This study was designed to investigate the influence of in ovo injection of peppermint (Mentha piperita) essential oil (PO) on hatchability (%), antioxidant states, and some biochemical parameters of broilers at hatch. Fertilized eggs (120) were divided into six groups, the control group and other groups injected with 10, 50, 100 and 150 μL/ml of PO in saline solution on the 18th day of incubation in an air sac. GC-MS indicated that PO contains L-menthone (32.7%), menthol (29.34%) and pulegone (9.63 %) as major components. The results revealed that injection of 10 µL/mL of PO increased the hatchability compared to other groups while the body weight of the chicks was not significantly different. Antioxidant activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) significantly increased in injected groups compared to the control group. In addition, plasma total protein and globulin levels increased while the albumin/globulin (A/G) ratio was reduced. Lipid profile indicated that plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels were significantly decreased in all PO-treated groups. In conclusion, in ovo injection with 10 µL/mL of PO showed positive effects on hatchability (%) and the viability of post-hatch chicks, without indicated harm to the blood constituents.

The purpose of the research was to improve the morpho-anatomical and physiological features of somatic embryos (SEs) of date palms in tissue culture media that have the potential to produce green and healthy plantlets. Copper sulfate (CuSO4) and cobalt chloride (CoCl2) were supplemented to date palm maturation medium at various concentrations, separately or combined. Adding CoCl2 to the media of maturation produced the greatest relative growth and differentiation percentages of date palm embryogenic calli, particularly at 0.52 mgL-1. In comparison to the control, when combined treatments were administered alone, the quantity of the produced somatic embryos rose dramatically (17/jar). Total sugars and free amino acids were the highest in SEs grown on a maturation medium with CoCl2 at 0.26 mgL-1. Moreover, total phenols and indoles were picked significantly at their higher levels in the generated SEs that were cultured on a medium enhanced with 0.52 mgL-1. When the maturation medium was administered along with both as a treatment, the antioxidant enzyme, ascorbate peroxidase, reached its maximum activity. Whereas, adding 0.52 mgL-1 of CoCl2 to the culture medium enhanced the activities up to of highest levels of ascorbate peroxidase,  polyphenol oxidase and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase.

Water scarcity necessitates the implementation of various strategies to manage irrigation processes, aiming to optimize water usage for sustainable development, particularly in Semi-Arid regions. This research investigates the impact of using a sustainable deficit irrigation (SDI) technique alongside a drip irrigation system on the efficiency of water use and the growth and productivity of "KEITT" mango trees. The experiment examined four levels of irrigation requirements (IR) at 50%, 60%, 75% and 100%, using four different dripper spacing distances (60, 50, 40 and 30 cm). The average tree productivity during the 2022 season was 26.060, 24.100, 25.740 and 24.330 kg/tree, respectively, while in the 2023 season, it was 25.940, 24.760, 25.250 and 24.380 kg/tree. The average water use efficiency (WUE) values were 4.950, 3.880, 3.240 and 2.320 kg/m³ for the 50%, 60%, 75% and 100% IR treatments, respectively. The results indicated no significant differences in the growth and productivity of the mango crop across different irrigation levels. It was found that irrigating at 50% IR achieved the highest water use efficiency, saving more than 3500 m³ of water per fedden per season. These findings suggest that policymakers can adopt sustainable deficit irrigation techniques to enhance WUE without compromising crop productivity.

Forty-six bacterial isolates were obtained from seven rhizosphere samples using nutrient agar and glucose agar media. These isolates were morphologically categorized into long rods, short rods, and cocci, comprising 52%, 17%, and 31% of the total count, respectively. The collected isolates from the rhizosphere were assessed for their capability to produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). The initial qualitative screening revealed diverse abilities among isolates for IAA production, with notable variations in productivity levels. Quantitative analysis of the top ten isolates revealed that cocci-shaped isolates produced the highest IAA levels (4.80 to 6.30 mg/100 mL), with the SS1 isolate achieving the maximum value (6.30 mg/100 mL). Genetic identification of the highest IAA producer (SS1) through 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that it belongs to the genus Kocuria. Phylogenomic analysis confirmed a high similarity to Kocuria rosea, with 98% identity.

The research aimed to isolate and characterize local entomopathogenic fungi from different agricultural ecosystems and assess their pathogenicity against cowpea aphid. Forty soil samples were collected from different ecosystems. In total, 38 fungal isolates were collected from the cadavers' exteriors of Galleria mellonella larvae. Microscopic observation of these fungal isolates revealed that they belonged to nine fungal genera among them Metarhizium sp. (3 isolates) and Beauveria sp. (5 isolates). Primary experiments showed different bioactivities of the isolates of the two selected genera against the target insect. Only Metarhizium isolates (M3 & M5) and Beauveria isolates (B1 & B5) were selected for further investigations. Identification of fungal cultures by morphological characters, molecular characterization, ITS sequencing, and NCBI Blast showed that two isolates were confirmed as M. anisopliae and two isolates as B. bassiana. The bioassay evaluation revealed that M. anisopliae (M3 and M5) and B. bassiana (B1) exhibited significant virulence against A. craccivora, as evidenced by their high LT50 and LC50 values and substantial sporulation on the cadavers. Therefore, they could be used for the formulation of pesticides targeting this pest on cowpea and other vegetable crops.

