Botanical criteria of Baharkish Rangeland in Quchan, Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran

Rangelands are natural ecosystems containing a range of resources of genetic diversity and numerous plant species and its evaluation has always been essential. However, biodiversity is one of the most important components of habitat assessment and the identification and introduction of the flora of an area is one of the significant operations that can be used in order to optimize the utilization of the available natural resources. Baharkish rangeland is located at a distance of about 60 km south of the city of Quchan. The rangeland’s average elevation is about 2069 m above sea level, with its lowest at 1740 m and highest at 2440 m. Baharkish rangland in over a ten year period had the average annual rainfall of 337 mm and 998.2 mm evaporation as well as average annual temperature of 9.4°C, respectivelly. The results of the research conducted in the spring of 2014, showed that the total study area includes 77 species from 22 families with Poaceae, Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Fabaceae, Apiaceae and Brassicaceae being the dominant families with 18%, 13%, 12%, 9%, 8% and 6% respectively. Classification of life form according to Raunkiaer method showed the dominance of the hemicryptophytes with the greatest abundance 41%, followed by Chamaephytes, Therophytes, Geophytes, Phanerophytes and Cryptophyte with 25%, 23%, 4%, 4% and 3% of species were the dominant life forms of the area. In terms of geographical distribution, the Irano-Turanian plant species with 64% obtained the maximum value.Keywords: Flora, Geographical distribution, Life form, Raunkiae

Pulses Production Systems in Term of Energy Use Efficiency and Economical Analysis in Iran

Energy analysis of agroecosystems seems to be a promising approach to assess environmental problems and their relations to sustainability. The aim of the present study was to compare bean, lentil, irrigated and dryland chickpea farms in terms of energy efficiency, energy productivity, benefit to cost ratio and the amount of renewable energy use. Data were collected from 18 bean, 27 lentil, 24 irrigated chickpea and 46 dryland chickpea growers, using a face-to-face questionnaire during 2010. The results revealed that the total energy requirement were for bean 23666.8 MJ ha-1, for lentil 14114.79 MJ ha-1, for irrigated chickpea 15756.21 MJ ha-1, and for dryland chickpea 2630.12 MJ ha-1. The average energy input consumed in studied crops including direct, indirect, renewable and non-renewable energies in bean, lentil, irrigated chickpea and dryland chickpea farms were 67%, 33%, 30% and 70%, respectively. Energy use efficiency was 1.81 for bean, 1.79 for lentil, 1.21 for irrigated chickpea and 2.78 for dryland chickpea. The benefit to cost ratios in bean, lentil, irrigated chickpea and dryland chickpea farms were 6.18, 6.15, 3.71 and 8.10, respectively. Based on the results of the present study, dryland chickpea was the most efficient in terms of energy. Between studied irrigated crops, bean was the most efficient both in terms of energy and economical benefit. Keywords: Energy Productivity; Net return; Bean; Chickpea; Lentil JEL Classifications: O13; Q1; Q

Research on production of Saffron in Iran: Past trend and future prospects

Saffron has strong ties with the economic, social, environmental and political aspects of agriculture in the country with particular impact on the local communities of the growing area. The role of Iranian farmers in domestication and cultural development of saffron has been clearly demonstrated in the international literature. However, the past scientific achievement of the Iranian scientists on the agronomic attributes of saffron seems to be insufficient with regards to the importance of this crop and the expectation of international scientific bodies. In this review an attempt has been made to look at the past agronomic research status and find a trend for the present and a prospect for the future. On this bases although the history of conventional research in Iran on saffron goes back to seven decades ago a dormant period of almost 40 years up to the 1960s is evidenced. Basically in the 60s the pioneer researchers from Khorasan founded the conventional research on basic agronomic aspects and in the later stages with establishment of organization such as Organization for Scientific and Industrial Research (Khorasan branch) and expansion of graduate studies in the universities, research activities was progressed. These activities gained a momentum in the last two decades particularly in recent years due to establishment of different public and private organizations associated with saffron such as National Saffron Council, permanent secretariat for saffron festival, organizing various seminars and conferences, establishment of research group for saffron in a University, establishment of saffron focal point for science and industry, establishment of saffron institute and publication of two specialized scientific Journal on saffron. Based on these achievements it is hoped to enhance the conventional research topics and shift them towards a holistic and comprehensive approaches for novel research on the subjects such as production under controlled environment, evaluation of yield gaps, growth and development modeling, crop physiology and ecology and impacts of climate change on saffron expansion area etc. This could be fulfilled by transferring the findings to the fields and presenting the results to the world scientific societies by publishing in international Journals

