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IRRIGATION SCHEDULES AND PLANTING MODES IMPACT ON FARMLAND MICROCLIMATE AND DRY MATTER ACCUMULATION OF WINTER WHEAT

The economic yield of wheat ( Triticum aestivum L) comes from the grain, and the dry matter accumulation of the grain is affected by the environmental factors, especially the temperature. A field experiment was conducted in Huanghuaihai Plain from 2014 to 2016 using the split-plot design with three replications following three irrigation schedules (main plot): irrigation of 50 mm each at jointing growth stage (GS34) and heading growth stage (GS48, W1); irrigation of 100 mm at GS48 (W2); and irrigation of 100 mm each at both GS34 and GS48 (W3) and three planting modes (split plot): uniform row (U), furrow (F), double-double row (DD) to explore the mechanism for improving yield and dry matter accumulation under reasonable temperature and relative humidity in farmland caused by irrigation and planting modes. The results showed that air temperature and relative humidity (RH) at 5 cm aboveground (AG 5 ) were greater than those at 50 cm aboveground (AG 50 ) during the two growing seasons. The average air temperature at AG 5 and AG 50 of W2 was 3.69% higher than that of W3, and RH was 5.21% lower than that of W3. With the increasing irrigation amount (W3) and frequency (W1), the average air and soil temperature were reduced while RH, dry matter accumulation rate for stem, leaf, spike and yield were increased significantly. Although DD and F as good planting modes have been detected to improve RH, dry matter and yield accumulation rates and decrease temperature as compared with U, the DD contributed more towards them. The AG 5 and AG 50 average air temperatures had a significantly negative correlation with total dry matter and yield accumulation rate, whereas RH showed the opposite mode. Meanwhile, spike dry matter accumulation rate plays a dominant role in improving yield because there was an extreme significant positive correlation between spike and yield accumulation rate. Consequently, irrigation 50 mm each at GS34 and GS48 combined with double-double row planting mode is a good agronomy method to be applied in the regions of scarce water resources like the Huanghuaihai Plain based on the water-saving technology.

INTRODUCTION
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), which constitutes the main source of the most important basic food stuffs of human beings (Lobell et al., 2013), is one of the most cultivated crops in the world, and irrigated regions contribute a large proportion to global wheat production . Current population and economic growth mean a higher demand for food worldwide (Tilman et al., 2011). China is the greatest wheat producer in the world, and the Huanghuaihai Plain is a major wheat region in China. In this region, the precipitation is approximately 700 mm, and approximately 25%-30% of the total precipitation occurs during the winter wheat growing season. The water source usually is a pressure for wheat growth because of the absence of underground and surface water (Shi and Shao, 2000), and a crucial limiting factor for wheat production is insufficient precipitation (Li et al., 2009;Zhou et al., 2020). Therefore, irrigation is needed. Climate change will positively or negatively affect crop yields. Previous studies have shown that wheat yield in some areas could be reduced by high temperatures (Shimoda et al., 2015). The wheat yield is inversely related to temperature because high temperature accelerates crop phenological development, resulting in a shorter growing season with less grain yield (He et al., 2015), while it has a positive relationship with precipitation (Doğan and Kan, 2019).
Meteorological records show that mean annual temperatures over global areas where wheat is grown have increased by ∼1°C during the last century (Zhao et al., 2017). Crops are sensitive to changes in temperature and precipitation as a result of climate change (Rosenzweig et al., 2014). European farmers are currently adapting to changing the timing of cultivation (Olsen et al., 2011). The adaptation of cropping systems to climate change provides less sensitive information on the climatic drivers of winter wheat production from time-series yield data (Licker et al., 2013). The use of plastic mulch and covered crops increased soil water storage and average soil temperature and decreased soil evaporation, which in turn increased wheat yield (He et al., 2017).
In our previous studies, an optimized planting mode combined with reasonable irrigation was a good agricultural practice to improve the farmland microclimate, including temperature and humidity (Wang et al., 2015). However, there is no comparison between the furrow and double planting modes under different irrigation schedules. To achieve this objective, we assessed irrigation schedules and planting modes based on air temperature, relative humidity (RH), soil temperature and the dry matter and yield accumulation rate. The dry matter and grain yield of wheat are not only limited but increased as well provided optimum environmental factors during the growing season along with nutrients supported from the soil. A field experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that farmland microclimates under different irrigation schedules and planting modes are crucial for high yield.  (Fig. 1). The experimental field was a silt loam, and the 0-20 cm soil layer was characterized by a soil bulk density of 1.50 g cm -3 , pH of 6.9, soil organic matter content of 18.9 g kg -1 , and available N, P, and K of 123.2 mg kg -1 , 40.6 mg kg -1 and 124.5 mg kg -1 , respectively. Experimental design: Winter wheat and summer maize cropping system was adopted in the experiment site. After the harvest of summer maize on 27 Sept., 2014 and 30 Sept., 2015, the land prepared for seed bed was ploughed and levelled on 6 Oct., 2014 and 5 Oct., 2015. The winter wheat (cultivar Jimai 22) plant density was 200 × 10 4 ha -1 , and winter wheat was planted manually on 8 Oct., 2014 and 7 Oct., 2015 and harvested on 7 Jun., 2015 and 7 Jun., 2016, respectively. The experimental plot area was 3 × 3 m 2 with three replicates; 112.5 kg ha -1 N, 120 kg ha -1 P2O5 and 105 kg ha -1 K2O as base mineral fertilizers were added to the soil, and half of the total N (250.0 kg ha -1 ) was applied at the stem elongation stage (GS30, Zadoks et al., 1974) as a top-dressing. The experiment was conducted in a split-plot design. The main plot was the following three irrigation schedules: irrigation of 50 mm each at jointing growth stage (GS34, 27 Mar., 2015 and27 Mar., 2016) and heading growth stage (GS48, 26 Apr., 2015 and 25 Apr., 2016) (W1); irrigation of 100 mm at GS48 (W2); and irrigation of 100 mm each at GS34 and GS48 (W3, Zadoks et al., 1974). Water was supplied to the plots using plastic pipes, and a flow meter was used to measure the irrigation amount. The plot was buried on all four sides using concrete slabs that were 2 m deep and 15 cm wide. The split plot consisted of the following three planting modes: uniform row (U), furrow (F), and double-double row (DD, Fig. 2). The row spacing was 30 cm for U, 15 cm and 5 cm (double rows) alternated for DD, and 20 cm and 40 cm alternated for F.

