To investigate the effects of fertilizer regimes on quantitative and qualitative traits of Dracocephalum kotschyi Boiss, a field experiment at three replications with the Split Plate arrangement in a completely randomized block design was conducted in the Research Field of Tarbiat Modares University during the 2017-18 growing season.Water DEFICIT stress (IRRIGATION after discharging 20 (optimal IRRIGATION), 40 (mild water DEFICIT stress), 60 (moderate water DEFICIT stress) and 80% (severe water DEFICIT stress) of water used (available water)) in the main plot and fertilizer regime (urea, nitroxin, vermicompost, azocompost and no fertilizer) in the subplot were studied. The results showed that the highest leaf fresh weight (1797 kg ha-1) and total biomass (2957 kg ha-1) were obtained by application of urea in mild water DEFICIT stress condition and the highest dry matter digestibility percentage was observed in azocompost treatment in moderate water DEFICIT stress condition (57.8%). The highest crude protein was produced in severe water DEFICIT stress condition (19.72%) and moderate water DEFICIT stress (18.4%), respectively.. The highest percentage of water soluble carbohydrate and neutral detergent fiber were obtained from no fertilizer in moderate water DEFICIT stress (22.06%) and application of urea in severe water DEFICIT stress conditions, respectively. Mild water DEFICIT stress application to produce high biomass is recommended for Dracocephalum kotschyi Boiss. According to the results, application of urea in mild water DEFICIT stress was selected as the best treatment to produce forage 32% more than control.

Introduction Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a widely recognized product with high demand, nutritional value, and export potential worldwide. Since the ultimate goal of agricultural production systems is to maximize plant yield, providing sufficient water to the plant is one of the most critical factors influencing yield. Therefore, investigating the effects of water limitation is an essential and undeniable necessity. On the other hand, DEFICIT IRRIGATION has been introduced as an approach to increase water productivity. Therefore, it is essential to consider the effects of this water-saving method on plant production, which highlights the need for further research. DEFICIT IRRIGATION involves supplying only a portion of the plant's water requirements, while regulated DEFICIT IRRIGATION is a specific type of DEFICIT IRRIGATION that can be applied in various ways, such as IRRIGATION based on growth stages, or allocating water to stages that are more sensitive to drought. It is important to recognize that plant response to water DEFICIT depends on several factors, including climatic conditions, plant type, the intensity and method of DEFICIT IRRIGATION application, soil condition, and management practices.   Materials and Methods In order to determine the effect of DEFICIT IRRIGATION and regulated DEFICIT IRRIGATION on yield and water productivity of the watermelon, an experiment in the form of randomized complete blocks with 8 treatments including three IRRIGATION levels of 100, 70 and 50 % of the plant's water requirement (evapotranspiration estimated by the FAO-Penman-Monteith method) and 5 regulated DEFICIT IRRIGATION levels including 50% of the water requirement in the stages of seedling, vine, flowering, fruit expansion and fruit maturity were carried out with three replications under black plastic mulch, during 2020-2022, in the Research and Education Center of Agriculture and Natural Resources in the south of Kerman province. IRRIGATION as the main plot at three levels of 100, 70 and 50% of water requirement and mulching at three levels of crushed date palm leaf, black plastic and no mulch, as the sub-plot, were considered. Crimson B 34 watermelon seeds produced by Seminis company, were planted on January 2021, in plots with the size of 13.5 × 7 m, on furrows and ridges planting system (the width of furrows and ridges were 0.5 and 4 meters, respectively). After planting, bow-shaped wires were put on the planting rows and a transparent plastic was placed as a tunnel on them. In the first year, the total depth of the IRRIGATIONs in aforesaid treatments were respectively 444, 321, 237, 413, 389, 435, 345 and 425, and in the second year 427, 303, 223, 395, 373, 416, 331 and 405 mm. Results and Discussion The results showed that the highest and lowest yield were observed in full IRRIGATION and IRRIGATION 50 % (60.1 and 16.3 t ha-1 respectively). Among the regulated DEFICIT IRRIGATION treatments, IRRIGATION 50% at the seedling stage was the closest to full IRRIGATION, and the IRRIGATION 50 % at the fruit expansion stage had the lowest yield. The highest water productivity belonged to the IRRIGATION 50 % in the seedling and vine stages (15.9 and 1.15 kg m-3 respectively). IRRIGATION 50% at fruit maturity stage despite half IRRIGATION, improved Qualitative characteristics such as soluble solids, vitamin C, dry matter, lycopene and fruit taste.   Conclusion Applying DEFICIT IRRIGATION led to a significant decrease in watermelon yield compared to full IRRIGATION (control). Water productivity remained nearly constant, and there was no significant improvement in the quality of the edible part. However, treatments involving regulated DEFICIT IRRIGATION, such as IRRIGATION during the seedling stage, showed similar yield to full IRRIGATION, while the 50% IRRIGATION during the vine stage resulted in higher water productivity. Additionally, 50% IRRIGATION during the fruit maturity stage produced superior fruit quality compared to the control. Overall, regulated DEFICIT IRRIGATION yielded better results than DEFICIT IRRIGATION due to less yield reduction, increased water productivity, and improved fruit quality, especially under water-restricted conditions. Finally, it is recommended that milder intensities of DEFICIT IRRIGATION that seem to have more favorable results in this plant should be investigated in the next studies.

