majid amini dehaghi

Dust from cement factories and sand crushers can cause stress by depositing on the leaves. Accordingly, in areas that are often exposed to such problems, it is important to investigate its effect on plant growth and physiology. This experiment was simulated to investigate dust deposition on soybean leaves and their physiological characteristics. The experiment was carried out on soybean [Glycine max</em> (L.) Merr. Var. Hobbit] via factorial in the form of randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications in 2016 and 2017. The factors included the type of dust (cement, clay, and sand), each of them 20 g m-2</sup> at different stages of soybean growth (V3 (third-node), R1 (beginning bloom), R3 (beginning pod) and R5 (beginning seed)). Plant traits measurements included chlorophyll content, stomatal conductance, catalase activity, soluble sugar, chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv</sub>/Fm</sub>), and seed yield. The results proved that dust deposition had significant effects on reducing stomatal conductance, photosynthetic pigments, Fv</sub>/Fm</sub>, and soybean yield. Finally, the use of cement dust from stage V3 led to a significant reduction in some traits. In this treatment, the amount of damage was higher with the increase of dust deposition period.

Thymus fallax Fisch. & C.A.Mey. is one of the medicinal plants of the Lamiaceae family, which aerial part contains valuable phytochemical compounds such as thymol and carvacrol.

This study was performed for assessing the essential oil diversity of different populations of Thymus fallax in its habitats.

The populations of Thymus fallax were collected from its natural habitats in Alborz, Tehran, Zanjan, Mazandaran, and North Khorasan provinces. Their essential oils were extracted by hydro-distillation method and the compounds were identified using GC and GC-MS.

The result indicated that the essential oil content of populations was on average 1.71 %, the highest percentage of which was observed in the population of Migoun(2.58 %), Chelcheshmeh (2.35 %), and Ghormehdareh (2.25 %), and the lowest was obtained in Dizin (1.05 %) and Ira (1.15 %). Overall, 30 essential oil compounds were identified, comprising 95 % of the total essential oil, of which carvacrol, thymol, p-cymene, and geraniol were the major constituents, accounting for 75 % of the essential oil. Five groups of thyme population were identified using cluster analysis, including the first group with high content of carvacrol, the second group with high content of geraniol, the third group with high content of thymol and carvacrol, the fourth group with high content of thymol, and the fifth group with high content of thymol, carvacrol and geraniol.

The high amounts of essential oil, carvacrol and thymol in some populations were valuable results that can be considered in future and breeding studies.

For centuries, medicinal, functional, and nutraceutical herbs have been used for food and medicinal purposes. Lallemantia species are versatile and can be used for lightening, varnish, painting, food, and medicine. The genus is distributed in several countries, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, China, Syria, Iraq, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, and some European countries. Lallemantia iberica belongs to the Labiatae family, which has about 220 genera and almost 4000 species worldwide, with 46 genera and 410 species and subspecies in Iran. Dragon’s head seed is a good source of polysaccharides, fiber, oil, and protein, with medicinal, nutritional, and human health properties. Its high mucilage content allows it to absorb water quickly, producing a sticky, turbid, and tasteless liquid, which can be used as a novel food hydrocolloid in food formulations. Given the increasing consumption and high economic value of dragon’s head medicinal plants, research on planting factors of this plant is necessary. The aim of this study was to evaluate some traits, such as grain yield, oil yield, percentage, and mucilage yield of five dragon’s head medicinal plant accessions.

The experiment was carried out in the research farm of Lorestan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Training Center in the 2018 crop year. The research farm's geographical coordinates are longitude 48°35′N and latitude 33°48′E, elevation above sea level is 1147.8 meters, average rainfall is 525 mm, and average temperature is 14.13 °C. Khorramabad region has a subtropical climate with hot and dry summers and a temperate climate based on long-term statistics. The experiment was performed on a randomized complete block design with three replications, including five dragons’ head accessions (Takab, Kaleibar, Kurdistan, Nazarkahrizi, and Jolfa). Traits evaluated included grain yield, biochemical traits, and photosynthetic pigments. Data analysis was done using SAS 9.1 statistical program, and means were compared using Duncan's multiple range test at the 5% probability level.

Analysis of variance showed that grain yield, oil yield, mucilage yield, 1000-grain weight, biological yield, and harvest index were affected by mass. According to the comparison, the highest mean of grain yield, oil yield, biological yield, and mucilage yield were obtained in Kaleibar mass and ranked next in Takab mass. The lowest grain and oil yield were obtained in Julfa mass. In the dryland conditions of Khorramabad region, Kaleibar massif was superior to other masses in terms of the studied traits. Correlation analysis in rainfed conditions showed that grain yield had the highest correlation coefficient with oil yield, mucilage yield, and biological yield. Pearson correlation between the studied traits and grain yield showed a significant correlation between grain yield and oil yield, mucilage yield, biological yield, and harvest index. Grain yield also correlated significantly with oil content, mucilage percentage, 1000-grain weight, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoids. The highest positive and significant correlation was observed between chlorophyll b content and total chlorophyll content.

The study found that mass had a significant effect on the evaluated traits.ConclusionThe study found that mass had a significant effect on the evaluated traits.  The highest grain mucilage yield, grain oil, biological yield and also grain yield were observed in Kaleibar mass and then in Takab mass. There was a significant difference with other dragon’s head accessions. The lowest grain yield, mucilage yield, grain oil yield and biological yield were also obtained in Julfa massif. According to the experimental findings, in dryland conditions of Khorramabad region, Kaleibar mass are suitable for cultivation first and then Takab mass and have acceptable yield and can be recommended for cultivation in similar conditions.

