Caspian Journal of Environmental Sciences
Volume:3 Issue: 2, Spring 2005

Textile wastewater contains substantial pollution loads in terms of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and heavy metals. Phytoremediation used for removing heavy metals and other pollutants by aquatic macrophytes treatment systems (AMATS) is well established environmental protective technique. A lab scale study was conducted to test the feasibility of water hyacinth for treating textile wastewater. The pH was reduced from alkaline to nearly neutral in all cases studied with the introduction of water hyacinth. The maximum reduction in the conductivity was 55.71% while the BOD and COD reduction ranged from 40 to 70%. A great deal of reduction in the total solids was noted in all the waste samples with a maximum reduction of 50.64%. Water hyacinth has tremendous potential to absorb heavy metals from the textile wastewater as it resulted in 94.78% reduction of chromium, 96.88 % in zinc and 94.44 % reduction in copper. ANOVA showed a significant (p<0.05) reduction in all the pollutants with the passage of time. Thus water hyacinth can be an efficient biological agent in reducing the pollution loads in textile industry wastewater.

Lack of sufficient information on conservation tillage systems leads to the dominating use of conventional tillage practice in most parts of Iran. Testing other management practices may help in decision making regarding the types of tillage systems that reduce soil deterioration. A three- years field experiment was conducted to study the effects of conventional (CT), reduced (RT) and no-till (NT) tillage systems on soil physical characteristics. A split block design with three replications in a soil (fine mixed, mesic, Calsixerollic Xerochrepts) in Maragheh Dryland Agricultural Research Station (northwest of Iran) was used. Soil texture, bulk density (BD), moisture content (MC), penetration resistance (PR), organic matter (OM), mean weight diameter (MWD) and aggregate size distribution (ASD) were measured over a period of 3 years. No differences were obtained among the tillage systems for BD at 0-15 cm depth. At 15-30 cm, NT resulted in a lower (~10%) BD compared to the other treatments. Soil moisture content was about 18% higher in NT and 11% in RT compared to CT. Soil penetration resistance was 0.5 MPa higher in NT than CT or RT. No-till resulted in an increase in OM (~1 g kg-1) compared to the other treatments. No differences were obtained among the treatments for aggregate size distribution. The relatively higher amount of moisture and organic matter for the conservational practices in this dry area may appear to be numerically low and negligible, but in a long run may improve the sustainability of beneficial soil conditions.

Topical application with 100, 200 and 300 ng/ml phytohormone salicyclic acid on commercial traits was analysed in bivoltine CSR2, CSR4 and CSR2XCSR4 crossbreed races of the silkworm, Bombyx mori L. The results showed that there was significant increase in larval weight female cocoon weight, male cocoon shell weight, and hatching percentage with 100 and 200 ng/ml, silkgland weight, female cocoon shell ratio, male cocoon shell ratio, filament length, in all the treated groups in CSR2 race of the silkworm, B. mori when compared over the respective carrier controls. There was significant increase in larval weight and number of eggs per ovariole with 100 ng/ml, female cocoon weight, male cocoon weight, moth emergence percentage and egg productivity with 200 ng/ml and female cocoon shell weight, female cocoon shell ratio, male cocoon shell weight, male cocoon shell ratio, filament length, filament weight denier and moth emergence percentage with all the treated groups in CSR4 race of the silkworm, B. mori when compared over the respective carrier controls. There was also significant increase in larval weight, silkgland weight, female cocoon shell weight, female cocoon shell ratio, male cocoon shell weight, male cocoon shell ratio, egg productivity and length of the ovariole in all the treated groups, whereas filament weight, denier, number of eggs per ovariole and moth emergence percentage with 100 and 200 ng/ml, male cocoon weight with 200 and 300 ng/ml in CSR2XCSR4 crossbreed race of the silkworm, B. mori when compared over the respective carrier controls. These results suggest that the CSR2XCSR4 and CSR4 races showed good response to phytohormone salicylic acid when compared with that of CSR2 race of the silkworm, B. mori.

