yield

Introduction: 

Pre-cultivated plants are types of plants that, after harvesting the economic part, the plant residuals are returned to the soil to increase the organic matter and to improve the next plant’s productivity. The use of plant residues can improve biological health by reducing the chemical inputs used in agriculture. Due to the fact that in dry areas such as North Khuzestan, the role of pre-cultivated plants and the effect of their residues on growth and performance have been studied less, this research can be done in different humidity conditions before planting the main plant, and the effects of plant residues and their role on the qualitative characteristics and organic matter of the soil and the performance of plants such as corn are promising and help farmers and researchers.

 This experiment was conducted in two neighboring farms. In each year, two experiments were conducted in a randomized complete block design with four replications in two years and two locations. Before planting corn in two fields, cultivation treatments and mixing residues of four plant species, including rice, cowpea, dill, eggplant, and fallow, were used as experimental treatments. After harvesting the pre-cultivation plant, investigate the effect of plant residues on some soil characteristics over time. In order to determine the amount of moisture stored in the soil, in two stages before planting and in the middle of the corn growing season, the percentage of soil moisture by weight was calculated. To determine the organic carbon content in the soil before planting and during the mid-growth stage of the corn plant, organic carbon was oxidized using potassium dichromate in the presence of concentrated sulfuric acid, followed by titration with semi-normal ammonium ferrous sulfate in the presence of the ortho phenanthroline reagent (Walkley, 1934). Additionally, soil nitrogen was measured in the laboratory using the Kjeldahl method (Pag et al., 1982).

In both farms, the stability of the soil grains in the second year was higher than in the first year, which is due to the placement of organic materials of plant residues in the structure of the soil grains (Koocheki et al., 2020). Soil stability increased in both farms in the second year, with the difference that the soil stability increased by 64% in WET Planting and 50% in dry Planting. In the first and second years, respectively, there was a 35 and 29% increase in soil moisture compared to the control. The results of this research showed that the positive effect of plant residues in improving the organic matter of the soil after corn cultivation in wet Planting was much higher than that of dry Planting. The rice residues increased the soil organic matter by 51 and 47% in wet Planting and dry Planting. The results of the measurement data before corn cultivation showed a significant increase in the amount of nitrogen in the soil in the second year, and this increase was 55% higher in the field with the method of wet Planting cultivation. The results of the measured data after corn cultivation in the second year showed that the amount of nitrogen in the soil increased, and the intensity of the increase in the field using the wet Planting method was 44% more than the field using the dry method.

 The results of this experiment showed that the apparent specific weight of the soil in the second year, influenced by the use of plant residues, decreased over time. The preservation of plant residues has caused an increase in the amount of nitrogen in the soil, and in wet planting conditions, the intensity of its increase has been 44% more than in DRY Planting conditions. Also, by using plant residues of dill and beans, the amount of phosphorus in the soil increased.

In sustainable agricultural systems, a diverse range of biofertilizers and organic fertilizers, including plant growth-promoting bacteria and humic acid, have emerged as effective alternatives to mitigate the consumption of chemical inputs. In addition to diminishing significant environmental challenges, these fertilizers can minimize adverse effects on human health. This research was designed to investigate the effect of biofertilizers, humic acid (HA) and chemical fertilizers on some growth characteristics, physiological and qualitative traits of rocket leafy vegetables. 

At the University of Kurdistan, a completely randomized design was designed. Treatments included control (no use of fertilizer), AzotoBarvar-1, PotaBarvar-2, PhosphoBarvar-2, AzotoBarvar-1 + PotaBarvar-2, AzotoBarvar-1+ PhosphoBarvar-2, PotaBarvar-2 + PhosphoBarvar-2, AzotoBarvar-1+ PotaBarvar-2 + PhosphoBarvar-2, HA and chemical fertilizer. The traits that were evaluated included yield, biomass, leaf area, photosynthetic pigments, phenol, flavonoid, vitamin C, carbohydrate, nitrate, phosphorus, and potassium content. 