Plants often encounter unfavorable conditions, which interrupts their growth and productivity. Among the various abiotic stresses, drought is the major factor that limits crop productivity worldwide. Shortage of water causes drought that is the most dangerous hazard to food security all over the world. Because water supply is limited all over the world, food demand becomes a major problem. Priming of plant seeds is an easy, low-cost, low-risk, and effective approach to improve plant tolerance under stressful environment. . Priming of plant seeds is an easy, low-cost, low-risk, and effective approach to improve plant tolerance under stressful environments. In nutrient priming, seeds are pretreated (primed) in solutions containing the limiting nutrients instead of being soaked just in water. The physico-chemical and anti-oxidative properties of selenium (Se) have raised the curiosity of biologists in recent past. Research shows that selenium promotes the plant growth and may act as heavy metal opponent as it is a necessary micronutrient with some physiological and anti oxidative properties. However, for plants, studies has shown that although low concentrations of selenium can effectively promote plant growth, high concentrations of selenium have a significant toxic effect on plants.

Thus in order to investigate different concentrations of selenium (Na2Seo4) on antioxidant properties and photosynthetic pigments of quinoa under experimental drought stress conditions with 5 levels of selenium priming with sodium selenate source (0.5, 1.5, 3, 4.5 and 6 mg l-1), and two levels of hydropriming without priming and three levels of drought stress using polyethylene glycol (PEG) (0.4, 0.8 and 1.2 MPa) with three replications in Seed Technology Laboratory of Shahed University of Agricultural Sciences was conducted in 1398. Measured traits include antioxidant enzymes including catalase, superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, and photosynthetic pigments, proline, and protein. Statistical analysis of the data included analysis of variance using AS 9.1 software and comparison of mean of traits evaluated by LSD test at 5% probability level.

The results showed that the application of drought and prime stress with sodium selenate had a positive and significant effect on antioxidant enzymes, photosynthetic pigments, proline and protein content. Seed priming with sodium selenate increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes including catalase, superoxide dismutase and ascorbate peroxidase under drought stress. Based on the results under stress conditions, protein content and photosynthetic pigments showed a decreasing trend and prime with sodium selenate slowed down this decreasing trend. The highest amount of proline in stress of 1.2 MPa and prime with sodium selenate with a concentration of 4.5 mg l-1 showed a 66% increase compared to drought stress of 0.4 MPa and no priming.

Due to its antioxidant properties, selenium has an effective role in increasing plant tolerance to adverse environmental effects.To determine the optimum concentration and priming time of quinoa seed by selenium, a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design with three replications was carried out in the Shahed University Tehran/Iran in 2019. Experimental treatments included was different concentrations of Selenium in six levels (0, 0.5, 1.5,3,4.5,6 mg/l) and the second factor was priming time in four levels (0, 8, 12 and 24hours). The results showed Simple and interaction effect of experimental treatments on traits on germination percentage, was significant (p<0.01) on germination percentage, germination rate, mean germination time, mean daily germination, daily germination rate, germination rate coefficient, seedling length, seedling dry weight, index Longitudinal vascular length and seedling vigor weight index. Across all with the concentration of selenium increased From 0 to 3 mg / L, a significant increase was observed in most of the mean traits and with increasing selenium concentration above 3 mg / L, there was a decreasing trend in the mean traits. The highest percentage of germination (96.33) at a concentration of 3 mg / l selenium for 8 hours showed an increase of 23.5% compared to the control treatment. Also, the highest mean germination time was 6 mg of selenium and 24 hours of priming had an increase of 41.3% compared to the control treatment. Therefore, in order to improve the germination of quinoa, better results can be obtained by priming the seeds using selenium.

Soil salinity causes major losses in crop production, especially in arid and semi-arid regions where 110 million out of 270 million ha of irrigated lands are located. Salinity is becoming more extensive as a result of land clearing and unsustainable irrigation and salinity management practices, as well as increasingly by bringing marginal lands into production. Priming is one of the effective methods to improve seed germination and seedling establishment in stressful environmental conditions such as salinity. Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is the most important oil seed crop from Asteraceae family. These plants are usually preferred in arid and semi-arid regions under rain-fed conditions, where low rainfall and high evapotranspiration during vegetation periods restricts the growth of crop plants. Under these conditions, drought and salinity are the major abiotic stresses that severely inhibit germination, seedling establishment and plant growth; consequently, seed yield decreases. The purpose of this experiment was to investigate the effect of salicylic acid and potassium nitrate pretreatments on germination components, growth characteristics, photosynthetic pigments and proline of two safflower cultivars under salinity stress.

In order to investigate the effect of salicylic acid and potassium nitrate on germination and photosynthetic indices of two safflower cultivars under salinity stress, a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications in the Seed Technology Laboratory of Shahed University of Agricultural Sciences in 2018. Experimental factors include safflower cultivars of Sofeh Isfahan and Goldasht cultivars, priming at three levels of control (distilled water), salicylic acid 0.5 mM and potassium nitrate 0.3% and salinity stress caused by Qom Lake salt at four levels of 0, 5, 10 and 15 dS/m, respectively.

The results showed that increasing the salinity of salt (sodium chloride) decreased the seed germination characteristics, relative water content and photosynthetic pigments and increased proline content. In Sefeh cultivar, the highest amount of germination components such as germination percentage (90%), germination rate (9.16 seeds per day), root length (25 mm), stem length (49.5 mm) Seedling fresh weight (1.25 g) and seedling dry weight (0.14 g) were obtained in the absence of salinity stress and application of salicylic acid. Also, under stress conditions of 15 dS/m and salicylic acid treatment, Sefeh cultivar had significant germination and growth. Salicylic acid pretreatment under salinity stress reduces the negative effects of salinity stress, thus increasing the germination percentage and seedling growth indices. Pretreatment of potassium nitrate increased photosynthetic pigments in Sefeh cultivar of Isfahan under salinity stress. Using cost-effective seed priming can improve seed germination components for growth in salinity conditions.

The results showed that salinity stress reduced the percentage and rate of germination, root and shoot length, fresh and dry weight of seedlings in both safflower cultivars. Negative effects of salinity stress on physiological parameters included reduction of photosynthetic pigments. Also, salinity stress affected the amount of proline in the contract and increased the amount of this trait. Sefeh cultivar under salinity stress with salicylic acid application had better tolerance than Goldasht cultivar. It is suggested that the quantitative and qualitative traits of safflower cultivars be evaluated under field conditions under salinity and priming to yield stages and yield components. To be able to more confidently recommend suitable cultivars in areas with saline soils.