Farmland microclimate:
The air temperature and RH were monitored at 5 and 50 cm aboveground (AG5 and AG50), respectively, in the same inter-row space with a Pocket Weather Tracker Kestrel 4000 (Nielsen-Kellerman Co., Boothwyn, USA) at jointing (G35), flag leaf (GS44), heading (GS49), filling (GS71) and maturity (GS80) growth stages, respectively. The soil temperature at 0 cm, 5 cm, 10 cm, and 15 cm depth was measured in the center of the row from April 1 to May 30 every 6 d at 8:00 am and 14:00 pm with a geothermometer. The experiment was performed in triplicate.
Dry matter accumulation and yield: Dry matter was measured at GS80 following Zhou et al. (2021). The stochastically collected uniformly-growing fifteen strains and 1 m 2 of wheat per plot as samples, in which the leaf, stem, and spike of fifteen strains of wheat per plot were separated, and dried in an oven at 105°C for 30 min followed by drying at 80°C until a constant weight was reached, and then dry matter and yield were determined. The dry matter accumulation rate was computed with the following equation: Dry matter accumulation rate = Dry matter (kg ha -1 )/days where days refers to the total number of days from sowing growth stage (GS0) to GS80 for stem, leaf and total dry matter, i.e., 234 days (2014)(2015) and 238 days (2015-2016), respectively, and from GS49 to GS80 for grain, i.e., 38 days (2014)(2015) and 43 days (2015-2016), respectively.

Fig. 2. Planting modes schematic diagram. a, uniform row (U); b, furrow (F); c, double-double row (DD).
Statistical analyses: All graphs were drawn with Origin 8 (OriginLab Corporation, Northampton, USA) and SigmaPlot 12.5 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, USA), and all data were analyzed with SAS 9.2 software (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA) using two-way ANOVA. The means of the different treatments were considered significant with the least significant difference (LSD) test at P < 0.05.

RESULTS
Air temperature: The AG5 and AG50 temperatures were mainly influenced by air temperature and had an increasing trend during the growth stage (Fig. 3    In 2015-2016, the RH at AG5 and AG50 was 54.4% and 48.2%, respectively; that of W1, W2 and W3 was 50.1%, 49.7% and 54.0%, respectively; and that of F, U and DD was 51.7%, 49.9% and 52.2%, respectively (Fig. 4b1, b2). During the two growing seasons, RH had a similar change, AG5 > AG50; the average RH at AG5 and AG50 was ranked as W3 > W1 ≈ W2 and DD > F > U.
Soil temperature: The soil temperature on 1 Apr., 7 Apr., 13 Apr., and 19 Apr. in 2016 was higher than that in 2015, but on 19 May, 25 May, and 30 May in 2016 was lower than that in 2015 (Fig. 5), which was similar to the air temperature change (Fig. 1). During the 2014-2016 growing seasons, the soil temperature at all levels presented a wave rising trend. The soil temperatures at 0 cm, 5 cm, 10 cm and 15 cm depths were 19.5°C, 16.2°C, 15.6°C and 15.1°C, respectively, indicating that the soil temperature decreased with the deepening of the soil layer. Soil temperatures at all levels were W2 > W1 > W3 and U > DD > F (Fig. 5). During the two growing seasons, the soil temperature averages at 0 cm, 5 cm, 10 cm and 15 cm depths were ranked as follows: W2 > W1 > W3 and U > DD > F.

Dry matter:
The results showed that dry matter increased gradually with growth stage development (Fig. 6). In 2014-2015, the dry matter of W1, W2 and W3 were 10036, 10025 and 12462 kg ha -1 respectively, W3 was significantly higher than those of W1 and W2 (P < 0.05); U, DD and F were 10537, 11595 and 10391 kg ha -1 respectively, DD was significantly higher than those of U and F (P < 0.01). At GS49-GS80, the dry matter of U and DD under W1 was higher than those of W2. In 2015-2016, the dry matter of W1, W2 and W3 were 12533, 11617 and 14240 kg ha -1 respectively, W3 was significantly higher than that of W2 (P < 0.05); U, DD and F were 11634, 12907 and 13850 kg ha -1 respectively. At GS71-GS80, the dry matter of W1 was higher than that of W2. The average dry matter of W3 was significantly higher than those of W1 and W2 by 18.31% and 23.38% (P < 0.05); DD and F were significantly higher than those of U by 10.51% and 9.34% (P < 0.05).

Dry matter and yield accumulation rates:
The spike dry matter accumulation rate was the highest, followed by that of the yield, stem and then the leaf during the growing season (Table 1). Average air temperature and relative humidity at 5 and 50 cm aboveground; average soil temperature at 0 cm, 5 cm, 10 cm and 15 cm depth in 2014-2015 and 2015-2016. * , ** Correlation is significant at the 0.05 and 0.01 levels, respectively.
The spike, total dry matter and yield accumulation rates in 2015-2016 were higher than those in 2014-2015 (except U andDD under W1, andU under W3). No matter what planting mode was applied in winter wheat in both years, the dry matter and yield accumulation rate of W3 were significantly higher than those of W1 and W2 (P < 0.05). Additionally, W1 resulted in more pronounced increment in dry matter and yield accumulation rate related to W2. Dry matter accumulation rate was significantly affected not only by the irrigation, but also by the planting modes (P < 0.05). The dry matter accumulation rates at different organs of wheat in DD and F remained higher than those in U in both years. However, the dry matter accumulation rates in DD and F showed the opposite trend in two years as DD contributed more towards dry matter and yield than F in 2014-2015. Either irrigation or planting modes interacted with years significantly affected spike dry matter and yield accumulation rates (P < 0.05). Although not statistically significant (P > 0.05), the average dry matter of two years in DD was improved by 4.2% for spike and 3.3% for total dry matter compared in relation to F. The average accumulation rate in two years was 209.7 kg ha -1 d -1 for F and 207.5 kg ha -1 d -1 for DD, showing no significant difference between the yield accumulation rates of DD and F (P > 0.05).
Correlation between air and soil temperatures, relative humidity, spike and total dry matter and yield accumulation rates: The RH had a significantly negative correlation with air temperature and soil temperature (P < 0.05), with r values of -0.5494 and -0.4652, respectively (Table 2). A significant linear regression relationship.
With an equation of y = 82.7347 -1.2668x (R 2 = 0.5347, P < 0.0001) between RH with air temperature is shown in Fig. 7, showing that RH is decreased with the increasing of air temperature (P < 0.0001).  The spike and total dry matter accumulation rates were significantly negatively correlated with air temperature while they had a significant positive correlation with RH and spike accumulation rate (P < 0.01), with a r value of 0.6162 and 0.6655, respectively. A significant positive correlation with spike and total dry matter accumulation rate was found, and r value was 0.9877 (P < 0.01). Moreover, yield accumulation rate had a negative correlation with air or soil temperature but it was significantly positively correlated with RH, spike and total dry matter accumulation rates (P < 0.01). The results showed that relatively high RH could increase dry matter accumulation, which improved yield accumulation rate; however, high temperature was an unfavorable factor for wheat production.

