نشریه تحقیقات علوم زراعی در مناطق خشک
سال پنجم شماره 2 (پیاپی 10، پاییز 1402)

Suitable plants for emergency feed production must have special conditions and characteristics, the most important of which are the speed of emergence and high growth rate, as well as the potential to produce forage with the right quantity and quality in the shortest possible time. Millet is one of the plants that due to its short growth period and relative resistance to drought can be used in most parts of the country that are difficult in terms of water supply or the length of the period suitable for plant growth and development and play an important role in food production for livestock and Poultry. Foxtail and common millets are the most important cultivars of this species in Iran. foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) in South Khorasan province has been known as Gavars and cultivated since ancient times. Dehydration, optimal use of soil moisture, considerable tillering and compensation for possible damages, as well as its dual use as green forage and seeds are its prominent features. Harvest time and appropriate cultivar are the important factors in crop management and will lead to access the maximum quantitative and qualitative yield. The aim of this study was to evaluate the forage performance of millet lines and cultivars at different times in Birjand region. This experiment was conducted in 2020 in Birjand Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Station, located at 20 km from Birjand-Khosf road with a latitude of 32 degrees and 53 minutes north and a longitude of 59 degrees and 13 minutes east and an altitude of 1480 meters above the sea level. The experiment was done as a split plot based on randomized complete block design with three replications. Treatments included harvest time as the main plot in four levels (50, 40, 60 and 70 days after emergence) and lines and cultivars including (promising lines KFM93-17, KFM5 and Bastan cultivar) as sub-plots. Each plot consisted of four lines of wich 50 cm between rows and 5 m long. Planting operations were carried out in early July. Harvesting was performed in different plots based on the relevant experimental treatments at 40, 50, 60 and 70 days after emergency. In order to determine some morphological traits of the plant, 5 plants from each subplot were randomly selected and plant height, number of leaves per plant, stem diameter and number of tillers per plant were measured. In order to determine the yield components including stem and leaf weight and leaf-to-stem ratio, 5 plants were harvested from the middle parts of each plot above the ground and transferred to the laboratory. To determine forage yield, plants were harvested from two rows in the middle of each plot by removing 50 cm from the beginning and end of all rows and after weighing, forage yield was calculated. In order to determine the qualitative yield, first the amount of forage nitrogen was measured by Kjeldal method and then the amount of crude protein and the yield of protein were calculated. After data collecting and performing some necessary calculations, statistical analysis was done using SAS software. To compare the means, Duncan's multiple range test at the 5% probability level was used and the required shapes were plotted by Excel software. The results of analysis of variance showed that the effect of harvest time on green forage yield was significant at the 1% probability level, but the effect of cultivar and the interaction of harvest time and cultivar on this trait was not significant. Delay in harvest increased green forage yield. The delay from 40 to 60 and 70 days after emergency increased the yield of green forage by 2.3 and 2.5 times, respectively. Delay in harvest increased dry forage yield. The delay from 40 to 60 and 70 days increased the yield of green fodder by 2.6 and 3.6 times, respectively. In KFM5 line, the highest percentage of protein was obtained from harvest time at 50 days after emergence (15.4%) and there was no statistically significant difference between harvest time of 40 and 60 days after emergence, but with delay in harvest to 70 days protein percentage Reduced. The results of this study showed that delay in harvest increased the yield and yield components of forage and forage protein yield in foxtail millet. Based on the results of this study, for the production of emergency fodder from foxtail millet in Birjand region, the cultivar Bastan can be used and harvested in 60 days after emergence.

