مجله تنشهای محیطی در علوم زراعی
سال سیزدهم شماره 3 (پاییز 1399)

Rice is a major source of food for more than half of the world's population. Rice is one of the smallest genomes in grain size, and it has been used as an ideal crop for evolutionary research of cereals and important crop species. Rice is a diploid plant and its genome length is short. Rainfed lowland rice is the second most important rice ecosystem, representing about 25% of the total rice production area. Fields do not receive irrigation, relying entirely on rainfall or drainage from higher lands in a watershed. Quality is of paramount importance as rice is consumed in full grain form. In Iran, rice quality is generally more important than yield, and Iranian tastes prefer aromatic rice with long grain length and low grain breadth. The purpose of this study was to identify effective markers on morphological traits, with a total of 20 indicative markers identified in both crop conditions. According to the results obtained from this assessment, they can be used in breeding programs.

This study was carried out in a research field of Gonbad-e-Kavous University in the year 2015-2016, in the form of Latis design in 3 replications, from 90 rice genotypes under normal conditions and drought stress using 11 drought tolerant markers. In this experiment, six physical traits of grain (brown and white rice) and three qualitative traits of rice grain were evaluated. These included: grain length, grain width, grain size, grain circumference, Equilibrium grain balance and Eccentricity of rice grain and percentage of protein, Amylose content and gelatinization temperature. DNA extractions were then extracted according to the CTAB method.

The beneficial results of microsatellite markers indicated that there were 54 polymorphic alleles, with the highest number of RM333 and RM589 with 7 alleles. In the analysis of the main components of SSR markers related to drought tolerance, the first 10 components were able to justify 55.58% of the variation. Clustering results divided genotypes into six groups. Investigating the adhesive patterns formed on acrylamide gel from 11 markers on 90 rice genotypes. The genotypes were grouped together in order to match the allelic pattern. Amylose content, protein content, gelatinization temperature for qualitative traits and quantitative traits of grain length and width (brown and white rice) of each group as a measure of groups. A comparison was made for drought tolerance, with a total of 20 groups identified. The results of the analysis of the relationship between the measured traits showed that among the 104 effective alleles on the traits, the effect of the RM6349-D allele with 9.99 had the greatest effect on the traits of the grain environment. Seedlings are affected by 8 alleles, the equivalent diameter of seeds with 7 alleles, length and area characteristics of seedlings with 6 alleles

Band pattern showed that genotypes can be grouped into a group in terms of matching the allelic pattern. The analysis of the main components of SSR-related drought tolerance markers with 10 components could justify more than 50% of the variation. Cluster analysis by line grouping identified the value of each group for the traits assessed.

Identification and introduction of drought stress tolerant cultivars has always been a high priority in agricultural research. Investigating and comparing genotypes in terms of yield and other important agronomical traits under different environmental conditions is one of the primary and important steps to achieve this goal. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the terminal drought stress on some agronomic traits of 20 bread wheat genotypes, studying the agronomical and physiological response of the genotypes and also identifying the suitable genotype to be nominated for planting in areas with terminal drought stress.

At this research, 20 bread-wheat genotypes including cultivars and elite lines were evaluated using Randomized Complete Blocks Design (CRBD) with three replicates under non-stress and terminal drought stress conditions at Islamabad-e-Gharb Agricultural Research Station (Kermanshah Agriculture and Natural Resources Research and Education Centre) during 2011-2012 cropping year. Each plot consisted of six 6 meter rows with 22.5 cm row spacing (plot size 7.2 m2). Plots were machine-drilled by Wintersteiger plot seeder with 400 seeds per square meter density. Irrigation was carried out in non-stress conditions for all genotypes until the physiological maturity stage. But in the stress conditions, irrigation continued until the booting stage and then cut off and non-irrigation continued until the end of the growing season. During the growing season, the traits were evaluated and measured. At full physiological maturity, all the rows of each plot were machine-harvested by small-plot combine (Wintersteiger harvester).

Simple ANOVA exhibited non-significant differences among the genotypes for all studied traits under both non-stress and terminal drought stress conditions. The result of the combined analysis of variance indicated there is no significant difference among genotypes for all of the studied traits except grain number per spike, peduncle length, penultimate length and day to physiological maturity. The effect of environment (drought stress) was significant on all studied traits except for biological yield, the number of kernels per spike and peduncle length. The stress intensity in this study was 0.55. Drought stress reduced the average of all studied traits except peduncle length. However, it had the highest effect on kernel yield by 55.36% reduction. The genotype × environment was not significant for any of the traits. The mean kernel yields of the genotypes were 8955 and 3997 kg/ha under non-stress and stress condition, respectively. Correlations of kernel yield with penultimate length and hectolitre weight were positive and significant at 1% and 5% probability levels, respectively. Genotypes 13, 20, 8, 9, 5 and 6 were identified as the most tolerant genotypes based on the ranking method and the principal components analysis.

Most of studied traits, especially kernel yield, were significantly affected by drought stress. Drought stress had the highest effect on kernel yield by 55.36% reduction. The results showed that in order to evaluate drought stress tolerance, selection of genotypes should be based on several indices or based on the average of the indices rating. Therefore, genotypes 13, 20, 8, 9, 5 and 6 were identified as the most tolerant genotypes based on the ranking method. These genotypes were also identified as the superior genotypes based on biplot diagrams under both non-stress and terminal drought stress conditions. These genotypes can be used in breeding programs in order to produce new bread wheat tolerant cultivars. Genotypes 14, 18, 15, 10 and 11 can be suggested for irrigated and non-stress conditions. The study of drought tolerance indices showed that MP, GMP, STI, HAM, K1STI and K2STI have better efficiency for selection of high yielding and tolerant genotypes.

Drought stress, which is the most severe environmental problem limiting crop production in rainfed farming, can harshly affect plant growth and development, limit plant production and the crop performance. Drought stress is a polygenic stress and is considered as one of the most main factors limiting crop. The capability of a cultivar to produce high and satisfactory yield over a wide range of stress and non-stress environments is very essential. The response of crops to water stress depends on several factors such as developmental stage, severity and duration of drought and genotypes. Morphological characters such as spike.m-2, grain.spike-1, fertile tillers.plant-1, 1000-grain weight, peduncle length, spike weight, stem weight, awn length, grain weight per spike and affect wheat tolerance to the moisture shortage in the soil. The combination of high grain yield stability and high relative grain yield under dryland, has been proposed as it is a valuable selection criterion for characterising genotypic performance under a varying degree of drought. The objectives of this study were to screen wheat genotypes with high yield potential, stability, yield components under dryland conditions and to find out appropriate selection criteria for selecting genotypes tolerant to terminal heat stress.

In order to Study relationship between agro physiologic traits with grain yield under dryland conditions, as experiment was conducted at Payame Noor university of Ilam research station. Trials were designed using a randomized complete block with three replications in cropping season during 2016-2017. Plots were planted in eight rows measuring 4 m × 2 m. There was 25 cm distance between rows and 225 seeds m−2 were planted. Plots were fertilized with 120 kg ha−1 nitrogen and 50 kg ha−1 phosphorus at planting, and 60 kg ha−1 nitrogen (ammonium nitrate) was applied at stem elongation. Weeds were controlled by manual before stem elongation. Plots were harvested using the manual, with a 0.5 m edge left at both ends of the plot. Data were recorded for grain yield, plant height, biomass, harvest index, spikes m−1, grains spike−1, 1000-grain weight, peduncle length, RWC, Proline content and harvest index. Yield components were determined based on data from ten spikes. The data were analyzed statistically by SPSS program. Regression analysis was conducted to determine genetic progress over time, using years as the independent variable and productivity character as dependent variables. Average yield, regression coefficient, and total of squares of deviation from the regression were used to find out the stability for genotypes.

Results of descriptive analysis showed the most genotypic and phenotypic variation coefficient belonged to grain yield. Correlation coefficients showed that the highest correlation coefficient was between grain yield and biomass trait (r = 0.85**). The results of stepwise regression analysis, in which grain yield as dependent variable against the other traits was considered as independent variables, justify the three traits of biomass, HI and 1000- grain weight by 98 percent of the changes of the relevant regression model. Regarding stepwise regression analysis for grain yield in dryland conditions, by removing the biomass and HI from independent variables. three traits proline content, number of spikes per square meter and days of maturity entered the model, account for about 62 percent of grain yield changes in dryland conditions. The results of causal analysis showed that the direct effects of biomass, number of spikes per square meter and HI were positive most. The results indicate that there is a high genetic diversity among bread wheat genotypes under rainfed conditions. Biomass, HI, proline content, number of spikes per square meter and earliness can be identified as selection criteria for improving grain yield in dryland conditions

the studied genotypes showed a significant difference for all studied traits, indicating that there was a sufficient diversity among them. Based on the results of stepwise regression analysis, biomass, HI, spikes per square meter, proline content had a high contribution to grain yield and the most direct effects were related to biomass and HI. Therefore, biomass and HI as agronomic indices, proline content as a physiological trait of drought tolerance in dryland conditions can be used by breeders to select tolerant genotypes in bread wheat. It is also suggested that special attention should be paid to the reduction of the number of maturity days in wheat genotypes in order to increase yield in dryland conditions (drought stress).

Plants encounter biological and non-biological stress at different stages of their development. In this regard, drought stress is the most important non-seismic factor that, with global warming and the increased likelihood of drought, it is anticipated that by 2050, the performance of agricultural products in 50 percent of the world's agricultural land would be at serious risk. This will lead to a significant reduction in the production of food products. The dry and semi-arid climate of the country has become inevitable the cultivation and production of crops under the conditions of environmental stresses (drought, salinity and heat).Crops are show different reactions against these stresses. The occurrence of any of the stresses, or a combination of them, leads to a reduction in production. Sugar beet is one of the plants that tolerates these stresses. The aim of this research was to evaluate the tolerance of sugar beet test cross hybrids under non-stress and water deficit stress conditions in Khorasan Razavi province in order to select promising and drought tolerant hybrids.

