فصلنامه فرآیند و کارکرد گیاهی
سال نهم شماره 5 (پیاپی 39، آذر و دی 1399)

This experiment was arranged as a split-split plot in a randomized complete block design with three replications at the research farm of Isfahan University of Technology in 2017 to evaluate the effect of drought stress and nitrogen fertilizer on yield and some physiological traits of six barley cultivars. Experimental factors included two irrigation regimes (55 and 85 percent of available soil water), two levels of nitrogen fertilizer (The available amount in the soil (84kg / ha) and 62.5 kg nitrogen from the urea source containing 45% nitrogen) and foreign (Amistar, Campagen, Funky, Mastesca, Shangrila) and Iranian (Yousef) barley cultivars. The results showed that drought stress decreased grain and straw yield by reducing the content of chlorophyll a and b, carotenoid content and the maximum potential quantum efficiency of photosystem II but increased proline and malondialdehyde contents. Nitrogen application increased grain and straw yields under normal irrigation conditions while the opposite effects were observed under drought stress condition. Among studied cultivars, Yousef had the highest grain yield and Funky produced the highest amount of straw under normal irrigation conditions. Normal irrigation and nitrogen application increased the plant height, chlorophyll a but decreased malondialdehyde in all cultivars. The highest grain and straw yield of cultivars were obtained by nitrogen application under normal irrigation. The results from this experiment showed that nitrogen application is not an appropriate strategy to reduce the negative effects of drought stress on the yield of studied barley cultivars.

Different species of the Chenopodiaceae family have allopathic effects because they contain active terpene and phenolic compounds. Quinoa is one of the plants in this family that has a very high content of phenolic substances and it can have this feature. In order to investigate the allopathic effects of aqueous extract of this plant residue on electrolyte leakage, biochemical content, antioxidants and photosynthetic pigments of wheat seedlings,  an experiment was carried out in a factorial arrangement based on a completely randomized design with 4 replications. The studied factors included the aqueous extract of the flowers, leaves, stems, and roots of quinoa at six concentrations 0 (control), 5, 25, 50, 75, and 100%. The measured traits were electrolyte leakage, malondialdehyde concentration, chlorophyll content a, b and total, carotenoids, anthocyanin protein, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase. The results showed that the type of organ had a significant effect on all the studied traits except the total protein. Also, the concentration of the extract and the interaction of the type of organ and the concentration of the extract had a significant effect on all traits of wheat seedlings. High concentrations of various organs extract increased electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde concentration. It also increased the content of antioxidants such as anthocyanins, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase. In this experiment, the content of chlorophyll a (58%), chlorophyll b (68%), total chlorophyll (67%), carotenoids (62%) and protein (10%) decreased under the influence of quinoa organ extract. It should be noted that the effect of low concentrations of extracts prepared on the leakage rate of electrolytes and chlorophyll a was positive, but the effect of high concentrations was negative.

Drought stress is one of the major environmental concerns associated with various defects in plant growth and development. Environmental stressors trigger a wide range of reactions in plants, ranging from changes in gene expression level and cell metabolism to alteration in growth rate and plant function. Application of certain chemicals, such as gamma amino butyric acid (GABA), is suggested to minimize the detrimental effects of drought stress. To investigate the effect of GABA in vegetative characteristics and resistance indices of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) plants under water deficit condition, current experiment was conducted in research greenhouse at Tehran University of Sciences. The experiment was performed in factorial pattern based on the completely randomized block design. In this experiment GABA was applied on plants at three concentrations of 0, 25 and 50 μM under three levels of polyethylene glycol (PEG)(0%, 10% and 15%) as drought stress inducer. The results showed that water deficit conditions decreased fresh and dry weight of shoot and root, leaf number, leaf area, photosynthetic pigments and protein content. Besides, physiological parameters such as proline content and antioxidant enzyme activity increased under drought stress conditions. Application of GABA in this experiment generally improved the morphological characteristics (including leaf number and leaf area, fresh and dry weight of leaves and roots), photosynthetic pigments and soluble protein content. GABA application improved qualitative and biochemical properties including anthocyanin, total phenol and flavonoid content under drought stress conditions. GABA exposure resulted in decreased MDA activity and increased antioxidant superoxide dismutase (SOD) functionality. GABA increased the plantchr('39')s resistance to water deficit stress by affecting the activity of catalase enzyme activity in stressed plants compared to those of control. This effect was very significant under 15% PEG and 50 μM GABA treatments. Our findings indicate that GABA application can increase plant yield under drought stress conditions. According to these results and positive effect of the GABA application on induction of drought resistance in saffron, it is recommended to use GABA as an effective compound to diminish the detrimental effects of drought stress in saffron plants.

