Core Ideas Deficit irrigation conditions decreased safflower seed and oil yield.Safflower cultivars demonstrated different reactions drought stress.Sina and Faraman cultivars had higher seed oil content across all irrigation treatments.Highest oil yield across all irrigation treatments was produced by Sina cultivarHarvest time deferment was associated with increased oil oxidation in all cultivars. Drought stress significantly declines crop yield. Efficient soil moisture management and its consequent effects on metabolic changes which happen in response to drought stress are important in dry regions agriculture. This research was performed to evaluate yield, yield components, and oil accumulation in safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) cultivars seed in response to water deficit conditions. A field experiment was conducted at the Research Farm of the College of Agriculture, Tabriz University during two growing seasons of 2014 and 2015. The treatments were arranged as split plots based on randomized complete block design with three replicates. Irrigation treatments (irrigation after 70, 100, 130, and 160 mm evaporation from class A pan) were assigned to the main plots and spring safflower cultivars (Faraman, Goldasht, Sina, and Soffeh) were allocated to the subplots. Safflower seeds were harvested in 5‐d intervals at seven stages during development and maturity period. The result showed that Sina cultivar had the highest seed yield per unit area. Maximum oil percentage of safflower seeds was obtained at 1 to 12 d after plant physiological maturity. Water stress caused seed oil percentage decline across all cultivars. Sina and Faraman cultivars had higher oil percentage across all irrigation treatments. The highest oil and seed yield per unit area under both full and limited irrigation conditions was produced by Sina cultivar. Drought stress decreased seed yield, yield components, and oil content across all safflower cultivars, however, the extent of the damage was limited due to cultivar genetic characteristics and ecological origin.

To study the effect of Rhizobium inoculation treatments (inoculation with strains number 133, 116 & their integrated application) and chemical nitrogen fertilizer application (based on soil analysis in form of Urea) on chlorophyll content and protein percentage of three common bean cultivars (viz. Bahman, Darkhshan and Sayyad) a field experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research Farm of College of Agriculture, University of Tehran (Karaj, Iran) during 2010 and 2011 growing seasons. The treatments arranged as factorial based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. The characteristics such as seed and leaf protein percentage, total chlorophyll content at flowering and podding stage were measured. The highest seed protein percentage of 28.02 was produced by Sayyad cv. when inoculated by rhizobium strain 116. The Darakhsan cv. treated with rhizobium strain 116 produced the highest leaf protein (27.67%) as compared to other fertilizing treatments. The highest total chlorophyll content (1.3 mg/gr) was measured in plants inoculated by Rhizobium strain 116. In response to an interaction effect, Drakhshan cultivar produced the highest total chlorophyll content (1.56 mg/gr) when treated by chemical nitrogen fertilizer. This could be explained by better access and easier nitrogen absorption in chemical nitrogen fertilizer treatment. The better vegetative growth in plants inoculated by rhizobium strains because of better access to nitrogen sources could stimulate other growth characteristics like total chlorophyll content in leaves. The results of this experiment suggest that application of rhizobium strains have the best effect on chlorophyll content and seed percentage.

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The melon aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hem., Aphididae), is one of the most important pests of cucumber throughout the world. This aphid has a short generation time and high fecundity that result in an enormous reproductive potential, especially in cucumber‐growing greenhouses. Vermicomposts, which are produced by exploiting interactions between earthworms and microorganisms, may enhance plant growth and plant resistance against some pests and disease. In this study, the effects of vermicompost and cucumber cultivar (Cucumis sativus L.) on infestation levels with A. gossypii were evaluated. We conducted a factorial experiment with two cucumber cultivars (Royal and Storm) and five concentrations of vermicompost in the soil, including 0% (control), 10%, 20%, 30% and 50%, employing a randomized complete block design with four replicates. The experiment was conducted in a growth chamber at 25 ± 2°C, 65 ± 10% RH and a photoperiod of 14 L: 10 D h. The number of aphids was counted 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18 and 21 days after infestation of cucumber seedlings by aphids. We found that in all vermicompost‐amended treatments, aphid numbers were lower than when plants were grown in soil without any vermicompost. The highest and lowest aphid counts occurred in the control treatment on cucumbers of the Royal cultivar and in the 30% and 50% vermicompost treatments on the storm cultivar, respectively. Overall, our study showed that the application of vermicompost has a high potential for reducing A. gossypii populations in cucumber cultures.

This research was conducted in 2013 to investigate changes in some physiological traits of spring safflower cultivars (C1; Faraman, C2; Goldasht; C3; Sina and C4; Soffeh) under different irrigation treatments (I1, I2, I3, I4 for irrigation after 70, 100, 130 and 160 mm evaporation from class A pan, respectively). The experiment was arranged as split plot based on randomized complete block design in three replicates. Relative water content (RWC), membrane stability index (MSI) and total chlorophyll decreased, but leaf temperature, proline content and soluble carbohydrate content of all safflower cultivars increased with decreasing water availability. The highest increment in proline content and a sharp decline in total chlorophyll due to water deficit was recorded for Goldasht, indicating that this cultivar is less tolerant to drought stress. In contrast, Sina had the lowest proline content and the highest soluble carbohydrate content under all irrigation treatments.International Journal of Life Sciences 10 (1) : 2016; 58-64

To study the effect of Rhizobium inoculation treatments (inoculation with strains number 133, 116 and their integrated application) and chemical nitrogen fertilizer application (based on soil analysis in form of Urea) on certain agronomic traits of three common bean cultivars (viz. Bahman, Darkhshan and Sayyad) a field experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research Farm of College of Agriculture, University of Tehran (Karaj, Iran) during 2010 and 2011 growing seasons. The treatments arranged as factorial based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. The characteristics such as seed yield, pods number per plant, 100 seed weight, harvest index and biological yield were measured. Inoculated bean cultivars by rhizobium strain 116 produced the highest bean grain yield (5791 kg/ha). Bahman cv. inoculated by rhizobium strains 133+116 produced the highest number of pods per plant (55.97 pods/plant). Sayyad cultivar inoculated by rhizobium strain 116 produced the highest seed yield. Under the environmental conditions of this experiment, application of rhizobium strains proved to have the capability to replace the chemical nitrogen fertilizer in bean production.