Survey of Pastoral and Natural Plants and Factors Affected it’s Development in Dhamar Governorate (Central Highlands) in Yemen

Mohammed M.Y. Dows*⁽¹⁾ Ahmed A. Dows⁽¹⁾ Amin Al-kirshi⁽¹⁾ Saleh Mouthana⁽²⁾ and Karemah Rajeh⁽³⁾

(1). Central Highlands Agricultural Research Station, Yemen. (2). Renewable Natural Resource Center, Yemen. (3). Agricultural Extension Office. Yemen. (*Corresponding author: Dr. Mohammed M.Y. Dows. E-Mail: mmydows1975@yahoo.com).

Received: 29/10/ 2016 Accepted: 31/01/ 2017

Abstract

The study was carried out on the territory of natural pastures of Al-Manar Directorate in Dhamar province/Yemen, in summer season of 2013 and 2014, to determine the prevalent pastoral cover, and causes of its deterioration, also to identify the most widespread pastoral plant species, especially the promising ones, and to study the factors that affecting its development. The study relied on a descriptive and analytical approach to describe the phenomenon and to identify its causes. The interviews, direct observation, and visits were used, in addition to the topographic maps and satellite images, besides the climate because of its significant impact on the vegetation cover, were used. The prevailing vegetation community was identified with the help of box method, depending on the relative importance of the pastoral plants. Results indicated that the most important plant communities were of grass plant (Cynodonsche nanthus), Juniper plant (Artemisia campestris), Acacia plants (Acacia Spp), and Seder plant (Zizaphus Spp). The results of the quantitative study showed that the overall average of plant cover was 59.03%, this means that 40.97% of the surveyed sites, free of vegetation, which indicates that the region is suffering from the deterioration in the natural vegetation cover, probably due to two fundamental factors, first was the environmental issue such as the lack of rain, and the second was due to increase of human population, unjust logging and grazing, scarcity of legislation, and low level of awareness of the importance of vegetation cover and pastures, this leads to the absence of most pastoral plants. The study examined the promising pastoral plants, which consider the most important pillars of the program and plans for the repair of degraded rangelands. The study concluded the need to promote and develop the pastoral land, and to replant the appropriate pastoral vegetation cover of the region, also increase its productivity, and management with the help of the proper methods.

Keywords: Natural plants, Pastoral cover, promising plants, Yemen.

Full paper in Arabic: Survey of Pastoral and Natural Plants and Factors Affected it’s Development in Dhamar Governorate (Central Highlands) in Yemen

Evaluation of Afforestation and its Ecological and Tourist Effects in Dahr al-Quseir Area (Homs / Syria)

Issa Noufal⁽¹⁾ Raed Al Muhammad^*(2) Khaled Fahed⁽²⁾ Ahmad Al Mukdad⁽³⁾

(1). Natural Resources Directorate, Agricultural Research Center in Homs, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR), Damascus Syria. (2). Forestry Research Department, GCSAR, Damascus, Syria. (3). Environment Research Department, GCSAR, Damascus, Syria. (*Corresponding author: Eng. Raed Al Muhhamad. E-Mail: raedmd1973@gmail.com).

Received: 09/10/ 2015 Accepted: 19/03/ 2016

Abstract

This study was conducted in Dahr al-Quseir (Homs/Syria) meanwhile the afforestation project during the years 2011-2014, to evaluate the status of afforestation with Castanea sativa and its adaptability with the environment, as well as to identify certain aspects relating to human activity and their effect on afforestation. The study showed the survival and adaptation of the planted forest species with the new climate and soil factors. This was evident through composition, structure of vegetation cover. The study also showed that the random human intervention resulted an imbalance in growth affecting tree height that averaged 6.02 m in case of uncontrolled human intervention versus 12.9 m for the controlled intervention. The average of tree height was 8.67 m when the plants were naturally grown. Tree diameter decreased to 24.33 cm in case of random human intervention, 29.38 cm for controlled intervention, and 27.67 cm under the natural conditions. However, the western side predominated the other ones in terms of tree height and diameter, whereas the vegetation cover surpassed at the eastern side. Moreover, the study revealed that the location had an ecologically important role for soil protection and climate mitigation, besides a considerable human presence represented by tourism.

Keyword: Castanea sativa, Afforestation, Exposure, Height, Diameter.

Full paper in Arabic: Evaluation of Afforestation and its Ecological and Tourist Effects in Dahr al-Quseir

Effect of Apple Bagging During Growth Period on Some Quality Parameters at Harvest

Waiel Haddad⁽¹⁾ Muhammad M. Al Zoubi^*(1) and Wissam Massa⁽¹⁾

(1). Natural Resources Research Administration, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR), Damascus, Syria.
(*Corresponding author: Dr. Muhammad M. Al Zoubi. E-Mail: manhalzo@yahoo.com).

