کلروفیل

This research was conducted in order to investigate the effect of aqueous extract of different organs of Artemisia aucheri on the growth and germination traits of Brassica napus and Goldbachia laevigata in two separate experiments including the laboratory and the greenhouse conditions, respectively. The experiments were exerted based on a completely randomized design with three replications and randomized complete block design with four replications, respectively. The test treatments included aqueous extracts of Artemisia in concentrations of 5, 10 and 15% of roots, 5, 10 and 15% of aerial organs and control (distilled water). The results showed that with increasing extract concentration, the germination and growth traits and total chlorophyll of both investigated plants significantly decreased. In such a way that the highest and lowest inhibition rates were associated with 15% root extract and 5% aerial organs extract, respectively. The level of 15% Artemisia root extract in Brassica decreased the germination percentage by 37.1% and in Goldbachia by 48.5% compared to the control. Increasing of extract concentration from zero to 15% of arial parts decreased stem length decreased by 30.3% in Brassica and 56.3% in Goldbachia compared to the control. Most of the examined traits in Goldbachia weed, were more sensitive to the allelopathic effects of Artemisia extract compared to Brassica. in general, root extract of Artemisia were more capable of dealing with germination and seedling growth than the aerial organs. Therefore, 15% aqueous extract of Artemisia root can be suggested to reduce the growth and weakening of the weed Goldbachia.

Drought stress, as one of the main abiotic stresses, affects plant growth and performance by affecting various physiological and biochemical processes, such as membrane integrity, photosynthetic pigments, osmotic adjustments, water relations, and secondary metabolism. Drought stress in plants causes oxidative stress due to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during photosynthesis and respiration. ROS directly damage proteins, fats, nucleic acids and cell membrane, and due to the increase in membrane permeability, the rate of electrolyte leakeage and malondialdehyde increases. Plants mainly reduce the damage of these oxides by controlling the antioxidant system and regulating the content of osmosis compounds. Enzymatic antioxidant system: It includes antioxidant enzymes such as catalase, superoxidase dismutase, peroxidase and non-enzymatic antioxidant system including compounds such as ascorbate, glutathione, as well as phenol and flavonoids. Savory (Satureja hortensis L.) is one of the most important medicinal plants that grows in different parts of the world, including Iran. Biofertilizers play a prominent role in the growth and development of plants by improving the absorption of nutrients and sufficient water through changes in the physicochemical properties of the soil. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of drought stress, plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPRS) and vermicompost on the physiological and biochemiclal traits of savory plant. In drought stress conditions, the application of organic fertilizers prevents the soil from drying out by maintaining moisture.   

In order to investigate the effect of inoculation with  Pseudomonas P15 bacteria, Streptomyces and vermicompost on some physiological and phytochemical traits of savory plant (S. hortensis L.) under drought stress conditions, a factorial experimental based on a randomized complete block design with three replications was conducted at the Research Farm at the Mohaghegh Ardabili University, Iran, during 2016-2017.The experimental factors include inoculation with microorganisms at three levels (control (without inoculation), inoculation with Pseudomonas P15 and Streptomyces bacteria),    vermicompost at four levels (0, 1, 1.5 and 2 tons). per hectare) and drought stress in three levels (S1: full irrigation, S2: water cut at 50% of flowering and S3: water cut at the beginning of flowering). 

The results showed that drought stress, inoculation with   microorganisms and vermicompost had a significant effect on the measured traits (chlorophyll, carotenoid, RWC, protein, electrolyte leakeage, proline, and antioxidant enzymes. Under drought stress conditions, the amount of chlorophyll, carotenoid, RWC and protein decreased. While the amount of electrolyte leakeage, proline, and antioxidant enzymes increased. Also, the values of all the measured traits, except the amount of electrolyte leakeage and proline, in plants inoculated with bacteria and vermicompost application were more than non-inoculated plants. The highest and lowest values of the RWC (94.44 and 62.33 percent) were obserwed in plants inoculated with Streptomyces bacteria under non-stress conditions and in non-inoculated plants under drought stress at the beginning of flowering respectively. Also, the highest amount of chlorophyll a, b and total (25.36, 20.25 and 45.61 mg/g FW) was obtained in non-stress conditions, application of two tons per hectare of vermicompost and inoculation with Streptomyces bacteria. While the lowest amount of chlorophyll a, b and total (16.73, 9.63 and 23.69 mg/g FW) was obtained in non- inoculation plants and without application of vermicompost under drought stress at the beginning of flowering. It seems under drought stress conditions, the application of organic fertilizers prevents soil drying by maintaining moisture, thereby improving the relative water content of the leaves. Also, the use of organic fertilizers such as vermicompost improves the absorption of nitrogen that leading to greater synthesis of photosynthetic pigments such as chlorophyll and carotenoids.

The findings of this research showed that inoculation with growth-stimulating microorganisms and the use of vermicompost can moderate the adverse effects of water stress on the growth and performance of savory plants by maintaining chlorophyll levels and increasing antioxidant activity. According to the results of this study, it can be stated that the application of Streptomyces bacteria and 2 tons per hectare of vermicompost in the field leads to sustainable production and yield of S. hortensis under drought stress conditions by improving physiological traits.

