Pomology
A. Heydari; S. Daghighi; F. Azarmi-Atajan
Abstract
Introduction Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) is an important crop in Iran our country and has a unique position in export goods. The amount of pistachio production in Iran has decreased by 50% compared to 2017. The low yield of pistachios per unit area is due to the management problems of orchards, ...
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Introduction Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) is an important crop in Iran our country and has a unique position in export goods. The amount of pistachio production in Iran has decreased by 50% compared to 2017. The low yield of pistachios per unit area is due to the management problems of orchards, and among these, nutrition and fertilizer management is of special importance. Among the nutrients that are important in pistachio nutrition, especially when the brain is full, are nitrogen and potassium. Humic acid can also improve physical, chemical and biological soil properties and stimulate growth via its effects on plant metabolism.The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of application of some nitrogen fertilizers with different levels of potassium sulfate and humic acid on growth, yield and photosynthetic pigments of pistachio Badami Sefid-e-Mahvalat variety. Materials and Methods This research was conducted as a factorial experiment based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at the Mahvalat during 2019-2020. The first factor consisted of nitrogen fertilizers at 4 levels (control, urea, ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate). The second factor was potassium sulfate fertilizer at 2 levels of zero and 250 g per tree and the third factor was humic acid fertilizer at 2 levels of zero and 45 g per tree which as a manure pits after the formation of the cluster and at the same time with the growth of the bony shell in the shade of the tree where the capillary roots are active. At the end of the experiment, morphophysiological traits were measured and recorded. In each tree, three branches were selected in different directions and the length of the current branch was measured in meters using centimeters. The diameter of the middle of the branch was measured with a caliper. From the collected clusters, 100 fruits were randomly selected, and the number of indehiscence fruits and the number of blank fruits were counted and finally expressed as a percentage. Measurements of chlorophyll a and b, total chlorophyll and carotenoids were determined using Arnon method. The experimental data was analyzed by SAS software and the significant differences among the treatment were tested by LSD test. Results and DiscussionThe results of analysis of variance of data in two years of experiment showed that experimental treatments had a significant effect on pistachio growth and yield. The results of the first year showed that the combined treatment of urea and 250 g of potassium sulfate and 45 g of humic acid had the highest diameter and branch length, indehiscence percentage, chlorophyll a, b and total and the lowest pistachio blank percentage. The highest yield in the first year was obtained from the combined use of ammonium sulfate, 250 g of potassium sulfate and 45 g of humic acid. Combined application of ammonium nitrate and 250 g of potassium sulfate and 45 g of humic acid resulted in the highest diameter and branch length in the second year of the experiment. The highest indehiscence percentage and carotenoids and the lowest amount of pistachio blank percentage in the second year were obtained from the combined treatment of ammonium sulfate, 250 g of potassium sulfate and 45 g of humic acid. Most chlorophyll a, b and total were obtained from combined consumption of urea, 250 g of potassium sulfate and 45 g of humic acid. The highest yield of the second year was obtained due to urea consumption, 250 g of potassium sulfate and 45 g of humic acid. Nitrogen is a component of amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids and enzymes and plays a major role in plant physiology, vegetative growth, chlorophyll formation and fruit and fruit production. Potassium is also one of the elements required by the plant that plays an important role in photosynthesis and transport of carbohydrates. The organic acids in humic acid cause the chelating of many nutrients and increase their availability to the plant. By using these substances and its positive and stimulating effects on plant growth and increasing root growth and its absorption power, nutrient uptake, yield is increased.
M. Mehran; H. Hosseini; H. Akbari; A. Hatami; A. Safaei
Abstract
Introduction: One of the important factors in the succeeding the medicinal plant cultivation is the use of appropriate fertilizers. Plants grown with appropriate fertilizers have more secondary metabolites than those that grown in the usual system. On the other hand, there is increasing concern about ...
