Aims and Scope

Citrus is one of the most important fruit crop of Pakistan in terms of area and production. Pakistan ranks 7th according to area and 13th according to production. While comparing with leading citrus producing nations like Brazil, USA, China and Spain, citrus production of Pakistan is far behind and increasing at an average annual rate of only 5%. Brazil holds the 35% share in total citrus production of world while share of Pakistan is only 1.46%. Citrus cultivars are propagated asexually through grafting and budding on specific rootstocks. Rootstocks play very important role in Citriculture industry and decide success or failure of citrus cultivation. Under a specific and uniform set of climatic and soil conditions, citrus rootstocks tend to vary in their compatibility with a specific scion cultivar. The rootstocks have significant influence overall growth of tree including vegetative growth, mineral uptake, physiological performance of scion cultivar and reproductive growth of scion cultivars. The role of rootstocks in manipulating or improving the performance of citrus scion cultivars has been discussed in present review. Keywords: Citrus, rootstocks, physiology, vegetative, reproductive.

orchard, we selected abandoned pomelo orchard (AM) and traditional pomelo orchard (TM) to investigate the characteristics of pest community structure by netting, observation and sticky board trapping methods and classified and identified through the methods of morphology and molecular biology from May to October in 2020. The results showed that the amount of species was larger in AM orchard, while the individuals of pests were less than those in the TM orchard.The values of Margalef's index, Shannon-wiener index and Pielou index were all showed bigger in TM than those in AM, while the Simpson index was smaller, all of which with significant differences (P<0.05). The absolute advantage insects were Dacus dorsalis (19.75%), Dialeurodes citri (13.28%) and Lucilia sericata (10.15%) in TM orchard and Dacus dorsalis (75.87%) and Rhynchocoris humeralis (14.51%) in AM orchard. There was significant difference between the two community relative stability indexes (P<0.05). The similarity index of insect communities in both orchards was in the range of 0.18 to 0.40, which indicated moderately dissimilar to extremely dissimilar. The richness, diversity and evenness of insect community in TM orchard were bigger than those in AM orchard, which demonstrated that the ecological environment was more stable with more reasonable insect community structure and less particularly advantageous pest occurrences. This also indicated that it is important to utilize scientific management measures to create a harmonious and stable ecological environment, maintain appropriate diversity of ground cover plants, avoid abuse of chemical pesticides, build pest populations at reasonable thresholds and achieve the goal of improving quality of fruits and increasing income for planters. Keywords: Vegetation, Pests, community structure, diversity, ecological control

Fusarium oxysporum is the causative agent of tomato wilt and is an important disease of tomato crops worldwide. Management through chemical fungicides causes serious environmental damage and human health. This study assesses the antifungal potential of biochemical compounds of Azadirachta indica and Balanites aegyptiaca seeds extracts identified by GC-MS analytical method against F. oxysporum. Acetone, methanol and aqueous extracts of A. indica and B. aegyptiaca at 15, 30 and 60 ?L/mL concentrations and synthetic fungicide (3.33 g/L) were tested in vitro in triplicate. Mycelial growth and Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC50, MIC90) were evaluated 8 days after inoculation (DAI). As results, 55 and 34 phytochemical compounds were identified in seed extracts of A. indica and B. aegyptiaca respectively. Methanol extract of A. indica and B. aegyptiaca at 60 ?L/mL concentration showed a total inhibition (100%) of F. oxysporum mycelial growth. Low MIC50 values were obtained with aqueous extract of A. indica (8.77 ?L/mL) and methanol extract of B. aegyptiaca (17.91 ?L/mL). The tentative action mode showed that the methanol extract of both plants induced wall lysis of F. oxysporum. These results suggest that A. indica and B. aegyptiaca seed extracts have potent antifungal activity and could be used as an alternative to control F. oxysporum. Keywords: Neem, desert date, bioactive compounds, mycelial growth, antifungal activity, Fusarium oxysporum

