IRAQI JOURNAL OF DESERT STUDIES

The research was conducted in a greenhouse at the Department of Horticulture and Garden Engineering, College of Agriculture, University of Anbar, Ramadi City, to study the impact of NPK supplementation and (CPPU) cytokinin spraying on Ficus nitida L.'s vegetative and root growth properties. The study encompassed two primary factors. The first factor comprises the NPK chemical fertilizer in four distinct concentrations: F0 (no addition), F1 (1g urea, 3g DAB, 2g potassium sulfate), F2 (2g urea, 6g DAB, 4g potassium sulfate), and F3 (3g urea, 9g DAB, 4g potassium sulfate). The second factor involves the cytokine CPPU at three concentrations: C0 (no addition), C1 (3 mg/ liters), and C2 (6 mg/ liter). The study was structured using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) comprising three blocks, with three pots allocated per experimental unit. Each block consisted of 36 coefficients, resulting in a total of 108 experimental units across all blocks. Increasing the quantity of secondary branches to sum up the outcomes, plant cover area, average diameter of secondary branches, dry matter percentage of leaves, total chlorophyll content in leaves, phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium ratios in the leaves, with ratios of 47.333 cm, 0.644 cm, 7.160 mm, 23.964%, 1.443 mg g-1, 0.390%, 2.860%, and 1.923% respectively.

Because of its effects on ecosystems and human health, environmental pollution including dangerous organic compounds is one of the most pressing problems in the world. Carboxylic acids are among the chemical substances that naturally dissolve in water the quickest and can be extremely harmful to human health. Through this work, the Salsola Incanescens plant a type of desert plant, was used to prepare activated carbon using hydrogen peroxide as activation agent and use it as an adsorbent surface to remove succinic and phthalic. It was diagnosed by different techniques such as FT-IR, XRD, FESEM, TEM and EDX. It was revealed from FT-IR that it contains OH, CH, C-C, C=O. As functional groups. The results of XRD, FESEM, TEM, and EDX showed the crystalline level of the prepared charcoal and the shape of (pores) on the surface of the activated charcoal and the percentage of elements present with the charcoal. The outer and inner surface area was determined using methylene blue and iodine index. The effect of initial concentration, temperature, adsorbent dose, and contact time of adsorbents on the adsorption rate was studied. The obtained results showed that adsorbed amount (Qe) increases with increasing initial concentration. However, the removal rate decreases with increasing initial concentration. The adsorption isotherms (Langmuir and Freundlich) were applied and it was found that the adsorption process is fully consistent with the (Langmuir and Freundlich) equations. Thermodynamic functions (ΔH, ΔS and ΔG) were calculated and it turned out that the adsorption process is exothermic, as the adsorption increases with increasing temperature. The adsorption process is spontaneous and is accompanied by an increase in randomness, meaning that it is less homogeneous on the surface of the adsorbent than it is in the solution.

Several experiments were conducted to study the effect of benzyl adenine on some growth indices and the effect of salt stress on the production of active compounds of caper plant in vitro, and to compare it with what is produced by in vivo. Different concentrations of sodium chloride were used, and the analysis results showed that the concentration of 90 mM L-1 was the highest for the enzyme superoxide dismutase and the enzyme malondialdehyde at a concentration of 60 mM L-1. The concentration of 90 mM L-1 also recorded the highest average for the enzyme catalase, while the hydrogen peroxide content reached the highest average at a concentration of 30 mM L-1. The analysis results using the GC/MS device showed that the leaves taken from in vivo achieved som or many different compounds, and the compound that excelled in it was Oleic acid among the compounds and with an area percentage of 13.88%. The compound L-Alanine-4-nitroanilide gave the lowest percentage of area, which was 0.43%. The study also showed that the compound 1-Polypropylene glycol excelled at a concentration of 60 mM L-1of sodium chloride over the other compounds, as well as at a concentration of 90 mM L-1, but with a different percentage of area. The area percentage was 18.46% at a concentration of 60 mM L-1 and 20.18% at a concentration of 90 mM L-1.

