JWSS - Journal of Water and Soil Science

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The dissemination of Phytophthora spp. in the surface irrigation water was studied during 1993-94 in Marvdasht area and certain other parts of Fars province. Monthly the water samples were taken along 100Km of the Kor river 22Km up stream from the Doroudzan Dam to about 80Km down stream to Mardvdasht where Sivand and Kor rivers joined. The other sampling locations includede the Maeen river adjecent to the Dam, and the Sivand river from Dashte-Morghab to Mardasht. Few samples were also obtained from Shapour and Dalaky rivers and also from Yasouj and the Sisakht regions in Khkilueh and Boir Ahmad. The water temperature, pH and EC were measured and samples were assayed on the same day of the collection. The water sample was filtered through the two layers of the cheese cloth and about 1L was placed in a plastic container (30 × 20 Cm) 2-3C deep and 100 fresh citrus leaf disks (6mm dia) were also added and incubated at the room temprature. After 48hr, disks were collected, washed, blotted dry and plated on Phytophthora were collected, washed, blotted dry and plated on Phytophthora selective medium (PARPH). At least 50 disks were used in the 5 plates for each sample. The five to 8 boiled hemp seeds were placed on each growing colony and transferred to the distilled water, after 12hr for sporangium production. The Phytophthora species were idenified by their morphological characteristic and temperature requirement. Phytophthora spp. were present in the most rivers except the Shapour and Dalaky. The predominant species were non-popilate high temperature (above 35C) species mainly P. cryptogea and P. drechsleri. In some cases P. capcisi and the other unidentified species were also detected. Phytophthora spp. were present throughout the year but the lowest population was detected during winter months. The fluctuation of the phytophthora population and the other water microorganisms in the Kor river after shiraz petrochemical complex during the growing season was very high, but sometimes reduced to zero (perhaps due to the water pollution). No Phytophthora colonies were detected in the dam lake or in the most cases in the cement canals.

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This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of four levels of irrigation (irrigation of plants after I₁ = 40, I₂ =60, I₃ = 80 , and I₄ = 100mm of evaporation from class A pan) and four plant densities(D₁ = 30, D₂ = 40, D₃ = 50 and D₄ = 60 plants/m²) on the seed yield and seed quality in three soybean cultivars(V₁=Hobit, V₂=Williams and V₃=Hill) in a split factorial design, based on the completely randomized blocks, with three replication for two years(2001 and 2002). The Irrigation treatments were assigned to the main plots, and the plant densities and cultivars to the sub plots. Results indicated that soybean seed yield was influenced by the different irrigation and plant density levels in the both years. Irrigation levels I₂ produced the highest and I₄ the lowest seed yield. It was also revealed that the plant density D₃ produced the highest and D₁ the lowest seed yields. Among the cultivars under investigation, V₂ produced the highest and V₃ the lowest seed yield . Seed oil and its protein contents both were affected significantly by the irrigation levels, plant densities and cultivars in both years. The plants receiving I₁ treatment had the highest and those having I₄, the lowest percentages of seed oil. Changes in the plant densities also affected seed oil and protein content. The plant density of D₁ caused the seeds to have the highest oil and lowest protein percentages. However, D₄ decreased oil and increased protein percentages. The highest water use efficiency was obtained from I₃ and that of the lowest value from I₁. The results also indicated that D₄ had the highest and D₁ the lowest water use efficiencies. Therefore, it could be concluded that the water use efficiency can be increased by increasing the plant density per unit area. The highest efficiency for biological and grain yield belonged to V₂ and V₁ respectively where as the lowest efficiency for those two mentioned characters belonged to V₁ and V₃, respectively. However, the treatment I₂V₂D₂ is recommended for higer the seed yield production per unit area.