Proper feed optimization is vital for the health and growth of goats, with fodder quality being a central factor. This study evaluated the impact of feeding goats guinea grass mixed with various tree legumes on their growth and feed consumption. Nine upgraded goats were used for this research, divided equally among three treatment groups. Each treatment was repeated three times, with one goat per repetition. The experimental treatments included guinea grass paired with Gliricidia (T1), Indigofera (T2), or Ipil-ipil (T3). The results showed that the T2 (Guinea grass + Indigofera tinctoria) combination resulted in the highest feed intake at 29.94kg over five weeks, a finding significant with a p-value of 0.04. Nutrient analysis demonstrated a significant intake of crude protein for T2 with a p-value of 0.038. Moreover, T2 exhibited the most substantial total weight gain (3016.67g) and an average daily gain of 86.19g/day, with p-values of <0.001 and 0.013 respectively. In conclusion, the mix of Guinea grass and Indigofera tinctoria offers the best results in terms of feed intake and goat growth performance. Keywords: Goat feed optimization, guinea grass, Indigofera, Gliricidia, Leucaena

Mass selection is a breeding method used to increase the productivity of two Madura local maize. The study used a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD), repeated three times with ten genotypes of treatment. The plant material used was ten genotypes of the 0th to 4th generation mass selection on two Madura local maize (cultivars: Tambin and elos), i.e., T-C0, T-C1, T-C2, T-C3, T- C4, E-C0, E-C1, E-C2, E-C3, E-C4. Heritability values in the broad sense of the ten observed characters have a high category, ranging from 0.65-0.97. Production per hectare has a significant positive correlation with the character of ear length, ear circumference, ear diameter, seed weight per plant, and weight of 1000 seeds. Mass selection on two Madura local maize for four cycles showed an increase in production of 611.20 kg/ha or an average selection response of 145.16 in the tambin cultivar, while in the elos cultivar, there was an increase in production of 754.55 kg/ha or an average selection response of 179.21. Mass selection of tambin and elos cultivars in four cycles decreased days to tasseling by -1.33 days (the average selection response is -0.22) and -1.00 days (the average selection response is -0.16), respectively. Mass selection is an effective breeding method for assembling maize varieties with early maturity and high production on tambin and elos cultivars. Keywords: Heritability, the correlation between characters, selection response, mass selection, madura local maize.

in Africa. This article evaluates climate change's impact on aggregate agriculture, crop, livestock, and fishery production in Burkina Faso. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model was applied, and data were collected from 1990 to 2019. Considering agriculture at the aggregate level, the findings have shown an insignificant effect of rainfall and temperature but a positive impact of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the long run. Only rainfall negatively affects agriculture in Burkina Faso in the short run. For crop production, only CO2 is found to have a short-run negative effect. The findings indicated that temperature has a short-term favorable effect on livestock production, whereas CO2 benefits it in the long term. The long-run time series analysis of fishery production has indicated a detrimental impact of rainfall. In the short term, temperature, rainfall, and CO2 have a detrimental impact on fishery production in Burkina Faso. However, CO2 is found to have a short-run negative impact. Promoting and facilitating livestock production and irrigation systems and enhancing climate system information (CSI) could lessen agriculture's sensitivity to global warming. Keywords: Agriculture and sub-sectors, climate change, ARDL, Burkina Faso, west africa

