seed yield

Drought stress poses a significant challenge to cumin production in Iran, particularly during the flowering and seed-setting stages. Cumin is a valuable crop with numerous medicinal properties and applications in various industries. Despite its short growing season, the economic importance of cumin makes it imperative to find ways to mitigate the effects of drought stress on seed yield. Addressing the negative effects of drought stress is crucial for improving cumin seed yield. One effective strategy is to identify drought-resistant cumin cultivars. By selecting cultivars that are more resilient to drought conditions, farmers can enhance their chances of achieving higher yields, even in challenging environments.

 This two-year study (2020-2021) aimed to assess the drought tolerance of 15 cumin ecotypes under field conditions in Karaj, Iran. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with three replications. The ecotypes evaluated were: Tabriz, Torbat Jam 8, Afghani, Khorasan-Birjand, Yazd 7, Yazd 8, Torbat Jam 9, Khorasan Razavi 8, Pakistan, Isfahan, Hindi, Khorasan Razavi 12, Isfahan 13, Sabzevar, Torbat Heydarieh. Two treatments were applied: full irrigation and drought stress. Irrigation under full irrigation was carried out every 10 days according to soil and weather conditions, while irrigation was withheld from 50% flowering to the end of the growth period under drought stress.

 The results of this study showed that drought stress reduced the yield and yield components of cumin ecotypes but increased the essential oil content. The highest seed yield of 102.78 g m-2 was achieved by the ecotype Turbat Jam 8 under full irrigation conditions, which was statistically similar to the ecotypes Afghani, Khorasan-Birjand, Yazd 7, Turbat Jam 9, and Sabzevar under normal irrigation conditions. The lowest seed yield of 65.8 g m-2 was recorded for the ecotype Khorasan Razavi 12. These results demonstrate the differential tolerance of cumin ecotypes to drought stress and highlight the potential of Turbat Jam 8 as a drought-tolerant ecotype. The Afghani ecotype proved to be drought-resistant, showing consistent grain yield under both normal irrigation and drought stress. Conversely, the Khorasan Razavi 12 ecotype was vulnerable to drought stress, exhibiting reduced biological and grain yields under these conditions. Notably, a strong positive correlation (0.973) was observed between essential oil content and seed yield, indicating that breeding for high essential oil content could also improve drought resistance and yield. In addition to the strong correlation between essential oil content and seed yield, other correlations were observed. The amount of essential oil was positively correlated with the harvest index (0.787) and the weight of one thousand seeds (0.721). Seed yield also showed positive and significant correlations with the number of umbrellas per plant (0.396), harvest index (0.287), and the number of seeds per umbrella (0.232). No other traits showed significant correlations. Biological performance had positive and significant correlations with plant height, number of branches per plant, number of umbels per plant, number of umbels per umbel, and number of seeds per umbel. According to the result of cluster analysis based on Ward's method, the ecotypes were divided into three groups. The highest number of ecotypes was in the third group (7 ecotypes) and the second group (6 ecotypes). The Afghani ecotype formed the first group alone. According to the type of ecotypes placed in a cluster, it can be said that the ecotypes in a cluster were very similar in terms of morphological and molecular characteristics, and the Afghani ecotype was different from other ecotypes.

     Drought stress and ecotype interactions had a significant impact on plant height, biological yield, and grain yield. The variation in ecotype responses to drought stress may be attributed to genetic differences. The Afghani ecotype demonstrated strong resistance to drought, showing no significant reduction in grain yield under both normal irrigation and drought stress conditions while also achieving the highest essential oil content. In contrast, the Khorasan Razavi 12 ecotype was highly sensitive to drought stress, exhibiting markedly lower biological and grain yields compared to other ecotypes.

The aim of this research is to investigate the yield and yield components as well as the percentage and protein yield of different ecotypes of dragon’s head in East Azerbaijan region.

In order to evaluate the characteristics related to the yield of 49 ecotypes of dragon’s head collected from different regions of the country, a research in the form of a randomized complete block design with 3 replications during the years 2014 and 2015 in the research farm of the Faculty of Agriculture University of Tabriz was implemented. The most important traits measured were: the number of seeds in a capsule, the number of capsules in each flower cycle in the main stem, the number of capsules in each cycle in the secondary branch, seed yield per unit area and also some qualitative traits such as protein percentage and protein yield in surface unit.

