نشریه بوم شناسی کشاورزی
سال دهم شماره 4 (زمستان 1397)

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the most developed and the worldwide accepted tool for environmental comparison of products and services. Environmental Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) studies the environmental aspects and potential impacts of a product from ‘cradle-to-grave’ (Brentrup et al., 2004b).  Compared to other environmental impact assessment methods, LCA incorporates all the various stages of an agricultural production supply chain. This method is the only environmental assessment methodology which has been standardized. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a methodology to assess all environmental impacts associated within a product/service by a accounting and evaluating its resource consumption and emission to environment (Nemecek et al., 2011).
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important crops (Chabra et al., 2006). The aim of this study was to determine environmental impacts of rice production systems in the first and second planting patterns by using Life Cycle Assessment. This study evaluated the environmental impacts of rice production systems in the first and second planting patterns by using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, mean consumed inputs per one hectare in rice agroecosystems of Sari province were determined during 2014. The data were collected from 105 paddy farmers by interviewing the farmers using questionnaire. Four steps including goal definition and scoping (D & S), inventory analysis (IA), life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) and integration & interpretation (I & I) were considered based on ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 14040 methods. Global warming, acidification and aquatic and terrestrial eutrophication were considered as three important impact categories. Functional unit of rice agroecosystems was considered as one tone paddy. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated as a tool for the reliability assessment. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for questionnaire was calculated equal to α=%82. The results showed that the highest global warming potential between two cropping patterns was related to the second pattern with 840.36 kg CO2-equiv. one ton paddy. In the second planting pattern, pollutant emissions in global warming category CO2, CH4 and N2O calculated 402.82, 0.85 and 436.70 kg CO2-equiv. one ton paddy per  ha-1, respectively. In the second planting pattern, pollutant emissions in acidification category such as NH3, NOx and SO2 were computed 0.721, 0.225 and 0.541 kg SO2-equiv. one ton paddy per ha-1, respectively. The maximum eutrophication potential in aquatic and terrestrial environments was belonged to the second planting pattern with 2.07 kg PO4-equiv. one ton paddy per ha and 2.48 kg NOx-equiv. one ton paddy per ha -1, respectively. The maximum environmental indicator for rice production systems in the second planting pattern were computed 0.39 EcoX one ton paddy. LCA is an appropriate method to quantify the impact of utilized agricultural inputs and different managements on environment. The highest environmental impacts of rice production systems in the first and second planting patterns by using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was related to aquatic eutrophication category. Therefore, it can be concluded that applying ecological principles such as reduced tillage and organic fertilizer as sustainable approaches were considered for management of rice agroecosystems especially in the second planting pattern.

Medicinal and aromatic plants are looked upon not only as a source of affordable health care products but also as a source of income. Several studies emphasized the need for cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants in agricultural systems based on low input management. One of such causes is production of medicinal plants with oil seed with unsaturated fatty acids such as oleic and linoleic acid. Pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) is an important oil seed plant belongs to family Cucurbitaceae with a prostrate stem. This seeds is used in food industry, cosmetics and health items. Active ingredients of seed are fatty acids, Vitamin E and ß-phytosterols. The major components of pumpkin oil are linoleic, oleic, palmitic and stearic acids. Seeds of pumpkin species contain 39.5-56.5% oil and 21-67.4% linoleic acid (Aroiee & Omidbaigi, 2004; Siami et al., 2003). Because of its ability to tolerate shade and to cover ground rapidly with its creeping growth habit (Aroiee & Omidbaigi, 2004), is often intercropped with other plants. This intercropping system could be effective in suppressing weed growth and increasing crop yields.
Intercropping is defined as the intensification and diversification of agricultural system in time and space dimensions. Increased food production by intercropping with more variety can to be effective in improving yield and ecosystem services and functions.
The purposes of the experiment were evaluating the yield and yield components of pumpkin in row intercropping treatments with some field crops and medicinal plants This experiment was done based on a randomized complete block design with four replications and 11 treatments at the Agricultural Research Station, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad during growing season 2014-2015. Row intercropping of pumpkin with corn (Zea mays L.), sweet corn (Zea mays convar. saccharata), sunflower (Helianthus annuus L), sesame (Sesamum indicum L), castor been (Ricinus communis L) and their monoculture were considered as treatments. Studied traits were yield components of pumpkin (such as number of fruit, fruit weight, fruit yield, number of seeds per fruit, weight of seeds per fruit and 1000- seed weight), biological and seed yield of pumpkin, corn, sweet corn, sunflower, sesame and caster been and land equivalent ratio (LER). The results showed that the effect of rows intercropping with some field crops and medicinal plants was significant on fruit number, fruit weight, fruit yield per ha, seed number per fruit, seed weight per fruit, 1000- seed weight, seed yield and biological yield of pumpkin. The highest fruit number of pumpkin was observed in monoculture with 31650 fruits.ha-1 and the lowest was intercropping with sunflower with 14386 fruit.ha-1. The maximum seed number was related to intercropping with sunflower with 333.75 seeds.fruit-1. The highest seed yield of corn, sweet corn, sunflower, sesame and castor bean was obtained in their monoculture with 772.17, 437.59, 563.69, 177.75 and 177 g.m-2, respectively. The maximum land equivalent ratio was calculated for intercropping of pumpkin+ sweet corn with 1.57. The results highlight the importance of intercropping medicinal plants and crops for improving the yield and yield components of pumpkin. The yield advantage of intercropping system occur when the component plants are in complementarily with each other, resulting in more effective use of environmental resources such as nutrients, radiation and water and yield compared with when produce as monoculture. The highest LER was computed for intercropped pumpkin with sweet corn. It seems that sweet corn had lowest competitive effects on pumpkin. On the other hand, weakness of pumpkin competitive ability in comparison with castor bean possible was due to morphology and its growth form (prostrate form). Of course it is always necessary to determine the types of interactions in intercrops in order to find out and select the best plant in intercropping with pumpkins in which the competition is the lowest, while yield components are the highest.

Cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) is a small annual herbaceous and an aromatic and medicinal plant included in the Apiaceae family. This plant also possesses resistance to drought stress, which is especially important, considering water deficits in many locations in semi-arid environments. Cumin is used to flavor foods, added to fragrances, and medicinal preparations. Seeds are is yellow to brownish-gray in color. Cumin seeds contain numerous phytochemicals that are known to have antioxidant, carminative and anti-flatulent properties. This spice is an excellent source of minerals like iron, copper, calcium, potassium, manganese, selenium, zinc and magnesium. It also contains very good amounts of B-complex vitamins such as thiamin, vitamin B-6, niacin, riboflavin, and other vital anti-oxidant vitamins like vitamin E, vitamin A and vitamin C. The seeds are also rich source of many flavonoid phenolic anti-oxidants such as carotenes, zeaxanthin, and lutein.
The main objective of this study was to investigate the qualitative and seed yield response of three local ecotypes of cumin as an important medicinal plant to different irrigation regimes under the climatic conditions of Herat, Afghanistan. This experiment was conducted as a split plot experiment based on a randomized complete block design with four replications during growing season 2009-2010 in Herat (Afghanistan) University Research Farm. Treatments were irrigation regimes (main plot) at 4 levels including (rainfed: W1, after stem elongation: W2, early flowering: W3 and early seed formation: W4) and landraces (as subplot) (Rajasthan of India: V1, Badghis of Afghanistan: V2, and Kashmar of Iran: V3). Studied traits were including quantitative traits such as content and yield of essential oil, seed yield, plant height, number of umbels per plant, number of seeds per umbel, lateral shoots, 1000-seed weight, harvest index and the qualitative characteristics including active ingredients in essential oils of cumin.
The treatments were run as an analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine if significant differences existed among treatments means. Multiple comparison tests were conducted for significant effects using the Duncan’s test. Results showed that simple effect of irrigation regimes and landraces and their interaction had difference significant for content and yield of essential oil, seed yield, plant height, number of seeds per umbel, lateral shoots, 1000- seed weight, harvest index, cumin aldehyde and p-cymene percent at 1% and 5% and the W3 treatment and Indian landrace in terms of most traits was superior, but the greatest number of lateral branches, obtained from V2. However, W4 and W1 treatments showed the highest harvest index percent and number of lateral branches respectively. Most of cumin aldehyde was obtained from Iran and Afghanistan landraces (respectively 27.348% and 25.725%) and highest p-cymene (25.811%) of the interaction of V1 with W4 treatment. The results for correlation coefficients between seed yield, biomass and yield components revealed that there was a positive and negative correlation between these criteria. The highest coefficient was calculated for seed yield and biomass (r=0.926**). Agronomic management strategies had significantly effect on growth, yield, and yield components of cumin ecotypes. The results showed that Indian landrace and W3 treatment are recommended under Heart-e (Afghanistan) conditions. Considering water deficit that the world will face in the future, cumin in those environments susceptible to water stress conditions will have higher water use efficiency compared to other plants.

