Laboratory tests and a field experiment were carried out to evaluate the effects of priming methods on seed invigoration and field performance of soybean (cv. 'Zan'). The field experiment was arranged as split plot based on RCB design with three replications. Irrigation treatments (I 1 , I 2 and I 3 : irrigation after 70, 110 and 150 mm evaporation from class A pan) and priming methods (water, 3% KH 2 PO 4 and 3% KNO 3 for 8 h at 15±1°C) were allocated to main and sub-plots, respectively. Germination percentage, seedling dry weight and field emergence percentage decreased, but mean emergence time increased, due to seed priming. Grain yield under severe water deficit was 29.32% less than that under normal irrigation. Pods per plant, grains per plant and grain yield per plant were significantly enhanced as a result of low stand establishment caused by seed priming. Consequently, biological and grain yields per unit area and also harvest index were statistically similar for plants from primed and unprimed seeds. In general, priming methods had no any beneficial effect on laboratory and field performance of soybean seeds.

To investigate the changes in selected morphological traits and yield of coriander (Coriandrum sati- vum L.) in response to fertilization and salicylic acid foliar spraying under different irrigation intervals, two field experiments were conducted as split-factorial based on randomized complete block design with three replicates in 2014 and 2015. Treatments were three irrigation intervals (irrigation after 60, 90 and 120 mm evaporation from class A pan) and combination of fertilization (control, urea 100 kg ha–1, Nitrokara (bio-fertilizer), and 50% urea + Nitrokara) and salicylic acid (0 and 1 mM) that were allocated to the main and sub-plots, respectively. The results showed that plant height, length of the longest internode, stem diameter, branches per plant, dry weights of roots and leaves and fruit yield of coriander were reduced and root length enhanced with increasing the irrigation intervals. However, all of the nitrogen fertilizers, especially combined application of 50% urea and Nitrokara, and salicylic acid spraying, improved the selected morphological traits, and consequently fruit yield per unit area under favorable and limited irrigations.

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of salicylic acid (SA) and bio-fertilizer on quality of leaves and seeds essential oils and seeds oil constituents of coriander under different irrigation treatments. The treatments were irrigation intervals (irrigation after 60, 90 and 120 mm evaporation from class A pan) and combination of fertilization (control, 100 kg ha -1 Urea, Nitrokara (as biofertilizer), and 50% Urea + Nitrokara) and salicylic acid (0 and 1 mM) that were allocated to main and sub-plots, respectively. Leaves and seeds essential oils were analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (GC/MS). Results revealed that (E)-2-decenal was major component in essential oil of coriander leaves, while the main constituent of essential oil in seeds under all treatments was linalool. Water stress increased all major components of leaves essential oil, especially in untreated plants with SA. Application of nitrogen fertilizers, particularly 50% Urea + Nitrokara, had an additive effect on leaves essential oil constituents. Effect of salicylic acid on essential oil constituents of leaves was minimal. Increasing irrigation intervals led to a slight increment in concentration of all major components of essential oil, except -terpinene. Application of SA and nitrogen fertilizers (especially 50% Urea + Nitrokara) improved seed essential oil quality by increasing the linalool and -terpinene contents. Based on the results of the GC analysis, the major fatty acid in coriander seeds oil was petroselinic acid, followed by oleic, linoleic, palmitic, stearic, myristic and linolenic acids in all treatments. Water deficit increased percentage of petroselinic, oleic and palmitic acids, and reduced linoleic and linolenic acids. The application of nitrogen fertilizers, especially 50% Urea and Nitrokara, decreased stearic acid content, but increased other fatty acids. Exogenous application of salicylic acid led to increment in unsaturated fatty acids of seed oil, except linolenic acid. Therefore, application of bio-fertilizers and salicylic acid could be recommended for improving quality of essential oil and oil components of coriander seeds under different water availabilities.

The Balangu (Lallemantia iberica) species have a high gastronomical impact in the Middle East and Balkan region. It is widely used in the local food industry, such as confectionery, edible oil, and protein food. In this study, 49 ecotypes were collected from different regions of Iran. 37 agronomic traits were measured during the growing season and at harvest time. To find the correlation between the grain yield per unit area, grain yield per single plant (GYSP), oil percent (OP), and protein percent (PP) with other measured traits, which these were utilized as the labels of different machine learning (ML) procedures including Linear Regression (LR), Support Vector Regression (SVR), Random Forest Regression (RFR), and Gradient Boosting Decision Tree Regression (GBDTR). It was observed that there is a linear relationship between the measured agronomic traits and the considered labels. So, the LR, RFR, and GBDTR models showed the lowest mean absolute error, mean square error, and root mean square error than SVR models and good prediction ability of the test data. Although, the RFR and GBDTR have naturally lower bias than other methods in this study, but the GBDTR scheme is preferred because of the over-fitting shortcoming of the RFR technique. The GBDTR method showed better results rather than the other ML regression methods according to the RMSE 3.302, 0.040, 0.028, and 0.060 for GYUA, GYSP, OP, and PP, respectively.

Identifying and studying the environmental and agronomic factors are of major importance in increasing the quantity and quality of medicinal plants. Hence, this study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of mulch and biofertilizer application on yield and yield components, oil quantity and quality of purslane in different cropping systems. Two experiments were carried out with factorial arrangement based on randomized complete block design with three replications in 2015 and 2016. The first factor was cropping systems including Portulaca oleracea L. and Lallemantia iberica Fischer & C.A. Meyer sole cropping, the additive intercropping of purslane/dragon's head (P100/D20, D40 and D60 %); the second factor was mulch application including with (+M) or without (-M) wheat straw mulch; the third factor was two types of fertilization including application of 100% chemical fertilizer (F1) and 50% chemical + biological fertilizers (F2). The mulching significantly affected yield, yield components, oil content and omega-3 fatty acid of purslane. The highest value of omega-3 fatty acid was observed in mulched plants. Sole cropping of purslane increased number of capsule and seed yield. The highest land equivalent ratio (1.56) was observed in D40+P100 intercropped with mulch application and 50% chemical + biological fertilizers in 2016. Therefore, the organic intercropped system with mulching is applicable in the medicinal plant production such as purslane in order to reach sustainable agricultural goals.