JWSS - Journal of Water and Soil Science

---

In this study, an experiment was carried out to determine the effects of 6 culture media (sand, perlite, vermiculite, Sand + Perlite, Sand + Vermiculite, Vermiculite + Perlite) on the rooting of single-bud cuttings of seven grape cultivars (Rishbaba, Hosseiny, Dashgarah, Ghiziluzum, Teberzeh, Bidaneh Sefid, Sahebi). All the cuttings were prepared from one-year old branches. Statistical analyses of the data obtained from the examination of the roots revealed significant discrepancies in the rooting of different cultivars' cuttings, media and media-cultivar interactions in terms of rooting percentage, fresh weight of roots and the ratio of dry to fresh weight of roots. The highest rooting performance in terms of the above parameters was observed in Hosseiny cultivar while the lowest obtained in Teberzeh cultivar. Vermiculite and perlite + Vermiculite were found to be the most suitable media for rooting of cuttings. According to the media-cultivar interactions, high rooting of Hosseiny, Dashgarah, and Ghiziluzum was observed in vermiculite and high rooting of Rishbaba, Teberzeh, Bidaneh Sefid and Sahebi was obtained in perlite + vermiculite.

---

Solarization of field soil through mulching with transparent polyethylene sheets alone and in integration with farm yard manure (40 T/ha) and/or metalayl (25 kg/ha) during summer 1994-95 for five weeks in Isfahan resulted in an increase in temperature of 10 °C (± 1) and moisture preservation of up to 82%. Solarization effectively reduced foot-rot of cucumber (Phytophthora drechsleri) in the above treatments up to 88%, 96% and 95%, respectively.

Solarization, farm yard manure and their integration reduced the infection of Meloidogyne javanica up to 50%, 57% and 83% while plant parasitic nematodes were also reduced to 72%, 75% and 86%, respectively. The populations of free living nematodes increased only in farm yard manure and in integration with solarization by 30% and 53%, respectively.

Solarization effectively reduced the populations of almost all weeds by around 100%, except for Cyperus rotundus and Sonchus asper which were reduced by 59% and 44%, respectively.

---

A glasshouse study was conducted to measure the effects of salinity and drought stresses on growth and chemical and biochemical composition of 4 onion cultivars. The cultivars were Dessex, Texas Early Grano (Texas), Dehydrator, and PX492. Salinity treatments included control, 45mM NaCl, 45mM NaCl + 5mM CaCl2 and drought treatments were control (maintaining soil moisture at field capacity) and irrigation when 50% of available water was used. Four weeks after the treatments, the plants were harvested and root and shoot dry weights (RDW, SDW), Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, total protein, reduced sugars, as well as free proline contents were measured in both roots and shoots.

 Results showed that NaCl and drought treatments significantly reduced SDW and RDW. The Texas cultivar and the Dessex cultivar produced the highest and the lowest amounts of SDW, respectively. NaCl significantly increased Na⁺ uptake but reduced K⁺ uptake in shoots and roots and also reduced Ca²⁺ uptake in roots. NaCl+CaCl₂ significantly alleviated the deleterious effects of NaCl such that SDW significantly increased in two cultivars and increased RDW and the K⁺ contents while causing decreased Na⁺ and sugar contents in shoots and roots of all cultivars. All stresses increased total protein contents of shoots in Texas only but decreased or had no effect on others. Root total protein increased under salinity stress, while drought had no effect. Changes in proline and sugars in both shoots and roots did not follow any particular pattern. Out of the biochemical compositions measured, shoot total protein in plants under the stresses showed a positive significant correlation with SDW, which may be used to screen onion cultivars for drought and salinity stresses.

---

Downslope soil movement along riverbanks is a significant erosion process. Plant roots, particularly of woody vegetation, apparently stabilize soil on slopes because in most areas where the vegetation is removed, frequent bank failure occurs. Plant roots increase soil-shearing resistance both directly by mechanical reinforcement and indirectly through removal of pore water by transpiration. In this study, the effects of two plant species on the stability of the Karoon River has been investigated. To determine the In-situ shear strength of soil, a special device was designed and manufactured. This device is capable of measuring the shear strength of soil blocks as large as two cubic meters. In this study, twelve soil blocks, four blocks with roots of each tree and four blocks of root permitted were measured. Comparison of the soil shear strength with roots and root permitted soil shows that tree roots can significantly increase the shear strength of the soil. The amount of increase depends on the type of plant, the age of plant, the diameter of the roots and the percentage of roots in the block. In this study, the amount of increase varied between 20-66%. From the analysis of the data, two equations were developed to determine the increased shear strength.

