جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « سرعت رشد محصول » در نشریات گروه « زراعت »

Intercropping is one of the most important crop management methods to achieve sustainable agriculture goals. Therefore this study was conducted to evaluate safflower with lentil intercropping under dryland conditions.

The experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design with three replications and five treatments during 2018-2019 at the research farm of the Razi University. The experimental treatments included Safflower monoculture, Safflower and Lentil intercropping with 25:75 ratio, Safflower and Lentil intercropping with 50:50 ratio, Safflower and Lentil intercropping with 75:25 ratio, and Lentil monoculture. Safflower was considered as the main plant and Lentil as the alternative plant. The evaluated traits were leaf area index, radiation absorption, crop growth rate, relative growth rate, total dry matter, radiation use efficiency, and grain yield.

 The results showed that the leaf area index and consequently, radiation absorption in intercropping compared to monoculture increased by 6.2% and 48%, respectively. Trend of changes in safflower’s crop growth rate in intercropping canopy compared to monoculture did not change, but the relative growth rate showed a 7.7%increase. The amount of total dry matter and radiation use efficiency in intercropping canopy did not change much compared to monoculture. Grain yield of Safflower was higher in monoculture (2472 kg.ha-1), which did not significantly differ from the treatments with 75:25 (2294 kg.ha-1) and 50:50 (2107 kg.ha-1) ratio of Safflower and Lentil.

Generally, the results showed that the intercropping of safflower with lentils was not economically beneficial, however, alternative intercropping patterns with ratios of 25:75 and 50:50 of safflower and lentil were more efficient in terms of the investigated traits.

The production of oilseeds, edible leaves, and secondary metabolites of dragon's head makes it an important food, forage, and medicinal plant. Choosing a proper planting date and plant nutrition can make a significant effecton crop plantsgrowth, quality and yield.The effects of planting date (16 March, 14 April, and 13 May 2019) and foliar application of zinc sulfate (zero as control, 2 and 4 g.L-1) on growth indices and seed yield of dragon's head was evaluated under a field experiment.Delayed planting date reduced the days to flowering, days to seed ripening, plant height, leaf area index (LAI), crop growth rate (CGR), relative growth rate (RGR) and grain yield, and yield components.In contrast, the use of zinc sulfate increased plant height, LAI, CGR and RGR. There was a correlation between plant height and number of branches and consequently there were more capsules per plant.The highest effect of zinc sulfate application on seed yield and yield components was observed in the first planting date and with delay in planting, the efficiency of zinc sulfate fertilizer application decreased. On the third planting date, zinc sulfate application had no significant effect on grain yield. As a result of late planting, fewer branches, fewer capsules per plant, and smaller seeds contributed to the yield reduction.It was found that early cultivation and application of zinc sulfate increased plant height, number of branches, number of capsules per plant, 1000-seed weight, and thus seed yield, by increasing the days to flowering, days to ripening, LAI, CGR, and RGR.

Deficit irrigation offers a solution for optimizing crop production under water stress conditions, albeit with an initial reduction in yield per unit area. Employing deficit irrigation aids in farm management in scenarios where land availability isn’t constrained, enabling the determination of optimal cultivation patterns while conserving water consumption. However, deficit irrigation may influence plant growth and development by inducing drought stress. Due to several capabilities, quinoa shows resistance to solar radiation, temperature, water availability, and atmospheric CO2 concentration, which makes it possible to cultivate it in different agricultural areas. Quinoa also has a great capacity for cultivation in dry and low-water soils. Although growth analysis sometimes provides valuable clues, it does not provide any physicochemical information related to the environmental reactions of plants; in other words, the main benefit of many quantities involved in growth analysis is to provide an accurate estimate of the ability and efficiency of the plant in the community at certain time intervals. In general, growth analysis evaluates the system based on the results of physiological manifestations. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the physiological growth analyses of three quinoa cultivars under different moisture levels in summer and spring planting dates in the South Khorasan region.

To evaluate the physiological traits of three quinoa cultivars under deficit irrigation conditions, four separate experiments were conducted using a factorial layout based on a randomized complete block design. These experiments included three replications and were carried out in two regions (Birjand and Sarbisheh) during two planting dates (March and July) in 2018-2019. The experimental factors consisted of five moisture levels (ranging from 25% to 125% of crop water requirement) and three quinoa cultivars (Titicaca, Giza1, and Redcarina). To compare the cultivars and assess the impact of humidity levels, several physiological indices—such as leaf area index (LAI), crop growth rate (CGR), relative growth rate (RGR), and net assimilation rate (NAR)—were studied. Regression curves were fitted to the data from all four experiments separately, and separate analyses of variance were also performed for each sampling time.

