hossein hammami

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is one of the oldest cultivated annual crops in the world belonging to the cannabaceae family and annual wind-pollinated broadleaf. It is originated in central Asia and considered a multi-purpose crop including stalk fiber (apparel, fabric, bags), stalk hard (animal bedding, mulch, biofuel, filter, and so on), seeds (nut, and snacks), oil (salad oil, cosmetic, shampoo, soap, oil paint, industrial oil, and solvent), leave and inflorescence (anti-microbe (hand soap), and agrochemical products (insecticide and herbicide). Weed competition for nutrients, water, and light led to decreased growth and yield of hemp. Mechanical and agronomical techniques are commonly used for weed management in hemp. Since mechanical and agronomical techniques are expensive and time-consuming, finding a new approach to save time and money is essential. Determination of weed critical period may facilitate arriving at this approach. The critical period of weed control (CPWC) refers to a part of the integrated weed management (IWM) program and is defined as a part of the crop growth cycle in which weeds must be removed for avoiding economic yield losses due to weed competition with crops for water, light, and minerals. On the other hand, CPWC is a period in which crops must be growth-free of weeds. Numerous agents' effects on CPWC include crop species and growth characteristics, crop density, crop variety, and crop planting pattern. The main goal of this study was to determine the effect of hemp density on CPWC and hemp yield and yield components' responses to the critical period of weed control.

A field trial was carried out in 2016 at the research field of Birjand University in South Khorasan Province, Birjand, Iran (latitude 32°, 86′, 49″ N, longitude 59°, 22′, 62″ E, and altitude 1491 m). Before sowing seeds, the field was fertilized with urea (250 kg ha-1) split at two times (sowing time, 2 mount after emergence), P2O5 (100 kg ha-1), and K2O (100 kg ha-1). The field was plowed with a mouldboard plough (30 cm depth), and then harrowing by a disk used for seedbed preparation twice, and finally, leveling the soil surface by leveler tools. Hemp has never been cultivated in this field. The hemp seeds were sown on May 4, 2016, in a cluster, 5 seeds in each hole with 60 cm between rows and 10 and 20 cm between plants in the row for 8 and 16 plants/m2, respectively. Sown depth was 3 to 4 cm. Crop emergence began about 2 weeks after planting. Two weeks after emergence (four weeks after planting), the plants were thinned to reach a determined density. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) in a factorial arrangement with three replications. Each experimental plot was 6 m long, 3 m in width, and included 5 rows. Data were collected in three central rows. Treatments included six weed-infested periods (2 (WI2), 4 (WI4), 6 (WI6), 8 (WI8), and 10 (WI10) weeks after crop emergence (WAE)), in which weeds were allowed to grow to 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 weeks after that control conducted by hand hoeing until harvest time. In weed-infested control (WIC), weeds were allowed to grow in all growing seasons duration. Six weed-free periods (2 (WF2), 4 (WF4), 6 (WF6), 8 (WF8), and 10 (WF10) weeks after crop emergence (WAE)), which weeds were hand hoeing control to 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 WAE and then weeds were allowed to grow until harvest time. In weed-free control (WFC), weeds control in all season growth duration. The experimental treatments during the growing season of hemp are described in Figure 1. Seed hemp yield and yield components were determined at the end of the growing season.

Weed-infested and weed-free periods treatments have significant effects on the seed yield and yield components including flower number and seed number per plant of hemp (Table 1). Moreover, hemp density has a significant effect on the seed yield and yield components including flower number and seed number per plant of hemp (Table 1). Higher crop density led to limited CPWC since under weed-infested fields using higher crop density led to improved crop competition ability (Zimdal, 1993). (Hayat et al.,2003) reported that high crop density led to decreased seed yield of crops by increasing inter-species competition. (Purcell et al.,2002) demonstrated the seed yield of soybean depends on crop density whereas by increasing crop density firstly seed yield was increased but under high crop density seed yield was decreased. Therefore, using proper crop density is known as an important challenge to crop production. Flowers per plant, seed number per plant, and seed yield were affected by crop density. Results of this study demonstrated that under weed-infested fields using 16 plants/m-2 is more suitable than 8 plants/m-2 compared to weed-free in Birjand conditions (Dry climate)(Table 2).

A greater understanding of weed behavior can help with IWM strategies. The critical period of weed control determination is a key factor for IWM strategies that led to less introduction of herbicides into the environment, saving money and time, and so on. Data obtained from the results of this study revealed that more crop density led to a decrease in the duration of the critical period of weed control in hemp.

 Weeds and diseases significantly hinder agricultural production. Chemical pesticides are frequently used to control weeds and plant diseases in many fields. However, they have numerous adverse effects. Therefore, it is advisable to consider using natural pesticides, which have fewer environmental impacts and decompose more rapidly, to try to protect plants. Currently, there is a growing recognition of the potential of plant extracts as a useful resource for the development of natural herbicides and fungicides. Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is cultivated as one of the important medicinal plants in Iran. Saffron leaves and corm can be used as natural pesticides as available and cheap sources. Saffron extracts have been found to possess antiherbal and antifungal properties by multiple sources.

