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The present study was conducted during the two successive seasons, 2017 and 2018, at King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, to investigate the effects of foliar sprays on Ziziphus jujuba trees by yeast extract at 1% and 2% and potassium nitrate (KNO3) at 1% and 2%. All treatments were foliar applied twice (December 15–January 15) in both seasons. Yield and fruit quality were studied. Treatments significantly improved yield, physical fruit and fruit chemical characteristics, moisture content, chlorophyll a, b and total chlorophyll by most tested treatments in both seasons than the control (water only). Yeast spray treatments significantly decreased juice content vitamin C (mg/100 g), while KNO3 spray treatments increased juice content vitamin C in both seasons. It can be concluded that foliar application with KNO3 at 2% recorded the best treatment to obtain the highest yield, fruit weight, flesh weight, fruit volume, fruit length and fruit diameter, while yeast extract at 2% treatment gave the highest TSS% and total sugar contents in this study.

Despite rising demand for chicken, laws and public uproar forced the industry to find alternatives to maintain flock health by outlawing antibiotic growth boosters. Incorporating a program that naturally improves or modi- fies the bird's immune response is one strategy. A tailored dietary supplement and/or feed additive can be used to modify immune function and achieve immunomodulation of the immune system. The best alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) may be the use of probiotics and organic acids. Probiotics provide advantages such as altering the host's metabolism, stimulating the immune system, excluding pathogens, enhancing nutrient absorption, and ultimately lowering the danger to human health. Nucleotide supplementation in the feed may enhance gut shape, digestive enzyme activity, and growth performance in broilers. In the current review, we threw light on the use of butyric acid as ecofriendly animal feed additives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Butyric acid and its derivatives support the immune system, lessen inflammation, and lessen oxidative stress in broilers in addition to preserving gut homeostasis and epithelial integrity. Broiler performance has also been demonstrated to rise with the addition of nucleotides to the diet. Aim: The purpose of the study was to ascertain the effects of butyric acid and nucleotides added to feed on the overall performance, immunity, oxidant/antioxidant enzyme levels, intestinal histology, and hepatic functions of broilers. Methods: Four experimental groups of thirty chickens, each were used in the present study. The groups were assigned as a control group that received normal diet without additives, butyrate (B) group received the diet supplemented with butyric acid (250 g/ton feed), nucleotides (N) group received the diet supplemented with nucleotides (200 g/ton feed), and the fourth group received the diet supplemented with a combination of butyrate and nucleotide (BN) (250 g/ton B feed, and 200 g/ton N feed, respectively). Necrotic enteritis was produced in ten birds from each group to assess the immune-modulatory effect of these supplements, antioxidant status, intestinal histology, and liver functions were measured in all experimental groups. Results: The addition of butyric acid and nucleotides to feed enhanced body weight, growth performance, hepatic functions, and antioxidant capabilities. Histological sections of the gut from challenged or unchallenged (with necrotic enteritis) groups in the BN group showed considerable improvement, as shown by strong proliferation in intestinal crypts and villus enterocytes. Conclusion: Nucleotides and butyric acid can be added to broiler feeding regimens to enhance growth and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was carried out during the seasons of 2014 and 2015 at the Research and Agricultural Experimental Station, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia, to investigate the effects of foliar application of CaCl2 at 1 or 2%, Ca(NO3)2 at 0.5 or 1% and ascorbic acid at 50 or 100 ppm on yield and fruit quality of Ziziphus jujuba trees. All treatments were repeated twice (December 15 and January 15) before harvest date in both seasons. Treatments significantly improved yield and fruit physical characteristics (fruit weight, flesh weight, fruit volume, fruit length, fruit diameter and fruit firmness) in comparison to untreated control in both seasons. Fruit chemical characteristics (TSS, Acidity, total sugar contents, ascorbic acid, and total chlorophyll) were mostly improved by most tested treatments in both seasons over the control (water only). It can be concluded that foliar application with Ca(NO3)2 at 1% would be the best treatment to obtain highest yield, fruit physical and chemical composition of Z. jujuba.

Using biofertilizers has been a good method in this respect. Field experiments were conducted in 2014 and 2015 on 6-year-old grapevine cv. “Flame Seedless” grown under arid conditions (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) to evaluated the effects of foliar application with natural sources and chemical of fertilizer on yield and fruit quality. Eight different foliar spray treatments were applied at 4 weeks after fruit set and repeated after another 4 weeks. These treatments were yeast at 4, 6 or 8%; seaweed extract at 1 or 2%; potassium nitrate at 2%; potassium hydrogen phosphate at 2%, and the control (water only). Results indicated that the application of 8% yeast had improved fruit chemical characteristics (soluble solid content, reducing sugars and total sugars) and some physical characteristics (cluster width and weight of 100 berries). Application of 2% potassium nitrate had a significant effect on yield, cluster weight, cluster length, and volume of 100 berries.

The inequality between available water supplies and growing water demand from diverse sectors, as well as the predicted climate changes are putting significant pressures on Egypt's food security. There is a nation-wide demand for new scientifically proven on-farm practices to boost water productivity of major food crops. The objective of this study was to explore the use of various deficit irrigation schemes to improve water productivity (WP) of tomato cultivated in Egypt under distinct climate change scenarios, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, in three time-steps of the reference period (2006-2016), 2030s, and 2050s. The AquaCrop model was used to simulate the influence of climate change on the tomato crop, as well as two deficit irrigation application schemes for the full growing season and the regulated application for the initial and maturity crop stages. With the same irrigation method, the predicted WP increased in a general pattern across all climate change scenarios. The combination of irrigation schedule with the 80% deficit irrigation can enhance WP near the optimum level (approximately 2.2 kg·m-3), especially during early and mature stages of the crop, saving up to 16% of water. The results showed that the expected temperature rise by 2050s would reduce the crop growth cycle by 3-11 days for all irrigation treatments, resulting in a 1-6% decrease in crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and affecting the dry tomato yield with different patterns of increase and decrease due to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]