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the drought tolerance of sugar beet test cross hybrids (57 hybrids) with seven controls including IR7, Mandarin, Jolgeh, Paya, Fotora, SC (7112*SB36) and origin population) in Khorasan Razavi Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center in two separate experiments under field conditions with unbalanced lattice design (8*8) with four replications in 2016. Irrigation was done routinely up to the thinning. Subsequent irrigations were done after 90 mm and 200 mm evaporation from the class A evaporation pan in non-stress and water deficit stress conditions, respectively. In this research, traits such as root yield, sugar content, sugar yield, Na, K, N, alkalinity, molasses sugar, white sugar content, white sugar yield and extraction coefficient of sugar were measured. Analysis of variance, estimation of correlations and step wise regression were performed with SAS 9.1 software and also path analysis was done using Amos v19 software.

Combined analysis of variance showed that there was a significant difference (p≤0.01) among studied genotypes and different irrigation regimes for all traits. The highest white sugar yield in non-stress and water deficit stress conditions were observed in (7112 * SB36) * S1 – 73 (13.34 ton / ha) and Mandarin (9.37 ton / ha), respectively. Correlation analysis revealed that the relationship between white sugar yield with root yield, sugar content, sugar yield, white sugar content and extraction coefficient of sugar was significantly positive in two conditions, while its correlation with Na, K, alkalinity and molasses sugar was significantly negative. According to the results of the stepwise regression analysis, more than 99 percent of white sugar yield variation was explained by sugar yield, extraction coefficient of sugar, root yield and sugar content in non-stress and drought stress conditions.

In general, the results showed that the genotypes 61 (Mandarin), 60 (IR7), 63 (Fotora), 51 (7112 * SB36) * S1 – 73), 40 (7112 * SB36) * S1 - 66) and 56 (7112 * SB36) * S1 - 72), which were superior in terms of stress tolerance index (STI) and also in terms of yield traits in stress condition, were introduced as the most drought tolerant genotypes.

Oilseed crops with a high relative amount of unsaturated fatty acids content are one of great significance for human health. Canola oil is considered one of the most health-promoting vegetable oils in terms of unsaturated fatty acid. Seed fatty acid composition and oil content of canola are also affected by drought stress. Large parts of the world are increasingly affected by drought. Drought stress is one of the most important abiotic factors which adversely affect growth, metabolism and yield of crops worldwide. In many parts of the Iran, canola is grown under rainfed conditions. Plant response to moisture stress has a negative effect on grain yield, which decreases significantly as a result of drought stress. Drought stress during flowering and seed-fill stages can alter oil contents and fatty acid compositions of canola seed. The present experiment studied the effect of drought stress on oil contents and fatty acid composition in canola genotypes at water stress under end-of-season drought (flowering and siliquing stages).

The experiment was conducted as split plot based on randomized complete block design with three replications. Irrigation regimes were considered as main plots and cultivars as subplots. Six winter canola cultivars including SLM046, Tassilo, Karun, Adriana, Cooper and Lilian were evaluated under irrigated and no irrigated. The irrigation regimes included: well-watered (irrigation during full season), water deficit at flowering stage and water deficit at siliquing stage.

The proportions (%) of fats (monounsaturated: polyunsaturated: saturated) in this study were approximately 68.0:26.0:6.0. The most abundant fatty acids in the current research were the oleic monounsaturated fatty acid (C18:1) and the polyunsaturated fatty acids, Linoleic acid (C18:2) and Linolenic acid (C18:3), in the proportions 67.96:17.21:8.75. The most abundant saturated fatty acid was Palmitic acid (C16:0), Stearic acid (18:0) and Myristic (14:0), in the proportions 3.87: 2.11: 0.044 % in samples. Based on analysis of variance, significant differences were observed between genotypes for oil yield (%), seed yield (kg ha-1), Palmitic acid, Palmitolic acid, Stearic acid, Oleic acid, Linoleic acid, Linolenic acid, total saturated fatty acid (TSFA) and ratio of total unsaturated to total saturated fatty acid (TU/TS). The results of analysis of variance indicated that drought stress at flowering and siliquing stages significantly affected the amount of Myristic, Palmitic, Palmitolic, Stearic, Linoleic acids. The results showed that the highest and the lowest Oleic acid and seed oil percentage were found in "Lilian" and "Tassilo" genotypes, respectively. Also, the highest and the lowest palmitic and linoleic acids content belong to "Tassilo" and "Lilian" genotypes, respectively. These results suggest significant associations between Oleic acid with Palmitic and Linoleic acids. Oleic acid had significantly and negatively correlated with Palmitic acid, Linoleic acid and Linolenic acid, but it had a significant and positive correlation with oil content. Strong and negative correlation between oleic and Linoleic acid suggest significant connections among these fatty acids, as expected by their close biochemical association. Under well-watered conditions (non-stress), the values of Palmitic, Myristic, Linoleic acids were significantly higher than drought stress at flowering (excepted for linoleic acid) and siliquing stages. At drought stress at flowering and siliquing stages, reduction in Palmitic acid content was 3.78 and 3.58%, in Myristic acid content was 17.06 and 21.67% and in Linoleic acid content was 2.24 and 3.44%, respectively. Under well-watered conditions (non-stress), the value of TSFA was significantly higher than drought stress at flowering and siliquing stages. Whereas, water stress under end-of-season drought increased TU/TS compared to the non-stress condition.

In this study, the water stress under end-of-season drought (flowering and siliquing stages) in canola crops considering fatty acid composition and seed oil stability has been studied. The changes in fatty acids composition in the present study were probably due to the combined effect of water deficits and high temperatures during the seed-filling period with the end-of-season drought treatment (flowering and siliquing stages). This study showed that drought decreases slightly seed oil percentage, alters fatty acid composition and affects fatty acid composition stability. In addition, development of drought tolerant canola genotypes with stable high oleic and low Linolenic acid genes is critical to maintain the stability of oil production and desirable fatty acid composition. In conclusion, Further work is needed to determine the cause of alters in oleic and in fatty acids concentration, under drought stress in canola. The highest Oleic acid and seed oil percentage in non-stress and water stress under end-of-season drought were found in "Lilian" genotype. Therefore, this genotype would be good parents in a breeding program to develop cultivars for stressed conditions, because their oil content remains unaffected but Oleic acid is increased by drought, thus improving the oil shelf-life and quality.

The shortage of water during the growth period of the maize plant causes damage to the growth stage that depends on type of hybrid, the geographical location, the weather conditions and the soil. Because at different growth stages, maize is in different condition in terms of development and root growth, electrical conductivity, drought tolerance and shoot growth. Therefore, water shortages at each stage of growth may lead to changes in the absorption of mineral elements, the production of materials or transfer to a reservoir, which ultimately affects the quality of the grain.

In order to evaluate the effect not irrigation at different times of growth on the amount of elements in the grain of corn (SC704) carried out a research in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications in the village of Ciahgol, Gilangharb (tropical region), Kermanshah, Iran, in summer 2015. Treatments including control (irrigation each week) and not irrigation (NI) for two weeks (from 7, 21, 35, 49, 63, 77 and 91 days after planting) and not irrigation (NI) for three weeks (from 7 , 28, 49, 70 and 91 days after planting). In all treatments was delayed only once irrigation for two or three weeks and before and after the no irrigation treatments was done each week. Sowing date was 27 June, 2015. Soil text was clay-loam. Each plot including 5 rows × 6 meter length. Plant density was 85000 plants ha-1. In this experiment, the traits of concentration and yield of the elements in the grain were measured including iron, zinc, copper, nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and sodium. Finally, data analyzed by SAS software and means compared with LSD test.

The results of analysis of variance showed that not irrigation had a significant effect on grain yield, concentration and yield of studied elements in grain. The highest grain yield (13600 kg ha-1) was obtained in control treatment. In two weeks not irrigation treatment after 49, 63 and 77 days after sowing was decreased by 74.2%, 57.3% and 52.2% to control, respectively. In the three week treatment not irrigation was reduced by 97.4% and 95.2% after 49 and 70 days after sowing. The concentration of the elements in the two and three weeks no irrigation was increased compared to the control. The lowest concentration was observed in the control treatment and the highest in two weeks of irrigation treatment at 77 days after planting (grain filling period) and three weeks no irrigation in 49 days after planting (inflorescence emergence). In not-irrigation treatment for two weeks after 77 days after planting, the concentrations of iron, zinc, copper, nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and sodium were increased to control 15.5, 11.5, 45.2, 18.8, 12.0 , 38.2 and 33.8% respectively. In the 3-week no irrigation treatment, on 49 days after planting was increased the concentration of these elements to control 10.9, 20.7, 46.1, 25.1, 26.8, 48.2 and 58.3%, respectively. However, the yield elements in the control treatment was the highest and in the two and three weeks irrigation treatment was less than the control, and in the treatment 49 days after planting was the lowest, which was affected by the severe decrease in grain yield at this stage of growth.

In general, the results showed that in each stage of growth and development of maize that faced with drought stress, although the concentration of the elements studied in the grain increased from 10 to 58 percent compared to the control treatment, but due to a significant decrease in grain yield, yield elements were reduced to 96% to control treatments. The most sensitive stage of plant growth to drought stress in this experiment was 49 days after planting or inflorescence emergence stage.

Abiotic stresses are most important limiting factors to crop productivity that can reduce the yield of plants up to 70 percent. Drought is the most important stress and decreases the yield of plants in world. Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is a multipurpose oilseed crop grown mainly for its high quality edible oil, bird seed, coloring and flavoring food, in textile dyes, as livestock forage, as a vegetable, in herbal teas, and for medicinal purposes. It is resistant to cold, drought, and salinity stress. Therefore, it can be grown successfully on dry land and in surrounding regions which have insufficient precipitation. The aim of this experiment, was evaluated of yield and yield components of two safflower under optimal irrigation and drought stress conditions.

The current experiment was carried out at the Research Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Zanjan University, Zanjan, Iran (36410N, 48290E) in spring 2010 and 2011 years. The experiment was laid out in split factorial experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with four replications. Experimental treatments included optimal irrigation (-0.5 MPa) and drought stress (-2 MPa) and were two spring safflower cultivars (Goldasht and Zendehrood). Each plot consisted of four rows, each measuring 6 m long, distance of each rows and plants was 50 and 10 cm, respectively. After thorough establishment of plants, at the 3 fold 4 leaves stage, irrigation treatments (-0.5 MPa and -2 MPa) was applied. In order to apply irrigation treatments, irrigation was stopped until the soil water potential reached -0.5 and -2 MPa for optimal and  drought stress respectively, then re-irrigation was performed. At the physiological maturity stage, plants in an area of 1 m2 to measuring of number main capitul, number seed in main capitul and weight of thousand seeds, and area of 2 m2 for biological yield and grain yield were harvested, then all aboveground dry matter were determined. 

