فهرست مطالب غلامحسن رنجبر

This research was conducted in order to compare conservation tillage methods compared to conventional tillage on the moisture retention, organic matter and bulk density of the soil. Experiments were conducted on permanent raised bed (PRB), no-till with SFOGGIA (NT) and Jab Planter (JP) equipments, in a wheat- rapeseed-corn cropping system, during 2018-2020, as a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Barzegar and Neptune cultivars and SC704 hybrid were used for wheat, rapeseed and corn, respectively. The examined characteristics included levels of soil moisture, bulk density and amount of soil organic matter. Average of organic matter in 0-30 cm soil depth was increased from 0.23% at the beginning of experiment to 0.53%, 0.67% and 0.48% at the end of experiment in PRB, NT and JP treatments, respectively. The amount of soil organic matter in CT treatment was about 0.49% at the end of the experiment. The highest amount of available water was observed in PRB (0.207 %), CT (0.193 %) and JP (0.163 %) treatments, respectively. The lowest value of this parameter was observed in NT treatment (0.143%). The lowest value of the average bulk density of soil was observed in the CT treatment (1.47 g/cm3) and the highest value was observed in the NT treatment (1.60 g/cm3). The use of conservation tillage methods and preservation of residues in the field can help to improve soil organic matter. Also, the average bulk density, water holding capacity of the soil are strongly affected by the application of different tillage methods.

Salinity of water and soil resources is one of the most basic agricultural problems, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Identifying and domesticating salinity-resistant plant (halophytes) species with economic value is an important strategy for these regions.

This research aimed to investigate the amount of elements and the quality of fodder in several Salicornia species under the influence of water salinity in a factorial experiment with a completely randomized design in pot culture conditions in Bojnourd (North Khorasan province) in 2018. Irrigation treatment was applied at two levels (brackish water and normal water), and Salicornia species treatment included four species (Salicornia persica, S. sinus persica, S. europaea, and S. bigelovii) and Salicornia var Markazi. The source of salty water was the Kal-Shoor river in Esfrain and the source of normal water was the well located in Research and Education of Agriculture and Natural Resurces Center in Bojnourd. Due to the high salinity of Kal-Shoor river, normal water was used to adjust the salinity to the treatment limit of 45 dSm-1. To produce seedlings, Salicornia seeds were planted in plastic combs for seedling production in April 2018. After 60 days, seedlings (10-15 cm) were transferred to pots. The irrigation circuit varied in different growth stages according to weather conditions, and irrigation was done by the weight method with the 80% moisture index of the pots.

The results showed that the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, sodium and chlorine increased with the increase in irrigation water salinity in all species. The highest accumulations of sodium (11%) and chlorine (23.5%) were observed in S. sinus persica and the lowest amount of sodium (8.6%) and chlorine (21%) were observed in S. persica. Among the Salicornia species, the lowest amount of elements is related to potassium and phosphorus ions, which is mostly due to the limitation of the absorption of these elements under the influence of sodium ions, and as mentioned in the sources, the process of absorption of these elements increases gradually with the growth stages. Maintaining a more negative potential of the membrane is an important factor for salinity tolerance, considering that in saline soils, chlorine and sodium are the most common solutes, the absorption of sodium and chlorine ions is important for regulating osmotic pressure and cytoplasmic concentration. In this experiment, in both irrigation treatments, the most elements in all species were related to chlorine and sodium ions. Based on the measurement of quality variables of fodder, the percentages of protein, crude fat, and ash in salty water treatment were higher than those in normal water. The highest percentage of crude fat (1.32%) in S. var. Markazi was affected by saltwater treatment, which was significantly different from the other species. The highest percentages of protein in S. bigelovii and S. europaea under the influence of saltwater treatment were 6.06% and 6.31%, respectively, which were significantly different from the other species. The highest amounts of ash belonged to S. europaea (63%) and S. bigelovii (62%) in saltwater treatment, and S. sinus persica contained the least ash (49%) in normal water treatment. Although the increase in protein increases the quality of fodder, the increase in the amount of ash and crude fat causes limitations in animal nutrition and digestibility. Therefore, the increase of water salinity has a negative effect on the quality of fodder.

Brackish water treatment increased the amount of ash in all species to different proportions, which is a limiting factor for the pure consumption of salicornia in animal feed. Therefore, the relative reduction of water salinity and the selection of suitable species are effective in increasing the quality of fodder.On the other hand, the great ability of Salicornia species to absorb and store salts in their aerial parts provides the basis for the exploitation of their vegetative organs for the production of vegetable salt. Moreover, it is economically important along with other applications of Salicornia (production of fodder, oil, medicines, and protection).

Camelina is an oilseed plant that could produce proper yield in arid and semi-arid areas with low water consumption. To investigate camelina response (Sohail cv.) to application of different amounts of irrigation water, this study was conducted in 2022-23 in Khatam District, Yazd Province. Treatments included drip tape irrigating based on 100% (full irrigation as control), 75% and 50% of full irrigation. Results showed that the effect of irrigation treatments on biological yield, grain yield, harvest index, plant height and protein percentage of camelina was significant (p<0.05). However, by reducing the volume of irrigation water, biological yield decreased significantly, such that biological yield of 75% and 50% treatments decreased by, respectively, 18.3% and 46% compared to the control treatment. The highest grain yield (2373.3 kg ha-1) was obtained with the application of 2384 m3 ha-1 irrigation water (control). By reducing the amount of irrigation water by 75% and 50%, grain yield decreased by 31.4% and 40.0%, respectively. The harvest indices were 22.6%, 19.0% and 25.1% for 100%, 75%, and 50% treatments, respectively. The highest plant height was 90 cm for the control treatment. The water productivity ranged from 0.88 kg m-3 for 75% treatment to 1.04 kg m-3 for the full irrigation. The highest proline content was observed for the treatments of reducing the volume of irrigation water, in which the amount of proline increased by 1.4 times compared to the control treatment. The results showed that the amount of irrigation water required for camelina was lower compared to the common winter crops, especially in tape irrigation method. Therefore, this plant could be used as a low water-demanding for delayed planting in winter season.