In order to investigate the effect of irrigation water salinity on some traits of dill plant, a series of experiments were conducted in a completely randomized design (RCD) in Isfahan. Salinity stress application (0.3 - 30 dS/m) in the laboratory conditions showed that the control treatment had the highest percentage and rate of germination (80.5 % and 15.2 seedling per day). The effect of salinity stress on the germination rate was more severe than its effect on germination percentage. Application of saline irrigation from 0.3 to 15 dS/m indicated that the highest percentage and rate of emergence (60 and 73.8 % and 5.1 and 10.3 seedling per day at greenhouse and field) were in the control treatment. Applying salinity treatments from 0.3 to 9 dS/m in the field, showed that control treatment had the highest biological yield (811.4 g/m2), seed yield (143.3 g/m2) and plant height (87.4 cm) and increasing salinity decreased these traits. The effect of saline irrigation on essential oil percentage was not significant. Seed and shoot essential oil yields varied from 2.7 to 3.3 and 4.6 to 6 ml/m2 at different salinity levels, respectively, but their changes did not follow a specific trend. 12 and 13 different compounds were identified in the seed and aerial parts essential oils, respectively. The main components of essential oil were carvone, limonene and α-phellandrene. According to the results of this study, high levels of salinity had a negative effect on germination, emergence and agronomic traits (biological yield, seed yield and plant height) of dill plant.

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different concentrations of humic acid (0, 500, 1000 and 2000 mg L-1) as drench and nano-calcium chelate (0, 1, 2 and 3 g L-1) as foliar application on nutrient absorption and photosynthetic pigments of gerbera cv. Dune. This experiment was performed as a factorial   in a completely randomized design with two factors and three replications in Urmia University at 2018. Indices including fresh and dry weight of inflorescence and flowering stem, volume and fresh and dry weight of root, photosynthetic pigments such as chlorophyll a, b and total chlorophyll and leaf elements were measured. The results of means comparison showed that nitrate, phosphorus, potassium and calcium were more adsorbed than control. The fresh and dry weight of flowering stem and inflorescence showed a significant increase due to the application of humic acid and nano-calcium chelate. The amount of photosynthetic pigments was also affected by the use of humic acid and nano-calcium chelate. The highest amounts of chlorophyll a, b and total were obtained in the treatment of humic acid 500 mg L-1 and 2 g L-1 nano-calcium chelate. Root volume was increased by the use of humic acid and calcium nano-calcium, and in 2000 mg L-1 humic acid and 1 g L-1 of nano- calcium chelate was seen the highest root volume. Also humic acid at 500 mg L-1 increased root dry and fresh weight. In general the results of the present study show that the application of humic acid and nano- calcium chelate lead to improved quality and increased nutrient uptake in gerbera.

To investigate physiological responses of black cumin to calcium silicate under salinity and drought stress condition with iso-osmotic potentials, a factorial experiment carried out based on the completely randomized design with three replications in research greenhouse of Faculty of Agriculture, Yasouj University, Iran in 2018. The first factor consisted of seven levels (salinity and drought stresses with iso-osmotic potentials of -2.4, -4.9 and -7.4 bar and control treatment) applied in Hoaglandchr('39')s solution. Salinity was applied with sodium chloride (NaCl) and drought with polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG 6000). The results showed that at calcium silicate levels, salinity and drought stresses increased catalase and peroxidase activity, proline soluble sugars and malondialdehyde and also decreased leaf relative water content and leaf chlorophyll content. Silicate application mitigated the stress effects so that increased catalase and peroxidase activity, chlorophyll, proline and soluble sugars and decreased malondialdehyde content. In iso-osmotic potentials of drought compared with salinity, relative water content decreased but proline content, soluble sugars content, malondialdehyde content and catalase activity increased, indicating that black cumin sensitivity to drought is more than salinity based on physiological traits.