---

The objective of this research was to evaluate bromide leaching in a field under corn, wheat and alfalfa. Potassium bromide (300 kg/ha) was uniformly applied and 15 mm of water was sprinkled over the plots in the first and second years. Plots were leached 8 times during the first year and 9 times in the second year (each time with 100 mm of water). Soil samples were collected at 0-30, 30-60, 60-90 and 90-120 cm depths two days after each leaching practice. Bromide concentration in soil samples was measured using an ion selective electrode. Moisture content in each plot was measured using a neutron meter to a depth of 120 cm and after calculation of evaporation from soil surface, the net water applied was determined. CXTFIT software and Regional Stochastic Model (RSM) were used to simulate leaching under field conditions. The results showed that flow velocity and dispersivity of treatmens were not significantly different from the control in the first year, indicating that treatments had no effect on preferential flow. Control treatments were not significantly different in the first and second years. In the second year, flow velocity in wheat, corn and alfalfa treatments were 1.54, 1.86 and 2.21 times higher than flow velocity in the control, respectively. Dispersivity in alfalfa and corn treatments were 4.30 and 5.30 times higher as compared to the control. The increase in flow velocity and dispersivity is caused by an increase of preferential flow in the second year. The root channels remaining in soil at the end of the first year may also have increased preferential flow. After adding 25 cm of water, 30% of bromide leached from the top 50 cm soil in all plots in the first year and control plots in the second year but the values in the second year were 47, 67 and 70% of bromide leaching from the top 50 cm soil in wheat, corn and alfalfa plots, respectively.

---

In an etiological study on stunted, nursery grown maple seedlings, a species of root-lesion nematode (Pratylenchus vulnus) and two species of fusarium (Fusarium oxysporum and F. solani) were isolated from the infected roots. Interactions between the nematode and the two fungi in a complete randomized design with six treatments and four replications were carried out under greenhouse conditions. Nematodes were surface sterilized and reared on sterilized carrot discs. Then the maple seedlings at two-leaf stage were inoculated with a population density of 40 nematodes/100 gr soil in pots. The results indicated singnificant differences between the treatments. Seven months after inoculation, the treatments with nematode alone showed a high mortality rate of about 75% along with a severe increase in population up to about 11.2 and 1266 nematodes/gr of soil and roots, respectively. In treatments with nematode and each of the two-fungus species, the deleterious effects of fungi on nematodes were observed through decrease of nematode population. It was also shown that F. oxysporum was more effective than F. solani in nematode control.

---

To determine the effects of salinity and boron excess in irrigation water on relative growth rate (RGR), net assimilation rate on a leaf weight basis (NAR), and leaf weight ratio (LWR) of pistachio, three pistachio rootstocks (Badami -Zarand, Sarakhs and Ghazvini) were used. Rootstocks were grown in soil in eight-liter polyethylene pots. Sodium chloride treatments were 0, 75,150 and 225 mM NaCl and boron treatments were 0, 20 and 40mg liter^-1. Treatments were applied to the one-year old pistachio rootstock seedlings in three-day intervals with irrigation water. Some plants were randomly selected and destructively harvested before (day 0) and after applying treatments (30 and 60 days after treatments started). Growth and physiological characters were then measured as follows: number of leaves, leaf area, plant height and root length, fresh and dry weights of stem, root and leaf, proline accumulation in the leaf, total chlorophyll, and leaf relative water content (RWC). Results indicated that relative growth rate decreased with time for all treatments and in all rootstocks. Salt treatment significantly reduced both RGR and NAR, whereas LWR showed no significant differences. In all rootstocks, NAR, but not LWR, was significantly correlated with RGR, indicating that NAR was an important factor underlying the salinity-induced differences in RGR among the pistachio rootstocks. Salinity did not affect leaf water potential (ψ), chlorophyll content, and Fv:Fm ratio but increased NaCl concentration and time correspondingly increased proline accumulation in leaves. In addition, Ghazvini rootstock accumulated more proline compared to other rootstocks and was more resistant to salinity treatments. Different boron treatments did not show any significant effect on growth rate nor on measured parameters after two months of exposure to treatments.

