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Tetranychus turkestani is one of the most important pests of greenhouse plants in the southern provinces of Iran. Several benefits of using essential oils over chemical pesticides make them appropriate for IPM programs. Contact and fumigant toxicity of the essential oils of Foeniculum vulgare and Citrus limon against the spider mite and its predator, Orius albidipennis were investigated under laboratory conditions. Contact toxicity experiments were conducted at six concentrations, (0, 50, 100, 300, 800 and 2000 ppm) of each essential oil on the mature and immature life stages of the pest, and mortalities were recorded 72 h after exposure. In fumigant toxicity trials, LC₅₀ values of the essential oils were determined on different developmental stages of T. turkestani and O. albidipennis. At 800 and 2000 ppm, both essential oils had high contact toxicity on the eggs, 2^nd instar nymphs and adults of T. turkestani, while the same concentrations caused less mortality on O. albidipennis. No significant phytotoxicity of the essential oils was observed. The mortality rates of T. turkestani and O. albidipennis increased as concentration was increased. Also, the 2^nd instar nymph of T. turkestani was more sensitive to contact application of the essential oils than other developmental stages. In the fumigant toxicity bioassay, LC₅₀ values of the essential oil derived from F. vulgare on the egg, 2^nd instar nymph and adult of T. turkestani were 16.08, 7.98 and 14.06, and the values for C. limon essential oil were 11.6, 9.86 and 11.52 µl × l^-1air, respectively. The highest fumigant toxicity was observed against the 2^nd instar nymphs of the mite. Fumigant toxicity of the essential oils was lower against O. albidipennis than against T. turkestani. This data suggests that the essential oils of these plants have the potential of being employed in the IPM programs of T. turkestani in greenhouse crops, especially cucumber.

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 Although, weed control in saffron farms is critical, no herbicide is registered for saffron fields. This experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design with three replicates during 2016-2017. Treatments included application of trifluralin, pendimethalin, metribuzin, bentazon, ioxynil, oxadiazon, oxyfluorfen, haloxyfop-r-methyl, sethoxydim, clethodim, cycloxydim, nicosulfuron, rimsulfuron, tribenuron methyl, foramsulfuron, paraquat, dicamba + triasulfuron, and dicamba + tritosulfuron herbicides at recommended and reduced doses. Mother corms were planted on 10th of September 2016 at 5 × 10 cm corms distance and planting depth of 15 cm. Measured indices included: number of flowers, fresh and dry weights of flower and stigma, number of replacement corms and total corms weight. Results showed that visual phytotoxic symptoms were not observed in pre emergence herbicides. Post emergence herbicides showed different levels of phytotoxicity from slight to severe. The application of paraquat, oxyfluorfen and oxadiazon, caused higher levels of phytotoxicity compared to other herbicides. Acetyl CoA carboxylase inhibitor herbicides caused the least injury to saffron, while acetolactate synthase inhibitor herbicides damaged saffron severely. The highest and the lowest dried stigma yield was obtained from control treatment (0.54 g.m^-2) and post application of tribenuron methyl (0.003 g.m^-2) respectively. Among pre emergence herbicides, the highest dried stigma yield was recorded for pendimethalin herbicide. The post application of metribuzin, oxadiazone and oxyfluorfen resulted in greater dried stigma yield than other broadleaf herbicides. By reducing herbicide dose saffron yield increased and phytotoxic levels were reduced significantly. Among the studied herbicides, trifluralin, oxyfluorfen, pendimethalin and metribuzin can be used as selected herbicides in saffron.
 

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The residues of metsulfuron-methyl in the soil can be a negative factor for the growth of susceptible crops to this herbicide. There are many successful examples of the use of bacteria to increase crop yields and protect plants against stress factors. The purpose of this work was to study the possibility of reducing the phytotoxic effect of metsulfuron-methyl in the soil on sugar beet using plant growth-promoting bacteria. Under greenhouse conditions, sugar beet seeds and bacteria were simultaneously placed in soil previously contaminated with methsulfuron-methyl. The weight of plants, leaf area, amount of proline, malondialdehyde, and flavonoids were measured. Suppression of the growth of young plants and oxidative damage caused by herbicides have been recorded. When sugar beet interacted with bacteria, Pseudomonas protegens DA1.2, oxidative stress caused by herbicide was mitigated, and the mass of plants increased. Treatment with bacteria against the background of herbicidal stress affected the dynamics of the content of flavonoids and proline, which play a role in the anti-stress reactions of plants.


