No abstract

Forage crop productivity has lately reduced in countries located in arid and semi-arid regions worldwide due to intensive consumption and the successive years of drought. This problem is exacerbated by the progress of water scarcity. Thus, the current study is aimed at improving the forage productivity and quality of clitoria as a leguminous fodder crop to be involved in crop rotations under low water supply conditions. As an attempt for facing the drought issue, a two-year (SI and SII) field experiment was conducted to evaluate the influence of irrigation pattern (IP) and plant density (PD) on clitoria morpho-physiological attributes, nutritive value, productivity, and irrigation water-use efficiency (IWUE) in two growth cycles (GCI and GCII). Based on the soil water depletion method, three irrigation patterns of 100% (IP0%, full irrigation), 80% (IP20%), and 60% (IP40%) were applied. The tested plant densities were 33 (PD33), 22 (PD22), and 17 (PD17) plants m−2. Findings revealed that IP0% × PD22 was the efficient treatment for enhancing the physio-biochemical attributes. However, in SI IP0% × PD22 statistically at par (p≥0.05) with IP0% × PD33, IP20% × PD22, and IP20% × PD17 (for chlorophyll content in GCI); IP0% × PD17 and IP20% × PD22 (for leaf relative water content in GCII); and IP0% × PD33, IP20% × PD33, and IP20% × PD22 (for cell membrane stability index in GCII). Along the two seasons, IP40% × PD33 was the potent practice for producing the highest leaf: stem ratio in both GCI (2.07 and 1.78) and GCII (1.18 and 0.96). Under IP40%, PD33 treatment recorded the greatest protein content in both GCI (24.1–27.0%) and GCII (21.7–19.5%) of SI and SII equaling PD22 in GCII (21.2–18.9%) of both seasons and PD17 in both GCI (24.0%) and GCII (21.5%) of SI and GCII (19.3%) of SII. The best aggregate protein yield for SI and SII was obtained under IP20% × PD33 interaction (1.36 and 1.40 t ha−1) without significant difference (p≥0.05) with IP0% × PD33 or IP40% × PD33 interactions. The greatest aggregate dry forage yield was observed in SI under IP0% or IP20% combined with PD33 (7.77 and 7.52 t ha−1) which did not differ significantly (p≥0.05). It could be concluded that irrigation by 80% water of full irrigation was found to be an efficient water-saving tactic coupled with adjusting the plant density of 33 plants m−2, which improved clitoria forage quantitative and qualitative properties, in addition to enhancing IWUE. Since leaf relative water content and cell membrane stability index decreased and proline increased in plant tissues under deficit water, clitoria is plant considered a moderately drought tolerant. Thus, clitoria is a promising plant could be successfully grown under arid agro-ecosystems.

A field trial conducted on barley, lupin and chickpea crops was practiced in sand loamy newly reclaimed soil at the experimental farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Fayoum University, during 2006/07 and 2007/08 seasons. This work was designed to study the effect of nitrogen fertilizer rates (15, 30 and 45 kg N/fed.) on the three crops grown as sole and intercropping (barley/chickpea and barley/lupin). A split split-plot arrangement in randomized complete block design with three replications was used. The obtained results showed that, compared with the barley/chickpea pattern, monocrop chickpea had significantly improved yielding and quality traits. Whereas, intercropping had higher seed index. Fertilization with 45% N (N 3 ) led to increases in vegetative and reproductive and consequently seed yield/fed. However, similar means of height to first branch and seed index were obtained from application of 30 kg N/fed. (N 2 ) which produced the highest harvest index. Compared with monocrop culture, barley/lupin intercropping resulted in significant increases of lupin height traits in addition its superiority for number of branches and seed index but with inferior seed weight/plant. The heaviest weight of seeds/plant and yield/fed. were obtained from soled lupin. Nitrogen application results revealed the adequacy of N 3 for lupin where it produced acceptable seed yield/fed. due to its superior number of pods and harvest index. Except seed and harvest indices all barley traits were significantly affected by intercropping in favour to soled culture. Intercropping barley produced more than half yield/fed. Compared with solid culture. Nitrogen fertilization indicated the suitability of N 2 (30 kg N/fed.) for producing improved yield insignificantly different from that of N 3 . Under cropping patterns with N 2 fertilizer dose, the second yielding combinations were barley/chickpea (12.18 ard) and then barley/lupin (11.08 ard) which represented 61 and 55% of yield of soled barley fertilized with N 3 . These results indicating that chickpea was of better effect than lupin on barley yielding ability and fertilization with the intermediate nitrogen dose (N 2 ) was quite enough for intercropping. Also, with N 2 barley/chickpea and barley/lupin yielded 49% chickpea together with 61% barley with LER of 1.15 as well as 46% lupin together with 55% barley with LER 1.21, respectively, compared with sole culture of each crop. These two intercropping -N 2 combinations increased total production by 15% and 21% respectively.

Abstract-The study was conducted in the farm of Faculty of Agriculture, Demo, Fayoum, Egypt. The soil was of loamy-sand type. During 2006During /2007During and 2007During /2008 season, using a split plot arrangement in randomized complete block design with three replicates, the work was done to determine the effect of adding biofertilizers (Azotobacter + Azospirillum, free nitrogen fixers and Trichoderma a phosphate solubilizing fungi) in combinations with mineral N fertilizer with either recommended dose (N1) or half of this dose (N2) on yield quantity and quality of two canola lines (L6 and H2). The results revealed that the two canola lines were significantly different in plant height, number of branches, number of pods and seed yield /plant. L6 surpassed H2 line for previous traits, in addition to insignificantly higher values of the other traits; T10, T11 and T12 showed superiority and high productivity with saving half of the mineral N recommended dose. For interaction; H2T10, was the best in all traits except for plant height, protein and oil percentages. H2T4, L6T6 and L6T8, for all traits except for seed index and oil percentage. The highest productivity recoded by H2T10 (N2+Trichoderma +Azotobacter), H2T11 (N2 + Azotobacter+ Azospirllum) and L6T8 (N2+ Azotobacter) which outyielded their corresponding control by 39.3, 31.8 and 23.0% a result of using only 50% of the recommended dose of N-fertilizer (N2). The latter combination was also superior in protein content (26.5%). These three combinations could be recommended as alternative method for canola fertilization, where they had economic and safely advantages.

T WO FIELD experiments were carried out at the Experimental Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture (Demo), Fayoum University, during 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 seasons, to study the effect of row spacing and weed control treatments on yield and its components of wheat plants and its associated weeds. The experimental design was split-plot arrangement in randomized complete block design with three replications where row spacing was considered as the main plot, weeds control treatments arranged in the sub-plot. Results indicated that row spacing treatments were significantly on annual weeds (g/m 2) and yield components in both seasons. Narrow row spacing at 15cm gave the highest values of plant height at harvest (cm), number of spikes/m 2 , grain and biological yield (ton/fad) in both seasons. The results indicated that the narrowest row spacing under this study (15cm) decreased the dry weight of total weeds by 42.22 and 43.29g/m 2 in first and second seasons, respectively, compared to wide row spacing. Weed control treatments were significant on yield and yield components in both seasons. The herbicides treatment with Granstar+Topik gave the highest values for all traits under these study in both seasons. The interaction between row spacing and weed control treatments were reacted significantly on annual weeds (g/m 2) in both seasons. Wheat sown under narrow row spacing 15cm and applying Granstar+Topik herbicides achieved the best crop of wheat under the experiment conditions.