---

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is one of the multi-purpose oilseed crops which has a high adaptation to different conditions such as resistance to drought and it is suited to be grown in arid and semi-arid regions such as Isfahan province. Root rot disease is an important soil-borne disease of safflower in Isfahan, which can be caused by different pathogens. The objective of this study was to determine the causal agent of safflower root rot and to evaluate different genotypes for tolerance to the disease. Different species of Fusarium were isolated from sample collections. Laboratory and greenhouse inoculations indicated that F. solani was the only pathogenic species. In this experiment, 60 genotypes of safflower including breeding lines selected from various Iranian local populations and foreign cultivars were evaluated for reaction to the disease in a randomized complete block design with three replications in greenhouse. Artificial inoculation via injection of spore suspension of F. solani (10⁶ spores/ml) was conducted on 8-week plants and then development of necrosis and death percentage were recorded. The results showed that there were significant differences among the genotypes in terms of reaction to the disease. The most resistant and susceptible genotypes were breeding lines of IUTE14310 and IUTC121 with mean necrosis of 9.67 and 28.33 mm, and death percentage of 32 and 74, respectively. Based on the means of necrosis and death percentage, the genotypes were significantly classified in 5 distinct groups including resistant (7 genotypes), moderately resistant (19 genotypes), tolerant (29 genotypes), moderately susceptible (3 genotypes), and susceptible (2 genotypes). The commercial foreign cultivars of AC Sunset, AC Sterling belonged to tolerant and moderately susceptible groups, respectively. However, Saffire was classified as a tolerant genotype. The local landrace of Kooseh which is widely grown in Isfahan province was classified as susceptible genotype. Phenotypic and genetic coefficients of variation (23.85 and 18.32 %, respectively) and a relatively high broad-sense heritability (59%) for necrosis and also the phenotypic and genetic coefficients of variation (25 and 21 %, respectively) and a high broad-sense heritability (73%) for death plants indicated that there was sufficient genetic variation for resistance and selection can be effective for producing resistant genotypes to Fusarium root rot disease.

---

Distribution of Phytophthora species associated with stone fruits decline in Fars was investigated. Of 36 isolates of Phytophthora recovered, 23 were identified as P. cactorum (mostly from infected crown) from almond, apricot, and peach and 13 isolates of P. nicorianae from crown and basal stem of almond and apricot from different environmental conditions. The reactions of crown and root of 6- month–old local almond cultivars, i. e., Mamaee, Moheb-Ali, Talkheh e- Najafabad (Isfahan Province), Talkheh Sadeh, and Sang Talkheh Riz from Neiriz (Fars Province), peach cultivar bitter pit and apricot cultivar Hallander from Isfahan to a virulent isolate of P. cactorum were evaluated under greenhouse conditions. The inoculum of the pathogen was obtained by growing on vermiculate – hemp seed extract for 4-6 weeks and positioned around either crown or root system. Plant height, root and total weight of plants, lesion size, plant mortality, and percentage colinization of the pathogen on root and stem base were determined. The results indicated that almond cv. Mamaee was the most susceptible and almond cv. Talkheh-e-Najfabad, peach cv. bitter pit and apricot cv. Hallander were the most resistant rootstocks to P.cactorum. Comparative reactions of root and crown of various rootstocks to P. cactorum showed that although inoculation site (root or crown) in most cultivars was not significant to most characters measured, the interaction of cultivars × site of inoculation became significant for certain characters such as plant height, lesion size, root and total plant weight and mortality, indicating different reactions by root and crown to P. cactorum in some cultivars.