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Introduction: One of the important factors in the succeeding the medicinal plant cultivation is the use of appropriate fertilizers. Plants grown with appropriate fertilizers have more secondary metabolites than those that grown in the usual system. On the other hand, there is increasing concern about soil interrelated environmental problems such as desertification, soil degradation, loss of fertility and erosion. So, the use of suitable fertilizer for plant growth is very important. Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) oil is widely used as a floral substitute of the rose scent, due to its smell very similar to rose, being therefore one of the most valuable natural materials for the cosmetic and perfumery industries. Geranium oil is obtained from steam distillation of the flowers or green foliage of Pelargonium graveolens or some of its hybrids. Geranium oil is sometimes listed on the label of supplements promoted for athletic performance, weight loss, and body building. Sometimes it is used for nerve pain (neuropathy), depression, diarrhea and various skin conditions or to help with healing. Also, geranium oil is likely safe when taken by mouth in food amounts. Analyses of phytochemical profile of geranium oil included the major constituents such as citronellol, citronellyl formate, geraniol and isomenthone. The aim of this study was to evaluate the compounds of geranium essential oil in treatment of three types of fertilizers including organic, chemical and compost fertilizer. Materials and Methods: In order to investigate the effects of organic, chemical and compost fertilizers on chemical composition of essential oil of geranium, an experiment was conducted at Barij research farm, Kashan, Iran, in 2015 as factorial layout based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. Treatments included; organic fertilizer at one level (3 tons/ha), chemical fertilizer as urea at two levels (75 and 100 kg/ha), compost fertilizer as plant debris at two levels (15 and 20 tons/ha) and control (no fertilizer). The aerial parts of the treated geranium were collected during stage of flowering in October, and their essential oils were obtained from Clevenger apparatus, and after dehydration were analyzed by GC device. The GC analysis was carried out using Varian 3800 GC, equipped with a CP-Sil 8 fused silica capillary column (60 m × 0.32 mm i.d., 0.25 µm f.t.); carrier gas, Helium; flow rate 1.0 ml/min; split ratio, 1:50 and using a flame ionization detector. The column temperature was programmed at 50 °C heated to 250 °C at a rate of 3.0 °C/min, then kept constant at 250 °C for 20 min; injector temperature, 230 °C; detector temperature, 250 °C. Also, plant height, number of branches per plant, average fresh weight of the plant, maximum fresh weight of the plant and plant yield were measured. Data analysis was done by SPSS Statistic 17.0. Results and Discussion: The results showed that treatment with different fertilizers had no significant effect on essential oil percentage. In the cultivation of aromatic herbs, despite the percentage of essential oil, the type and composition of the essential chemical composition is also important. So, the chemical compounds of essential oils obtained from different treatments were studied. Citronellol (44.5%-56.6%), citronellyl formate (12.2%-18.3%), geraniol (2.2%-7.6%), and isomenthone (1.9%-6.1%) were found as four major components in essential oil of geranium. However, it’s found that the amount of citronellol (51.94%) reach to the highest level in the essential oil obtained from germanium treated with compost fertilizer at level of 15 tons/ha. However, other treatments had no significant effect on other compounds of essential oil. Several studies indicate that the use of compost on land may soil parameters and improve several plant and which would make compost an interesting option for soil restoration purposes, as well as take advantage of its fertilizer properties. Other potential benefits of compost application are enhanced nutrient availability for plants, improved biological activity, and the suppression of soil borne diseases. Moreover, many authors have reported higher yields with compost application and better quality of the harvested crops. Also, no significant differences among geranium for plant height, number of branches per plant, average fresh weight of the plant, maximum fresh weight of the plant and plant percentage were observed. Conclusion: The results point to the beneficial effects of a compost fertilizer at level of 15 tons/ha as alternative nutrition systems on the growth characteristics. So, in addition to reducing costs, can be achieved high quality essential oil.
