi Province, all managed by local farmers.

For this purpose, 141 farms were selected in the major production areas of the main agricultural and horticultural crops of Markazi province with the coordination of the Agricultural Jihad centers. Then, the volume of water applied was measured without interfering in the irrigation scheduling of the users. To do so, first, the flow rate of the water source (canal, well, aqueduct or spring) was measured with a suitable device (flume and meter) in each of the selected farms. Then, by carefully monitoring the irrigation schedule of the farm, including the time of each irrigation, the number of irrigation throughout the year, as well as measuring the area under crop cultivation, the amount of water used by the crop was measured for each of the selected farms during the season. Also, based on the measured data, the amounts of blue, green and gray water footprints were determined for each of the examined crops. For this purpose, the blue, green and gray water footprints of different crops were calculated using the framework provided by Hoekstra and Chapagain (2008), and Hoekstra et al., (2011).

The irrigation intervals in the studied fields varied between 3 and 15 days with an average of 8 days and the average irrigation depth varied between 26.2 and 99 mm with an average of 67.8 mm in different crops. The results showed that the average volume of applied water for the studied crops in Markazi province was 10782 cubic meters per hectare. Also, the minimum and maximum amount of applied water for the evaluated crops was as follows: barley 3783 and 7232, alfalfa 10382 and 19797, beans 8280 and 17840, watermelon 5333 and 7174, walnuts 4420 and 29600, almonds 3850 and 13932, peaches 6872 and 17727, cherries 7050 and 14645, pomegranates 7156 and 20790, and grapes 5937 and 18168 cubic meters per hectare. Furthermore, the average value of irrigation water efficiency index and water footprint was as follows: barley 0.46 and 1642, alfalfa 0.92 and 700, bean 2924 and 0.24, watermelon 9.37 and 117, walnut 0.1 and 6706, almonds 0.16 and 6857, peach 2.48 and 242, cherries 0.73 and 875, pomegranates 1.33 and 636, and grapes 11.2 and 322. Based on the obtained results, the average total water footprint index was equal to 2102 cubic meters per ton. On average, the almond with a water footprint of 6857 cubic meters per ton had the highest share in allocating the water footprint in the crop production of the province. Whereas, the lowest water footprint related to the watermelon with a water footprint of 117 cubic meters per ton. he average values of the irrigation application efficiency index, irrigation water productivity, and water footprint for the examined farms were 72.5%, 1.79 kg/m3, and 2,102 m3/ton, respectively. In summary, the results indicate that the combined volume of irrigation water and beneficial rainfall in the irrigated fields within Markazi Province surpasses the actual water demand of the crops. This underscores the substantial impact of irrigation management on water utilization in the region.

On average, the total volume of irrigation water and effective rainfall in irrigated fields and gardens in Markazi Province is more than the actual water requirement of the plant. In general, the results showed that irrigation management has a great impact on the amount of water use in the region. Based on the obtained results, considering that most of the farms and gardens receive water in an intermittent manner, in principle, no special attention is paid to the need for water and even effective rainfall, and the amount of water availability has the greatest impact on water consumption. Therefore, in order to reduce water consumption and improve water efficiency, it is suggested to manage the delivery of water to farmers during the season and according to their crop water needs. Also, the results of the water footprint can be used to improve water resource policies at the province level, land use studies, cropping pattern modification, and environmental sector policies.

The compaction of agricultural soils is the main limitation to crop roots, leading to reduced yields for most agronomic crops. Soil compaction alters soil structure and limits water and air infiltration. The vertical penetrometer is commonly used to measure soil resistance, but it is time-consuming, costly, and challenging, which has limited its use in soil compaction mapping in vast fields. One of the methods introduced in the last decades is a continuous and on-the-go system to determine the compacted soil layer. This study aimed to measure the mechanical strength of soil at different soil depths using an on-the-go horizontal pneumatic sensor designed and fabricated. The stress calculations for the tine were performed first, followed by a stress analysis of the proposed tine stem using ANSYS software. Then, three conical nozzles at three depths (15, 30, and 45cm) were installed on the pneumatic sensor tine to inject airflow into the soil, and three pressure gauges measured the resistance to air permeability into the soil. The sensor was tested and compared with the standard vertical penetrometer in three replications. The comparison results specified that the sensor could show different soil compactions at various depths, even where a vertical penetrometer could not penetrate the soil. There was a significant relationship between the mechanical strength of soil and vertical penetration resistance (R2=0.73) at depths of 0-30cm. The air permeability resistance in the soil increased with the soil depth.

Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is one of the legumes that has high consumption in the world that about 50% of it directly is consumed by humans. Currently, the harvest of this crop is done by hand with high labor cost and after harvesting, it leaves in the field. When the humidity of the seeds reached about 12% (on the wet basis) and the pods became dry, they are transferred to the threshing. In this research, harvesting methods of different red dry been were evaluated in terms of technical and economic terms in Markazi province (Khomein region). The treatments was included: the cutter bar equipped with pick up, rooting machine, conventional harvesting machine, and the manual method in the form of a randomized block design with three replications. The results of the research showed that the use of the cutter bar mechanism along with the pickup unit for harvesting of the dry bean crop did not suitable. There was a significant difference between the other experimental treatments in terms of field capacity, field efficiency and harvesting losses. In the rooting machine, the conventional harvesting machine and the manual method, the theoretical capacity was 0.63, 0.37 and 0.15 hectares per hour, effective field capacity was 0.56, 0.28 and 0.11 hectares per hour, field efficiency was 87.9, 76.59 and 76.01 percent and harvesting losses was 1.48, 3.35 and 7.07 percent respectively. Economically, the difference between the methods was not significant at the 5% level, and the benefit-cost ratio was 2.48, 2.61, and 2.26, respectively. According to these results, the use of a rooting machine was recommended in terms of technical and economic point of view.

An experiment was conducted during 2017-2018 and 2019-2020 (the land was followed between two intervals) as a split-split plot in a randomized complete block design with three replications to investigate the effect of using the no-tillage method in different residues and variable planting depth in rainfed conditions. In this experiment, the main plots were crop residue levels with two levels (1- retaining only standing stubble and 2- retaining all residues), and subplots were opener types (1- Narrow shovel, 2- wide shovel, and 3- disc opener), and sub-sub-plots were planting depths with two levels (4-6 cm and 6-8 cm). This study used common direct drilling employed in the Markazi province for rainfed wheat cultivation (Hamedan Machine Barzegar, Jeiran Sanat Arya, and Taka Companies). Conventional tillage and planting methods (moldboard plow+cultivator+deep seeder) were also considered controls in each subplot. The planting depth uniformity coefficient, horizontal seed distribution uniformity coefficient, field germination percentage, and crop yield were measured in all treatments. The results showed that the effect of opener type and planting depth on the yield was statistically significant (p<0.5). The effect of residue in two years of cultivation on yield and measured traits was  insignificant and confirmed that the effect on yield and measured factors was no different. The direct seeding technique demonstrated a lower yield, while the conventional planting method with a deep seeder using the conventional common opener had the highest yield. The uniformity coefficient of vertical seed distribution is statistically significant (p<0.01), which indicates that the type of furrow opener can be effective in seed depth placement. With increasing planting depth, seed germination percentage and grain yield decreased. The findings also showed that employing the direct drilling method while reducing operation time has saved the amount of fuel consumption by an average of 75% compared to the conventional cultivation methods.

Soil compaction can be naturally occurred or can be machinery-induced. Subsoiling is often applied to loosen soil compaction and decrease soil strength to levels that allow for root development and growth. Variable-depth subsoiling which modifies the physical properties of soil only where the tillage is required for crop growth has the potential to reduce labor, costs and fuel, and energy requirements. Since this study aimed to perform subsoiling operations with variable depth, the variable-depth tillage (VDT) tool was developed. A pneumatic multi-nozzles sensor has been used to simultaneously predict the depth of a soil layer in three depths (15, 30, and 45 cm), and send a signal to control the depth of the VDT tool. Evaluation of the VDT tool system was performed by two methods namely static and dynamic tests. In static evaluation, the system response time was measured to reach 95% of the proposed depths. The dynamic evaluation of the tool was accomplished in two steps in the field. The amount of fuel consumption and the travel distance of the tool tine to reach the desired operation depth were measured and compared with the common subsoiler (when the depth control was OFF). The average fuel consumption by using the variable-depth tillage tool decreased by 17.36% compared to the constant depth. Furthermore, the pneumatic sensor tine penetrated into the soil perfectly and sent the control signal to the control unit of the VDT tool in real-time, and the VDT tool loosened the soil at the exact depths sent by the sensor.

