مجله به زراعی کشاورزی
سال بیست و پنجم شماره 3 (پاییز 1402)

In order to study the effect of nitrogen splitting and supplemental irrigation on yield, yield components and oil percentage of sunflower a factorial experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design on farm research of Gonbad University with three replications during crop year of 2019.

Treatments in this experiment included nitrogen splitting (none consumption of nitrogen (as control), 25% of nitrogen at planting time and 75% before flowering, 50% of nitrogen at planting time and 50% before flowering and 75% of nitrogen at planting and 25% before flowering and supplemental irrigation (none irrigation ((as control)), supplementary irrigation at flowering stage, supplemental irrigation at grain filling stage, supplemental irrigation at flowering stage and grain filling stages) in four levels.

The results showed that consumption of 25% nitrogen at planting time and 75% before flowering led to the highest increase in number of grains per row, number of grains per head, one thousand-grain weight, grain yield (4318 kg.ha-1) and harvest index. Consumption of 75% nitrogen at planting time and 25% before flowering increased the number of rows per capita. None consumption of nitrogen increased oil percent though oil yield decreased. Irrigation at flowering and grain filling stages increased the number of grain per capita, grain weight, and grain yield (4427 kg.ha-1).

According to the results, irrigation at flowering and grain filling stages as well as application of 25% nitrogen at planting time and 75% before flowering is suitable to achieve optimum sunflower yield.

Environmental stress, especially drought stress, is one of the most important factors that reduce the growth and development of oil plants such as rapeseed in arid and semi-arid regions. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of biochar and biosulfur on seed yield and some ecophysiological traits of rapeseed under drought stress conditions in winter cultivation.

This research was carried out in form of a factorial split-plot with randomized complete block design having three replications in 2019 in Karaj. In this experiment, irrigation treatment witnessed three levels of 30%, 60%, and 100% of crop capacity as main plots, while biochar treatment saw three levels of no application and application of three and six tons per hectare and biosulfur treatment, two levels of application and non-application as plots. Subsidiaries were considered.

It was found that drought stress had a significant effect on the seed and oil yield of rapeseed. Thus, the amount of these traits in drought stress showed a decrease of 50% and 52%, respectively, compared to the control. Also, the use of six tons per hectare of biochar had increased by 49% and 36% in terms of its number of pods per plant and the number of seeds per pod. Also, the interaction effect of biosulfur application and the use of six tons of biochar had the greatest effect on the traits of the number of pods per plant and harvest index.

The results showed that the use of biofertilizers can be used as a suitable method to increase the yield of rapeseed. Increasing oil percentage and grain yield will ultimately increase the field and economic yield (oil) of the rapeseed plant.

Seed priming is the simplest and the best method to increase seed germination speed.

To address this, in a study aimed at the effect of priming of different barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars on various germination characteristics, in the form of a factorial experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design with four replications in the research greenhouse of the Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center of Hamadan province in 2022. Treatments including priming of seeds with fertilizers 1. Biozar, 2. Seafull amino zinc, 3. Sabzine, 4. Royesh, 5. Ecobooster, and 6. control (no fertilizer application), and different barley cultivars including Jolgeh, Bahman, Azaran, Abidar, Ghaflan, and Sahand.

The results indicated a significant effect of seed priming on the evaluated characteristics compared to the control treatment. The highest enzyme activities of catalase (0.117 Unit/ml) and peroxidase (85.08 Unit/ml) were obtained in seedlings obtained from seeds priming with Seafull amino zinc, which were 72 and 33% more than control treatments, respectively. The highest seedling vigor index was related to the seeds priming with seafull amino zinc fertilizer (26.55), which was significantly higher than the control treatment (22.84) and other treatments. Also, the germination percentage of seeds priming with seafull amino zinc fertilizer was significantly higher (3.5%) than the control.

Considering that seed priming is a cost-effective and easy method and at the same time it is simple and does not require complex technical knowledge, it can be easily implemented by farmers. Therefore, this method is recommended to improve germination, seedling growth, and the quality and strength of barley seeds.

This research was carried out in order to investigate the effect of irrigation regimes on morphological traits of root and shoot of safflower genotypes.

