Soil science
S. Hosseinzadeh; E. Fateh; A. Aynehband; M. Farzaneh; J. Habibi Asl
Abstract
Introduction Tillage is an important component of soil management that affects the production of crops. Maintaining and improving the quality of the soil is a basic requirement to ensure the sustainability of the ecosystem. This experiment was conducted in order to investigate the effect of different ...
Read More
Introduction Tillage is an important component of soil management that affects the production of crops. Maintaining and improving the quality of the soil is a basic requirement to ensure the sustainability of the ecosystem. This experiment was conducted in order to investigate the effect of different tillage methods and the use of plant residues on the yield, protein and nitrogen percentage of triticale plant and physical and chemical indicators of the soil. Materials and MethodsThe experiment was carried out as split plots based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz during 2023-2024. The main factor including different methods of tillage at three levels (conventional tillage, reduced tillage and no tillage) and the sub factor also including 5 levels of plant residue application (without residues (control), wheat residues, mung bean, sesame and half of wheat residues + half of residues Mung bean) were considered. The amount of residues used for each plot was approximately 30% of the biological yield of the product, which was considered to be 3, 1.5 and 1 ton.ha-1 for wheat, sesame and mung bean, respectively. At the end of the experiment yield and yield components, seed nitrogen and protein of triticale plant and physical characteristics (bulk density, percentage of porosity) and chemical (pH, EC, organic carbon content, nitrogen) soil properties were measured. All statistical calculations were made using SAS 9.3 statistical software and for the LSD test was used to compare the means at a probability level of 5%. Results and DiscussionThe interaction of tillage treatments and the use of plant residues showed that the highest grain yield was equal to 8.6 ton.ha-1 from the treatment of reduced tillage and the use of Mung bean residues, and the lowest value obtained was related to the effect of the treatment conventional tillage and no residues (control) with 3.5 ton.ha-1. The grain yield in the reduced tillage method was 12.5% and 7.6% higher than the conventional tillage and no tillage methods. The reduced tillage method resulted in a 32.2% increase in seed protein and a 32% increase in seed nitrogen compared to conventional tillage. The results also indicated a significant interaction effect between tillage treatments and residue application on grain yield (p < 0.01). Additionally, the interaction between tillage and residue application had a significant effect on soil bulk density (p < 0.01). The lowest bulk density (1.3 g.cm-3) was observed in the conventional tillage treatment combined with wheat and mung bean residues, with this combination falling within the same statistical group. The highest bulk density (1.75 g.cm-3) was obtained from the no-tillage treatment and the use of NO residues (Control). Based on the obtained results, the interaction effect of tillage treatments and the use of residues on soil organic matter, soil organic carbon and nitrogen soil (p<0.05). The interaction between the effects of tillage and the use of residues showed that the highest soil organic matter (1.53%) was from the treatment of reduced and the use of wheat residues. ConclusionThe results showed that tillage methods and the use of plant residues, in addition to affecting the percentage of nitrogen and protein of triticale seeds, also affected the physical and chemical indicators of the soil. The changes related to the physical and chemical indicators of the soil in the method No tillage are more than the two methods of reduced tillage and conventional tillage, and the improvement of these characteristics has been limited even at this time. Overall, from the point of view of soil protection, the results of this experiment clearly show the superiority of conservation tillage methods compared to conventional tillage methods. Sustainable agriculture aims to achieve optimal yields while preserving environmental structure and minimizing the adverse impacts of agricultural activities. One of the key challenges in sustainable agriculture is the lack of organic matter and its associated consequences. Implementing conservation tillage and managing plant residues-critical elements of agricultural production-can help address this issue. By improving soil quality, these practices contribute to increased productivity in farming. Acknowledgement We would like to thank the Research and Technology Vice-Chancellor of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz for funding this research, which is part of the research contract SCU.AA1400.309.
M. Jiriaie; E. Fateh; A. Aynehband; E. Sepehr
Abstract
Introduction: Providing the nutritional requirements of agricultural crops by non-chemical resources is a new approach in the organic farming that has attracted the attention of both the researchers and the consumers in recent years. Therefore, it is highly important to find new fertilizer resources ...