Received: 25/01/ 2016 Accepted: 23/03/ 2016

Abstract

The effect of bagging apples fruit, which it is still on trees in paper bags made in Japan that has specific characteristics, was studied to determine the quality traits of apples ah harvest, this study conducted at Brshin Research Station, Hama governorate/Syria, during the season 2015. Two apple varieties were used, Starking Delicious, and Stark Rimson. The results showed a significant increase in the bagging fruits firmness compared with those without bagging, and a significant decrease in the total soluble solids of bagging fruits compared with those without bagging for both varieties, besides there was no significant difference in average of weight and diameter of fruits for both varieties.

Key words: Apple fruit bagging, Total soluble solids, Fruit firmness, Fruit size.

Full paper in Arabic: Effect of Apple Bagging During Growth Period on Some Quality Parameters at Harvest

Econometric Analysis of the Cost Functions of Spring Potatoes in Hama Government-Alghab Region

Moammar Dayoub*⁽¹⁾ Ibrahim Abdullah⁽²⁾ Ramez Hamada⁽²⁾ and Bassam Ali⁽³⁾

(1). Salamieh Agricultural Rresearch Center, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR), Damascus, Syria.
(2). Alghab Agricultural Research Center, (GCSAR), Damascus, Syria.
(3). Administration of Economic and Social Studies, (GCSAR), Damascus, Syria.
(*Corresponding author: Dr. Moammar Dayoub. E-Mail: m-dayoub@hotmail.com).

Received: 07/09/ 2015 Accepted: 01/01/ 2016

Abstract

The research was conducted in Hama governorate-Alghab region, and it based on a random sample of 135 spring potatoes farmers. Data was collected using special questionnaire designed for this purpose. The research aimed to estimate the cost functions in order to reach economic sizes of production and farm. The results showed that the optimum size, which minimize the cost was 40464.6 kg/ha, for the first category (less than 1 hectare), while the average actual production was 19031.25 kg/ha, but the optimum size for the third category (more than 3 hectares) was 43855.9 kg/ha, and the actual production was 26675 kg/ha. The study revealed also that the optimum size of the farm is 4.85 hectares, and the average farm size of the sample was 1.64. Level of profitability stood at 145.69% for the first category and reached 194.59% for the third one. The average cost also declined from 12.46 S.P. /Kg for the first category to 11.05 S.P. /Kg for the third one. The study emphasized the need to aggregate holdings in order to reduce production costs and to achieve better returns to scale.

Keywords: Spring potatoes, Economic scale, Cost function.

Full paper in Arabic: Econometric Analysis of the Cost Functions of Spring Potatoes in Hama Government-Alghab Region

Designing of a HACCP Plan of Lokum Line Production With Pistachio

Saleem Bani Almrjeh*⁽¹⁾Fuaad Obboush⁽¹⁾ and Maytham Galiss⁽¹⁾

(1). Food Technology Department, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR), Damascus, Syria.
(*Corresponding author: Eng. Saleem Bani Almrjeh. E-Mail: salem232008@windowslive.com).

Received: 20/09/ 2015 Accepted: 18/02/ 2016

Abstract

In this research, a HACCP plan (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point “HACCP”) was designed for a production line of lokum with pistachio in a Syrian food establishment for lokum production, which located in Damascus countryside in 2011. First, an evaluation of the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Health Practices (GHP) in the establishment was done. It has been found a medium personal cleanliness practices considering the workers. Besides, there wasn′t a training program for the workers about GMP and GHP. According to the hazard analysis during the production process of lokum with pistachio, five critical control points (ccp) were determined: The first and the second were detected during the reception of pistachio (the hazard of shell sand aphlatoxins), and the third was detected during heating process (survival of dangerous bacteria) and the fourth and fifth were during storing (dangerous bacteria or mold multiplication, and contamination by aphlatoxins). According to that the HACCP plan was defined, and the critical limits of each (ccp) were determined, and the monitoring system and corrective actions that should be followed were defined, to avoid deviation from the critical limits.

Key words: HACCP plan, Lokum, Hazard analysis, Critical control point, Pistachio.