A study was conducted to assess the durable resistance in a near isogenic line of spring wheat (Triticum aestivalis L.), possessing resistance gene Yr-18 to some isolates (race specific resistance) of stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici), namely Thatcher Yr-18 and durable resistance of an cultivar of spring wheat to all isolates of stripe rust (race non- specific resistance), namely Hybrid de Berse''e. In this investigation fresh urediniospores of two isolates namely SRC 99 (race 70E 128) and SRC 89 (race 14E 14), were collected from a susceptible cultivar of spring wheat, Avocet, as inoculums. Then suspension of spore in mineral oil [Soltrol 170 (5 mg/ml)] were sprayed on third and flag leaves of the booth genotypes mentioned above and on the Thatcher cultivar which was susceptible to booth isolates. The Percentage of urediniospore germination, latent period and infection types of all susceptible and resistant genotypes to booth isolates were determined in four replicates at seedling and adult plant stages. Mean percentage of spore germination and the value of latent period were analyzed separately in each replicate, and then compared using analysis of variance and the Student- Newman Keuls test. The results indicated that urediniospoe germination in all genotypes / isolates/ leaf stage combination was high and neither resistance type affected spore germination significantly. In both types of resistance, latent period increased with advancing plant age. In general cultivars possessing resistant gene had longer latent periods. Assessment of the infection type showed that, the durable resistance of Hybrid de Bersée is detected at an earlier stage than the adult-plant resistance of near isogenic line containing the gene Yr18.

Effects of using n-3 HUFA-enriched Artemia and non-enriched Artemia as the starter food for growth and survival of rainbow trout larvae compared to commercial concentrated food were investigated in this study. The larvae with average weight of 92.9 mg were fed for 20 days with four food treatments included of commercial concentrated food, newly hatched Artemia, enriched Artemia, and mixture of enriched Artemia and concentrated food. At the end of experiment, the highest weight gain percentage was 104.4% in those larvae fed with enriched Artemia (p< 0.05). The highest survival rate was 96.5 % observed in larvae fed with mixture of enriched Artemia and commercial concentrated food (P<0.05). Larvae of third treatment that were fed with enriched Artemia with a survival rate of 98.9 %±1.9 under stress condition of low pH and survival rate of 66.5%±3.7 under stress condition of higher pH in rearing environment, were the most resistant larvae against stress resulting from pH fluctuation (P<0.05). Meanwhile the highest resistance against stress, resulting from temperature changes, was seen in larvae of the third and fourth treatment with survival rate of 77.8 % at 24°C respectively.

The field study was conducted in one district of Educational-Experimental forest at Tehran University (Kheirood-Kenar forest) in the North of Iran. Eighty-five soil profiles were dug in the site of study and several chemical and physical soil properties were considered. These factors included: soil pH, soil texture, bulk density, organic carbon, total nitrogen, extractable phosphorus and depth of soil. Principal Component Analysis (PCA), was used to identify the variations of soil properties. Results showed that there are significant relationships between some soil factors and two PCA axes. Content of clay in A1 and A2 horizons, bulk density, organic carbon and total nitrogen in A1 horizon, and content of silt in A2 horizon, correlated to the first PCA axis. Content of clay, pH, carbon percentage and silt content of B1 Horizon, and soil depth, were the most important factors correlated to the second PCA axis. Soil profiles that consist high content of clay, with heavy soil texture, and soil profiles with high content of silt, occupied different areas in the forest. The content of total nitrogen and organic carbon also varied noticeably amongst the soil profiles. The variations of soil properties showed correlation with the distribution of trees and variations of altitude.