A field experiment has been conducted via polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes at research field of Seed and Plant Improvement Institute in Karaj, during 2019-2020. A factorial experiment has been laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. This study deals with six genotypes of safflower (Varamin landrace, Hamand landrace, Kazakhstan genotype and Amir, Goldasht and Pernian cultivars) in two irrigation regimes, including full irrigation (control) and drought stress (Irrigation after depletion of 40% and 80% of soil available moisture respectively) treatments.

The results showed that under drought stress conditions, root length and root diameter have increased by 28.6% and 13.6%, respectively and root dry weight, leaf relative water content (RWC), number of bolls, number of seeds per plant and seed yield per plot and was decreased by 23.6%, 15.2%, 25.4%, 63.3%, and 74.9%, respectively. Under full irrigation conditions, Amir with suitable root system (root dry weight 7.7 g and root length 71 cm) and maximum number of seeds had the highest seed yield (5.03 g per plot). In addition, under drought stress conditions, Amir cultivar had early flowering, maximum root dry weight and length, highest activity of catalase and peroxidase enzymes, and the highest seed yield per plot (1.67 g).

Generally, Amir cultivar had more seed yield due to having a suitable root system and superior agronomic characteristics and was selected as the superior genotype.

World food security depends on two major cereal crops, wheat and rice. Where wheat is more important for its market value and production amount. Grain yield is determined by the achievement and distribution of assimilates in sink organs. Sink size in wheat depends on the number of spikelets per spike, grains number per spikelet as well as the grain weight. Hence, increasing spikelet number and sink size is one of the most important breeding targets of wheat. The object of the present study was investigation the genetic of spikes and spikelets in a divers bread wheat population for number of spiklets per spike.

In a bread wheat breeding program for transferring the awn character from Mahdavi to Roshan cultivar, in the second generation of the third backcross (BC3F2), a single plant with large spikes was observed. The mentioned genotype was purified after several selfing. The pure line was named as Roshan-D-01. After the fourth backcross of Roshan-D-01 with the recurrent parent (Roshan) and a selfing generation, a near isogenic population (BC4F2) was developed to study spike length. Spike length along with its related traits was studied in the current population at the research field of Shahid-Bahonar University of Kerman, during growing seasons of 2020-2021.

The spike length with the heritability of 0.61 and the response to selection of 14.03% showed a negative significant correlation with days to heading (r=-0.44**) and a positive significant correlation with other traits. Days to heading had a negative significant correlation with all studied traits at this research. This result showed the positive effect of early heading on spike related traits. Among studied traits, flag leaf area with general heritability of 0.53, positive significant correlation with spike length (r=0.60**), the highest Phenotypic and genotypic diversity (PCV=28.5 and GCV=20.69), showed the most response to selection (%R=25.45). The positive correlation between flag leaf area and spike related traits indicate the importance of flag leaf area in improving wheat grain yield. Distribution frequency graph of progenies for spike length, spikelet number per spike and grains number per spike showed that these traits have quantitative inheritance and follow the normal distribution. Transgressive segregation observed for studied traits and the presence of elite lines, in comparison with parents, in the current population allows the introduction of large spikes genotypes with high grains number per spike to develop high-yielding cultivars.

Due to high diversity and transgressive segregation observed in the present study, the current population can represent a rich source of spike morphology for use in wheat breeding programs aimed for increasing grain yield potential via increasing grain number. Negative correlation of days to heading with spike related traits indicates the positive effect of early heading on grain yield of bread wheat, especially under end season drought and heat stress conditions. Due to the high, positive and significant correlation between the spike length and flag leaf area, selection for larger flag leaf area could improve grain yield.

In order to present a new, non-destructive, accurate, and fast method for estimating the nitrogen content of corn, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) multispectral sensing technology was used.

The experiments were performed based on a randomized complete block design in four levels of nitrogen fertilizer (zero, 50, 100, and 150%) in Varamin in 2018. Sampling was carried out in two stages of fertilization (8-leaf Stage and Tasseling Stage). Multispectral aerial imaging and ground sampling was performed one week after each fertilizer application. After processing aerial imagery, vegetation indices were calculated and their correlation with the results of ground sampling was determined.

Based on the results obtained from the correlation coefficients (r) and best subsets regression, among the spectral vegetation indices, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Nitrogen Reflectance Index (NIR), and Modified Triangular Vegetation Index2 (MTVI2) indices in both eight leaf collar (V8) and tasseling (VT) of maize growth stage was identified as the best indicator to estimate the nitrogen content of forage maize. At VT, a positive and significant relationship was obtained between NDVI (R2= 0.86, P≤0.001), NRI (R2= 0.70, P≤0.001) and MTVI2 (R2= 0.46, P≤0.01) indices with maize nitrogen content.

