عبدالرضا اخگر

Waste tire rubber (WTR) contain significant amounts of zinc (Zn) and they are potential sources of Zn for plants. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of Zn-dissolving Pseudomonas isolates and WTR on growth characteristics and Zn and Fe concentrations of the corn plant. An experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with factorial arrangement with three replications in a sterile sand -culture in green house condition. The experimental factors include Pseudomonas bacteria at six levels (without inoculation (C) and inoculation with five isolates (B1 to B5)) and Zn treatment from the WTR source at four levels of 0 (C), 100 (T1), 200 (T2) and 300 (T3) mg Zn per kg (equivalent to 0, 9, 18 and 27 g WTR per kg of sand respectively). The results showed that the main effects of the treatments on Photosynthetic performance index, chlorophyll content of leaves, Chlorophyll fluorescence and shoot dry weight were significant. The amount of each of these parameters increased in all bacterial and WTR treatments. The use of WTR (18 g/kg) along with inoculation of isolates increased all measured parameters compared to the control. Root dry weight and zinc concentration in shoots and roots, were affected by the interaction of treatments. The highest amount of plant dry weight was observed in B3+T3 treatment (2.14 fold increase compared to the control (. The concentration of zinc in the plant shoots was the highest in the B4+T3 treatment, which was 20 times higher than the control. The highest concentration of zinc in the root was observed in the presence of isolates B3 and B2 in WTR (18 g/kg) treatment which was 25 and 22 times higher than the control, respectively. The highest concentration of iron in the shoots and roots of the plant was related to the WTR (18 g/kg) treatment with the amount of 28.3 and 30.7 mg kg-1, respectively. The bacterial isolates increased the iron concentration of shoot compared to the control, but no significant difference was observed between the isolates.

Phosphorus is one of the essential elements for plant growth and increase in the availability of indigenous phosphorus have an effective role in reducing the chemical fertilizers consumption. This study was conducted to investigate some inoculant formulations for phosphate-solubilizing fluorescent pseudomonads for agricultural and environmental uses. For this purpose, 30 isolates belong to fluorescent pseudomonad group were collected from microbial bank of Faculty of Agriculture of Vali-e-asr University of Rarsanjan. Then ability of all isolates for solubilizing tricalcium phosphate were studied. In addition, the ability of those isolates for increasing phosphorus availability in soil amended with and without phosphate rock at 15, 30 and 60 days was inspected. Finally, the persistence of the selected isolate was evaluated in some inoculant formulations. The results indicated that all isolates were able to increase the solubility of tricalcium phosphate in solid and liquid media of PKV and the pH of culture medium also decreased significantly. The maximum and minimum phosphate solubilization in solid media of PKV were related to isolates D33 and D24 and in liquid media, it was related to isolates D6 and D4 respectively. The results showed that isolates D33 and D35 increased the soil phosphorus bioavailability in 15, 30, 60 day after inoculation by 48, 25, 75% and 72, 50, 26% respectively. The cell numbers of D33 and D35 isolates in three inoculant formulations including talcum powder, talcum+rice bran and talcum+sawdust (180 days after inoculation) indicated that maximum and minimum of cell numbers of D33 were occurred in talcum powder and talcum+rice bran (105 cfu/g) and talcum+sawdust (8×103 cfu/g)  respectively. Maximum and minimum of cell numbers of D35 were observed in talcum+rice bran (105 cfu/g) and talcum+sawdust (10 cfu/g) respectively. Finally, inoculant formulation of talcum+rice bran was able to maintained an acceptable cell numbers of both isolates D33 and D35 (106 cfu/g) at the end of 150 days.

To study the effect of vermicompost and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on yield indices, oil and protein percent and element concentration of seed in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.), a greenhouse experiment has been conducted in factorial based on completely randomized design with four replications at Vali-e-Asr university of Rafsanjan in 2014. Experiment factors include four levels of vermicompost (zero (V0), 1 (V1), 2 (V2), and 4 (V3) percent) and five bacterial levels (without bacteria (B0), inoculation with an isolate from fluorescent pseudomonads group, having ability to dissolve inorganic phosphate (B1), Azospirillum sp. (B2), Azotobacter sp. (B3), and with the ability to fix nitrogen and a mixture of three bacteria (B4)). The results show that the application of vermicompost and PGPR alone significantly increase oil percentage (up to 80.7% and 15.4%, respectively), potassium, iron, and manganese concentration in seed sesame. Also, simultaneous application of vermicompost and PGPR are significantly enhanced along with weight of seeds, number and weight of capsule, protein of seed and concentration of nitrogen, phosphorous and copper in seed sesame. In general, the combined application of vermicompost and growth-promoting bacteria, through a synergistic relationship, have increased the yield and the content of mineral elements of sesame seeds.

