Category Archives: v7n3June 2020

Effect of Different Blanching Methods on the Activity of the ‎Peroxidase Enzyme and the Quality Characteristics of Frozen ‎Carrot Slices

Batool Alansari*(1) and Abdulrahman Hasan Laftah(1)

(1). Department of Food Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Basrah, Basra, Iraq.

(*Corresponding author: Dr. Batool Alansari. E-Mail: batool.Mahmod6@gmil.com).

Received: 04/04/2020                               Accepted: 03/06/2020

Abstract

This study was carried out between January to February 2019 in Basra University, Faculty of Agriculture, at laboratory of Food Science Department  to determine the effect of different blanching methods (boiling water immersion T1, steam T2 and microwave T3) for 5 minutes on the activity of the peroxidase enzyme and the quality characteristics of the carrot slices stored in freezing for a period of 30 days. The activity of the peroxidase enzyme was measured for all treatments and some chemical and sensory tests of carrot slices were performed before and after freezing. The results showed that there were significant differences at the probability level (P <0.05) between T3, T2, and T1 treatments compared to the T0 control treatment (un blanched carrots), as the enzyme activity decreased gradually as the storage period progressed. It is noted from the results that banching time was insufficient to stop the activity of the enzyme, which is evidence of the efficiency of the blanching process, while the percentage of moisture and pH increased, while the ratio of dry matter, the percentage of total acidity and the content of ascorbic acid to the treatments T3, T2, T1 decreased compared with T0 (control treatment). The results of the sensory tests showed that there were no significant differences at the probability level (P <0.05) between the T3, T2, and T1 treatments compared to the T0 (control treatment). The best treatment was the blanching method with boiling water immersion and microwave blanching in terms of color and texture, whereas there were no differences in taste and smell for all treatments after the end of the freezing storage period.

Key words: Peroxidase, Freeze storage, Carrot, Blanching, Ascorbic acid.

Full paper in Arabic: PDF

Production of Lactic Acid from Whey Using Immobilized ‎Mixed Culture of Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus ‎bulgaricus

Sahar Adnan Sheet(1) and Waleed Ahmed Mahmood*(1)

(1). Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Mosul, Iraq.

 (*Corresponding author: Dr. Waleed Ahmed Mahmood, E-Mail: waleedahmed53@yahoo.com).

Received: 12/01/2020                               Accepted: 12/04/2020

Abstract

This study was carried out at Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Mosul during 2018 and 2019 seasons. Lactic acid was produced from cheese whey of buffalo’s milk by a mixed culture of Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus immobilized in calcium alginate gel by using batch fermentation. Some factors affecting immobilization efficiency and lactic acid productivity were studied. Results indicated that the concentration of 2% sodium alginate in the cell suspension resulted in maximum immobilization efficiency and acid production with significant differences from the other used concentrations (1 and 2%). Maximum acid productivity and immobilization efficiency were obtained upon using calcium chloride with concentrations of 4 and 5%, respectively. Beads diameter of 3 mm resulted in the highest immobilization efficiency and acid productivity. 45-60 minutes of beads solidification time were found suitable to obtain high immobilization efficiency and lactic acid productivity. Results showed that low inoculum concentration (5×107 cell/ml) was preferred for obtaining the highest immobilization efficiency, which was significantly dropped upon increasing of inoculum concentration. Maximum lactic acid production was obtained by using inoculum concentration of 20×107 cell/ml with non-significant differences over the range of 10-25×107 cell/ml. Immobilized cells were reused for four runs and a significant loss in activity was observed during the successive runs.

Key words: Lactic acid,Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, whey, Immobilized cells.