90% of Iran's land area is in arid and semi-arid areas. It is expected that by 2025, about two-thirds of the world's agricultural lands will face a water deficit. The yield also decreases by 50 to 90% under drought stress conditions compared to non-stressed conditions. Among the different types of stress, drought stress at the end of the season is the most important stress in Mediterranean areas such as many areas of Iran. Therefore, the yield of small grains cultivated in these areas is affected by drought stress at the terminal of the season. Salinity and drought stress increases the concentration of dissolved solutes in the root environment, increases the osmotic potential of the soil, decreases the absorption of nutrients and decreases the mobility of zinc and iron elements in the soil solution. Elements in the plant can be compensated and tolerance to saline conditions can be increased. Researchers reported that the application of zinc increased the grain yield of wheat and barley cultivars. Researchers reported that the application of zinc increased the grain yield of wheat and barley cultivars. In stress conditions due to reduction of stomatal conductance and limited access to CO2 for carboxylation reactions, the rate of photosynthesis decreases and increasing stomatal resistance is a suitable defense strategy for the survival of wheat and barley. Due to the cultivation of barley in these moderate areas and the role of the micronutrient element zinc in reducing the effects of drought and salinity stress, this research was carried out in different varieties of barley using different amounts of zinc sulfate. This research was carried out in November of the agricultural year 2017-2018 in two areas: 1) Kobutrabad Agricultural Research Station (drought stress by removing water after spike emergence); 2) Rudasht Station (rrigation with salt water 10 dS/m). Planting was carried out by machine planter in November in both regions. In the dry area of Kabutrabad, the plots containing 6 rows of 6 meters with the distance between the rows of 20 cm (the planting area of each plot is 7.2 square meters) with a density of 400 grains per square meter were done. Data analysis and step-by-step regression were performed using SAS9.1 software and mean comparison was performed by LSD test at 5% probability level. If the interaction effect is significant, cutting (slicing) and comparison of means was done by Lsmeans test at 5% probability level. The results showed that barley cultivars under drought stress had higher thousand-grain weight, grain yield and biological yield and lower proline content than under salt stress. Drought stress at the end of the season compared to salinity stress during the growing season had higher thousand-grain weight, grain yield and biological yield and lower proline content. Foliar application of 0.5% zinc sulfate had higher grain yield (4763 kg/ha about 34%) and biological yield (4763 kg/ha about 26%) than without foliar application and is recommended. It should be noted that there was no difference in the amount of proline between cultivars in drought stress, but in salt stress, tolerant and semi-tolerant cultivars had more proline content than the stress-sensitive line. In drought stress, Armaghan (semi drought tolerant) and Goharan (drought tolerant) cultivars had more chlorophyll a in the application of zinc sulfate. It seems that the mechanism of increasing the tolerance and performance of Armaghan and Goharan cultivars under drought stress conditions is the increase in the amount of chlorophyll a due to the application of zinc sulfate. For this purpose, foliar spraying of suitable cultivars (Armaghan and Goharan) is recommended in drought stress conditions.Grain yield had positive correlation with traits of plant height (p = 0.01, r = 0.33), spike length (p = 0.05, r = 0.31), number of grain per spike (p = 0.01, r = 0.35), biological yield (p = 0.01,  r = 0.96), amount of chlorophyll a (p = 0.01, r = 0.44), amount of chlorophyll b (p = 0.05, r = 0.29) and zinc element (p = 0.01, r = 0.39), which is the highest correlation between grain yield and biological yield (r2 = 0.99). In terms of grain and biological yield, Armaghan and Goharan cultivars are recommended under drought stress and Armaghan and Mehr cultivars are recommended under salt stress with a concentration of 0.5% zinc sulfate. In salinity stress, the minimum and maximum grain yield and biological yield were obtained respectively in foliar spraying of 0.1 and 0.5% zinc sulfate in all genotypes. It seems that foliar application of 0.5% zinc sulfate is sufficient for all barley cultivars under salinity stress, and foliar application with a higher concentration of zinc sulfate is not recommended due to the decrease in grain and biological yield in this stress.

A large part of Iran is affected by arid and semi-arid climate and drought has caused many problems in the agricultural sector. The present study aimed to investigate the characteristics of melon under drought stress conditions using animal manure and bentonite. This experiment was conducted as a split-factorial based on a randomized complete block design with three replications in Hirmand city, Iran, during the two cropping years of 2019-2020. Experimental treatments include irrigation after 25, 50, and 75% soil moisture discharge as the main plot and application of bentonite at levels of 2, 3, and 4 t.ha-1 and application of animal manure at the rate of 20, 30, and 40 ton.ha-1 were considered as subplots. According to the results, in the first year of the experiment, fruit yield increased by 2.02 times compared to the control under 50% soil moisture discharge with the application of 4 t.ha-1 of bentonite with 20 ton.ha-1 of animal manure. The results showed that the fruit yield in irrigation conditions after draining 50% of soil moisture with the application of 4 t.ha-1 of bentonite along with 20 ton.ha-1 of animal manure in the first year of the experiment with an average of 2.20 ton.ha-1 and 74.1% compared to the control showed an increase. In order to achieve higher fruit yield, irrigation after draining 50% of soil moisture, application of 4 t.ha-1 of bentonite and 20 ton.ha-1 of animal manure are suggested for cultivation in Hirmand region. In this experiment, the greater effectiveness of fruit weight and yield in the first year can be attributed to the faster growth of shoots and the availability of more nutrients due to the release of manure elements for plant use and the effect of soil interactions in the first year, and the improvement of physical conditions and Soil and plant chemistry in the second year under irrigation conditions after draining 50% of soil moisture. The reason for the higher fruit yield due to the consumption of animal manure can be the result of the vegetative growth caused by the increase in the availability of nutrients, which causes photosynthesis and the production of more photosynthetic substances, followed by the presence of more vascular elements to transfer the cultivated substances to the fruit of the plant. Based on the obtained results, the increase in drought stress increased the activity of catalase and peroxidase enzymes, and the animal manure increased the activity of enzymes to defend the plant under drought stress conditions, in other words, the plant decomposes hydrogen peroxide and increases tolerance against radicals. The effect of animal manure on plant growth can be largely attributed to mineral nutrients, especially absorbed nitrogen. In addition to this, increasing the decomposition of organic materials and mineralization of phosphorus in organic materials and converting them into usable form for plants plays a key role in the soil phosphorus cycle, and along with the use of bentonite, it strengthens the physical, chemical and biological structure of the soil, and finally By increasing the amount of water and the availability of nutrients available to the plant, it has a positive effect on the process of photosynthesis and can increase the length and width of the fruit. According to the results of the experiment, in order to achieve the desired results, irrigation after draining 50% of the soil moisture, application of 4 tons per hectare of bentonite and 20 tons per hectare of manure are suggested for cultivation in Hirmand region.

