Jordan Journal of Agricultural Sciences

Evaluating the Performance of the AquaCrop Model to Soil Salinity in Jordan Valley

Luma Hamdi — 2024-02-05

The demand to apply a decision support system to simulate salinity and drought is increasing with time, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions like Jordan, where the threat of land degradation by salinization is of high concern. The main objective of this research was to evaluate the response of the AquaCrop model to soil salinity in Jordan Valley. Two experiments were conducted, one at the field and the other at the greenhouse. Three water salinity levels (S): S1 (control = 2 dS m−1), S2 (4 dS m−1), and S3 (8 dS m−1) with three irrigation amounts (R): R1 (control = 120%), R2 (100%), and R3 (70%) were used in the field. Four levels of saline water (S):S1 (control =0.65), (4) S2, (8) S3, and (10) dS m-1) S4 were used in the greenhouse. In both experiments, grain yield, and aboveground biomass were measured after harvesting. Soil salinity and pH were measured every three weeks during the growing season to monitor soil salinization. Results showed that the final field grain yield was good in calibration and validation, with a 0.96 agreement index (d). The efficiency factor (E) was 0.86 and 0.87 for calibration and validation, respectively, while the normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) was less than 4 %. Field biomass d-index of 0.87 and 0.71 and E of 0.65 and 0.45 for Calibration and Validation were found, respectively. In the greenhouse experiment, the results were less satisfactory. Grain yield showed d-index of 0.84 and 0.88 in calibration and validation, respectively, while biomass showed poor results. All statistical criteria used in this research indicated that the model can simulate grain yield and biomass properly in the field, however, biomass statistical results were less accurate. Overall it is recommended, to use AquaCrop for soil salinity management in Jordan Valley.

Estimating Economic Returns of Sheep and Goat Rearing in Karak Governorate

Mohammed Ali Bdour — 2023-07-16

This study aims to estimate the economic returns of sheep and goat rearing as well as total cost and returns to identify the profit margin made by out each farmer. The random sample consists of 196 breeders who breed 58240, sheep and goats in the Karak governorate of Jordan. The sample represents 13% of the total sheep and goat population (445300) in Karak. The primary data were collected through personal interviews with farmers using a questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed to achieve the study objectives and consisted of three themes. The first theme was questioning the variables that relate to the farmer’s personal characteristics (demography). The second theme contains a set of questions regarding financial production cost and return parameters during the milking season including the marketing process. The third theme consists of information about the return from selling individual sheep and goats and products such as wool and manure. The collected data from the questionnaire were statistically analyzed following Likert 5 Scale The financial analysis was conducted using Gross margin analysis. The findings of the analysis show that 52.6% of farmers were above 50 years old. the average size of the herd was 297. The variable cost for the herd was 13067.98, Jordanian Dinar, while the total returns were 17104.54, JOD, and the Gross margin ratio was 0.23599. The amount of milk production was (3,494.4) tons in a season lasting 3 months on average. The average prices of milk of goats and sheep are 1.1 and 0.87 JOD/kg, respectively, Moreover, 53.3% of the farmers processed the domestically produced milk into Jameed, butter, and margarine. The result of the analysis of gross margin was 30%, indicating the sheep and goats rearing projects make profits in Karak Governorate. The study recommends that a national program should be developed to maintain local breeds, set appropriate standards, and define trademarks for the local production of Jameed and domestic margarine.

Effect of Supplemental Irrigation on Wheat Performance Grown in Semi-Arid Environment

Raeda Al-Mayta — 2023-07-16

This study was carried out to determine the effects of different supplemental irrigation (SI) treatments on yield, yield components, and some drought-related traits in eight wheat varieties grown in the semi-arid environment of Jordan. Two SI treatments were used in addition to the control (i.e. rainfed treatment with 262.8mm accumulated rains): partially SI treatment (PSI=262.8mm rains+220mm irrigation at anthesis stage) and continuous SI treatment (CSI= 262.8mm rains + 377.5mm at 2-3 weeks intervals during different stages of wheat growth). Seven durum wheat varieties; namely Sham1, Omqais, Acsad65, Bani Suef6, Bani Suef4, Horani Nawawi, and Dairalla6 in addition to one bread wheat variety (Ammon) were included in this study. Yield and yield components were significantly increased and the time required to anthesis and maturity were delayed by SI. PSI treatment significantly increased grain yield by 50.2%, while CSI increased yield by 121% as compared to the control treatment. Considerable variations among varieties were observed under different irrigation treatments. Sham1 (2266.7 kg ha^-1), Omqais (2253.3 kg ha^-1), and Acsad65 (1963.3 kg ha^-1) gave the highest grain yield under control treatment with low drought susceptibility indices, implying their low grain yield losses under control as compared with SI treatments with high genetic potentials for drought tolerance. The top-yielding varieties under CSI were Acsad65 (4716.7 kg ha^-1), Dairalla6 (4586.7 kg ha^-1), Bani Suef6 (4460 kg ha^-1), and Omqais (4360 kg ha^-1). Under PSI, Sham1 (3303 kg ha^-1) followed by Dairalla6 (3193.3 kg ha^-1), Horani Nawawi (3130 kg ha^-1), and Bani Suef6 (3026.7 kg ha^-1) gave the highest grain yield. All yield components (number of kernels per spike, number of tillers, and grain size) significantly contributed to increasing grain yield under SI. In conclusion, SI under rainfed conditions improves yield-attributing traits, which led to a substantial increase in grain yield. It would be possible to increase GY by more than 3 and 4 tonnes ha^-1 with PSI and CSI, respectively.

Arsenic in Drinking Water Resources in Six Cities Located in the Western Coastal Strip of Libya

Tawfik M. Hassan — 2023-03-01

Water used for drinking and food preparation is the most dangerous source of long-term human exposure to arsenic. The study aimed to identify arsenic level in samples of domestic groundwater, public water supply, bottled water, and water from purification shops in five locations along the coastal strip of Libya. The efficiency of removing arsenic in water by reverse osmosis (RO) unit in two water bottling plants was also investigated. Arsenic was analyzed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Results show that arsenic in domestic groundwater, public water supply systems, bottled water, and water from purifying shops range respectively: 6.06-70.48, 2.66-22.76, 1.20-11.20, 2.022-9.55 ug/L. The results revealed that 83% of groundwater samples and 5% of bottled water samples exceeded 10ug/l the maximum permissible level in drinking water by Libyan standards. Meanwhile, water samples from purifying shops are below 10ug/l. Public water supply samples from two sites contained arsenic > 10ug/l. The RO unit is able to reduce arsenic in water by 75%, which means that arsenic in unpurified water should not exceed 35 ug/l. The study highly recommends that households who rely on domestic groundwater should install household RO units to be saved from the health risk of chronic arsenic exposure.