Remediation of heavy metals contaminated soils by plants is one of the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly methods. In some cases, useful soil microorganisms are used to increase the plants efficiency in heavy metal remediation. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of rhizospheric pseudomonads on increasing the phytoremediation efficiency in copper (Cu)-contaminated soils. The first experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design in three replications with 11 plant treatments (Maize (Zea mays), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), wheat (Triticum aestivum), canola (Brassica napus), Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), Amaranth (Amaranthus), Salvia (Salvia officinalis), Zygophyllum (Zygophyllum), Ajwain (Trachyspermum ammi), alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and pumkin (Cucurbita)). The highest Cu concentration and uptake  were related to Zygophyllum with 173 mg kg-1 and pumkin with 222 µg pot-1, respectively. Five plants including pumpkin, maize, wheat, canola, and Zygophyllum were selected based on the highest Cu concentration and uptake of  for the second experiment. The second experiment was designed in a completely randomized design with two factors including plant types at five levels (pumkin, maize, canola, wheat and Zygophyllum) and three levels of bacteria (non-bacterial inoculation, Pseudomonas putida PA2 strain, Pseudomonas fluorescence PA3) in three replications. In this section, the shoots and roots dry weight; Cu concentration and uptake in shoots and roots, as well as the chemical changes of the Cu in the rhizosphere were investigated. The use of both strains of the bacteria significantly increased the dry weight, concentration and uptake of Cu in shoots and roots compared to the control. Among the plants, pumpkin had the highest uptake of Cu in shoots due to high biomass (90.2 µg pot-1) (the most effective in phytoextraction) and maize due to its high root weight had the highest Cu uptake (428 µg pot-1) (effective in high Phytostabilization). Investigation of the chemical forms of Cu in the rhizosphere showed that inoculation by PA2 and PA3 growth-promoting bacteria increased 41.9 and 37% of soluble and exchangeable forms of Cu respectively, and decreased the residual form of copper up to 7.05 and 6.41%. The overall results showed that the growth-promoting bacteria play an effective role in increasing the phytoremediation, especially the phytoextraction and pumpkin with the highest Cu uptake was the most efficient plant in the Cu phytoremediation in this study.

physicochemical properties and plant growth is to use biological fertilizers such as plant growth-promoting fungi. Biological fertilizers could be used as a supplement or alternative to the chemical fertilizers in sustainable agriculture. Accordingly, to investigate the effect of Trichoderma fungi on the nutrition and growth of pistachio trees, an experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design, in which each block contains four treatments, control (T0) (no inoculation), Trichoderma harzianum (T1), Trichoderma viride (T2) and treatment of an equal mixture of T1 and T2 (T3) in three replications under common garden conditions. The results showed that all three fungal treatments significantly increased growth parameters including branch length (up to 60%), the number of vegetative buds (up to 30%), leaf area (up to 50%), and chlorophyll index (up to 171%) in pistachio trees in comparison with control. The use of fungal treatments significantly increased the concentration of potassium and zinc in pistachio leaves up to 20 and 70%, respectively, compared to the control. T2 treatment significantly increased the phosphorus concentration by 14% and the calcium by 40% in pistachio leaves. The application of  T1 and T3 treatments significantly increased the magnesium concentration up to 25%, in pistachio leaves compared to the control. T1 treatment significantly increased the leaf iron concentration by 28% compared to the control. The application of T1, T2, and T3 treatments significantly increased the content of total chlorophyll up to 73.2, 171, and 59.2% of and carotenoids up to 77.6, 3.80, and 64.8% in pistachio leaves respectively, compared to the control. According to the results of this study and after further field experiments, it can be expected that the studied fungi can be used as biofertilizers (alone or in combination) to reduce the utilization of chemical fertilizers in the future.

Cadmium, because of the long half a lifetime in the human and animal body and its toxicity, has great importance in agriculture. Today, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are used to increase the bioavailability and uptake of heavy metals in polluted soils. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of cadmium-tolerant fluorescent pseudomonads with inorganic phosphate solubilizing ability on the cadmium uptake by maize plants in contaminated soil. For this purpose, a greenhouse experiment was conducted in factorial based on a completely randomized design with four replications. Treatments were included four levels of bacteria (without bacteria (P0) and inoculation with three isolates P1, P169, P108) and four levels of time after planting (3, 6, 9, and 12 weeks). The soils were artificially spiked with cadmium (13 mg kg−1) as Cd(NO3)2. The results showed that the inoculation of maize with the selected isolates significantly increased shoot and root dry weights and shoot cadmium uptake in comparison to non-inoculated plants. The maximum shoot dry weight observed in plants inoculated with P169 and 12 weeks (31.22% more compared to non-inoculated plants). In the 12th week after planting, there was not any significant difference among P1, P108, and P169 isolates in shoot dry weights. P1 and P108 enhanced shoot dry weights by 23.81 and 22.21 percent in comparison to control, respectively. The maximum uptake of cadmium in plant shoot was found in inoculation with P169 and 12th week. In the 12th week, P169 increased cadmium uptake of the shoot by 150 percent in comparison to the control and 13.81 and 37.75 percent, compared to P1 and P108, respectively. Although all of the isolates used in the greenhouse experiment significantly increased cadmium uptake by maize plants but the effectiveness of P169 was more evident than other isolates.

