Agroecological Analysis of Sugar Beet Ecosystem (Beta vulgaris L.) in Torbat-e Heydarieh

IntroductionDuring the 1950s and 1960s, the green revolution led to a dramatic increase in global food and fodder production to eliminate hunger and boost food security. This production enhancement was accompanied by an intensified agricultural and chemical input consumption and increased cultivated area and mechanization. Although yield per unit area has improved in most crops, concerns about food security for the world's rising population are still significant. Guaranteeing food security in the future will necessitate a shift in management approaches to boost output, agroecosystem sustainability, and stability and reduce the environmental harm caused by agriculture. The first step to achieving sustainability and ecological intensification in agricultural systems is to have a comprehensive agroecological analysis of agricultural systems in each region. Hence, the complete evaluation and analysis of agroecological features according to their type in each region is necessary for establishing an optimal management technique. After analyzing the present state of each region's shared ecosystems, the optimal strategy for boosting production stability must be devised and implemented.Materials and MethodsThe goal of this study was to undertake a detailed investigation of the agroecological state of the sugar beet ecosystems on a local scale. For this purpose, data were collected on the area under cultivation, yield, and input consumption (including nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers and chemical pesticides) from 2001 to 2016. Data was acquired from the Ministry of Agriculture and other related organizations and direct interviews with the farmers. In addition, data on climatic parameters (including daily minimum and maximum temperatures, precipitation, and sunny hours) were collected from the Torbat-e Heydariyeh meteorological station. This study researched the most important agroecological indicators of sugar beet farming systems in the Torbat-e Heydarieh region. Study indicators include variations in sugar beet cultivation area and yield, Potential yield via the methods FAO and FAO modified, beet yield gap, Regional Yield Factor trend, Changes in the intensification, yield stability, nitrogen uptake, and nitrogen utilization, and nitrogen use efficiency.Results and DiscussionAccording to this study results, sugar beet production increased by 59 percent between 2001 and 2016. During the research years, sugar beet ecosystems saw a drop in the cultivation area. Potential yield calculations using both FAO and modified FAO methodologies revealed that potential yield was nearly consistent over the research period in the region.The sugar beet yield gap averaged 35 ton.ha-1 over the research period. According to the findings, the percentage of sugar beet yield gap ranged from 53 to 69 %, with an average of 63 %. The extent of the yield gap decreased over the research period. The study of the regional yield factor (RYF) revealed that improving the management system resulted in higher actual yield and thus a smaller yield gap in sugar beet ecosystems. In sugar beet cultivation systems, the results revealed that by increasing intensification, the stability decreased. In sugar beet cultivation systems, there was a reduction in yield stability. Given that nitrogen consumption efficiency is one of the most important factors influencing the degree of stability in agricultural systems, the findings revealed that the rate of nitrogen uptake efficiency (NUpE), nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUtE), and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) all decreased during the studied years in the region.ConclusionAccording to the findings, the major cause of the increase in nitrogen consumption, growing intensification, and decreasing stability in the analyzed systems appears to be a deficiency of nitrogen use efficiency and its downward trend. As a result, planning and altering management methods focusing on enhancing Nitrogen use efficiency may be proposed as the first step toward boosting sustainability in the Torbat-e Heydarieh sugar beet agroecosystems

The Effects of Seed Pre-priming with Salicylic Acid under Salinity Stress on Germination and Growth Characteristics of Foeniculum vulgare Mill (Fennel)

Abstract Salicylic acid (SA) or orthohydroxybenzoic acid play a major role in regulation of many physiological processes e.g. growth, development, ion absorption and germination of plats. In order to evaluate the effects of prepriming Fennel seed with salicylic acid in salinity stress condition, on germination and growth characteristics of Fennel, an experiment was conducted in a factorial arrangement based on completely randomized design with three replications. The experimental treatments were salicylic acid with 7 levels (0, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 and 4 mM) and salinity with 5 levels (0, 0.3, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 percentage). All salicylic acid and salinity treatments had significant effect on percentage and speed germination, length of radicle and hypocotyle, dry weight of radicle, hypocotyle and seedling and radicle / hypocotyle ratio (R/H). One mM salicylic acid had the highest percentage and speed of germination, length of radicle and hypocotyle and dry weight of radicle, hypocotyle and seedling. The highest radicle/hypocotyle ratio was obtained at 1.5 mM salicylic acid. Four mM salicylic acid didn't have significant effect on all maintained parameters. With no salinity stress (control), salicylic acid didn’t have any significant effect on all parameters, but when there was salinity stress; prepriming increased all studied characteristics significantly. Therefore, based on our results it seems that salinity resistance of Fennel seeds at germination stage will increase by treating seeds with on mM salicylic acid. Keywords: Fennel, Germination, Orthohydroxybenzoic acid, Salinity stres