The results of ANOVA showed that the effect of all fertilizer sources on the characteristics investigated was significant. Using HA resulted in the highest yield, biomass, carotenoid, phenol, vitamin C, nitrate, and potassium content. The maximum chlorophyll a and total chlorophyll were observed using the biofertilizer AzotoBarvar-1. Maximum content of carbohydrate, chlorophyll b, flavonoid, phosphorus, and leaf area was recorded in PhosphoBarvar-2, AzotoBarvar-1 + PotaBarvar-2, AzotoBarvar-1 + PhosphoBarvar-2, PotaBarvar-2 + PhosphoBarvar-2, and chemical treatments, respectively. 

The positive effect of biofertilizers and HA on the improvement of rocket plants growth, physiological, and qualitative traits was observed in this research. As a result, this type of fertilizers can be used as one of the most desirable methods to substitute or reduce the use of chemical inputs with the aim of improving soil fertility, producing a healthy crop and also maintaining environmental sustainability for the production of this beneficial leafy vegetable.

Barley is the fourth most important cereal in the world and is considered one of the least expected crops that has adapted and distributed globally due to its resistance to salinity. The growing world's population has expanded the cultivated domain, which caused the utilization of extravagant chemical fertilizers in modern agricultural cropping systems. This approach has not been cost-effective and has caused severe environmental damages like contaminating the underground water and creating unusual salinity in the fields. Therefore, it seems to be essential to replace risky approaches with eco-friendlier methods. In addition, with increasing environmental stress as a result of climate warming, we need to understand better ways to reduce environmental stress for the sustainable production of barley. Mycorrhiza has been introduced as an essential portion of agricultural ecosystems because of its positive effect on the soil texture, growth, and productivity of almost all host plants. This trend is attributed to reduced chemical fertilizer demands. Mycorrhiza enhances the water relations under stress conditions, water and nutrient uptake by augmenting the hyphae network. In this study we aimed to investigate the role of mycorrhizal inoculation in alleviating the detrimental effects of salinity stress on barley. Our hypotheses were: (i) mycorrhizal inoculation can alleviate the detrimental effect of stress at low to medium levels but not at high levels of salinity, and (ii) there is an interaction effect of low levels of salinity and arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis lead to higher the performance of barley.

In order to evaluate the effects of Funneliformis mosseae mycorrhiza on morphological, biochemical and yield of barley, one experiment was conducted in research farm of School of Agriculture, Shiraz University. Field experiment was a split-plot in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Factors included salinity levels (0.4, 4, 8 and 12 dS m-1) as the main factor and the mycorrhiza (with and without) was applied as sub factor.  Data were analyzed by using SAS 9.2 software and the means were separated using LSD test at 5% probability level.

The results of the experiment showed that salinity decreased yield and vegetation traits, including plant height, number of tillers per plant, number of spikes per plant, number of seeds per spike, 1000-grain weight, grain yield, and biological yield. All the measured traits in plants inoculated with mycorrhizal fungi were higher than the non-mycorrhizal plants. The inoculation of plants in most cases improved the effects of stress; i.e., inoculation under high salinity stress (12 dS m-1) increased SOD by 5.7%, CAT by 8.0%, K concentration by 30.8%, K/Na ratio by 131.1%, plant height by 8.1%, number of spikes per plant by 9.4%, number of grain per spike by 6.6%, 1000-grain weight by 4.2%, grain yield by 20.2%, and biological yield by 11.0% compared with non-inoculation plants. Also, Fayaz and Zahedi (2021) reported that mycorrhizal inoculation could promote the growth and salt tolerance of wheat cultivars by improving osmoregulation and antioxidant enzyme activity and reducing the Na+/K+ ratio.

In this experiment, inoculation treatment alleviated the high salinity stress (12 dS m-1) effects in most cases and raised the grain yield and K+/Na+ ratio up to 20.2 and 131.1%, respectively, compared with non-inoculation plants. The results from this experiment showed that Funneliformis mosseae fungi inoculation could promote the growth and salt tolerance of barley by improving antioxidant enzyme activity, and ion homeostasis. In summary, the use of Funneliformis mosseae could reduce salinity damages by improving the physiological and biochemical responses of barley. This study highlighted the potential role of Funneliformis mosseae inoculation, in particular with native strains, as an innovative and eco-friendly technology for a sustainable crop-growing system in arid and semi-arid areas.