---

In order to investigate variations of spore population, root colonization and also to determine mycorrhizal symbiosis in the root and rhizosphere of Pistachio trees (Pistacia vera) in natural forests, two study stations in Kalat (Chachaeh) and Sarakhs (Shorlogh) regions were selected. Sampling from soil and root of the trees were taken from under the canopy and from a depth of 30 cm. On a monthly basis. The roots were stained and the colonization rate and the variations of spore population were measured. Some soil characteristics including pH, moisture, organic material percentage and available phosphorus were determined, The correlation coefficients between the measured factors were calculated. The results indicated that vesicular – arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM) was the only symbiotic mycorriza of pistachio trees. Average amounts of root colonization were 13% and 11% in Chahchaheh and Shorlogh stations, respectively. Also, average numbers of spores per 1 gram of dry soil in the above stations were 12 and 10, respectively. The correlation between the variation of spore population and colonization levels was positive but the correlation between spore population and soil moisture, organic material, available phosphorus and pH was negative.

---

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) has relatively weak root system and requires high nitrogen fertilizer which is costly and may pose environmental pollution. This study was conducted to compare root morphological characteristics and nitrogen uptake of some potato cultivars growing in Iran. A greenhouse experiment using a completely randomized design with 3 replications and 8 potato cultivars including: Arinda, Agria, Premiere, Diamant, Concord, Marfona, Marodana and Nevita was conducted at Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan. Virus-free seed tubers were planted and grown up to flowering stage. The plants were then harvested and their root length (RL), root average diameter (RAD) and root surface area (RSA) were determined using a Delta-T Scan image analysis system and Windias software. Root length density (RLD), root length and shoot weight ratio (R/S) were also calculated. Dry mater production and nitrogen accumulation (total nitrogen uptake) (PNA) were also determined. Soil inorganic nitrogen was measured before planting and after harvest. All measured parameters, except RAD, were significantly (p<0.05) affected by cultivar. Large differences observed between cultivars for all traits indicated genetic diversity among the studied potato cultivars. The highest and the lowest values of RL, RLD, RSA, R/S, RDW and PNA were found in Marfona and Nevita respectively. Based on cluster analysis, cultivars were divided into four different groups. Under the condition of this study, Marfona was superior whereas Arinda, Nevita, Marodana and Agria were inferior. Due to the high differences in root morphological characteristics and nitrogen uptake among potato cultivars, plant breeders may produce cultivars with larger root volumes and high nitrogen uptake.

---

Manganese toxicity occurs in many agricultural and natural ecosystems under the various soil conditions such as the nature of substrate, acidity, flooding or vicinity to the mining areas. The objective of this work was to study the effects of excess Mn in the growth medium on three important crop species, namely rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. T. Hashemi), maize (Zea mays L. cv. SC.704) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L. Mehr). Plants were cultured in the hydroponic medium under controlled environmental conditions and treated with 0 (control), 25 50, 75 and 100 µM Mn for 12 days. Dry mass production, the effect of supplemental Mg and Ca on the toxicity expression, root respiration and K⁺ leakage from shoot and root tissues were studied under the Mn treatments. In order to study the effect of light intensity on the expression of toxicity symptoms, plants were cultured under the different light conditions, thereafter their growth and metal uptake and transport were studied. Sunflower plants treated with the 50 µM Mn and higher, showed dark-brown spots associated with the trichomes on the leaves and petioles. Maize plants developed interveinal chlorosis and any visual leaf symptoms was observed in rice. In all of the studied species, a great portion of the absorbed Mn was translocated into shoot, the highest transport was observed in sunflower and the lowest in maize. No significant correlation was observed between the expression of Mn toxicity and the accumulation rate of Mn. Growing under the low light intensity, in addition to the lowering biomass production, increased or decreased the toxicity effect depending on species. Mn-toxicity-induced root respiration was not associated with the differential response of species to Mn toxicity. In contrast the change of K⁺ leakage from shoot and root tissues was well correlated with the toxicity response of tested plants.