Homa Azizi; Parviz Rezvani Moghaddam; Mahdi Parsa; Reza Khorasani; Mahmood Shoor
Abstract
Introduction: Meadow saffron (Colchicum) is a non-domesticated medicinal plant, rich in isoquinoline alkaloids. These alkaloids are used in medicines mainly for their anti-gout and myorelaxant properties. Meadow saffron has an unusual biology that does not favor cultivation. Flowers of Meadow saffron ...
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Introduction: Meadow saffron (Colchicum) is a non-domesticated medicinal plant, rich in isoquinoline alkaloids. These alkaloids are used in medicines mainly for their anti-gout and myorelaxant properties. Meadow saffron has an unusual biology that does not favor cultivation. Flowers of Meadow saffron appear in September and fruits mature in June. The corms enter dormancy phase in winter (January to March) and after fruiting in summer (June to September). Each year, a mother corm produces one daughter corm, or sometimes two daughter corms. The uptake of mineral element in plant is a complex process that governed by numerous factors influencing each other. nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium application can significantly increase the yield and improve the quality of plants. Meadow saffron need more consider in fertilization managements in comparison with other crops because it has shallow roots than other crops and exposes to more problems in uptake of immobile nutrients in the soil. The object of this study was to determine the effect of different fertilizers and mother corm weight on yield characters of Colchicum kotschyi Boiss.
Materials and Methods: This experiment was conducted as factorial layout based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at Research Station, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, in two years, 2012- 2013 and 2013-2014. The Corms of Colchicum kotschyi Boiss. were harvested from natural site of Binalood Mountains during their summer dormancy. The mother corm weight was considered as a factor in the experiment, because of the variation between the collected corms. In order to evaluate fertilizers effect, soil analysis was conducted. So, the experimental factors were: mother corm weight (less than 40 g and more than 40 g), cow manure (0 and 50 t.ha-1), urea (0 and 50 kg.ha-1) and superphosphate (0 and 25 kg.ha-1). Before planting, cow manure and superphosphate were well mixed with soil and urea was added to soil during emergence of leaves. Planting date was 28th August 2012. Planting depth was 12-15 cm and the space between plants was 25 cm. During flowering, flower number was recorded. Plants were harvested when the color of leaves and capsules were changed from yellow to brown, and characteristics such as corm yield, seed yield, biological yield, 1000-seed weight, capsule number, capsule dry weight, seed number, seed dry weight, corm and seed HI were measured. Data analysis was done by SAS Ver. 9. Mean comparisons were done by LSD test at 5% probability.
Results and Discussion: At the first year of experiment, most of transplanted corms did not flower due to transplanting. Therefore, just the results of the second year were presented here. The results showed that mother corm weight had significant effect on the yield (p≤0.05). The weight of daughter corms was increased by increasing mother corm weight, because of more supply of nutrients. The weight of the corm is basically determined by the amount of total food stored in the corm by the plant through the process of photosynthesis. The initial plant growth and its vigor are determined by the amount of food supplied to the growing plant by the corm. The results showed that seed yield characters were affected by the cultivated corm weight. The most flowers per area unit, capsule number per plant, seed number and dry weight per plant were belonged to heavier cultivated corms. The effect of corm weight on corm HI was not significant (p≤0.05), but smaller corms had more seed HI than bigger corms (p≤0.05). The effect of cow manure on most characters was significant (p≤0.05). Corm yield and corm HI increased in cow manure treatment in comparison with control. Organic fertilizers cause improvement of soil structure, better development of roots, regulation of soil temperature and useful microorganisms, supply of nutrients for plant and supports plant in nutrient absorption. Capsule number, capsule dry weight and seed number per plant were not influenced by cow manure. The number of capsules per plant and the number of seeds per capsule were determined during fertilization. The only parameter that can vary during capsule development was the thousand-seed weight. The results showed that seed dry weight per plant, 1000-seed weight, seed yield and seed HI were decreased in cow manure treatment in comparison with control. It seems that cow manure has more effect on vegetative growth and decrease proportion of seed compared to corm in whole plant weight. Meanwhile, the competition between corm and seed for photosynthetic materials may decrease seed dry weight. The effect of superphosphate was significant on some studied characters. Superphosphate utilization was increased corm yield and biological yield compared to control. Many researchers reported that phosphorus that was effective in leaf photosynthesis and carbon metabolism in plants. Phosphorus increased seed dry weight per plant, seed yield and 1000-seed weight. Phosphorus is a very important nutrient in plant nutrition and is more effective in the formation of flower, fruit and seed. Many researches have shown that phosphorus promote reproductive growth.
