جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « cow manure » در نشریات گروه « زراعت »

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is a perennial plant of the Iridaceae family and is cultivated in Iran, Morocco, India, Greece, Italy, and Spain. Iran is considered the main producer of saffron, with the most optimum climate for saffron. Today, the dramatic increase in food production in the world requires high amounts of chemical fertilizers. However, some of the adverse effects of chemical fertilizer overuse in conventional farming practices have been well reported. In this regard, manure can be a good alternative, which can guarantee both agricultural production and nature protection. Potassium is one of the most important nutrients for plant growth after nitrogen. In spice plants, potassium indirectly improves nitrogen utilization and protein formation, flower size, flower yield, oil content, color, etc. in spice plants. This study investigated the effect of different animal manures in combination with different levels of potassium sulfate on saffron flower criteria.

The factorial experiment was carried out based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at the agricultural lands of Jovein County, during the three cropping years of 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18. The first factor includes three types of organic manure: laying poultry manure (5 and 10 ton.ha-1), broiler poultry manure (5 and 10 t.ha-1) and cow manure (20 and 40 ton.ha-1) and control (without the use of organic manure) and the second factor includes different amounts of potassium sulfate fertilizer (0, 100 and 150 kg.ha-1). The basis for determining the consumption of each organic fertilizer was applied based on the recommended nitrogen and soil test. Saffron was cultivated in September 2015 in the length of 3 m and width of 1 m plots. Flower yield was determined randomly from 40 × 50 cm-2 quadrates. Data analysis and figure drawing were performed using SAS 9.1 and MS-Excel software.

The results of analysis of variance in two years showed that the effect of animal manure and potassium sulfate and their interaction were significant on the number of flowers, total flower weight, stigma dry weight, and style dry weight. Also, potassium sulfate and manure's main effects and interaction were significant on the dry weight of flowers without stigma and style in the second year. However, the main effects of potassium sulfate and manure significantly affected on the dry weight of flowers without stigma and style, but their interaction was not significant in the third year. The highest number of flowers was obtained in the treatment of 150 kg.ha-1 potassium sulfate and 40 ton.ha-1 cow manure in the second year, and it was obtained in the treatment of 150 kg.ha-1 potassium sulfate ten ton.ha-1 laying poultry manure in the third year. The highest total flower weight belonged to the treatment of 150 kg.ha-1 potassium sulfate and 10 ton.ha-1 was laying poultry manure in second and three years. The highest stigmas dry weight was observed in 100 kg.ha-1 potassium sulfate and 40 ton.ha-1 cow manure treatment in the second year, and the highest amount of this trait was related to the treatment of 100 kg.ha-1 potassium sulfate and ten ton.ha-1 broiler poultry manure in the third year. The results of this experiment indicate that the application of animal manures and potassium sulfate combination has positive effects on improving the yield of saffron flowers and eco-friendliness. It seems that the combination of animal manures and chemical fertilizers can reduce the use of chemical fertilizers.

The results of this study showed that the best treatment for most traits was 150 kg.ha-1 potassium sulfate and 40 ton.ha-1 cow manure interaction treatment in the second and third years, and then the 150 kg.ha-1 potassium sulfate and ten ton.ha-1 laying poultry manure treatment could be mentioned as the superior treatment. In general, according to the findings of this study, it seems that the simultaneous application of optimal amounts of ecological inputs and chemical fertilizers of potassium sulfate can reduce the destructive effects caused by excessive use of chemical fertilizers on this valuable medicinal plant while improving the properties of saffron flowers.

One approach for medicinal plants cultivation expansion is to sow them in rainfed areas. In recent years, the study of valuable types of medicinal plants, development of cultivation and meeting the needs of the pharmaceutical industry has been one of the goals of scientific and research centers. Savory is a valuable medicinal species in the world. The aerial parts and volatile constituents of Satureja species are commonly used as a medicinal herb and flavoring agents. They can be used as antioxidant, antiseptic, antispasmolidic and as a condiment in food industry. Two of the most important species of savory grow wildly in Iran are S. sahendica and S. spicigera. Both of them are native species to semi-arid zones of Iran, and considered as aromatic and medicinal plant. Wheat straw and cow manure are the two most common soil amendments which have been using for improving soil structure and soil fertility. Limited studies have been performed on rainfed cultivation of medicinal species, especially savory. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of planting bed on vegetative characteristics and yield of two savory species in rainfed conditions.

Experiment was carried out for three years (2018-2020) as split plots based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. The experiment was conducted at the Fereidoonshar (32°56’N, 50°06’E and an altitude of 2491 m). Planting bed as main plot consisted of cow manure (30 ton.ha-1), wheat straw (10 ton.ha-1) and control (without manure and straw); species as subplot consisted of S. sahendica and S. spicigera. Morphological traits including plant height, crown diameter, canopy area per plant, canopy area per square meter, and number of stems per plant; and yield traits including total dry weight, leaf dry weight and stem dry weight were thetraits which were measured over the study. The recorded data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and least significant difference (LSD) on 0.05 probability level for comparison of means using SAS (ver. 8.2) software.

The results of analysis of variance showed that the effects of planting bed, year and their interactions on the measured traits were significant in many cases. Results showed that the highest values of plant height (46 cm), crown diameter (35 cm), canopy area (3980 cm2) and number of stems per plant (23) were seen in S. spicigera. Also, the highest rates of total dry weight and leaf dry weight were seen in S. spicigera, 695 and 470 kg.ha-1, respectively. Wheat straw treatment reduced aerial parts dry weight in two species in the first year, but in the second year it caused an increase. Cow manure made a slight increase in two species growth only in the first year. The highest values of all measured traits in two species were achieved in the last year of measurements, as the values of leaf dry weight for S. spicigera and S. sahendica were 1018 and 855 kg.ha-1, respectively. The highest values of leaf area index and harvest index were observed in the first year of the experiment including 4.59 and 72, respectively.

