A field trial was carried out at the Rice Research Station in Mushkhab ( Najaf/ south of Iraq)State Broad for Agricultural Researches, during the Summer of 2013 in Clay Loam soil. The experiment was laid in split plot with two replications, to test the drought tolerance of different local and foreign varieties of rice .Rice varieties used were 6 varieties of aerobic rice   from the International Rice Research Institute(IRRI) and local cultivars Anber33 and Jasmine. Two methods of irrigation ,flood irrigation, and 6 irrigation levels at "-10,-33,-50,-100 KPa" were used in this investigation .Studied parameters were: plant height ,spike length, flag leaf area, % of infertility , weight of 1000 grains and grain yield. Results indicated that varieties and irrigation treatments and their interaction had no significant differences on  % of infertility and plant height .Varieties had significant effect on grain yield while irrigation treatment effected significantly on weight of 1000 grains. Interaction between varieties and irrigation had no significant effect on % of infertility , weight of 1000 grains and grain yield. Besides, irrigation treatments and varieties and their interaction had no significant effect on deltoid length.

Finding a rich and natural source of potassium nutrient is a major challenge facing banana cultivation. In this study, four different sources of Potassium: potassium sulphate, slow release (feldspar), bio-fertilizer (yeast & potassin) and potassium thiosulphate were used to evaluate their effects on growth & fruit production of Grand Nain banana cultivar grown at Luxor Governorate condition, Egypt. The results indicated that using yeast or feldspar alone or in combination as a source of potassium and potassin significantly increased all growth aspects, yield and fruit quality compared to fertilize by potassium sulphate (check treatment); Moreover, there were insignificant differences in these studied traits due to fertilize with yeast, feldspar alone or in combination as well as spraying potassium thiosulphate or potassin. Using yeast or feldspar plus yeast were very effective in enhancing all growth aspects, yield, bunch traits and fruit characteristics compared to untreated ones; So, it is evident from the foregoing result that using feldspar or yeast alone or in combination improved the growth, nutritional status and fruiting of Grand Nain banana plants;. In addition, they are beneficial in organic farming production since they improve the soil structure and fertility; also, reduce the cost of production and environmental pollution.

The chemical analysis of spring and autumn leaves of plum can give important informations for the relation between chemical components and the susceptibility of plum leaves to be infested with aphid. So, spring and, autumn leaves from the local plants Prunus domestica L. were subjected to chemical analysis to isolate the flavonoid coumarins which are phenylpropanoid in origin especially those formed by ring closer to a C6-C3 compound such as ohydroxy cinamic acid. Results revealed that spring and summer leaves, have been containing either hydroxy or oxy-coumarin (HC or OC) in the C3, propane unit. Whereas the autumn leaves contain coumarin with C3, unsaturated propane unit. When the commercial coumarins were tested against adults of the aphid. Hyalopterus arundinis (Fabr) through stretched membrane on synthetic diet, coumarin gave feeding stimulants at 2X10 -3 molar while the other two compounds (HC and OC) changed the effect of the molecule on aphid feeding from stimulatory to inhibitory. Hydroxy coumarin was very feeding inhibitor at 2.5 X 10 -3 molar while oxy-coumarin was lethal at 1.5 X 10 3 molar. That may, in part, explain why aphid harboured abundantly plum plants in autumn, since the leaves are containing coumarin which used as an antifrost agent and protected them with their adults, from severe cooling during winter. On the contrary, the spring and summer leaves have been containing hydroxy and oxy-coumarin. In Egypt, aphids protect themselves against the low temperature of winter by feeding on Handaquoq and sweet clover in which they have coumarin.

Two different experiments were carried out to evaluate the toxicity and insecticidal activity of the fertilizer, potassium sulfate against two species of green bug Nezara virdula, and leafhopper Empoasca discipiens (Paoli) infesting tomato plant. The first experiment was done in the laboratory to determine the toxicity of the tested material by spraying different concentration on tomato seedling in pots artificially infested with leafhopper and green bug while the second one was done in field to determine the insecticidal activity against leafhopper and green bug besides the phytotoxicity of potassium sulfate when sprayed at concentrations 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75% on tomato crop. Results obtained indicated that potassium sulfate showed high toxic effect against the two species of leaf hopper and green bug since LC5o were 8.9 and 8.6 ppm on green bug and leafhopper respectively, while the second experiment indicated that concentration 0.5% was suitable for controlling the two species of insect leaf hopper and green bug without any phytotoxic effect on tomato plant.