A field experiment was carried out at the Agriculture Experimental Station of King Abdulaziz University located at Hada Alsham to study the effect of water distribution patterns on productivity of Ziziphus jujuba under arid conditions. Three water distribution treatments giving the same amount of water were investigated. The first treatment (T1) contained 8 drippers with a discharge of 4 l/h, the second treatment (T2) 4 drippers with a discharge of 8 l/h and the third one (T3) contained 2 drippers with a discharge of 16 l/h. The drippers were installed to distribute water in a circle with a diameter of 1 m around tree for the two growing seasons of 2009-2010 and 2010-2011. Results revealed that increasing number of drippers with low discharge distributed irrigation water homogenously around trees and covered large area of tree roots. T1 significantly increased branch length, number of branches, collar diameter, soil moisture content and fruit yield and quality. The increase in these parameters was gradually decreased in T2 followed by T3. Increasing number of drippers from 2 to 8 and decreasing dripper discharge from 16 to 4 l/h around tree increased fruit yield by about 78.3% and 69.4% in the first and second seasons, respectively.

A field experiment studying the effect of water stress on alfalfa (Medicago sativa) productivity and water use efficiency was conducted at the Agricultural Experimental Station of King Abdelaziz University. The design of the experiment was randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replicates. It consisted of three treatments, namely: field capacity treatment (FC) as a control, 85% FC and 70% FC as stress treatments. The irrigation water for all treatments was precisely supplied using recent technology known as the water electronics module (WEM). Results indicated that decreasing water supply decreased fresh and dry yield of alfalfa but increased irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE). As a result, 13 and 27% of irrigation water were saved from 85% FC and 70% FC treatments respectively in each cut compared with the FC treatment. The reduction of water supply resulted in a yield reduction of 12 and 21.7% for 85% FC and 70% FC, respectively. The results also proved that WEMis a practical tool to precisely supply irrigation water and can be used effectively to control deficit irrigation. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of effective microorganisms and green manure on soil properties and yield of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) grown on sandy loam soil under arid conditions at Agriculture Experimental Station of King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Hada Alsham, Saudi Arabia. Four treatments were investigated. In control (T1), the soil was only treated with the recommended dose of mineral fertilizers required for the cultivated crops. The second treatment (T2) was a diluted solution (1:1000) of effective microorganisms (EM1) sprayed on the soil surface. The third treatment (T3) was green manure added as soil mulch above the ground while the fourth treatment (T4) was mixture of EM1 and green manure together. Results indicated that, EM1 and green manure improved forage yield and soil properties. The best improvement in yield was found in T4 and T3 of alfalfa and pearl millet fields, respectively. These treatments resulted also in the great reduction in soil bulk density and saturated hydraulic conductivity, high water retention and soil organic matter. Total nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron and magnesium were also increased under these treatments. Little enhancement in physical and chemical properties of soil was pronounced in T2 treatment since the improvements were not significant compared with the control. The results suggested that using green manure alone or mixed with EM1 is a practical method to enhance soil properties and productivity of coarse texture soils under dry land conditions.

The present study was undertaken to identify the morphological, physical and chemical characteristics of soils in Tushka, Aswan governorate, Egypt, in order to classify and evaluate them from the agricultural use view point.Tushka area is located in the western desert, upper Egypt. It lies between latitudes of 22° 48′ 00.7" and 22° 28′ 44.2'' N and longitudes of 31° 28′ 07.2" and 31° 29′ 08.2" E. The soils of the study area were none to slightly saline (ECe ranged from 0.53 to 6.85 dSm-1). Soil texture was mostly sand, loamy sand and sandy loam. Soil reaction (pH) tended to be mildly to moderately alkaline with a range of 7.6 to 8.1. Calcium carbonate and gypsum contents were very low. The soils were classified as Typic Torripsamments, Typic Torriorthents and Lithic Torriorthents. Most of the soils understudy were suitable for agricultural use. The results revealed that the capability of soils according to ASLE program was good (C2) and fair suitable (C3), moderate suitable (S3) using MicroLEIS (Cervatana model) and good, fair and poor using Modified Storie Index. Most of the selected crops were found to be the best grown ones on soils of the S2 and S3 suitability classes by ASLE program. Also, most of the selected crops were moderately (S3) and marginally suitable (S4) by MicroLEIS-ALMAGRA model. The main limitation factors of the study area for crop production were soil texture and soil depth.