The obtained results showed that the ecotypes showed significant differences with each other in most of the studied traits. Ecotype No. 37 (alvar village, Bostanabad) was highly superior in terms of many traits, especially in terms of grain yield. Ecotype No. 46 (Kurdistan 2) had the highest protein percentage, while the highest protein yield was obtained from Ecotype No. 48 (Zanjan). In the regression analysis of protein yield, the highest regression coefficient (0.873) was observed in protein yield per unit area and grain yield per unit area, respectively.

Based on the results of this research, ecotypes No. 37 (Alwar village of Bostanabad), 23 (Tabriz 4) and 24 (kolvanagh 14) were recognized as the most suitable and compatible ecotypes for Tabriz city in terms of grain yield traits.

The study was conducted to investigate the effect of salicylic acid priming and nanofertilizer application on the yield and some morphological characteristics of two chickpea cultivars in order to select the most appropriate treatment under rainfed conditions. This experiment was carried out as factorial-split in the form of a basic design of randomized complete blocks with three replications in two crop years 2015-2016 and 2015-2016 in Khorramabad, Lorestan. The variety factor includes Adel and Grit, and salicylic acid priming, including no priming and priming in the main plots, and nanofertilizer in four levels, including control and foliar spraying at the rate of one, two and three liters per hectare were placed in sub-plots. The results showed that in both the Adel and Greet, the highest number of seeds per plant, hundred seed weight, seed yield and harvest index were obtained from salicylic acid and nanofertilizer spraying depending on the amount of use. In both Adel and Great, the highest seed yield was produced by the application of salicylic acid with two liters per hectare of nanofertilizer (1840 and 1152 kg/hectare, respectively). The highest level of leaf greenness, seed protein and protein yield was also obtained from the application of salicylic acid with half to one liter per hectare of nanofertilizer. In general, the Adel cultivar with salicylic acid priming and spraying at least half a liter per hectare of nanofertilizer is recommended to improve the quantity and quality of chickpeas in dry conditions.

Background & ObjectiveThe aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of nanosuperabsorbent treatments and biofertilizers on some morphophysiological characteristics, yield and yield components of Spring Canola seed under different levels of irrigation.Methods & MaterialsThe field experiment was conducted in 2017 and 2018 as a factorial split plot based on a randomized complete block design in 3 replications. The treatments include irrigation at three levels (irrigation after evaporation of 70, 120 and 170 mm of evaporation from the Class A pan in the main plots) and nanosuperabsorbent treatments at two levels (0 and 45 kg/ha) and fertilizer treatments at four levels: control, Chitosan, growth-stimulating bacteria and chitosan + growth-stimulating bacteria were factorially placed in sub-plots.ResultsNitrogen and phosphorus content, leaf water percentage, green cover percentage, chlorophyll content, plant height, number of branches and leaves per plant, number of seeds per plant, number of seeds per plant, biological yield and consequently grain yield decreased, but the temperature Canola leaves increased. The application of fertilizer treatments, especially the combined treatment of biofertilizers + nano-superabsorbent under all irrigation levels, led to the improvement of these traits and rape seed yield, especially under severe stress. ConclusionImprovement of morphophysiological traits and product components ultimately increased seed yield. Therefore, it can be concluded that the combined application of nanosuperabsorbent with biofertilizers can be an effective method to improve grain yield under drought stress conditions.

This research was conducted in order to reduce or replace phosphate fertilizer with humic acid to investigate growth characteristics, grain yield and absorption of macro and micronutrients in safflower plants in order to reduce costs and increase the harvest. Cultivation of safflower of Goldasht variety with 9treatments were carried out a randomized complete block design. Morphological, vegetative growth and Yield traits and nutrients were measured in safflower leaves.The P50H100 treatment had the highest values in plant height, stem diameter, number of main branches, photosynthesis, chlorophyll index, stomatal conductance, capitol number, 100-grain weight, seed yield, biological yield, harvest index, oil percentage and oil yield. After P50H100treatment, H200andP25H150 treatments had better results in these indicators. P50H100treatment has the highest significant percentage of leaf nitrogen, P50H100and P50treatment has the highest significant percentage of leaf phosphorus, H200, P25H150and P50H100treatments have the highest significant amount of leaf potassium, H200treatment has the highest significant amount of leaf calcium, P25H150treatment has the highest significant amount of leaf magnesium, H200 treatment has the highest significant amount of iron and zinc in leaves, The H200 and P25H150 treatments had the highest significant amount of leaf manganese and the P25H150 treatment had the highest significant amount of leaf copper.This research showed that the most significant performance can be achieved with P50H100 treatment. After this treatment, H200 and P25H150 treatments had significant results and were appropriate. P100 and P50 treatments as well as H100 and P25H50 treatments did not have significant results compared to the superior treatments.

