اسماعیل سیدآبادی

The application of various inputs, such as pesticides and chemical fertilizers, has been one of the most significant factors negatively impacting the sustainability of agricultural systems. To accurately assess the value of agricultural ecosystem services, both the positive and negative aspects of agricultural systems must be taken into account. In the past three decades, the emergy analysis has been developed for assessing environmental policies and resource quality based on the dynamics of complex environmental and economic systems. Emergy analysis can be used to evaluate the sustainability of agriculture. By definition, emergy is the amount of direct or indirect solar energy required to produce a good or service. By converting all forms of energy, resources, and services into a single unit, the solar emjoule (sej), emergy analysis can assess the interdependence of economic, social, and environmental factors. The production of three important oil crops of Sistan, including rapeseed, safflower, and sesame, was investigated using emergy and economic analysis techniques to evaluate the ecological health and productivity of the use of inputs in the production of oil crops in Sistan.

This research was conducted at the level of Sistan's oil plant production systems in the Northern provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan. This research used questionnaires and face-to-face interviews with the owners of small ownership systems to determine the input consumption and performance of these systems. According to their service life, the annual input energy flow in the form of structural facilities, buildings, machinery, and materials used in the systems was calculated. The RUSLE model was used to assess water erosion. Inputs are divided into four categories to analyze production systems: renewable environmental resources (R), non-renewable environmental resources (N), purchased renewable resources (FR), and purchased non-renewable resources (FN). After calculating all input and output flows, the raw data for each of the production systems was multiplied by their unit emergy value in Joules, grams, or Rials, according to Iran's conditions. This study utilized transformity, the renewable emergy ratio (R%), the rmergy yield ratio (EYR), the rmergy investment ratio (EIR), the rnvironmental loading ratio (ELR), the emergy sustainability index (ESI), the emergy exchange ratio (EER), and the emergy index of product safety (EIPS).

The total supporting emergy for rapeseed, safflower, and sesame production systems was calculated to be 7.28E+16, 4.75E+16, and 3.55E+16 sej.ha-1.yr-1, respectively. In all three studied production systems, wind emergy was the largest source of free environmental input. In all three studied systems, environmental non-renewable inputs accounted for the largest portion of total emergy input, which was 83.42 percent for rapeseed, 80.11 percent for safflower, and 84.4 percent for sesame. The high proportion of nonrenewable inputs in this study for all three production systems demonstrated the vulnerability of Sistan's landscape cultivation systems as a result of the obvious lack of water, severe soil erosion, and contamination of agricultural lands. The total amount of purchased inputs for rapeseed, safflower, and sesame production systems was estimated to be 1.14E+16, 8.78E+15, and 5.40E+15 sej.ha-1.yr-1, respectively. Nitrogen and phosphorus chemical fertilizers comprised the largest proportion of purchased inputs in all three systems.The transformity for rapeseed, safflower, and sesame production systems, respectively, was 3.88E+06, 3.76E+06, and 2.48E+06 sej.J-1. The higher transformability of the rapeseed production system was due to the lower input utilization efficiency of this system compared to the safflower and sesame systems. The values of the saffron system's environmental sustainability indices (ESI and ESI*), renewable energy ratio (%R), environmental loading ratios (ELR and ELR*), and modified investment ratio (EIR*) indicate that this system is more sustainable. The lower health of rapeseed and sesame systems based on emergy indices was primarily due to the large proportion of input emergy related to organic matter losses and soil erosion, which are nonrenewable environmental resources. The economic analysis revealed that the sesame production system generated a higher profit-to-cost ratio and net profit than the safflower and rapeseed systems.

This study demonstrated that emphasizing practical solutions in the comprehensive management of production ecosystems, particularly through the protection of soil organic matter and the prevention of erosion, can significantly enhance their ecological health.

Conventional agriculture is based on two related objectives, namely, to maximize both production and income. Soil as a culture medium and reservoir of mineral elements is the most important factor in plant production. Therefore, tillage operations with a positive effect on biological, physical and chemical properties of soil can have a positive effect on crop production. Conservation tillage saves production time and costs, reduces labor demand, increases production against less input, protects soil and water, reduces erosion, improves soil structure and preserves more organic matter by preserving more crop residues. Proper nutrition of the plant using livestock and chemical fertilizers to increase the quantity and quality of crops is very important. Combined use of chemical and livestock fertilizers could reduce the toxic effects of sodium and chlorine in saline soils. In addition to increasing yield, increase the absorption efficiency of nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