DISCUSSION
The cultivation mode changed the ecological environment of wheat growth, which affected the physiological process of wheat and led to the change of yield (Izzi et al., 2008). Other agricultural practices, including tillage, fertilizer, sowing date, straw return, irrigation, and planting pattern, will influence the farmland microclimate. Different irrigation treatments have different microclimate characteristics, and irrigation significantly reduce formation of temperature and increase RH (Lu et al., 2015). The results of present study also showed that, with increasing of irrigation amount, the air temperature decreased and the RH increased at AG5 and AG50. The air temperature at AG5 and AG50 had a significant negative correlation with yield and spike dry matter accumulation rate, whereas RH was reverse. Previous research has shown that temperature increase has the most likely negative impact on crop yields (Ottman et al., 2012) which was confirmed in our study. The DD (wide-precision) and F were good planting modes, which weaken competition among individual crop plants (Yan et al., 2018).
Irrigation could reduce soil temperature while increase RH, and temperature change range decreased with increasing of soil depth. The W3 maintained the lowest air temperature and the highest RH. At the same time, the increase in the irrigation frequency by reducing the irrigation amount per application will relatively decrease temperature and improve RH. Feng et al. (2017) reported that increasing irrigation frequency would maintain higher soil water content in top soil layer, which might result in low temperature and high RH in W1 and then promote dry matter as well as yield accumulation rate. The regions with scarce water resources like north China, W1 was considered to be the optimal water-saving irrigation mode. Reasonable plant spacing could decrease heat consumption for evapotranspiration and improve the microclimate of farmland. This study showed that DD significantly reduced air temperature at AG5 and AG50, and improved air humidity. These were consistent with previous studies (Philip et al., 2005).
The dry matter mass was biological yield, and high biological yield was also an excellent character of wheat. The increment of dry matter partitioning to the spikes could increase grain partitioning leading to high yield as a significant positive correlation between spike with yield accumulation rates was found, which was identified with the report of Rivera-Amado et al. (2019). The experimental results showed that the total dry matter and yield accumulation rates of winter wheat increased with the increase of irrigation times under irrigation quota as well as irrigation amount, so the total dry matter and yield accumulation rate of W3 were higher than those of other irrigation treatments. The total dry matter of DD planting mode was relatively better than that of other planting modes. In conclusion, the total larger dry matter was beneficial to increase grain yield.
Irrigation schedules and planting modes improved farmland microclimate and contributed to increase dry matter accumulation (Plaut et al., 2004). Dry matter is the final form of photosynthetic products of crops, and its accumulation, transport and distribution are closely related to formation of economic yield (Guo et al., 2020). Studies have shown that most of wheat grain yield comes from the redistribution of post-flowering photosynthetic production and pre-flowering storage, and suitable irrigation can significantly increase dry matter accumulation after flowering and its contribution to grain yield, thus increasing the yield (Ma et al., 2019). Irrigation can promote the transfer of preanthesis homologous compounds to seeds, and narrow row planting can improve the yield of maize by improving its dry matter production capacity (Lin et al., 2016). In this study, dry matter accumulation for stem, leaf and spike increased with increasing of irrigation amount and frequency in DD were superior to other planting modes, which it may be due to the large population number in the DD, and created suitable field microclimate for the growth of winter wheat and the grain dry accumulation. Additionally, years interacted with planting mode and irrigation also significantly affected dry matter accumulation for stem, leaf, spike and grain (P < 0.05). Higher dry matter and yield accumulation were found in 2015-2016 rather than in 2014-2015, which might be attributed to the precipitation in 2015-2016 (262 mm) being higher than that in 2014-2015 (245 mm).
As have discussed above, the results showed that irrigation amount and frequency could decrease air temperature and increase RH, dry matter and yield accumulation. Soil temperature decreases with increasing soil depth. Irrigation schedules and planting modes have important impacts on farmland microclimate, including air and soil temperatures and RH, and changes in the microclimate accelerate or retard crop growth, especially dry matter accumulation. DD is a new precision planting mode, compared with F and U. The temperature and precipitation records help to analyze the microclimate. By improving irrigation schedules under field conditions, we confirmed the best planting mode to prevent agricultural water stress. This experiment showed that F and DD decreased air and soil temperatures and increased the RH and dry matter and yield accumulation rates compared with U, but the dry matter and yield accumulation rates of DD were relatively high. It may be recommended that farmers with scarce water resources (like this area) could adopt W1 with DD due to scarce water resources in the Huanghuaihai Plain.


provenance: AgriculturalAndFoodSciences,2019-2020-Agricultural And Food Sciences-2020.jsonl.gz.gz

text:
Enhancement of proline content and antioxidant enzyme activities induced by drought stress in maize (Zea mays L.) by application of compost

In sub-Saharan Africa, soil degradation and recurrent droughts are major obstacles to a sustainable agriculture. This study aimed at investigating the effect of compost addition to soil on proline content and activities of the antioxidant enzymes [catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX)] in maize plants, under drought stress conditions. The test was carried out in 20L plastic pots containing either sandy soil or sandy soil with the fertilizer, under natural conditions. The water deficit was induced at male blooming and milky grain stages. Plant irrigation was done by successive weighing of the pots during which the control is reduced to the same weight corresponding to 70% of the useful water reserve (UWR), while the stressed treatment maintains the water content at 30% of the UWR for 10 days. At the end of the stress period, the proline content, the CAT and APX activities in the leaves were determined through a spectrophotometry. The results show an important accumulation of proline and increase in enzymatic activity induced by water deficit in plants grown on compost (p = 0.00000 at p < 0.05). This study provides evidence for a beneficial effect of compost application in enhancing drought tolerance of maize. © 2019 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved

