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esmaeel mir; halimeh piri; Amir Naserin
Abstract
Carla is a medicinal plant whose fruit is used to treat diabetes. In this study, the effect of water stress and biochar on the qualitative and quantitative parameters of Carla plant was investigated. The experiment was performed in greenhouse conditions in a factorial manner and in a completely randomized ...
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Carla is a medicinal plant whose fruit is used to treat diabetes. In this study, the effect of water stress and biochar on the qualitative and quantitative parameters of Carla plant was investigated. The experiment was performed in greenhouse conditions in a factorial manner and in a completely randomized design with three replications. Treatments included three irrigation water treatments (50%, 75%, and 100% of the water requirement) and four biochar treatments (zero, 1.25%, 2.5%, and 5% by weight of potting soil). During the growing season, water treatments were applied by weekly weighing of the pots and replenishing the water loss up to Field Capacity. The amount of water added to each pot was measured. Harvest at 50 days after planting was done once a week. A total of five harvests were performed. In each harvest, quantitative parameters including plants height, number, weight, diameter and length of fruit, and qualitative parameters of fruit sugar content, greenness index, and leaf area index in each pot were carefully measured. Also, the yield and efficiency of irrigation water consumption at the end of the planting season was determined in each treatment. The results showed that the effects of irrigation water and biochar levels were significant (at 1% and 5% probability) on the measured parameters. With decrease in irrigation water, the amount of quantitative parameters and plant yield decreased. The highest value of the measured parameters was obtained from 100% irrigation water treatment, which was not significantly different from the 75% irrigation water treatment. The use of biochar up to 2.5% by weight of soil increased the parameters. Use of the right amount of biochar reduces the negative effects of stress and improves plant growth compared with the control treatment. Therefore, use of biochar for plants, especially when the plant is under water stress, can be recommendable. In order to reduce the amount of water used in greenhouses and improve plant growth and yield, biochar use is advisable, however, its use under field conditions should be tested.
e g; a m; a k
Abstract
Drought and its resulting stress is one of the most important common environmental stresses that limit agricultural productions. In order to evaluate the effect of cattle manure biochar on the growth, yield, and water use efficiency of spinach at different soil moisture status, a factorial completely ...
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Drought and its resulting stress is one of the most important common environmental stresses that limit agricultural productions. In order to evaluate the effect of cattle manure biochar on the growth, yield, and water use efficiency of spinach at different soil moisture status, a factorial completely randomized design with 3 replications was conducted under greenhouse conditions during October 2014 to January 2015. Treatments consisted of four biochar levels (0, 1.25, 2.5 and 5% wt of initial soil) and three soil moisture levels (FC (without stress), 0.7FC, and 0.55FC). To compensate the water losses via evapotranspiration, the pots were weighted every day and water stress was imposed by adding the water required in each treatment. Total water consumption during the growing season was also determined. Results indicated that application of both soil water stress levels resulted in significant reduction in leaf area, stomatal conductance, water consumption, and fresh and dry weight as compared to those of the controls (without water stress and biochar application). The greenness index significantly increased by 14%, 14%, and 11 % as compared to that of the control when soil moisture level of 0.55 FC was applied at the first, second, and third growth stages (40, 55 and 70 days after planting), respectively. Application of biochar also significantly increased greenness index, leaf area, and stomatal conductance as compared to that of the control. Soil moisture stress up to 0.7FC decreased the plant water consumption; however, it did not affect the water use efficiency, significantly; while water stress level of 0.55 FC decreased water use efficiency significantly. In general, application of 1.25 biochar (25 ton/ha) as compared to the control decreased the negative effects of water stress on plant (reducing leaf area, fresh and dry weight, etc.) and improved plant growth indices and increased the growth of plant at all of the applied water stress levels. Therefore, in order to reduce water consumption and improve the growth and yield of plants, biochar application, especially under drought stress conditions or in greenhouse conditions, is recommended. Meanwhile, performing such an experiment under field conditions is also suggested.