 Due to Iran's location in the arid and semi-arid region of the world, the possibility of drought is high. Therefore, implementing low irrigation to increase the efficiency of limited water resources is a scientific solution to reduce water consumption. On the other hand, irrigation deficit in cotton  is the most important factor limiting production worldwide, which indicates the need for optimal use of water resources to determine the real water needs of cotton plants. Therefore, development and introduction of drought tolerant cultivars and useful method to improve water productivity and efficiency in the face of drought and water scarcity. The aim of this experiment was to evaluate cotton cultivars by measuring traits related to photosynthetic pigments and yield in order to select drought tolerant cultivars. The present study, evaluated physiological traits of 10 cotton cultivars that were known as tolerant cultivar under irrigation deficit based on the measurement of traits and mechanisms of drought tolerance split-plot arrangement using randomized complete blocks design with three replications in 2021 and 2022 years, in the educational and research farm of Gonbadkavos University (Golestan province), Iran. Experimental research includes two different irrigation regime The main factor of irrigation stress in two levels including low irrigation stress (two times of irrigation in the stages of bud formation and beginning of flowering) and no stress (four times of irrigation in the stages of bud formation, beginning of flowering, beginning of bud formation and beginning of bud opening) and the factor Sub-types of cotton were included in 10 levels (Shayan, Sahel, Sepid, Sajidi, Golestan, Latif, Armaghan, Parto, Mai and Lodos). The studied traits include physiological characteristics such as chlorophyll a, b and carotenoids, proline and boll yield. Photosynthetic pigments were measured by spectrophotometer and its concentration was performed by Arnon (1967) method. Based on the results of this experiment, cultivars with low irrigation stress treatments showed a significant difference in terms of traits related to photosynthetic pigments and non-enzymatic antioxidants and their yield. The study of compound analysis of interaction effect of cultivars in the stress of low irrigation during two crop years showed a significant difference in the yield of Vash and malendialdehyde. Most of the studied traits were affected by the intensity of low irrigation stress and growth stage. The amount of proline increased with the increase of stress so that at the medium stress level of two stages of irrigation (bud formation and beginning of flowering) it increased significantly compared to the condition of no stress. The amount of chlorophyll a was affected by the intensity of stress, but there was no significant change in the amount of chlorophyll b. In the first and second year, the highest yield of rice in non-stress conditions belonged to Sajidi variety with 4596 and 4593 kg/ha-1, respectively, and the lowest yield in water stress conditions in the first and second year belonged to Sepid variety, with 1649 and 1756 kg/ha-1, respectively. The decrease in the yield of cotton was due to the decrease in the number of bolls in the plant under the condition of low irrigation stress. The results of this study indicated the traits of  tolerance cultivars under irrigation deficit. Also, cultivars showed different reactions to the studied traits.  According to the results of the research and the correlation coefficients between the traits, among the water stress tolerant cultivars studied, Golestan and Sajidi cultivars are among the stress tolerant cultivars, Sahil and Sepid cultivars are the sensitive cultivars to water stress, and the other cultivars are the semi-sensitive cultivars. Water stress was introduced.

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is the most widely used natural fiber and the most important dual-purpose industrial plant in the world. Delayed transplanting of cotton using early cultivars is one of the effective methods to increase the cultivated area and increase the production of this strategic crop. Plant growth regulators can be effective in the source-sink balance in different plants and are progressively used to increase yield in many plants. Cytokinins are one of the most important plant growth regulators, which increase cell division and differentiation, reduce the effect of terminal dominance, increase leaf surface development, increase the number of lateral branches, increase mobility of nutrients, prevent chlorophyll decomposition, and prevent aging. Growth regulators containing mepiquat chloride, such as pix, reduce vegetative growth in cotton by preventing the synthesis of gibberellic acid. Controlling the growth of cotton as a result of the use of pix, allocates the photosynthetic assimilates to the fruit organs and growing bolls, which increases the weight of the bolls.

To investigate the effect of foliar application of 6-benzylaminopurine and pix on the growth and yield of cotton (cv. May 344) in delayed transplanting, a factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications in Sabzevar during 2020. The factors studied were foliar application of pix at two levels of no foliar application and foliar application at the rate of 1.5 liters per hectare and 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) foliar application at five concentrations of 0, 5, 25, 50 and 100 mg l-1. May 344 cotton cultivar was used in this experiment.

The results showed that foliar application of pix significantly increased the content of chlorophyll a compared to the no foliar application conditions. Foliar application with concentrations of 50 and 100 mg l-1 BAP also caused a significant increase in the content of chlorophyll a compared to the no foliar application conditions. The highest content of chlorophyll a was observed in the concentration of 50 mg l-1 BAP, which had an increase of 17.7% compared to the control treatment. The highest height of the plant (67.9 cm) was obtained by foliar application of 25 mg l-1 BAP alone, which showed an increase of 15.1% compared to the control. The lowest plant height (51.6 cm) was also observed in the treatment of foliar application of pix along with 100 mg l-1 BAP. Foliar application of pix along with 25 mg l-1 BAP produced the highest number of bolls per plant, which was 29.8% higher than the control. The highest average boll weight (5.4 g) and the highest percentage of open bolls (83.8%) were obtained in the foliar application treatment of pix with 100 mg l-1 BAP, which was not significantly different from the control treatment. Foliar application of 1.5 liters per hectare of pix alone produced the highest seed cotton yield (2754.3 kg ha-1), which had a 40.2% increase compared to the control. The highest biological yield was produced in the foliar application treatment of PIX along with 5 mg l-1  of BAP, which had an increase of 26.5% compared to the control treatment. The lowest biological yield was obtained in the treatment of foliar application with 100 mg l-1  of BAP, which was not significantly different from the control treatment. The highest percentage of lint (52.2%) was observed in the pix foliar application treatment along with 50 mg l-1 BAP, which showed an increase of 20.3% compared to the control.

According to the results, foliar application of 1.5 liters per hectare of pix is recommended to produce high seed cotton yield and increase the percentage of lint in delayed transplanting cotton.