Cow manure was able to significantly increase the yield of the two species in the first and second years, especially for S. spicigera. Although the use of wheat straw reduced the rates of morphological and yield treatments of the two species of savory in the first year, but increased them in the second year, so It is recommended to cultivate savory after decomposition of wheat straw. The role of increasing vegetative growth and plant yield under the influence of increasing plant age was quite obvious. On the whole, in order to produce savory under dryland conditions similar to this research, cultivation of S. spicigera withouth usng manure or straw could be recommended, although incorporation of these amendments into the lower depth of the soil could be more effective on this species growth and yield.

Physalis alkekengi is a well-known medicinal plant in Europe and Asia and especially in the northeastern of China. It is an economically valuable plant that can tolerate drought, waterlogging, and warm and cold temperatures. All parts of P. alkekengi could be used as medicine. P. alkekengi is a rich source of complex antioxidants, which has been suggested for the treatment of several diseases such as inflammation and rheumatism. The availability of water is the primary constraint on food production in arid and semi-arid regions. Trends of water availability indicated that agricultural activities are approaching a “water crisis” in the Middle East and North Africa. In Iran, water is a scarce resource due to the high variability of rainfall. Water stress effects on growth and yield are species is well known. Optimizing irrigation management, together with the appropriate crops, is suitable in these regions. So the aims of this study were to the effect of different irrigation levels and manure amount on yield, yield components, and fruit quality of Physalis alkekengi.

In order to investigate the effects of irrigation and animal manure levels on yield and yield components of Chinese lantern (Physalis alkekengi L.), a split-plot experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with three replications at the research field of the faculty of agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran at 2016. The experimental treatments were all combination of irrigation levels (60, 80 and 100 percent of water requirement) and four levels of animal manure (0, 10, 20 and 30 t. ha-1). Final seed yield and yield components were measured from 1 m of each plot. Characters consisted of weight of fruit per plant, number of fruit per plant, fruit weight, number of seed per fruit, 1000 seed weight, plant height, alkaloid, biological yield, and fruit yield.Data from the experiment were analyzed statistically using SAS software (Ver. 9.2). Least significant difference (LSD) test were also performed for the comparison of means. The critical difference at P = 0.05 was used to test the difference between means of individual treatments.

Our results indicated that, irrigation levels had a significant effect on all studied traits except fruit number and single fruit weight. Also, the impact of animal manure was significant on all characteristics, except 1000 seed weight. The interactions between irrigation and animal manure were significant on fruit yield, biological yield, harvest index, and fruit weight per plant. The highest fruit weight per plant (101 and 102 gr respectively) and fruit yield (8 and 8.2 t.ha-1 respectively) were observed in 100 percent water requirement with use of 20 and 30 t.ha-1 animal manure. The highest alkaloid percent was observed in 80 percent water requirement (0.4 percent) and 30 t.ha-1 animal manure level (0.37 percent).

Based on the results of this study, irrigation levels and manure levels had a significant effect on measured traits. The best of results was observed in irrigation of 80 % and 100 % of water requirement. On the other hand, the application of manure, especially 20 and 30 t.ha-1, improved the studied traits compared to 0 and 10 ton. According to the results of this research and considering the optimal use of resources, the most suitable method for the planting of this plant was considered by using 80 percent water requirement and 20 t.ha-1 animal manure.

Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) as a member of Malvaceae family is a subtropical medicinal plant. This plant is self-pollinated and sensitive to cold. Bolls of Roselle are used in food and pharmaceutical industries. One of the most important purpose to achieve high quality and quantity yield is evaluation of nutritional systems and irrigation management for plants. The use of chemicals in the production of medicinal plants in addition to environmental pollution, decreases the quality of drug. Furthermore, sustainable agriculture, by replacing organic fertilizers with chemical fertilizers, increasing the efficiency of inputs such as water, and fertility and soil health, preserving the environment and increasing product quality and protect resources. Drought stress is one of the most important problems in crop production in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Effective management of nutrition and irrigation and planting of drought resistant plants is one of the effective proceeding to increase water use efficiency in semi-arid regions. Roselle is relatively drought-tolerant plants, so that cultivation of this plant is common in Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran. So, studying the ecological and agronomic needs of this plant in new areas is important. This experiment was conducted to evaluate the yield and yield components of this plant in response to application of nutritional resources and irrigation management.

In order to study the yield and water use efficiency for Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa), an experiment was conducted with 12 treatments as strip plot based on complete block design with three replications at Research Station, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, in year 2014-2015. Experimental factors included: nutritional management in four levels (chemical fertilizer, cow manure, cow manure+ chemical fertilizer and control) and irrigation management in three level (30, 70 and 100% of water requirement of Roselle). Roselle seeds were planted in seedling trays at greenhouse in February 2014. Then seedlings transferred to field in last April 2015. The distance between rows and plants were 75 and 25 cm, respectively. Chemical fertilizer (150, 100 and 200 kg.ha-1 Triple super phosphate, Potassium sulfate and Urea, respectively), and cow manure (32 ton.ha-1) were used at depth of 30 cm. Then, different water requirement of Roselle is determined and the water volume of irrigation will be recorded in each irrigation cycle by the contour, furthermore, water use efficiency was calculated. Statistical analysis of the data was performed by using of Minitab Ver.16. Also, means comparison were compared by Duncan multiple range test at 5% level.