Full paper in Arabic: pdf

Study Some Rheological Properties of Syrian Durum Wheat Triticum durum Desf. Varieties

Abboud Al Saleh⁽¹⁾ Ebraheem Al-Jouri^*(2)and Wisal Al-hommada⁽¹⁾

(1). Food Science Department, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Al-Furat University, DeirEz-Zor. Syria.
(2). Insects Research Department, Plant Protection Research Administration, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR), Damascus, Syria.(*Corresponding author: Dr. Ebraheem Al-Jouri. E-Mail: jouri@myway.com).

Received: 23/02/2016 Accepted: 30/03/2016

Abstract

This research aims to investigate some rheological properties of three Syrian durum wheat varieties: Sham7, Buhouth9, and Duma1, using the Alveograph to determine some standards such as: resistance, elasticity, inflation factor, and work energy. All tests were carried out in the laboratory of grain technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Alfurat University/Syria, during 2010 and 2011. Results showed significant differences among the averages of dough inflation resistance for the three varieties. Duma1 was superior with resistance average of 61 mm in comparison with the other two varieties Buhouth9 and Sham7, which reached 46, and 39 mm, respectively. The three varieties were significantly varied in their dough elasticity, which reached 94, 59, and 40 mm for Sham7, Buhouth9, and Duma1, respectively. There was a negative correlation between elasticity and resistance in the three studied varieties, with the possibility of directing the variety Buhouth9 for baking and Sham7 for confectionary.

Keywords: Syrian durum wheat, Rheological properties, Alviograph.

Full paper in Arabic: Study Some Rheological Properties of Syrian Durum Wheat Triticum durum Desf.

Estimation of Genetic Parameters of Some Productive Traits in Black Boni Sheep

Abed M. Al-Bial^*(1) Ahmed Al-Dous⁽¹⁾ Sharf Al-Azazy^{(1 )} and Abdulah Salah⁽¹⁾

(1). The Regional Research Station in the Central Highlands, Agriculture Research & Extension Authority, Yemen
(*Corresponding author: Dr. Abed M. Al-Bial. Email: aalbial@yahoo.com)

Received: 24/10/2016 Accepted: 09/01/2017

Abstract

In this study, the pedigree data, and production performance of 1074 records of Black Boni sheep were used. The sheep were kept at the Regional Research Station in the Central Highlands of Yemen, during the period 1992 to 2015, to estimate heritability, genetic and phenotypic correlations of some productive traits. The results showed that the general averages of birth weight, weaning weight, and daily gain from birth to weaning were 2.18 ± 0.011 kg, 10.64 ± 0.23 kg, and 93.71 ± 8.22 g/lamb, respectively. Estimated heritability values for birth weight, weaning weight, and daily gain were 0.38 ± 0.05, 0.30 ± 0.03 and 0.26 ± 0.1, respectively. Phenotypic and genetic correlations among studied traits were highly significant (P<0.01), and they ranged between 0.46 – 0.83 and 0.32 – 0.77, respectively. Therefore, it can be concluded that the use of genetic selection to improve any of the studied traits, will lead to an improvement in the other correlated traits.

Key words: Black Boni sheep, Genetic parameters, Heritability, Phenotypic and genetic correlations.

Full paper in Arabic: Estimation of Genetic Parameters of Some Productive Traits in Black Boni Sheep

Detection of the Genetic Variation among Grape Rootstock B41 Trees in the Syrian Agricultural Ministry Nurseries using SSR Markers

Waeil Abdelhamid Al-Youssef⁽¹⁾ Wasim Ismaiel Muhsen*⁽²⁾ Rahim Abdelsalam Abu-Aljadael⁽¹⁾ Noor Ghazzi Alasaad⁽¹⁾ and Abdullah Farhan Altaher⁽¹⁾

(1). Biotechnology Department, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR), Damascus, Syria.
(2). Biotechnology Directorate, Agricultural Research Center of Sweida, GCSAR, Damascus, Syria.
(*Corresponding author: Email: wasimmo6@yahoo.com).