Mixed function oxidases groups of enzymes in insects play an established role in detoxification of insecticides and xenobiotics. It is hard to get rid of Leucinodes orbonalis from brinjal because of typical feeding habit of the pest and evolution of high degree of resistance to all the newly evolved insecticides In the present study six chemicals i.e. two synergists (Pipernyl butoxide, Diethyl malate), two antioxidants (Hydroquinone, N-Propagyloxy phthalimide) and two plant oils (Pongamia oil, Callophyllum inophyllum oil) were evaluated for their synergistic activity against chlorantraniliprole, flubendiamide and profenophos. In two populations ofL. orbonalis collected from two diversified insecticide used area (Bhubaneswar, Angul) of Odishaduring the Kharif 2021-22. Pipernyl butoxide (PBO) applied at 10 µg per larvae with the help of Hamilton glass syringe (Hamilton Company) with three insecticides, showed highest synergistic ratio. Angul population showed higher synergistic ratio (10.22, 25.00, 33.33) as compared to Bhubaneswar population 2.33, 3.50 and 4.70. After PBO, Diethyl malate (DEM) and N-Propagyloxy phthalimide (PP) showed second and third highest synergist ratio in both Angul and Bhubaneswar, while both the plant oils and Hydroquinone were found to be insignificant. Keywords: Mixed function oxidases, Detoxification, Insecticides, Xenobiotics, Leucinodes orbonalis, Resistance evolution, Synergistic ratio, plant oils.

This study was conducted at one of the orchards in the Abi Al-Khasib region of Basrah Governorate during the 2022 growing season to determine the extent of the response of the date palm Hillawi cultivar to spray with amino acids (Glycine, Arginine, and Tryptophan) concentrations of 1000, 1500, and 2000 mg. L-1 per acid, to determine the effect of these acids on some vegetative and fruitful growth characteristics. Showed results of the study showed significant superiority of s amino acid glycine at a concentration of 2000 mg. L-1 in leaf length, leaf width, number of new leaves, chlorophyll, carbohydrates, length and weight of fruit, weight of fleshy part of the fruit weight bunch and reducing sugars. (4.627m, 5.477cm, 17.67, 12.240 mg.100g-1, 49.37 mg.g-1, 3.870cm, 6.057g, 4.817g, 6.823kg, 50.76%) respectively compared with control. Arginine concentration 2000 mg. L-1 significantly in total protein of leaves, and total sugar and soluble solids of fruits. (4.933 mg.g-1, 60.90%, 70.42%) respectively. A tryptophan concentration of 2000 mg. L-1 was significant to fruit size (6.590 cm3). A tryptophan concentration of 1000 mg l was significant to sucrose on fruits (11.260%). Amino acid supplements have a significant impact on plant development and production. Combining different amino acids yields better quality and quantity of fruit. Keywords: Amino acids, vegetative characteristics, fruit characteristics, chemical characteristics, bunch weight.

Financial services to the agricultural sub-sector in Nigeria and particularly to small farmers is difficult because financial institutions have specific requirements that must be met. Many small farmers are hardly serviced and this has affected the growth of the sector. Nevertheless, understanding the nature of the sector and peculiarities of categories of farmers will help build an efficient financial system that is beneficial to farmers and financial institutions alike. This study examined attributes of formal financial institutions smallholder crop farmers prefer for better financial services in Nigeria. Data were elicited from the six agro-ecological zones of the country using the extension officers in Agricultural Development Projects (ADP) of the different states. A total of 399 smallholder crop farmers were sampled and the study used the conjoint technique and multinomial logistic technique in analyzing the data. Results revealed that financial services such as loan, insurance, account opening, credit/debit cards, and funds transfer, were highly rated and preferred by most smallholder crop farmers. However, these farmers were more inclined to loans that were customized (flex loans), insurance claims due within 90 days, savings account opening, cash points for credit/ debit cards within a kilometer of their residence, and funds transferred in 24 hours. Conjoint analysis of the key variables showed that funds transfer within 24 hours was the only significant variable; and the interaction effect (trade-off effect) of this variable with others revealed that, an average smallholder crop farmer would rather prefer loan that is customized, insurance claim within 90 days, and a cash point within a kilometer of his residence to funds that would take longer than 24hrs to arrive. The multinomial result showed that a farmer’s level of education, gender, and farm size were key determinants of an average farmer’s choice of a financial institution. The study, therefore, recommends that, financial institutions should optimize their services in terms of funds transfer and accessibility, and should emphasize only services that are important so as to operate maximally. JEL Classification: Q14, G21, G22, G29, G41. Keywords: Formal financial services, Nigeria, smallholder crop farmers, conjoint analysis, multinomial logistic.