Nowadays the application of organic and biological fertilizers has increased regarding to the destructive environmental impacts of applying chemical fertilizers and the high cost of production of them. One of the essential components to achieve the sustainable agriculture is integrated plant nutrition through using organic and biological fertilizers. An experiment was conducted as completely randomized factorial design in the greenhouse of University of Vali-e-Asr to evaluate the effect fluorescent pseudomonads and vermicompost on growth and nutrition of pistachio (Pistacia vera L. var. Qazvini) seedlings. In this experiment Factors included vermicompost at 3 levels (0, 2 and 4 % w/w) and 3 levels of bacteria (Inoculation with two strains of fluorescent pseudomonads and without bacteria). The results showed that use of bacterial isolates significantly increased shoot dry weight, uptake of phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and micro elements compared to control. Application of strain D12 increased phosphorus and calcium uptake in shoot respectively 18 and 23 percent compared to control. Also the application of vermicompost significantly increased phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and zinc upkake in shoot compared to control. using vermicompost (4%) increased uptake of potassium and magnesium respectively 20 and 28 percent in shoot. The combined use of D12 and vermicompost (4%) increased iron uptake equivalent 85%. Altogether the results indicated that use of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria and vermicompost  as an organic fertilizer and also their combined application could be effective on growth and nutrition of Pistachio seedlings.

In this study, the effect of some plant probiotic bacteria were isolated from salty and dry areas were investigated in control the fungus agent pistachio gummosis disease and growth stimulating properties. 200 bacteria isolates were isolated from rhizosphere and non rhizosphere areas of pistachio trees and weeds in the margins of gardens in Kerman province. Thirty isolates were able to endure the used salt tolerant. The bacteria isolates were investigated at the hypersensitivity reaction (HR) test. Three of them were eliminated due to positive result of HR and the other were studied more as antagonist agents. In the early stage the biocontrol ability of these isolates against the fungus causing pistachio gummosis diseases such as Phytophthora drechsleri were surveied. For this purpose, inhibition zone test (antibiosis) was performed that antagonist isolates showed significant effect on P. drechsleri growth. In the secondary stage, The ability of isolates to produce some biocontrol metabolites including protease, antifungal volatile compounds and hydrogen cyanide were evaluated. Growth stimulating characteristics of these isolates incloding amount of siderophore and IAA production were measured. soluble ability of insoluble mineral phosphate was surveied, too. The results showed from 27 studied isolates for growth stimulating properties, %80 at least had one of the PGPR properties. %64 of the isolates were productive of siderophore, %80 productive of IAA, %45 having solving ability of insoluble mineral phosphate. The isolates C16, F47 and G11 as superior isolates of this study in vitro were successful in controlling the disease.

Millet is one of the traditional cereal in arid and semi-arid tropics That it had high tolerance to drought and salinity stress. Salinity is one of the most important abiotic stresses. Reducing the limiting effects of salinity, has a positive impact on agricultural production. Humic acid substances play a major role as the most stable part of organic matter directly on the release nutrients, cation exchange capacity, inhibiting the release of phosphorus and heavy metals and toxic. Vermicompost is a kind of compost produced by worms as a result of the transformation and digestion of organic remains, occurs while passing through the digestive tract of the animals. The aim of this study was include Comprising of the granular humic and vermicompost fertilizer at increasing grain yield in salinity condition and Effect of humic acid granular fertilizer and vermicompost at reducing the effects of soil salin. In order to evaluation the effect of organic fertilizers such as vermicompost and humic fertilizer on amendment of salty soils to improve soil conditions as well as reduce or eliminate the use of chemical fertilizer. This factorial experiment took place in a randomized complete block design with 4 replications. The First factor include salinity levels (1 and 10 ds/m), the second factor consists of three levels (0, 2 and 4%) humic Fertilizer and the third factor consists of three levels (0, 5 and 10 %) vermi compost fertilizer that applied in growth of millet Proso. The results indicated that plant dry weight influenced by humic acid and vermi compost by weight percentage. According to the results, chlorophyll was only affected by humic acid treatment. In this study was significant interaction between plant height, grain yield, with vermicompost, salt and humic acid. The results indicated that the use of vermicompost increased plant dry weight. The highest plant dry weight were obtained with the use of 2% humic acid. thus seam with application of organic fertilizer can be adjusted adverse effects of salt stress and planted Relatively tolerant plants without a significant reduction in yield and yield components According to the results of this study Vermicompost humic acid and the increased growth in some of the properties of millet Interaction of humic acid and vermicompost had a significant effect on chlorophyll content index, plant dry weight and grain yield Also with the applying salinity stress was obtained least amount of grain yield that This was indicated the negative impact of salinity stress on plant. Simultaneously with application of salinity in the soil Na + occupying exchangeable phase Some of the cations And increased concentration in the soil solution. Leading to easier access and more absorbed by the plant. Therefore, it can be used. Biofertilizers in order to reduce the effects of salinity stress

