A factorial completely randomized block design experiment with 3 replications was carried out in the greenhouse to evaluate Cereals genotypic variation in phosphorus acquisition and utilization during 2006. Treatments consisted of 8 bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), 3 durum wheat (Triticum durum L.), 3 barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), 1 rye (Secale cereale L.), 1 oat (Avena sativa L.) and 1 Triticale (X Triticosecale L.), and two levels of P (0 and 84 mg P/kg soil). Genotypes showed significant differences in number of tillers, shoot P concentration and content, and dry weight. Also, P efficiency (taken as the relative above-ground yield) significantly differed among genotypes and ranged from 0.42 for a barley line (M-80-16) to 0.97 for bread wheat cultivar (Azadi) with the average of 0.71. Application of P significantly increased shoot P concentration and content from 0.19% and 13.24 mg P/pot to 0.47% and 46 mg mg P/pot, respectively. In treatment P0, durum wheat (Yavaroos) with 20.15 mg P/pot and a barley line (M-80-16) with 5.85 mg P/pot had the highest and lowest P uptake, respectively. Oat produced the highest dry weight per unit of P uptake and, hence, was considered to be very efficient in P utilization. Azadi and Yavaroos with 0.45 and 0.43 had the highest relative P uptake, respectively. Therefore, these varieties were efficient in P acquisition. There was no correlation between P efficiency and shoot P concentration of genotypes, but the relationship between P efficiency and shoot P content was highly significant (r=0.66**).