The goals of the study were to consider the possibility of delaying planting time of fall safflower from 11 September to 11 October in cold climates via increasing rosette plants growth for suitable cold tolerance and enhancing seed yield by using trichoderma fungi.

Methods and Materials:

 An experiment was conducted as split plot based on a randomized complete blocks design with three replications in the Khosrowshah station of East Azarbaijan Agriculture and Natural Resources Research and Education Center during the 2021-22 cropping season. The experimental factors included planting time (11 and 21 September and 1 and 11 October), and trichoderma fungi (Trichoderma harzianum) treatment included control, soil and seed treatments. The Ahmadi as a fall rapeseed genotype was used during the study.

Delaying the planting time from 11 September to 11 October led to diminishing leaf chlorophyll concentration, plant growth rate and increasing plant cold damage percentage and a significant decrease in seed and oil yields and seed yield components. The treatment of the soil and seed with trichoderma fungi increased the mentioned yield related traits, but these increases were significantly higher in seed treatment plots. The mean of the seed yield increased by 1005 and 613 Kg h-1 in 11 September and 11 December planting times respectively in the case of treating seeds by trichoderma fungi.

The rapeseed treatment with trichoderma fungi increased rosette plants growth, decreased cold damage percentage and increased seed yield significantly in early and late season cultivations at cold climate.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the impact of potassium nano-fertilizers, fulvic acid, and chitosan on quantitative traits of sesame under different irrigation regimes. A field experiment was conducted in Semnan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center as a factorial split-plot based on randomized complete block design with three replications in 2019. In this experiment irrigation regimes (full irrigation: non-stress, irrigation cut off at the beginning of seed formation inside the capsule: moderate stress and the beginning of flower structure formation: severe stress) as the main plot, and potassium nano-fertilizer (0, 1.5, and 2.5 per thousand) and foliar application of chitosan (five g.ha-1) and fulvic acid (two kg.ha-1) in four levels were tested as sub-plots. The application of potassium nano-fertilizer along with fulvic acid and chitosan increased the photosynthetic pigments, seed yield, and oil and protein content, which was a significant increase under severe drought stress. Application of 1.5 per thousand potassium nano-fertilizer with chitosan under non-stress conditions resulted in the highest number of capsules per plant, seed yield, biological yield, oil yield, and protein yield. The highest oil and protein content (48.79 and 25.12%, respectively) were obtained using a combination of chitosan and fulvic acid under non-stress conditions. The highest seed yield (2249.2 kg.ha-1) was achieved in the application of chitosan along with 1.5 per thousand potassium nano-fertilizer under non-stress conditions.

Intercropping as an approach for development of sustainable agriculture systems is pursuing the purposes such as creating ecological balance, further exploitation of resources, increase the quantity and quality of yield and reduce losses due to pests, diseases and weeds and reduce the dependence of farmers to pesticides, to maintain product quality and marketability. Jahani et al (2007) reported that intercropping of lentil and cumin has significantly increased dry weight of vegetative organs, biological yield, 1000-seed weight and number of seeds per cumin umbrella and seed yield. Legume/non-legume intercropping system due to the beneficial use of resources produces more yields. In review of about the fennel and fenugreek intercropping, intercropping of the two plants significantly increased the fennel seed yield compared with monoculture.

The experiment was conducted in 2014-2015 growing season based on randomized complete block design with three replications at Agricultural Research Station, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Experimental treatments were 25% mung bean + 75% fennel, 50% mung bean + 50% fennel, 75% mung bean + 25% fennel, monoculture of mung bean and monoculture of fennel. Species were sown at the same time in 12/06/2015 in rows with a distance of 50 cm. At harvesting time, dry matter, seed yield and yield components of these crops were measured. Yield advantages of intercrops over monocultures were compared by land equivalent ratios. Seeds of fennel were analyzed for essential oil content.  

