Jordan Journal of Agricultural Sciences

Narrative Literature Reviews in Scientific Research: Pros and Cons

2025-04-03T22:04:03+03:00

Narrative literature reviews play a crucial role in scientific research by providing a comprehensive overview of the available knowledge on a particular topic. Unlike systematic reviews, which follow rigid methodologies, narrative reviews offer a more flexible and qualitative approach, allowing researchers to synthesize and interpret the findings of different studies. This type of review is particularly valuable in fields with a high literature diversity, as it can help identify trends, gaps, and emerging themes. A key strength of narrative reviews is their ability to provide broader context, integrate insights from diverse disciplines, and enable a deeper understanding of complex issues. They also facilitate the exploration of theories and frameworks, often leading to new hypotheses and research questions. Narrative reviews are valuable resources for practitioners and policymakers, extracting key findings that can inform practice and decision-making. However, these reviews are not without limitations. The subjective nature of narrative synthesis can introduce bias, and the lack of a standardized methodology makes the reliability of conclusions uncertain. To enhance the rigor of narrative reviews, researchers should clearly define their objectives, thoroughly document their search strategies, and critically evaluate the quality of included studies. Although narrative literature reviews may not have the same empirical basis as systematic reviews, they remain a significant tool for knowledge dissemination and theoretical exploration in scientific research. On average, only a relatively small proportion of recent scientific publications provide high levels of evidence, though the journal review process should discourage unsubstantiated conclusions in original research articles. This introductory editorial is a brief preview that aims to help read, understand, and evaluate narrative review articles.

Effects of Poultry Manure on Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) Production and Insect Infestation in a Humid Ecological Zone

2024-12-15T18:03:30+03:00

A field trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of poultry manure (PM) on the growth, yield, and infestation of insect pests of watermelon. There were five treatments namely; 1.25 tons of PM ha^-1, 2.5 tons of PM ha^-1, 5 tons of PM ha^-1, 300kg of NPK ha^-1,and an untreated control with three replications, which were laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design. Data on vine length, stem girth, number of leaves, fruit weight, days to 50% emergence, days to 50% flowering, and number of insects were recorded. The results showed that there were no significant differences in the vine length, stem girth, number of leaves, fruit weight, and 50% emergence. However, there were significant differences in vine length at week 3 and week 4, stem girth at week 3, 50% days to flowering, and week 1 for insect population between the 1.25 tons of PM ha^-1and control. The study showed that C. lanatus can be economically grown in the humid ecological zone (October-January) and poultry manure at the rate of 1.25 tons of PM ha^-1was optimal for its cultivation

The effects of foliar application of boron, potassium, and marine algae on the nutrient contents, and vitamin C

2025-07-10T19:18:49+03:00

This study was carried out in Lattakia on apple fruit tree (Golden delicious variety) during 2021 and 2022 growing seasons to assess the effect of foliar application with nutrients on the apple fruit content of nutrients and vitamin C, The experiment involved eight treatments where spraying with boron, potassium and seaweed extract was done individually or in combination with each other, The percentage of fruit content of nitrogen increased morally when sprayed with marine algae extract 0.414% for the average two years compared to the control 0.288 %, also gave the treatment of blending boron, potassium, marine algae extract and the treatment of marine algae extract the highest fruit content of phosphorus 0.084%, 0.087% control 0.058%, The fruit content of potassium boron mixture Boron mixture outweighed the rest of the treatments for the average two years 1.555% for the fruit content of calcium outweighed the mixing treatment between boron control 1.201%, potassium and marine algae 0.055% the control gave 0.043%. the magnesium content outperformed the rest of the treatments, while the control was 0.043%, 0.035%. For boron content, the mixing treatment between boron, potassium, and marine algae outperformed the rest of the treatments and was 27.232 PPM, the control was 23,76 PPM. Vitamin C increased in fruits in different treatments, boron-potassium-phosphorus 16.87 mg/100ml compared to the control 16.87 mg/100ml.

Recent Advances in Plant Fertilizers Technology

2025-07-10T19:19:04+03:00

Fertilizer is a crucial subject as it affects plant growth besides the surrounding soil environment and the environment at large. Deep water percolation usually drains excess soluble fertilizers to the underground water reservoirs. Finding the most proper fertilizer that can gradually and efficiently feed plants' requirement from nutrients and keep good interaction with soil, microorganisms and the surrounding environment can be promising. Conventional fertilizers have been in use for decades. The development of nanoparticulate fertilizers is becoming a trend in the industry. Plants and soil interact positively or negatively with nanoparticles depending on nanoparticle type, concentration, and level. Nano-size particles are premium fertilizers when taken in precise levels, sizes, and types, and given to the most proper plants; they can provide great advantages to the plants and surrounding environment. Microsize particle fertilizer can be promising, but the topic needs further studies.