The trend of changes in the leaf area index (LAI) showed that the time needed to reach the maximum LAI was observed between 106 to 107 days after emergence in March and between 73 to 76 days after emergence in July in Birjand, respectively. In Sarbisheh, the maximum LAI was observed on day 104 after emergence in March and between 65 to 72 days after emergence in July. In March, in both studied areas, Redcarina had the highest LAI values (4.5 in Birjand and 6.7 in Sarbisheh), along with the maximum crop growth rate (CGR) of 17.93 g m-2 day-1 in Birjand and 20.63 g m-2 day-1 in Sarbisheh. Conversely, in July, Giza1 exhibited the highest LAI (6.4 in Birjand and 6 in Sarbisheh), along with the maximum CGR of 19.32 g m-2 day-1 in Birjand and 18.11 g m-2 day-1 in Sarbisheh. Additionally, the highest relative growth rate (RGR) and net assimilation rate (NAR) at the beginning of the growing season in March were observed for Redcarina, while in July, Giza1 demonstrated the highest RGR and NAR in both studied areas. Considering the effect of humidity levels, the highest levels of LAI, CGR, RGR, and NAR indices were observed at the 125% water requirement level. Specifically, the maximum LAI values in March (in Sarbisheh and Birjand) and August (in Sarbisheh and Birjand) were 8.2, 5.3, 6.5, and 7.2, respectively. The maximum CGR values were 28.78, 23.56, 22.96, and 26.18 g m-2 day-1, respectively. Furthermore, the highest RGR at the beginning of the growing season ranged from 0.189 to 0.214 g g-1 day-1, and the highest NAR at the beginning of the growing season ranged from 6.16 to 10.22 g m-2 day-1. Conversely, the lowest values of these indices were observed at the 25% water requirement level.

Overall, Redcarina, cultivated in March, and Giza1, cultivated in July, exhibited the most favorable growth analysis indices and grain yield compared to other cultivars. Additionally, deficit irrigation resulted in a decrease in all of these indices and grain yield.

Drought stress is one of the environmental factors that affects the growth, yield and yield components of plants. Nitrogen and methanol play a key role in plant structure and metabolism. Black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) is one of the medicinal plants in the family of Ranunculaceae. The seed of Nigella sativa plant has been used since long to protect health and combat different diseases and its frequent application in the pharmaceutical industry. The plant is cultivated in different parts of Europe and Asia including Iran. The purpose of this study was to investigate the responses of growth indices and yield of the black cumin to nitrogen and methanol under water stress conditions.

Healthy seeds of black cumin were provided from Medicinal Plants Research Center, Shahed University. The experiment was a split split-plots study based on randomized complete block design with three factors and three replicates. The experiments were conducted in the farm of Zanjan University, Faculty of Agriculture (36° 41’ N latitude, 48°27’ E longitude, and altitude of 1620 m) during the year farming in 2019-2020. The factors were drought stress with 4 levels (control irrigation, irrigation at 80% soil capacity, irrigation at 60% soil capacity, irrigation at 40% soil capacity) as the main plots, nitrogen with 4 levels (control, 30, 60 and 90 kg per hectare) as the sub-plots and methanol with 3 levels (0, 10 and 30%) as the sub-sub-plots. In fact, for each level of methanol, two g l-1 glycine and one g l-1 tetrahydrofolate as catalysts and one g l-1 tween80 were added to increase the adhesion of methanol solution. In both areas, soil preparation, including plowing, leveling and paving was performed before planting. Black cumin seeds were weighed in the amount of 4 g and the seed was evenly distributed.
At the time of complete ripening, after removing the marginal effects, a random sample was selected from each plot and the plant height, root length crop growth rate (CGR) were measured.
Also, after the final ripening, sampling was done to determine the grain yield after removing the marginal effects and one square meter was taken from each experimental unit and the number of plants per square meter was counted and then the seeds were separated from the plants and weighed and then reported in kg ha-1. To measure yield components (number of capsules per plant, number of seeds per capsule and 1000-seed weight) at the time of harvest, 5 plants were randomly selected from each experimental unit and the number of capsules was counted and then the seeds were taken out of the capsules. To measure the weight of 1000 seeds from the harvested seeds related to grain yield, three thousand samples of seeds were counted and then weighed and their mean as 1000 seeds weight and were used for data analysis.

The results showed that with increasing irrigation stress, plant growth indices and yield decreased, while with increasing nitrogen and methanol concentrations, growth indices and yield increased. In total, application of 10% methanol and 30 kg ha-1 nitrogen increased root length plant height by 9 and 16% compared to the control treatment. The results showed that the triple interaction of control irrigation, application of 30 kg ha-1 nitrogen and 10% methanol increased crop growth rate by 17.44% compared to control treatment. The highest grain yield by interaction of without irrigation stress and application of 90 kg ha-1 nitrogen and application of 10 percent methanol in the amount of 715.40 g were observed. Application of high levels of nitrogen and methanol under severe stress reduced grain yield, while application of lower levels of nitrogen (30 kg ha-1) and methanol (10%) increased grain yield, and the triple interaction of non-stress irrigation, application of 90 kg ha-1 nitrogen and 10% methanol caused a significant increase in grain yield (3.6%).

The results showed that severe drought stress by reducing plant height, root length, crop growth rate, number of seeds per capsule and number of capsules per plant could reduce grain yield in black cumin and methanol application, especially at the level of 30%, with a positive effect on source strength (leaf area index) and reservoir strength (number and size of seeds) as well as root length, was able to increase black seed grain yield under water stress. The maximum crop growth length was obtained by triple interaction of control irrigation, application of 30 kg ha-1 nitrogen and 10% methanol foliar application at 35.31 g m-2 day and according to the importance and economic value of black cumin plant in the pharmaceutical industry The use of this treatment is recommended for producers of this plant.