 In order to evaluate the antiherbal and antifungal properties of saffron leaf and corm extracts on the germination and growth characteristics of whitetop weed and Aspergillus niger fungus, independent factorial experiments were conducted based on the completely randomized design with four replications at the Faculty of Agriculture of Birjand University in 2022. The allelopathic treatments consisted of two saffron organs (leaf and stem) and seven extract concentrations (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 4% v/w). The antifungal treatments consisted of two saffron organs (leaf and corm) and seven extract concentrations (0, 0.0312, 0.625, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, and 1 by v/w). Whitetop seeds were collected from the research field of the Faculty of Agriculture of Birjand University in 2022. Saffron leaves and seeds were harvested from four-year-old plantations in Sarayan city, then subjected to drying and grinding. To create the aqueous extract, a mixture of 40 g of dehydrated saffron leaves and corms was combined with 1000 ml of distilled water. The mixture was then placed on a shaker at a speed of 200 revolutions per minute for a duration of two hours, resulting in the preparation of the stock extract. Subsequently, the extract was diluted with double distilled water to prepare the necessary concentrations for the experiment. To examine the fungicidal properties of saffron extracts, the Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) culture media were used containing different concentrations of the extract. After solidification of the culture media, 5 mm diameter mycelial plug of the fungus was inserted upside down in the middle of each Petri plate using a cork borer. Subsequently, the petri dishes were sealed with parafilm and relocated to the incubator set at 25ºC temperature. They were maintained under these specific circumstances until the completion of each test period.

 Results Results of the experiments showed that the type of extract was significant only on the mean germination time of whitetop and the highest mean germination time (MGT) was obtained from the corm extract. The corm extract showed the maximum germination time. Regarding the impact of concentration on seedling, it was discovered that concentrations up to 0.5% had a stimulatory effect, while higher concentrations had an inhibitory effect on the attributes of whitetop plants. Increasing the concentration of the extract to 4% resulted in reduction of 21.9%, 17%, and 22% in the root length, root fresh weight, and shoot fresh weight, respectively. The findings of this experiment indicated that 4% concentration of the corm extract resulted in the lowest shoot dry weight and seedling dry weight. The lowest dry weight of root was obtained using 2% concentration of the corm extract. The antifungal test findings indicated that Aspergillus niger fungus exhibited the smallest colony diameter on the third day when treated with 0.0312%, 0.625%, and 1%. concentrations of the leaf extract. Any antifungal effect was not observed in the media treated with the extract compared to the controls. The experimental findings revealed that saffron extracts, when present in high quantities, effectively suppressed the growth of whitetop weed. However, the concentrations of saffron extracts used in this study were insufficient to avoid the growth of A. niger. The study demonstrated the allelopathic effects of saffron leaf and corm extracts on various plant species including Amaranthus retroflexus (Rashed Mohassel et al., 2009), Rapistrum rugosum (Alimoradi et al., 2008), Plantago psyllium (Rashed Mohassel et al., 2009), Gypsophylla pilosa (Azizi et al., 2013), Hordeum spontaneum (Ghesmati et al., 2018), Agropayron repense (Ghesmati et al., 2018), and Cardaria draba (Soltanipoor et al., 2006). Furthermore, the saffron extracts were found to have antifungal properties against Fusarium oxysporum (Rubio-Moraga et al., 2013), Aspergillus parasiticus (Tzanidi et al., 2012), Candida albicans (Vahidi et al., 2002), Penicillium raistriicki (Rubio-Moraga et al., 2013), and Bipolaris spicifera (Rubio-Moraga et al., 2013) in previous studies. Hence, extracts derived from saffron leaves and corms possess antiherbal and antifungal properties 

 Overall, the findings of this study indicated that saffron extract type did not have any impact on the seedling traits of whitetop weed. Nevertheless, saffron extract with concentration of less than 0.5% exhibited a stimulating impact, whereas at higher concentrations had an inhibitory influence on the characteristics of whitetop. The used amounts of saffron extracts failed to inhibit the growth of A. niger. Hence, based on the findings of this experiment, it is advisable to examine effect of higher doses of saffron extracts on A. niger.

Introduction:

Avena ludoviciana L., also known as wild oat, is the predominant grass weed in Iranian agricultural systems. In Iran, the most prevalent approach for managing wild oats is the use of herbicides. Sethoxydim is a herbicide that is specifically designed to be applied after the emergence of weeds and is absorbed by the leaves. It belongs to a series of herbicides called aryloxy phenoxy propionates (AOPP). Sethoxydim has been approved for use on a wide range of broad-leaved crops. Currently, the chlorophyll fluorescence approach is employed as a precise and cost-efficient method in herbicide research. The chlorophyll fluorescence method is a non-destructive technique that is highly sensitive, fast, and easy to detect. It provides crucial information on the photosynthetic mechanism, allowing researchers to promptly assess herbicide efficacy before visible symptoms manifest in plants. An essential aspect of this approach is to reduce the duration of the screening session. While evaluating the impacts of herbicides with non-photosynthetic mode of action may take longer than evaluating herbicides that limit photosynthesis, it still requires significantly less time compared to the previous method. Hence, this study was conducted to examine the variations in the Katsky curve and establish the correlation between the curve parameters and dry weight. The objective was to assess the impact of utilizing vegetable oils on the efficacy of setoxydim in controlling wild oats, while also evaluating the feasibility of employing this approach.

 In order to overcome the dormancy of wild oat seeds prior to conducting the experiment, the outer covering of the caryopsis fruits was removed and the seeds were then placed on a single layer of Whatman no. 1 filter paper in 11 cm diameter Petri dishes. Each Petri plate was supplemented with 10 ml of a potassium nitrate (KNO3) solution with a concentration of 2 grams per liter. An experiment was conducted in 2012 at the Research Greenhouse of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad to discover the early effects of vegetable oils on the efficiency of sethoxydim in controlling wild oat. The Chlorophyll fluorescence parameters were assessed using the PEA Plus instrument at 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 days after applying the sethoxydim herbicide, both with and without vegetable oils. During the one-leaf stage, the seedlings were reduced to four seedlings per pot and a solution containing 3 grams per liter of N:P:K fertilizer (20:20:20) was given to each pot. The plants were subjected to treatment at the four-leaf stage using a mobile rail sprayer that was fitted with a standard blower nozzle (8004) with an output of 238 L ha-1 and a spray pressure of 200 kPa. The test treatments include of different concentrations of the herbicide cetoxydim, specifically 0, 22.5, 46.8, 93.75, 187.5, 281.25, and 375 g ha-1. These concentrations are applied at ten different levels. 1) Excluding vegetable oil and other types of vegetable oils: The following crops were replicated three times: 2) Turnip, 3) soybean, 4) cotton seed, 5) sunflower, 6) olive, 7) castor, 8) sesame, 9) corn, and 10) rapeseed. To make each vegetable oil, an emulsifier called Cytogate adjuvant was added at a concentration of 0.05%. Each sample of vegetable oils, which contained emulsifiers, was used in a volume of five percent (equivalent to five per thousand). After four weeks after administering the treatments, the above-ground sections of both control and treated plants were taken from the surface of the pots. The dry weight of plants was recorded and used to fit the dose response curves using the R software.

