matin jamimoeini

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is the most widely used natural fiber and the most important dual-purpose industrial plant in the world. Delayed transplanting of cotton using early cultivars is one of the effective methods to increase the cultivated area and increase the production of this strategic crop. Plant growth regulators can be effective in the source-sink balance in different plants and are progressively used to increase yield in many plants. Cytokinins are one of the most important plant growth regulators, which increase cell division and differentiation, reduce the effect of terminal dominance, increase leaf surface development, increase the number of lateral branches, increase mobility of nutrients, prevent chlorophyll decomposition, and prevent aging. Growth regulators containing mepiquat chloride, such as pix, reduce vegetative growth in cotton by preventing the synthesis of gibberellic acid. Controlling the growth of cotton as a result of the use of pix, allocates the photosynthetic assimilates to the fruit organs and growing bolls, which increases the weight of the bolls.

To investigate the effect of foliar application of 6-benzylaminopurine and pix on the growth and yield of cotton (cv. May 344) in delayed transplanting, a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications in Sabzevar during 2020. The factors studied were foliar application of pix at two levels of no foliar application and foliar application at the rate of 1.5 liters per hectare and 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) foliar application at five concentrations of 0, 5, 25, 50 and 100 mg l-1. May 344 cotton cultivar was used in this experiment.

The results showed that foliar application of pix significantly increased the content of chlorophyll a compared to the no foliar application conditions. Foliar application with concentrations of 50 and 100 mg l-1 BAP also caused a significant increase in the content of chlorophyll a compared to the no foliar application conditions. The highest content of chlorophyll a was observed in the concentration of 50 mg l-1 BAP, which had an increase of 17.7% compared to the control treatment. The highest height of the plant (67.9 cm) was obtained by foliar application of 25 mg l-1 BAP alone, which showed an increase of 15.1% compared to the control. The lowest plant height (51.6 cm) was also observed in the treatment of foliar application of pix along with 100 mg l-1 BAP. Foliar application of pix along with 25 mg l-1 BAP produced the highest number of bolls per plant, which was 29.8% higher than the control. The highest average boll weight (5.4 g) and the highest percentage of open bolls (83.8%) were obtained in the foliar application treatment of pix with 100 mg l-1 BAP, which was not significantly different from the control treatment. Foliar application of 1.5 liters per hectare of pix alone produced the highest seed cotton yield (2754.3 kg ha-1), which had a 40.2% increase compared to the control. The highest biological yield was produced in the foliar application treatment of PIX along with 5 mg l-1  of BAP, which had an increase of 26.5% compared to the control treatment. The lowest biological yield was obtained in the treatment of foliar application with 100 mg l-1  of BAP, which was not significantly different from the control treatment. The highest percentage of lint (52.2%) was observed in the pix foliar application treatment along with 50 mg l-1 BAP, which showed an increase of 20.3% compared to the control.

According to the results, foliar application of 1.5 liters per hectare of pix is recommended to produce high seed cotton yield and increase the percentage of lint in delayed transplanting cotton.

A split-plot factorial experiment was conducted with 3 replications to evaluate the impacts of different type and time applications of stress modulators on the yield and yield components of cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) under rainfed and irrigated conditions during 2016-2018. The studied factors were the cultivation method at 2 levels (rainfed and irrigated conditions) as the main plot and times of foliar applications with 2 levels (vegetative and vegetative + flowering growth stage) and sources of stress modulators with the 4 levels (control, 1.5 M Glycine Betaine (GB), 10-7 mM Brassinosteroids (BRs), and 1.5 mM Sodium Nitroprusside (SNP)). The results showed that irrigated cultivation led to the productions of higher plant heights, more lateral branches, larger numbers of umbrellas and seeds per plant, greater 1000-seed weights, more grain and essential oil yields, and less essential oil contents as compared to the treatments undergoing the rainfed condition. The lateral branches, umbrellas per plant, seeds per plant, and 1000-seed weights were affected by the application times. The foliar applications of Brassinosteroids (BRs) increased plant heights, lateral branches, umbrellas per plant, seeds per plant, 1000-seed weights, and grain and essential oil yields with less essential oil contents compared to those of the control. Under the irrigated condition, spraying of BRs enhanced plant height (7.64%), lateral branches (3.57%), umbrellas per plant (14.3%), seeds per plant (47.4%), 1000-seed weight (3.69%), and grain yield (74.5%), and lowered essential oil content (11.22%) when compared to those undergoing the rain-fed condition. Overall, the modulators for reducing drought stress impacts by elevating the yields and yield components could be classified as BRs>GB>SNP.