National parks are particularly important in terms of conservation of genetic pools and providing different economic and ecological services and goods. Evaluation of economic values of these services gives insight to policy makers for better understanding of the importance of these assets. Today evaluation of ecosystems services and goods is given momentum in the context of ecological economics worldwide. Besides other important services provided by the natural resources such as national parks including genetic conservation, soil protection, enhancement of hydrologic cycle, carbon sequestration and mitigation of climate change, outdoor  recreation is an important service which mostly demanded by urban population of big cities. Different methods can be applied for evaluation of these services. In this case it has been observed that in Tabriz, each individual is willing to pay 41140 Rials (Rls) for protection of environment. It is also reported that for recreation purposes each family was willing to pay 20000 Rls per night to be allowed to camp in a natural environment. It was shown in an evaluation that for recreation in northern forest areas, 65.8 percent of the people were willing to pay a reasonable sum of money which was 15153 Rls per month to entry. Estimated recreational value of Sisangan National Park is 52.235 million Rls per day. In another study it was observed that willingness to pay for visitors of the same park was 2477 Rls for each visit. Protecting value and also recreational value of this park was estimated to be 5.8 and 2.5 million Rls per hectare, respectively. There are numerous studies on this issue in other countries. As an example, Maille & Mendelsohn (1991) estimated recreational values of Madagascar forests to be 360 to 468 dollars per hectare. Tandooreh National Park is located in a mountains area of Khorasan Razavi with an area of 37800 hectares. It is a part of Harirrood and Khashafrood rivers catchment and sub-catchment of Daroongar River. In this study, contingent valuation method was used. This method is normally used for none consumable and none marketable of natural and environmental goods and willingness to pay of individuals under an assumed market is assessed. For assessing willingness to pay, Double-Bounded dichotomous questionnaire method was used. In our study the aim of 77.1 percent of the interviewed persons visited the park for recreation and 22.9 percent was for other purposes. From the total of 144 samples, 18.1 percent replied that the purpose of visiting the park is clean air and a favorable environment, 6.9 percent to collect medicinal plants, forage and other special plants, 13.9 percent for animal watching and hunting birds, 4.2 percent for use of mineral water and 56.9 percent for all services mentioned. The average number of days that a family stayed was 1.56 and total coast of travelling was 397375 Rls for each family. The amount of money willing to pay per month for each family household was 7098.2 Rls for recreation and 241819.5 for mineral water, 74062.5 for hunting, 15013.9 for forage and 14402.1 Rls for medicinal plants.
Willingness to pay for hunting was rather higher than other services and for recreational willingness to pay this was the lowest.  Willingness to pay is a tool to evaluate the economic and ecological benefits of the natural environment. This was apply to the present study and the results showed that most of the visitors are willing to pay a sum of money based on their purpose of the visit either for recreation or collection of plants or even bird hunting, the latter seems to be more attractive to some individuals.
Acknowledgement
This research (16794.2) was funded by vice chancellor for research of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, which is hereby acknowledged

The concept of ecological footprint was first proposed by Rees (1992) and further developed by Wackernagel and Yount (2000). This is an index based on the land area needed for basic requirements and also the waste disposal of an individual in a specific geographic location and usually calculated on the basis of area per capita which is normally global hectare (Gha) per capita. Based on the report of World Wildlife Found, total world ecological footprint for the year 2010 has been estimated to be 18.2 billion global hectares (Gha) with a per capita 2.7 Gha. This index is reciprocal of carrying capacity.
During the last two decades ecological footprint accounting is used widely for evaluation of ecosystems sustainability. However, limited information is available about ecological footprint of Iran and its components. In this research the state of production and consumption of different food stuffs and ecological footprint of food were calculated for Iran and the results are compared with other countries.

Data was collected for different group of agriculture foods including cereals, oil crops, pulses, dairy products, meat, fruits and vegetables from Ministry of Jihad Agriculture, Ministry of Commerce and also from other published data in official databases in the country. Calculation was made by the method provided in the literature.
Based on these factors ecological foodprint for each food product (efi) on the bases of Gha can be calculated from equation 1.
Equation (1)
In which efi: is the foodprint for product i, Ai: is the land area required for the same product i and fe,i: is the conversion factor for product i (Gha per ha).
Calculation of foodprint
Equation (2)
Equation (3)
Where EF is total ecological footprint (Gha), ef: per capita ecological footprint in terms of Gha and N: total population of the country.

The amount of total food production and consumption in 2013 were estimated as 89.5 and 94.6 Mg, respectively with self-sufficiency coefficient (production: consumption ratio) of 0.87. Self-sufficiency of cereals, oil crops and sugar crops were calculated as 0.69, 0.12 and 0.48, respectively that shows these food groups are highly import-dependent. However, production of vegetables and fruits exceeded their consumption and for other food items consumption was balanced by production. Ecological footprint of food estimated as 0.88 Gha/person and increased to 1.04 ha/person when calculated based on local hectares. Component analysis showed that this difference was due to lower efficiency of cereal and meat and dairy production systems of the country compared to world averages. Meat and dairy products accounted for 48% of food footprint of Iran and 33% of this footprint was due to cereals. Based on our results, Iranian food footprint is higher than Asia (0.7 Gh/person) and is almost the same as the world average (0.9 Gh/peron). Moreover, footprint of food is increased over the country by 76% during years 2000-2013 and this trend could led to severe environmental consequences.

Except for vegetable oils, sugar and cereals, the production and consumption of other groups of food materials are in balance, even for some groups such as fruits and vegetables. There is a small surplus in production over consumption for some extent dairy products. Foodprint for Iran is higher than the value for Asia and is similar to average for the world. In general, foodprint differs significantly amongst the nation and as expected this value is higher in those countries with higher consumption of meat. Higher demand for consumption of meat has caused an increase in indirect consumption of cereals for meat production. It should be noted that since foodprint is based on global hectare, comparison between countries and regions are simply possible. In fact if yield of a crop at national level is increased but world mean yield does not change, foodprint based on global hectare remains unchanged but if it is calculated on the bases of local hectare, foodprint will decrease. Therefore, system efficiency can be evaluated at national level, by comparison of foodprint at two different scales of global hectare and local hectare.

This research (14920.1) was funded by vice chancellor for research of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, which is hereby acknowledged.