Moisture stress is one of the most important factors reducing crop yield, including oilseed crops, in Iran. Therefore, this study aimed to study the effect of different moisture levels on amino acid content of methionine, proline, soluble sugar and protein of sesame leaf in the 2018 crop year. Data water collected in a split plot-factorial experiment with a randomized complete block design with three replication at the Birjand University of Agriculture Research Farm. In this experiment, moisture at three levels (100, 75 and 50% of sesame water requirement) as the main factor application of calcium nitrate at three levels (0, 5 and 10 Mm) and putrescine at two levels (0.5 Mm and water spraying solution) were considered as sub-factors. The result showed that the interaction of moisture levels, calcium nitrate, and putrescine were significant (p <0.05) for methionine, lysine, proline amino acids and grain yield. The highest amount of methionine amino acid (0.060 mg/g fresh weight) was obtained in the case of 10 Mm calcium nitrate foliar application with putrescine use at 50% water requirement level. The dual interaction of calcium nitrate and putrescine, moisture levels and putrescine, as well as moisture levels and calcium nitrate, were significant on soluble sugar and protein of sesame leaf. In general, foliar application of calcium nitrate and putrescine was the best treatment to reduce the effect of moisture levels on sesame and indicating a synergistic relationship between them in reducing the effect of moisture stress.

The increased effects of UV radiation are observed as a result of the reduced ozone layer with increasing atmospheric pollution. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of UV radiations on growth and some physiological and biochemical parameters of Portulaca oleracea L. Experiments were performed under controlled greenhouse conditions using a completely randomized design with three replications. Purslane plants were treated with UV rays (UV-A at three times 20, 40 and 60 minutes, UV-B at three times 20, 40 and 60 minutes, and UV-C at five times 10, 20, 30, 40, 60 minutes). The results indicated that changes in root growth were not significant, but shoot length, wet and dry weight of plant increased compared to control in the three groups treated with 60 min UV-A, 60 min UV-B and 10 min UV-C. the treatment with 60 min UV-B increased the activity of defense enzymes, phenolic, flavonoid and antioxidant contents significantly more than the other UV treatments. In general, the results indicate that the purslane plant is sensitive to UV radiation. However, applying controlled UV light can provide a new alternative strategy to increase crop productivity, that is the same application of 60 min UV-B as a novel plant growth booster, in comparison with UV-A and UV-C treatment.

Wild relatives of safflower have high potential of  hybridization with cultivated safflower and have a high tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, especially drought stress. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of drought stress on the physiological traits and their relationship with seed yield in F4 lines drived from interspecific hybridization of safflower. For this purpose, 12, 13 and 14 lines derived from three crosses of Carthamus tinctorius × Carthamus palaestinus (TP), Carthamus tinctorius × Carthamus oxyacanthus (TO) and Carthamus palaestinus × Carthamus oxyacanthus (PO) with 3 parental species (total 45 lines) were evaluated separatly under both normal irrigation and drought conditions. In the first study, F4 lines were evaluated for understanding the physiological mechanisms of drought tolerance, and in the second study, the effect of selection for seed yield in F3 on these traits in F4 was investigated. The results of the first study showed that TP crosses had higher seed yield than the other two crosses under normal irrigation condition, but there was no significant difference among the crosses under drought stress condition. The parental species showed significant differences for relative leaf water content, proline content, malondialdehyde, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll fluorescence. However, interspecific populations showed no significant differences for most of these traits under drought stress condition. These results may indicate the transfer of resistance genes from wild species to the cultivated safflower. The results of the second study showed that TP, PO and TO populations were different in terms of physiological traits, and it was revealed that selection efficiency was depend on the type of studied population. Selection in the TP population, which was derived from crossing between the cultivated species and wild species  of C. palaestinus, showed higher efficiency due to selection than the TO and PO populations in which  C. oxyacanthus was one of their parents.Therefore, with considering the physiological traits and seed yield, TP population was recognized as the best population for breeding programs.