Genotype-environment interaction is one of the most important limiting factors in breeding programs. A comprehensive study of genotype-environment interaction requires powerful statistical methods. Different methods for evaluating the interaction effect of genotype-environment have been proposed by different researchers. Therefore, in the present study, the role of this phenomenon on the sugar yield of sugar beet hybrids and the identification of stable hybrids were studied based on the AMMI, GGE bi-plot, and MTSI stability index methods. For this study, a total of 20 sugar beet genotypes were utilized, comprising 15 recently developed hybrids and five control cultivars (Sina, Dena, Novodora, Modex and Loriquet). Phenotypic assessments of experimental genotypes were conducted in 2021 crop year at four agricultural research stations located in Karaj, Mashhad, Shiraz and Miandoab. These selected sites differed in terms of altitude, latitude and longitude, atmospheric temperature and precipitation, and physical and chemical characteristics of soil. The experiments at each research station were carried out using a randomized complete block design with four replications. Each genotype was planted in a separate plot, consisting of three cultivation rows with a length of eight m and a distance of 50 cm interrow. Throughout the growing season, weed control, irrigation, fertilizer application, and other field management activities were performed based on the recommendations of experts. Additionally, regular monitoring and prevention of pests and diseases specific to sugar beet were conducted at each research station. Stability analysis methods of AMMI, GGE bi-plot, and MTSI stability index were used to analyze the genotype-environment interaction. The results of a combined analysis of variance confirmed the significant effects of environment and genotype on all traits at a one percent probability level. The interaction between them was significant at one and five percent probability levels for all traits except the sugar content and white sugar content. Analysis of the multiplicative effect of the AMMI model showed that the first two components are significant at the one and five percent probability levels, respectively, and together explain 92.20 percent of the interaction variations. The bi-plot of mean yield and the first principal component of the interaction confirmed the superiority of genotype no. 20 due to its high sugar yield and stability. The results obtained from the GGE bi-plot method showed that the first and second components together explain 84.16% of the variations in total sugar yield. According to the GGE bi-plot, Karaj, Shiraz, and Miandoab had a relatively similar reaction in terms of genotype yield rank and in these environments, genotype no. 20 was stable. The reaction of the Mashhad environment was different from the other three environments and in that genotype no. 9 had suitable stability. Based on the results of the MTSI index, four genotypes of 18, 2, 20, and 17 were identified as stable genotypes. In general, the selected genotypes based on the MTSI caused a favorable selection differential in all traits. Among the traits, except root yield, other traits had good selection differential and selection gain. On the other hand, genotype no. 15 had the highest value of MTSI stability index and was unfavorable genotype in terms of studied traits. In general, among breeding hybrids, in the first the hybrid obtained from crossing of (7112 × SB36) × S1– 960132 (genotype no. 2) and then the hybrid obtained from crossing of (7112 × SB36) × S1- 970063 (genotype no. 9) can be used as promising hybrids in final evaluation programs until the introduction of new hybrids. The studied sites were not very closely correlated to be suggested that a site be abandoned to reduce costs for future research; In contrast, most of the tested environments had a high differentiation capability and could make a good distinction among genotypes in terms of sugar yield in genotype-environment interaction studies of sugar beet cultivars.

Wheat is the most important source of carbohydrates in a majority of countries. It provides more nourishment for people than any other food source. Limited rainfall and drought stress occur frequently during the grain filling stage of wheat in many areas. Accumulation of photoasimilates in the stem of wheat and remobilization of theses storages could be considered as important adaptive traits to environmental stresses and are important in breeding cultivars with improved grain yield. Previous published researches on carbohydrates accumulation and remobilization in wheat were studied. The results of these articles were summarized systematically and then critically analyzed. Approaches for future works in terms of carbon accumulation and remobilization were also presented. Water-soluble carbohydrates (glucose, fructose, sucrose, and fructans) accumulate in the stem of wheat plants. The accumulation of reserves in the different internodes started near the end of extension growth. That is to say, the accumulation of reserves in the lower internodes takes place over long periods of time compared to the upper internodes. Accumulation of stem reserves, depend on environmental conditions and cultivars, continues until 10-25 days after anthesis when maximal amounts are reached. Wheat cultivars with optimum stem length and stem specific weight (stem dry weight per unit stem length) have higher potential for stem storages. Under optimal conditions, where photosynthesis takes place over long periods of time, storage of assimilates is high. In contrast, stress conditions such as drought reduce the amount of accumulated carbohydrates. Typically, remobilizations of stem reserves are started at the second half of linear grain growth when the current photosynthesis is declined. Physiological bases for remobilization initiation have not been understood well. It is probable that sucrose level as well as abscisic acid (ABA) concentration in the stem are involved in this process. The amount of remobilization in each cultivar is determined by stem reserves and remobilization efficiency. The later factor is affected, in turn, by grain number and grain weight (sink strength). That is to say, cultivars with higher stem storage do not necessarily show higher carbohydrates remobilization. Abiotic stresses (such as drought, salinity and heat stress) have pronounced effects on the amount and initiation of carbohydrate remobilization. However, wheat cultivars respond to such conditions differently. Researches on 81 Iranian wheat cultivars showed that drought stress increased stem dry matter remobilization from 2 to 45% whereas this trait was decreased from 1 to 72 percent in the remaining cultivars. Interestingly, the response of each stem segment (internode) to imposed stress conditions may be different with respect to remobilization amount. The flow of carbon (carbohydrates) to the grain from stored stem materials has been classified to pre- (All the carbon in the grain which is derived from photosynthesis prior to anthesis) and post-anthesis (All the carbon in the grain which is derived from photosynthesis after anthesis) remobilization. The contribution of stem dry matter to grain growth is not consistent and varies depends on the cultivar, environmental conditions, and grain weight changes. Clear association is not found between grain yield and remobilization. No clear relation was found between stem reserve mobilization and year of cultivar release. Weather conditions have pronounced effects on carbohydrates accumulation and its subsequent remobilization in wheat stem. Therefore, when breeding for these traits are considered, special attention should be paid to the environmental conditions. Typically, the lower internodes of wheat stem have higher potential for carbohydrates accumulation and remobilization when compared with the upper internodes (peduncle and penultimate). Clear relations were not found between grain yield and remobilization. This suggests that manipulating of this trait (remobilization) in wheat breeding program is a challenging task.