The study centered on (ICTs) application and its relationship to the job performances of extension workers in North central Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was administered to 291 extension workers. A sampling method with a mixture of techniques was adopted. Descriptive statistics, Z test, Pearson correlation, and Factor analysis were employed. A significant majority 87.6 % often used Facebook, 86.9% What’s app, and 84.2% internet sources/mobile/smartphone. Factors affecting ICTs application, Factor 1 having high loading were lack of availability of professionals for training, gender issues, lack of Government intervention, and lack of monitoring and evaluation from the government. Factor 2 with higher loading was the need for ICTs infrastructure and inadequate availability of electricity. Factor 3 with high loading was high equipment cost and poor income. Among the three factors that contributed most to explaining the total challenges of ICTs training and application is factor 1 with about 20.5%, followed by factor 2 which accounted for 18.6%. There was a significant difference between gender and performances at a 0.05 level. There was a positive and moderate effect and significant correlation at 0.01 level between ICTs application (r=0.309) and job performance at P<0.01. ICTs application also had a small effect and Positive and significant association with the Quantity of work, quality of work, and speed of work at a 1% level of significance. It is recommended that the Government should intervene through equality professional training and set up a good monitoring team to encourage effective ICTs applications directed towards organizational development. Keywords: ICTs, application, relationship, performances, extension workers

Eimeria is a protozoan parasite of many wild and domestic animals including buffaloes resulting in a widespread disease known as coccidiosis that may impact production, well fare and health status. This study was designed to identify the prevalence of Eimeria spp. and E. bovis in buffaloes using conventional molecular technique. An overall 281 buffaloes of different sexes and ages of many rural areas in Wasit province were subjected during November (2022) to February (2023) to direct collect of fecal samples from the rectum. After molecular examination of all fecal samples by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the results showed that 25.98 and 35.62% buffaloes were positive to Eimeria spp. and E. bovis, respectively. Furthermore, significant prevalence of Eimeria spp. being higher in ? 1 year than older ones and Al-Kut than other study region, but not between females and males; while, E. bovis was more prevalent in ? 1 year, Al-Kut and Al-Hay, and females. Additionally, values of odds ratio and relative risk were elevated significantly in ? 1 year female buffaloes of Al-Kut region. From our point of view, this represents the first molecular study identifies E. bovis in buffaloes from Iraq. In conclusion, molecular based-PCR revealed a high efficacy in identification of E. bovis, and can be used in epidemiological investigations of coccidiosis in entire country. However, we suggest that the DNA sequence variation in ITS1 region of different Eimeria species should be conducted to view genetic mutations as well as genetic association with other worldwide strains. Also, extensive investigation is necessary to bridge the knowledge gap and providing for diagnosis this parasite in buffaloes as well as in other field animals. Keywords: Coccidiosis, PCR, Bubalus bubalis, calf, wasit province. Iraq.

Recently, the natural rubber industry has grown to be one of Malaysia's most significant economic sectors. However, Standard Malaysia Rubber (SMR20) prices have frequently fluctuated. To predict the price situation in the future, it is crucial to construct a price prediction or forecasting model. As such, a study on forecasting Malaysian natural rubber prices over the next ten years needs to be done. The data gained for this study were from Malaysian Rubber Board covering 1995 to 2022. Univariate forecasting methods such as Holt's Winter, Double Exponential Smoothing, Naive with Trend and Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) were used. The best method to forecast natural rubber prices was decided based on the lowest measurement error. From the analysis, ARIMA was chosen because it has the smallest measurement error to predict natural rubber prices over the next decade. As a result, Malaysia’s natural rubber prices showed an upward trend. Keywords: Natural rubber price, forecasting, autoregressive integrated moving average, measurement forecasting error

