Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
Volume:24 Issue: 6, Nov 2022

Although it has some benefits, short-term farmland rental transactions have had negative consequences such as excessive use of water, overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and farmland degradation. Why are landowners more engaged in short-term land rental contracts and less involved in longer rental contracts, that are more associated with incentives to invest and sustainably use farmland? Based on a post positivist worldview, the present study has chosen a quantitative approach and used a survey strategy to explore factors affecting the participation of landholders in longer farmland rental markets. Using multi-stage sampling, 250 landholders in Razan County who had rented their land, at least once in the past five years, were selected. The study indicated that the landholders' motivations to rent out their farmlands changed by their place of residence (rural/urban). The identified barriers and drivers that require policy attention broadly focus on the security of farmland property rights, competence of tenants and kinship contracts, high risk and profitability of farming activities, and capital constraints in rural areas.

Agricultural sector plays a fundamental role in development, especially in developing countries. Investment in targeted agribusinesses can develop and improve agricultural value chains. Because of capital shortages and different investment requirements of the sector, the capital allocation has become an important decision-making issue for managers and investors of the agricultural sector in recent years. Investors have many alternative investment options in the agriculture sector and factors such as return on investment, investor expertise and interest, government policies, and the comparative advantages of each region can affect the direction of the capital to different agricultural subsectors. The main objective of this study was to investigate investment priorities in the livestock and poultry value chains of Khorasan Razavi Province in Iran. This paper employs the Analytic Network Process (ANP) model for agribusiness investment decisions, which is one of the important Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) methods. The contribution of this research is that it ranks agribusiness activities on the livestock and poultry value chains and determines the most important areas for investment direction. The results show that “government policies and laws” are the most important factor for business selection in the livestock and poultry subsectors. Furthermore, livestock and poultry feed businesses contribute the most to the progress of the value chains. Therefore, stability in policy-making and appropriate legislation to support agricultural businesses can be effective in this regard.

The present study aimed to explore the intention of traditional ranchers to use biogas in rural areas of Iran conducted among the traditional ranchers in the provinces of Fars, Khorasan Razavi, Kermanshah, and Golestan (N= 91,325). The sample, composed of 383 traditional ranchers, was taken by stratified random sampling. The measurement tool was a questionnaire whose face and content validity was confirmed by a panel of experts and its reliability was estimated in a pilot study by calculating Cronbach’s Alpha. The results showed that the indicators used to measure the research variables were consistent enough with the factor structure and theoretical framework of the research. It was found that normative processes had a significant positive impact on the habitual processes and intention of the traditional ranchers. Also, the effect of situational influences was positive and significant on normative processes, habitual processes, and the intention of the traditional ranchers. In addition, habitual processes and attitudes influenced intention to use biogas positively and significantly. It is concluded that the results have significant implications for the use of rigorous theoretical frameworks such as the Comprehensive Action Determination Model (CADM) when attempting to understand the intention to use biogas.

The purpose of this study was to examine the mediation role of motivation in the relationships between awareness, accessibility, perceived organizational support, and adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The data was obtained using the multi-stage cluster sampling method with questionnaires administered to 254 respondents. While structural equation modelling was used for the analysis, Constructivism Theory, Digital Divide Theory, as well as Vroom's Expectancy Theory were adopted in the study. The majority of the respondents were males, married, and in their middle age with long years of work experience who had also obtained either high school diploma or Bachelor degree. The direct relationship paths showed that the exogenous construct [awareness, accessibility, Perceived Organizational Support (POS)] had a direct positive effect on the endogenous construct (ICT adoption) with an R2 value of .23 (23%). The final model has an R2 of 0.47 (47%) of the variation in ICT adoption explained by the model with a substantial increase in the direct model, which explains 23% of the variation. The mediation effect of motivation in the relationships between awareness, accessibility, POS, and ICT adoption was also established indicating partial mediation. The study recommends that extension organizations should be mindful of the motivation levels of their employee to facilitate the adoption of ICT in extension work, which will facilitate timely delivery of messages, cover the manpower shortages, reduce cost, as well as a total transformation of agricultural development in the area.