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation is an efficient technology for induction of hairy roots in plants. In the present study, the effect of Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains and explant type on hairy root induction in alfalfa was investigated.

A factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications in Islamic Azad University, Sabzevar Branch. The studied factors were Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains at four levels (A13, 318, 15834 and A4) and explant type at two levels (leaf and hypocotyl).

The highest percentage of hairy root induction was obtained in leaf explants inoculated with bacterial strain A4, which was significantly higher than other strains of Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Inoculation with bacterial strain 318 caused the least induction of hairy roots in leaf explants and hypocotyl. Bacterial strains A13 and 15834 produced the highest number of hairy roots per leaf and hypocotyl explants, respectively. The lowest number of hairy roots in leaf explants was produced under inoculation with 318 strain. The highest and lowest hairy root length in leaf explants, were observed under inoculation with bacterial strains A4 and 318, respectively. In hypocotyl explants, there was no significant difference between strains of Agrobacterium rhizogenes in terms of number and length of hairy roots. The results of separation of PCR products using gel electrophoresis, confirmed the presence of rolB gene in the genome of hairy root cells. According to the results, inoculation of leaf explants with A4 strain of Agrobacterium rhizogenes is recommended to produce hairy roots in alfalfa.

This paper investigates the effects of cold plasma radiation on the percentage, velocity, average germination per day, germination index, and prose and growth of green cumin roots. A factorial experiment was performed in a randomized design in 5 repetitions. Test factors included pretreatment of cold plasma irradiation time at 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 minutes by 7 and 14 kV and 800 Hz plasma generators. The results of this work showed that the treatment time and the applied voltage of cold plasma significantly affect the percentage, velocity, average of germination per a day, germination index, and prose and root of the green cumin seed. Among all treatments, a dose of treatment with time of 6 minutes at a peak voltage of 14 kV had the greatest effect on the referred characteristics, except increasing root in which plasma treatment with a dose of 3 minutes has the most effect. Cold plasma has been generated with a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is a hand-made and designed in on desk dimensions, in which air is used as plasma active gas.

Cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.)  is one of the most important medicinal plants grown in arid and semiarid environments. Cumin is suitable for rainfed cultivation due to its short growing season, leaf shape, canopy structure, and low water requirement. However, when rainfall falls short of crop requirements, rain-fed agriculture does not produce adequate economic yields. Several agronomic and physiological strategies have been implemented to mitigate the negative effects of drought stress and increase plant tolerance to it. Utilizing plant hormones is one of the realistic and promising strategies for increasing crop yields under stressful conditions. Few studies have examined the use of these substances as stress modulators in medicinal plants. This research was conducted to investigate the effect of stress modulator application on seed and essential oil yield of cumin in dryland and irrigated conditions. The split-plot factorial experiment was done based on a randomized complete block design with 3 replications on a private farm in the city of Jaghtai (Khorasan Razavi) in 2017-18. The cultivation method at two levels (dryland and irrigated conditions) and sources of stress modulators at four levels (control, 1.5 M Glycine Betaine, 10-7 M Brassinosteroids, and 10-3 M Sodium nitroprusside) were studied as the main plot and subplot, respectively. The experimental field underwent wheat and barley cultivations in the previous first and second years. For soil preparation, the land was plowed in autumn. The fertilizers consisted of P2O5 (75 kg.ha-1), K2O (100 kg.ha-1), and N (100 kg.ha-1) represented ammonium diphosphate, potassium sulfate, and a form of urea, and were applied at sowing under irrigated conditions. In the rain-fed condition, nitrogen fertilizer application was reduced to 50 kg.ha-1. At the end of the growing season, 10 plants were randomly selected from each plot and their cumin yield components were measured, including final plant height, number of branches, number of umbels per plant, number of seeds per plant, and 1000-seed weight. To determine grain yield and biological yield, a 2.5 m2 area was harvested from each plot after removing the margins. Using the steam distillation method, the Clevenger apparatus was utilized to measure the essential oil. For this purpose, 50 grams of the seeds in each treatment were selected, crushed with a laboratory mill, and dissolved in 500 mL of water for three hours.The essential oil yield was obtained by multiplying the essential oil percentage by seed yield. ata analysis was performed using SAS software (ver. 9.4) and tables and charts were drawn using Word and Excel software. Mean data was compared with LSD method. Slicing of moderator interaction at the planting method levels revealed that foliar application with brassinosteroids in irrigated and dryland conditions increased number of umbrellas per plant (150 and 137%), number of seeds per plant (85.5% and 41.7%) and seed yield (57.9% and 44.8%) relative to no foliar application. Under irrigated conditions, the type of stress modulators affected the number of lateral branches and essential oil yield, with foliar application of glycine betaine producing the highest number of lateral branches and foliar application of brassinosteroids producing the highest essential oil yield. Foliar application of brassinosteroids decreased the essential oil content of irrigated plants by 8.81%. In general, the results of the experiment indicated that in cumin, in order to obtain proper seed and essential oil yield, cultivation should be done as irrigated and the most suitable modifiers to obtain maximum grain and essential oil yield could be classified as brassinosteroids > glycine betaine > Sodium nitroprusside.

Cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) is an important crop for medicinal purposes in Razavi Khorasan province, especially in Sabzevar. With 80% of the country's cultivated land, Khorasan Razavi province is the leading producing province in Iran. In the world's arid and semiarid regions, access to water is a greater constraint on crop production than access to land. Using cultivars or plant species that are adapted to the climatic conditions of these regions is one of the easiest ways to combat drought stress. Despite the fact that cumin is considered a drought-tolerant plant, drought stress, particularly in years with low precipitation, significantly reduces cumin yield. The management of water during cumin's growth and maturation can affect crop yield and quality. Cumin's low productivity is largely attributable to weed infestations. Cumin is especially susceptible to weed competition during its early growth stages. Several characteristics of cumin, including slow plant emergence, short plant height, and cumin morphology, enable weeds to effectively compete. Yield losses ranging from 40 to 90% have been sustained in cumin due to weed competition. To determine the effect of different irrigation cut-off times on cumin yield and yield components under weed interference conditions, a field experiment was conducted in 2018 and 2019 at the Hakmabad Joven Agricultural Service Center (Khorasan Razavi) using a randomized complete block design with three replications. Irrigation cut-off time (full irrigation, irrigation cut-off in flowering stage, irrigation cut-off in seed-filling stage, and rainfed cultivation) was the main plot, while weed interference  was the sub-plot. Land preparation was done with moldboard in the fall of the previous year, the tillage operation included shallow plowing, double disc plow, and full leveling. Each subplot was 5 m long and 1 m wide, with five planting rows, 20 cm between rows, and 5 cm between plants. To prevent water from spreading laterally, plots were surrounded by dikes and separated by 2 m. The local landrace (Sabzevar), which is widespread and suitable for the region, was utilized. The height, number of sub-branches, number of umbrellas per plant, number of umbels per umbrella, and number of seeds per umbel were measured for five plants randomly selected from each plot at the end of the growing season. Before performing combined analysis across years, homogeneity was determined using Bartlett's Chi-square test. Due to the significance of the year effect, separate analyses of variance were conducted for each year using SAS (version 9.4) statistical software, and treatment means were compared using Fisher's least significant difference (FLSD) tests (p < 0.05). The results showed that in the rainy year, the yield and yield components of cumin did not respond to irrigation cut-off times. However, in the dry year, the highest seed and essential oil yield was obtained with full irrigation, and a delay in irrigation cessation had fewer negative effects on yield and yield components.In the first and second years, full irrigation increased the number of lateral branches (45.7% and 38.4%), the number of umbels per plant (46.1% and 12.9%), the number of seeds per umbel (36.4% and 44.7%), and 1000-seed weight (6.4 and 36.4%). All irrigation levels resulted in a lower grain yield under weed interference conditions compared to non-interference. The most detrimental effects of weed interference were observed when irrigation was stopped at the time of flowering (34.8%). In full irrigation conditions, grain yield decreased by 12.8%, but the yield reduction percentage was lower compared to other irrigation levels. Dryland cultivation yielded the highest amount of essential oil in both the first and second year. In the first year, complete irrigation produced the highest yield of essential oil, whereas in the second year, cessation of irrigation at the seed stage produced the highest yield. In the first and second year, weed competition significantly reduced the number of lateral branches (14.7 and 25.6%), the number of umbels per plant (33.1 and 21.2%), the number of seeds per umbel (17.2 and 37.2%), and the weight of 1000 seeds (9.22 and 17.2%). The percentage of essential oil was unaffected by weed interference. Delays in irrigation cessation increased grain and essential oil yield under both interference and non-interference conditions. In conclusion, this experiment revealed that the response of yield and yield components to the irrigation regime depended on weather conditions and precipitation during the growing season. In conditions where the amount and distribution of rainfall was adequate during the growing period, yield and yield components did not react significantly to the irrigation regime, whereas supplementary irrigation produced the optimal grain and essential oil yield in the absence of rainfall. Weed control increased yield in both irrigated and rainfed environments. Weed competition reduces cumin yield, yield components, and the number of umbrellas per plant, but has no effect on the percentage of essential oil produced. Consequently, in wet years, full irrigation is recommended in terms of both interference and non-interference of weeds, and in terms of appropriate irrigation, cessation of irrigation after seeding is recommended to produce optimal economic performance.

