Diyala Agricultural Sciences Journal

Human activities lead to a large accumulation of heavy metals in the soil which comes from industrial activities such as mining smelting refining manufacturing processes and waste resulting from excessive use of chemical fertilizer and vehicle exhausts. So, soil pollutants especially with heavy metals can be treated using different types of plants; such as forest trees and grasses. These plants can tolerate soil pollutants at high concentrations in their biological tissue, and treat pollutants by absorbing and accumulating heavy metals in their living tissues. Therefore, in this article, we reviewed several forest tree species, that showed high resistance in the absorption and accumulation of heavy metals, such as genus Eucalyptus, Acacia, Salix, Populus, Tamarix, Melia, Dalbergia, Leucaena, Acer, Fraxinus, and Thuja. It has been noted that planting forest trees with high biomass that resist high concentrations of heavy metals in soil, works to rid the soil of these pollutants. This is the latest and best technology for treating soil pollution. In particular, it is unique from its counterparts in its environmental friendliness, economic benefits, and other returns resulting from plant cultivation. Therefore, applying phytoremediation techniques that benefit is the best and safest for the environment and living organisms

This field experiment aimed to study the positive effect of some herbicides (Atlantis, Tonic + 2.4 D, Granstar + Tonic, and control, on weed plants to improve the growth and yield of three wheat varieties (Hasad, Wafia, and Rezan) under the rain-fed condition of both locations. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design, arranged according to a split plot with three replicates. At the Grdjan location, herbicide treatment caused a significant reduction in the number of weeds at sampling (100 DAS) compared with the control treatment by 87.98%. While, at the Qaladze location, the reduction values in the number of weeds by herbicides at sampling (120 DAS) was 60.77%. At the Grdjan location, herbicide treatment significantly decreased flag leaf area as compared with the control treatment. However, at the Qaladze location herbicides significantly increased, plant height and a number of grains spike-1, whereas significantly reduced the flag leaf area biological yield and wheat grain yield, compared with the control treatment. At the Grdjan and Qaladze locations, the Rezan variety surpassed the Hasad and Wafia varieties in plant height, spike length, number of grains spike-1, 1000-grain weight, wheat grain yield and biological yield. The interaction among Granstar + Tonic application with the Rezan variety increased plant height and wheat grain yield at the Qaladze location. The interaction among Tonic + 2.4 D treatment with Rezan increased the number of grains spike-1 1000-grain weight and harvest index.

Factorial experiments were conducted in a silt clay loam soil with a randomized complete block design with three replications for each treatment. This study aimed to calculate machinery unit costs and some indicators during primary tillage, under variable tractor speeds of 1.8, 3.5 and 5.7 km.h-1 and depth of plowing 20, 30 and 40 cm. A higher speed of 5.7 km.h-1 is associated with higher practical productivity of 0.9696 ha.h-1; specific productivity of tillage 4309 m.h-1; a volume of soil disturbed 2884 m3. h-1. The best fixed, management, total tractor, total plow and total machinery unit costs were 2.27, 0.80, 9.02,1.01 and 10.04 $.ha-1 respectively. Additionally, lower fuel consumption was 8.56 l.ha-1, and the actual time for plowing one hectare was 1.02 h. The depth of tillage 20 cm recorded a higher productivity of 0.6412 ha.h-1, the specific productivity of tillage was 2849 m.h-1, less fuel consumption of 7.74 l.ha-1, less actual time of plowing one hectare of 1.95 hThe least fixed, variable, management, total tractor, total plow and total machinery unit costs were 4.32, 4.71, 0.89, 9.94,1.94 and 11.89 $.ha-1 respectively. All interactions among the treatments were significant. The experiment concluded that the plowing depth has a greater effect than speed on all operating costs of the tractor and chisel plow and performance indicators. The correlations among the indicators studied were direct (positive) and inverse (negative) significantly and were also non-significant.