Considering the importance and value of water and optimal use of nitrogen for maintaining production productivity and simultaneously reducing the negative environmental effects, two experiments have been conducted in 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 cropping seasons in the research farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Kurdistan. The experiments are performed as a split plot in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Experimental treatments include the different levels of irrigation as the main plots (25% (W1), 50% (W2), 75% (W3), and 100% (W4) of crop water requirement) and different levels of nitrogen fertilizer as sub-plots (25% (N1), 50% (N2), 75% (N3), and 100% (N4) based on crop nitrogen requirement). Results show that all the studied traits with the exception of the time of reaching the maximum pod area index are affected by the main and interaction effects. The highest grain yield is obtained in W4N4 treatment (5069 kg.ha-1) and the lowest grain yield in W1N1 and W1N2 treatments at 880 and 899 kg.ha-1, respectively, which has been decreased by 82.6% and 82.2%, compared to the control, respectively. The grain and biological yield of W4N3 (4826 and 17589 kg.ha-1) and W3N4 (4712 and 17657 kg.ha-1) treatments, represent 25% reduction in nitrogen consumption and 25% reduction in water consumption, respectively compared to the control. W4N4 is recognized as the superior treatment in this study for improving productivity.

Rainfed planting of peanuts in Guilan province has a history of more than 120 years. The use of late cultivar NC2 in most of the peanut fields in this region during the last 45 years has provided the basis for the spread of diseases and severe functional fluctuations in the production of this plant. The light soil texture in the fields of this plant also increases the yield fluctuations of this cultivar in the low rainy years by reducing the available moisture for peanut plants. As a result, the introduction of new cultivars adapted to the climatic conditions of the region, which have good pod yield in rainfed conditions, is one of the most important necessity for Guilan province. Therefore, the present study was designed and conducted to investigate and compare physiological indices and radiation use efficiency in 14 new peanut genotypes and compare them with NC2 cultivar.

This study was conducted as a randomized complete block design with three replications in two years 2016 and 2017 in Astaneh Ashrafiyeh city. 14 peanut genotypes along with NC2 cultivar, which is the dominant cultivar in the region, formed experimental blocks. All genotypes were planted flat and in rainfed conditions. Heat unit throughout the growth period, crop growth rate, pod growth rate, partitioning coefficient, radiation use efficiency, pod yield, grain yield, biological yield and harvest index were studied in all genotypes and NC2 cultivar and were compared with this cultivar.

The results of this study indicated that the highest heat units from planting to harvesting maturity were observed in NC2 cultivar and ICGV02317 and ICGV92222 genotypes, respectively, while ICGV00350 and ICGV87846 genotypes had the lowest heat units during the growing season. The highest values of crop growth rate, pod growth rate, radiation use efficiency, pod yield and grain yield were obtained from NC2 cultivar and ICGV00420, ICGV99019 and ICGV92116 genotypes.

According to the results, in rainfed conditions, 3 genotypes ICGV00420, ICGV99019 and ICGV92116 reached the harvesting maturity stage faster than NC2 cultivar with a lower heat unit in this area while in many of the measured traits were similar to the mentioned cultivar. The results also indicated that the mentioned genotypes can be considered as an alternative to planting NC2 cultivar in the region's farms according to the calculated physiological indices and radiation use efficiency because these genotypes had suitable radiation use efficiency, pod and grain yield under rainfed cultivation conditions.

In order to evaluate the growth indices of sugarcane in different irrigation systems, weed control treatments and correlative associations with quantitative and qualitative traits of sugarcane, an experiment was conducted as split plot based on randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications in 2020 at Sugarcane Development Research and Training Institute of Khuzestan, Ahwaz, Iran. The five irrigation systems were surface irrigation, subsurface irrigation with a flow rate of 2.3 L/hour, subsurface irrigation with a flow rate of 3.6 L/hour, sprinkler irrigation and furrow or conventional irrigation as the main plot and weed control treatments were (weed interference (no weeds control) throughout the season (Weedy treatment), weed control in total period of season (weed free treatment) and cultivation (twice) as the subplot. The highest crop growth rate (CGR), dry matter and height were observed in sprinkler and subsurface irrigation with a flow rate of 3.6 L/hour and the lowest in furrow irrigation. Growing degree day (GDD) required to reach 50% of dry matter were determined for sprinkler irrigation (1894), subsurface irrigation with flow rate of 3.6 L/hour (1762), subsurface irrigation with flow rate of 2.3 L/hour (1538), surface irrigation (1494) and furrow irrigation (1474 degrees of growth day). Also, growth indices in weedy treatment was lower than the both treatments weed free and cultivation. Correlation analyses indicated that sugarcane quality traits were not closely associated with growth indices and sugarcane quantitative traits. However, a positive correlation was observed between quantitative traits of sugarcane such as height, internode length, number of internodes, cane yield, sugar yield, dry matter and crop growth rate and a negative correlation was observed between cane yield with stem diameter and weeds biomass. According to the results, both systems of sprinkler irrigation and subsurface irrigation with a flow rate of 3.6 L/hour seem to be suitable for sugarcane production in Khuzestan in the first ratoon.