Some reasons for saffron yield loss over the last 30 years period (Review Article)

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is a perennial plant which grows basically in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran. Despite saffron’s adaptation to these regions, the assessment of changes in cultivation area over the last 30 years reveals that cultivation of this crop has sharply increased. According to the available statistics, there are 21 provinces where saffron is cultivated on about 84,000 hectares of land. Nonetheless, saffron yield per unit area has aggressively fallen from 5.1 kg ha-1 in 1982 to 3.2 kg ha-1 in 2015. Saffron yield loss can be caused by several factors, such as mismanagement in agriculture section, economics and post-harvest processing as well as the recent droughts. Lack of attention to these factors could lead to further decline in saffron yield in the future. The saffron yield loss over the last 30 years is an alert for saffron-related institutions such as the universities, research centers and Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO) to pay more attention to this crop and prepare more comprehensive programs. In developing these programs, the importance of government policies for planning and approving enough budget is to be highlighted. In this review, first we focus on the reasons for saffron yield loss during the last 30 years and then we try to provide some solutions in relation to these reasons

Effects of Different Water Supply and Corm Planting Density on Crocin, Picrocrocin and Safranal, Nitrogen Uptake and Water Use Efficiency of Saffron Grown in Semi-Arid Region

Saffron’s color, taste and odor result from the chemicals crocin, picrocrocin and safranal, respectively. Hence, in addition to quantitative yield, secondary metabolites content are known as crucial factors for a successful saffron production. Moreover, enhancing resources efficiency, especially water and nitrogen, is becoming increasingly important for agricultural improvement in arid and semi-arid regions. Thus, the effects of irrigation levels and corm planting on crocin, picrocrocin and safranal content, water use efficiency (WUE) as well as nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of saffron were investigated as a two-year field experiment based on a randomized complete block design arranged in split-plot with three replicates. The irrigation levels (100, 75 and 50% of saffron water requirement) and corm planting pattern (50, 100, 200 and 300 corms m-2) were allocated to main and sub-plots, respectively. Based on the results, crocin and picrocrocin content increased with decreasing irrigation levels. The highest WUES (WUE based on dry stigma yield) was obtained when 50% of saffron water requirement was supplied. However, the lowest WUEC (WUE based on daughter corms yield) and NUEC (NUE based on daughter corms yield) were obtained when 50% of saffron water requirement was applied. Irrespective of irrigation levels, WUES, WUEC and NUEC increased with increasing the planting density. The results demonstrated that although relatively severe water stress increases WUES and secondary metabolites in saffron stigmas, it could decrease WUEC and NUEC through affecting daughter corm growth

A Comprehensive Look at Nitrogen and Phosphorus Use Efficiency in Saffron (Crocus Sativus L.)

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is an annual plant from a biological aspect, but it has a perennial cycle in the field conditions. Cytological impairments such as triploid and self-incompatibility mechanisms are considered as the most important reasons for male-sterility in saffron. Therefore, saffron reproduction is made by meristems tissues and establishment of new daughter corms which are produced by the mother corms. During the growing season, mother corms deteriorate gradually with increasing daughter corms growth. Each daughter corm is considered as a mother corm for replanting in the next growing season. Duo to the life cycle of saffron as a perennial plant in the field conditions, the gradual deterioration of mother corms during the growing season and also the remobilization of nitrogen and phosphorus from aerial part to daughter corms at the end of each growing season, the study of acquisition and use efficiency of nitrogen and phosphorus in saffron is more complicated than other annual or biannual plants. Firstly, the objective of this review article is to describe the nitrogen and phosphorus concentration in aerial parts and daughter corms in saffron. In addition, relevant literature related to the most important strategies for improving nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency is reviewed. Secondly, the relationship between nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency in saffron is discussed

