Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
Volume:23 Issue: 3, May 2021

Weather forecasts have potential for improving adaptation and resilience of agricultural systems to climate changes; however, there is still uncertainty on the factors affecting the use of this information in farm management decisions. This survey study was conducted on the application of weather information by 213 farmers selected through a stratified random sampling technique in 21 rural areas of Veys, in Khuzestan Province. The results indicated that perception of the reliability of weather information providers, availability of weather forecast information, self-efficacy, and subjective norm were the key drivers for using weather forecast information in the farm management decisions. Based on the results, confidence to the information providers was low among farmers. In addition, social norm about using weather information in practice was not strong in the study area. The results of the study highlighted the need for improving beliefs and values of farmers and their communities about the importance of using weather forecast information for adaptation to climate change.

Agriculture extension services in Pakistan are perceived as ineffective for many reasons. Limited research has been conducted so far in Pakistan to find those reasons. This study was conducted to consolidate different factors impeding the performance of Agriculture Officers (AOs), who are the change agents and most important pillar of extension system in Punjab, Pakistan. This study employed 348 randomly selected AOs working in Punjab Province. The main research question levelled was that why the work of AOs is perceived ineffective and how it can be mainstreamed. This study was qualitative in nature with probability sample and external validity. Data were collected qualitatively and analyzed using thematic analysis technique. Empirically, we identify and discuss a number of notable and explanatory themes affecting the performance of AOs such as “fractional support from the government”, “confused working environment”, “advisory services techniques and physical environment”, "organizational capacity and professional growth”, and “partnership and linkages issues”. The findings highlight a deep insight into how AOs struggle for their survival and meeting hefty targets with fractional facilitation. This paper also provides a generalization of the results and brief recommendations to be considered to revamp extension services in Pakistan and Asian countries, and initiate transnational linkages to restore the grace agricultural extension.

Continuous Biological Control (BC) of pests can reduce unnecessary pesticide applications in rice production, thus promoting occupational safety and health in farming. In this study, the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of behavior change was examined for its applicability in explaining adoption and maintenance of BC use among 344 rice farmers of Simorgh County, Mazandaran Province in northern Iran, to better understand how farmers change their pest management behavior for incorporating BC. The stages of behavior change in BC use were assessed according to the TTM model, i.e. Pre-Contemplation (PC), Contemplation (C), Preparation (PR), Action (A), and Maintenance (M), in the management of rice stem borer [Chilo suppressalis (Walker)]. Almost three quarters (75.1%) of the farmers were in pre-action stages (43.1% in PC stage, 16.3% in C stage, and 15.7% in PR stage), 15.1% were changing their behavior (A stage), and while few farmers (9.8%) reported continuous use of BC agents for more than two cropping seasons (M stage). Farmers in the early stages of TTM model showed lower education levels, higher income, lower self-consumption of rice, higher grain yields, higher damage by rice stem borer, and lower knowledge levels about natural enemies than those who were in the later stages of change. Moreover, self-efficacy in BC use and perceived advantages of BC use increased through the stages of change, whereas the perceived disadvantages of BC use decreased. This is the first report supporting the appropriateness of the TTM in explaining farmers’ behavior change in BC use, which provides novel evidence on farmers’ adoption process of BC. Extension measures should focus on usual obstacles related to BC use, such as perceived advantages and disadvantages of BC as well as self-efficacy in BC use, targeting to match the stage of change with various intervention strategies.

The study was aimed at assessing the leg health variables (footpad dermatitis, hock burn, tibial dyschondroplasia, gait score), tarsometatarsus asymmetry, and physical properties of tibiatarsus of broilers reared with perch application and different litter thicknesses. A total of 459 one-day old Ross-308 broiler chicks were allocated into 27 pens, each containing 17 chicks, in a 3 (perch treatments)x 3 (litter treatments) experimental design with three replications. The position of both cooled and non-cooled perches was set to make animals pass over the perch for feeding and drinking. The perch temperature was set to 10°C for cooled perches while litter thicknesses were 1, 7, and 14 cm. Results showed that cooled perches decreased the severity of footpad and gait score, and tibial dyschondroplasia in broilers. Footpad dermatitis and hock burn score decreased in broilers reared at 14 cm litter. It was determined that the length and width of tarsometatarsus at 42 day of age was increased in cooled perch and 1 cm litter group. Tibia length and robustness index in cooled perch group was found higher than those in non-cooled and no-perch groups. The perch application has no effect on the weight-length and tibio-tarsal indexes. Tibia lengths in 1 cm (103.81 mm) litter thickness group were higher than in both 7 and 14 cm groups. The bones from 1 cm litter thickness group were found heavier (21.55 g) than in 7 cm litter group. These results indicated that cooled perch and 14 cm litter thickness has a beneficial effect on broilers’ well-being in hot weathers.​

