Scientific Conference for Agricultural Research (SCAR2012)

This study was conducted to investigate the pattern of calorie and protein consumption by Hebron University students. A sample size of 238 students (males and females) of ages ranged from 18 to 23years was the target of this study. A food frequency questionnaire was designed and used and a pilot survey was carried out among university students to identify the food items commonly eaten by them. Nutrient intakes were estimated by using WinDiets software with values based mainly on the food-composition tables. Results were expressed as mean and standard deviation (SD). ANOVA and Student’s paired t-test were used for data analysis. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. The study showed that fathers of all students investigated were of secondary education or higher. However, mothers were of lower levels of education. The majority of students were village residents (77%) while only 8% were refugee camps residence. This study showed that about 63% of students consumed less than 3 meals per day. Regarding the physical activity level (PAL), most of students had low to moderate activities (88%) compared to only 12% of them who had strong activity. Calorie and protein intake was not affected by gender. However, the intake of calories was lower than that is recommended.

Family income had a significant effect (P<0.05) on both calories and protein consumption. Similar significant trends were observed in the effects of family size and number of sibling. The study showed that the consumption of all nutrients concerned was higher in Fridays compared to the consumption in Saturdays and Mondays. However, this increase in consumption is not statistically significant.

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a warm-season perennial grass that is a major component of the prairies of North America. It is grown in monoculture for hay, grazing, erosion, and is a potential source for biofuel production as a feedstock. Genetic manipulation of the growth and development of switchgrass is needed for better cellulosic ethanol production, especially to improve cellulose- to-lignin ratios. Establishment of protoplasts techniques for switchgrass is of crucial importance to bioenergy biotechnology. Several genes can make significant improvements in agronomic and feedstock traits of switchgrass, such as, altered cellulose levels, dwarfism, drought resistance and pollen alterations that can be introduced via transgenesis. Although there is no substitute for stable transformation, current procedures are time-consuming, laborious, inefficient, and not suited for high-throughput assays. Conversely, the use of transient gene expression assays offers an opportunity to study large numbers of genes quickly, which would be advantageous for evaluating the transcriptional activity of different promoters, and might be especially useful for assaying cell biology and cell wall traits.

Here we report the first protocol for protoplasts isolation and transgene expression based on leaf- or root-derived protoplasts of two switchgrass genotypes. We demonstrated transient expression of polyethylene glycol (PEG)- mediated DNA uptake in the isolated protoplasts by measuring the activity of b-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene driven by either the Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter or the maize ubiquitin-1 promoter. Protoplast transformation with either the 35S or the ubiquitin promoter resulted in an increase in GUS activity compared to the untransformed controls; however, the extent of GUS activity was considerably higher for the ubiquitin promoter than for the 35S promoter. Our efficient protoplasts isolation and transient gene expression system provide insight into the versatility of the transient assay system in studies of gene expression in switchgrass.

The genetic diversity of 13 local Palestinian fig (Ficus carica L.) genotypes was investigated using RAPD markers. Among the 30 tested primers, 28 revealed various banding patterns and 2 generated no polymorphic bands. In addition, 13 primers (46.4%) produced good amplification products with high intensity and pattern stability. A total of 84 DNA fragments (loci), separated by electrophoresis on agarose gel were detected, ranging in size from 190 to 1300 bp. Of these fragments, 65 (77.4%) were polymorphic and 19 (22.6%) were monomorphic. A minimum of three and a maximum of seven DNA fragments were obtained using (OPH-02 and OPT-10) as well as (Z-08 and OPY-07) primers respectively. The maximum percentage of polymorphic markers was 100.0 (Z-5, Z-12, and OPT- 10) and the minimum was 60.0 (OPH-02). Primers OPY-07 and OPH-19 revealed high collective resolving power (Rp) values with 3.020 and 4.120 respectively and therefore, they were the most useful RAPD primers to assess the genetic diversity in the Palestinian figs. Genetic distance matrix showed an average distance range from 0.155 to 0.557 with a mean of 0.35. Thus, the cultivars tested in this study were characterized by large divergence at the DNA level. To our knowledge, this is the first report using RAPD marker to assess genetic diversity of Palestinian figs.