The highest seed yield, biomass and essential oil of fennel for monoculture with 1460.4, 12286.4 and 50.4 kg per hectare respectively and the lowest values for 25% fennel + 75% mung bean treatment with 263.2, 5843.3 and 8.1 kg per hectare respectively were observed. Also, the highest seed yield and biomass of mung bean for monoculture with 2167.1 and 8900.5 kg per hectare respectively and the lowest values for 25% fennel + 75% mung bean treatment with 740.5 and 2540.5 kg per hectare respectively were observed. The highest essential oil contents of fennel with 3.56% was observed in ratio of 50% fennel + 50% mung bean and the lowest value was observed in 25% fennel + 75% mung bean with 3.1%. It seems that interspecific competition between fennel and mung bean due to the abiotic stresses (competition) led to increasing essential oil percent in intercrops. The highest essential oil yield of fennel was observed in monoculture with 50.4 kg/ha and the lowest value was observed in 25% fennel + 75% mung bean with 8.1 kg/ha. The highest mung bean harvest index was 28% in 25% mung bean + 75% fennel and the lowest was observed in 50% mung bean + 50% fennel with 23.5%. Also, the highest fennel harvest index was observed with 12% in monoculture and the lowest in 25% fennel + 75% mung bean with 4.5%. The highest value of total land equivalent ratio (1.07) was obtained in ratio of 50% mung bean + 50% fennel indicating 7 percent yield advantage of intercropping compared to pure stands of species of these two products compare to each other that represents of showing the more efficient use of land. The lowest value by intercrops of land equivalent ratio was observed in ratio of 25% mung bean + 75% fennel which was 9% lower than the monoculture.

In general, intercropping of fennel with mung bean, had positive effect on biological and seed yield of two species as well as percent and yield of fennel essential oil. So, in order to reduce the consumption of chemical fertilizers in sustainable agriculture and as for nitrogen biological fixation ability of mung bean, intercropping this plant with fennel can be increased resources efficiency and improve of the quality and quantity yield of fennel.

To study the effect of temperature and moisture regimes on agronomical and physiological traits of canola cultivars, an experiment was conducted for two years (2015-17) in Iran (Karaj). In this experiment, the sowing dates were in two levels including timely cultivation (September 27) and delayed cultivation (October 27), and irrigation was in two levels including normal irrigation (control) and irrigation interruption from the podding stage as the main factors, and canola cultivars and hybrids included Kodiak, Traviata, Compass, Diffusion, Mehr2, Elvise and Tassilo were included as the subfactors. The interaction effect of sowing date × irrigation × cultivar on the seed yield, seed oil yield, biological yield, 1000 seed weight and seed number per pod were significant. In delayed sowing date and in the both normal irrigation and late season drought stress conditions, the Tassilo hybrid with a high seed yield, seed oil yield, biological yield, proline and chlorophyll content can be effective in the cultivation of canola in temperate cold regions with dry and semi-arid climates and is recommended for the delayed cultivation conditions together with late season drought stress.

In this study,drought tolerance of advanced soybean lines has been investigated. In this study,14soybean lines Along with two control cultivars of Saba and Kowsardar were separately carriedout in two experiments of a randomized complete block design with three replications in two years of2015-2016 in Karaj.These lines have been superior in preliminary experiments indicting in different regions.Both experiments were similarly irrigated until seedling establishment and the emergence of the V4-V5 stage,which coincided with the full development of the fourth to fifth leaves.Afterthat, the first experiment was irrigated weeklyand the second one aweek in between(50-55-and120-100-mm evaporation from ClassA evaporation pan,respectively).Different tolerance and sensitivity indices were used to evaluate the stress response.Indices were grouped by using principal component analysis and genotypes were grouped byusing biplot.Also,grouping wasperformed byusing SIIG indexand the resalt genotypes cluster was comparedwith Fernandez index.The resultsof mean comparison showed that three lines ColumbusxKrasnodar778(L.45),CrafordxLan(L.44)and WilliamsxKatool(L.3)in numberof pods perplant, numberof seeds per pod and1000-seedweight andseedyield had the highest value andwere superiorto both sensitiveand tolerant control cultivars.Bioplate diagram showedthat lines WilliamsxKatool(L.3).NemahaxSavoy(L.3),ColumbusxKrasnodar778(L.45)andSaba and Kosarcultivars were located near the vectorsof important drought resistance indices.Lines WilliamsxKatool(L.3)andCrafordxLan(L.44)tended tobe relatedto the yeildvector under stressconditions,indicating that the high values forthe drought tolerance index in these lines were mostly dueto its high yeild under stress conditions.Accordingto the SIIG index,the line WilliamsxKatool(L.3)was themost tolerant ofdrought stress.The results showedthat in each four methods,Sumof ranking,principal component analysis andSIIG index and fernandez diagram,linesWilliamsxKatool(L.3),CrafordxLan(L.44)andColumbusxKrasnodar778(L.45)werethe most tolerant and linesWilliamsxKatool(L.8),RVBxKatool(L.13)and were the most sensitive to drought stress.Therefore,using rankings for less complication can be effective in selecting tolerant genotypes.