This study was conducted with the aim of field measurement of water productivity and applied water in barley farms with different irrigation systems under the management of the farmer in Markazi province. For this purpose, 26 farms in the major barley production zones in the 1399-1400 crop year, in Markazi province were selected and the volume of applied water was measured. In this regard, first the amount of water source discharge was measured with a suitable device (flume and meter) in each of the selected farms. After determining the inflow of water to the farm by carefully monitoring the farm irrigation program, the applied volume water used for each of the selected farms during the growing season was determined. The results showed that the volume of irrigation water for barley fields in the Markazi province varied depending on the irrigation method, irrigation period and field management and its volume varied from 3783 to 7232 cubic meters per hectare. The efficiency of irrigation water application in the studied farms varied from 51 to 100% and its average was 73%. Water use efficiency for this crop in Markazi province fluctuated between 0.43 to 1.19 with an average of 0.75 kg/m3. In general, the results of measurements show that regardless of the irrigation method used, irrigation management by the farmer has an important role in the amount of water used in the study fields. The results show the superiority of drip irrigation method over surface and sprinkler irrigation in the barley production in Markazi province. Also, the results of this study showed that there is the ability to implement deficit irrigation in the province's barley fields, so promoting and training deficit irrigation in a correct and practical way to farmers can significantly increase water productivity in the barley production.

Optimal physical conditions are important for proper germination and improve growth and more crop yeild. In order to investigate the effect of conservation tillage methods on soil moisture retention capacity and yield of white dry bean (Dorsa variety), in rotation with barley, an experiment was carried out at the Markazi Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and education Center during 2017-2018, 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. The experiment was carried out in randomized block design with 3 replications. Treatments were included: 1- the conventional tillage method (the use of moldboard plow – Disc), 2-Reduced tillage with chisel-packer, 3-No-tillage. The percentage of crop residues in the conventional tillage, reduced tillage and no tillage methods were 20, 50 and 90%, respectively. The results showed that the highest and the lowest yield was obtained in the reduced and no-tillage with 2869 and 2076 Kg/ha, respectively. The highest soil moisture conservation was observed in the no-tillage and reduced tillage. So that the amount of soil moisture moisture in the reduced tillage and no tillage on the fourth day after irrigation, were 1 and 1.8 percent higher than the conventional method, respectively. The results showed that the use of the reduced tillage method compared to the conventional method in drip irrigation method without reducing crop yield leads to more soil moisture retention and thus helps to improve water efficiency in bean production. In general, based on the results, due to the low soil organic matter in the region, using reduced tillage method is a suitable option to conserve soil and water resources and increase water productivity in the bean production.

The volume of applied water in the agriculture as an indicator to evaluate the optimal use of water resources, plays an important role in macro management and planning in the field of water management and engineering. Experimental grape orchards were selected across the Markazi province to cover various factors including irrigation methods, soil texture, type of water source (surface or groundwater) and irrigation water quality. Selected orchards were monitored during the growing season 2018-2019, and different parameters such as irrigation dates, amount of irrigation, irrigation duration, and so on were recorded. The results showed that the irrigation interval in the grape orchards varied from 6 to 20 days and the average irrigation water depth was between 30 and 185 mm. The results showed that the amount of irrigation water consumption of grape orchards in the Markazi province was different depending on the type of irrigation systems, the number of irrigation and management of the orchard, and its amount varied from 5973 to 18168 m3/ ha. Also, the application efficiency of irrigation in the studied orchards varied from 35 to 100 percent, average being 63%. The water productivity for this crop varied from 1.1 to 3.7 kg/m3 and it’s average was 2.62 kg/m3 in the Markazi province. Overall, the results of the measurements carried out at the Markazi province showed that regardless of the type of irrigation system used, the irrigation management by the farmer plays an important role in total water use in the orchards.

Bean root rot disease caused by Fusarium solani f. sp. phaseoli is one of the major diseases associated with beans. In order to evaluate effective agronomic strategies to control this disease, an experiment has been carried out as a factorial split plot arrangement in randomized complete block design with three replications over two years. The experiment takes place in a farm with a history of infection with the causal agent of root rot disease at the Bean Research and Education Campus of Khomein City. Type of cultivation includes flat-striped method, furrowing method without hilling up, furrowing method with one time hilling up, and furrowing method with two times of hilling up in main plot. Also, the two red bean cultivars involve Ofogh and Yaghout and the three plant density include 20, 30, and 40 plant/m2 in a sub-plot with factorial arrangement. Results show that among the studied cultivars, the highest grainyield and minimum bean root rot severity belong to Yaghout cultivar. Additionally,, increasing the plant density adds to the severity of Fusarium root rot disease. Among the different methods of planting, the least root rot severity occurs in the furrowing method with one time of hilling up, while the highest grain yield is obtained from cultivation of Yaghout at a density of 30 plant/m2 in furrowing planting method with one time hilling up. Therefore, in those areas where the occurrence of this disease is very potential, it is necessary to change the method of bean planting from flat to furrowing method and hilling up the plants.

