This experiment was carried out during two seasons of 2018 and 2019 on 25 years old grapevines of Ruby Seedless cultivar. Head training system was applied byleaving 36 buds per vine (18 fruiting spurs x 2 buds). Eight treatments of GA₃ and jasmine oil as a single treatment or combined were evaluated. The experiment aimed to examine the effect of GA₃ and jasmine oil on improving yield and berry quality of Ruby Seedless grape cultivar.The studied treatments increased the yield, cluster and berry weight. The best treatment in this term was spraying with GA₃ at 20 ppm when berry size about 3 mm plus jasmine oil at 1.5 cm³/liter at the beginning of the veraison stage while the control vines gave the lowest values among all treatments.Jasmine oil as a single treatment was the best treatment in respect of TSS%, acidity, TSS/TA ratio and reducing sugars among all treatments.This study concluded that the beneficial effects of spraying jasmine oil at veraison stage as single or in combined with GA₃ at 20 ppm when berry size about 3 mm to increase yield, berry and cluster weight and improving berry quality of Ruby Seedless grape cultivar.

One of the major physiological disorders for pomegranate cultivation is theexcessive of fruit cracking. lately, a pomegranate physiological syndrome called ‘aril paleness’ in which apart or all of the arils appear discoloration, affect the quality of fruit and such fruits are not desired forconsumer. The present research designed to evaluate the effects ofmethyl jasmonate (MJ), humic acid (HA) and potassium (K) on reducing these disorders and improving fruit quality. Seven treatments including MJ (5 and 10 ppm), HA (50 and 100 ppm), Liquid K (1 and 2%) and control, were tested on pomegranate trees spraying three times, at the beginning of flowering (during April), after full bloom (end of June) and before harvesting (mid-September), during the two seasons of study. Different parameters including yield, fruit cracking and fruit quality were measured. The obtained results indicated that spraying HA at 100 ppm and MJ at 10 ppm are considered the best in their effects on the yield components, fruit quality and anthocyanin content, however for decreasing the fruit cracking, it could be recommended to spray the fruits with K at 1% or MJ 10 ppm compared to the rest of the treatments.

Kishk is a natural functional food as minor constituents that are deficient in milk are supplemented by cereals. It also widely consumed in the diet of many people in the Middle East, especially Upper Egypt. This work was conducted at Dairy Department laboratories, Faculty of Agriculture, New Valley University as well as laboratories of Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt. The aim of this paper is to investigate replacing bulgur by different percent of broken faba bean seeds (by-product) and type of milk on compositional, nutritional, microbiological, and sensory qualities of Saidy kishk to increase the added value viewpoint of economical and nutritional. The results indicated that there were a significant differences in physiochemical properties, i.e. moisture, ash, protein, fat, carbohydrates contents, pH and titratable acidity, essential amino acids, mineral contents such as Ca, Mg, K, Na, P and Fe, microbiological properties, TBC and LABC as well as sensory properties of Saidy Kishk samples as a result of replacing bulgur by different percent of broken faba bean seeds by 25 and 50% or change the studied milk type, i.e. full cow milk, skimmed milk or Laban zeer. This study concluded that Saidy Kishk samples manufactured from 50% B+50% Fb with skimmed milk had the highest values of threonine (3.75%), leucine (10.91%), lysine (6.47%), phenylalanine (5.33%), valine (4.88%), histidine (3.11%), Ca (319.67mg), Mg (172.00mg), K (1117.67mg/100g DWB) and Fe (7.19 ppm). Therefore, it is suggested that this formula of Saidy Kishk samples could be used to increase the added value viewpoint of economical and nutritional.

