Middle East Journal of Agriculture Research

Elicitation of Novel Rice Mutants Tolerated to Drought stress through Using of Gamma Rays

2026-02-21T02:16:14+00:00

Rice is a strategic food crop at both global, local levels and represents vital importance for Egyptian National Food Security. However, the environmental challenges that reduce the productivity and spread of rice cultivation are many, especially water stress due to the lack of water needed for its cultivation. Accordingly, this investigation set out with great efficiency in order to infer new rice mutants
characterized by their high water deficit tolerance as well, its high yielding across using several safe doses of gamma rays. Further, the present study succeeded in genetic improvement for rice variety Sakha 101 after exposure it to several doses of gamma rays, through the events of large physiologically, genetically and biochemical changes that had the greatest impact on raising its drought tolerance degree besides, eliciting five improved novel rice mutants from it. Also, the six rice accessions were evaluated under normal and drought through estimating some yield, physiological and biochemical attributes for screening the most mutants tolerated for water stress in 2022 and 2023 seasons. The final results confirmed that the rice mutants number (3, 4 & 5) were recorded the biggest trend of drought tolerance then followed by the mutants number (1 & 2) compared to the local cultivar under water stress treatment
compared to the standard experiment. Therefore, these novel rice mutants will be future high-yielding and drought-tolerant rice varieties and this is the biggest goal in this work.

Precision Irrigation for Maximizing Water Use Productivity Under Diverse Climate Conditions Irrigation Water Requirements as Affected by Diverse Climate Conditions

2026-03-06T08:53:38+00:00

Determination of crop water requirement is one of the key parameters for precise irrigation scheduling, especially in regions with limited water resources, such as Egypt. Hence, an accurate estimation of reference evapotranspiration is very important especially in agriculture. The objectives of the present study were studying the influence of climate change on weather seasons and comparing
evapotranspiration estimations using Blany- Criddle and FAO-56 Penman-Monteith under present and future climatic conditions. Data of the present climate was collected from Wadi El-Natrun meteorological station, Egypt from 1991 to 2020. Meanwhile, the future climate data have been chosen for the concerned RCPs scenarios: RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0 and RCP8.5 at 2040, 2060, 2080 and 2100.
The results revealed that all month’s reordered T mean above 20 oC, except December, January and February where they ranged between 17.68 and 19.44 oC. The highest T mean was observed at July (32.3oC), August (31.9 oC), and June (31.8 oC), while February scored the lowest T mean (17.7 oC). Data indicated that estimated ETo by BC was more than PM under all months and rate of increase was small under summer season (7.9, 4.9, 6.3), while the highest increase % was observed under cold months: November (51.4), December (73.1), January (79.5) and February (48.3). Respecting the total ETo estimated by BC and PM were2056 and 1694 mm/year, respectively, which indicated that BC was higher than PM by about 21.4%. It is clear that scenario (2.6) showed more harmony for the future than (8.5) scenario. With respect to the highest change the percentage of increase of 2.6, 4.5, 6, and 8.5 as compared 2100 with control 2020 were 3.1, 7.5, 10.1, and 18.4 % respectively. Estimated ETo by BC at 2.6 scenario was homogeneity while the opposite was true at 8.5 scenario. The same trend was observed at ETo estimated by PM. Compared between BC and PMs ETo at 2.6 and 8.5 scenarios (Fig. 7), data pointed out that the minimum ETo values estimated by BC and PM equations were 103.36 (February), 208.76 (July) and 48.45, 187.31 mm/month after 2.6 scenario and 107.13, 215.52 mm and 53.18, 198.83 mm after 8.5 scenario in same sequence. Also, data cleared that the total ETo (from May to September) after BC and PM were 968.30, 841.10 and 998.25, 887.81 mm after 2.6 and 8.5 Scenarios respectively, with an increase of 3.1 and 5.6 % comparing BC and PM at Scenario 8.5 with 2.6.

Climate Smart Agri-Food Marketing: Conjugating Climate Smart Agriculture with Agri-Food Marketing in Bottom of the Pyramid-Subsistence Markets in Developing Economies

2026-03-06T08:58:39+00:00

The aim of the research was to attempt to appraise, ascertain and diagnose climate smart agri-food marketing in BOP-SM contexts in developing economies. Interestingly, the literature and sources of secondary data and information that directly addressed, in its own right, climate smart marketing were scant and more in specific to climate smart agri-food marketing were sparse, if not inexistant. However, in terms of climate smart marketing, in the literature and sources of secondary data and information, this emerged mostly indirectly, within the evolution of green and then sustainable marketing over recent years, where there has been, a greater focus on climate change matters. In terms of climate smart agrifood marketing, in specific, this has mostly emerged indirectly, within literature and sources of secondary data and information on climate smart food systems, agri-food value chains and agri-food supply chains. This all providing evidence that there is a lack, within literature and sources of secondary data and information, of directly and specifically addressing climate smart agri-food marketing. Hence and in this regard the research focused on attempting to delineate an agri-food marketing paradigm that specifically focused on climate change mitigation and adaptation. This also derived from the fact that climate smarting agricultural production outputs requires agri-food marketing to be climate smart. Indeed, if agri-food marketing is not made climate smart, it would partly off-set all the benefits that derived from climate smart agricultural production outputs and de facto agri-food marketing that is not climate smart contributes to climate change. As per the findings of the research, climate smart agri-food marketing finds it roots in the green, circular and low-emission economies, is within the realm of climate smart food systems, agri-food value chains and agri-food supply chains and derives from green marketing and sustainable marketing. In this regard, sustainable marketing covers the triple bottom line of people, profits and planet, and green marketing focuses on planet, and within planet, climate smart agri-food marketing focuses specifically on climate smart mitigation and adaptation. The research found that climate smart agri-food marketing in BOP-SMs needs to be localized, rural, urban, survival, system, service, relational, social, digital and entrepreneurial-oriented and consider the micro, meso and macromarketing levels. This all inherently implying that climate smart agri-food marketing needs to be adaptable, flexible, variable, versatile, agile and innovative. The process provided for climate smarting agri-food marketing is based primarily on learning from BOP-SMs in terms of locally-based innovations of technologies, activities, processes, systems, knowledge, know-how and behaviour that may be climate smart in terms of mitigation and adaptation. Such learning being locally based can be replicated within the same BOP-SM context, shared with other BOP-SM contexts as well as with other countries, both developing and developed to sustain the development of climate smart agri-food marketing. In turn such an approach does not exclude ‘importing’ innovations in terms of technologies, activities, processes, systems, knowledge, know-how and behaviour from other BOP-SM contexts within the same country and from other countries, both developing and developed, but not being locally generated, may require adaptations and modifications, for example, to be applied to make such innovations more locally palatable and thus implementable within agri-food marketing to make it climate smart.