JWSS - Journal of Water and Soil Science

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This study was conducted in a sugar beet field at Collage of Agriculture Experimental Station, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. In order to describe the pattern of spatial variations and density of Chenopodium album, Solanum nigrum, Amaranthus sp., Portulaca oleracea, Echinochla crus-galli, and Convulvulus arvense as the main prevalent annual and perennial weeds of sugar beet fields, geostatistic methods were used. Samples were taken by systematic method from the corners of (7m × 7m) grids, using (0.5m × 0.5m) quadrates in three stages (before application of herbicides, after herbicide treatment, and before harvesting sugar beets). The integrity of spatial variation of variables was determined by using variogram functions and distribution maps of species. The variograms indicated that variations of all variables did not happen by chance. The maximum and minimum ranges of variation were observed in Solanum nigrum (by 142.7m) and Portulaca oleracea (by 1.5m), respectively. Both maximum and minimum ranges of variations were related to pre herbicide application. The highest and the lowest spatial correlations were related to Amaranthus sp. (in the third sampling treatment) and Solanum nigrum (in the first stage of sampling), respectively. The spatial distribution maps confirmed the patchiness distribution of the weeds. The patch of weed was constructed from a dense point at the center, gradually tapering toward the edges. The patches were skewed across the rows and irrigation channels. The structure of patches altered during the growing season. Any information on the distribution of weeds in the fields can be useful to improve decision makings in relation to applying the herbicides, selecting the herbicide type or applying the amount of herbicide. Also it can be useful to better design of weed control programs.

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The present experiment was aimed to evaluate the freezing tolerance of two cold tolerant (MCC426 and MCC252) and a cold susceptible (MCC505) chickpea genotypes. The study was carried out in a split-plot factorial design with three replications. Factorial arrangement of genotype and acclimation (acclimation and non acclimation) were imposed as main plot and temperatures (0, -4, -8, -12, 16, -20ºC) as subplot. The effect of freezing temperature (FT) on plant survival was significantly different among genotypes (p<0.05). According to the average effects of acclimation and FT, the plant survival in MCC426 and MCC252 was 40% and 31% respectively more than in MCC505. Lethal temperature for 50% response (LT50) and temperature resulting in 50% lower dry matter (DMT50) in MCC426 were –10.8ºC and –8.4ºC, respectively and were lower than the other genotypes. Acclimation increased the freezing tolerance such that MCC426 tolerated up to –12ºC without any mortality, however, at this temperature, plant mortality rates in MCC252 and MCC505 were 25.7% and 67.7%, respectively. Plant regrowth was affected by the intensity of FT, such that plant dry weight (PDW) and stem height (SH) in –12ºC decreased about 63% and 50%, respectively, compared with non - frozen control plants. The most freezing damage was observed in MCC505, -12ºC treatment caused 90% decreases in PDW and SH, but at this temperature, PDW and SH in MCC425 decreased 55% and 49% and in MCC252, the reduction was about 60%and 54%, respectively. It seems that the use of controlled experiments would contribute to the evaluation of freezing tolerance and screening programs in chickpea germplasm for the estimation of LT50 and DMT50 .

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This study was conducted to investigate the effect of formic and sulphuric acids on chemical composition, dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) degradability of alfalfa silage and its effect on early lactating Holstein cow as three trials. In the first trial, chopped alfalfa (22 and 33% DM) was ensiled with three levels of formic acid (0.0, 15 and 20 ml/kg DM) and two levels of sulphuric acid (0 and 4 ml/kg DM). In the second trial, DM and CP degradability coefficients of silages (Treatment 1: without acid Treatment 2: 15 ml formic acid + 4 ml sulphuric acid per kg DM) and alfalfa hay (Treatment 3) were determined using nylon bag technique in two cannulated steers. In the third trial, silages (treatments 1 and 2) were replaced with 50% of alfalfa hay in the early lactation Holstein cow diet (11 cows, 19 ± 8 days in milk). Diets were fed for 49 days. Dry matter intake, milk production and milk composition were evaluated. Blood metabolites were determined in weeks 4 and 6. Effect of wilting on pH was significant (p<0.05). Quickly degradable fraction (a) of DM was similar in both silages (0.35) but was higher (0.5) for hay rather than the silages. Slowly degradable fraction (b) of DM of the acid - treated silage was higher compared with the hay (0.39 and 0.32, respectively). Fraction (a) of CP in acid treated silage was less than the control silage and hay (0.46, 0.57 and 0.57, respectively). Fraction (b) of CP in acid - treated silage was less compared with the control silage and hay (0.41, 0.28 and 0.35, respectively). There were no significant differences between the treatments on the cow’s performance. However, time effect on milk fat and solid non-fat was significant (p<0.01). Blood glucose concentration before feeding with treatment 2 was significantly higher (p<0.01) than cows feeding with treatment 1.