Today, agriculture faced various challenges, such as the inadequate of agricultural products for growing human needs, in the other words, step down of food security, reduction of productivity, economic justification, the competitiveness of agriculture, etc. On the other hand, the excessive use of agricultural inputs, especially water, fertilizers and pesticides, excessive pressure on natural resources along with the consequences of climate change has affected the sustainability and stability of agroecosystems. Intercropping as the agricultural practice of growing two or more species in the same farm at the same time has been emphasized by many researchers around the world as one of the ecological approaches for crop production as an effective technique for achieving sustainable agricultural goals. Therefore, the objective of this research was to agronomic and economic evaluation of intercropping patterns of three different crops.

To comparing sole cropping and intercropping systems of barley, fenugreek and garlic, a field experiment was conducted in 2016-17 at the Research Farm of Gonabad University based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. Experimental treatments consisted of sole cropping of barley, fenugreek and garlic; and 4 replacement intercropping series as barley + fenugreek, barley + garlic, fenugreek + garlic, and barley + fenugreek + garlic. Studied traits included of dry forage yield, plant height, 1000-seed weight, biological yield, seed yield, and harvest index in barley, dry forage yield, plant height, pod number per plant, seed number per pod, 1000-seed weight, and seed yield in fenugreek, plant height, leaf number per plant, clove length, clove diameter, clove number per plant, and bulb yield of garlic. In this research, intercropping advantage indexes included land equivalent ratio (LER), actual yield loss (AYL), system productivity index (SPI), intercropping advantage (IA) and relative value total (RVT) were calculated. Analyses of variance were carried out at P≤0.05, using SAS 9.1 software. The means were compared using the Duncan's multiple range test.

The results indicated that the highest values of dry forage yield (8523 kg.ha-1), seed yield (3494 kg.ha-1) and biological yield (14111 kg.ha-1) of barley were achieved from the sole cropping system. Among intercropping treatments, the highest dry forage yield (6109 kg.ha-1) achieved from barley + fenugreek. While, the highest seed yield (2709 kg.ha-1) and biological yield (11081 kg.ha-1) obtained from barley + garlic intercropping. There was no significant difference between sole cropping and intercropping systems about yield components as the plant height, 1000-seed weight, and harvest index of barley. The plant height, number of pod per plant and number of seed per pod showed the highest value in sole cropping system, although there was no significant difference between sole cropping with fenugreek + garlic intercropping. The seed yield (1145 kg.ha-1) and dry forage yield (5100 kg.ha-1) of fenugreek in sole cropping were significantly higher than intercropping patterns. The garlic +fenugreek intercropping treatment with 4090 kg.ha-1 dry forage yield, and 569 kg.ha-1 seed yield had the highest values among intercropping patterns. Yield components of garlic included the plant height, number of leaf per plant, clove length and diameter, and number of clove in plant had the highest value in sole cropping however, there was no significant difference between sole cropping and fenugreek + garlic intercropping. The highest value of bulb yield (7194 kg.ha-1) was obtained from sole cropping and garlic + fenugreek intercropping with the value of 3381 kg.ha-1 ranked in second place. Among intercropping advantage indexes, the highest value of land equivalent ratio (1.16), actual yield increase (0.30), and system productivity (8414) achieved from barley + garlic intercropping system. The highest value of intercropping advantage (0.02) and relative value total (1.27) obtained from fenugreek + garlic and barley + fenugreek, respectively.

According to our findings, intercropping systems of barley + fenugreek and fenugreek + garlic can be selected as an appropriate approach for planting these crops to producing more forage than sole cropping. The results also indicate the better utilization of barley from intercropping advantages than other species and its competitive superiority in the use of environmental resources and economic yield enhancement. Based on the findings of this research, intercropping of barley with garlic and fenugreek is an appropriate approach for increase of land use efficiency and economic profitability that in overall, among cropping systems, barley-garlic intercropping system had more advantage. 

The sunflower is one of the most important oilseed plants in the world that its oil has nutritional and high economic value. Therefore, the selection of high yielding genotypes is especially important in this plant. In this regard, 11 new hybrids along with four cultivars Golsa, Ghasem, Shams and Farrokh were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with four replications in agriculture research station of Dezful during 2018-2020. In this study, the methods of genotype × trait (GT) and genotype by yield × trait biplot (GYT) were used to identify interrelationships between different traits and selection of the best sunflower genotypes. Based on polygon view of GT biplot, the genotype No. 1 had good characteristics regarding seed yield and traits related to yield. The vector view of GT biplot showed high correlation between seed yield with stem diameter, plant height, head diameter and seed number per head. Based on average tester coordinate (ATC) view of GYT biplot, the genotypes No. 1 and 6 in terms of all positive yield-trait combinations were recognized as the best genotypes and genotypes No. 12, and 7 as the weakest genotypes. According to the results, a significant positive correlation was observed between stem diameter, head diameter, plant height and early maturity in combination with seed yield. Therefore, it seems that traits of stem diameter, head diameter, plant height and early maturity could be used as a suitable selection criterions for increasing seed yield in sunflower.