One of the crops of the Brassicaceae family, which is regarded as one of the most significant oil plants in the world because of its oil content and ideal fatty acid composition, is canola. Nitrogen is one of the most crucial components that play a role in the synthesis of amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids, enzymes, chlorophyll, vitamins, secondary metabolites and ATP. Chemical fertilizers used carelessly cause a number of environmental problems, such as groundwater contamination, insect and microbe extinction, and decreased soil fertility. Using biological fertilizers is a crucial step in minimizing the use of chemical fertilizers and preventing the adverse impact caused with their application. Due to its wide range of adaptability to most of the country's climatic conditions, canola, one of the most significant oilseed plants in development, has enormous value in reducing dependence on the import of edible oil. Nevertheless, using biological fertilizers will also significantly reduce the negative environmental effects caused by the excessive use of synthetic inputs, particularly commercial fertilizers, in addition to reducing the use of chemical fertilizers. Due to these reasons, the current study was conducted to determine the best combination for nitrogen with biofertilizers in regards to yield, yield components, and percentage of canola oil.

The experiment was conducted as a factorial based on randomized complete blocks design with three replications in a farm located in Marand city of East Azarbaijan province in 2019. Experimental treatments include chemical fertilizer at three levels (no application of fertilizer as a control and application of 125 and 250 kg ha-1 of urea) and bifertilizers at four levels (without biofertilizers as a control, application of Azoto barvar-1, Phosphate barvar-2 and the combined of Azotobarvar-1 + Phosphate barvar-2).

Application of different levels of urea fertilizer increased plant height, leaf area, and number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, harvest index, chlorophyll index, plant dry weight, oil percentage, and green cover percentage of canola. However, it had non-significant effect on oil yield. On the other hand, the application of bifertilizers improved plant dry weight, oil percentage and oil yield, but did not have a significant effect on the other studied traits. The interaction effect between chemical fertilizer and biofertilizer had significant effect on the number of seeds and yield of the plant. The highest number of seeds per plant and grain yield was obtained at the combination of biofertilizers with the application of 250 kg ha-1 of urea. Combined use of Azotobarvar-1 + Phosphate barvar-2 biofertilizers with the consumption of 125 and 250 kg ha-1 of urea improved the yield by 42.9% and 81.4%, respectively.

Based on the results of this study, the combined application of Azotobarvar-1 + Phosphate barvar-2  biofertilizers along with nitrogen fertilizer due to the improvement of yield, yield components and oil content can be recommended for profitable of canola production in fields.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the efficiency and sustainability of soybean (Glycine max L.) agricultural ecosystems in the counties of Aq Qala and Aliabad-e-Katul.

The study was conducted in 2018-2019. First, resources were divided into four categories: renewable environmental resources, nonrenewable environmental resources, purchased renewable resources and purchased nonrenewable resources. After determining the inputs and outputs of farms and their emergy equivalent, emergy indices were evaluated. In this study, production systems of soybean were evaluated using emergy indices in counties of Aq Qala and Aliabad-e-Katul (Golestan province), by questionnaires and face to face interview with farmers and managers of farms.  

The total emergy input to soybean farming ecosystems in Aq Qala and Aliabad-e-Katul was 6.21E+16 and 6.42E+16 sej ha-1, respectively. In both agricultural ecosystems, dependence on non-renewable environmental inputs was much more than renewable environmental, renewable purchased and non-renewable purchased inputs, which was due to the large contribution of groundwater and soil erosion from the total emergy input.

Soybean production system in Aq Qala was more favorable in terms of resources use efficiency and environmental and economic sustainability than soybean production system in Aliabad-e-Katul. Implementation of the recommended solutions to reduce the consumption of non-renewable resources in providing purchased inputs, along with awareness, education and encouragement of farmers in this field, is effective in increasing efficiency and environmental and economic sustainability in agricultural ecosystems.