In order to study of yield and some growing indices of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in response to the biofertilizers and cycocel under water limitation conditions, a factorial experiment based on a randomized complete block design with three replications was conducted at the research farm of faculty of agricultural sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, during 2015-2016 cropping season. Factors were water limitation at three levels (full irrigation as control, irrigation withholding in 50% of heading and booting stages as moderate and severe water limitation respectively, according to 45 and 59 Zadoks code), seed inoculation with biofertilizers at four levels (without inoculation as control, seed inoculation with Azotobacter chrocoocum strain 5, Pseudomonas putida strain 186 and inoculation with Azotobacter+ Pseudomonas) and foliar application of cycocle at four levels (0, 400, 800 and 1200 mg L-1). Means comparison showed that maximum grain yield (3822 kg ha-1), total dry matter (2720 g m-2), crop growth rate, net assimilation rate, seed protein and chlorophyll content, increased due to seed inoculation with Azotobacter+ Pseudomonas and foliar application of 1200 mg L-1 cycocle under normal irrigation. The combined use of Azotobacter and Pseudomonas bacteria and foliar application of 1200 mg.L-1 showed a significant increase in root dry weight. Foliar application of 1200 mg.L-1 cycocle and seed inoculation with Azotobacter and Pseudomonas increased grain yield 63.41, 52.90 and 62.46%, respectively, at full irrigation, irrigation to 50% of heading and booting stages in comparison with no application of bio fertilizers and cycocel. Generally, it seems that the application of biofertilizers and cycocel can be a proper tool for increasing wheat yield under water limitation.

In order to investigate the effect of planting arrangement on growth indices and grain yield of a red bean cultivar (Sayyad cultivar), The experiment was conducted in a split-plot randomized complete block design with 4 replications in Jihad Agricultural Services Center of Al-Mahdi town, Azna. The main factor consisted three row spacings including 20, 30 and 45 cm and the sub-factor consisted three densities including 40, 50, and 60 plants m-2. The results showed that by reducing the row spacing dry matter accumulation, CGR and LAI at different periods of growth and grain yield increased. However, changing the row spacing did not have a significant effect on RGR and NAR. With increasing plant density, the dry matter accumulation, CGR and LAI over the course of plant development, RGR and NAR in reproductive stage and thus grain yield increased. Plant density had no significant effect on RGR and NAR in vegetative growth stage and maximum NAR. Considering the increase in most traits in the row spacing of 20 cm and a density of 60 plants m-2, this type of planting arrangement might be suitable for cultivation of red been under similar environmental conditions in Azna, Lorestan, Iran.

To evaluate the effect of hydropriming and Agrotin organic fertilizer on seed germination, growth indices, and grain yield of three dryland wheat cultivars, a factorial experiment in a randomized complete block design with three replications was done in Delfan, Lorestan province during 2016-2017. Experimental factors included organic fertilizer in two levels (consumption and non-consumption), seed hydro-priming at two levels (prime and non-prime), and three dryland wheat cultivars (Baran, Ouhadi, and Azar 2). The results of the experiment showed that the characteristics of average duration and germination speed coefficient, number of tiller per plant, crop growth rate, a hundred seed weight, leaf area index, chlorophyll index, and seed yield were influenced by all treatments. However, the germination percentage and germination speed were significant in the Agrotin and priming treatments. The interaction effect between Agrotin and priming treatments on germination speed and the number of tillers per plant was significant. Agrotin consumption also increased the efficiency of wheat seeds primed. The highest grain yield was obtained by applying Agrotin and priming (2504 kg/ha) and the lowest (1755 kg/ha) in non-application of the treatments. Ouhadi cultivar with a yield of 1944 kg/ha had a higher grain yield than the other cultivars. It seems that the use of organic fertilizers and hydropriming is a suitable solution for greater availability of nutrients and increasing wheat growth and yield.

To investigate the effect of different planting densities on yield and yield components of quinoa (Titicaca cultivar), a factorial experiment based on complete randomized block design was studied at the Research Farm of the Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Training Center of Kerman province in 2018-2019. Two inter-row space (30 and 50 cm) considered as the first factor and four intra-row space including 5, 10, 15 and 20 cm as the second factor. Increasing the intra-row and inter-row spacing resulted in significant reduction in CGR. Thus, the lowest value of this index, at both intra-row spacing attributed to 20 cm the inter-row spacing. The lowest grain yield (225.76 g.m-2) was related to the treatment of 50 cm inter-row and 20 cm intra-row spacings, Reduction intra-row spacing up to 10 cm resulted in a significant increase in seed yield. However, at in the inter-row spacing of 30 cm, there was no significant difference between the intra-row spacings in seed yield. The highest seed yield value was obtained from the intra- row spacing of 20 cm, with an average of 386.36 g.m-2. In general, the inter-row spacing of 30 cm and intra-row spacing of 15 and 20 cm resulted in highest seed yield and 1000 seed weight of quinoa in this research.

Potato plays an important role in global food security and it growth and tuber yield are influenced by many biotic and abiotic stresses, such as drought and low or high temperatures. Potato in Khuzestan province is facing unfavorable weather conditions, especially high temperature. Humic acid and amino acid, as well-known biostimulants, can directly or indirectly influence on plant growth and yield and significantly mitigates the injuries caused by abiotic stresses. In some studies, the use of humic acid has been reported increase root length, improve nutrient uptake, and increase chlorophyll synthesis. Amino acids in potato plant increase natural resistance to stresses. It seems that biostimulants and some nutrition elements can be applied as a strategy to reduce the negative effects of high temperatures. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of plant growth biostimulants on growth indices, yield and yield components of potato cultivars in Khuzestan region.