With the aim of studying the response of carrot crops to organic and potassium fertilization, the study was carried out as a field experiment at the research station affiliated with the College of Agriculture (longitude 43.3, latitude 33.41). The study was carried out by distributing factorial experiments with (RCBD) with three replicates on 1/9/2024. The first factor included organic poultry fertilizer in four levels (0-, 10-, 15-, and 20-ton ha-1). The second factor is potassium fertilizer, also at four levels (0, 150, and 200 and 250 kg K2O ha-1). The results of the statistical analysis showed that organic fertilization led to an improvement in vegetative growth and yield indicators, as plants fertilized at the level of were significantly superior in the characteristics of the number of leaves, the dry weight of the plant, the experimental unit yield, and the total yield, compared to plants that were not fertilized with organic fertilizer. Botassium fertilization had a moral impact on the characteristics of growth and the result, as the plants fertilized exceeded the level of K3 and gave the highest values to the attributes of the content of the leaves of chlorophyll and its content of potassium and the sum of the experimental unit and the total yield compared to plants not fertilized with potassium, which gave the lowest indicators for the above characteristics. It can be concluded from the results of this study that increasing the levels of organic and potassium fertilizers added (independently or in combination) to carrot plants led to improved growth indicators, which was reflected in improving yield characteristics.

The study was carried out in the laboratory of the College of Agriculture, Anbar University, to evaluate some growth-stimulating organism A. chroococcum, Rhizobium sp., G. mosseae with different fertilization rates 0%., 50%.,100% In inhibiting pathogenic F.equiseti which causes root rot in broad beans, and there is an interaction between them in some biochemical measurements phenols., Phenylalanine Ammonia Layse., Prolinee The results showed superior treatment A. chroococcum In increase phenols., Phenylalanine Ammonia Layse, Prolinee which gave 55.93,28.34,5.73 mg g-1 respectively. Followed by G. mosseae treatment, which gave 54.13, 26.64, 5.26 mg g-1, sequentially Then treat Rhizobium sp 52.50, 23.28.,5.28 mg g-1 sequentially. While the best fertilizer recommendation was 100%, as the percentage of Phenols, Phenylalanine Ammonia Layse, Proline reached 51.48, 27.10, 5.54, mg g-1 respectively. While the best treatment was the interaction between A. chroococcum bacteria and a 100% fertilizer recommendation, which was 66.60, 35.43,7.19 mg g-1, respectively. Compared to the pathogenic fungus treatment only, the percentage of Phenols, Phenylalanine Ammonia Lyse, Proline reached 32.34, 16.60, 3.36 mg g-1 respectively. The results showed that the treatment with A. chroococcum bacteria gave the highest dry weight of the shoot, reaching 176.97 g Followed by G. mosseae treatment, the average dry weight of the shoot reached 172.11g. The results showed that the treatment A. chroococcum bacteria gave the highest dry and fresh weight of the root system, as the dry weight reached 386.25g and the fresh weight reached 625 .00g.

A field experiment was carried out during the growing seasons of 2022 and 2023 in the field of Al-Mashrooh, 37 km north Babil Governorate. to investigate effects of NPK nanofertilizer on three oats cultivars (Genzania, Carolup and Hamel) at three growth stages under split-split plot design with four replications. The main plots were three oat cultivars, the sub-plots three spraying stages (elongation, booting and flowering), and the sub-sub plots three Nano-NPK concentrations levels (0, one, and tow g L-1). Results showed significant difference among cultivars. In vegetative system, Carolup achieved the highest N. (1.73 and 1.78% N), P. (0.35 and 0.36 % P), and K. concentrations (2.23 and 2.28% K); whilst it has higher grain protein content (10.85% and 11.13%) and carbohydrate contents (18.76% and 20.13%) across both seasons. Highest grain yield in the first season was observed for Hamel (6.21 tons ha⁻¹) and Carolup recorded highest grain yield during 2nd year with a Averages value of 6.56 tons ha-1. The booting growth stage spraying enhanced all the traits significantly and obtained maximum N (1.75% & 1.80%) P (0.35 %& 0.32%), K (2.34 %& 2,40. %), total grain yield (6.72- and 6.89-tons ha⁻¹), protein (11.18% and 11.00%), and carbohydrate content (17.86% and 20.00%). Application of NAN0-N.P.K. at a concentration of 1 g L-1 significantly improved plant growth, overall yield, and grain quality. The combination of Carolup, booting stage spraying, and 1 g L-1 was most effective, yielding the highest nitrogen in vegetative growth (1.92% and 1.97%), total grain yield (7.61- and 8.11-tons ha⁻¹), and grain protein content (12.65% and 12.86%) for both seasons.