Inhibiting acetyl CoA carboxylase results in the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which cause damage to the electron transport chain between PSII and PSI. The degradation mentioned here affects the chlorophyll fluorescence, perhaps enabling the measurement of herbicide effectiveness by assessing the maximal quantum efficiency of PSII. Chlorophyll fluorescence can serve as a useful tool for detecting the effectiveness of herbicides that have different modes of action, such as acetyl coenzyme-A carboxylase inhibitors, phenoxy compounds, and glyphosate. The overall results indicated a decrease in the values of Fv/Fm, Fvj, and area parameters across all treatments. The treatments were ranked in decreasing order of their diminishing effects intensity as follows: turnip > olive > soybean > corn > sunflower > canola > sesame > castor > cotton > sethoxydim without oil. These findings were in line with the alterations in dry weight caused by the application of vegetable oils. Based on the experiment's findings, the parameters Fv/Fm, Fvj, and Area can be utilized to evaluate and compare the growing effects of vegetable oils on the efficiency of sethoxydim in controlling wild oat.

Chlorophyll fluorescence investigations can serve as a substitute for classical screening approaches, as supported by existing knowledge and experimental proof. This procedure is non-destructive, very sensitive, and rapid compared to standard screening methods. This research showed that the chlorophyll fluorescence approach requires less time compared to standard screening methods. The utilization of the chlorophyll fluorescence approach is likely to be enhanced in future herbicide bioassay investigations. Based on the correlation between dry weight and fluorescence characteristics, it is possible to utilize chlorophyll fluorescence to reduce the time required for analyzing the effectiveness of herbicides.

Saffron is obtained from the dried red stigmas of Crocus sativus L., an autumnal herbaceous flowering plant belonging to the Iridaceae family. It is largely cultivated in Iran, India, Afghanistan, Greece, Morocco, Spain and Italy. Due to the increase of crop living stresses and side effects of chemical pesticides, recent investigations have been conducted to study herbicidal and fungicidal potential of medicinal plant such as Saffron. Saffron is one of the plants, whose allelopathic effect on various organs has been reported to affect the seed germination of some weed species. It is well known that saffron leaves and corms produce bioactive compounds. Some of these compounds have a role in the inhibition of plant growth and seed germination in their vicinity. The present research was conducted with the aim of evaluating the allelopathic and antifungal effect of extraction solution of leaves and corms of saffron (Crocus sativus) on wild mustard and Alternaria sp.
To evaluate the allelopathic and fungicidal effect of saffron leaf and corm extracts on the germination and growth characteristics wild mustard and Alternaria sp., independent factorial experiments were conducted as factorial arrangement based on the completely randomized design with four replications at the Faculty of Agriculture of Birjand University in 2022. Treatments to test the inhibitory effect of the saffron extract on weed seed germination characteristics included two types of saffron organs (leaf and corm) and seven extract concentrations (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 4 w/v %). Experimental treatments to investigate the inhibitory effect of saffron extract on the growth of Alternaria sp. fungus included two types of saffron organs (leaf and corm) and seven extract concentrations (0, 1, 0.5, 25. 0, 0.125, 0.625, and 0.0312 w/v %). The measured and calculated traits included germination percentage, germination rate, mean germination time, radicle length and weight, plumule length and weight, seedling weight and seed vigor, and wild mustard allometric coefficient, as well as the growth rate of fungi colonies.
The results showed that the type of extract has an effect on germination rate, mean germination time, radicle length and weight, shoot length and weight, seedling weight, seedling vigor, and allocation coefficient of wild mustard were significant, and the corm extract had more negative effects compared to the leaf extract. By increasing extract concentration; its effectiveness also increased as by increasing extract concentration to 4 % significant decrease in the length and weight of the radicle, the length and weight of the shoot, the weight and the length plumule of the wild mustard seedling compared to the control. The results of the interaction effect of the type of extract and the concentration of the extract on the growth characteristics of the wild mustard primary seedling showed that the lowest root length, fresh and dry weight of the root, stem length and fresh and dry weight of the stem, the weight of the seedling and the root of the plant related to the concentration of 4 % root extract. 75.2, 68.7, 68.4, 68.7, 75.2, 75.4, 73.5, and 72.3 percent decrease compared to the control, respectively, while the reduction values of root length, fresh weight and root dry weight, stem length and stem wet and dry weight, seedling weight and seedling stem in the case of leaf extract are 48.2, 46.7, 44, 48, 48.8, 46.8, 47.4 and 47 respectively. It was a percentage. The results of the interaction effect of the treatments showed that on the ninth and twelve days, concentrations of 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, and 1% of corm extract and 1% concentration of leaf extract inhibited 100% of Alternaria fungus growth.
Finally, the results of these experiments showed that the effect of inhibiting the germination and growth of wild mustard as well as the antifungal effect is greater in saffron corm extract than in leaf extract. Therefore, considering the results of this research and conducting more research in the field of allelopathic and fungicidal effects of saffron organ extracts, we can proceed to produce natural herbicides and fungicides.