INTRODUCTION
In recent decades, Togo has experienced serious deregulation of the rainfall, such as long-term droughts or floods at unexpected periods (Adewi et al., 2010;Lemou, 2008). Zones of drought appear during cultural cycles. From 1961 to 2010, great thermic increases have been registered in the southern and northern plains (respectively from 1, 0 to 1, 6 °C and 0, 9 to 1, 6 °C) of the country . The highest temperatures are registered almost each year and can reach 40 °C, more often in Maritime and Savannahs regions . Average rainfall between 1986 and 2005 has decreased from 89 ± 22 mm in the whole country (DNM, 2007). From 1950From to 2000 days separate the early dates from the late dates of the start of the short rainy season in Guinean region (Adewi et al., 2010); this suggests that the potentially useful seasons has been almost inexistent in this part of the country from 1965. Thus, agricultural schedules are disturbed by an increasingly unpredictable climate, causing soil erosion and sometimes destroying plantations, with a negative impact on crop yields (Lemou, 2008;Adewi et al., 2010). In some areas, crops such as maize dry before they even mature. In such a deadlock, the worst is predicted with an increasing risk of drought accompanied by a significant increase in the occurrence of extreme temperatures (IPCC, 2007).
In Togo, corn remains the first cultivated cereal crop, far in front of the sorghum, with 696 thousand hectares cultivated in 2014, for a production of about 833 044 tons (FAO, 2017). However, the effectiveness of its photosynthesis, its water efficiency and its drawing root system make corn a plant very subject to water deficiency, especially since it usually ends its cycle in a period which is critical in water (Barrière, 2001).
In water deficit situation, plants develop mechanisms of tolerance (osmoregulation, activity of the antioxidant system). The accumulation of proline is one of the most remarkable osmoregulation manifestations of water and osmotic stress (Demiral and Turkan., 2004). Moreover, in view of the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which is the cause of an oxidative stress induced by a water stress, the capacity of the antioxidant system is crucial for maintaining the integrity of the photosynthetic system. One of the mechanisms of the antioxidant system is detoxification, which consists in preventing the accumulation of hydroxides by intervening at different stages of their formation. It is found in many enzymes such as superoxide dismutases (SOD), ascorbate peroxidases (APX), catalases (CAT), glutathione-S transferases (GST) and glutathione peroxidases (GPX) (Loka et al., 2011).
The purpose of this study was to assess the contribution of an organic amendment, a compost produced from a mixture of household waste, biomass of Cassia occidentallis L., cow manure, natural phosphate and ashes of cotton seeds, as an external factor in improving corn resistance to water deficit. More specifically, the effect of this compost on the accumulation of proline and the activity of CAT and that of APX is evaluated in corn in a situation of water stress at the stages of flowering male and milky grain of its development.

MATERIALS AND METHODS Substrates analysis and composting materials
The sandy soil used for the purpose of the study was collected from the soil layer (0-25 cm depth) at the agronomic station of experiment of the Université de Lomé (6°22'N, 1°13'E; altitude = 50 m). It is an irontype poor which pH was 5.6., EC (dS.m-1) was 1.87, total organic matter (TOM, %) was 1, total C, N, P, K in % are 0.8, 0.1, 0.11 and 0.026, respectively. The collected soil was airdried, homogenized and sieved at 2 mm. The used compost was produced from a mixture of household waste, biomass of Cassia occidentallis L., cow manure, natural phosphate and ashes of cotton seeds at ratio of 5:7:1:2:5 (m/m) (Bokobana et al., 2017). The initial material of compost was mixed and was allowed to decompose in a tank. Moisture content was measured twice a week using a thermohygrometer and was maintained at 50-60% throughout the active composting period. The mixture was turned at 2, 4, 8, 16, 30, 60 and 90 th day, to maintain porosity. The thermophilic stage (>55 °C) lasted for about 50 days. After 120 days of composting processes, the temperatures reached the ambient level. The compost was then left for curing about 4 weeks to be suitable as a culture medium. The compost pH and EC (dSm) were 6.25 and 4.44, respectively. TOM (%) was 47.64; total C, N, P and K (%) dried samples were 33.98, 1.73, 3.13 and 3.28, respectively. Humic and fulvic acids contents (%) were respectively 12.2 and 4.3. (Bokobana et al., 2017).

Plant growth and treatments
The test was undertaken in plastic pots of 20 L (31 cm deep; 31 cm in greater diameter; 21 cm in lower diameter) in which holes were made at the bottom (to let drain water after watering). 500 g of gravel were put down at the base to allow a good drainage of water. Every pot was filled with 18 kg of substratum. A pre-planting irrigation was applied every 2 days at the capacity on the fields, until the sowing on the 15 th day. Maize (Zea mays L.) seeds, after kepting wet in the darkness for 72 hours, were planted, May 27, 2017 in pots (04 seeds/pot) containing sandy soil amended with the compost (100 g/Kg soil) or with chemical fertilizer (1.5 g of NPK 15-15-15 and 0.75 g of urea), and grown along with control that received no fertilizer, under natural conditions. The separation which was achieved on the 14 th day after sowing allowed to maintain one plant by pot. The environmental conditions were as follows: 12 h photoperiod, temperature of 26 °C / 29 °C / 27 °C 8 h / 14 h / 17 h and a relative humidity of 84% / 69% / 77%. During the growing period, the water content of the soil in all pots was maintained at 80% of the field capacity. The applied water deficit was about a lowering of the irrigation from 70% of the UWR (witness plant) to 30% of the UWR (stressed plant) at male bloom stage (right at the appearance of the panicle) and the milky grain stage (beginning of grains' filling). The UWR (in mm) is given by the following formula: The irrigation of plants has been made at a periodicity of 3 days, by a weighing of pots to maintain the desired soil water levels by adding appropriate volumes of water. The experimental treatments consisted of: controls [sandy soil without fertilizer] and five treatments [sandy soil amended with compost; sandy soil added with chemical fertilizer; sandy soil under drought stress; sandy soil amended with compost under drought stress; sandy soil added with chemical fertilizer under drought stress], arranged in a split-plot design with four replicates. The experimental unit consisted of 3 pots, giving a total of 108 pots ( Figure 1). After 10 days of treatment, the youngest fully developed leaves were taken for biochemical assays.