In this research, novel vitamin E loaded Nanostructured Lipid Carriers (NLCs) and Lipid Nanocapsules (LNCs) were produced and their physicochemical properties were characterized. The optimum ratio of liquid to solid lipid and vitamin to total formulations were determined. Particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, encapsulation efficiency and encapsulation load of optimum formulations were evaluated. Optimized formulations had encapsulation efficiencies of 95 and 99% for NLC and LNC, respectively. X-ray diffraction results indicated a new crystalline lattice with lower degree of crystallinity for vitamin E nanocarriers in comparison to bulk fats because of curvature effects. Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy showed that there were no adverse reactions between vitamin E and lipids. Release profile and kinetic modeling were investigated in gastrointestinal media that showed developed nanocarriers can protect vitamin E against acidic condition by decreasing its release in gastric media (release percentage of 29 and 4% for NLC and LNC in gastric media, respectively). Milk was fortified with vitamin E loaded nanocarriers and its sensory evaluation indicated their potential application for production of functional food.

Whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hem.: Aleyrodidae), is a globally important pest of many vegetables including cucumber. In this study, for the first time, the effect of tealeaf extract, Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze (Theacea), on the induction of a plant (cucumber) resistance to a phloem feeder insect, namely, B. tabaci, was investigated under laboratory conditions. The cucumber plants were irrigated using different concentrations of C. sinensis leaf extracts (0, 0.001, 0.003, 0.006, and 0.009 g mL-1). Life table parameters of B. tabaci were determined on the treated and control plants using two-sex life table method. Our data indicated that the whitefly longevity at the concentrations 0.006 and 0.009 g mL-1 were significantly more than control. Moreover, net Reproductive rate (R0) and intrinsic rate of increase (r) were 68.8 and 47.7% or 82.6 and 79.1% lower than control at the concentrations 0.006 or 0.009 g mL-1, respectively. Therefore, these concentrations (0.006 and 0.009 g mL-1) caused significant adverse effects on the biological traits of the pest implying the induction of cucumber resistance to the whitefly. Chemical analyses of the treated and control plants indicated that the treatment with tea extract led to significant increase in total tannin, phenol and flavonoid contents of treated cucumber, while considerably reducing alkaloid and saponin contents. Totally, the concentrations 0.006 and 0.009 g mL-1 of aquatic extract of tea can be used as resistance inducer of cucumber to the whitefly.

The common pistachio psylla, Agonoscena pistaciae Burckhardt and Lauterer (Hem: Aphalaridae) is one of the main and most destructive pests of pistachio orchards in Iran. Chemical control is a widely applied method to manage this pest problem. The intensive use of insecticides has led to the development of resistant populations of the common pistachio psylla. In this research, the activities of detoxifying enzymes (general esterase, glutathione S-transferase and cytochrome P450) were assessed against two populations of the common pistachio psylla, and the coccinellid predator, Oenopia conglobata L. (Col: Coccinellidae) in Kerman Province, under treatment of three rational insecticides, namely, acetamiprid, spirotetramat, and hexaflumuron in four concentrations (control, LC25, LC50 and LC75). The results indicated that the activities of detoxifying enzymes were higher in the resistant population of psylla compared to the susceptible one. Esterase was the predominant detoxifying enzyme in the pest and its predator. Based on the results, the activity of detoxifying enzymes were higher at the higher concentrations of the pesticides. Esterase activity was greater in the psyllid populations than the coccinellid predator; which may indicate a higher sensitivity of the lady beetle to insecticides than its prey.