Awareness of the extent of genetic diversity based on molecular markers is a rapid method that plays an important role in breeding programs. Cucumis melo L. is the scientific name for a melon that belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family (Kirkbride, 1993). This plant is a popular garden crop in warm and temperate climates across the globe, and Iran ranks fourth in the world in terms of output (FAOSTAT, 2019). Although several studies were conducted on the genetic structure of Iranian melons using various molecular markers including RAPD molecular markers (Feizian, 2004), ISSR (Maleki et al., 2018) and SSR microsatellite markers (Moayedi Nejad et al., 2010; Raghami et al., 2014) in recent years, due to the history of planting and the presence of huge genetic resources of melon, which makes Iran as one of the main centers of diversity of this crop in the world, research is inadequate.

Forty native melon stands used in this research were prepared from the melon germplasm of Iran Gene Bank. 4-5 leaves from each plant at the two- to three-leaf stage were collected and kept in a freezer at -80°C until DNA extraction. Their genomic DNA was extracted using the ZandBio plant kit. The markers used in this research were selected based on previous studies that were suggested by different researchers. Gradient PCR Vapo Protect thermocycler was used for polymerase chain reaction. PCR products were electrophoresed on 1.8% agarose gel in 1X TBE buffer and at 85 V for one hour. Observation and photographing of the gel was done with the help of UV-2100 geldoc device. Bands were scored as zero (not seeing a band) and one (observing a band). Evaluation of cluster analysis and genetic parameters such as observed heterozygosity, expected heterozygosity and number of effective alleles were obtained through Ntsys 2.1 and Popgene 1.32 software. To estimate the number of subpopulations (K) and distinguish pure and mixed genotypes, it was done using Structure software version 2.3 and using the Bayesian method (Pritchard et al., 2000).

All gene loci except CMCT44 primer were polymorphic. A total of 25 alleles with an average of 1.93 alleles per microsatellite gene locus were observed. The highest amount of polymorphic sites (84.62%) belonged to KC-357009 genotype.. The high amount of polymorphic sites confirms the effectiveness of SSR molecular markers in the genetic analysis of the investigated indigenous populations. The average content of polymorphism and expected heterozygosity information was obtained as 0.24 and 0.23, respectively. The observed high homozygosity values with an average of 0.84 indicate the low diversity within the investigated populations, which is a proof of the low level of variation between the populations and the high level of inbreeding. In the investigation of the genetic structure of the populations, the investigated populations were divided into two groups (sub-populations). The results of population structure analysis based on Bayesian method and UPGMA clustering showed that the classification of studied genotypes is independent of their geographical origin.

According to the values obtained from the above parameters, among the studied primers, gene locations CMCCA145, CMGA172 and CMCT134b are recommended for the analysis of melon germplasm collections in future research.The results of this study can be used in hybridization programs. Crossing between the figures that have the least similarity will lead to the best results in achieving hybrids or achieving maximum separation in the generations after F1. Although genetic distance is not the only effective factor in identifying suitable parents for hybrid production and factors such as compatibility and genetic distance based on morphological traits should also be considered.

There is a close relationship between population growth and rapid economic development and overuse of natural resources. Recently, one of the main problems of human societies is the management of energy consumption. In agricultural ecosystems, there is a strong dependence on non-free inputs and free environmental inputs. In different production systems, different methods are used to increase stability. Various methods have been utilized to investigate the sustainability of agricultural systems such as emergy analysis. Emergy analysis is an ecological approach that measures all the inputs from natural resources and human activities that are directly and indirectly used to obtain a particular product. This method estimates all the resources, including energy, consumed environmental resources, and financial and human costs based on solar energy units. By considering both economic and ecological factors, emergy analysis helps identify ways to achieve maximum crop yield while supporting resource efficiency in agricultural production. Emergy analysis is a method used for sustainability assessment of agroecosystems, including potato production. It determines the most important indicators related to efficiency, renewability, environmental pressure, and sustainability of potato agroecosystems. Although the sustainable production of crops has been analyzed by some researchers, the effects of farm size have not been considered so far. Hence, in the current study, the effect of farm size on sustainability of potato production was studied using the emergy methodology.

In order to evaluate the effect of farm size on the sustainability of potato production, a study using emergy analysis was conducted in Fariman county in 2018-19. Information was collected in different potato production systems in terms of farm size including small, medium and large (Based on Cochran's formula, 30, 15 and 5 farms respectively) using questionnaires completed by farmers. The inputs were divided into four types to examine the sustainability of agroecosystems and calculate the emergy indices: Free renewable environmental inputs (R) include sun, wind and rain; non-renewable environmental inputs (N) include groundwater, soil erosion, and soil organic matter losses; non-free (purchased) renewable inputs (FR) include seeds and organic fertilizer; and purchased non-renewable inputs (FN) include machinery, chemical fertilizer, pesticides, fuel, and electricity. To obtain the emergy value of each input, the raw information of each input is multiplied by the conversion coefficients in terms of joules, grams, or Rials. The total emergy is the sum of all emergies of all independent inputs. Finally, emergy indices are calculated and interpreted to evaluate different production systems.