Conclusion: The results showed that colchicum could have a good response to treatments especially cow manure and superphosphate. It seems that more levels of fertilizers especially urea could improve quantitative and qualitative yield of plant.
Farima Doaei; Parviz Rezvani Moghaddam; Reza Ghorbani; Ahmad Balandary
Abstract
Introduction: In order to response to greater demand for wild medicinal plants consumption, it has been recommended that wild medicinal plants can be brought into cultivation systems. Cichorium pumilum Jacq. is an annual species of Asteraceae family, that has a long history of herbal use and is especially ...
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Introduction: In order to response to greater demand for wild medicinal plants consumption, it has been recommended that wild medicinal plants can be brought into cultivation systems. Cichorium pumilum Jacq. is an annual species of Asteraceae family, that has a long history of herbal use and is especially of great value for its tonic effects upon the liver and digestive tract. The root and the leaves of chicory are digestive, hypoglycemic, diuretic, laxative and tonic. Using chemical fertilizers can be easily lost from soils through fixation, leaching or gas emission that can lead to reduced fertilizer efficiency. The applications of organic fertilizers such as compost and vermicompost can be considered as a good management practice to increase cropping system sustainability, reducing soil erosion and improving soil physical, chemical and biological properties. Soil microorganisms have a significant role in regulating the dynamics of organic matter breakdown and the availability of plant nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphate and sulfur.
Materials and Methods: For evaluating the effects of organic, mineral and biological fertilizers on seed yield and yield components of dwarf chicory (Cichorium pumilum Jacq.), a field experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Research Station, the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (36016/ N, 59036/ E, elevation 985 m) during growing season of 2011-2012. The experimental layout was factorial based on randomized complete block design with four replications. The experimental treatments were all combination of organic and chemical fertilizers (compost 4 t/ha, vermicompost 4 t/ha, urea fertilizer 130 kg/ha and control) and biological fertilizer (biosulfur biofertilizer + pure sulfur 100 kg/ ha and control). Before conducting the experiment, soil sample were taken from the depth of 0-30 cm, and physical and chemical characteristics of the soil and also used compost and vermicompost were determined. All fertilizer treatments were added to the soil and mixed well with the soil before sowing. In order to avoid leaching, all urea fertilizer was divided to two parts and these were used in two dates during the growth period. Cichorium pumilum Jacq seeds were hand sown in 2.5 ×4 m plots in five rows and with plant density 20 plants m−2. Before harvesting the grain, five plants were randomly selected in each plot from 2500 cm2 (50×50cm) and their characteristics and traits such as plant height, number of tiller per plant, number of branch per plant, number of inflorescence per plant, number of seed per inflorescence, number of seed per plant and seed weight were determined. For statistical analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Duncan multiple range test at 0.05 level were performed using SAS version 9.1 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA).
