Abstract
Fusarium is one of the most dangerous fungal diseases that cause great loss of the sesame yield worldwide. The
present work aimed to improve tolerance and/or resistance to Fusarium through two cycles of pedigree selection on
sesame population for eight selection criteria started in the F3-generation. Genotypic coefficient of variability in the
F3 varied from 4.34% for days to 50% flowering to 38.15% for seed yield (SY/P). Days to 50% flowering showed
negative correlations with all traits except height to first capsule (HFC). Height to first capsule was negatively
correlated with length of fruiting zone (LFZ), 1000-SW, oil% and infection%, and positively correlated with
capsules/plant (NC/P) and SY/P. Single trait selection was an efficient method to improve selection criterion, but it
caused adverse effects on some correlated traits. Selection for days to 50% flowering improved earliness, but it was
better in improving yield if the selection was restricted by SY/P. Selection for oil% restricted by yield was better in
improving yield than selection for oil% per se. Therefore, the inclusion of a trait as independent culling level
improved the efficiency of selection. The best genetic gain in SY/P in percentage from the mid-parent was obtained
from selection for days to 50% flowering restricted by SY/P (35.56**), LFZ restricted by HFC (19.53**), days to
50% flowering (19.32**), oil% restricted by SY/P (19.02**), SY/P (17.38**), 1000 SW (14.09**) and LFZ (14.032**).
Therefore, selection index incorporating favorable trait is recommended.
Keywords: Sesame; Fusarium oxysporum; Pedigree selection; Genotypic correlation; Observed gain.

Abstract
Soil salinity is one of the serious abiotic stresses adversely affects crop production. The objectives of this study were to screen fifteen long-staple cotton belong to Gossypium barbadense L. for salinity tolerance, salinity indices, genotypic correlations, and path-coefficient analysis. Under normal soil the genotypes differed significantly in most traits in both years. Under saline soil the differences among genotypes re significant in one year and in the combined analysis for SCY/P, LY/P, SI, NS/B, PH, and Pressley index. The cultivars “G 90 x Aus”, G95, G 90, G 80, and G 83 showed the highest performance in SCY/P, LY/P, Lint%, NB/P and NS/B either under normal or saline soil. The reduction% caused by salinity was observed for PH (55.92%), LY/P (52.21%), SCY/P (48 75%), NB/P (32.47%), LI (5.68%), Micronaire reading (11.22%), Pressley index (6.63%) and UHM length (0.89%). Giz90 x Aus followed by Giza 90 showed the best tolerance to salinity stress. The STI, MP, GMP, HM and DI detected both of tolerant and susceptible genotypes and could be considered the best tolerant indices. The direct and indirect effects of SCY/P components varied greatly under both environments. The direct effects of the SCY/P components under normal soil were 0.504, 0.401, 0.153 and 0.147 for NB/P, LY/P, SI, and NS/B, respectively. However, under saline soil the direct effects were 0.802, 0.178, 0.128 and 0.050 for LY/P, NB/P, NS/B and SI, respectively. Therefore, under both environments, selection should be paid mainly on NB/P and LY/P.
Keywords: G. barbadense; evaluation; Salinity tolerance; Correlation; Path-analysis.

Abstract
Drought stress is a serious abiotic factor that adversely affects cotton yield and fiber properties. The objectives of this study were to screen several genotypes of cotton belong to Gossypium barbadense L. for drought tolerance, study drought indices, correlations, and path-coefficient analysis. Fourteen long- staple kinds of cottons cultivated, and obsolete cultivars were screened for drought tolerance at normal irrigation and drought- stressed experiments for two years. Mean squares indicated significant (p ≤ 0.01) differences among genotypes in the separate and combined analysis. The effect of years showed significant (p≤ 0.05 to p≤ 0.01) differences in most cases. The interaction of genotypes by years was significant for all traits except few cases. The reduction % caused by drought stress in SCY/P ranged from 31.44 to 39.39 with an average of 33.93. Among ten tolerant indices STI, MP, GMP, HM and DI could be considered the best tolerant indices to detect both of tolerant and susceptible genotypes. The correlation of SCY/P under normal irrigation was high with LY/P, Lint %, NB/P, LI and BW, moderate with NS/B and upper half mean length, and low with DFF, Pressley index and negative with Micronaire reading. However, the picture was different under drought stress, in which drought affected lint rather than seeds. The direct and indirect effects of SCY/P components varied greatly under both environments, and LY/P, NB/P and NS/B should be considered as selection indices under normal irrigation, NB/P and NS/B under stress when selection practiced for SCY/P.