To evaluate the allelopathic and fungicidal effect of saffron leaf and corm aqueous extracts on the germination and growth characteristics of London rocket (Sisymbrium irio) and Fusarium solani, independent experiments were conducted as factorial arrangement based on the completely randomized design with four replications at the Faculty of Agriculture of Birjand University in 2022. Treatments to test the inhibitory effect of saffron extract on London rocket seed germination characteristics including two types of saffron organs (leaf and corm) and seven extract concentrations (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 4 w/v %). Experimental treatments to investigate the inhibitory effect of saffron extract on the growth of Fusarium solani fungus including two types of saffron organs (leaf and corm) and seven extract concentrations (0, 1, 0.5, 25. 0, 0.125, 0.625, and 0.0312 w/v %). The results showed that the type of extract has an effect on the germination percentage, germination rate, mean germination time, length and fresh and dry weight of radicle, the length, fresh and dry weight of the plumule, seedling dry weight, and the seedling vigor of London rocket were significant, and the corm extract had more negative effects compared to the leaf extract. As the extract concentration increased, its inhibitory effect also increased. The extract concentration of 4% significantly reduced the radicle length and fresh and dry weight, the plumule length and fresh and dry weight, seedling dry weight, and seedling vigor of London rocket compared to the control. The results of the interaction showed that the lowest percentage of germination, germination rate, radicle length and fresh and dry weight, plumule fresh and dry weight and seedling dry weight of london rocket were observed at the concentration of 4 % corm extract. The results of the interaction effect of extract type and extract concentrations on Fusarium solani colony diameter showed that all the concentrations of corm extract inhibited the growth of Fusarium solani in all four stages of sampling. In leaf extract, concentrations of 0.125, 0.25, 0.5 and 1% completely inhibited the growth of Fusarium solani in all four stages of sampling. Finally, the results of these experiments showed that the effect of inhibiting the germination and growth of london rocket as well as the antifungal effect is greater in saffron corm extract than the leaf extract. Therefore, considering the results of this research and conducting more research in the field of allelopathic and fungicidal effects of saffron organ extracts, we can proceed to produce natural herbicides and fungicides.

Due to the pollution of water resources by various pollutants such as nitrate, the use of amendments such as biochar can be considered as an approach to solve this environmental problem. To investigate the effect of barberry stem biochar on nitrate leaching, a research was conducted using a factorial and completely randomized design in 2021, in the soil laboratory of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran. Experimental factors were particle size of biochar at two levels (less than 1 mm, more than 2.8 mm) and biochar volume in three rates (1, 2, and 3 mm on weight basis). Biochar was produced during the thermal decomposition process under limited oxygen conditions (400 0C for 6 h). The pots were subjected to wet cycles (field capacity plus 20%) and drying (permanent wilting moisture) and the nitrate concentration in the drained water from irrigation was measured in two stages with an interval of six weeks. The highest and lowest nitrate leaching rates in the samples were observed in the control treatment without biochar and biochar with particle size less than 1 mm at the rate of 1% by weight, respectively. The results of this study showed that addition of the biochar to the soil significantly reduced nitrate leaching compared to the control without biochar. At the two measuring times, biochar treatments with particle size of less than 1 mm and 1%, 2% and 3%, biochar with natural particle sizes of 1%, 2%, and 3% showed decrease in nitrate leaching by, respectively, 83.6%, 82.4%, 76.8%, 81.7%, 64.2%, and 60.2 % compared to the treatment without biochar. Moreover, the results showed that biochar particles less than 1 mm had more effects on reducing nitrate leaching than biochar particles more than 2.8 mm. According to the results of this study, it seems that application of barberry branch waste biochar left after harvesting can reduce nitrate leaching and the risk of transmitting contamination to other soil.

Nowadays, the side effects of using synthetic herbicides and fungicides have been identified as one of the most important environmental challenges in the world. Therefore, the use of natural materials with herbicidal and fungicidal power can be considered as an alternative to synthetic compounds. To evaluate the natural allelopatic and fungicidal properties of aqueous leaves and corm extracts of saffron on seed germination, plant growth of common pursalne, and antifungal effects on Penicillium sp, three separated factorial layout were conducted based on a completely randomized design with three replications in Seed Research Laboratory, Research Greenhouse and Plant Disease Laboratory of Birjand University of Agriculture during 2019. Experimental treatments in the lab and greenhouse consisted of two types of saffron tissues (leaves and corm) and six concentrations of aqueous saffron extract (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 and 4% m/v) and antifungal treatments consisted of two types of saffron organs (leaves and corm) and six concentrations of aqueous extract (0, 0.0078, 0.0312, 0.0625, 0.25, 1, 1.5, 2 and 4% m/v). The traits studied in the first experiment included germination percent, germination rate, root length, dry root weight, and dry shoot weight. In the second experiment traits included emergence percentage, fresh and dry weight of shoot and in the third experiment mycelium growth inhibition of Penicillium sp. The results showed that the extract concentrations and types had a significant effects on germination characteristics including germination percent, germination rate, mean germination time, germination, root length, shoot length, root dry weight and shoot dry weight. However the interaction effect of the type and concentration extracts on germination percent, germination rate seed viability and root length was significant. The mean germination time, root length, shoot and root dry weight were decreased up to 52.4%, 71.4%, 81.7% and 79.2%, compared to control at the highest extract concentration.