  In order to investigate the effect of different tillage systems and the combination of chemical and livestock fertilizers on some properties of sunflower, an experiment was conducted in the form of split plots with a randomized complete block design in three replications at the research farm of University of Zabol in 2019-2020. The main factor of tillage methods included moldboard plow + disc, chisel plow + disc, and disc. Sub-factor of fertilizer levels included non-fertilizer, 100 kg/ha diamonium phosphate, 25 tons/ha manure + 100 kg/ha diamonium phosphate, 50 tons/ha manure + 100 kg/ha diamonium phosphate, 25 tons/ha manure, 50 tons/ha manure. The specifications of the tools used in this research are: Reversible plow with three mounting miners of working type with a working width of 90 cm and a working depth of 30 cm, 9-row gas-claw without spring with mounting type of working width 2 Meters and working depth 20 cm, mounted tandem disk with 14 congressional edge plates in the first row and 12 flat edge plates in the second row with a working width of 3 meters and a working depth of 15 cm. Before starting the experiment, in order to evaluate the physical and chemical properties of the soil of the test site, a number of random soil samples from the depth of 0 to 30 cm were prepared and combined and sent to the soil analysis laboratory of the Faculty of Water and Soil, University of Zabol. Soil properties were transferred.

The results showed that the highest amount was obtained with the application of 100 kg/ha diamonium phosphate in tillage conditions with chisel plow + disc for soil porosity at a depth of 20 cm (82%), with the application of 50 tons/ha manure in tillage conditions with chisel plow + disc for soil porosity at a depth of 40 cm (86.8%), and with the application of 25 tons/ha manure in tillage conditions with moldboard plow + disc for 1000-seed weight (14.2%) and seed yield (84.8%). and grain yield in sunflower can be increased by improving soil conditions (reducing tillage, especially disc and suitable fertilizer of 50 tons per hectare) and by increasing soil moisture and increasing reservoir strength (1000-seed weight) .

According to our finding In this regard, if the reduction of chemical inputs is considered, the application of 25 tons of manure per hectare in disc tillage conditions is recommended to increase crop residues in the soil surface, reduce runoff and maintain soil moisture. Also, in order to increase grain yield and 1000-seed weight, the use of 25 tons of manure per hectare in conventional farming can be recommended.

The application of phosphate fertilizer significantly increased the absorption of elements. The application of biofertilizer also significantly increased the concentration of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus in bean plants. In general, the results of this study showed that the use of biofertilizer and phosphate fertilizer could reduce the adverse effects of drought stress on bean plants and increase the absorption of elements in bean organs.

In agricultural systems worldwide, food security and sustainability are criticaleconomic, social, and cultural considerations. Accurate assessment of irrigation projects serves as an effective tool for managing and predicting environmental impacts. Today, the challenge of water scarcity in Iran has intensified to the extent that implementing effective management policies and principles of proper productivity is imperative.This study evaluates the water transfer project from the half-wells of Sistan, emphasizing economic and ecological indicators. In this descriptive-analytical study, the economic, social and cultural indicators of sustainable agricultural systems in the Sistan region were evaluated using appropriate statistical methods. The data were collected through registered statistics and face-to-face interviews with the managers of the irrigation project. The irrigation project consisted of 16 civil units with different areas, one of which, Hamoon 3 civil unit, was selected as the case study. This civil unit had 16 sub-sections, where a pilot plan of low-pressure irrigation network was implemented. The effects of the irrigation project on the economic, social and cultural indicators were analyzed using the Wilcoxon test. Following project implementation, the region's population decreased by approximately 30% due to reduced production, increased migration, and shortcomings in establishing sustainable employment. The decrease in agricultural land area was less than 5%, while orchard land area increased by 15% due to improved water access. An 11% increase in the number of livestock and a 37% increase in electricity consumption indicate improved conditions for livestock farmers and socio-economic changes post-project.Moreover, agricultural and orchard product production and sales costs have increased annually due to inflation. The selling price of agricultural products faced a 30% increase, while orchard product prices experienced a substantial 230% surge. With a 20% rise in pesticide use due to drought-induced pests, post-implementation assessments show a 15% increase in monetary losses. This study reveals that the water transfer project from the half-wells of Sistan has diverse effects on the region's economic, ecological, and social aspects, necessitating solutions to address challenges and enhance outcomes.

 Sustainability analysis of agricultural ecosystems is important in their decision-making and proper management. Quantifying the sustainability of cropping agroecosystems can provide solutions to achieve positive economic and environmental results. Emergy analysis can be used to determine the degree to which ecological and economic systems are sustainable. By employing this method, we can gain a better understanding of ecological and economic systems and their interactions. Emergy analysis quantifies both environmental and economic costs associated with achieving sustainability, allowing for integrated management of ecological and economic factors. Emergy analysis is currently being used in agriculture to determine the sustainability of various scales of production systems. The present study was conducted to monitor the sustainability and productivity of the use of inputs in wheat, barley and alfalfa production systems using emergetic indicators, using information collected from the smallholder in Boland village, Sistan, Iran during 2019.

