افشین توکلی

Since plants cannot move, they face many environmental stresses. Salinity is a major threat to modern agriculture, causing inhibition and impairment of crop growth and development. Salinity stress affects all vital plant processes such as photosynthesis, protein and metabolism of fat in the plant, causing changes in morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular functions of the plant, which ultimately decreases plant yield. Due to high nutritional value and high resistance to abiotic stresses such as salinity and drought, quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa willd.) has been proposed to ensure food security in the world. Quinoa genotypes have different morphological and physiological mechanisms in terms of germination, growth and grain yield under salinity stress. Considering the differences in salinity resistance in different quinoa cultivars, this study was carried out for investigating the physiological responses and seed yield of three quinoa cultivars with different origins under salinity stress.

This experiment carried out as random complete block design with three replications in the greenhouse of the Faculty of Agriculture of Zanjan University during the year 2019. The experimental treatments included three salinity levels of 0, 15 and 30 dS m-1 and three quinoa varieties (Giza1, Titicaca and Q26) with different origins. First, soil with a ratio of 50% sieved farm soil, 30% sand and 20% rotted manure was added inside the 1 kg pots. Inside each pot, 10 seeds were planted then irrigated with desired concentrations of salinity. The temperature of the greenhouse during the day was 27±2 and at night 19±2 ˚C, and the relative humidity was 65-75%. After the seedlings were fully established, four plants were kept in each pot and the rest were removed. The volume of irrigation water was 400 cc for each pot with the desired concentration of salinity. In the following, the desired traits were measured based on the mentioned protocols in specific stages. After measuring the desired traits, variance analysis of the data was done with SAS software version 9.1, comparison of average data was done using Duncan's multiple range test (P>0.05).

Salinity stress had a significant effect on all the traits studied except the potassium concentration of the root. Salinity reduced the plant height, leaf area, greenness index, grain yield, dry weight shoot and root, but salinity caused increase in the amount of sodium in the root, stem and leaves. The highest and lowest grain yields, with 0.87 and 0.56 g plant-1 were observed in the control and 30 dS m-1 salinity treatments, respectively. The Titicaca cultivar with 25.7 cm, had the lowest plant height. The highest shoot dry weight, stem sodium concentration, Na+/K+ ratio in root and Na+/K+ ratio in stem were observed in the Giza 1 cultivar. The Q26 cultivar had highest height of plant (33.8 cm), leaf area (3865.8 cm2plant-1), root sodium (0.30 mg.g-1 dry weight) and potassium (0.16 mg.g-1 dry weight) concentration, while it had the lowest Na+/K+ ratio in leaf with 0.67 mg.g-1 dry weight. Traits such as leaf potassium concentration and grain yield were similar among the studied cultivars. Also, cultivar Q26 had the lowest Na+/K+ ratio in the leaves with 0.67 mg.g-1 dry weight. The leaf greenness index in the control and salinity of 15 dS.m-1 was the same among all studied cultivars, but in the salinity of 30 dS.m-1, the Titicaca cultivar had the lowest amount. Among the studied cultivars, Giza 1 cultivar had the lowest root dry weight, while it had the highest Na+/K+ ratio in root and stem (8.27 and 3.6 mg.g-1 dry weight, respectively) among all salinity treatments. The Titicaca cultivar had the highest stem potassium concentration of all salinity levels in studied cultivars.

 The results obtained from this research showed that high salinity concentrations decreased the grain yield of quinoa. In general, the results showed that the cultivars examined in this research (Giza1, Titicaca and Q26) were different from each other in terms of traits related to salinity resistance. The results showed that the origin of cultivars probably plays a role in the resistance to salinity. Also, despite the difference in the concentration of elements potassium, sodium and Na+/K+ ratio in the stem, root and leaf organs, and no significant difference was observed in terms of grain yield among the studied cultivars. Therefore, it is suggested to consider their origin in the selection of cultivars for future research.

This experiment was conducted in order to investigation the effects of using different quantities of mineral biochar and spraying of methyl Jasmonate on some of the physiological and biochemical characteristics of spring barley under moderate and severe levels of drought stress at the experimental greenhouse of the university of Zanjan as a factorial experiment in randomized complete block design in pots in five replications in 2019-2020. In this experiment levels of stress included in three levels of drought stress (100% FC as the none stressed, 60% FC as the mild stress and 30% FC as the severe stress), biochar application before cultivation in three levels (without biochar, 1.5 % and 3% of the soil weight) and foliar spraying of methyl Jasmonate in three levels (0, 75 and 150 μmol per liter). Results showed that drought both in moderate and in severe levels caused significant difference in studied factors. Drought led to reduction in photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, photosynthetic water use efficiency, SPAD index as well as increasing in concentration of MDA, proline and soluble carbohydrate but using different levels of biochar in soil and spraying Methyl Jasmonate caused enhancement in these characteristics. Although using higher levels of these materials didn’t have considerable positive effects on studied factors. Moreover, application of higher levels of these materials, did not make considerable positive effects in some attributes and indexes. It seems that using these anti-stress substances, can be a stimulating approach against lack of water, however, utilization of higher levels can be more disastrous for crop plants.

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is among the most influential cereals, and a wide range of populations in several regions of the world (Sallam et al., 2019). However, there are some restrictions for accomplishment to the potential production, which the most consequential one among them, water shortage, a drastic obstacle in many regions of the world, in particular in arid and semi-arid areas. Water scarcity, results in plenty of disturbances in plant functions like cell division and elongation, water and nutrients relations, photosynthesis, enzymes activity, stomata movement, assimilate partitioning, respiration, oxidative damage, growth, and productivity, as several types of researches show that water shortage in the soil cause many disorders in plant tissues, which in turn leads to a punctual diminish in the photosynthesis rate (Todorova et al., 2022). Under circumstances of water shortage, the electron transport through PSII is prohibited, and the oxygen-evolving complex of PSII is damaged (Georgieva et al., 2005). In repercussion, depends on the times, duration of facing, and stress intensity, developmental stage, and kind of tissue, plant defenses against it differently.

An experiment as a factorial in a completely randomized block design in five replications at the experimental greenhouse of the University of Zanjan was carried out in two years 2021 and 2022. In this study two regimes of irrigation (D0, regular irrigation as the control, D1, Water Deficit for two weeks immediately after flowering), four levels of biochar (zero% as the control treatment, 0.25, 0.5 and 1 percent of soil weight) and three levels of spraying Methyl Jasmonate (zero μmol as the control treatment, 50 and 100 μmol) at the same time with flowering stage and starting withholding water, were executed.