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) pose a serious threat to humans worldwide, known to transmit various pathogens that cause infectious diseases and arboviruses, which are viral diseases such as chikungunya, dengue, Rift Valley fever, yellow fever, malaria, elephantiasis, Murray Valley encephalitis, Japanese encephalitis, Saint Louis encephalitis virus, West Nile virus, Eastern equine encephalomyelitis virus, Highlands J virus, Everglades virus, and crosse encephalitis virus. The emergence of widespread insecticide resistance and the potential adverse environmental problems associated with synthetic insecticides have highlighted the need for alternative methods to control the spread of mosquito populations, making it an important research priority. Safe and innovative tools, such as plant-based repellents, have recently been implemented to enhance mosquito management strategies. Plant-based repellents play a crucial role in the development of natural products as alternatives to chemical control methods. Plant extracts and essential oils, which are biodegradable, target-specific, eco-friendly, and have potent effects against mosquitoes, are reviewed in this article. These plant-based repellents offer promising potential for effective mosquito management, providing a safer and environmentally friendly approach to control mosquito populations and reduce the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. Properly formulated and used in combination with other integrated vector management strategies, plant-based repellents can contribute to sustainable and effective mosquito control

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) seeds were tested to discover how different priming techniques affected their germination rates, a pot experiment was conducted by the combination procedures for seed priming with magnetic fields (magneto-priming) and hormonal priming seed with gibberellic acid (AG3) or ascorbic acid (AsA). Final germination percentage (FGB), mean germination time (MGT), germination rate index (GRI), coefficient of the velocity of germination (CVG), mean daily germination (MDG), peak value (PV), and germination value (GV) are all included as germination metrics. Among the two durations of exposure time to magneto-priming used, the significantly highest FGB, GRI, CVG, MDG, PV and GV were reported in the primed with the time duration 1 h (MP2), significantly lowest MGT for MGT in days. Whereas among the two hormonal primings used, GA3 recorded the highest increases upon the unprimed seeds for FGB, GRI, CVG, MDG, PV, and GV, in addition, significantly lowest MGT for MGT in days. However, when magnetic seed is combined shows the highest increase rates compared to the control treatment for time exposure for 1 h (MP2) with GA3 or AsA in all studied traits, in addition to the lowest rates decrease in MGT. Overall, the findings imply that seed priming by magnetic field and hormone priming via GA3 or AsA may be promising and practical priming techniques because of their favorable impacts on some physiological sorghum characteristics. Keywords: Wheat, physiological parameters, gibberellic acid, UV-C radiation, hydro-priming.

This study was conducted on the five to six years old offshoots of date palm (Jebjab) cultivar planted in sustainable land, using an environment contaminated with heavy elements, with irrigation water contaminated with heavy elements Pb(NO3)2 300 mg.kg-1 and cadmium chloride CdCl2 3 mmol, as well as the comparison treatment. Then the treatment was with some polyamine compounds Putrescine 500 mg L-1, coumaric acid 500 mg L-1, and a zeolite compound at a rate of 10 kg Palm-1, in addition to the comparison treatment in the form of ground addition to the soil of the off shoots samples were taken from palm fronds, samples were dried using Freeze-dryer (Lyophilization technique), the protein was extracted from samples, and protein migration was carried out on Polyacrylamide gel using Slab-Electrophoresis method in the presence of SDS denaturants. The molecular weights of proteins were estimated and plotted using PhotoCapt Mw. The results of the study showed that the protein pattern of the leaves show up that all the trees of the study had taken part (identical) with the first protein bundle and the fifth protein bundle on the polyacrylamide gel, as the molecular weights of the proteins of the first bundle ranged between (222.136-243.750) kDa, while the molecular weights of the proteins of the bundle ranged. The fifth is between (24.843-50.386) kDa. This coincidence or participation in the molecular weights of the protein bundles of all the study trees may indicate that these trees belong to one plant origin (which is the Jebjab variety), as these plants share close molecular weights. Keywords: Date Palm, molecular weights, polyacrylamide gel, polyamine compounds