 Boland village is located in Teymurabad village, approximately 17 kilometers north of Zabol city in Sistan and Baluchestan province. Boland village's agricultural composition includes wheat, barley, and alfalfa cultivation. 148.9 hectares were designated for wheat cultivation, 50.8 hectares for barley cultivation, and 13.5 hectares for alfalfa cultivation during the study year. The inputs used included environmental renewable and non-renewable resources as well as purchased resources. These data were gathered during the study period using a database of agricultural organizations, verbal estimates, field measurements, and researcher observations. The first step is to analyze the system's boundaries and draw an energy diagram to classify the system's inputs. Emergy analysis's second step is to create emergy evaluation tables. After quantifying each system's input flow in joules, grams, or Rials, the inputs were multiplied by their transformities to obtain the solar emjoule (sej). Specific emergy, unit emergy value, renewable emergy percentage, emergy investment ratio, emergy yield ratio, environmental loading ratio, environmental sustainability index, and emergy exchange ratio were all used in this study.

 Free renewable and non-renewable flows accounted for 50.79%, 45.89% and 42.29% of the total input current of wheat, barley and alfalfa production systems, respectively. The large share of free domestic inputs indicates that the majority of study farms are non-industrial systems that are managed in a semi-traditional, low-input manner. The emergy input of non-renewable environmental resources was 2.73E+17, 6.42E+17, and 4.99E+17 sej/ha in wheat, barley, and alfalfa systems, respectively. Wheat and barley production systems have high emergy flows due to the high loss of soil organic matter and soil erosion in these systems. In wheat, barley, and alfalfa production systems, the highest proportions of purchased exergy resources were associated with animal manure, nitrogen fertilizer, and phosphorus fertilizer, respectively. In wheat, barley, and alfalfa production systems, the unit emergy value was 4.44E+05, 3.80E+05, and 3.64E+05 sej/J, respectively. The higher exergy efficiency of alfalfa production systems compared to wheat and barley production systems may be attributed to alfalfa's comparable economic performance to other systems. EYR was calculated to be 2.03, 1.85, and 1.73 in wheat, barley, and alfalfa production systems, respectively. The reason for the higher EYR in wheat production is that less purchased resources are used and a greater proportion of inputs are provided by purchased resources. Additionally, the ELR values for wheat, barley, and alfalfa production systems in Boland village were 17.36, 16.09, and 7.08, respectively.The calculated values ​​for emergy sustainability indices (ESI and ESI*) showed that the ecological sustainability of the alfalfa production system is higher than other study systems. The main reason for the greater sustainability of this system was the large share of input energy related to free environmental inputs and economic renewable resources. Also, low energy exchangeable ratio (EER), environmental sustainability resulting from market impact, less emergy expended in the production of each output unit and higher productivity of total production factors indicate a greater comparative advantage of the alfalfa production system.

 In general, the evaluations based on the calculation of emergy-based indicators showed that in the dominant agricultural systems of the Boland village, Sistan, attention to practical solutions in the comprehensive management of the production system, especially protection of soil organic matter and prevention of soil erosion, can have a significant impact on ecological sustainability.

Analysis of agricultural ecosystems' sustainability is crucial for decision-making and management. Quantifying the sustainability of agroecosystems can provide solutions to achieve positive economic and environmental results. In order to meet the expanding human need for food, agricultural production techniques have become increasingly specialized. In recent years, the integration of agricultural and animal operations has been examined in order to address the challenges generated by intensive production systems. Crop and livestock production are intimately linked in integrated crop-livestock systems, resulting in favorable economic and environmental results.Emergy analysis can be used to examine the sustainability of ecological and economic systems. By adopting this strategy, we can acquire a deeper knowledge of the linkages between ecological and economic systems. Environmental and economic costs involved with achieving sustainability are quantified using Emergy analysis, allowing for the integrated control of ecological and economic issues. Emergy analysis is now utilized in agriculture to examine the viability of production systems at various scales.The goal of this study was to compare the productivity and ecological sustainability of an integrated crop and animal production system to that of a single crop production system using an emergy analysis technique.

This study was conducted in 2019 using data collected from smallholder agricultural land and livestock systems in the village of Boland, Sistan, Iran. Boland village is situated in Teymurabad village, approximately 17 kilometers north of Zabol city in the province of Sistan and Baluchistan. The agricultural composition of a Boland village includes crop production and animal husbandry.Environmental renewable and nonrenewable resources, as well as purchased resources, were used as inputs. During the study period, these data were collected via a database of agricultural organizations, verbal estimates, field measurements, and researcher observations. First, the system's boundaries are analyzed, and an energy diagram is drawn to classify the system's inputs. The second step of emergy analysis is the creation of emergy evaluation tables. After determining each system's input flow in joules, grams, or Rials, the inputs were multiplied by their transformaties to calculate the solar emjoule (sej). This study utilized specific emergy, unit emergy value, percentage of renewable emergy, emergy investment ratio, emergy yield ratio, environmental loading ratio, environmental sustainability index, emergy exchange ratio, and emergy feedback ratio.