Today, soil pollution is one of the important environmental issues that must be taken into consideration. Industrial activities cause pollution and accumulation of heavy metals in the soil. The rate of absorption of pollutants, especially heavy metals, by different plants is different.  If resistant plants can be found that are able to reduce some of the pollution in water or soil, they can be used to remove pollution from polluted sources. Heavy metals are considered as an important environmental problem due to their toxicity, cumulative effects, long persistence time in the environment, carcinogenicity and non-degradability. Chemical phytoremediation is a method in which different chelating agents are used to increase the absorption of metals by the plant. The purpose of this research is to investigate the ability of morale as a weed with a wide geographical spread in the country, to absorb cadmium metal pollution. This research was carried out in the agricultural year of 2018-2019 in the greenhouse of agricultural Research Institute of Zabul University, located in Zahak city, with a geographic location of 61˚ 41' east longitude and 30˚ and 54' north latitude and an altitude of 483 meters above sea level. The research was carried out as a factorial experiment in the form of a completely randomized design with three replications. The experimental treatments include EDTA and PIOA chelate at four levels (0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 mg/kg of soil) as the first and second factors, respectively, and cadmium at three levels (0, 15 and 30 mg/kg of soil) from the source of cadmium nitrate as the third factor. This research aims to investigate the phytoremediation ability of Morale in the presence of EDTA and PIOA chelating agents in a selected soil from the drainage area of zabol in the form of a pot test on a soil contaminated with cadmium, in the greenhouse of the agricultural research institute was done of the zabol university. In each pot, 4 morale seedlings prepared from the treasury of Zabol University Agricultural Research Institute were planted at a depth of 10 cm. Analysis of data was done using SAS software version 9.1. The mean comparison of the treatments was analyzed using Duncan's multiple range test at the 5% level. The application of chelating agent increased chlorophyll a in all treatments affected by cadmium, so that the highest amount of chlorophyll a (878.33 mg/g) was in the treatment of 1.5 mg/kg EDTA and soil without cadmium, which ratio It showed an increase of about 3.75% compared to the control (without chelating agent and without cadmium). The highest amount of cadmium in aerial parts (8.57 mg/kg) corresponds to the treatment containing 1.5 mg/kg of EDTA chelated and soil with 30 mg/kg of cadmium and the lowest amount of cadmium in aerial parts (0.427 mg/kg) was related to the control treatment (without chelating agent and without cadmium). The application of chelating agent increased root cadmium in all treatments under the influence of cadmium, in a way that showed an increase of about 94.42% compared to the control (without chelating agent and without cadmium). In sum, the results of this research show that the Morale plant is a plant resistant to soil pollution and can tolerate the levels of pollution to a certain extent. Refinement and separation of cadmium metal from the soil was done better by the plant. Due to the high tendency of EDTA to bind to metals, when EDTA is used in high concentrations. It has a potential effect on the release of metals from the solid phase by forming soluble complexes, and the formation of EDTA complexes with metals in the soil solution may advance the balance of precipitation and absorption towards the dissolution of metals.

Summer savory (Satureja hortensis) is an annual herbaceous plant. The leaves of the plant are spear-shaped, opposite, with a short petiole. The leaves and flowering branches of summer savory are used in traditional medicine with known anti-flatulent, anti-heartache, anti-parasitic, stomach tonic, stimulant and expectorant effects. Spraying or foliar feeding is a method to reduce the stabilization of chemical fertilizers in the soil and as a result reduce environmental risks, including reducing soil and water pollution. With this feeding method, elements can be provided to the plant as quickly as possible. Silicon is the second mineral element in the soil after oxygen, and in higher plants, it usually causes the physical strength of the organs by penetrating the stem and leaves, and also improves physiological and metabolic processes, gas exchanges and strengthens the antioxidant system. Also, this element has beneficial effects on the growth, performance and tolerance of some plants against biotic and abiotic stresses. The form of silicon solution in soil is silicic acid Si (OH)4. The amount of silicon in plants is 0.1 to 10% of the dry weight of the plant. The use of fertilizers containing silicon in the soil affects growth and development in two ways. First, the improvement of silicon nutrition strengthens the plant's protection system against adverse environmental conditions. On the other hand, treating soil with compounds containing geochemically active silicon improves the chemical and physical properties of soil and increases the availability of nutrients for plants. The objective of this research was to investigate the influence of silicon application on some physiological and morphological characteristics of summer savory under drought stress conditions.           

In order to investigate the effect of silicon foliar application on the summer savory characteristics under deficit irrigation conditions, a factorial experiment was conducted based on randomized complete blocks design with four replications. The experiment was carried out at the vegetable production farm of Ardabil municipality during the years 2021-2022. The investigated factors included the first, drought stress at three levels (40, 60, and 80% field capacity (FC)) and the second, silicon foliar spraying at four levels (0 (control), 0.5, 1, and 1.5 mM L-1). Drought stress was induced at the stage of 4 to 6 sub-branches and silicon solutions were foliar applied at two stages including a week before the induction of drought stress, and a week after that. Distilled water was also used as control treatment. In the present study, pots with a diameter of 20 cm, a height of 30 cm, a capacity of 3 kg with 3 holes at the bottom were used to cultivate savory plants. Before the induction of drought stress, the savory plants were regularly irrigated up to the field capacity. Drought stress was applied at the stage of 4 to 6 sub-branches based on crop capacity and after the stress induction, sampling was done.

The obtained results showed that drought stress negatively affected plant fresh weight, dry weight, height, soluble sugar content, chlorophyll a, b and total and carotenoid content, but proline content increased by 61.03% under highest level of drought stress comparing to control. The highest soluble sugar content was recorded in savory plants sprayed with silicon 1 mM L-1 and grown under drought level of 40% FC (4.76 mg g-1 FW). On the other hand, the lowest value of this trait was obtained in plants treated with silicon 0.5 mM L-1, and grown under drought level of 80% FC (3.16 mg g-1 FW). In the present study, the decrease in chlorophyll of the savory plant under drought stress could be probably related to the increase in the production of oxygen free radicals, peroxidase and phenolic compounds, because the absorption of excess energy by the photosynthetic system often stimulates the production of reactive oxygen species. Silicon foliar application had a positive and significant effect on the examined traits, so the negative effects of drought stress were alleviated by increasing silicon concentration.

In general, it could be stated that silicon could be used as a useful element to increase the performance of agricultural-garden plants, as well as to increase plants tolerance rate against environmental stresses (including drought stress). On the other hand, the application of silicon up to a concentration of 1.5 mM L-1 had a positive effect on alleviation of the adverse effects of deficit irrigation on savory plant characteristics.