In the last few decades, one of the important problems in agriculture is the high cost of fertilizers in plant production and their dispersion in the field, which gives rise to soil and water pollution; moreover, their extensive use is believed to contribute to global warming through emissions of nitrous oxide. Therefore, in modern agriculture, which aims to reduce the input of fertilizers and improve grain quality without affecting yield.Cereal-legume intercropping system has been a common cropping system in arid and semi-arid areas  such as Afghanistan.Another way to reduce the application of chemical fertilizers to improve biological activity and increase soil fertility, increase crop yield and ultimately achieve stability in agricultural systems, is the use of organic fertilizers including livestock manure. Afghanistan's soils are deficient in organic matter, and there are various management approaches to soil nitrogen supply, such as application of chemical fertilizers, manure, and intercropping. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of nitrogen supply sources on quantitative and qualitative yield of wheat cultivars in Herat province of Afghanistan.

In order to determine the effect of nitrogen supply sources on different wheat varieties, an experiment was conducted in agriculture faculty research farm of Herat University-Afghanistan in 2018-19. The experiment was set up on split plot in randomized complete block design with three replications. The main plot factor was three different levels of nitrogen supply sources (mix cropping clover & wheat, N application (100 kg.ha-1 Urea), 40 ton.ha-1 manure application) and ten wheat varieties that are being cultivated in Herat were considered as subplot factors.After harvesting, plant samples were placed in oven at 65 °C for 48 hours and various parameters (total dry matter, yield and yield components, protein percentage, content of seed K & P) were measured in laboratory for each plot. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed by using GLM proc. in SAS version 9.1 and the lest significant different test (LSD) was used for mean comparison. 

Results showed that the effect of nitrogen supply sources on all wheat quality and quantity yield components, except on spike length, number of spikelet per spike and the amount of seed P and K, were significant. However the effect of variety, except on stem and leaf weight, and the amount of seed P and K in all measured parameters were significant. In addition, the interaction of nitrogen supply sources and varieties on spike length and weight, 1000 seed weight, seed yield and seed protein were significant. The highest amounts of all measured characteristics were obtained in chemical fertilizer application. But the difference between chemical fertilizer application and clover mix cropping on number of spikelet per spike, stem & leaf weight and total dry matter (TDM) were not significant.In addition, results showed that the measured traits varied in different varieties. The highest plant height was obtained in Gul-96 variety, but the Mazar-99 variety, Kabul-13 variety and Gul-96 variety were the same in producing TDM. While the Kabul-13 variety was produced the most spikes weight, seed per spike, seed yield, harvest index and highest protein yield. But the Baghlan-09 variety had the highest 1000 seed weight.

Results showed that different sources of nitrogen supply had a positive effect on the quantitative and qualitative yield of wheat. Also, different wheat varieties had reacted differently to nitrogen sources. The highest grain yield was produced by Kabul 13 wheat cultivar with 100 kg urea per hectare application, but no significant difference was observed between grain yield with urea fertilizer application and wheat clover mixed cropping system. In addition, there was no significant difference between the grain protein percentages on treatments with urea fertilizer application with wheat clover mix cropping. As a result, it is inferred that cultivation of Kabul 13 wheat variety in mixed with clover in a sustainable low-input agricultural system in Herat province of Afghanistan, like urea fertilizer application, will be able to increase the quantitative and qualitative yield of wheat as an offer the option to farmers.

Conventional tillage can reduce infiltration and hydraulic conductivity by disrupting macrospore networks and increasing bulk density, porosity, water use efficiency, and soil organic matter. Conservation tillage is one of the practices of crop residue management on the soil surface. Reduced tillage is one of the conservation systems that amount remain crop residues on the soil surface. Reduced tillage has some benefits, including higher soil organic matter, soil moisture maintenance by reducing evaporation, better penetration of water, and controlling water and soil erosion. Excessive use of chemical fertilizers caused serious environmental issues globally, such as reduction of plant diversity, instability of economic yield, increased pest, and disease damages, and intensification of soil erosion. These increasing concerns regarding the negative impacts of these systems on the environment and human health suggest that more effort is needed to develop sustainable agricultural systems. The application of vermicompost and biofertilizers is regarded as one of the promising approaches to increasing crop productivity. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is mainly cultivated as a rainfed crop, and water stress often affects both productivity and yield stability. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the impact of different tillage systems and the application of vermicompost and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the growth, yield, and economic efficiency production of Cicer arietinum L.