In recent years, nanotechnology has been increasingly used in the food industry, especially to increase the food security. Nanotechnology provides the grounds to understand the food components on a small scale in the food industry. The present study aimed at analyzing the application of nanotechnology to improve the food security. The study sample included all experts (N= 90) of Iran's Nanotechnology Innovation Council selected by a census. This study used a descriptive-survey method. A questionnaire was developed based on the study’s theoretical framework and used for data collection. The validity (content and face) and reliability (factor loading, coefficient of composite reliability, and Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient) of the questionnaire were confirmed. The results of testing the hypotheses using Smart PLS, i.e., t-test and path coefficients (β), showed that the food packaging mechanisms directly and significantly affected food security improvement through using nanotechnology. The findings also displayed that the food preservation, processing, and production mechanisms influenced food security improvement through using nanotechnology. By using nanotechnology, the results indicated a direct relationship between foods' taste and color improvement as well as food safety and health improvement.

The effect of gum tragacanth (0, and 0.15%) and Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) (0, 2.5, and 5%) on the chemical and rheological properties, phase separation, Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) viability, and sensory characteristics of an Iranian dairy drink "Doogh" was investigated during 20 days of storage. Results cleared the stability of Dooghs prepared with Gum Tragacanth Dispersions (GTD) was significantly higher than samples without this hydrocolloid (P< 0.05). Doogh samples’ viscosity in the presence of Fennel Extract Powder (FEP) was increased significantly (P< 0.05). Power-law and Herschel-Bulkley rheological models were appropriate models for describing the flow behavior of control and treated Doogh samples, respectively. The results showed that by increasing the amounts of FEP, LAB viability increased while the fungi population decreased significantly (P< 0.05). Therefore, this herbal powder could stimulate LAB growth and control the fungi population in treated samples. Finally, adding GTD to the Doogh sample was proper for improving stability, and enrichment with Fennel was suitable for increasing LAB viability and microbial spoilage control.

The present study investigated the effects of frying and cooling of chicken nuggets under vacuum and atmospheric pressure on the qualitative properties of frying oil. For this purpose, first, two cooling treatments were applied to nuggets fried at 170°C under atmospheric pressure. One treatment was subsequently cooled at atmospheric pressure (control) and the other at 10 kPa. Other treatments included frying at temperatures of 115 and 170°C under the pressure of 10 kPa before cooling at pressures of 10 kPa and atmospheric levels. Results indicated that frying and cooling at 170°C increased acid value, polar compounds, viscosity, redness, yellowness, and oil oxidation. Also, this treatment reduced the oil's unsaturated fatty acids. On the other hand, minimum values of acid content, viscosity, and oxidation rate were observed in the oil used to vacuum fry at 115°C and subsequently cooled at 10 kPa pressure. Moreover, these samples exhibited the highest quantities of oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acids due to the lower oxidation taking place in such unsaturated fatty acids under the vacuum rather than the atmospheric pressure. Based on the results obtained, frying and cooling at 115°C under vacuum seems to have the least unfavorable effects on frying oil.

Potato Tuber Moth (PTM), Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller), is one of the most destructive pests of potatoes under field and storage conditions. Exploiting plant resistance may help control the pest in an eco-friendly manner. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the resistance status of six common potato cultivars (Banba, Bellini, Draga, Marfona, Jelly, and Milva) under laboratory conditions (25±1°C, 65±5% RH and 14:10 (L: D) hours photoperiod). Life history and demographic parameters of P. operculella under laboratory conditions were analyzed based on the age-stage, two-sex life table theory, which could be appropriate indices in resistance and susceptibility evaluation of potato cultivars. Pre-adult development was slower on Marfona and faster on Banba (19.91 and 21.93 days, respectively) compared to the other cultivars. The longest oviposition days was found on Jelly (8.20 days), while the shortest (5.43 days) was on Bellini. The maximum values of r and λ were found on Marfona (r= 0.160 d-1, λ= 1.173 d-1), whereas the minimum values were recorded on Draga (r= 0.092 d-1, λ= 1.096 d-1). According to the findings of the present study, Draga was considered resistant and a less favorable host plant for the development and reproduction of PTM. These demographic data may be used to better understand the population dynamics of the pest on the six potato cultivars tested, thereby inevitably improve efficient pest management approaches for PTM in both organic and conventional production systems.