The effects of microwave (MW) treatments for 30 and 90 s or cold plasma (CP) treatments for 2, 6, and 10 min on structural, physicochemical, and digestive properties of rice starch were investigated and compared with the effects of combined MW and CP treatments. Dual modification of starch using combined MW and CP treatments significantly changed starch granules' morphology, and starch showed lower crystallinity, swelling power, and peak viscosity than rice starch with a single modification. However, no significant changes were found in rice starch's crystalline structure and FT-IR spectra pattern after single or combined treatments. Effects of these treatments on the amylopectin branch chain length distribution and molecular weight of rice starch varied considerably depending on treatment type and treatment duration. Moreover, the dually modified rice starch contained more great content of resistant starch. Thus, the synergistic effects between MW and CP had more profound modification than the single treatment. Also, the dual treatment can be used to produce modified starch for industrial applications.

Understanding the structural characteristics of starch can help in determining its functional properties and choosing appropriate applications. This work aimed to comprehensively characterize and understand the morphological, crystalline, and molecular structure of the normal and waxy wheat A- and B- starch granules. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that both normal and waxy wheat A- and B- starch granules have a typical A-type crystalline structure. Additionally, scanning electron microscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses showed differences in shape, the thickness of semi-crystalline growth rings, and short-range molecular order of the normal and waxy A- and B- starch granules. The wheat A-starch granules contained lower proportions of A-chains (DP 6–12) and B1- chains (DP 13–24) than those of the wheat B- starch granules. Also, the results revealed that B1-chains (DP 13–24) play an important role in the formation of surface/mass fractal characteristics of starch granules. Furthermore, the atomic force microscopy analysis showed that the normal and waxy wheat A-starch granules are mass fractal, while the normal and waxy wheat B- starch granules are surface fractal.

The present study aimed to make white soft cheese (WSC) with different salt concentrations, using Bifidobacterium longum cultures (5%), microbial rennet (0.2%). Cheese samples were divided into 5 treatments; control contained 5% salt, T1 contained 6% salt, T2 contained 7% salt, T3 contained 8% salt and T4 contained 9% salt. Then, cheese treatments are stored at 5±1oC for 90 days. The chemical and microbiological analysis were carried when fresh and after 15, 30, 45, 60, 75 & 90 days of storage periods. Statistical analysis showed that there was a highly significant difference (p < 0.0001) in the acidity (%), moisture content, fat (%), salt (%), total protein (%) and soluble nitrogen (%) between cheese treatments. Also a highly significant difference (p < 0.0001) was found during the 90 days of pickled time. Microbiological analysis showed that there was a negative correlation between the salt level and the numbers of Bifidobacterium longum in  control samples, which made with lowest salt content (%). which maintained a high numbers of Bifidobacterium longum of5-7 log CFU / g.after 75 days.

 The objective of this study was to propose a simple method to assess the water quality and to map their spatial variation in terms of suitability for irrigation in Darb El-Arbaein area. 36 surveyed wells with GPS data were used to assess and map the water quality. Multivariate Factor Analysis/Principal Component Analysis was used in order to develop a water quality index (WQI). The results of analyses had been used to map and predict models for water quality. The ordinary Kriging (OK) method was applied to produce the spatial patterns of water quality. Based on these results, the distribution pattern of water quality parameters such as Cl and SAR were produced. The results showed that Circular semivariogram model was best fitted for chloride and Cd parameters where spherical model fitted best for Ni and Zn parameters. Stable semivariogrammodel was best fitted for Pb and SAR parameters while J-Bessel model fitted best for EC parameter. High salinity was due to high chloride concentration in the water. Three of the 36 water samples felt in the moderate WQI. Most of the samples (26) felt in the Doubtful WQI category. Seven samples felt in the higher WQI category. Water samples that felt in the low salinity hazard class and high WQI can be used for irrigation of most crops and the majority of soils. The WQI for the samples ranged from 47.9 to 88.6. The irrigation water quality index distribution maps delineated an area of 266.66ha were suitable for irrigation in villages 3-4 and area of 382.35 were moderate suitability in villages 1-2.

