In this edition
- The Last Mustafa Miqdadi
- Firethorn (Pyricatha coccinea M. Roem) is a perennial, spiny, semi-evergreen shrub native to certain countries but introduced into others as an ornamental. The genus Pyricatha includes more than 10 species all are used as ornamentals in different parts of the world. The plant is rich in chemicals many of which are toxic with HCN is most. Fruits have some uses in food but after being well cooked. Generally the plant is poisonous because of HCN, maytansine and other chemicals present in leaves, seeds and bitter taste fruits. Hydrogen cyanide causes failure/paralysis in the respiratory system at high dose and lead to death. Fruits are highly toxic and may cause vomiting, stomach ache, toungh burns and diarrhea. The toxic maytansine inhibits mitosis, interferes in microtubulus formation and prevents synthesis of nucleic acids and greatly affects the DNA. Firethorn is grown on streets, home and public gardens and other places as an ornamental plant of different fruit colors, as a hedge and an espalier feature. It is an attractive plant to the wildlife and mainly birds.
- irrigation scheduling is the process of planning and making decisions, which taken by the supervisor in sites to determine time of irrigation, amount of water that should be added to ensure that plants are growing well, and to improve the efficiency of using water and maintain the safety of irrigation network. Irrigation scheduling requires calculating water needs for plants, information about soil, and using humidity sensors for plants, soil, and weather. Therefore, the goal of good management of the system is to add nutrients with the right amount of water at the right time in areas where the cost of water is high, which helps in good control of the irrigation network and saves the cost of water and energy used in addition to better plants growth.
- Strawponic is an innovative and exotic system for growing potato on soil surface (bare soil, turfgrass, straw, any soft medium) using crop straw as a cover. A field trial was carried out at AREC by Mr. Ali. Msheik to test the suitability and economical viability of this system for small potato producers in the Beq’aa plain. Simply, potato tubers were placed on bare soil surface (no cultivation) containing animal manure, covered them with a blanket of crop straw, and watered through drip irrigation system. Straw was removed by hand at the end of the growing season and potato tubers were picked up by hand. This system is simple, economical (no machinery, no soil bed preparation, no digging or hilling, and suitable potato yield), sustainable (no contamination/pollution-no herbicides), saves water, appropriate for dry and urban areas (gardens) and suitable for organic farming
- Stone fruits considered economically important crops in Jordan and many Arab countries. Unfortunately, many insect pests and plant diseases attack them. One of the most important insect pests attacking stone fruits is the root borer Capnodis spp.
Capnodis has become recently a devastating insect of stone fruits orchard in the highlands of Jordan. Adult insect is a beetle, black in color, and the chest and wings have white dots. Females appear in the spring to lay eggs in groups in the ground surrounding to the stem. Newly hatched larvae move down into the roots, penetrate them, dig tunnels into the campume, leaving behind sawdust, and staying in the roots for a year or more. Capnodis has one generation a year. In case of heavy infection, especially if the trees are weak, branches will dried out. For control, several practices could be applied. Of these are collecting adult insects in the spring and summer, strengthening the trees health, and making sure that the seedlings you want to plant are free from injury. Infected dried trees must taking off and burned. To protect trees from infestation, irrigate the ground near the stem with a pesticide solution – such as amidacloprid or chloropyrifos insecticides. - Substantial evidence in dairy cattle supports the beneficial effects of trace minerals, fatty acids, and amino acids supply during late pregnancy on calves’ growth and immune functions during the pre-weaning period. Thus, increasing our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of developmental programming will lead to develop better diets for dairy cows to meet neonatal calf growth and immunity requirements.
- The emerging pandemic of the coronavirus has caused many significant changes in the daily lives of people around the world especially in eating habits, but there are things that we can done to maintain a healthy lifestyle in these difficult times. Everyone is encouraged to follow the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and government recommendations for protection against transmission of infection as good social distancing and personal hygiene that is washing hands with soap and water or sterilizing them with disinfectants such as alcohol are the best ways to protect you and protect others from the emerging corona virus.
Good nutrition is very important before infection in order to prevent the virus, during and after infection in order to improve the efficiency of the immune system and increase the speed of recovery without any complications. Although there are no foods or supplements that can prevent infection of the emerging coronavirus, maintaining a healthy diet is an important part of a mechanism to support and strengthen the body’s immune system in order to quickly prevent and recover from the virus