Results indicated significant effects of treatments on most of the traits of Roselle. The maximum plant height (89.3 cm), number of lateral branch (6. 6 number), dry sepal yield (860.1 kg.ha-1), biomass yield (7197 kg.ha-1), harvest index (11.9%) and water use efficiency based on bolls and biomass yield (0.11 and 0.89 kg.m3) of Roselle obtained in cow manure + chemical fertilizer treatment. Also, providing of 100% of the plant's water requirement induced the highest height (91.5 cm), number of bolls on main and lateral branch (20.0 and 47.5 number), sepal yield (672.7 kg.ha-1) and biomass yield (6944 kg.ha-1) of Roselle. Combined application compared to single application of nutritional sources increased 16, 18, 35, 20 and 20%, respectively, height, number of lateral branches, bolls yield, biomass yield and harvest index of Roselle. Furthermore, results of interaction effects showed that application of cow manure + chemical fertilizer with providing of 100% of the plant's water requirement obtained the maximum number of lateral branch (8.5 number), bolls yield (934 kg.ha-1) and biomass yield (7920 kg.ha-1) of Roselle. The highest amount of water use efficiency based on sepal and biomass yield (0.2 and 1.5 kg.m3) obtained by application of cow manure + chemical fertilizer and providing of 30% of the plant's water requirement.

Totally, results showed that combined application and providing of 100% of the plant's water requirement improved the most traits of Roselle. Also, combined application of nutritional sources decreased water consumption and increased water use efficiency.

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) is an annual and C4 plant belonging to the family portulacaceae. The plant is drought- and salt-tolerant which contains high amounts of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidant vitamins. Nitrogen is the key element in soil fertility and crop production. Attention to the soil quality and health has increased in recent years, especially for sustainable production of medicinal crops. So that, for production of healthy food in industrialized countries, using natural and on-farm inputs has been considered. One of the practical ways to achieve this goal is organic and biofertilizers. Given the importance of purslane as a medicinal plant and due to the fact that there is not detailed information about the nitrogen requirement for this plant, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of organic, biological and chemical fertilizers on biomass yield, N and P use efficiency of the purslane in Birjand, Iran.

This research was carried out during two growing seasons from 2014 to 2016 at the research farm of Birjand University. The experiment was conducted as factorial based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatments were a combination of four sources of nitrogen supply, including cow manure, vermicompost, fertilizer (NPK) and control (without any fertilizer), as well as four types of biofertilizers including nitroxin (Azotobacter and Azospirilum), Mycorrhiza (Glomus intraradices), Biosulfur (Thiobacillus with sulfur) and control (without any fertilizer). The studied traits included stem biomass yield, nitrogen and phosphorus percentage, nitrogen and phosphorus content, nitrogen and phosphorus uptake efficiency, nitrogen and phosphorus physiological efficiency and nitrogen and phosphorus agronomic efficiency based on biomass. Statistical analysis was performed using Minitab 17 software. To compare the averages, LSD test was used at the 5% probability level.

The results of the experiment showed that in chemical fertilizer (NPK) treatment, nitroxin consumption increased biomass yield (45.6%), nitrogen agronomic efficiency of biomass (52%), biomass phosphorus (2 times), the content of biomass phosphorus (2.8 times). On the other hand, biosulfur consumption increased biomass nitrogen (52.9%), biomass nitrogen content (2 times) and nitrogen uptake efficiency (2.1 times) compared to the control treatment. In the treatment of cow manure, the use of nitroxin increased the physiological efficiency of biomass (8%), however in the control treatment, the use of nitroxin increased the efficiency of phosphorus uptake (22.4%). Also in control treatment, the use of mycorrhiza and biosulfur (29.9% and 21.4%, respectively) increased the physiological efficiency of biomass phosphorus compared to the control treatment. On the other hand, consumption of nitrogen fertilizer sources reduced phosphorus agronomic efficiency of biomass compared to the control.

Based on the results of this experiment, in Birjand region, the use of chemical fertilizer (NPK) and nitroxin are recommended to achieve maximum biomass yield and phosphorus and nitrogen use efficiency.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of different organic amendments (cow manure, humic acid (Humax® 95–WSG), an organic-mineral-based emulsion (Omic®) and unfertilized control) and mother-corm weight (0 to 4 g, 4.1 to 8 g and 8.1 to 12 g) on flower and corm yield of saffron. The experiment was conducted as factorial experiment in randomized complete block design with three replications in the Research Complex of Medicinal Plants, ACECR of Southern Khorasan Province, Iran in 2017-18. According the results, evaluating the main effect of nutrition factor revealed no significant impact on most studied traits in the first year. However, in the second year and during the 21-day period of saffron flowering, cow manure treatment increased stigma dry weight by 77.3, 71.7 and 58.9% compared with control, Humax and Omic treatments, respectively. By fitting the regression line between the cumulative dry weight of the stigma and days after flowering, it was found that stigma dry weight increased 19.1, 11.43, 10.92 and 10.65 mg.day-1 in cow manure, Omic, Humax and control treatments, respectively. In addition, the highest flower dry weight with 2858 mg.m-2 was recorded in cow manure treatment. The highest and lowest amount of the studeid tratis in both years belonged to big and small corm treatments, respectively. In the first year, stigma dry weight in big corm treatment with 22.28 mg.m-2 was about 190 times higher than that of small one. However the difference in the second year fell to less than 3 times. In addition, the highest number (466.36 m-2) and weight (936.559 g. m-2) of daughter corms were obtained in big mother corms treatment. In the second year however by the reduction of the differences between mother corm weight treatments, stigma dry weight, flower dry weight and number of flowers in big and medium corm treatments were not statistically significant. Overall, the results of this study showed that the advantages of using manure in saffron cultivation due to its unique characteristics, such as improving the physical conditions of the soil is not compensable by other organic amendments. Moreover, the avoidence of planting mother corms less than 4g because of their adverse effects on saffron yeild is of main importance in saffron cultivation and must be considered by farmers.

