In contrast to the global countries, ectomycorrhizae members are not common in Egypt, however, they are very important in the afforestation of poor lands. Their occurrence in Pinus sp., Clerodendrum sp., and Eucalyptus sp. may help to explain why these trees are the most extensively dominant around the world, especially in Egypt. The identification and characterization of numerous ectomycorrhizal fungi often involve large morphological descriptions of sporocarps alone, which consequently, in some instances, raise arguments about the accuracy of these studies. The present work was achieved to isolate, identify, and characterize three ectomycorrhizal fungi from sporocarps combining morphological and molecular techniques. The morphological characteristics of tested species were assessed and compared to standard taxonomic literature. ITS-rDNA was utilized for molecular analysis using the universal fungal primers ITS1. Identification of these species was confirmed by comparing the sequences of amplified genomes of these species with respective species sequences in GenBank, followed by blast analysis.

In contrast to the global countries, ectomycorrhizae members are not common in Egypt, however, they are very important in the afforestation of poor lands. Their occurrence in Pinus sp., Clerodendrum sp., and Eucalyptus sp. may help to explain why these trees are the most extensively dominant around the world, especially in Egypt. The identification and characterization of numerous ectomycorrhizal fungi often involve large morphological descriptions of sporocarps alone, which consequently, in some instances, raise arguments about the accuracy of these studies. The present work was achieved to isolate, identify, and characterize three ectomycorrhizal fungi from sporocarps combining morphological and molecular techniques. The morphological characteristics of tested species were assessed and compared to standard taxonomic literature. ITS-rDNA was utilized for molecular analysis using the universal fungal primers ITS1. Identification of these species was confirmed by comparing the sequences of amplified genomes of these species with respective species sequences in GenBank, followed by blast analysis.

Tamarix nilotica is a perennial halophyte growing naturally at the Mediterranean coastal salt marshes. Vegetative parts were collected in two successive winters and summers to investigate the seasonal effects on the ecomorphological and physiological responses of T. nilotica. The results indicated that either in winter or summer seasons, T. nilotica can reduce the effect of soil salinity by excreting salts outside its body through salt glands. Summer season was characterized by low content of soil moisture (due to rare rainfall), high soil EC, high light intensity and high temperature; there-fore, plant induced certain morphoanatomical changes in leaves and stem to face the previously mentioned adverse conditions. The most remarkable changes to reduce transpiration process was found by decreasing leaf area and increasing cuticle thickness and mesophyll tissue thickness. In addition, the most marked physiological changes in summer were the significant in-crease in total phenols, proline, free amino acids and total soluble sugars. These compounds can work as osmotic regulators and/or antioxidants. These features enhance the defensive mechanism against dehydration and permit T. nilotica to tolerate the stress conditions in salt marsh habitat.