The availability of phosphorus (P) is a limiting factor for the production of crops due to its reactions with soil components. Furthermore, there are concerns about the depletion of non-renewable global rock phosphate (the main source of P) reserves because of the high demand for P fertilizers. Therefore, it is essential to revisit existing agricultural practices to determine new resource management practices that utilize renewable resources. The application of sewage sludge could be an alternative P source; contrary to inorganic fertilizers, sewage sludge is cheap, contains nutrients, and improves soil quality due to contained organic matter. The total P content of sewage sludge may vary from less than 0.1% to over 14% on a dry solid basis, depending on the nature of the raw sewage being treated and the treatment process under consideration. However, the use of organic P resources can affect the soil chemistry, leading to changes to the P fractions and their quantities. Hence, the objective of this study was to compare the effect of the application of municipal sewage sludge and triple superphosphate on the distribution of soil-P fractions under saline and non-saline conditions.

To investigate the effect of municipal sewage sludge and triple superphosphate on changes in P fractions an incubation experiment was conducted in a completely randomized factorial design with three levels of triple superphosphate (0, 75, and 100 Kg ha-1 which were named T0, T1, and T3, respectively), three levels of municipal sewage sludge (0, 0.25 and 0.5% w/w which were named M0, M1 and M3, respectively), two levels of salinity of irrigation water (2 and 12 dS m−1, which were named saline and non-saline, respectively) and three replicates. The total number of samples was 54. The treated soils were incubated for three months and maintained at field capacity by adding the appropriate amount of saline and non-saline waters. P fractionated to KCl-P (soluble and exchangeable P), NaOH-P (Fe- and Al bound P), HCl-P (Ca-bound P), Res-P (residual P), and organic-P by sequential extraction method. Moreover, P percentage recovery for Olsen-P at each treatment was calculated. P concentration in samples was determined by the molybdate method. Data analysis was performed by MSTAT-C software, and the means were compared at α꞊5% by Duncan test. 

The results showed that although the relative distribution of fractions followed the order of HCl-P < Organic-P < KCl-P < NaOH-P <Res-P, the changes in each fraction were dependent on the type of treatment and fraction. The amounts of KCl-P for application of municipal sewage sludge and fertilizer TSP combined, especially, T2M2 were 3.1 and 2.3 times higher than T0M0 in non-saline and saline conditions, respectively. The same result was obtained for NaOH-P. The combined and separate application of municipal sewage sludge diminished the relative distribution of HCl-P compared with triple superphosphate and control treatments in both salinities. However, the HCl-P in all treatments was more than 57% of the total P, suggesting that most of the soil P was in the carbonate phase. The treatments did not have a considerable impact on Res-P. The relative distribution of Organic-P increased by increasing levels of salinity and municipal sewage sludge. Therefore, it seems that municipal sewage sludge addition along with fertilizer P can reduce the negative effects of salinity and increase soil P availability compared with alone use of P fertilizer through growing the contents of KCl-P, NaOH-P, and organic-P fractions and, consequently, decreasing P entry into HCl-P fraction. Moreover, the application of municipal sewage sludge plus triple superphosphate increased P recovery as Olsen-P compared to a separate application of triple superphosphate which confirmed the advantage of the combined use of these sources.

The findings of this study indicate that the simultaneous application of municipal sewage sludge and triple superphosphate can effectively improve phosphorus (P) availability in saline conditions. This enhancement is attributed to the alteration of the relative distribution of non-stable P fractions, such as KCl-P and NaOH-P, which increase, while stable P fractions like HCl-P decrease. Moreover, the addition of municipal sewage sludge into soils led to a significant increase in organic C as well as the relative distribution of organic-P. Therefore, application of municipal sewage sludge can improve the physico-chemical properties of saline soil along with increase of P availability. Hence, further research on the growth response of halophyte plants as affected by these treatments is recommended.

Due to the limitations of freshwater resources, using other sources, such as drainage and seawater, is inevitable for fodder production by halophytes. Salicornia species are the most salt-tolerant plants (Eu-halophytes) that grow directly in seawater. The plant shoots could be used with common fodder plants for livestock feeding. After oil extraction, Salicornia seeds contain 43% protein. The research objective was to select the most suitable Salicornia species in terms of yield and fodder quality in Bushehr Province.

To investigate the yield and nutritional value of Salicornia, this research was carried out on Salicornia bigelovii and four native ecotypes, including Bushehr ecotype (S. sinus persica Akhani), Central Plateau ecotype (S. persica Akhani subsp.Sersica), Urmiai, Gorgan and Markazi ecotypes at the Salinity Research Station of Bushehr Province. The area is characterized by a warm and wet climate with low annual precipitation (217 mm) and high annual average temperature (24.0 °C).A three-replicate randomized complete block design was used. The field was planted by seed sowing and irrigated with Persian Gulf water (60 dS m-1).Aerial plant samples were prepared at vegetative growth to determine the fodder nutritional value of different plant species and ecotypes. Values of aerial ash, crude protein, non-protein nitrogen content (NPN), acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), and metabolizable energy were measured. At the end of the growing season, an area of one square meter was taken from each experimental unit to determine biomass dry weight. Data were analyzed using SAS software, and mean comparisons were performed using Duncan's test at the 5% level.