Bitter apple (Citrullus colocynthis) is one of the most important medicinal plant that grow in semi-arid and desert condition which have been used in traditional medicine. In order to evaluate the effect of drought stress and manure application rates on yield, yield components and water use efficiency of Bitter apple, a field experiment was conducted in split plot layout based on complete randomized block design with three replications in two growing seasons (2012-2014) at Sabzevar, Iran. Drought stress were three levels of evaporation from evaporation pan (50, 75 and 100 mm) which was given as main plots and four levels of cow manure (0, 20, 40 and 60 t.ha-1) which was assigned as subplots. The results showed that increasing irrigation intervals reduced the number of fruits per square meter(49%), the dry weight of the single fruit(14%) and consequently reduced yield of fruits(38%) and seeds(40%). Number of seeds per fruit and 100 seed weight was not affected by drought stress. Increased amounts of manure application caused significant increase in yield and yield components (except 100 seed weight) of Bitter apple. The lowest fruit and seed yield and yield components were observed in control treatment and the highest of them were observed as a result of application of 60 t.ha-1 cow manure. Overall, the result of this experiment showed that the highest fruit and seed yield was obtained from application of 60 t.ha-1 cow manure and irrigation after 50 mm evaporation from evaporation pan produced the highest fruit yield.

In order to evaluate the effect of last irrigation cut-off time and various fertilizer resources on corm of saffron (Crocus sativus L.), an experiment was conducted in a split-plot arranged as a randomized complete block design with three replications and 18 treatments in a four year research farm of Jihad ministry located in Lalezar village, Bardsir region, Kerman province, in 2015-2016. The experimental treatments were irrigation cut-off time  (conventional time  (5 May), 15 days before the conventional time (20 April) and 15 days after conventional time (20 May)) assigned to main plot, and nutritional resources (cow manure 40 t ha-1, hen manure15 t.ha-1, vermicompost 10 t.ha-1, humic acid 2 kg.ha-1, and chemical fertilizer containing 200 kg.ha-1 urea and 140 kg.ha-1 P and K) as subplot. The analysis of variance results showed that the effect of irrigation cut-off treatment was significant on corm fresh, dry weight and average weight (P≤0.05), but had no significant effect on the number of corm per area and number of buds per corm. The results showed that the delay in irrigation cut-off led to a significant decrease in traits. As such, the highest corm fresh (561.5 g.m-2) and dry (294.8 g.m-2) weight and average weight of the corm (4.9 gr) were found in earlier irrigation cut-off treatment (before the conventional time). The effect of fertilizer resources on all the studied traits was significant. All the fertilizer treatments with the exception of humic acid, resulted in a significant increase in corm weight compared to control treatment. Application of vermicompost led to the production of the highest number of corm in m-2 (137.1), the corm fresh weight (595.6 g.m-2), dry weight (341 g.m-2) and average weight (4.30 g). The highest number of buds in corm (3.83) was found in chemical fertilizer treatment. In general, the results showed that irrigation cut-off in April with the using vermicompost had the best conditions for producing saffron corm in the Bardsir region of Kerman.

Legumes are widely used in agricultural systems as green manure due to their ability to stabilize nitrogen in the soil, as well as providing conditions for beneficial soil microorganisms. Organic fertilizers such as vermicompost and manure have high capacity for water absorption and the maintenance of water and nutrients, high porosity, ventilation and appropriate drainage in the soil. Recently, bio-fertilizers have also been used to improve nutrient uptake and root development of plants along with chemical fertilizers. Lack of organic matter in most soils of Iran and its calcite properties will double the need to replace chemical fertilizers with organic fertilizers. Due to the lack of information on nutritional management of medicinal plants, and in order to increase soil fertility and the need to reduce the application of chemical fertilizers, this study was done to investigate the effect of different fertilizers on some soil chemical properties and the absorption of N and P elements in Birjand. This research was carried out in two separate experiments during two growing years from 2014 to 2016 at the research farm of Birjand University with 3 replications. During the first experiment, the effect of four levels of green manures, including control, Eruca sativa, Vicia villosa, mix Eruca sativa + Vicia villosa and three levels of nitrogen (0, 50 and 100 kg.ha-1) on Purslane was studied. Furthermore, during the second experiment, the treatments were combination of four sources of nitrogen supply, including cow manure, vermicompost, chemical fertilizers (NPK) and control, as well as four types of biofertilizers, including Azotobacter and Azospirilum, Glomus intraradices, Thiobacillus with sulfur and control on Purslane was studied. The studied traits were included grain yield and soil chemical properties such as organic carbon, the percentage of nitrogen, absorbable phosphorus, pH, EC and nitrogen and phosphorus content of biomass. The percentage of nitrogen in plant tissue was measured by Kjeldahl method and the percentage of phosphorus was measured by Morphy and Riley method. Furthermore, the organic carbon in soil was determined by Walkley- Black method, total nitrogen and available phosphorus were measured using the Kjeldahl and Olsen methods, respectively. The soil acidity was determined on the saturated water through pH meter and electrical conductivity of the soil saturation extract was determined through EC meter. After collecting data, statistical analysis was performed using Minitab 17 software. LSD test was used at the 5% probability level to compare the averages. The results showed that the application of green manure increased the organic carbon and nitrogen content of soil, the amount of phosphorus absorbed by soil and decreased soil pH. Among green manure treatments, Vicia villosa was superior to the others. Also, using nitrogen fertilizer increased grain yield and the amount of absorbed phosphorus, soil electrical conductivity and reduced soil pH. Among nitrogen supply sources, cow manure had the greatest impact on grain yield and soil chemical properties, but the role of biofertilizer application was limited to increasing the amount of available phosphorus in the soil. Therefore, the role of cow manure in improving the chemical status of soil was superior to the others. Due to the low soil organic matter in most arid and semi-arid regions of Iran, especially South Khorasan, it seems that proper usage of organic resources can improve soil conditions of these areas for the growth and yield of medicinal plants such as Purslane. In this study, in order to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and to absorb the maximum amount of nitrogen and phosphorus, the Purslane biomass was treated with mix Eruca sativa + Vicia villosa without using nitrogen fertilizer and combined treatment of cow manure and mycorrhiza.  The results recommended that combination of cow manure and mycorrhiza is suitable approach under Birjand condition.