It can be concluded that UAV multispectral imaging provides acceptable accuracy in determining the nitrogen content of maize. This technology can help farmers to determine the appropriate time of fertilization.

In addition to improving root growth and increasing the absorption of nutrients by plants, mycorrhizae affect the availability and different forms of heavy metals in the soil. This study investigated the effect of two mycorrhizal species on the partitioning of cadmium element and also the absorption of this element by persian clover.

This experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design by factorial method with three replications with three levels of mycorrhiza (without mycorrhizae, funnelliformis mosseae and rhizophagus intraradices) and two levels of cadmium (0 and 10 mg.kg-1) in the research greenhouse of the Faculty of Agriculture of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in 2018. After harvesting the plant, the dry weight of the shoot and root as well as the concentration of cadmium in these two parts of the plant were measured. Two parameters of mycorrhizal colonization and contribution of mycorrhizal participation in cadmium uptake by shoots and roots were measured. Finally, the effect of experimental treatments on the chemical forms of cadmium in the soil was measured.

The results showed that cadmium caused an increase of 8.7% and a decrease of 31.5% in amount of colonization of funnelliformis mosseae and rhizophagus intraradices. Cadmium decreased the shoot dry weight by 28.7%. The behavior of two mycorrhizal species on the concentration of cadmium in the shoots and roots of persian clover was different. The presence of funnelliformis mosseae caused a significant (P<0.05) and 55.1% decrease in cadmium concentration of clover shoot and a 1.23-fold increase in concentration of this metal in plant roots. The measured decrease in the concentration of cadmium in the roots and shoots of clover in rhizo treatment was 14.5% and 14.3%, respectively, compared to the control. The carbonate form of cadmium had the highest amount of this metal in control soil (1.08 mg/kg) and contaminated soil (4.19 mg/kg). Mycorrhiza colonization of plant in control soil had no significant effect (P<0.05) on the concentration of different forms of cadmium.

Considering the increase of 70 (funnelliformis mosseae) and 63 (rhizophagus intraradices) percent of plant dry weight in contaminated soil in presence of mycorrhiza, as well as the low price of these fungi inoculum (80,000 Rials per kilogram at the time of purchase), the use of this microorganism can be a suitable solution in soils contaminated with heavy metals in greenhouse conditions.

It is quite effective to identify high-yielding and stable genotypes and evaluate different genotypes in various environmental conditions.

This study was conducted to evaluate the response of 12 imported faba bean genotypes with the application of gibberellic acid hormone (environmental factor) by the GGE-biplot method. For this purpose, genotypes were evaluated in a complete randomized design with three replications during autumn of 2018 in the research greenhouse of Shahrekord University. Gibberellic acid was sprayed at concentrations of 0, 10, and 30 ppm from the 2-leaf to flowering stages on a weekly basis.

The analysis of variance showed that the effects of genotypes, gibberellic acid, and their interaction effects were significant in grain yield. The genotypes by the gibberellic acid sum of squares explained 22.33% of total grain yield variations. Using the GGE-biplot model, the first two components accounted for 86.5% of total grain yield variations due to the effect of genotype and the interaction effects between genotypes and gibberellic acid hormone.

Based on the analysis of GGE- biplots, the grain yield of genotypes C2, C4, C10, and C6 was higher than other genotypes. Furthermore, they had appropriate relative responses to the application of gibberellic acid hormone than other genotypes. Regarding the need for genotypes with high yield potential to increase in seed yield, they can be used for breeding this product. The eight remaining genotypes had lower grain yields with the most inappropriate responses to the application of gibberellic acid hormone, identified as undesirable genotypes.

This experiment was conducted to investigate the agricultural value of two new varieties of beans: Sepehr and Sembol, which were introduced by the private sector with the aim of registering the named varieties in the national list of plant varieties.

These cultivars (Sepehr and Sembol) along with 4 domestic control cultivars were studied in 3 locations (Karaj, Zanjan, and Khomein) based on complete randomized block design in 3 replications during two crop seasons (2019-2020 and 2020-2021).