Results showed a significant difference in dry biomass between different Salicornia species and ecotypes. Bushehr, Central Plateau, Urmia, Gorgan ecotypes, and S. bigelovii dry biomass amounts were 18.29, 14.64, 4.22, 4.60, and 6.71 tons ha-1, respectively.The highest and lowest values of shoot ash were 54% and 46% of dry matter for Busher and S. bigelovii, respectively. There was no significant difference between species and ecotypes in crude aerial protein. The crude protein content of aerial varied between 6.9 in the Central Plateau and 8.6 in Bushehr ecotypes.The metabolizable energy of fodder was estimated between 5.17 and 5.74 MJ kg-1 of dry matter; the lowest and highest were attributed to the S. bigelovii and Urmia ecotypes, respectively. The highest and lowest cell wall indicators of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and acid detergent lignin (ADL) were related to the Gorgan and Bushehr ecotypes, respectively. Fodder gas production for different Salicornia species and ecotypes was significantly lower than for alfalfa during incubation. Among different species and ecotypes of Salicornia, the highest and lowest gas production rates were related to S. bigelovii and Urmia ecotypes.

To provide livestock fodder on the province's coasts, the Bushehr ecotype (Salicornia sinus persica Akhani) is generally recommended for planting due to its high yield and adaptability to the region. However, due to the relatively high ash content of the plant, only a part of the livestock feed could be provided by the plant fodder. Therefore, to properly use the plant fodder in livestock feed, it is necessary to determine the daily consumption of fodder in the ration.

Because of climate change, a Large part of the country's lands and waters are becoming saline, so it is very important to know the ecological aspects of halophyte species in the exploitation of water resources and saline lands. Salicornia spp. are annual coastal herbaceous plants and grow in colonies in salt marshes and seashores, especially in the mouths of rivers and waterways. Salicornia has a wide variety and distribution in many parts of the world, especially in Iran. Kal Shore River in the south of North Khorasan province is one of the areas where Salicornia plant grows with a spotted distribution pattern, and it has received less attention in scientific sources. This research was conducted in 2018 with the aim of investigating the ecology of the natural environment and the growth status of Salicornia in this region.

The studied area located about 35 km east of Esfrain, along 5 km from the edge of Kal Shore river, which according to Dumarten's climate classification is part of dry areas with an average rainfall of 186 mm and average, minimum and maximum temperatures of 15.4-17.6 and 42.3 degrees Celsius, the average relative humidity is 46% and the average evaporation and transpiration is 2400 mm. The measured components include determining associated species, water and soil salinity changes during the growing season, physical and chemical analysis of water and soil during the flowering stage of salicornia, recording the phenology stages of salicornia, determining the amount of absorption of elements and the quality of fodder, and measuring production. Wet and dry mass in one square meter plot was at the time of salicornia flowering.

Result :

According to the meteorological statistics, the amount of precipitation in the area of ​​Kal Shore in the year leading to the time of the study is 318 mm, which is twice the long-term average, and this condition has a positive effect on the establishment and growth of Salicornia. Based on the analysis, the soil sample of Salicornia habitat has silty loam texture, pH 7.7, chlorine, calcium, magnesium, and sodium levels are 1812, 54, 256, and 1550 meq/l, SAR 124, and salinity level, EC 84 to 175 dS/m. The salinity of Kal Shore water varies from the beginning of Salicornia germination (18 dS/m) to the ripening stage (110 dS/m) and has an increasing trend. The germination of Salicornia in the region is in late March, flowering is in late August to September, full ripening in November, seed shedding continues until December, and its growth period is about 8-9 months. Average dry matter was 2.8 and wet matter was 11.5 kg per square meter. The accompanying species of Salicornia are mainly bushes Halocnemum strobilaceum and Tamarix sp. Based on the dry matter analysis at the time of flowering, the average amount of elements in the plant sample is nitrogen 1%, phosphorus 0.15%, potassium 0.7%, magnesium 0.67%, calcium 0.42%, sodium 10.64%. , chlorine is 21.3% and in terms of fodder quality, crude fat is 1.55%, protein is 6.28%, and ash is 60.5%.

Based on this study, Kal Shore Esfrain in the northeast of the country is introduced as one of the growing areas of Salicornia. The results showed that Salicornia can complete the phenological stages in very high water and soil salinity conditions and have a good biomass. Due to its high ash content, Salicornia fodder is limited for animal feeding and should be combined with other sources of fodder in animal feeding rations.From the point of view of protection and environment, in areas where it is not possible for other species to establish and grow in terms of high salinity, the role of Salicornia is very important in the stability and balance of the growth environment and carbon deposition by creating suitable vegetation and absorbing elements.