Results demonstrated that utilized treatments had significant effects on studied parameters. Results illustrated that, despite the fact that proline content, carbohydrate and quantity of electrolyte leakage were elevated as a result of drought stress, and accumulation of photosynthetic pigments were dwindled, however, application of biochar in the soil and foliar spraying of methyl Jasmonate caused modulating the effects of drought stress. Lack of water can reduce the concentration of photosynthetic pigments, mainly chlorophylls and carotenoids, as it causes oxidation which leads to diminishing the biosynthesis of pigments (Pandey et al., 2012). It is claimed that using biochar ameliorates the reduction of pigments in stressed plants as a result of better surface area, higher water holding capacity, more cation exchange capacity, and useful absorptive features of biochar (Ibrahim et al., 2020). Moreover, the drought stress resulted in a substantial elevation in the concentration of proline (PC) which might be as a result of devastating impacts of drought on the performance of plasma membrane as well as the process which leads to dehydration of cytoplasm, which in turn results in boosting proline concentration in Barley plants under drought situation (Hafez et al., 2020). It is said that biochar reduces proline content, because of its impact on maintenance of plasma membrane in a stable situation, modulating the pressure of water in cell, and enhancing the ability of plants in conserving relative water content (Ahmed et al., 2016). Furthermore, methyl Jasmonate (MJ) may facilitate the strengthening of cell walls and effectively neutralize excessive increase in the level of ROS during further exposure to the stress factor, thereby preventing the damage of cellular membrane structures and changes in their permeability under stress conditions (Hayat and Ahmad., 2007).

The current study represents that Barley can tolerate drought stress through several mechanisms such as modulating some biochemical compounds. In this study drought was shown to have negative impacts on some of the studied physiological and biochemical parameters. Results demonstrated that the use of biochar and Methyl Jasmonate can improve the adaptation ability of Barley plants to water shortage, associated with enhancement in morpho-physiological and biochemical traits. Soil content of biochar at 0.25% w/w and Methyl Jasmonate leaf applies at 50 micro moles protected plants against drought stress. Importantly higher doses of biochar and Methyl Jasmonate had negative impacts, highlighting the need to better understand optimal doses, and mechanisms of action of these amendments.

Drought stress is one of the most important environmental stresses in different regions of the world, which causes the instability of crop production. More than 20% of the world's agricultural lands are affected by moderate to severe drought stress. The seed filling stage is the last stage in the plant development and the most important stage in the accumulation of dry matter in the seed. Seed filling rate and period and the effect of various environmental and agronomical factors on these two important parameters affecting seed weight can be predicted using the mathematical models. Quadratic, polynomial cubic, and logistic models are among the mathematical models that have been used efficiently to predict the grain growth process. The purpose of this research was to investigate the grain growth process and the accumulation of photosynthetic substances in the grain of different wheat cultivars under non-stress (control) and late season drought stress conditions using mathematical models and to investigate the effect of grain growth parameters on grain yield.

This experiment was conducted as split plots based on randomized complete block design with four replications in the research field of Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran, in 2018-2019. Normal irrigation (control) and drought stress after flowering were considered as main factor and four wheat cultivars (Shiraz, Marvdasht, Azar2 and Roshan) as sub-factor. Drought stress was applied by interrupt irrigation until the soil water potential reached about -2 MPa. To investigate the grain growth process, samples were taken from the main spikes after flowering every week. After drying the spikes, the grains were separated from the spike, the weight of single-grain was calculated, and the grain growth process was investigated using different mathematical models. To determine the best model, various statistical indices including root mean square error (RMSE), corrected Akaike (AICc) and ∆i were used, and the model with the lowest values of these indices was selected as the best model. Then, maximum and average grain filling rate, and grain filling period was estimated using the best selected model. The traits of plant height, main spike length, grain yield, biological yield and harvest index were also measured in addition to the grain growth process.

Comparison of different models using RMSE, AICc and i∆ indices showed that Darroch and Baker model (model number one) was the best model to evaluate seeds growth process in this research. Investigating the growth of grains with this model showed that the final grain weight decreased in all cultivars under drought stress conditions, and according to the prediction of this model, the lowest and highest final grain weight was belonged to Azar2 and Shiraz, respectively. Grain filling period decreased by 9.3% under drought stress conditions, and Shiraz (42.3 days) and Azar2 (34.4 days) had the highest and lowest grain filling period, respectively. Drought stress also reduced photosynthetic rate, leaf area durability, and number of grains per spike, but average and maximum grain filling rate were not affected by drought stress, which is probably due to the increase in the remobilization of photosynthetic materials under drought stress conditions. A positive and significant correlation was observed between grain filling period and grain yield under drought stress (r=0.375) and control (r=0.634) conditions. It can be concluded that the grain filling period was more important than the grain filling rate in this research. Drought stress decreased 1000-grain weight of the studied varieties by 18.3%, and Azar2 (47.70 g) and Marvdasht (33.50 g) had the highest and lowest 1000-grain weight, respectively. Grain yield and harvest index of the studied varieties also decreased by 40.8% and 22.4% under drought stress conditions, respectively, and Shiraz (4747.4 kg) and Azar2 (3179 kg) varieties produced the highest and lowest grain yield. Decrease in the harvest index indicated that drought stress reduced the grain yield more than the biological yield, which is probably due to the reducing of the grain filling period as well as disturbance in the grain filling process.

The results of this experiment showed that late season drought stress significantly reduced the photosynthetic rate, leaf area durability, number of grains per spike, 1000-grain weight and grain filling period, and finally led to a decrease in grain yield of the studied cultivars.

In order to investigate effects of deficit irrigation and sowing date on qualitative characteristics of oil and fatty acids in Safflower cultivars, a split factorial experiment was conducted based on a randomized complete blocks design with four replications at the research farm of Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zanjan, during the 2015-2016 growing season. In this experiment, irrigation levels included optimal irrigation and deficit irrigation (50% of water requirement) as main plots and combined two sowing dates including (20 March and 20 April) and three spring safflower cultivars (i.e. Gholdasht, Soffeh, and Sina) were allocated to subplots in a factorial arrangement. Drought stress and late sowing date decreased chlorophyll content, seed yield, and oil content. The results showed that deficit irrigation caused decrease in seed yield and oil content. Late sowing date caused a decrease in seed yield. The highest seed yield was obtained on optimal irrigation and on the sowing date 20 March (2036 kg/h) and the lowest seed yield was obtained on 50% of water requirement and the sowing date 20 April (1675.4 kg/h). Among the studied cultivars, the highest seed yield (1986.91 kg/ha) was obtained from Soffeh cultivar. With the sowing date and deficit irrigation, iodine number decreased and acid value increased. Among fatty acids, the content of linoleic and linolenic acids decreased due to deficit irrigation and late sowing date and the amount of oleic and stearic acids was the highest in the second sowing date, while palmitic acid had the highest amount in the first sowing date. Therefore, to obtain the highest yield and the highest oil quality Soffeh cultivar, optimal irrigation and early sowing date are recommended.