Effects of Corm Size, Organic Fertilizers, Fe-EDTA and Zn-EDTA Foliar Application on Nitrogen and Phosphorus Uptake of Saffron (<i>Crocus sativus</i> L.) in a Calcareous Soil under Greenhouse Conditions

A greenhouse research experiment was conducted. The experiment was arranged in factorial layout based on a completely randomized design. The mother corm size (0.1-4 g, 4.1-8 g and 8-12 g), organic fertilizers (cattle manure 15 t ha-1, vermicompost 10 t ha-1,chamomilecompost 10 t ha-1 and control) and micronutrients (Fe-EDTA and Zn-EDTA) in two levels (foliar application and no application) were assigned as the first, second and third experimental factors, respectively. Based on the results, with increasing mother corm size, formation of small corms (0.1-4 g) decreased, whereas the percentage of medium (4.1-8 g) or large size (more than 8 g) corms increased. The highest corm yield was observed when cattle manure was applied. Moreover, foliar application increased daughter corm yield in medium and larger size corms. Phosphorus and nitrogen concentration in daughter corms increased with increasing the size of mother corms. Organic fertilizers significantly increased phosphorus and nitrogen concentration in all size of corms: phosphorus content in large daughter corms increased five times on account of cattle manure application. Proper nutrient management during the first year of saffron propagation could improve corm number than rather corm weight

Effect of Biofertilizers on Agronomic Criteria of Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis)

An experiment was conducted under field conditions to evaluate the effects of pure or combinations of biofertilizers on agronomic and quality criteria of Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis), a medicinal and aromatic plant from Labiateae family at the Research Station of the Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, during 2006 and 2007. A complete randomized block design with three replications was used. Treatments containing Azospirillum/Azotobacter(Nitroxin), Azospirillum/Bacillus subtilis/ Pseudomonas fluorescens (Super Nitro Plus), Glomus intraradices (Mycorrhizal inoculant), Pseudomonas fluorescens, Glomus intraradices / Pseudomonas fluorescens, Azospirillum/ Azotobacter/ Glomus intradica / Pseudomonas fluorescens and a control. The results indicated that in general application of biofertilizers enhanced yield and other plant criteria in this plant. In terms of all plant criteria, the plants performed better with application of Super Nitro Plus and a mixture of Glomus intraradices and Pseudomonas fluorescens

Meta-analysis of Saffron (.Crocus sativus L) Agronomical Researches, with an Emphasis on the Consumption of Organic Fertilizers and Agronomical Practices in Iran

Studies that investigated the impact of organic fertilizers (manure, compost and biological fertilizers) and agronomical practices (density, method, date and depth of planting) on saffron yield have a long history in Iran. Due to the distribution and inconsistency in the results obtained from different studies, a meta-analytic approach was used in the current study. for this aim, 47 organic fertilizers studies and 44 agronomical practices studies were selected from 202 gathered studies and analyzed. The criteria for the selection of studies were the adequacy of data for the present meta-analysis. Among the individual fertilizer studies, manure fertilizer had the highest impact on saffron dry weight (g= 1.493) at 95% confidence interval. Average amount, 40 to 50ton/ha of cow manure, 20 to 30ton/ha of compost that is used as a combination with Biofertilizer (Nitroxin with Nitrogen-fixing bacteria) were more effective than higher amounts of these fertilizers will be alone. Among the agronomical practices studies, plant density had the highest and depth of planting had the lowest effect size on economical yield and number of flower. The optimal density for maximum yield was 50-100 corm per (m2), optimal consumed weight average 9-12 ton per hectare observed, optimal weight of any corm was 10-20 (g). Among planting methods, row-mass method was the best optimal (inter-planting was 20 cm and intra-planting 10 cm). The best planting dates was the end of May and the first decade of Jun. Optimal planting depth was 15-20cm. Homogeneity between organic fertilizers studies was accepted and the homogeneity between agronomical practices except depth of planting studies was accepted. This heterogeneity was caused by factors such as age of farms and different regions that had the most impact on heterogeneity and effect size. The present meta-analysis aims to provide a better understanding of agronomical and fertilizers management and offer the best possible management for this crop