There is a considerable lack of essential information about Entisols derived from shale in the arid desert environment. This study was thus carried out to characterize and map the spatial variability of primary properties of Entisols in Dakhla Oasis, Western Desert, Egypt. Soil properties of twenty-seven profiles represented by Entisols were carefully examined. Geostatistical analysis was performed to map soil variability based on the ordinary kriging interpolation method. Results show that most of the studied soils (92.1%) were fine and medium in texture. The values of electrical conductivity of soil paste extract (ECe) ranged between 0.45 and 36.40 dS m⁻¹ (mean = 10.35 dS m⁻¹). Most of the studied soil samples (82.9%) were extremely low in organic matter (OM) (≤ 3.4 g kg⁻¹). The cation exchange capacity (CEC) ranged between 9.37 and 50.84 cmol(+) kg⁻¹ with an average of 29.09 cmol(+) kg⁻¹. The coefficient of variation was high to very high for sand, ECe, and OM; moderate for silt, clay, saturation percentage, and CEC; and low for the soil pH. Significantly positive and negative correlations were observed among the Entisol properties (at P < 0.01 and/or P < 0.05), and most of these relationships are likely associated with the parent material. Precise maps created efficiently with geostatistics were crucial for a proper understanding of the current spatial variability in the study area. This study provides valuable information and new knowledge about the properties and the spatial variability of this type of Entisols.

Soil erosion modeling is becoming more significant in the development and implementation of soil management and conservation policies. For a better understanding of the geographical distribution of soil erosion, spatial-based models of soil erosion are required. The current study proposed a spatial-based model that integrated geographic information systems (GIS) techniques with both the universal soil loss equation (USLE) model and the Index of Land Susceptibility to Wind Erosion (ILSWE). The proposed Spatial Soil Loss Model (SSLM) was designed to generate the potential soil erosion maps based on water erosion and wind erosion by integrating factors of the USLE and ILSWE models into the GIS environment. Hence, the main objective of this study is to predict, quantify, and assess the soil erosion hazards using the SSLM in the Dakhla Oasis as a case study. The water soil loss values were computed by overlaying the values of five factors: the rainfall factor (R-Factor), soil erodibility (K-Factor), topography (LS-Factor), crop types (C-Factor), and conservation practice (P-Factor). The severity of wind-driven soil loss was calculated by overlaying the values of five factors: climatic erosivity (CE-Factor), soil erodibility (E-Factor), soil crust (SC-Factor), vegetation cover (VC-Factor), and surface roughness (SR-Factor). The proposed model was statistically validated by comparing its outputs to the results of USLE and ILSWE models. Soil loss values based on USLE and SSLM varied from 0.26 to 3.51 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ with an average of 1.30 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ and from 0.26 to 3.09 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ with a mean of 1.33 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, respectively. As a result, and according to the assessment of both the USLE and the SSLM, one soil erosion class, the very low class (<6.7 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹), has been reported to be the prevalent erosion class in the study area. These findings indicate that the Dakhla Oasis is slightly eroded and more tolerable against water erosion factors under current management conditions. Furthermore, the study area was classified into four classes of wind erosion severity: very slight, slight, moderate, and high, representing 1.0%, 25.2%, 41.5%, and 32.3% of the total study area, respectively, based on the ILSWE model and 0.9%, 25.4%, 43.9%, and 29.9%, respectively, according to the SSLM. Consequently, the Dakhla Oasis is qualified as a promising area for sustainable agriculture when appropriate management is applied. The USLE and ILSWE model rates had a strong positive correlation (r = 0.97 and 0.98, respectively), with the SSLM rates, as well as a strong relationship based on the average linear regression (R² = 0.94 and 0.97, respectively). The present study is an attempt to adopt a spatial-based model to compute and map the potential soil erosion. It also pointed out that designing soil erosion spatial models using available data sources and the integration of USLE and ILSWE with GIS techniques is a viable option for calculating soil loss rates. Therefore, the proposed soil erosion spatial model is fit for calculating and assessing soil loss rates under this study and is valid for use in other studies under arid regions with the same conditions.