The effect of irrigation treatments, cultivar and year not significant on diameter capitul, number of main and lateral capitul in plant. The year has significant effect on all traits such as Capitul diameter.  The irrigation treats has not significant effect on capitul diameter, number main and lateral capitul, number seed in main lateral capitul and oil percent. The highest of thousand weight seed (35.5 g), grain yield (214.42 kg/ha), biological yield (9600.1 kg/ha), harvest index (25.6 %) and oil yield (634.6 kg/ha) obtained in optimal irrigation, and in other traits, was not difference between optimal irrigation and drought stress. The number main and lateral capitul, number seed in main lateral capitul, biological yield, oil percent and oil yield was different between cultivars. The maximum of number of seed in capitul, biological yield, oil percent and oil yield were obtained in zendehrood cultivar, and in other traits there was not difference between Zendehrood and Goldasht. Grain yield and oil yield reduced under drought stress amount 51 and 65 percent, respectively. Oil percentage in optimal irrigation was 8 percent more than drought stress condition. Grain yield, oil percentage and oil yield of Goldasht cultivar 7, 8 and 26 percent were higher than Zendehrood cultivar, respectively.

According this result, yield and related traits of yield extremely affected by climate conditions each of year. Thus, success in agriculture under field condition, extreme dependent to feature of climate. The Goldasht cultivar has higher of grain yield (7.5 %), oil percent (20.44 %) and Oil yield (26.19 %) than Zendehrood cultivar. In normal and drought stress conditions, the results of current experiment showed that Goldasht cultivar was superior to Zendehrood cultivar, and is more tolerant to drought stress, therefore suggested that cultivate Goldasht cultivar in deficit conditions.

Intercropping of cereal and legumes is the most common system of intercropping in which complementary effects in the consumption of environmental resources leads to increasing in production. Wheat and faba bean intercropping is a cereal-legume intercropping. Available water resources have been reduced in recent years. In this case, so many efforts have been considered to save water resources in agronomical systems. Partial root zone irrigation is a new technique for deficit irrigation which increased water use efficiency in different cropping systems including sole maize and wheat-Persian cloverand maize-mung bean intercropping. In these cropping systems, the reduction of yield was much less than the reduction of water consumption. Since there is not enough information on the effect of water deficit in wheat-faba bean intercropping, this research was aimed to evaluate the effect of deficit irrigation induced by partial root zone irrigation on yield and yield components of wheat and faba bean in sole and intercropping patterns.

This experiment was carried out in Shadegan (Khuzestan province) during 2017-18 growing season as two-factor factorial based on RCBD with three replications. The first factor was irrigation (conventional and partial root zone irrigation) and the second was planting pattern (sole wheat, sole faba bean, within row and alternate row intercropping of wheat and faba bean). Irrigation treatments were applied after seedling establishment. In each irrigation, the volume of irrigation was measured. At harvest time, grain yield and yield components of wheat and faba bean were determined. Water use efficiency was also measured. Land equivalent ratio was determined for evaluation the benefit of intercropping.

Deficit irrigation reduced spike length, grain per spike and grain yield of wheat by 9.8%, 11.9% and 24.4%, respectively. The highest spike length, grain per spike and grain yield of wheat achieved in sole cropping which was 13.2%, 16.5% and 21.8% more than that of within-row intercropping. Wheat had the highest height in within-row intercropping under conventional irrigation. The highest 1000-grain weight (40.1g) was achieved in sole cropping under conventional irrigation which was 11.6% more than that of the lowest value (35.4g in within-row intercropping under partial root zone irrigation). Wheat had the highest biological yield in within-row intercropping under conventional irrigation (11170 kg ha-1) which reduced 18% with partial root zone irrigation. With partial root zone irrigation, the reduction of wheat grain weight in intercropping was more than that achieved I sole cropping, indicating that in intercropping and deficit irrigation wheat is a weak competitor compared with faba bean which led to the reduction of growth (plant height and biological yield) and yield component (grain number and weight) of wheat. 1000-grain weight, grain per plant and grain yield of faba bean were reduced by partial root zone irrigation. The highest plant height of faba bean was achieved in within-row intercropping under conventional irrigation. Faba bean had the highest pod per plant in sole cropping under conventional irrigation. The highest biological yield of faba bean was recorded in within-row intercropping. Higher density of faba bean in sole crop stand led to higher yield compared to intercropping patterns. In intercropping, faba bean benefited from the shading of wheat for grai production. Water use efficiency (WUE) was improved by partial root zone irrigation. WUE of intercropping was more than that of sole crop stands. Land equivalent ratio was not affected by irrigation method and planting pattern. However, LER of both intercropping patterns was more than one, indicating the benefit of intercropping compared with sole cropping.

Partial root zone irrigation reduced wheat and faba bean grain yield. However, since the reduction of grain yield was much more than the reduction water consumption, partial root zone irrigation led to the improvement of water use efficiency in sole and intercropping. As a final remark, wheat and faba bean intercropping can be cultivated in partial root zone irrigation condition to improve water use efficiency.

In regard to importance of rape seed in production of vegetable oil, it is necessary to pay attention factors of production including water period and N-fertilizer. Rapeseed needs to much N-fertilizer،In the other hands water restriction is preventative factor in rape seed plant. Therefore determination of irrigation period with N-formulation that cause increasing rape seed yield is needed.

The trial was conducted as a split plot factorial experiment in randomized complete blocks design with 4 replications and tow crop years at Broujerd Agricultural Research station. In this design, Irrigation period was I1=50 mm, I2=75mm and I3=100mm collective evaporation from pan A as main plot and three rate of urea via N1=0.7R=112 kg.ha-1, N2=R=160 kg.ha-1 and N3=0.3R= 208 kg.ha-1 (R: Was determined base on recommendation Department of Nutrition, Institute of Soil and Water Research) was subplot. N fertilizers were consumed in three stage Contains planting, Stems and flowering. In this research was used from Regent X Cobra cultivar.

The results obtained indicated that among irrigation treatments, the most of seed yield Related to I1 (50 mm collective evaporation from pan A) and I2 (75 mm collective evaporation from pan A) treatments with amount of seed yield 3146 and 3164 kg.ha-1 respectively which was significantly different to I3 (100 mm collective evaporation from pan A) with seed yield of 2684 kg.ha-1 Also maximum number of seeds per pod and pod per plant were obtained I1 treatment. There was a positive correlation among seed yield, plant height, number of seeds per pod and pod per plant. Maximum water use efficiency was obtained by I3 treatment(100 mm collective evaporation from pan A) with amount of 0.394 kg.m-3 which was significantly different with other treatments at a probable level of 1%. The effects amount of nitrogen on water use efficincy, seed yield, the number of seed per pod, the number of pod per plant,plant height and 1000 of seed weight was significantly. Among interaction effect of irrigation and N rates, the most of seed yield was obtained by I2N1 treatment with 3498 kg.ha-1 and the lowest seed yield was obtained by I3N1 with 2401 kg.ha-1.

According to the results, irrigation from the beginning of April to the maturity, with irrigation interval of 75 mm, collective evaporation from pan A, is suitable and nitrogen fertilizer consumption with 0.7 amount of recommended by the plant nutrition research department of the soil and water research institute by splitting in three stages during planting, stemming and flowering stage in similar region of Borujerd, is recommended. Therefore, in order to increase the yield of rapeseed under Borujerd weather conditions, the use of nitrogen fertilizer is 0.7 times recommended by the Institute for Soil and water research and irrigation with irrigation intervals based on 75 mm cumulative is recommended as a result of that an effective step towards optimal use of agricultural inputs and ultimately achieving sustainable agriculture.

Corn (Zea mays. L) is an annual monocot plant from poaceaae family. The corn is C4 and is native to the tropical region. The breadth of its degree of adaptation and adaptation makes it possible to cultivate it in temperate and cold regions. The corn is the third highest cereal after wheat and rice production, but its production is equal to the production volume of each of the world's two grains. The agricultural sector and its systems, with more than 90 percent of the country's water consumption, are the largest water consumer, wasting 80 percent of its traditional irrigation systems. Therefore, by reducing water resources, the reform of consumption patterns is the only way to overcome the depleted crisis. About 70% of the Earth's surface is covered by water, but unfortunately, the water crisis in many countries of the world, including the countries of the dry belt of the earth, such as Iran, is a concern. One of the effective ways to increase organic matter in Khuzestan soils, which are poor in organic matter, as well as increase in production per unit area, is the consumption of organic fertilizers. In Khuzestan Province, with the implementation of the sugar cane cake filter development project and simultaneously with the activities of sugar factories, large quantities of molasses, filter cake and bagasse produced by factories along with leaf and cane can be easily converted into compost as a result of microbial activity and as Organic organic fertilizer with a very favorable efficiency. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of organic fertilizer of cane sugar cane filter and drought stress on production factors and morphological traits of maize in Hamidyeh weather conditions.

This research was carried out in 2016 in a farm located in Hamidieh with a longitude of 48 degrees and 10 minutes east and 31 degrees and 33 degrees north latitude and 13 meters above sea level. This study was carried out as split split plot in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatments consisted of drought stress at three levels: 60, 90 and 120 mm evaporation from class A evaporation pan as the main factor and the sugar cane cake filter was divided into four levels: 0, 25, 50 and 100 t/ha as a sub-factor.

The results showed that the effect of drought stress and fertilizer on sugar cane cake filter on Plant height, ear length, grain yield, seed number per row and 1000 grain weight affected the traits. The highest grain yield was obtained with an average of 5590.75 kg/ha irrigation with 60 mm evaporation and the lowest grain yield with an average 4170.05 kg/ha was obtained from irrigation 120 mm evaporation from the pan. Interaction between drought stress of 60 mm evaporation and sugar cane cake filter had a significant effect on plant height and grain yield. The highest grain yield (6170.55 kg/ha) was obtained from irrigation 60 mm evaporation and 50 t/ha sugar cane cake filter. On the other hand, the use of large amounts of sugar cane cake filter (100 t/ha) due to high salinity and salt accumulation in the root environment caused secondary oxidative stress and thus reduced economic yield.

