Middle East Journal of Agriculture Research

Assessment of Locally Available Substrates for Enhancing Sustainable Moina macrocopa Production

2026-05-19T02:37:05+00:00

Artemia is commonly used to feed fish larvae, but its high cost, specific hatching conditions, and limited local availability make it less accessible in developing countries. Moina macrocopa, a nutritionally rich and widely distributed zooplankton, offers a promising low-cost alternative, though knowledge on its large-scale production and feeding techniques remains limited. The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of different animal manures and food waste as substrates in the mass culture of Moina macrocopa, to identify the most effective and sustainable method for maximizing its production in terms of both quality and quantity. To assess the efficacy of various locally accessible substrates for the sustainable mass culture of Moina macrocopa, three laboratory experiments were carried out. Four treatments soy milk plus poultry manure, rice bran plus fish meal, cow dung plus yeast, and cow dung alone were applied to a pure culture of M. macrocopa that was fed with Chlorella sp. Moina population counts were taken every day for seven days throughout each experiment, which was conducted under controlled circumstances with constant aeration. The combination of yeast and cow dung produced the greatest average population (228.16 individuals per 600 ml) among the treatments, suggesting that this substrate is the most efficient and sustainable choice for producing Moina macrocopa on a wide scale.

Purification and Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activity and Biofilm Formation of Bacillus thuringiensis aizawai Strain HD283

2026-06-10T00:17:46+00:00

Objective: The study aimed to evaluate antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities, and purify the alkaline protease enzyme produced by Bacillus thuringiensis aizawai HD283. Methods: The experimental methodology encompassed the following steps: preparation of the inoculum, evaluate antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities, formulation of production media, enzyme activity assays, protein quantification, ammonium sulfate precipitation, acetone fractionation, and final purification using Sephadex Gel filtration chromatography. Results: After cultivating Bacillus thuringiensis aizawai HD283 under optimal environmental conditions and extracting the crude enzyme, as described in our previous research, the enzyme was subjected to the following purification steps: The purification pattern was as follow, the most active ammonium sulfate fractionation portion was at 60-75 % ammonium sulfate saturation, with 2.16 up to 2.41 % yield recovery, while the most active fraction by acetone precipitation, was wide range from 60-90 % acetone with yield recovery ranged between 13.4 to 12.0 %. Whereas, G-100 Sephadex column chromatography (final purification step) has 1.44 purification factor and 4.5 % final yield recovery of extracted enzyme.

Incidence of the Potato Cyst Nematode, Globodera rostochiensis (Wollenweber 1924, Skarbilovich 1959, Behrens 1975) in Northeast Egypt

2026-07-01T02:35:34+00:00

A survey was carried out in the autumn season of 2025 in the area cultivated with potatoes in El- Kassasein, Ismailia governorate, northeast, Egypt. Soil and root samples were collected from the rhizosphere of potatoes after different days from potato emergence for the detection of potato cyst nematode (PCN), Globodera spp. The results showed the occurrence of PCN on potato (Solanum
tuberosum L.) at all three times of sampling. Morphometrics and morphology of both cysts and the second-stage juveniles (J2) were consistent with the taxonomic characteristics of Globodera rostochiensis. To our knowledge, The G. rostochiensis was previously detected in Egypt, but this is the first detection in Ismailia Governorate, located in the northeast of Egypt.

Effect of Boron and Ascorbic Acid on Growth, Flowering and Productivity of Almond Trees under Rain-fed Conditions

2026-07-01T02:39:39+00:00

The present study was conducted in a private almond orchard at Marsa Matrouh Governorate, Egypt during three consecutive seasons of 2021, 2022 and 2023 of about 10 years old, "Umm al-Fahm" almond trees (Prunus dulcis (Miller) D.A. Webb) budded on Bitter almond rootstock and planted at 7x7 m apart. The trees were grown in sandy loam soil under rainfed conditions. This investigation was designed as in a factorial experiment with two factors i.e. the first factor six foliar spray treatments i.e. control, boric acid (H3 BO3) (B) at two concentrations (150 and 300 ppm), ascorbic acid (C6 H8 O6) (AsA) at two concentrations (750 and 1000 ppm) and boric acid (B) at 300 ppm plus ascorbic acid (AsA) at 1000 ppm and the second factor consisted of two application dates of the tested treatments, 15th September and 15th December on vegetative growth characteristics, fruit set percentage, yield and fruit quality. The results showed 300 ppm boron plus 1000 ppm ascorbic acid foliar spray gave the highest values for vegetative growth characteristics (shoot length increase, number of shoots/branch, number of leaves/shoot, leaf chlorophyll content and leaf area), fruit set percentage, yield , fruit quality (kernel weight, kernel length and kernel width) application date of foliar spray in 15th September had the highest significant effect on number of shoots/branch, leaf chlorophyll content in both seasons, and both leaf area and fruit set percentage in first season) fruit quality (kernel weight and kernel length in both seasons) than that foliar sprays on 15th December , but had no significant effect on shoot length increase, number of leaves per shoot, yield , kernel weight in both seasons also fruit set percentage in second season. Furthermore, the interaction between foliar spray treatments and application dates of foliar sprays indicated that 300 ppm boric acid plus 1000 ppm ascorbic acid foliar spray at 15th September recorded the highest values for vegetative growth characteristics fruit set percentage, yield and fruit quality.

A New Technology in the Manufacture of Appetizers Using Nanotechnology for Thyme Oil

2026-07-01T02:42:03+00:00

In recent years, consumer demand for products with natural preservatives has increased. Therefore, a modern trend in the food manufacturing sector has been to produce high-quality food while eliminating the need for artificial preservatives. In the current study, the using of both thyme oil and nano thyme oil (NTO) in manufacture of mayonnaise was evaluated for their effect. The TO was converted to NTO by using ultrasonic treatment which characterized by nanoscale=10nm and zeta potential= -14. The mayonnaise samples were processed by using 1,2 and 3% of TO and NTO, each one separately. Two mayonnaise control samples were processed, the first control sample (C1) was processed without TO and NTO, whilst the second control sample (C2) was processed by using 0.3% sodium benzoate. Zeta potential, antioxidant activity, sensory evaluation was estimated for all mayonnaise samples under investigation. Also, all mayonnaise samples were asset for pH and acidity during storage for 0, 2, 4 and 6 months, whilst for total count and yeast and molds for 0 and 4 months. Results showed that, the zeta potential yielded an average surface charge of -14.0 mV which made the formulation remained highly stable and showed no signs of phase separation. Both TO and NTO samples recorded the best values for DPPH, IC50 as compared with both C1 and C2 samples. Concerning the sensory properties, both TO1, TO2, NTO1 and NTO2 samples recorded a good overall acceptability. Likewise, at the end of storage period the TO and NTO samples exhibit an accepted pH, acidity values and had a longer shelf life. So, using TO and NTO with 1 and 2% in mayonnaise manufacture is recommend.