Read More
Introduction: Providing the nutritional requirements of agricultural crops by non-chemical resources is a new approach in the organic farming that has attracted the attention of both the researchers and the consumers in recent years. Therefore, it is highly important to find new fertilizer resources that are both economically able to provide the nutritional needs of the crop plants and have no adverse effects on the consumers and the environment.
Materials and Methods: With this approach, an experiment was conducted in the research station of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Iran in 2012-13. The experimental design was factorial based on randomized complete blocks design with three replications. The treatments including Mycorrhizal fungi in three levels (i.e. no use of strain; use of Glomus intraradices strain; and use of Glomus mosseae strain), bacteria Azospirillum lipoferum in two-levels (i.e. non-inoculated and inoculated) and wheat cultivars in three levels (i.e. Chamran; Dena; and Behrang). The measured parameters include the concentration of macronutrients (i.e. nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) and some micronutrients (i.e. zinc, iron and manganese) in two part seed and the root of wheat.
Results and Discussion: Surveying the elements content in the root and the grain indicated a significant and positive effect of the use the Azospirillum and Mycorrhiza to improve the concentration of the elements in wheat cultivars. However, the simultaneous use of these microorganisms led to an increase of the effects of their application on their assessed traits.Finally the highest concentration of N (2.21 present), P (0.50 present) and Fe (33.88 mg.kg-1) were observed in the grain; the highest concentration of K (0.93 present and 0.54 present) and Mn (43.11 and 23.63 mg.kg-1) were observed in the grain and root, respectively. Moreover, the highest concentration of Zn in the root (19.70 mg.kg-1) was obtained from inoculation of C.V Dena seeds with Azospirillum and the use of G. mosseae. Also, in the general case of Mycorrhiza fungi use (between 6 to 20 present) and seed inoculation with Azospirillum lipoferum (between 8 to 25 present), the improved nutrient content in the seeds as well as greatest impact of Mycorrhiza use is in increasing the content of the grain Zn (20 present) and the lowest effect of Mycorrhiza using is in increasing the nitrogen content in seed (6 percent). Considering the elements content in the grain, the use of bacteria also showed that the greatest impact on increasing the use of bacteria Azospirillum lipoferum is in increasing the iron content in seeds (25 present) and the least impact of the use of Azospirillum lipoferum is in increasing the seed’s manganese (8 present). Moreover, the use of Mycorrhiza fungi (between 7 and 23 present) and seed inoculation with Azospirillum lipoferum (4 to 16 present) improved the contents of nutrients in wheat roots compared with the control group. Here, too, the greatest impact for Mycorrhiza application was in increasing the content of the Zn in the root (23 present) and the lowest effect of Mycorrhiza application was in increasing the potassium content in the root (7 percent). Moreover, considering the elements content in the roots in the case of being treated with Azospirillum lipoferum, the results showed that upon increasing the use of bacteria, the greatest impact of Azospirillum lipoferum in increasing elements content in the roots was an increased iron content in the root (16 present) and the minimum effect of the bactericidal application was in increasing the potassium root (4 present). Comparing the two species of Mycorrhizal fungi that have been used in the experiment, although application Glomus intraradices showed satisfactory results, the use of the species Glomus mosseae to increase the content of the element in seeds and roots has had a greater role. Moreover, the combined effects of these microorganisms have not only had an antagonistic effect of reducing the amount of content, they have also been more effective than being applied separately (between 7 and 12 present).
Conclusion: Generally associated with most of the measured elements, the treatment of seed inoculation with Azospirillum lipoferum and usage of Glomus mosseae in Dena cultivar that was a durum wheat, showed the highest concentration of the mentioned elements in the roots and seeds. Probably this has been due to the smaller grains in Dena than the other cultivars, which led to an increase in the ratio of the elements in the grain. Therefore, it seems that the use of the biofertilizers can be the perfect solution to eliminate the nutritional requirements of wheat. Moreover, it has the very important effect of the enrichment of this crucial product in the people’s dietary patterns in this country with the required elements.
Keywords: Azospirillum, Nutrition, Wheat, Root, Elements concentration, Mycorrhiza