In saline condition, addition to salinity stress, nitrogen deficiency is also observed. In order to investigate the response of yield, yield components, and nitrogen efficiency of cotton to supplemental nitrogen application in saline conditions in optimum and delayed cultivation, a factorial experiment in a randomized complete block design with three replications was done in Sabzevar Islamic Azad University in 2017-2018. Factors were: planting date (optimum and late) and nitrogen levels (0, 2.5, 5, and 7.5 kg.ha-1) as a foliar application on the bolling stage as Urea form. Delayed planting reduced the number of bolls per plant (6.59 %), boll weight (17.33%), seed cotton yield (14.70 %), nitrogen uptake efficiency (23.2 %), and nitrogen use efficiency (11.32 %) compared to optimum cultivation. Foliar application of 7.5 kg N.ha-1increased the number of bolls per plant (67.6%), boll weight (47.2%), seed cotton yield (73.2%), nitrogen uptake efficiency (45.1%), and nitrogen use efficiency (41.2%) compared to control. Sprayed due to lack of solution. The highest plant height, number of reproductive branches, lint percentage, lint yield, and agronomic nitrogen use efficiency in optimum planting date and foliar application of 7.5 kgN.ha-1were obtained which was not significantly different from foliar spraying of 5 kgN.ha-1. Nitrogen foliar application could not improve the negative effects of planting delay on yield and yield components of cotton. In general, the results of this experiment showed that the best seed cotton yield can be achieved by planting at the optimum date and spraying 5 kg of nitrogen as a supplement at the beginning of the bolling stage that increases the efficiency of cotton nitrogen consumption in saline conditions.