Results and Discussion: The Results indicated that studied factors and their interactions had not significant effect on morphological traits (plant height, number of tiller per plant, number of branch per plant) and on yield components of seed such as: number of seed per inflorescence, 1000-seed weight, seed weight per plant, seed yield and harvest index (HI). The results showed that organic and chemical fertilizers had significant effect on number of inflorescence per plant, number of seed per plant, biological yield (p< 0.05).The highest number of inflorescence per plant, number of seed per plant and seed weight per plant were observed in chemical fertilizer + biosulfur biofertilizer treatment. The highest seed yield (1489 kg.ha-1) obtained from compost + biosulfur biofertilizer treatment. Chemical fertilizer + biosulfur biofertilizer treatment (7576 kg.ha-1) produced the highest biological yield. It seems that because of high solubility of chemical fertilizer, nutrients are immediately available to the plants therefore, plants can use nutrients of chemical fertilizer faster than other fertilizers. Biofertilizer and organic fertilizer can improve soil properties and also through nutrient supply, improves plant growth.
Conclusion: In this study, it seems that the morphological traits (plant height, number of tiller and number of branches per plant) and yield components such as the number of seeds per inflorescence and seed weight were influenced by genetic characteristics and fertilizer treatments had little effect on mentioned traits and the plant was able with nutrient available in soil, overcome its needs. Overall in this study, results showed that the use of compost combination with biosulfur biofertilizer had positive effect on studied traits of dwarf chicory and use of them can be an effective step towards sustainable production and replacement use of chemical fertilizers.
S. Shahsavani; M. Mahmmodi; S. Garangic; S. Gran Malik
Abstract
Introduction: Citrus are one of the important orchard fruit production that after banana is second in production at the world level and every year, Chemical fertilizers having most important role in increasing crops productions, but in long application of fertilizers cause soil destructions and polluting ...
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Introduction: Citrus are one of the important orchard fruit production that after banana is second in production at the world level and every year, Chemical fertilizers having most important role in increasing crops productions, but in long application of fertilizers cause soil destructions and polluting underground water. Also soils of dry regions are very poor in organic matter level. Nowadays in most countries, climatically condition and poor management cause poor organic matter content of soils. In Iran more than 60 percent of cultivated lands having less than 0.5 up to 1 percent organic matter. This may be due to intensive cultivation and poor managements For this reason if we have combine applications of manure and chemical fertilizers, the results would be much better. The aim of this research was to evaluate suitable ratio of manure and chemical fertilizer in order to reduce the chemical fertilizer use in citrus orchard in north of Iran.
Materials and Methods: This experiment was conducted in one of the orchard at Sari district with low organic C. This research carried out on five years old citrus threes. This experiment carried out as factorial experiment on the base of complete randomized block design with 9 treatments and three replications. Treatments included three manure levels (0, 6 and 12 kg per tree) and three levels of macro fertilizer including potassium sulphate, ammonium sulphate and super phosphate triple (o, 30 and 60 percent on the bases of soil test). Total treatment were 27 plots, (each plots were includes two threes).all treatments were applied at March. All analysis was done with standard methods. This experiment was done as factorial on the bases of complete randomized block design with 9 treatments and three replications. The treatments were as follows:
T1: Zero percent chemical fertilizer and zero kg manure
T2: 30 percent chemical fertilizer (potassium sulphate 50 kgha-1, ammonium sulphate 30 kg ha-1 and super phosphate triple 45 kg ha-1) and zero kg manure.
T3: 60 percent chemical fertilizer (potassium sulphate 100 kgha-1, ammonium sulphate 60 kg ha-1 and super phosphate triple 90 kg ha-1) and zero kg manure.
T4: Zero percent chemical fertilizer and 6 kg manure
T5: 30 percent chemical fertilizer (potassium sulphate 50 kgha-1, ammonium sulphate 30 kg ha-1 and super phosphate triple 45 kg ha-1) and 6 kg manure.
T6: 60 percent chemical fertilizer (potassium sulphate 100 kgha-1, ammonium sulphate 60 kg ha-1 and super phosphate triple 90 kg ha-1) and 6 kg manure.
T7: Zero percent chemical fertilizer and 12 kg manure
T8: 30 percent chemical fertilizer (potassium sulphate 50 kgha-1, ammonium sulphate 30 kg ha-1 and super phosphate triple 45 kg ha-1) and 12 kg manure.