Both the agricultural and integrated production systems in Boland Sistan village required a total of 4.41E+18 and 9.43E+18 sej/year of emergy, respectively, to maintain their functionality. Specific emergy (SpE), emergy yield ratio (EYR), emergy investment ratio (EIR), environmental loading ratio (ELR), emergy exchange ratio (EER), net profit density (NBD), and output to output ratio (O/I) all demonstrated that the integrated system generates a higher net profit than individual crop systems as a result of positive interactions between agricultural and livestock components as well as a high level of environmental sustainability. The area around Sistan is able to produce a wide variety of crops throughout the year as a result of its favorable climate and abundant natural resources. Additionally, there are several opportunities to combine cattle and crop production in this part of the world.

According to the findings of this research, integrating crop production and livestock production has the potential to lower economic risk and increase profitability, in addition to providing many benefits for the protection of soil and water resources and the productivity of the nutrient cycle. These benefits can be found in a variety of ways. As a result of this, an integrated crop production system is recommended as a suitable option for farmers to diversify agricultural operations in order to avoid hazards, improve crop production, and prevent environmental damage. This is because an integrated crop production system is a more comprehensive approach.

In order to evaluate some morphological and chemical characteristics of quinoa, a split plot experiment has been conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications during 2019-2020 cropping season, at the Agricultural Research Station of University of Zabol, Iran. Vermicompost at three levels (0, 5 and 10 ton/ha) has been considered the main factor and chemical fertilizer at four levels (25, 50, 75 and 100%), the sub-factor. The main effect of vermicompost is significant on morphological traits such as plant height, 1000-seed weight, biological yield, grain yield, and harvest index. Interaction of vermicompost and chemical fertilizer is significant on chemical properties, including proteins and photosynthetic pigments. Application of 10 tons of vermicompost per hectare leads to the maximum level of plant height, 1000-seed weight, biological yield, grain yield, and harvest index. Also, the highest amount of photosynthetic proteins and pigments are achieved from combined application of 10 tons/ha of vermicompost and 50% chemical fertilizer (25 kg/ha Urea+ 50 kg/ha triple superphosphate + 50 kg/ha potassium sulfate). Totally, results show the positive effects of vermicompost on the morphological and chemical properties of quinoa. It can be concluded that the combined use of chemical fertilizers and vermicompost can increase the yield of quinoa, while reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and thus reduce the environmental impacts caused by them..

Yaghooti grape producing methods are very important in Sistan economy and jobs. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the health and monitor the effects of input consumption in the production of Yaghooti grapes with the aim of identifying inputs with the most environmental damage, as well as quantifying sustainability and providing solutions to improve input efficiency in Yaghooti grape production in Sistan region using emergy analysis technique.

Methods & Materials: 

This study was conducted utilizing data collected from the level of smallholder systems of 180 grape production systems in five cities of Sistan region comprising Zabol, Zahak, Hamoun, Hirmand and Nimroz, Iran in 2019. For this study, renewable and non-renewable inputs received from environmental resources and economic inputs were investigated.

The total emergy support of grape production systems was estimated to be 1.92E+16 sej/ha/yr, of which free environmental inputs accounted for 64.31 percent of this amount. The transformity and specific energy for grape production were 2.49E+05 sej/J and 4.75E+09 sej/g. Environmental pressure due to grape production (ELR) was 5.311 and the value of sustainability indices (ESI & ESI*) was calculated 0.528 and 0.637, which indicates the low sustainability of grape production in Sistan.

The significant percentage of free inputs implies that the majority of study vineyards are non-industrial systems that are managed in a semi-traditional, low-input manner.

Agriculture is crucial for sustaining family livelihoods and advancing the national economy. Food production and environmental conditions are heavily influenced by agricultural practices. By converting environmental and economic input currents to the same unit of solar emjoule (sej), the emergy analysis method can comprehensively compare various production systems. Using the evaluation of the emergy structure and the analysis of emergy-based indicecs, the ecological sustainability of five crop production systems of wheat, barley, alfalfa, watermelon, and melon in Hirmand city, Sistan and Baluchestan province, was investigated in the present study.

