Diyala Agricultural Sciences Journal

Dill plant Anethum graveolens L. is one of the important leafy green plants, with medicinal and nutritional importance. The research was conducted to study the effect of adding osmotic regulators and amino acids in resisting water stresses on Dill plant, belongs to the Apiaceae family. It included three factors, the first factor was spraying with osmotic regulators 0, 1 and 2 g L-1, the second factor was spraying with amino acids 0, 1 and 2 ml L-1, and the third factor was two levels of irrigation interval 7 and 14 days. The results showed that: the superiority of the triple interaction treatments represented by spraying with osmotic regulators at a concentration of 1 g L-1, amino acids 2 ml L-1 and an irrigation interval of 7 days, as it gave the best results for plant height 57.97cm, number of branches 18.57, relative chlorophyll content in leaves 69.83 mg 100g-1 fresh weight, dry weight 25.17g plant-1, number of leaves 36.57 leaf plant-1, percentage of Protein 23.60%, number of Inflorescences 45.27, plant yield 2.319 kg m-2, and percentage of volatile oil in leaves 3.67 %,. The results also proved the response of dill plant to spraying with osmotic regulators and amino acids in giving the best results of growth, yield and volatile oil under water stress conditions.

Deciduous fruit trees are among the agricultural products most susceptible to spoilage and post-harvest loss due to their inability to withstand environmental conditions and inadequate marketing services. The study aimed to estimate post-harvest losses of deciduous fruits and then identify the most important factors causes leading to losses. Descriptive statistical and quantitative mathematical equations methods were used to analyze data collected from a random sample of fifty apricot and peach plantation growers, and a random sample of fifty wholesale traders of the two crops in local markets in Baghdad Governorate. The estimated results indicated that the monetary losses from marketing losses in the two crops apricot and peach at the level of plantation owners were estimated at approximately 39 and 28 thousand dollars for each, respectively. At the wholesale market level, the marketing loss rate for apricot and peach crops was estimated at approximately 22% and 10% for each crop, respectively, while monetary losses were estimated at approximately 55 and 10 thousand dollars for each of them, respectively. It became clear that the most vital elements causing post-harvest losses at the level of plantation owners are the falling of fruits during the picking and harvesting process and the failure to utilize them, while it was found that the most important factor causing post-harvest losses at the wholesale level is exposure to unsuitable environmental conditions in the market because of exposed supply of fruits. Therefore, farmers should be encouraged to be choosing appropriate dates and environmental conditions for harvesting fruits.

One of the major challenges of the twenty-first century is antibiotic resistance in "One Health" humans, animals, and the environment, the spread of which limits treatment options for bacterial infections, increases mortality and causes economic damage. This article aims to offer a critical investigation of the development of antibiotic resistance of E. coli in rivers over the last 10 years. There is increasing interest in monitoring water environments, both surface water and sewage, which are major receptors, sources, and pathways of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB). Additionally, they facilitate the transfer and amplification of ARB. Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a pathogen characterized by an increased level of resistance to antibiotics. A total of 3661 publications in the field of environmental, agricultural, and biological sciences were obtained from two databases (ScienceDirect and PubMed). Most publications in this field have focused on clinical isolates, which has led to a scarcity of information about natural environments, including rivers, which are important freshwater sources. Analysis 31 articles from 20 countries across five continents. The results showed that the highest resistance was against ampicillin (14/31), followed by ciprofloxacin (10/31) in the publications. Regarding antibiotic classes, the fluoroquinolone class showed a significant development in resistance. The development of multidrug resistance of E. coli to beta-lactam antibiotics and fluoroquinolones, such as trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, was noted in this review. Additionally, modern resistance to azithromycin and erythromycin was explored.