Therefore, in general, the results of this research can be argued that the application of 50 t/ha sugar cane cake filter and drought stress of 60 mm evaporation from the class A pan are recommended in order to achieve maximum Production components. Application of filtering results in homogeneity of germination and accelerates the initial growth of the product, and in conditions without drought stress, increases economic yield. Also, under severe drought stress conditions (120 mm evaporation from the pan), the application of large amounts of sugar cane cake filter due to high salinity and the accumulation of salt in the root environment causes secondary oxidative stress and, consequently, reduced economic yield. Therefore, based on the results of this experiment and considering the abundance of this type of organic fertilizer in Khuzestan province and increasing its use as a soil reformer by farmers, it is suggested that in drought-free fields, after studying the long-term effects of sugar cane cake filter On the soil and nutrient cycle and in case of confirmation of the results, use should be made.

Wheat is one of the most important crops in terms of land cultivation and production in the world and plays an important role in supplying human food needs. Among the factors limiting yield, water deficit stress is the most important factor that has reduced crop production in different ways, especially in arid and semi-arid regions of the world and Iran. Methanol is a substance that, by increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide, has a significant effect on the physiology of plants and, by increasing the photosynthetic capacity, has a significant role in increasing the yield of plants, especially in environmental stress conditions. Salicylate is one of the natural growth regulators and is a natural phenolic compound that contributes to the regulation of physiological processes in plants. Considering that a large part of cultivated land in Iran has semi-arid climatic conditions and because of its special geographical position, in most parts of it, important abiotic stress such as drought, salinity and temperature, decrease the yield and, in some cases, also has led to failure in agriculture, therefore, achieving the highest yield with the least possible water consumption in the shortest time with the use of nano-compounds such as TiO2 against breeding methods that are often long-term and cost-intensive, it seems necessary that the present research also aims to achieve goals such as evaluating and identifying important physiological traits of finally winter wheat yield under water deficit stress and application of the above compound.

In order to investigate the effects of methanol and salicylic acid foliar application on some growth and yield traits of winter wheat Mihan cultivar under water deficit stress, an experiment was conducted in split plot factorial based on RCBD in three replications at the Research Station of the Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch, during growing seasons of 2016-2017. Treatments were Irrigation Frequency in two levels including: irrigation every 7 days and every 14 days and factorial combination of methanol (in three levels of: 0, 10 and 20% V/V) and salicylic acid foliar application (in two levels of: non application and 0.5%). Irrigation of the farm was carried out to the stage of stem elongation according to the needs of the canopy, but after that, limiting irrigation was applied (code 31 of Zadoks growth scale).To determine the Water requirement of wheat, irrigation depth was calculated based on evaporation coefficients using evaporation pan (class A). Analysis of variance, and mean comparison with MSTAT-C software were used. The means of the treatments were compared using the Duncan’s test at P< 0.05 and Charts are plotted by the EXCEL program.

The analysis of varianceshowed that the water deficit stress and salicylic acid on all of traits except grain filling rate and chl.a was significant. Also, effect of methanol foliar application on on all of traits except grain filling rate and relative water content was significant. Interaction effect of methanol and salicylic acid foliar application on grain filling rate and grain yield, interaction effect between water deficit stress and methanol foliar application on grain filling rate and salicylic acid foliar application under water deficit stress on seed yield were significant. Furthmore, interaction effect between water deficit stress, methanol and salicylic acid foliar application on relative water content was significant. Interaction effects of methanol foliar application in different levels of water deficit stress showed that the maximum grain filling rate under sprayed with methanol 10% and irrigation every 7 days with an average of 1.259 g day-1 and the lowest grain filling rate was also under non foliar application and irrigation treatment every 14 days with an average of 0.8552 g day-1.The interaction of methanol and salicylic acid showed that the shortest grain filling duration was in the control treatment (non-methanol.and salicylic acid application) with an average of 25.55 days and the highest was in 0.5% salicylic acid and 10%  methanol with an average of 45.38 days. The highest amounts of chlorophyll a, b and a + b was in 20% methanol foliar application and lowest was in non-methanol foliar application. Also, 0.5% salicylic acid foliar application compared to non-application increased the amount of chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll a + b. The highest relative water content was observed in 10% methanol foliar application and 0.5% acid salicylic acid and irrigation every 7 days and the lowest was in non-methanol and salicylic acid application under irrigation of 14 days with an average of 63.23%. The highest of grain yield under non-salicylic acid application under irrigation every 7 days with 751.2 g m-2 and the lowest in non-salicylic acid application under irrigation every 14 days with an average 329.4 g m-2. Also, the interaction of methanol and salicylic acid foliar application showed that the highest grain yield was in 0.5% salicylic acid and 20% methanol foliar application with an average of 7.444 g m-2 , and the lowest was in 0.5% salicylic acid and non- methanol application with average of 469.5 g m-2 .

Drought is always recognized as one of the most important limiting factors for wheat productivity particularly in arid and semi-arid regions (Debaeke and Abdellah, 2004). In such areas, the occurrence of water stress in vegetative and reproductive stages of plant development is inevitable, and low rainfall and poor distribution of rainfall are factors limiting the yield of winter cereals (Garcia del moral et al., 2003). Silicon is one of the many elements in the soil. As it is mostly considered as non-essential element for plant growth, much attention has not been paid yet to its biological role in plant. Recent studies have shown that it has beneficial effects on several plant species. Especially in the time of environmental stresses, with increasing activity of oxidative enzymes and increasing the content of osmolite plays an important role in the creation of resistance to live and non-polluting stresses in plants (Amiri et al., 2014). Gang et al. (2005) examined the effects of silicon on wheat under drought stress and found that silicon application increased the activity of peroxidase oxidizing enzymes, catalase and dismutase in comparison to drought treatments. Drought stress increased the amount of H2O2, while the use of silicon decreased the activity of peroxidase. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of foliar application of Si on photosynthetic pigments, enzyme activity and grain yield of bread and durum wheat cultivars under late season drought stress conditions.

In order to investigate the effect of silicon application on biochemical traits and grain yield of wheat cultivars under late season drought stress conditions, a field experiment was carried out in the Research Station of College of Agriculture and Natural Resources of Darab, Fars Province as split factorial in a completely randomized block design with three replicates during 2017-2018 growing season. Soil sampling was carried out prior to the experiment at a depth of 0-30 cm in order to determine the physico-chemical characteristics of the experiment field. Experimental treatments consisted of drought stress in two levels included normal irrigation and drought stress at the end of flowering, silicone (Si) spraying at 0, 1, 2, and 3 mM which used at mid-flowering stage (ZGS code 65) (Zedokes et al., 1974) and two wheat cultivars (Chamran and Shabrang).Two weeks after drought stress, chlorophyll a, b, catalase, and peroxidase contents were measured. Also, at maturity, plants were harvested to determine the grain yield. Finally, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed using SAS v 9.4 and the means compared by LSD test at 1 % probability level.

Analysis of variance showed that the main effects including late season drought stress, cultivar and silicon, had significant effects on chlorophyll a and b contents, peroxidase and catalase enzymatic activity, and grain yield. Foliar application of 3 mM Si, increased chlorophyll a and b contents, 44 and 41%, respectively. Peroxidase and catalase enzymes increased by 7 and 8% in drought stress conditions, which increased by the addition of silicon in drought stress conditions at 3 mM level, and the activity of peroxidase and catalase enzymes was 52% and 35% respectively. In general, Chamran bread wheat cultivar with the yield of 7797 kg ha-1 had higher yield than Shabrang durum wheat cultivar (6220 kg ha-1), indicating the superiority and suitability of Chamran when plant exposed to drought stress. Finally, in Chamran cultivar foliar application of Si at 3 mM increased photosynthetic pigments, and peroxidase and catalase activity which caused 19.7% increase in grain yield compared to Shabrang.

It was concluded that when wheat cultivars exposed to drought stress, the amount of chlorophyll a and b, and grain yield decreased significantly while Si application at 3mM increased the photosynthetic pigments especially in bread wheat cultivar (Chamran). Overall, under drought stress conditions, foliar application of 3 mM Si at flowering stage of wheat caused a significant increase in catalase and peroxidase activity especially in Chamran which increased grain yield compared to durum wheat CV. Shabrang.

IntroductionDeficit irrigation stress as a consequence of the progressive decrease in water availability has been a hot topic regarding food security during the last two decades (UNESCO, 2012).Growth and development of plants is influenced by reduction in turgor that result in decreased nutrient acquisition from dry soil (Luo et al, 2011). Due to the threat of climate change, there is a need to limit the use of water resources in arid and semi-arid climates. It is therefore important to find new approaches to avoid crop productivity losses in ‘limited fresh-water’ areas. Various strategies have been proposed to help crop production under drought conditions. An alternative and quick strategy to reduce negative effects of drought stress is exogenous application of organic osmolytes or plant growth regulators.Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is considered one of the most important grains for human alimentation. Common bean is susceptible to drought stress or water deficit, which the production of this crop in many places of the world is carried out under drought stress conditions, due to insufficient water supply by rainfall and/or irrigation. Although several studies have investigated the effects of drought stress on growth and physiological parameters of common bean, no research has been carried out on the relationship between salicylic acid and biostimulants and drought tolerance of common bean. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the physiological response of common bean to foliar application salicylic acid and biostimulants under water deficit condition. Materials and methodsField experiments were carried out from June to September 2015 at the Research Farm of Agriculture Faculty at the University of Zanjan, Iran. In order to study the effect of foliar application of salicylic acid (SA) and biostimulants on some physiological treats of common bean cv. Sanry under different irrigation regimes, the experiment was conducted in a split plot based on randomized complete block design with three replicates in research filed of university of Zanjan during 2015. Three different irrigation (I) regimes (100, 75 and 50% ETc) and foliar application of salicylic acid (0.5, 1 and 1.5 mM), Megafol (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3% MF) and to distilled water as control were conducted. Seeds of ‘Sanry’ cultivar were sown on 3-4 cm depth, with 15 cm spacing within row and 30 cm spacing between rows. At 3th leaf stage, foliar applications of SA and MF were weekly sprayed. All necessary management practices such as pests and weeds control were done according to recommended practices during the crop growth.Irrigation treatments were calculated based on actual evapotranspiration (ETc) rates. Three irrigation levels were (1) control or irrigation at 100% crop water requirement (I100), Deficit irrigation at 75% and at 50% of control. Foliar treatments include salicylic acid (0.5, 1 and 1.5 mM), Megafol (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3% MF) and distilled water as control were randomly applied on the sub-plots. The experiment design was a split-plot model based on a completely randomized block design (three irrigation levels, seven foliar treatments and three replications).Results and discussionIn the present study, the physiological response of common bean plants was investigated after exposure to different levels of water deficit. Furthermore, evaluation of foliar applications of salicylic acid and magafol on cell membrane stability index, leaf relative water content, proline, and antioxidant enzymes activity under different levels of water deficit conditions were done in the current study.The results showed that water deficit stress reduced leaf relative water content and cell membrane stability index, and increased electrolyte leakage, proline content and catalase and peroxidase enzymes activity. Foliar application of SA and MF had significant effects on physiological traits. The highest relative water content was obtained in MF 0.2 and 0.3% treatments. The maximum electrolyte leakage and proline content was observed in 1.5 mM SA. The highest value of peroxidase enzyme activity was achieved with spray MF 0.2% under irrigation 75 ETc%. ConclusionAccording to the results, MF 0.2% treatment had the highest positive effect on physiological traits of common bean plant.