Soil and water salinity is considered an important limiting factor for growth in many parts of the world especially in arid and semi-arid areas. Plant growth is restricted by salt stress like many other abiotic stresses. According to the relative tolerance of pistachio plant to salinity and large areas of saline soils in the country, it seems that pistachio is a suitable plant for cultivation in these areas. Since the production and activity of plant hormones such as cytokinins is influenced by environmental stresses and nutrient elements and considerig the soil salinity of pistachio orchards in kerman province and the important role of nitrogen in the production and exportation of cytokinin from roots to shoots this research for the first time investigates the role of benzyl adenine hormone (cytokinin) and nitrogen under salt stress on physiological parameters and osmotic regulators of pistachio seedlings (Pistachia vera L.).
In order to evaluate the effect of different levels of nitrogen and benzyl adenine on some physiological and osmotic regulators parameters of pistachio seedlings, cv. Badami Zarand in saline conditions (sodium chloride), a factorial experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design with three replications in the greenhouse. Treatments were consisted of salinity (0 and 2000 mg NaCl per kg soil), nitrogen (0 and 100 mg N kg-1 soil as NH4No3), and benzyl adenine hormone (0, 250 and 500 mg l-1).
The results showed that application of 500 mg per liter benzyl adenine under salt stress increased dry weight of plant more than 2 folds compared to control. Also, with increasing salinity, the content of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll was decreased. However application of nitrogen and benzyl adenine together, increased these parameters by 77, 72 and 52 percent, respectively. Also, carotenoids are affected by the treatments were increased by 78 percent. Although salinity reduced chlorophyll fluorescence index 31 percent, the application of nitrogen and 500 mg per liter benzyl adenine together could improve somewhat the effects of salinity and increased this photosynthetic parameter by 43 percent. Also, the results showed that proline and soluble sugars contents (osmotic regulators) increased with application of nitrogen and benzyl adenine (500 mg per liter), but combined application of these treatments increased osmotic regulators content by 78 and 59 percent compared to control, respectively.
The ratio of K/Na and Ca/Na were also significantly reduced with increasing salinity, but application of 500 mg per liter benzyl adenine increased these parameters by 100 and 40 percent, respectively.
According to the results, it is concluded that the nitrogen and benzyl adenine with improving of physiological and osmotic regulators parameters, increased the ability of pistachio seedlings to resistance to salinity stress and thus recommended to performe this test on maturity pistachio trees and if increase the quality and quantity of product to be recommended to farmers.

Plant inoculation with effective plant growth promoting and heavy metal resistant rhizobacteria is an efficient method to improve the phytoremediation efficiency and extraction of heavy metals from contaminated soils. With respect to this reason, astudy was conducted to isolate, identify and evaluate the growth stimulating traits of copper-resistant bacteria from a Cu-contaminated soil. Six rhizospheric soil samples of indigenous plants were collected in Sarcheshmeh Khatoonabad, Kerman province. After screening, six strains were selected. Phenotypic, biochemical and genetic identification data showed that five and one isolates were belong to Pseudomonas and Bacillus genera respectively. Then, the minimum inhibitory concentration of copper, siderophore production, auxin and hydrogen cyanide production, the ability to solubilize mineral phosphate in solid and liquid medium, the ability to solubilize Zn low soluble compounds in solid and liquid medium and production of ACC-deaminase were investigated. The results indicated that all of the isolates were resistant to various concentrations of copper. The maximum resistance to inhibitory concentration of copper was related to K4 and K5 strains at a concentration of 400 mg L-1 of copper. All of the strains were able to produce siderophore in CAS medium except for K6 strains and strain K5 was also the superior in siderophore production. Among the strains, K4 and K6 were not able to produce auxin. There was also a significant difference between auxin productions by isolates K1 with the other isolates, with the highest auxin production (2.07 mg L-1). The results also demonstrated that among the strains, only K4 strain was capable of producing hydrogen cyanide (degree: four=relatively high) and the other isolates were reported as non-production of hydrogen cyanide (degree: one). The results of Three Calcium Phosphate (TCP) solubilizing by isolates in PKV broth medium showed that K1, K2, and K3 strains had the most phosphorus solubility (706, 661 and 588 mg L-1) respectively and there wasn’t significant difference between them. The results demonstrated that K4 and K5 isolates with 0.910 and 0.850 halos to colony diameter had a significant difference with other isolates in solid medium containing ZnCO3 and the rest of the strains, K1, K2, K3 and K6 did not show the ability to solubilize the zinc carbonate as well. The solubilizing of solid zinc oxide in solid medium by K4 strain (halo:colony, 2.11) was the highest solubility of zinc oxide and K1, K2, K3 and K6 strains were not able to dissolve the zinc oxide in the solid medium. They did not show the ability to dissolve the low soluble zinc oxide nor the zinc carbonate compounds. K4 strain had the highest zinc carbonate solubility in the broth (12.5 mg L-1) and the highest solubility of zinc oxide in the broth was attributed to K4 strain (9.76 mg L-1). According to the results, these isolates can be used for enhancing phytoremediation efficiency of this element in contaminated soils.

In order to evaluate the effect of bacterial isolates on growth parameters and nutrient uptake in two varieties of maize (such as SC704 & TWC645), two experiments were separately conducted based on a completely randomized design with four replication in greenhouse of University of Vali-e-Asr in 2014. The experimental treatments consist of four isolates of fluorescent Pseudomonads (P7, P15, P24 and P29) and control (without bacteria inoculation). The results showed that the inoculation with isolates P29, P15, P7, P15, P29 and p24 respectively increased shoot dry weight (42.9 percent), shoot length (23.7 percent), leaf area (43.6 percent), chlorophyll content (15.9 percent), root dry weight (49.8 percent) and root mass in variety of SC704 compared to the control (no inoculation). of SC704 significantly compared to the control. The examined isolates increased the uptake of Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn in root and shoot in variety of TWC645 significantly compared to the control. The highest uptake of Zn was observed in treatment P29 which raised the uptake of Zn in root and shoot 66.2 and 41.8 respectively in variety of TWC645 in comparison with control. All isolates had significant effect on SC704 root zinc uptake and largest increase in shoot Zn uptake was related to isolate P29 with 60.2% increase compared to the control. Overall, our observations revealed that the inoculation of maize with selected isolates had effective role on the growth and uptake of nutrients in maize.