Water hardness can negatively affect the efficiency of pesticides. This study aimed to determine the effect of water hardness and adjuvants added to spray solution on the efficiency of insecticides. Three insecticides, namely, malathion, acetamiprid, and spiromesifen, were mixed in well water samples at 1,869, 645, and 265 mg L-1 hardness, standard, and deionized water, and applied against the second instar nymph of Bemisia tabaci using leaf dip method. In another experiment, Zero-7 at 150 ppm and Arkan at 180 ppm as additives were added to water with 1869 and 645 mg L-1 hardness, separately. LC50 values showed that the toxicity of malathion, acetamiprid, and spiromesifen was 40, 157, and 84 times less in hard water (1,869 mg L-1 hardness) than deionized water. The efficacy of malathion, acetamiprid, and spiromesifen was 13, 65, and 39 times less when they were diluted in water with 645 mg L-1 hardness than deionized water. Malathion provided 37.28 and 18.59% greater toxicity when applied in hard water containing Zero-7 and Arkan than water without the adjuvants. The efficacy of acetamiprid was, respectively, 16.93 and 18.68% greater when it was applied in hard water containing Zero-7 and Arkan compared to water without the additives. Zero-7 and Arkan in hard water enhanced the efficacy of spiromesifen by 10.26 and 13.68% compared to water without adjuvants. Generally, the toxicity of the insecticides on B. tabaci was considerably reduced at the highest levels of water hardness. In contrast, adjuvants overcame the antagonistic effects of cations in hard water.

Wheat floret primordia develop in a rather narrow window of time, mostly coinciding with stem elongation. That is why the stem elongation phase is considerd a critical period for grain number and yield determination. Under controlled conditions, floral primordia development of 10 mostly adopted bread wheat cultivars including Bayat, Azadi, Falat, Navid, Chamran, Marvdasht, Pishtaz, Shiraz, Sirvan, and Baharan, which were released during the last five decades, was studied in detail at Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran. Floral primordia monitoring showed that visible floral degradation among wheat cultivars occurred at several floral developmental stages from green anther (GA) to anthesis (AN). Floral degradation period started from yellow anther stage and was longer in cultivars with lower grain number per spike (Bayat, Navid, Shiraz and Azadi cultivars). Also, cultivars that started stem elongation earlier, such as Sirvan, Baharan, Chamran, and Falat, had extended period for stem elongation and produced higher grain number per spike. Overall, it appeared that under short growing seasons of semi-arid regions, in which delay in flowering usually results in more floral mortality during GA to AN, cultivars with earlier stem elongation could be more efficient in production of grains.

This research was carried out to provide suitable cotton seed for seed propagation in dryland. In this study, the potential of cotton seeds that have been stressed for the third-consecutive year was investigated to evaluate water stress memory responses. The experiment was arranged in split-plot factorial design with four irrigation levels of W0 (No- irrigation), W1 (33% FC), W2 (66% FC), and W3 (100% FC), as the main factor, and five seed treatments (four third-stressed seeds, i.e. S21 to S24, and registered seed), as a sub-plot. Seeds of cotton were grown under different levels of water-stress exposure for three crop-seasons. As results showed, S32 received water stress signal in both W0 and W3 conditions through physiological mechanisms change. Seeds of S32 accumulated the lowest ABA and the highest calcium in exposure to W0 and W3. Enhancement to superoxide dismutase and Aspartate peroxidase activity in leaves of S32 in exposure to W0 and W1 is another memorial stress mechanism for scarce water acclimation. The highest-potential thirty-boll weight, thirty-fiber weight, and first-harvesting yield were obtained from S32 against W0, W1, and W2.. Also, the seeds of S32 had the most seedling vigor and germination percentage in exposure to W0, W1, and W2. It can be concluded that stress memory, via modification of physiology and morphology of plant behavior, helps plants to tolerate water deficiency when subjected to recurrent drought.

Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is an important dual-purpose crop in drought and famine prone areas as it is used as human food as well as livestock feed and fodder. However, the variation for forage quality traits of grass pea remains largely unexplored. This study aimed to characterize the genetic diversity of grass pea collections from Africa, Asia, and Europe, and identify genotypes for superior agronomic and forage nutritional quality traits. The principal component analysis revealed that the first three principal components from nutritional quality parameters viz., NDF, ADF, cellulose, lignin and ash percent, and from agronomic traits viz., plant height, nodes per plant, leaf area, green and dry biomass accounted for the majority of the total variation. In addition, a total of 59 polymorphic alleles were detected at 11 SSR loci with an average of 5.36 alleles per locus and the polymorphic information content ranged from 0.49 to 0.76. Three accessions (IF1872, IF2177 and IF2156) with higher biomass than the check and four accessions (IF1327, IF1312, IL-10-76 and IF1307) with excellent nutritive value in both green forage as well as straw were identified. The present study revealed high genetic variation for biomass and nutritional quality traits in grass pea collections that could be useful for development of high-yielding, nutritionally rich, and dual-purpose varieties.

