This field experiment was carried out in order to investigate the effects of humic acid on the growth and yield of sunflower in a saline soil, using a complete block design with three replications in Kashan, central Iran, in 2014.Treatments consisted of 3 levels of humic acid (1, 3 and 6 liters per ha), no humic acid in soil with sufficient nitrogen, three liters of humic acid per ha in soil without sufficient nitrogen, control of humic acid in soil without sufficient nitrogen.The results showed that the use of humic acid left significant effect on all measured traits.The greatest increase in oil content, 1000 seed weight, head weight, seed yield, head diameter, stem diameter and number of leaves were obtained by use of 3 liters of humic acid in soil with sufficient nitrogen.Maximum increase in plant height and plant weight were obtained by using 6 liters humic acid in soil with sufficient nitrogen and the highest protein content was achieved by using 1 liter of humic acid per ha in soil with adequate nitrogen.The results of this experiment showed that the application of humic acid in a saline soil improves the growth and yield of sunflower plants.

In order to evaluate the effect of different fertilizers' sources on micronutrients' content and sugar quality of sugar beet, three fertilizers' sources include spent mushroom compost (SMC) (29 t/ha), sheep manure (23 t/ha), chemical fertilizer including zinc sulfate (10 kg/ha), copper sulfate (10 kg/ha), iron sulfate (30 kg/ha), manganese sulfate (15 kg/ha) and no fertilizer (control) were conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications at Research Farm of Shahrekord University in 2013. The results showed that micronutrients' content in the root, alpha-amino-N sucrose percentage and sucrose yield were significantly affected by fertilizer treatments. The highest elements' content of Fe (90.39 mg/kg), Zn (39.15 mg/kg), and Cu (18.1 mg/kg) in sugar beet root belonged to SMC treatment. Besides, SMC caused less alpha-amino-N accumulation in sugar beet compared with sheep manure (1.05 MEq/g). Sucrose percentage was higher in SMC treatment than the sheep manure. Likewise, sucrose percentage revealed a significant positive correlation with micronutrients of zinc, copper, and manganese in sugar beet root. Therefore, it could be concluded that using SMC increases micronutrients' content in the root and at the same time, plays an important role in sugar quality improvement of sugar beet.

In order to study the reaction of six castor ecotypes to drought stress, a split plot experiment was carried out in randomized complete blocks. Eight indices including stress sensitivity index (SSI), tolerance index (TOL), mean productivity (MP), geometric mean productivity (GMP), harmonic mean (HARM), stress tolerance index (STI), sensitivity drought index (SDI) index and yield index (YI) were calculated for ecotypes by using seed yield in normal condition and under stress. After that, correlations between indices were calculated and dendrogram and biplot results were drawn. Normal yield and stress yield had positive significant correlations with MP, GMP, STI, and HARM indices in mild, moderate and severe stresses. Biplot analysis showed that Isfahan and Naein ecotypes had desirable yield under mild and average stress and Naein had desirable yield under severe stress and also normal condition.

The potential of single-seed near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy was investigated to characterise castor seeds based on their seed viability and seed oil content. Distinct differences between viable and non-viable seeds were observed in the principal component analysis (PCA) analysis. Furthermore, the PCA compared heavy and medium seeds with light seeds, which were comparable to the clusters of viable and non-viable seeds, respectively. Prediction accuracies of 98.7% and 99.6% were obtained with the partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) model with a classification error rate of 0.8% and 1.1% for the training set and test set, respectively. The NIR spectral regions having chemical information from the oil in castor seeds were found to be vital for determination of seed viability.

This study evaluated effects of drought stress on the concentrations of mineral elements in the leaves of different ecotypes of castor plant. The experimental design was a split-plot randomized complete block with three replications. It was carried out at Fozveh Agricultural Research Station located 20km from Esfahan, Iran in 2014. The main plot was four levels of water stress (30%, 45%, 60%, and 75% moisture content) and the sub-plot was six castor plant ecotypes (Esfahan, Ardestan, Arak, Naein, Yazd, and Ahwaz). The potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) contents were measured and found to be significantly affected by drought stress. Drought stress increased K, Ca and Na contents and decreased Fe, Cu, Zn, and Mg contents of the plants. Various ecotypes of castor plant showed different reactions to drought stress and the Fe concentration varied significantly by the castor plant ecotypes. Interaction between water stress and ecotypes was significant only for Cu and Zn. Understanding the element concentrations under drought stress can be useful for predicting growth and development of castor plants.

