The current work investigated the influences of different light sources on growth performance, carcass characteristics, blood biochemicals, physiological status and health aspects. One hundred and twenty growing California rabbits were assigned into four empirical collections in an experiment of completely randomized design. Rabbits of the first collection were reared under incandescent light bulbs (control), while the second, third and fourth collections were reared under fluorescent, saving light and LED light bulbs, respectively. The results indicated that rabbits reared under incandescent and LED had the heaviest body weight at 16-weeks-old. Rabbits reared under LED recorded the greatest gain during 14–16 weeks of age and 6–16 weeks of age. The lowest feed conversion ratio was observed in rabbits reared under LED lighting, during 14–16 weeks of age, and during the whole period without significant …

The provision of suitable bedding for rearing broilers is an ongoing challenge for poultry producers. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of using different types of crop residues as alternative bedding materials to wheat straw on growth performance, carcass traits, health, and welfare of broilers; moreover, the effects on the bedding and air quality were analyzed. We randomly assigned 180 1-day-old chickens (Cobb 500) across six bedding groups (three replicates of 10 birds each). Chickens in all groups were reared under similar housing conditions. Chickens of one group were reared on a wheat straw bedding (control), whereas those of the remaining five groups were reared on clover straw, cornstalk chips (CS), sugarcane top chips, chopped palm spines (CPS), and corn ear husks. Cornstalk chip and chopped palm spines were associated with the lowest (P < 0.05) ammonia concentrations

Profitable production of rabbit meat requires comfortable environment for expression of good quality traits embedded in the genetic components of rabbits. One of the major problems facing rabbit production is heat stress, especially in hot regions of the world. This is further aggravated by global warming being experienced as a result of climate change. Rabbits have no or few sweat glands, complicating the problem of heat dissipation, thereby predisposing the animals to heat stress (HS). Heat stress adversely affect welfare and adaptation, feed consumption and utilization, immunity and health status, growth, reproduction, and milk production in rabbits. Rabbits are homoeothermic animals. They should be capable of body temperature regulation within a narrow range. Thermoregulation is extremely poor in rabbits because of lack of sweat glands. Rabbits are highly sensitive to high ambient temperature. The

Effects of exposing quail eggs to high temperature on the heat tolerance ability and productivity of birds were investigated. Four groups of 600 fertile eggs were randomly selected; the first group was incubated under 37.5 °C and the hatched chicks were reared under a gradual decrease in temperature from 35 to 24 °C (Control). The second group was exposed to 39.1 °C for 2 h/day during 4–14 days of embryogenesis and the hatched chicks were reared under a gradual decrease in temperature from 35 to 24 °C. The third group was incubated under 37.5 °C and the hatched chicks were exposed to 39 ± 1 °C for 2 h/day during 4–14 days of age. The fourth group was exposed to 39 ± 1 °C for 2 h during 4–14 days of embryogenesis and the hatched chicks were exposed to 39 ± 1 °C for 2 h/day during 4–14 days of age. The temperature applied changed (P < 0.01) embryo weight and incubation period

Salinity is one of the major environmental factors that negatively affect crop development,
particularly at the early growth stage of a plant and consequently the final yield. Therefore, a set of
50 wild barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp. spontaneum, Hsp) introgression lines (ILs) was used to detect
QTL alleles improving germination and seedling growth under control, 75 mM, and 150 mM NaCl
conditions. Large variation was observed for germination and seedling growth related traits that
were highly heritable under salinity stress. In addition, highly significant differences were obtained
for five salinity tolerance indices and between treatments as well. A total of 90 and 35 significant
QTL were identified for ten investigated traits and for tolerance indices, respectively. The Hsp
introgression alleles are involved in improving salinity tolerance at forty (43.9%) out of 90 QTL
including introgression lines S42IL-109 (2H), S42IL-116 (4H), S42IL-132 (6H), S42IL-133 (7H), S42IL-
148 (6H), and S42IL-176 (5H). Interestingly, seven exotic QTL alleles were successfully validated in
the wild barley ILs including S42IL-127 (5H), 139 (7H), 125 (5H), 117 (4H), 118 (4H), 121 (4H), and
137 (7H). We conclude that the barley introgression lines contain numerous germination and seedling
growth-improving novel QTL alleles, which are effective under salinity conditions.

Exploring the relationship between grain yield and heading date traits and their
stability parameters at phenotypic, genetic, and molecular levels is the milestone for
improving yield and adaptation in barley. We evaluated a mapping population
comprising 298 doubled haploid lines in multienvironmental trials in Egypt.
Composite interval mapping revealed 35 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) with four
pleiotropic QTLs. A major QTL bPb-9110 (140.3 cM on 3H) with a peak LOD greater
than 24 was found to be associated with the stability statistics bi and R2 of heading
date. Additionally, the marker bPb-1213 on 1H was correlated to heading date, grain
yield, and the statistic bi (GYP). We also found that the gene HvFT4 (2H, 66 cM) had
a significant impact on the heading date due to the presence of exotic alleles. This
gene was closely linked to the photoperiod Ppd-H1 gene by 24.9 cM, and both genes
play a major role in regulating flowering time in barley. Our results provide evidence
that stability statistics pinpoint genetic control and appear promising for
marker-assisted selection.