Full paper in Arabic: PDF

Predicting the Quantity of Agricultural Wastes Using WEKA ‎Application

Abdulwahed M. Aboukarima*(1,2) Samy G. Hemeda(2) Mohamed S. El– Marazky(2) Riham El_Oliemy(2) and Ibrahim S. Tabash(1)

(1). Department of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Food Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

(2). Agricultural Engineering Research Institute, Agricultural Research Centre, Giza, Egypt

(*Corresponding author: Dr. Abdulwahed M. Aboukarima. E-Mail: aboukarima@gmail.com)

Received: 29/03/2020                               Accepted: 06/06/2020

Abstract

In this study, a comparison was made between data mining tools in WEKA open source computer application to predict the amount of agricultural wastes in Egypt from the year 2006 to 2016. The amount of wastes was calculated according to the method presented in the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD). The results showed that the lowest amount of wastes was 13.57 million tons/year and the largest amount was 17.90 million tons/year. The results revealed that the data mining tool called Decision Table was the best tool for predicting the amount of agricultural wastes. The predicted lowest and the largest means were 2502.17 and 3579.66 thousand tons/year, respectively, while the mean actual value in the test data set was 3300.06 thousand tons/year. The study recommended that adequate attention was directed to forecast agricultural wastes amounts, as these wastes can be managed and utilized in the production of energy, compost or animal feed.

Key words: Machine learning, Agricultural wastes, Modeling, Environment.

Full paper in Arabic: PDF

The Effect of Plant Density on the Morphological and ‎Production Traits of Some Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa ‎Willd) Varieties

Entessar Al Jbawi*(1) Manal Othman(1) Doaa Homsi(1) Nahla Al Mahmoud(1) Entessar Hasan(1) Thamer Al Huniesh(2) Mu’ad Abdu-Latif Kiyyam(3) and Mohammad Ali(2)

(1). Sugar Beet Research Department, Crops Research Administration, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR), Damascus, Syria.

(2). Crops Research Administration, GCSAR, Damascus, Syria.

(3). Faculty of Agriculture, Jerash University, Jerash, Jordan.

(*corresponding author: Dr. Entessar Al Jbawi. E-Mial:dr.entessara@gmail.com).

Received: 10/03/2020                               Accepted: 29/05/2020

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at Karahta Agricultural Station, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR), during 2018 season, to study the effect of six plant densities (10, 15 and 20 cm between plants within the row; 30 and 50 cm between rows) and five quinoa varieties i.e Giza, Titicaca, Red Carina,  Q26 and NSL-106398) on the morphological and production traits. A factorial trial was executed according to Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD) with three replicates. The results exhibited significant differences between plant densities of all studied traits. In terms of varieties, there were significant differences in plant height (cm), grain yield (Kg/ha) and bio-yield (Kg/ha), where the highest values were achieved at low densities. But there was a significant effect of the interaction between plant densities and varieties on bio-yield. The study recommends to grow quinoa using 100, 133 and 200 thousand plants per hectare, but the distance between should be 50 cm, to get the best morphological and production traits. Also, Red Carina and Titicaca varieties are recommended to be grown to get the highest grain yield (2747 and 2818 Kg/ha) and biological yield (6702 and 6561 Kg/ha) respectively, as compared with the other varieties.

Key words: Quinoa, Plant densities, Varieties. 

Full paper in Arabic: PDF

Combining Ability and Gene Action in Single Crosses of ‎Maize (Zea mays L.) Using (Line×Tester) Method

Reem Saleem Ali*(1)   Samir AL-Ahmad(2)   Bolous Khoury(3)

(1). Agricultural Research Center of Lattakia, GCSAR, Damascus, Syria.

(2). Agricultural Research Center of Tartous, GCSAR, Damascus, Syria.

(3). Field Crops department, Faculty of Agriculture, Tishreen University, Lattakia, Syria.

(* Corresponding author: Eng. Reem Ali. E-Mail: reem.s.ali@gmail.com).

Received: 11/03/2019                               Accepted: 01/06/2019

Abstract

The present research was conducted at Lattakia Research Center, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research, Syria, to study combining ability and gene action of ear length (cm), number of rows per ear, number of kernels per row, and grain yield (ton/ha). Thirty crosses produced using Line × Tester method (10 × 3) in 2016 season which were evaluated during 2017 season. The experiment was conducted using randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Results indicated that non-additive gene action was more important than additive gene action in controlling all traits. The ratios σ2GCA/σ2SCA was less than one for all traits. General Combining Ability (GCA) effects showed that the lines (IL.291), (IL.358), and (IL.322) had good general combiners for grain yield. Specific Combining Ability (SCA) effects showed that the crosses (IL.21×IL.155), (IL.21×IL.1), (IL.121×IL.200), (IL.121×IL.322), (IL.121×IL.291) and (IL.197×IL.98) were the best F1 cross combination for grain yield. The Lines showed the highest contribution ratios in variation of grain yield (77.9%), ear length (42.8%) and number of rows per ear (61.8%), while the crosses showed the highest contribution ratios for number of kernels per row (65.9%).