This study was performed to investigate the prevalence of Toxocara canis parasite in local districts in the north of West Bank of Palestine and to shed light on its impact on local public health. Random samples from 132 dogs were collected and examined for the parasite. The floating technique was used. Dogs were divided according to three age groups. Dogs of ages lower than 6 months, from 6 to 12 months of age and dogs of moe than 12 months of age. The target areas were the three main cities (Nablus, Jenin and Tulkarm) and three main villages for each city. Results of the study showed that the prevailing of the parasites in the targeted areas. Rural areas related to Jenin had the most infections (P<0.05) compared to Jenin district. However, young dogs had more (P<0.05) infections compared to old ones. Several recommendations were provided to reduce the impact of the infection on public health

The olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae (Gmelin) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is the most serious insect pest of olive fruits in the world. This insect was observed infesting olive orchard in Palestine. If not controlled, crop losses may reach 80% in the oil producing areas and 100% in areas growing table olive varieties (Broumas et al, 2001). This research was designed to be conducted in two years (2011-2012).

First year included monitoring the flight activity of the olive fruit fly in three sites
in Bethlehem (Bateer, Hendaza and Tqoa); and recording the rate of infestation in each orchard, and depending on the results of the first year, a management program will be applied in the second year using control measures including: mass trapping using pheromone traps and food baits. Preliminary results of the first year showed that, the rate of infestation in orchards was at harvesting period as follows: Handaza 90%, Bateer 56%, and Tqoa 64%.

This research study was carried out in 2009 summer growing season in Al- Baqaa area near Amman to test six increasing rates of plant populations on growth and yield of okra, variety `Clemson spineless. Treatments consisted of six planting populations (10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 thousand plants/ha). Field lay out was a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results showed that increasing plant population increased yield up to 50,000 plants/ ha. Although, there was an increasing trend, okra yield under 60,000 plants/ha was not significant over that of the 50,000 plants/ha.However, plant population significantly affected plant height, number of leaves per plant, number of pods per plant and number of branches per plant but there was no significant effect
of different plant populations on dry pod weight. Constant trend towards higher
pod N, P and K contents by using lower planting populations were significantly
noticed. At the conditions of this study, it could be concluded that, the okra yielding ability was statistically similar under the most higher plant populations of 40, 50 and 60 thousand plants/ha.

To explore the dogs role in distribution of Human Coetaneous leishmaniasis in Syria, 40 dogs blood samples where chosen randomly in districts of Hama, Idlep, Aleppo, Homs and Lattakia distributed in regions of Hama city, Hurbnefseh, Kufrtanour, Maara, Sheikhbahar, Menan, Hadedah, Houleh and Esawe`eh. DNA extraction was done in graduate studies laboratory in veterinary collage. Polymerase chain reaction PCR test for Leishmania tropica –the main causative of human coetaneous Leishmaniasis- was done and showed positive results in 8 samples(20%) of total cases, the highest prevalence of Leishmania tropica was in Hama 50% followed by (Menan, Hadedah, Kufrtanour- Sheikhbahar) (22.2%, 21.4%, 20%) respectively . The fast strep test (rK-39) specific for L. infantum the causative of human coetaneous Leishmaniasis according to recent studies - on 217 dogs in many districts showed a positive result on 55 dogs (25.3 %) of total cases. 23% of dogs were infected with L. infantum in human coetaneous Leishmaniasis endemic areas, 11% in sporadic human coetaneous Leishmaniasis areas, 28% in human visceral Leishmaniasis areas, 32% in human visceral and coetaneous Leishmaniasis districts . Results reveals a significant variation between dogs infection and owners cultural economic situation, it was (53%, 38%, 9%) in the situations (poor, medium, high) respectively. A primary study in Hama and Aleppo districts on ten peoples infected with Leishmania lesions using (rK-39) fast strep tests –specific for L. infantum – shows positive result in two cases (20%) of total cases