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is one of the oldest agricultural crops, cultivated in over 100 countries with a total production of approximately 25 Mt. This plant's oil, protein, and seed cotton are used in human and animal nutrition, and as the best coating raw material for spinning mills, respectively. Cotton, following sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) and sugar beet (Beta vulgaris), is Iran's third largest industrial crop and first oil crop. Appropriate agronomic practices, such as plant density and fertilizer management, have a substantial impact on crop development and final yield. Adjusting the distance between cotton rows has been a technique used to increase yield. Typically, cotton is planted in rows separated by 70 to 100 cm. Ultra narrow row (UNR) cotton production has been proposed as a cost-effective method for increasing yields and decreasing production expenses. The fertilizer needs of UNR cotton are not well-established, and the lint yield of UNR cotton relative to that of conventional-row (CR) cotton has been variable. This research aimed to determine the optimal nutrition systems for UNR and CR cotton production. This research was conducted on a private farm in Rudab (Khorasan Razavi province), 60 km from Sabzevar at a latitude of 36° 13',  longitude of 57° 44', and an elevation of 990 m above sea level, during 2019 and 2020. The experimental design consisted of a split plot arrangement of treatments with three replicates in a completely randomized complete block design. The type of fertilizer, which included chemical, organic, chemical+organic, and control (without fertilizer), was regarded as the main plot, while the planting method, which included conventional and ultra-row spacing cultivation, was regarded as the sub plot. Each plot consisted of four 50 cm (UNR) or 25 cm (CR) rows with a length of 4 m and a 20 cm plant spacing. Utilizing a pneumatic seeder and Varamin cultivar, sowing was performed. Before planting, a physicochemical analysis of the experimental soil was conducted. In accordance with the recommendation of the soil test, a uniform dose of phosphorus (150 kg ha-1) in the form of Triple Super Phosphate was applied at the time of sowing as part of the chemical treatment. The recommended amount of N (250 kg ha-1) was applied as urea. One-third of the N was applied at the time of sowing, and the remaining two-thirds were applied in two equal splits at the first and second weedings (50 and 80 days after sowing, respectively). In organic treatment, the rate of poultry manure application was 3000 kg ha-1. In the chemical+organic treatment, each organic and chemical fertilizer was applied at a rate of 50%. At the time of harvest, five plants were randomly selected from the middle rows of each plot and their final height, number of branches, and number of bolls per plant were measured. In order to determine the weight of bolls, 10 bolls were selected at random from the harvested plants and their average weight was determined. The seed cotton yield was harvested at one stage after approximately 90 percent of the bolls had opened. The lint and seeds were separated and weighed separately from the seed cotton. The lint percentage was calculated by dividing the lint weight by the seed cotton weight. The collected data on various parameters were statistically analyzed using SAS (Version 9.4), and the least significant difference (LSD) test at a 5% probability level was used to compare the treatment means. Chemical and organic treatment increased the number of lateral branches (48.7 percent), number of bolls per plant (88.9 percent), and boll weight (131 percent) compared to the control, while organic fertilizer treatment increased lint percentage (42.3 percent). In all nutrition systems, conventional cultivation produced more bolls per plant than ultra-row spacing, and integrated treatment and conventional cultivation produced the greatest number of bolls per plant. In ultra-row spacing and integrated nutrition systems, seed cotton yield was increased by 18.5% over conventional and organic fertilizer and cultivation, and lint yield was increased by 9.28% over conventional cultivation. Overall, the results of this experiment demonstrated that it is possible to produce a satisfactory seed cotton yield by substituting 50 percent of the chemical fertilizers in an integrated system with 50 percent less organic fertilizer and by utilizing ultra-row spacing.

To investigate the effects of row spacing and nitrogen application rate on growth and yield of quinoa, a split plot experiment has been conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications in Sabzevar during 2018. The studied factors include row spacing at three levels (25, 50, and 75 cm) and nitrogen application rate at four levels (0, 50, 100, and 150 kg N ha-1). Results show that the highest content of photosynthetic pigments, panicle length, number of seeds per plant, and biological yield belong to 150 kg N ha-1 treatment. However, the 100 kg N ha-1 treatment has had the highest number of panicles per plant (19.24) and 1000-seed weight (3.51 g). More row spacing has resulted in more chlorophyll contents, plant height, number of panicles, panicle length, and number of seeds per plant, but less 1000-seed weight, seed yield, and biological yield. The decrease in seed yield by increasing the row spacing to 50 and 75 cm has been 18.62 and 50.14%, respectively. The highest seed yield (6644.5 kg ha-1) has been produced via application of 150 kg N ha-1 at a row spacing of 25 cm. With increasing row spacing, nitrogen requirement to produce maximum seed yield declines. Thus, the highest seed yield in 75, 50, and 25 cm rows spacing are produced with the application of 50, 100, and 150 kg N ha-1, respectively. According to the results, the application of 150 kg N ha-1 and row spacing of 25 cm is recommended for planting quinoa, Sajama genotype.

Drought is the most important limiting factor for durum wheat production in the Mediterranean and other regions. Iran is located in arid and semi-arid parts of the word. In order to identify the most effective stress tolerance indices and the most tolerant durum wheat genotypes, this study was conducted as two separate experiments (one under normal irrigation conditions and the other cut off  irrigation after 50% spike) on 20 promising durum wheat lines in a randomized complete block design at three replications. The research was implemented at Neishabour Agricultural Research Station for two cropping seasons. Stress tolerance indices were calculated using the two-year average yield, which were MP, GMP, STI, SSI, TOL, YI, YSI, RDI, DI, MRP and REI. Biplot correlation equations could explain relation between grain yield and calculated indices where GMP, MP and STI were the best ones under both conditions. Lines 7 and 8 were identified as superior genotypes based on GGEBiplot polygon. Keeping in view both yield and stability adopting GGEBiplot, line 7 was favorable. Also Line 7 was ideal genotype in relevant biplot. Generally, results showed that GGEBiplot was suitable methods for identifying superior genotypes based on biplot indices considering both yield and stability.