The use of nanotechnology to manage salinity stress has recently become a prominent focus in agricultural and environmental research, garnering substantial global attention. Soil Salinity encompasses three fundamental principles: minimizing salt accumulation, enhancing soil coverage, and rotating with salt-tolerant crops. This field has experienced a surge in research activity, with the number of peer-reviewed publications on nanotechnology and salinity stress increasing exponentially. This investigation aims to critically analyze all peer-reviewed documents on nanotechnology and salinity stress published between 2021 and 2024, as indexed in the Dimensions core database. The search yielded 500 papers processed using an R-based bibliometric package to examine annual scientific production trends, sources, authors, documents, citations, keyword analysis, and co-occurrence networking using VOSviewer. Our results indicate a significant expansion in conservation agriculture research from 2021 to 2024. Notably, the top 10 core source journals make the most substantial contributions to the field, while 2570 researchers have authored or co-authored at least one document on salinity stress and nanotechnology. The prominence of nanoparticle-based research for managing saline soil in countries such as China, India, Egypt, Pakistan, and Iran highlights the critical nature of this issue in these regions. Nevertheless, this field of study has attracted global attention. The overall conclusion of this study provides a bibliometric analysis and nanotechnological basis for salinity stress management.

This study is conducted for an existing grape production farm relies on traditional methods of production and irrigation, and a grape farm that relies on sustainable energy, and a drip irrigation system is proposed. Some economic analysis tools were used to determine the feasibility of adopting solar energy in a sustainable grape farm. The study aimed to compare the two farms through some economic indicators, by adopting the method of quantitative tabular analysis with some investment indicators in addition to descriptive analysis. The results of study are that the use of solar energy in grape production farms achieves economic revenue under normal production conditions and under risk conditions. It was found that adopting solar energy systems in sustainable grape production farms achieved estimated revenue of 7538.8 dollars/hectare, and under risk conditions it reached 5026.2 dollars/hectare, and the return on the invested dollar reached 2 dollars under efficiency conditions, and under risk conditions 1.3 dollars. While the estimated revenue of the studied grape farm in the current reality reached 6881 dollars/hectare, this is compared to the high costs of the sustainable grape farm due to the use of solar energy technologies. The study also concluded that the technical efficiency of the sustainable grape farm reached 83%, while the economic efficiency reached 84%. The study concludes the necessity of adopting sustainable energy in grape production farms because it reduces environmental pollution and the use of fossil fuels in irrigation operations, and the necessity of investing in grape farms because they are economically feasible.

The ability to accurately identify key growth stages is critical for proper rice management, Since management practices are directly tied to plant developmental processes, a sound understanding of rice growth is essential for effective cultivation. This study was conducted to evaluate the growth and yield performance of seven rice varieties (BT, CUDH1, NU986, ST25, TBR225, TX111, and VNR20) during different growth stages (Root establishment and Greening up,Tillering, Panicle initiation, Flowering, and Dough stage) in Thanh Hoa province, Vietnam. Results indicated that CUDH1 and TX111 exhibited superior performance, with greater plant height, higher leaf area index (LAI) throughout most growth stages, and enhanced dry matter accumulation. These characteristics reflect strong photosynthetic capacity and robust growth potential, ultimately leading to the highest recorded yields: CUDH1 (8.25 t ha-1) and TX111 (8.02 t ha-1). The NU986 (7.73 t ha-1) and BT (7.32 t ha-1) also achieved relatively good yields, though improvements in cultivation techniques are recommended to fully exploit their potential. Conversely, ST25 (6.97 t ha-¹), VNR20 (7.05 t ha-¹), and TBR225 (7.18 t ha-¹) exhibited lower plant height and dry matter accumulation, thus making them more suitable for high-quality rice production or areas prone to lodging. the conclusion, varietal selection tailored to specific production goals and local ecological conditions is a critical factor in improving the efficiency and sustainability of rice production systems.

