Heavy metal contamination in the El-Gharbia Governorate (District) of Egypt was identified by using remote sensing, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry as the main research tools. Digital Elevation Model (DEM), Landsat 8 and contour map images were used to map the landforms. Different physiographic units in the study area are represented by nine soil profiles. X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) was used for geochemical analysis of 33 soil samples. Vanadium (V), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) concentrations were measured and they all exceeded the average global concentrations identified by Wedepohl (1995). Ni and Cr concentrations exceeded recommended values in all soil profile horizons (Canadian Soil Quality Guidelines, 2007), while Cu had a variable distribution. Zn concentrations are under recommended concentration limits in most soil samples. Contamination Factor, Pollution Load Index and Degree of Contamination indices were used to assess the environmental risks of heavy metal contamination from the soils. All analysed metals pose some potential hazard and pollution levels were particularly high near industrial and urban areas

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Alternate furrow irrigation with proper irrigation intervals could save irrigation water and result in high grain yield with low irrigation costs in arid areas. Two field experiments were conducted in the Middle Nile Delta area of Egypt during the 2010 and 2011 seasons to investigate the impact of alternate furrow irrigation with 7-d (AFI7) and 14-d intervals (AFI14) on yield, crop water use efficiency, irrigation water productivity, and economic return of corn (Zea mays L.) as compared with every-furrow irrigation (EFI, conventional method with 14-d interval). Results indicated that grain yield increased under the AFI7 treatment, whereas it tended to decrease under AFI14 as compared with EFI. Irrigation water saving in the AFI7 and AFI14 treatments was approximately 7% and 17%, respectively, as compared to the EFI treatment. The AFI14 and AFI7 treatments improved both crop water use efficiency and irrigation water productivity as compared with EFI. Results also indicated that the AFI7 treatment did not only increase grain yield, but also increased the benefit-cost ratio, net return, and irrigation water saving. Therefore, if low cost water is available and excess water delivery to the field does not require any additional expense, then the AFI7 treatment will essentially be the best choice under the study area conditions.

This study evaluated how the fresh fine sawdust from Pinewood affects some hydro-physical properties of expansive soil which collected from the middle Nile Delta, Egypt. To fulfil this objective, a number of laboratory tests were carried on the clay loam soil samples collected from the depth of 0-30 cm. Clay loam soils were treated by sawdust at the rate of 0%, 1%, 2%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% on the dry weight basis. Various experimental methods were used to determine the variations in the falling-head permeability, the clay size fraction, the plasticity index, the linear shrinkage and the cracking width with different sawdust-amended soils. The results showed that the addition of sawdust decreases the clay size fraction, the plasticity index, the linear shrinkage and the cracking width, while it increases significantly the falling-head permeability, which is a sign improvement of soil hydro-physical properties. It can be concluded that sawdust had the potential to improve the hydro-physical properties of expansive soils, especially, when added into soil in between one to two percent on dry weight basis, above this percentage the improvement was much less significant and warranted by the clay content decrease.

Recycling waste, such as rice straw and water treatment residuals, is important to reduce harmful effects on the environment and to improve canola yield and soil quality in degraded soils. Nanotechnology for the production of nanomaterials from biochar and water treatment residues will be a future revolution for improving soil quality and increasing canola yield in degraded soil. Therefore, this study aims to identify the properties of some recycled nanomaterials, such as nanobiochar (nB) and nanowater treatment residue (nWTR), and their effect on the biological activity and productivity of canola in degraded soils. The results showed that the nWTR and nB contain many functional groups and minerals, and they also have high negative zeta potential. The addition of the studied soil amendments significantly improved microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and biological activity, which played a major role in increasing canola yield. The highest dehydrogenase (DHA) and catalase (CLA) activity was found in nWTR-treated soil at 50 mg kg−1, with increases of 32.8% and 566.7% compared to the control, respectively. The addition of nB greatly improved the growth of canola plants in the soil. This was evident from the increase in the weight of seeds, the weight of 1000 grains, the number of pods per plant, and the highest increase was for nB added at the rate of 250 mg per kg−1 soil. The addition of 50 mg kg−1 of nWTR gave the best results in seed yield by 150.64% compared to the control. These results indicate that recycled nWTR and nB are some of the best waste recycling treatments, in addition to good soil health, in increasing soil biology and canola yield in degraded soils. In the future, research on recycled nanomaterials should examine the residual effect they have on yield, soil quality, and soil fauna in the long term.