In producing medicinal plants, it is critical to use plants with a high percentage of active ingredients and consume low amounts of water. Thymus daenensis Celak is a tolerant Thymus species for rainfed cultivation. In addition, using complementary irrigation regimes and applying anti-stress compounds at critical stages of plant growth are suitable programs for sustainable production and optimal water consumption under dry farming conditions. For this purpose, this experiment was to evaluate the effect of different complementary irrigation regimes along with sodium nitroprusside (SNP) as a nitric oxide donor, kaolin, and potassium spraying on yield and some biochemical characteristics of T. daenensis under rainfed conditions. This experiment was designed and implemented as a split plot based on a randomized complete blocks design with three replications in the research field of the Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands-Homand Rangelands Research Station (Damavand) for three years (2017-2019 crop years). The experimental treatments included complementary irrigation as the main factor at three levels: control (no irrigation), one and two complementary irrigation, and spraying of stress-modulating substances as a secondary factor with three compounds of SNP (200 µM), kaolin (5%) and potassium (75 kg/ha from a potassium sulfate source). Cultivation was indirect and through seedlings. To prepare seedlings, the seeds were planted in the cultivation trays in the greenhouse at the end of September. After growing in the greenhouse, the seedlings (8-10 leaves) were transferred to the field in November with rain monitoring. Complementary irrigation and different foliar spraying treatments were done twice in the pre-flowering and 10 % flowering stages. Treatments were applied in the third year of plant growth to increase economic yield. After applying the treatments, the plant's flowering branch was sampled to measure malondialdehyde (MDA). After measuring the morphological characteristics (plant height and canopy diameter) in the full flowering stage, plant shoots were harvested to determine the dry matter yield per square meter and hectare. Percentage and yield of essential oil, total phenol, total flavonoids, and antioxidant capacity were also determined. The results showed that increasing the number of complementary irrigations increased the crown diameter, plant height, and dry matter yield per plant and hectare. Kaolin treatment under two complementary irrigation regimes had the highest height (31.6 cm), and the control treatment under no irrigation had the lowest height (19.3 cm). Also, using kaolin and two complementary irrigations showed the highest dry matter yield per m2 (77.2 grams) and per hectare (771.4 kg). In addition, MDA content was lower in the double complementary irrigation treatment with kaolin foliar spraying (1.22 μmol/g of fresh weight). Foliar spraying of kaolin, potassium, and SNP under rainfed conditions (without irrigation) increased the amount of essential oil (by 1.83, 1.67, and 1.6 percent, respectively) compared to the control treatment (1.4 percent). In contrast, the maximum essential oil yield per hectare was related to the double complementary irrigation regime with potassium foliar spraying (10.6 kg/ha). Foliar spraying with potassium in the regimes of without irrigation (rainfed) and one-time complementary irrigation had the highest content of total phenols and flavonoids, respectively. The highest antioxidant capacity was obtained without irrigation and foliar spraying (control). This experiment showed that complementary irrigation increased dry matter yield per plant and hectare. On the other hand, foliar spraying with anti-stress compounds, especially kaolin, and potassium, along with complementary irrigation, increased essential oil yield per hectare. In general, based on the results of this experiment, it is suggested to use complementary irrigation regimes according to the available water sources. In addition, it is suggested to use kaolin or potassium foliar application under rainfed conditions for T. daenensis.

Saffron, a cherished native plant of Iran, holds immense value, and its optimal growth and development hinge on the precise administration of nutrients and growth regulators. However, scant information exists concerning the nutritional attributes and the impacts of external application of growth regulators on its overall performance. This study intends to scrutinize the influence of varying concentrations of forchlorfenuron and potassium nitrate on the attributes of daughter corms as well as the ultimate saffron yield. Through this investigation, a deeper understanding of the relationship between growth regulators, nutrients, and saffron production can be attained, shedding light on the potential avenues for enhancing its cultivation and yield. This experiment was conducted as a factorial based on a randomized complete block design in the research farm of Zanjan University. According to the results, the interaction effect of forchlorfenoren 2.5 and 5 mg.liter-1 and potassium nitrate 500 mg.liter-1 decreased the number of daughter corms. Characteristics such as the weight of daughter corms of more than 7 grams per square meter, corm diameter, number of flowers per square meter, and the amount of safranal, crocin, and picrocrocin showed a significant increase due to the interaction of forchlorfenoren 5 mg.liter-1 and potassium nitrate 1000 mg.liter-1. The highest wet and dry weight of the stigma was 11.49 and 1.15 grams per square meter, respectively, with the treatment of furchlorfenoren at the level of 5 mg.liter-1. Also, the use of potassium nitrate at the level of 1000 mg.liter-1 increased the fresh and dry weight of the stigma by 10.22 and 1.01 grams per square meter, respectively. The maximum stigma length was obtained in treating furchlorfenoren 10 mg.liter-1 and potassium nitrate 250 mg.liter-1. Based on the outcomes derived from foliar application experiments, it is advisable to consider utilizing a concentration of 5 mg.liter-1 for forchlorfenuron and 1000 mg.liter-1 for potassium nitrate during the period extending from March to April. This recommendation holds under the premise that environmental conditions are conducive, encompassing factors such as favorable temperatures for foliar spraying. This practice is particularly relevant to the climatic conditions prevalent in the Zanjan region.

Quinoa is one of the salinity tolerant plants, capable of playing an important role in providing human food in the future. In order to investigate the effect of salinity stress on physiological traits and yield of quinoa cultivars, a two-factor factorial experiment was conducted as random complete block design with three replications in 2020 year under greenhouse conditions. Experimental treatments include three quinoa cultivars (Titicaca, Q26, and Giza1) and three salinity levels (0, 15, and30 dS/m). Salinity stress reduced traits such as photosynthetic pigments, relative leaf water content, and grain yield. The chlorophyll a and b content in control conditions, compared to the salinity level of 30 dS/m, have decreased by 46% and 77%, respectively, with the yield dropping by 35.6%, but the decrease in relative water content has been 12.6%. Electrolyte leakage, proline and malondialdehyde content, catalase, and guaiacol peroxidase activity have increased under salinity stress condition. The Q26 cultivar has had the highest content of carotenoids, chlorophyll a, relative water content, soluble proteins, proline, and catalase activity, compared to the others. Titicaca cultivar has had lower malon-dialdehyde (MDA) content and electrolyte leakage than Q26 and Giza1 cultivars, which indicates the least damage to cell membranes, being superior to the other two cultivars. Giza1 cultivar also has had higher chlorophyll b and carotenoids content than the other two cultivars. Q26 and Giza1 cultivars are probably the most resistant and sensitive cultivars to salinity stress, respectively.