One of the vital components to achieve sustainable agriculture is integrated plant nutrition through using organic and biofertilizers in. A lot of researches have been conducted regarding the tolerance of different varieties of pistachio (Pistacia vera) to drought and salinity; however, limited researches are focused on the reaction of various varieties to organic and biofertilizers. For this purpose, a greenhouse experiment was performed in Vali-e- Asr University of Rafsanjan in 2015 as a completely randomized factorial design in three replications. In this study, treatments included surface sterilized and germinated seeds of pistachio in two varieties (Badamie-riz Zarand and Qazvini), three levels of bacteria (inoculated with D6 and D12 isolates of Fluorescent pseudomonads and non-inoculated) and three organic manure application rates (0, 2 and 4 % w/w). The treatments were replicated three times and arranged totally in 54 pots. Application of cow manure and fluorescent psudomonads increased growth and nutrient uptake Badamie-riz Zarand and Qazvini pistachio varieties. In this research the increment of measured parameters in two pistachio varieties in comparison with controls (with no application of organic and biofertilizers) were considered as response and then two varieties responses were statistically compared together. The application of manure and Fluorescent pseudomonads promoted the growth and nutrient uptake in both varieties. Comparing of two varieties showed that using bacteria compared with significantly increased phosphorus, iron and zinc uptake in Qazvini (Q) variety in comparison with Badami-rizZarand (B) variety. Response of Qazvini to application of cow manure was better and the applied manure treatments could significantly enhance nitrogen, phosphorus and copper uptake up to 61, 189 and 490 percent (P

Nowadays the application of organic and microbial fertilizers has increased regarding the destructive environmental impacts of applying chemical fertilizers and the high cost of production of them. One of the essential components to achieve the sustainable agriculture is integrated plant nutrition through using organic and microbial fertilizers. An experiment was done in a completely randomized factorial design in the greenhouse of University of Vali-e-Asr to evaluate the effect of organic and microbial fertilizers on growth and nutrition of pistachio seedlings. In this experiment two variety of pistachio seeds, Badami-riz Zarand and Qazvini, after sterilization and germination were planted In two separate experiments and were inoculated in 3 level of bacteria (uninoculated (D0) and inoculated with 2 different strains of Fluorescent Pseudomonads (D6 and D12)) and 3 level of manure (0 (M0), 2 (M2) and 4 (M4) W/W%) in 3 replications (54 pots). The results indicated that the combined effect of bacteria and manure could rise leaf dry weight (28.1 %), stem dry weight (77.6 %) and shoot dry weight (37.0%) in Badami-riz Zarand variety and 60.4%, 48.6% and 55.0% in Qazvini variety in comparison to control respectively. The application of fertilizer and Bacteria in all of the treatments increased macronutrients and micronutrients uptake. The uptake of Ca raised more than 160% in both of the varieties as well. The uptake of N and P in Qazvini variety was related to M0D6 and M2D6 which soared 114% and 115% respectively compared to the control. The maximum uptake of Mn in Badami- riz Zarand and Qazvini varieties was indicated in M2D6 and M2D12 which boosted 91.7% and 100% respectively in comparison with the control. M4D12 demonstrated the highest Fe and Zn uptake (94.4% and 88.1% respectively) compared to the control. Regarding the results, environmental problems and high costs of chemical fertilizers, manure and microbial Fertilizers are recommended for improving growth and nutrition of pistachio.

Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients in plants which its shortage in soil is the main factor limiting plant growth. Molecular nitrogen comprises about 80 % of the atmospheric gases whereas it is not directly absorbable in plants. Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) through symbiosis with leguminous plants is one of the most important ways entrance of inorganic nitrogen into soils. Inoculation of legumes with rhizobia is also an important process to maximize biological N2 fixation capacity in these crops. Moreover, phosphorus is an essential element to convert atmospheric N (N2) into ammonium (NH4) in nitrogen fixation process. Hence in this study, the effects of simultaneous application of Sinorhizobium and phosphorus on the growth, nitrogen fixation and nutrients uptake of Fenugreek were evaluated.
Material and To evaluate the effect of combined application of Sinorhizobium and phosphorus levels on growth, nitrogen content and other nutrients uptake of Fenugreek, five isolates of Sinorhizobium were selected from bacterial bank of soil science department, University of Rafsanjan and used in a greenhouse experiment. These bacteria were had isolated from Fenugreek root nodules and had the highest symbiotic effectiveness. The greenhouse experiment was conducted in factorial based on completely randomized design with three replications including two factors i) five levels of bacteria (inoculation with four Sinorhizobium isolates (SR4,SR5,SR12, SR16) and non-inoculated as control) ii) four levels of phosphorous (0, 20, 40 and 60 mg kg-1soil).
Results showed that simultaneous application of Sinorhizobium and phosphorus levels significantly increased the number of nodule and shoot dry weight. Also combined application of Sinorhizobium and phosphorus levels significantly enhanced amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, iron and magnesium in shoot of Fenugreek. Interaction of the isolates and phosphorus levels didn’t have any significant effect (p
this study revealed that simultaneous application of isolate SR4 and 60 mg phosphorus per kg soil was the most efficient treatment in improvement of growth, nitrogen content and other nutrients uptake of Fenugreek. In comparison with control, this treatment enhanced soot dry weight from 0.25 to 2.25 g pot-1, nodule number from 70 to 570, nitrogen and phosphorus contents from 6.95 and 0.28 to 100 and 2.54 mg pot-1 and also iron and manganese uptake from 0.02 and 0.03 to 0.19 and 0.28 µg pot-1respectively.