Results showed that flowering occurred significantly earlier in candidate cultivars (Sepehr and Sembol) than control cultivars (8 and 4 days respectively). As the same way, physiological seed ripening in candidate cultivars occurred earlier than control cultivars (8 and 10 days earlier than mean of other cultivars respectively). The number of seeds in the pods of Sepehr and Sembol candidate cultivars did not significantly differ from the control cultivars. Sepehr and Sembol cultivars produced larger seeds and hundred seeds weight of these cultivars was greatly higher than other cultivars (9.7 and 24.1 percent higher than mean of other cultivars respectively), but the seed yield in these two cultivars was significantly lower than control cultivars (19.89 and 18.27 percent lower than mean of other cultivars respectively).

Finally, the candidate cultivars Sepehr and Sembol can play an effective role as new germplasms in the country's bean production due to their erect type and ease of harvesting, early maturity and consumption of one to two times less water, marketability and production of larger seeds.

The present research was conducted in order to investigate the effect of different levels of Magnesium sulfate and Manganese sulfate on yield and some quantitative traits of Potato in Agria cultivar.

The experiment was conducted as a factorial in the form of a randomized complete block design with three replications during 2018- 2019 growing season in Nir city. The first factor included foliar application of Manganese sulfate at two levels: control and 5 per thousand, and the second factor involved foliar application of Magnesium sulfate at five levels: (control, 1.5, 3, 4.5, and 6 per thousand), used in the stages of early tuberculosis and 50% tuberculosis.

The results of analysis of variance showed that with the exception of the number of stems and the number of uneconomical tubers, the effect of Manganese sulfate on the number of usable tubers at the level of five percent and in the other studied traits was significant at 1% level. The effect of Magnesium sulfate had a significant effect on plant height at 5% level and on other studied traits at 1% level. However, the interaction of experimental treatments was not significant. The highest tuber yield of 44.9 t.ha-1 belonged to foliar application with a concentration of 5 per thousand manganese sulfate. The highest effect of Magnesium sulfate foliar application on the number of usable tubers was 34.4%, compared to the control. On average, foliar application of Magnesium sulfate increased tuber yield by 12.3%, compared to the control treatment.

Considering that in most of the studied traits, foliar application of 5 per thousand Manganese sulfate and 4.5 per thousand Magnesium sulfate showed better results than other treatments, these fertilizer levels can be recommended for this cultivar in this area.

In order to improve the tolerance of German chamomile cultivars to moisture regimes, this factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design in three replicates, in the agricultural college of Tehran university in 2013-14 cropping season.

Experimental treatments included moisture regimes (control and severe stress, i.e., 13% and 57% of allowable soil moisture depletion, respectively), two cultivars of chamomile (German Badgold and Hungarian modified cultivar) and foliar application with putrescine (with a concentration of 0.1 mM and 45 days after transfer to the pots).

The results showed that the simple effect of putrescine polyamine on plant height and biomass was significant at 1% level and on harvest index at 5% level. Plant height did not have a significant response to putrescine in control conditions, but in severe stress (57% of soil water depletion), the effect of foliar application showed a significant boost (13.5%). The simple effect of putrescine on percentage and essential oil yield (at 1% level) was significant. Also, the interaction effect of moisture regimes and foliar application with putrescine on essential oil content (at 5% level) and essential oil yield (at 1% level) was considerable. Under optimal moisture conditions (13% of soil water depletion), putrescine resulted in a significant increase in essential oil content by 38%. But its foliar application in drought stress increased the essential oil content by only 4%. Foliar application of putrescine reduced the amount of farnesene and bisabolol B oxide in both conditions. Another important compound was bisabolone oxide A, wherein putrescine treatment had a positive effect on its accumulation so that under favorable conditions of moisture its concentration increased by 87%, but under conditions of stress its effect decreased, showing only 35%.

The use of putresin in chamomile is economically justified due to increased tolerance to dehydration stress and increased target secondary metabolites.

Fennel, scientifically named Foeniculum vulgare L., is one of the most important and widely used medicinal plants of the Apiaceae family. This condition ultimately affects its performance, reducing it.

Therefore, in order to evaluate weed control and boost performance via plant density, trifluralin herbicide, and mechanical control, an experiment was conducted in the form of randomized complete blocks with three factors and three replications in the Faculty of Agriculture, Khuzestan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources in 2019-2020. Tested factors included mechanical control at two levels (without cultivator and double cultivator), plant density at three levels (6, 12, and 24 plants per square meter) and application of trifluralin herbicide at three levels (zero as a weed control), 1.5, and 3 liters per hectare).

