Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 M.Sc. student, Department of Agronomy, Agricultural Faculty, Birjand University, Birjand, Iran
2 Department of Agronomy, Agricultural Faculty, Birjand University, Birjand, Iran
Abstract
In order to determine the appropriate planting date and evaluate the effect of sulfur on yield and yield components of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.), a factorial experiment was conducted based on a randomized complete block design with three replications and two factors in Khalilabad, Khorasan Razavi, in 2016 cropping year. The experimental factors were three planting dates (20 and 30 April and 10 May) and application of granular sulfur at four levels (0, 150, 300, and 450 kg ha-1). The results showed that planting date significantly affected the main stem length, branch number, total biomass, number of seeds per fruit, seed weight per fruit, 1000-seed weight, fruit and seed yield per hectare and oil percentage. Delayed planting from 20 to 30 April decreased the weight of 1000-seed by 14%. The highest seed yield was achieved by applying 300 kg sulfur per hectare. The fruit yield and seed oil percentage were higher in the first planting date and application of 300 kg sulfur ha-1. In general, this study showed that the first planting date (20 April), with the application of at least 300 kg ha-1 of sulfur fertilizer, would provide the best conditions for pumpkin yield.
Keywords
- Abdel-Nasser, G., Harhash, M.M. and EL-Shazly, S.M., 2005. Response of some olive cultivars grown in Siwa Oasis to well water quality. Journal of Agriculture Science, 25(5): 2877-2896.
- Aghayari, F., Faraji, A. and Kordkatooli, A., 2016. Determination of yield and yield components response of soybean (Glycine max L.) to swing date, temperature and sunshine hours. Journal of Agroecology, 7(4): 547-562.
- Ahmad, A. and Abdin, M.Z., 2000. Effect of sulphur application on lipid, RNA and fatty acid content in developing seeds of rape seed (Brassica Campestris L.). Plant Science, 150: 71-76.
- Amin Ghafori, A., Rezvani Moghaddam, P., Nassiri Mahallati, M. and Khorramdel, S., 2016. Effects of organic and biofertilizers on growth indices of castor bean (Ricinus communis L.). Journal of Agroecology, 8(1): 33-46.
- Anandham, R., Sridar, R., Nalayini, P., Poonguzhali, S., Madhaiyan, M. and Tongmin, S., 2007. Potential for plant growth promotion in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L. cv. ALR-2) by co inoculation of sulfur oxidizing bacteria and Rhizobium. Microbiological Research, 162: 139-153.
- Ansori, A., Shahgholi, H., Makarian, H. and Gholipoor, M., 2016. The Effect of planting date on the growth and yield of indigo (Indigofera tinctoria L.) in Shahrood conditions. Iranian Journal of Field Crops Research, 14(1): 37-47.
- AOCS, 1993. Official methods and recommended practices. The American Oil Chemists Society Champaign.
- Aroyi, H., Kashi, A. and Omid Baigi, R., 2000. The effect of salinity and nitrogen nutrition on free proline and pumpkin oil. Seed and Plant Journal, 16(3): 447-456.
- AsgharMalik, M., Aziz, I., Khan, H.Z. and Ashfaq Wahid, M. 2004. Growth, seed yield and oil content response of canola (Brassica napus L.) to varying levels of sulphur. International Journal of Agricultural and Biology, 6(6):1153-1166.
- Ashiono, G.B., Gatuiku, S., Mwangi, P. and Akuja, T.E., 2005. Effect of nitrogen and phosphorous application on growth and yield of dual-porpose sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench), E1291, in the dry highlands of Kenya. Asian Journal of Plant Sciences, 4(4): 379-382.
- Baghdadi, H., 2003. Evaluation of planting date and density on seed yield of pumpkin. Second Congress on Medicinal Plants, Tehran, Iran, 26-27 January: 68.
- Bilsborrow, P.E. and Norton, G., 1993. A consideration of factors affecting the yield of oilseed rape. Aspects of Applied Biology, 6: 91-99.
- Board, J. and Hall, W., 1984. Premature flowering in soybean yield reduction at nonoptimal planting dates as influence by temperature and photoperiod. Agronomy Journal, 76: 700-704.
- Bombardelli, E. and Morazzoni, P., 1997. Cucurbita pepo L. Fitoterapia, 68(4): 291-302.
- Bonari, A., Mousavinik, M., Behdani, M.A. and Besharati, H., 2013. Effect of sulphur fertilizer and split nitrogen application on seed yield and its components of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Crop Production, 6(3): 1-15.
