T HIS study was carried out during two successive seasons 2014 and 2015 on 8-year-old "Anna" apple trees budded on Balady rootstock and planted at 4 x 4 m apart on sandy soil at South El-Tahrir in a private farm under drip irrigation system. Addition of natural elements compound (NEC) as soil application beside other biofertilizers extract was investigated as compared with the mineral fertilization. Biofertilizers markedly affected soil organic matter, pH and E.C. as their values changed with Azolla, Cyanobacteria individually and/or in combination. The higher increases in nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and magnesium content in apple leaves nutrients were observed with the treatment (Azolla + Cyanobacteria and natural elements). Biofertilizer extracts alone or in combination with (NEC) increased leaf area, leaf fresh weight, total leaf chlorophyll content, fruit set %, and yield. Foliar application of Cyanobacteria reduced fruit drop than foliated by Azolla in the two seasons. Treating trees by a combination of biofertilizer and NEC resulted in the highest fruit firmness, TSS %, vitamin C and total fruit sugar as compared with the other treatments. During cold storage, results showed, that the least weight loss percentage was recorded by NEC + Cyanobacteria and Azolla treatment in the two seasons. While the highest acidity % was recorded by the control and NEC treatments. Generally, application of biofertilizers extract (Azolla, Cyanobacteria and their mixture) with natural element compound (NEC) improved growth, yield and fruit quality at harvest and after storability process. In addition, the increase in microbial activity in the soil may reduce additions of inorganic fertilizers.

Two pot experiments were carried out during the two successive seasons of 2010/2011 and 2011/ 2012 to apply mineral nitrogen and/or Azolla at different methods of addition with a reduction of mineral nitrogen fertilizer and its effect on vegetative growth, the yield of inflorescences, total phenolic concentration, antioxidant activity, nitrate and nitrite concentrations and the volatile oil concentrations and composition of chamomile inflorescences in sandy soil. Data indicated that dry Azolla (DA) treatments increased significantly plant height, number of branches/plant, shoot fresh and dry weights and number of inflorescences/plant against the rest treatments. It is clear that DA singly induced maximum growth parameters in both seasons and the reverse was true with fresh Azolla (FA) alone. It is obvious that DA achieved the highest total phenolic concentrations, antioxidant activity and volatile oil (VO) concentrations, and the opposite response was true for nitrate & nitrite concentrations. Addition of 50% ammonium nitrate to 50% FA or 50% Azolla extract as foliar (spray Azolla) SA have positive effect on chemical constituents except nitrate and nitrite concentrations. It is evident that the highest chamazulene and α ̶ bisabolol oxide ̶ B were achieved with DA and the reverse was true for α ̶ bisabolol oxide ̶ A. Dry Azolla treatment alone was the most efficient one in increasing the yield production with increment in active substances of chamomile plant in sandy soil.

In this study, two aquatic macrophytes namely, Azolla pinnata and Lemna minor are floating plants were obtained from Agric. Microbial Dept., Soils, Water and Environment Research Institute (SWERI), Agric. Res. Center (ARC), Giza, Egypt and used to some heavy metal such as Iron, Zinc and lead This study reported the ability of two aquatic plants (A. pinnata and L. minor) to remove Iron, Zinc and lead from aqueous solutions FeSO4.7H2O, ZnSo4.7H2O and C4H6O4Pb.3H2O of four different initial concentrations (0-100 ppm) for 20 days under greenhouse conditions. The results indicated that A. pinnata gave higher growth density than that recorded for L. minor during all the tested incubation periods from zero time up to 20 days. Results obtained in this study showed a maximum removal of Fe, Zn (88.18, 84.63 %) by L. minor at 100ppm initial metal concentration however the maximum removal by A. pinnata at the same concentration was (86.97, 81.14%) after 20 day of incubation. These A. pinnata appeared to be more efficient than L. minor for removing Pb .On the other hand A. pinnata was better than L. minor in biomass for each of the elements used in the experiment during the incubation period.

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Filed experiments were conducted during 2014 and 2015 seasons in a private orchard in El-Nianaia, Minufiya governorate, Egypt to study the effect of foliar spray with in aqueous solutions of biofertilizer (azolla and blue green algae extract at the rate of 1 L/20L water for each, commercial liquid organic fertilizer of humic acid (H.A.) at the rate of 200 cm 3 /20 L water and their combinations on vegetative growth, yield and fruit quality. Trees of apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) cv. Canino at 10years-old trees grown in clay loam soil at 3 x 4 m apart under flood irrigation system. The obtained results indicated that most of the used treatments improved the means of blade width and length, leaf surface area, weight and total chlorophyll. Also, fruit set %, yield/tree, the fruit dimensions, volume and weight, as well as stone weight and flesh weight % take various significance levels as compared to control in both seasons. However, the highest means in most of previous treatments were attained in both seasons with their combinations of Azolla, blue green algae extract and humic acid. The changes in the percent of weight loss, TSS, acidity and total sugars in juice were improved during the period of cold storage. The firmness of the fruits was descendingly decreased as the advancing of period of cold storage, but the opposite trends was right regarding TSS and weight loss %, which were progressively increased with prolonging the period of cold storage. Whereas acidity % was declined by all the applied treatments to reach the minimal values by either blue green algae treatments or when mixed with either Azolla or humic acid. In addition, leaf content of N, P, K and Mg as well as fruit content of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Zn and Cu were also increased. Hence, it can be recommended to spray the foliage of 10-years-old trees "Canino" apricot cv. grown under clay loamy soil with the aqueous extract Azolla + Blue green algae + humic acid, to increase both yield, fruit quality parameters and fruit storability period.