The results of this study showed that treatment with (density of 24 plants per square meter of fennel and 1.5 liters per hectare of trifluralin and with 2 cultivators) did not show any significant difference from the abovementioned treatment.

Therefore, to reduce the use of herbicides, a dose of 1.5 liters of trifluralin can be used instead of a dose of 3 liters, along with 2 cultivators. The highest economic yield of fennel (1313 kg/ ha) belonged to the two plots above. This study showed that the highest essential oil was observed in double cultivator plots by 9.5% and the lowest in uncultivated plots by 4.76%, indicating the effectiveness of the cultivator compared to other factors in the production of essential oil.

Considering the importance (Thymus vulgaris L.) and the effects of seaweed extract and salicylic acidpriming in increasing drought resistance at different stages of plant growth, an experiment was done as a factorial layout based on a completely randomized factorial design with three replications in the research greenhouse of Jiroft University (2020).

Three levels of 100% (control), 50%, and 35% field capacity were considered as test factors for drought treatment, seed preparation and seedling spraying including zero (control), 0.3%, 3.5%, and 1% algal extract and 1mM salicylic acid, 2 mM salicylic acid and composition of algae, and salicylic acid extract were considered as second factors.

The results of this study showed a significant difference in examined factors such as germination rate, root, and shoot length and root and shoot weight treatment at a 1% probability level and in drought stress treatment of 35%, salicylic acid priming treatment had the best performance with an improvement of 6 traits compared to the control. The results of the foliar application of seedlings also showed that the highest shoot weights of seedlings were under the combined treatment of algal extract plus salicylic acid treatment.

General results showed that priming and foliar spraying with salicylic acid had been more effective than algae extract on plant drought resistance, and of course, the combined treatment of salicylic acid and salicylic acid extract plus algae extract with a higher concentration is able to improve plant resistance to drought in the vegetative stage.

Taking advantage of the symbiotic relationship between plants and Trichoderma fungi is one of the ways to reduce water stress in plants. The present study was conducted in order to investigate the effect of Trichoderma fungus on the antioxidant properties of the basil medicinal plant (Ocimum basilicum L.) under water stress conditions.

This experiment was carried out in the greenhouse of the Department of Horticulture Sciences of Ahar Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources and laboratory studies in the basic and general laboratories of Ahar Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources (University of Tabriz) in 2019 in a factorial manner based on a randomized complete block design with three repetitions. The treatments included different levels of water deficit stress, including severe stress (25% of field capacity), moderate stress (50% of field capacity), mild stress (75% of field capacity), and no stress (100% of field capacity). Each pot contained a commercial mushroom species Trichoderma harzianum Na-lac with concentrations of 109 and 106 spores per milliliter as the inoculum.

The results showed that the amount of malondialdehyde, catalase and peroxidase, antioxidant activity and total flavonoid increased with the application of dehydration stress. The concentration of 106 spores per milliliter had a better impact on improving the mentioned indicators. Based on this, Trichoderma fungus proves effective when improving the antioxidant status of plants under drought stress and can prevent the effects of oxidative stress in plants by reducing the oxygen free radicals produced.

The results indicated that the use of Trichoderma mushroom in comparison with the control (without inoculation with the mushroom) can be a suitable tool to improve the physiological traits and antioxidant activities in the conditions drought stress.

Quinoa, with its high nutritional value, is highly resistant to a wide range of non-biological stresses. Despite the limited resources and the increasing demand for food products in lands with low or limited fertility, it can be cultivated well and produces a good product.

This experiment was conducted with the aim of investigating the simultaneous effect of drought stress and heavy metals on the quinoa plant, in a factorial format in a completely randomized design with 3 replications. The first component involved two levels of soil (contaminated and uncontaminated), and the second factor, three levels of drought stress (100% of field capacity 60% of field capacity, and 30% of field capacity).

Interaction effect of soil type and drought stress was significant on all traits except the fresh weight of shoot and plant height. The lowest amount of fresh and dry weight of roots, dry weight of shoot and weight of thousand seeds was observed in contaminated soil with severe drought stress. Nevertheless, the weight of 1000 quinoa seeds under the influence of moderate drought stress was not significantly different from the condition without drought stress. Examining the simple effects showed that soil contamination with heavy metals caused a decrease of 13.7% in fresh weight of shoot and 30.5% decrease in dry weight of shoot compared to plants grown in uncontaminated soil.

