The demand of organic cultivation of plants is increasing and soil application of organic fertilizer reduces the hazardous usage of inorganic fertilizer and Humic acid is an organic compound derived from plant and animal residues and microbial cells with long-term physical, chemical, and biological processes. In addition, ultivation of soybean in Kurdistan region is not in a wide value therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the impact of soil application of different rates of Humic acid as an organic fertilizer on the growth characteristic of soybean cultivated and determining the best cultivation period for soybean growth. The experiment was conducted in randomized complete block design with two factor treatments and 3 replication, the first factor was one dose soil application of four different Humic Acid rates (HAR) which were (0 (control), 2,4,6,8 g/L) and two cultivation period (CP) which were cultivation Period 1 (CP1) on 15 May 2022 and cultivation Period 2 (CP2) on 1st of June 2022. Observations were made against the growth parameters of plant height number of branches, leaf area, root length, shoot fresh weight and shoot dry weight. The effect of soil application of humic acid rates (HAR) was highly significant on the plant height and root length and significant on the No. of branches, shoot fresh and dry weight. While, cultivation period insignificantly affected the growth parameter except for leaf area. was significant. The maximum plant height, number of branches, leaf area, root length, shoot fresh and dry weight were observed with soil application of 8 g/L of humic acid which were (82.83 (cm), 23.33, 8815 (mm2), 68.83 (cm), 503.33 (g) and 190.00 (g) respectively. The highest plant height (72 cm), number of branches (18.87), leaf area (7714 mm2), root length (57.13 g), shoot fresh (263.67 g) and dry weight (102.93 g) were observed when the planted cultivated in 1st period (CP1) compared to CP2.

Crops cultivated locally are considered among the most important crops worldwide because of their abundance of essential nutrients and significant economic potential. This study evaluates the nutritional value, mineral composition, and phytochemical compound of locally cultivated grains in comparison with imported varieties available in the Sulaimani governorate of Iraq. Locally grown wheat, lentils, chickpeas, and maize were sourced from the directorate of agricultural research which promotes high quality product from regional farmers, while imported grains were obtained from a retail outlet known for its diverse offerings and high consumer demand. Results revealed that locally grown chickpeas had the highest fat content (5.23%), while lentils exhibited superior protein levels (25.11%) and the highest dietary fiber composition (29.31%). Additionally, local maize and wheat displayed the highest carbohydrate (73.87%) and moisture (13.07%) contents, respectively. Mineral analysis demonstrated that local grains consistently exhibited high concentrations of essential minerals. Lentils contained notable levels of iron, zinc, manganese, and potassium (7.69, 4.80, 16.36, and 957.33 mg/100g, respectively), while chickpeas were rich in magnesium and calcium (136.13 and 158.80 mg/100g, respectively). Enhanced energy composition observed in these local crops is likely attributed to a combination of genetic factors and favorable environmental conditions. Furthermore, the assessment of phytochemical constituents namely phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and tannins indicated a more robust antioxidant profile in locally produced maize grain (174.25, 5.77 and 46.70 mg/100g) relative to imported counterparts, respectively. The findings underscore the potential benefits of local crop cultivation to enhance food security and promote sustainable agricultural practices while delivering economic and health advantages to the community. The correlation analysis indicated that there is a strong positive correlation between protein and dietary fiber , while strong negative correlations exist between protein and carbohydrate (g), and phenolic acids and ash, with weaker correlations seen in other cases, such as Mg and Mn.

This study was conducted to increase the productivity of a local variety of chickpea in the Kurdistan region by amending and improving Bakrajo soil with locally made granular organic fertilizer (GOF) and peat and also optimizing the rate of inorganic nitrogen fertilizer (INR). The experimental design used in this study was randomized complete block design with three replications. In this study, Bakrajo soil was treated with two types of organic fertilizer with different rates which were granular organic fertilizer (GOF) and peat. The treatment combinations were soil amendment (SA) with three different rates which were (Soil + 0, 4 and 8 % granular organic fertilizer (GOF)(w/w)) and (Soil + 0, 4 and 8 % peat (w/w)). The inorganic N fertilizer used in this study was applied in three different rates (0, 30 and 60 ppm INR) in form of Urea in water) each rate of INR was measured according to the weight of the soil in the pot. Growth characteristic and yield components were determined in this research. The growth characteristics included the height of plant, number of branches, days to 50% flowering (days), days to physiological maturity (days) and yield components were: pods number /plant, seed number/plant, seeds weight/plant (g), hundred seed weight (g) and grain yield (kg/ha. The result showed that the main effect of SA gave maximum plant height, number of branches, number of pods/plant, number of seeds/plant, weight of seeds/plant, hundred seeds weight and grain yield was observed when the plant is grown under SA of (Soil + 8% GOF) treatment and application of 60 ppm INR also gave highest value of each of growth characteristic and yield components. While the combination of SA (Soil+8% GOF) with 30 ppm INR illustrated maximum value of growth characteristic and yield component. The result of this study illustrates that amending soil with 8% of GOF optimizes the rate of inorganic N fertilizer.