Salinity is one of the most abiotic stress that caused reduce the yield of crops. Quinoa has importance role in human nutrition and high resistance to salinity stress. In order to investigate the effects of salinity stress on germination characteristics of quinoa cultivar Q26, an experiment was conducted based on complete randomized design (CRD) with four replications under laboratory conditions. The treatments consisted of different levels of sodium chloride (0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 30 and 40 dS/m) as salinity stress. Salinity have undesirable effects on traits study such as germination percentage, germination rate, shoot and root length, shoot and root dry weight, stem-to-root ratio (coefficient of allometry), germination uniformity and time to 50 percent germination. The percentage of germination was not significant between control and 30 dS/m treatment, but at 40 dS/m concentration reduced to 75 percent. With increasing salinity levels, the time required for 50 percent seeds germination increased significantly. Germination rate also reduced by salinity levels, significantly. The shoot- to- root ratio decreased with increasing salinity up to 20 dS/m, but reached the maximum at 30 dS/m. The results showed that quinoa cultivar Q26 has high resistance to salinity stress in germination stage, therefore it can be said that this cultivar has a good resistance to salinity of 30 dS/m of sodium chloride and it can be a favorable cultivar for cultivation in saline conditions after field evaluation and according to appropriate climate conditions.

this study was to determine the influence of cytokinin on the improvement allocation, photoassimilate partitioning and possibility to increase oil percentage of safflower by the application of cytokinin, a split factorial experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with four replications at the research farm of Agriculture Faculty, the University of Zanjan, during the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 growing seasons. In this experiment, irrigation levels included optimal irrigation (-0.5MPa) and drought stress (-2 Mpa) to main plots and safflower cultivars including Sina, Faraman, Parnyan, Gholdasht and Mahaly Esfahan, and three levels of cytokinin, including of no-application , 50 and 75 μM were allocated to subplots as factorial. At the flowering stage, simultaneously with drought stress safflower plants were sprayed with cytokinin.The results showed that drought stress increased the allocation ،transfer efficiency of stem reserves to grain, decrease grain yield and oil percentage. Under drought stress conditions Mahally Esfahan cultivar had the highest oil percentage with an average of 35.42% and an increase in transfer efficiency of stem reserves to grain 52.7 percent. The application of cytokinin minimized the negative effects of drought stress and improvement in the above traits. The highest oil percentage was obtained by application of 75 μM of cytokinin with an increase of 10% oil percentage compared to the control. Therefore, the application of 75 μM BAP can be suggested as a solution to reduce the negative effects of drought stress, increase photoassimilate partitioning and safflower seed under optimal irrigation and drought stress conditions.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important crops and is grown nearly everywhere in the world. Wheat is the primary staple food in many countries. In light of the fact that wheat yield varies depending on environmental conditions, it is crucial to employ strategies that increase wheat yield. To investigate the effects of foliar application of cytokinin on the physiological traits and yield of wheat cultivars, a factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design with tree replications was conducted at the research farm of the Agriculture Faculty, University of Zanjan, during the 2016 cropping seasons. Six wheat cultivars (Azadi, Karaj 3, Roshan, Falat, Sardari and Yavarus) were treated with foliar applications of cytokinin (6-benzylaminopurine) at two levels (0 (control) and 50 µM). At the 50% stage of cluster emergence (code 55 Zadox growth stage), hormone foliar application was performed three times per week. Foliar spraying was done at sunset. To improve absorption, five ml of diluted Tween 20 (0.1%) was added to each 20-liter sprayer. 10 days after the third spraying, a sample was taken and the traits were measured in order to determine their value. The application of cytokinin significantly increased photosynthetic rate, leaf area index durability, weight per thousand grains, biological yield, and grain yield. The application of cytokinin had no significant impact on the greenness index of the Falat, Karaj 3, Roshan, and Yavarus cultivars, but increased the greenness index of the Sardari cultivar by 116.2% and decreased the greenness index of the Falat cultivar by 12.0%. The Karaj 3 cultivar had the highest photosynthesis with an average of 10.6 μmol.m-2.s-1 net CO2 assimilation rate, while the Falat cultivar had the lowest photosynthesis with 6.46 μmol.m-2.s-1 net CO2 assimilation rate. The application of cytokinin increased the leaf area index duration of the Falat, Karaj 3, and Yavarus cultivars while having no effect on the other cultivars. The foliar application of cytokinin had no effect on the number of seeds per plant, but there were significant differences in the number of seeds among the cultivars studied. The cultivars Karaj 3 and Yavarus had the highest and lowest seed yields per plant, with 172.6 and 83.7 seeds per plant, respectively. The foliar application of cytokinin increased the final grain dry weight of the Azadi, Roshan, and Yavarus cultivars by 5.6%, 14.8%, and 6.2%, respectively, but had no effect on the Karaj 3, Falat, and Sardari cultivars. The Azadi cultivar with an average of 1.08 mg/day and the Sardari cultivar with an average of 1.55 mg/day had the lowest and highest grain filling rates, respectively, among the cultivars studied. Except for the cultivar Roshan, the application of cytokinin increased during the grain filling period of all other cultivars. Compared to the control treatment, cytokinin increased the one-thousand seed weight by 5%. Cytokinin increased the weight of one-tousand seeds by 5% compared to the control treatment. The application of cytokinin increased the yield of the Yavarus, Karaj 3, and Sardari cultivars by 23.7%, 30.1%, and 65.5%, respectively, but had no effect on the yield of other cultivars. In the absence of cytokinin application, Azadi had the highest grain yield at 5700 kg/ha, while Roshan had the lowest at 3100 kg/ha. The application of cytokinin had no significant effect on the harvest index. The Sardari and Yavarus cultivars had the highest and lowest harvest indices (31.4% and 25.1%, respectively), whereas the harvest indices of the other cultivars did not differ significantly. Morphological, physiological, and yield-related traits differ among wheat cultivars, as demonstrated by the results of the present study. The results demonstrated that the response of wheat cultivars to cytokinin application was highly variable, and that hormone application may be ineffective or have a negative impact on certain traits.

Drought is the major cause of yield reduction in the arid and semi-arid regions. Abscisic acid (ABA) plays a crucial role in the responses of plants to environmental stresses such as drought. This experiment was carried out as split plot based on complete random block design at research farm of University of Zanjan, during 2016 growth season to evaluate the effect of drought and ABA on total phenol content and some physiological traits of dragonhead (Dracocephalum moldavica L.). Three moisture regimes (well- watered, moderate drought with delay irrigation up to -0.8MPa and severe drought with delay irrigation up to -1.5MPa) were the main plots and five ABA concentrations (0, 5, 10, 20 and 40 µM) were subplots. The effect of moisture regimes, ABA and their interaction were significant for the studied traits. Without ABA application, drought stress reduced the plant total chlorophyll content, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, mesophilic conductivity and transpiration. ABA application reduced the studied gas exchange traits. Overall, ABA decreased physiological parameters and seed yield by intensifying the drought stress effect. According to the results, without ABA application, moderate and severe drought conditions increased the total phenol content compared to the irrigation condition and application of ABA increased the total phenol content under moderate and severe drought conditions. Since the most active substance in dragonhead is phenolic compounds, it seems that the plant total phenol content can be increased by applying drought condition and ABA application.