The incidence of watermelon chlorotic stunt disease and the molecular characterization of the Palestinian isolate of Watermelon chlorotic stunt virus (WmCSV-[PA]) were studied. In 2008, and 2010, symptomatic leaf samples were collected from watermelon (Citrullus lanatus Thunb.), squash (Cucurbita pepo), and cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) plants. Disease incidence ranged from 8-98% and was associated with whitefly (Bemesia tabaci) infestation. Analysis of collected samples by PCR and RCA revealed that 42.6 % (101 out of 237) of the samples collected from Jenin and Qalqilieh were infected with WmCSV-[PA]. 27 out of the 110 samples collected from Jenin were found to be mixed infected with WmCSV-[PA] and Squash leaf curl virus. The amplified full-length DNA-A of WmCSv [PA] was cloned and sequenced. The sequence of 2017 bp was deposited in the GenBank under accession number JN201809. Sequence analysis reveals that WmCSV-[PA] fragment comprising the conserved region of the coat protein (AV1), AC5, AC3, AC1, and AC2 genes, is closely related to other virus isolates from WmCSV-[JO] (99%), Israel (WmCSV-[IL]) (99%), Lebanon (WmCSV- [LB]) (99%), Sudan (WmCSV-[SD]) (98%), Iran (WmCSV-[IR]) (98%), and Yemen (AJ012081) (97%). The new emergent disease in Palestine was detected in all the surveyed fields in regions where cucurbits are intensively grown, only a few kilometers east of Israel. This suggests that the introduction of WmCSV to the PA might have occurred through transplant movement between Israel and the PA or through viruleferous whiteflies that moved from infected plants in Israel to neighboring fields in Jenin and Qalqilia. The virus endangers the production
of watermelon in the affected areas to the point of becoming the limiting factor
of growing watermelon in open fields. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a WmCSV (whitefly-transmitted geminivirus infecting cucurbits) in Palestine

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding garlic powder and dried thyme leaves on the performance, digestibility, dressing percentage, carcass and non carcass cuts and lipid profile of broilers. A total of 216 day-old Cobb-500 chicks were used in this experiment. Birds were divided into nine experimental treatments of 24 birds in each. Each treatment was composed of 4 replicates with 6 birds in each replicate. The control group was fed a commercial starter and finisher diet. The second and third groups were supplemented with garlic at the rate of 0.2 and 0.4%, respectively. Birds in fourth and fifth groups were supplemented with thyme at the rate of 0.02 and 0.04%, respectively. The birds in the last four experimental groups were supplemented with a mixture of the supplements at the two levels (0.2%+0.02% for the sixth group, 0.4%+0.04% for the seventh group, 0.2% + 0.04% for the eighth group and 0.4% + 0.02% for the ninth group). In the last week of experiment, three birds from each experimental unit were used in metabolic and slaughter trials. Blood samples from all groups were collected on 3rd, 4 and 5th weeks of age from wing vein for lipid profile studies. Total cholesterol (TCHO), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL) levels were determined. Results of this study showed that both garlic powder and the dried thyme leaves when fed separately had no significant effects on broilers weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, carcass cuts, visceral organs. However, both plants decreased (P<0.05) the levels of serum cholesterol (CHO), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and the high density lipoprotein (HDL) compared to the control birds. The digestibility of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP) and ether extract (EE) was improved by feeding garlic powder and dried thyme leaves individually. Diets supplemented with mixture of garlic powder and dried thyme leaves caused a significant improvement (P<0.05) in final body weight, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, dressing percentages, carcass weight, EE and the digestibility of DM, CP and EE compared to other treatments and the control chicks. These mixtures at different levels and separately caused a significant reduction (P<0.05) in the levels of CHO, TG, and LDL, and cause improvement in (HDL). The mixtures used had no effect on carcass cuts and visceral organ weight. It can be concluded that garlic powder and dried thyme leaves supplements can provide positive advantages in broilers performance.