This investigation was performed during the 2018 and 2019 seasons in a private vineyard to study the effect of calcium, magnesium fertigation and molybdenum foliar sprays on the yield and fruit quality of Flame seedless table grape cultivar. The experimental layout was arranged in a split-plot design. All treatments were applied on three dates: after the bud burst stage, at the fruit set stage and veraison stage. The results showed that the combined application of 30 Kg calcium with 20 Kg magnesium fertigation and foliar spraying of 30 ppm molybdenum was the most effective among all treatments in terms of enhancing vegetative growth characteristics, increasing leaf content of total chlorophylls and mineral elements as well as improving yield and fruit quality attributes.

Drought stress is considered one of the main factors that reduce plant growth, development and production. Therefore, studying plants during drought stress is highly useful to discover the newly gained characteristics of plants. The potato is considered one of the most important crop with economic value in Egypt and over the whole world. The main target is the proline-rich protein extracted from potato plants under drought stress. A stress experiment was applied to two potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars Desiree and Diamante. The stress experiment was conducted by poly-ethylene glycol (PEG) 4000; the used water potentials were: zero (control), (PEG 2%), (PEG 4%) and (PEG 8%), after drought stress, the solutes accumulation in the two potato cultivars were determined. Increasing drought stress through elevating PEG decreased leaf area as well as shoot and root lengths. Incontorary, the chlorophyll and proline contents increased with increasing PEG treatments. The proline-rich protein gene was cloned to the pGEM-T Easy vector and was submitted to the gene bank to be used later for enhancing drought resistance in other cultivars.

This study examines fermented soya bean (SBM) and sunflower meal (SFM) with three biological treatments: Aspergillus Oryza, Ruminococcus flavefaciens and Lactobacillus plantarum, as well as the effects of these treatments on chemical composition, cell wall constituents, in vitro dry matter disappearance (IVDMD), and enzyme activity of the fermented SBM and SFM. After 2 h of ruminal incubation, all biological treatments (fungi, Bacteria, fungi with Bacteria) improved the IVDMD for Fermented SBM compared to that of the control (19.47, 20.65 and 18.38%, respectively). The maximum improvement values of IVDMD for SBM were recorded after 4 h and 6 h of incubation for all treatments. In addition, SFM after 2 h of ruminal incubation with any examined biological treatment (fungi, Bacteria, fungi with Bacteria), the IVDMD values have improved compared to that of the control group. Moreover, enzyme activities (cellulase, amylase, xylanase, and protease) have increased in all treatments. It was determined that SSF with A. oryzae and Ruminococcus boosted the protein content and digestibility of soybean and sunflower meals.

Using integrated in silico and in vitro experiments, the antiviral capabilities of green tea and licorice extracts were evaluated against the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). It was noted that the number of induced necrotic local lesions of TMV decreased by increasing extract concentrations and thus it is considered concentration dependent on the extracts’ active compounds. Properties of eleven compounds belonging to licorice and green tea were obtained from databases to examine their activities in silico. A molecular docking simulation was performed between these agents and the protein coat of the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). The highest effective compounds were glycyrrhetic acid, liquiritin and EGCG. ADMET studies revealed good overall properties of nine non-toxic compounds based on their predicted pharmacokinetic, physicochemical, drug-likeness and toxic properties. Based on docking energy and mode of interaction, these compounds showed strong binding with the protein coat of TMV. The antiviral effect may be due to the most effective compounds with the highest affinity namely glycyr-rhetic acid, liquiritin and isoliquiritin. As a conclusion, the promising value of our titled extracts is the anti-TMV activity and pharmacokinetic and physicochemical properties of their active constituents.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is considered one of the main food crops in many countries worldwide. The present work was planned to manage potato black-leg disease using organic treatments as well as mineral-nitrogenous treatments, in addition to examining their effects on the pathogenic bacterium (Pectobacterium atrosepticum) population under artificial inoculation conditions. The obtained data indicated that applications of cabbage, onion and peppermint dry ground leaves as organic matters, and applications of ammonium super-phosphate, potassium sulfate and urea as mineral-nitrogenous fertilizers reduced P. atrosepticum population and black-leg disease of potato compared with the control treatment. In addition, these treatments led to increasing potato yield, while the beneficial effects increased with increasing their doses compared with the control treatment. Meanwhile, the organic matter appeared highly effective compared with mineral-nitrogenous fertilizers in disease reduction. However, mineral-nitrogenous fertilizers appeared highly effective in increasing potato yield. Meanwhile, onion dry ground leaves (organic matter) and urea (nitrogenous fertilizer) were the most effective on the pathogenic bacterium population and severity of the disease compared with other treatments