A field experiment was carried out as a split plot based on a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 12 treatments and three replications at Firuzabad, Kermanshah, Iran, in 2019. The main factor was different tillage systems, including conventional tillage (moldboard plowing+ disking, tillage depth 25–30 cm- CT), reduced tillage (chisel plowing- tillage depth 15 cm- RT), and no-tillage (NT), and the sub factor was four different fertilization treatments (C: control, AMF: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Funneliformis mosseae), VC: vermicompost (at 1.5 t/ha), AMF+ VC: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi+ vermicompost). In AM fungi treatments, 80 g of the soil containing mycorrhizal fungi hyphae and the remains of the root and spores (1000 g spore.10-1 g soil) was added to the soil during planting times. Also, vermicompost (1.5 t ha-1) was applied to the soil before planting.

The Results demonstrated that the highest seed yield (116 g.m-2) and protein yield (24.2 g.m-2) was achieved in reduced tillage with the application of AMF+ VC. Also, reduced tillage increased the seed yield and protein yield by 19.6 and 17.1 %, respectively, when compared with CT. Different tillage systems and applications of vermicompost and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi significantly impacted the number of pods per plant, plant height, number of lateral branches per plant, number of main branches per plant, and biological yield. The highest mentioned traits were obtained in reduced tillage and with the integrative application of AMF+ VC. Moreover, the application of AMF+ VC increased the number of pods per plant, plant height, and biological yield by 37.2, 35.2 and 19.7%, respectively, in comparison to control. The highest pod total weight (155.8 g.m-2), harvest index (40.5%), and seed protein content (21.2%) were obtained through integrative application of AMF+ VC, and the lowest these traits were reached in control. Based on the economic values, the best treatments were RT+ C, CT+ C, AMF+ RT, and AMF+ CT, respectively, with the highest net income and Marginal rate of return.

Overall, the results of this experiment showed that there was a significant difference between tillage systems. The highest number of pods per plant,  plant height, number of lateral branches per plant, number of main branches per plant, biological yield, total pod weight, seed yield, and protein yield were achieved in reduced tillage that increased by 26.4, 16.8, 27.4, 28.6, 10.9 19.6 and 17.1 %, respectively when compared with conventional tillage.  Also, integrative application of AMF+ VC increased harvest index, 100 seed weight, biological yield, seed yield, and seed protein content by 16.7, 21.1, 19.7, 40.1, and 21.8%, respectively, when compared with control. The highest values of the seed yield and protein yield were obtained in reduced tillage with the integrative application of AMF+ VC. In contrast, based on the economic values, the maximum marginal rate of return was achieved in reduced tillage without fertilizer, conventional tillage without fertilizer, reduced tillage+ AMF, and conventional tillage+ AMF, respectively.

In order to consider some echo-physiological responses related to the productivity of safflower fall genotypes to drought stress at plant greening, establishment, and seed filling stages and to recognize drought-tolerant genotypes, the present study was done.

An experiment was conducted as a split-plot based on a randomized complete blocks design with three replications in the Khosrow Shah station of East Azarbaijan Agriculture and Natural Resources Research and Education Center during the 2019-20 cropping season. The experimental factors included drought stress (non-stressed and stressed during plant greening and the establishment and seed filling stages, and five safflower genotypes including Padideh, Golemehr, Parnian, Mexico248, and Mexico14.

Occurring drought stress at the seed filling stage significantly decreased chlorophyll concentration, stomatal conductance, relative water content, seed and oil yields, and seed yield components in fall genotypes of safflower. Correlation among mentioned indices echo-physiological indices with each other and with seed and oil yields were positive and significant. Also, the amounts of mentioned indices among studied genotypes were significantly different.

The seed filling period of fall genotypes of safflower was critical for water requirements. Chlorophyll concentration, stomatal conductance, relative water content indices were able to reflect the drought stress effect during the seed filling period and can recognize the fall genotypes of safflower with high seed and oil yields under drought conditions. It seems that these echo-physiological indices are suitable to select late-season drought-tolerant safflower genotypes.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of planting date and plant density on eco-physiological, agronomic, morphological traits and yield components of two fava bean genotypes in Dezfoul region.