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A total number of 180 one-day old of native turkey chicks were chosen in this study, for evaluating the impacts of using different attracting colors and forms of the offered feed on growth performance, carcass traits and some of health aspects, in a 3×2 factorial experimental design. The birds were allocated into three main groups according to feed color (non-colored, orange and green feeds), then each main group was divided to three sub-groups corresponded to feed form (mash and crumbles feed), respectively. The obtained results indicated that feed colors and forms changed significantly the final body weight, body weight gain, feed conversion, gizzard percentage, meat juiciness, plumage conditions and mortality rate. However, there were no significant differences among the treatments in carcass traits, meat quality (percentages of heart, liver, abdominal fat color, flavor and tenderness) and body temperature. Significant interactions of feed colors × forms groups were existed in most studied traits except in feed consumption, giblets, meat quality traits, plumage conditions and body temperature. Finally, considering the obtained results, it was observed that the native turkeys prefer green feed as crumbles over non colored or mash feed. Consequently, feeds for turkey chicks should be in green mash or crumbles during the growing period to maximize the profit.

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Winter wheat parents ‘Harry’ (drought tolerant) and ‘Wesley’ (drought susceptible) were used to develop a recombinant inbred population with future goals of identifying genomic regions associated with drought tolerance. To precisely map genomic regions, high-density linkage maps are a prerequisite. In this study genotyping-by- sequencing (GBS) was used to construct the high-density linkage map. The map contained 3,641 markers distributed on 21 chromosomes and spanned 1,959 cM with an average distance of 1.8 cM between markers. The constructed linkage map revealed strong collinearity in marker order across 21 chromosomes with POPSEQ-v2.0, which was based on a high-density linkage map. The reliability of the linkage map for QTL mapping was demonstrated by co-localizing the genes to previously mapped genomic regions for two highly heritable traits, chaff color, and leaf cuticular wax. Applicability of linkage map for QTL mapping of three quantitative traits, flag leaf length, width, and area, identified 21 QTLs in four environments, and QTL expression varied across the environments. Two major stable QTLs, one each for flag leaf length (Qfll.hww-7A) and flag leaf width (Qflw.hww-5A) were identified. The map constructed will facilitate QTL and fine mapping of quantitative traits, map-based cloning, comparative mapping, and in marker-assisted wheat breeding endeavors.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is one of the biotic stresses that causes a significant reduction in wheat grain yield and its quality. The main objective of this study was to screen a set of 53 high yielding Nebraska wheat lines (DUP15 - F6:7) for resistance to FHB using visual scoring and confirm the results using a Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP) marker for the Fhb1 gene. The experiment was conducted at Lincoln Field Station of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. A high genetic variation was found between genotypes for their resistance to FHB. The phenotypic correlation S_FHB and grain yield was -0.61**. The results of the KASP assay revealed that only three genotypes NE15648, NE15674 and NE15569 had the predicted Fhb1 gene. KASP genotyping was a very effective technology which helped in screening valuable QTLs and associated trait markers. The three lines having the Fhb1 gene can be used in the wheat breeding program at the University of the Nebraska-Lincoln to improve resistance to FHB.

Abstract Frost stress causes a significant damage to winter faba bean yield. Root traits of faba bean seedlings play an important role in resistance to frost tolerance. The main objective was to study the genetic variation in root traits of faba bean seedlings after frost stress. A set of 208 diverse genotypes was tested. The experiments were conducted in a Frost Growth Chamber (FGCh). Root frost susceptibility (RFS), root fresh matter (RFM), and root dry matter (RDM) were scored on all plants after frost stress. A selection index was calculated to improve RFS using RDM and RFM. The results revealed a high genetic variation was found between all genotypes for all traits scored. The repeatability estimates was ranged from 0.52 (RDM) to 0.60 (RFM). Such a high genetic variation and repeatability estimated could be used for selection to improve frost tolerance in winter faba bean through breeding programs. Keywords: Faba bean, Frost tolerance, Roots, Selection index