Ecological footprint is an index based on the land area needed for basic requirements and also the waste disposal of an individual in a specific geographic location and usually calculated on the basis of area per capita which is normally global hectare (Gha) per capita. Total world ecological footprint for the year 2010 has been estimated to be 18.2 billion Gha with a per capita 2.7 Gha. Biocapacity is another concept which together with footprint sustainability of ecosystems means the whole area of a specific geographic region which has a proper biomass production and waste absorption capacity. Measurement of ecological footprint together with biocapacity provides useful information on the intensity of resource use and the status of environmental sustainability. Evaluation of footprint by national bodies has been emphasized more, rather than the international ones. Footprint for food production also called foodprint is the area required for food production for a population (energy required for transportation and processing is not consider). The purpose of present study was to evaluate production and consumption status of different groups of agricultural foods and to measure the foodprint in Iran. Calculation of biocapacity and ecological deficiency in the country with regards to different consumption pattern was other purpose of this study. Time trends of food and total ecological footprint, biocapacity and ecological deficit of Iran during 1990-2013 were analyzed and based on trend equation the value of these indices were predicted for 2025.
Data was collected for different group of agriculture foods from Ministry of Jihad Agriculture, Ministry of Commerce and also from other published data in official databases in the country.
The effect of the amount of consumption on foodprint was considered on the basis of the above scenarios for the population of the country in year 2050. Furthermore the effect of water and nitrogen use efficiency on foodprint was also considered on the bases of food production in the present pattern and in a condition where these efficiencies are enhanced by 20%. The balance between production and consumption in the future was calculated by Gini coefficient. Results indicate that food and total footprint were increased respectively, by 3.3 and 2.9% per year, during the study period and this trend would be led to 1.05 and 3.34 Gha/person for food and total footprint, respectively. Total biocapacity of the country in 2013 was estimated as 0.82 Gha/person which was lower than the value for world (1.8 Gha/person) and Middle East average (0.91 Gha/person). Croplands accounted for 47% of total biocapacity of the country while forests and rangelands contributed by 30%. During the study period, biocapacity showed a positive trend but with a slow slope toward leading to 0.85 Gha/person in 2025. Ecological deficit of the country (ecological footprint minus biocapacity) which was 0.7 Gha/person in 1990 has increased by 5.9% per year with a value of 1.9 Gha/person in 2013 and predicted to reach 2.5 Gha/person by 2025. The balance between consumption and national food production as well as footprint of food stuffs were analyzed under 4 scenarios based on different level of consumption of meat and dairy. In all scenarios of increase in consumption of animal products, the unbalanced relation of consumption/production was intensified and resulted in decreased self-sufficiency index and increased footprint of food stuffs. Foodprint for Iran is 0.88 Gha. For the different group of food the highest foodprint (0.43 Gha per person) is for animal products. Population growth together with increasing per capita income has changed food consumption pattern and hence the demand for more food has caused higher pressure on natural resources and more food to be imported. This is the case in most developing countries. Results showed that enhancement of resource use efficiency (water and nitrogen) by 20% higher than the current values could led to improvement of agricultural self-sufficiency and considerable reduction of footprint in all future scenarios. Our results showed that with increasing efficiency of resource use (water and nitrogen) foodprint can be reduced.
This research was funded by Vice Chancellor for Research of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, which is hereby acknowledged.

One of the main objectives of organic agriculture is low negative effect on the environment and according to this issue, maintaining biodiversity is one of the key responsibilities of this agriculture system. Disuse of chemical fertilizers and using mechanization with less intensity caused significant increase in biodiversity in organic agriculture. Insect's diversity can help in biological control of pests, pollination and biological control of weeds and diseases. This study was performed based on the key role of insects in ecosystem function, especially in organic agro-ecosystems and effective factors for biodiversity of them and also with respect to the high potential for progressing of organic agriculture in Iran. The purpose of the study was to identify different families of insects in conventional and organic fields for wheat and potato crops in Fariman city. The study was carried out in wheat and potato fields at Fariman city in 2012. In order to collect insects, we used a sweet net with a diameter of 50 cm in 10 different regions of the fields. Sampling was performed after 45, 75 and 105 days after planting. Sampling was conducted which it covers total farm area. Shannon-weaver index, Simpsons reciprocal and Margalef indexes were used to calculate the insect’s biodiversity and Pielou and Simpson were used to calculate the species evenness. Relative frequency (pi) was used to determination of dominant species in each agro-ecosystem and the species with the highest relative frequency was considered as dominant species. In order to compare the alpha and beta diversity between two organic and conventional systems, we fitted the power function for species richness as a dependent variable and sampling number as an independent variable. The results of the wheat farm showed that the total number of collected insects’ families during the growing season in the organic farm was higher than the conventional farm (2047 number of insects from 41 families vs. 1928 from 34 families, respectively). From total families, 32 families were the same in both organic and conventional wheat systems and 9 families were collected from the only organic farm. Two families were observed only on the conventional farm. Species richness was the same in both organic and conventional at first stage of sampling, but in the organic system, it was higher at the second and third stage of sampling. Insects’ diversity in the conventional farm was higher than organic based on obtained values for alpha diversity. Calculated beta diversity in the organic system was higher than conventional. In fact, beta diversity is the increasing rate of the species richness per increasing of sampling number and the high value of beta diversity in the organic system indicates that species richness and biodiversity of the organic system were higher than conventional at total farm area. In potato organic and conventional farms, 435 insects (from 18 families) and 787 insects (from 22 families) were collected, respectively. From total trapped families, 15 families were the same in both organic and conventional systems, 7 families only were in conventional farm and three families observed only in the organic farm. Therefore, species diversity in conventional system was higher in comparison with the organic system in the potato crop. Two families were introduced as dominant species in the organic farm with a relative frequency of 17% and 15.6%, respectively and Miridae family was dominant species in the conventional farm as 27.8% of relative frequency. Alpha diversity in conventional system was higher than organic. Beta diversity in conventional system was higher in 45 and 75 days after planting, but it was lower in 105 days after planting than organic. In total, the results showed that alpha and beta diversity were higher in conventional than organic. It seems that the reason for higher biodiversity in conventional compared to organic was related to failure to comply with the organic principles in potato farm. It can be concluded that the move towards organic agriculture, in addition to preserving and enhancing biodiversity in agricultural ecosystems, has led to a reduction in using chemical pesticides and, as a result, the reduction of environmental pollution will be followed by the sustainability of agricultural production.

Medicinal plants are valuable sources in Iranian natural resources whose understanding and scientific cultivation can play an important role in people’s health, job creation and preventing genetic erosion of invaluable medicinal herbs due to their improper harvest from natural habitats and non-oil exports. Indigo (Indigofera tinctoria L.) belongs to the Fabaceae family which popularly known as Neeli in Tamil and found throughout India. The roots, stems, and leaves of indigo are bitter, thermogenic, laxative, tchronic bronchitis, asthma, ulcers, skin diseases, diuretic and are useful for promoting the growth of hair. It has been reported that appropriate planting date and plant density will improve crop yield and secondary metabolite component. Yield loss due to undesirable planting date and plant density has been reported in many plants. Amin Ghafouri (2014) reported that delaying in planting date (from October to March) caused a significant reduction in plant height, canopy diameter, inflorescence number per branch, dry weight of shoots, and seed yield of Ziziphora and as density increased from 6 to 10 plants.m-2 plant height, canopy diameter, inflorescence No. per branch, dry weight of shoots, and seed yield were enhanced. In another study, was examined planting date in Achillea millefolium L. yield was reported, higher plant height, total dry matter production, Biomass yield, were observed during January planting. Ghorbani et al. (2010) evaluated the effect of planting date on yield of Cuminum cyminum reported that earlier sowing date was followed by higher seed yield. They also reported that 1000-seed weight and harvest index were not affected by planting date. Koocheki et al. (2004) showed that plant density had a significant effect on plant height and dry weight of shoots of Thymus )Zataria multiflora L.  (and Hyssop) Hyssopus officinalis L.  (Nadjafi and Rezvani Moghadam (2002) and Rahimi et al. (2009) reported the increase in P. ovata seed yield with the increase in plant density. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to determine the quantitative yield of affected by planting date and plant density. An experiment was conducted as a split-plot based on a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications at the Bam, Iran, during growing seasons of 2012-2013. Four sowing dates (4 April, 19 April, 4 May, and 19 May) and four plant densities (15, 25, 35 and 45 plants.m-2) were allocated to main and subplots, respectively. Plant height, canopy diameter, number of branches, dry weight of leaf, dry weight of shoots and total dry yield of above ground matter of indigo at the first and the second cuttings were measured and calculated accordingly. For statistical analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the least significant test (LSD) at 0.05 level, were performed using SAS ver 9.1. The results showed that the simple effects of sowing date and plant density were significant (p≤0.05) on plant height, canopy diameter, number of branches, dry weight of leaf, dry weight of shoots and fresh weight of flower of indigo at the first and second cuts. The highest dry weight of leaf and dry weight of shoots was observed at the first and second cuts in the 4 April (with 464.79 g.m-2, 463.54 g.m-2, and399.75 g.m-2 and 404.04 g.m-2, respectively). However, the dry yield of above ground matter at the first and the second cuts were decreased up to 32.76 and 78.57%, respectively with the delay in sowing date from 4 April to 19 May. Generally, early sowing date because of providing a longer growing period, optimum relative humidity and also cooler weather is suitable for indigo leaf production. Based on the results of this study it can be concluded that the planting date has a meaningful effect on vegetative and reproductive characteristics of indigo. Overall, Because of the benefits of longer growing season and more soil moisture content, early planting (early spring) and highest plant density (45 plants.m-2) were the best date and density for indigo production in the climatic conditions of Bam region

Artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) (Asteraceae) is an herbaceous perennial plant of Mediterranean origin, North Africa, Canary Isles and Southern Europe. Nowadays, artichoke is cultivated in many parts of the world, such as the United States, mainly in California, in South America (Argentina, Chile, Peru), North Africa, Near East (Turkey and Iran) and China. Artichoke has a medicinal property. It also can be used as a green fodder or silage for livestock feeding. In addition to dry matter yield, forage quality has also a great importance in the production of forage crops. The quality of forage species varies in different places and times. In general, the factors affecting forage quality changes can be described as environmental factors (light, temperature, soil characteristics, precipitation, altitude, wind, and humidity), growth stage and harvest time, plant species, photosynthetic pathway (C3, C4, and CAM) and management factors. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the forage quality of artichoke in different growth stages for livestock feeding. In order to evaluate the yield and forage quality of Artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) at three stages of growth, an experiment was conducted using a randomized complete blocks design (RCBD) with three replications at the Research Station of Isfahan Agricultural and Natural Resources. The treatments were harvested at three growth stages (vegetative, flowering and early seeding). Seeds were sown on 26 April 2014. Chemical fertilizer (urea) applied based on soil analysis results. The first half of the nitrogen fertilizer was utilized as strip takes under seed before sowing and the rest at 7-8 leaf stage of the crop on 26 May 2014. The cultural practices of Artichoke were not conducted in the second year because it is a perennial plant. According to the soil test, half of the nitrogen fertilizer in the first year of experiment applied in the second year. The plants were harvested at vegetative, flowering and the beginning of seed ripening stages in the second year. After harvesting, samples were dried normal air circulation until to reach constant dry weight. Dry matter yield and forage quality indices as crude protein, organic matter digestibility, total ash, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, Na and K contents were measured. Analysis of variance was done using SPSS software and comparison of the means was conducted using by Duncan at 5% level. The results of this experiment showed significant differences for all traits among the phenological stages (p<0.05). For dry matter, the lower and higher values of 5.8 and 8.75t ha-1 were obtained, in vegetative and early seeding stages, respectively. Forage quality decreased with increasing plant age and it was the highest in the vegetative stage compared to other stages. Crude protein, organic matter digestibility, total ash, Na and K content in the vegetative stage were more amount than other stages. Neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber tended to increase while, crude protein, organic matter digestibility, total ash, Na and K content tended to decrease with advanced plant maturity. Artichoke plant has young and large leaves at vegetative rosette stage. The leaf to stem ratio decreased with advanced plant maturity and it is higher at flowering stage than the early seeding stage. Forage quality in the vegetative stage was more than of both flowering and the early seeding stages. Growth stage and harvesting time were the important factors that affecting forage yield and quality of Artichoke. For age quality decreased with the progress in plant growth, while dry matter yield increased. Generally, the flowering stage is the best time for harvesting artichoke forage.

Hibiscus, an annual and twigged plant, One hundred and twenty-day winds, is a regional phenomenon which blows with variable speeds, in four warm months of the year (June, July, August, September), in a part of the south-west of Iran. The most important factor that affects the sustainability of the food production and maintaining the soil fertility, is the use of the integrated feeding systems and also the use of the biological fertilizers in the nutritional system. According to the emphasis of sustainable agriculture, increasing the quality and the sustainability of performance, medicinal plants, are considered as a good option for such systems. This research was conducted with the purpose of investigating the effects of wind stress on the Hibiscus quantitative features under the treatments of biological and chemical fertilizers. In growing season of 2014-2015, to evaluate the effects of wind stress on the characteristics of growth, performance and the performance components of Hibiscus leaflet under the treatments of chemical and biological fertilizers, a triplicate experiment, in the form of split plots in a randomized complete block design, was done in the Zabol University research farm. The main factors of wind stress were in three levels of severe wind stress, gentle wind stress and without wind stress and the minor factors including chemical fertilizers were in three levels of phosphorus, nitrogen and NPK. And, the minor factors including biological fertilizers, were in six levels of nitroxin, supernitro plus, super bio phosphate, bio phosphate, humic acid and bio sulfur. At the end of the investigation process of ten bushes which were chosen randomly from each plot after excluding the marginal effects, the following issues were measured: The features of the number of branches in each bush, wet and dry weight of aerial organs (grams per bush), the bush height (cm), the number of bolls per bush, the boll wet weight, the wet and dry weight of leaflet (grams per bush), chlorophyll fluorescence and the weight of one thousand seeds (grams per bush). Means comparison was done with the probability level of %5 by Duncan’s multiple range test. The statistical analysis of the research results was done by using the SAS (SAS Institute, 2013, Cary, NC) software In this study, it was observed that the severe wind stress cause the reduction of Hibiscus quantitative traits. Of course (However), the integrated effects of chemical and biological fertilizers under the effects of wind stress have improved these characteristics. The following issues were obtained in order:  Improving the plant height feature in a treatment without stress, nitrogen chemical fertilizers, biological fertilizers, bio-sulfur, the number of side branches in a without-stress treatment, chemical fertilizers under the treatment of bio-sulfur and humic acid biological fertilizers and so on. The number of bolls in each bush, the bolls wet weight, the leaflet wet and dry weight and the leaflet performance in the chemical fertilizers treatments, NPK plus biological fertilizers in compare with the NPK chemical fertilizers treatment and not using the biological fertilizers, all originated from the positive effects of biological fertilizers on these traits. The biological fertilizers provides inaccessible mineral elements and also the organic compounds for the plant and cause the increase of the plant growth Akhtar and Siddiqui (2009). The results of this research showed that the effects of wind stress treatments and chemical and biological fertilizers and the interactions between the chemical and biological fertilizers and the investigated traits, were meaningful.
This research showed that, the severe wind stress, cause the reduction of the quantitative traits of Hibiscus. However, the effects of combining the chemical and biological fertilizers under the wind stress, cause the increase of these traits and this matter has a positive effect on the production sustainability and environmental protection and according to the medicinal plants necessity in farming systems, it seems that the biological fertilizers are a good alternative for the chemical fertilizers

Different studies in semi-arid regions showed that application of phosphorus fertilizers under drought stress conditions increased the crop yield. Most agricultural soils contain larger amount of fixed form of Phosphorus (P) than available P, a considerable part of which has accumulated as a consequence of regular applications of P fertilizers. Certain microorganisms such as phosphate solubilizing bacteria fungi, actinomycetes mostly those associated with the plant rhizosphere are known to convert insoluble inorganic phosphorus into soluble form that could be utilized by the plants. Among them, some phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) are being used as phosphatic biofertilizers for crop production. Phosphate solubilizing bacteria can solubilize fixed form of P to available form by the secretion of various kinds of organic acids, phosphatase enzyme, growth hormones etc. and increase availability of P to the plants. In this point of view, phosphatic biofertilizer may be used as an alternate option of chemical P fertilizer for lentil cultivation. Therefore, the present study was under taken to evaluate the effects of biofertilizer, chemical phosphorus and integrated application of fertilizers on yield and physiologic characteristics of lentil under drought and normal condition in karaj climate. To evaluate the effect of drought stress on seed yield and physiological traits of lentil cultivar (Ziba) with chemical and bio phosphorus fertilizer, an experiment was conducted in split plot based on randomized complete blocks design CRBD design with four replications in research farm of University of Tehran (Karaj-Iran) during 2014-15. The main factor included three irrigation levels (irrigation after 70, 90 and 130 mm evaporation from open pan class A) and sub treatment were the kind of phosphorus fertilizers (100% super phosphate triple (P); bio-fertilizer; 50% P + bio-fertilizer; no p fertilizer and bio-fertilizer as a check) The bio-fertilizer contained co-inoculation of phosphobacterin (pseudomonas strains 93 & 187) and azotobactor. The characteristics recorded were no. of pods per plant, seed yield, seed protein content (%), relative water content (RWC), proline content and total leaf chlorophyll.
For statistical analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Duncan’s multiple range test (DMRT) were performed using SAS ver. 9.2 software. Interaction effect of irrigation and type of fertilizer had significant effect on pod number per plant, protein percentage, relative water content, free proline and chlorophyll content. The results indicated that normal irrigation (irrigation after 70 mm evaporation from open pan class A) × integrated phosphorus fertilizer (50% P + inoculation with bio-fertilizer) gave the highest seed yield. Similarly, P and bio-fertilizers application under severe drought stress condition produced higher seed yield compared to other treatments. This can be explained that PB inoculation enhanced the solubilization of phosphates in rhizosphere soil of lentil which stimulated the native Rhizobium and attributed to increase the nodule number and weight ultimately that showed positive effects on other growth and yield attributes of lentil.
However, for the RWC under normal irrigation × bio-fertilizer; for the total leaf chlorophyll under normal irrigation × 100% super phosphate triple; and for the proline content under severe drought stress × 100% super phosphate triple gave the highest values. With drought stress conditions, the leaf RWC and Proline contents reduced, which represented a relationship between these physiological traits and lentil seed yield. In general, from the view of reducing chemical fertilizer uses to manner the environment-friendly and cost-saving cultivation, application of 50% P + seed inoculation with bio-fertilizer based on the result of this study is recommended.

