The  most important problems regarding the regeneration of coppice are treated  here.    1. The different means of regeneration    a) by stump sprouts    b) by suckers    c) by seedlings    2. The factors which determine the formation of sprouts are: the species,  the season of cutting, age and dimension of stumps and the site.    3. Conifer sprouts     A study of the way and the conditions under which the different kinds of  conifers are able to sprout.    4. Stump decay    A study of the causes of stump decay and the way to prevent it.    Finally several subjects for research are suggested in connection with the  regeneration of coppice.

The current study adopted system approach to characterize the current crop/livestock farming system of small scale farms and to assess its economical efficiency in the New Valley Governorate of Egypt. Four districts were identified, Elkharga, Eldakhla, Baris and Balat. A random sample of 120 farms was taken to represent the four studied districts (30 farms from each district). A questionnaire was designed to cover available production resources, farming activities, variable costs and revenues. Data were collected over the agricultural year from September 2015 to August 2016. Least squares analysis of variance technique using a fixed effects linear model was performed to derive technical coefficients of the considered productive traits for livestock and major crops. Whole farm budget was applied for economical efficiency to determine the overall gross margin (GM) per feddan and benefit/cost ratio (B/C) of the four studied districts.

Sheep are considered one of the main sources of animal protein in Egypt and the producers of sheep mutton eagers to find biological criteria for selecting fast-growing lambs that reach market weight early. Therefore, the present study aimed to find a link between the expression profile of selected candidate genes with growth performance and carcass traits of Barki lambs. Thirty-eight Barki lambs were kept and fed individually after weaning till 12 months of age and were divided into 3 groups according to growth performance (fast, intermediate, and slow-growing). Three samples were taken from different body tissues (eye muscle, liver, and fat tail) of each group, directly during slaughtering and stored at − 80 °C until RNA isolation. Real-time PCR was used to profile selected candidate genes (RPL7, CTP1, FABP4, ADIPOQ, and CAPN3) and GAPDH was used as a housekeeping gene. The results indicated that the final body weight was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) greater in the fast (49.9 kg) and intermediate (40.7 kg) compared to slow-growing animals (30.8 kg). The hot carcass weight was heavier (P ≤ 0.05) in the fast and intermediate-growing (24.57 and 19.07 kg) than slow-growing lambs (15.10 kg). The blood profiles of T3 and T4 hormones in addition to other parameters such as total protein, total lipids, and calcium level showed no clear variations among different experimental groups. At the molecular level, our data demonstrated upregulation of genes involved in protein biosynthesis (RPL7), fatty acid oxidation (CPT1), and lipolysis (FABP4) in the fast and intermediate-growing lambs in all studied tissues which facilitate protein accretion, energy expenditure, and fatty acid partitioning required for muscle building up. Moreover, the expression profile of the gene involved in muscle development (CAPN3) was increased in fast and intermediate-growing compared to slow-growing lambs in order to support muscle proper development. On the other hand, a candidate gene involved in lipogenesis (ADIPOQ) was expressed similarly in fat and liver tissues; however, its expression was increased in muscles of fast and intermediate-growing lambs compared to slow-growing animals. In conclusion, the current study indicated that the expression profile of genes involved in metabolic activities of liver, muscle, and adipose tissue is linked with the growth performance of lambs although no variations were detected in blood parameters. This provides an evidence for the importance of co-expression of these genes in body tissues to determine the final body weight and carcass characteristics of Barki sheep.

Twenty one Barki lambs (aging 5 months with 24.2±3 kg average body weight) were randomly divided into three equal groups to assess the effect of replacing corn grains by Azzawi date in lamb's diet on growth performance, carcass traits and economic efficiency. Experimental diets were of three levels, 0 % date (control), 50 % date (D50) and 100 % date (D100). Results indicated that, inclusion of Azzawi date did not affect significantly dry matter intake, digestibility %, nutritive values (DCP% and TDN %) and nitrogen balance. Results of growth, feed conversion and most of carcass traits showed that no significant differences were detected among the studied groups. Economical indicators revealed that replacing corn grains with Azzawi date led to 22.7% reduction in feeding cost per one kg of live body weight. The D100 group achieved the highest gross margin (LE436.5), whereas, the control group was the lowest (LE323.4). Breakeven yield of D100 group was lower than control one (40.2 kg vs. 42.6kg) to generate profit. In addition to, breakeven price of D100 group was cheaper than control group (LE 27.4 vs. LE 29.5), respectively .

Sixteen Abou-Delik male lambs, of an average live body weight 22.3 ± 3.02 kg and aged three months were used in this study to assess the effect of intensive and semi-intensive management systems on growth performance, carcass traits and economical efficiency. Lambs were randomly divided into two symmetric groups (eight lambs each) and allocated to different management systems. Lambs of group one (G1), were represent intensive management system, while, lambs of group two (G2), considered as the semi intensive management system, The experiment was lasted for 180 days. At the end of experimental period, fourteen lambs were slaughtered and different carcass data were collected. Analysis of variance indicated that no significant difference (P< 0.05) were found between the intensive and semi intensive management systems in relation to final live body weight (37.63 kg vs. 36.88 kg), total live body weight gain (15.31 kg vs. 14.54 kg) and average daily gain from weaning age up to 9 months of lambs age (84.1 gm vs. 79.9 gm), respectively and live body morphemetric measurements of Abou-Delik lambs. There was a marked highly significant effect (P < 0.01) of management system and period on feed conversion ratio. Highly significant differences (P <0.001) between the two management systems. Feeding cost per head per day were LE 7.14 and LE 4.49 for the intensive and semi-intensive system, respectively. Benefit/Cost ratio were LE1.25 and LE2.26 for lambs at 6 months of age and 0.42 and 0.46 for the corresponding indicators at 9 months of age. Gross margin estimates were LE 156.5, 451, -390.7 and -243 for G1, G2 at 6 and 9 months of age, respectively.