In order to evaluate the effect of vermicompost and vermiwash biofertilizers on the traits of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum) plant, a field experiment of a randomized complete block design with 8 treatments and 3 replications was conducted. The treatments consisted of control without fertilizer, vermicompost at 5, 10, and 15 tons per hectare, vermiwash spraying with 3,000, 6,000, and 12,000 ppm, and a combined application of 10 tons of vermicompost with 6,000 ppm vermiwash. In this research, traits of crop growth rate (CGR), pod length, pod width, grain yield, chlorophyll a and b, essential oil percentage, and essential oil yield were evaluated. The results revealed that the use of vermicompost biofertilizer increased the measured quantitative traits more than that of the vermiwash. The most and the least effects on all traits, except for the length of the pod, were 15 and 5 tons vermicompost per hectare, respectively. The treatment of 10 tons of vermicompost with 6,000 ppm vermiwash did not show significant differences in 10 and 15 tons vermicompost per hectare in most traits. It was observed that the application of vermicompost fertilizer leads to weaker results than the vermiwash fertilizer. With the increase of vermiwash concentration, the effect of this fertilizer on the measured traits reduced; however, in most traits, the results of the application of 3,000 and 6,000 ppm vermiwash had a statistically significant effect on the treatment with 5 tons of vermicompost per hectare. Overall, this experiment showed that all the evaluated traits in this study have a positive reaction to the application of vermicompost and vermiwash biofertilizers. Also, the response of the fenugreek plant to the vermicompost is much greater than the vermiwash fertilizer.

The present study assessed the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on broomrape ( Orobanche aegyptiaca Pers.) control to determine its effects on tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum L.) growth indices. This experiment was carried out using a randomized complete block design with four replications. The treatments included three strains of AMF ( Glomus mosseae, Glomus intraradices and Glomuse hoe ) at three levels (100, 200 and 300 kg ha −1 ). The control treatments (without mycorrhiza) were with and without broomrape (weed infest and weed free). The results showed that the use of G. intraradices and G. mosseae decreased broomrape seed germination, the number of nodules and the dry weight of the broomrape and increased root area and dry weight of the tomato plant when compared to G. hoe and the control treatments without broomrape. The tomato yield in G. intraradices 300 kg ha −1 treatment increased by 10 and 205% than weed free and weed infest treatments, respectively. Finally, G. intraradices and G. mosseae at, respectively, 200 and 300 kg ha −1 are recommended for land under tomato cultivation that has been contaminated with broomrape.

In order to investigate the effect of foliar application of organic fertilizer and micronutrients on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of niger plant, a field experiment was conducted in a complete randomized block design with three replications at Shahrekord University Research Farm during the years 2013-2014. Treatments included three levels of humic acid (1, 3, and 6 liters of humic acid per hectare), iron (four parts per million, ppm), zinc (four parts per million, ppm), and control (without humic acid, iron, and zinc). In this experiment, traits of the number of heads per plant, number of seeds per head, 1000 seeds' weight, grain yield, and also oil and protein content were evaluated. The findings showed that foliar application of humic acid, zinc, and iron resulted in a significant increase in all analyzed traits. The most significant plant response was obtained with the use of six liters humic acid per hectare, and the second most significant plant response was seen with the sprayed zinc treatment which was probably due to limited absorption and deficiency of these elements in the tested soil.