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Estimation of seepage is essential prior to lining of earth canals. In Iran such investigation has been achieved in some irrigation networks using empirical relationships derived in other countries. Estimation of water loss in canal is required in design, operation and management of water distribution systems. Water seepage may be determind by using empirical equations proposed by F.A.O. These equations are applicable for different soils and hydraulic parameters. However, the appropriate estimating equation should be determined for each region. Therefore, these equations should be calibrated for local usage and different canal vegetation conditions. In this investigation water losses in canals at the Rudast region of Isfahan were measured by inflow and outflow procedure. Different canals reaches were selected in soils of relatively heavy, medium and light textures. The density of vegetation population in canals were low, medium and high. The estimated seepage losses by different empirical equations were not corresponded to those of measured values. Therefore, by using the measured seepage at different soil textures and vegetation densities the empirical coefficients of six empirical equations of F.A.O. (Ingham, Davis and Wilson, Affengendon, Moritz, Molesworth and Yennidumia, Misra) were modified for the study region. The relationships between measured seepage and estimated seepage before and after modification of the empirical equations were determined by regression analysis. These equations estimated the seepage loss much smaller than the measured values. The regression parameters (selope, intercept, and coefficient of determination of regression equation) indicated that after modification, the Ingham and moritz equation with higher slopes (0.91, 1.01), lower intercepts (-0.096, -0.039) and higher coefficient of determination (0.96) estimated the closest seepage values to the measured values respectively. The misra equation was the next best equation for seepage estimation. The results of present investigation indicated that the modified Ingham and Moritz equations were the most appropriate ones for estimation of seepage losses at different soil textures and vegetation densities in the study region.

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Iran with a cultivation area of 45000 ha and production of 150 ton/year is the number one saffron producer in the world. Planting of large size corms will increase flowering, but production of corms (number and size) may be affected by irrigation method or frequency. In this research which is performed in the farm of College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, the effects of method and frequency of irrigation on corm production, and the effect of produced corms on flowering were evaluated in two consecutive years. Two irrigation methods (basin and furrow) with four levels of irrigation frequencies (12, 24 and 36 days and dryland farming) were applied. In August of 2000 sample corm was taken from every plot, and the effect of applied treatment from previous growing period on corm production and the effect of produced corms on future flowering were evaluated and analyzed. Based on the results, in furrow irrigation, total number of corms and total number of corms smaller than 4 gr is significantly higher than basin irrigation. In all of the above cases, irrigation frequencies did not show a meaningful difference between themselves or in comparison with dryland farming treatment. Total weight of corms and number and weight of corms larger than 8 gr in basin irrigation were more than furrow irrigation. This is to the extent that it is considered as the main reason for the difference in the flowering of corms, and has caused the flowering of basin irrigation to be significantly higher than furrow irrigation. In basin irrigation, irrigation frequencies of 12 and 24 days had the highest amount of flowering. No significant difference was observed on average corm production between the treatments in the two irrigation methods. However, irrigation treatments in both irrigation methods showed significant differences when compared with dryland farming treatment. So, basin irrigation with irrigation frequency of 24 days is preferred over furrow irrigation due to lower water consumption and production of larger size corms which is effective in flowering.

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To determine the water application efficiency in furrow irrigation more accurately, consideration of seasonal and spatial variation of infiltration properties are needed. In addition, the effectiveness of different farm management on infiltration are significant. The main objective of this research was to simulate the seasonal variation (SV) of infiltration coefficients in Kostiakov-Louise equation (KLE) in a cracking soil under two traditional farm managements. Farm studies carried out in a clay-loam soil in Karaj. The two management treatments were soil without wheat residual and soil with wheat residual by a 5 ton/ha rate. There were 22 furrows with 0.75 m width in the farm. KLE infiltration coefficients were measured using inflow-outflow and two point’s methods in six furrows. The results of this study indicated that the SV of a and k coefficients were not significant, but variation of f0 was significant which was simulated with a logarithmic model. The effectiveness of SV on cumulative infiltration (Z) was also evaluated and indicated to be significant that were simulated with a logarithmic model too. Finally, dimensionless parameter such as Z* were developed to predicate Z parameter in different irrigation time, irrigation events and different residual management. Base on the result, although residue management causes a significant difference between value of f0 and Z in two treatments, but it doesn’t effect on trend of variation during the season. It means that the trend of variation is independent of residue in soil. It is probably done because of change in some of soil physical properties such as soil bulk density and aggregate stability.