Introducing new melon types able to endure cold storage and cold transportation is among the major goals of breeders. Therefore, providing a better understanding of the fruit physiological traits and postharvest associated genes expression can help to select the superior type for cold storage condition. This experiment was carried out to investigate the postharvest behavior of various melon lines and their F1 breeds based on fruit characteristics and their relation to the expression of CMe-ACS1, CM-ETR1 and CM-ETR2 genes during cold storage. For this purpose, six melon inbred lines were cross-pollinated to form a full diallel F1 population. Thus, the studied population constituted 6 parental lines, 15 direct hybrids, and 15 reciprocal F1 hybrids. After fruits harvest and during one month of storage, fruits firmness loss, color changes, and weight loss were evaluated. A significant positive correlation coefficient was found between CMe-ACS1 gene expression and ACC content with two distinct clusters based on this relation. Gene expression profiles referred to the presence of gradual and continuous senescence behaviors in the studied types, which was reflected in their physiological postharvest performance. G1 cluster types expressed the studied receptor genes at lower rates compared to the other groups. The G1 corresponded with P3 and P4 groups that were characterized by low physiological changes and thus better postharvest performance during cold storage. This result highlights the importance of Persian inodorus melons, generally, and the line ‘Khatouni’, specifically, in melon breeding programs for postharvest purposes.

MicroRNAs are endogenous noncoding RNA that play vital roles in all plant cellular metabolic processes by mediating target gene expression. To date, miRNAs in Taraxacum spp., which is an important industrial plant, have remained largely unknown. In the present study, 970 miRNAs from 399 families were identified in Taraxacum spp by conducting computational approaches. The most frequent miRNAs in Taraxacum spp was miR5021. According to the KEGG results, miR5021, miR838, and miR1533 are related to the terpene biosynthesis pathway, while miR5015b, and miR1436 are involved in the starch and sucrose biosynthesis pathways. Quantitative real-time PCR assay was performed to validate the expression levels of five predicted miRNAs and 3-Hydroxy-3-Methylglutaryl Coenzyme A Reductase (HMGCR) and invertase as the target genes. Results indicated that the highest relative expression of miR1533 and miR1436 occurred in the flower, while the highest transcripts levels of miR5015b were observed in the stem. In addition, the higher relative expression level of the miR5021 and miR838 was consistent with the lower expression level of the HMGCR gene in all tissue, suggesting that miR5021 and miR838 are involved in regulating HMGCR gene expression. Since mevalonate pathway is the main source of isopentenyl pyrophosphate, which is used in the synthesis of rubber, miR5021 and miR838 play an important role in the production of rubber by regulating the expression of HMGCR enzyme. These findings will accelerate future perspective studies on the regulatory mechanisms of miRNAs in Taraxacum kok-saghyz.

The widespread use of silver Nanoparticles (AgNPs) in various industries has raised concerns about the fate of these materials. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the effects of coating agents of Ag particles in soil and how they interact with plants as the first step in the human food chain. Radish (Raphanus sativus) was exposed to silver Nitrate (AgNO3) as well as AgNPs with different coatings: Citrate (AgNPs-Cit), Polyethyleneimine (AgNPs-PEI), and Polyvinylpyrrolidone (AgNPs-PVP) at different concentrations. The effect of concentration (5, 25, 125 mg kg-1 soil) and the type of coatings on the dry weight of radish were compared with the control. The results revealed that the type of treatments affected dry weight of radish and, among all treatments, AgNO3 had the highest weight loss, in which shoot dry weight decreased by 51%. Total silver measurement in radish root, tuber, and shoot indicated that the accumulation of AgNPs was influenced by the type and concentration of the coating. The AgNPs with positive charge coating (PEI) had a higher transfer ratio than other treatments. The findings indicated that radish had the ability to store silver in its root, tuber, and shoots in large amounts, thus having the potential to act as a source of silver contamination for humans.