Introduction Drought stress is one of the most yield reduction factor of lima bean where effects on the more than 60% of bean world production. In this regard, solutions that help increase productivity with high water efficiency in this region can change the agricultural crop production. One of the solutions is using organic materials (acid humic). Humic acid with linkage of water molecules and folic acid and penetration into plant tissues link to water molecules reduce evaporation and transpiration and finally helps inner plant water. Materials and Methods In order to evaluate the effects of humic acid on yield and yield components of lima bean under water stress conditions, a field experiment was conducted as split plot arrangement in RCBD design with three replications at the Research Station of Shahrekord University in year 1994. Main factors include four treatments of water deficit (irrigation after 50, 70, 90 and 110 mm evaporation from evaporate pan of class A) and sub factor include four levels of humic acid (0, 1, 3, and 6 lit/ha). For this purpose, a semi-deep plowing in the spring then by the two vertical discs were leveling land and finally by furrower created 80 cm row width. Lima bean seeds were prepared by Pars Khomein Company. Seeds were planted in the wet soil. In this way, sterilized seeds were planted in both side of 80 cm width row with 20 cm row plant space in depth of 5 cm at plots area of 3×4 m2. During the plant growth period, the plots were irrigated by furrow irrigation, hand weeding were applied through the experiment. Chemical fertilizers were applied based on the soil test analysis and plant requirements. After achieving the desired density and complete plant establishment, where the plants had two stem nodes, irrigation treatment were applied as cumulative evaporation from class A evaporation pan, and this trend continued until harvest. Humic acid used in the composition of the liquid phase include 12% of humic acid, 3% of folic acid and 3% of potassium oxide. The recommended concentration of humic acid (1, 3, and 6 lit/ha) before flowering was applied two times within two weeks. Plants were harvested when the pods reach 80 to 90% maturity. After harvesting the plants for measurements number of pods per plant, length, width and weight of pods, number of seeds per pod, 100 seeds weight, seed yield and harvest index were transported to the laboratory. Data traits were analyzed by SAS 9, mean comparison of treatments using the least significant difference (LSD) at 5% by MSTAT-C were evaluated. Excel was used to plot the graphs. Results and Discussion The results showed that the humic acid in drought conditions increased yield of pods per plant, 100 seeds weight, grain yield and harvest index was followed. In this experiment, as the width of the seed was not influenced by drought stress and humic acid. Traits of pod weight and seeds number per pod were only affected by drought stress and pod length significantly affected by drought stress and humic acid was used. Drought stress by drying pollen grains, reducing the duration of flowering and young pods loss reduced pod per plant. The current decrease in photosynthesis leads to founder grains shrink and ultimately decreased 100 seeds weight under drought stress. Humic acid appears to increase plant photosynthesis activity as increased enzyme activity of Rubiscoand to improve production of sugar, protein and vitamins in plant and has a positive effect on the various aspects of photosynthesis, seed storage compounds increased. In general, many of the economical yield of a plant, is the result of the growth process that occurs during growth and development. Drought stress can affect performance by influencing these yield processes. The yield was decreased due to stress, so that the performance of the plants in drought stress levels were less than optimum irrigation. Humic acid increased cell membrane permeability, thereby facilitating the entry of potassium, resulting in increased pressure moved into the cell and cell division. On the other hand, increasing energy inside cells leads to the production of chlorophyll and photosynthesis rate. Followed by an important factor in the growth of the nitrogen uptake into cells is developed resonance and finally, the effects of nitrate production decreases, which leads to the increased production. Reduced harvest index in drought stress treatment may be due to reduction of photosynthetic level, reduced photosynthesis remobilization in grain filling stage and more sensitive of vegetative growth compared to vegetative growth to the adverse conditions. Conclusion A total of 6 liters per hectare application of humic acid under drought stress and moderate stress (irrigation after 70 mm evaporation) is recommended. Because under stress condition, caused the highest yield. Therefore, usage of organic materials in arid and semi-arid areas to fight drought stress and in order to deal with drought stress is recommended for sustainable agriculture. Key words: Foliar application, Lima bean, Organic matter, Water deficit

One of the most important needs in farm planning is the evaluation of different systems of plant nutrition. By supplying the correct way of plant nutrition you can preserve the environment and increase efficiency of agricultural inputs. In order to investigate the effect of foliar application of organic fertilizers and micronutrients on some characteristics of neger, a field experiment was conducted in a complete randomized block design with three replications at Agricultural Research Station of Shahrekord University in 2013-2014. Treatments consisted of control, three levels of humic acid (1, 3, and 6 liters/ha of humic acid, iron (4 per thousand), and zinc (4 per thousand). In this experiment traits like plant height, stem diameter, stem branch number, biological yield, seed yield, harvest index, and percent and oil yield were evaluated. The results showed that foliar application of these materials resulted in significant increase in the traits under study. Oil yield increased by 63 and 53 percent with the use of 6 liters humic acid and zinc respectively, as compared to the use of 1 liter per hectare. This may be the outcome of increased in oil yield and protein content. Meanwhile, the highest percentage of protein observed for tratment of 6 liters per hectare. The highest response of traits firstly obtained by use of 6 liters per hectare humic acid and then from spraying plants with the zinc which shows its limited absorption and/or probably the lack of this element in the soil where the experiment was conducted.