This research was conducted in two studies. First study was carried out as a factorial experiment in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with two factors including 16 treatments in three replications at Behbahan Agricultural Research Station in 2019-2020. The first factor was application of plant growth biostimulants at eight levels: control (application of chemical fertilizers according to soil test), humic acid, free amino acid (L), amino acid-Zn, amino acid-K, amino acid-Ca, amino acid-K-Ca and application of all studied biostimulants (except free amino acid). The second factor consisted of two potato cultivars: 'Ottawa and Sante'. In the second study, growth analysis was done in a split plot factorial based on RCBD with three replications. Main plot consisted of five sampling periods with 15 days intervals. Sub plot consisted of combination of eight plants growth biostimulants and two cultivars of potato as factorial. Tubers were planted at mid January. One week before harvesting haulms were defoliated and tubers were harvested at mid May. Humic acid was used as fertigation at 10 kg.ha-1 in the early stages of growth. Foliar application of amino acid, amino acid-Zn was done at two stages, tuber initiation and the beginning of tuber bulking. Foliar application of amino acid-K, amino acid-Ca was done at two stages, the beginning and middle of tuber bulking. Amino acid and amino acid-nutritional element were done at a concentration of 0.5 %. Varince analysis were done by MSTATC statistical software and meanes were compared using Duncan’s multiple test range at the 5% level.

The results showed that in two cultivars, application of all studied biostimulants (except free amino acid) significantly increased tuber yield compared with control. In Sante cultivar, the highest yield was dedicated in the treatment of combined, and the yield of this treatment was significantly higher than the yield of  alone application of these substances. In Ottawa cultivar, the highest yield was achieved by application of combined biostimulants, but the differences of tuber yield among this treatment and treatments of amino acid-K, amino acid-Ca and amino acid-K-Ca and humic acid were not significant. The results of growth analysis showed, in the most sampling periods, the highest tuber and crop growth rate were recorded in the combined treatment. Therefore the highest tuber yield was observed in this treatment. In the first and second sampling periods, application of humic acid or amino acid-Zn were more effective than other treatments. But, in the third and fourth sampling periods, treatments of amino acid-K, amino acid-Ca were more effective in comparision to alone of these substances. In different sampling periods, tuber and crop growth rate in Ottawa cultivar was significantly higher than Sante cultivar.

According to results, in Sante cultivar, the combined treatment of plant growth biostimulants produced the highest yield in comparision to any individuals of these substances. Therefore, use of humic acid as fertigation in the early stages of growth and foliar application of amino acid- Zn at two stages tuber initiation and the beginning of tuber growth and amino acid-K-Ca at two stages the beginning and middle of tuber growth, are recommended. In Ottawa cultivar, the differences of tuber yield among treatment of combined application of growth biostimulants, amino acid-K, amino acid-Ca and amino acid-K-Ca and humic acid were not significant. Therefore, based on the finding of the present study, it could be concluded that treatments of amino acid-K, amino acid-Ca or humic acid may be an effective growth biostimulants for improving yield of Ottawa cultivar.

To study the response of corn hybrids to nitrogen under different conditions two field experiments were conducted in a split plot based on a randomized complete block design with three replications in Lavark and Shervedan Research Farms of College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran, in 2016. The nitrogen fertilizer management (including 150 and 200 kg ha-1 in Lavark; and 200 and 250 kg ha-1 in Shervedan) regions was assigned to main plots and 20 grain–silage corn hybrids were assigned to subplots. The results showed that increased nitrogen fertilizer improve the LAI and CGR in corn hybrids. At Shervedan region, plant height in Maxima corn hybrid significantly increased by increasing of nitrogen. Increased nitogen fertilizer, also increased the amount of photosynthetic pigments in Shervedan and chlorophyll a content in Lavark region. The highest biological and grain yield were, respectively, obtained in AGN591 (29800 kg ha-1) and Maxima (13150 kg ha-1) hybrids in Shervedan region and in AGN756 (27200 kg ha-1) and AGN735 (11692 kg ha-1)in Lavark region with increased application of nitrogen. Therefore, depending on the purpose of the production system (e.g. grain or silage) the results of this research can be used to select corn hybrid and proper amount of nitrogen fertilizer to obtain acceptable yields and also reduce the adverse environmental effects of improper application of nitrogen fertilizers.

In order to study the effect of mycorrhizae and phosphate fertilizer on some physiological indices of growth and tuber yield of potato under moisture stress conditions, a field experiment was conducted in spring and summer of 2018 in Hamedan, west of Iran. This research was done as a factorial with three factors in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The first factor was moisture stress at three levels of irrigation after 60 (control), 80 and 100 mm evaporation from class A evaporation pan, the second factor was mycorrhizae (Glomus mossea) at two levels of application and non-application and the third factor was phosphate fertilizer at two levels of application and non-application. The results showed that in the absence of moisture stress, the maximum leaf area index decreased by 10.5% with use of mycorrhizae, but in moderate and severe moisture stress, the use of mycorrhizae increased it by 12.3% and 18.8%, respectively. Under severe moisture stress, mycorrhizae increased net assimilation rate and crop growth rate by 43.6% and 76%, respectively. At all three levels of moisture stress, the presence of mycorrhizae increased phosphorus agronomic efficiency. The presence of mycorrhizae in no-moisture stress had no effect on tuber yield, but at moderate and severe moisture stress, mycorrhizae improved it by 16.4% and 34.7%, respectively. In severe moisture stress condition, the application of phosphate increased tuber yield by only 15.8% compared to non-application of phosphate. Therefore, for potato production in conditions of moisture stress, the use of mycorrhizae with phosphate fertilizer is suitable.