Tamarix nilotica is a perennial halophyte growing naturally at the Mediterranean coastal salt marshes. Vegetative parts were collected in two successive winters and summers to investigate the seasonal effects on the ecomorphological and physiological responses of T. nilotica. The results indicated that either in winter or summer seasons, T. nilotica can reduce the effect of soil salinity by excreting salts outside its body through salt glands. Summer season was characterized by low content of soil moisture (due to rare rainfall), high soil EC, high light intensity and high temperature; there-fore, plant induced certain morphoanatomical changes in leaves and stem to face the previously mentioned adverse conditions. The most remarkable changes to reduce transpiration process was found by decreasing leaf area and increasing cuticle thickness and mesophyll tissue thickness. In addition, the most marked physiological changes in summer were the significant in-crease in total phenols, proline, free amino acids and total soluble sugars. These compounds can work as osmotic regulators and/or antioxidants. These features enhance the defensive mechanism against dehydration and permit T. nilotica to tolerate the stress conditions in salt marsh habitat.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of five essential oils (garlic, Allium sativum; camphor, Cinnamomum camphor; menthol, Mentha sp.; cinnamon, Cinnamomum erum; and clove, Dianthus sp.) on wax moth larvae and adult honeybee workers under laboratory conditions. Cinnamon, garlic, menthol, clove, and camphor oils were found to be highly effective against wax moth larvae, with 100 percent mortality achieved after 48 and 96 hours for cinnamon and garlic oils respectively, and after 120 hours for clove and mint oils. Camphor oil provided 96.60% accumulative mortality after 120 hrs. Moreover, all the essential oils were highly safe for adult honeybee workers under laboratory conditions. Accumulative corrected mortality rates after 72 hr were 15.96, 9.02, 13.18, 29.16, and 8.88% for treatments with cinnamon, clove, camphor, mint, and garlic oils respectively.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of five essential oils (garlic, Allium sativum; camphor, Cinnamomum camphor; menthol, Mentha sp.; cinnamon, Cinnamomum erum; and clove, Dianthus sp.) on wax moth larvae and adult honeybee workers under laboratory conditions. Cinnamon, garlic, menthol, clove, and camphor oils were found to be highly effective against wax moth larvae, with 100 percent mortality achieved after 48 and 96 hours for cinnamon and garlic oils respectively, and after 120 hours for clove and mint oils. Camphor oil provided 96.60% accumulative mortality after 120 hrs. Moreover, all the essential oils were highly safe for adult honeybee workers under laboratory conditions. Accumulative corrected mortality rates after 72 hr were 15.96, 9.02, 13.18, 29.16, and 8.88% for treatments with cinnamon, clove, camphor, mint, and garlic oils respectively.

The experiments were conducted during seasons (summer, au-tumn, winter, and spring) 2020–2021 to study the activities of invertase, adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), and alkaline phosphatase (AlkP) as well as the determination of total proteins. These activities were determined in the bodies of adult honeybee worker, Apis mellifera, (house and forager bees) after feeding on three different diet groups (A) pollen cake, (B) supplementary diet and (C) control group during the four seasons. Group (A) received 50 g pollen cake + 250 ml honey syrup (2 honey: 1 water)/colony/three-day intervals, group (B) received 50 g Brewer’s yeast chickpea cake fortified with 4.2% pollen + 250 ml sugar syrup (2 sugar: 1 water) while group (C) received 250 ml sugar syrup (1 sugar: 1 water) only. Results indicated that the highest increase in total proteins was found in group B during the autumn season with house bees. Invertase activity was high in group A during the summer season with forager bees. The highest ATPase activity was observed in group B during the spring season with house bees, whereas the highest AlkP activities were found in group A during the autumn season with house bees.

The experiments were conducted during seasons (summer, au-tumn, winter, and spring) 2020–2021 to study the activities of invertase, adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), and alkaline phosphatase (AlkP) as well as the determination of total proteins. These activities were determined in the bodies of adult honeybee worker, Apis mellifera, (house and forager bees) after feeding on three different diet groups (A) pollen cake, (B) supplementary diet and (C) control group during the four seasons. Group (A) received 50 g pollen cake + 250 ml honey syrup (2 honey: 1 water)/colony/three-day intervals, group (B) received 50 g Brewer’s yeast chickpea cake fortified with 4.2% pollen + 250 ml sugar syrup (2 sugar: 1 water) while group (C) received 250 ml sugar syrup (1 sugar: 1 water) only. Results indicated that the highest increase in total proteins was found in group B during the autumn season with house bees. Invertase activity was high in group A during the summer season with forager bees. The highest ATPase activity was observed in group B during the spring season with house bees, whereas the highest AlkP activities were found in group A during the autumn season with house bees.