- Choopan, F., Bannayan, M., Asadi, G.A. and Shabahang, J., 2014. Effects of planting date and density on yield and yield components of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) under Mashhad conditions. Journal of Agroecology, 6(2): 383-392.
- Dodman, A., Shiranirad, A.H. and Naghvi, M., 2010. Effect of planting date and density plant on yield and oil percentage in (Cucurbita pepo L.). 11th Iranian Crop Science Congress, Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran, 24-26 July: 24-26.
- Emam, Y.M. and Niknejad, M., 2004. An Introduction to the Physiology of Crop Yield. Shiraz University Press, 571p.
- Farhadi, N., Souri, M.K. and Omidbaigi, R., 2012. Effect of sowing date on yield, yield components and oil percentage of castor bean. Crop Production, 5 (1): 89-104.
- Fathi, G., Siadat, S.A. and Hemaiaty, S.S., 2003. Effect of sowing date on yield and yield components of three oilseed rape varieties. Acta Agronomica Hungarica, 51(3): 249-255.
- Ferreira, R. and Teixeira, A., 2005. Sulfur starvation in Lemna leads to degradtion of ribolose-bisphosphate carboxylase without plant death. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 267: 7253-7257.
- Ghasemian, V., 2000. Study of micronutrients elements such as iron, zinc and manganese on the quantity and quality of seed soybean under West Azarbaijan. M.Sc. Thesis of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modarres, Iran.
- Ghorbani Nasr Abadi, R., 2002. Study of sulfur application and Thiobacillus and Bradyrhizobium inoculation on nitrogen fixation and growth indices of soybean. Journal of Soil and Water, 16(2): 171-178.
- Ghosh, P.K., Ajay, K.K., Bandyopadhyay, M.C., Manna, K.G., Mandal, A.K. and Hati, K.M., 2004. Comprative effectivence of cattle manure, poultry manure, phosphocompost and fertilizer-NPK on three cropping system in vertisols of semi- arid tropics. П. dry matter yield, nodulation, chlorophyllcontent and enzyme activity. Bioresource Technology, 95: 85-93.
- Halvin, J.L., Beaton, J.D., Tisdale, S.L. and Nelson, W.L., 2004. Soil fertility and fertilizers. Prentice Hall Press, 528p.
- Hocking, P.J., Randal, P.J. and Pinkerton, A., 1987. Sulphur nutrition of sunflower as affected by nitrogen supply: effects on vegetative growth, the development of yield component, and seed yield and quality. Field Crop Research, 16: 157-175.
- Hosseini, S.H., Yousef Zade, S., Britsayan, S. and Hemmati, Kh., 2016. Growth analysis and qualitative traits pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) affected by application of chemical and organic fertilizers. Journal of Plant Production, 23(1): 131-155.
- Isik, M., Tekeoglu, M., Onceler, Z. and Cakir, S., 1997. The effect of plant population density on dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Anatolia Agricultural Research Institute, Available in: //tagem.Gov.tr/eng/projelerse 97/21.Html.
- Jacson, G.D., 2000. Effect of nitrogen and sulfur on canola yield and nutrient uptake. Agronomy Journal, 92: 644-649.
- Jahan, M., Nassiri Mahallati, M., Salari, M. and Ghorbani, R., 2010. The effects of time of manure application and different biological fertilizers on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Cucurbita pepo L. Iranian Journal of Field Crops Research, 8(4): 726-737.
- Kashfi, A., 2010. Economic comparative advantage of medical plants trade in Iran and this value in world market. Journals of Commerce Research, 8(44): 67-78.
- Kertesz, M.A. and Mirleau, K., 2004. The role of soil microbes in plant sulfur nutrition. Journal of Experimental Botany, 55: 1-7.
- Khan, N., Jan, A., Ijaz, I. and Khan, A., 2002. Response of canola to nitrogen and sulphur nutrition. Asian Journal of Plant Sciences, 5(1): 516-518.
- Koocheki, A., Nakhforoosh, A. and Zarifketabi, H., 1997. Organic Agriculture. Ferdowsi University Publication, Mashhad, Iran, 330p.
- Kumar, R., Singh, S.K. and Smriti, S., 2002. Effect of sulphur and boron-nutrition on growth, yield and quality of onion. Journal of Applied Biology, 12(1/2): 40-46.