     Several factors affect the crop yield and weeds are among the most important factors reducing crop yields .There are high tendency to develop alternative methods of herbicides for natural control of weeds in organic products. One of the alternative methods to manage weeds is intercropping. Intercropping is growing two or more crops simultaneously in a piece of land during a growing season. The objectives of the present study were to examine the effect of cereal- legume intercropping on weeds growth. A field experiment was conducted in College of Agriculture of Darab, Shiraz University during 2014-2015.      In the experiment 16 treatments (five weed free monocultures of wheat (M1), barley (M2), triticale (M3), pea (M4), faba bean (M5), 5 weedy monocultures of wheat (WM1), barley (WM2), triticale (WM3), pea (WM4), faba bean (WM5), and six replacement intercropping treatments of wheat + pea (I1), wheat + faba bean (I2), barley + pea (I3), barley +  faba bean (I4), triticale + pea (I5) and triticale + faba bean (I6) without weed control) using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replicates were studied. Cereals and legumes were planted simultaneously at 23 November 2014. Planting operation was conducted on both sides of the ridges.    Weed diversity was calculated by Shannon diversity index:     N=Total number of plants in each plot of one square meter, Ni= number of species i plants, S= total number of species, and H= Shannon diversity index. This index value ranging from zero to five, higher index value, greater diversity.      The results showed that the lowest density and biomass of weeds were obtained in both sole culture and intercropping of barley. For instance, the lowest weed biomass was observed in monoculture of weedy barley (1 g m-2), intercropping of barley + faba bean (12.67 g m-2) and intercropping of barley + pea (56 g m-2). The weed density at weed free sole culture of barley (30 plants m-2) was lowest that followed by barley + faba bean intercropping (81 plants per m-2). The lowest species weed diversity was obtained in barley + pea (zero) and weedy barley (0.007), respectively. The weed diversity of most intercropping treatments was similar or less than that of weedy sole culture. In General, pea or faba bean monoculture had greatest weeds density and biomass, because slow growth and late seedling establishment. However, cereals especially barley controlled weeds properly, due to greater growth rate, higher height and greater density than those of legumes. Intercropping of pea and faba bean with cereals reduced weeds growth and had lower weeds density and biomass than those of pea and faba bean weedy monocultures. In order to increase of legume yields, more density of legume should be intercropped with cereals.      In general, intercropping treatments caused a significant decrease in weeds density and biomass compared to the legumes monoculture. In this experiment barley and triticale due to good properties such as fast growth, high plant height and more shading could considerably control weeds in both monoculture and intercropping treatments, reducing significantly weeds density and biomass in itself sole culture and intercropping treatments. To reduce the weeds growth in faba bean and pea, which have a poor competitive ability with weeds, intercropping with cereals, especially barley and triticale, in the south of Fars province is recommended. However, intercropping is one of the ways to reduce weeds in the long term and its effects on weeds in the long period will be much more.     The authors would like to acknowledge the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources of Darab, Shiraz University, to finance the project and all those who helped us in this project.

Any chemical that enters the environment has destructive effects on it. Herbicides and pesticides are no exceptions as they are made of chemical materials. Environmental Impact Quotient (EIQ) is a method to assess the impact of pesticides on the environment, evaluate the pesticides and chemicals involved in nature and their impact on the farm worker, consumers, and beneficial living organisms. Moien Aldin et al. (2014) assessed the environmental hazards resulted by the use of insecticides recorded in Iran and reported that the environmental hazards caused by insecticides per hectare of cultivated land are higher in the provinces of Kerman, Mazandaran, and Golestan compared to those of other provinces.
Bazrgar et al. (2013) reported that the environmental stresses (such as the application of pesticides) affect three main components including farm workers, consumers, and ecological components in farming, with its most negative effect related to the application of pesticides on the ecological component. In addition, the results of this study showed that increasing the use of pesticides in the field had no relation with yield in terms of the diversity of pesticides and the quantitative amount of active ingredient. Bues et al. (2004) in the study of the environmental effects of tomato production using EIQ showed that insecticides had the highest environmental impact. Considering the increasing trend in the use of pesticides in agriculture, it is necessary to study their environmental impacts. The purpose of this study is to investigate the environmental impacts of pesticides on cotton fields in Golestan province. A total of 100 cotton fields were selected around the cities of Ali-Abad and Aghghala in Golestan province over two agricultural years of 2015-2016. These farms were selected such that to include a variety of farmers. Information on various pesticides was collected from these fields based on pest type (insect, mites, and pathogenic fungi) and herbicides type of poison, the number of poisoning times, and the concentration of effective material. EIQ has been used to assess the environmental impacts of pesticides. There are two types of environmental impact indicators. The first one is the basic environmental impact indicator that is calculated for each molecule of the effective materials of herbicides as well as their toxic effects on workers, consumers, birds, fishes, birds, bees, and beneficial arthropods. The second one, called as EIQ-field use rate (EIQ-FUR), is derived from the basic environmental index and the amount of pesticide use in the field. These coefficients were calculated for the components of effect on the spray-workers, pickers, consumers, applicators, groundwater, aquatic animals, birds, bees, beneficial organisms as well as the mentioned three components. Among these components (farm workers, ecological, and consumer's components), the ecological component showed the maximum impact (71%), with the effect on farm workers (22%) and consumer component (7%) being in the next orders. the highest EIQ-FUR is related to the pesticides with a value of 93.33 and 87% of the total, and the herbicides are in the next rank. The highest EIQ is related to the impact of the pesticides on three main components of farm workers, consumers, and ecological factors, as well as the total EIQ,  was associated with the pesticides of Profenofos and Thiodicarb. The ecological component consists of four subsets including the impact on the beneficial organisms, bees, birds, and aquatic animals; with the used toxins having the most impact on beneficial organisms with 38% of total toxic effects on the main component of ecologic. The highest impact on the main component of farm workers is related to spray-workers while the most impact on the consumer component is related to the consumer organisms. The use of pest resistant cultivars, the modification of the chemical composition of pesticides, and the elimination of hazardous toxins from the list of pesticides, the implementation of winter crop aggression, the destruction of weeds, deep plowing, winter water, and appropriate drainage are other ways to reduce the use of pesticide and reduce the environmental costs of agricultural production.