The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of planting methods on riased bed with microirrigation and seed density on grain yeild and energy indicators of bean production.

In order to compare the effect of planting methods and seed density on bean line of COS-16 (Straight Type), a split plot experiment in randomized complete block design was carried out in Khomein Bean Research Station during 2016 and 2017 with 3 replications. The main plots were flat planting, single row on a ridge, double rows on a ridge and three rows on a ridges. Sub plots were seed consumption of 70, 120 and 170 kg.ha-1. The space between ridges was 75 Cm. Irrigation type was microirrigation (tape irrigation).  

Experiment results showed that the treatments of two rows on a ridge with seed consumption of 120 kg.ha-1 and single row on a ridge with seed consumption of 70 kg.ha-1 with yields of 2300 and 2225 kg.ha-1, respectively are beter than other methods. The lowest energy intensity with 34 MJ.kg-1 and the high energy ratio with 0.99 were related to these treatments. Energy intensity and energy ratio of conventional method were 53.7 MJ.kg-1 and 0.63 respectively.  

The treatments of two rows on a ridge with seed consumption of 120 kg.ha-1 and single row on a ridge with seed consumption of 70 kg.ha-1 are recommended and the flat and three rows on a ridge planting methods does not recommended.

Application of minimum and no- tillage operation not only increase soil organic mater and soil fertility, but also decreases the production cost and energy consumption in wheat production. In order to evaluate the effect of tillage methods on amount of input and output energy as well energy indices and grain yield in wheat-corn rotation, a randomize complete block designe experiment (RCBD) with three replications comprising of four tratments was conducted during 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 at Research Farm of Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Training Center of Markazi Province. Treatments were: Moldboard plow and disk as prevailing tillage method, Minimum tillage by chisel plow, Minimum tillage by combined plow and No-tillage. During course of investigation fuel consumption, consumed energy for all inputs, output energy as well as energy indices were measured. Results showed that the effect of tillage methods was not significant on yield (p<0.05). Fuel consumption in first, second, thirs and fourth treatments were 80.46, 31.46, 33 and 14/5 L/ha respectively. The highest and the lowest energy pruductivity was that of no-tillage and conventional metod with 0.075 and 0.062 Mega joule per kilogram of crop harvested. Energy consumption in conventional, chisel plow, Combined Plow and No-tillage treatments were 57670, 50849, 50949 and 47609 Mj respectively. Considering the energy indices, best treatment, was related to no-tillage method.

The soil engaging components of a planter have an important role on its performance. This study was conducted for comparison of the effect of three openers disks arrangment (tilted plain disk + tilted plain disk, tilted plain disk + perpendicular plain disk and tilted plain disk + perpendicular notched disk) on furrow moisture content change. Measurements was directly at openning time and after three time intervals (48, 96 and 144 hours after furrow opening) in two soil conditions (with Cone indexes of 0.39 and 1.04 MPa) with repeated measures design. Variance analysis has been revealed a significant difference between treatments on  the loose and  firm soils moisture content. According to the means comparison, moisture lost was the lowest, equal to 5.07% on tilted plain disk + perpendicular plain disk treatment. On tilted plain disk + tilted plain disk and tilted plain disk + perpendicular notched disk treatments it was 8.6% and 11.07 %, respectively. According to the results, in firm soil conditions it is recommended to use the tilted plain disk + perpendicular plain disk arrangment.

The effect of different seedbed preparation on potato yield, were studied in Agricultural Research Center of Semnan (Shahrood) in 2007-2009 periods. A RCBD based strip-block experiment with 4 replications was used, that horizontal factor included tillage methods as 1-Moldboard plowing, 2-Disk plowing, 3-fall chisel plowing and 4-spring chisel plowing and vertical factor included three potato cultivars (Agria, Deraga and Sante).Results of combined analysis (2007and 2009) showed, crop yield differences among tillage methods were significant, Maximum of tuber yield per hectare was related to spring chisel plowing (31.1t.ha-1).Soil inversion percent was significant among tillage treatments. Maximum and minimum of soil inversion percent was related to Moldboard plough (72/25%) and chisel plough (39.5%), respectively. Soil organic carbon was significant treatments among tillage methods. Maximum and minimum of Soil organic carbon was belonged to chisel (0.45%) and moldboard (0.28%) plowing, respectively. Regard to crop yield and chisel plough advantages, moldboard plough can be replaced with chisel plough.