Proper planting date and irrigation rate are the most important factors for better use of rainfall and soil moisture and thus increase crop yield. Production of medicinal and aromatic plants and the demand for natural products in the world is increasing, so that the twentieth century has been named as a return to nature and the century of using herbal medicines. Proper growth and development of medicinal plants in agricultural conditions requires knowledge of the ecological characteristics of these plants, careful study of planting techniques and the use of agricultural inputs, especially irrigation, fertilizers, suitable planting and harvesting times and their management. Such factors also affect the amount of secondary metabolites in medicinal plants. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of four planting dates and four irrigation rates on the yield traits of isabgol in Sarakhs.

In order to investigate the effect of irrigation levels and planting dates on the growth characteristics and yield of isabgol (Plantago Ovata L.) as a medicinal plant, a field experiment was performed in Research station, Sarakhs, Khorasan Razavi province during growth season 2015-16. This experiment was performed as strip plots based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. Irrigation treatments at four levels of 40, 60, 80, and 100% of the water requirements were placed in horizontal plots and four planting dates were on March 5, 2016, March 20, 2016, April 3, 2016 and April 18, 2016 in vertical plots. Irrigation was applied as furrow system at every 7 days. Irrigation treatments were applied at the time of complete establishment of seedlings in 3-4 leaf stage and continued until physiological maturity stage. The amount of irrigation water in each irrigation turn was calculated by AGWAT software. Measured traits included leaf area index, crop growth rate, dry matter accumulation, plant height, number of spikes per plant, number of seeds per plant, 1000-seed weight, grain yield, biological yield and harvest index.

The results of growth indicators showed that the maximum leaf area index (3.4 and 3.3), the crop growth rate (22.12 and 22.18 g m-2 d-1) and the accumulation of dry matter (444.9 and 445.4 g m-2) were obtained in the treatments of 100% and 80% of the water requirements, respectively. Also, the maximum leaf area index and crop growth rate were observed in the treatments of April 18 and April 3 (1.86 and 2). The treatments of March 20 and 5 also had the highest crop growth rate (14 and14 g m-2 d-1) and dry matter accumulation (270 and 261.3 g m-2). The results also showed that the interaction effects on plant height, number of seeds per plant, 1000-seed weight, grain yield, biological yield, and harvest index were significant at the 1% level of probability. Maximum plant height (24.57 cm) was obtained in the 100% of the water requirement and planting date of March 20 treatment. The highest number of seeds per plant (1210.36), grain yield (1891.4 kg), biological yield (5607.8 kg), number of spikes per plant (29.67) and 1000-seed weight (2.05 g) were obtained in the treatments of 80% of water requirement and planting date on March 20.The highest harvest index (36.4%) belonged to the treatment of 100% of water requirement and planting date on March 5.

general, it can be concluded that different characteristics of isabgol plant were affected by planting date and irrigation water amount so that with a delay in planting date and also reducing the amount of irrigation water, growth and yield characteristics were significantly reduced. As a result, deficit irrigation at 80% of the crop water requirement and planting date of March 20 were more effective in saving irrigation water along with a good yield of the isabgol plant compared to 100% of the crop water requirement treatment in the study area.

Intercropping of basil with legumes due to morphological differences and more importantly, their biological stabilization can be a step towards sustainability in agriculture and also to avoid the use of chemical inputs and therefore produce healthier products. Therefore, the objectives of this experiment were to evaluate and compare different indicators of growth, yield and ecological and economic usefulness of basil with green bean in pure crops and mixed replacement ratios in Mashhad climatic conditions.

An experiment was conducted in RCBD design at the research farm of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in the growing year 2018 19. The treatments were: 1) sole cropping of green bean (P), 2) and also basil (O) and different ratios of intercropping of these two plants, including 3) 1:3 ratio of green bean and basil (P1O3), 4) ratio 2:2 green bean and basil (P2O2) and 5) 3:1 ratio green bean and basil (P3O1). Daily values of growth indices during the growth period of plants were estimated using the specific functions, and at the end of the growing season, the final yield of intercropped species (fresh green pods of green bean and basil dried seeds) was measured and indicators related to the advantage of intercropping including land equivalent ratio (LER), actual yield loss (AYL) and the monetary advantage index (MAI) were calculated. Function fitting, statistical analysis of data and drawing of figures were performed using Slide Write ver2.0, SAS v 9.2 and MS Excel 2016, respectively.