This study was conducted under water stress conditions for two years (2017-2018) to investigate the effects of different water stress levels on biomass yield, root yield, root/shoot ratio, some physiological characteristics, Water Use Efficiency (WUE), seasonal water consumption, and yield reduction ratio of silage sorghum. Experiments were conducted in randomized blocks design. There were four different irrigation treatments including I1: Full irrigation; I2: 75% of I1; I3: 50% of I1, and I4: 25% of I1).). In 2017, dry biomass yields varied between 14.11 (I4) and 26.02 t ha-1 (I1), stomatal conductance between 72.2 (I4) and 147.8 mmol m-2 s-1 (I1), chlorophyll contents between 37 spad (I4) and 42.1 spad (I1), canopy temperatures between 27.2 (I1) and 31.3oC (I4), and WUE between 4.5 (I1) and 5.5 kg m-3 (I3). In 2018, dry biomass yields varied between 14.51 (I4) and 25.92 t ha-1 (I1), stomatal conductance between 69.9 (I4) and 129.5 mmol m-2 s-1 (I1), chlorophyll contents between 39.7 spad (I4) and 43.9 spad (I1), canopy temperatures between 30.0 (I1) and 34.5 oC (I4), and WUE between 4.2 (I1) and 4.9 kg m-3 (I4). Based on two-year averages, dry root yields varied between 8.15 (I4) and 13.27 t ha-1 (I1), root/shoot ratios between 0.51(I1) and 0.57 % (I3-I4), seasonal water consumptions between 281(I4) and 598 mm (I1). Water stress reduced biomass yield, root yield, stomatal conductance, and chlorophyll contents, and increased WUE and root/shoot ratios. Biomass yields decreased with increase in water stress, but this decrease was lower compared to the decrease in applied irrigation water quantities.

Fusarium infection in carnation is the most important limiting factor for carnation production. We isolated 38 fungal isolates from infected carnation plants collected from Mahallat, Iran, and 15 Fusarium species were identified morphologically. Isolates of J14, k5, and k72 were the most pathogenic isolates in pathogenicity test on White Liberty cultivar. Molecular identification of J14, k5, and k72 isolates was done based on Elongation Factor 1-alpha (EF1-α) gene. To investigate the effect of Trichoderma and some of its mutants on reducing the Fusarium infection, six wild type isolates were examined. The species of T. harzianum, T. virense, and T. ghanens showed more inhabitation potential and were chosen for induced mutation via gamma irradiation at 250 Gy. The number of 270 mutants were screened morphologically and 60 mutants were screened using dual culture against J14, k5, and k72. Morphological and molecular identification of J14, k5, and k72 isolates recognized them as F. oxysporum. Three mutants, i.e. ThM7(67.17%), TgM1 (59.45%), and TvM17(57.55%) showed the highest efficacy and were selected. Evaluation test of efficacy in greenhouse by mixture of T. harzianum, T. virense and T. ghanens (TW) and mixture of mutant isolates ThM7, TgM1, and TvM17 (TM) showed that biological method had higher ability to control Fusarium infection on carnation plants in greenhouse condition, and mutation had no adverse effects on plants. The results of this experiment proved that the use of mutation in the Trichoderma genome with the use of gamma radiation could be an effective way to achieve isolates with better performance in this bio-control agent.

China is the largest producer of cotton crop, followed by the United States of America. China's 52% cotton is produced in Xinjiang Region. The agricultural sector depends on the climate, and it is substantially susceptible to future climate changes. Climate factors directly affect cotton production and, therefore, assessing the influence of these factors on the cotton output is imperative. This study empirically investigated the relationship between climate and non-climate variables on Xinjiang Region's cotton production over the last three decades. To this end, an econometric technique was employed and the "Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model" (ARDL) was used to analyze the long-run and short-run relation between the selected variables. Empirical results revealed that a 1% decrease in average temperature, labor force, and rainfall could decrease cotton production by 0.18, 1.94, and 0.18%, respectively, due to the significant negative relation. However, this study depicted 1% rise in average temperature, technological changes, and the cultivated area will increase cotton production by 0.07, 0.05, and 0.23%, respectively. In conclusion, the regional climate changes significantly affect cotton crop. Although the study analyzed the data from XUAR Region, this model can be applied to all developing countries. This research helps the policymakers and the respective government department to introduce, promote, and subsidize environment-friendly production inputs and make the long-term plan for farmers and stakeholders to educate, spread awareness, and help to adopt new skills to gain sustainable regional cotton productivity.