The present study investigated the influence of the quail diet polluted with aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) and its detoxification by using clay as a feed additive on the growth performance and some blood biochemical components of growing Japanese quail with reference to sex. A total number of 120 Japanese quail chicks (1 week old), was randomly divided into 10 groups (24 chicks/ group). A 5 × 2 factorial arrangement experiment was performed and included five levels of AFB₁ (0 ppm, 1 mg/kg AFB₁, 1 mg/kg AFB₁ + 1% clay, 2 mg/kg AFB₁ and 2 mg/kg AFB₁ + 1% clay) and two sexes. Birds fed with aflatoxin free diet had significantly (P ≤ 0.05 and 0.01) higher final live body weight, weight gain and lower mortality rate than the other groups. Addition of 1% clay significantly (P ≤ 0.05 and 0.01) improved the growth performance traits and diminished aflatoxin effect when compared to groups without the addition of clay. Obtained results indicated significant (P ≤ 0.05) differences between the two sexes in their response to aflatoxicosis in the final live body weight and weight gain. Our results showed significant (P ≤ 0.01) changes in all blood biochemicals (total protein, albumin, globulin, total cholesterol, creatinine, uric acid) and activities of serum enzymes studied due to the toxicity of AFB₁. Conclusively, the consumption of polluted diets with AFB₁ caused deleterious effects on the growth performance and blood biochemicals components of Japanese quail, while dietary addition of natural clay to the diet of growing Japanese quail caused beneficial effects.

In this study, the physicochemical characteristics of camel's milk (CM) obtained from different arid and semi-arid regions in Egypt, including Aswan, Luxor, and Shalateen, were investigated. No significant differences were recorded in pH values. Significant differences were recorded in the titratable acidity (%). The milk samples collected from Luxor area had the highest value. Significant differences were recorded in total solids (TS) content between the camel milk samples. The camel milk samples collected from Aswan area have the highest values in fat, protein, and ash content. For the Luxor, Aswan, and Shalateen regions, antioxidant activity (%) and total phenolic compound content were 77.31, 69.14, 73.94%, and 1.48, 1.60, and 1.74 mg/100 g, respectively. In raw camel milk (CM), vitamin C content was recorded at 24.9, 26.03, and 21.92 mg/100g for the Luxor, Aswan, and Shalateen regions, respectively. On the other hand, the results were 13.69, 14.31, and 12.05 for the Luxor, Aswan, and Shalateen regions, respectively, after the pasteurization process. The amounts of K and Na were 1132, 1321, 1217, and 574, 702, and 621 mg/100g for the Luxor, Aswan, and Shalateen regions, respectively

Sweet corn was originally due to the recessive allele sugary1 (su1). Sweet corn breeders frequently use field corn genotypes for broadening the narrow genetic base of sweet corn but they have to deal with the reduced viability of su1 plants within some field corn genetic backgrounds. Emergence and seedling vigor are the most critical traits affecting the viability of su1 plants. In two populations of RILs involving sweet corn inbred lines developed from B73 × P39 and B73 × IL14 h, a net natural selection was revealed acting against the su1 allele. In the field, 27 QTLs were detected for the RILs released from B73 × P39 and 24 QTLs for those from B73 × IL14 h, while different numbers of QTLs were detected in growth chamber trials, depending on the seed origin and evaluation conditions that were not consistent across genotypes or environments. The viability of su1 is under genetic and environmental controls with significant additive effects that are probably due to multiple genes with minor contribution. There are specific genes involved in the mutant viability and these genes depend not only on the mutant and the environment but also on the genetic background into which the mutant is introduced. Some of the QTLs identified in this study explained large proportions of variance and could be used by sweet corn breeders in breeding new genotypes from field × sweet corn crosses.

Climate change and global warming have become the most significant challenges to the agricultural production worldwide, especially in arid and semiarid areas. The main purpose of plant breeding programs now is to produce a genetically wide range of genotypes that can withstand the adverse effects of climate change. Moreover, farmers have to reallocate their cultivars due to their ability to tolerate unfavorable conditions. During this study, two field experiments and climate analysis based on 150 years of data are conducted to reallocate some genotypes of bread wheat in respect to climate change based on their performance under drought stress conditions. Climatic data indicate that there is an increase in temperature over all Egyptian sites coupled with some changes in rain amount. Among the tested cultivars, cultivar Giza 160 was the perfect one, while cultivar Masr 03 was the weakest one. Susceptibility indices are a good tool for discovering the superior genotypes under unfavorable conditions and, interestingly, some of the cultivars with high performance were among the superior cultivars in more than one of the tested traits in this study. Finally, combining the climatic data and the experimental data, we can conclude that cultivars Giza 160 and Sakha 94 are suitable for growning in zones with harsh environments, such as the eastern desert and southern Egypt, while cultivars Gemmeza 11, Sahel 01, Sakha 98, Sids 12, and Sakha 93 are suitable for growning in zones with good growing conditions, such as the Nile Delta region and northern Egypt