This study was conducted to investigate the response of salicornia persica, directly irrigated with Persian Gulf saline water in Bushehr region, to reducing its required water and to determine the relationships between applied water and dry matter. The experiment was performed in a randomized complete block design with 3 replications. The treatments included T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6, with total applied water of 6700, 8800, 9600, 10000, 11800 and 14700 m3.ha-1, respectively. The results showed that the applied water has important role in the dry matter; So that in the treatments of T1 to T5 with a significant difference it applied water, no significant increase was obtained for the crop yield. The average dry matter of the treatments was relatively constant and about 3000 kg.ha-1. However, increasing the volume of applied water in T6 treatment had a positive and significant effect on dry matter and increased it to 4600 kg.ha-1. Under the mentioned field conditions, Salicornia water productivity (WP) was obtained between 0.15 to 0.44 kg.m-3. Therefore, to achieve yields of 5 tons per hectare and more, a timely and sufficient water supply system (by shortening of the irrigation cycles) will be required for the Salicornia fields. The latter conclusion confirms the positive response of Salicornia to the increase of applied water, which can well illustrate the challenge of water supply importance in Salicornia fields.

Fenugreek, is a medicinal plant that has been considered as a salt tolerant crop. This research was conducted to investigate the effects of salt stress on seedling emergence characteristics and determination of the salt tolerance threshold, declivity of emergence and salt tolerance index of some fenugreek ecotypes.

Seeds of five ecotypes (Ardestani, Isfahani, hendi, Mashhadi, Neyrizi) were subjected to seven levels of salinity (0.5, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18 dS/m) in a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design with three replications. In this research, experimental models (linear, sigmoidal, exponential and multi-component) were used.

Results showed that increasing levels of salinity decreased seedling emergence percentage and rate. In Ardestani and Isfahani ecotypes, increase of salinity up to 3 dS/m had no effect on seedling emergence percentage and thereafter, decreased it, significantly. The maximum seedling emergence percentage (94.62%) belonged to Hendi in control treatment. Hendi ecotype had also the highest emergence percentage (25.81%) at 18 dS/m. Although the highest seedling emergence rate (5.93 per day) belonged to Mashhadi ecotype in control treatment, it didn’t show any significant difference to Hendi, Neyrizi and Isfahani ecotypes. In Ardestani, Mashhadi and Neyrizi ecotypes, seedling length decreased significantly with increasing salinity, but this decrease was not significant in Isfahani ecotype between salinities of 3 and 6 dS/m and also 12 and 15 dS/m. In Hendi ecotype, seedling length at 3 dS/m was similar to control, but higher salinities caused a significant reduction. The maximum value of seedling vigor index (20.44) belonged to Mashhadi and Neyrizi ecotypes in control treatment and Ardestani ecotype had the lowest one (0.39) at 18 dS/m. Results showed that seedling dry weight was first unchanged up to salinity level of 3 dS/m and then gradually decreased with increasing salinity. In Hendi and Neyrizi ecotypes, applying salinities higher than 6 dS/m, gradually decreased seedling dry weight. The salt tolerance threshold of fenugreek for Ardestani, Isfahani, Hindi, Mashhadi and Neyrizi ecotypes was 4.69, 4.90, 7.83, 1.69 and 1.57 dS/m, respectively. Thus, the highest salt tolerance threshold (7.83 dS/m) and the declivity of emergence percentage (7.55%) was obtained from Hendi ecotype and the lowest one from Neyrizi ecotype (1.57 and 4.63 dS/m, respectively). Results of nonlinear models showed that the highest salinity in which  50 percent of seedlings emerged was obtained in Hendi ecotype (14.24 dS/m).

Based on the results, comparing the salt tolerance index of fenugreek ecotypes and also evaluating of some experimental models showed that Hendi ecotype may be introduced as the most tolerant ecotype to salinity stress at the emergence stage to exploit saline soil and water resources.

Farmers, who are faced with the problem of irrigation water salinity, sometimes ask questions about the yield forecast under the effect of irrigation water salinity (ECiw) and the volume of applied water (Viw). The answer to this question requires knowledge of the crop production function. The aim of this study was to investigate the interaction between ECiw and Viw on wheat grain yield (Narin cultivar) in the Yazd region. For this purpose, the response of wheat yield under the effects of irrigation water salinity (including 3, 5, and 8 dS.m-1) and volume of applied water (from 4500 to 11600 m3.ha-1) was analyzed during 2017-2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-2020 cropping seasons. The results showed that the effectiveness of applied water on wheat yield has increased in saline conditions than in non-saline conditions. Therefore, wheat growers in saline areas should be confident about the adequacy of available water to meet the field water requirements (both ET and leaching requirements) and also follow the irrigation scheduling more carefully and obsessively compared to none-saline conditions. In this case study, a wheat yield function was presented and evaluated, as well. This function works based on the salinity and the volume of irrigation water (ECiw and Viw). With a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.67, this function is expected to estimate the wheat yield with an approximate error of ±524 kg.ha-1. This equation can be used to estimate the production decline due to increasing salinity of irrigation water or decreasing the volume of applied water, to predict the yield before the harvest time as well as to meet the field water required to produce a certain amount of grains in the studied region

Different Salicornia species are widely distributed in many parts of the world. In Iran, significant diversity of this species is observed in the plant flora of the country. These plants have high economic value, including the production of edible oil, creating a green cover to prevent land erosion, carbon sequestration, consumption as vegetables and pickles, traditional folk medicine, salt, and fodder products. Based on the latest study on different species and ecotypes of Salicornia in the country, including Salicornia sinus persica, S. persica Akhani subsp. persica and ecotypes of Gorgan and Urmia show that these species can produce about 10.4 tons per hectare in the south country under seawater irrigation (Persian Gulf) by 60 dS m-1. However, due to adaptability and longer growth period, the yield of Salicornia sinus persica depending on harvesting time could be at least 40% higher than the average value. It seems by planting the plants in the southern coastal areas while developing the plant value chain, some of the forage needed for livestock be produced. However, economic and environmental evaluations of the development of Salicornia cultivation in these areas need further research.