In order to study the foliar application of melatonin on plants grown from safflower in different seed qualities under drought condition, two field experiments have been carried out at research farm of Aburaihan Campus, University of Tehran, between 2017 and 2018 growing seasons. The experimental design is split-factorial in a randomized complete block design with four replicates, with the treatments being consisted of two levels of drought stress (1- normal irrigation (no-stress) and 2- irrigation after reaching 85% of soil moisture depletion of field capacity at flowering stage (drought stress)), in the main plots. The subplots include 4 treatments, including a factorial combination of seed quality (stored seed and recently harvested seeds) and foliar application (the control and melatonin foliar application). Results from these experiments illustrate that melatonin foliar application has significantly increased the seed yield of stored seed by 589Kg.ha-1, compared to the control. It is also shown that SOD and CAT activities have been increased in response to melatonin in plants grown from recently-harvested seeds under drought condition. Furthermore, it is indicated that foliar application of melatonin decrease the amount of leaf soluble proteins by 28% in plants grown from recently-harvested seeds under drought conditions. According to the results, the amount of malondialdehyde is decreased by 37% in plants grown from recently-harvested seeds by foliar application of melatonin under drought conditions. It seems that seed quality has an enormous influence on grown plants and that using melatonin may play a substantial role in ameliorating the injuries derived from stress on safflower plant.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of foliar application of polyamine compounds on seed and oil yields and fatty acids production in safflower under deficit irrigation stress. A split plot experiment based on randomized complete block design with four replications was conducted in the research farm of College of Agriculture, Shahed University in 2016-2017. Treatments were irrigation at two levels (normal irrigation and deficit irrigation (irrigation after 50 and 75% depletion of field capacity, respectively) as the main factor and foliar application of polyamine compounds at 10 levels (foliar application with water as control and foliar application with putrescine, spermidin and spermin at 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 mM concentrations) as secondary factor. At each irrigation level, the putrescine foliar application significantly increased seed and oil yields, harvest index, water use efficiency and oleic acid. Increased levels of putrescine and spermin foliar application ranged from 0.05 to 0.2 mM under deficit irrigation stress conditions resulted in 40.4% and 38.3%, increase in the biological yield respectively, compared to control. Also, foliar application of the highest concentration of spermin (i.e. 0.2 mM) under water deficit stress significantly increased total yield of unsaturated fatty acids and reduced the percentage of palmitic acid. Spermidine foliar application significantly increased linoleic acid yield in safflower oil under water deficit conditions. It can be concluded that foliar application of polyamine compounds can increase seed and oil yields and water use efficiency and improve the quality of safflower oil in deficit irrigation conditions.

Drought stress is a major constraint to agricultural productivity all around the world. Drought is the most significant threat to global food security. Food demand becomes a huge issue because water supply is restricted around the planet. Plant seed priming is a simple, low-cost, low-risk, and effective way to boost plant tolerance under stressful situations.In nutrient priming, seeds are pretreated (primed) in solutions containing the limiting nutrients instead of being soaked just in water. Microelements, which are required in very small quantities, play important roles in improving crop productivity and quality. Oxidative stress is caused by the formation of active oxygen species (ROS) in response to water stress. Antioxidant enzymes are regarded to be the "first line of defense" against reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by a variety of environmental injury species. Selenium's strategies for decreasing the effects of drought are mostly anti-antioxidant defense activation. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) is a stress-tolerant pseudo cereal that has been cultivated for over 7000 years in the Andes, in a variety of environments, with Peru and Bolivia being the main producers. Quinoa is a high-protein food (12-16.5 percent), with protein quality comparable to casein. Furthermore, this "wonder grain" is gluten-free and high in bioactive substances such as antioxidants, polyphenols, flavonoids, vitamins, and minerals that imparts various health benefiting characteristics to this grain. Quinoa plants, including seeds and leaves, can be eaten to provide nutrition to humans and animals. Quinoa is also great for digestion because it has twice the amount of nutritional fibre as other cereals.

Thus a factorial experiment in a completely randomised design with three replications was conducted in the Seed Technology Laboratory, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Shahed University in 2020 to investigate the effect of sodium selenite pre-treatment on germination indices and prolin content of quinoa plants under drought stress. The variables in the experiment Include four levels of sodium selenite (0.5, 1.5, 3, 4.5, and 6 mg/lit), two levels of hydroprimind and no priming, and three levels of drought stress induced by polyethylene glycol (0.4, 0.8, and 1.2 MP). Germination percentage (GP), mean germination time (MGT), germination speed (GR), and SVI: seedling longitudinal index, seedling length, changes in the number of photosynthetic pigments, and proline content, and Catalase enzyme levels were among the traits that were assessed. Statistical analysis of the data included analysis of variance using AS 9.1 software and comparison of the mean of traits evaluated by LSD test at 5% probability level.

The results showed that prime with selenium and drought stress had a significant effect on most germination traits and photosynthetic pigments, proline levels and catalase enzyme. Prime with selenium at its proper concentration led to the early emergence of seedlings in drought-tolerant conditions, but showed an inhibitory effect by increasing the concentration of selenium and increasing the levels of drought stress. Pre-treatment with selenium at 30 mg / L showed the highest percentage of germination (94%) with a 58% increase compared to non-priming and severe stress treatment. Also, seedlings that were primed with selenium had more photosynthetic pigments than non-priming and hydrophilicity under stress. The highest levels of proline and catalase were observed in extreme stress conditions with molar concentrations of 1.5 and 1.5 mg/lit, respectively. As a result, seed priming with selenium can be used to boost quinoa seedling germination and early growth under field circumstances.