In order to improve saffron yield and modify crop pattern in arid areas, a split plot experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with three replication in a research field in Charkhab village of Yazd province during 2013-2016. Main plots included; irrigation in three levels (100%, 75% and 50% of ETc), and sub plots were seven fertilizer management including; control (zero fertilization), applying 10 t/ha cow manure(10M), 10 t/ha vermicompost by spreading(10V), 10 t/ha vermicompost buried under planting corm rows (10RV), 5 t/ha vermicompost buried under planting corm rows(5RV), spraying 10 L/ha Humaster Saffron fertilizer for 1 (SH) or 2 (CH) times after flowering. Results showed that as water stress decreased from 75% to 50% ET, flower yield and its relative traits, bud number per plant, leaf dry weight, highest corm weight, total corm weight and effective corm weight decreased significantly in each treatment. Among fertilizer managements, 10M treatment increased growth characteristics of saffron plants in the first year while 10RV and CH treatments showed better performance in the second and third years. Generally, results showed that using Humaster-Saffron fertilizer showed advantages in comparison with other treatments due to its potassium and humic acid content and possibility of its easy application in every year and along with irrigation water.

Salinity is an important environmental tension limiting growth and productivity of plants worldwide. The harmful effects of high salinity on plants can be observed in senescence, necrosis of plant organs and decrease productivity. Major processes such as photosynthesis, protein synthesis, and energy and lipid metabolism affect plants during the beginning and development of salinity stress. Calendula officinalis L. belongs to the Asteraceae family; it is an annual with bright or yellow orange daisy-like flowers which are used for medicinal or culinary purposes. Organic fertilizers develop favorable physical, chemical and biological environment in the soil. They stimulate plant root growth, increase nutrient uptake and soil water-holding capacity, decrease evaporation from the soil and surface water runoff, facilitate drainage, regulate soil temperature and provide a rich substrate for soil microbes. This study was conducted to determine the effects of soil salinity and organic amendments on some growth characteristics, absorption of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and peroxidase enzyme activity in pot marigold plant (Calendula officinalis L). In a factorial experiment and completely randomized design (CRD), five levels of organic amendments (control, 0.5 and 1 g.L-1 algae extract, 20% v/v of pot volume cow manure and 20% v/v of pot volume vermicompost) and three levels of salinity (3.5, 7.5 and 10.5 dS.m-1) with three replications per treatments were applied. In this experiment, media without organic amendment were considered as control. Results showed that increasing soil salinity levels progressively decreased the growth characteristics and nutrients uptake. The maximum leaf number, fresh and dry weight of flowers and nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium absorption were obtained in cow manure treatment and EC = 3.5 dS.m-1, While the highest flower diameter was observed in sea algae treated plants (0.5 g.l-1) in media with EC = 7.5 dS.m-1. Salinity causes growth reduction due to the low osmotic potential of the medium and by a specific ion effect as a secondary cause in several vegetable crops. The results of the present study showed that the organic media can improve leaf number, crown diameter and fresh and dry weight of flowers. This can be due to increased media moisture storage and enhanced nutrient absorption. All treatments significantly increased growth characteristics of pot marigold compared to control. The positive effect of cow manure to nutrients uptake could be because of rich N, P, K compared to the others. According to the results, in normal conditions, pot marigold plant could tolerate salt stress until 7.5 dS.m-1 but by suitable media culture its threshold tolerate will be increased up to 10.5 dS.m-1. Also it was revealed that cow manure compared to other treatments could increase plant tolerate to salt stress and growth characteristics.

In order to evaluate the effects of organic, chemical and biological fertilizers and summer irrigation on growth characteristics, corm yield, flower yield and stigma yield of saffron, field experiment was conducted as factorial based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at Agricultural Research station, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad during three growing season of 2013-2014, 2014-2015 and 2015-2016. The first factor included of animal cow manure (a1), chemical fertilizer (such as Nitrogen, P and K) (a2), Thiobacillus (a3), sulfur (a4), a3+a4 and control (a5) and the second factor was summer irrigation in three levels such as conventional irrigation (A: without summer irrigation), A+ once summer irrigation (23 July), A+ twice summer irrigation (22 June+23 July). Studied characteristics were number and fresh weight of flower, dry weight of stigma, corm diameter, corm weight in four groups (16 g), corms with contractile roots, number of flowering buds per corm, leaf length, dry weight of leaf and dry weight of tunic of saffron. The results in the third of experiment revealed that the interaction effect between fertilizers and summer irrigation were significant (P≤0.01) on all studied traits of saffron except stigma dry weight, corms with weight more than 16 g and dry weight of daughter corms. The highest flower number (282.7 per m2), flower fresh weight (103.2 g/m2), stigma dry weight (1.73 g/m2), leaf dry weight (13.33 g/m2), buds dry weight (4.61 g/m2), flowering buds number per corm (2.627), corm percentage with cractile roots (58.41%), corm diameter (2.97 cm) and corms in different weight were obtained in animal manure and A+once summer irrigation. About simple effects, the highest stigma dry weight and dry weight of daughter corms were observed in animal manure and the highest amount of this traits were obtained in treatment A+once summer irrigation. It seems that summer irrigation increased the flower and stigma yield of saffron due to decreasing soil temperature.

In order to study the response of saffron medicinal plant to planting density and different levels of manure, a two year experiment was conducted in split-plot as complete block design with three replications in 2015-16 and 2016-2017 in Gonabad area. Main factor consisted of 5, 10, and 15 cm plant spacing on row and sub factor was control (no manure application), and application of 0, 20, 40, and 60 t/ha cow manure. Experiment results showed that maximum value of fresh flower yield in first year (127.4 kg/ha) achieved in 60 t/ha and in second year (72.3 kg/ha) obtained from 40 t/ha manure application under 5 cm plant spacing in row. The highest fresh stigma yield in both years (10.300 and 5.383 kg/ha, respectively) was obtained due to high planting density (5 cm plant spacing in row) and 40 t/ha manure application. Also, dry stigma yield under this treatment with 2.300 and 1.770 kg/ha, respectively had more increase in both years than other treatments. The highest daughter corm number in both years (614 and 591 corm/m2, respectively) obtained from highest corm planting density. In first year, 40 t/ha manure treatment had the highest value (592 corm/m2) and in second year, 60 t/ha manure application showed the highest value (572 corm/m2). In first year, the highest corm yield with 22724 kg/ha achieved from 5 cm plant spacing in row and 40 t/ha manure. But, in second year the highest mean value (12429 kg/ha) obtained from the same planting density and use of 60 t/ha manure. Therefore, to achieve suitable economic yield in saffron cultivation, application of 40 t/ha cow manure in 20×5 cm planting density under climatic and edaphic conditions similar to this experiment location is suggested.