Since water deficit during plant growth period is one of the main important limiting crop yield. An easy and inexpensive way to reduce the impact of water deficiency is essential. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of seeds osmo-priming on growth, yield and yield components of wheat cultivar Anfarm 4 under field conditions, a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized block design with three replications was conducted at Research Field of Agriculture College, University of Birjand in 2017-2018. The treatments consisted of three levels of irrigation (include 100, 75 and 50% of the plant water requirement) and four levels of seed priming (include 0 (control), -0.3, -0.6 and -0.9 MPa induced by PEG 6000). The results of this experiment showed that irrigation levels had a significant effect on measured traits including plant height, tiller number, spike number, spike length, grain number per spike, 1000 seed weight, biological yield, grain yield (P <0.01). However, no significant effect was observed on harvest index. Seed priming had significant effect on plant height and spike length (P <0.01), number of tillers, number of seeds per spike, biological yield, grain yield (P <0.05). Interaction effects showed a significant effect on all of the traits except harvest index. The results of this study showed that the application of osmotic priming seeds -0.3, -0.6, -0.9 MPa resulted in 2.13, 2.62 and 2.15 times of seed yield at 50% water requirement treatment compared to without seed priming treatment. The results of means comparison showed that osmotic seed priming by polyethylene glycol, resulting in a pressure of -0.6 MPa, under 50% of the water requirement treatment showed the highest grain yield compensate ability. However, in 75% of water requirement treatment, pre-treatment had no significant and positive effect on grain yield, even in -0.9 MPa treatment, had a negative and significant effect on seed yield. Therefore, the application of osmotic seed priming somewhat compensated the damage caused by water shortage on grain yield under stress conditions of 50% of water requirement. While in non-stress conditions, osmotic seed priming had no positive effect on grain yield.

Climate change is one of the major challenges which society will face during current century. Temperatures are projected to increase up to 2 ºC by 2100, which is expected to result in major changes in the atmosphere’s energy balance and the hydrological cycle. The term soil moisture generally refers to temporary storage of precipitation at a depth of 1 to 2 meters from the soil profile). Soil moisture in the root zone well known as a very important factors that severely effects on crop productivity. Hence, the study of soil moisture changes is crucial for the planning and managing water resources in the coming periods. Accordingly, this study was conducted in order to predict and stimulate soil moisture in upcoming period (2020-2039) according to baseline (1992-2011).

The study area in this research was Neyshabour plain located in Khorasan Razavi province. At first, SWAP model implemented using meteorological and agronomic data from study area, and soil moisture of field capacity is simulated for 30 cm soil depth. Then, to ensure the results of moisture simulation, the moisture content of the model is calibrated and validated using the measured soil moisture content of the 2008-2009. After ensuring the accuracy of the model results, soil moisture is simulated for the baseline (1992-2011). Then, to estimate moisture content in the upcoming period (2020-2039) six models (CanESM2, GFDL, MIROC, IPSL, CSIROMK3.6, and GISS-ES-R) and two emotion scenarios (RCP4.5 and 8.5) were used, as well as the ratio of the weekly and yearly values of the meteorological parameters of the upcoming period, which estimated using the baseline. In addition, to evaluate SWAP model accuracy, Root Mean-Squared Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), and Coefficient of Determination (R2) were used. Data obtained by Neyshabur Synoptic Station (1992-2011) were utilized in order to determine daily weather patterns and future weather parameters. Temperature and precipitation parameters determined by the LARS-WG model.

In order to use the SWAP simulated moisture, initially the model calibrated and validated with measured soil moisture data from 2008-2009 growth season. So, after soil moisture simulation for 2008-2009, the measured data by TDR used for calibration and validation model. The coefficient of determination factor (R2) between simulated and measured results was 79.5%. The climate parameters used in this study include minimum and maximum temperatures and precipitation, which are known as the most important factors affecting the soil moisture. According to table 6, the minimum and maximum temperatures and precipitation for the upcoming period will increase compared to the baseline. On the other hand, According to table 9 and table 10, under two scenarios, the means, maximum and minimum soil moisture decrease compared to baseline. The weekly and yearly uncertainty in soil moisture under two scenarios showed in figures 4 and 5, respectively. Under the 4.5 scenario, the MIROC model due to the lower band thickness and the IPSL model, due to the higher bandwidth thickness, have the highest and lowest accuracy, respectively. Whereas, under the 8.5 scenario, the IPSL model has the highest accuracy and the CanESM2 and GISS-ES-R models have the lowest accuracy compared to other models. Results of weekly and yearly uncertainty showed less and more uncertainty for weekly and yearly soil moisture, respectively.

In general, results of this study revealed that minimum, maximum temperature and precipitation will increase in upcoming period compared to baseline. Soil moisture decrease in upcoming period compared to baseline under two scenarios (4.5 and 8.5). Moreover, temperature was higher and precipitation was lower under 8.5 scenario rather than 4.5 scenario. Therefore, 8.5 scenario showed worse condition compared to 4.5 scenario. Results of this study showed lower soil moisture in 1, 3, 6, 13, 18, and 19 years in upcoming period under two scenarios. Therefore, these years known as warning condition compared to baseline.

Saffron is herbaceous, perennial and semi tropical plant belongs to Iridaceae family that cultivated in Southern Khorasan province as an importance crop. Considering the importance of irrigation water content in saffron yield, this research was conducted to determine the water requirement of saffron in a research farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Birjand in the crop year 2018-2019. Six mini lysimeter were used to carry out this research. Three lysimeter were used to calculate the evapotranspiration of the reference plant (grass) and in the other lysimeter saffron cultivate. Irrigation of each experimental unit was carried out based on field capacity by weight method. Based on the results obtained from the water balance equation, the potential evapotranspiration of the reference plant and saffron values were estimated 1138.81 and 764.12 mm, respectively. The length of various growth stages of saffron, including the initial, developmental, middle and end stages, was 30, 50, 55 and 65 days, respectively. Finally, based on the FAO method, the coefficient of variation was plotted and the average crop coefficient at four stages of plant growth was 0.48, 0.84, 1.27 and 0.37, respectively. Also, the effects of four- stages of plant growth on potential evapotranspiration of the reference plant, saffron and crop coefficient were significantly different at 1% level.