---

Endophytic fungi, Neotyphodium spp. symbiotically infect host grasses, Fescue arundinacea Schreb. and F. pratensis Huds. and Mealybug, Phenococcus solani Ferris attacks some forage plants. To evaluate the role of these fungi to control this pest, four genotypes of F. arundinacea and two genotypes of F. pratensis were used. Plant tillers were split into two sections, one section of which was freed from endophyte using a fungicide mixture. The mixture contained 2 grams of active ingredients of Propiconazol and 1 ml of Folicur per liter of water. New tillers from endophyte-infected and endophyte-free plants were transferred into the field. The number of mealybugs was measured after the first visible sign of infestation on roots. To count mealybug, one plant hill of each plot was randomly selected. Hay yield of each plot was measured by clipping the plants 5 cm above ground level. Correlation of hay yield and other growth characteristics with the number of mealybugs on roots as an index for mealybug damage on infested plants was determined. The results indicated that endophyte-free plants were highly infested with mealybug, P. solani compared with endophyte-infected plants that were completely free of P. solani, correlation coefficients showed that there was significant negative correlation between forage yield and mealybug numbers, indicating mealybug damage on infested plants. It seems that endophytic fungi are effective biocontrol factors for some root feeding pest such as mealybug, P. solani.

---

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of salinity on concentration of potassium (K), sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl) ions, in sweet lime budded on five citrus rootstocks, including Bakraii (mandarin x sweet lime), Volcameriana, Sour orange, Sweet lime and Mexican lime in a glasshouse, using a randomized completely design with factorial arrangement and four replications. Rootstocks had great effect on the concentration of ions in scion. Concentration and distribution of ions were significantly different in control and other treatments. Salinity increased Na and Cl ions in shoots and roots, but the rate of increase varied among rootstocks and treatments. Lowest concentration of Na and Cl ions were in shoot of scion on Volkameriana. Under salinity stress, K concentration increased in shoots of scion on Sour orange and Bakraei and decreased it on other rootstocks. Salinity increased K concentration in roots of all rootstocks except for Mexican lime.

---

  In this research, after optimization of sterilizing cyst and larvae of second stage of Heterodera schachtii, the possibility of using nematode on seedlings of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) in in vitro condition was studied for developing larvae to cyst. For this purpose, non sterile cysts were extracted from infected soil and hatched into zinc chloride solution with concentration of 0.5gl^-1. Then, for preparation of sterile second stage larvae, several sterilizing treatments were used . Mean comparisons were performed between sterilized live larvae number by Duncan's method. Results showed that 70% ethanol for 1 minute followed by 5% sodium hypochlorite for 5 minutes and 0.1% sodium hypochlorite for 20 minutes were the best treatments for disinfecting cysts and larvae, respectively. In the next step, two nematode susceptible sugar beet varieties were applied to produce cyst from the larvae in in vitro culture. PG_oB medium containing different hormonal compositions was used to produce hairy roots and inoculation of seedling with sterilized larvae. After nematode inoculation tests, were the stained cysts were observed under stereomicroscope and counted 40 days later. Five to twelve cysts were formed on the roots of each seedling from two varieties. As a result, it seems that this technique can be used for sugar beet germplasm evaluation to screen nematode resistant genotypes in in vitro controlled condition.

---

  This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of soil compaction due to wheel traffic on corn growth and yield, in summer 2004 and 2005 at the Badjgah Research Station, Shiraz University located in North West of Shiraz, Iran. The treatments consisted of axial load in two levels and wheel traffic location treatments at four levels, including none, between rows, on rows and on entire plot area. The corn growth rate, root density and yield were not significantly influenced by axial load, but they were significantly affected by wheel traffic in all plots. Corn yield with wheel traffic on entire plot area averaged 3.97 Mg/ha which was significantly lower than the yields with the other treatments which averaged 6.65 Mg/ha with no traffic.

---

In order to diagnose form species of Bipolaris involving root and crown rot of wheat plants and determine their distribution, frequency and disease severity, 410 wheat fields (W. Fs.) in different regions of Kermanshah province were sampled at seedling, tillering and heading stages during three crop years (1997– 2000). Also 90 W. Fs. (30 per year) in different regions of the province were chosen randomly to estimate percentage of infected wheat plants. For the isolation of the fungi from tissues of root, subcrown internodes, crown and foot, the tissues were surface sterilized and placed on culture media. The results showed that there were some root and crown rots in the most regions of the province and the percentage of diseased plants was 0-24%, whose average was 3.2%. Forty three isolates belonging to form genus Bipolaris were isolated including form species B. sorokinina, B. cynodontis and B. spicifera. All three form species were pathogenic under greenhouse conditions. Disease severity and frequency of B. sorokinina were more than the others. Disease severity of B. cynodontis and B. spicifera was the same and their differences compared with the control were significant.