This research was conducted to investigate effects of salinity on seed germination and evaluate experimental models for determination of salt tolerance threshold under laboratory conditions. Seeds of five fenugreek ecotypes (hendi, Ardestani, Isfahani, Neyrizi, Mashhadi) were placed in petri dishes and after adding of water (control, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27dS/m) were transferred in a germinator. The statistical design was completely randomized as factorial experiment with three replications. Results showed that increasing salinity upto 6dS/m had no effect on germination, however, higher salinities, the germination was decreased. Salinity at 24 and 27 dS/m reduced seed germination percentage by 29.8% and 80.81%, respectively. seed germination rate gradually decreased with increasing in salinity. This reduction was not significant for Ardestani and Neyrizi up to 3 dS/m and for Isfahani, Hendi and Mashhadi up to 6 dS/m. Results showed that low salinity levels increased seedling length, root length, shoot length and seed vigor index, whereas their high levels had an inhibitory effect. According to the linear model, the mean salt tolerance threshold of fenugreek was obtained 21.83 dS/m, with a reduction slope of 17.09%. Although Isfahani ecotype had a lower salt tolerance threshold (20.32 dS/m), it had the lowest reduction slope (10.37%), as well. Non-linear models also showed that the highest salinity in which seeds were germinated by 50% (25.81 dS/m), was obtained from Isfahani ecotype. Therefore, based on these results and the salt tolerance index, Isfahani ecotype can be introduced as the most tolerant one to salinity stress.

Salicornia is one of the most important industrial plants of the Chenopodiaceae family, which is grown as oilseed, fodder, or vegetable crop around the world. All Salicornia species produce succulent shoots suitable for leafy vegetable production, but they differ in germination charactristics, seedling growth and physiological parameters. Germination and seedling emergence depend on the specific genotype requirements of each species and the environmental factors such as salinity stress. Salinity stress is one of the major abiotic stresses which negatively limit crop productivity. The aim of the present study was to test biochemical and physiological responses of Salicornia species to salinity stress.

In order to investigate the seed germination and seedling growth properties of Salicornia, two separate factorial experiments were conducted based on a completely randomized design with four replications and four destructive examples for each replication during 2019. The first experiment (seed investigation) was carried on in the petri dish culture and second experiment (seedling investigation) was conducted using pots in the green house condition. Experimental treatments were six levels of salinity stresses (control, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 dS/m) arranged as the fist factor and in the second factor was three Salicornia species S. persica Golestan, S. biglovii and S. europaea.

Results of analysis of variance revealed that there was significant effect of salinity stress, genotype and interaction effects of both treatment on all measured germination and seedling growth characteristics (p<0.01). In all studied Salicornia species, the maximum value of traits obtain at control condition and the minimum value was observed in 50 dS/m salinity except for germination uniformity, seedling water content and total phenol content. The highest seedling water content (89.44%) was obtained from S. persica at 40 dS/m. The maximum flavonoid (0.156 mg/g.fw) and total phenol content (0.031 mg/g.fw) was observed in S. persica at 20 dS/m. Based on the output of Gompertz function (R2adj≥0.95 and RMSE≤3.25), salinity increase from 0 to 50 dS/m, the time to reach 50% of total seed germination was increased from 5.73 to 16.20 days in S. percia, 4.42 to 17.07 days in S.biglovii and 5.75 to 11.95 days, respectively.

Seed germination traits and seedling growth of Salicornia genotypes exhibited some level of sensitivity to salinity stress. All Salicornia species were germinated successfully at a salinity of 10 dS/m while seed germination was inhibited at 50 dS/m of salinity stress. It was revealed that the Salicornia sp. originated from Iran (S. persica) exhibited higher salinity tolerance than the species originated from Europe (i.e., S. biglovii and S. europaea). In conclusion, all Salicornia spp. exhibited reasonable salinity tolerance in the range of (10 to 30 dS/m) without compromising the high quality of the final yield. Therefore, it could be a promising alternative crop in saline-prone areas of Iran. Now, after understanding the behavior of different Salicoenia species above 10 dS/m salinity and increae of seed germination from 0 to 10 dS/m in, scrutiny of plants reaction between 0 to 10 dS/m in, it is possible to use this finding for a better breeding program of Salicornia species.

In regions with severe limitation of fresh water, salinity poses a serious threat to agriculture production due to its toxicity to most plants. Salinity tolerant plants that can survive and grow in high-salinity conditions are called halophytes. Halophyte cultivation has the potential to restore saline environments, provide for global food demands, produce medicine and biofuels, and conserve fresh water. Two approaches are presented to developing tolerant plants of seawater salinity; the first is increasing tolerance of conventional plants, and the second is choice from the large pool of halophytes, which already have the requisite salt tolerance. The difference between the upper limit of salt tolerance of conventional plants and required tolerance level to seawater salinity is huge. It has been shown that Salicornia spp. has the potential to tolerate salinity of seawater. Salicornia is a genus of succulent, halophyte flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that grow in salt marshes, on beaches, and among mangroves. Pickleweed (Salicornia bigelovii Torr.) is an obligate halophyte that has been considered as a promising plant due to the tolerance to hypersaline water and economic values such as forage production, oilseed production and fresh consumption. This study evaluated the response of Salicornia bigelovii to different water salinity treatments, determines its salt tolerance threshold and shows trend of the accumulation of Ca2+, Cl-, Na+ and K+ ions in the plant shoots.