This study was undertaken to investigate the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites (GIP) in goats and sheep kept under extensive and intensive management systems in the district of Jenin, Palestine, during the period from January to December 2010. Factors affecting diversity, distribution and intensity of infection by GIP were investigated. Data about farm history and breeding management were collected by means of a questionnaire. A total of 810 faecal samples from small ruminants composed of 285 and 525 samples from intensive and extensive rearing systems, respectively, were collected from eight villages (Yamoun, Bet qad, Merkah, Talfeet, Kfaret, Tarem, Jab`a and Aneen).. GIP species diversit(proportion of each species in the community) was investigated. A total of thirteen genera of the GIPs, included (eleven nematodes, one cestode (Moniezia spp) and one protozoan (Eimeria spp) were recovered. The results showed fewer diversity of GIP in intensive rearing system. The prevalence of GIPs in animals reared under extensive system (26.5%) was significantly higher (P<0.01) than those reared under intensive system (7.9%). The prevalence values of GIPs differed significantly (P<0.01) between some villages. The highestprevalence of infection (30.8%) was in Tarem with a proportion of (21.1 %) and the lowest (7.7%) in Betqad with a proportion of (5.3%). The dominant parasite was Eimeria spp (81.1% prevalence and 34.2% proportion) of total parasites in the area. This was followed by Dictyocaulus spp (49.1% prevalence, 20.7% proportion) and Haemonchus spp (23.1% prevalence and 9.7% proportion). Results showed that, animals kept under intensive grazing system had lower prevalence of GIP with low diversity (Eimeria spp, Dictyocaulus spp, Trichostrongylus spp, Neoscaris spp, and Ascaris spp than animals kept under extensive grazing system with a higher diversity (Eimeria spp, Dictyocaulus spp, Haemonchus spp, Moniezia spp, Trichostrongylus spp, Strongylus spp, Neoscaris spp, Nematodirus spp, Strongyloides spp, Ascaris spp, Cooperia spp, Chabertia spp and Trichuris spp). The occurrence of parasites with zoonotic significance (Eimeria spp, Dictyocaulus spp and Haemonchus spp) is also discussed.

This study was conducted to estimate heritability (h²) of milk and reproductive traits in four sheep breeds in the West Bank: Awassi, Improved Awassi, Assaf, and Awassi x Assaf. The data were obtained from the Demonstration Farms project of the Middle East Small Ruminant Regional Program. Milk traits were total milk yield (TMY), total milk yield to 120 days of lactation (TMY120) and to 150 days of lactation (TMY150). Reproductive traits included number of lambs born per ewe lambing (NB), number of lambs born alive per ewe lambing (NBA), and lambing interval (LI). For milk traits, the number of ewes (n) and number of records (l) were: n=287, l=435 for Awassi; n=138, l=224 for Improved Awassi; n=254, l= 339 for Assaf, and n=564, l= 758 for Awassi x Assaf. For reproductive traits, n=448, l=778 for Awassi; n=153, l=431 for Improved Awassi; n=433, l= 968 for Assaf, and n=803, l= 1505 for Awassi x Assaf. Heritability estimates were obtained with a mixed model using derivative-free REML procedure. The estimates for TMY ranged from 0 in Awassi x Assaf to 0.10 in Improved Awassi. For TMY120 and TMY150, heritability ranged from 0 in Awassi x Assaf to 0.16 in Awassi. The estimates for NB varied form 0 in Awassi x Assaf to 0.09 in Awassi, and from 0 in Awassi x Assaf to 0.15 in Awassi for NBA. For LI, heritability was 0.03 in Awassi and 0 for the other breeds. Most records (except for Improved Awassi) lacked sire and dam identification which may have affected the estimates which had large standard errors. The estimates of heritability for prolificacy traits (NB and NBA) in Awassi indicate that selection could be used for genetic improvement of these traits. Estimates for milk traits need further investigation. We recommend that management should be further controlled and efficient on-farm recording system should be established whereby performance and pedigree affiliation are routinely recorded.

A collection of 120 different accessions of oats from different countries in the
region were used in this study to find new sources of resistance to oat leaf rust, and
powdery mildew and to characterize the resistance to rust in oats under controlled conditions to study the components of resistance to the macroscopic level. A local wild accession collected from the experimental farm of the Faculty of Agriculture at Tulkarm, Palestine was used as a susceptible control. Accessions were sown in November 2008 in three complete randomized blocks. Each accession was represented by 25–30 seeds in a single row, 1 m long per replicate. A spreader row, of the local accession, was sown every five accessions of the collection as a spreader and control. Disease severity (DS) was estimated three times during the growing season as the percentage of leaves covered by the pathogens. These 3 evaluations were used to calculate Area under Disease Progress Curve (AUDPC).