Key words: Maize, Grain yield, Combining ability, Line × tester.

Full paper in Arabic: PDF

Selection of Wheat Genotypes of Triticum Durum Desf. ‎Tolerant to Drought under Rainfed Condition Using Carbon ‎Isotope Discrimination Technique‎

Abdulwahid A Saif*(1) Aref alshamiri(1)  and Ammar Wahbi(2)

(1). Agricultural Research and Extension Authority (AREA), Yemen. 

(2). Seibersdorf Laboratory, Vienna, Austria.

(*Corresponding author: Dr. Abdulwahid A Saif. E-Mail: amozaid@yahoo.com).

Received: 07/03/2020                               Accepted: 20/04/2020

Abstract

Five genotypes of local wheat: var. Alass24 (Shara No. 2, var. Alass25 (Shara No. 154), Advanced line No. 35, Advanced line No. 42, Advanced line No. 12 and the Arabi variety were planted at Bani Matar region, Al-Qalis site in Yemen, between 18-7/24  of  the years 2014 and 2015 under rainfed conditions. The results showed a significant variation among  genotypes in grain yield, biological yield, weight of 1000 grains, plant height, spike length, number of grains per spike, number of days to maturity, and harvest index. The variety Arabi and the two genotypes., Alass25 (Shara No.154) and Advanced line No.35 attained good yield compared to Alass24 genotype (Shara No.2), and the  averages were 2033, 2016, 1965 and 1514 kg/ha respectively. The genotype Alass25 (Shara No.154) gave higher biological yield of 6891 kg/ha, and higher spike length (8.6 cm) with increased seeds number per spike (48.8), while the harvest index was lower (29.3.%), on the other hand Arabi variety gave lower values in terms of biological yield (4914 kg/ ha), length of spike (6.3 cm) and number of seeds per spike (17.4), while the harvest index was the highest (41.4), although both variety/genotype gave high grain yields. A positive correlation was found between grain yield and 1000 kernel weight, while correlation between yield, plant height and number of days to maturity was negative. A 1000 kernel weight positively correlated with both spike length  and number of grain per spike. The length of spike was positively correlated with number of seeds per spike and number of days to maturity. Significant differences were found among genotypes for Δ13C in grain and Δ13C in leaves, the variety Arabic and Alass25 genotype (Shara No.154) attained higher values of Δ13C grain and Δ13C leaves compared with others, the values were 14.24 and 13.66 for grains and 18.33 and 17.99% for leaves. Both genotypes attained also the highest values of grain yield with highest harvest index. This is as indicator of an effectiveness of Carbon Isotope Discrimination (CID) as an efficient tool selection for high yielding variety combined with drought tolerance for both rainfed system and areas where irrigation water is limited. Grain yield of a variety is an important trait when selection for drought condition is requested, it correlated positively and significantly with  number of seeds per spike and biological yield, while it correlated negatively with plant height and number of days to maturity. It was found also a positive correlation with Δ13C grain, while correlation was negative with Δ13C leaves. This means, breeders can select the genotype that has a higher Δ13C grain for drought conditions.

Key words: Δ13C, Wheat genotypes, Rainfed condition.  

Full paper in Arabic: PDF

Estimation of Combining Ability, Dominance Degree and ‎Heterosis in Some Single Crosses of Bread Wheat ‎ ‎(Triticum eastivum L.) ‎

Mohamed Baker AlAbd AlWahed *(1) Ayman Alarfi (2)  and Jalal Abboud(3)

(1). Department of Field crops. Faculty of Agriculture. Al-Furat University, Deir Ez Zoar, Syria.  

(2). Tartus Agricultural Center, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research GCSAR. Damascus, Syria.

