Journal of Research on Crop Ecophysiology
Volume:15 Issue: 1, Winter 2020

In this study population dynamics of dominant leafhoppers of Shahrekord cereal fields in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiyari in four fields was evaluated in a randomized complete block design. Among all fields’ leafhoppers P. alienus had the highest average abundance and E. decipiens had the lowest average abundance between dominant leafhoppers. Leafhopper M. laevis in early-sowing wheat field two peaks of population activity in fourth week of October and fourth week of April respectively were obseved, in late-sowing wheat field one peak of population activity in second week of July, in barley field one peak of population activity in third week of June and in maize field one peak of population activity in first week of July were recorded. Leafhopper P. alienus in early-sowing wheat field three peaks of population activity in first week of November, third week of April and fourth week of June respectively, in late-sowing wheat field one peak of population activity in first week of July, in barley field one peak of population activity in second week of July and in maize field two peaks of population activity in second week of July and third week of September respectively were recorded. Results showed that in late-sowing wheat field, leafhoppers because of cold winter could not settled in this field and were not observed until the end of overwintering. Planting of wheat in early to mid-November can prevent infection by leafhoppers population and thus reduces more damage to crop and decreases viral diseases.

In this study, the effect of burning plant debris on germination and growth of 7 different weed species was investigated. In general, burning plant residues reduced germination and growth rate of 7 studied weed species, but its effect on some was less than other studied species. The chemical effect of smoke depends on the type of weed, so that the chemical effect of smoke reduced the germination of portulaca oleracea and sorrel and increased the germination of wild oats compared to the control, but had no effect on the germination of barley, wild roe deer and leeks. In general, no significant difference was observed between soot and control treatments for germination percentage and germination rate, but fire and fire + soot treatments were significantly different from the control. Therefore, the reason for the reduced germination and germination rate of weeds after burning plant debris is the physical cause (heat) of the fire, not the chemical.

The use of phosphorus solubilising bacteria (PSB) as seed or soil inoculants can potentially enhance P uptake by plants and thereby enhance crop yields. A field study was conducted to investigate the effect of integrated use of PSB and chemical phosphate fertilizer on P uptake and grain yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L., cv. Chamran). Fertilizer treatments comprised four levels of chemical fertilizer (0, 25, 50, and 75 kg P2O 5 ha-1 as ammonium phosphate) and three inoculation rates i.e. 0, 100 and 200 g per 50 kg seed, of Barvar 2 biofertilizer containing P solubilising bacteria (Pseudomonas putida and Pantoea agglomerans). An increase in grain yield and P uptake was found with the increasing rate of mineral phosphorus. Inoculation of bio-fertilizer (Barvar 2) along with lower rate of mineral phosphorus (25 kg P2O5 ha-1) produced maximum grain yield and accumulated maximum phosphorus in grain. There were significant treatment interactions, with evidence of antagonism between P fertilizer and PSB inoculation at their highest rates, particularly in case of grain yield, P uptake and harvest index.

This study was conducted in order to investigate the effect of drought stress on the quantitative and qualitative yield of black seed with meta-analysis method. The research sample included a collection of domestic articles and theses between 1991 and 2021, and a total of 18 articles and theses were found to be appropriate. Of these, 18 articles had a control treatment or no drought stress. 12 articles were in the range of 90-81 and 40-60% and 14 articles were 80-61% of farm capacity. Mean and mean square of 6 traits including seed yield, biological yield, seed protein, seed oil, protein yield and oil yield were extracted. All statistical calculations and graphs were done with Excel software. The results showed that according to the standardized values, the effect of drought stress on grain yield and dry matter yield was significant. Regarding the percentage of oil and percentage of protein, the results showed that the average effect size was not significantly different from the control treatment and therefore drought stress did not have a significant effect on increasing or decreasing the percentage of oil and percentage of protein compared to the control treatment. The standardized values ​​of the effect of drought stress on oil yield were significant compared to the control treatment and the control treatment with 40-60% of crop capacity. There was no significant difference between the control treatment and the 81-90% crop capacity treatment. Combining the data of the investigated experiments with the regression method showed that the reaction of grain yield to drought stress is consistent with the first-order model. With the increase of drought stress up to 40% of the crop capacity, the grain yield decreased linearly. The correlation coefficient between drought stress and black seed yield was 0.46. The correlation results also showed that the relationship between these two dependent and independent variables is significant. The results of this research showed that despite numerous studies on the effect of drought stress on the performance of black seed plant in the country, the results are very diverse and highly scattered. This has led to the fact that the effect of drought stress, especially on the percentage of oil and black seed, is still unclear. As a powerful statistical method, meta-analysis provided a suitable and accurate tool for combining the results of independent experiments and defined specific ranges for the effect of drought stress on the characteristics of black currents. Drought stress has harmful effects on the quality of black seed and it is necessary to think of appropriate solutions to reduce the effect of drought stress on the quality of this valuable medicinal plant.

Mushroom production using lignocellulosic waste is one of the most important recycling processes of agricultural and industrial residues, which, in addition to producing protein foods, will prevent environmental pollution. The present study was conducted in 2021 at the mushroom production center of Islamic Azad University, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch in a completely randomized design with 18 casing soil treatments (casing soil, SMC, vermi SMC, oat, vermi oat, and IAA with different compositions) in 3 replications. The qualitative and quantitative properties of Agaricus blazei mushroom were evaluated. The results indicated that the highest number of fruiting bodies was observed in casing soil treatment + SMC (50:50%) and the highest stipe was in casing soil treatments + oat (70:30%) and casing soil 100. The maximum diameter of the mushroom cap was obtained in casing soil treatments100 and SMC 100 + IAA, and the largest diameter of the mushroom stipe was obtained in casing soil treatment 100. In addition, casing soil treatment + vermi SMC (50:50%) showed the highest amount of nitrogen, protein and the minimum time to first pin-head formation. The highest amount of iron was observed in SMC treatment 100% and the highest amount of zinc was in casing soil treatment + oat (70:30%). Among the investigated treatments, an acceptable yield can be obtained from the substrate containing casing soil + SMC (50:50%), casing soil + oat vermicompost (70:30%), and casing soil + oat (70:30%) indicated promising results in most of the studied traits. SMC has been very effective in the growth of mushroom spawn and stimulation of the mycelium phase due to its rich mineral elements and nutrients required by mushroom spawn. On the other hand, since SMC is one of the important wastes of the mushroom production industry, which is produced in a large volume annually, can be used as a casing soil composition again, which is important in this sense.

One of the best method for presenting both spatial and temporal information in a map is through spatiotemporal maps. In this study, creation of spatiotemporal maps of chemical fertilizer consumption in Iran agriculture has been considered. The necessary primary data of this study,that contained recorded data of the years 1395 to 1399, was obtained from Internet resources and after some modifications with the aid of the t-map package of the R software, final data was converted to spatiotemporal maps. According to the results of this study, the largest chemical fertilizer consumer among Iran provinces was the Khuzestan province that consumed more than 200000 tons per year in the all years considered herein. Other provinces with high fertilizer consumption have been Fars, Golestan, Khorasan-e-Razavi, Mazandartan, and Kermanshahan. Moreover, provinces located in the Iran's central Kavir consumed more chemical fertilizer per unit area of croplands. For example, specific fertilizer consumption of Yazd province is more than  kg ha-1 in this time period. It seems that the farmers of these provinces have tried to compensate for the severe environmental conditions for crop production in these regions by aiding the crops with more chemical fertilizing.