Introduction: freshwater resources which are essential for human life, sustainable livelihood, food security and conservation of ecosystem appear to be under increasing pressure from population growth, socio-economic development and climate changes. The largest consumer of water is agricultural sector. Hence improving productivity in agricultural sector and reducing agricultural water use hold the key to tacking water scarcity. But over the past decades, it has been argued that international trade of agricultural crops from wet-countries to arid and semi-arid countries is one possible path to mitigate water shortage. The trade of commodities, which water has been used in their production, is generally referred to as virtual water trade. Often the terms "virtual water" and "water footprint" are usually used synonymously, while there are significant differences. The water footprint concept, however, has a wider application. In fact, the water footprint of a product is an empirical indicator of how much water is consumed, when and where, measured over the whole supply chain of the product. In other words, the water footprint is a multidimensional indicator, showing volumes but also making explicit the type of water use and the location and timing of water use. For products containing virtual water, trade is a means of transferring water resources between regions and also this virtual water trade network among provinces has a large share of domestic trade. in current study, in order to determine the inter-provincial virtual water trade network of the country, water footprint of wheat, barley and maize and also the amount of excess supply and excess demand of selected products has been calculated using data over 1395 in each province. Therefore virtual water trade network of each product has been obtained in different provinces of the country. Then, using the transportation model, exporting provinces has been specified and the amount of exports of different products for minimizing shipping costs has been identified Materials and Methods: In order to determine the excess supply and excess demand of the selected products in each province, firstly water footprint of each product was calculated for each province, then virtual water trade network of each product was identified and by using the transportation model, export route was determined. The green, blue, gray and white water footprints of studied crops were estimated following the calculation frameworks of Hoekstra and Chapagain (2008) and Hoekstra et al. (2009), and modifications proposed by Ababaei and Ramezani Etedali (2014). By calculating water footprint components for different plains, their mean values were obtained for each province and then the obtained water footprint components in both irrigated and dryland were aggregated together for each product. In this part of the study, due to lack of access to information and statistics of the amount of exports and imports between Iran’ s provinces, at first per capita consumption of each Iranian person was obtained for each product. Then, total consumption of each province was obtained from the province's population by per capita consumption of each product. In order to calculate the excess demand or excess supply of each province, the total production of each province was deducted from the total consumption of each province. Finally, virtual water trade of each product in each province was acquired from water footprint in excess supply or demand. Finally, the purpose of current study is to provide a minimum cost model for a virtual trade network from production centers to consumer centers. In the transportation model used here, the objective function is to minimize the total transportation costs between all selected agricultural production centers and consumption centers. The constraint (1) indicates that the amount of exchangeable product in each province is more than or equal to the product demanded by the province. Constraint (2) ensures that the product delivered between two centers is less than or equal to the capacity of the center. In constraint (3), the total demand for products is considered to be equal to the total amount of exchanged product. Constraint (4) provides for the positive value of exchanged items between supply and demand centers. Results and Discussion: Based on the results of this study, the provinces of Azarbaijan sharghi, Azarbaijan gharbi, Ardebil, Ilam, Khuzestan, Zanjan, Fars, Qazvin, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Golestan, Lorestan, Markazi and Hamedan are the wheat suppliers and so are the exporter. The provinces of Isfahan, Bushehr, Tehran, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Khorasan, Semnan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Qom, Kerman, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad, Gilan, Mazandaran, Hormozgan and Yazd have exceeded demand for wheat thus they are importer. Among all provinces of the country, Tehran has the highest wheat consumption, due to the fact that the population of this province is about 13 million (Iran's capital of history, 1395). Kayani (2018) has shown that Tehran province is the largest importer of agricultural products and virtual water in the country. According to the results of the study, after ten years, mentioned province remains the importer. Among the provinces where surplus wheat has been supplied, Golestan province has the largest wheat exports up to 1. 1 million tons, and by exporting this product about 2846. 6 million cubic meters of water has been exported. Based on the results, Tehran province is the destination of export of Azarbaijan sharghi, Azarbaijan gharbi, Ardebil, Ilam, Zanjan, Qazvin, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Markazi and Hamedan provinces. In addition to the province of Tehran, Ardebil, Ilam and Markazi provinces have to export 492, 188 and 182 thousand tons of wheat to the provinces of Gilan, Isfahan and Qom, in order to minimize transportation costs. Following the results, Ardebil, Ilam, Khorasan, Semnan, Qazvin, Kermanshah, Golestan, Lorestan, Markazi and Hamedan provinces have excess supply of barley in the country, while the provinces of Azarbaijan sharghi, Azarbaijan gharbi, Isfahan, Bushehr, Tehran, Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari, Khuzestan, Zanjan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Fars, Qom, Kurdistan, Kerman, Kohgiluyeh va Boyer Ahmad, Gilan, Mazandaran, Hormozgan and Yazd have excess demand for barley in the country. Kermanshah and Hamedan provinces are the largest exporters of barley, which export about 690 and 666 million cubic meters of virtual water through exports of barley to other provinces and foreign countries. The rainfall of these two provinces is about 475 and 334 millimeters and footprint of water production in both provinces is 2833 and 4568 m 3 / ton. Barley import of Tehran province has taken place from Semnan, Qazvin, and Kermanshah, Golestan, Lorestan, Markazi and Hamedan provinces with a mean distance of 324 kilometers. Considering that Tehran is the largest importer of barley in the country, it is justifiable that all provinces that are located near that province are the export bases. . The province of Tehran is the largest consumer and importer of maize in the country and since Tehran is not maize producer, it is not possible to calculate the water footprint. On the other hand, the province of Ilam is the smallest consumer of maize and is the sole exporter of this product which exports 21 million cubic meters of virtual water along with this product. The provinces of Khuzestan, Kermanshah and Fars are the largest maize producers in Iran, which respectively produce 351, 152, 123 thousand tons in 2016. The province of Ilam export to the provinces of Tehran and Khorasan, respectively, 634 and 99 thousand tons of maize, the cost of maize supplies is minimized. Excess demand from other provinces of the country has also been provided from imports of other countries. Conclusion: Comparison of the results of this study, based on the statistics of 2016, and the Kayani study (2018), which was carried out in 2006, showed no significant changes in water resources management. Modifying the agricultural cropping pattern and correcting the pattern of consumption in line with the water footprint of agricultural products can be useful in improving the situation of the country's water resources in the long run. Determining the pattern of agricultural trade based on water footprint production of these products and the volume of virtual exports and imports of each product in each province could have a significant effect on reducing water losses in provinces of Iran.

Cadmium (Cd) is one of the toxic metals that adversely affect plant growth. Organic amendments may not only enhance nutrient status of soil, but they may also form complexes with Cd and reduce its availability to plants. This experiment was conducted to determine whether organic amendments (compost and biogas slurry) could stabilize/extract Cd and alleviate the adverse effects of Cd on the growth of two Cereals, wheat and maize. Organic amendments along with four varying levels of Cd (0, 5, 20, 50 mg kg-1 soil) were prepared with soil. Effect of these amendments on tolerance indices, root/shoot dry biomass, tissue Cd concentration, Cd uptake and translocation were studied. Biogas slurry caused maximum increase in tolerance indices of wheat and maize (100-112 and 117-133%, respectively, as compared to control), whereas compost caused significant increase in their dry biomass. Negative correlation between root dry biomass of wheat (r=-0.37) and maize (r=-0.53) to Cd revealed its suppressive effects. Dry biomass of plant correlated with organic amendments in wheat (r=0.83-0.98), whereas weak correlation was observed in maize (r=0.30-0.40). Compost significantly reduced Cd uptake in wheat and maize; however, it increased Cd translocation in plants. Based on the results of this study, root was the major sink of Cd when soil was amended with or without organic amendments. Biogas slurry removed 97% Cd from artificially polluted water after 13 h at pH 6. The additions of compost in soil and biogas slurry in wastewater are recommended to stabilize/extract Cd.