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Increasing the water use efficiency through promotion of sprinkler irrigation system, in order to increase production, has been the aim of the Ministry of Agricultural-Jihad in the past decade. Considerable amount of investment and efforts have been devoted to this end. Therefore, investigation of these efforts and development of models to predict the adoption behavior of farmers are of considerable importance. A survey research was conducted in four provinces (Fars, Bushehr, Kohkiloye-va-Boyerahmad, and Chaharmahal-va-Bakhteyari). A stratified random sample of 422 farmers was interviewed including 124 and 298 adopters and non-adopters, respectively. The findings indicated that the discriminant model developed based on the multiplicity model is a better predictor of farmers’ adoption behavior than diffusion and farm structure model. Application of multiplicity model in extension of sprinkler irrigation can increase the adoption rate and as result the efficiency of extension efforts.

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The sensitivity analysis approach should be regarded as a new means which has recently been proposed for assessing flow of the irrigation networks. This approach uses the flow steady state equations and the physical conditions of irrigation channels to evaluate the response of the system to input perturbations. In this paper, some structural hydraulic sensitivity indicators were developed and utilized in studying the flow of an irrigation channel. For evaluating the efficiency of indicators and proposed analysis method, a real case was simulated by SOBEK model. Using the simulation results and introduced indicators, the flow regulation and distribution process within channel was studied. The results indicated a successful application of sensitivity indicators in evaluating system's potential in relation to alternative operational scenarios. With the calculation of these indicators, a comprehensive information system could be provided and applied in the analysis of the response potential of channel to structural perturbations, estimation of structure setting accuracy, and in the choice of suitable operation frequency there of.

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To investigate the effects of different irrigation levels on yield and oil content of rapeseed, and to determine the irrigation requirement and irrigation scheduling, an experiment with Randomized Complete Block Design consisting of four irrigation treatments replicated 3 times, was conducted in Zarghan Agric. Expt. Station during the years of 2000-2003. The treatments were based on the cumulative evaporation values of 50, 75,100 and 125 mm from class A pan (T₅₀, T₇₅, T₁₀₀ and T₁₂₅). The depth of water for each treatment was determined according to the deficit of field capacity and soil moisture content before irrigation. In the three years of experiment, the cultivars: Okapi, Orient and Likord were cultivated and the annual data related to yield and seed oil contents of each cultivar was analyzed separately. In the first year of experiment, the effect of different treatments on yield of Okapi cultivar was not significant, but the maximum and minimum yields were obtained at the T₇₅ and T₁₀₀ treatments equal to 2678 and 2050 kg ha^-1, respectively. The effect of different treatments on seed oil content was significant at the level of 5 %, and the maximum and minimum seed oil contents were obtained at the T₁₀₀ and T₇₅ treatments equal to 42.50 and 41.66 %, respectively. In the second year of experiment, the effect of different treatments on the yield of Orient cultivar was significant at the level of 5 %, and the maximum and minimum yields were obtained at the T₅₀ and T₁₂₅ treatments equal to 3133 and 2133 kg ha^-1, respectively. The effect of different treatments on seed oil content was significant at the level of 5 %, and the maximum and minimum seed oil contents were obtained at the T₇₅ and T₅₀ treatments equal to 46.38 and 44.82 %, respectively. In the third year of experiment, the effect of different treatments on the yield of Likord cultivar was significant at the level of 5 %, and the maximum and minimum yields were obtained at the T₅₀ and T₁₂₅ treatments equal to 3667 and 2250 kg ha^-1, respectively. The effect of different treatments on seed oil content was significant at the level of 1 %, and the maximum and minimum seed oil contents were obtained at the T₅₀ and T₁₂₅ treatments equal to 47.63 and 44.60 %, respectively. Also, the best irrigation frequency for the three rapeseed cultivars in the Zarghan area was obtained equal to 10 to 12 days.

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In this paper, the effect of irrigation water salinity levels on seed germination, dry matter weight of seedlings at eight-leave stage, and the salt tolerance of 8 rapeseed cultivars was investigated. Relative yield reduction in saline and non saline conditions, salt sensitivity index and Van Genuchten-Hoffman methods were used to determine the salt tolerance of the cultivars. Results showed that the effect of different salt levels, cultivars and their interactions on germination and dry matter weight of seedlings was significant at 0.01(the higher the salt level, the lower the germination and dry matter). Also, using the Van Genuchten-Hoffman method, the irrigation water salinity corresponding to 10%, 25%, 50% and 90% reducts in germination and dry matter of seedlings were determined. Statistical analysis showed that a single cultivar gives different responses to salinity during growth stages and it may be tolerant in one stage, but sensitive to salinity in another growth stage. In this research, ACSN1, Falcon, and Shirali in germination stage and ACSN1, Falcon, and Cobra in seedling growth stage were salt tolerant. The three cultivars Oyerka, Global, and Ceres and the next three Shirali, Global, and Oyerka were sensitive to salinity in germination and seedling growth stages, respectively. Finally, the ACSN1 and Falcon cultivars were introduced as salt tolerant, and Oyerka and Global were considered as salt sensitive.