In order to study the effects of supplementary irrigation and seed inoculation by bio fertilizer on yield and some physiological traits of rainfed wheat (Rasad cultivar), a factorial experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with three replications in Agricultural Research Station of Ardabil in 2016. The factors experimental were included supplementary irrigation at three levels, once supplementary irrigation at booting stage (I1), once supplementary irrigation at heading (I2) and no irrigation as rain fed (I3), and biofertilizers in four levels without application of bio fertilizers as control (B1), seed inoculation with Azospirilum (B2), mycorrhizal application (B3), both application mycorrhizal and Azospirilum (B4). Means comparison showed that application of both bio fertilizers (mycorrhiza and Azosprilium) and once supplementary irrigation at booting stage and once supplementary irrigation at heading increased the grain yield about 35.27 and 28.9% respectively in comparison with application of bio fertilizers under rainfed conditions. Both application mycorrhiza and Azosprilium and once supplementary irrigation at booting stage increased maximum fluorescence (Fm), variable fluorescence (Fv), chlorophyll index and relative water content of flag leaf in comparison with no application of bio fertilizers under rainfed condition. Rainfed conditions increased electrical conductivity and minimum fluorescence (F0).

Capers (Capparis spinosa) are one of the valuable medicinal plants that can grow in a wide range of ecological situations. In order to investigate the effect of climate on the physiological compounds of this plant, plant samples were collected in late summer with three replications from the mountainous areas of Amol city (Nemarestaq, Delarestaq and Behrestaq) at four altitudes with a difference of 150 meters (minimum altitude 850 meters). Some physiological traits of leaves and fruits were measured and analyzed by compound analysis in a completely randomized design. Data analysis showed that all the measured traits were affected by climate and were statistically significant, so that the highest amount of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, carotenoids, vitamin C, phenol, flavonoids, anthocyanins, antioxidants at an altitude of 1650 meters in Behrestagh region with 6.75, 10.56, 3.59, 15.60, 24.66 mg/g fresh weight, 4.51, 2.55 μmol/g fresh weight and 81.78% inhibition, respectively, and the lowest was observed at an altitude of 850 meters in Nemarstagh area. Regression slope also proved the significant relationship between traits and region and altitude, and antioxidant capacity which is the most important medicinal property of this plant, along with chlorophyll a, had the highest relationship (r² = 0.93). Also, the analysis of Pearson simple correlation coefficients showed a positive and significant effect between the traits. In general, with increasing altitude, an increase in the amount of measured physiological compounds that have medicinal effects was observed, so it is possible to develop the cultivation of some medicinal plants close to this family in the highlands.

In order to investigate the effect of methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid hormones and zinc and boron elements on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Rosa damascena Mill, an experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design with 11 treatments in 4 replications in Jahrom city of Fars province. In this experiment, different concentrations of methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid (0.5, 1 and 2 mM) and different concentrations of zinc and boron (1 and 2 per thousand) one month before flowering in two stages (ten days apart) Sprayed. The control plants were sprayed with distilled water. At the time of flower harvest, different morphological and physiological traits of the plants were evaluated. Based on the obtained results, methyl jasmonate (0.5 and 1 mM), zinc and boron increased the plant height by one per thousand. Methyl jasmonate and zinc treatments at both levels and 1 mM salicylic acid increased the fresh weight of the petals. Based on the obtained results, the treatment of salicylic acid (1 and 2 mM), methyl jasmonate (0.5 and 1 mM) and zinc by one per thousand increased the solute content of the petals. The highest chlorophyll was observed in boron treatment 1 per thousand. Also, boron treatment (1 and 2 per thousand), zinc 2 per thousand and 1 mM methyl jasmonate increased leaf chlorophyll. Petal carotenoids were also affected by different treatments of zinc, boron and the lowest concentrations of salicylic acid (0.5 mM) and methyl jasmonate (0.5 mM). Increasing the concentration of zinc and salicylic acid significantly reduced the amount of phenol in the flower. In general, methyl jasmonate treatment was superior to other treatments due to its greater effect on most of the studied traits. Therefore, the use of this treatment in rose gardens is recommended.

