Enas Safaa Azab

Chia (Salvia hispanica L.) is a specialty crop capable of providing healthy food and metabolites. The goal of our study was to explore the possibility of expanding seed yield, oil production, and metabolites of chia in response to amino acid, barthenosteriode, and algae extract treatments used as bio-stimulants. The experiment was conducted in the field in a randomized complete block design with three repeats. The treatments were (1) control (spray only with water), (2) amino acids with nutrients (2 mL/L vs. 4 mL/L), (3) brassinolide (5 mL/L vs. 10 mL/L), and algae extract (2 mL/L vs. 4 mL/L). The growth and yield measurements of chia, such as chlorophyll, carotenoids, amino acids, indoles, phenols, macro- and micronutrients, carbohydrates, total oil, and fatty acids were analyzed. The chia plants sprayed with growth stimulant materials showed increases in most studied characteristics, particularly algae extract at 4 mL/L, followed by algae extract at 2 mL/L during the first and second seasons. Meanwhile, amino acids at 4 mL/L led to the third-highest increases in most cases. Conversely, all bio-stimulant treatments decreased total phenols in leaves (mg/100 g f.w.), especially seaweed at 4 mL/L, compared to high levels in the control during both seasons. Control plants showed the lowest levels of the measurements mentioned previously when scored by barthenosteriode at 5 mL/L during the first and second seasons. GLC for fixed oil in chia showed the recognition of four biocomponents. i.e., oleic, linoleic, palmitic, and α-α linolenic acids. The main biocomponent was α-α linolenic acid and reach (49.7 to 57.9%). The application of seaweed at 4 mL/L could be exploited to improve growth, seed crop, fixed oil production, chemicals and bio-constituents, especially the fixed oil composition of chia (Salvia hispanica L.) plant.

Drought is one of the major environmental stresses that devastatingly impact squash development, growth, and productivity. Potassium silicate can attenuate the injuries caused by water stress. Hence, this study was designed to investigate the influence of three concentrations of potassium silicate; 10, 15, and 20 g/L on squash plants versus untreated control under three irrigation regimes; 100, 75, and 50% of estimated crop evapotranspiration (ET). The obtained results indicated that moderate (75% ET) or severe (50% ET) drought stress conditions gradually declined photosynthetic pigments, relative water content (RWC), mineral content, physiological parameters, and anatomical characteristics. These deleterious impacts were reflected on all growth and yield traits, i.e., plant height, fresh and dry weight of root and shoot, and fruit yield. On the other hand, the antioxidant enzyme activities; superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POX) significantly increased under severe drought stress at 50% ET followed by 75% ET. However, all evaluated exogenous applications of potassium silicate substantially enhanced photosynthetic pigments, RWC, N, P, and K content, antioxidant enzyme activities, and anatomical characters (periderm thickness, cortex thickness, midrib thickness, mesophyll thickness, number of xylem vessels per main vascular bundle, thickness of vascular bundle, thickness of collenchymatous tissue and upper epidermis, and thickness of collenchymatous tissue and lower epidermis). These desirable impacts were reflected in enhancing all growth and yield parameters. Conclusively, this study alludes that the exogenously applied of potassium silicate, particularly at 20 g/L, can alleviate the deleterious effects of drought stress and enhance the growth and productivity of squash plants, especially in arid environments.

In order to study drought tolerance among faba bean genotypes, five different local faba bean cultivars, Giza 843 (P1), Giza 3 (P2), Maser 3 (P3), Sakha 3 (P4) and Sakha 1 (P5) (V. faba L.) were used for carrying out half diallel mating design in 2014/2015 winter season to study combining ability, heritability and heterosis for growth, anatomical, photosynthetic pigments and yield characteristics under stress condition. Parents and their crosses were evaluated in a yield trial, in 2015/2016 winter season under two water regimes which were well-watered (100 % from ETo) and severe water stress (60 % from ETo) at the experimental farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt. Mean squares of both general (GCA) and specific (SCA) combining ability were highly significant for all measured traits under two water deficit, indicating that both GCA and SCA were important in the inheritance of these traits. The results indicated that the majority of crosses exhibited highly significant heterosis estimates for mid parents (MP) for all studied characters. Heritability in narrow sense was low to moderate and ranged from 1.68 to 58.6%. These results showed that these characters are greatly influenced by dominance and environmental condition. The all preceding parents are studied to be good general combiners for their particular traits. Also results recommend that three parental genotypes; P5, P2 and P4 are considered to be good combiners for improving most of the studied traits and could be exploited as genetic resources for faba bean drought tolerance. The cross P1xP5 showed desirable SCA effects and significant heterosis values for most of characters under two water regimes. Also, the three crosses, P3x P4 (for growth characters), P1xP2 for (anatomical characters) and P2x P5 (for photosynthetic pigments characters and seed yield/ plant) exhibited desirable SCA effects and significant heterosis values under two water regimes. These crosses might be used in faba bean breeding programs to produce high yielding ability and drought tolerance pure lines.

THE PRESENT study aimed to evaluate the effect of three levels of gibberellic acid solutions (50, 100 and 150 mg/L) on two sugar beet cultivars. (Farida and Sultan) under three field capacity (50, 75 and 100%). This experiment was carried out at the Experimental Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, during the two growing successive seasons of 2013/14 and 2014/15. Results showed that all GA3 tested treatments statistically improved growth parameters, i.e., number of leaves, fresh and dry weights of leaves/plant, as well as, root yield, sucrose%, photosynthetic pigments (chlorophylls a, b and carotenoids), relative water content (RWC), leaf osmotic pressure (LOP) and the studied anatomical characters (thickness of mysophyll, thickness of midrib, thickness of palisade tissue, thickness of spongy tissue, average number of xylem vessels/vascular bundle, thickness of vascular bundle, thickness of collenchaymatous tissue and upper epidermis). Conclusively, this study indicates that, soaking seeds in GA3 solutions especially at 150 mg/L can decrease the effects of drought on growth and yield of sugar beet.