In order to study the effect of nitrogen fertilizer treatments on yield traits, essence percentage, and the amount of nitrogen in cumin stem and leaves under different irrigation regimens, an experiment has been conducted as split plot based on randomized complete block design with three replications in the 2016-2017 crop season at the Research Field of Agriculture Faculty, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran. In this experiment, the main plot is consisted of different irrigation regimes at three levels (no stress, mild stress or irrigation based on draining 40% of available water, and severe stress or irrigation based on draining 80% of available water) and the subplot includes four levels of nitrogen fertilizer treatments (100% and 50% fertilizer recommendation of nitrogen (urea), seed stained biofertilizer application (Nitroxin), and combination treatment of biofertilizer and 50% fertilizer recommendation nitrogen). The results show that increasing deficit irrigation at a mild level and, above that, at a severe level, while increasing the percentage of essence, has had a significant negative effect on yield and yield components, total chlorophyll, shoot nitrogen concentration, and essence yield. Application of combination nitrogen fertilizer (urea + Nitroxin) while increasing the yield and yield components of Cumin, increase the percentage and yield of essence, and shoot nitrogen concentration, generally causing the most desirable quantitative and qualitative yield of Cumin.

Drought is one of the most common environmental stresses that contributes to the growth and development of plants and is a major factor in reducing the production of products. Priming is a simple technique that improves seedling establishment and plant efficiency in farms. Seed priming has proved beneficial in improving the germination metabolism and early stand establishment of crops under normal and stress conditions .Salicylic acid (SA) plays an important role in abiotic stress tolerance, and more interests have been focused on SA due to its ability to induce a protective effect on plants under adverse environmental conditions. salicylic acid (SA), an endogenous plant growth regulator has been found to generate a wide range of metabolic and physiological responses in plants thereby affecting their growth and development. Quinoa is a grain-like plant with high nutritional value and tolerance to abiotic stresses such as heat, cold and drought stress. Food quinoa importance due to the perfect combination of amino acids, calcium, phosphorus, iron and sodium low.

Thus in order to investigate the effect of Salicylic acid pre-treatment on germination indices of quinoa plant under drought stress, a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications in Seed Technology Laboratory, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Shahed University in 1397.The experimental factors Includes salicylic acid at four levels (0, 50, 100 and 150 mM) and drought stress caused by polyethylene glycol at four levels (0, -4-, 8-, -12 bar) and the quinoa plant varieties (cultivars and varieties Giza1 Titicaca). The measured traits including germination percentage (GP), mean germination time (MGT), germination speed (GR), and germination coefficient (GC), SVI: seedling longitudinal index, SVI: weight index of seedling bud, root length, stem length, stem fresh weight, stem fresh root and seedling dry weight, and changes in the amount of photosynthetic pigments. Statistical analysis of the data included analysis of variance using AS 9.1 software and comparison of mean of traits evaluated by LSD test at 5% probability level.

Analysis of variance showed that salicylic acid pre-treatment, drought stress and their interaction had a significant effect on germination indices and photosynthetic pigmentation and medicinal plant varieties quinoa. With increasing drought stress, the germination characteristics of quinoa plants decreased and the use of salicylic acid improved the seed germination properties of quinoa seeds and salicylic acid application improved germination characteristics of quinoa seeds. The highest germination percentage (98 percent) and its effective traits were obtained from seed soaking with salicylic acid with maximum concentration (1.5 mM) and low levels of drought stress. Longitudinal index and weight of seedling vigor was decreased at high concentrations of salicylic acid and high levels of drought stress. On the other hand, consumption of one and one and a half mM of salicylic acid increased the amount of chlorophyll and carotenoids and increased tolerance of this plant to drought stress. The highest amounts of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll were observed under drought stress conditions and 1.5 mol / mol of salicylic acid and Titicaca cultivar.

Safflower oil is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids that is important for health. Drought stress can severely decrease the productivity and oil quality of safflower. Thus, in order to study the effect of hydropriming and melatonin-seed-priming on fatty acid composition and yield of Safflower under water deficit conditions a field experiment was carried out as split-factorial in a randomized complete block design with four replicates during 2017 and 2018 growing seasons. The oil concentration of the safflower seeds was determined by soxhlet extraction method. Fatty acids of safflower’s oilseed were transformed to their methyl esters (FAME), and a gas chromatograph equipped with a flame ionization detector (FID) was used for determination of fatty acids. The results indicated that melatonin-seed priming increased grain yield, HI and oil yield of safflower under drought condition. Drought stress led to a significant decrease in oil yield, and recently harvested seeds had higher oil yield across both years. The highest amount of oil yield was obtained by hydropriming on seeds which had been stored for 8 years, and recently harvested seeds with 576.50 and 645.57 kg.ha−1, respectively under no-stress condition. Melatonin-seed-priming improved the oil quality of safflower under drought with an increase of unsaturated fatty acids of safflower especially omega 6 and omega 3. Melatonin-seed priming increased the amount of ∑PUFA, ∑UFA/∑SFA, P/S and DBI across both years in comparison with unprimed seeds. Seed priming improved the quality of oil and productivity in both recently harvested and stored seeds. It can be concluded that melatonin-seed priming improved the productivity, oil content and composition especially in stored seeds and under drought stress.

Water and nitrogen deficits are the most important limiting factors for plant growth and crop production in the world. Drought stress would be amplified by the global warming. Moreover, nitrogen scarcity is occurred in most arid and semi-arid areas. Cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) is an important plant due to export benefits and low water demand. This study was aimed to evaluate nitrogen fertilizer effect on yield and some physiological characteristics of cumin under different irrigation regimens.

The experiment was performed based on a split plot as randomized complete block design. Experiment treatments were irrigation regimens (field capacity, irrigation by draining 40% of soil water as middle stress, and irrigation by draining 80% of soil water as severe stress) and nitrogen fertilizers (60 kg ha-1 urea, 30 kg ha-1 urea, Nitroxin, and Nitroxin + 30 kg ha-1 urea).

Drought stress reduced cumin dry weight, seed yield, and chlorophyll content. In contrary, proline content, malondialdehyde (MDA) rate, phenol content, anthocyanin amount, and activity of catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POX) increased by water stress. Increment urea use resulted in amending cumin growth and seed yield in the field capacity. Also, nitrogen use and raising its rate under the middle water stress caused to improve cumin drought tolerance. However, under the severe water stress, nitrogen application had not a significant impress on drought acclimation and seed yield.