Both heliophysical and anthropogenic (wastewater) effects on zooplankton biomass and abundance of the Imandra Lake (the largest subarctic lake at Kola Peninsula, Russia) were investigated during the 1990 - 2003 period. We used different indexes of solar activity (sunspot numbers and UV- radiation values) as heliophysical factors. Information about UV- radiation values was derived from satellite data. As a parameter of anthropogenic pollution we used the information about wastewaters input in Imandra Lake by copper-nickel (Severonikel plant) enterprise and apatite-nepheline industry (AO Apatit). Besides we used the direct measurements of concentrations of the most important pollutants (Al, Ni, Cu) and biogenic components (N and P)in the Imandra Lake. It was shown that the correlation between heliophysical factors and zooplankton biomass and abundance was high and significant (r= 0.7- 0.8), and it was not significant between waste waters input volume and zooplankton productivity. According to the results obtained the main factor influencing zooplankton bioproductivity is solar UV-B radiation due to its damage effects. In addition for middle latitude Krasnoye Lake (Karelia, Russia; 1964 to 1984) and Lake Michigan (USA, 1984 to 1990) data we found nearly the same effect- anti-correlation between UV radiation level and zooplankton bioproductivity, but unfortunately the significance level was not sufficient. However, the effect at middle latitudes was some lower than at high-latitude Imandra Lake. Such discrepancy seemed to be associated with different day duration at high and middle latitudes. Our results seem to prove that solar forcing (mainly UV-B radiation) is significant factor governing zooplankton bioproductivity in subarctic lakes even in such polluted one like Imandra Lake.

Aqueous extract from leaves of Sambcus ebulus L. were tested for antifeedant, growth regulation and ovicidal effects against the red floor beetle Tribolium confusum Duv. under laboratory condition (29±1ºC, RH 60±5% and 12L:12D). The results indicated a significant deterrence for feeding, and comparatively significant larval, pupal and adult weight decrease in treated vs. controlled insects. Similarly the ovicidal effect of the extract was significant, thus reducing the number of F1 generation of resulting adults.

Damping off caused by Rhizoctonia solani (isolate AG4) constrains growing soybean in the north Iranian province of Golestan. The pathogen was grown on malt agar containing 0, 50, 100 or 200 ppm trifluralin then its vegetative growth and virulence were evaluated. The response of soybean cv. Williams seedlings grown in soil containing 0, 0.5, 1 and 2 μg ai g-1 trifluralin was investigated. On malt agar containing trifluralin, the radial growth of the fungal colonies was slower than that on untreated medium. There was no significant difference between these two types of colony in their abaility to cause disease symptoms on soybean seedlings. The incidence of soybean damping off in autoclaved soil treated with trifluralin was significantly higher than that in untreated soil. The results indicate that trifluralin enhanced the susceptibility of soybean radicles to the pathogen.

During winter 2004 and 2005, two field and glasshouse experiments were conducted to evaluate the response of 471 chickpea genotypes to Ascochyta rabiei, as Ascochyta blight (AB) disease in Chickpea (Cicer aurietimum). Frequent rainfall at flowering and pod formation stages made favorite conditions conducive for the infection and symptoms expression. So, the genotypes with high level of tolerance at seedling stage proved response to the pathogen under field condition. Disease at seedling and adult plant stage exhibited high association, although level of infection was higher at adult plant stage. In glasshouse 65 genotypes at seedling stage and in field experiment 14 genotypes at pod formation stage were resistant to the pathogen. Following green house and field screening methods, six genotypes FLIP98-229C, FLIP82-150C,NCS 950204, NCS 950219, NCS 9903 and PaidarxParbat from NARC and six lines (FLIP 00-20C, FLIP 02-18C, FLIP 02-44C, FLIP 97-120C, FLIP 02-39C and FLIP 97-102C) from ICARDA found resistant for multilocational / agronomic evaluation and use as resistant parent trials for high yielding AB resistance breeding varieties.

Exploitation of wild relatives of crop plants to a large extent depends on the efficient use of germplasm resources available in natural habitat and the centre of diversity. The mulberry, sole food for silkworm is cultivated for the production and development of silkworm industry. Four species of mulberry viz., M. indica L., M. alba L., M. laevigata Wall., and M. serrata Roxb., are reported in India. Among these species, M. serrata is endemic to North Western Himalayan belt and growing in the higher altitude ranging from 560 – 2200m above mean sea level. As a part of survey and exploration, 54 samples of M. serrata were collected from three states i.e., Uttaranchal (45), Himachal Pradesh (07) and Jammu and Kashmir (02). During collection, morphological variability, details of habitat viz., natural abode of plant and other related data were recorded. The collected materials were established in the Ex-situ field gene bank of Central Sericultural Germplasm Resources Centre (CSGRC) for further study. The morphological, anatomical, reproductive and growth traits showed variation among the different collections of M. serrata. This paper deals with biodiversity, geographical distribution, utilization and conservation of M. serrata for posterity.