Satureja khuzistanica is native to Iran, which is used as a vegetable, spice, decoction, and painkiller and disinfectant in traditional medicine, food and pharmaceutical industries, and has antifungal, antimicrobial, and antibacterial properties. This plant has pain-relieving, anti-diabetic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory characteristics, and reduces blood fat and triglycerides. Biochar, called black gold in agriculture, is a carbon-rich organic substance, which is obtained by pyrolyzing biomass or plant residues in the presence or absence of oxygen at 300-1000 ˚C. The material can affect soil physico-chemical characteristics, leading to a change in its biological characteristics and better fertility, and consequently, more plant yield. In addition, biochar results in absorbing and retaining nutrients, raising water holding capacity, increasing cation exchange capacity, improving soil structure, and subsequently providing mineral nutrients (P, Mg2+, Ca2+ and K+) for plants.           

To investigate the impact of pomegranate biochar on the germination, biochemical and growth indices of khuzistanica, an experiment was conducted in the Ecophysiology Laboratory of Medicinal Plants, Medicinal Plants and Drugs Research Institute of Shahid Beheshti University of Tehran during 2022. To prepare biochar, the required amount of pomegranate wood (Punica granatum) was collected from the pomegranate orchards located in Saveh region, and then dried, packed in aluminum sheets, and placed in a furnace at 450 ˚C for four h to perform the pyrolysis process. The experiment was conducted based on completely randomized design with three replications. In this study, the effects of biochar treatment at four different levels including 0 (control), 1, 2 and 3 % (w/w) on germination indices, growth indices, leaf relative water content, chlorophyll content and activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase enzymes were investigated.

Results showed that the effect of pomegranate biochar on germination percentage, germination speed, mean germination time, seed vigour index, shoot and root length, fresh and dry weight of shoot and root, leaf relative water content and chlorophyll a and b content was significant at 1 % probability level, but the effect on activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase enzymes was not significant. Based on results, a significant improvement was observed in germination percentage, germination speed, and mean germination time and growth indices with the application of biochar 2 %. The mean comparing results showed that the levels of 1, 2, and 3 % of pomegranate biochar increased the germination percentage. In this study, the lowest (61 %) and highest (88 %) germination percentages were observed in control and biochar 2 %, respectively. Also, the highest germination speed was recorded under application of biochar 2 % (with an average rate of 11.66 seed d-1). The lowest germination speed was observed in control (with an average rate of 6.66 seed d-1). Increasing the level of pomegranate biochar to 2 % decreased the duration of germination, so that the longest germination duration (5.86 d) was for the control and the shortest duration (4.33 d) was for biochar 2 %. The highest germination index (2024.67) was observed in seeds sown in culture trays filled with soil mixed with 2 % pomegranate biochar, and the lowest value (777.13) was observed in the control. The highest length (23 cm), fresh weight (1.05 g) and dry weight (0.124 g) of the shoots were observed in the treatment of 2 % pomegranate biochar, and the lowest values were recorded in control. In the present study, increasing the level of pomegranate biochar up to 2 % increased the root length, but increasing the level of pomegranate biochar up to 3 % decreased root length. The maximum amount of length (7.6 cm), fresh weight (0.31 g) and dry weight (0.034 g) of the root was obtained under the application of 2 % pomegranate biochar, which had a significant increase compared to the control. By increasing the use of pomegranate biochar, the leaf relative water content increased, so that the highest relative water content (80.33 %) was observed with the use of biochar 3 %. The highest levels of chlorophyll a (2.91 mg g-1 FW) and b (0.95 mg g-1 FW) were obtained with the application of biochar 2 %, and the lowest values were for the control.

In conclusion, the use of biochar as an organic fertilizer in the production of khuzistanica medicinal plant, in addition to having a positive effect on the seed germination indices, can lead to improving growth rate and producing stronger seedlings.

Savory plant (Satureja hortensis ) belongs to mints family (Lamiaceae). Environmental and abiotic stresses affect the agricultural plants growth and yield in many regions of the world. Salinity is one of the most limiting factors for growth and production of crops in arid and semiarid regions. Soil salinity is a dominant issue for the sustainability of agricultural production. Reduction of vegetative growth, dry weight and cells mass are some of most common adverse effects of salinity. Salinity increases energy consumption to remove excess sodium ions accumulated in the root cells leading to significant reduction in plant growth rate. Nowadays, effective microorganisms (EM) is one of the biological fertilizers which has attracted a lot of attention as a useful tool to increase plant productivity and stress tolerance rate. The micro-organisms existed in EM improve the health and yield performance of agricultural plants by increasing photosynthesis rate, producing biologically active compounds such as hormones and enzymes, controlling soil diseases and accelerating the decomposition of organic matter in the soil. Therefore, the use of EM bio-fertilizer under conditions of environmental limiting factors such as salinity could be highly important to develop horticultural plant cultivation in regions with saline soli or saline water resources. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the morphological and bio-chemical responses of the savory plant to salt stress, and using EM bio-fertilizer to reduce the adverse effects of salt stress.           

In order to investigate the effect of EM bio-fertilizer on the morphological and bio-chemical characteristics of the savory plant under salinity conditions, a factorial experiment was conducted based on randomized complete blocks design with 4 replications at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, during 2021. In this study, Em treatments were applied at three levels including 0 (control), 1 and 2 %, and salinity was induced at three levels including 0 (control), 6 and 12 dS/m NaCl. Fresh and dry yield of plants and fresh and dry weight of the roots were measured with a digital scale. The content of chlorophyll a and b, and total chlorophyll were measured by a spectrophotometric method. Proline, soluble sugars and total protein were measured as physiological characteristics.