In order to investigation the effect of planting date and plant density on some quantitative and qualitative traits, yield and yield components of Guar in Guilan province, an experiment was conducted in a factorial experiment in a randomized complete block design with three replications in a research station of Rice Research Institute located in Gilpardesar village at Sangar in 2017. Experimental treatments included Planting dates at four levels (12 May, 26 May, 9 June, 23 June) and plant density at three levels (20, 40 and 60 plant.m-2). Results showed to delay in planting date from 26 May to 23 June, protein percentage, galactomannan percentage, plant height, dry weight at flowering stage, Number pods per plant, 100 seed weight, seed yield and biological yield were decreased 42.55%, 45.09%, 25.26%, 62.42%, 62.72%, 13.82%, 77.14% and 58.96%, respectively. The highest of seed yield (6987.25 Kg.ha-1), protein (28.2%) and galactomanan (27.5%) was obtained from 26 May sowing date and plant density of 40 plant.m-2. The above traits also increased with increasing in density from 20 to 40 plant.m-2. But a further increase in density to 60 plant.m-2 resulted in a decrease in these traits. Carbohydrate also increased with delay in planting. The number of seeds per pod and fat percentage was not affected by different planting dates and densities. The results also showed to delay in planting reduced the length of the growing season. The results of the present study indicate that proper planting date and plant density play an important role in yield enhancement and quality characteristics of guar seed and planting date of 26 May and density of 40 plant.m-2, due to longer growing season and appropriate climatic conditions. In addition, pod yield and seed weight, were higher seed yield than other treatments.

Salvia santolinifolia Boiss. is a perennial aromatic plant from Lamiaceae family that grows wild in Iran. The current study was conducted in a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications in four habitats of Hormozgan province including Abmah, Ghotbabad, Dorahi-Meymand and Sirmand in 2018 to investigate some of the high-consumption (including calcium, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus) and the micronutrients elements (including copper, iron, manganese, zinc, molybdenum, cobalt, nickel and chromium) in soil and plants. 30 leaf samples were randomly collected from each habitat and divided into three groups of 10 for analyzing. Soil samples were collected from the area around the root of collected plants. In addition, soil physico-chemical characteristics and nutritional elements were measured by using an inductively coupled plasma measuring apparatus (ICP-OES) in lab. Data analysis was conducted by the analysis of variance and means comparision in SAS 9.4 software. The results of analysis of variance showed a significant difference among habitats for the high-consumption and the micronutrients elements (P <0.01). Also, the results revealed that in the present study, by changing the soil texture of the studied habitats from sandy loam to silty loam, the accumulation of high and low consumption elements in the soil and leaves has increased; Ghotbabad and Sirmand habitats had the highest accumulation of elements. The accumulation of high-consumption elements in all four habitats in the leaves was higher than in the soil, and in terms of low-consumption elements, the opposite was observed. Evaluation of high and low consumption nutrients in soil and leaves of natural habitats of S. santolinifolia in Hormozgan province showed that the concentration of nutrients in different habitats depends on changed to the environmental conditions of the region, including the type of parent rock, physical and chemical properties of soil, the status and shape of the elevation, altitude, climatic conditions and other factors, and knowing about these factors can help in choosing a secondary habitat to accelerate the process of domestication of this species.

UV ray is able to change several physiologic and anatomic properties of the plants. UV ray can also prevent the plants growth and their desirable performance. Effective role of Silica Nanoparticles in different plants has been proved to enhance plant resistance against biological and non-biological stresses. The present study was performed in the laboratory of the Faculty of Science of Urmia University, in a factorial and random framework to investigate the influence of silica nanoparticles on the growth and physiological characteristics of Lepidium sativum L. during UV-B stress. This study was performed with three treatments (UV-B, Si Np, and simultaneous treatment) in which the concentration of Nanoparticles were determined as 50 mg/L. It should be mentioned that each treatment was repeated three times in equivalent experimental circumstances. The obtained results demonstrated that the length of shoot, the number and surface of the leaves were increased significantly when treatment with Nanoparticles was done. The aforementioned characteristics weren’t increased in simultaneous treatment. Conversely, the thickness of the leaves exhibited a reversed behavior during simultaneous treatment and treatment with silica Nanoparticles, compared with two former properties. The thickness of xylems and phloem were only increased in the case of treatment with UV-B. In all treatments, the concentration of Malone di-aldehyde was increased and a depletion was observed in dissolved sugar content. Moreover, the activity of ascorbate peroxidase and phenyl alanine ammonia lyase were improved in three treatments with Silica Nanoparticles, UV-B stress, and simultaneous treatment. Based on the results of this study, it was observed that the existence of Silica Nanoparticles have positive role to minimize destructive effects of UV-B stresses.

