Livestock plays a significant role in food production, income generation, soil quality, transportation and the overall welfare of communities, especially in developing nations. Sheep and goats are vital sources of food, livelihood and urgent financial needs. Researching livestock practices can help optimize production, enhance productivity, and improve market access, ultimately boosting the economic well-being of developing communities. Research is needed to identify climate-resilient livestock practices, develop drought-resistant breeds, and optimize feed management strategies. By enhancing the resilience of livestock systems, research can help safeguard food security and livelihoods in the face of climate change. Climate change, evidenced by temperature changes and increased extreme weather events, negatively impacts traditional farming systems and livestock production by affecting pastures, feeds, water quality and livestock diseases. Breeds of the Coastal Zone of Western Desert (CZWD) such as the Barki sheep and goat as well as the Saidi breed in Upper Egypt (UE), have adapted to these harsh conditions and are crucial for smallholders. However, there's an information gap regarding these breeds' productivity in smallholder systems. This study utilizes the Twelve Month Monitoring (12MO) survey to estimate the productivity and demographic parameters of these breeds from 2018 to 2020.

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.

The Tomato Chlorosis Criniviruses (ToCV) and Tomato yellow leaf curl Geminivirus (TYLCV), which naturally infecting and limited to the phloem, have caused a drastic reduction in tomato yield. The current study aims to determine the incidence of single and mixed viruses using biological, serological and molecular PCR methods in natural tomato plants. The incidence of mixed infection was found more frequently, followed by ToCV and TYLCV (42.3, 28.8, 17.8 in 2020 and 49.1, 29.7 and 19.1% in 2021, respectively). ToCV causes chlorosis, TYLCV causes leaf curl and yellowing, while mixed ToCV & TYLCV cause progress symptoms. By using the heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and coat protein (CP) genes, ToCV and TYLCV isolates could be identified. These isolates were recorded in GenBank under accession codes "ON951644.1" and "OP265136.1" respectively. Host plants responded differently to severe and common disease density between ToCV and TYLCV. The transmitted whitefly could distinguish between ToCV and TYLCV within 15-20 minutes of the acquisition period. ToCV increases in fields with high whitefly populations, requiring further research to understand effects and reduce harm.

Imidacloprid is a systematic neonicotinoid widely used to combat piercing-sucking insects; however, neonicotinoids, despite having low effects on vertebrates, showed high adverse effects on honeybees (Apis mellifera L.). Glutathione-S-transferases (GST) are an important constituent of the defense system in detoxifying invading chemicals. This work examines the effects of imidacloprid on GST activity in vivo and in vitro conditions. Results revealed that there are two responses of GST activity toward IMI treatment; first, stimulation of enzyme activity to combat and detoxify the insecticide. Second, direct inhibition of GST, which is confirmed by the in vitro inhibition with IC50 887.42 ppm. At a short exposure time to IMI (2 hours) at an IMI concentration of 0.35 ppm, the enzyme was stimulated up to 113% while increasing exposure time or IMI concentration, the inhibition effect dominates.