The application of superabsorbent polymeric materials may prevent yield reduction of some crops under drought stress conditions. To investigate the effect of adsorbent polymer consumption on yield and yield components of sunflower under drought stress conditions, an experiment was conducted as a split plot in a randomized complete block design with 3 replications in a farm located 20 km away from Sabzevar during 2013-2014. Factors were irrigation regimes (12-day and 24-day intervals) as main plot and different amount of super absorbent polymer (0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 kg ha-1) as subplot. The results showed that plant height, number of seeds per head, percentage of empty seeds, 100-seed weight, economic yield and biological yield were significantly affected by irrigation intervals. Increasing the irrigation interval reduced plant height by 26.3%, number of seeds per head by 39.5%, 100-seed weight by 17.9%, economic yield by 31.2% and biological yield by 17.9%. The highest yield and yield components were obtained at application of 120 kg ha-1 superabsorbent polymer and the lowest at control treatment. Although the yield response to the use of superabsorbent polymer was higher in the 12-day irrigation interval, use of superabsorbent polymer reduced the negative effects of drought stress. In 12-day irrigation interval, consumption of 120 kg ha-1 absorbent polymer and in the 24-day irrigation interval, consumption of 30 kg ha-1 absorbent polymer produced the maximum net income. In total, the highest grain yield and economic income were obtained at application of 120 kg ha-1 superabsorbent and 12-day irrigation interval.

In order to study the effect of plant growth retardants on potato microtuber production under stagnant liquid medium, a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with three replications was carried out in biotechnology laboratory of agricultural faculty, Islamic Azad University, Sabzevar Branch. Experimental factors include four concentrations of chlorocholine chloride (0, 150, 300 and 450 mg l-1) and five concentrations of coumarin (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 mg l-1). Results showed that stagnant liquid culture method used in this research can be successfully used for the production of potato microtuber. Use of chlorocholine chloride (CCC) and coumarin, improved potato microtuber production by reduction the time required to start microtuberization, increasing the number of microtuber per plantlet and increase the weight and diameter of microtuber. The shortest time to microtuberization and the maximum microtuber number per plantlets were obtained by application of 300 mg l-1 CCC and 30 mg l-1 coumarin. However, the highest average microtuber weight was observed at media containing 150 mg l-1 CCC and 10 mg l-1 coumarin. Therefore, application of 300 mg l-1 CCC and 30 mg l-1 coumarin for shortened the microtuberization time and application of 150 mg l-1 CCC and 10 mg l-1 coumarin for production of microtubers with more average weight can be recommended.

To investigate the response of corn varieties with different maturity groups to low dose applications of nicosulfuron herbicide, a split plot experiment with a randomized complete block design with three replications was carried out in Barekat Jovain Agricultural Company (Sabzevar, Razavikhorasan province) in 2017. Factors were: corn hybrids (early maturing (single cross hybrid 260, medium maturing (single cross hybrid 400) and late maturing (single cross hybrid 704) varieties as main plot and subplots five herbicide low dose applications (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% recommended dose (50 g.ha-1 </sup>a.i. nicosulfuron) and with one weed free treatment. The results showed that, the late maturity hybrid had higher plant height, ear weight, number of rows per cob, number of seeds per row, cob weight, and seed number in cob, economic yield, biological yield, weed density and weed dry weight than other hybrids. Increasing doses of herbicide increased plant height (0.64%), ear weight (39.45%), number of rows per cob (8.93%), number of seeds per row (30.15%), seed weight (10.68%), number of seed per cob (40.63%), economic yield (41.82%), biological yield (14.95%)and decreased weed density (70.88%)and weed dry weight (82.17%) as compared to that of weedy condition. Although use of herbicide to reduce weed dry weight in late maturing hybrids was more than early and medium maturing hybrids but the use of the recommended herbicide dose had the same effects on weed control. 75% of the recommended dose in all three varieties produced the same yield as compared to the recommended dose. But in the late maturity hybrid, 50% reduction in recommended doses could be similar to the recommended dosage. In general, it can be said that increasing the length of the plant growth period allows the use of lower doses of herbicide than the recommended dose.