Soil fertility management through use of organic and biological fertilizers is a crucial component of sustainable agriculture. A greenhouse experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of vermicompost and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on the growth and nutrient uptake of sesame seedlings. This experiment was conducted in factorial based on completely randomized design with four replications. Experiment factors included four levels of (zero (V0), 1 (V1), 2 (V2) and 4 percent (V3)) and five bacterial levels (without bacteria (B0), inoculation with an isolate from fluorescent pseudomonads group, having ability to dissolve inorganic phosphate (B1), Azospirillum sp. (B2) and Azotobacter sp. (B3) with ability to fix nitrogen, and a mixture of three bacteria (B4). The results showed that the main effects of vermicompost and PGPR significantly enhanced the leaf area, stem diameter and chlorophyll index in comparision to the control. Also, the combined application of vermicompost and PGPR significantly increased the shoot dry weight, plant height, number of leaves and nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, manganese, zinc and copper uptake in sesame seedling (P

Nowadays, the use of chemical fertilizers in agricultural land causes numerous environmental problems such as water pollution, soil pollution and reduction of soil fertility. Using biological resources have important role in soil biological activity and fertility, improvement of product quality and safety of agricultural ecosystems. Hence, to investigate the effects of vermicompost and nitrogen-fixing bacteria (NFB)on the growth and nutrient uptake of Sesame seedlings, a greenhouse experiment was conducted in completely randomized factorial design with four replications. Treatments were included four levels of vermicompost (zero (V0), 1 (V1), 2 (V2) and 4 percent (V3)) and three levels of bacterial treatments (inoculation with Azospirillum (B1) and Azotobacter (B2) and without bacteria (B0)). The results showed that the application of vermicompost and NBF, each one alone, significantly increased the plant height, stem diameter, phosphorus and zinc uptake. Also, simultaneous application of vermicompost and NFB significantly enhanced shoot dry weight, leaf surface area and uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron, manganese and copper. The maximum shoot dry weight, leaf surface and uptake of nitrogen, potassium, iron and manganese were obtained from 4 % vermicompost treatment with Azotobacter inoculation. The highest copper content in the shoot was found in 2% vermicompost treatment without bacteria inoculation.

In order to investigate the effect of gibberellic acid and nitrogen on the length of root system and micronutrients concentration of pistachio seedlings in saline conditions (cv. Badami Zarand), a factorial greenhouse experiment was carried out as a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. Treatments consisted of two salinity levels (0 and 1200 mg NaCl per kg soil), two nitrogen levels (0 and 150 mg N kg-1 soil as NH4No3) and two levels of gibberellic acid hormone (0 and 75 mg l-1). Results showed that although salinity significantly decreased the length of root system, the application of 75 mg per liter gibberellic acid in this saline conditions increased the length of root system 36 percent compared to control. Also, the application of 75 mg per liter gibberellic acid in saline conditions increased the concentration of Cu, Zn and Fe in shoot by 58, 44 and 65 percent, respectively. Combined application of nitrogen and gibberellic acid increased the concentration of Cu and Fe in shoot more than 2 folds compared to control. Also, combined application of nitrogen and gibberellic acid increased Cu and Zn concentrations more than 2 folds and Fe concentration increased 52 percent compared to control. The results also showed that in saline conditions, the highest concentrations of Cu, Mn and Fe by shoot and Zn by root was observed with the combination of nitrogen and gibberellic acid. According to the results, in the end of it can be concluded that the combination application of nitrogen and gibberellic acid was more effective in reducing the detrimental effects of salinity than the use of these treatments alone.