•Cadmium contamination have been identified major ecological problems in the agricultural fields of Iran.•Different seed priming were tested for germination quality improvement.•Salicylic acid improved germination properties, and thus antioxidant enzymes.•Application of seed priming can improve tolerance of seedlings to heavy metal stress.

To evaluate the effect of humic acid on some cultural characters of some alfalfa varieties, a field experiment was conducted as factorial split plot based on RCBD design with three replications in 2014. In this experiment, 5 varieties of alfalfa (Yazdi, Hamedani, Baghdadi, Bami and Ranger) and three levels of humic acid (5 and 10 lha-1 and without humic acid, as control) were considered as the first factor and harvest time was as the second factor. Result indicated that except plant height, other characteristics such as dry weight yield, dry weight per plant, root and shoot dry weight per plant, number of leaves and stem diameter were affected by triple interaction effect of harvest time×variety×humic acid. Plant height was affected by double interaction effect of variety×humic acid and also harvest time×variety. Yazdi and Bami had the highest and Ranger had the least values of traits under study in two cuttings, respectively. Also in the between of humic acid treatments, 10 lha-1 treatment produced highest traits measured as compared to control and 5 lha-1 treatment. Bami, Ranger and Yazdi varieties with 10 lha-1of humic acid in two cuttings produced the highest dry weight yield (3.64, 3.55 and 3.26 t.ha-1 respectively) in this experiment.

The purpose of this study was to highlight the use of multispectral imaging in seed quality testing of castor seeds. Visually, 120 seeds were divided into three classes: yellow, grey and black seeds. Thereafter, images at 19 different wavelengths ranging from 375–970 nm were captured of all the seeds. Mean intensity for each single seed was extracted from the images, and a significant difference between the three colour classes was observed, with the best separation in the near-infrared wavelengths. A specified feature (RegionMSI mean) based on normalized canonical discriminant analysis, were employed and viable seeds were distinguished from dead seeds with 92% accuracy. The same model was tested on a validation set of seeds. These seeds were divided into two groups depending on germination ability, 241 were predicted as viable and expected to germinate and 59 were predicted as dead or non-germinated seeds. This validation of the model resulted in 96% correct classification of the seeds. The results illustrate how multispectral imaging technology can be employed for prediction of viable castor seeds, based on seed coat colour.

Nitrogen is one of the major macronutrients in cropping systems. Considering the effect of nitrogen on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of linseed, a field experiment was conducted as factorial arrangement in a randomized complete block design with three replications in the Research Station of Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University in 2012. Five fertilizer treatments of urea, Azomin, Nitroxin, Super NitroPlus and control (without fertilizer) and three ecotypes of Iranian, Canadian and French linseed in this experiment were examined. Harvest index, seed protein and oil contents (%) were evaluated. Meanwhile, the trend of the cumulative crop growth rate (CGR) and fitted regression model was studied. Harvest index was significantly different between ecotypes. Harvest index, seed protein and oil contents showed significant responses to fertilizer treatments. The interaction between ecotypes and fertilizer treatments was significant for harvest index and seed oil content. Non-linear regression model (peak) best fitted on the trend of crop growth rate (CGR) in different ecotypes and different fertilizer treatments. According to result, it seems biological fertilizer of Super NitroPlus, Nitroxin and organic fertilizer of Azomin are capable of being hired in sustainable agriculture as an alternative to chemical fertilizers in linseed cultivation.

The hereby study was based on a factorial experiment conducted in a completely randomized design with four replications, at Agriculture College, Shahrekord University, Iran, in 2014. The role of salicylic acid (SA), potassium nitrate (KNO3) and potassium chloride (KCl) was evaluated on seed germination of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) under different cadmium concentrations. Treatments included four levels of seed priming (no priming, potassium chloride, potassium nitrate, salicylic acid) and four levels of cadmium concentration (0, 10, 20, 30 mg/L). Cadmium chloride caused a significant inhibition in germination percentage, root elongation, shoot elongation and seedling dry weight. The shoot length was more sensitive to cadmium concentrations than the root length. Primed seeds with SA (100 mg/L) proved protection against Cd stress and increased the germination percentage, root elongation, shoot elongation and dry weight of seedlings compared to the control treatment. Seeds treated with SA alleviated the Cd negative effect on germination parameters. In conclusion, using seed priming with salicylic acid can be recommended as a good technique for fenugreek crop on fields exposed to high cadmium toxicity.