Excessive application of fertilizers has become a major issue in croplands of intensive agricultural systems in China, resulting in severe non-point source pollution; thus, reduction in the use of chemical fertilizers has received significant attention. Improving the nutrient storage capacity of soils or substrates is an effective approach for solving this problem. Humic acids (HA) are excellent soil conditioners. Thus, in the present study, their ability to improve the physico-chemical properties of three substrates with different textures was evaluated. HA treatments included 1% HA root application in three different types of substrates, including pure sand, pure cocopeat, and a mixture of sand:cocopeat (1:1, v/v) and their relative controls. We examined the morphological parameters of cucumber seedlings as well as pH buffering capacity (pHBC), total organic carbon (TOC), organic matter (OM), cation exchange capacity (CEC), and nutrient storage capacity of the three substrates. The results show that HA application improved the morphological parameters of cucumber seedlings (plant height, stem diameter, and biomass) in pure cocopeat and cocopeat-sand mixture treatments. On the contrary, HA addition had harmful effects on the cucumber seedlings cultivated in sand due to the low pHBC of sand. The seedlings cultivated in pure cocopeat showed the best morphological parameter performances among the seedlings grown in the three substrates. Furthermore, pHBC, TOC, OM, and CEC were enhanced by HA application. Incorporation of HA improved ammonium (NH4+) and potassium (K+) storage capacity while decreasing phosphorus (P) storage. Pure cocopeat had the highest pHBC, TOC, OM, CEC, and nutrient storage capacity among the three substrates. In conclusion, mixing 1% HA into substrates promoted cucumber growth, improved substrate properties, and enhanced fertilizer use efficiency. Pure cocopeat is a suitable substrate for cucumber cultivation, and mixing cocopeat with sand amends the substrate properties and consequently improves plant growth.

This study aims to evaluate the effect of hydroponic barley (HB) by substituting control diet with 25% HB with or without enzymes on rabbit performance, nutrient digestibility, and economic efficiency. A total number of 60 growing male HyPlus rabbits (average body weight 669 ± 12 g, 30 days of age) were utilized in the present study. The rabbits were randomly assigned to three groups (n = 20 rabbits per group). The first group served as a control (C). The other two groups were fed the control diet substituted with 25% hydroponic barley HB (group CHB), and the control diet substituted with 25% HB added with 0.5 g/kg enzymes (CHBE). The experiment lasted for 56 days. The results revealed that daily body weight gain improved (P < 0.05) by 18.64% and 23.94%, and feed conversion ratio improved by 3.74% and 17.91% than control, respectively, during 30–86 days of age in CHB and CHBE groups. The economic efficiency was improved (P < 0.05) by 32.17% and 39.60% in CHB and CHBE diets, respectively, compared to control; and nutrient digestibility, and mineral retention of growing rabbits were also improved (P < 0.05) by substituting HB with or without enzymes compared to control diet. Overall, the best rabbit performances were observed in both CHB and CHBE groups. In conclusion, these results suggest that substituting 25% of concentrated control diet by hydroponic barley with or without enzymes have positive effects in a sustainable way on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and economic efficiency of growing rabbits.

Application of agriculture hydroponic technology with a view to reduce the gap between the animal nutritional requirements and availability of feed ingredients create an important role in animal and rabbit production. Hydroponic fodder production such as barley is an alternative technology to cultivate fodder which provide the growing nutrients requirement for livestock feed with suitable prices, high quantity, a short growth period, a small land for production, a clean environment, water efficiently and reduces cultivate fodder resources. This study was investigated with view to give an overview on the possible role of hydroponic barley (HB) as a feed replacement in rabbit ration. Various scientific published research articles were used HB as a feed replacement in rabbit ration. The most observed and analyzed productive and reproductive performance, nutrient digestibility and physiological responses. Positive effect of feeding HB was observed on serum metabolic profile and microbial count of caecum of rabbits. However, the economics and nutritive values of hydroponic production system should be carefully estimated. This review provides an overview of and illustrates the positive effects of HB as a feed replacement in rabbit diets and their potential effects on productive performance, economic return, nutrient digestibility, microbiology and gut health of growing rabbits.

rganic zinc-binding with probiotic (Biogen-Zn ® ; BZ) is a Zn-methionine combined with Bacillus subtilis capable of improving zinc bioavailability, animal health and ameliorating reproductive stress. The present experiment was performed to evaluate the effect of addition BZ to she-camels on their physiological status, reproductive and productive traits under semi-arid Egyptian conditions. Twenty pregnant Maghrebi camels (4-6 parities) with average body weight of 519.96±19.98 kg were randomly divided into four groups (n=5 in each) according to live body weight and parity. The 1 st group, camels were fed basal ration and served as control (without supplementation). The 2 nd , 3 rd and 4 th groups of camels were fed the basal ration supplied with BZ at doses of 5, 7, and 10 g BZ/head/day, respectively. BZ was added daily during a period from the first day of the 10 th month of pregnancy period and continued up to seven months of lactation period. Blood samples were collected biweekly during different she-camels' reproductive stages at 10 th monthly of pregnancy, at 1 st day after calving, and during seven months of lactation period. The results indicated that BZ significantly increased glucose concentrations in serum, total protein, globulin in dose dependent manner. While, serum concentrations of cholesterol, triglycerides, low density lipoprotein and very low-density lipoprotein were decreased in treated groups compared to the control one. Liver and kidney functions were improved at different sampling stages with 10 g of BZ treatment. Moreover, camels treated with 10 g of BZ revealed a significant effect on placental characteristics fluids including, the shortest duration drop of placenta and the heaviest weights of placenta treated group. As well as, live body weight at 1 st service, number of services/conception and service period length during the post-partum period were improved by BZ supplementation. In conclusion, organic zincbinding with probiotic (BZ) has a potential use for improving physiological status, reproductive and productive performance of she-camels, to particularly with a dose of 10g/h/d of BZ.