 

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Mass generation of bagasse wastes from every 100 kg of sago starch pith being processed are likely to pollute the water when they are discarded into rivers. The increase of livestock production increases manure production and improper management of these manures will pollute the soil and environment, and causing diseases outbreak. Co-composting of sago bagasse and chicken manure could serve as a viable alternative of managing these wastes. In order to reduce pollution, the objective of this study was to co-compost sago bagasse and chicken manure slurry to obtain a high quality organic fertilizer. The sago bagasse was thoroughly mixed with chicken manure slurry, chicken feed, and molasses in polystyrene boxes. Co-compost temperature readings were taken 3 times daily. Nitrogen and P concentrations increased (1.46 and 0.12%, respectively), whereas C content decreased (48.6%) throughout the co-composting. The CEC increased from 45.7 to 68.3 cmol kg^-1 indicating humified organic material. By the end of co-composting, humic acid and ash contents also increased from 7.3 to 10.0% and 7.1 to 11.6%, respectively. The pH of the co-compost increased from 4.78 to 7.21. The final co-compost had no foul odour, but it had low heavy metals content, and a desired amount of nutrients. Seed germination indices of phytotoxicity test were above 80% of final co-compost. Co-compost product with balanced nutrients content can be produced by co-composting sago bagasse and chicken manure slurry.

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Microcosm experiments were conducted under controlled environmental conditions in order to estimate growth response and phytoremediation ability of A. japonica and A. pinnata. Plants were exposed to solutions of different Cu-concentrations [Cu] (0, 1, 2, 5 and 7 mg L^-1) and Zn-concentrations [Zn] (0, 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 mg L^-1) under different incubation periods (0, 3, 6, and 12 days) along with control treatments. Lower metal concentrations [< 2 mg L^-1 (Cu) and < 1 mg L^-1 (Zn)] enhanced plant growth; however, growth was significantly inhibited at higher concentrations during Longer Incubation Periods (LIPs). Azolla species showed substantial metal removal capacity (on an average, Removal efficiency> 80% for Cu and > 60% for Zn during LIPs). The higher the metal concentrations with LIPs, the higher the metal removal amounts. Plant`s exposure to high (Cu) and (Zn) during LIPs showed changes in color and detachment of the roots that might result in plant death due to phytotoxicity effect. Highly significant relationships (r= 0.91<sup>**</sup> & 0.82<sup>**</sup> for Cu and r= 0.93<sup>**</sup> & 0.92<sup>**</sup> for Zn in case of A. pinnata and A. japonica, respectively) between metal removal amounts and metal concentrations in biomass indicated that phytoaccumulation was the possible mechanism for phytoremediation because the metals removed from solutions were actually accumulated into the plant`s biomass. The high value of bioconcentration factor indicated that Azolla species were hyperaccumulators, and can be deployed effectively for phytofiltartion of Cu and Zn.

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The two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, is a highly polyphagous pest that is considered a serious pest worldwide. Due to problems associated with chemical pesticides such as resistance to pesticides and environmental contamination, plant oils have been considered for use against mites’ control. However, their low solubility in water and phytotoxicity are the major constraints that limit their application. In this research, a developmental screening process was carried out on some commercial emulsifiers and stabilizers to obtain a safe acaricide from suitable vegetable oils including castor and soybean. Among eight emulsifiers, Nonylphenol Ethoxylate 6M (NPE6) had far more excellent emulsification ability and less phytotoxicity with some level of mite toxicity. Among vegetable oils, castor oil had greater toxicity in comparison with soybean oil. Also, Polyethylene Glycol 400 (PEG 400) had more thermal stability in the formulation. In the last step, the best ratios of NPE6, castor oil, and PEG 400 were evaluated for their toxicity, stability, and phytotoxicity. Finally, the ratios of 1:8:1 or 2:6:2 (NPE6: Castor oil: PEG 400) were found as the best end product that could be potent for use in a large scale rose greenhouse. Also, the efficacy of emulsifier-oil-stabilizer mixtures was investigated against T. urticae by two different methods. The results indicated that the petri dish test method caused overestimating in mortality rates compared to the standing leaf test method. New methods such as polymerization can show a new insight for pest control without chemical pesticides.