A field experiment was conducted in the fall season of 2022 in the village of Aday in Baquba District - Diyala Governorate, on the mash plant. Vigna radaita a local vegetable cultivar in clay soil in order to study the effect of biofertilization with Azotobacter chroococcum and Mycorhiza fungi (Glomus mosseae) and organic fertilization with humic acid and the interaction between them on the vegetative characteristics of the mung bean plant. The experiment was carried out according to the randomized complete block design (R.C.B.D) and with three replications. It included two factors, the first was biological fertilization, which included four treatments, namely (without addition, the addition of Azotobacter, the addition of Mycorrhiza, and the addition of Azotobacter + Mycorrhiza) and the second factor was organic fertilization, which included four concentrations of humic acid 0 and 3 And 6 and 9 ml.l-1. The following are the most important results that were reached: - The superiority of biofertilization treatment by adding Azotobacter and Mycorrhizae in the yield and its components, such as the number of pods, the weight of 1000 seeds, the yield of one plant, the overall yield, obtained, Azolobacter and mycorrhizae were introduced to the biofertilization process., 130.83 pods.plant-1, 29.26 gm., 35.57 g.m. plant-1, 2341.08 kg.h-1. - The treatment of organic fertilization with humic acid at a concentration of 9 ml.L-1 was superior in giving it the highest mean in the number of pods, the weight of 1000 seeds, yield per plant, overall yield, which reached 127.14 pod.plant-1, 27.76 gm., 36.2 gm. plant-1, 2221.2 kg.h-1. Keyword: Biofertilization, azotobacter, organic fertilization, humic acid, mycorrhizal, Vigna radiata

Businesses quality in the agricultural sector that are involved in the livestock industry are particularly susceptible to negative economic or social effects. Breeders and farmers, particularly those who raise beef cattle will be affected by continues and incidentally price changes or currency exchange rates because these factors have a significant impact on the beef cattle farming industry. The Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of a region changes as a result of population expansion. This study's goal was to examine how population growth and economic development affect the welfare of beef cattle breeders in West Java Province, with a particular emphasis on four (four) districts that are important hubs for small-scale livestock production: Subang Regency, Purwakarta Regency, Bogor Regency, and Sukabumi Regency. The quantitative methodology of this study analyzes numerical data modified by statistical techniques and literature review. The macroeconomic variables of population and breeder welfare are the focus of the literature review. The West Java Central Bureau of Statistics, the Office responsible for Animal Husbandry and Health Functions for Subang, Purwakarta, Bogor, and Sukabumi Regencies, as well as data from relevant journals and articles, are all sources of secondary data. Data analysis was conducted applying multiple regression analysis techniques. The study's findings concluded that the wellbeing of breeders in Indonesia's West Java Province was significantly impacted by population expansion and economic development. Keywords: Animal farming economy, beef cattle breeders, welfare, economic growth.