Nitroxin inoculation with use of 30 kg ha-1 urea was the most effective treatment to ameliorate seed yield and drought tolerance.

Evaluation the effect of drought stress and foliar nutrition of iron nano-chelate and fulvic acid on grain yield and fatty acids composition in seed oil of two sesame cultivars was conducted during a factorial split-plot experiment based on randomized complete block design with three replicates in 2017 in the Research Farm Shahed University of Tehran. The experimental factors included drought stress in three levels: full irrigation as control, irrigation up to 50% seed ripping, and flowering, as well as four treatments of foliar nutrition by iron nano-chelate and fulvic acid in Dashtestan and Halil cultivars. The results showed that the drought stress reduced grain yield and also, seed oil content. The highest grain yield was observed in full irrigation (2303.3 kg/ha) and the co-application of iron nano-chelate and fulvic acid (2246.4 kg/ha). Halil cultivar had the highest mean of the total number of capsules (81.19), number of seeds per plant (4786.1), 1000-grain weight (3.21 g), grain yield (2172.7 kg/ha), and biological yield (13534.6 kg/ha) in compared with Dashtestan. The highest oil and protein yield were observed in full irrigation and irrigation up to 50% seed ripping. Irrigation cut off at 50% flowering and seed ripping had the highest oleic and linoleic fatty acids compared to the control treatment, but the highest palmitic and stearic fatty acids were obtained in full irrigation treatment (10.86 and 10.73%, respectively). Halil and Dashtestan cultivars had the highest unsaturated and saturated fatty acids, respectively.

Drought is a major environmental stress affecting plant morphology, physiology, and biochemistry. Two management strategies for controlling drought stress include the use of nutrients and planting resistant plants. Chitosan, known as elicitors, is considered a natural biopolymer modified from chitin, which is the main structural component of squid pens, cell walls of some fungi and crab shells. Nanotechnology provides a new interdisciplinary venture into agriculture and food sciences by converging science and engineering. In addition, nanoparticles have potential applications in agriculture system, viz., the pollutants detection, plant diseases, pests, and pathogens, controlled delivery of pesticide, fertilizers, nutrients, and genetic material, and can act as nano architects in forming and binding soil structure. Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is a source of excellent vegetable oil (35-63%). Sesame is considered as drought tolerant crop, the productivity is heavily affected by severe drought stress mainly when it occurs during anthesis. Restricted water resources are considered as a limiting factor for irrigation applications around the world. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the changes in the quality and yield traits of two sesame genotypes under drought stress and foliar application of chitosan and phosphorus nano-chelate in second cultivation.

The present study was conducted to investigate the changes in the quality and yield traits related to two sesame genotypes under irrigation cut-off and foliar application of chitosan and phosphorus nano-chelate in the second cultivation at research field of Shahed University in Tehran, Iran, during 2015-16 and 2016-17. The experiment was conducted during a two-year factorial split plot experiment based on completely randomized block design with three replications. The research farm is located at geographical characteristics of latitude 31° and 36’ and longitude 48° and 53’ and the height of this area from sea level is equal to 1050 m. The experimental factors including irrigation treatments at normal irrigation as control (non-stress), mild stress (irrigation cut-off at 50% seed ripping) and severe stress (irrigation cut-off at 50% flowering) were in the main plots and spraying treatments including non-spraying (control), phosphorus nano-chelate (2 ppt), chitosan (3 g.L-1), and the combination of phosphorus nano-chelate + chitosan and Oltan, and Naz single branch sesame cultivars were in the subplots. Number of capsules per plant, number of grain per plant, 1000-grain weight, grain yield, biological yield, oil percentage and yield, and fatty acids composition (oleic, linoleic, palmitic, and stearic contents) was investigated.

The results showed that the highest 1000-grain weight was obtained in the first year of experiment and Oltan genotype (3.10 g) and the lowest mean was in the first year in Naz single branch genotype (2.51 g). The highest grain yield was observed in the second year of the experiment under without stress and mild stress conditions (irrigation up to seed ripening) and foliar application of phosphorus nano-chelate alone or combined with chitosan. In general, between different levels of irrigation treatments, severe stress (irrigation up flowering) resulted in a significant reduction in the grain yield, but mild drought stress (irrigation up to seed ripening), especially in terms of using chitosan and nano-fertilizer compounds, had a good grain yield. In the interactions effects of the year in drought stress, the highest seed oil percentage was obtained in the non-drought stress (normal irrigation) during the second year of the experiment (57.02%) and the lowest mean of this trait was observed in the second year under severe drought stress condition. Compared to the two cultivars, the highest oil yield was in Naz single branch cultivar (858.4 kg/ha) and the lowest mean of Oltan cultivar (731.7 kg/ha) was observed. The highest amount of saturated fatty acids (palmitic and stearic) was achieved in Oltan cultivar under non-foliar aplication. In contrast, the lowest content of linoleic fatty acid (unsaturated fatty acid) was observed in this treatment. In general, the application of phosphorus nano-chelate with chitosan increased the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of sesame seed yield and resulted in increased growth and quality growth factors in drought stress conditions. Summer planting of sesame plant is recommended in warm and dry climatic conditions (with end session drought stress) along with chitosan and phosphorus nano fertilizer.

Based on the aim of this research, the results showed that planting both Oltan and Naz single branch cultivars in the south Tehran climatic after wheat harvesting (as the second crop) had favorable results for grain and oil yield. In general, the results showed that co-application of phosphorus nano-chelate and chitosan fertilizers under mild drought stress (irrigation up to seed ripening) resulted in the moderate negative effect of drought stress and produced grain and oil yield. Also, the cultivation of this plant in warm and dry climates (similar to southern Tehran) under the mentioned conditions (co-application of phosphorus nano-chelate and chitosan fertilizers) is recommended under limited irrigation conditions (end of season drought stress).