Measure of leaf proline content
The proline assay adapted to the leaf was performed according to Bogdanov method (1999). At 510 nm the absorbance of the leaf extract (25 mg.mL -1 of water) and the absorbance of standard proline solutions (32 μg.ml -1 ) were taken to deduce the proline content (expressed in μg proline.mg -1 protein) in the extract. A 5 mL test tube contained 0.5 mL of standard proline or ground the leaf or water for the blank received 1 mL of formic acid 100% and 1 mL ethylene glycol 3%. After a vigorous mixing during 15 minutes at room temperature each tube was placed 15 minutes in a boiling bath. 2.5 mL of 2propanol 50% were added in each tube then placed for 10 minutes in a water bath of 70 °C. When the tube took the room temperature 45 minutes later 1 mL was taken of its content of the absorbance reading at 510 nm with a spectrophotometer. The proline content of the leaves, estimated in μg.mg -1 of proteins, was determined by the following formula: P = (Ae/As x Ms/Mf) / Qp P: Proline content (mg.g -1 mf); Ae: Absorbance of the leaf extract; As: Absorbance of standard proline solution; Ms: Proline mass of the standard solution (μg); Mf: Leaf fresh mass (g); Proteins content (mg.g. -1 fresh matter).

Dry aerial biomass measurement
Plants were harvested on the 10 day of exposure to the drought when they were 90 days old. The dry aerial biomass (DAB) was measured after drying samples in an oven at 70 °C for 2 days.

Statistical analysis
The data were subjected to statistical analysis using STATISTICA software (version 6.0). Student Newman-Keuls test was applied to compare the treatment means. Any variable with a P value less than or equal to 0.05 is considered as significant. Two classification factors were used, the standard factor of fertilization and the stage of application of the water deficit. A calculation of the rate of change (S) of the measured parameter was performed.

RESULTS
The analysis of the variance (Tables 1 and 2) shows that the water regime, fertilization and interaction of both factors had a highly significant effect (p = 0.00000 to p <0.05) on the proline content and on the activity of CAT and APX at the leaf level. However, specificities in the variations of the variables measured are to be observed from one type of fertilization to another and following the phenological stage of the plant where the water deficit was applied.

Proline content of leaves
The proline content of leaves has significantly increased with the application of water deficit whatever the treatment (Table 3). Soil fertilization has significantly influenced the accumulation of proline at the foliar level. Indeed, this accumulation is higher in plants that are cultivated on compost (80.58 to 160.45%) than in those that are grown on chemical fertilizer (48.25 to 106.98%) ( Figure  2A). Depending on the date of application of the water deficit, the accumulation rate of proline is significantly higher at the male flowering stage (106.98 to 160.45%) than at the milky grain stage (48.25 to 80.58%) ( Figure 2B).

CAT and APX activities in the leaves
The water deficit led to an increase in catalase activity (Table 4) and ascorbate peroxidase activity (  (Figures 3A and 4A). Depending on the date of application of water deficiency, only CAT activity remains significantly higher in the milky grain stage than in the male bloom stage (40.45 to 75.34% for milky grain stage; 15.10 to 22.71% for male bloom stage) ( Figure 3B), when the differences in the APX activity remain non-significant ( Figures 4A and 4B).

Analysis of the correlation
Under normal irrigation, the analysis of the correlation matrix (Table 6) show positive significant correlation between CAT and APX activities (r = 1.000; p = 0.014) at male bloom stage. In water deficit condition, and at male bloom stage, the analysis of the correlation matrix (Table 7) show positively significant correlation between CAT and APX activities (r =0.997; p = 0.048) and on the other hand between proline content and CAT activity (r = 1.000; p = 0.012) and APX activity (r = 0.998; p = 0.036). At milky grain stage, positive significant correlation was observed between CAT an APX activities (r = 0.998; p = 0.036), and on the other hand between CAT activities and proline content (r = 0.998; p = 0.042).

Dry aerial biomass
The analysis of the variances (Tables 8) shows that the water regime, fertilization and interaction of the both factors had a significant effect on dry aerial biomass. Water deficit significantly reduced dry aerial biomass (DAB) ( Table 9). Compost crops were less affected by this decline, at only 2.63% and 2.25%, respectively, at the male bloom stage and the milky-grained stage ( Figure 5A). On the other hand, the decrease in DAB is significantly greater for the water deficit applied to the male bloom stage, with decline rates respectively of 13.27%, 5.15% and 2.63%, compared with 8.22%, 2.31% and 2.25% for the water deficit applied to the milky-grained stage ( Figure 5B).          628.83 MS = mean square; dl: free level; WR = water regime; F= Fisher factor; P= significance; * = significant at the 5% threshold; ** = significant at 1% threshold; *** = significant at the 0.1% threshold; ns = not significant.