The hemipteran, Macrolophus pygmaeus Rumber, is an effective biocontrol agent against many crop pests including tomato leaf miner, Tuta absoluta Meyrick. Sublethal effects of azadirachtin (Neem Azal®), indoxacarb (Avaunt®), and emamectin benzoate+lufenuron (Proclim Fit®) were studied on biological characteristics and functional response of the predatory bug in laboratory conditions at 25±1°C, 6 ±5% RH, and a photoperiod of 16:8 hour (L:D). For this purpose, females of the predatory bug were exposed to sublethal residues (10% of field concentration) of the insecticides. Two-sex life table and Rogerchr('39')s model were used to investigate effects of the insecticides on biological parameters and functional response of the predator, respectively. Results indicated that sublethal residues of indoxacarb and azadirachtin had the highest and lowest side effects on life table parameters of M. pygmaeus. Whereas azadirachtin has no significant effects on the bug biological parameters, total fecundity and longevity of the bug in indoxacarb treatment were significantly lower (14.6%) and higher (6.9%) than the control. The predator showed type III functional response. The type of functional response was not affected by the insecticide residues. However, the coefficient of attack rate (b) for the indoxacarb treatment (0.1521) was significantly lower than for other treatments. However, there was no significant difference between the handling Times (Th) of the treatments. In conclusion, the experiments proved that azadirachtin is a low risk insecticide to M. pygmaeus, which can be integrated with biological control by the predator.

To remain viable in facing with increasing costs, farmers need to increase irrigation Water Productivity (WP) and save Virtual Water (VW). To evaluate the WP and VW for five barley cultivars (Reyhan, Nimrooz, Valfajr, Zehak, and Yusof) under different irrigation regimes [well-watered (100% Field Capacity; FC), mild water stress (75% FC), severe water stress (50% FC), and extremely severe water stress (25% FC)], a two-year field experiment was laid out in Darab, Fars Province, Iran, during 2014 and 2015 growing seasons. Results showed that change in moisture stress from well-watered to extremely severe water stress, was associated with a significant increase in WP and Economic Water Productivity (EWP) for straw and biological yield. A positive linear relationship was found between grain yield and VW, and the lowest VW was found in the range of 3,314 to 3,451 kg ha-1 of grain yield. Interestingly, for all irrigation regimes, Zehak and Yusof cultivars had greater WP for the grain yield. Furthermore, VW for biological yield of Yusof cultivar sharply decreased from 0.410 m3 kg-1 in well-watered treatment to 0.164 m3 kg-1 under extremely water stress conditions in both years. Comparison of Zehak and Yusof cultivars with Reyhan, Nimrooz and Valfajr showed that under water stress conditions, the first two cultivars showed significantly lower VW for the grain yield than the other cultivars. Indeed, Yusof and Zehak cultivars showed the lowest Economic Virtual Water (EVW), which was in the range of 0.054 to 0.091 m3 1,000 Rials-1, under extremely water stress conditions. Thus, to achieve optimum EWP and EVW and attaining stable yields under semi-arid conditions, suitable barley cultivars such as Zehak and Yusof could be irrigated with less water (i.e. 25 to 50% FC).

There are more than two thousand varieties of olives grown worldwide, most of them native to the Mediterranean Region. However, in Argentina, only a small number of olive varieties are cultivated. In Mendoza Province, there is a collection of olive varieties that includes more than seventy accessions; nevertheless, little is known about the adaptation of the different varieties to the province’s arid conditions. The aims of this work were to evaluate fruit characteristics of agronomic importance in 26 olive accessions of the germplasm collection and to compare the fruit characteristics of local variety ‘Arauco’ in different environments and growing seasons in Mendoza. In addition, an economic, quick, and easy method to estimate fruit oil content was calibrated and validated using a wide range of olive varieties. Varieties and years showed significant (P≤ 0.01) differences for all the evaluated characteristics. Fruit oil content was closely and positively related to pulp dry weight (y= -0.05+0.56x; r= 0.99). The varieties highlighted from the collection for their high fruit oil concentration in fresh base and low moisture were ‘Canino’, ‘Cornezuelo’, ‘Cucci’, ‘Dritta’, ‘Dulzal’, ‘Farga’, ‘Frantoio’, ‘Grappollo’, ‘Nebbio’, ‘Picual’, and ‘Villalonga’. Additionally, all fruit characteristics evaluated in ‘Arauco’ were similar among the studied environments and were significantly (P≤ 0.01) influenced by seasonal conditions. The proposed model, calibrated and validated with independent data, would allow determining the best harvest time simply from pulp dry weight as model input, determining oil content and analyzing several samples in a short period of time.