Deficit irrigation stress as a consequence of the progressive decrease in water availability has been a hot topic regarding food security during the last two decades (UNESCO, 2012).Growth and development of plants is influenced by reduction in turgor that result in decreased nutrient acquisition from dry soil (Luo et al, 2011). Due to the threat of climate change, there is a need to limit the use of water resources in arid and semi-arid climates. It is therefore important to find new approaches to avoid crop productivity losses in ‘limited fresh-water’ areas. Various strategies have been proposed to help crop production under drought conditions. An alternative and quick strategy to reduce negative effects of drought stress is exogenous application of organic osmolytes or plant growth regulators.
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is considered one of the most important grains for human alimentation. Common bean is susceptible to drought stress or water deficit, which the production of this crop in many places of the world is carried out under drought stress conditions, due to insufficient water supply by rainfall and/or irrigation.Although several studies have investigated the effects of drought stress on growth and physiological parameters of common bean, no research has been carried out on the relationship between salicylic acid and biostimulants and drought tolerance of common bean. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the physiological response of common bean to foliar application salicylic acid and biostimulants under water deficit condition.

Field experiments were carried out from June to September 2015 at the Research Farm of Agriculture Faculty at the University of Zanjan, Iran. In order to study the effect of foliar application of salicylic acid (SA) and biostimulants on some physiological treats of common bean cv. Sanry under different irrigation regimes, the experiment was conducted in a split plot based on randomized complete block design with three replicates in research filed of university of Zanjan during 2015. Three different irrigation (I) regimes (100, 75 and 50% ETc) and foliar application of salicylic acid (0.5, 1 and 1.5 mM), Megafol (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3% MF) and to distilled water as control were conducted. Seeds of ‘Sanry’ cultivar were sown on 3-4 cm depth, with 15 cm spacing within row and 30 cm spacing between rows. At 3th leaf stage, foliar applications of SA and MF were weekly sprayed. All necessary management practices such as pests and weeds control were done according to recommended practices during the crop growth.Irrigation treatments were calculated based on actual evapotranspiration (ETc) rates. Three irrigation levels were (1) control or irrigation at 100% crop water requirement (I100), Deficit irrigation at 75% and at 50% of control. Foliar treatments include salicylic acid (0.5, 1 and 1.5 mM), Megafol (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3% MF) and distilled water as control were randomly applied on the sub-plots. The experiment design was a split-plot model based on a completely randomized block design (three irrigation levels, seven foliar treatments and three replications).

In the present study, the physiological response of common bean plants was investigated after exposure to different levels of water deficit. Furthermore, evaluation of foliar applications of salicylic acid and magafol on cell membrane stability index, leaf relative water content, proline, and antioxidant enzymes activity under different levels of water deficit conditions were done in the current study.
The results showed that water deficit stress reduced leaf relative water content and cell membrane stability index, and increased electrolyte leakage, proline content and catalase and peroxidase enzymes activity. Foliar application of SA and MF had significant effects on physiological traits. The highest relative water content was obtained in MF 0.2 and 0.3% treatments. The maximum electrolyte leakage and proline content was observed in 1.5 mM SA. The highest value of peroxidase enzyme activity was achieved with spray MF 0.2% under irrigation 75 ETc%.

According to the results, MF 0.2% treatment had the highest positive effect on physiological traits of common bean plant.

In order to study the effect of bio fertilizers and moisture regime on different moisture regimes on the morphophysiological and grain yield of Arg wheat cultivar, an experiment in the form of a split plot based on randomized complete block design with four replications was conducted at Zahak-Zabol Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Station during 2016-2017 crop year. Irrigation regimes were carried out on three levels as the main plots: irrigation after 45% (control) (S1), 65% (S2) and 85% moisture evacuation from soil (S3); biofertilizer sources were applied in seven levels: control ( F1), application of the locally common fertilizer, application of Azotobacter fertilizer along with the locally common fertilizer (F2), Azotobacter fertilizer with 50% of the locally common fertilizer (F3), Phosphabacter frtilizer with the locally common fertilizer ( F4), phosphabacter fertilizer with 50% of the corresponding chemical control fertilizer (F5), Azotobacter phospha-bacter fertilizer along with the locally common fertilizer (F6), and Azotobacter and phosphabacter along with 50% of the locally common fertilizer (F7), with all these seven serving as the subplots. The results showed the interactive effect of moisture regime and biofertilizer on the grain yield was significant at 1% level. This was such that in severe drought stress, biofertilizers with a mean of (6237 kg.ha-1) led to the grain yield increase of 38.8%, as compared to the control. Also, the improvement and increase in the 1000-seed weight, and biologic yield and harvest index were 27.6, 17.8 and 29.6 percent, respectively. Overall, the results of this study showed that in the irrigation under drought stress conditions at all stages of development, the use of Azotobacter and phosphabacter biofertilizers could have a positive effect on the grain yield, biologic yield, harvest index and leaf chlorophyll index, thereby improving the negative effects of drought stress.

The cowpea (vigna unguiculata L.) as a grain, grown in tropical and sub-tropical countries, especially in the countries of Asia, Africa and South America, is considered an important source of nutrition. Among beans, in terms of cultivars and economic value, the first place belongs to beans. Good climate (warm to moderate summer) and adequate water in the areas under beans, high quality soils and high depth of clay are the main reasons for increasing its cultivation area. Water is a key factor in the production of crops. The yield of crops in many areas is limited by living or non-living environmental stresses, and therefore, there is a significant difference between actual yield and yield potential of crops. Low moisture content in each of the different stages of growth reduces water absorption, nutrients, decreases the transfer of elements within the plant, and ultimately reduces the yield of the grain or the final product. Optimal use of water is of great importance, especially in areas where dry climatic conditions and Semi-dry is dominant. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of vermicompost and superabsorbent on the quantitative and qualitative yield of bean under drought stress in Khorramshahr area.

This research was carried out in 2017 in a farm located in Khorramshahr with a longitude of 48 degrees and 12 minutes east and 30 degrees and 22 degrees north latitude and 3 meters above sea level. This study was carried out as split split plot in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Experimental treatments consisted of drought stress in two levels (65 and 130) mm evaporation from class A evaporation pan in main plots and the combined effect of biological fertilizer of vermicompost and superabsorbent at four levels (non-application of fertilizer (control), 5 t/ha vermicompost Compost + 75 kg/ha superabsorbent, 5t/ha vermicompost + 100 kg/ha superabsorbent, 5 t/ha vermicompost) in sub plots.

The results showed that drought stress had a significant effect on grain yield, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod and protein yield. Also, the combined effect of biological fertilizer of vermicompost and superabsorbent had a significant effect on grain yield and protein yield. The highest grain yield (202.22 g/m2) was obtained from treatment with 5 tons per hectare of vermicompost + 100 kg/ha superabsorbent (which did not have a significant difference with 5 tons per hectare of vermicompost + 75 kg/ha superabsorbent) and lowest with mean 174.26 g/m2 was obtained from non-application of fertilizer treatment. The interaction of drought stress and combined effect of biological fertilizer on vermicompost had a significant effect on grain yield. The highest grain yield was obtained with an average of 29.225 kg/ha of irrigation after 65 mm evaporation from the pan and 5 tons per hectare of vermicompost + 75 kg/ha superabsorbent.

Due to the fact that in the field of crop production, the true value depends on the quality of the crop, in this research it was determined that the use of vermicompost manure plays an important role in the development of the bean plant, Also, considering that the highest amounts of grain and protein yield were obtained as a quantitative and qualitative yield of vermicompost and superabsorbent fertilizer, it can be concluded that using these treatments without the slightest environmental damage and maintaining sustainability and health the agricultural system can meet the nutritional needs of the plant to a large extent. In order to achieve maximum yield and quality, in terms of humidity planting cowpea consumption of 5 tons per hectare and 75 kg ha super vermicompost fertilizer to increase the yield of cowpea is recommended for plants.