Addressing Egypt’s water scarcity challenge requires innovative approaches to reduce irrigation water use without significantly affecting crop yields. This field study evaluated the effectiveness of boron and potassium silicate foliar applications in mitigating the impact of reduced irrigation on sugar beet production. The experiment was conducted using a split-plot trail in randomized complete design (RCBD), as it was structured with irrigation treatments as the main plots: T1 (Traditional irrigation with 7 events, no skipped events), T2 (6 irrigation events, skipping the 2nd), T3 (6 irrigation events, skipping the 3rd), and T4 (6 irrigation events, skipping the 4th). Sub-main plots included foliar treatments: F1 (Control, no foliar application), F2 (Borax at 0.5 cm³ L⁻¹), F3 (Potassium silicate at 2.5 cm³ L⁻¹) and F4 (Combined treatment of Borax 0.25 cm³ L⁻¹ + Potassium silicate 1.25 cm³ L⁻¹). Results showed that skipping irrigation events negatively impacted sugar content and juice quality, with the highest reductions observed in T3 and T4. However, the combined foliar treatment of boron and potassium silicate significantly improved sugar yield and juice quality, particularly in T2, compensating for the skipped irrigation event. The combination of T1 with F4 produced the highest Na% (1.50–1.56%) and α-amino N% (4.30–4.40%). Additionally, T1 × F4 recorded the highest sucrose content (19.14–19.93%) and purity (87.68–87.76%), whereas T2 × F1 exhibited the lowest sucrose content (15.81–16.44%). Furthermore, the same combined treatment (T1 × F4) achieved the highest recoverable sugar yield (4.65 – 4.91 Mg fed⁻¹), contrasting with T2 × F1, which had the lowest yield (3.25–3.44 Mg fed⁻¹). The combined treatment proved effective in maintaining crop performance under reduced irrigation, offering a promising strategy for water-saving agriculture. Subsequent investigations have to concentrate on the enduring consequences and flexibility of these therapies in various environmental settings.

The research was carried out during the growing season of 2022 in one of the greenhouses affiliated with the University of Baghdad's Horticulture Dept., College of Agriculture Engineering Sciences, to evaluate the performance of four cucumber varieties, namely Marketmore 76, Beit Alpha, Ocucmmol (st), and Lahoba, and was given the following codes (V4, V3, V2, V1) respectively. They were tested under three levels of (SA) (0, 0.25, 0.5) mg. L-1, by using a Split-plot design RCBD with three replications. Salicylic acid was sprayed once at the beginning of the flowering of the plants. Results revealed that the variety cucumber Beit Alpha is superior to the rest of the varieties in most vegetative qualities; the node number (47.22), leaf number (48.11), side branch number (14.22), and plant length (241.0 cm). It has been noted that application of Salicylic acid at 0.5 mg L-1 is the most suitable dose, as it gives the highest number of flowers (15.08), node number (44.83), leaf number (45.83), side branch number (12.08), and plant length (226.8cm); The results revealed a significant increase in. The interaction between the cucumber Beit Alpha and Salicylic acid (0.5) concentration was higher than the other varieties tested.