Study conducted on Halwani grape vines to study the effect of spraying with sugar alcohol (mannitol) and amino acids at three concentrations of each (0, 5, and 10) ml L-1 on some vegetative growth characteristics, yield, and quality, vines were sprayed three times during the season: the first spray at the beginning of vegetative growth, the second before the flowers bloomed, and the last spray after the fruit set. Spraying with 5 and 10 ml L-1 of sugar alcohol significantly increased the leaf area of vines, leaf chlorophyll content, average number of clusters, and yield per hectare, total soluble solids and anthocyanin content of fruits. The acidity of berry decreased and the average weight of clusters, vine yield and total sugars significantly increased at a concentration of 10 ml L-1, reached 0.308%, 529.87 g, 16.55 kg vine-1 and 13.630%, respectively. While spraying with a concentration of 5 and 10 ml L-1 of amino acid led to a significant increase in the leaf area of vines, average number and weight of the clusters, percentage of TSS and anthocyanin content of the fruits, the concentration of 5 and 10 ml L-1 significantly affected the chlorophyll content of leaves, vine yield, yield per hectare and total sugar content in fruits, and the acidity content in fruits decreased significantly and reached 0.304% compared to the rest of the concentrations. The interaction between the study factors had a clear significant effect in improving the vegetative characteristics and the quantitative and qualitative qualities of the yield.

Scarcity of water is one of the main critical constraints to rice production. This study evaluated the drought tolerance of four zinc-enriched rice varieties- BRRI dhan74, BRRI dhan84, BRRI dhan100, and Binadhan-20, along with BRRI dhan66 as a drought-tolerant positive control. Rice seedlings were subjected to controlled drought conditions in earthen pots. After 30 days under drought stress, various physiological and biochemical parameters such as chlorophyll and carotenoid contents, osmolyte accumulation (proline, total soluble sugars), antioxidant enzyme activities (CAT, POD, APX), relative water content, and morphological traits of the rice seedlings were analyzed. Results demonstrated significant varietal differences in drought response. BRRI dhan84 demonstrated superior performance with minimal chlorophyll loss (12.25% reduction compared to respective control group), enhanced antioxidant activity (200% increase in CAT and 97.53% increase in APX), and moderate reductions in shoot and root growth (45.46% reduction in root length and 17.13% reduction in shoot length), closely resembling the effects observed in BRRI dhan66. Principal component analysis supported BRRI dhan84’s favorable clustering under stress. The findings suggest BRRI dhan84 is a promising candidate for cultivation in drought-prone regions, offering a dual advantage of micronutrient biofortification and abiotic stress resilience.

This study aimed to partial replacement of artemia powder with different protein concentrate levels in broiler diets on selected physiological and oxidation indicators. Two hundred and forty, one-day-old Ross 308 chicks were distributed to four levels of Artemia powder replacement: T1 (0%), T2 (0.5%), T3 (1%), and T4 (1.5%). Results of Statistical analysis showed no significant changes in most blood physiological indicators at 21 days of age across all treatments. However, albumin levels decreased in T3, while globulin decreased in T4 -compared to T1. Blood urea levels significantly increased with higher replacement, with T3 and T4 showing the highest values at 21 days. At 35 days of age, T2, T3, and T4 demonstrated clear positive changes in several biochemical indicators. Replacement resulted in a significant decrease in some lipid profile and protein levels at 35 days compared to T1, while no changes were observed in cholesterol, glucose, albumin, globulin ratio, uric acid, urea, creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase, or alanine aminotransferase. Additionally, a significant increase was observed in high-density lipoprotein levels and alkaline phosphatase activity. There was a substantial rise in certain oxidative stress markers, specifically glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase, with no differences in catalase and malondialdehyde at 35 days. Furthermore, intestinal villus length was unaffected by replacement, while crypt depth significantly increased with supplementation at the end of the experiment. The results indicate that partial replacement of Artemia powder up to a level of 1.5% can be used as a safe food substitute, with potential biochemical and physiological benefits.