To evaluate the effects of application time and type of organic and chemical fertilizers on yield and yield components of saffron, an experiment was conducted as factorial based on randomized complete block design with three replications in Sheshtamad, Khorasan Razavi province, Iran. The factors were time of fertilizer foliar application (January and early February) and the type of fertilizer: Humic acid (0.5 L.ha-1), Amino acid fertilizer (0.5 L.ha-1), Complete fertilizer (2 L.ha-1), Complete fertilizer橨 acids (1 L.ha-1.5 L.ha-1) and a control without the use of fertilizers. In this experiment, fresh weight of flower, number of flowers per square meter, stigma length, stigma닜 yield and stigma yield were measured. The results showed that the highest flower fresh weight (200.6 kg.ha-1), number of flowers (68.5), stigma length (2.57 cm), stigma닜 yield (3.6 kg.ha-1) and stigma yield (1.75 kg.ha-1) were achieved by foliar application of complete fertilizer橨 acids. Fertilizer application time had a significant effect on fresh weight of flower, number of flowers per square meter, stigma length, stigma닜 yield and stigma yield. Fertilizer application in February had higher positive effect than its application in March. Reaction of yield was also different to time of fertilizer application. In early February, using complete fertilizer was better compared to other fertilizers while in March complete fertilizer amino acid or complete fertilizer had more yield compared to other fertilizers.

The effect of times of weeding on reducing herbicide dose in sugar beet was studied in 2011-2012 in Jovein. The experiment was conducted in split plot based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. The main factor was herbicide doses (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of recommended dose (Chloridazon 3.25 kg. a.i. ha-1 soil applied) and sub plot was times of hand weeding (0, one time hand hoeing, tow times hand hoeing, at 30 and 60 days after plant emergence). Traits like root yield and white sugar yields, impure sugar content, alkalinity coefficient, sodium, potassium, α-amino nitrogen and sugar content in molasses were evaluated. The result showed that the increased frequency of weeding reduced weed density, weed dry weight, α-amino nitrogen and percentage of impure and pure sugar contents, root yield and sugar yield. The least weed density and biomass of weeds were observed in recommended dose. Increasing the doses of herbicide increased impure sugar content (14.48%), α-amino nitrogen (57.86%), pure sugar (19.30%), root yield (77.67%) and sugar yield (111.17%) while it decreased potassium (18.77%), sodium (28.84%) contents and alkalinity coefficient (52.76%) as compared with that of control. For most of the traits, there were not statistically significant difference between the recommended dose and 75% of the recommended dose. Increasing the number of hand weedings reduced herbicide dosages. The, results finally showed that 25% dose reduction of herbicide in one time weeding and 50% dose reduction of it in twice weedings might produce desirable economic yield (root yield).

In order to investigate the effect of effective microorganism application method on saffron growth characteristics in the presence of chemical and organic fertilizers, a field experiment was conducted at Sheshtamad County during the growing season of 2013-2014. The experiment was carried out as split plot based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. The experimental factors included effective microorganisms (EM) application method as main plots (no application, soil application and foliar application of EM) and chemical and organic fertilizers application as subplots (no application, soil application of humic acid, soil application of 20, 20, 20 and soil application of humic acid 20, 20, 20). The results showed that soil and foliar application of EM had no significant effect on plant height, but it significantly increased corm number, corm yield, shoot dry weight and number of buds per corm. The average corm weight was reduced in response to soil and foliar application of EM. The highest corm number (220.33), corm yield (1023.33 g m-2) and shoot dry weight (43.02 g m-2) were obtained in soil application of EM treatment. The maximum number of buds per corm (8.68) and average corm weight (5.10 g) were observed in foliar application and no application of EM conditions, respectively. Application of 20, 20, 20 and combined application of humic acid and 20, 20, 20 increased corm number, corm yield, shoot dry weight and number of bud per corm compared to control and soil application of humic acid. Soil application of humic acid produced the highest average corm weight. Soil and foliar application of EM improved the response of saffron growth characteristics to organic and chemical fertilizers. According to the results, soil applications of EM and 20, 20, 20 are recommended to produce maximum corm yield in saffron.