(*Corresponding author: Eng. Mohamed Baker AlAbd AlWahed. E-Mail: baker963949351833@gmail.com).

Received: 16/01/2020                               Accepted: 02/03/2020

Abstract

This study was carried out in cooperation between Faculty of Agricultural at Al- Furat University, and the General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research in Izraa Research Station in Syria during 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 seasons. Seven bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes were used viz. Douma 64453, ACSAD 1252, ACSAD 1149, Douma 2, Douma 4, Jawaher14 and Sham6. Half diallel mating method was followed to get 21 hybrids. The hybrids and their parents were sown in the second season, using a randomized complete block design with three replications to estimate general combining ability, specific combining ability, dominance degree, and both mid and better parent heterosis for traits; number of days to heading, plant height, number of spikes per plant, number of grains per spike, biological yield per plant, thousand kernel weight, and grain yield per plant. The results indicated non-additive gene action in all trait inheritance, except number of spikes per plant, which was equally controlled by additive and non-additive genes. Three parents had high general combiners for grain yield, i.e. Douma64453, ACSAD1252 and Jawaher14. Thus, the derived progenies of these parents in the breeding program will have high gene inheritance. Many hybrids with positive specific combining ability were obtained from parents with positive general combining ability, which also have both mid and high parent heterosis, including (Sham6 x Douma64453), (ACSAD1252 x Jawahar14), (Jawahar14 x Douma4) and (Sham6 x ACSAD1149). Thus theses hybrids could be used for selection in segregating generations in order to reach high yielding wheat lines.  

Key words: Bread wheat, Combining ability, Heterosis, Dominance degree.

Full paper in Arabic: PDF

Study the Tolerance of Durum Wheat (Triticum turgidum ‎subsp. durum) Mutations at M3 Generation to Salt Stress

Mokhtar Baraket* (1) Hassine Marwa(2) Olfa Ayed Slama(2) Trifa Youssef(2) Hajer Slim Amara(2) and Karmous Chahine(2)

(1).National Research Institute for Rural Engineering, Water and Forestry, Ariana, Tunisia.

(2).University of Carthage, National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia, LR14AGR01, Laboratory of Genetics and Cereal Breeding, National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia, Avenue Charles Nicolle 43, 1082 Tunis, Tunisia.

(*Corresponding author: Mokhtar Baraket. E-Mail: moktar.baraket@gmail.com).

Received: 10/04/2020                               Accepted: 29/05/2020

Abstract

The present study aimed to identify new sources of salt stress tolerance in durum wheat (Triticum turgidum subsp. durum) through mutations induced by gamma radiation. Therefore, the  irradiation of the seeds of the two most widely grown cultivars of Tunisia namely Karim and Rezzak was performed in order, to develop a new tolerant mutant of these two varieties, which  are well adapt to stress conditions with the best potential productivity. Two mutants, the first (K20/108/5) was derived from Karim and the second (R20/134/4) was derived from Rezzak using irrigation with NaCl. The plants were grown under controlled conditions using pots. It was observed that the two mutants have different tolerance mechanisms to NaCl, which were summarized by the modification of the root structure of R20/134/4 mutant. However, the mutant K20/108/5 had a distinct tolerance mechanisms that was mainly summarized in mechanisms that limited sodium entry under salt stress conditions by 34% compared to the parent. Key words: Durum wheat, Salt stress, Gamma irradiation.

Full paper in Arabic: PDF

Role of Conservation Agriculture in Increasing Wheat ‎Productivity and Soil Organic Matter Content in Southern ‎Region of Syria ‎

Manal Othman*(1)  Ayman Shehada AL-Ouda(1) and Muhammad Manhal AL-Zoubi(3)         

(1).Department of Field Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria.

(2). Administration of Water Resources, General Commssion for Scientific Agricultural Reseach GCSAR, Damascus, Syria.

(*Corresponding author: Eng. Manal Othman. E-Mail: manalosman709@gmail.com).