The results showed that the highest height (30.66 cm) was recorded in plants treated with EM 2 % and grown under control condition. The height of plants decreased with increasing salinity level. Also, the highest fresh and dry yield, and fresh and dry weight of root were obtained by applying EM 2 % under control level of salinity. The highest number of leaves was counted in plants treated with EM 2 %, and grown under control level of salinity. The lowest leaf number was related to non-treated plants grown under salinity level of 12 dS/m. The highest recorded contents of chlorophyll a, b and total were 3.11, 1.85 and 4.96 mg/g FW, respectively. The lowest value of these traits (1.14, 0.65, and 1.79 mg/g FW) was recorded in non-treated plants grown under highest level of salinity. Generally, the amount of chlorophyll a, b and total decreased with increasing salinity level, while EM increased the values of these traits. The results showed that the highest amount of soluble proteins was obtained at control level of salinity and application of EM 2 %, with an average of 38.03 mg/g FW, while the lowest value (15.30 mg/g FW) was obtained in non-treated plants under salinity level of 12 dS/m. The amount of soluble sugars increased with increasing stress level. The highest amount of proline (35.4 μmol/g FW) was obtained under salinity level of 12 dS/m. EM increased the content of photosynthetic pigment under salinity conditions which led to increase photosynthetic performance of treated plants. Also, accumulation of proline as osmoprotectant agent in cells of treated plant, definitely led to decrease the activity of reactive oxygen species resulting in lower damages to cells membrane.

In conclusion, results showed that savory plants fed with EM bio-fertilizer had better growth and yield under salinity conditions than the unfed plants. These plants showed more tolerance rate against salt stress due to better absorption rate and physiological responses. So that the highest values of vegetative traits were recorded in plants treated with EM 2 %. Therefore, this treatment could be recommendable to overcome adverse effects of salinity on savory plants characteristics.

Salinity is one of the major abiotic stresses that has been significantly affecting the plant growth and yield The continuous increase in salinity in arable land due to poor cultivation practices and climate change have devastating global effects, and it is estimated that about 50% of arable land will be lost by the middle of the 21st century. To date, about 1,125 million hectares of agricultural lands have already been seriously affected by salinity, thus it is considered a serious threat to agriculture. Salt stress also leads to increasing the level of ROS which results in oxidative stress, which in turn affects the plants both at cellular and metabolic levels . The plants overcome the oxidative damage through activation of antioxidants through enzymatic and non-enzymatic mechanisms. Moreover, the ROS, such as superoxide radicals ( O−2O2− ), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and small amounts of transition metals, also increases the concentration of OH−. Therefore, plants carry out detoxification to avoid the oxidative damage where these antioxidant enzymes play an important role. A study reported that the antioxidant enzymes positively correlate with the plant tolerance in drought and salt stress. Moreover, the higher antioxidant activities can help improving death in plants. Assessing the tolerance of crops to environmental stresses is an important factor in selecting them for cultivation in different conditions.

 In this regard evaluation and identification of wheat genotypes tolerant to salinity stress using stress tolerance indices and changes in some biochemical parameters, Experimental In completely randomized block design, with repeated three times. Factors included salinity at three levels (zero (control), 9 dS and 12 dS) and 20 genotypes of native Iranian wheat. The traits measured in this design include stress tolerance indices, protein, proline, lipoxygenase (LOX), polyethylene (TBARM), chlorophyll and carotenoids.

The results of this experiment showed that with increasing salinity stress, the amount of lipoxygenase, TBARM and carotenoids increased in all genotypes, but with increasing salinity level from 9 to 12 ds had a decreasing trend in some genotypes, however, in some genotypes, the salinity level increased with increasing salinity. Also, with increasing salinity stress, the amount of protein and proline concentration in a number of genotypes to a salinity level of 9 dS increased, but some genotypes showed a significant decrease with increasing salinity from 9 to 12 dS. Correlation analysis between indices and mean yield under normal and salinity conditions showed that all four indices are suitable for screening genotypes. Due to these indices and high yield in both environments as well as the results of biochemical properties evaluation, the best salinity tolerant genotypes were G2, G11, G86, G109, G209 and G151 genotypes.

The differences between the studied genotypes in terms of the studied traits indicate the diversity between them. The results showed that genotypes of had higher relative resistance to salinity stress than other genotypes and also the results of this study showed that the highest yield under normal conditions and salinity stress and also belong to these genotypes. High levels of proline and protein, photosynthetic capacity and LOX enzyme and low fat peroxidation also confirm this claim. Reduction malondialdehyde degradation biomarker reduced the damaging effects of oxidative stress due to salinity stress in these genotypesAlthough LOX levels were high in these genotypes, they still had good stability in salinity conditions, indicating the flexibility of these genotypes to salinity stress.Based on the obtained results and the protective role that genotypes had against salinity stress, it is speculated that these genotypes have an inherently high capacity to purify and eliminate reactive oxygen species under environmental stresses.

Environmental stress limits the yield of crops, and as a result, a significant difference is observed between the potential yield and the actual yield of crops. Due to their resistance to abiotic stresses such as drought stress and salt stress, quinoa plants are extremely valuable. In addition, due to the excessive use of chemical fertilizers, groundwater contamination, and soil salinization, nano fertilizers are highly efficient and effective.

This study was conducted at the Bahoklat Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center Station in the city of Chabahar during the two crop years 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 using a split factorial experiment with a randomized complete block design and three replications. Irrigation at three levels (control every 14 days (regional custom), 21 and 28 days) was the main factor, while three levels of nano fertilizer (no fertilizer (control), silicon chelate nano fertilizer, and complete micro-chelate nano fertilizer at a rate of two parts Per thousand) and two cultivars of quinoa (Q12 and Q26) were sub-factors.