The results of this research showed that different potato production systems have different effects on the contribution of different sources of total energy. By increasing the size of the farm, the share of renewable natural resources decreased and the share of purchased resources increased. Among the renewable environmental inputs in all three emergency systems, rain had the highest amount. The amount of renewable environmental inputs for production systems in small, medium and large farms was 1.42, 1.13 and 1.04% of the total inputs, respectively. Cultivation in small farms required the least amount of emergy for crop production in contrast to large farms. In addition, cultivation on large farms was more similar to cultivation on medium farms in terms of purchased resources. On the other hand, large farms had high sustainability compared to small farms based on the ELR index. In addition, large farms were not significantly different from medium farms. Since the economic yield of large farms was much higher than the economic yield of medium and small farms, other indicators of emergy except renewable energy were also higher in large farms than in medium and small farms.

In this area, cultivation in large fields with the use of more mechanization has improved the yield along with maintaining the stability of the production system.

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) is an old medicinal plant that is usually used as food and traditional medicine. The main goal of studying genetic diversity and relationships between germplasm sets is to use the information obtained from the diversity of native cultivars to develop and release cultivars with higher yields among cultivated species. To investigate genetic diversity and relationships among morphological traits, an experiment was performed using a completely randomized design with 3 replications on 11 fennel ecotypes in the greenhouse of Payame Noor University of Qom, in 2020. The measured traits included number of days to germination, number of days to 50% flowering, number of days to maturity, plant height, the number of branches per plant, the number of umbels per plant, the number of umbellets per umbel, the number of flowers per umbellets, 1000-seed weight, and grain yield per plant. After data collection, analysis of variance, mean comparison (with Duncan's test), correlation between traits (using Pearson's method) and stepwise regression were performed. In order to determine the relative contribution of each of the measured traits in creating diversity among the studied ecotypes, factor analysis was used, and Ward's cluster analysis was used to group them. SPSS software was used to analyze the data. Environmental, genetic and phenotypic variance components were estimated based on mathematical expectation of mean squares to calculate trait heritability with Excel software.Based on the results of the analysis of variance, a significant difference was observed among the studied ecotypes for all traits. Most of the studied traits had high broad-sense heritability. Seed yield per plant had a positive and significant correlation with the number of umbellets per umbel (0.64), number of umbels per plant (0.59), and number of branches per plant (0.56). Factor analysis showed that three main and independent factors explained 78.74 percent of the total variance in all ecotypes. Cluster analysis using the Ward method grouped 11 studied ecotypes into four separate clusters. The second cluster ecotypes (Ardebil and Moghan) are valuable due to their high values of plant height, number of branches per plant, number of umbels per plant, number of umbellets per umbel, number of flowers per umbellets, 1000-seed weight, and seed yield, and these ecotypes can be used to select of high yielding ecotypes and desirable morphological traits in breeding programs.The results showed that fennel ecotypes had many differences in terms of the studied traits. Among them, the early maturing ecotypes (Ardebil and Moghan) with high values of the number of umbels per plant, umbellets per umbels and flowers in umbellets, and number of branches per plant had high seed yield. While long maturing ecotypes (Hajiabad, Qazvin, Sardasht and Sari) with low values of the number of umbels per plant, umbellets per umbels and flowers per umbellets, the number of branches per plant had low seed yield. Therefore, in order to produce ecotypes with desirable agricultural characteristics in breeding and selection programs, crossing between superior ecotypes from different clusters and testing their results can be done. The results of stepwise regression analysis were consistent with correlation analysis, so that the number of umbellets per umbels, which had the highest correlation coefficient with yield, was entered into the model as the first trait. The next trait, the number of umbels per plant, was entered into the model, which had a positive and significant correlation with yield. Considering that the traits number of umbels per plant and number of umbellets per umbels were good indicators for yield, therefore, the selection of these traits can cause the maximum increase in yield compared to other traits of yield components. In this research, the ecotypes of Ardebil and Moghan are introduced as superior ecotypes, which can be used to apply all kinds of improvement methods on them and achieve the ecotypes with favorable morphological characteristics.