Anatomy of chewed leaf blade particles of Cenchrus ciliaris and Lolium perenne in relation to digestion

International audienc

Efecto del abonado orgánico y biológico sobre el rendimiento de los frutos y los aceites esenciales del hinojo (Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce)

In order to evaluate the effects of different organic and biological fertilizers on quantity and quality of fennel essentialoil, an experiment was conducted in a completely randomized block design with three replications. The experimentaltreatments included two organic (compost and vermicompost) and two biological (Pseudomonas putida and Azotobacterchroococcum) fertilizers, their all twin combinations (Ps. putida + A. chroococcum, Ps. putida + compost, Ps. putida + vermicompost, A. chroococcum + compost, A. chroococcum + vermicompost and compost + vermicompost) and control (non fertilized). There were significant differences between treatments in terms of seed essential oil percentage, essential oil yield; anethole, fenchone, limonene and stragole content in seed essential oil. Results showed that the highest and the lowest percentages of essential oil were obtained in control (2.9%) and A. chroococcum + vermicompost (2.2%) treatments, respectively. The highest essential oil yield (29.9 L ha–1) and anethole content of essential oil (69.7%) and the lowest contents of fenchone (6.14%), limonene (4.84%) and estragole (2.78%) in essential oil were obtained in compost + vermicompost treatment. It seems that compost + vermicompost treatment compared to other treatments supplied the highest equilibrium of nutrients and water in the root zone of sweet fennel which is led to increasing the anethole content, there upon, decreasing other compounds. Essential oil yield and percentage of anethole content in essential oil were significantly higher in all organic and biological treatments compared with control.Con el fin de evaluar los efectos de diferentes fertilizantes orgánicos y biológicos sobre la cantidad y calidad del aceite esencial de hinojo, se realizó un experimento en un diseño aleatorizado de bloques completos con tres repeticiones. Los tratamientos experimentales incluyeron todas las combinaciones dobles de dos fertilizantes orgánicos ydos biológicos (Pseudomonas putida + Azotobacter chroococcum, Ps. putida + compost, Ps. putida + humus de lombriz, A. chroococcum + compost, A. chroococcum + humus de lombriz, y compost + humus de lombriz) y un control(sin fertilizar). Hubo diferencias significativas entre tratamientos en términos de porcentaje del aceite esencial de las semillas, rendimiento de aceite esencial y contenido en anetol, fenchone, limoneno y estragol en el aceite esencial.Los resultados mostraron que el mayor y el menor porcentaje de aceites esenciales se obtuvieron en los tratamientos control (2,9%) y A. chroococcum + humus de lombriz (2,2%), respectivamente. En el tratamiento compost + humus de lombriz se obtuvo la mayor producción de aceite esencial (29,9 L ha–1) y contenido en anetol (69,7%), así como elmenor contenido de fenchone (6,14%), limoneno (4,84%) y estragol (2,78%). Parece que el tratamiento de compost + humus de lombriz suministró el mayor equilibrio de nutrientes y agua en la zona de la raíz del hinojo en comparación con otros tratamientos, lo que aumenta el contenido de anetol, y por tanto disminuye el de otros compuestos. La producción de aceite esencial y el porcentaje de contenido en anetol en el aceite esencial fue significativamente mayor en todos los tratamientos orgánicos y biológicos que en el control

Energy Efficiency Evaluation and Economical Analysis of Onion(Allium Cepa L.) Production in Khorasan Razavi Province of Iran

Current conventional agricultural systems using intensive energy have to be revitalized through new integrated approaches relying on renewable energy resources, which can allow farmers to stop dependence on fossil resources. The aim of this study was determining the amount of input–output energy used in onion (Allium cepa L.) production in Khorasan Razavi province. For this purpose, the data was collected from 55 onion farm workers in Khorasan Razavi. Inquiries were conducted in face-to-face interviews in April-May 2011. Farm workers were selected based on random sampling method. The results indicated that total energy input was 98479 MJ.ha-1. The share of electricity and nitrogen fertilizer was 50.9 and 14.7%, respectively out of total energy input. The average onion yield under normal conditions was 73227 kg.ha-1 on irrigated farms. The net energy and energy productivity values were estimated to be 18684 MJ.ha-1 and 0.74 kg.MJ-1, respectively, and the ratio of energy output to energy input was found to be 1.19. This indicated an intensive use of input in onion production, which is not parallel to the increase in the final yield. Approximately 77.3% of the total energy input used in onion production was non-renewable (machinery, diesel, fertilizers, chemicals and electricity) and only 22.7% was renewable energy form (human labor, manure, water for irrigation, seeds). Cost analysis revealed that total cost of onion production for one hectare was 79262908 Rials. Benefit–cost ratio was calculated as 1.65. Although energy efficiency of onion production in Khorasan Razavi province is low, it is economically justified