This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of dust, rain, and pollination on photosynthesis activity and crop yield of commercial date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivar `Sayer’. Mature trees were used for dust treatments application and assessments under Ahvaz, Iran, during the 2016-2017 growing seasons. The dust blew on the trees canopy using a blower and the leaf gas exchange was evaluated using an infrared gas analyzer on the intact leaves. After treatments, photosynthesis rate, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance were measured. The leaf gas exchange results showed significant differences between the applied combined treatments on photosynthesis rate (from 9.18 to 0.64 μmol CO2 m-2s-1), stomatal conductance (from 39.9 to 6.67 mmol m⁻²s⁻¹), and transpiration rate (from 2.78 to 1.49 mmol H2O m-2s-1). Deposition manner of dust particles, the number of stomata in the abaxial and adaxial surfaces of leaflets, and the minimum dust-carrying capacity (MDCC) were determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Stomata study using SEM showed that date palm leaflet surfaces are almost wavy and the stomata are situated in the concave surfaces in a linear arrangement on both abaxial and adaxial leaf surfaces. Although, there were no significant differences in stomatal density at the abaxial (299 mm-2) and adaxial (300 mm-2) leaf surfaces, the leaflet position within the leaf showed a significant influence on MDCC. The base positioned leaflets in the leaf showed the highest (2.5 mg cm-2) and the upper positioned top leaflets showed the lowest MDCC (1.7 mg cm-2), respectively. Also, SEM showed a sign of covering or entering dust particles into the stomata with possible stomata clog and blockage lead to the significant reduction of photosynthesis and crop yield. Besides, pollinated trees showed the maximum crop yield (59.17 Kg tree-1), so the minimum yield was recorded on un-pollinated palm trees (1.90 Kg tree-1).

Ziziphora clinopodioides Lam., a medicinal plant of Lamiaceae family, is a widespread species all over Iran. In this investigation, the genetic diversity of 10 ecotypes of Ziziphora clinopodioides was evaluated using morphological, phytochemical, and molecular markers. ISSR and iPBS markers were applied for the molecular analysis. The average of polymorphic bands per primer in the iPBS and ISSR markers were 4.4 and 6.68, with the average polymorphism of 79.49 and 92.03%, respectively. The ecotypes of Evard and Sorkhgarive had the highest values of the important breeding traits, including the shortest internode, the highest ratio of leaf to vegetative body weight, the highest essential oil yield, and the total phenol content. The results showed that ecotypes had a wide variation in terms of all studied markers. Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) confirmed the results of molecular clustering of ecotypes, but phytochemical and morphological data did not have alignment with that. Also, there was no correspondence among the geographical locations of habitats and the phytochemical, morphological, and molecular markers data.

In order to study the effect of irrigation with saline water on physiology, biochemical, and anatomy characteristics, growth, and yield of different melon cultivars, an experiment was performed in split-plot with randomized complete block design with three replications. Treatments were two melon cultivars resistant to salinity (Sooski and Diamond) and two sensitive cultivars (Daregzi and Zard Ivanaki) with two salinity levels [0 (control) and 8 dS m-1 of NaCl] of irrigation water. The results showed that fresh and dry weight of shoot, fruit and seed weight, fruit acidity, fruit firmness, fruit length/diameter, fruit number and yield, photosynthesis rate, transpiration, and stomatal conductance decreased by irrigation with saline water. Under salinity condition, resistant cultivars showed the highest amount of the abovementioned parameters and had higher proline, phenol, and antioxidant activity. Generally, the results showed that by applying salt stress, growth parameters, photosynthetic parameters, and quantitative characteristics of the fruit decreased. This decrease was lower in Sooski resistant cultivar. It seems that melon cultivars achieved their resistant; firstly, improving yield instead of vegetative growth; secondly, increasing antioxidant and phenol content to reduce deleterious salinity effect, and finally, increasing TSS to have more osmotic adjustment for promoting photosynthesis at the acceptable level for producing enough assimilate for commercial yield under salinity conditions.