This research was conducted at Torogh Agricultural Research Station in Khorasan-e Razavi province to determine the impact of IRRIGATION cutoff at different growth stages and percentage of water use on the yield and water use efficiency (WUE) of wheat cultivars using sprinkler IRRIGATION. The study was done from 2006-2008. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with a strip split plot layout and three replications. The three vertical plots were for IRRIGATION (70%, 85%, 100% of plant requirement), the three horizontal plots were for IRRIGATION cutoff point (full IRRIGATION, IRRIGATION cutoff at stem elongation, cutoff at pollination) Three wheat cultivars (Alvand, Toos, Gaskozhen) were the subplots. The yield means at 70%, 85% and 100% water consumption were, respectively, 3182, 4639, and 4748 kg/ha. Water consumption of 85% and 100% fell into statistical group A. The highest value for WUE was 1.849 kg/m3 at 85%, followed 1/389 kg/m3 for 70%, and 1.618 kg/m3 for 100%. The IRRIGATION cutoff treatment showed significant differences (P£ 0.05) for grain yield and WUE. Full IRRIGATION showed the highest grain yield (4557 kg/ha) and IRRIGATION cutoff at stem elongation and cutoff at pollination actually decreased yield to 4195 and 3817 kg/ha, respectively. Full IRRIGATION and IRRIGATION cutoff at stem elongation fell into statistical group A. Cutoff at stem elongation had the highest WUE (1.778 kg/m3). Combined analysis showed that wheat cultivar had a significant effect on grain yield and WUE. Alvand cultivar had the highest yield (4447 kg/ha) and WUE (1.718 kg/m3). The results showed that, where water shortage was not an issue, full IRRIGATION produced the best results. In areas of water shortage, 85% IRRIGATION using the cutoff at stem elongation method is recommended for the best results in yield, water consumption and WUE.

The paper offers a distinctive reading of Popper’s work, suggesting that his Logic of Scientific Discovery (LScD) might be re-interpreted in the light of his Open Society. Indeed, Popper can be interpreted as criticising certain aspects of his first book, and as a result improving upon them, in his second. It suggests translating what Popper says about ‘conventions’ into his later vocabulary of ‘social institutions’. Looking back, I believe that Popper never intended the language of conventions and decisions to be read individualistically. I remain unsure whether Popper was himself quite as clear about this as he could have been.  My reading makes Popper a pioneer in the sociology of science. Scientific institutions are arenas of political power; but Popper did not discuss the structure and inter-relations of the social institutions of science, or offer a politics of science in the context of his methodology. What is missing from the skeletal sociology of LScD is the politics. We could put it in Popperian terms this way: scientific institutions are both open and closed. They are closed, firmly, to the inexpert, to the non-members; supposedly they are open to the qualified, provided the prerogatives of seniority and leadership are acknowledged. Despite these shortcomings, Popper’s critical and rational approach and his insistence on openness and intellectual honesty are still important today.