T9: 60 percent chemical fertilizer (potassium sulphate 100 kgha-1, ammonium sulphate 60 kg ha-1 and super phosphate triple 90 kg ha-1) and 12 kg manure.
All data analysis was done with MSTATC software and mean data comparison done with Duncan test levels at 1 or 5 percent levels.
Results and Discussion: The results of analysis of variance showed that simple effect of manure and fertilizers and their interactions had no significant effect on TSS, but simple effect of fertilizer and their interactions between them had significant effect. The simple effect of chemical fertilizer and its interaction with manure were significant at 1 percent level on titration able pH of fruit juice and the simple effect of manure effect on fruit juice pH were significant at 5 percent level. The simple chemical fertilizer effect on C vitamin was not significant but simple effect of manure and its interaction effect with chemical fertilizer were significant at 5 percent level. The analysis of variance showed that simple effect of chemical fertilizer on fruit juice potassium were not significant, but simple effect of manure and its interaction with chemical fertilizer were significant at 5 percent level. Analysis of variance showed that simple effect of manure and fertilizer on the fruit juice calcium was significant at 1 percent level but their interactions were significant at 5 percent level. Simple effect of manure and fertilizer and their interactions on the fruit magnesium, iron manganese, zinc and copper were significant at 1 percent level. Analysis of variance showed that simple effect of manure and fertilizer and their interactions on the fruit juice magnesium, manganese, iron and copper was significant at 1 percent level, but simple effect of manure on fruit juice zinc were significant at 5 percent level.
Conclusion: In this study the treatment with combined application of 30 percent and 12 kg manure had highest Ca, Mg , Fe, Mn and zinc concentration in fruit, also combined application of 60 percent fertilizer and 12 kg manure had effect on pH and potassium of fruit juice.
P. Rezvani Moghaddam; A.A. Mohammad Abadi; H. R. Falahi; M. Aghhavani Shajari
Abstract
In order to understand the effects of different organic and chemical fertilizer on stigma yield, corm characterstics and leaf dry matter yield (as a forage) of saffron (Crocus sativus L.), an experiment was conducted in the Research Station of Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, ...
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In order to understand the effects of different organic and chemical fertilizer on stigma yield, corm characterstics and leaf dry matter yield (as a forage) of saffron (Crocus sativus L.), an experiment was conducted in the Research Station of Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, in 2005-2009; as a Randomized Complete Block Design with 12 treatments and three replications. Experimental treatments included of: different levels of chemical fertilizers (250 kg Triple Superphosphate + 50 kg Urea/ha; 250 kg Triple Superphosphate +100 kg Urea/ha; 250 kg Triple Superphosphate + 300 kg Urea/ha), cow manure (20, 40 and 60 t/ha), sheep manure (20, 30 and 40 t/ha) and hen manure (5, 10 and 15 t/ha). Results showed that the highest fresh flower (315 kg/ha) and dry stigma yield (3.8 kg/ha) were obtained from chemical fertilizer (300-250 kg/ha Urea- Triple Superphosphate) and the highest dry forage yield (3410 kg/ha) and the highest mother and replacement corm per clump were obtained in sheep manure (40 t/ha). However, the highest corm weight per clump (119 g), average corm diameter (1.6 cm) and average number of bud per corm (6.5) were observed in 300 kg/ha Urea, the maximum average weight of corm (2.4 g) and total number of bud per clump (410) were obtained in 100 kg/ha Urea and 30 t/ha sheep manure, respectively. Most of growth indices and yield of saffron were improved by increasing in levels of sheep manure and chemical fertilizer but most of that charachteristics had a decreasing trend by increasing in levels of cow and hen manure. Generally, the highest amounts of most studied indices were obtained in chemical fertilizer and sheep manure and the lowest amounts of those studied indices were observed in hen manure.