Among all the fertilizers applied in the field, nitrogen (N) is the most important element for plant growth, plant productivity and grain quality. It is important to define the complex trait of nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) before considering its improvement through breeding and N management strategies. NUE defined as grain dry matter yield per unit of available N (from the soil and/or fertilizer) divided it into two components, including (i) N-uptake efficiency (crop N uptake/N available; UPE) and (ii) N-utilization efficiency (grain dry matter yield/crop N uptake; UTE). N utilization efficiency (UTE) divided into two components, including harvest index (HI) and biomass production efficiency (BPE). Nitrogen utilization efficiency comprises harvest index (HI) and biomass production efficiency (BPE). The objective of this study was to determine the significance and magnitude of variation in N content, NUE, NUpE, NUtE, and grain protein concentration among diverse barely genotypes in years of release. Specifically, we wanted to determine if there was a positive correlation between these factors and grain yield. This field experiment was conducted under optimal condition, at the Gonbad University of Agricultural Sciences Research Farm, during the growing seasons of 2014-2015. The eight cultivars were sown in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Plots consisted of 5 rows with 5 m long and 0.20 m apart. Seeding rate was calculated for each cultivar using percentage germination and 1000-seed weight to achieve a density of 270 plant m-2. Plant samples were separated in two components at anthesis (leaf + culm and chaff-flowered spikes) and three components at maturity [leaf + culm, chaff (rachis, glumes, awns), and grain]. Samples were dried at 70˚C for 3 d and dry matter (DM) were weighed. N content of the plant parts was measured using a modified version of the Kjeldahl procedure. At harvest, a 1.5 m2 portions at the center of each wheat plot was sampled to determine their biomass and harvest index. Statistical analysis was carried out using the SAS software package. Differences among the treatments were evaluated with the least significant difference (LSD). Analysis of variance for grain yield, NUE, NUtE and NHI traits showed that cultivars had significant differences in %1 level while protein percent and NUpE was significant in %5 levels. Nitrogen use efficiency ranged from 4.30 to 14.13 g m-2, depending on cultivar. Low yielding cultivars had the lowest NUE values. Average value for NUE was 6.99 g m-2. Relationships between NUE measurements with NUtE and NUpE were evaluated by linear regression. There was a strong and statistically significant relationship between NUE with NUtE and NUpE for all barely cultivars. Grain yield ranged from 184.87 to 603.11 gr m-2. Grain yield positively correlated with NUE and a negatively correlated with grain protein concentration. The results revealed that during breeding activities for barely yield improvement, NUE and nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUtE) were increased; while there was no changes for nitrogen uptake efficiency (NUpE). Because NUE divided into two components of NUtE and NUpE, most of the breeding effects on NUE were associated with change in nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUtE). It seems that during year of release of barely cultivars no changes was observed for improvement of protein concentration. It appears that in studied cultivars, grain harvest index increased more rapidly than nitrogen harvest index which means no changes or decline of grain protein percent.

Water is a scarce resource in the Middle East region and climate change is expected to exacerbate this situation. Developing countries are vulnerable to these changes, primarily due to their limited adaptive capacities in dealing with extreme events. Therefore, investigation of this phenomenon will be very crucial in such areas. In the past decades, water shortage in Yazd province which is located in arid regions of Iran has resulted in transferring the water from Isfahan. But recently, due to increasing in water demand, inadequacy of this project clearly has felt. Evapotranspiration and agricultural water requirements are two crucial issues of this area which affected by climate change. Thus, considering climate change projections and future agricultural water requirements is necessary to determine water stress risks in the study area, Hence, this study aims to answer the following research questions:
Currently, how much irrigation water do we need in the Yazd-Ardakan region?
How does future climate change impact future irrigation requirements?
How does future climate change influence sustainability of the agricultural water consumption? The data used in this analysis represented into two time periods, including (i) present (values for the period 1971–2005), and (ii) future, called year 2070 (values for the period 2021–2070). To evaluate future climate changes, daily climate data from Yazd Synoptic station for 1971-2005 period have been used. Data, including precipitation, maximum and minimum temperatures and sunshine hours. To investigate the climate changes of Yazd-Ardakan plain in the future period of 2021-2070, RCP 4.5 scenario has been used through SDSM 4.2.9 software. The effect of climate change on reference evapotranspiration and agricultural water needs were estimated. Crop evapotranspiration and irrigation requirements for two periods, were estimated following the standard procedure described in the FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 56 (UN-FAO, 2007) and CROPWAT software. Two indices considered to evaluate the sustainability of the agricultural water consumption in the study area. These indices including the ratio of evapotranspiration to the precipitation (EPR) and the ratio of maximum agricultural water deficit to the amount of agricultural water need as deficit index (MD). These indices estimated under present and future climatic conditions. To evaluate the amount of water used for main agricultural products, questionnaires were completed in the area. The results of statistical validation of the predicted values, showed no significant differences between historical and predicted values of precipitation, maximum and minimum temperatures and sunshine. Therefore, suitability of LARS-WG model to simulate climatic data of the study area is confirmed. Investigation of the precipitation in the Yazd station showed that in spring season, precipitation will be declining and in autumn will be increasing. In other words, the distribution of precipitation in the future will have significant changes and as winter precipitation decreases the spring precipitation will have increasing trend. Results showed that monthly minimum and maximum temperature will increase in almost all months. Results of estimating agricultural water requirements showed that due to higher temperature, reference evapotranspiration, crop evapotranspiration and irrigation requirements will be increased up to 4% under climate change conditions. The EPR and MD indexes will increase by 24% and 13% respectively. The results revealed the imbalance between agricultural water use and the precipitation in the study area. In the other hand, results of the questionnaires showed that, the water used in irrigated agricultural areas is not in accordance with the requirements of products and therefore leads to water stress and, consequently, yield reduction of products. Therefore, in these conditions, appropriate management strategies and planning should be implemented to ensure the sustainability of water resources inthe Yazd-Ardakan plain. This work focused on the climate change impact on cultivated area in the Yazd-Ardakan plain considering the possible alterations of crop evapotranspiration and irrigation requirements. According to this study by increasing in maximum temperature in the future, water needs of agricultural section will grow significantly. Therefore, planners and authorities should consider this fact for the future water resources allocation and strategies.

Documentation is a fundamental and basic step to improve each productive process, which unfortunately does not have a significant place in the agricultural section of Iran. Production process management in agricultural systems have a direct effect on yield, productivity, input use efficiency, energy consumption and the environmental impact of production. Therefore, the need of monitoring and improving the processes leading to the production of agricultural products is inevitable in order to reduce the challenges associated with farm management in agricultural systems. The first and essential step in improving such process is achievement to the specific and integrated vision on how the activities carry out in current situation, so called process documentation. Documenting the production process in agriculture includes providing all information and activities that shows the course of production from seedbed preparation stage to harvest stage. Depending on weather conditions, Golestan, together with Fars, Khuzestan, Kurdistan and Kermanshah, has been one of the most wheat producing provinces in the country in most years (Bureau of Statistics and Information Technology). This study was conducted in the province of Golestan, in the north of the country, which is located between 36°30 ′ N–38°8′ N and 53°51′ E–56°22′ E. Among the crops in the province of Golestan, autumn wheat has the highest growing area, usually grown from the end of November to the end of December, with an average temperature of 14.5 °C and a total rainfall of 420 mm, and harvested during June. In this study, in order to utilize this method to improve wheat production in both irrigated and rainfed systems of Golestan province, all management operations performed from seedbed preparation stage to harvest stage were recorded on 540 farms with different management. Proportions that farmers applying different method of the management operations were determined through relative and cumulative frequency distribution. In this investigation, the variations and methods of doing each management operation were identified. The cumulative or relative frequency distribution was used to analyze the data. Documentation results show that the average area of irrigated farms was more than rainfed farms. Most of irrigated farms were cultivated by two summer crops including soybean and rice before sowing wheat. Most of rainfed farms had no summer crop but they were cultivated by wheat and barley in the previous year of sowing wheat. Most of producers of irrigated and rainfed wheat have used the moldboard and disks as a primary tillage. In addition, the most type of equipment which used in cultivation of wheat in both systems was grain drill. Morvarid cultivar was the dominant cultivar which used in both irrigated and rainfed wheat systems. Applying more seed rate and extended sowing window in rainfed system comparing with irrigated system were another results of this survey. Half of farmers have used at least 95 and 70 kg Nitrogen fertilizer in the irrigated and rainfed investigated farms, respectively. In both systems, Geranstar and Topic were the most used herbicides, Tilt was the most used fungicide and Diazinon was the most used pesticide. Farmers preferred to use of conventional irrigation for their farms. The harvesting time of wheat was ranged from the early May to middle of June. The average yield of irrigated wheat was 3845 kg ha-1 and more than rainfed wheat with 3145 kg ha-1. The results of this survey provide a broad vision of sub-processes of wheat production in irrigated and rainfed systems and specification of the exact amount and time of using inputs into production process which could allow a holistic assessment of Golestan province with respect to environmental, economic and sociological perspectives. This research is part of the Ph.D thesis of the first author at Zabol University. We are grateful to Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (GUASNR) and Zabol University. We are also grateful to Dr. H. Kashiri (Director of Agricultural Extension of Golestan province) and the farmers in our study for their patience and support.