Introduction: Cereals include wheat, barley, rice, and grain crops, which are important to human and animal nutrition. These products are recognized as strategic products in Iran, and always have gotten special emphasis by policy makers. Materials and Methods: This study aims at analysis of the Cereals’,factors productivity fluctuations in Iran during the period 1988-2017. Required data are sourced from the Ministry of Jihad-Agriculture. In this study, conventional and newly developed productivity indicators including Malmquist, Fare-Pirmont and Hicks-Moorsteen indices have been used. Findings: The average changes in the factors productivity for wheat, barley, rice, and corn are estimated at 17, 21, 20, and 21 (Malmquist index), 25, 8, 10, and 11 (Fare-Pirmont index), and 7, 1, 2, and 3 (Hicks-Moorsteen index) percent. Our findings show that above change are mainly due to technological changes. Conclusion: Therefore, in order to improve the factors productivity in Cereals production, the application of new technologies and optimal consumption of inputs are recommended.

Background and Objectives: Use of wastes such as seeds of summer crops leads to re-enter these valuable sources into the food cycle. Therefore, it causes enhancement of the nutritional values and production of functional foods in food industries. The aim of this study was assessment of the effects of feed composition variables and screw speed on physicochemical and sensory characteristics of breakfast Cereals based on cornmeal and wheat flour enriched with melon seeds to achieve optimal results. Materials & Methods: In this study, response surface methodology was used to estimate effects of formulation variables, including melon seed flour (10– 20%), moisture content (12– 20%) and screw speed (120– 180 rpm) on expansion ratio, bulk density, hardness, water absorption index, water solubility index and sensory acceptance. Results: Results showed that increases in melon seed in mixtures of cornmeal and wheat flour increased density and hardness of the extruded snacks while the expansion ratio and water absorption decreased. The optimum conditions for the production of snacks included 10. 1% melon seeds, 18% moisture content and 172. 39 RPM screw speed. Conclusion: In Conclusion, breakfast Cereals with whole melon seed flour can be suggested as functional foods with nutritional and health benefi ts. The final product includes desired sensory characteristics and consumer acceptability.

Bakground-Aflatoxins (AF) and ochratoxin A (OA) are two toxic substances produced by specific types of fungi. Many reports consider them as carcinogens and nephropathogens, respectively. Objective-The aim of this study was to present the natural occurrence of AF and OA in some important foodstuffs in the southern Caspian littoral. Methods-Fourteen barley and nine corn samples, intended for animal feed, were collected from Golestan and Mazandaran provinces, northern Iran, and were analyzed for AF and OA by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results-In corn samples, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and aflatoxin B2 (AFB2) were detected in 8 (88.8%) and 6 (66.6%) samples at a mean level of 15.83 and 2.99 ppb (median 1.72 and 1 ppb) respectively. Only one of the AF-contaminated corn samples was co-contaminated with OA at a concentration of 0.35 ppb. Neither AF nor OA were found in any of the barley samples. Conclusion-This study was the first report on natural occurrence of OA and its cooccurrence with AF in the corn samples of northern Iran. Although our findings showed a low level of AF and OA, we recommend a periodical survey to be conducted on the natural occurrence of mycotoxins in Cereals from the Caspian littoral.

Economic assessment of mixed cropping of alfalfa with irrigated annual Cereals, barley, oat and triticale was conducted. A field experiment with 13 treatments was carried out-using randomized complete block design with three replications. For economic analysis, partial budgeting technique was used. Results showed that mixing 20 kgha-1 of alfalfa seed with 150 kgha-1 of oat seed was the most profitable treatment. Net profit of this selected mixed cropping was estimated of 4285.2 million Iranian Rials (IRR) that was greater than net profit of other treatments. Breakeven point of cost for selected treatment (20 kgha-1 of alfalfa seed with 150 kgha-1 of oat seed) as compared to the second and third treatments of priority indicated that even the mean costs of selected treatment (20 kgha-1 of alfalfa seed and 150 kgha-1 of oat seed) increased by 2.8% of second (20 kgha-1 alfalfa seed and 200 kgha-1 of triticale seed) and 5.1% of third (20 kgha-1 of alfalfa seed and 200 kgha-1 of oat seed) treatments, still it was the selected treatment. Breakeven point for gross income for the selected treatment (20 kgha-1 of alfalfa seed and 150 kgha-1 of oat seed) was 23959.2 IRR and 23492.7 IRR as compared with the second (20 kgha-1 of alfalfa seed and 200 kgha-1 of triticale seed) and third (20 kgha-1 of alfalfa seed and 200 kgha-1 of oat seed), respectively.