Although saffron is considered as a low water and nutrient required crop, but the existing situation of water resources in arid regions have forced the researchers to investigate the effects of drought stress on different components of this valuable crop. In this regard, a two-year field experiment was conducted in Yazd Province, Central Iran, to investigate the effect of different levels of applied water and superabsorbent polymer (SA) on the Relative Water Content (RWC) of saffron leaves, Leaf Length (LL), Dry Weight of Leaves (DWL) and Corm Weight (CW), as well. This experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design in three replications. The main plots consisted of three levels of applied water (50%ET, 75%ET and 100%ET) while, subplots included three SA levels of 10, 30 and 50 g/m2, which were distributed in the experimental plots by two methods of row and uniform. Finally, the effects of main and subplot treatments on RWC were evaluated and compared with the control treatment (without SA application). The results showed that the highest increase in RWC was in the treatment of 30g/m2 superabsorbent polymer, while for higher or lower rates of SA application; there were insignificant changes in the RWC of saffron leaves, compared to the control treatment. In addition, it was found that for the optimum irrigation treatment (100%ET) and unlike to the 50%ET and 75%ET treatments, the RWC of saffron leaf was decreased even with the increases of SA contents. This decrease, which was observed in both years of the experiment, may be due to the insignificant effect of SA on the RWC under non- stressed conditions. In other words, the use of superabsorbent with the aim of increasing RWC in drought stress conditions is useful and can be recommended. Moreover, LL, DWL and CW parameters increased during two consecutive years with increasing RWC, indicating the importance of RWC index for performance evaluation of the air and ground components of saffron, as well.

Salinity stress is one of the most important factors causing yield loss in crop worldwide. In order to improve salt tolerance in crop, it is important to understand salt-tolerance mechanism. Ongoing researches have been directed toward understanding the effects of salt stress, with the eventual goal of discovering molecular and cellular mechanisms used by stress-tolerant species and the elements that might contribute to enhanced salt tolerance to sensitive plants. An active process of cellular suicide termed programmed cell death (PCD) is crucial for development and immune responses in eukaryotes. In plants, PCD is involved in plant development and survival. Recent studies have revealed that diverse environmental stresses, such as salt stress, nutrient starvation and drought, are able to induce PCD in plant root tips. This findings indicate that this active process is highly conserved and has vital roles in development and response to external stimuli. PCD plays an important role in adapting to environmental stress. Understanding the molecular basis of PCD mechanism makes possible genetically manipulation of plants to improve environmental stress tolerance. BAX inhibitor-1 (BI-1) located in the Endoplasmic reticulum(ER) was found to be a key cell death attenuator in eukaryotes.

In this study, the potential role of a gene which encodes BAX Inhibitor 1-like protein (BI_85) in salt tolerance was evaluated using bioinformatics and experimental approaches such as promoter and gene regulatory network analysis, as well as Real-Time PCR. Two salt-tolerant (Arg) and salt-sensitive (Alamut) cultivated wheat genotypes and Aegilops crassa, as a wild wheat relative, were materials used in this experiment. Seeds imbibing in the dark for 24h at 4°c germinated for 3d at 25°C and were grown hydroponically in half-strength Hoagland solution circulated by air pumps in a stabilized greenhouse at 25oC, with a 16h light/8h dark photoperiod. To distinguish salt stress response from developmental changes in gene expression, an experiment was designed to monitor changes in transcripts in the absence of stress. Three-week-old seedlings were treated with a 0 and 150-mM NaCl solutions in combination with Hoagland solution. Sampling was carried out after treatment at 0h, 12h, and 3w. RNA extraction (Denazist, Mashhad, Iran, S-1020-1) and cDNA synthesis (Fermentas, Ontario, Canada, EP0441) were carried out for real-time RT-PCR according to the manufacturer’s instruction. Normalization of the target gene (BI_85) was carried out based on Actin reference gene. The Pfaffl formula (ratio=2-ΔΔCt) was used to calculate relative expression. Building a network using Pathway studio software was carried to discover another components that have relationships with differentially expression gene (BI-1), which probably are involved in stress-related responses.

BAX Inhibitor was shown to be part of an interaction network that included 26 relationships. For example TED4 which has a relationship with BAX Inhibitor like-1 is implicated in salt acclimation signaling. Some evidence has been offered for the hypothesis that BI-1 probably can be used as a pore or ion channel in the endoplasmic reticulum for calcium handling. The Salt Overly Sensitive (SOS) signaling pathway is a well-recognized signaling pathway known to be essential for acquisition of ion homeostasis. In response to salt stress, a calcium signal activates the SOS pathway by binding to the calcium binding proteins, SOS3 and SCaBP8/CBL10, which in turn activate the protein kinase protein kinase SOS2 to regulate the plasma membrane Na+/H+ antiporter SOS1. According to the regulatory network, this gene may act upstream of the SOS signaling pathway. Promoter analysis were applied using plantcare database to shed light on underlying regulatory mechanism of the BI_85 expression. According to promoter analysis, the presence of stress-responsive regulatory elements such as ABRE (abscisic acid responsive element), LTR (low-temperature responsive element), MBS (MYB binding site involved in drought-inducibility), CGTCA-motif (MeJA- responsive element), TGACG-motif (MeJA- responsive element), ERE (ethylene-responsive element), and GT-1 motif (salt responsive element) in the promoter confirms the role of this gene in environmental stresses tolerance including salinity. It was also figured out that the expression patterns of BI_85 was significantly different between susceptible and salt resistant cultivars in response to salt stress. In more details, after 12h, salt stress induced BI-1 expression in the shoots of Arg and roots of Ae. crassa and reduced it in shoots of Alamut. After 3 weeks, salt stress induced BI-1 expression in the shoots of Arg and reduced it in shoots of Alamut and Ae. crassa.

According to bioinformatics and experimental results, it can be concluded that BI_85 can contribute to salt tolerance in wheat and can be used for genetic manipulation to improve tolerance to stress.

The understanding of salt tolerant mechanisms is crucial for development of varieties with high salinity tolerance. Crop growth is being limited by the osmotic effect of the salt around the root and the toxic effect of the salt within the plant. The osmotic stress has a greater effect on growth rate than the ionic stress. The osmotic stress immediately reduces stomatal conductance with the onset of salinity and is one of the initial causes of a decline in crop growth. As leaf temperature correlate with stomatal conductance, this can be used to asses osmotic stress tolerance in plants. Much of the recent experiment to improve the salt tolerance in wheat has focused on sodium exclusion in plant tissue as a criterion for salinity tolerance but in some work there was no significant relationship between sodium exclusion and salt tolerance. However, pattern of sodium accumulation in shoot is different in wheat cultivar through time. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential use of leaf temperature in screening for salt tolerance and pattern of sodium accumulation through time and its relationship with some physiological characters and salt tolerance.

In this greenhouse experiment, two bread (Arg and Tajan) and a durum (Behrang) wheat cultivars were evaluated in terms of leaf temperature and patterns of Na+ accumulation under three salinity levels (Control, 100 and 200 mM NaCl). Treatments were imposed when the leaf 2 was fully expanded. Leaf temperature of plants were acquired in the greenhouse 6 days after imposing the salt treatments. Plants were harvested after salt treatment every 15 days for 60 days and sodium concentration was measured at each harvest. Chlorophyll content, K+ and Na+ root and shoot and shoot dry weight, 45 days after salt treatment, were measured.

Shoot and root Na+ concentration was increased in response to increasing salinity but in roots this increase was greater than shoots. Salt stress decreased shoot dry weight in bread wheat cultivars (32%) and durum wheat (63%). In the highest salinity level, after 45 days exposure to salt, shoot K+/Na+ ratio was reduced in all genotypes to a similar extent (about 60%) and in this level of salinity higher reduction in chlorophyll content occurred in Behrang (75%) cultivar. Shoot K+/Na+ ratio showed the most reaction to salinity. Differences in leaf Na+ concentration between two bread wheat cultivars was more obvious in 45 days after salt treatments but in other growth stages were less obvious. Results showed that differences between sodium concentrations in two bread wheat cultivar through time, was remarkable 45 days after treatments. At 200 mM NaCl, Arg showed the lowest and non significant increased in leaf temperature (0.87◦ C) but in Tajan (1.74◦ C) and Behrang (4.30◦ C) this increased were significant. Salt concentration of 100 mM NaCl had no effect on leaf temperature in cultivars.

Different patterns of Na+ accumulation may be exist in wheat cultivars through time. Differences in sodium transport rates from roots to shoots may cause different patterns of sodium accumulation through time in wheat. This preferential in early growth stages, stomatal factors is more important than chlorophyll content and as leaf temperature is largely a function of stomatal conductance, this can be used to assess osmotic stress tolerance. Thermography could be acquire accurate technique to distinguish differences in salt tolerance in wheat cultivars. The shoot K+/Na+ ratio, cannot be used as a reliable indicator of salt tolerance in wheat. Greater tissue tolerance in wheat cultivars was associated with prolonged retention of chlorophyll in leaves and this resulted in less reduction in shoot growth.

Soil salinity adversely affects crop productivity and agricultural sustainability in many areas of the world, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. It is estimated that global lost crop production due to salt induced land degradation equals to US$ 27.3 billion annually (Qadir et al., 2014). Social and economic dimentions of salinity stress include employment losses as well as environmental degradation (Butcher et al., 2016). In addition, it is well documented that application of chemical fertilizers usually improve plant performance under saline conditons but results on plant fertilizer requirement under salt affected soils are contrary. While there is little evidence of yield benefits due to fertilizers addition of salinized fields at rates beyond optimal in non-saline conditions, there is enough evidence indicating that soil salinity does not affect or decrease plant fertilizer needs (Hanson, 2006). It is known that the growth inhibition and the adverse effects induced by salinity can be alleviated by proper use of fertilizer and water management, depending on plant species, salinity level, and environmental conditions. However, over nitrogen fertilization may result in soil salinization and negatively affect plant performance. Moreover, the potential for nitrate leaching may increase where moderate to high amounts of salts are present in the soils because plants under salt stress can not absorb and utilize the applied nitrogen as efficiently as the plants not subjected to salinity stress.  Thus nitrogen fertilizer management may need to be modified under arid and semiarid conditions of Yazd peovince with wide range of irrigation water qualities. Accordingly, the objectives of this field study were to (a) elucidate the interactions between nitrogen nutrition and irrigation water salinity and their effects on wheat growth and (b) test the possibility of wheat improvement at saline conditions by applying higher levels of nitrogen fertilizer.