Maize (Zea mays) is a cereal crop that is grown widely throughout the world in a range of agroecological environments. .Its value as a cost-effective ruminant feed is one of the main reasons that farmers grow it. However, lack of nutrients such as N and P, are the principal obstacles - to crop production under low input agricultural systems leading to dependency on chemical fertilizers. Long-term use of chemical fertilizers destroy soil physicochemical properties and it reduced permeability which restricts root growth, nutrient uptake and plant production. Therefore, the use of organic fertilizers can help to enrich the soil root zone As a result growth and yield will improve.
In order to study the effects of different levels of vermicompost and foliar application of tea compost on growth characteristics of the hybrid maize genotype 713, a greenhouse experiment was conducted as a factorial experiment in randomized complete block design with three replications at the Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan, during 2013. Treatments were included vermicompost (0, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30% pot weight) and tea composts (foliar application, non-foliar application). Measured traits were included root dry weight, root volume, leaf dry weight, stem dry weight, macro nutrient concentration (N and P) and micro nutrient concentration (Zn, Mn, Fe and Cu). All the data were subjected to the statistical analysis (two-way ANOVA) using SAS software (SAS 9.1.3). Differences between the treatments were performed by Duncan’s multiple range test (DMRT) at 1% confidence interval.
Results indicated that leaf and stem dry weight affected by the application of vermicompost and tea compost. However, the interaction effects had no significant effects on the leaf and stem dry weight. Application of tea compost increased 20% and 50% leaf dry weight and stem dry weight of corn compared to non- foliar application, respectively. The highest leaf dry weight and stem dry weight observed at 25% pot weight vermi compost, and lowest leaf and stem dry weight observed in control. Root volume and root dry weight affected by the interaction effects of vermi compost and tea composts. The highest root dry weight and root volume observed in 30% weight in non-foliar application condition. The highest root dry weight and root volume observed in 15% pot weight in tea compost application condition. It is also resulted that Fe concentration of shoot had affected by the application of tea compost, and using vermi compost affected the concentration of Zn, Fe and N in shoot. Application of tea compost increased 15% Fe concentration of shoot compared to non- foliar application. Using vermi compost of 30, 30 and 15% per pot weight increased concentration of Fe, N and Zn of corn shoot, respectively.
Result indicated that Mn, Cu and P concentration of corn shoot affected by interaction effects of vermicompost tea compost. It is also resulted that the highest concentration of Mn, and Cu observed in 15% pot weight in tea compost application condition and the highest concentration of P observed in 5% pot weight in tea compost application.
Nutrient contents of vermicompost and tea compost are comparable with other organic fertilizers. Totally, it seems that using tea compost foliar application due to bioavailability nutrient could decrease the amount of vermicompost application.

Pistachio is one of the most important crops in many regions of Iran with respect of production and export. There are more than 470000 ha of nonbearing and bearing pistachio trees mainly in Kerman province. Despite the economic importance of this crop, very little information is available on its nutritional requirements. Pistachio trees like other crops need to macro and micro nutrients. one of these elements is manganese (Mn). Manganese is an essential mineral nutrient, playing a key role in several physiological processes, particularly photosynthesis, respiration and nitrogen assimilation. This element is normally supplied to the plants by soil. Therefore, soil conditions affect its availability to plants. Soils with high pH, calcareous soils, especially those with poor drainage and high organic matter, are among the soils which produce Mn-deficient plants. Calcium carbonate is the major inactivation factor of Mn in calcareous soils. The soils of Iran are predominantly calcareous in which micronutrients deficiency, including Mn, is observed due to the high pH and nutrient fixation. The objective of this research was to examine the effect of manganese application on growth and chemical composition of pistachio seedlings in some calcareous soils with different chemical and physical properties.
For this purpose a greenhouse experiment was carried out as factorial (two factors including soil type and Mn levels) experiment in completely randomized design with three replications. Treatments were consisted of three levels of Mn (0, 10 and 20 mg Mn Kg-1 soil as Manganese sulfate) and 12 different soils from Rafsanjan region in Southern Iran. Soil samples were air dried and crushed to pass through a 2-mm sieve, and some physical and chemical properties of soils such as texture, electrical conductivity, pH, organic matter content, calcium carbonate equivalent, cation exchange capacity and iron, manganese, copper and zinc availability were determined. Then plastic pots were filled with 5 kg of these soils. Pistachio seeds (cv Badami Zarand) were placed in muslin sacks and pretreated for 24 h with Benomyl solution. The germinated seeds were planted in each pot, and each pot was irrigated with distilled water. Nitrogen and phosphorous were applied uniformly to all pots at the rate of 50 mg kg−1 soil as ammonium nitrate and potassium dihydrogen phosphate forms, respectively. Zinc, iron and copper also were added to treatments at level of 5 mg kg−1 soil as zinc sulfate, iron sequestrine138 and copper sulfate. After 24 weeks, the seedlings were cut at the soil surface, and the roots were washed free of soil. Leaves, stems and roots were dried at 70 oC for 48 h in an oven. The total leaf, stem, and root dry weights were recorded. The ground plant samples were dry- ashed at 550oC, dissolved in 2 N HCl, and made to volume with hot distilled water. Plant Mn, Cu, Zn and Fe concentrations determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. All data were statistically analyzed according to the technique of analysis variance (ANOVA) by MSTATC.
Results indicated that the application of manganese increased leaf, stem and root dry weight of pistachio seedlings so that the maximum amount of the dry weight of roots stems and leaves of pistachio seedlings were observed at 10 mg Mn kg-1soil. Application of 10 mg Mn kg-1 soil increased leaf, stem and root dry weight by 19.2%, 25.2% and 23.9% in comparison to control, respectively. Chemical composition (concentration and uptake) of shoot of pistachio seedlings was also affected by Mn application. Mn application decreased the concentration and uptake of iron, concentrations of copper and zinc in Pistachio seedling shoots so that the highest concentrations of these elements were observed in control treatment. Reductions in concentrations of zinc and copper elements in 10 mg Mn kg-1 treatment were not statistically significant but in 20 mg Mn kg-1 treatment they were significant.
The results of this research showed that the application of 10 mg Mn kg-1soilto highly calcareous soils significantly increased most of growth parameters of pistachio seedlings in comparison to control. Although higher amounts of manganese (20 mg Mn kg-1 soil) reduced the growth parameters than the previous level. In overall, the results of this study indicated that for optimum growth and chemical composition of pistachio seedlings in calcareous soils, application of 10 mg Mn kg-1 sol is necessary.