Environmental factors affect the accumulation of sugar. Light, sunny hours and soil moisture largely determines how sugar is grown and stored at the root of sugar results of the experiment on sugar beet showed that all treatments of anti-stress materials such as salicylic acid, thioufol and glycine at different concentrations increased the quality traits such as root yield, sugar level and white sugar yield. Reducing membrane damage due to the use of salicylic acid is associated with the production of antioxidants, and thus salicylic acid increases the membrane stability against oxidative stress. Salicylic acid is an internal regulator of plant growth that affects metabolic and physiological responses to plant growth and development.Plants obtained from seeds pretreated with salicylic acid can improve the rate of photosynthesis in normal and stress conditions by increasing the relative water content, transpiration intensity, stomatal conductance and leaf chlorophyll index. In a study, it has been observed that salicylic acid treatment controls polysaccharide hydrolyzing enzymes and accelerates the formation of polysaccharides from soluble sugars. With this assumption, salicylic acid increases the amount of insoluble sugars compared to soluble sugars.

In order to adjust the negative effects of drought stress in sugar beet cultivars under the influence of salicylic acid foliar spraying in drought stress conditions, a factorial split plot was used in a randomized complete block design with three replications in Jouin was conducted in 2019. The studied factors included irrigation at two levels of full irrigation and drought stress (50% of full irrigation), salicylic acid spraying at three levels of 0, 2.5 and 5 mM on the Shokofa (034) and Aria (031).

Stress reduced the yield, but the use of salicylic acid increased the yield. Application of 5 mM produced the highest amount of root yield with 16.55. In the condition of full irrigation, the yield increased by increasing the amount of salicylic acid. In the stress conditions, the percentage of impure sugar increased, but in the condition of full irrigation, the percentage of impure sugar decreased, but with the use of five to 2.5 mM salicylic acid, it increased.In condition of drought stress and consumption, 2.5 mM of salicylic acid, 034, have the highest percent sugar content with 20.5%. The amount of proline of 034 cultivar was the highest in drought stress and consumption of 5 mM of salicylic acid. Consumption of salicylic acid increased root yield and sugar content yields and reduced harmful nitrogen and sodium.Drought stress caused a decrease in yield, and this decrease in yield was both qualitative and quantitative. Drought stress decreased sugar yield and root yield in sugar beet by increasing electrolyte leakage from cell membranes, decreasing relative leaf water content, and increasing harmful nitrogen.

The amount of impure sugar (kg/m2) increased with the use of salicylic acid in both drought stress and complete irrigation. Impure sugar, which is the result of multiplying the sugar beet root yield by the percentage of impure sugar and has been affected by salicylic acid, shows that the quantity and quality of both have increased with the use of this hormone-like substance. In this study, salicylic acid was able to increase the absorption of water by increasing the proline and making the osmotic pressure of sugar beet negative by increasing the relative water content of the leaves, and finally, by increasing the impute sugar yield, it increased the root yield and sugar per unit area. The consumption of salicylic acid increased the root yield and sugar level and decreased harmful nitrogen, sodium and potassium.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa wild) is a dicotyledonous plant with about 95% purity. Quinoa is one-year, broad-leaved and has a height of one to two meters. This plant is native to South America, which is generally cultivated for its seeds, but its biomass is also popular as leafy vegetables. The seed of this plant is small in size and is a rich source of many vitamins and proteins. For this reason, its cultivation is expanding in Iran. For this reason, it is very important to know the effects of various factors such as planting method, planting time and cultivar used on its yield and biomass. Due to the high cost of field experiments, the AquaCrop model was used to simulate this crop plant in this research.

The current research was conducted in Khuzestan Agriculture and Natural Resources Research and Training Center located at 31° 20’ N latitude and 48° 40’ E longitude with a height of 18 meters above sea level during the years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019. The ten-year average rainfall leading to the time of the experiment is 240 mm and the average annual temperature is 25.3 degrees Celsius. The experimental treatments include planting dates at four times (T1: October 30, T2: November 10, T3: November 20, and T4: November 30), cultivation methods in two ways (R1: transplanting and R2: seed planting) and three cultivars (C1: Giza, C2: Q26 and C3: Titicaca). Tillage operation was done at the end of May for all treatments.