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This study was performed in two barley fields, in Experimental Station, Agricultural College of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in 2003. Sampling was done by systematic method in which samples were taken from the corners of 7m*7m grids using 0.5m 0.5m size quadrates in three stages (pre herbicide, post herbicide and pre harvesting stages). The results indicted that the density of annual weed seedlings in sugar beet- barley rotation was more than fallow- barley rotation, and the density of perennial weed seedlings in fallow-barley rotation was more than sugar beet- barley rotation. Map of species distribution and density confirmed patchiness distribution of the weeds. The shape and size of patches differed based on the field and weed species, but spatial distribution did not change considerably before and after the application of herbicide. Percentage of free weeds area was 11.5% and 1.5% in fallow-barley rotation and 0.6% and 0% in sugar beet- barley rotation in the first and second sampling stages, respectively. These results indicate beside emphasis on weed infestation. The result also indicates inefficacy of sugarbeet-barley rotation compared to follow-barley rotation. Apparently, the evaluation of management and paying special attention to weed dispersal within the field assist in the implementation of appropriate management strategy, which includes high efficacy, and profit for farmers as well as least damage to crops.

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This study was intended to use the sourdough LAB containing specific starter cultures for Barbari bread production and reduction of its staling. For sourdough preparation, fresh microbial cells were collected by centrifugation from LAB cultures. Then 1.5% of flour (w/w) from these washed cells with the same amounts of wheat flour and tap water and 0.25% (w/w) active dry yeast extract, containing Saccharomyces cerevisiae were mixed. The effects of fermentation time (8, 16 and 24 hours), fermentation temperature (28, 32 and 36 ºC) and type of starter culture (Lactobacillus sanfransicencis, Lactobacillus plantarum and a mixture of both LAB) were analyzed in a completely randomized design with factorial experiment with 4 replications. Bread staling was determined by its measuring crumb hardness and specific volume in 1, 24, 48 and 72 hours after baking. Correlation between variables was obtained by multivariate regression, and regression models were exhibited. The results showed that sourdough had significant effect (p≤0.05) on reduction of Barbari bread staling at 1, 24, 48 and 72 hours after baking in comparison with control sample. Moreover, the sample prepared with Lactobacillus plantarum (24 h fermentation time and 32 ºC fermentation temperature) had the maximum specific volume and the least staling, 72 hours after baking.

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Cantaloupe (Cucumis melo L.) is one of the most important melons in Iran especially in Khorasan province. The cantaloupe seed is a good functional and nutritional source for human, having large amounts of essential amino acids and unsaturated fatty acids. In spite of nutritional and functional aspects, it does not have considerable applications in food industry yet. Cantaloupe seed milk's pH is about 6.8, so cannot be stored for a long time. In this work, pH of cantaloupe seed milk decreases to 4.15 in 3 treatments (citric acid, orange concentrate, and orange sacs) and a constant amount of lemon juice. At first, nutritive value of seed milk was measured. According to results, this milk is a good source of protein (1.52%), phosphorus (41/3 ppm) and potassium (17 ppm). After that, storage stability of cantaloupe seed beverage at refrigerator temperature (4 °C) for 42 days was evaluated by analyzing changes in the chemical, microbial and sensory properties. The results showed that the orange concentrate-cantaloupe seed beverage reached the highest score of total acceptance (3.67 on a 5-point hedonic scale). In these conditions, we couldn’t find any molds and yeasts in the samples, thus the shelf life of the mentioned beverage could be 6 weeks at 4 °C.

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Hydrological models are useful tools in water resources planning, but some of them do not have satisfactory performance on a regional scale. Hydrological models are appropriate for a specific spatial scale and the lack of input data is a limiting factor in the modeling. One way to overcome this limitation is by using a flexible comprehensive model in different watersheds. Since surface and ground water have dynamic interaction in environmental ecosystems and form a combined water resources system so, the application of two general methods including fully integrated and coupled regions has been evaluated in this research. An investigation of these methods showed that the major focus in most studies is on increasing the accuracy of recharge and evapotranspiration rates in simulation. The results showed that the simultaneous use of SWAT and MODFLOW models to understand the hydrological conditions in a region has been able to cover the defects associated with the semi-distributional and distributive constraints of two models, simulating the surface-groundwater and the interaction between the aquifer and river. This method can provide useful information about the water balance of the basin and help to plan water resources more accurately