This experiment was conducted as a completely randomized design with 4 replicates in the greenhouse of the National Salinity Research Center, Yazd, Iran. Saline water treatments included 2, 5, 8, 11, 14 and 17 dS m-1, which were prepared using dilution of Persian Gulf water. Salinity treatments were applied as irrigation of pickleweed (Salicornia bigelovii) plants with related saline water treatments. The 10 uniform seeds were sown in pots and were kept in a controlled environment with 26/18 °C (±3) day/night temperature regimes. The 84 days plants were harvested and were immediately transferred to the laboratory. Fresh and dry weight, dry matter, ash content and concentration of calcium (Ca2+), chloride (Cl-), sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) were measured in shoots. Data were subjected to analysis of variance, and the means were compared using LSD at 5% probability level. Response cure was used to determine the threshold level of reduction after reaching the peak.

The results showed that salinity treatment was significant on all traits, except dry matter percent and potassium concentration. The results showed that increasing salinity up to 8 dS m-1 increased fresh and dry weight, however higher salinity levels were associated with reduction. The threshold level of reduction after reaching to the peak were 8.65 and 7.01 dS m-1 for fresh and dry weight, respectively. The amounts of reduction in fresh weight in 2, 5, 11, 14 and 17 dS m-1 treatments compared to 8 dS m-1 treatment were 26.9%, 9.5%, 12.0%, 20.0% and 35.8%, respectively. These reductions were 23.4%, 20.7%, 27.4%, 38.9% and 41.7%, respectively in dry weight. With increasing salinity of water, the ash content of shoots had an ascending and significant trend. The lowest and the highest shoot ash were related to 2 and 17 dS m-1 water salinity, by 24.8% and 41.3%, respectively. As salinity was increased, the concentration of chlorine and sodium in shoots were enhanced, while the concentration of calcium and potassium were reduced. Correlation and stepwise regression analyses revealed that concentration of calcium and potassium were the most important traits in salinity tolerance of salicornia. It seems that salinity tolerance in salicornia occurs by osmotic regulation as the accumulation of salts in its tissue.

According to the results of this study, it can be concluded that the capability of ions accumulation strengthens the phytoremediation ability of salicornia, however increasing in ash content could have a negative effect on the forage value of the plant. Therefore, determining the nutritional value of salicornia and feed analyzing in the presence of livestock require further evaluation.

Iran, the second largest country in the Middle East, has an area of 165 million ha. Approximately, 90% of the country is classified as arid and semi-arid region, most of which is faced with low rainfall, high evapotranspiration, salinization, shortage of fresh water, erosion, excessive heat and desertification. Fresh water resources are declining in the central plateau of the country as a result of overusing underground water and severe drought in recent years. Land salinization is a major limiting factor for conventional crop production in the country. Continuous cropping together with an excessive use of chemical fertilizers and ill-managed irrigation has turned hundreds of cultivated fertile fields into saline ones. These limitations have great impacts on the welfare of the farmers whose income is solely dependent to agriculture. Regarding the increasing trend in the salinity of soil and water resources, cultivation of salt tolerant medicinal plants has been suggested as one of the strategy for utilizing saline soil and water resources. One of the medicinal plants that has a long history of use in traditional medicine and has also many therapeutic properties is fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.). This research was conducted to determine the salt tolerance threshold, yield reduction slope and to evaluate effects of utilizing saline water on yield (shoot dry weight) at vegetative stage under greenhouse conditions.

In this experiment, treatments were included seven levels of salinity (0.5, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 dS/m) obtained by mixing a saline groundwater resource (with electrical conductivity of 14 dS/m) and a fresh water resources (tap water). A leaching fraction of 30% was considered to wash out some excess salts from soil profile and preventing their accumulation in the root zone. In order to control soil salinity, the amount and electrical conductivity of both irrigation and drainage water was measured in all irrigation practices. Furthermore, athe soil salinity was monitored using a soil salinity bridge instrument. The statistical design was arranged as a complete randomized block design with three replications. In this study, different experimental models were used to determine the salt tolerance threshold, the slope of yield (shoot dry weight) reduction, the amount of salinity at which yield was reduced by 50% (EC50) and the salt tolerance index, as well.

 Results showed that there was a statistically significant difference among different salinity levels. Based on the results, salinity reduced shoot height (27.66%), number of leaves (18.03%), number of branches (5.14%), number of nodes (8.77%), stem diameter (27.04%), internodes length (54.21%), mean of expanded leaves area (46.91%), root to shoot ratio (16.97%), water content (14.62%), water use efficiency (14.70%) and increased leaf thickness (73.55%) and greenness index (47.58%), however, salinity had no significant effect on special leaf area. Although salinity stress had an adverse effect on most studied traits, the trend of this effect was varied depending on the trait. Based on the linear model, the salt tolerance threshold of fenugreek and the slope of yield reduction was estimated 1.28 dS/m and 4.91 percent, respectively. However, according to non-linear models, a reduction of 10 and 25 percent in relative grain yield was occurred at 3.38 and 6.28 dS/m, respectively. Based on the results of this research, the salinity at which the relative yield decreased by 50% percent was observed at soil salinity of 11.67 dS/m.

In this research, the fenugreek salt tolerance index was calculated as 12.24. Therefore, based on both the salinity tolerance threshold, the slope of yield reduction and salinity tolerance index, fenugreek can be classified into the group of moderately sensitive to salinity stress at the vegetative growth stage.