In order to evaluate possibility of improvement photosynthesis, gas exchange and chlorophyll content of safflower by the application of cytokinin, a split factorial experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with four replications at the research farm of Agriculture Faculty, the University of Zanjan, during the 2019-2020 cropping season. In this experiment, irrigation levels included optimal irrigation and drought stress to main plots and safflower cultivars including Sina, Faraman, Parnyan, Gholdasht and Mahaly Esfahan, and three levels of cytokinin, including of no-application (control), 50 and 75 μM were allocated to subplots as factorial. At the flowering stage, simultaneously with drought stress safflower plants were sprayed with cytokinin. The results showed that drought stress had negative effects on the intercellular CO2 concentration, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, photosynthesis rate, carboxylation efficiency, Photosynthetic water use efficiency, chlorophyll content and seed yield and the application of cytokinin minimized the negative effects of drought stress and increased in the above traits. The highest seed yield was obtained by application of 75 μM of cytokinin (3466.08 kg/ha) with an increase of 29 percent compared to the control. Therefore, the use of cytokinin can be suggested as a solution to decrease drought stress negative effects and enhance seed yield of safflower under optimal irrigation and drought stress conditions.

To investigate the effect of foliar application of cytokinin on gas exchange, remobilization and allocation of photosynthetic materials of wheat cultivars, an experiment was carried out under field conditions. The experimental treatments included foliar application of 6-benzylaminopurine at two levels (0 as control and 50 μM), and six wheat cultivars (Azadi, Karaj 3, Roshan, Falat, Sardari and Yavarus) which as factorial experiment in a randomized complete block design with four replication were studied. The results showed that foliar application of cytokinin increased leaf area index (LAI) and Roshan had the highest leaf area index. Photosynthetic rate of the studied cultivars was also different and the use of cytokinin increased the photosynthetic rate. Foliar application of cytokinin increased the remobilization of Falat, Roshan and Sardari cultivars and decreased Azadi cultivar, but had no significant effect on Karaj 3 and Yavarus cultivars. The effect of cytokinin on the allocation of photosynthetic assimilates to stem, leaf and spike of the studied cultivars was very different, so that with the application of cytokinin, the allocation of photo-assimilates to leaf decreased in Falat and increased in the other cultivars, but in the case of spike, the allocation of photo-assimilates to spike decreased in Roshan cultivar and increased in Karaj 3 and Sardari cultivars, while it did not affect on the other cultivars. In contrast, the allocation of photo-assimilates to stem was reduced about 3.3% by foliar application of cytokinin and Sardari, Yavarus and Roshan cultivars had the highest percentage of the allocation of photo-assimilates to stem. Grain yield of Karaj 3, Yavarus and Sardari cultivars increased by foliar application of cytokinin and the highest and lowest grain yield was observed in the control treatment (no application of cytokinin) in Azadi (5700 kg/ha) and Roshan (3100 kg/ha) cultivars, respectively, while under cytokinin foliar application, Yavaros and Roshan cultivars with 6300 and 3300 kg/ha had the highest and lowest grain yield, respectively. The results of this experiment showed different effects of cytokinin on different traits and wheat cultivars, but to obtain more accurate and complete results, it is suggested to measure the internal cytokinin concentration of wheat cultivars.

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a food crop with high protein, fiber, and minerals. One of the important issues in the formation of seed yield is how photosynthetic materials are allocated in plants. This may be especially important when the plant is experiencing drought stress. Brassinosteroids are a group of steroid hormones that have been implicated in a wide range of physiological processes. Brassinosteroids increase crop yield by altering plant metabolism and protecting plants from environmental stresses. Considering that one of the major problems of agriculture is water shortage, the present study was assessed aimed to investigate the effect of Epibrassinolide application on the allocation of photosynthetic materials and some traits related to drought resistance in two common bean genotypes under optimal irrigation and drought stress conditions and the possibility of increasing common bean seed yield by using this hormone.

In order to investigate the effect of Epibrassinolide application on photosynthetic material allocation and the possibility of increasing common bean seed yield by application of this hormone, an experiment was conducted in split factorial based on randomized complete block design at the research farm of the University of Zanjan during 2016-2017. In this experiment, optimal irrigation and drought stress were applied to main plots and common bean genotypes (at two levels of Kusha cultivar and COS16 genotype) and different concentrations of Epibrassinolide (at four levels of no application or control, 2, 4, and 6 μM) were allocated to sub plots as factorial. In the flowering stage, drought stress was applied and simultaneously with drought stress, common bean plants, were sprayed with Epibrassinolide. In this study, relative water content, proline content, and malondialdehyde content were studied at the peak of the drought stress. Also, dry weights of leaf, stem, and pod and the ratio of leaf, stem, and pod dry weights to total plant weight were studied at two times (peak of the drought stress and one week after re-irrigation).

The results showed that drought stress decreased dry weights of leaf, stem, pod, and seed yield compared to the optimal irrigation. Common bean plant under drought stress allocated less photosynthetic materials to leaves and stems and more photosynthetic materials to pods. The Kusha cultivar under optimal irrigation had the highest seed yield (with an average of 3025.45 kg ha-1) and the COS16 genotype under drought stress had the lowest one (with an average of 980.89 kg ha-1). The Kusha cultivar in optimal irrigation condition was the superior genotype due to its high seed yield, but drought stress had a more negative effect on the Kusha cultivar. Also, application of different concentrations of Epibrassinolide increased dry weights of leaf, stem, pod, and seed yield compared to the control. The highest seed yield was obtained by application of 2 μM Epibrassinolide (with an average of 2068.2 kg ha-1). So that, application of this concentration increased the seed yield by 46.07% compared to the control. Epibrassinolide application also increased the drought stress tolerance by decreasing the amount of malondialdehyde and increasing the relative leaf water content and proline content.

Therefore, application of Epibrassinolide can be suggested as a solution to increase common bean seed yield and increase drought tolerance of this plant. In addition, obtaining comprehensive information on the positive effects of Epibrassinolide requires the study of this hormone in different climatic conditions.

The most important goal in all crop breeding programs is to increase yield, and yield improvement requires the use of efficient statistical methods to identify superior genotypes. In determining the superiority of genotype, in addition to high yield, yield stability in different environments must also be considered.Biplot analyses are good tools for selecting superior genotypes and to increase efficiency in selection. In this study, GGE biplot method was used to evaluate the stability of grain yield of 205 lines and lentil cultivar in augmented design during three cropping years in the Faculty of Agriculture of Zanjan University under rainfed conditions. The results of combined analysis of control cultivars showed that the effect of year and year × cultivars interaction were significant for grain yield. Thus, the lines were examined using GGE biplot graphic method. The results showed that the first component and second component explained 68.3 and 28.5 percent (in total 96.8 percent) of total variation respectively, which indicates the high validity of the bipod in the explain. The results also showed that lines 170 and 164 were the best lines in the first year and lines 157 and 183 were the best lines in the third year. Line 167, in addition to having high yield, had lower stable yield. This line was placed in the center of the circle as the ideal line and the lines 164, 170, 147, 122 and 7 were placed in the next ranks. Lines 147, 128, 7, 160, 51, 148, 156 and 160, in addition to having higher yield than the average, had a short distance from the stability axis and had low unstable yield. Lines 8, 57, 157, 86, 186, 83, 140, 164 and 170, despite having high performance, had high unstable yield. Biplat polygonal analysis led to the identification of two mega-environments, among which the first year had the most discriminating ability among the years. Existence of 90º angle between the first and second year showed no correlation between these two years and their conditions were different and greater than 90º angle of the second year with these years showed its negative correlation with the first and second year.