In order to investigate the effect of humic and fulvic acid on physiological properties of seedling Echinacea purpurea under salinity, a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications at Seed Technology Laboratory Shahed University in year 2016. The treatments experiment included salinity at four levels (0, 4, 8 and 12 ds/m), humic acid in three levels (0, 200 and 400 mg/lit) and fulvic acid at three levels (0, 200 and 400 mg/lit). The studied traits included germination percentage, relative water content, chlorophyll a, b and total content, carotenoid, proline and protein content. According to the results of analysis of variance, interaction effect of humic acid, fulvic acid and salinity had a significant effect on traits except the relative water content. The highest germination percentage was obtained by application of humic acid 200 mg/lit and fulvic acid 400 mg/lit with an average of 75.55% in salinity. According to the results of this study, humic acid has the most effect on the of soluble compounds content, as long as the fulvic acid concentration is 200 mg/lit or zero, it is possible to see the increase of soluble compounds at the levels of humic acid. The concentration of 400 mg/lit humic acid in the absence of fulvic acid and lack of salt stress had the highest chlorophyll total content. Salinity stress reduced seed germination of Sarkhargol, Application of Humic Acid and fulvic Acid Effects Caused by Salt Stress, though slightly improved.

Cumin, due to its food and medicinal properties, is one of the important plant species in the world. Moreover, water and nutrition deficiencies are serious abiotic stress factors. So, this experiment was conducted with the aim of investigating the effects of sulfur and foliar application of Fe and Zn on yield and biochemical characteristics of cumin under irrigation regimes.

The experiment was conducted as a split plot on the basis of a completely randomized block design during the 2016-2017 growing seasons with three replications. Experimental factors were arranged in irrigation regimes as main plots at three levels (I1: No stress (control), I2: irrigation based on 40% available water discharge, I3: 80% available water discharge) and foliar application of Zinc (Zn) and Iron (Fe) as subplots [F1: control (water-soluble), F2: Iron, F3: Zinc, F4: Zinc and Iron chelate] and sub-sub plots including sulfur fertilizer [S1: control (no use of sulfur), S2: sulfur fertilizer with Thiobacillus].

Analyzed data showed that total phenol content and flavonoids were enhanced with the increase of drought intensity and the maximum amount was recorded under I3, while I3 caused a substantial reduction in grain yield. Flavonoid and grain yield significantly increased in F4. Total phenol content was the highest in F2 and F3 treatments. Application of sulfur fertilizer resulted in a significant increase in peroxidase, phenol and flavonoids. The highest amount of peroxidase was obtained in I3F4 and I3F3. The largest total soluble sugar (TSS) was resulted by I3S2 and the least by I1S1. Foliar application of Zn and Fe with sulfur fertilizer increased TSS.

The present study suggests that foliar application of Fe and Zn and sulfur fertilizer can improve the injurious effects of water deficiency on cumin plant through alteration in yield and biochemical characteristics.

Kelussia odoratissima Mozaff. (keluss), is an endemic medicinal herb in the central Zagros region of Iran. Due to its excessive harvesting in the early vegetation period and the relatively long time required for seed establishment and production, this plant does not have the opportunity to regenerate and produce seed and is exposed to extinction. Keluss has two groups of essential oils and flavonoids. Flavonoids are one of the important components of the plant that have anti-inflammatory, antiviral, anti-diabetes and anti-cancer effects. The most important ingredient in the essential oil of keluss is butylidene dihydrophthalide, as well as butylamine phthalide. Phthalides are found mainly in plant seeds. The main fatty acids of the plant are petroselinic acid, linoleic acid and palmitic acid. The aerial parts of the keluss have properties such as anti-inflammatory, analgesic, rheumatic treatment and blood purification in traditional medicine. Keluss has antioxidant and and tissue protection effects. In this article, the plant is reviewed from various aspects such as botanical characteristics, cultivation and production, uses in traditional medicine and clinical research.

IntroductionDrought is one of the most important environmental stresses that influence various growth steps of the plant including germination, plantlet establishment, and production all over the world (Bacilar et al., 2007; Ben Ahmad et al., 2009). Drought stress has significantly increased in recent years because of changes in climate and increasing CO2 levels. Therefore, identification of the resistant plant varieties against drought stress in a necessity. Investigation the enabling mechanisms of plants to adapt to drought stress and protect their growth in that condition can help to select the resistant plants against drought stress to be cultivated in dry and semi-dry regions. Identification of the physiological mechanisms Lentil with the scientific name of Lens culinaris is from leguminous, one-year, long-day, self- pollinated, and diploid family (2n=14) with mean 5.28% protein. Lens culinaris is resistant to drought. Materials and methods12 Lens culinaris genotypes (Table 1) were examined in rainfed and deficit irrigation conditions in 2015-2016 agricultural years as the split spots based on randomized complete block designs with three repetitions whose main irrigation factor was in 2 levels (rainfed and deficit) and the secondary factor of genotypes in two individual Ardabil agriculture research stations and central part of Germi city in different conditions and climates to evaluate the genetic varieties of Lens culinaris cultivars, screening the quantitative indexes of resistance against drought, and identification of the resistant cultivars against drought. All plots were simultaneously irrigated in two steps of flowering and pot filling in 10ml in deficit irrigation treatment in each region and weren’t irrigated in stress treatment or rainfed and just raining was used up to the end of harvest. Each test unit was made of 4 cultivation line with 4m length, 30cm row distance, and 133 bushes in each row. Hand weeding was done in several steps to fight with weeds. Each genotype is harvested in proportion to its physiological consideration. In this step, two edge lines and 0.5m of two middle lines end were omitted to remove edge effect. Harvest was with hand. Seed performance was determined after threshing and separating the seeds from the straw based on seed weight (gr). Physiological characteristics were measured after the plant sheathing in both rainfed and deficit irrigation typesResults and discussionTable of the combined variance analysis (Table 1) showed that the significant difference was observed among proline, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b and peroxidase enzyme values of two cultivation methods, the comparison of the mean chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b (ml/gr) of wet weight in Germi region was 0.22 and 0.079 with the significant difference from Ardabil region. The reaction of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b to drought stress may be resulted by the plant metabolism tolerance in addition to the genetic differences against drought, and lack of the significant reaction between chlorophyll to stress can be attributed to the growth reduction in leaf. There was a significant difference in proline (μm/gr of wet weight) in Germi and Ardabil, but the amount of enzyme peroxidase (μgr of enzyme/gr of leaf) was higher in Ardabil. Proline accumulation is a popular physiological response of plants to the extensive range of bio and non-bio stresses (Geravandi et al., 2011). The maximum imposed damage by drought stress was for proline of Germi; as though, stress increased 23% of proline than Ardebil condition. In Gunes et al. (2008) research, drought stress after pollination significantly increased proline. There was a significant difference between rainfed and deficit irrigation conditions based on variance analysis. Bilesavar cultivar was considered as a control sample with the maximum peroxidase enzyme. ConclusionsThe results of this test show that in rainfed cultivation (drought stress) enzyme activity of the antioxidant and peroxidase, ascorbate peroxidas, proline and some characteristics for resistance plant against drought stress are increase.