The sensitivity of the AquaCrop model to changes in base temperature, high temperature and initial canopy cover parameters was in the low category. Due to the low sensitivity of these parameters, the base and high temperature values remained as default. The initial canopy cover was also dependent on plant density, that's why its value was changed compared to the default state. The sensitivity of the AquaCrop model to changes in two parameters of normalized water productivity and the maximum crop coefficient for transpiration was in the high category. The sensitivity of other parameters was in the medium category and therefore these parameters were recalibrated. The average observed and simulated yield differences for T1, T2, T3 and T4 treatments were 198, 153, 97 and 97 kg.ha-1, respectively. The minimum difference between observed and simulated yield values was 93, 78, 62 and 66 kg.ha-1, respectively, and the maximum difference was 303, 210, 172 and 151 kg.ha-1 respectively. Therefore, the accuracy of the AquaCrop model was higher compared to the planting dates in the middle and end of November. The average difference between simulated and observed biomass for planting dates T1, T2, T3 and T4 was 870, 542, 533 and 635 kg.ha-1, respectively. The lowest difference for these treatments was 529, 401, 417 and 324 kg.ha-1 respectively and the highest difference was 1072, 871, 609 and 793 kg.ha-1 respectively. The average observed and simulated yield differences in the two cultivation methods R1 and R2 were 171 and 102 kg.ha-1, respectively. The lowest and the highest difference between the observed and simulated yield was 62 and 303 kg.ha-1 in the germination method and 66 and 194 kg.ha-1 in the direct method. Based on these results, the accuracy of the AquaCrop model in the direct method was about 40% higher than the seed planting. The average difference between the observed and simulated biomass in two germination and direct methods was 723 and 566 kg.ha-1, respectively. The minimum and maximum yield differences in the germination method were 567 and 979 kg.ha-1, respectively, and in the direct method, 324 and 1072 kg.ha-1. The average observed and simulated yield difference for this cultivar was 128, 158 and 123 kg.ha-1, respectively. The lowest observed and simulated yield differences for these three cultivars were 62, 96, and 67 kg.ha-1, respectively, and the highest yield differences were 303, 298, and 291 kg.ha-1, respectively. The average difference between observed and simulated biomass for three varieties of Giza, Q26 and Titicaca was 581, 662 and 691 kg.ha-1, respectively.

Based on all the results, the use of this plant model is suggested for simulating quinoa, although its error is less for direct cultivation in the middle and end of November than other conditions.

Due to the expansion of monoculture systems and the indiscriminate application of chemical fertilizers for mass production, this process reduces biodiversity and environmental pollution. On the other hand, due to the important role of vetch and barley in feeding livestock and the lack of fodder due to the monoculture system in the rainfed areas, the yield of fodder has decreased due to the lack of moisture and the inactivity of soil microorganisms. Therefore, the present research was conducted to investigating the application of biofertilizer Azotobarvar-1 and superabsorbent material in mixed cultivation of vetch and barley as a strategy to increase fodder yield. This experiment was conducted in order to investigate the yield of dry fodder and the competitive indicators of vetch and barley mixed crop in rainfed conditions under the influence of Azotobarvar-1 fertilizer and superabsorbent material during the cropping years of 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 in the research farm of the Faculty of Agriculture of Lorestan University. It was carried out factorial based on randomized complete block design with three replications. The first factor, mixed cultivation in 5 levels including: V1= 100% vetch, V2= 100% barley, V3= 75% vetch + 25% barley, V4= 50% vetch + 50% barley and V5= 25% vetch + 75% barley by replacement method and the second factor of coexistence of Azotobarvar-1 and superabsorbent material at 4 levels including: F1= Azotobarvar-1, F2= Superabsorbent, F3= Azotobarvar-1 + Superabsorbent and F4= control treatments. In order to farm preparing, first plowing was done with a reversible plow in the fall, then two vertical discs were placed on the ground to level and prepare the seed bed. Cultivation lines were created by plowing in the experimental field. Each plot was 4 meters long and 1.5 meters wide. Each plot has 6 planting lines with 25cm and 1m for row to row and plot to plot respectively. Distance between blocks was 3m. Azotobarvar-1 biofertilizer (seeded and foliar application) was applied by 100g.ha-1 and superabsorbent substance at the rate of 200g.ha-1. The results showed that in mixed cultivation, the highest total dry fodder yield was 3799 kg.ha-1 from the combination of 50% vetch + 50% barley, the highest ratio of total land equality (2.913), the highest total relative yield (1.457) and the highest relative coefficient of total density (7.577) from the combination of 50% vetch + 50% barley × Azotobarvar-1 material + superabsorbent was observed in the second year. On the other hand, in the first year, the highest ratio of total competition (4.297) was founded in combination of 25% vetch + 75% barley × Azotobarvar-1 + superabsorbent treatment and the greatest actual decrease total yield (4.990) was recorded in 75% vetch + 25% barley × The superabsorbent treatment. In this experiment, the increase in fodder production was affected by the contribution of the leguminous component (vetch) and management factors (biofertilizer Azotobarvar-1 and superabsorbent material) in mixed cultivation, so that the combination of the mixed cropping system with the two mentioned factors can able to improve the forage yield. Quantitative and competitive indicators were stabilized in line with agricultural goals. On the other hand, Azotobarvar -1 biofertilizer with the lowest amount and volume (100 gr.ha-1) and the lowest cost for farmers is economical and can be a suitable alternative to nitrogen chemical fertilizer and the application of superabsorbent material can be applied in drylands to storage of rainwater be useful.