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Increased chemical compounds in soil are the most important results of irrigation with domestic wastewater and treated effluents which contain some nutrients such as phosphorous (P). This process could increase the soil fertility, leading to the decrease of chemical nutrient consumption and consequently the cost of agricultural production. A research project was carried out in Tehran region for two years in order to investigate the capabilities of soil and plant in absorption and storage of wastewater contaminants, namely, phosphorous, and also the transmission of them to drain depth as a result of irrigation practice. To do the research, a series of lysimeters based on a statistical factorial experiment in the form of randomized complete design (3x3x3) were used. Raw and treated domestic wastewater, obtained from Ekbatan Housing Complex, and well water (control) were used to irrigate raw edible vegetables including parsley, carrot and tomato. The results showed that the amount of phosphorous leaching through soil to drain depth was between 0.90% and 3.56%, and between 1.03% and 4.15% of the phosphorous concentration in raw wastewater and treated one entered into the soil, respectively. Also, mass balance analyses showed the average phosphorous reduction ranged from 97.2% to 99.9% of the phosphorous entered with wastewater. During two years of study, the maximum concentration of PO₄ measured in drained water was about 0.21 mg/L obtained from lysimeters irrigated with raw wastewater. This was much lower than the permissible PO₄ amount for discharging the effluents to the surface water resources (6 mg/L PO₄ is permitted by Iranian Environmental Protection Organization).

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A field study was conducted at the Zabol Agricultural Research Center during the years (2003-2004) to investigate the effect of irrigation with treated municipal wastewater on the yield and quality of wheat and some soil properties. Irrigation treatments were: T₁: Irrigation of wheat with well water during entire period of growing season T₂: Irrigation of wheat with well water until the begging of flowering stage, and irrigation with wastewater in every other turns of irrigation T₃: Irrigation of wheat with well water until the beginning of booting stage, and irrigation with wastewater in every other turns of irrigation T₄: Irrigation of wheat with well water until the begging of tilling stage, and irrigation with wastewater in every other turns of irrigation and T₅: Irrigation of wheat with wastewater during entire period of growing season. A complete randomized block design with four replications was adopted for this experiment. The soil was sandy loam with no limitation for internal drainage. Chemical and physical aspects of soil were measured during the experiment. Grain yield, yield components and chemical composition of wheat grain were also measured. The results showed that yield of wheat and total biomass production were statistically significant in T₃, T₄ and T₅ compared with the control treatment. Plant height, width and length of flag leaf, numbers of fertile tillers, length of panicle, numbers of grains per panicle and weight of 1000 grains were also statistically significant with the control treatment. Percentages of protein were statistically different among various irrigation treatments. No significant changes in accumulation of heavy metals in soil and plant grains were observed. The increase of SAR, ECe, O.C% and total nitrogen in the T₄ and T₅ were statistical significant compared with the control treatment. In summary, for sustainable use of Zabol municipal wastewater, the growth stages of wheat should be irrigated with municipal wastewater and other growth stages should be irrigated with nonsalinty water, so that the maximum yield is obtained and soil salinitisation and sodication is prevented.