In order to evaluate the increment possibility of safflower seed yield and oil percentage through the application of cytokinin, a split factorial experiment has been conducted based on randomized complete block design with four replications at the research farm of Agriculture Faculty, the University of Zanjan, during the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 cropping seasons. In this experiment, irrigation levels include optimal irrigation and drought stress to main plots and safflower cultivars, namely Sina, Faraman, Parnyan, Gholdasht, and Mahaly Esfahan, and three levels of cytokinin (6-Benzyl Aminopurine), including non-application (control), 50, and 75 μM,  have been allocated to subplots as factorial. At the flowering stage, simultaneous with applying drought stress, safflower plants havee been sprayed with 6-Benzyl Aminopurine. Results show that drought stress has decreased yield components, seed yield, biological yield, harvest index, oil percentage, and oil yield and the application of cytokinin minimizes the negative impacts of drought stress, while boosting the above traits. The highest seed yield has been obtained from applying 75 μM of cytokinin, with an increase of 30.7% compared to the control. Also, among the studied cultivars, the Mahaly Esfahan cultivar under optimal irrigation with an average of 36.09% shows a higher oil percentage, compared to other cultivars. Therefore, the use of cytokinin can be suggested as a solution to decrease the negative effects of drought stress and enhance seed yield and oil percentage of safflower under optimal irrigation and drought stress conditions.

Drought is one of the most important environmental stresses and is one of the most common causes of plant growth retardation and yields, and usually decreases the productivity of plants along with other environmental stresses, including salinity and heat. One of the reasons that environmental stresses such as drought, reduces growth and plant photosynthesis ability, is a disturbance in the balance between the production of free oxygen radicals and the protective mechanisms that remedy these radicals which results in the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), induction of oxidative stress, damage to proteins, membrane lipids, and other cellular components. Under adverse environmental conditions, the role of antioxidant defense system in protecting cellular membranes and other growing organs against oxidative damage seems to be very important. Brassinosteroids (BRs) comprise a group of steroidal hormones that have been implicated in a wide range of physiological responses in plants, including stem elongation, growth of pollen tubes, ethylene biosynthesis, proton pump activation, the regulation of gene expression, activation of enzymes, response to different stresses, nucleic acid and protein synthesis, and photosynthesis. In addition, BRs can protect against damage from stresses such as drought, salinity, and high temperature by activating various mechanisms in plants and increasing the activity of enzymatic antioxidants such as catalase, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and glutathione reductase. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of increasing the activity of some antioxidant enzymes, nitrate reductase, photosynthetic pigments, and finally, the seed yield of common beans with the use of Epibrassinolide under drought stress conditions.

A split factorial experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with three replications at the research farm of Faculty of Agriculture, the University of Zanjan during the 2016-2017 cropping season. In this experiment, two irrigation conditions included optimal irrigation and drought stress were applied to main plots and two common bean genotypes including Kusha cultivar and COS16 genotype, and four levels of brassinosteroid including of no-application (control), two, four, and six μM were allocated to subplots as factorial. Drought stress was applied at the flowering stage, and common bean plants were sprayed with brassinosteroid (Epibrassinolide) simultaneously with drought stress. In this study, the activity of catalase, guaiacol peroxidase, ascorbate peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase, nitrate reductase, chlorophyll and carotenoid contents, and seed yield were studied.

The results showed that drought stress increased the activity of catalase, guaiacol peroxidase, ascorbate peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase by 38.89%, 84.09%, 40.46%, and 27.37% in contrast with the optimal irrigation, respectively. The highest activity of catalase, guaiacol peroxidase, ascorbate peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase were obtained using different concentrations of Epibrassinolide under drought stress conditions. The application of 2, 4, and 6 μM of Epibrassinolide in drought stress conditions increased by 73.33%, 86.67%, and 113.33% in the catalase activity, increased by 56.36%, 71.82%, and 62.73% in the guaiacol peroxidase activity, increased by 12.82%, 46.15%, and 13.46% in the ascorbate peroxidase activity, and increased by 29.15%, 41.49%, and 47.11% in the superoxide dismutase activity in comparison with non-application of this hormone. It has been reported that the use of BRs significantly improves plant drought tolerance and reduces the accumulation of reactive oxygen species by increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes. It has been reported that the application of BRs increased the antioxidant enzymes activity in maize, tomato, mustard, soybean, and barley. Also, nitrate reductase activity increased by using of Epibrassinolide, which can enhance plant tolerance to environmental stress. The highest activity of nitrate reductase was obtained by application of 4 μM of Epibrassinolide, which did not show any significant difference with other concentrations. Improvement in the activity of nitrate reductase can be attributed to the effect of BRs on translation or transcription of nitrate reductase, or nitrate absorption at the membrane surface. In optimal irrigation conditions, the use of different concentrations of Epibrassinolide has a slight increase in the contents of chlorophyll a, b, and total, and the use of 4 μM of this hormone resulted in the highest increase in the above traits compared to non-application of the hormone. However, under drought stress conditions, this increase was significant, and the use of 2 μM of this hormone resulted in the highest increase in the above traits compared to non-application of the hormone. In other words, the use of Epibrassinolide in drought stress conditions caused a higher increase in chlorophyll a, b, and total contents relative to optimal irrigation conditions. Application of Epibrassinolide increased the seed yield in both common bean genotypes by increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes, nitrate reductase, and chlorophyll and carotenoid contents. The highest seed yield was obtained by application of 2 μM of Epibrassinolide with an average of 2068.2 kg/ha. Among the studied genotypes, the Kusha cultivar in optimal irrigation conditions (with an average of 3025.45 kg/ha) had the highest seed yield and the COS16 genotype in drought stress conditions (with an average of 980.89 kg/ha) had the lowest seed yield.

In general, the use of Epibrassinolide can be suggested as a solution to increase drought stress tolerance and enhance the growth and seed yield of common beans under optimal irrigation and drought stress conditions. In addition, the achievement of comprehensive information on the positive effects of Epibrassinolide requires a study of this hormone in different weather conditions and with other different bean genotypes.

Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is one of the most important food sources of human. It has a high nutritional value due to its protein, vitamins and fiber supply. Abiotic stresses are most important limiting factors to crop productivity that among these, drought stress is known to be the main limiting factor of bean production in worldwide. The bean has a low tolerance to water stress, while about 60% of the bean crop is obtained in areas under low water stress. It has been reported that about 25% reduction of yield bean is due to drought stress conditions. The use of modern irrigation methods in addition raise grain yield, because saves of water consumption.