A greenhouse study was conducted to evaluate of salicylic acid foliar effect on morphological and biochemical characters of Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) based on a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) experiment with three replications in Qazvin, Iran in 2016.  The treatments of this research were defined as salicylic acid foliar levels as 0 (control), 100, 300 and 600 µM which were applied three months after transplanting. Evaluated characters were as plant height, branch number, plant dry weight, leaves dry weight, branches dry weight, the ratio of leaf to total dry weight, the percentage and yield of stevioside, rebaudioside-A, rebaudioside-B and rebaudioside-c. The results of this study revealed that foliar levels of salicylic acid had a significant effect on all of the evaluated characters except for SPAD index. The treatment of foliar 100 µM salicylic acid led to a significant increase in plant height, stevioside percentage, rebaudioside C yield and its percentage compared with control treatment (18.2%, 91.7%, 160% and 186%, respectively). By increasing the concentration of salicylic acid foliar level to 300 µM, the branches dry weight, leaves dry weight, plant dry weight, stevioside yield, rebaudioside. A percentage and its yield were increased in comparison to control treatment (3.9%, 10.3%, 7.0%, 84.6, 78.3 and 100%, respectively). Finally the treatment of 600 µM salicylic acid foliar level was significantly led to an increase in lateral branches number, the ratio of leaves dry weight to branches dry weight, rebaudioside-B percentage and its yield compared to control treatment (365.8%, 43.0%, 383.3and 344.4%, respectively). Therefore, a concentration of 300 μM foliar application of salicylic acid can be effective for increasing the quantitative and qualitative performance of Stevia.

In recent decades, the increasing trend of concurrent soil salinity and heavy metal stresses in arid and semi-arid regions all over the world has become a serious threat for agricultural production and human food security. Cadmium (Cd), as a heavy metal, can be readily absorbed by plant roots, leading to disruptions in plant physiological and biochemical activities. A factorial pot experiment was carried out based on a completely randomized design with the aim of investigating the beneficial effects of root symbiosis with mycorrhizal fungi and azotobacter on the responses of two bread wheat (Roshan and Bahar) and two durum wheat (Yavarus and Behrang) cultivars grown in a naturally Cd-contaminated soil to salinity stress. Experimental factors were consisted of (1) irrigation water salinity in three levels including 0, 75 and 150 mM NaCl and (2) inoculation treatments in four levels including no-inoculation as control, plus separate inoculation by Rhizophagus intraradices and Funneliformis mosseae mycorrhizal fungi and Azotobacter sp. bacteria. Salinity stress was observed to cause an increase in shoot Cd concentration, antioxidant enzymes activity and the levels of proline, hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde, while it decreased shoot dry weight. Under saline condition, the salt tolerant cultivars (Roshan and Behrang) showed a lower increase rate of shoot Cd concentration as compared to salt sensitive cultivars (Bahar and Yavarus), while they showed a higher increase rate of antioxidant enzymes and proline content. Wheat plants inoculated by F. mosseae, Rh. intraradices and Azotobacter sp. revealed a higher shoot dry weight (20, 12 and 7%, respectively) as well as higher activities of catalase (22, 18 and 12%), peroxidase (39, 32 and 20%) and ascorbate peroxidase (64, 56 and 47%) antioxidant enzymes, while a lower shoot Cd concentration (24, 11 and 5%) and lipid peroxidation activity (14, 10 an 5%) as compared to non-inoculated plants. The results from this experiment showed that soil salinization increased cadmium concentration in wheat plants but the inoculation by mycorrhiza and rizobacter stimulated antioxidant enzyme defense system and reduced lipid peroxidation and cadmium absorption from soil.