Keywords: Correlation; Drought indices; Drought tolerance; G. barbadense; Path-analysis

The study was established to examine the effect of three biochar types
(orange peels biochar (OPB), sorghum panicles biochar (SPB), and wood
chips biochar (WCB)) prepared at low temperature (270 °C) added at four
doses (0, 1, 3, and 6% w/w) on ammonia (NH3) volatilization and chemical
characteristics of a saline soil treated with urea. The results revealed that
treating the saline soil with different biochar types at all doses caused
a significant reduction of cumulative NH3 volatilization compared to the
unamended soil. The effectiveness of biochar types in decreasing NH3
volatilization from this soil was: WCB > SPB > OPB > unamended soil. Soil
pH decreased significantly with applying different types and doses of
biochar. Treating the saline soil with 3% each of SPB and WCB and 6%
WCB decreased electrical conductivity significantly in the soil extract
compared to the unamended soil. The sodium adsorption ratio decreased
significantly with applying SPB and WCB at 3 and 6%. The biochar produced at a low temperature was found to have an acidic effect.
Accordingly, biochar applications are currently one of the most promising
technologies and practices for rehabilitation and sustainable management of saline soils as well as mitigating climate change.
 

This study was conducted to study the use of different ratios of Lemongrass (2 & 4%) and Rosemary (1 & 2%) extracts in manufacture of fermented camel milk beverage. The chemical composition and nutritional values of camel milk, Lemongrass and Rosemary extracts were performed. All samples were analyzed for chemical, phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity, total volatile free fatty acids (TVFFA), microbiological and sensory properties when fresh and during storage (21 days) at 4±1°C. Our results indicated that, there were increases of total solids, fat, protein, ash and TVFFA contents in the flavored samples with two plant extracts than that of control samples. Moreover, all the pH values significant decreased with the prolonging the storage period in all treatments. In addition, there were decreases in antioxidant activity and phenolic compounds of all treatments during storage period in all treatments. Microbiologically, the counts of Str. thermophiles, Lb. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and total count increased at the 14 days of storage then decreased up to the end of storage period in all treatments. Generally, the data concluded that using of 4% Lemongrass and 1% Rosemary extract were gained higher scores for organoleptic properties than other treatments

In the present investigation, we study the effect of Bacillus thuringiensis MH161336 (10^6–8 CFU/cm³), silicon (25 mL L⁻¹), and carrot extract (75 mL L⁻¹) as seed primers, individually or in combination, on morphological, physio-biochemical and yield components of drought-stressed pea plants (Master B) during 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons. Our results indicated that drought causes a remarkable reduction in plant height, leaf area, number of leaves per plant, and number of flowers per plant in stressed pea plants during two seasons. Likewise, number of pods, pod length, seeds weight of 10 dried plants, and dry weight of 100 seeds were decreased significantly in drought-stressed pea plants. Nevertheless, seed priming with the individual treatments or in combination boosted the morphological, physio-biochemical, and yield characters of pea plants. The best results were obtained with the Bacillus thuringiensis + carrot extract treatment, which led to a remarkable increase in the number of leaves per plant, leaf area, plant height, and number of flowers per plant in stressed pea plants in both seasons. Moreover, pod length, number of seeds per pod, seeds weight of 10 dried plants, and dry weight of 100 seeds were significantly increased as well. Bacillus thuringiensis + carrot extract treatment led to improved biochemical and physiological characters, such as relative water content, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, regulated the up-regulation of antioxidant enzymes, increased seed yield, and decreased lipid peroxidation and reactive oxygen species, mainly superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, in drought-stressed pea plants.