Salinity is a major factor reducing plant growth and productivity worldwide; it affects about 7% of the world’s total land area and is the major environmental factor limiting plant growth and productivity. Saline soil can be defined as soil having an electrical conductivity of the saturated paste extract (ECe) of 4 dSm−1 (4 dSm−1 ∼40mM NaCl) or more. The detrimental effects of high salinity on plants can be observed at the whole-plant level such as the death of plants or necrosis of plant organs and/or decreases in productivity. Many plants develop mechanisms either to exclude salt from their cells or to tolerate its presence within cells. During the onset and development of salt stress within a plant, all the major processes such as photosynthesis, protein synthesis, and energy and lipid metabolism are affected.
Calendula officinalis L. belongs to the Asteraceae (Compositae) family; it is an annual with bright or yellow orange daisy-like flowers which are used for medicinal or culinary purposes.
Organic fertilizers develops favorable physical, chemical and biological environments in the soil. They stimulates plant root growth, increase nutrient uptake, decreases evaporation from the soil, increases soil water-holding capacity, reduces surface water runoff, facilitates drainage, regulates soil temperature and provides a rich substrate for soil microbes. This study was conducted to determine the effects of soil salinity and organic amendments on some growth characteristics, concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and catalase enzyme activity in pot marigold plant (Calendula officinalis L). In a factorial experiment and completely randomized design (CRD), five levels of organic amendments (control, 0.5 and 1 g.L-1 algae extract, 20% v/v cow manure and 20v/v of pot volume vermicompost) and three levels of salinity (3.5, 7.5 and 10.5 dS.m-1) with three replications per treatments were applied. In this experiment, media without organic amendment was considered as control. Results showed that increasing soil salinity levels progressively decreased the growth characteristics and nutrient concentration. Salinity causes growth reduction due to the low osmotic potential of the medium and by a specific ion effect as a secondary cause in several vegetable crops. The results of present study showed that the organic media can improve plant height. This can be due to increased media moisture storage and enhanced nutrient absorption. The maximum leaf area, plant height, fresh and dry weight of shoots and roots and nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium concentrations obtained in cow manure treatment and EC= 3.5 dS/m. While, the highest chlorophyll content and the lowest RWC was observed in cow manure treated plants in media with EC= 7.5 dS/m. In pot marigold, an increase in salinity significantly decreased shoot and root fresh and dry weight. Excess soluble salts in the root zone restrict plant roots from withdrawing water from surrounding soil, effectively reducing the plant available water, i.e. causes drought for the plant. The loss of photosynthesis in salt stress conditions resulted in the loss of dry weight production at the leaf level of pot marigold. Cow manure significantly increased leaf area in pot marigold as compared to the control.
All treatment significantly increased growth characteristics of pot marigold compare to control. The positive effect of cow manure to nutrients absorption could be because of it was rich of N, P, K compare to the others. Plant height, chlorophyll, RWC and potassium concentration of leaves showed positive correlation to other characteristics. The catalase enzyme was also showed positive correlation to other traits except fresh and dry weight of root and N and K concentration. According to the results, it is cleared that in normal condition, pot marigold plant could tolerate salt stress until 7.5 dS/m but by suitable media culture its threshold tolerate will be increased until 10.5 ds/m. Also it was revealed that cow manure compare to other treatments could increase plant tolerate to salt stress and growth characteristics.

  Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa ) is considered as a member of Malvaceae family which is cultivated across all tropical and warm areas. More than 300 species of Hibiscus are found in tropical and subtropical regions across the world. Roselle is annual and self-pollinated plant. This plant is very sensitive to cold and glacial, it is multipurpose plant and its various components are used. Severe water restrictions and the high water costs cause in some areas, the optimal level of water to become lower than the required level for maximum production. Nowadays, appropriate irrigation management and the cultivation of drought-resistant plants are regarded as strategies to deal with drought stress. Roselle is one of the few drought resistant plants. To study the effect of different levels of irrigation, planting date and fertilizer management on yield and yield components of Roselle, an experiment was contacted in Agricultural Research Station, 105 kilometers East of Bandar Abbas, Minab city, Iran. An experiment was conducted as split-split-plot based on a randomized complete blocks design with three replications. Treatments included irrigation levels in three levels (100,80 and 60 percent evapotranspiration from reference crop) as main plots, planting date in three levels (June 15, September 10 and October 1th) as subplots and three levels of fertilizer (Cow manure, chemical fertilizer 50% and 50% cow manure and chemical fertilizers) are allocated as sub-sub plots. The results showed that the highest plant height (127.7 cm) and stem diameter (1.97 cm) were obtained in irrigation after 60 percent evapotranspiration from reference crop. The highest number of growing stems (3.20 stems) and sepal dry weight (18.48 g) were shown in 100 percent evapotranspiration from reference crop. The total number of stems, the number of generate stems, flower dry weight and plant dry weight were decreased by increasing the percent evapotranspiration from reference crop. Thus, the lowest total number of stems (7.70), the number of generate stems (4.52), flower dry weight (4.28 g. per plant) and plant dry weight (377.1 g. per plant) were shown in 100% evapotranspiration of the reference treatment. Most of the studied criteria were decreased by delaying sowing date. The lowest stem height (108.2 cm), stem diameter (1.32 cm), total number of stems per plant (7.3), the number of generate stems per plant (3.94), sepals dry weight per plant (16.15 g), flower dry weight per plant (3.65 g), total dry weight per plant (212 g), were obtained on 1th October sowing date. The highest stem diameter (1.85 cm), total number of stems per plant (10.78), the number of growing stems per plant (7.22), sepals dry weight per plant (21.02 g), flower dry weight per plant (6.59 g), total dry weight per plant (420.02 g), were obtained under 100% chemical fertilizer treatment. The highest plant height (125.1 cm) and the number of growing stems per plant (3.61) were obtained under 100% chemical fertilizer treatment+100 percent evapotranspiration from reference crop under 1th of October treatment. The lowest stem diameter, the number of generate stems, the number of growing stems, sepals dry weight and total dry weight in each plant were obtained under 100% chemical fertilizer treatment+100 percent evapotranspiration from reference crop under 1th of October treatment. The highest stem diameter, the number of generate stems per plant and flower dry weight per plant were observed under 100% cow manure+60 percent evapotranspiration from reference crop. The highest number of stems per plant, the number of generate stems per plant, sepals dry weight per plant and dry weight of flower per plant were obtained under 100% cow manure on 15 July sowing date treatment. The results showed that most of the studied criteria were decreased by delaying sowing date from June to October. The highest dry weight of flower per plant and sepals yield were obtained under 100% animal manure+ June 15 sowing date treatment. The lowest dry weight of sepals per plant was shown under 100% of evapotranspiration irrigation of the reference crop.