Four agro-wastes were evaluated as substrates for bioethanol production. Seven of the pioneer isolates in the production of cellulase, xylanase and laccase enzymes were selected for soluble sugar and bioethanol production. The highest level of soluble sugar was produced on sugar beet pulp followed by corn cobs. The experimental design included using soybean okara and sesame husk as nitrogen sources added to the production medium. Extraordinary soluble sugar yields were obtained on sugar beet pulp or corn cobs in combination with soybean okara or sesame husk at the concentration of (0.3%) of either. Different concentrations of corn cobs or sugar beet (5, 10, 15, g/100 m medium) were mixed with optimal concentrations of nitrogen sources. Results showed that 10 g of sugar beet or corn cobs achieved the highest soluble sugar yield. The efficiency of four strains of S. cerevisiae for bioethanol production was investigated, S.cerevisiae (AUMC 14720) recorded the highest level of bioethanol on fermentable fungal broth after four days at 30°C.

Four agro-wastes were evaluated as substrates for bioethanol production. Seven of the pioneer isolates in the production of cellulase, xylanase and laccase enzymes were selected for soluble sugar and bioethanol production. The highest level of soluble sugar was produced on sugar beet pulp followed by corn cobs. The experimental design included using soybean okara and sesame husk as nitrogen sources added to the production medium. Extraordinary soluble sugar yields were obtained on sugar beet pulp or corn cobs in combination with soybean okara or sesame husk at the concentration of (0.3%) of either. Different concentrations of corn cobs or sugar beet (5, 10, 15, g/100 m medium) were mixed with optimal concentrations of nitrogen sources. Results showed that 10 g of sugar beet or corn cobs achieved the highest soluble sugar yield. The efficiency of four strains of S. cerevisiae for bioethanol production was investigated, S.cerevisiae (AUMC 14720) recorded the highest level of bioethanol on fermentable fungal broth after four days at 30°C.

The efficiency of three different types of pollen-collection traps namely, Front Drawer Pollen Traps (Type, 1), Bottom Pollen Traps (Type,2) and Plastic Slide Traps (Type,3) were evaluated. The data indicated that in type 2, which had Bottom Pollen Traps, a significantly high amount of bee pollen was collected (383.30g/colony) followed by type 1, (179.37g/colony) while type 3 had the lowest amount of collected bee pollen (123.80 g/colony). The highest amount of bee pollen collected during summer was from type (2) during 20 -29 July, followed by that from the same group during the periods 1-10 July and 9-18 August, and then type (1) during the peri-od 20-29 July. The results also revealed that the lowest amount of bee pollen collected by the traps was during the last week of August and September.

The efficiency of three different types of pollen-collection traps namely, Front Drawer Pollen Traps (Type, 1), Bottom Pollen Traps (Type,2) and Plastic Slide Traps (Type,3) were evaluated. The data indicated that in type 2, which had Bottom Pollen Traps, a significantly high amount of bee pollen was collected (383.30g/colony) followed by type 1, (179.37g/colony) while type 3 had the lowest amount of collected bee pollen (123.80 g/colony). The highest amount of bee pollen collected during summer was from type (2) during 20 -29 July, followed by that from the same group during the periods 1-10 July and 9-18 August, and then type (1) during the peri-od 20-29 July. The results also revealed that the lowest amount of bee pollen collected by the traps was during the last week of August and September.

In this study, a designed variable frequency drive (VFD) was used to control a single-phase induction motor’s speed to pump guava juice at two solid concentrations (9°Bx and 11°Bx). Next, the pressure drop was measured in stainless-steel pipes of three diameters. The pressure drop percentage difference before and after using the VFD at varied flow rates with 10 repetitions at 5-minute intervals was evaluated. The pressure drop reduction range was 19.7%– 30.8% and 19.2 %–32.4% for the 9% and 11% solid concentrations respectively after using the VFD, which resulted in an average of 25.73% reductions in pressure drop and the pump’s total head and driving power. The rheological properties of guava juice were investigated at various temperatures (5, 15, 25, 35, 55 and 75°C). From the results, all materials exhibited non-Newtonian pseudoplastic behavior at all temperatures and concentrations, and correlated well with the power law model, with flow behavior index (n) values less than unity for the 9% and 11% solid concentrations. The findings offer helpful information for predicting how heat variations during processing influence the behavior of guava juice concentrates.