IntroductionDrought and salinity are major environmental factors that influence crop productivity worldwide .Plants are normally subjected to a combination of various types of abiotic stresses in nature, such as the combined effects of drought and salinity .Studies have revealed that the physiological and biochemical responses of plants to the interaction of drought and salinity are unique and cannot be directly extrapolated from the responses to the two stresses individually.Storage of orthodox seeds for prolonged period induces their deterioration leading ultimately to loss of their viability. The rate of seed deterioration varies among plant species and seed lots, but high moisture content and high temperature accelerate this process. During long-term storage, all seeds undergo aging processes leading to deterioration in seed quality, especially in the humid tropical regions. However, the rate of seed deterioration can vary among various plant species. When aged seeds are sown, they show decreased viability, lower germinability performance, and produce weak seedlings which could not manage to survive in their habitat. Seed priming (osmoconditioning) has been successfully demonstrated to improve seed germination and seedling establishment for many field crops.The beneficial effects of priming have also been demonstrated on germination and seed emergence, as well as seedling establishment of many crops, particularly under drought and salt stress.Use of chemical compounds as priming agents has been found to improve plant tolerancesignificantly in various crop and non-crop species against a range of different individually applied abiotic stresses.Melatonin, due to its pleiotropic effects can play important roles in improving plant tolerance to adverse conditions.Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is one of the prospective oilseed crops because it yields about 32–40 % seed oil. However, due to its considerable salt resistance than commonly grown oilseed crops, it is cultivated in arid and semi-arid regions where soil salinity is one of the major threats to agriculture.Drought is very unpredictable among abiotic stresses in terms to occurrence, severity, timing. and duration and safflower can be a promising alternate crop in dryland agro-ecosystems due to its growth potential under water stress without a substantial reduction of oil and seed yields. Safflower cultivation constitutes a more profitable crop for the farmers in some countries, compared to other conventional crops such as barley, lentil, and chickpea.The fact that safflower can overcome environmental stresses such as extreme temperatures, drought, and salinity has facilitated its expansion in areas around the world, where soil and climatic restrictions have impeded the cultivation of conventional food and cash crops.In particular, safflower has demonstrated drought resistance with a slight decrease in crop yield and significant stability in water use efficiency Materials and methods In order to study the effect of seed priming of naturally aged seed by melatonin on seedling emergence and growth characteristic of safflower, three experiments were conducted at seed science technology laboratory, greenhouse and research farm of Aburaihan Campus, the University of Tehran in 2017. The experimental design for all experiment was factorial in completely randomized design (laboratory) and randomized complete block design (research farm and greenhouse) with 4 replicates. The main treatments that common between experiments consist of seed quality (1-naturally aged seed 2- new seed) and seed priming (1-without priming 2- hydropriming 3- Melatonin 0.1 mM 4- Melatonin 0.5 mM). Soil water was determined based on soil moisture release curve, which indicates the relationship between soil water potential andsoil moisture content. Prior to the pot experiments, three samples of wet soil (wet soil = drysoil ? soil moisture content) were dried and soil moisture content at the beginning of experiment was determined.Then pots were equally filled with wet soil. Two pots were considered as references and were weighted each day: one for drought stress and one for other abiotic stresses. The soil moisture content could be obtainable after weighing and it was possible to calculate soil water potential from soil moisture release curve. Results and discussionThe results of this research indicated that the highest percentage of seedling emergence of naturally aged seed obtained by hydropriming and melatonin priming at 0.1 mM by %54.50 and %57.50 that increased the seedling emergence up to %39.74 and %47 respectively, in comparison to control in the farm condition. Also, the results showed that highest percentage of seedling emergence under drought condition belong to melatonin priming at 0.1 mM concentration that increased the seedling emergence up to %154 in comparison to control in the greenhouse condition. The results of this experiment indicated melatonin priming at 0.1 mM concentration led to the highest rate and percentage of seedling emergence under salinity and combination of salinity and drought condition while melatonin priming at 0.5 mM concentration has decreased the rate of seedling emergence.ConclusionsIn general, using of seed priming as a cost-effective method also hydropriming and melatonin priming could enhance the seed quality for growth under salinity and drought conditions.

Chamomile is one of the oldest and most valuable medicinal plants from the Asteraceae family. In addition to pharmaceutical uses, its essential oil is extensively used in perfumery, cosmetics, food industry and aromatherapy. This experiment was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of osmolytes foliar application on biochemical characteristics, and the yield of German chamomile under drought stress conditions. The experiment was conducted as a split plot with randomized complete block design with three replications during the 2016-2017 growing season. Three levels of irrigation, 50 (control), 100 (mild stress) and 150 mm (severe stress) evaporation from evaporation pan class A, and spraying treatments, NS (no-spraying), W (distilled water), MeJA (methyl jasmonate), SA (salicylic acid), HA (humic acid), GB (glycine betaine) and GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) were considered as the main plots and sub-plots, respectively. Analyzed data indicated that proline, total soluble sugars (TSS), and essential oil yield were enhanced with the increase of drought intensity and the maximum amount was registered under severe stress, while the severe drought caused a substantial reduction in protein concentration of leaves and dried flower yield. Proline concentration of leaves significantly increased with exogenously applied spraying treatments under severe drought. All spraying treatments except GB under severe stress, caused higher TSS concentration than those subjected to mild stress. SA, HA, and GABA treated plants had significantly higher protein concentration compared to NS treatment. Plants that treated with GABA had the highest dried flower and essential oil yield. The present study suggests that osmolytes foliar application can ameliorate the detrimental effects of drought on chamomile plant through alteration in yield and biochemical variables.