Received: 30/09/2015 Accepted: 27/03/2016

Abstract

This research was carried out during 2010–2012 at the Biotechnology Department, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Researches (GCSAR), Syria. This study aimed to document and determine the genetic variations to detect the mixture between the grape rootstock B41 trees (propagated in Damascus suburb, Homs, Aleppo and Al-Raqqa governorates), by using SSR technique (simple sequence repeats). 45 trees representing the rootstock B41 were selected based on their morphological characteristics. The results of molecular analyses showed that five primers pairs out of 20 grape specific SSR primers (VVMD5, VVMD6, VVMD7, VVMD28 and VVMD32) could determine the genetic variations among the studied trees. Four primers pairs except the VVMD6 could determine two incompatible trees with the B41 rootstock in Kharabo nursery in Damascus suburb, moreover, three primers; VVMD7, VVMD28 and VVMD32 determined one different tree in Babnes nursery in Aleppo, and two primers pairs; VVMD5 and VVMD28 detected one different tree in Alsheikh Hmeed nursery in Homs. In contrast, all the studied trees located in Al-Raqqa nursery were compatible with the studied rootstock B41. As a result of this study, the incompatible trees with the rootstock B41 were eliminated and the identical ones were approved and authorized in order to regenerate in nurseries and vineyards to be distributed later to the farmers as a reliable and trusty rootstock. Also, this study emphasized on the importance of using molecular markers methods based on PCR technique to detect the genetic variations and fingerprints of the genetic plant resources to save them not to be mixed, because of their high accuracy in comparison with morphological markers.

Keywords: Grape rootstock B41, Phylloxera insect, Molecular markers, SSR technique.

Full paper in Arabic: Detection of the Genetic Variation among Grape Rootstock B41 Trees in the Syrian Agricultural Ministry Nurseries using SSR Markers

Production of Bio ethanol from Molasses Using Zymomonas Mobilis Bacteria

Nisrine Nakshoo*⁽¹⁾ Adel Safar⁽²⁾ and Ahmad Alebrahim⁽³⁾

(1). National Commission for Biotechnology, Ministry of High Education, Damascus, Syria.(2). Food Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria.
(3). Food Engineering Department, Faculty of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Albaath University, Homs, Syria.
(*Corresponding author: Dr. Nisrine Nakshoo, E-Mail: nisrinnakshoo@yahoo.com).

Received: 17/10/ 2015 Accepted: 30/01/ 2016

Abstract

This research was carried out in the National Commission for Biotechnology in Syria, during 2011- 2013. The aim of this research was to study to effect of some growth parameters on production of ethanol using LMG 404 strain of Zymomonas mobilis bacteria, which was imported from Belgium. Four levels of temperature (25, 30, 35 and 40° C), and pH values (6, 6.5, 7 and 7.5), and Brix% (16, 20, 24 and 28) were studied on the ability of this strain to produce ethanol from sugar beet molasses. The results showed that the highest ethanol production was at 30º C, pH=6.5, and Brix=16%.

Key words: Molasses, Fermentation, Ethanol, Zymomonas mobilis.

Full paper in Arabic: Production of Bio ethanol from Molasses Using Zymomonas Mobilis Bacteria

In vitro Mutagenesis for Increasing Drought Tolerance and Molecular Characterization in Grape (Vitis vinifera L.) cv. “Black Matrouh”

Rehab N. Al-Mousa*⁽¹⁾ Neveen A. Hassan⁽²⁾ Ramzy G. Stino⁽³⁾ and Amina H. Gomaa⁽³⁾

(1). Department of Biotechnology, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR), Damascus, Syria.
(2). National Gene Bank and Genetic Resources, Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt
(3). Pomology Department, Faculty of agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt

(*Corresponding author: Dr. Rehab N. Al-Mousa. Email: bebo_moussa13@yahoo.com).

Received: 01/08/ 2015 Accepted: 29/10/ 2015

Abstract

This study was conducted at the National Gene Bank and Atomic Energy Commission, Egypt started in 2012 to 2014; to produce grape (Vitis vinifera L.) plantlets more tolerant to drought. Shoot tip explants of grape cv. “Black Matrouh” were irradiated with various doses (0-50 Gray) of gamma rays and three vegetative generations (from M₁V₁ to M₁V₃) were obtained. To induce drought stress, different concentrations (0, 5 and 10 gl^-1) of polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000) were added to the media. The sensitivity of shoot tip explants to radiation increased gradually with increasing gamma rays dose, and LD₅₀ was found at 50 Gray. Elevated shoot number and length were observed with increasing the subculture number. Under drought stress, vegetative and rooting parameters gradually decreased at the same radiation dose with increasing PEG concentration. Explants could tolerate the hard effect of drought when irradiated with 20 Gray of gamma rays. Out of the 20 Inter Simple Sequence Repeat primers used, 6 primers (17898-B, 852, ISSR-35, 834, 889 and HB-9) generated 8 unique bands in plants irradiated with 20 Gray that could be considered as potential markers for initial estimation and selection of drought tolerance in grape.

Keywords: Grape, Gamma rays, LD₅₀, Drought tolerance, PEG, ISSR analysis.

full paper: In vitro Mutagenesis for Increasing Drought Tolerance and Molecular Characterization in Grape (Vitis vinifera L.) cv. “Black Matrouh”.