A triplicate field experiment laid out in randomized complete block design was conducted to evaluate the effect of foliar application of humic acid rates (HAR) at Bakrajo, Sulaimani which is (located at 35°32'52.8"N and 45°21'16.6"E) belongs to Kurdistan region of Iraq with the silty clay soil type. Five different Humic Acid rates (HAR) which were (0 (control), 2,4,6,8 g/L) and two cultivation period (CP) which were cultivation Period 1 (CP1) on 15 May 2022 and cultivation Period 2 (CP2) on 1st of June 2022. The effect of foliar Humic acid rates application methods was highly significant on the Pod No./ Plant, Empty Pod/Plant, Seed Weight / Plant (g) and yield (kg/ha) and significant on the 1000 Seed Weight (g). While, the effect of cultivation period (CP) was highly significant only for the Pod No./ Plant and the insignificantly affected the other parameters including Empty Pod/Plant, Seed No./ Pod, 1000 Seed Weight (g), Weight / Plant (g) and yield (kg/ha). The maximum Pod No./ Plant, Empty Pod/Plant, Seed Weight / Plant (g) and yield (kg/ha) and significant on the 1000 Seed Weight (g) were observed under foliar application of HAR of 6 g/L and the best cultivation period for sowing humic acid was (CP1) which was on 15 May.

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a crucial legume crops valuable for its economical, nutritional, and agroecological gains. Development of eco-friendly soil amendments represents a strategic innovation, facilitating the bioconversion of organic and microbiological inputs into soil and promoting sustainable resource management. The present research study seeks to investigate the individual and combined impacts of pelleted organic fertilizers (POFs) and effective microorganisms (EMOs) on morphological traits, yield components, bioactive compound, and antioxidant activity of chickpea under semi-arid condition. Factorial experiment was conducted with three replications and six conditions: POFs (0%, 4%, 8% w/w) and EMOs (0, 4, 8 ppm). Both POFs and EMOs significantly enhanced some of morphological trait, yield, bioactive compound (total phenolic content, anthocyanin content, and seeds antioxidant activity. The combined application of 8% POFs and 4 ppm EMOs produced the highest improvements, raising grain yield from [512.9 kg ha⁻¹ (control) to 912.5 kg ha⁻¹], 100 seed weight from (29.9 g to 56.4 g), and total phenolic content (TPC) from (125.9 to 212.5 mg FAE 100 g⁻¹ D.M.). Antioxidant activity doubled from (1.19 to 2.25 mg TE 100 g⁻¹ D.M.). These findings reveal the synergistic potential of combining organic and microbial fertilizer methods to improve chickpea productivity, nutritional quality, and sustainability, presenting a feasible substitute to traditional chemical fertilizers.

Drought, high temperature, salinity, waterlogging, and nutrient deficiency, along with metal toxicity, are among the environmental factors that have resulted in much alteration of many ecosystems by climate change. Such stresses have dramatically lowered the global average human harvest of core crops, which, in turn, has driven an overall decrease in worldwide agricultural productivity. Plants have developed a variety of defense strategies against biotic and abiotic stress. Evidence of the successful roles of phytohormone-like neurotransmitters in ameliorating the response to stress has already been established. One neurotransmitter accumulated by the plants is gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a non-protein amino acid that is essential for signaling in plant growth regulation and development via the control of physiological and biochemical processes. Plant tissues demonstrate rapid accumulation of GABA when exposed to various abiotic stresses. Consequently, it is imperative to understand how this accumulation affects the resistance and productivity of crops in challenging environmental conditions. Previously, different application methods and doses of GABA on different plant species were used under various abiotic stress conditions. The research findings exhibited that the method and concentration of GABA depend on the type of crop. Furthermore, the GABA dose depends on the methods of GABA application. The present review summarizes the potential doses and methods of applications of GABA under different abiotic stress conditions to ameliorate deficiencies in plant growth, yield, and stress tolerance through the avoidance of oxidative damage and maintenance of cell organelle structures. This review will also describe the complex mechanism by which GABA contributes to the attenuation of the effects of abiotic stresses by regulating some important physiological, molecular, and biochemical processes in crops.