Yield of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) as the most important bean crops of Iran affected by various factors, including tillage for soil preparationsowing date, sowing method, sowing density, the type of crop varieties, crop rotation, management of pests, diseases and weeds, harvesting date, as well as social factors such as experience, education level of farmers and agricultural facilities. In order to assess the impact of common various factors on chickpea yield production, the study was conducted as field survey in Sanjabi rural district, Kermanshah, Iran. In this study, we tried to consider the most important agronomic and social factors affecting yield production of pea in the study area. An experimental survey was conducted in three villages located in Sanjabi Rural district in the Kermanshah province in 2015 with a sampling of 85 chickpea fields. Data collection was done by two ways including completing the questionnaire by farmers and direct sampling of the farm. Information extracted from the questionnaire covers tillage, sowing date, sowing method, seed rate, seed varieties, crop rotation, weed management, harvesting date, and also social factor including experience, education level and the area of land owned by farmers, and village type. Sampling of farms was done randomly in six points of each farm using quadrate size 1m*1m and yield of chickpea were recorded. The results showed that applying twice tillage before planting, using mechanized sowing techniques, weed management and selection of appropriate planting and harvesting date significantly increased the yield of chickpea in the study area. Accordingly, twice plowing in winter and before sowing in comparison with once plowing before sowing, with the average yield of 277.2 and 227.7 kg.ha-1, respectively , sowing in March in comparison with April, the average yield of 285.2 and 244.3 kg.ha-1, respectively , mechanized sowing  in comparison with hand spreading sowing, with the average yield of 287.2 and 245.2 kg.ha-1, respectively, seed rate of 45 in comparison with 35 kg.ha-1 for sowing, with the average yield of 277.6 and 235.5 kg.ha-1, respectively, mechanical weed control in comparison with without weed control with the average yield of 298.8 and 248.7 kg.ha-1, respectively, and harvesting date in late June (297.3 kg.ha-1) in comparison with harvesting date in mid-June and mid-July (275.5 and 258.5 kg.ha-1 , respectively) had significant differences in average grain yield of chickpea. In addition, two social factors of experience of farmers and education level are important factors in increasing crop yield. So, enhancing the experience of farmers resulted in high chickpea yield. Thus, that the highest and lowest chickpea yield was observed in the farms belonging to farmers over the age of 60 years and farmers aged 20 to 30 years, respectively. Farmers with high and low educational level harvested more grain yield of chickpea compared to the farmers with mean educational level as well. . It seems that lack of farmers with average education level to agricultural activities is the reason of it. Moreover, the results showed that the village residence status had significant effects on chickpea yield. Residence in village with increasing the probability of the farmer's attention, led to an increase in the chickpea yield. This data would be helpful in understanding the effective agronomic activities and the farmer’s attributes on chickpea yield in the studied area. Evaluation the crop production using real information of the fields could lead to increase the awareness of managers and thus taking proper decisions.

Only one-third of the total land area on earth is free of ice and 42% of land experiences temperatures below −20°C. Plants may or may not establish in extreme cold or hot temperatures, prolonged dry or wet soil conditions. For this reason, there is a growing demand for native plants in the landscape. Factors influencing plant selection include assessments of hardiness and aesthetics, ease of propagation and culture, naturalization potential. There is a high genetic variation in the flora of Iran, about 1810 of 8000 recorded taxons in Iran are native. So there is a great potential for using native plant in regions with harsh climates. The genus Thymus L. belongs to the Lamiaceae family, consist of about 215 species of herbaceous perennials and small shrubs in the world. They originated from Mediterranean region. This genus is presented in Iranian flora by 14 species .Overall, cold acclimation results in protection and stabilization of the integrity of cellular membranes, enhancement of the antioxidative mechanisms, increased intercellular sugar levels as well as accumulation of other cryoprotectants including polyamines that protect the intracellular proteins by inducing the genes encoding molecular chaperones. So, the aim of this study was to assess the freezing stress tolerance of some thyme species as ground covering species in landscaping projects Seeds of Theme species were sown in containers filled with sand, manure, field soil mixture and maintained in glasshouse. Then, the plants transferred to outdoor condition until the late May. At 24 hours before the end of the acclimation period, the plants irrigated and transferred in their containers to a freezing chamber with 3°C for subjection to freezing temperatures (-10, -20 and -30oC). The temperature reduced at the rate of 2°C per h, and after 1 hour at exposure to the freezing temperature, the containers with plants immediately transferred to growth chamber at 4oC for 24 hours to reduce the speed of ice melting and then returned to the glass. Survival rates, proline accumulation, electrolyte leakage, antioxidant enzymes activity were used to evaluate the freezing tolerance of species. For field experiment germinated seeds in container maintained in greenhouse until the environmental conditions were not limiting factor. After that, seedling planted in outdoor condition and subjected to Ardabil city freezing weather in 2 years. In early spring survival rate recorded. Moreover physiological and biochemical and physical responses of species were evaluated in 3 different times (June, December, February).  Results showed that freezing stress adversely affects growth of theme species. There were 100% survival in all species under Ardebil outdoor condition (during two years), but under freezing chamber condition plant treated with -10oC and -30oC showed 100% and 0% survival, respectively. While in -20oC the highest survival rate were shown in T. vulgaris and T. sepyllum, but T. daenensis had the lowest. The lowest values of electrolyte leakage were related to T. sepyllum, T. kotschyanus, and T. vulgaris. The highest chlorophyll and proline content achieved in T. vulgaris and T. kotschyanus, respectively. Peroxidase antioxidant enzyme activity in T. kotschyanus and T. sepyllum were higher than other species. While there were no significant differences among the species in superoxide dismutase and ascorbate peroxidase enzyme activity. According to the results, it can be deduced that T. kotschyanus, T. vulgaris, and T. sepyllum are more frost tolerant than others. However, because of high survival percent in Ardabil climate and under -20oC, all species can be used as frost tolerant ground cover in landscapes. According to the results all of the studied thyme species are frost tolerant but T. sepyllum, T. kotschyanus, and T. vulgaris have the ability to withstand the harsh weather condition without a considerable loss in their ornamental potential.

Drought stress is one of the most important factors limiting growth and crop production in the arid and semi-arid world. Plant response to drought stress depends on the type, severity, and duration of stress, plant species, and stress occurrence stage and farm management.
The sesame, among crop plants, is resistant to drought and heat stress and has great importance in the agriculture development of arid and semi-arid region for summer planting. But this plant is sensitive to drought stress at seedling stage and during flowering to grain filling. To overcome the drought stress, the biological solution is one of the basic strategies that should be considered and can be noted the mycorrhizal fungi. One of the most important types of mycorrhizal is arbuscular rmycorrhizal Fungi, which is important in terms of agriculture; because most crops and horticultural ability to coexist with this type of mycorrhiza. In order to evaluate the effect of irrigation levels and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi symbiosis on yield and yield components of sesame, an experiment was carried out as split-factorial based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at Agricultural Research Station of Haji Abad, Hormozgan province, Iran during growing season 2014-2015. Experimental factors included: drought stress as main factor in 3 levels: 100% water requirement (normal irrigation), 70% water requirement (moderate stress)and 50% water requirement (Severe stress), the priming as sub factor in 3 levels: without priming (control treatment), hydropriming and osmopriming and the mycorrihizal fungi application as other sub-factor in 3 levels: [without mycorrihizal fungi application(control), mycorrihizal fungi application (Glomus mosseae) and mycorrihizal fungi application (G. intraradices). Analysis of variance data showed that the effect of drought stress had significant effect (P≤0.01) on all traits were studied. The effect of mycorrhizal inoculation was significant on measured plant responses (P≤0.01). Priming treatments were significant on seed number per capsule (P≤0.01) and thousand grain weight and grain yield, biological (P≤0.05). Interaction effects of mycorrhiza × irrigation was only significant on grain yield (P≤0.05), the effects of the interaction of mycorrhiza × priming on seed number per capsule (P≤0.01) and the thousand grain weight (P≤0.05) were significant. The results also showed that the highest grain yield and all measured traits obtained when using irrigation water requirement by 100 percent (normal irrigation). Inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi species G. mosseae and G. intraradices compared to lack of mycorrhizal fungi (control treatment) improved yield by 10.4 and 4.7 percent. Priming treatments compared to non-primed (control treatment) increased seed yield by as much as 2 percent. Drought stress decreased sesame yield, however, the using mycorrhizal fungus can be reduced that effect. The effect of two species of mycorrhizal on sesame yield and their effect on reducing stress damage was different; So that mycorrhizal symbiosis G. mosseae has more than the G. intraradices and avoided the sharp drop in sesame yield in drought stress treatments. The results of this study showed that drought stress and water shortage decreased significantly yield and yield components of sesame. Mycorrhizal fungi improved the absorption of moisture and nutrients under water stress and increased plant resistance to water stress, therefore increased yield and yield components of sesame. The species of G. intraradices fungi compared to G. mosseae was more efficient in terms of resistance to water stress. Thus, it seems that mycorrhizal, in addition to improving the yield due to increased root system development and consequently increasing the availability of moisture and access to nutrients, can have a positive effect on reducing the effects of irrigation deficiency on sesame plants. Seed priming, due to better germination, rapid seedling growth, proper establishment and, finally, the optimal use of nutrients and environmental factors, ultimately increased yield.