The world population is increasing daily, while the scope for expansion and development of agricultural land is very narrow due to limited water resources. All of this can affect agriculture indirectly or directly. Quinoa is a pseudo-cereal, belongs to the Amaranthaceae family, and is native to South America. This crop is important for human and animal nutrition due to its medicinal and agro-industrial properties. Water and nitrogen (N) are two major challenges in quinoa cultivation that can be addressed by better understanding related agronomic features. Under water deficit conditions, selecting and cultivating crop species tolerant to drought stress is an approach to maintaining and/or increasing crop production levels. Although it is widely reported that quinoa is a highly drought-tolerant crop, its growth has been significantly suppressed under severe drought stress conditions. The experiment was conducted as a split factorial arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Treatments included four irrigation regimes (100, 80, 60, and 40% of crop water requirement) as the main factor, three quinoa cultivars (TITICACA, Q29, and GIZA1), and three nitrogen fertilizer rates (0, 100, and 200 kg ha1 from urea sources) as subfactorial. The field preparation operations prior to planting included plowing and disc Planting was done on March 22, 2021. The net amount of nitrogen-based nitrogen fertilizer treatments of 100 and 200 kg ha-1 was equal to 46 and 92 kg, respectively. According to the soil test results, the soil was not poor regarding phosphorus and potassium elements, so only urea fertilizer was used. The distance between two rows and between plants on the row in quinoa cultivation was 50 cm and 10 cm, respectively. There was a significant interaction effect between irrigation, N, and cultivar on root traits and grain yield. The effects of irrigation regimes, N rates, and their interactions were significant on plant height at the level of one percent, and the highest (109 cm) and lowest (50 cm) plant heights were obtained with normal irrigation and 100% N application in the GIZA1 cultivar and 40% of the water requirement of 100 kg ha-1 N application in cultivar Q29, respectively. The highest 1000-seed weight was obtained with the normal irrigation (2.93 g) regime to meet 80% of the water requirement (2.91 g) in the GIZA1 cultivar. The lowest 1000-seed weight was obtained with 40% of the plant water requirement in all three cultivars. Thousand-grain weight in Q29 and TITICACA cultivars is the same in all irrigation regimes. Two treatments of the normal irrigation, N application and GIZA1 cultivar; and 40% of water requirement, 200 to 100 kg ha-1 of N rate and Q29 cultivar obtained the highest (3326 kg ha-1) and lowest (686 kg ha-1) seed yield, respectively. The N addition reduced seed yield in quinoa cultivars under water -deficit conditions. In water deficit conditions, the application of nitrogen fertilizer decreased the biological yield of quinoa cultivars, and increasing the irrigation water and using urea fertilizer significantly increased the biological yield of quinoa. Also, in 60, 80, and 100 % of water requirement treatments, the amount of biological yield in the cultivar GIZA1 was higher than the other two cultivars. This research showed that the quinoa plant has a high drought tolerance. In such a way, it could complete its growth period and have acceptable performance in conditions of intense stress. With the higher N application, the GIAZ1 cultivar performed better than the others. Although the TITICACA cultivar recorded a lower grain yield under optimum irrigation conditions, it showed a higher grain yield under severe stress conditions than others. It can be concluded that under the conditions of 100% water requirement and the application of 200 N kg ha-1, GIAZ1 variety is suitable for the growth of quinoa in the ecological conditions of the Ilam region.

The application of bio-fertilizers, especially mycorrhizal fungi, is known as one of the most important nutritional approaches in sustainable agriculture and agricultural ecosystem management. Among the numerous microorganisms in the rhizosphere, some have positive effects on plant growth promotion. These microorganisms are bio fertilizers such as plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria, which colonize the rhizosphere and roots of many plant species and confer beneficial effects to plants. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of two species of arbuscular mycorrhizal funguswas assessed on yield and yield components of three Iranian ecotypes of black seed medicinal plant.

To determine the inoculation of mycorrhizal fungi on yield and yield components of different ecotypes of black seed, a factorial experiment in randomized complete block design with three replications was conducted. The experiment was conducted as factorial in Sarayan faculty of agriculture at 2018, with two factors, the Rhizophagus fasciculatum and Rhizophagus mosseae species of mycorrhizal as first factor, Sarayan, Hamedan, and Shahrekord ecotypes of black seed as second factor, in three replications. The traits studied in this research were plant height, stem diameter, number of branches, the average height of the first branch, root length, total chlorophyll, number of flowering branches, the average height of the first capsule, capsule length, capsule diameter, number of capsules per plant, number of seeds per capsules, 1000-seed weight, grain yield, biological yield, harvest index, and straw yield.