Crop growth simulation models are one of the most advanced tools used today to estimate yield and optimize crop yields. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the ability of DSSAT-CERES-Wheat version 4.7 plant model to simulate the phenological stages and wheat yield of Anfaram 4 for Birjand weather conditions. For this purpose, a randomized complete block design with 3 replications was conducted at research field of agriculture, University of Birjand in 2016-2017. The treatments consisted of different levels of irrigation I1, I2, I3 and I4, respectively 125, 100, 75 and 50% of plant water requirement and I5 including rain fed with one supplementary irrigation. The results showed that the values of wheat genetic coefficients including P1V, P1D, P5, G1, G2, G3 and PHINT at model calibration stage were 25, 0, 17, 20.5, 30.16, 1.982 and 30, respectively. At the validation stage, the lowest and highest NRMSE values were observed in the estimation of pollination date (5.75%) and dry matter (18.37%), respectively. Therefore, it can conclude that DSSAT model simulated the phenological stages and yield of wheat for Birjand region.

Water deficit and low soil fertility are the most important factors limiting plant growth and yield in arid and semiarid regions. The use of chemical fertilizers is the most common way to provide the necessary nutrients for plants including phosphorus. Due to the fixation of high amount of the phosphate fertilizers, especially in calcareous soils, overuse of these fertilizers in addition to their low efficiency, also causes environmental and economic problems.In addition to providing plant nutrients, use of beneficial soil microorganisms can increase tolerance to environmental stresses such as drought. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of mycorrhizal fungi and phosphate solubilizing bacteria on yield and yield components of wheat and improving the efficiency of phosphate fertilizers at different levels of irrigation water.

This study was conducted as a factorial experiment in a randomized complete block design with three replications on wheat (Anfarm 4 cultivar) at the research farm of Faculty of Agriculture, Birjand University in crop year 2017-2018.Experimental treatments consisted of four levels of irrigation water (I0, I1, I2 and I3, 100%, 75%, 50% and 25% of field capacity (FC), respectively) and four levels of fertilizer treatment (F0, F1, F2 and F3, Control, plant growth promoting microorganisms (PGPM), 150 kg ha-1 triple super phosphate (TSP), and PGPM+ 75 kg ha-1 TSP, respectively). For determination of the plant height and tiller number, 10 plants were selected from each plot and then their numbers counted. Also, the spike number, spike length, number of seeds per spike, 1000-seeds weight, grain and biological yield, seed P concentration, root colonization and water use efficiency was recorded.

Results showed that with decreasing water use to 25% of FC, plant height (19%), tiller number (35%), spike number (22%), grain number (17%), 1000-grain weight (20%) and grain yield (35%) decreased, but the seed P concentration (42%) was increased. Water stress reduced grain yield more than biological yield. Application of irrigation water by 75%, 50% and 25% of FC, decreased grain yield by 25, 36 and 44% and biological yield by 21%, 30% and 38%, respectively. On the other hand, application of PGPM and chemical fertilizers increased the above parameters at various irrigation water levels. According to the results, there was no significant difference between TSP application and PGPM+ 50% TSP application at different levels of irrigation water for most of the studied indices such as spike number, seed number, 1000-seeds weight, grain yield and seed P concentration. Combined application of PGPM+ 50% TSP at irrigation water levels of 75, 50 and 25% of FC, increased grain yield by 79, 88 and 75% and biological yield by 57, 71 and 61%, respectively compared with the same irrigation water levels. The positive effect of PGPM on yield and yield components of wheat, especially under water deficit conditions,can be attributed to the production of auxin, organic acids and siderophore by bacteria, and the colonization of roots by fungi and access to more soil points, thereby increasing the uptake of nutrients such as phosphorus and water for the plant.

According to the results, although the application of chemical fertilizers had the most effect on most of the measured indices, the application of PGPM with 50% of chemical fertilizer was not statistically different from the full application of fertilizer. In other words, due to the environmental problems and high cost of chemical fertilizers, Therefore, the simultaneous application of chemical fertilizer and PGPM is recommended, especially in conditions of water scarcity in wheat production.

Due to the presence of Iran in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world, drought and salinity are environmental stresses known as main factors that led to reduce the production of crops in Iran. Drought and salinity are major abiotic stresses that adversely affect crop productivity and quality. Their harmful effects are increasing due to global warming, and human activities such as overutilization of water resources, over-irrigation, and improper drainage, besides natural causes such as high evaporation rates in arid and semi-arid regions that led to decrease available water and increase salt accumulation in this sites. Drought and salinity have osmotic, ionic and nutritional constraint effects on plants. These effects lead to disturb photosynthetic path, growth retardation, metabolic disturbances and oxidative stress. Usually, these stresses happened at the same time especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Therefore, this study was conducted for determination growth and yield response of wheat to drought and salinity happened at the same time.

In order to evaluate the response of unfarm 4 wheat cultivar to different irrigation water and salinity levels, a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized block design with three replications was conducted at research field of agriculture, University of Birjand in 2016-2017. The treatments consisted of different levels of irrigation (I1, I2, I3 and I4, respectively 125, 100, 75 and 50% of plant water requirement and I5 including rain fed with one supplementary irrigation) and two levels of irrigation water salinity (non-saline (S1=1.4 dS.m-1) and Saline (S2= 5.4 dS.m-1) water, respectively). The studied traits included plant height, leaf area, spike length, 1000-seed weight, plant fresh weight, plant dry weight, number of seeds per spike, spike length, biological yield, grain yield, and harvest index.