---

This research was conducted to study the effect of nematode (Meloidogyne javanica) on severity of tomato Fusarium wilt (Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici race 1) and changes in Phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) activity in split-root assays to show the possibility of systemic induced susceptibility caused by nematode to the fungus by local nematode infection. The results showed that the activity of nematode in one part of root confered susceptibility to Fusarium wilt in other part of the plant root and subsequently disease symptoms increased significantly in comparison to the control (without nematode inoculation). PAL specific activity showed a significant decrease in one half of split-root inoculated with fungus when the other half was inoculated with nematode as compared with the control (without nematode inoculation). Based on the results obtained in this study, nematode infection in one part of tomato plant root resulted in suppression of tomato defenses in all parts of the root, reduced tolerance or resistance to the fungus (as secondary pathogen) and intensified the fungal disease.

---

Root depth is one of the main parameters affecting soil moisture availability held within the plant root zone. This study was conducted to evaluate the trend of corn root development during the growing season in different irrigation methods with two water qualities, and distribution of roots in soil profile. The experiment was a split plot design with three main treatments (subsurface drip(SSD), surface drip(SD) and furrow irrigation(FI)) and two sub main treatments (municipal effluent and fresh water) in two consecutive years conducted in Korbal plain, Fars province. Root monitoring was carried out with the observation of soil profile root depth measurement. Samples were taken during the growing season 16 times, each with a 7 day interval. Measurement of root weight in different soil layers was carried out using monoliths of soil washed with water pressure using 50 mesh sieves. Although the longest roots were observed in plots irrigated with SSD and the shortest in FI, the final root length was not significantly affected by irrigation methods and water qualities. In this research, a model showing the trend of root length average growth was developed and tested in the experiment conditions. The average final main root depth for all treatments was 77 cm. Irrigation volume using root depth monitoring could be reduced compared to linear model, Borg & Grimes and CROPWAT model for root depth estimation. Irrigation water on the base of soil moisture deficit within the root zone in each irrigation event could be reduced when the real root depth is considered compared with the conventional general models giving a final root depth. Results showed the total dry root weight in SSD was more than that in SD and FI methods. However, water quality did not show a significant effect on dry root weight. The most root concentration in SSD was measured in depth of 20-40 cm, while in SD and FI the most concentration was in surface layer (0-20 cm). In the SSD, the roots were distributed more evenly compared with SD and FI methods. The concentration of roots in all treatments below 65 cm was not significant.

---

Pink root-rot disease caused by Pyrenochaeta terrestris is one of the serious diseases of onion fields in Iran and the world. The use of resistant cultivars might be a good alternative as suggested on the basis of the screening at the near end of growing season. The susceptibility assessment of 43 Iranian onion clones in glass-house condition in Isfahan for the last two successive years i.e. 2003-04 indicated that, the clones react independently with various degrees of resistance to the pink root-rot disease and with a high significant effect. The scoring scale was of 0-3 to determine the susceptibility and/or resistance of the clones to the disease, out of which, the two clones, Ramhormoz-Saffiabad and Balochestan-Sarbaz were the most susceptible clones to the pink root-rot disease, and were placed in 2-3 (0-3) scale. But most of the clones were placed in the scoring scale 1-2 (0-3) indicating that they are in the ranges of tolerance. This could be why they still exist and could tolerate the disease and remain safe. The third and/or the resistant clones are those clones that were placed in the scoring scale of 0-1 (0-3), i.e. Naishabor-Ishaghabad, Sarri-Local, Loosha-Golden, Zanjan-Ghotigheseh, Shahrood- local, Azarbayejan-East, Shahrood-Lasjerd, Kashan-White, Yazd-Marvdasht, Azarshahr-Red and Boshehr-Local, respectively. In fact, the two clones Naishabor-Ishaghabad and Sarri-local are the most resistant ones to the pink root-rot disease of onion in these tests. These results indicate that there are certain clones which can be considered in breeding programs and/or cultivations.