In this study, a designed variable frequency drive (VFD) was used to control a single-phase induction motor’s speed to pump guava juice at two solid concentrations (9°Bx and 11°Bx). Next, the pressure drop was measured in stainless-steel pipes of three diameters. The pressure drop percentage difference before and after using the VFD at varied flow rates with 10 repetitions at 5-minute intervals was evaluated. The pressure drop reduction range was 19.7%– 30.8% and 19.2 %–32.4% for the 9% and 11% solid concentrations respectively after using the VFD, which resulted in an average of 25.73% reductions in pressure drop and the pump’s total head and driving power. The rheological properties of guava juice were investigated at various temperatures (5, 15, 25, 35, 55 and 75°C). From the results, all materials exhibited non-Newtonian pseudoplastic behavior at all temperatures and concentrations, and correlated well with the power law model, with flow behavior index (n) values less than unity for the 9% and 11% solid concentrations. The findings offer helpful information for predicting how heat variations during processing influence the behavior of guava juice concentrates.

Two field experiments were conducted during in 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons to study the impact of integration among mineral and nanoparticle nitrogen (N) fertilizer levels on yield traits and chemical characters of some canola genotypes grown under salt stress conditions. Four treatments of N fertilization (190 kg N/ha as recommended dose; 50% of the recommended, 95 kg N/ha+nano nitrogen (5 L/ha); 25 % of the recommended, 47.5 kg N/ha+nano-nitrogen (5 L/ha), and nano-nitrogen (rate of 5 L/ha). canola genotypes (Trabber, Agamax, and Serw4) performance were assessed under three levels of saline irrigation water (control, 2000, and 4000 mg L-1). Results showed that increasing salinity levels up to 4000 mg L-1 led to decreasing in all studied yield parameters compared with those of control (tap water). Trabber genotype excelled significantly in most of the yield characteristics. Integration between nanoscale and mineral nitrogen fertilizer, i.e. 95 kg N/ha+5 nano N L/ha) showed superiority over all applied N treatments, recording the highest values. It could be concluded that since application of 95 kg N/ha+5 nano N L/ha exploiting the nano form of N saves about 50% of applied nitrogen in canola under saline conditions. Accordingly, nanoparticles help the environmental pollution to be reduced.

Two field experiments were conducted during in 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons to study the impact of integration among mineral and nanoparticle nitrogen (N) fertilizer levels on yield traits and chemical characters of some canola genotypes grown under salt stress conditions. Four treatments of N fertilization (190 kg N/ha as recommended dose; 50% of the recommended, 95 kg N/ha+nano nitrogen (5 L/ha); 25 % of the recommended, 47.5 kg N/ha+nano-nitrogen (5 L/ha), and nano-nitrogen (rate of 5 L/ha). canola genotypes (Trabber, Agamax, and Serw4) performance were assessed under three levels of saline irrigation water (control, 2000, and 4000 mg L-1). Results showed that increasing salinity levels up to 4000 mg L-1 led to decreasing in all studied yield parameters compared with those of control (tap water). Trabber genotype excelled significantly in most of the yield characteristics. Integration between nanoscale and mineral nitrogen fertilizer, i.e. 95 kg N/ha+5 nano N L/ha) showed superiority over all applied N treatments, recording the highest values. It could be concluded that since application of 95 kg N/ha+5 nano N L/ha exploiting the nano form of N saves about 50% of applied nitrogen in canola under saline conditions. Accordingly, nanoparticles help the environmental pollution to be reduced.