In order to investigate the effect of different irrigation regimes on gas exchanges and agronomy traits related to yield in bean, a field experiment was carried out at the Research Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Zanjan University, Zanjan, Iran (36410N, 48290E) in spring 2012 years. The experiment was conducted at complete randomized block design with four replications. Experimental treatments included five level of irrigation (Traditional Irrigation with 100 % supply water requirement (I1), drip tape irrigation with 100 (I2), 80 (I3), 60 (I4) and 40 % (I5) supply water requirement. Each plot consisted of four rows, each measuring six meter long, distance of each rows and plants was 50 and 10 cm, respectively. Crop Evapotranspiration (ETc) of bean determined through calculation the evapotranspiration of the refrence crop (ETo) evaluated by FAO-Penman-Montith method and Crop Evapotranspiration (ETc) of plant. For of photosynthesis and other gas exchange parameters use IRGA Lci meter. At the physiological maturity stage, plants in an area of 1 m2 to measuring of  length of plant, number pod in plan, number seed in  pod, weight of thousand seeds, grain yield, biological yield and harvest index (HI) were harvested, then all aboveground dry matter were determined.

The irrigation regimes have significant effect all traits investigate except plant length and intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci). Reducing the amount of available water had adverse effects on the yield and yield components. The maximum of Stomatal conductance to water vapour (gs) observed in I1 and net CO2 assimilation rate (ACO2), mesophyll conductance (gm) in I1 and I2 treatment. The intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) was not affected by the irrigation regimes. The maximum of grain yield (945.6 kg/h), number of  pod in plant (10.95) and harvest index (23.87 %) observed in I2 treatment and  the highest of stomatal conductance to water vapour (gs) with 0.43 mmol.m-2s-1 was in I1 treatment. There was no difference in other traits investigate between I1 and I2 treatments. The intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) not significant in different irrigation regimes. The grain yield, number of pod in plant and harvest index in I2 treatment was more than I1 treatment to the amount 31.29, 59 and 18.93 percent, respectively.

According to this study, results showed that the physiological and agronomical traits that affected the growth and development of common bean disturbed whit reducing the available water content and ultimately the yield reduced. Since the no significant difference between more eco-physiological traits, in order to reducing of water consumption, suggested that in the field of bean culture, instead of traditional (leakage) irrigation, to use from of drip irrigation method with 100 percent supply water requirement. Result showed that the use of drip tape irrigation with 100 % water requirement was better than traditional irrigation with 100 percent supply water requirement, because in addition raise grain yield, cause saves of water consumption and reduces of hardness of work in farm conditions.

Drought is the most important non-biotic stress which decreases growth and the yield of crop plants. Quinoa is a plant with high nutritional value and drought tolerant. To evaluate the effect of cytokinin foliar application on morphological traits and yield of quinoa cultivars, a split factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design was conducted during during 2017 cropping season with four replications at the research farm of Agriculture Faculty, the University of Zanjan. Experimental treatments were levels of irrigation (optimal irrigation, with -0.4 MPa and drought stress with -1.5 MPa) as main factor and sub factors were four quinoa cultivars (Q 26, Q 29, Giza1 and Red Carina) and foliar cytokinin with three levels (0, 50 and 100 μM). Irrigation and cultivar treatment had significant effect on all evaluated traits. Foliar application with cytokinin had significant effect on all traits except length of main ear and greeness index (SPAD). The maximum and minimum of grain yield 2364.7 and 1701.8 kg.ha-1, obtained under optimal irrigation and drought stress conditions, respectively. Drought stress reduced seed yield by 28 percent. The highest yields obtained by Giza 1 (2746.7 kg.ha-1) and Red Carina (2589.7 kg.ha-1) with the application 100 µm of cytokinin. The foliar application of cytokinin did not affect seed yields of Q 26 and Q 29 cultivars significantly. According to the results, Giza 1 can be recommended as a suitable cultivar under both optimum and drought stress conditions at the experimental site.

A greenhouse study was conducted to evaluate of salicylic acid foliar effect on morphological and biochemical characters of Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) based on a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) experiment with three replications in Qazvin, Iran in 2016.  The treatments of this research were defined as salicylic acid foliar levels as 0 (control), 100, 300 and 600 µM which were applied three months after transplanting. Evaluated characters were as plant height, branch number, plant dry weight, leaves dry weight, branches dry weight, the ratio of leaf to total dry weight, the percentage and yield of stevioside, rebaudioside-A, rebaudioside-B and rebaudioside-c. The results of this study revealed that foliar levels of salicylic acid had a significant effect on all of the evaluated characters except for SPAD index. The treatment of foliar 100 µM salicylic acid led to a significant increase in plant height, stevioside percentage, rebaudioside C yield and its percentage compared with control treatment (18.2%, 91.7%, 160% and 186%, respectively). By increasing the concentration of salicylic acid foliar level to 300 µM, the branches dry weight, leaves dry weight, plant dry weight, stevioside yield, rebaudioside. A percentage and its yield were increased in comparison to control treatment (3.9%, 10.3%, 7.0%, 84.6, 78.3 and 100%, respectively). Finally the treatment of 600 µM salicylic acid foliar level was significantly led to an increase in lateral branches number, the ratio of leaves dry weight to branches dry weight, rebaudioside-B percentage and its yield compared to control treatment (365.8%, 43.0%, 383.3and 344.4%, respectively). Therefore, a concentration of 300 μM foliar application of salicylic acid can be effective for increasing the quantitative and qualitative performance of Stevia.

Abiotic stresses are most important limiting factors to crop productivity that can reduce the yield of plants up to 70 percent. Drought is the most important stress and decreases the yield of plants in world. Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is a multipurpose oilseed crop grown mainly for its high quality edible oil, bird seed, coloring and flavoring food, in textile dyes, as livestock forage, as a vegetable, in herbal teas, and for medicinal purposes. It is resistant to cold, drought, and salinity stress. Therefore, it can be grown successfully on dry land and in surrounding regions which have insufficient precipitation. The aim of this experiment, was evaluated of yield and yield components of two safflower under optimal irrigation and drought stress conditions.

The current experiment was carried out at the Research Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Zanjan University, Zanjan, Iran (36410N, 48290E) in spring 2010 and 2011 years. The experiment was laid out in split factorial experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with four replications. Experimental treatments included optimal irrigation (-0.5 MPa) and drought stress (-2 MPa) and were two spring safflower cultivars (Goldasht and Zendehrood). Each plot consisted of four rows, each measuring 6 m long, distance of each rows and plants was 50 and 10 cm, respectively. After thorough establishment of plants, at the 3 fold 4 leaves stage, irrigation treatments (-0.5 MPa and -2 MPa) was applied. In order to apply irrigation treatments, irrigation was stopped until the soil water potential reached -0.5 and -2 MPa for optimal and  drought stress respectively, then re-irrigation was performed. At the physiological maturity stage, plants in an area of 1 m2 to measuring of number main capitul, number seed in main capitul and weight of thousand seeds, and area of 2 m2 for biological yield and grain yield were harvested, then all aboveground dry matter were determined. 