The results of the comparison of means indicated that the use of nano-fertilizers under full irrigation conditions increased the efficiency of element uptake and, consequently, the production and transfer of photosynthetic material to grain and grain yield components through the availability of microelements. Increased number of seeds per spike (15.6), weight per 1000 seeds (2.44 g), and grain yield (923 kg.ha-1).It appears that in the treatment of watering once every 21 and 28 days, the reduction of irrigation through the reduction of leaf area index and disturbance in the absorption and transfer of nutrients has decreased the supply of cultivated materials and caused alterations in yield components and a decrease in grain yield. There are numerous reasons why insufficient watering inhibits the development of flower stem cells. Due to the loss of pollen grains, reducing irrigation during the pollination and fertilization stages reduces the number of seeds. Typically, the number of seeds on a spike determines the capacity of a plant's reservoirs. any factor that increases the number of seeds also increases the yield.The increase in yield during the second year of the experiment at the full irrigation level is attributable to the increase in yield components such as the number of spikes per plant and the weight of one thousand seeds at this irrigation level. It may be possible to attribute the increase in the weight of 1,000 seeds in the second year of the experiment to the increased efficiency of water consumption brought about by the use of complete micro nano chelate fertilizer, through the provision of microelements and the enhancement of the production and transfer of photosynthetic materials to the grain and grain yield components.Under the conditions of using a complete micro nano-chelate fertilizer, the greatest weight per thousand seeds was achieved. It can be stated that the amount of seeding is determined by the photosynthetic materials stored during the flowering period, and that the lack of nutrients reduces the weight of the seeds by reducing the photosynthetic materials.Quinoa cultivar Q12 yielded the greatest number of seeds per spike. This can be attributed to the prolonged flowering stage. The number of seeds in a spike is primarily determined by the genetic potential of the plant before the spike emerges. After the seeds have been fertilized, the continued growth and development of the plant depends on the delivery of photosynthetic materials from the source that produces the grown materials. Due to the availability of photosynthetic materials during the flowering stage, it is evident that more flowers were inoculated in the quinoa variety Q12, resulting in more seeds.It appears that the higher seed yield of quinoa variety Q12 compared to quinoa variety Q26 is the result of a greater number of seed yield components in this variety. Given that the weight of one thousand seeds is one of the most influential factors in grain yield, this trait has the potential to increase the grain yield of the Q12 quinoa variety. By increasing the green area of the plant and lengthening the seed filling period, the Q12 quinoa cultivar was able to transfer more photosynthetic substances to the seeds and increase the weight of 1,000 seeds.

To achieve maximum grain yield, it is recommended that the quinoa Q12 cultivar be grown under irrigation conditions every 14 days (regional custom) and with the addition of a complete micro-nano-chelate fertilizer.

Plants survive in salinity stress by different mechanisms (Mustafa et al., 2020). Melon is grown in arid and semi-arid regions worldwide especially in where the salinity is a threat. Iran is known as one of major centers of diversity for melon in the world (Pitrat, 2008). There is a wide genetic variation among Iranian native melon landraces. This wide range of diversity can be exploited for increasing drought tolerance in breeding programs. Iran ranks fifth in global melon production (FAOSTAT, 2019). Cultivation of native melons in Iran is offten implemented in the margins of desert areas which have degrees of drought and salinity. Therefore salinity tolerance is known as important factor in melon cropping in Iran. Melon is known as a semi-salt-tolerant plant. Salinity stress causes numerous damages such as irregular growth and developement, metabolic disorders, yield loss and poor flesh quality of Melon. Tolerance of melon genotypes to salinity stress depends on the genetic tolerance of genotypes, environmental factoers like of salinity, and plant growth stage. The most marketable Iranian Melon genotypes are produced in warm and dry weather. According to the classification, Iranian Melon, is one of the plants adapted for semi-saline area (Sobhani & Hamidi, 2014).

This study was carried out in 2019 cropping season in Vegetable Research Center (VRC) of Horticulture Science Research Institute of Iran (HSRI) in factorial were administered in three replications design based on completely randomized block design with six melon genotypes including Durango, Shadegani, Shahabadi, Dargzi, Atashi and Khatouni and five salinity levels including 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 mmol Sodium Chloride. Melon genotypes was planted in the sand in the greenhouse. The sand was washed three times with tap water and sterilized in 120 °C and 1 bar for 30 minutes. Seeds were sown in about 10 L of sterilized sand in plastic pots. Wet weight of oots and shoots were measured and then placed in the oven at 70 °C for 48 hours to measure the dry weight. Genotypes tolerance to salinity was evaluated by the Van-Hoffman index (Mangal & Hooda, 1988). Germination percentage and relative growth in traits in both wet and dry plant organs were analyzed in factorial statistical method using SAS 9.4. Comparing means of the traits were laied out with Duncan’s Multiple Range Test. All graphs were drawn using Excel 2013 software.

In 30 mmol of salinity, Dorango, Shadegani, Shahabadi, Dargzi, Atashi and Khatouni genotypes, respectively, and in 60, 90 and 120 mmol salinity Dorango, Shahabadi, Shadegani, Dargzi, Atashi and Khatuni genotypes, have the highest germination percentage respectively. Compared to the control (No salinity). Studying salinity tolerance of studied genotypes in vegetative growth stage showed that in 30 mmol salinity Shadegani, Dorango, Shahabadi, Khatouni, Atashi, Dargzi genotypes, respectively, in 60 mmol salinity Shadegani, Durango, Shahabadi, Khatouni, Dargazi genotypes, respectively. Atashi, at 90 mmol salinity, Shadegani, Durango, Khatouni, Dargzi, Shahabadi, Atashi genotypes, respectively, and at 120 mmol salinity, Shadegani, Durango, Shahabadi, Khatouni, Dargzi, and Atashi genotyopes, respectively. Germination was significantly different in the studied genotypes and decreased with increasing salinity level.

This result confirms the results of the similar researchs. Therefore, it is suggested that the salinity level and the proper genotype for that salinity level must be determined for a high yielding marketable fruit production.

Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea L.) is a herbaceous, perennial plant in the sunflower family; its essential oil and extract are widely used in the pharmaceutical, food, health, and cosmetic industries; and it has antimicrobial, anti-oxidant, and radical -neutralizing properties. Anti-allergy, anti-tumor, and anti-inflammatory properties have been ascribed to them. In arid and semiarid regions, a lack of water and inefficient irrigation techniques are the primary factors limiting the development of the agricultural sector. Drought is one of the most influential stresses on crop performance, and it is well known that it affects a number of physiological processes in plants. This investigation sought to determine the impact of biochar and salicylic acid on the physiological traits and yield of echinacea (Echinacea purpurea L.) under non-stress and drought -stress conditions.  In order to examine the effect of biochar (in three levels without biochar as control, 20 t×ha-1 and 40 t×ha-1) and salicylic acid (in three levels of zero, 0.5 mM and 1 mM) in two humid environments (no stress and drought stress), a factorial experiment in split plot experiment was carried out in Ilam province (two locations) in a randomized complete block design with three replicates in 2020. The evaluated traits included chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, carotenoids, soluble carbohydrates, total protein, proline activity, and biological yield. The results indicate that the highest increase in biological yield was 45.97% and 45.42%, respectively, in the treatment combination of 40 tons of biochar and no salicylic acid foliar spray and the treatment combination of 20 t ha-1 of biochar and 0.5% salicylic acid foliar spray in the condition of 75% drought stress.  Proline content decreased in all treatment compounds; except in the combination of non-drought stress treatment and use of 40 t ha-1 of biochar and 0.5% salicylic acid which increased by 25.71%. The highest increase in carotenoids (36.66%) was obtained if 40 t ha-1 of biochar were used and salicylic acid was not sprayed under 50% drought stress. Also, the results show that by using 20 t ha-1 of biochar and spraying 1% salicylic acid under 50% drought stress, the amount of carotenoids increased by 33.33% compared to the control. As one of the growth regulators, salicylic acid was used to increase plant tolerance to stresses such as drought. In addition, biochar had a positive impact on the enhancement of several physiological characteristics and echinacea yield. Echinacea purpurea L. appears to benefit from the use of biochar and salicylic acid to mitigate the negative effects of drought stress.