The study was conducted in the Republic of Iraq, Anbar Governorate, during the 2019, to find out the effect of pollen the Ghanami Ahmar (C1), Ghanamy akhdar (C2), the samesmi (C3) and the Khikri adi (C4) pollen and the concentration (Cu, Zn, K, Fe and Na) in date palm fruits of the dominant varieties; Albarben (B1), Al tabarzl (B2) and Al- Khatibi (B3). the results of the study showed that the use of different types of pollen mentioned showed statistically significant differences (P?0.05) in the concentration of some elements in the fruits of the studied date palm cultivars, as the results of the study showed a significant difference in the concentration of Cu element in the fruits of the date palm variety B2 fertilized with pollen different stallions an overlap of Cu concentration was also recorded, and there were significant differences in all the fruits of the studied date palm cultivars and pollinated with the pollen cultivars, the results of the overlap for the concentration of Zn element in the fruits of date palm cultivars inoculated with Stallion pollen C1,C2 and C3 showed that there were significant differences, as significant differences in the concentration of Zn in the fruits of date palm cultivars inoculated with the pollen of the studied stallions, The results showed that there were significant differences for the concentration of the element K in the fruits of the B2 variety and fertilized with the different pollen varieties used in the study and the overlap record for the concentration of K in the date palm fruits inoculated with pollen C1,C2 and C3 the presence of significant differences between the fruits of these cultivars, The results also showed that there were significant differences in the concentration of Fe for the fruits of palm B1, B2 and B3 inoculated with stallion pollen, and the overlap record for the concentration of Fe for the fruits of date palm cultivars inoculated with the mentioned stallion pollen significant differences, The results of the experiment showed that there were significant differences in the concentration of Na element in the fruits of date palm B2 and B3 inoculated with the pollen of the stallion, and the interaction record of the concentration of Na between the fruits of the varieties inoculated with pollen C1,C2,C3 and C4 there were significant differences, where the aim of the study was Determination of the concentration of minerals in the fruits of three cultivars of palms grown in the region.

Climate change is affecting all habitats and faucets of life, rural as well urban environs. Urban localities are the main contributors to global warming due to the carbon emissions released through human intervention in the climate system. City dwellers also become the victims of climate change and natural vagaries, Climate change disasters. In order to reduce these risks, cities have adopted strategies to enhance their resilience to climate change disasters and to create resilience. In this context, the United Nations has adopted several legal tools, most notably the Framework Convention on Climate Change. However, these tools have not been effective due to the minimal role of the organizations responsible. Also, the inability of major nations to meet their obligations in decreasing greenhouse gas emissions constitutes a primary contributor to the hazards endangering the survival of urban habitants. The aim of the research study was also to demonstrate the impact of resilience in reducing climate change and mitigating its effects, thereby increasing the elasticity of the environmental system. Keywords: Environment, climate change, resilience, disasters mitigation and adaptation.

Due to climate change in recent years, there has been an increasing water deficit during the winter wheat growing period due to reduce rivers water and low precipitation. Consequently, there is increasing thoughts to grow crops depending on well water under desert conditions were crops management completely different. Field experiment was conducted in winter session of 2021-2022. The aim was to evaluate the production of wheat cultivars grown under desert condition at Alahais south of Basrah, Iraq (30°46'89.07"N 46°99'36.77"E). Moreover, two seeding rate and two levels of ethephon have been applied. The experiment include three factors, eleven wheat cultivars, two rate of seeding (140 and 200 kg ha-1) and two concentration of ethephon (0 and 2.25 ml l-1). Factorial experiment was applied (11x2x2) according to randomized complete block design with three replicates. The area of experimental unit was 4x3 m2. The results revealed that, wheat varieties differed significantly in all most traits measured. Alrasheed variety produced higher grain yield, higher grains spike-1 and 1000 grain weight by 4.077 t ha-1, 56.18 grains spikes-1, and 43.17 g respectively. Moreover, increased seeding rate from 100 to 200 kg ha-1 lead to increase spike m-2 and grain yield by 12.53% and 11.59% respectively. In addition foliar application of ethephon lead to enhance spike m-2, grains spike-1 and grain yield by 5.31%, 6.81% and 11.15% respectively. For the interaction effect, the results revealed that, the increased of seeding rate improved grain yield for all wheat varieties. Moreover, the application of ethephon improved grain yield for all wheat varieties. Alrasheed variety under 140 and 200 kg ha-1 seeding rate with foliar application of 2.25 ml l-1 ethephon gave highest grain yield by 4.321 and 4.235 t ha-1 respectively. In addition Alrasheed under seeding rate of 200 kg ha-1 and ethephon foliar application produced highest biological yield by 14.261 t ha-1. The results showed that foliar application of ethephon compensate the increase of seeding rate from 140 to 200 kg ha-1 for grain yield of some wheat varieties. Keyword: Wheat verities, desert agriculture, ethephon, grain yield, seeding rate