Face-to-face questionnaires were administered to producers of wheat, barley, alfalfa, watermelon, and melon products in Hirmand city from 18 villages where significant agricultural products were produced in 2020. All information regarding crop inputs and outputs was gathered using two

verbal estimates using a questionnaire; field measurements and authors' observations; and field estimates using a questionnaire. During the same time frame, the information provided by the farm manager and staff was thoroughly evaluated. In this study, Zabol and Zahak meteorological stations provided long-term meteorological data.First, the spatial and temporal boundaries of five systems for emergy analysis were determined, and then the emergy diagram for the studied systems was drawn based on the classification of inputs, renewable or nonrenewable resources, local or imported. Sunlight, wind, chemical energy and geological potential energy of precipitation, river water, and evapotranspiration of renewable water are examples of renewable environmental resources (R). Nonrenewable environmental resources (N), such as soil erosion, soil organic matter losses, groundwater, and evaporation of groundwater; Purchased renewable resources (FR), including 80 percent organic fertilizer, between 15 and 25 percent seed, 10 percent labor, and 7 percent electricity. Purchased nonrenewable resources (FN) consist of agricultural machinery, fossil fuels, fertilizers, and chemical pesticides, 93 percent of electricity, 90 percent of labor, 75 percent to 85 percent of seeds, and 20 percent of organic fertilizer. Next, all input (U) and output (Y) currents, raw data for all production systems were estimated and multiplied in joules, grams, or rials based on Iranian conditions for their unit emergy value.

Free renewable and nonrenewable flows made up 46.77, 45.87, 64.39, 63.94, and 62.40 percent, respectively, of the total emergy input flows of wheat, barley, alfalfa, watermelon, and melon production systems. The high proportion of free domestic inputs suggests that the majority of the studied farms are semi-traditional, low-input, non-industrial systems. According to the calculated values of the Emergy Sustainability Index (ESI), the ecological sustainability of the alfalfa production system is greater than that of other studied systems. The greater sustainability of this system was primarily due to the high proportion of emergy input from environmental inputs and economic renewable resources.In addition, the Emergy Yield Ratio (EYR), the amount of energy used to produce each unit of output, and the productivity of all production factors indicate that the alfalfa production system has a greater comparative advantage. According to the Emergy Investment Ratio (EIR) values in the present study, the barley production system had the highest rate of this index, while the alfalfa production system had the lowest rate. In barley and wheat production systems, the highest proportion of total emergy was contributed by chemical fertilizers and labor. Due to the greater use of free renewable environmental inputs, the alfalfa production system had the lowest EIR index value. According to the Emergy index of agricultural product safety (EIPS), the alfalfa production system had the highest level of crop production health, while the watermelon production system had the lowest level. Since the input of chemical fertilizers and herbicides is the most important factor in the EIPS index, the low index of the watermelon production system can be attributed to the high proportion of chemical fertilizers and herbicides in this system.

In general, the evaluations based on the calculation of emergy-based indices revealed that in the dominant agricultural systems of Hirmand city, focusing on practical solutions in comprehensive management of production system, particularly protection of soil organic matter and prevention of erosion and loss of soil organic matter, can sustain these ecosystems and have a dramatic effect. Due to the lack of organic matter in the soils of the study area, the cultivation of perennial, rhizobium- and nitrogen-fixing plants with deep roots, such as alfalfa, improves soil fertility. This stabilizes the production system by enhancing the economic performance of farmers, soil fertility, and structure.

Technological advances in the food industry have led to development of various processing methods to increase the shelf life of fruit and products divided from fruit to ensure access to them during the year, even for seasonal fruits. The conventional heating method causes undesirable changes in the final product such as color changes, unpleasant taste and degradation of Ascorbic acid. The Aim of this study was to investigate the effect of microwave processing as an alternative the conventional method on the physicochemical properties of orange juice.

All chemicals used in this study were purchased with High-Purity from reputable companies. Jaffa orange was purchased from the local market in Gorgan (a city in north of Iran). Effect of continuous flow microwave treatment (MW) on physicochemical and qualitative properties of orange juice including vitamin C, browning index (BI), turbidity, cloud value, soluble solids (Brix), acidity, viscosity and pH of orange juice (com up time “CUT” phase) was evaluated. All indices were monitored until the end of the Holding phase (inactivation of PME to 90%).

Results of the experiments showed that various temperature treatments at full power microwave (900 W) caused a slight decrease in pH and a slight increase in acidity and Brix during the CUT phase (p <0.05). But no significant change was observed in these parameters at Holding phase (p> 0.05). All spectrophotometric parameters of juice including browning index, turbidity and cloud value was raised after exiting from microwave (CUT phase) with increasing in temperature (p <0.05). These parameters increased slowly until the end of the Holding phase. Increasing in temperature to the CUT phase; the viscosity was decreased significantly at high temperatures (70 and 80 ° C) and no significant change was observed after the CUT phase. Vitamin C raised with increasing in temperature in all thermal treatments. The degradation rate was high (at 80 ° C) at the Holding phase. Different thermal treatments caused 70 to 80% decline in PME activity during CUT phase.