Mount Merapi is one of the active stratovolcanoes in Indonesia, and its slopes are not only home to the powerful forces of nature but also to thriving communities of farmers. Many farmers' communities are found around the slopes of this mountain, relying on the fertile volcanic soil for their agricultural activities. This research was undertaken near Mount Merapi, approximately 4 km from the volcano peak, to investigate the resilience of farmers' communities in the face of Mount Merapi's potential disasters. It affects the farmer’s behavior, with the majority of residents being farmers. The primary objective of this study was to understand why and how these farmers’ communities demonstrate resilience in the wake of Mount Merapi's potential disasters. The qualitative approach was used in this research and the key informants were determined by using the purposive sampling technique. Data obtained were analyzed using an interactive data analysis model. The study identified three primary themes that significantly influenced the resilience of farmers' communities. The first theme encompasses social aspects, highlighting the importance of social capital, including strong social relations, trust, and community networks. The second theme revolves around economic factors, specifically business capital and the various forms of income within the farmers' communities. Lastly, the third theme focuses on environmental considerations, emphasizing the role of natural capital, particularly effective land use, as the most impactful in maximizing community resilience. Additionally, it was also found that the strong engagement among farmers within their communities made their resilience ability toward disaster highly formidable.

An experiment was performed to study the impact of Mycorrhizal fungus (Glomus mosseae) and Azotobacter chroococcum on the growth parameters of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) plant. The experimental methodology employed in this study was a factorial design, specifically a randomized complete block design (RCBD), with three replications. The treatments consisted of four different biological fertilizers, namely: none-inoculated, inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), inoculated with Azotobacter, and a mixture of both (AMF+Azotobacter). The use of biofertilizers, whether used singly or in combination, resulted in improved germination rates, plant height, number of root nodes, as well as fresh and dry weights of both shoots and roots particularly (AMF + Azoto) treatment (96.33±1.52, 37.33±2.08, 50.00±2.00, 8.83±0.40, 3.90±0.20, 6.53±0.23, 2.30±0.20) respectively, compared to plants that were not infected. In addition, the dual treatment of the fungus AMF and the bacteria A. chroococcum was recorded a maximum mycorrhizal infection percentage of 90% compared with the control which recorded 20%. The results of this study suggest the existence of an additive or a synergistic relationship between Glomus mosseae and A.chroococcum.

Heavy metal toxicity is a real threat to the environment, crop productivity, and the health of humans and their animals, especially when the toxicity enters the food chain. This study investigates the effect of cadmium on the physiological and molecular levels of ten introduced wheat genotypes. Genotypes were stressed by cadmium (75 mg.L-1) in comparison with unstressed treatment to highlight their response to the cadmium. The experiment was laid out as a factorial arrangement in RCBD, with three replicates. The genotypes included in this study varied in their response to cadmium stress during the laboratory tests. Notably, genotype G-41 was superior to the rest of the genotypes in terms of seed vigor (18.58), chlorophyll content (8.72 mg.g-1), and carotenoid content (4.87 mg.g-1), while genotype IRAQ had wider epidermis in the root (2.28 µm) and ordinary epidermis cells (3.10 µm). Cadmium boosted some physiological and anatomical traits (e.g., REC, Chlorophyll, carotenoids, length and width of root epidermis cells). However, cadmium concentration caused a deterioration in some anatomical traits, including cortex thickness and the length of the ordinary epidermis cells. Some wheat genotypes showed more resistance to cadmium stress than others, and G-3 was notably affected by cadmium treatment and this was associated with the high PCS1 expression of the enzyme that chelates Cd to the vacuole (39 folds). It can be concluded that cadmium reduced the physiological performances except for some genotypes that showed more tolerance. Those genotypes could therefore be investigated further to assess the accumulation of cadmium in their grains.

This research was conducted to evaluate the impact of liquid organic fertilizer and Hefe algae (seaweed) on various aspects of vegetative growth and yield in two hybrids of broccoli. The results revealed that the Agassi RZ hybrid outperformed the Wisdom hybrid in parameters such as leaf area (cm2), fresh leaf weight leaves (g), dry leaf weight (g), total yield (kg plant-1), and total yield (t ha-1). The foliar application of 3.0 and 6.0 ml L-1 of organic fertilizer significantly enhanced all vegetative growth and yield parameters. Similarly, Hefe algae, particularly at a concentration of 8.0 ml L-1, showed positive and significant effects on plant height (cm), number of leaves (leaves plant-1), leaf area (cm2), fresh leaf weight (g), dry leaf weight (g), chlorophyll%, total yield (kg plant-1), and total yield (t ha-1). The combined influence of two factors, namely hybrids and organic fertilizer, hybrids and Hefe algae, and organic fertilizer and Hefe algae, had a significant impact on all vegetative growth and yield parameters. Notably, the interaction among Agassi RZ hybrid, 6.0 ml L-1 organic fertilizer, and 8.0 ml L-1 Hefe algae exhibited the most substantial effects, resulting in the highest plant height (cm), number of leaves (leaves plant-1), fresh leaf weight (g), dry leaf weight (g), total yield (kg plant-1), and total yield (t ha-1).