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Estimation of unsaturated soil hydraulic and solute transport properties by Inverse modeling has thus far been limited mostly to analyses of one-dimensional experiments in the laboratory, often assuming steady-state conditions. This is partly because of the high cost and difficulties in accurately measuring and collecting adequate field-scale data sets, and partly because of difficulties in describing spatial and temporal variability in the soil hydraulic properties. In this study we estimated soil hydraulic and solute transport parameters from several two-dimensional furrow irrigation experiments under transient conditions. Three blocked-end furrow irrigation experiments were carried out, each of the same duration but with different amounts of infiltrating water and solutes resulting from water depths of 6, 10, and 14 cm in the furrows. Two more experiments were carried out with the same amounts of applied water and solute, and hence for different durations, on furrows with water depths of 6 and 10 cm. The saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_s) and solute transport parameters in the physical equilibrium convection-dispersion (CDE) and physical nonequilibrium mobile/ immobile (MIM) transport models were inversely estimated using the Levenberg-Marquardt optimization algorithm in combination with the HYDRUS-2D numerical code. Estimated K_s-values ranged from 0.0389 to 0.0996 cm min^-1, with a coefficient of variation of 48%. Estimated immobile water contents (θ_im) were more or less constant at a relatively low average value of 0.025 cm³ cm^-3, whereas the first-order exchange coefficient (ω) varied between 0.10 and 19.52 min^-1. The longitudinal dispersivity (D_L) ranged from 2.6 to 32.8 cm, and the transverse dispersivity (D_T) from 0.03 to 2.20 cm. D_L showed some dependency on water level and irrigation/solute application time in the furrows, but no obvious effect was found on K_s and other transport parameters. Agreement between measured and predicted infiltration rates was satisfactory, whereas soil water contents were somewhat overestimated and solute concentrations underestimated. Differences between predicted solute distributions obtained with the CDE and MIM transport models were relatively small. This finding and the value of optimized parameters indicate that observed data were sufficiently well described using the simpler CDE model, and that immobile water did not play a major role in the transport process.

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Poor performance of irrigation canals and its effect on decreasing of Agricultural water productivity require attention for their improvement. In this paper a new mathematical model is introduced which could present optimal operation considering downstream requirements of turnouts, canal inlet flow, actual constraints and real conditions of canal system. Four performance indicators of delivery including efficiency, adequacy, equity and stability are considered as an objective function in the process of optimization. Since this objective function is an implicit function of decision variables (regulation of turnouts and control structures) and hydraulic parameters, it is necessary to implement hydrodynamic model, using numerical optimization methods. SA (Simulated Annealing) technique is a numerical meta – heuristic intelligent search method which is used in combination with a hydrodynamic model (ICSS) (Irrigation Conveyance System Simulation.) for performance optimization of canal system. Theoretically it is proven that SA technique is capable of tending towards global optimum solution asymtotically. Taking short random steps in SA algorithm guarantees avoiding instability in hydrodynamic model. The developed model has been applied on E1R1 Distributary canal of Dez irrigation network for ten days. The results indicated that optimal performance improved very well in comparison with the present situation.In this model the weighting coefficients of indicators are determined using sensitivity analysis in optimization process. Consistency test on the derived coefficients shows that proposed method is appropriate. Applying weighting coefficients for performance indicators in the processes of optimization has resulted in 7 to 21 percent improvement compared to the case of equall weighting coefficients. Also, the results indicate that the developed model (ICSS-DOM) (ICSS-Delivery Optimization Model) is an efficient tool for the evaluation and optimization of irrigation canal performance, producing good and valid results in a relatively short and suitable time.

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In Iran, fertilizers are mainly applied directly to soil. In such conditions, the yield and fertilizer use efficiency are usually low. The simultaneous application of fertilizers and irrigation water (fertigation) is an appropriate alternative to increase the efficiency of applied water and fertilizers. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of various irrigation and fertilizer amounts on efficiency of applied fertilizers when used as fertigation in a Tape irrigation system. A field experiment was carried out with sunflower as a completely randomized design with 20 treatments and 3 replicates. The fertilizers were applied by fertigation. Four levels of the water (60, 80, 100 and 120% treatments I1 to I4) and five rates of the recommended fertilizers (0, 60, 80, 100, and 120% treatments F₀ to F₄) were applied.The recommended amounts consisted of 400 kg CO(NH₂)₂, 50 kg KCl, 30 kg FeSO₄, 30 kg MnSO₄, 50 kg ZnSO₄, 30 kg CuSO₄, and 30 kg H₃BO₃ per ha. Tape irrigation was used for every treatment. The results indicated that in fertigation method, there were significant differences ( P≥0.01) in fertilizer use efficiency (FUE) for the total dry matter and grain yield between treatments. The results showed that by increasing applied water, fertilizer use efficiency was increased and affected by fertilizers treatments. Thus due to higher availability of nutrients, fertilizer use efficiency increased. was Fertilizer use efficiency also decreased by increasing fertilizer rate. The results also demonstrated there were significant differences in all the treatments. The results showed that fertilizer use efficiency of K is higher than N and N is higher than P.