A field experiment was conducted in new reclaimed areas to improve avocado trees water productivity cultivated under deficit irrigation and mulching. The deficit irrigation treatments were 90, 80, 70, and 60% of reference evapotranspiration (ETo). Results revealed that The average water requirements during different avocado trees physiological growth stages were 613, 1509, 1755, 1391, and 632 m3 /fed for flowering to end of fruit set, fruit set to approximately 50% of the expected market fruit size, during the fruit growth stage, during the fruit ripening stage, and during the flower bud formation stage, respectively. These values represent approximately 10.4%, 25.6%, 29.7%, 23.6%, and 10.7% of the total yearly water requirement. The averages irrigation frequency were 2.45, 2.61, 2.72, 2.87, and 3.91day for 100, 90, 80, 70 and 60% ETo treatments, respectively. The highest crop water productivity value of 1.24 kg/m3 water was attained at 70% ETo followed by 1.18 kg/m3 water at 80% ETo while the least crop water productivity (1.06 kg/m3 water) was realized at 100% ETo. The crop water requirement of 5110 m3 /fed/year with high irrigation frequency is recommended for mulched sandy soil cultivated with avocado trees.

A field experiment was conducted in new reclaimed areas to improve avocado trees water productivity cultivated under deficit irrigation and mulching. The deficit irrigation treatments were 90, 80, 70, and 60% of reference evapotranspiration (ETo). Results revealed that The average water requirements during different avocado trees physiological growth stages were 613, 1509, 1755, 1391, and 632 m3 /fed for flowering to end of fruit set, fruit set to approximately 50% of the expected market fruit size, during the fruit growth stage, during the fruit ripening stage, and during the flower bud formation stage, respectively. These values represent approximately 10.4%, 25.6%, 29.7%, 23.6%, and 10.7% of the total yearly water requirement. The averages irrigation frequency were 2.45, 2.61, 2.72, 2.87, and 3.91day for 100, 90, 80, 70 and 60% ETo treatments, respectively. The highest crop water productivity value of 1.24 kg/m3 water was attained at 70% ETo followed by 1.18 kg/m3 water at 80% ETo while the least crop water productivity (1.06 kg/m3 water) was realized at 100% ETo. The crop water requirement of 5110 m3 /fed/year with high irrigation frequency is recommended for mulched sandy soil cultivated with avocado trees.

Soil temperature under mulching conditions has a significant impact on crop development, growth rate and other parameters. However, it is not included in the AquaCrop model. Thus, this study aims to improve the AquaCrop model performance for better simulation of soil mulches by considering the heat changing under mulch materials. The proposed modification is conducted through AquaCrop-Open Source software to identify the differences between the temperatures under the mulched soil and air temperatures. It will also help to describe them as additional heat units in specific growth stages. The field data used to evaluate the proposed model has previously been used to calibrate and validate the AquaCrop model in simulating melon growth under different irrigation treatments and soil mulching practices. The results show that the proposed model performs better than the original model in simulating mulched melon under different irrigation regimes. The root mean square error of biomass values was reduced under the modified model by 40%-75% under different irrigation treatments. Additionally, the coefficient of determination (R2) of the modified model slightly increased from the original one. Thus, the proposed model provides a more reliable and robust model.

Soil temperature under mulching conditions has a significant impact on crop development, growth rate and other parameters. However, it is not included in the AquaCrop model. Thus, this study aims to improve the AquaCrop model performance for better simulation of soil mulches by considering the heat changing under mulch materials. The proposed modification is conducted through AquaCrop-Open Source software to identify the differences between the temperatures under the mulched soil and air temperatures. It will also help to describe them as additional heat units in specific growth stages. The field data used to evaluate the proposed model has previously been used to calibrate and validate the AquaCrop model in simulating melon growth under different irrigation treatments and soil mulching practices. The results show that the proposed model performs better than the original model in simulating mulched melon under different irrigation regimes. The root mean square error of biomass values was reduced under the modified model by 40%-75% under different irrigation treatments. Additionally, the coefficient of determination (R2) of the modified model slightly increased from the original one. Thus, the proposed model provides a more reliable and robust model.