The experiment was conducted in Safiabad-Dezful Research Center as a factorial split plot based on randomized complete block design with three replications during the two crop years of 2017 and 2018. In this study, the effect of two Fava bean genotypes (Saraziri and line 62), on three planting dates (11 October, 31 October and 20 November) and at three densities (10, 15 and 20 plants per square meter) on grain yield, Harvest Index, stem diameter, plant height, seed protein percentage, leaf chlorophyll content, photosynthesis rate and leaf stomatal conductance were evaluated. 

The results showed that the highest grain yield and harvest index were related to the Saraziri genotype Planted on October 11th with the density of 15 plants per square meter. Regarding the measured morphological and physiological traits, the highest plant height and chlorophyll content belonged to the Saraziri genotype cultivated on October 31th with the density of 20 plants per square meter and the highest percentage of protein, photosynthesis rate and stomatal conductivity was related to the Saraziri genotype cultivated on November 20th with the density of 20 plants per square meter. The highest stem diameter was related to the Saraziri genotype planted on the 20th of October with a density of 10 plants per square meter.

The results of this study showed that while reducing the growth period leads to a decrease in Seed yield along with increasing crop quality, to achieve the desired morphological characteristics and obtain good Seed yield in the Faba bean plant in Dezful region, Khuzestan province it is better to prolong growth period by planting on October 11th and the density of 15 plant per square meter is recommended.

Millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is a ,warm-season grass with a growing season of 60–100 days. It is a highly nutritious cereal grain used for human consumption, birdseed, and/or ethanol production. Millet ranks sixth among the world’s most important cereal grains, sustaining more than one-third of the world’s population. Millets are generally among the most suitable crops for sustainable agriculture and food security on marginal lands with low fertility. Millet crops are grown on marginal lands and under low-input agricultural conditions, situations in which major cereal crops often produce low yields. Foliar application of Zn brings the greatest benefit in comparison with addition to soil where they become less available. Generally, Micronutrients are essential for plant growth and play an important role in balanced crop nutrition. Micronutrients are as important to plant nutrition as primary and secondary nutrients, though plants do not require as much of them. 

To study the effect of cow manure (CM: 0, 10, 20, and 30 ton ha-1) and zinc sulfate (ZS: 0, 60, and 90 kg ha-1) application on common millet (Panicum miliaceaum L.) growth and yield, a factorial experiment based on a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications was conducted in the research field of University of Birjand, Iran, in 2018 growing season. In addition, a chemical fertilizer (NPK) treatment was considered in each block, and its effect was compared with 12 other combination treatments based on a randomized complete block design.  The studied traits were plant height, number of tillers per plant, 1000-grain weight, grain yield, biological yield, harvest index, and seed zinc content. The software SAS (V9.1) and Excel were used to analyze the data and draw the figures. Means were compared using the FLSD test at a 5% probability level. 

Analysis of variance results showed that the simple effects of both experimental factors were significant on all studied traits, but none of the interaction effects were significant. Application of 60 kg ha-1 of ZS improved all growth and yield parameters of millet, while the highest zinc content in the seed was obtained by applying 90 kg ha-1. The highest seed and biological yields (2227 and 7940 kg ha-1, respectively) were obtained by 60 kg ha-1 of ZS application, which was 36 and 6.6% higher than the control treatment (no-fertilization), respectively. All studied traits showed an increasing trend with increasing the amount of CM consumption, so that their highest values ​​were obtained when 30 tons ha-1 of CM was applied. Seed yield (2564 kg ha-1) at the highest CM level was 138% more than the control treatment and ultimately led to a 14.4% increase in the harvest index. 

Millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is a cereal plant cultivated for its grain, mostly in Asia and North America. It is a warm-season grass with a short growing season and low moisture requirement that is capable of producing food or feed where other grain crops would fail. Chemical fertilizer treatment (NPK) also improved all traits related to plant growth and yield compared to control as well as some other fertilization treatments. Modifying the physical properties of the soil and the availability of nutrients for millet plants can be a major reason for the increased yield and growth of the plant. Also, the results showed that consumption of zinc sulfate at 60 kg.ha-1 increased yield and yield components of common millet, but consumption of 90 kg.ha-1 of this fertilizer reduced the studied traits. In addition, the results of this experiment showed a significant difference between four levels of manure so that the highest grain yield of studied millet was obtained from 30 tons per hectare of manure. According to the test results, it can be stated that the application of zinc sulfate at a rate of 60 kg per hectare increased the yield and yield components of millet and therefore is introduced as the desired amount of fertilizer to achieve ideal yield.