The oil of canola (Brassica napus L.), a globally important major oilseed crop, is used for salads, frying, the development of margarines, shortenings, and other food products. However, the growth and yield of canola are mainly restricted by drought and salinity, which can become acute in climate change. The exogenous application of some antioxidants has been shown to enhance tolerance to drought and salinity in select plants. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the effect of drought and salinity stress is crucial for understanding their adverse effect on canola cultivation and to establish useful strategies to maximize oil productivity. Given the economic importance of this crop, we reviewed studies within the extensive canola literature to assess the adverse effects of abiotic stresses, with a special emphasis on drought, water deficit and salinity, and how these stresses impact its growth and productivity in a bid to determine the role that antioxidants might play in alleviating the adverse effects of environmental stresses. This review notes how the productivity of canola tends to decrease under different abiotic stresses due to their adverse effect on morphological, physiological and biochemical processes, including lowered or reduced leaf area, leaf relative water content, stability of cell membranes, photosynthetic capacity, stomatal conductance, damage to chlorophyll and the production of reactive oxygen species. In addition, this review also discusses management strategies that would allow researchers or farmers to mitigate salinity and drought stress by using compatible solutes, nutrient management or other means to maximize canola yield. The application of antioxidants to soil, in combination with essential nutrients, alongside other management strategies, may assist in alleviating the harmful effects of environmental stresses in canola production.

ABSTRACT. Foliar sprays application is an important crop management strategy, which could help to maximize yield and other beneficial substances. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted at Kafrelsheikh University research farm, Egypt, to study the effect of stimulating compounds (control, salicylic acid and ascobien) and nitrogen levels (0, 57.5, 115, 172.5 and 230 kg N ha -1 ) on yield and nitrogen utilization efficiency of wheat. Results indicated that spraying of ascobien and increasing nitrogen level had significant effect on yield traits. Interaction between stimulating compounds and nitrogen were achieved progressive increases in all yield traits, furthermore, the magnitude of increments was much more pronounced in response to salicylic acid and control treatments in both seasons. It was observed no statistically significant difference between 172.5 and 230 kg N ha -1 in both seasons. A significant interactive effect were observed on grain N uptake, whole plant N uptake, nitrogen harvest index (NHI), nitrogen utilization efficiency (NU t E) and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) by using foliar spraying combined with N fertilizer. Grain N uptake and whole plant N uptake were closely correlated with nitrogen under stimulating compounds, whereas ascobien with 172.5 kg N ha -1 was more effective than salicylic acid in both seasons. Interestingly, foliar spraying of ascobien and N level of 172.5 kg ha -1 was the optimal and could be a useful to improve the efficiency of N-fertilizer and it can be saved 57.5 kg N ha -1 . Consequently, could be the key to reduce the need for chemical fertilizers and decrease the cost of production.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is one of the most important perennial forage crops to build effective diets for livestock producers. Forage crop improvement depends largely on the availability of diverse germplasms and their efficient utilization. The present investigation was conducted at Ismailia Agricultural Research Station to assess twenty-one alfalfa genotypes for yield components, forage yield and quality traits during 2019/2020 and 2020/2021. The genotypes were evaluated in field experiments with three replicates and a randomized complete block design, using analysis of variance, estimate of genetic variability, estimate of broad sense heritability (hb2) and cluster analysis to identify the inter relationships among the studied genotypes as well as principal component analysis (PCA) to explain the majority of the total variation. Significant differences were found among genotypes for all studied traits. The general mean of the studied traits was higher in the second year than the first year. Moreover, the combined analysis showed highly significant differences between the two years, genotypes and the year × gen. interaction for the traits studied. The genotype F18 recorded the highest values for plant height, number of tiller/m2, total fresh yield and total dry yield, while, the genotype F49 ranked first for leaf/stem ratio. The results showed highly significant variation among the studied genotypes for crude protein %, crude fiber % and ash %. Data revealed that the genotypes P13 and P5 showed the highest values for crude protein %, whereas, the genotype F18 recorded the highest values for crude fiber % and ash content. The results revealed high estimates of genotypic coefficient and phenotypic coefficient of variation (GCV% and PCV%) with high hb2, indicating the presence of genetic variability and effective potential selection for these traits. The cluster analysis exhibited considerable genetic diversity among the genotypes, which classified the twenty one genotypes of alfalfa into five sub-clusters. The genotypes F18, F49, K75, S35, P20, P5 and P13 recorded the highest values for all studied traits compared with other clusters. Furthermore, the PC analysis grouped the studied genotypes into groups and remained scattered in all four quadrants based on all studied traits. Ultimately, superior genotypes were identified can be utilized for crop improvement in future breeding schemes.

No abstract

Soybean (Glycine max L.) is an important oilseed crop around the world. Soybean growth, development and productivity are affected by changing environments that induce abiotic stresses. In soybean, salinity acts as a major abiotic stress that increases electrolyte leakage as well as Na + and proline content in plants, and adversely affects plant physiology. This review offers an understanding of how the growth, yield attributes, and yield of soybean decrease under salinity stress. To appreciate how soybean can better adapt to a changing climate that induces salinity stress, an understanding of the mechanisms underlying this stress is needed. Improved performance and yield in response to salinity stress can emerge from the application of novel strategies, such as the development of transgenic crops that enhance salt tolerance in soybean. Effective management strategies, including the use of compatible antioxidants such as proline or glycinebetaine, coupled with a more effective balance of nutrients or the use of organic fertilizers, allow salinity to be mitigated, thereby improving yield and other growth-related quality parameters in soybean.