Continuous flow microwave heating is an emerging technology that can potentially be used to heating of liquid foods. Microwave aid processing of orange juice is an effective method to inactivating of PME enzyme, through significant increasing in degradation rate. The results showed that increasing in temperature, enhanced the browning index, turbidity and cloud value. Different treatments had no significant effect on the Brix, acidity and pH in the holding phase. On the other hand, increasing in temperature, enhanced the rate of vitamin C and PME degradation.

In order to investigate the effect of tillage systems and the combination of chemical fertilizer and livestock manure on some characteristics of sunflower, an experiment has been conducted as split plots in a randomized complete block design with three replications at the research farm of University of Zabol during 2019. The main factor has been tillage levels (1. moldboard plow and disc, 2. sweep and disc, and 3. disc). The sub-factor include fertilizer levels (no fertilizer application, 100 kg/ha of diammonium phosphate, 25 tons/ha of livestock manure+ 100 kg/ha of diamonium phosphate, 50 tons/ha of livestock manure + 100 kg/ha of diamonium phosphate, 25 tons/ha of livestock manure, and 50 tons/ha of livestock manure). Results show that the highest values belong to the 50 tons/ha of livestock manure in tillage with disk for grain yield (5072 kg/ha), and oil percentage (44.44%), 50 tons/ha of livestock manure in tillage with disc for oleic acid content (51.61%), and 50 tons/ha of livestock manure for linoleic acid content (31.1%). The highest amount of chlorophyll a, b and carotenoids (1.253, 0.45, and 1.04 mg/g, respectively) has been obtained from the application of 100 kg/ha of diamonium phosphate in tillage with disc. In general, in order to increase and improve the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of sunflower, the application of 50 tons/ha of livestock manure is suitable in disc tillage conditions.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) seeds are an excellent source of antioxidants, vitamins (B1, B2, C, E), and minerals (K, Fe, and Zn). Considering its nutritional value, the cultivation of quinoa is crucial. This plant can produce high yields in soils with low fertility. Various natural ecosystems are irreparably harmed by the misuse and imbalanced application of chemical fertilizers. In addition, continuous use of these fertilizers without organic fertilizers will degrade the soil's physical, chemical, and biological properties, leading to environmental degradation. The use of organic fertilizers such as vermicompost increases plant yield and improves soil structure by increasing the amount of available water and nutrients to plants, followed by an increase in the soil's organic matter content. In this study, we proposed optimal levels of vermicompost and chemical fertilizers and evaluated their impact on the elemental content of red quinoa and certain soil properties in the Sistan region.Materials and Methods This research was conducted on the research farm of the University of Zabol during the 2019-2020 growing season. The experiment was conducted using split plots in randomized complete block designs with three replications. In this experiment, three levels of vermicompost were considered for the main plot (zero, five, and ten tons per hectare), while four levels of chemical fertilizer were considered for the subplot (25, 50, 75, and 100 percent). To determine the physical and chemical properties of the soil, samples were taken from a depth range of 0 to 30 cm prior to the commencement of tillage. Before planting, triple superphosphate and potassium sulfate fertilizers were added to the soil. Before planting, during the 6-8 leaf stage, and prior to flowering, nitrogen fertilizer derived from urea is applied. After harvest, the proportion of soil organic matter and grain elements was determined. SAS software (version 9.1) was used for statistical analysis and mean comparison . According to the results, the combined effect of vermicompost and chemical fertilizers was significant for all measured properties with the exception of the concentration of soil -soluble potassium (concentrations of N, P, K, Fe, and Zn in grain, and soil organic matter). Compared to the control treatment, the amount of seed elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, and iron as well as soil organic matter increased by 18.71, 48.71, 16.66, 5.97, 50.64, and 11.82%, respectively, when 10 tons of vermicompost was applied per hectare with 100 percent of the recommended chemical fertilizers. Vermicompost had a significant effect on the concentration of soluble potassium in the soil, but the concentration of this element was unaffected by the combined effects of vermicompost and chemical fertilizers. The highest amount of soil-soluble potassium was produced by 10 tons of vermicompost per hectare, which increased by approximately 29.2% compared to the control treatment. In conjunction with chemical fertilizers, 10 tons of vermicompost per hectare increased soil organic matter and quinoa nutrient concentrations. Development of high-nutritional-value crops that can be grown on low-fertility arable land, such as quinoa, can significantly reduce the use of chemical inputs. Due to the favorable climatic conditions, the introduction of quinoa as a plant that grows in the Sistan region will increase the region's crop diversity, sustainable production, farmer incomes, and food security.