Several studies have shown that the use of phosphate fertilizers resulted in the transfer of heavy metals to agricultural crops. On the other hand, potential of carbonates soils in the stabilization of P have been caused of using natural modifier along with phosphate fertilizers for increasing their effectiveness. Hence, this study was carried out to investigate the effect of native phosphate rock and imported triple superphosphate treated with sulfur and Thiobacillus on the accumulation of lead and cadmium in pistachio seedling. The pot experiment was conducted as factorial based on completely randomized design with three replications including three levels of phosphate fertilizers (control (P0), 2000 mg phosphate rock per kg soil (PR) and 67 mg triple superphosphate per kg soil (TSP)), two levels of elemental sulfur (0 (S0) and 2000 mg sulfur per kg soil (S1)) and two levels inoculums (non-inoculation (T0) and Thiobacillus inoculation (T1)). Cadmium and lead concentrations in shoots and roots were measured and also cadmium and lead concentrations were analysed in both phosphate fertilizers. Results showed that cadmium contamination in the triple superphosphate was 5 times higher than phosphate rock while there are no significant differences in the concentration of lead in both of fertilizers. Application of triple superphosphate had the greatest effect on shoot cadmium concentration (10.5%) compared to the phosphate rock. Using Thiobacillus increased significantly shoot cadmium concentration (6%) and cadmium translocation factor. Application of phosphate fertilizers decreased lead concentration in shoot and the highest lead concentration was observed in the control treatment.

In order to study the effect of Synorhizobium meliloti on growth and nutrients uptake of sesame, a greenhouse test was carried out. The first isolates investigated in IAA and siderophore producing and their ability in solubilizing inorganic phosphates. The results showed that all of isolates were able to produce auxin with different among. The maximum amount of IAA production was 59.5 g ml-1 that was related to SR24 isolate. All isolates could solubilize tricalcium phosphate (Ca3(PO4)2) in Sperber medium, and SR18 with 139 µg ml-1 had the highest ability to solubilize tricalcium phosphate. Also SR3 and SR32 isolates produced the highest amont of siderophore. According to the results, five isolates that were better in IAA and siderophore producing and solubilizing inorganic phosphates were selected and used in a greenhouse test. This experiment was conducted base on completely randomized design with five treatment including four isolates of Synorhizobium meliloti and one treatment without bacteria as control and four replications. The results indicated that inoculation of isolates enhanced Sesame shoot dry weight compared to control and this increasing was significant for SR18, SR16 and SR3. Application of most isolates also increased measured nutrients uptake in Sesame shoot. However only isolate SR18 significantly increased the nutrients uptake including P, Zn, Cu and Fe compared to control.

To study the interactive effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (Glomus mosseae) and Pseudomonas fluorescens (P52 strain) bacteria¡ on osmotic regulators and water relations of pistachio seedling (Pistacia vera cv. ‘Qazvini’) under drought stress¡ a greenhouse experiment was conducted using four levels of drought stress (100% Field capacity (FC) as control and 75¡ 50 and 25% FC) and four levels of biofertilizer (non mycorrhizal and non bacterial plants as control¡ mycorrhizal treatment¡ bacterial treatment and a mixed treatment of both) in a completely randomized design as factorial with four replications. The maximum of root colonization (49.6%)¡ leaf relative water content (64.8%) and proline (10.8 mg l-1) was observed in 25% FC. Water use efficiency increased in 50% FC (0.6 mg ml-1). Drought stress reduced the soluble carbohydrates in leaves (2245.3 mg l-1 in 25% FC). None of treatments had effect on proteins and phenolic compounds. According to the results obtained¡ pistachio plants provide resistance against drought with increase of proline and bacterial treatment increased proline content in 25% FC (13.4 mg l-1). In addition¡ effect of mycorrhizal treatment on leaf relative water content was positive (61.3%). Thus consolidated application of mycorrhizal fungus and Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria is recommended for increasing drought resistance of pistachio.

A greenhouse study was conducted to compare the abundance and functional diversity of endorhizobacteria of pistachio seedlings grown in three soils with different chemical and physical characteristics. After two months, the abundance of endorhizobacteria and some important plant growth promoting-properties including Indole Acetic Acid (IAA) production, nitrogen fixation and ACC utilization as the sole source of nitrogen were determined. The results showed that the abundance of endorhizobacteria was the highest in soil 2, which contained the highest organic carbon content. Also, the abundance of endorhizobacteria isolated from soil 1, 2 and 3 were 48.5, 60 and 53 % for IAA production; 27.3, 62.9 and 50 % for nitrogen fixation; and 15.2, 48.6 and 16.7 % for ACC utilization, respectively. Based on high organic carbon content, high abundance of endorhizobacteria in soil 2 and their high capability in production of plant growth promoting compounds, it seems that there is a relationship between soil organic carbon and endorhizobacteria population and also the abundance of these bacteria.