Mung bean is a suitable plant to enrich the agricultural systems diversity and to benefit from positive ecological effects. A total 47 mung bean lines along with control genotypes (Parto cultivar and 6173 line) were planted in Latis square design (7 × 7) in two replications at three different environments conditions . The most important agronomic traits including grain yield, pods and racemes number per plant and pod length were evaluated and different lines compared to each others. The results indicated existence of diversity in the under-studied lines and emphasized that it would be possible to perform selection the appropriate one for utilization in the future breeding programs. Inconsistent performance of lines across three different environments necessitate that appropriate line selection was done in each environment separately. Generally based on lines performance at three different environments, lines number 24, 25 and 41 from pod length point of view, lines number 23 and 42 from pod number per plant, lines number 43 from grain number per pod and lines number 5, 11 and 42 from raceme number per plant point of view ranked as appropriate lines at all three environments, The high genetic diversity in these lines make possible the introduction of new cultivars and the expanding the cultivated area of this plant at different regions with different climate conditions.

Drought stress is a major limitation in the production and sustainable performance of plant products, including soybeans, and identifying drought-tolerant genotypes can be a valuable solution in dealing with this problem.

The experiment was conducted in the form of a split plot based on a randomized complete block design in 2019 in Ahar city. The treatments included irrigation levels (1- no stress, 2- stress after flowering, 3- stress after podding) as the main factor and 10 genotype of soybean as secondary factors were implemented in four replications.

With the increase of stress from the flowering stage to the fruiting stage, the yield and yield components decreased due to the increase in the duration of drought stress and showed a decrease compared to the non-stressed conditions.The non-stress treatment (normal) had 11.75% more yield than the stress treatment after podding. Aryan line and DPX variety were selected as superior varieties and Kausar, Parsa and Saba lines were selected as weak lines. Under normal conditions, the trait number of fertile stems was entered into the model, under stress conditions, after flowering, the trait number of stems per plant was entered into the model, and under stress conditions, after seeding, straw and stubble yield traits and seed weight per stem were entered into the model, and the first The variable entered into the model at this level of stress was the yield of straw and stubble,

Intercropping increases production, soil fertility and soil erosion control and generally the optimal use of resources. Thus, different morphological traits, grain yield and the evaluation indexes were evaluated.

Different patterns of Partial Additive intercropping included: 1) intercropping with 50% ratio of basil mobarake cultivar at optimal density of monoculture and optimal density of bean, 2): basil mobarake cultivar 75% and optimal density of bean, 3) basil mobarake cultivar 100% and optimal density of bean, 4) basil tailandi cultivar 50% and optimal density of bean, 5) basil tailandi cultivar 75% and optimal density of bean, 6) basil tailandi cultivar 100% and optimal density of bean, 7) bean monoculture, 8) basil mobarake cultivar monoculture, 9) basil tailandi cultivar monoculture

Results showed the highest yield of bean and basil was recorded in monoculture and highest dry weight, fresh weight, percentage and essential oil yield of basil were observed recorded in monoculture of basil tailandi cultivar at the first harvesting under different intercropping pattern.

According to the Land Equivalent Ratio and Total Relative Value, pattern of optimal bean density and 100% basil tailandi cultivar density was superior than other patterns and more beneficial than monocultures.

This experiment was conducted with the aim of investigating the effects of combined use of organic and biological fertilizers on protein percentage and apparent nitrogen recovery in white beans.

An experiment was conducted as a factorial arrangement of treatment in a randomized complete block design with three replications was used. The first factor included four levels (Control, Inoculation with Azotobacter, Inoculation with Barvar-2 and Inoculation with Azotobacter + Barvar-2) and second factor included four levels (Control, Farmyard manure, Mushroom compost and vermicompost).

The results showed that the highest biological performance was related to Nitroxin without using organic fertilizer and the lowest was related to control. The highest percentage of protein was related to fertilizer 2 + mushroom compost. The lowest percentage of protein belonged to the treatment of not using biological fertilizer and using animal manure. The maximum and minimum of nitrogen consumption efficiency were related to control treatment + animal manure with an average of 36.32 and control treatment + control, respectively. The highest value of apparent nitrogen recovery attribute was related to nitroxin + vermicompost treatment and the lowest value of this attribute was related to control + control.

The application of biological fertilizer and organic fertilizer led to a significant increase in the evaluated traits. Therefore, due to the high costs of preparation and consumption of chemical fertilizers, high wastage and leaching, as well as the harmful environmental effects of these fertilizers,