The highest LAI recorded in sole cropping of green bean and basil (3.4 and 3 respectively) and the lowest was for green bean in P1O3 (0.2) and for basil in P3O1 (2). Also, highest TDM in sole cropping of green bean was 973 g m2 and in sole cropping of basil was 1654 g m2 and the lowest ones for intercropped green bean was in P1O3 (44 g m2) and in the intercropped basil in P3O1 (755 g m2). The highest CGR of green bean and basil in their sole cropping were 20.56 and 17.92 g m2 day-1, respectively. The mean RGR of green bean was 0.03 g g-1 in P1O3 and the highest RGR was in basil in the sole cropping treatment (0.03 g g-1) The highest NAR in green bean was in its sole cropping (8.3 g m2 day-1) and basil (8.5 g m2 day-1). No economic yield was achieved for green bean in P1O3 and P2O2 treatments, so all the advantage indices of intercropping including LER, AYL and MAI in these treatments were negative. Also, the highest yield of basil was obtained in P1O3, which was not significantly different from its sole culture, and only in this treatment the intercropping advantage indices studied were positive and preferred to sole culture.

The results truly showed incompatibility of basil with green bean in intercropping due to low competitiveness and weakness of green bean in intercropping with basil. Although intercropping in P3O1 treatment was economically and ecologically beneficial, but by considering all the conditions such as the possibility of implementing this cultivation ratio, it is suggested that while examining more different aspects of intercropping of basil with green bean such as weed competition and mechanisms of basil competition with green bean, another legume crop that has more desirable characteristics in terms of ecological compatibility and non-interference of ecological niches with this plant to replace green bean in basil production systems.

To study the effect of nitrogen fertilizer and irrigation regimes on some crop growth indices of forage maize under conventional and conservation tillage system, an experiment has been conducted in split plots with a randomized complete block design and three replications at University of Tehran’s farm during 2018. Tillage systems, as the main plot in two factors, include conversation and conventional tillage, whereas water stress, being the subplot, is in three levels which are 30%, 60%, and 90% of moisture requirement. Also, nitrogen fertilizer, as the sub-sub plot, is at three levels, 0, 50%, and 100% of the recommended rate. Results in the flowering stage show that the highest leaf area index (6.28) and crop growth rate (34.01 gr m-2 day-1) have been obtained from the interaction between slight water stress (90% of crop water demand) and nitrogen (100% of crop demand) as well as the interaction between slightly water stress and 100% nitrogen in conventional tillage, respectively. The highest relative growth rate (0.08 gr gr-1 day-1) and total dry matter (1006.86 gr m-2) belong to simple impact of 100% nitrogen along with the interaction of slightly water stress and 100% nitrogen in conventional tillage, respectively. Results show that under severe water stress and higher application of nitrogen, the fertilizer will cause less crop dry matter under conventional tillage.

Radiation absorption and use efficiency are affected by genotype and agronomic management (Mondani et al., 2019; Tohidi et al., 2012). Kermanshah province located in an appropriate geographical location in terms of access to radiation during maize development stages (Ahmadi et al., 2018a). However, the radiation absorption by crop canopy depends on the spatial arrangement shoot of plants. The canopy structure by effect on vertical distribution of radiation plays an important role in the crops yield. On the other hand, knowledge of the agricultural management role in optimal utilization from environmental factors such as radiation in order to improve the canopy's ability to use these factors is very important. Therefore, this research was carried out in order to study the effects of water deficit stress on radiation absorption and use efficiency of some common maize cultivars and study the role of growth indices on production formation under Kermanshah climatic conditions.

This experiment was done in 2018 growing season at the experimental field of Campus of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran. The experiment was conducted as split plot based on randomized complete block design with three replications. Main-factor was three irrigation regimes (IR) included supplying 130% (1064 mm), 100% (802 mm), 70% (623 mm) water requirement (IR130%, IR100% and IR70% respectively) and sub-factor included three maize cultivars in three levels (KSC704, Simon and BC678) were evaluated randomly. To calculate water requirement, the Penman-Monteith-FAO equation was used. The amount of water for each treatment was calculated and available to plants every seven days. In order to calculate the growth indices, radiation absorption and use efficiency, during different development stages, leaf area and total dry weight of maize plants were measured.

The results showed the growth indices such as leaf area index and crop growth rate, and also radiation absorption, radiation use efficiency and total dry weight were relatively similar for KSC704 and Simon cultivars in response to different irrigation regimes but they were higher for BC678 cultivar. The grain yield of Simon cultivar was significantly higher than other cultivars. Regardless of the maize cultivars, in the IR130%, IR100% and IR70% treatments, average value for maximum of leaf area index were 4.8, 4.2 and 2.9 and leaf area duration were 269.5, 235.8 and 168.1 day, respectively. The negative effect of water deficit stress on leaf area index and leaf area duration eventually led to decrease radiation absorption. In the IR130%, IR100% and IR70% treatments, the amount of cumulative radiation absorption were 1318, 1241 and 1059 MJ m-2, radiation use efficiency were 1.14, 1.05 and 1.00 g MJ-1, maximum of crop growth rate were 26, 21.9 and 18.7 g m-2 day-1, respectively. The growth season period of maize (from emergence to physiological maturity) in the IR70% treatment was 4 and 6 days shorter than IR100% and IR130% treatments, respectively. Finally, the reduction of radiation absorption, and growth season caused by water deficit stress led to lower total dry weight and grain yield. In the IR130% treatment, the total dry weight and the grain yield were 16960 kg ha-1 and 7430 kg ha-1, respectively. By reducing of 30% and 60% of irrigation water compared to IR130% treatment, the total dry weight were decreased about 18% and 28% and the grain yield were decreased about 15% and 40%, respectively.