Bread wheat is the primary strategic crop relied upon for human food sustainability. Therefore, this study was conducted to produce superior hybrids with yield characteristics and adaptability to environmental conditions. A semi-reciprocal cross was performed between six bread wheat varieties (IPA 99, IPA 95, Abu Ghraib 3, Fatih, Tahaddi, and Takka 1). These varieties and their hybrids were grown in four environments to study their compatibility, hybrid vigor, and the nature of gene influence in the parents and their hybrids regarding yield characteristics and components. The results showed the presence of additive and non-additive gene influences controlling the traits. The effects of additive genes were more pronounced for plant height, spike length, and number of grains per spike, and less so for the number of stalks per plant. Additive and dominance effects were equal for 1000-grain weight and grain yield per plant. The parents IPA 99 and Taka 1 showed the best overall combination for all traits except the number of stalks per plant. The hybrid (IPA 99 × Abu Ghraib 3) also demonstrated the best results. The IPA 95 × Fatih cross exhibited moderately high performance and specific combination ability and hybrid vigor effects in desirable directions for a wide range of traits. This can be leveraged to develop high-yielding hybrid varieties and to capitalize on hybrid vigor. Heritability in the narrow sense was high for all traits except for the number of branches per plant, which was low. Therefore, superior hybrids in yield traits can be utilized in most environments to increase bread wheat production.

Although oil palm (OP) is an important crop that occupies 10.7 million hectares in the South East-Asia, equivalent to 42.8% of the global OP coverage, information regarding weather relationship with OP gaseous exchange and photosynthetic characteristics remains scanty. This study investigated the empirical relationship between meteorological elements and stomatal conductance (STC) and leaf water potential (LWP) water stress indices in mature OP trees. The STC, LWP, meteorological elements and soil moisture content (SMC) were measured on-field and concurrently for 120 days. The best STC performance was when the relative humidity (RH) was between 98.3% to 82.6%. The STC became highest between 24.5°C to 27.6°C and lowest at 30.1°C – 32.7°C. For vapor pressure deficit (VPD), 0.06 to 1.09 kPa caused a positive response of STC, while 1.5 to 2.73 kPa limited it by 50.1%. Increased LWP was observed at 35.2°C - 37.0°C, VPD of 2.6 kPa, and RH below 58.3%. The OP on clay at 91.1% SMC was lower in STC than that under sandy clay at 86.2% SMC by 16.4%. Under the highest soil wetness (91.1% - clay and 86.2% - sandy clay), the LWP of the OP was still higher in palms under clay. The SMR curve showed the clay soil to have a higher SMC across all the potentials than the sandy clay. Correlation output indicated that STC positively correlated with RH (r=0.66) and negatively with VPD. The finding disentangled key actors involved in OP gaseous exchange and inferred that OP under clay has a higher proneness to water stress.

Finned centrifugal disc fertilizer spreaders are widely used worldwide for distributing granular mineral fertilizers due to their simple construction and high operational efficiency. The investigation studied the effect of three parameters forward speed 9,12, and 15 km h-1, disc rotational speed 500, 550, and 600 rpm, and fin angle 0,+25, and -25 degree on the performance of a GPS-controlled variable-rate fertilizer spreader at two application rates 25% and 75%, representing low and high fertilizer levels, respectively. The image processing was used to quantify fertilizer amounts instead of conventional methods. The results showed that both theoretical and effective field capacities increased with forward speed. The best uniformity (CV = 15.6%) was achieved at the forward speed of 12 km h¹, disc speed of 550 rpm, and fin angle of –25° at 25% the gate opening, while values exceeding 170% were observed at 75% of the gate opening. Correlation analysis revealed strong positive relationships between forward speed and both theoretical and effective field capacities (r = 0.99), and between disc speed and most performance traits (r > 0.99). Operating costs ranged between 1395 and 1498 IQD ha-¹. Overall, operating at a moderate forward speed, high disc speed, and medium fin angle provided an optimal balance between uniformity, efficiency, and economy. It was concluded that adjusting the forward speed, disc speed, and blade angle plays a crucial role in improving spread uniformity and work efficiency, it also that variable rate technologies can increase fertilizer distribution accuracy and reduce costs.