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An experiment was conducted in the greenhouse at Assiut University (Assiut, Egypt) to study the status of manganese in both the soil and rice plants under different water and fertilizer treatments. Rice seeds were sown in pots containing a clay loam soil submerged with water for a period of 45 days after which treatments were initiated. Water treatments consisted of five systems: continuous submergence, field capacity, saturation percentage, and alternative submergence for either 4 or 6 days followed by one day of drainage. Fertilizer treatments included the application of ammonium sulphate and/or manganese sulphate at three rates. Both the soil and rice plants were sampled at three intervals: 4,8, and 12 weeks after treatment initiation. Samples were properly prepared and analyzed for manganese. Statistical analysis of the obtained data was carried out for both the separate as well as the combined effects of all treatments.

A micromethod is described for the determination of solasodine alkaloid in small samples of leaves and berries of Solanum species grown in Egypt. The glyco–alkaloid is extracted and hydrolyzed by the usual methods. The aglycone is purified and separated by T.L.C. using chloroform–ethanol on silicagel G plates. The purified eluted aglycone is complexed with bromothymol–blue and the colour complex is extracted into benzene and determined colorimetrically using solasodine as a standard. The colour complex is stable for 45 minutes and obeys Beer's low in concentrations from 10 to 200 μg and has its maximum absorption at 400 mμ.