A field experiment was conducted on wheat at Sadooq Salinity Research Station, Ashkezar, Yazd, Iran. The soil at the experimental site was calcareous with 30.92% total nutrient value, sandy loam texture, pH 8.06 and 0.22 % organic carbon. Mean annual temperatue is 18 °C and precipitation is 70 mm. The treatments, five urea application rates (0, 100, 200, 300 and 400 kg ha-1) and three irrigation water qualities (2, 7 , 14 ds/m)), arranged in a randomized complete block design in the form of split plot with three repelications. Consisting 12 rows of wheat, each field plot measured 3* 5 m. All plots received common cultural practices including tillage and fertilizer application. Rgarding typical recommendations and guidelines for this region and soil type (Balali et al., 2000: Moshiri et al., 2015), all fertilizers, except urea that applied in 4 splits, were soil-applied before plnating and included 100 kg ha-1 triple superphosphate, 40 kg ha-1 FeSO4, 40 kg ha-1 ZnSO4, 40 kg ha-1 Mn SO4 and 20 kg ha-1 CuSO4. To model the relationship between plant properties and irrigation water salinity, the data were subjected to different regression models at the probability level of 0.01 and 0.05 with the help of the Sigmaplot software. The analysis of variance for different parameters was done following ANOVA technique. When F was significant at p≤0.05 level, treatment means were separated using DMRT.

The results showed that ura application is necessary for improving wheat yield at all irrigation water salinity levels. While wheat response to nitrogen fertilizer was similar at different salinity levels and followed second order equation, with increasing salinity levels the wheat responded weakly. In addition, the results showed 20 percent increase in wheat nitrogen requirement with increasing salinity leves from 1.88 to 7.22 dS/m while no decrease in wheat graine yiled was found. However, with increasing salinity levels to 16.14dS/m, wheat grain yiled and urea requirement decreased by 20 percent

In conclusion, application of 300kg ha-1 urea for production of 4.5t ha-1 wheat grain yield using irrigatin waters with electrical conductivities of 1.88 to 7.22 dS/m is needed. However, 240kg ha-1 urea is enough for production of 3.6t ha-1 wheat grain yield using irrigation water salinity of 16.14 dS/m.

Salinity stress affects plant growth and productivity, especially in calcareous soils in the central area of Iran. In these areas, increasing soil and water salinity has decreased yield and quality production of corn silage (Zea mays L.) (Dai et al., 2011). Response by corn to salt stress is a complex network affecting almost all processes, including nutrient uptake and metabolism, ion accumulation and photosynthesis. Likewise, corn is known to be very sensitive to micronutrient deficiency such as iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn). This deficiency commonly occurs in calcareous soils. It is believed that applying micronutrient elements such as Fe and Zn which can increase crop production to cope with declining saline condition (Eizadi et al., 2012). In this regard, Taher et al. (2008) found the foliar spray method of Zn and/or Fe increased corn silage compared to soil application method. Therefore, the purpose of the experiments was to evaluate the effect of application methods of Fe and Zn fertilizers on yield and quality of corn silage grown on calcareous soil under saline irrigation water.

A 1-year field experiment was conducted on an agricultural farm located in Arsanjan, Fars province (53° 15' E, 29° 40' N and 1638 m), Iran in 2014. The region represents semi-arid climatic conditions with relatively warm summers and cold winters. The soil was silty clay loam with a pH of 7.7 and an EC of 0.62 dS m-1. Mean Fe and mean Zn were 4.5 and 0.7 ppm, respectively. The experiment was lay-out as factorial based on randomized complete block design in three replications. The treatments consisted of three levels of saline irrigation water (2, 4, and 6 dS m-1) as the main factor and sub-factor was 12 application methods of Fe (source: Fe-Chelate: Sequestrene 138, and Fe-Sulfate) and Zn (source: Zn-Sulfate) fertilizers: T1: No-fertilizer (Control), T2: soil application of Zn-Sulfate, T3: soil application of Fe-Chelate, T4: soil application of Zn-Sulfate accompanied by Fe-Chelate, T5: soil application of Zn-Sulfate accompanied by Fe-Chelate+foliar spray of Zn-Sulfate, T6: soil application of Zn-Sulfate accompanied by Fe-Chelate+foliar spray of Fe-Sulfate, T7: soil application of Zn-Sulfate+foliar spray of Fe-Sulfate, T8: soil application of Fe-Chelate+foliar spray of Zn-Sulfate, T9: soil application of Zn-Sulfate accompanied by Fe-Chelate+seed treatment with Fe-Sulfate, T10: soil application of Zn-Sulfate accompanied by Fe-Chelate+seed treatment with Zn-Sulfate, T11: soil application of Zn-Sulfate accompanied by Fe-Chelate+seed treatment with Fe-Sulfate+foliar spray of Zn-Sulfate, and T12: soil application of Zn-Sulfate accompanied by Fe-Chelate+seed treatment with Zn-Sulfate+ foliar spray of Fe-Sulfate.

Yield and quality of corn silage were significantly (p≤0.01 and 0.05) influenced by saline irrigation water, application method of Zn and Fe fertilizers, and their interactions. Using saline irrigation water decreased corn height by 40%. The highest corn height (141.35 cm) was recorded by soil application of Fe-Chelate accompanied by foliar spray of Zn-Sulfate treatment at 2 dS m-1 treatment. Under saline irrigation water at 2 dS m-1 treatment, foliar spray of Zn-Sulfate accompanied by soil application of Fe- Chelate maximized corn silage (71.77 ton ha-1) up to 34% compared to no-fertilizers method (Table 3). At 6 dS m-1 treatment, the highest Sodium (Na) concentration (4.22%) was obtained by no-fertilizer method. At 2 dS m-1 treatment, the highest potassium concentration (9.55%) was achieved by soil application of Zn-Sulfate, and increased 25.33% compared to No-fertilizer method (Table 4). Likewise, the highest Fe and Zn concentration were achieved by combined fertilizer application method such as soil application of Zn-Sulfate accompanied by Fe-Chelate+seed treatment with Fe-Sulfate, and soil application of Zn-Sulfate accompanied by Fe-Chelate+seed treatment with Fe-Sulfate+foliar spray of Zn-Sulfate. Meanwhile, a strong relationship was observed between Na and chemical composition of corn silage (phosphorus (r=-0.84**), calcium (r=-0.61**), and potassium (r=-0.58**).
It has been reported that high concentrations of salinity caused lower shoot fresh and dry weight in corn. Under saline conditions, the reduced growth of crops has been mainly attributed to the toxic effects of excessive ions such as Na, unbalances of the plant ion problems on nutrient uptake and disturbances, damages on photosynthesis, respiration and physiological functions (Yarami and Sepaskhah, 2015). Hence inhibit translocation of produced assimilates to vegetative phase that finally could result into the growth reduction (Karmollachaab and Gharineh, 2013). On the contrary, corn growth parameter was enhanced by Fe and Zn fertilization under saline irrigation water. The same results were reported by Jokar and Ronaghi (2015) on sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) and Bostani et al. (2015) on corn. Zinc and Fe are essential micronutrients, involved in production of auxin, a natural plant growth hormone, and many other important plant functions. Therefore, application of Zn-Sulfate accompanied by application of Fe- Chelate and Fe-Sulfate fertilization might enhance silage quality through the increase of its content on yield components and decrease stress intensity.

Salinity and micro-nutrient deficiency are the most important factors limiting yield and quality production of corn silage in calcareous soils. It is believed that obtaining improvement of silage quality in many experiments was often the result of applied micro-nutrient such as Zn and Fe elements. Results showed that combined application of Fe and Zn elements compared to separate application method efficiently increased quality and quantity of silage corn under saline irrigation water at 6 dS m-1. Overall, selection and use of the correct fertilizer application methods are important for garneting the silage yield and quality of corn under saline condition and to decrease non-saline water use.

Salinity stress is one of the factors reducing yield and production in crops, horticulture and medicinal plants in the world. One of the suitable solutions for improving salinity tolerance in horticultural products is the use of arbuscular mycorrhiza. They have the stimulant effect of plant growth. They increase resistance to drought stress, salinity, pathogenic agents, soil contamination and heavy metals by increasing the absorption of nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen and some elements of low consumption, increasing water absorption and production of hormones.

In order to evaluate the effect of mycorrhizal fungi on morphophysiological and biochemical characteristics of Mexican marigold (Tagetes minuta) under salinity stress, a pot factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with three replications was performed in the horticulture greenhouse of Agriculture Faculty, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in 2017. The first factor using mycorrhizal fungi at three levels (without inoculation, Rhizophagus intradices and Funnetiformis mosseae) and the second factor included four levels of irrigation with salinity water (0, 40, 80 and 120 mM NaCl. The inoculum of mycorrhiza was mixed before planting the seedlings. Afterwards, the seedlings were transferred to the pot. Saline treatment was started at the four-leaf stage and performed three days a week. Saline treatment was done forty days. Measurement of the traits was performed forty days after beginning stress on the plant. The plant height, number of lateral branches, number of nodes, stem diameter were measured. Also, at the end of the experiment, nitrogen, sodium, potassium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, manganese, zinc, calcium and chlorine were measured.

The results showed that all of the growth characteristics significantly decreased under salinity and application of mycorrhiza cause to adjustment harmful effects of salinity and tolerance of plant to salinity. The highest nodule number (12.89), stem diameter (7.49 mm), height (65.75 cm) and lateral branches number (23.33) were obtained at the treatment without salinity with using mycorrhizal fungus Rhizophagus intradices. Salinity increased the amount of phosphorus, calcium, sodium, chlorine and nitrogen in the leaf and decreased the amount of potassium, manganese, zinc and leaf iron. The highest amount of phosphorus of leaf (8.5 mg / g of leaf dry weight) was observed in the highest salinity stress and application of Funnetiformis mosseae, the highest sodium content (12.33 mg/g leaf dry weight) and chlorine (63.09 mg Kg dry weight of leaves) was observed in 120 mM salinity without mycorrhizal. However, the highest amount of potassium (6.23 mg /g leaf dry weight) was observed in the treatment without salinity and without mycorrhizal application, the highest amount of manganese (143.91 mg/kg dry weight) in 40 mM salinity and application of Funnetiformis mosseae and the highest amount of zinc (7.12 mg/kg dry leaf) were recorded in salt free treatment and application of Funnetiformis mosseae. Salinity stress reduces cell growth through restrictions on the absorption of nutrients, plant nutrient deficiency and toxicity of food elements. In addition, salt stress reduces the production of carbohydrates and thus reduces the growth of various plant components. The higher the salt concentration, the more significant the growth is. Mycorrhizal plants have better growth compared to non-microscopic plants in soil salinity conditions. Mycorrhiza fungus stimulates plant growth by increasing the absorption of nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen, and some elements of low consumption, increasing water absorption and production of plant hormones and increasing plant resistance under stress conditions.