Increasing scarcity of water resources and its influence on quality and quantity of crop yield motivates farmers to apply DEFICIT IRRIGATION as an approach to overcome the lack of water. On the other hand, the importance of water as an intermediate good in agriculture has increased competition to access water as an economic good. Consequently, determining the IRRIGATION water price under DEFICIT IRRIGATION is necessary to improve water productivity. In order to assess the impact of water price on water productivity, in this study green pepper was cultivated under four different water levels including 50, 70, 100 and 120% of crop water requirement. The crop yield was then harvested and its dry matter measured at the end of growth period. Results indicated that after applying DEFICIT IRRIGATION and optimizing IRRIGATION water depth, water price was reached to its maximum which was 183. 4 × 10 4 Rials per cubic meter. In addition, IRRIGATION efficiency, physical productivity, physical-economical productivity and economical productivity under DEFICIT IRRIGATION were 5. 67(kg/m³ ), 5. 1(kg/m³ ), 191. 4 × 10 4 (Rls/m³ /ha) and 1. 04, respectively, which were all higher than those of other water treatments results. Furthermore, the DEFICIT IRRIGATION before water depth optimization did not considerably affect IRRIGATION efficiency, while after water depth optimization, DEFICIT IRRIGATION resulted better IRRIGATION efficiency than full IRRIGATION scheme.

Shortage of water is the most important limiting factor for crop production in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran. Higher efficiencies for the present water supply can be obtained by DEFICIT IRRIGATION. Seasonal and intra-seasonal approaches for DEFICIT IRRIGATION for Sorghum are compared in this study. The data for DEFICIT IRRIGATION were collected at the Bajgah area, a semi-arid region, located 16 km north of Shiraz, in southern Iran. Time pattern distribution of applied water was not considered in their seasonal approach and the cost-benefit ratio analyses are performed on an annual basis. Decision making in the intra-seasonal approach is based on water allocation at different growth stages of crop. The results showed that there are some differences between the two approaches as far as the optimal water reduction is concerned. Seasonal approach showed a constant water reduction (18%) irrespective of water cost variation, while the intra-seasonal method offered higher allowable water reduction of 23% for unit water cost of 10 Rls m-3 which may lead to a more economical water use. However, the result obtained in the intra-seasonal method is sensitive to the unit water cost and the allowable water reduction becomes lower than that of seasonal approach at the higher unit water cost. These results confirmed a previous result on Corn about the differences for the two approaches. Meanwhile, there is a substantial difference between the results for Sorghum and Corn in two different approaches.

Full IRRIGATION is recommended for the regions with no limitation to access water for irrigating the farm lands. Due to the population increase and consequently, the increase in cultivation field’ s area, the climate changes etc., full IRRIGATION is not possible in many regions (Kheyrabi et al., 1996). Under this condition, using the water management techniques, such as DEFICIT IRRIGATION, is necessary and its importance is undeniable. DEFICIT IRRIGATION is an optimum procedure in producing the agricultural products under water limitation. In this technique, agricultural product decreases per unit area, but it is enhanced by increasing the cultivation fields. DEFICIT IRRIGATION is a suitable procedure that allows planting to reduce the product by decreasing the water uptake. The main purpose of DEFICIT IRRIGATION is increasing the water use efficiency with decreasing applied water in each IRRIGATION event. Soil infiltration characteristics are very important in the design and management of furrow IRRIGATION systems (Foroud et al., 1996; She et al., 2014). For this reason, extensive research have been done in the field of water infiltration and soil permeability process in surface IRRIGATION (such as measuring and estimating the infiltration changes, advance time, recession time, surface storage, subsurface movement etc. ). Soil infiltration changes over time affect the distribution uniformity of infiltrated water in the field, IRRIGATION duration and finally IRRIGATION efficiency in the furrow IRRIGATION. Soil compaction and also cracking the furrow bottom after IRRIGATION events are the main reasons for these changes, especially, after the initial IRRIGATION events and under DEFICIT IRRIGATION conditions. Investigating the effect of DEFICIT IRRIGATION on the infiltration process and temporal infiltration changes and considering these changes in designing furrow IRRIGATION systems is essential under water shortage condition. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to investigate the temporal changes of Kostiakov-Lewis equation parameters under DEFICIT IRRIGATION conditions in different IRRIGATION events during maize growing season.