The results of analysis of variance showed that the significant effect of different levels of irrigation at 0.1% level on all traits including plant height, leaf area, 1000-seed weight, fresh weight of plant, plant dry weight, spike length, number of seeds per spike , biological yield, economic performance and harvest index are (Table 3). In agreement with results of this study Wajid et al., (2002) reported that improvement of wheat yield with increasing irrigation levels. Plant height, 1000-seed weight, grain yield, and harvest index of wheat (Varamin cultivar) were significantly affected by irrigation levels (Eidizadeh et al., 2016). Soleimani (2016) also reported that the yield and yield components of wheat (in the climate of Isfahan) were strongly influenced by different levels of irrigation. The effect of irrigation water salinity was significant at 1% on plant height, leaf area and 1000-seed weight, but its effect on fresh weight of plant, plant dry weight, spike length, number of seeds per spike, biological yield, economic yield, and harvest index was not significant (Table 3). Irrigation water salinity on yield and yield components of different wheat cultivars including Chamran, Sistan, Hajiabad, Parsi, Yavarus, Behrang, U. 520, S-83-3, D-81-18 showed a significant decrease depending on variety. Interaction between irrigation and salinity levels of irrigation water showed a non-significant effect on the leaf area, spike length, and grain yield. The results of this study revealed that the highest and lowest value for different traits was observed at 125% plant water requirement and rain fed with one supplementary, respectively where the loss percent for plant height, leaf area, spike length, 1000-seed weight, plant fresh weight, plant dry weight, spike length, number of seeds per spike, biological yield, economic yield, and harvest index were 37%, 63%, 64%, 66%, 14%, 42%, 62%, 61%, 89%, and 75%, respectively. The results of Yousfi et al., (2010) showed that salinity of irrigation water at levels of 1.8, 12 and 17 dS.m-1 and irrigation at two levels of 100 and 35% of water field capacity by soil on biomass traits plant production, plant height, biomass, leaf chlorophyll and nutrient elements including nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus had a significant effect at 1% level. Correlation results revealed that the highest correlation between grain yield and biological yield.

In general, the results of this experiment showed that reduction of irrigation levels (percent plant requirement) leads to reduction of growth and yield characteristics of wheat. Irrigation water salinity was significant decrease at 5.4 dS.m-1 level on plant height, leaf area and 1000-seed weight. Interaction between irrigation and salinity levels of irrigation water showed a non-significant effect on the leaf area, spike length, and grain yield. The results of this study revealed that the highest and lowest value for different traits was observed at 125% plant water requirement and rain fed with one supplementary, respectively. According to high soil salinity (Table 2), observation of the highest amount of biological yield and grain yield in 125% water requirement is acceptable due to prepare the full or partial water need for salt leaching.

Weed management is one of the most important aspects of successful crop production for supplying food for the rising population. Chenopodium album L. (common lambsquarter) is among the most noxious weeds in the world due to its superior biology and tremendous ecological adaptations. It causes substantial yield losses in different field crops including potato, tomato, soybean, alfalfa, watermelon, sugar beet, and so on. Therefore, management of C. album L. is crucial for optimum crop production. Chemical management is a very relevant method for controlling C. album. For decreasing costs of production, adverse and edge effects of the herbicide, optimizing herbicides performance is very essential. It seems that the use of adjuvants is the best solution method to achieve optimizing herbicides performance. Using a proper adjuvant may be affected the performance and fate of herbicide in the environment and finally may be restrict introduced to the food chain. Therefore, using proper adjuvants known as a key point in adjuvants applying technology. This study was conducted for evaluating adjuvants effects on C. album control by Bentazon+Acifluorfen and Imazethapyr herbicides. In order to study the effects of adjuvants on the performance of Bentazon+Acifluorfen and Imazethapyr on C. album control two separated experiments as factorial based on completely randomized design were conducted in the research greenhouse of Faculty of Agriculture, University of Birjand in 2016. Treatments included herbicide concentration at seven levels (0, 6.25, 12.5, 25, 50, 75 and 100 % of recommended dose) and adjuvant at three levels (turnip oil, citogate and without adjuvants) with four replications. For increasing seed germination and breaking seed dormancy of C. album, the seeds treated by sulfuric acid for 1 min, and then seeds washed with tap water for 10 min. Then the seeds were sown in potting trays (3 cm × 3 cm × 5 cm) filled with moistened peat. One week after sowing, at the one-leaf seedlings stages, they were transplanted to 2-L plastic pots filled with a mixture of sand, clay loam soil, and peat (1:1:1; v/v/v). The pots were sub-irrigated every two days. The seedlings were thinned to four per pot at the two-leaf stage. The spray was done at the four-leaf stage (Four weeks after sowing) by using a chargeable sprayer equipped with an 8002 flat fan nozzle tip delivering 250 L ha-1 at 2 bar spray pressure. Four weeks after spraying, the above ground tissue and roots of plant were harvested, oven dried and weighted. The results of these experiments showed that the use of additives, especially turnip oil, increased the efficacy of Bentazon+Acifluorfen and Imazethapyr herbicides in control of C. album. Turnip oil and citogate increased the efficiency of Bentazon+Acifluorfen and Imazethapyr in reducing the production of by C. album above ground tissue1.29, 1.28, 2.13, and 1.30 times, respectively. However, these values were equal to 2.79, 1.98, 2.35, and 1.66 times for reducing the root biomass of C. album. The results of this study also showed that the root was more susceptible to herbicides in the presence of adjuvants. Increasing Bentazon+Acifluorfen and Imazethapyr herbicides concentrations led to decreased dry biomass produced by C. album. Turnip oil compared to citogate showed high efficiency for improving Bentazon+Acifluorfen and Imazethapyr performance. The results of this study showed a similar trend with other scientific reports including Rashed mohassel et al (26) that reported the high efficiency of herbicides for controlling canary grass (Phalaris minor Retz.) in the presence of vegetable oils compared with mineral oils. The result of this study showed different response of Bentazon+Acifluorfen and Imazethapyr to turnip oil and Citogate adjuvants. Therefore, applied proper herbicide adjuvant is a key factor in chemical weed management because this factor reduces herbicide rates for similar weed response. Using proper adjuvants may be increased herbicide performance more than other adjuvants. Moreover, results of these experiments revealed that root response was more than above ground tissue response to Bentazon+Acifluorfen and Imazethapyr herbicides in the presence of adjuvants.