The susceptible local accession (control accession) showed 56% DS (100% AUDPC) of powdery mildew. DS ranged from very high to very low, and the frequently distribution was markedly skewed towards high DS. During the same growing season the susceptible local accession (control accession) showed 48% DS (100% AUDPC) of rust. DS of rust ranged from very high to very low, and the frequently distribution was markedly skewed towards low DS. Nearly half of the collection displayed AUDPC < 50%. Thirteen of them, with AUDPC ≤ 20% (10.8% of the collection), were selected to study their reaction to leaf rust at seedling stage. These resistant accessions were selected and grown in the field to obtain seeds for further studies.

The absences or insufficient food control program result in occurrence of mycotoxin in milk and milk product, which has a serious risk for human and can be a public health concern. This study was conducted to highlight the occurrence of aflatoxin M1 in Palestine raw milk collected at the farm level from cities of Tulkarm, Nablus and Jenine. Aflatoxin M1 was determined by direct competitive ELISA technique. 85% (34 of 40) of the total examined raw milk samples tested were positive. The aflatoxin M1 contamination levels were between 3-80 ppt with the mean of 29.57 ppt. There was a high incidence rate with 93% (13 of 14) and the highest means of contaminated with aflatoxin M1 in the samples tested in Tulkarm city (P≤ 0.05). 20% of analyzed sample (8 of 40) exceeded the maximum permissible limit (50 ppt) in European Codex, with range of 2-80 ppt.

Between 2010 and 2011, a study of seroprevalence and some risk factors for Brucella seropositively in sheep and goats has been carried out in the south province of West Bank. A total of six hundred twenty sheep sera from 15 flocks and 145 goats sera from 5 flocks were randomly collected and analyzed. Rose Bengal test was used to screen all serum samples. The positive samples were subjected to confirmatory by complement fixation test. Moreover, a complete history was compiled from each flock. The true prevalence of Brucella seropositive in sheep was 21.1% and in goats was 24.6%. Brucella melitensis biotype 3 was isolated from 11 aborted fetuses and from 24 milk samples. It was concluded that brucellosis is still common in sheep and goats in West Bank. It is recommended for prevention of the disease in animals by vaccinating young female animals aged from three to six months with standared full dose of 1 to 2 x 109 CFU also recommendations were given to control the disease in animals and to a void brucellosis in humans.

The main purpose of this research is to provide information about the effect of Bifidobacterium longum ATCC15707 on the characteristics of yogurt during different of storage period. The B.longum was obtained from Laboratory of Food and Nutrition Collection Culture Gadjah Mada University and a S.thermophillus + L.bulgaricus (1:1) was obtained from a commercial yogurt (Milkuat). This re- search was performed in Laboratory of Animal Science and Dairy Milk Process- ing Industry, Gadjah Mada University, used 8 L fresh milk cow, yogurt sample were stored at 4 ºC for 28 days. Research using Completely Randomized Design with Factorial pattern A x B (4 x 2). Factor A is the ration between yogurt starter ST+Lb and BL (T1 is control 4% from yogurt starter, T2 1:3 (v/v), T3 2:2 (v/v), T4 3:1(v/v)). Factor B is the storage period (1 and 21 days) for chemical, physi- cal and organoleptic analyses and (1, 14, 21 and 28) for microbial. Parameters measured are microbiology (total lactic acid bacteria), chemistry (acidity, pH, fat content, protein content, and lactose), and physical (viscosity). If there is a real effect of treatment was followed by Duncan Multiple Test. Microbial counts were log transformed and statistically evaluated. The result indicated that the yogurt produce with 3% (S.thermophillus and L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus) and 1% B.longum ATCC15707 during storage period (1 and 21 days) at 4 ºC effected significantly to increase acidity and the storage period effected to decreased vis- cosity and total lactic acid bacteria during storage period at 4 ºC.

An experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of fermented wheat bran with rumen liquor at different inclusion rates on the performance of broilers at age from 21-35 days. Rumen liquor was collected and immediately mixed with wheat bran. The ingredient was incubated in sealed bags for 24 days at room temperature and then was sun dried for approximately 30 hrs. A total of 205 one-day-old male and female Cobb broiler chicks were fed commercial diets from 1-20 days of age. Four isonitrogenous and isocaloric experimental finisher diets were prepared as follows: control (C), diet 2 contained 5% rumen filtrate fermented wheat bran (FWB5%), diet 3 contained 10% rumen filtrate fermented wheat bran (FWB10%) and diet 4 contained 15% rumen filtrate fermented wheat bran (FWB15%). At 21 days of age chicks were divided randomly into four experimental groups. Every treatment group contained four replicates of 12 birds each using completely randomized design (CRD). The chicks were fed the experimental diets from 21-35 days of age. Body weight gain, feed consumption and feed conversion ratio were measured throughout the experiment. The measurements of carcass traits and economical parameters were determined at the end of the experiment. Feed consumption, weight gain, feed conversion ratio and carcass characteristics were not sinificantly affected across treatments. The results of this study indicated that fermented wheat bran with rumen filtrate up 15% inclusion rate can be used in the broiler finisher diet without any adverse effects on parameters during the finishing phase of broilers.

Safflower represents an oil crop believed to have putatively low nutrient requirement and high nutrient efficiency, but current knowledge regarding its nutrient use efficiency (NUE) as compared to similar oil crops is limited. It was thus the aim of this study to determine NUE of safflower as compared to sunflower with respect to P supply in pot experiments. Safflower and sunflower were cultivated with increasing P supply in a mixture of equal volumes of sand, nutrient-poor limed soil, and perlite in 6 L Mitscherlich pots. Sunflower accumulated much more P (mg / pot) than safflower at all equivalent P supplies especially at low levels, but both accumulated the same P amounts at their individual optimal supplies. Uptake efficiency (mg P accumulated (mg P provided)-1) was higher in sunflower than safflower at all equivalent P supplies including their optimal levels. Sunflower contained higher P concentration (mg P (g DM-1)) than safflower at low P supplies only; while safflower needed more P concentration in their tissues at optimal levels. Agronomic efficiency interpreted as g P required to produce fixed amount of achenes was higher in safflower than sunflower at optimal and suboptimal P supply indicating the superiority of sunflower in term of the efficiency to use external P supply to produce achenes than safflower. Sunflower was much more efficient at their optimal P supplies to utilize absorbed P than safflower in term of efficiency ratio (g achene (g P accumulated)-1) and utilization index (g achene / (g P (g DM)-1).

Safflower showed higher efficiency in utilizing P at the very severe P deficiency than sunflower in term of efficiency ratio but it was a dilution effect not efficiency itself when interpreted in term of utilization index, while sunflower was found better P utilizer than safflower under moderate P deficiency interpreting utilization efficiency in term of efficiency ratio and utilization index. Harvest Index in sunflower out-yielded that of safflower at low and optimal P supplies. It can be concluded that safflower has a high requirement for P with respect to growth and yield; sunflower is more efficient than safflower in term of uptake and utilization of P at optimal and sub-optimal P supplies indicating that safflower failed to be a low nutrient input crop in term of phosphorus.