The study was conducted on 75 Holstein cows imported from Germany to determine the chi-square value, the breeding value, the additive and dominance effect, and the effect of the allele of the HSP70 gene on the variation of total milk production and fat ratio. The HSP70 gene was divided into three bands, each with a length of 922, 935 and 932 bp. Molecular analysis of the gene shows the presence of 12-point mutations distributed in three primers (T825C, G856A, G937A, A1135G, G1185C, G1753A, C1867T, A2017G, C2548T, G2572T, G2688C and T2734C). Mutation T825C changed the amino acid Ata to Lie, and mutation G856A changed the amino acid Aca. to Thr. The result showed that the chi-square value was significant in the mutations (C1867T, A2017G and G2688C) reached (4.25, 3.90 and 4.16). The higher milk production in the CT genotype of the C1867T mutation was 5442.7 kg/season, the higher breeding value, dominance deviation, additive and dominance variance (652.3, 1460, 726856 and 235183) respectively for total milk production. The higher ratio of fat in the CT genotype of the C2548T mutation was (5.04%), and the higher breeding value, dominance deviation, additive and dominance variance (1.30, 1.70, 0.576 and 0.0793), respectively for the ratio of fat.

The study was designed to analyse the impact of capital formation and investment sources on Nigeria's agricultural productivity from the period 1980 - 2021. The time series data were analysed with Malmquist Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and the tobit regression models using DEA, the Total Factor Productivity Change, which quantifies the degree of productivity, was estimated at 1.022, which implies an average productivity progress of 2.2% annually. Again, since the value of technical efficiency change is less than technological change, it implies that the productivity gains are mainly attributable to technological progress instead of efficiency improvements in the periods under the study. The results of tobit regression indicate that domestic capital formation significantly influences agricultural TFP, highlighting the importance of government expenditure on agriculture (GEA) and gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) in enhancing productivity, although with minimal effects. Human capital formation (HCF) also showed positive impacts on Total Factor Productivity TFP, suggesting that improvements in workforce skills and knowledge are crucial for agricultural efficiency. However, FDI exhibited no significant correlation with TFP, implying that local investments are more beneficial than foreign aids in the context of Nigeria's agricultural sector. The findings emphasize the need for robust policy frameworks that align capital disbursements with agricultural production periods to optimize TFP. This study contributes to the discourse on agricultural productivity by providing empirical evidence on the critical role of capital investments in enhancing TFP within developing economies like Nigeria.

This experiment was conducted to estimate the main effect of adding Data palm pollen (DPP) and the form of diet on the productive performance of female quail compliant with: Hen day egg production (HD), Egg weight (EW), Egg mass (EM), Feed intake (FI) and Feed conversion ratio (FCR) and eggs quality of quail compliant with: Shape index (ShI %), shell weight (%), yolk weight (%), albumen weight (%), Yolk index (YI%), Albumen Index (AI%) and Hough unit (HU). For eight weeks, from February 14 to April 13, 2023. Two hindered fifty-two female quail with age about forty-seven days were divided into six treatments, each including forty-two birds with three replicates (four ten quail of each). The treatments were T1: 0% DPP with mash feed form, T2: 0% DPP with pellet feed form, T3: 0.5% DPP with mash feed form, T4: 0.5% DPP with pellet feed form, T5: 1% DPP with mash feed form and T6: 1% DPP with pellet feed form. The quail were fed a productive diet with 2794 kcal/kg energy and 18.39% crude protein, and similar rearing conditions. Results showed there were significant effects in the percentage of HD, EW., EM, and (FCR) in treatments with DPP and pellet feed form when compared with the other treatments, as well as an improvement in egg quality in treatments with DPP and pellet feed form when compared with the other treatments.

Air pollution is one of the serious problems facing the world today because of constant changes in environmental concentration levels of some gases and heavy metals due to humans. Especially when contaminants on the soil and leaves are deposited and transferred to the remainder of the plant. The present study was carried out to assess the theory concentrations of air pollutants in some areas of the city of Baghdad and their effects on the plant (Eucalyptus sp.) by calculating the heavy metal, exposed to roadside vehicles pollution in the city of Baghdad. The gaseous air pollutants levels were measured in five sites namely Al-Doura, Al-Kadhimiya, Palestine Street, and Al-Shaab to represent the urban areas and Al-Rashidiya site to represent the rural area. Included carbon dioxide CO2, sulfur dioxide SO2, and nitrogen dioxide NO2. Also, heavy metal concentrations were measured cadmium Cd and lead Pb. Concentrations of air pollutants, for all studied sites, ranged between 281.33-702.33 ppm, 0.15-3.50 ppm, 0.004-0.532 ppm, 0.132-1.16 μg m-3, 1.75-5.75 μg m-3, for CO2, NO2, SO2, Cd, and Pb, respectively. High concentrations of Cd and Pb were recorded in Eucalyptus sp. (1.51 mg/kg and 5.31 mg kg-1, respectively).