Considering that wheat fields are mainly irrigated by surface (basin) and localized (drip) methods, this study aimed to investigate, compare and analyze the effects of total applied water and yield factors on wheat Water Use Efficiency (WUE) of each irrigation system in Yazd province. In this way, the priority of addressing each of these factors in the two irrigation systems can be determined. The results showed that in the surface irrigation method, reducing the volume of applied water has played a more important role in improving the WUE than increasing the yield. In other words, to increase the wheat WUE of surface methods, implementation of water use optimization solutions are more prioritized compared to crop yield enhancement practices. In contrast, in the case of the drip irrigation method, the crop yield enhancement solutions have played a more decisive role in improving wheat WUE. In these fields, wheat agronomic practices such as proper planting date and density, selecting suitable and high yielding varieties, proper irrigation cycle, proper fertilizer application, and pest and disease control have had a significant role in WUE of wheat, which requires high attention by the farmers to these issues. It was also observed that despite the possible reduction of applied water in drip irrigation compared to the surface method and consequent quantitative enhancement of WUE, but there may be the possibility of low and unacceptable wheat performance. This can cause economic inefficiency of the drip irrigation system for wheat. So, it is highly recommended to consider and implement the above-mentioned agronomic practices in wheat drip irrigated fields.

In current research, some soil properties and growth of camelthorn (Alhagi maurorum Medik.) were monitored in saline lands in Yazd Province during 2019-2020 and accordingly, the ability of this species was determined for growing in the saline lands. For this purpose, seven rangelands in Yazd consisted of Bafgh, Javadieh, Bahabad, Jolgeh, Ardakan, Aghda and Abarkooh were selected, in which Alhagi was dominant vegetation. Salinity of saturated extract (ECe) and pH of soil, salinity and pH of water, fresh and dry weight were measured by sampling and apparent soil salinity (ECa) was assessed by electromagnetic induction device (EM38). The results showed that regression coefficients (R2) of estimating soil salinity using EM38 device in different regions were accepted and varied between 0.52-0.86. Soil salinity levels varied over the surveyed lands from 2.17 g salt/kg soil in Aghda to 226.5 g salt/kg soil in Ardakan for 0-30 cm soil depth and from 0.4 g salt/kg soil in Bafgh to 118.3 g salt/kg soil in Ardakan for 30-60 cm soil depth. The maximum production of ryegrass, equal to 25 tons ha-1 of fresh weight and 7 tons ha-1 of dry weight, was observed in Bafgh with water salinity of 12 dS m-1 and soil salinity of 11 g kg-1. On average, the highest production was observed in Bafgh, Bahabad, Abarkooh, Aqda and Ardakan, respectively, which was almost consistent with changes in soil salinity and acidity. It seems that Alhagi has high tolerance to water and soil salinity, however, is sensitive to soil pH. The use of EM38 device to evaluate soil salinity in lands with camelthorn cover of Yazd province was reasonably accurate, and is recommended for monitoring soil salinity of other rangelands, but calibration in each area and for each soil depth separately is necessary.

Lack of fresh water resources has led to production of salt tolerant species. This study was conducted in 2019-2020 to investigate the effect of irrigation water salinity on forage yield, plant height, and shoot ash content of Salicornia bigelovii and native Salicornia ecotypes including Bushehr (S. sinus persica), Central Plateau, Gorgan and Urmia of S. persica under irrigation with Persian Gulf (60 dS m-1) and groundwater (20 dS m-1), in Bushehr and Yazd conditions, respectively. Results showed that there were significant differences between the species and ecotypes in terms of fresh and dry weight of forage in both conditions. The highest fresh and dry weight of forage were related to Bushehr ecotype in both conditions, but the lowest of these traits were in S. bigelovii in Yazd and in Gorgan and Urmia ecotypes in Bushehr conditions. The amount of fresh forage for Bushehr ecotype were about 9333 and 22940 g m-2 in Bushehr and Yazd, respectively. In general, plant height under seawater irrigation conditions varied from 23.0 cm to 35.5 cm in Bushehr condition, and 56.5-78.0 cm in Yazd condition under saline groundwater. Regardless of species and ecotypes, the average shoot ash content in Bushehr and Yazd conditions were, respectively, 53.83% and 47.76%. Based on the results of the study, Bushehr ecotype could be considered as superior for planting and forage production in the southern coastal strip. In Yazd condition, due to better water quality, all species and ecotypes produced high fodder yield. However, due to high water requirement of Salicornia, its production in arid areas, especially in the central regions of the country, is not recommended.

Thymus vulgaris L. is one of the most widely used medicinal plants in various industries, and its feasibility is very important in saline lands.To investigate the effect of salt stress on medicinal plant garden thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) A field experiment in a Block complete random design with three replicates was fitted. Salinity treatments used in this experiment were 1, 4 and 7 DS/m which were applied well water with natural salt for agriculture. In order to avoid the impact of the results of research on the type of salts, water with a salinity of 9 to 10 DS/m of agricultural wells, was moved to the farm. Then water with a salinity of 6 DS/m mixed and desired salinity was ready. Measurements of dry weight of stem and leaves, the amount of sodium and potassium elements, Proline and active constituents were done in the stage before flowering. The results showed that with the increase of salinity up to level 4 DS/m; the dry weight of stem and leaves and amount of proline were increased 27.6 and 68.86 percentages respectively. While the increase of salinity up to level 7 DS/m reduces these 49.53 and 22.86 percentages respectively. With an increase in salinity, the amount of sodium increased while potassium and potassium / sodium ratio showed reduced. Salt stress were increased some of the essential ingredients in the herb garden thyme and some others were reduced by salt stress. Such can be concluded in order to irrigate the plant thyme garden with salty water, the best results in terms of product yields and composition of essential oil in 4 DS/m is obtained.