In order to study the relationship between quantitative and qualitative traits with sesame grain yield in nutrient treatments as chemical, biological and nano fertilizers and drought stress, an experiment was conducted as factorial split plot based on randomized complete block design with three repetitions. The experiment factors including irrigation regimes, irrigation withholding at different stages of development based on BBCH, full irrigation and irrigation up 65 and 75 BBCH, three nitrogen fertilizers as nitroxin, urea and combination with nitroxin and 50 % urea and four combinations of potassium fertilizer, as non-fertilized as control, spraying and soil application of potassium nano-chelate (2 ppt and 2 kg.ha-1 respectively) and potassium dioxide (2 l.ha-1). The highest grain yield was obtained in irrigation up to 50 % seed ripping in non-application of potassium and use of nitroxin with average of 1340.5 kg.ha-1 that about 35 % increased the average of this trait compared to the control treatment. The grain yield was positively and significantly correlated with stem diameter, plant dry weight, number of capsules, number of seeds per capsule, 1000-seed weight and oil percentage and yield. There was no significant correlation between morphological and yield traits. The results of stepwise regression showed that the maximum grain yield difference can be attributed to the total number of capsules, 1000 seed weight, number of seeds per capsule, oil yield and oil percentage which explained 91.1 % of the grain yield changes. The application of potassium nano- chelate in irrigation withholding at 50 % seed ripening (equivalent to 75 BBCH) and using of nitroxin bio-fertilizer had the highest grain yield in second cultivation after wheat and is suitable for dry and semi-arid climates.

In order to evaluate the effects of chemical, biological and nano fertilizers on the yield and quality traits (oil and protein) of sesame seeds in irrigation withholding conditions an experiment was conducted as a split plot factorial based on completely randomized blocks design with three replications at Shahed University during 2015-2016 growing season. Irrigation withholding levels (full irrigation (control) and irrigation withholding at 75 and 85 BBCH (Codes of phonological stages that are equivalent to 50% of flowering and seed ripening respectively) were assigned as main plot and different nitrogen combinations (Nitroxin, urea, and a mix of 50% Nitroxin plus urea), various combinations of potassium (no use, nano-potassium foliar application (2 per thousand), irrigated use of potassium dioxide (2 L ha−1) and soil application of nano-potassium (2 kg ha−1) were allocated in the subplots. The highest number of per-plant capsules (19.26 numbers) was observed with irrigation up to 50% seed ripening and the use of urea together with potassium nano chelate foliar application. The greatest grain yield and protein content and yield were obtained in irrigation up to 50% seed ripening in the absence of potassium fertilizer and nitroxin usage (1340.5, 276.53 kg ha−1 and 5-20 percent, respectively). The oil yield was utmost in irrigation up to 50% flowering and foliar application of potassium nano chelate together with the mixed system of 50% urea fertilizer plus nitroxin with average values of 47.96% and 550.46 kg ha−1, respectively. The use of nitroxin as a nano-bio-fertilizer and foliar application of chelated nano

In order to study the yield and quality characteristics of medicine forage (additive intercropping of alfalfa and fennel) under the effect biofertilizers, an Experiment was conducted at the College of Agriculture, Shahed University in 2011. The experimental design was split plot based on randomized complete block design with three replications. The main factor included 4 levels of fertilizer application viz. control (no fertilizer application), Biofertilizer (Azospirillum/Azotobacter, biophospherous fertilizer), 3. Integrated fertilizer (bio fertilizers 50% chemical fertilizer), 4. Chemical fertilizer (triple super phosphate based on the soil analysis). The sub plots comprised 4 levels of mixtures viz 1. Sole alfalfa, 2. Sole fennel, 3. Intercropping of alfalfa 50% fennel, 4. Intercropping of alfalfa 100% fennel. Results showed that the effect of fertilizer, intercropping and their interaction on the yield of alfalfa and fennel, yield of essential oil, amount of anethole and methyl cavicol was significant by 1%. The highest dry matter of alfalfa (7377.07 kg/ha-1) from sole alfalfa and integrated fertilizer, dry matter of fennel (9334.33 kg/ha-1) and yield of essential oil of fennel (54.2 Li/ha-1) was obtained from Sole fennel when received integrated fertilizer. According to the results, sole fennel treated with biofertilizers, produced the highest anethole and the lowest methyl cavicol. Calculation and evaluation of Total Relative Yield and Relative Crowded Coefficient showed 100% alfalfa 100% fennel in control and the use of biofertilizers were the best, respectively.

Considering the importance of medicinal plants growth and biological application of fertilizers with sustainable agricultural production in order to eliminate or reduce chemical input to achieve desirable and sustainable quality, an experimental research was conducted based on a randomized complete block design with two factors of chemical nitrogen (46% urea nitrogen) at two levels (Zero, 25 and 50 kg/ha-1), biological nitrogen (Azotobacter) with trade name Nitroxin at 2 levels inoculated and non-inoculated in 2011. The results of analysis of variance showed that the effects of biological fertilizers (Azotobacter) Nitroxin of chemical (urea 46%) nitrogen in different treatments on plant height, umbel number per plant, grain number per umbel, biological yield, grain yield, harvest index (HI) and essential oil yield were significant at P≤0.01. The results showed that the greatest plant highest (28.18 cm), biological yield (201.187 g.m2), grain yield (75.600 g.m2) and essential oil yield (2.115 g.m2) were obtained by a treatment of Nitroxin + chemical nitrogen (25 kg/ha-1). In general, the results of the present study revealed that the application of biological fertilizers plays a remarkable role in improving yield quality and quantity in Cumin and can be viewed as a suitable replacement for chemical fertilizers.