DISCUSSION
Proline accumulation under drought conditions may be the result of three complementary processes: stimulation of its synthesis, inhibition of its oxidation and / or alteration of protein biosynthesis (Sandhya et al., 2010). The accumulated proline could play a role of osmoticum (Demiral and Turkan, 2004), and would intervene in the strengthening of the antioxidant system and the fight against stress damage (Molinari et al., 2007). This indicates the high positive correlations between the proline content and the activity of catalase and ascorbate peroxidase. Proline could also be incorporated into parietal proteins, allowing remodeling of the wall for strengthening (Ben Nja, 2014). It could also play a role in the regulation of cytoplasmic pH or constitute a nitrogen reserve used by the plant after the period of water deficit (Kavi Kishor et al., 2005). Given this role devolved to proline, the accumulated quantities could be linked to the level of tolerance to the water deficit (Ouiza et al., 2010). Thus, the high accumulation rates in plants grown on compost are proof that organic matter would raise the tolerance level of the plant to water deficit (Tartoura, 2010;Some et al., 2010).
Water deficiency induced an increase in the activity of catalase and ascorbate peroxidase. Similar results have been reported by many researchers in other abiotic stress studies (Caverzan et al., 2012;Sofo et al., 2015). These results indicate that both enzymes are involved in the cellular H 2 O 2 catabolism that is harmful to cellular integrity (Meksem, 2007). The rates of increase in catalase and ascorbate peroxidase activity remained significantly higher in plants grown on compost than in plants grown on chemical fertilizer. Shigoeka et al. (2002) demonstrate a close relationship between the increase in ascorbate peroxidase activity and the intensity of water deficiency in the cell. The increased enzyme activity of the antioxidant system was positively correlated with plant resistance to drought (Halliwell, 2006). Moreover, it's found that drought-resistant crop strains had higher levels of antioxidant enzymes than drought-sensitive strains (Laxa et al., 2019). According to Tartoura (2010) and Verma et al. (2014), waste compost improves wheat resistance to water deficiency through an accumulation of enzymes such as APX, CAT and GPX, unlike plants grown on a substrate without amendment. Thus, organic amendments, through their composition in micronutrients and organic matter, would strengthen the defense system developed by plants in a situation of water stress.
The effect of composts on the biochemical stress indicators found in this study would be associated to the presence in the compost of macro and micronutrients (magnesium, calcium, potassium), organic matter, phytohormone-like substances, biotic agents, carbon dioxide, nitric oxide and many others, leading to the synthesis and accumulation of several metabolites (Jia et al., 2010). In addition to nutrients and organic matter, compost contains a significant amount of humic substances (Francou, 2003). Humic substances are natural organic polyelectrolytes (Chen et al., 2004a). Among the various functional actions of humic substances, their ability to improve plant growth has been well established in various species (Chen et al., 2004b). However, the mechanism behind the action of humic substances is poorly understood. While some authors suggest that humic substances promote plant growth by improving the bioavailability of certain nutrients in soil, mainly iron and zinc (Chen et al., 2004a;Chen et al., 2004b), others suggest that humic substances can also directly affect plant metabolism (Some et al., 2010).
The variability of the biochemical parameters measured from one phenological stage to another could be associated on the one hand with the physiological age of the plant (senescence) but on the other hand with the growth conditions (Valentinuz and Tollenaar, 2004). During the filling phase of the grains, the lack of water causes an accelerated senescence of the leaves.
The study showed also that corn further reduces its aboveground biomass under dry conditions. Similar results have already been obtained by Meskelu et al. (2014). This reduction is explained by Imorou et al. (2018) by reducing the leaf area (photosynthesis site) and stem elongation, by decreasing the number of grains due to poor fertilization (at bloom stage) or by the reduced accumulation of starch in the endosperm (at the milky-grained stage). However, this decrease in aerial biomass remains low for compost crops in favor of grain production and filling (Imorou et al., 2018).

Conclusion
The analysis of biochemical indicators of water stress in maize accounts for the effect of fertilization on the metabolism linked to the plant's resistance to drought. Thus, the synthetic voices of osmolytes (proline) in the fight against the effects of water stress, as well as the activity of the enzymes of the antioxidant system (CAT and APX) would be significantly stimulated by chemical factors present in organic matter. This would considerably reduce the damage caused by water stress to the development of the plant. This study shows that, besides improving the physical and chemical properties of the soil, compost offers the plant a better metabolic predisposition to withstand the effects of drought. However, the evaluation of the performance components can validate the metabolic flexibility obtained in this chapter.


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Investigation of Physicochemical and Microbial Parameters of Drinking Water Supply Sources in Villages of Saqqez , Iran Background

Article Notes: Received: May 05, 2020 Received in revised form: Aug 19, 2020 Accepted: Aug 19, 2020 Available Online: Sep 23, 2020 Background & Aims of the Study: Providing safe drinking water is one of the most important goals in human societies. It is clear that people's health depends on the provision of favorable drinking water. This study examined the physicochemical and microbial parameters of drinking water resources in the villages of Saqqez, Iran, within 3 months in 2018. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on 24 sources of drinking water supply (i.e., wells and springs) in the villages covered by rural water and sewage in Saqqez within 3 months in 2018. The cultivation of the samples was performed by the most probable number (MPN) technique to evaluate the number of total coliforms and fecal coliforms. Chemical experiments were conducted based on titration, and physical experiments were performed through analytical methods. Finally, SPSS statistical software (version 20) was used for the statistical analysis of the results. Results: The obtained results of the present study showed that the parameters of turbidity, electrical conductivity (EC), pH, and total dissolved solids (TDS) were within the range of the national and international standards. In addition, the total hardness parameter in 100% of the samples was within the range of national standards; however, it was within the standard range of the World Health Organization in 87.5% of the samples. The levels of total coliforms and fecal coliforms were reported within the range of the national and international standards in 66.67% and 85.82% of the samples, respectively. Conclusion: According to the obtained results, the parameters, including turbidity, EC, chlorine, pH, and TDS, were in accordance with the national and international standards. Moreover, the levels of total and fecal coliforms were within the range of the national and international standards in 66.67% and 85.82% of the samples, respectively. The maximum values of total coliforms and fecal coliforms were within the range of 6-9 MPN per 100 mL, respectively. These low values can be eliminated with simple chlorination.