According to results, it can be concluded that by choosing the suitable irrigation regimes in the maize production systems, a canopy with a suitable structure can be obtained. This canopy structure will provide a suitable situation for improving growth indices, efficient use of environmental resources such as radiation and eventually increasing production. In general, the results showed a positive response of the evaluated characteristics to the over-irrigation treatment, which may be due to the fact that the use of the Penman-Monteith-FAO equation is not a suitable method for determining the water requirement of the plant in the study area. Therefore, it is suggested that in case of repetition of the results of this research, alternative methods be used along with the Penman-Montith FAO method to determine the water requirement of the plant.

To evaluate the effect of different levels of NPK nutrition on some morpho-physiological characteristics and seed yield of quinoa, a randomized complete block design experiment was carried out in Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman in 2019. In this study, response of quinoa (Titicaca variety) to seven fertilizer combinations, consisting of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (N: K: P, 30:25:20, 60:50:40, 90:75:60, 120:100:80, 150:125:100, 180:150:120 kg.ha-1) were investigated for plant height, number of branch, panicle length, 1000 seed weight, seed yield, content of photosynthetic pigments, leaf area index, crop growth rate, seed protein content and seed nutrients. The results indicated that the effect of NPK nutrition treatments on all measured traits were significant. The highest mean of Chl a, Chl b, Chl a+b, carotenoid, LAI, CGR and seed protein content belonged to combination of 120: 100: 80 which was not significantly different from combination of 90: 75: 60, in terms of Chl a and LAI. In this study, the highest mean of panicle lengths, number of branches, 1000 seed weight and seed yield were recorded for combination of 120: 100: 80 which were not significantly different from combination of 90: 75: 60, in terms of panicle length and seed yield. According to the results, thus, it can be concluded that combination of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers with a ratio of 90: 75: 60 are appropriate to achieve maximum seed yield for research location under Kerman climatic conditions and avoid overuse of chemical fertilizers.

Recently self-sustaining, diversified, low-input, and energy-efficient agricultural systems like intercropping have been considered as the efficient way to achieve the sustainability in agriculture. Intercropping as an old agricultural practice, have been followed especially at the small scale and subsistence farming. It can be defined as the agricultural practice of growing two or more crops or ecotypes together in the same field. Intercropping brings diversity of species in the cropping systems, and is considered to make the systems more resilient against environmental perturbations, thus enhancing food security. It provides high insurance against crop failure, especially in the extreme weather conditions like temperature stress, drought, flood, frost, pest infestation etc. In fact, intercropping is claimed to be one of the most significant cropping techniques in sustainable agriculture, and many researches and reviews attribute its utilization to the number of environmental benefits from promoting land biodiversity to diversifying agricultural outcome. Legumes after cereals are the second source of human food and in Iran they are the second most important food. Due to the importance of legume intercropping in the sustainability of agricultural systems, the objective of the present work was to evaluate the effect of row intercropping of three bean ecotypes red bean, pinto bean and cowpea bean as replacement series on the physiological growth indices under climatic conditions of Mashhad.

This experiment was conducted based on a randomized complete block design with nine treatments and three replications at the Agricultural Research Station, Faculty of Agriculture Ferdowsi University of Mashhad during 2016-2017 growing season. Treatments were 75% red bean+ 25% pinto bean, 75% red bean+ 25% cowpea bean, 25% red bean+ 75% pinto bean, 25% red bean+ 75% cowpea bean, 75% pinto bean+ 25% cowpea bean, 75% cowpea bean+ 25% pinto bean and their monoculture. In order to measure the growth indices, the destructive samplings were carried out every 14 days from 0.15 m2 of row in each plot. All bean ecotypes were harvested by cutting at the soil surface. The studied indices were leaf area index (LAI), dry matter accumulation (DM), crop growth rate (CGR), relative growth rate (RGR) and net assimilation rate (NAR).

The highest leaf area index for red bean, pinto bean and cowpea ecotypes were observed in their monoculture with 2.45, 1.45 and 3.60, respectively. The fast period of vegetative growth and dry matter accumulation were observed at 65-80 days after planting with a small decline afterwards until physiological maturity. The maximum dry matter accumulation for these ecotypes was obtained in their monoculture. Crop growth rate reached its peak 65 days after emergence followed by a decreasing trend afterwards. The highest crop growth rate was observed in pinto bean with 27 g m-2 day-1. At the beginning of growth stage, due to more penetration of light into the canopy and less shadow of the leaves the less respiration, RGR was more and its reduction slope was less. As time passes and vegetative and reproductive organs grow more, the shadow of leaves on each other increases and therefore after words RGR decreased. Also, net assimilation rate reached to its peak 60 days after emerging and decreased.

The results of showed that intercropping of bean ecotypes with increasing plant density, increased the leaf area index (LAI) and dry matter accumulation (DM) of both crops in monoculture and mixed culture which could be due to increased vegetation and it's closer to optimum density in mixed culture and better use of environmental resources. However due to different criteria of these ecotypes associated with better use of water, radiation and nutrient resources when they are intercropped, physiological growth indices were increased. Overall following this agroecological practice in cropping systems could keep contribution to move the current agroecosystems one step towards sustainability.