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The objective of this study was to evaluate the interaction effect of conservation tillage and irrigation methods on the soil properties, crop yield and water use productivity in wheat-maize cropping system. A split plot experimental design with three replications was used for this study in Fars province, Iran. Surface irrigation (SI), drip tape irrigation (DTI), and sprinkler irrigation (SpI) were considered as main plots, and no-tillage (NT), reduced tillage (RT), and conventional tillage (CT) were considered as sub plots. Results showed that SI had the maximum wheat yield on average and the maximum maize yield was obtained from DTI on average; while tillage methods had no significant effect on crops yield. Results also indicated that the maximum water use productivity in wheat and maize production were obtained from DTI on average and the minimum use productivity were related to the SI on average. DTI and SpI saved water compared to the SI by 43% and 22% on average in wheat and 57% and 36% on average in maize, respectively. NT increased water content of soil compared to the CT by 51%. SI had the lowest soil infiltration rate, and NT reduced soil infiltration rate compared to the CT by 26% on average. Conservation tillage (CoT) increased organic carbon of the soil depth of 0.00 to 0.10 m by 12% compared to the CT. Therefore, DTI combined with CoT is recommended for wheat-maize cropping system in a semi-arid climate condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attaining sustainable agriculture requires water consumption management. A water allocation optimization model was developed for the Moghan irrigation network (northwest of Iran) based on the AquaCrop plug-in model. The genetic algorithm was applied to optimize water allocation for five main crops, including wheat, first-cultivation maize, second-cultivation maize, soybeans, and alfalfa. The heuristic economic utility (EU) function was used as the objective function to optimize water allocation. In this function, drained water salinity was applied as a penalty factor to the total benefit, and soil salinity deterioration due to irrigation was also considered as a factor in each crop's benefit. The results showed that the optimal allocated water depth was 17% less than the normal water consumption. Moreover, the application of soil water salinity coefficients did not affect the ratio of EU to EB (economic benefits) for wheat and alfalfa. However, first-cultivation maize, second-cultivation maize, and soybeans cultivation led to a reduction in EU within the study area. A combination of the crops cultivation led to a change in river water quality and an 8.2% reduction in the ratio of EU to EB function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the effects of zeolite and biofertilizers on yield components, yield and nutrients uptake in grains of two corn cultivars (cv. 6010 and ns71), a field experiment was conducted as split plot in a randomized complete block design with three replications at Neka, Mazandaran province, Iran in 2017 and 2018. The corn cultivars cv. 6010 and ns71 were the main plots and applications of zeolite and biofertilizers in 6 combinations including the zeolite application, Bacillus sp., arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), applications of zeolite + Bacillus sp., applications of zeolite + AMF and applications of zeolite + Bacillus sp. + AMF were considered as sub-plots. The results showed that by applications of zeolite + Bacillus sp. + AMF, increased the yield components and seed yield of corn. The maximum seed yield (4.48 t ha−1) was obtained with simultaneous application of zeolite and biofertilizers, and the yield decreased with separate application of zeolite by 31.2%. Among two cultivars used in the experiment, the ns71 cultivar was superior to 6010 cultivar in terms of seed yield. The seed nitrogen content was significantly increased in both cultivars during the two cropping seasons by AMF application. The combined application of zeolite + Bacillus sp. + AMF resulted in the highest amount of seed phosphorus (0.3910 ppm) in the ns71 cultivar in the second year of experiment. Therefore, the combined application of zeolite and biofertilizers is recommended to increase the quantitative and qualitative yield of corn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]