and Africa, and living in rural areas (2). About 80% of the earth's surface is covered with water, 97% of which consisted of the oceans and seas; however, it is too salty to be directly drunk and unusable for human activities. Furthermore, about 2.4% of water resources has trapped in large glaciers and polar ice caps. Therefore, less than 1% of water resources are accessible for drinking, agriculture, and domestic and industrial uses (3).
Access to safe drinking water is an important issue in many countries around the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1.1 billion people worldwide do not have access to safe drinking water each year (4). Water quality is one of the issues that is directly related to health, personal, and public hygiene. The need for monitoring and ensuring sanitary conditions and standards for drinking water indicates the great importance of water quality control (5). Water quality includes chemical, physical, biological, and radiological qualities (6). Water pollution is an adverse change in physical, chemical, and biological properties endangering human health, survival, and activity of other organisms (7,8).
Different types of bacteria, viruses, and parasites can easily enter water supply networks and cause acute intestinal diseases (7). The presence of some salts and chemicals in water is essential for humans and their health; nonetheless, some of these chemical parameters may be toxic at low concentrations, and the concentrations higher than standard values can cause various diseases and disabilities for the body in the long term (4,7).
At present, water quality control in distribution networks is defined as the determination of physical, chemical, and microbial characteristics (8). Industrialization, regardless of sustainable principles, population growth, and mechanized agriculture, has been involved in water pollution in recent years. Especially in developing countries, in some villages, domestic sewage flows through open spaces; this type of flow and waste collection leads to surface water and groundwater pollution (8).
All intestinal pathogens that are transmitted through the fecal route can be transported through water (9). The first indicator of fecal contamination is Escherichia coli, which is the opportunistic pathogen inhabiting the large intestine of humans and other animals. The presence of this bacterium in the water is the cause of contamination through fecal sources (10). The index organisms of total coliforms and fecal coliforms are most commonly used to determine the microbial quality of drinking water (11), and aquatic environments are a good place for the growth of microorganisms. The entry of organic matter pollutes the water and makes the environment more suitable for the growth of organisms (12). Because groundwater is less polluted with high storage capacity, it is considered a more important source than surface waters (13).
Recently, the investigation of the microbial status and physicochemical parameters of drinking water supply sources have received much attention. In a study carried out by Mujahid et al., the bacteriological quality of drinking water was studied in Karachi, Pakistan. The results of the aforementioned study showed that there were a large number of coliforms in freshwater, and the most probable number (MPN) index was higher than the permissible level in all samples. Total coliforms were present in 90% of total coliform samples except for 1 sample, and fecal coliforms were observed in 90% of fecal coliform samples except for 1 sample (14). In another study, 15. Pirsaheb et al. measured some water quality parameters of the Chahnimeh 1 reservoir in Sistan and Baluchistan, Iran (15).
In rural areas, providing, distributing, and monitoring water quality is essential due to various problems, such as scattered villages, worn-out water distribution facilities and networks, lack of proper care, distribution of animal wastes in the environment, and low level of public health in the village (13). Saqqez is one of the northern cities of Kurdistan province, Iran, with 4 districts (i.e., Markazi, Imam, Sarshive, and Ziviyeh) and 308 villages, out of which 164 villages are covered by Saqqez rural water and sewage. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the quality of water and compare it with international studies on the microbial future and determine the physicchemical resources of drinking water supply in the villages of Saqqez. Accordingly, based on the need for continuous monitoring of water quality and comparing it with the national and international standards, this study was conducted to comprehensively investigate and determine the microbial contamination and physicochemical parameters of drinking water in Saqqez villages.
The present study was a descriptive crosssectional carried out on the drinking water supply sources of the villages covered by the rural water and sewage of Saqqez within June 22, 2018, to September 22, 2018. The samples were obtained from the drinking water supply sources of 20 villages, including 12 wells and 12 springs, covered by the rural water and sewage of these 4 districts in Saqqez.
Sampling for the evaluation of the microbial and physicochemical parameters was performed in several steps. The criteria for the selection of villages in each district were the distance from the city center (two villages with a distance of 15 km from the city center, two villages with a distance of 15-15 km, and one village with a distance of more than 30 km) and type of drinking water supply source in each district (two villages with well supply sources, two villages with spring supply sources, and one village with a well and spring supply source). The microbial samples were collected in wide-mouth glass containers made of borosilicate. Before the sterilization of these containers, 10% sodium thiosulfate was used for the neutralization of the residual chlorine.
The secondary contamination of microbial samples was prevented during transporting, sampling, and conducting relevant experiments. Furthermore, coldboxes and ice packs were used for the transfer without contact with the sampling containers. Chemical sampling was carried out in plastic containers with a volume of 3 liters (16). A total of 24 chemical samples and 24 microbial samples were taken from the supply sources.
Physical experiments were performed by the analytical methods, including turbidity (measured with a turbidity meter in terms of Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU), Wagtech Ltd., UK), electrical conductivity (EC) (measured with an EC meter in terms of µS/cm, Metrohm, Switzerland), pH (measured with a pH meter, Wagtech Ltd., UK), and total dissolved solids (TDS) (measured with a TDS meter, Hm-Digital, Iran). The chemical experiments, including total hardness and chlorine concentration, were measured by titration. Total hardness was calculated with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid titration in milligrams per liter, and chloride concentration was determined by potassium chromate titration in milligrams per liter (16).
The microbial experiments included the determination of total coliforms and fecal coliforms (thermophilic), which were performed by the most probable number (MPN). For this purpose, weak and strong for lactose broth culture medium were used for Presumptive test. Brilliant green bile broth was used as the confirmatory test and determination of total coliforms, and EC broth culture medium was employed as the completion test and determination of fecal coliforms (17).
All the materials used in this study were purchased from Merck Company, Germany. Finally, SPSS statistical software (version 20),