Natural scientists and agricultural experts are aimed to provide the right methods of ecosystem design in order to promoting the health of natural systems, optimizing input consumption, enhancing production per unit input consumption, improving economic efficiency and increasing ecological sustainability. To achieve these goals, it is necessary to assess the sustainability of the agroecosystem to identify challenges and strengths. Quantification of sustainability leads to an increase in awareness of the state of the system, which is of particular importance in making the right decisions and managing them. Emergy is a thermodynamic tool for assessing the sustainability of biological and agricultural systems. By evaluating and comparing the sustainability of production systems in this way, human activity in the ecosystem is translated into the language of thermodynamics. Over the past three decades, emergy as a powerful tool has been prove to examine the overall performance and sustainability of the different production systems. The use of emergy analysis approach in assessing the sustainability of crop systems, leads to the application of proper management to increase the sustainability of production in these systems. In this study, six production systems of wheat, onion, garlic, fennel, cumin and black seed were evaluated in the city of Helmand, Iran, using ecological and economic indicators in terms of ecological sustainability.

This study was conducted in the production systems of wheat, onion, garlic, cumin, fennel, and black seed in Hirmand County in 2019 and 2020. For this purpose, 117 farms were selected for wheat, 47 farms for onions, 32 farms for garlic, 17 farms for cumin, 12 farms for fennel and 8 farms for black seed. Information on inputs and outputs of crop systems were obtained using the following two methods first, verbal estimates using a questionnaire, and second, field measurements and researchers' observations. In this study, free renewable and non-renewable environmental inputs and non-free inputs for two systems were determined in terms of the same unit of solar emjoule (sej). To analyze production systems and calculate the indices, inputs were categorized into four types; free renewable environmental inputs (R), free non-renewable environmental inputs (N), free renewable inputs (FR) and non-free non-renewable inputs (FN). The emergy-based indices calculated in this study were Transformity (Tr), Renewable emergy percentage (%R), Emergy Yield Ratio (EYR), Emergy Investment Ratio (EIR), Emergy Exchange Ratio (EER), Environmental Loading Ratio (ELR), Emergy Sustainability Index (ESI), and Emergy Index of Product Safety (EIPS).

Total emergy supporting for the production systems of wheat, onion, garlic, fennel, cumin and black seed in Hirmand County were 3.25E+16, 3.37E+16, 4.36E+16, 2.29E+16, 1.84E+16, and 1.82E+16 sej ha-1, respectively. Free environmental flows represented 74.27, 67.85, 52.21, 56.16, 56.56 and 52.49% of the total input energy of the production systems of wheat, onion, garlic, fennel, cumin and black seed, respectively. The large share of free internal inputs indicated that most of the studied farms are non-industrial systems that are traditionally managed and low-input. The values ​​calculated for the sustainability indices (ESI and ESI*) showed that the ecological sustainability of the fennel production system is higher than the other systems. The main reason for the greater sustainability of this system was the high share of energy input related to free environmental inputs and economic renewable resources. In addition, high emergy exchange ratio (EER), environmental sustainability resulting from the impact on the market, less emergy expended in the production of each unit of production and higher productivity of all production factors indicated a greater comparative advantage of the fennel production system.

 Overall, assessments based on the calculation of 14 emergy and economic indicators showed that special attention to practical solutions for the overall management of production ecosystems, in particular the protection of the soil organic matter and preventing soil erosion can increase the ecological sustainability in the main agricultural systems of Hirmand County.

The aims of this study were the optimization and fabrication of a biodegradable film with suitable mechanical and physical properties and also the production of a biodegradable indicator based on curcumin to detect the fish spoilage. In order to fabrication of the biodegradable packaging, the effect of different concentrations of glycerol (30, 50 and 70%) on the physicomechanical properties of films was examined. The results showed, increasing glycerol concentration led to increase of the thickness, water absorption, solubility and elongation at beak of the films, while density and tensile strength of the films showed a decreasing trend. The result of microbial test revealed that curcumin-loaded film had a good antimicrobial effect against both gram positive and gram negative bacteria. The variation of color of the films was monitored in contacting with fish during storage time. Overall, it was observed that the developed intelligent films could effectively detect the spoilage of films.

Abstract
One of the major problems at present time is the pollution of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems due to the introduction of pollutants of human origin. Agricultural management to maximize resources utilization and reduce environmental impacts, in addition to protecting resources, will increase the incomes of local farmers.
 
The present research, using nonlinear multi-objective programming (MOP) with aimed to maximize net profit and minimize environmental impacts, including the aquatic ecotoxicity, terrestrial ecotoxicity, terrestrial acid/nutrition, land occupation, aquatic acidification and aquatic eutrophication through optimum cropping pattern for the east of Lorestan Province.
 