The effect of irrigation treatments, cultivar and year not significant on diameter capitul, number of main and lateral capitul in plant. The year has significant effect on all traits such as Capitul diameter.  The irrigation treats has not significant effect on capitul diameter, number main and lateral capitul, number seed in main lateral capitul and oil percent. The highest of thousand weight seed (35.5 g), grain yield (214.42 kg/ha), biological yield (9600.1 kg/ha), harvest index (25.6 %) and oil yield (634.6 kg/ha) obtained in optimal irrigation, and in other traits, was not difference between optimal irrigation and drought stress. The number main and lateral capitul, number seed in main lateral capitul, biological yield, oil percent and oil yield was different between cultivars. The maximum of number of seed in capitul, biological yield, oil percent and oil yield were obtained in zendehrood cultivar, and in other traits there was not difference between Zendehrood and Goldasht. Grain yield and oil yield reduced under drought stress amount 51 and 65 percent, respectively. Oil percentage in optimal irrigation was 8 percent more than drought stress condition. Grain yield, oil percentage and oil yield of Goldasht cultivar 7, 8 and 26 percent were higher than Zendehrood cultivar, respectively.

According this result, yield and related traits of yield extremely affected by climate conditions each of year. Thus, success in agriculture under field condition, extreme dependent to feature of climate. The Goldasht cultivar has higher of grain yield (7.5 %), oil percent (20.44 %) and Oil yield (26.19 %) than Zendehrood cultivar. In normal and drought stress conditions, the results of current experiment showed that Goldasht cultivar was superior to Zendehrood cultivar, and is more tolerant to drought stress, therefore suggested that cultivate Goldasht cultivar in deficit conditions.

In order to investigate the effects of foliar application of 6-benzylaminopurine on physiological traits, yield and yield components of quinoa (cultivar Q26) an factorial experiment has been conducted, based on randomized complete block design with four replications at the research farm of Agriculture Faculty, the University of Zanjan, during cropping seasons of 2017. The experimental factors include optimal irrigation (-0.4 MPa) and drought stress (-1.5 MPa) as primary factor and foliar 6-benzylaminopurine in three levels (0, 50, and 100 μM) as the secondary one. Irrigation treatment has significant effect on all traits, except chlorophyll b and cartenoide. Drought stress increases electrolyte leakage (EL), proline, and Harvest index (HI) though it has a declingin effect on other traits. The effect of irrigation and hormone interaction has been considerable, except for chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, thousand weight grain, and biomass yield. The highest grain yield (215.75 g.m2) in optimal irrigation is observed in 50 μM and in drought stress condition with 149.76 g.m2, obtained in 100 μM of cytokinin. The maximum harvest index (25.6%) can be observed in the control treatment of drought stress. Results show that applying cytokinin reduces the unfavorable effects on quinoa; therefore, this hormone’s foliar can be a solution to enhance the grain yield of quinoa under drought stress conditions.

The diversity of the genetic traits material is the basis of any breeding program and the existence of maximum variation is the greatest chance for success in the selection, especially in variable climatic such as rainfed conditions. Regarding the importance of lentil genetic resources for use in breeding programs of this plant, this experiment was conducted to investigate the diversity of important agronomic traits and selection of native lentil plants in dryland fields of Zanjan province.

For this purpose, 1040 plants of lentil from fields in five regions (including Khorramdareh, Khodabandeh, Ijrood, Mahneshan,and Zanjan (Armaghankhaneh) of Zanjan province were collected in the rainfed conditions at 2014-2015 cropping season. Plants were evaluated in terms of yield and morphological traits including plant height, height of the first branch from the ground, height of the lowest pod of the ground, number of pods, number of hollow pods, number of full pods, number of seeds, 1000-seed weight, seed weight, straw weight and biomass. To compare the populations of lentils, analysis of variance was performed in a completely unbalanced randomized design and populations were grouped by cluster analysis by Ward method. In order to select the best genotypes in each population, considering breeding goals, traits were sorted by degree of importance and superior genotypes were determined in each population.

The results of descriptive statistics indicated a high variation among studied traits, especially number of hollow pods (117.98 %) and seed weight (55.82 %) Also for height of first branch, number of pods, number of seeds and seed and straw weight great variations were observed. Therefore, the selection for these traits in evaluated populations seems to be effective. The lowest coefficient of variation was related to plant height (10.79 %), first pod height (18.83 %) and 1000-seed weight (25.90 %). Analysis of variance results showed that there were significant differences between them in terms of all measured traits at 0.01 level. Ejroud population had the highest mean for most of the traits evaluated. Cluster analysis categorized these populations into three groups. The Armaghankhaneh and Ejroud populations were each grouped separately, and the three populations of Khoramdareh, Khodabandeh and Mahneshan formed the third group. Ejroud population had the highest percentage of deviation from the total mean for yield traits and also morphological traits that are important for mechanized harvesting. Finally, 492 superior genotypes were selected for study in rainfed conditions based on experimental design for yield traits and effective traits in mechanized harvesting.

There were suitable variations within and between the lentil populations in terms of agro-morphological traits. Cluster analysis also categorized these populations into three groups. Because of the difference in plants in different regions due to the genetic variation of the plants, as well as the impact of the climate and their different growth environment, therefore, for selection of superior genotypes, evaluation and selection were carried out separately in the regions. Since lentils are self-pollinated and cleistogam and have high rate of elf-pollination (99%), so the populations of the lentils are homozygous so the seeds of selected genotypes are pure lineage and the method of this study was selection of pure lines. Pure lines from selected genotypes can be used in breeding programs.

Drought stress is one of the imperative limiting factors to plant growth and yield in dry conditions. Abscisic acid (ABA) is one of the most important plant regulators that plays a key role in many physiological and morphological responses under drought conditions. This experiment was carried out to evaluate the interaction between drought stress and ABA on the activity of phenylalanine ammonia- lyase (PAL) and some antioxidant enzymes in dragonhead (Dracocephalum moldavica). This research was conducted as split plot based on complete random block design at research farm of University of Zanjan, during 2016 growth season. Three moisture regimes (well- watered, moderate drought with delay irrigation up to -0.8MPa and severe drought with delay irrigation up to -1.5MPa) were set as main plots and five ABA concentrations (0, 5, 10, 20 and 40 µM) were sets as subplots. The results of this study showed that the effect of watering regimes, ABA and interactions between watering regimes and ABA was significant for PAL, catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and peroxidase (POD) activity, lipid peroxidation, leaf area, total dry weight, plant height and seed yield. Without ABA application, moderate and severe drought stress, increased 15.02 and 30 percent PAL activity, 28.02 and 25.44 percent CAT activity, 48.81 and 35.55 percent APX activity and 77.83 and 88.3 percent POD activity compared to the well- watered condition. Also, exogenous ABA application increased lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes activity compared to control (no ABA application). Without ABA application the moderate and severe drought stress, reduced seed yield by 19.69 and 31.02 percent, respectively, compared to well- watered condition. There was a decreasing trend in seed yield in response to an increase in ABA concentration. The amount of seed yield reduction in plants treated with different concentrations of ABA, 5.18- 14.69 percent under well- watered conditions, 4.22- 20.74 percent under moderate drought conditions and 4.37-33.83 percent under severe drought conditions compared to non- treated plants.