Archives of Hygiene Sciences
Volume 9, Number 3, Summer 2020 one-sample t-test, and mean and standard deviation were utilized for the statistical analysis of the obtained data. In addition, the results were compared with the national and international (i.e., the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and WHO) standards (18,19). Table 1 shows the mean and standard deviation of the research parameters according to the supply resource (i.e., well or spring). In the well supply source, turbidity (0.76 NTU), TDS (392.35 mg/L), EC (596.59), chloride (497.40), total hardness (255.62), total coliforms (2.16), and fecal coliforms (0. 25) were reported with higher mean values, and the higher mean values for the source of the spring were related to pH (7.35). The residual chlorine in all the sources was reported as 0, given that chlorination occurs in storage tanks. Table 2 shows the mean and standard deviation of each research parameters in the water supply resources according to the different districts of Saqqez. Turbidity in the Ziviyeh district had the highest mean value (0.72), and the lowest mean value (0.63) was related to the central district. pH in the Ziviyeh district had the lowest mean value (7.25), and its highest mean value (7.48) was observed in the central district. The lowest mean value (236.67) of TDS was related to the Sarshive district, and its highest mean value (315.55) was reported for the Imam district.   The EC in the Ziviyeh district had the lowest mean value (511.50), and the highest mean value (651.75) was observed in the Imam district. Chloride was reported with the lowest average (67) in the central district, and its highest mean value (89.33) was observed in the Imam district. The total hardness in the Sarshive district had the lowest mean value (302.33), and its highest mean value (238.68) was related to the central districts. The highest mean value of total coliform (2.17) was observed in the Imam district, and the Ziviyeh and Sarshive districts were reported with the lowest mean value (0.50). Finally, the parameter of the fecal coliforms was reported in its highest mean value (1) in the Sarshive and Ziviyeh districts.
In this study, it was observed that the minimum and maximum turbidity, pH, TDS, EC, chloride, total hardness, total hardness, and fecal coliforms were reported as 0.35-0.98 NTU, 6.9-7.9, 280-410 mg/L, 455.5-742 µS/cm, 37.52-112.56 mg/L, 182-328 mg/L, 90 MPN per 100 ml sample, and 60 MPN per 100 ml sample, respectively. Table 3 tabulates the compliance percentage of the parameters with the national and international standards. Turbidity, EC, pH, and TDS were within the range of the national and international standards. Furthermore, the total hardness parameter in 100% of the samples was observed within the range of the national standard, and it was reported within the WHO standard range in 87.5% of the samples. Total coliforms and fecal coliforms were within the range of the national and international standards in 66.67% and 85.82% of the samples, respectively. Table 4 shows the inferential statistics of the parameters (t-test) and comparison of the measured values of each parameter with the desired and permissible values of the national and international standards. The turbidity parameter was higher than the desired value of the WHO (with a significance of 0.0). Total hardness was higher than the desired value recommended by the Iranian and WHO standards (with a significance of 0.1).
Total coliforms and fecal coliforms were higher than the favorable and permissible values of the national and international standards (with significances of 0.14 and 0.166,  respectively), and other parameters were lower than the permissible and desired values of the national, WHO, and EPA standards. The mean value of the pH parameter in the present study was also shown to be within the confidence range of the desired value of this parameter (i.e., 5.8 in Iran); therefore, it can be concluded that the pH parameter was at the desired level of the Iranian community. Additionally, the obtained mean value was observed to be within the confidence range of the permissible value of this parameter (i.e., 5.9 in Iran); consequently, it can be inferred that the pH parameter was within the permissible national standards.
The mean value of the pH parameter, compared to the WHO indicators, was shown to be within the confidence range of the desired value of this parameter (i.e., 5.8 set by the WHO); as a result, it can be said that the pH parameter was at the desired level recommended by the WHO. Compared to WHO indicators, the mean value of the pH parameter was observed not to be within the confidence range of the permissible value of this parameter (i.e., 8-8.5 set by the WHO); therefore, it can be concluded that the pH parameter was not within the permissible limits recommended by the WHO. Table 5 tabulates the correlation matrix of the studied parameters. The turbidity parameter positively and significantly correlated with the total hardness parameter (0.69), total coliforms (0.63), and fecal coliforms (0.46). The TDS parameter positively and significantly correlated with the EC parameter (0.64). The chlorine parameter had a positive and significant correlation with the total hardness parameter (0.49), and the total hardness parameter had a positive and significant correlation with the total coliforms (0.53). The rest of the parameters were not significantly correlated.
The results of the present study showed that in the villages of Saqqez, EC, pH, and TDS of the supply sources were within the desired national standards. pH and TDS were in the optimal WHO levels, and the turbidity parameter was also within the range of the national and WHO standard limits. In a study conducted by Atefeh et al. in Lavasan-e Kouchak district, Tehran, Iran, (2013), the parameters of EC, turbidity, pH, and TDS were lower than the values set in the national standards (20). Another study was carried out by Hosseinzadeh et al. on the evaluation of the microbial status of rural drinking water sources of Romshegan village in Kuhdasht, Iran. In the aforementioned study, it was clarified that there were 27, 34, 36, 21, and 24 wells contaminated with Escherichia coli, Citrobacter koseri, Citrobacter freundii, Enterobacteriaceae, and klebsiella, respectively. In addition, only three wells were free of any microbial agents. All the samples were reported with a pH with an average of 7.6 within the national standard range, EC with an average of 951 µS/cm, and minimum and maximum levels of fecal coliforms as 4 and 100, respectively (21).
In the present study, the pH and EC in the supply sources were within the ranges of national, WHO, and EPA standards. Furthermore, the minimum and maximum levels of fecal coliforms were determined to be within the range of 3-6. In a study carried out by Ahmadi et al. on the chemical quality of rural drinking water resources in Neishabour, Iran, (2013), it was observed that TDS in 83 wells were higher than the global standards and lower than the Iranian standards (22). In the current study conducted on the villages of Saqqez, this parameter in all the water supply sources (i.e., wells and springs) met the required national, WHO, and EPA standards.
Masindi et al. carried out a study on the datasets on the physicochemical and microbial properties of raw water in four drinking water treatment plants in South Africa. The results of the aforementioned study showed that the average total coliforms and E. coli in the four studied treatment plants were 9272.8 and 136.1 counts/100 mL, respectively (23). In another study, Yousefi et al. investigated the microbial and physicochemical quality of storage tanks and drinking water distribution networks in the villages of Saqqez. The results showed that the total coliforms and fecal coliforms in all the studied areas were 0 (24), which is not in line with the findings of the present study. This can be due to the fact that the present study investigated the water resources of Saqqez without chlorination (i.e., wells and springs); the chlorination can remove 100% of the total coliforms and fecal coliforms.
In another study, Mohammadi et al. evaluated the physical and chemical analysis of potable groundwater resources in the rural areas of Babol, Iran, and observed that turbidity was reported within the range of 0.10-13.8 NTU, considered within the desired range for 56.4% of samples, permissible range for 35.9% of samples, and beyond the permissible limit for 7.7% of samples. Moreover, total hardness was observed to be within the range of 238-578. In addition, total hardness was within the desired, permissible, and higher than permissible limits for 25.7%, 69.2%, and 5.13% of samples, respectively (25). In the present study conducted on the water supply sources of Saqqez villages, the average values of turbidity and TDS were 0.66 and 312.9, which were much lower than the national standards.
A study by Gopalakrishnan et al. surveyed four drinking water sources at the International Research Institute for Tropical Areas in India over 17 years within 1994 to 2010. They observed that the mean values of total coliform in borewell 1 source, borewell 2 source, Manjeeva supply source, and International Crops Research Institute supply source were reported as 22.9, 20, 13.4, and 0 over 17 years, respectively. Three sources with the total coliforms also had fecal contamination requiring treatment (i.e., disinfection) before consumption (26). In the present study on Saqqez villages, out of 12 studied wells, 6 wells were contaminated with total coliforms; however, the average value of total coliforms in these 6 wells was reported as 4.33. According to the comparison of the averages, it can be concluded that the wells supplying the villages of Saqqez had a much better condition in terms of pollution.
In this study, the parameters of turbidity, EC, chlorine, pH, and TDS were within the ranges of the national and international standards. The total coliforms and fecal coliforms were within the ranges of the national and international standards in 66.67% and 85.82% of the samples, respectively. Furthermore, 33.33% and 14.28% of the samples had total coliforms and fecal coliforms higher than the national and international standard values, respectively. The reason for the aforementioned finding is the lack of chlorination in the supply sources (i.e., wells and springs). The maximum values of total coliforms and fecal coliforms were MPN 6-9 per 100 mL, respectively; these low values can be eliminated with simple chlorination, and the measured parameters are generally acceptable with appropriate desirability.