This study explores the effects of salinity and drought stress on the anatomical characteristics of local orange seedlings. The research was conducted at the Agricultural Research Station of the College of Agriculture, University of Basra, during the 2022-2023 agricultural season. Salinity stress was imposed using three concentrations of irrigation water (0, 3, and 6 ds.m-1), while drought stress was implemented by varying irrigation frequency (daily, weekly, and monthly). The anatomical traits examined included cuticle layer thickness, epidermal cell thickness, mesophyll cell diameter, vascular bundle diameter, tannin cell diameter, and vascular bundle sheath thickness. A recent study found that salinity stress in irrigation water and drought have a negative impact on the anatomical characteristics of local orange seedlings. Salinity (6 ds/m) and drought (monthly irrigation) led to an increase in the thickness of the cuticle layer (2.50 and 2.03 µm) and the diameter of the tannin cells (7.74 and 6.67 µm). These treatments also caused a decrease in the thickness of the epidermal cells, the diameter of the cells of the mesophyll tissue, the vascular bundle, and the thickness of the sheath of the vascular bundle. The study also found that the interaction between salinity stress and drought led to an even greater decrease in the anatomical characteristics of the seedlings. The interaction between salinity (6 ds/m) and drought (monthly irrigation) caused a decrease in the thickness of the epidermal cells, the diameter of the cells of the mesophyll tissue, the vascular bundle, and the thickness of the sheath of the vascular bundle to 2.57, 5.40, 33.23, and 20.11 µm, respectively. Keywords: Anatomical characteristics, drought, environmental stresses, orange seedlings, salinity.

A field experiment was carried out in one of the agricultural fields belonging to Al-Khalis district / Diyala governorate, which is located 14 km north of Baquba district, during the autumn season of 2022, in soil with clay loam texture in order to study the effect of organic fertilization with humic and fulvic acid and spraying the amino acid proline on vegetative groswth. for sunflower plants (Helianthus annuus L.) A factorial experiment was carried out with two factors according to the randomized complete block design (RCBD) and with three replications. The first factor was sprayed with humic acid and fulvic acid at concentrations of 6 gm.L.-1 For each of them as well as the control treatment, the second agent was sprayed with proline acid at four levels: 0, 10, 20, and 30 mg.L-1 The results showed that there was a significant superiority when adding humic acid + fulvic acid at a concentration of 6g.L-1 In the average characteristic of plant height, stem diameter, plant dry weight, chlorophyll index, leaf area of the plant, and the number of leaves per plant, which were 160.60 cm, 21.57 mm, 174.25 g, and 57.43 SPAD and 687.31 cm2 and 38,81 leaves. Plant-1, respectively. The results showed that there was a significant superiority when spraying with proline at a concentration of 30 mg.L-1 In the mean of plant height, stem diameter, plant dry weight, chlorophyll index, plant leaf area, and number of leaves per plant, which were 166.95 cm, 21.10 mm, 180.00 g, 54.07 SPAD, and 704.01 cm.2 and 40,05 leaves. Plant-1 respectively, the results showed that the interaction between the levels of foliar fertilization with humic and fulvic acids and foliar fertilization with proline acid had a significant effect on all traits, as the overlap treatment gave 6 ml.L-1 Humic + Fulvic X30 mg.L-1 Proline has the highest mean of plant height, stem diameter, plant dryness, chlorophyll index, leaf area of the plant, and number of leaves per plant, which were 171.80 cm, 23.76 mm, 197.00 g,64.23 SPAD, and 802.82 cm.2 And 41,80 leaves-1 respectively. Keywords: Humic acid, fulvic acid, proline acid, organic acids, foliar nutrition, sunflower