Availability of nutrients needed by plants and ambient light are important in the growth and synthesis of active substance of medicinal plants. Various nutritional combinations have been assessed to study their effect on improving field management and production of medicinal plants. Nitrogen is often a limiting nutrient in plant growth in most agricultural soils. Nitrogen is a major component of chlorophyll, proteins, nucleic acid, vitamins and other organic compounds by which plants use sunlight energy to produce sugars from water and carbon dioxide (i.e., photosynthesis). It is also a major component of amino acids, the building units of proteins. Phosphorus is another element which has an important role in nearly every plant process that involves energy transfer. High-energy phosphate, contained in the chemical structures of adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and ATP, is the source of energy that drives the variety of chemical reactions within the plant. Nitrogen and phosphorus can be supplied through fertilizers or animal manure. Various studies show that combined use of manure and chemical fertilizers (as N, P and …) have positive effects on soil fertility and growth of plant as well as protecting the environment. Studies also show the effect of adequate nutrients on plant growth parameters, light absorption and biosynthesis in medicinal plants. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of organic amendments enriched with chemical fertilizers (nitrogen and phosphorus) on effective traits in light absorption and alcoholic extract of hemp in two consecutive years in Birjand. To study the effect of different levels of animal manure and chemical fertilizers, a split factorial experiment, based on complete randomized blocks design with three replications was conducted at the research Farm of Faculty of agriculture, University of Birjand, during 2013- 2014 growing seasons. Experimental factors include application of animal manure (well-rotted farmyard manure) at a rate of 0, 10, 20 and 30 ton ha-1 to the main plot. The sub plots were received nitrogen at rate of 0, 50 or 100 kg ha-1 (nitrogen in form of Urea) and phosphorus at rate of 0 or 80 kg ha-1 (P2O5 as triple superphosphate). Measured traits were shoot height and diameter, leaf area and leaf number, nitrogen percentage of leaf, canopy light absorption, shoot and leaf dry weights, percentage of extract of leaves and seeds. Nitrogen content of plants was determined by Kjeldahl method and light Absorption was measured by Sun scan. The data were statistically analyzed by SAS software (V. 9.1). Comparison of the means was performed using FLSD test at the 0.05 level of significant. The results showed that canopy light absorption highly correlated with the leaf numbers (0.676**), shoot height (0.621**), nitrogen percentage of leaf (0.543**) and shoot diameter (0.481**) respectively. Application of 30 ton ha-1 of animal manure resulted in less efficiency in increasing shoot height and diameter, leaf area and number and nitrogen percentage of leaf. The absorption of light by plant was higher in treatments with higher nitrogen content in leaf. The study showed that weight of shoot and leaf following treatment increased by animal manure, nitrogen and phosphorus supplements, which subsequently increased final weight of extract from leaves and seeds.
Application of 30 ton ha-1 of animal manure and 100 kg ha-1 of nitrogen resulted in 20.1% and 20.2% increase in content of leaf extract respectively, while application of 100 kg ha-1 of nitrogen resulted in 20% increase in total weight of extracts from seeds. Seed extracts were also highly correlated with the dry weight of leaves. Therefore, the study suggests that adequate nutritional supplement to soil can increase plant growth and final weight of the leaf and seed extracts from plants. Most seed extract estimated in combined treatment of 30 ton ha-1 animal manure and 80 kg ha-1 of phosphorus. The rate of plant growth was lower in the first year compare to the second year, which can be due to higher salinity of soil and animal manure and temperature of germination in the first year.
Overall, the findings of this study showed that application of 30 ton ha-1 of animal manure can provide the plants with adequate level of nitrogen and phosphorus resulting in increased level of extracts of leaf and seed in hemp plant and can reduce the need for nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers use