Due to the low efficiency of nitrogen (N) because of losses through leaching which also causes environmental pollution, it is necessary to use a suitable managemenpractices for nitrogen fertilizer application to minimize nitrogen losses through leaching. Sage is one of the most important and economical medicinal plants in the world. In order to investigate the application of zeolite to improve growth, yield and N use efficiency in Sage, the experiment was laid out as a factorial, randomized complete-block design with three replicates in 2018. Experimental treatments including N fertilizer (from urea source) at three levels (zero, 75 and 150 kg N ha-1) and zeolite at two levels (without zeolite and 10 t ha-1) were investigated. The highest plant height 19.90 cm, the number of lateral branches 19.87 per plant and the leaf area 1.38 cm were observed in the application of 150 kg N ha-1 and 10 t ha-1 of zeolite. The results showed that the zeolite application was able to help increase the yield of sage by N so the highest fresh and dry yield were observed of 150 kg N ha-1 and 10 t ha-1 of zeolite, 11144 and 2951 kg/ha, respectively. The highest soil and plant N concentration were 0.14 and 2.82 % in the treatment of 150 kg N ha-1 and 10 t ha-1 of zeolite. The highest N uptake was 86.30 kg/ha in application of 150 kg N ha-1 and 10 t ha-1zeolite, and the highest N use efficiency was 11.53 kg/kg in the application of 75 kg N ha-1 and 10 t ha-1 zeolite. The highest essential oil content and yield were 0.84% and 21.02 kg/ha, in the application of 150 kg N ha-1 and 10 t ha-1 zeolite. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the application of zeolite was able to prevent the growth, yield of soil N and efficiency of N consumption in the Salvia officinalis by preventing the leaching increasing its absorption and preventing the contamination of groundwater, and also reduce energy consumption.

Land salinization is a major limiting factor for conventional crop production. Cultivation of salt tolerant medicinal plants has been suggested as one of the strategy for utilizing saline soil and water resources. Fenugreek (Trigonella Foenum-graecum L.) is one of the medicinal plants that has a long history of use in traditional medicine and has many therapeutic properties. This research was conducted to determine the salt tolerance threshold and to evaluate effects of utilizing saline water on grain yield and yield components under greenhouse conditions. Treatments were included seven levels of salinity (0.5, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 dS/m) obtained by mixing saline groundwater (14 dS/m) and fresh water resources. A leaching fraction of 30 percent was considered to wash out some excess salts from soil profile and preventing their accumulation in the root zone. In order to control soil salinity, the amount and electrical conductivity of both irrigation and drainage water was measured in all irrigation practices. The statistical design was arranged as a complete randomized block design with three replications. In this research, different experimental models was used to determine the salt tolerance threshold, the slope of grain yield reduction, the amount of salinity at which grain yield was reduced by 50 percent (EC50) and the salt tolerance index, as well. Results showed that there was a statistically significant difference among different salinity levels. Based on the results, salinity treatment reduced pod length, pod weight, number of seeds per pod, number of pods per plant, number of filled seeds per plant, filled to unfilled seeds ratio, shoot dry weight, straw weight, thousand-seed weight, grain yield, harvest index and water use efficiency and increased percentage of unfilled seeds. Although salinity stress had an adverse effect on most studied traits, the trend of this effect varied depending on the trait. Based on the linear model, the fenugreek salt tolerance threshold and the slope of yield reduction was 1.28 dS/m and 4.91 percent, respectively. However, according to non-linear models, a reduction of 10 and 25 percent in relative grain yield occurred at 3.38 and 6.28 dS/m, respectively. According to the results of this study, the salinity at which the relative grain yield decreased by 50% percent (EC50) was observed at soil salinity of 11.67 dS/m. In this research, the fenugreek salt tolerance index was calculated as 12.24. Therefore, based on both the salinity tolerance threshold, the slope of yield reduction and salinity tolerance index, fenugreeks can be classified into the group of moderately sensitive to salinity plants.

Harmala (Peganum harmala L.), is a sacred plant whose medicinal properties has long been taken into consideration in ancient texts. This study aims to address whether the plant is salt-tolerant and explore its reactions to the soil salts in Iran. Therefore, after soil sampling from one of the plant’s habitats located in Kerman province and analyzing them, four types of salts including sodium chloride (NaCl), sodium sulfate (Na2SO4), magnesium chloride (MgCl2), and magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) were choosed. In this research 0 (as control), 200, 250, and 300 m mol per liter of the four above-mentioned salts were considered as the required treatments. For investigating the resistance of the Espand, the concentration of the photosynthetic pigments, the level of the activity of catalase enzyme, and the amount of proline, soluble proteins and carbohydrates were assessed during their vegetative stages. The data exhibited increase in the amount of Proline, proteins, and the activity of the catalase enzyme in the plants with high levels of salinity treatment, accordingly, considering the some of the responses and viability of the plants we can infer that harmala was capable of tolerating the concentration of salinity up to 300 m mol per liter of the four above-mentioned salts.