Quisqualis indica L. is an herbaceous plant with many active ingredients that function as antioxidants and anticancer agents. Traditional medicine has long employed Quisqualis indica L. as an anti-inflammatory, anti-diarrheal, and anti-diabetic plant. The study aims to compare the antioxidant activity of leaves and flowers. By employing a particular reagent, a qualitative examination revealed the presence of alkaloids, terpenoids, tannins, flavonoids, and saponins. Flavonoids and phenolic compounds were isolated from leaves and flowers such as hydroxybenzoic acid, gallic acid, catechin, Rutin, kaempferol, and sinapic acid. According to the HPLC analysis, flowers contain a higher percentage of flavonoids and phenolic compounds than leaves. For the ascorbic acid, the antioxidant activity shows that the plant has significant inhibition activity against free radicals in both the leaves and the flowers, and the flowers are more active than the leaves. Also, the antioxidant activity increases with increasing concentration from 25 to 400 mg mL-1; the IC50 values for the flowers were 100 µg mL-1 and 200 µg mL-1 for the leaves.

For enhancing herbicide efficacy a total of 42 soil samples, five species of bacteria that grew the most were selected for regarding other isolates: (Enterobacter cloacae, Serratia fonticola, Aeromonas hydrophila, Pantoea spp., Pseudomonas mendocina). Extracellular extracts of these bacteria were made and then used to manufacture iron oxide nanoparticles biologically. It was observed after measuring the average diameter by AFM (Atomic Force Microscopy) for each NPs prepared were 65.14, 29.21, 63.87, 57.89 and 36.59 nm, respectively. The synthesis conditions were a pH of 7 and 50°C. Based on the AFM values, Serratia fonticola was selected as having the smallest average diameter of 29.21 nm to complete the rest of the techniques (UV-VIS, AFM, FTIR and FE-SEM). The wavelength of Fe2O3NPs by using UV-VIS is 359 nm, Image FE-SEM displays spherical Fe2O3NPs in Nano-cluster form and the average volume is 29.21 nm by AFM. Utilizing the Randomized Complete Block Design methodology with 6 treatments, two factors: Glyphosate herbicide at the recommended dose and three concentrations of the prepared (Fe2O3NPs) from Serratia fonticola were 0.5, 1 and 1.5 g/ml. Halfa plant was controlled using these treatments, and after 30 days, the efficiency of the treatments was measured on a set of characteristics. It was found the lowest number of plants and the highest percentage of control was in the treatment 5 glyphosate and Fe2O3 NPs con. (1.5g/ml) was 1.26, 5.33 and 90%, respectively. The study effectively shows the potential of employing Fe2O3NPs generated from S. fonticola to improve the efficacy of Glyphosate for Cogon management.

Climate change has been identified as a global issue that must be controlled at every possible step. Arunachal Pradesh is considered a biodiversity hotspot that needs to be conserved. Carbon stock assessment of an area, especially forests, has emerged as an important aspect of understanding the carbon storage capacities of trees of that forest, helping to mitigate climate change along with promoting sustainable conservation of biodiversity. Siwalik refers to the foothill part of the Himalayas comprising of small hillocks. It is characterised by rugged and undulating topography. Due to increasing anthropogenic activities, this region is growing fragile and needs to be conserved. This review article presents various aspects of carbon stock assessment, highlighting the benefits and the challenges that hinder the process of carbon stock estimation. Various articles based upon assessing forest biomass and carbon stock of Arunachal Pradesh were reviewed. To provide insights about associated opportunities, futuristic tendencies, and challenges in carbon stock assessment using geospatial technology, the present article was planned. Reach to understand the preferred method of estimating forest biomass and related carbon stock. Also to get to know about the obstacles that was confronted during the assessment of the carbon potential of forests. The article will review and highlight the use of field-based data inventory in combination with Remote Sensing technology for carbon stock assessment of an area along with the challenges, benefits, and futuristic scope related to them.