To study of the effect of biological pre-treatments on germination and growth of Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) seedling under natural salinity stress, a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design was conducted in three replications. Experimental treatments were biological pre-treated at four levels (control, inoculation with Azoto bio-fertilizer, inoculation with Phosphate bio-fertilizer, inoculation with both bio-fertilizers) and natural salinity (salt of Qom Lake) at five levels (zero, 3, 6, 9 and 12 dS/m).The results showed that increasing of salinity levels led to increasing of mean germination time and using of bio-fertilizer treatments and combination treatment caused this index show 22 percentages reduction at highest level of salinity compared to control treatment at same level of salinity. Salinity reduced the germination coefficient and the highest amount of this index (74.3) obtained at 3 dS/m level of salinity that compared to control treatment and at the same level of salinity showed 89 percentages increasing. Salinity reduced total chlorophyll and using of biological treatments caused amount of total chlorophyll at zero level of salinity show 155 percentages increasing compared to control treatment and at the same level of salinity. With increasing of salinity level increased soluble protein and combination treatment increased this index 12 percentages at the highest level of salinity compared to control. Under stress, plants face with oxidative stress and to confront of that use antioxidant enzymes. In this experiment, the using of biological treatments by raising of the production of antioxidant enzymes caused the reduction of salinity effects.

Almonds are considered as saline sensitive fruit trees. The effect of four types of saline soils with different salinities (2, 4, 8 and 16 dS m-1) along with inoculation with two sterile bacterial and control isolates from three groups of saline, alkaline and saline alkaline bacteria isolated from rhizosphere of Khorasan Razavi almond orchards on induction of resistance against salinity in almond grafted on GN rootstocks was evaluated under salinity and soil alkalinity conditions. The highest 3- Indole acetic acid content, dissolution of mineral phosphates and exopolysaccharide were observed in alkaline, saline and saline isolates, respectively. Soil salinity significantly reduced plant height, leaf area, fresh and dry weight of shoots and roots, soluble, insoluble and total sugars. The highest plant height (61.2 cm) and was observed in the halophilic group and the lowest was recorded in alkaliphilic group. Halophilic bacteria caused the highest increase in fresh weight of shoots. However, the fresh weight of the roots was the highest in the group of haloalkaliphilic bacteria. The ratio of fresh weight of shoots to roots was 0.86, 0.87 and 0.74 for the halophilic, alkaliphilic and haloalkaliphilic, respectively, indicating that the effects of haloalkaliphilic bacteria on root growth were greater than shoot growth. Inoculation of haloalkaliphilic bacteria increased root and shoot water content in high salinity soils (16 and 8 dS m-1, respectively). In general, the use of haloalkaliphilic bacteria had the highest effect in improving the growth of roots, alkalis and saline-like plants by increasing the morphological and biochemical properties of almonds, respectively.

To investigate the allelopathic effect of aqueous extract of Malva sylvestris weed on the germination characteristics of Triticum aestivum (hamoon cultivar), an experiment was conducted in 2019 in the Biotechnology Research Institute, University of Zabol. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications. The aqueous extracts concentrations of Mallow included 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 ml/L. The experimental results show that the aqueous extract of Malva sylvestris had a significant effect on radicle length, hypocotyl length, germination percentage, chlorophyll b, and phenol. The results indicated that different concentrations of aqueous extract of Malva sylvestris have a different trend on the measured traits. Although with increasing the concentration of Malva sylvestris extract, the percentage of germination, radicle, and hypocotyl length has decreased, the synthesis of chlorophyll and phenol in wheat treated with 50 ml of aqueous extract of Malva sylvestris has reached its maximum. At a concentration of 100 ml of aqueous extract of cottage cheese, root length and germination percentage decreased by 65% and 85%, respectively, compared to the control. The results of this study showed that aqueous extract of cheese had a negative effect on the growth characteristics of wheat.

To study the effect of biological treatment on germination and growth indices and pigments of flaxseed under salinity stress, a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design was conducted in three replications at the faculty of agriculture of Shahed University in 2018. Experimental treatments were salinity at four levels (zero, 2.5, 5 and 7.5 dS/m) and biological treatments at four levels (control, bacteria (Baccillus subtilis), fungi (Macrophomina phaseolina) and combination of bacteria and fungi). Effect of biological treatment was significant on germination percentage and the highest germination percentage (99 %) obtained at fungi treatment. Effect of salinity and biological treatment was significant on mean germination time and germination coefficient. The minimum mean germination time (3.79 days) obtained at combination of bacteria and fungi treatment that shows this treatment was most effective in compared with other biological treatments. With increasing of salinity, mean germination time increased. Salinity reduced radicle, plumule and seedling length. The means related to radicle length at the different levels of salinity at biological treatment of fungi was highest amount in compared with other biological treatments. Interaction effect of salinity and biological treatment was significant on chlorophyll a and total chlorophyll. With increasing of salinity, reduced pigments. Maximum amount of chlorophyll a (16.52 µm.ml1-) was obtained at the control treatment of biological treatment and zero salinity. The result of this research showed that using of microorganisms such as fungi and bacteria in salinity stress, can reduce the negative effects of salinity on germination and growth of this plant.