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The main objective of this study was determining the best sprinkler system and ranking total operational sprinkler systems in Isfahan province. The data was collected through 262 questionnaires completed by farmers in Feridan and Semirom cities in Isfahan province. Ranking and comparing the systems were done via criteria matrix and qualitative efficiency of objects and compromise programming. Based on the results of this study, hand-move sprinkler irrigation and then solid-set sprinkler irrigation were found to be the best systems in most of the regions. However, solid-set sprinkler irrigation was the best in some other areas. Results also showed that there were trivial differences between farmer selection in sprinkler irrigation and suitable system in the region. Also, comparison of suitable system and conventional irrigations used by farmers showed that the current systems of farmers are not usually an optimal system.

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To investigate yield and water use efficiency (WUE) of potato with tape and furrow irrigations, an experiment was performed at Hamadan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center (Ekbatan station) in 2004. The experiment was arranged in a split-plot experimental design based on completely randomized block with 3 replications of irrigation water amount as the main factor (75%, 100%, 125% of cumulative evaporation from class A pan) and sub-factor of irrigation method [including tapes in the middle of furrow ridge on soil surface (T_D0), tapes in the middle of furrow ridge at the depth of 5 cm (T_D5), tapes on the sides of furrow ridge on soil surface (T_S0), and furrow irrigation (F)]. The results indicated that yield of potato increased with increasing water use. Regardless of irrigation method, maximum (32.51 ton/ha) and minimum (19.33 ton/ha) yield of potatoes was achieved with 125% and 75% irrigation water treatments, respectively. The lowest yield (21.35 ton/ha) was obtained in furrow irrigation and the highest yield (28.91 ton/ha) belonged to tape irrigation (T_D5 treatment). The highest WUE (4.68 kg/m³) belonged to tape irrigation (T_D5 treatment) and the lowest WUE (3.32 kg/m³) belonged to furrow irrigation (F). The difference in WUE between 75% and 100% irrigation water treatments was not significant. The highest WUE (4.49 kg/m³) was achieved in treatment 125%. Also, it is more economical to use irrigation water treatment of 125%, as compared with other irrigation water treatments.

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This study included two experiments conducted in 2000-2001 for surveying the effects of saline water irrigation on yield and yield components in corn varieties. Experiments were conducted in a silty-clay soil in Ahwaz Agricultural Research Center. First experiment was conducted as a split plots and randomized complete blocks design in three replications. Main plots included salinity levels 2, 4, 6 and 8dS/m and subplots included three single cross hybrids of corn 704, 711 and 647. In the other experiment the effects of saline water 8dS/m at different growth stages including the stage of planting to plant establishment. (G1), flowering and pollination (G2) and grain filling (G3), were evaluated. The results of the first expriment showed that there was very significant difference among water salinity levels for yield, thousand kernel weight, percentage of corn fertility and percentage of plants containing corn. The highest and lowest grain yield were obtained for salinity levels 2 and 8dS/m treatments respectively. Differences among varieties and interaction of treatments were significant for grain yield, and highest grain yeild was obtained for 704 and 711 varieties on saline water 2dS/m. The results of the other expriment showed that highest and lowest tolerance to irrigation with saline water on corn were G3 and G1 growth stages respectively. Consequently, hybrids 704 and 711 were more sensitive than the 647, but the obtained yield, suggests that 704 and 711 hybrids can be cultivated under these conditions.