Achillea tenuifolia Lam. belongs to the Asteraceae family that is one of the most popular aromatic plants in Iran with great variation in both morphology and essential oil components. The aim of this study was determination of essential oil content and composition of A. tenuifolia populations in field condition. Seeds of 17 populations of A. tenuifolia collected from their natural habitats were cultivated under the same environmental conditions in the research farm of Alborz Research Station, Karaj, Iran. The aerial parts of the plants were collected at full flowering stage and dried in shade (room temperature) and their essential oils were obtained by hydro-distillation. The oils were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Based on the results, the oil yield varied from 0.16 to 1.59% (w/w dried weight). Populations from Divandareh with 1.59% and Khoy2 with 0.16% had the highest and lowest oil yield, respectively. According to the cluster analysis, the populations were placed in two clusters. Germacrene D was the main compound in all oils, but the essential oils of populations in cluster 1 contained higher amount of germacrene D (up to 64.5% in Semnan population). α-Humulene (up to 15%) and 1,8-cineole (up to 11.7%) were the other major components in the oil of cluster 1 populations. The lower amounts of these three compounds (in addition to E-β-farnesene and piperitone) and higher amount of more volatile compounds like p-cymene, β-phellandrene, camphor, and α-thujone and presence or absence of other minor compounds placed the other populations in cluster 2. Each cluster divided in two groups because of different percentages of some component such as cubenol, viridiflorol, methyl hexadecanoate and phytol. Therefore, based on the demand for processing, the proper population can be chosen for vast cultivation.

Beta vulgaris L. subsp. maritima (L.) Arcang., sea beet, is a morphologically and genetically variable species, belonging to beet primary gene-pool. This crop wild relative is a valuable genetic resource for resistance improvement in beets and could play an important role in crop yield sustainability. Eleven Madeiran sea beet populations were characterized using morphological descriptors and genetic markers. Our goal was to evaluate these populations as a potential source of valuable genetic material. Morphological characterization showed a high quantitative variation among populations. Plant height and inflorescence height parameters had the highest influence in the separation of populations. Molecular analysis was performed with polymorphic SSRs to determine genetic variability between populations. Both PCA and PCoA revealed three clusters that separated the populations according to morphological and genetic traits, respectively. This study contributes to the knowledge of sea beet diversity in Madeira’s archipelago and to the perception that the islandschr('39') specific environmental conditions influence its genetic variability, making these populations a possible gene source for sugar beet breeding programs

Differential induction of genes in wheat (cv. Chamran) in response to Mycosphaerella graminicola was studied using cDNA-AFLP analysis. The three weeks old wheat seedlings were inoculated by the fungal pathogen, then the samples were collected at six time points (0, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96 hours) after inoculation with pathogen. By comparing the expression patterns of induced (infected) with non-induced (uninfected) plants, 276 differentially expressed fragments were identified and sequenced. Blast search of wheat genes assigned these sequences to different functional categories including defense, metabolism, energy, transcription, transport, signal transduction, stress response, secondary metabolism, and unknown sequences. Eight defense-related genes including lipoxygenase, peroxidase (PR 9), chitinase (PR 2, 4, 8) , PR-1, thaumatin-like protein (PR5), Phenylalanine Ammonia Lyase (PAL), β-1-3 glucanase (PR3), disulfide isomerase, and methionine sulfoxide reductase were induced 12 to 24 hours after inoculation in this cultivar of wheat. Induction of glucosyltransferase, Catalase, and putative xylanase inhibitor genes were observed around 48 h after inoculation with pathogen. Expression patterns of the other three genes, i.e., chalcone synthase, EXECUTER 1 protein, and nonspecific lipid transfer protein showed that these genes were induced later after inoculation (72-96 hours). Our data showed that expression of the PR- proteins were enhanced 24 h after inoculation, suggesting that they may play a role in the defense against M. graminicola. Expression of lipoxygenase, glycosyltransferase, thaumatin like protein, putative xylanase inhibitor, EXECUTER 1 protein and Nonspecific lipid transfer protein are reported for the first time in this interaction.