- Labbafi, M., Allahdadi, I., Akbari, G., Najafi, F., KhalAaj, H. and Mehrafarin, A., 2012. Quality/quantity changes in oil and morphological traits of medicinal pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.) under different cultivation practices. Journal of Medicinal Plants, 11: 212-220.
- Leach, J.E., Darby, R.J., Williams, I.H., Fitt, B.D.L. and Rawlinson, C.J., 1994. Factors effecting growth and yield of winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.), 1985-89. Journal of Agriculture Science, 122: 405-413.
- Malakooti, M.J. and Tehrani, M., 2005. Effect of Micro Nutrients in Yield Increasing and Quality Improvement of Agricultural Products. Tarbiat Modarres University Pubulation, 299p.
- Malhi, S.S., Gan, Y. and Raney, J.P., 2007. Yield, seed quality and sulfur uptake of Brassica oilseed crops in response to sulfur fertilization. Agronomy Journal, 99: 570-577.
- Marschner, H., 1995. Mineral Nutrition of Higher Plants. Academic Press, Ltd., London, 862p.
- Murkovic, M., Hillebrand, A., Draxl, S., Winker, J. and Pfannhauser, W., 1999. Distribution of fatty acids and vitamin E content in pumpkin seeds (Cucurbita pepo L.) in breeding lines. Acta Horticulturae, 492: 47-56.
- Murkovic, M., Hillebrand, A., Draxl, S., Winkler, J. and Pfannhauser, W., 1996. Variability of vitamin E content in pumpkin seeds (Cucurbita pepo L.). Z. Lebensm Unters, Forsch, 202: 275-278.
- Murkovic, M., Piironen, V., lampi, A., Kraushofer, T. and Sontag, G., 2004. Changes in chemical composition of pumpkin seeds during the roasting process for production of pumpkin seed oil. Food Chemistry, 84: 359-65.
- Omidbaigi, R., 1995. Findings about Production and Process of Medicinal Plants (Vol.1). Fekre Rooz Publication, Iran, 283p.
- Osman, A.Sh. and Rady, M.M., 2014. Exogenously-applied sulphur and ascorbic acid positively altered their endogenous concentrations, and increased growh and yield in Cucurbita pepo L. plants grown on a newly-reclaimed saline soil. Journal of Biotechnological Sciences, 2(1): 1-9.
- Ozer, H., 2003. Sowing date and nitrogen rate effects on growth, yield and yield components of two summer rapeseed cultivars. European Journal of Agronomy, 19: 453-463.
- Poonia, K.L., 2000. Effect of planting geometry, nitrogen and sulfur on growth and yield of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). Journal of Eco-Physiology, 3: 59-71.
- Purcell, L.C., Rosalind, A.B., Reaper, D.J. and Vories, E.D., 2002. Radiation use efficiency and biomass production in soybean at different plant population densities. Crop Science, 42: 172-177.
- Rezvani Moghaddam, P., Amiri, M.B. and Ehyaee, H.R., 2016. Effect of simultaneous application of mycorrhiza with compost, vermicompost and sulfural geranole on some quantitative and qualitative characteristics of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) in a low input cropping system. Journal of Agroecology, 7(4): 563-577.
- Salardini, A.A., 1995. Soil Fertility. Publication of Tehran University, Tehran, Iran, 440p.
- Sepehri, A., Mehranrad, T. and Karami, A., 2016. Effects of planting date and plant density on physiological indices, quantity and quality traits of two varieties of marigold (Calendula officinalis L.). Iranian Journal of Field Crops Research, 14(1): 86-99.
- Sexton, P.J., Batchelor, W.D. and Shibles, R., 1997. Sulfur availability, rubisco content and photosynthetic rate of soybean. Crop Science, 38: 983-986.
- UL-Hassan, F., Hakim, Sh.A. Manaf, A., Qadir, G.H. and Ahmad, S., 2007. Response of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) to sulphur and seasonal variations. International Journal of Agriculture and Biology, 9: 499-503.
- Younis, Y.M.H., Ghirmay, S. and Al-Shihry, S.S., 2000. African Cucurbita pepo L.: properties of seed variability in fatty acid composition of seed oil. Phytochemistry, 54(1): 71-75.
- Zahraee, S.F., Behdani, M.A., Eslami, S.V. and Zarban, A.A., 2010. The Assessment of the Effect of Different Sulphur Application Levels on the Quality and Quantity of Spring Safflower Cultivars. M.Sc. Thesis of Agronomy, College Faculty of Agriculture, Birjand University, Iran.
)