Received: 16/01/2020                               Accepted: 06/02/2020

Abstract

The research was conducted at Izra’a Research Station, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR), during the growing seasons (2016/2017and 2017/2018), in order to evaluate the response of two durum wheat verities (Douma3 and Cham5) and two bread wheat varieties (Douma4 and Cham6) to Conservation Agriculture (CA) as a full package compared with Conventional Tillage system (CT) under rainfed condition using lentils (Variety Edleb3) in the applied crop rotation. The experiment was laid according to split-split RCBD with three replications. The average number of grains per square meter was significantly higher under conservation agriculture in the presence of crop rotation, when all the crop residues where left on the soil surface (Barley residues) in the variety Cham5 (3070 grain/ m2). The average of fertile to total tillers, 1000-kernel weight and grain yield were, significantly higher under conservation agriculture in the presence of crop rotation, of the variety Douma3 (71.27%, 33.549g, 4162 kg/ ha respectively ). soil organic matter content was significantly higher during the second and first growing seasons, under conservation agriculture, in plots in which crop rotation was applied, at the soil depth (0 – 20 cm) (0. 7483, 0. 6983%  respectively). The two varieties Douma3 and Cham6 are considered more responsive to conservation agriculture system in the southern region of Syria, because they recorded the highest grain yields (2561and 2385 kg/ ha respectively) compared with the other studied varieties (Cham5 and Douma4) (1951 and 1724 kg/ ha respectively).

Key words: Conservation Agriculture, Conventional Tillage, Crop residues, Crop rotation, Wheat, Organic matter.

Full paper in Arabic: PDF

Climate Changes and its Impact on the Productivity of Some ‎Economic Crops In the Republic of Yemen

Abdulwahid A. Saif*(1) Hazem H. Al-Ashwal(1) and Mohammed A. Al-Khorasani(2)

(1). Northern Highlands Agricultural Research Station, Sanaa, Yemen.

(2). Natural Resources Center, Dahmar, Yemen.

(*Corresponding author: Dr. Abdulwahid A. Saif. E-Mail: amozaid@yahoo.com).

Received: 08/03/2020                               Accepted: 23/04/2020

Abstract

The impact of climate changes on two strategic crops; wheat and sorghum which are grown in the Northern Highlands (Sana’a), Central (Dhamar) of Yemen were studied using the AquaCrop model. The effectiveness of this model also was included in this study to simulate yield of these two strategic crops due to the expected climatic changes over the short term (2020-2030) and medium term (2040-2050) in comparison to the base years (1985-2005). The study was conducted under different irrigation systems in two different environments (Northern Highlands and Central Highlands), for this reason an average data for three climate models and average of the two scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP-8.5) to each model were used. Daily climate data (for 10 years past) associated with (Tmax), (Tmin), Relative Humidity (RH%), wind speed m/sec, radiation MJ/m2.day, rainfall mm/day and crop yield and crop data were used for the calibration. Timing and amount of irrigation, soil water content and field management (level of fertilization and weed control) were the only calibrated parameters in order to obtain a relative correspondence between the actual and estimated values of yield by the program. The above data were collected from the weather stations located near the research farms which belong to Al-Erra Station –Sana’a and the Central Highlands Research Station-Dhamar, which were the selected sites of the study. They were different in terms of elevation above sea level, climatic and ecological nature. Some statistical indicators were used to assess accuracy and correctness at calibration of AquaCrop. Results of this study showed that the two crops will had a significant decrease in average yields, water productivity and water consumption at fixed concentration of CO2. Growth period will also decrease as a result of high temperature in the three models over medium term 2040-2050 compared with the base years 1985-2005, this decrease is more significant in the scenario (RCP-8.5) compared to the scenario (RCP 4.5). Wheat yield and water productivity in Dhamar and Sana’a will be improved with the increased concentration of CO2 over the medium term (2040-2050) under both irrigation and supplementary irrigation. For sorghum, it was noticed that yield and water productivity were decreased with the increased concentration of CO2 in both scenarios and it was lower in Sana’a than in Dhamar due to the fluctuation of rain precipitation and drought occurrence, as sorghum, its cultivation depends­ on rain.

Key words: Climate change, Economic crops, Productivity.

Full paper in Arabic: PDF