To investigate the infection of carnations ( Dianthus caryophillus) to common viruses, a total of 130 samples showing suspected viral disease symptoms were collected from 10 commercial greenhouses located in Mahallat City, Markazi Province. Total DNA and RNA were extracted and amplified by PCR and RT-PCR methods, respectively, using generic primers for the genera Potyvirus and Orthotospovirus and also specific primers of Carnation mottle virus (CarMV), Carnation necrotic fleck virus (CNFV), Carnation etched ring virus (CERV), Carnation latent virus (CLV), Carnation vein mottle virus (CVMV) and Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). Results revealed that the estimated rates of infection in the collected samples for different viruses in decreasing order were for CarMV, CNFV, CERV, CMV and CVMV, while CLV and species of genus Orthotospovirus were not detected. Mixed viral infections were also investigated and among all of the 130 collected samples, 3.1% showed mixed infections with CarMV, CNFV, CVMV, CERV and CMV, 32% with CarMV, CNFV, and CERV, 20% with CarMV and CNFV, and 9% with CarMV and CERV. For phylogenetical assays, NIb-CP fragment of the CVMV genome was amplified, cloned, and sequenced. Phylogenetic trees of two isolates of this virus revealed that the two Iranian isolates of CVMV (IBR and RCM) were phylogenetically divergent. Mechanical inoculation of CVMV on 16 different indicator plant species showed specific symptoms on six of the indicators that were confirmed by RT-PCR. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of CMV and first partial genome sequencing of CVMV from a carnation plant in Iran.

Strawberry Anthracnose Fruit Rot (AFR) is one of the main limiting factors for strawberry production industry worldwide including Iran. Due to the restrictions associated with fungicides application across strawberry fields, their adverse effects on environment and the possible fungicides resistance development among fungal strains of the pathogen, the use of resistant cultivars is considered the most effective method for the management of this disease. In this study, reactions of 25 commercial strawberry cultivars were evaluated against the fungus Colletotrichum nymphaeae, causing strawberry AFR using fruit, leaf, and crown-based assays. According to the results of this study, the strawberry cultivars showed different reactions to the disease depending on the inoculation of their leaf, fruit, and crown with C. nymphaeae PET1 under in vivo and greenhouse conditions. However, fruit-based assay was a better indicator of AFR disease susceptibility due to nature of AFR disease caused by C. nymphaeae. Overall, ‘Blakemore’ and ‘Kurdistan’ cultivars were significantly more resistant compared with others, except ‘Aliso’, ‘Mrak’, ‘Diamant’, ‘Yallova’, ‘New Kurdistan’, ‘Mac Donance’ and ‘Ten Beauty’, respectively. On the contrary, ‘Gaviota’ cultivar was significantly the most susceptible than the rest, except ‘Camarosa’. The common commercial cultivars grown in Iran including ‘Camarosa’, ‘Paros’, ‘Pajaro’, and ‘Queen Eliza’ were categorized on the list of susceptible and highly susceptible cultivars in this study. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating the reaction of some commercial strawberry cultivars against C. nymphaeae causing strawberry AFR.

This experiment was conducted in order to determine the hydrodynamic performance of a Triangular Winged Bandal-Like (TWBL) structure, which is a combination of the Bandal-Like (BL) structure and Triangular Vane (TV). For the purposes of this study, the JFE ALEC magnetic velocity meter was used to measure the three components of flow velocity under non-submerged hydraulic conditions at a Froude number of 0.24. The three considered cases for this measurement were the non-structured case and the BL and TWBLs. The results showed that the flow deviation occurred through the impermeable upper part of both structures towards the middle of the channel. At downstream of both structures, bubbling flows were caused by the collision of upward flows with the near-surface flow, causing disturbances in the latter. Both the BL and the TWBL structure reduced the secondary flow strength along the bend within the structure range. Compared to the BL structure, the TWBL structure reduced the secondary flow strength by about 20%, which indicates the weaker inclination of the secondary flow toward the outer bank in the TWBL structure. The relative maximum shear stress in the TWBL structure is on average 17% lower than that of the BL structure.