The results showed that all vegetative traits reduced due to salt stress and mycorrhizal application reduce the harmful effects of salinity and increase the resistance of the plant to salinity. Mycorrhizal has an irritating effect on plant growth. Increases plant resistance to salinity by increasing the absorption of nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen and some elements of low consumption, increasing water absorption and production of plant hormones. According to the results of this study, the use of mycorrhizal is an appropriate strategy to increase the resistance to salinity in plants.

Salinity is one of the abiotic stresses that severely curtails the growth and production of agricultural products. Water scarcity makes the use of salty waters for agricultural products not only inevitable but also economically efficient. Salvia nemorosa is a perennial plant that belongs to Lamiaceae family. Given the medicinal value Salvia of plants, this study was performed to assess the effects of sodium chloride salinity on the physiological and morphological properties of Salvia nemorosa.

The study was a randomized block design and was conducted in 2018 using pots at the greenhouse of the Research Center no.1 of the City of Isfahan’s Parks Department. The randomized block design had 4 levels of salinity: 12(control), 50, 75, and 100 mM of sodium chloride and was repeated 5 times. The morphological properties of the plants such as the length and width of the leaves, the plants’ height and the length of the corymbs were measured by a ruler. The number of leaves and corymbs in each bush and the number of flower and seed in each corymb was measured manually. Aerial parts of the plants, under both wet and dry conditions, were measured by a digital scale. In order to measure chlorophyll the method of Li et al. was used. Measuring Prolin leaf was done by the method of Bates et al. and the total phenol was measured by Folin-Ciocalteu. Statistical analysis was done by SAS and the means were compared using the Least Significant Difference (LSD) with alpha levels of 1% and 5%.

The ANOVA results showed significant effect of salinity on the height, the number and the width and length of leaves, the length of corymbs and their number in each bush, the number of flowers in corymbs, the wet and dry weight of the root, the level of chlorophyll a and b and the total chlorophyll and these properties at the level of salinity of 100mM were respectively: 20.56% , 68.95%, 54.41%, 27.97%, 9.19%, 82.85%, 41.45%, 62.31%, 60.47%, 53.84%, 23.13%, 34.09%, 66.66%, 62.5% and 64.7% reduction in comparison with the control sample. Salinity had also a significant effect on the level of Prolin and total phenol and in the sample of 100mM sodium chloride, it showed an increase of 62.5% and 96.17% respectively in comparison with the control sample.  Since the dry weight is an appropriate measure for photosynthesis and growth in plants, the decreasing of the dry weight of the aerial parts and the root of the plant as salinity stresses increase, shows that the plants photosynthesis and growth have decreased in the plants. Accumulation of harmful ions like sodium chloride leads to a decrease in the wet weights of the aerial parts and causes disorder in the metabolism of nutarians.  Reduction of the leaves chlorophyll in salinity stresses is caused by decomposing enzymes. Decreasing of the leaf area can be considered as a defense mechanism in the plant in order for it to reduce the level of transpiration and avoid salinity. Increasing the level of salinity also increases the rate of falling of leaves and decreases the rate of the production of new leaves. Meanwhile, higher salinity causes a decrease in the level of calcium and potassium in the plant, which in turn, results in a decline in growth.  Salinity stress decreases the number of corymbs through disturbing the photosynthesis process in the plant, which in turn, reduces the production of photosynthetic material that is supposed to feed the growing parts of the plants. This reduction will eventually cause the plant to not to achieve its genetic potentials with respect to the number of corymbs. The reduction in the rate of germination leads to a lower number of flowers. Phenolic combinations are parts of the non-enzymatic and antioxidant defense system which inhibit the free radicals. Soil salinity increases the total phenol in some plants which is an advantage in medicinal plants. These plants use Prolin to keep the osmotic pressure and protect the plant against salinity.

Salvia nemorosa combats salinity by osmotic adjustment via increasing of Prolin amino acid and by increasing total phenol and oxidative stress.Therefore it can be concluded that the this plant on salinity levlels up to 50 mM (6.5 ds/m) can tolerate sodium choloride and is sensitive to higher levels of salinity.

Temperature stress during germination and emergence is one of the most important environmental stresses during plant life cycle. All growth stages of a plant, including seed germination and seedlings establishment, are affected by temperature. High temperatures during germination can cause numerous problems for germination or seedling growth. Temperature regulates the germination and seed emergence in the field in three ways: (1) effect on the germination rate and percentage of non-dormant seeds; (2) elimination of the primary and secondary dormancy; and (3) induction secondary dormancy. One of the most important planting problems is thermoinhibition and thermodormancy induction in seeds during warm season. Studies has shown that barley seeds have different levels of primary and secondary dormancy. So paying attention to the reaction of the seeds to the temperature sensitivity during germination is very important. In present study it has been attempted to study the behavior of germination and the induction of secondary dormancy of barley cultivars at various temperatures, especially at high temperatures.

This study was carried out at Seed Research Laboratory of Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. The factors included 15 levels of barley cultivars (Aras, Dasht, Eram, Fajr 30, Jonoob, Karoon, Nike, Nimrooz, Nosrat, Zarjoo, Sahra, Sina, Torkaman, Valfajr and Zahak) and eight levels of germination temperature (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 ºϹ). Germination percentage by average comparison and germination rate was described by fitted segmented model. Seeds germination, death and dormancy induction behavior at high temperature (40ºϹ) was described by placing seeds in different duration of imbibition at 40ºϹ, then transfer them to optimum temperature (20ºϹ) for one week and finally tetrazolium test.

The results showed that there was a significant difference between the cultivars in terms of germination percentage at different temperatures and the highest differences were observed at high temperatures (especially at 35°C). Also germination cardinal temperatures were different between various cultivars. The highest difference was found in the base temperature and optimum temperature of germination, and there was no significant difference between the cultivars in ceiling temperature. Non-germination at high temperature (40ºϹ) was partly due to the induction of secondary dormancy and at some extent related to the seed death after being exposed to high temperatures. The germinability and seed deaths respectively increased and decreased exponentially as duration of seed imbibition at high temperatures increased. On the other hand, induction of secondary seed dormancy followed a normal distribution, so that as imbibition duration at high temperatures increased, the capacity for dormancy induction first increased and then decreased. Of course, these trends differed depending on the cultivar. According to the recent findings, thermodormancy induction in barley seeds is highly dependent on the sensory pathways and biosynthesis of the hormone regulating dormancy and germination, including gibberellin, ethylene, cytokinin and abscisic acid.

In this study, the reaction of germination to temperature in the most important and common cultivars of barley in iran was investigated. There were significant differences between cultivars in terms of reaction to temperature in the germination stage, and each cultivar showed a unique behavior. The temperature sensitivity pattern was different in the cultivars, and the germination reaction of seeds at high temperature had high variance. Present study shows, the cause of non-germination of barley seeds at high temperatures was related to thermoinbition of germination, seed mortality, and dormancy induction. Therefore, in future studies, it is suggestion that particular attention should be paid to the hormonal balance pathways associated with induction of dormancy in the seeds, as well as the gene expression.

Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is a plant that is cultivated for the first time due to the aroma, extra taste and healing properties. In the medical industry, it is used to treat nerve headaches, calming nerves, fever, diarrhea, and anti-nausea and vomiting. One of the serious environmental problems is soil contamination with heavy metals and has negative effects on human health and agricultural lands. Soil pollution to heavy metals is the result of many human activities such as mining, extraction and melting of metals and the using of fertilizers, pesticides and agricultural fungicides, etc. which endangers human health and ecosystems. The major problem with heavy metals is that these inorganic pollutants are not decomposable, in contrast to organic pollutants. Among heavy metals, cadmium is of particular importance due to the high mobility and dynamism in the soil and absorption by the plant. Many of the agricultural soils of the world have been contaminated due to the long-term using of phosphate fertilizers, sewage sludge, etc. with low to moderate concentrations of cadmium. Sodium nitroprusside is one of the compounds recently tested to reduce the effects of stress on plants. Sodium nitroprusside is a nitric oxide-releasing compound whose role in plants has been the subject of many research studies. This compound is red powder and is a plant growth regulator. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of sodium nitroprusside foliar application as a reducing agent on heavy metals stress on growth, vegetative, physiological, antioxidant enzymes and essential oil content of basil plant with different amounts of heavy metal cadmium.

This research to investigate the role of sodium nitroprusside in reducing cadmium toxicity in basil plant in a factorial form in a completely randomized design in 2017-2018 was conducted. The applied factors in this study were included cadmium at 0 (control), 10, 20 and 30 mg.kg-1 soil and sodium nitroprusside solution at 0 (control), 50 and 100 μM. The measured traits were included plant height, plant dry weight, number of leaves per plant, essential oil percent, malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase antioxidant activity, proline and cadmium concentration.

The obtained results showed that cadmium was decreased plant height, plant dry weight, number of leaves per plant, essential oil percent and superoxide dismutase activity, and was increased Proline cadmium and malondialdehyde concentrates. The most effect of cadmium on 30 mg.kg-1 treatment was obtained. It was also observed that Sodium nitroprusside using was increased plant height, plant dry weight, number of leaves per plant, essential oil percent and superoxide dismutase activity, and was decreased Proline, cadmium and malondialdehyde concentrations, in general, the most positive effect was obtained in 100 μM sodium nitroprusside using. Based on the results, sodium nitroprusside foliar application could improve the vegetative properties and reduce malondialdehyde under heavy metal cadmium stress conditions. According to the the results, it can be founded the positive effects of sodium nitroprusside, especially in the presence of cadmium and reducing the negative effects of stress on the basil drug.

It can be concluded that sodium nitroprusside moderates much of the harmful effects of heavy metal cadmium stress in basil plant and improves plant growth under stress conditions. Therefore, in the range of this study results, foliar application of this material on a stressed basal plant can be suggested as a factor for decreasing stress intensity and subsequently increasing yield.