In general, it can be stated that the increase in drought stress has significantly reduced root fresh weight and 1000 seed weight in quinoa, but the percentage and ratio of this reduction in soil contaminated with heavy metals was much higher than that of non-contaminated soil. According to the results of this research, the cultivation of quinoa can be investigated as a promising plant in soils with similar limitations.

Marshmallow (Althaea spp.) is a plant belonging to the Malvaceae family and is native to Asia, South Africa, and America. It is found in Iranian natural pastures throughout the country. The purpose of this research is to identify the best ecotypes of Golkhtami in terms of phytochemical traits studied in this experiment and to introduce the best ecotypes for further research and to be used as crossbreeding parents in crossbreeding projects.

In this study which was investigated in nine ecotypes and three different species, phytochemical traits including total flavonoid content, total anthocyanin content, tyrosinase enzyme inhibitory activity, and cholinesterase inhibitory activity were evaluated in different ecotypes of marshmallow.

The results showed that the Kermanshah ecotype of Althaea officinalis had the highest amount of flavonoids (18.47 mg of quercetin per gram of extract) and cholinesterase inhibitory activity (28.37 mg/ml based on IC50), while the Bushehr ecotype of A. ficifolia had the highest amount of anthocyanins (6.45 mg) and the Yazd ecotype of A. officinalis had the highest tyrosinase enzyme inhibitory activity (84.25 mg/ml based on IC50). Pearson's correlation coefficients revealed a positive and significant correlation between the investigated traits. In orthogonal comparisons, the Kermanshah, Mazandaran, and Isfahan ecotypes of A. officinalis had the highest levels of flavonoids and cholinesterase inhibitory activity. Cluster analysis by the WARD method showed that the ecotypes related to one species were placed in one group.

These findings suggest that the studied species and ecotypes have high diversity, which can be useful for improvement and selection of phytochemical traits in marshmallow. The investigated ecotypes can be used as the base population and initial parents of the cross in further experiments.

Regarding the importance of nutritional management in saline conditions and the need to investigate the nutritional aspects of the new quinoa crop, this research was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of different levels of salinity stress and different nano fertilizers on the morphological characteristics and quantitative and qualitative characteristics of quinoa forage.

This experiment was conducted on factorial experimental based on a completely randomized design with three replications in the research field of Urmia University during 2017-2018. The first factor was salinity stress with water of Lake Urmia at three levels (0, 16, 32 dS m-1) and the second factor was nano-fertilizer at five levels (potassium, zinc calcium, silica, and no foliar application (control)).

The results showed that the highest and lowest values of plant height, leaf dry weight and inflorescence dry weight were obtained from the treatment without salinity stress and salinity stress at 32 dS m-1, respectively. Salinity stress at 32 and 16 ds/m, compared to the control, increased crude protein (5% and 3%), soluble carbohydrates (15% and 14%), acid detergent fiber (23% and 7%), neutral detergent fiber (20% and 5%) and crude fiber (10% and 5%), respectively, while it reduced the total ash (27% and 17%) and dry matter digestibility (22% and 8%). Also, foliar application of nano-fertilizers improved forage quality traits such as crude protein, total ash, dry matter digestibility and soluble carbohydrate content and unfavorable qualitative traits such as neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and crude fiber decreased.

Therefore, in order to improve the growth, increase the quality of quinoa forage, and reduce the effects of salinity stress, foliar application with various nano-fertilizers, especially calcium nano-fertilizer, is highly recommended.

Beta-glucan is one of the components of the mushroom cell wall and the most therapeutically important polysaccharide in mushrooms. The aim of this research is to produce a specific vermicompost to improve the nutritional value and evaluate the beta-glucan content in blazai mushroom (A.subrufescens).

An experiment was conducted in form of a completely randomized design and in three replications at the mushroom research center of Islamic Azad University of Isfahan (Khorasgan) in 1399-1400. It investigated 18 combined substrates as treatments, including casing soil as control, compost and vermicompost, Echinacea vermicompost alone and in combination with casing soil with certain values of the hormone indol acetic acid. Based on the results, richer substrates including compost and vermicompost alone and in combination with casing soil led to the optimal growth of blazai mushrooms.