Environmental concerns are raising due to nutrient leaching resulting from agricultural activities. There are new researches activities focusing on the practical management options for lowering nutrient runoff and leaching to the ground water. Alternative farming strategies such as organic and integrated fertilizer management, are being promoted recently because these managements minimize the environmental devastation. This research was carried out at the Experimental Farm of Agronomy Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran (35°41ʹN, 51°19ʹE, 1215 m above sea level), during 2010-2013 growing seasons. Research farm was subjected to shallow plowing in Sep 2010 following by disk to be fully prepared for cultivation practice. Weed control was done chemically by application of Trifluralin (PubChem: 5569, 3.5 lit ha-1) afterward weed biomass using a disk incorporated into the soil. Total area for each experimental unit was 12m2 (4m×3m), the distance between each adjacent plot was one meter. There were 2m gaps between the blocks and 1m alley was also established between each plot to prevent any interferences. The experiment was conducted with a split-plot layout based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. Crop rotation (Canola-Soybean-Wheat (C1) and Canola-Wheat (C2)) provided the whole-plot treatments with nine fertilization management (F1: urea, F2: urea + zeolite, F3: composted manure, F4: composted manure + zeolite, F5: urea + composted manure, F6: urea+ composted manure + zeolite, F7: urea+ azocompost, F8: urea+ azocompost + zeolite and F9: Control) providing the sub-plots. The variance analysis showed that fertilizer treatment main effect and interaction effects of year × fertilizer treatments, significantly affected all parameters including dry matter yield (DMY), seed yield (SY), amount of nitrogen absorbed (TNU), soil nitrogen (SN), soil organic carbon (SOC), nitrogen crop efficiency (AE) in both crops (Canola and Wheat) (Table 3). As shown in Table 4, the F6 fertilizer treatment in 2012 had the highest DMY (6885 kg.ha-1) and SY (3571 kg.ha-1) for canola, also F6 for wheat produced the highest DMY (7365 kg.ha-1) and SY (4001 kg.ha-1) in 2013. The maximum TNU was found in the F6 treatment, whereas the minimum TNU was obtained in F9 for canola and wheat (Table 4). The maximum SOC (1.22 and 1.26) was observed in the second year by the F6 fertilizer treatments while the lowest soil organic carbon (0.1294 and 0.1201) were observed in F9 in canola and wheat, respectively (Table 4). In the F6 fertilizer treatment, 16.6 and 21.0kg for canola, and 19.9 and 26.3kg for wheat of seed yield were obtained per 1kg of applied N during 2010-2012 and 2011-2013, respectively. The results of this study showed that the application of organic matter resulted in increased yield of rapeseed and wheat during the four-year period of the experiment. The highest grain yield was obtained from integrative treatments with combining zeolite. Application of zeolite in all fertilizer treatments resulted in increased both crops yield, nitrogen efficiency, absorbed nitrogen content, organic carbon content and soil nitrogen. Organic matter alone or in combination with mineral fertilizers resulted in an increase in the organic carbon content and nitrogen content of the soil and eventually increased yield in both crops. There is a positive and significant relationship between soil properties and grain yield indicating that organic fertilizers improve the growth of the plant and ultimately the grain yield, by improving these indices. The results showed that using manure and zeolite is a suitable method for reducing the application of chemical fertilizers and improving stability in agricultural systems. Our results demonstrated that organic amendments and zeolite in combination of chemical fertilizer could be useful methods to achieve sustainable agricultural systems.

Chemical fertilizers have a significant effect on food production in the world and are one of the essential components in today's agriculture. It has been reported that the doubling of agricultural food production up to the 1990s, partly attributed to the increasing the use of nitrogen and phosphorous fertilizers by 6.9 and 3.5-fold, respectively. Increasing the use of chemical fertilizer in crop production systems, resulting in many environmental problems such as water, soil and air pollutions and also increasing the vulnerability of the agricultural ecosystems through the declining biodiversity. Therefore, conventional agriculture approaches in today's world are not acceptable because of relting onapplication of too much on artificial inputs and auxiliary energy infusions such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides creates an unstable farming system.. Organic fertilizers, such as animal manures, are able to increase soil water holding capacity, reduction drought stress, increase soil microbial diversity, improve the physical structure of the soil and prevent soil erosion. Various reports suggest that the combination of chemical and manure fertilizers to improve the quantity and quality of crop production is more effective than the separate application. Oikeh (1998) found that in five varieties of corn that are affected by nitrogen fertilizer, grain yield and 1000 seed weight for all varieties increased. Therefore, the present study was designed and carried out in order to determine the effect of chemical and manure fertilizers and combination of them on grain yield and yield components of corn and to obtain the optimal composition of these fertilizers. In order to investigate the effect of different amounts of chemical and animal manure fertilizers and the combination of them on grain yield and yield components of corn (single cross 704), a field study was conducted in 2004-2005 growing season in agriculture experiment station of Zabol University Iran. The experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design with four replications. The experimental treatments were T0 (no fertilizer), T1 (90 t.ha-1 cow manure), T2 (200 and 150kg.ha-1, nitrogen [N] and phosphorus [P], respectively), T3 (45t.ha-1 cow manure+100kg.ha-1 N and 75kg.ha-1 P), T4 (30t.ha-1 cow manure+133.32kg.ha-1 N and 100kg.ha-1 P), T5 (60t.ha-1 cow manure +66.66kg.ha-1 N and 50kg.ha-1 P). Sowing was carried out in the first half of March.  Filed irrigation during the growing season was carried out every 7-10 days. Results showed that yield dry matter, plant height, number of grains per ear, number of grain per row, economic yield, biological yield, and harvesting index were affected by different fertilizer treatments. The highest grain yield (4825kg.ha-1), biological yield (7850kg.ha-1), length of ear (23.9cm), number of kernel per ear (36), 1000 seed weight (176.1g) and plant height (198.3cm) were obtained at T5 (60t.ha-1 cow manure +66.66kg.ha-1 N and 50kg.ha-1 P) treatment. There was a significant difference between T5 with other treatments. The results showed that there was a significant positive correlation between grain yield and ear length (r=0.86**), seed weight (0.61**), biological yield (0.67**), number of the kernel per row (0.97**) and plant height (0.86**). In addition, combined chemical and animal fertilizer treatments compare with single chemical and animal fertilizer treatments had more effect on yield components. There were no significant differences between T1 (chemical fertilizer) and T2 (animal manure) in terms of grain yield. Based on our results, It can be concluded that the combination of 60t.ha-1 cow manure + 66.66kg.ha-1 N with 50kg.ha-1 P was the best treatment to produce corn in the studied region.