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of force molting methods on post molt performance of laying hens. To achieve this , 85 Hi - Line egg laying hens , 60 wk of age were exposed to one of the following molt treatments: treatment 1, full feed ( FF) non -molted control ; treatment 2, feed withdrawal ( FW) conventional molt ; treatment 3, rumen content ( RC) molt ; treatment 4, rumen «content and alfalfa (50 : 50) molt. Each treatment was divided into two replicates in which 11 hens in each replicate were housed invidividually . A CRD design was implemented in the experiment. The results of this experiment indicated that hens subjected to feed withdrawal (FW), rumen content (RC),and rumen content mixed with alfalfa (RCAA) methods showed significantly greater (P < 0.05) percentage of body weight loss, (32.66 ,31.17 ,and 34.33 % ) compared to those in the FF treatment . Organ weight loss occured simultaneously with loss in body weight (BW) at the end of the experiments. No significant differences were noticed for hens in-terms of feed intake (FI) or feed conversion ratio (FCR) in all treatments in post molt experimental period that lasts 56 days. FF hens had significantly lower (P < 0.05) hen-day egg production when compared with all other treatments after 8 weeks. Also RCAA hens had numerically higher egg production than F W or RC hens. The egg weight was not different across treatments, but egg output was significantly lower for FF than the other treatments. Egg quality, (shell, albumin and yolk weight) were not influenced by the treatment, but numerically was in favor of FF. It is concluded that rumen content and rumen content with alfalfa provide a viable alternative to feed with - drawal for induction of molt and retention of post molt performance.

The influence of using different rootstocks on the success of grafting, plant growth, fruit yield and quality of two watermelon cultivars was studied. The evaluation was conducted in open field trial in Bardalla. The cultivars used as scions were ‹watermelon cv. ‹ACC.5› and cv.‹9›, and as rootstock; Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata), Gladioter watermelon(Citrullus lanatus var. Gladioter), Al- kamari squash (Cucurbita pepo var. Melopepo), and Ein-senna squash(Cucurbita maxima)›. One cotyledon (splice/slant-cut) grafting method was used. The two scion cultivars were grafted into the four rootstock in addition to self grafted and non grafted plants. The non grafted watermelon plants were used as a control. The results indicated a high percentage (90-100%) of plant survival for both cultivars grafted onto the different rootstocks. The total fruit yield of grafted plants was significantly higher than that of non-grafted plants. The highest total production was obtained when both Pumpkin and Gladioter rootstocks (15.1 and 14.2 kg/plant respectively) were used. On the other hand, both Ein-senna and self-grafted plants resulted in the lowest production (10.4 and 11.3kg/plants respectively). Grafted plants in both Pumpkin and Gladioter rootstocks were more vigorous than that grafted onto Ein-senna rootstock. Plants grafted onto ‘Pumpkin’ and ‘Gladioter’ produced (8363 gm/plant and 8050 gm/plant vegetative fresh weight, however, plants grafted onto Ein-senna rootstock and self-grafted produced less vegetative fresh weight (4263 gm/plant and5293 gm/plant), respectively, whereas, non- grafted (control) plants had the lower vegetative fresh weight in both cultivars. Both control and self-grafted plants showed earliness in their production, grafting improved stem length, number of lateral branches per plant, number of leaves per branch, root length, vegetative fresh and dry weights of stem, leaves and root weight. An in increase in fruit Brix value was obtained in all grafting combination excepted with Ein-senna rootstock (4.5), the higher brix value was obtained when Gladioter rootstock was used (12.5%). These results indicated that, in addition of controlling soil pathogens, grafting watermelon plants onto certain rootstock can improve their growth, production and fruit quality.

Different landfills in Jenin district were selected in this research. Those are considered the main garbage destinations for the northern part of the West Bank. Due to hypothesis predicting possible drastic effects on agricultural crops, the experiment was carried out to study the impact of such landfills on nearby olive orchards. The results showed that, since their build up, the landfills have caused drastic reductions of olive yield from an average of 150 kg/dunum to 56 kg/dunum within four years. Furthermore, most olive trees were damaged and many died pushing the yield down to nil. On the other hand, the effect of landfills was studied on vegetables under laboratory conditions. For that, different dilutions of the landfill leachate were used to irrigate tomato and pepper plants. The results showed that leachate caused many negative effects including plant stunting and reduction in leaf surface area when compared with control plants regardless of the amount of dilution used, but these results appeared to be more pronounced in those without dilution. On the other hand, the chlorophyll concentration was higher in plants treated with the zero dilution of leachate when compared with other treatments. Number of dropped leaves was greater in plants treated with the zero dilution of leachate when compared with the other dilutions and the control. The plants treated with zero dilution died before other treatments. Conclusion: Leachate may have a drastic effect on nearby cultivated plants and could affect plant growth and lead to premature plant death.