A total number of two hundred and forty unsexed one-day old chicks of Japanese quail were used to study the effect of feeding time management on the productive and reproductive performance of birds under subtropical prevailing environmental conditions in Assiut. All chicks were housed in batteries in 3 equal groups (3 replicates of 20 birds each). All experimental birds were supplied with clean water all the time. The feed was offered twice daily, control group (C) was practiced at 0900 and 1500 h, during the warmest time of the day. While, the first treatment group (T1) was fed at 1500 and 2100 h; the second treatment group (T2) was fed at 2100 and 0300 h and the third treatment group (T3) was fed at 0300 and 0900 h, during the temperate climatic conditions, in order to avoid the deleterious effect of the high temperature on the birds in the summer season under Upper Egypt conditions. The obtained results indicated that change of feeding time affected body weight performance, egg production, egg quality, fertility & hatchability, body temperature, mortality rate and economical efficiency in Japanese quail, however no significant differences in percentages of egg components were found among all groups.

: This investigation was executed during two successive seasons of 2006 and 2007 at the Experimental Orchard of Fruit Section, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University on Manfalouty pomegranate cultivar. Fifty trees of Manfalouty pomegranate cultivar were selected and divided into ten treatments; each treatment represented five trees (Replicates). The study aimed to investigate the effect of flower thinning and ethrel with or without GA3 spraying on yield and fruit quality of this cultivar. The treatments consisted of: manual thinning of all the flowers appeared during the last week of May till the end of flowering period, spraying with gibberellic acid (GA3) at 50, 100 and 150 ppm. , flower thinning + spraying with GA3 at 100 ppm., spraying with Ethrel at 1000 ppm. , spraying with Ethrel at 1000 ppm + GA3 at 50, 100 and 150 ppm and the control (water spraying). The study indicated that flower thinning recorded the highest number of grade I fruits. Flower thinning and the flower thinning + spraying caused a significant decrease in the fruit numbers of grade III while the remained treatments showed insignificant differences. Concerning the effect of different treatments on the grade I yield weight (kg), most of treatments significantly surpassed the control. Flower thinning + 100 ppm GA3 recorded the highest grade I yield followed by flower thinning and then, spraying with 50 ppm GA3. There was no significant difference among the treatments regarding the yield weight of grade II. Flower thinning and flower thinning + 100 ppm GA3 significantly decreased grade III yield weight compared to the control. Most of the treatments significantly decreased the percentage of fruit splitting especially the treatments consisted of GA3. Spraying with ethrel or GA3 and their combinations greatly decreased this phenomenon. There was insignificant effect of the treatments on most of the studied physical fruit properties on the first sampling date while the effect was significant on the second one. The results also indicated that ethrel alone or combined with GA3 enhanced ripening.

: This investigation was executed during two successive seasons of 2006 and 2007 at the Experimental Orchard of Fruit Section, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University on Manfalouty pomegranate cultivar. Fifty trees of Manfalouty pomegranate cultivar were selected and divided into ten treatments; each treatment represented five trees (Replicates). The study aimed to investigate the effect of flower thinning and ethrel with or without GA3 spraying on yield and fruit quality of this cultivar. The treatments consisted of: manual thinning of all the flowers appeared during the last week of May till the end of flowering period, spraying with gibberellic acid (GA3) at 50, 100 and 150 ppm. , flower thinning + spraying with GA3 at 100 ppm., spraying with Ethrel at 1000 ppm. , spraying with Ethrel at 1000 ppm + GA3 at 50, 100 and 150 ppm and the control (water spraying). The study indicated that flower thinning recorded the highest number of grade I fruits. Flower thinning and the flower thinning + spraying caused a significant decrease in the fruit numbers of grade III while the remained treatments showed insignificant differences. Concerning the effect of different treatments on the grade I yield weight (kg), most of treatments significantly surpassed the control. Flower thinning + 100 ppm GA3 recorded the highest grade I yield followed by flower thinning and then, spraying with 50 ppm GA3. There was no significant difference among the treatments regarding the yield weight of grade II. Flower thinning and flower thinning + 100 ppm GA3 significantly decreased grade III yield weight compared to the control. Most of the treatments significantly decreased the percentage of fruit splitting especially the treatments consisted of GA3. Spraying with ethrel or GA3 and their combinations greatly decreased this phenomenon. There was insignificant effect of the treatments on most of the studied physical fruit properties on the first sampling date while the effect was significant on the second one. The results also indicated that ethrel alone or combined with GA3 enhanced ripening.

An experiment was executed at the Horticultural orchard and the laboratory of fruit section, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt during three successive seasons of 2005, 2006 and 2007 on Balady mandarin trees. The study aimed to investigate the effect of biofertilizers, micro nutrients and their different combinations on the yield and fruit quality as well as the nutrients status in the soil and leaves associated with these treatments. Biofertilizers including Phosphorien, Nitrobien and Potassien were applied at a rate of 250g from each type/tree every season or in combination with chelated elements including Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu. Micronutrients were twice sprayed at 60 ppm on mid March and June. The results revealed that mandarin yield (kg/tree) significantly increased by 21.7%, 13.1 and 19.0% over the control as a result of applying the biofertilizers alone, a combination of the biofertilizers with micronutrient, and micronutrients spraying alone, respectively (as an average of the three seasons). The study also indicated that the early harvesting on mid December was superior respecting the yield in comparison with the late harvest date on mid February. The results also revealed that all the treatments caused a significant increase in the fruit weight. They also mostly had insignificant effect on the fruit chemical properties. Applying biofertilizers alone or combined with micronutrients, and the micronutrients alone increased N, P and K content in the leaves as compared to the control. The increment percentages were 9.09%, 9.56% and 11.48% for N%, 20.26%, 15.68% and 30.06% for P, and 42.85%, 56.04% and 56.04% for K, in relation to the later treatments, respectively. Also, micronutrients content in the leaves were enhanced due to the biofertilizers and micronutrients foliar application. Data also revealed that, all the nutrient concentrations in the spring leaves surpassed that in the summer leaves. The calculated yield/feddan (early harvest date) due to using the biofertilizers (about 9 tons/feddan) removed 6.49, 1.72, and 11.95 Kg/fed of N, P and K, respectively. While, the application of the recommended dose of N, P and K removed 5.35, 1.70 and 13.82 Kg/fed of N, P and K, respectively.