A field experiment was carried out at the Department of Agronomy Experimental Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University, during the growing seasons 2017/18 and 2018/19 to study the impact of foliar spray by some Nano Micro-nutrients on grain yield and quality of three cultivars of bread wheat. Randomized complete block design (RCBD) was used in this experiment in three replications using strip plot arrangement. The bread wheat varieties i.e., Sids-1, Sids-12, and Gemmeaza-11 were arranged vertically, while foliar sprays with tap water (solvent as a control) and Iron, Manganese, Zinc, Iron + Manganese, Iron + Zinc, Manganese+ Zinc and Iron + Manganese + Zinc in Nano form at 200 ppm concentration were distributed horizontally. In both seasons, the foliar spray treatment with certain micronutrient nano-particles had a significant impact on grain yield, flour percentage, coarse bran percentage, wet gluten percentage, and dry gluten percentage. As a result, wheat plants sprayed with Fe + Mn + Zn had the greatest average values of the previous traits. Furthermore, the cultivars studied had a substantial impact on the majority of the traits studied. In addition, in both seasons, the Sids-1 cultivar produced the greatest mean values of the most investigated traits. In both the 1st and 2nd seasons, the interaction between some micro-nutrients, nano-particles, and cultivars had a significant (P ≤ 0.05) and highly significant (P ≤ 0.01) impact on fermentation time. In this approach, the Sids-12 cultivar, which was sprayed with Mn+Zn in the 1st season, and the same cultivar when sprayed with Mn or Fe+Zn in the 2nd season, yielded the most elevated mean values of fermentation time (37.00 and 36.50 minutes within the two seasons).

Precision agriculture relies heavily on information concerning assessing and mapping the spatial variation of soil attributes to ensure soil and plant sustainability. The current study was undertaken in the Gharb El-Mawhoub area of Dakhla Oasis to determine, predict, map, and assess the spatial variation of physicochemical attributes. Thirty-four geo-referenced soil profiles yielded a sum of 131 representative samples. Soil physicochemical properties, i.e., electrical conductivity (ECe), texture, sand, silt, clay, calcium carbonate, organic matter saturation percentage (SP), pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), organic matter (OM), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), gypsum, and sodium absorption ratio (SAR) were measured. Following data normalization, classical and geostatistical approaches have been performed to characterize soil parameters and their spatial distribution. Semi-variogram models were used to quantify the spatial variation of physicochemical properties, and the ordinary kriging technique was applied to generate the respective maps. Accuracy of the prediction performance of models was assessed employing the cross-validation technique. Results showed that soil characteristics differed considerably throughout the area under study, with significant positive or negative correlation coefficients (P < 0.01 and/or P < 0.05). Furthermore, Rational Quadratic, Circular, Hole Effect, Pentaspherical, Exponential, Tetrasperical, and J-Bessel semi-variogram models were chosen as the best-fitted models for the investigated soil properties. Cross-validation results indicated that the selected models are the best-suitable semi-variogram models for estimation and mapping the spatial pattern surfaces of the soil attributes studied. The generated prediction maps provide valuable information concerning precision agriculture for improved soil productivity and limitation reduction. Therefore, these predicted maps have a high potential for application in site-specific management. Overall, the findings demonstrated that geostatistics approaches are powerful techniques for determining, predicting, and mapping the spatial interrelationships of soil attributes.

Oleogel samples were prepared from sunflower oil with β-Sitosterol (Sit) and Stearic acid (SA) mixture. Water was added to prepare an oleogel-based emulsion. The oleogel-based emulsion showed a white and smooth appearance without separation after storage at 5^οC for 24 h. The firmness of emulsion reduced as the water content increased, while it was increased as the oleogelator concentration increased. Additionally, diffraction patterns and thermal properties of emulsion varied depending on water content. Furthermore, all the oleogel-based emulsion samples showed a positive slope of storage modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G″) with the increase in frequency. On the other hand, the stability of β-carotene (BC) -loaded emulsion to different conditions was evaluated. A greater BC content was found for samples stored in the dark and under natural light than that of samples stored under UV light. Oleogel and oleogel-based emulsion showed a good BC release rate in simulated gastrointestinal fluids. The obtained results indicate that functional BC-fortified emulsion can be successfully prepared using β-Sitosterol and Stearic acid mixture with sunflower oil and water.