Plants communicate and influence the growth of other plants (or even microorganisms) through excretion of certain chemical compounds (allelochemicals) which is known as allelopathy. A number of allelochemicals has been reported from different plant species. Allelochemicals include phenolic compounds, benzoxazinoids, sorgoleone, glucosinolates, terpenes, alkaloids, momilactones, and etc. Knowledge of the composition of allelopathic materials and weeds with allelopathic properties not only can reduce the negative impacts on crop yield production but also can be used to produce bio-herbicide by allelochemicals as active ingredient. Giradol (Chrozophora tinctoria L.) is an annual summer plant that belongs to Ephorbiaceae family. Giradol contains phenolic components including tannins, saponins (8), cumarins, phenylpropanoid glycosides (5) and flavonoids. Einhelling (2) reported that phenolic compounds are the most active compounds involved in allelopathy. Therefore, giradol has allelopathic characteristic. Giradol can be found in the wide range of fields in Khorasan Razavi. The abundant presence of phenolic compounds and giradol makes the study of giradol allelopathic effects on crops necessary in this region.
In order to evaluate allelopathic potential of giradol (Chrozophora tinctoria L.) organs on growth of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum mill.), a study was conducted by using a completely randomized design (CRD) with factorial arrangement with four replications. This experiment was carried out in pots and consisted of organs at 4 levels (root, stem, leaf and total plant without inflorescence) and decay durations at 8 levels (0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 days decay and control). Samples of different organ plant of giradol were mixed separately with 3-liter pots with 1% m/m ratio. In order to apply decay period treatments, plant samples were added to the soil for 90 days of decay treatment. 15 days later, plant samples of 75 days of treatment were added to the required soil. The remaining treatments were applied at intervals of 15 days. Therefore, after 90 days, the soil was prepared for treatments of decay period (samples under the greenhouse condition at 28 °C / day and 20 °C per night during decay period). Then, the number of 10 Tomato seeds of falat cultivar were cultivated at the surface of soil in each pot. After 75 days (before flowering), the plants were harvested from the soil surface. The plant samples were oven-dried at 75 °C for 24 hours and weighed accurately by weight measuring tools with a precision of 0.0001 g. SAS 9.1 software was used for statistical analysis and Excel software for preparing graphs. Mean comparisons were performed with a protected LSD test at the level of 1%.
Analysis of variance of decay duration of giradol on dry weight of tomato showed the significant effects (p The results revealed that decay duration and interactions between periods of decay and body type had a significant effect on tomato seedling dry matter. Our findings also demonstrated that selection of proper plant date can decrease allelopathic effects of residue giradol on tomato growth.

Uptake of heavy metals by plants can result in harmful effects to plants and the plants are an important part of the food chain constitute, so a great danger for humans and other members of the food chain can have. Germination is the first stage of the plant life and is one of the most sensitive physiological processes that affected by hormonal and environmental factors (biotic and abiotic stresses). Heavy metals affect the germination of two ways; through general toxicity and inhibiting the absorption of water. Radish is an annual plant with the scientific name Raphanussativus belongs to the Brassicaceae family. The root is edible parts of this plant, which is in direct contact with soil and heavy metals can enter into the roots and stored along with the photosynthetic material. Among the studied plants, radish has ability to absorb and accumulate heavy metals and have been proposed for phytoremediation. However, there is no exhaustive research that showed the impact of the heavy metals Cadmium, Lead, Nickel and Cadmium on the germination and seedling growth of radish. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate the effect of different concentrations of heavy metals Cadmium, Lead, Nickel and Cobalt on germination and seedling growth of radish was conducted.

This experiment was conducted based on completely randomized design with three replications in Research Laboratory, Department of Horticulture Science, Faculty of Agriculture, and University of Birjand in 2015. Treatments included heavy metals Lead, Nickel, Cadmium and Cobalt with concentrations of 0 (control), 50, 100, 200, 400 and 800 mg/l. The measured traits were germination percent, germination rate, mean germination time, seed vigor index, root length, shoot length, root to shoot length ratio and dry weight of root, shoot and total.

The results showed that the effect of heavy metals on seed germination characteristics and seedling growth of radish was significant at the 1% level. The impact of low levels of heavy metals on seed germination (percentage and rate of germination) were not significant, but have the positive effects on growth traits (e.g., length of root and shoot and dry weight of root, shoot and total) and increased them. Among the metals studied the toxicity of Cadmium was higher than the other metals and Cobalt in ranked next after that. Seed germination percent were decreased with concentration of 800 mg/l of Lead, Nickel, Cadmium and Cobalt by 2, 4, 60 and 70 percent as compared to the control, respectively. The lowest and the highest germination rate were obtained from metals Cobalt and Lead with concentrations of 800 and 50 mg per liter, respectively. It is reported that heavy metals physiologically inhibit water uptake by seeds and plants and thereby prevents seed germination. It has been suggested that high concentrations of heavy metals cause damage to the embryo or even death it. Moreover, reduction of germination due to heavy metals could be due to its accumulation in the cell and thus its affinity with proteins which reduced the synthesis and production of structural proteins required for cell division and growth and germination processes. The highest root length (9.64 cm) and shoot length (7.04 cm) were obtained from metals Lead and Nickel with concentrations of 100 and 400 mg per liter, respectively. Metals Lead, Nickel, Cadmium and Cobalt with concentration of 800 mg/l were decreased root dry weight by 42, 28, 88 and 90 percent as compared to the control, respectively. The highest total dry weight (0.10 g) was obtained from Lead at concentration of 100 mg/l. Heavy metals by preventing mitotic divisions and cell elongation reduced growth of root and shoot. The results indicate that germination and seedling growth of radish is possible in areas contaminated by heavy metals.