In the proposed MOP cropping pattern, urea under cultivation of sugar beet increased by 22% and bean 2% compared to the current pattern and urea under cultivation of canola reduced by 50%, potato 34%, chickpea 21%, barley 4% and lentil 3% compared to the current pattern. The implementation of this model in the region reduced the emissions of heavy metals and pesticides into the aquatic ecosystem (19669315 ton) and terrestrial ecosystem (57807822 ton), SO2 to the air (3627 ton) and PO4 to the soil (1003 kg) compared to the existing situation.
 
According to the results of this study, the conservation of ecosystems is necessary to optimize the cropping pattern. Using the proposed model, in addition to selecting the appropriate model and optimizing the use of water and land resources, we can take steps to increase profits and reduce environmental impacts on the ecosystem.

In recent years, a different method has been studied for processing of juices concurrent with increasing consumer orientation towards foods that have the characteristics close to fresh food and longer shelf life. One of the new methods of heating that causes heat with a different mechanism versus conventional heat treatment is the use of microwaves. In order to implementation of this research; the continuously fluid processing system using microwave was designed and constructed. The PID program was developed to control and monitoring of process. The effect of different output temperatures (60, 70, 80 and 90 °C) select at different power (500, 700 and 900 W) on temperature-time diagrams was investigated. The effects of different temperatures on the engineering properties as well as the changes in PME were evaluated. The results showed that the temperature profiles recorded by NTC sensors at different points of the system were similar for water and orange juice. The use of full-power microwave due to constant turned on of the magnetron caused a more uniform temperature distribution. There was a slight difference in absorbed power (Pabs) values between sour orange juice and tap water, due to the different thermophysical properties between the two fluids. Temperature-time profiles showed a typical delayed phase due to heat absorption by the helical tube and the environment inside the treatment chamber before reaching steady state. The stage of com up time (CUT) had a significant effect on the inactivation of PME. The developed PID program is capable to Intelligent controlling of product processing with microwave technology.

Sistan is one of the largest wheat producing region in Iran, but wheat production has given way to the production of wheat during the past years.

In order to analysis the reason behind this conversion, the productivity and sustainability of wheat, onion and garlic systems was examined using emergy and economy evaluation in 2019. In order to research site to have similar conditions, the data required for this study were collected in two villages of Karim Koshteh and Safarzaei, Zabol.

Total emergy supporting the systems was estimated to 2.45E+16, 3.12E+16 and 4.73E+16 sej.ha-1 for the wheat, onion and garlic production systems, respectively. The purchased resource accounts for 55.9, 53.4 and 65.4 percent of total emergy flow for the wheat, onion and garlic production, respectively. This shows that the studied both systems are an extremely open system influenced strongly by the input from purchased inputs. The composition of emergy input to these production systems largely was different. The emergy yield ratio was 1.27, 1.15 and 1.90 for wheat, onion and garlic production, respectively. The values are low, indicating that the many process of the two systems converts natural resources from local into product. The environmental loading ratio of garlic systems was, a little bit higher than the wheat and onion systems, and correspondingly the sustainable index is lower than that of wheat and onion. Economic analysis indicated that output/input ratio and the benefit of the garlic production were greater than that of wheat and onion.

As a general outcome, these analyses showed that the better environmental performance of the system accmparied by  the worse its economic performance.

Finite element method was used in order to model the simultaneous heat and mass transfer in cylindrical banana samples. The thermophysical properties of banana were considered as the function of moisture content and temperature. The simulation was carried out in the form of axisymmetric model. The Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) approach was used in order to incorporate the radial shrinkage effect in the model. The validation of the model was checked by comparing the predicted results with experimental data in various drying conditions. Results showed the mean relative error percent (E%) for estimating the moisture content and core temperature of banana samples in different drying conditions were in the range of 4.23-8.83% and 1.12-1.82% respectively. Therefore, the presented model was able to predict the average moisture content and core temperature satisfactorily. With considering the importance of estimating the moisture content and temperature, the model can be used as a confident tool in order to optimize drying process of banana from the quality and efficiency view. It is expected the presented model can be easily extended for drying of similar products with cylindrical shape.

Mechanical damagesin theprocessof harvestingandpost-harvest are the most important reason in Cucurbits losses. It causes the tissue destructionand consequentfruits decay. Because of difference in the mechanical strength of flesh and skin of cantaloupe، internal bruising are more usual damages with no visibility. This type of injuriesis hard to predict byanalytical methods. In this study،the mechanical properties of skin and flesh were determined by individual experiments and then finite element model was developed by ABAQUS software. The applied displacements on model were equal to 5. 5، 11 and 16. 5 mm or 10، 20 and 30% of final deformation، respectively. The analytical results showedthat the internal tissue of fruit got to yield in 20%of whole displacementor in 90N force and the internal failure were occurred that it was not visible in the surface of fruit. The model was verified by the comparison of force-displacement graph from experimental data and FEM results. High correlation (R2=0. 983) between the predicted force and the actual force showed the validity of FEM model.