The results of the analysis of variance showed that the highest amount of beta-glucan with the value of 72.86 mg/kg and the highest ash percentage was observed, namely the substrates with the origin of the Echinacea medicinal plant.

In general, for biomass production, it is better to use richer substrates, yet if the purpose of production of the essential material in the mushrooms, it is better to use substrates that are combined with Echinacea. The present research is the combination of casing soil 50 percent + compost or vermicompost 50 percent in the absorption of nutrients and the improvement of quantitative traits played a slightly better role.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of different methods of complementary pollination on the qualitative characteristics of kiwifruit cv. Hayward in order to introduce the most effective and practical complementary pollination method.

The present study evaluated the effect of different methods of complementary pollination [open pollination, hand pollination from male flowers of the tumor cultivar, spray pollination with pure pollen and spray pollination with impure pollen (collected from the entrance of bees' nests at the time of opening kiwifruit male flowers) on the qualitative characteristics of kiwifruit cv. Hayward in the Citrus and Subtropical Fruits Research Institute (Ramsar city) in 2021 based on the randomized complete block design in three replications.

The results showed that the amount of titratable acids, maturity index, chlorophyll b, carotenoid, total flavonoid and antioxidant activity were not affected by different methods of complementary pollination. Fruits obtained from spray pollination with impure pollen had the highest single tree yield (98.32 kg per tree), hectare yield (40.39 tons per hectare), number of seeds (1038), amount of soluble solids (7.07 °Brix), chlorophyll a (1.71 mg100 g-1 FW), total chlorophyll (3.11 mg100 g-1 FW), vitamin C (60.27 mg100 g-1 FW), and total fruit phenol (79.62 mg100 g-1 FW). Moreover, these fruits were in more favorable conditions regarding sensory and taste evaluations.

Overall, it is possible to recommend complementary pollination according to spray pollination with impure pollen as the most effective and practical method to increase fruit quality for kiwifruit growers.

Almonds are high in antioxidants, vitamin E, protein, and fiber. This nutrient-rich nut is an excellent addition to any diet since it is a versatile ingredient linked to several health benefits. The development of communications have led to a wider cultivation of temperate fruits, cultivars being selected and grown in different environmental conditions. This situation has increased the risks derived from the incomplete breaking of dormancy, and encouraged studies concerning the chilling and heat requirements of fruit cultivars for breaking dormancy and flowering. Estimating chilling and heat requirements of flower buds in fruit trees is important due to predicting flowering time for appropriate site selection to escape spring frost damage.

In order to investigate the chill and heat requirements of commercial almond cultivars, a factorial experiment was planned and implemented in a completely randomized design with 3 replications in Shahrekord university lab (in 2017). The first factor included commercial almond cultivars in five levels (Mamaei, Rabi, Sefid, Shahroud 7, and Shahroud 12) and the second factor included chilling in seven levels (100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, and 700 hours at 4-7 °C). As soon as dormancy was induced in the buds of each cultivar, 75 branches were prepared and transferred to a refrigerator with a temperature of 4 to 7 ° C to determine the chilling requirement. The samples were taken out of the refrigerator and placed in water and sucrose solution in the greenhouse environment, and the flowering status of flower buds was examined.

The results illustrated that the chill and heat requirements of Sefid and Mamaei cultivars were lower than average requirements of all cultivars in this respect. Furthermore, these two cultivars had the lower chill and heat requirements than other cultivars. Also, Sefid cultivar needed 170 hours of chill requirements and 5886 growing degree hours’ heat and Mamaei cultivar needed 170 hours of chill and 7707 growing degree hours’ heat. Rabi cultivar had lower chill and heat requirements than the average of all cultivars, but in Shahroud 7 cultivar both of chill and heat requirements were high. Shahroud 7 cultivar needed to 220.5 hours of chill and 10958 of heat growth degree hours for blooming. On the other hand, Shahroud 12 cultivar was identified as a cultivar with high chilling requirements and low heat requirements.

The minus effects of the lack of chilling for breaking dormancy in temperate fruits, both in vegetative growth, and fruit-bearing have been proved. Chilling requirements of temperate fruit cultivars have to be fully satisfied, if dormancy breaking is to result in the desired vegetative growth, and if the fruit-bearing capacity is to be fulfilled. On the other hand, in case of low chilling requirements blooming happens too early and cold temperatures produce an important loss of yield by frost.