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  Photosynthesis and wheat grain yield responses to supplemental irrigation with different amount of applied water under dryland conditions were investigated. Therefore, a two-year field experiment was conducted research farm of College of Agriculture, Shiraz University during 2004-2005. Five levels of irrigation including dryland conditions, irrigation at stem elongation, booting, flowering and grain filling were main plots and two wheat cultivars: Agosta and Fin-15 were subplots, and three rates of nitrogen including zero, 40 and 80 kgha^-1 were sub sub-plots. The results showed that in both years, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, substomatal CO₂ concentration and transpiration rate, were significantly higher under irrigation at stem elongation stage compared to other supplemental irrigation treatments. In all of the four supplemental irrigation treatments, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, substomatal CO₂ concentration and transpiration rate decreased with decreasing the amount of applied water to each plot. In both years, the highest grain yield was obtained from supplemental irrigation at stem elongation stage, and the lowest yield was harvested at dryland conditions. The highest photosynthetic parameters, yield and yield components were obtained from interaction of supplemental irrigation at stem elongation stage × Fin-15 and 80 kg N ha^-1 in both years. The supplemental irrigation in 2004 and 2005 increased the grain yield 200 and 221 percent, respectively, compared to dryland conditions. Thus, supplemental irrigation at sensitive stem elongation stage could affect significantly wheat grain yield of rainfed wheat cultivars and provision of adequate water for a supplemental irrigation at the appropriate growth stage could double the grain yield of rainfed wheat.

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  The purpose of this study was to investigate and analyze the factors affecting farmers’ attitudinal dimensions toward participation in Water Users’ Association (WUA) by comparing two groups of farmers in irrigation networks with WUA and without it. The methodological approach was a descriptive-correlational and causal-comparative study of the survey type. The target population in the study consisted of 2551 farmers of irrigation networks in Khorasan-e-Razavi Province, Iran. Using stratified random sampling technique, 335 participants were chosen. Data were collected through a questionnaire, and analyzed using SPSS, V.13. Content and face validity of the instrument were obtained by the faculty members of Agricultural Extension and Education, Agronomy and Irrigation Departments at Tarbiat Modarres University and also specialists board of Agricultural Jihad Organization and Regional Water Joint-stock Company in Khorasan-e-Razavi Province. The reliability analysis was conducted and cronbach’s alpha values for the various sections of instrument were estimated between 0.73 and 0.86. The descriptive findings of the study showed that the majority of farmers’ overall attitude with respect to participation in WUA was at a good level. The results obtained from Pearson correlation analysis indicated that there are significant and positive relationships between such variables as education level, size of irrigated cultivated landholding, annual income, extension contacts, social capital components, water users’ perceptions regarding irrigation networks status and farmers’ participation status concerning irrigation networks management with the farmers’ overall attitude toward participation in WUA. The result of stepwise multivariate regression analysis indicated that 61.1% (R² = 0.611) of the variance in farmers’ attitudes with respect to participation in WUA could be explained by farmers’ behaviour regarding optimum farm water management, social participation, social confidence, water users’ perceptions regarding irrigation networks status, farmers’ participation status concerning irrigation networks management. Also, significant differences were found between the two respondent groups in irrigation networks with WUA and without it in relation to farmers’ attitudinal dimensions.

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  Effect of change from the conventional (flooding) to subsurface irrigation system was studied on mature pistachio trees (Cultivar Ohadi) in Kerman pistachio research station for four years. This experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design including 7 treatments and 3 replications. The experiment also used two irrigation intervals (7&14 days) and three water rates according to pan coefficient (20%, 40%& 60% evaporation from surface of class A pan) for subsurface irrigation system with 6 treatments the conventional (flooding) irrigation system was tested as control. The pipes of subsurface irrigation system were installed at 90cm distance from trees trunk at each side of trees, and 50cm from soil surface. Mean of pressure and discharge in the pipes was 0.8 to 1 atmosphere and 5.4 Lh^-1m^-1, respectively. Different factors of quantity and quality pistachio yield, current vegetative growth, water use efficiency and soil electrical conductivity were measured. The results showed that change of conventional (flooding) to subsurface irrigation system is possible and the best treatment can have water rate of 7174 m³ha^-1y^-1 with 14 days irrigation interval. In comparison with other treatments, this treatment has better quantity and quality pistachio yield. Water use efficiency (WUE) of this treatment was 164g dry yield per cubic meter. Nevertheless, application of water rate of 4783 m³ha^-1y^-1 can result in the deficiency of irrigation water. At this water rate, WUE was 177g dry yield per cubic meter. However, it was found that the application of lower water rate (<4783 m³ha^-1y^-1) produced severe effects on the treated pistachio trees, e.g. decreasing the growth rate, yield and increasing the early splitting in pistachio fruits. Finally, it is concluded that 14-day interval irrigation is the preferred treatment for pistachio trees. Also, soil salinity showed considerable change in subsurface irrigation treatments after irrigation system was changed, especially in the first year.