Due to the scarcity of water resources, the use of saline water to cultivate forage halophytes is a practical solution. However, the main problem of forage of halophytes is their low energy content and high salt. In these conditions, mixed consumption and halophytes-crops intercropping can be useful. The current research was carried out in order to evaluate the effect of salinity of irrigation water on growth and some physiological characteristics in different ratios of sorghum-kochia intercropping in the National Salinity Research Center. The treatments included three levels of salt stress: 2, 7 and 14 dS m-1 in the main plots and five planting systems: sole sorghum, ⅔ sorghum (2 parts sorghum, 1 part kochia), ½ sorghum (1 part sorghum, 1 part kochia), ⅓ sorghum (1 part sorghum, 1 parts kochia) and sole kochia in the sub plots arranging in a split plot experiment based on randomized block design. Results showed that salinity, depended on the severity, significantly changed growth and physiological characteristics in both sorghum and kochia. Salinity at 14 dS m-1 was associated with reduction in dry weight (62%) and K+ concentration (22%) and increasing Na+ concentration (427%), Cl- concentration (175%) and activity of catalase (88%), peroxidase (77%), superoxide dismutase (86%) and ascorbic peroxidase (154%) in sorghum. These increasing and decreasing were less in kochia (23%, 22%, 37%, 105%, 237%, 77%, 406% and 294%, respectively); which indicated higher salinity tolerance of kochia. The optimum intercropping system for sorghum was ⅔ sorghum and were ½ and ⅓ sorghum for kochia; which reflected more sensitivity of sorghum to intra species completion in intercropping systems than kochia. According to the different reactions of two plants to salt stress, sorghum tolerated the salt stress probably via induced antioxidant system in order to ameliorate oxidative stress and kochia tolerated the salinity probably through ionic distributions in tissues via reduced transport to shoots and/or ions compartmentation in organelles. It seems that proper kochia density (⅓) enhanced salinity tolerance of sorghum, therefore, it is recommendable for saline conditions.

Land salinization is a major limiting factor for conventional crop production. Cultivation of salt tolerant medicinal plants has been suggested as one of the strategy for utilizing saline soil and water resources. Fenugreek (Trigonella Foenum-graecum L.) is one of the medicinal plants that has a long history of use in traditional medicine and has many therapeutic properties. This research was conducted to determine the salt tolerance threshold and to evaluate effects of utilizing saline water on grain yield and yield components under greenhouse conditions. Treatments were included seven levels of salinity (0.5, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 dS/m) obtained by mixing saline groundwater (14 dS/m) and fresh water resources. A leaching fraction of 30 percent was considered to wash out some excess salts from soil profile and preventing their accumulation in the root zone. In order to control soil salinity, the amount and electrical conductivity of both irrigation and drainage water was measured in all irrigation practices. The statistical design was arranged as a complete randomized block design with three replications. In this research, different experimental models was used to determine the salt tolerance threshold, the slope of grain yield reduction, the amount of salinity at which grain yield was reduced by 50 percent (EC50) and the salt tolerance index, as well. Results showed that there was a statistically significant difference among different salinity levels. Based on the results, salinity treatment reduced pod length, pod weight, number of seeds per pod, number of pods per plant, number of filled seeds per plant, filled to unfilled seeds ratio, shoot dry weight, straw weight, thousand-seed weight, grain yield, harvest index and water use efficiency and increased percentage of unfilled seeds. Although salinity stress had an adverse effect on most studied traits, the trend of this effect varied depending on the trait. Based on the linear model, the fenugreek salt tolerance threshold and the slope of yield reduction was 1.28 dS/m and 4.91 percent, respectively. However, according to non-linear models, a reduction of 10 and 25 percent in relative grain yield occurred at 3.38 and 6.28 dS/m, respectively. According to the results of this study, the salinity at which the relative grain yield decreased by 50% percent (EC50) was observed at soil salinity of 11.67 dS/m. In this research, the fenugreek salt tolerance index was calculated as 12.24. Therefore, based on both the salinity tolerance threshold, the slope of yield reduction and salinity tolerance index, fenugreeks can be classified into the group of moderately sensitive to salinity plants.

Damask rose (Rosa damascene Mill) is one of the most important and economical rose species in Iran. After drought, salinity is the second most common environmental stress limiting agricultural production. In order to investigate the effect of salinity stress on Damask rose, an experiment was conducted based on a completely randomized design with three replications in the lysimeter condition at the Research Greenhouse of National Salinity Research Center during 2018-2019 growing season. The treatments were four levels of salinity stress (2.8, 5, 8 and 11 dS m‒1). The results indicated that the effect of different levels of salinity were significant for all traits except the number of branches per plant and the number of petals. The plants treated with the salinity levels of 2.8, 5 and 8 dS m‒1 had a significantly larger number of flowers per plant, flower weight, petal weight, yield flower and essential oil yield, compared to salinity level of 11 dS m‒1. Increasing the salinity level from 2.8 to 11 dS m‒1 caused the reduction in height (41.4%), 11 flowers per plant (47.8%), 0.77 g flower (39.9%), petal weight (18.3%), flower yield (62.4%), and essential oil yield (53.9%). Overall, the results showed that the salinity tolerance threshold of Damask rose of Mahalat was 8 dS m‒1.