The analysis of variance showed significant differences among investigated ecotypes of black seed for all traits. However, none of the above traits were affected by the interaction of Ecotype × mycorrhiza. In addition, the highest values of plant height (19.85 cm), the average height of the first branch (8.99 cm), root length (13.63 cm), the average height of the first capsule (19.16 cm), and capsule length (8.38 cm) for Hamadan ecotype, the highest values of the number of seeds per capsule (53.31 grains), biological yield (75.8 g.m-2), grain yield (26.16 g.m-2), and straw yield (49.64 g.m-2) for Shahrekord ecotype, and the highest 1000-seed weight (2.34 g) and harvest index (42.67%) for Sarayan cultivar were obtained. In other hand, the means of pod diameter, pod length, and number of flowering branches were increased in plants treated with both species of mycorrhizal bio-fertilizer than the control treatment so that the highest values in the number of flowering branches (8.24 cm) and capsule length (8.18 cm) were obtained under the application of Rhizophagus mosseae, and the thickest capsules (8.24 cm) were achieved under the application of frtilizers contained Rhizophagus fasciculatum. The results of simple correlation analysis showed the positive and significant correlation of seed yield trait with root length, number of secondary branches, number of flowering branches, number of pods per plants, and number of seeds per pod, at 5% probability level, and with biological yield and straw yield traits at 1% probability level. Results of path analysis showed positive direct effect of number of flowering branches and biological yield traits on grain yield and the highest positive direct effect was recorded for biological yield. In contrast, the highest negative direct effect on the grain yield of investigated ecotypes was obtained for the straw yield.

It was shown that there was a significant difference between the three black seed ecotypes in morphological and functional traits, so that Shahrekord and Hamedan ecotypes were superior in all traits (except thousand seed weight and harvest index) compared to Sarayan ecotype. In general, our findings demonstrated the relationship between morphological traits and yield components of black seed ecotypes under the inoculation of mycorrhiza strains, which can be employed in black seed breeding programs as a reference. Also, it is suggested that ecotypes/genotypes that are better in biological and straw yield traits were used for cretia selection traits in future.

Rosemary is one of the most useful medicinal plants among different categories of plants due to its many medicinal properties. Nanoparticles as one of the non-bio-stresses by using their electrochemical properties cause interference in the biosynthetic pathway of compounds in plants. This research was conducted in the form of a completely random basic design with three replications in the agricultural greenhouses of Zanjan University in 2017–2018. Also, gold nanoparticles were produced by the chemical reduction method in the laboratory of Zabul University, and then their effect on the increase or decrease of compounds in rosemary plant oil was investigated in two time intervals of harvesting: 24 hours, 48 hours, and the control group. Rosemary plant cuttings with lengths of 10–12 cm and a diameter of half a centimeter were rooted in small containers containing light, washed soil, and ionolite, and permitted at night temperatures of 10–17 degrees and 21–23 degrees during the day. Then the rooted cuttings were transferred to 5 -liter pots containing a combination of fertile agricultural soil and sand. The Chemical reduction method (sodium citrate) was used to extract nanoparticles (Leopold and Lendl, 2003). The gold nanoparticle mixture that had changed color (blue) was subjected to the absorption spectrum of the spectrophotometric device, and the results obtained from the output of the device were checked based on which the maximum absorption rate of the gold nanoparticle with a diameter of 13 nm is equal to the wavelength of 520 nm and for the gold nanoparticle with a diameter of 52 nm is equal to 533 nm. The samples were sent to Beam Gostar Taban (2016–2021) after extraction by the chemical reduction method for diffraction electron microscopy (SEM) investigations and the authenticity of the presence of gold nanoparticles in the obtained samples. The gold nanoparticle treatment with a concentration of 30 ppm was sprayed on the plant in two different time periods (24 hours and 48 hours) and in the control group (without any treatment group) when the cuttings were fully established in terms of rooting and leafing. After that, their aerial parts were harvested at specified intervals and dried at room temperature for mass spectrometer (GC-MS) analysis. About 400 microliters of effective substance were spectrometered by the device (N Agilent 6890 Agilent technology USA), which was equipped with an ion trap system. The leaf sample of the plant, which was dehydrated at room temperature, was placed in the Cloninger device on a heater for 3 hours at a temperature of 100 degrees Celsius. A Water solvent was used in this research. In this study, gold nanoparticles were extracted based on the chemical reduction method, and the synthesis of gold nanoparticles was confirmed by electron microscope diffraction (SEM) and spectrophotometric analyses. The results obtained in this study showed significant changes in the compounds obtained by mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in rosemary oil, each of which has unique medicinal properties. Changes in secondary metabolites increase the plant's antioxidant defenses, which can be important in adapting to stresses. Verbonone is an effective compound in rosemary oil that, in this study, had a significant increase under the treatment of gold nanoparticles. In general, investigations conducted on the expression of oily compounds in rosemary showed that gold nanoparticle treatment did not have a significant effect on all the compounds in rosemary oil, but it was able to significantly increase a number of important compounds. The composition of verbena, which has an anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial role, showed a significant increase in the oily compounds of the rosemary plant. Considering the changes in the important oil compounds of the rosemary plant, it may be possible to induce the maximum production of these compounds and mass production of nanoparticles in the future.