IntroductionIncreases in the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere have prompted renewed interest in enhancing the soil pools of carbon in the agroecosystems to mitigate climate change and global warming and also improve quality of soil. The soil organic carbon (SOC) pool represents a dynamic equilibrium of gains and losses of carbon. Conversion of natural ecosystems to agroecosystems causes depletion of the SOC pools. The depletion is intensified when the output of carbon exceeds the input and when soil degradation is intensity. Terrestrial ecosystems contributed to atmospheric CO2 enrichment.
Carbon sequestration implies transferring atmospheric CO2 into long-lived pools and storing it securely so it is not immediately loosed. Thus, soil carbon sequestration means improving SOC and soil inorganic carbon pools through land use and recommended management practices.
Our purposes were to determine a set of coefficients for calculating conversion coefficients, dry weight, organic carbon and carbon sequestration of above-ground and below-ground tissues for saffron in Khorasan-e Razavi province.
Materials and Methods A survey experiment was conducted based on a completely randomized design during 2016. Sampling was performed with random-systematic method from 10 fields by using 30 plots of 0.5 m2 and along three transects of 50 m. Below-ground tissues by using cylinder were manually sampled and then separated from the soil. After sampling, the above-ground tissues (such as flower and leaf) were separated from below-ground tissues (including tunic and corm) as to measure the above-ground and below-ground biomasses, respectively. Above-ground and below-ground biomasses were separately dried to constant weight and expressed on a dry matter basis. Conversion coefficients of above- ground and below- ground tissues were determined with combustion method separately. Then, sequestration carbon potential for above- ground and below- ground tissues of saffron and soil were computed.
Final, after the calculation of emission for greenhouse gases including CO2, N2O and CH4 based on emission indices, global warming potential (GPW) were calculated.
For statistical analysis, analysis of variance and least significant difference (LSD) were performed using SAS version 9.3.
Results The results showed that dry weights, organic carbon contents, conversion coefficients and carbon sequestration for above- ground and below- ground tissues of saffron were significantly different. Biomass of below- ground tissues were higher than above- ground tissues. The highest and lowest carbon sequestration for above- ground and below- ground tissues were calculated for corm and flower with 5.83 and 0.14 t.ha-1, respectively. The highest emission of greenhouse gas was belonged to fossil fuels with 39.78 kg. Equiv. CO2 and GWP was computed 7.21 t Equiv. CO2 per one ha.
ConclusionIt is therefore concluded that organic management and use of crop residues, cow manure and organic fertilizers seems to be a rational ecological approach for sustainable management of saffron agroecosystem with a consequence of reduction in greenhouse gases and mitigation of climate change.

Due to climate change it seems that the suitable area for production of saffron is shifting towards the Northern area of Khorasan. On the other hand, corm density and nutrient management are important factors in saffron production. To find out the credibility of this assumption, an experiment was conducted based on a randomized complete blocks design arranged in split plot with three replications in a field located 10 km of Shirvan during the 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 growing seasons. Corm density (50, 100 and 150 corm.m-2) and different amounts of chemical and organic manure [No fertilizer (Control), amount of urea, triple super phosphate and potassium sulfate 100, 100, 50 (C1), 200, 200, 100 (C2) and 300, 300, 150 (C3), cow manure consumption based on 100 kg.ha-1 urea (3066 kg.ha-1), based on 200 kg.ha-1 urea (6132 kg.ha-1) and based on 300 kg.ha-1 urea (9198 kg.ha-1)] were allocated to the main and sub-plots, respectively. Three year average of harvest showed that flower and corm traits improved with increasing corm density and cow manure consumption, while the highest density compared to minimum density caused increasing flower number, fresh flower yield, dried stigma yield, daughter corm number and corm yield by 35, 61, 29, 180 and 122 percent, respectively. Also the highest amount of cow manure compared to control increased flower number, fresh flower yield, dried stigma yield and corm yield by 32, 51, 38 and 51 percentages, respectively. Therefore, more flower and corm yield were obtained in 9198 kg.ha-1 cow manure consumption with 150 corm.m-2 planting density. Therefore, it seems that the production of saffron is suitable using with organic manure compared with chemical manure. Moreover, saffron planting with high corm density is a solution for improving the yield of saffron in the early years of planting.

IntroductionMedicinal plants are valuable resources in a wide range that scientific identification, cultivation, development and proper utilization of them can have very important role in community health, employment and non-petrol exports. Quality of medicinal plants is more important than other crops. The impact of environmental factors is significant on quality and quantity of medicinal plants. Among the environmental effective factors, irrigation and manure can be managed. Drought is considered as one of the most important factors that limited plant production in arid and semi-arid areas, where such areas are subjected to a wide range of climate variations. Water deficit stresses, permanent or temporary, limits the growth and distribution of natural vegetation and yield of cultivated plants more than any other environmental factor. Under water limitation conditions, yield of plants depend on water available content and water use efficiency. Indigo carmine is considered as a highly toxic indigoid dye. Indigo blue dye’s main component is indigotine which is extracted from the leaves of indigo. Indigo carmine is also one of the oldest dyes and it is still one of the most used in textile industry. The aims of this study were evaluation of qualitative and quantitative criteria of indigo (Indigofera tinctoria L.) under Bam climatic conditions.
Materials and MethodsAn experiment was conducted as strip plot based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at the Bam, Iran, during growing seasons of 2012-2013. Four nutrient resources (such as NPK, cow manure vermicompost, Mycorrhiza and control) and three drought stress levels based on %FC (including 100, 80 and 60 percent) were considered as experimental factors. Plant height, canopy diameter, number of branches, dry weight of leaf, dry weight of, dry yield of shoots (above ground matter), indigocarmin content and indigocarmin yield of indigo were measured and calculated.
Results and DiscussionThe results showed that at the first and second cuttings, the highest dry weight of leaf (with 751.11 and 769.24 g m-2, respectively) and indigocarmin yield (with 4.62 and 4.66 g.m-2, respectively) were observed for vermicopmost. Increasing soil water content from 60 to 100% FC at the first and second cuttings caused to increase dry weight of leaf (with 37 and 100%, respectively). Decreasing soil water content caused to reduce the dry matter yield of indigo and these highest yields were obtained in 100% FC with 1589.3 and 1829.3 g m-2, respectively. Also, increasing soil water content from 60 to 100% FC caused that indigocarmin content and indigocarmin yield increased with 36 and 18%, respectively. Relationship between soil nutrients and metabolic processes of medicinal plants causes to change of yield quantity or secondary metabolites contents. Therefore, we determined that the best growth condition for indigo was observed for manure and irrigation based on 80% FC.
ConclusionsIt was concluded that cow manure could be a good choice for decreasing chemical fertilization application.