Amira Abd El Hamid Helaly Ali has her expertise in Agriculture Science. She has experience in the field of plant breeding as the subject of her Master’s theses and also in the field of organic farming using natural alternatives in fertilization, in which she studied the possibility of reducing the NPK mineral fertilization, through using a foliar spray seaweed extract concentrations without compromising the production value of the sweet potato plants. She has built this model after years of experience in research, evaluation, teaching and administration in education institutions.

Two field experiments were carried out at the Agriculture Experimental Station Farm (Abies region), Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University; during the two summer seasons of 2013 and 2014. The objective of this study was to assess the response of sweet potato plants (Abies cv.) to the spraying with three concentrations of seaweed extract (0.5%, 0.75% and 1.0%), as well as a control treatment (spraying with distilled water) under, varying NPK levels of mineral fertilizer (25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of the recommended rate, in addition to a control treatment, without NPK application) and their interactions on vegetative growth characters , yield and its components as well as on some chemical compositions characters of tuber roots. The results revealed that the gradual increases of NPK fertilizer levels were accompanied with significant increases on sweet potato growth, yield and its components as well as the chemical composition of tuber roots. Spraying of sweet potato plants with seaweed extract at the concentration of 0.75% led to positive response on the all studied traits, in both growing seasons. Generally, the most efficient treatment combination which gave the best sweet potato growth, yield and tuber roots chemical compositions was the application of NPK mineral fertilizer, at the rate of 75% of the recommended, with seaweed foliar spray at the concentration of 0.75%. On this regard, it is possible to reduce the NPK mineral fertilization by 25%, through using a foliar spray of 0.75% seaweed extract concentration without compromising the production value of the sweet potato plants, concerning the quantity and quality of tuber roots.

Andrew Jamnik is currently a second year MSc candidate at the University of Toronto working under the supervision of Dr. David Guttman. His research has focused on understanding the evolutionary steps a plant pathogen takes to overcome novel host immunity, and to cause disease on a new host. He has specifically been working with the model bacterial plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae and has designed and implemented in vivo experimental evolution to uncover the evolutionary steps required for novel host adaptation. Throughout his graduate degree, he has learned both invaluable microbiology skills along with a better understanding of evolutionary genomic analyses.

The bacterial plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae is a highly diverse species complex, with the ability to cause disease on a wide range of hosts, including many economically important crops. Although P. syringae as a species has a very large host range, individual strains are highly host specific. The inability of a strain to infect plant species outside of its host range is generally due to its inability to suppress and evade the host’s innate immunity. Few studies to date have tested how plant pathogens evolve to overcome novel host immunity, and a further understanding of this could help in uncovering how newly emerging diseases arise. In this study, we are currently experimentally evolving P. syringae pv. phaseolicola (Pph) 1448A, a strain which causes disease on many cultivars of the common bean (Phaseolus vulagris), on the non-host Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) through in planta experimental evolution. Although Pph 1448A is unable to cause disease on Arabidopsis, its ability to grow and persist on Arabidopsis has given this strain the potential to adapt within this novel environment. We have constructed 12 uniquely barcoded hyper mutating lineages of Pph 1448A for this experiment, to increase the evolvability of the lineages and to allow us to study mutations associated with adaptation towards Arabidopsis. By using highly sensitive in planta competition assays on Arabidopsis, we’ve shown that after 80 days of in planta growth on Arabidopsis, two lineages have shown significant gains in fitness on the novel host. Additionally, one of these lineages has shown a gradual increase in fitness throughout the experimental evolution. Population sequencing of these adapted lineages will give us the ability to identify candidate mutations responsible for this novel host adaptation. Overall, this work will provide a further understanding of the early adaptive processes underlying the spread of existing pathogens to new hosts.

Catherine Cesa-Luna has completed her bachelor’s degree in Clinical Chemistry in 2012 from Universidad Veracruzana, México and obtained her master’s degree in Microbiologic Sciences (Medical Microbiology) in 2016 at the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico; where she is currently pursuing her Ph.D in microbiology. She is evaluating the antimicrobial activity of synthetic IsCT-like peptides derived from scorpion venoms on bacteria of clinical interest and also working on the purification and identification of compounds related to the activity of the inhibitory substance produced by Pseudomonas sp. EMM-1.

Bacteria may exhibit antagonistic interactions to compete for space and nutrients in their habitat. This competition has been mainly evaluated by double-layer agar and simultaneous inhibition assays. The best known antagonistic bacteria are Enterococcus, Lactococcus, Streptomyces, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, Escherichia and Burkholderia due to their potential to produce inhibitory substances such as broad-spectrum antibiotics, organic acids, siderophores, antifungal and bacteriocins. Our study model, Pseudomonas sp. EMM-1, is a Gram-negative bacterium isolated from contaminated soil highly competitive due to the production of one or more inhibitory substances. It has been demonstrated its antimicrobial activity against diverse beneficial and pathogenic microorganisms including the genera Bradyrhizobium, Azotobacter, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Klebsiella and Burkholderia; as well as the phytopathogenic fungi Pantoea and Fusarium. In this work the ability of Pseudomonas sp. EMM-1 to inhibit diverse fungi isolated from soil and plants with fungal diseases, such as Aspergillum and Fusarium was verified by the double-layer agar assay, leading us to assume its potential as biocontrol agent.

María del Pilar Angarita Díaz has a degree in Microbiology and Ph.D in Biotechnology. The knowledge in these topics has allowed her to contribute in the Faculty of Dentistry of the Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, in different studies such as probiotics for caries prevention and control, and microbiologic analysis of dental material. She teaches in the area of the oral microbiology, knowledge that is enriched with the research.

Statement of the Problem: Among the alternatives strategies to antibiotics are other antimicrobial substances like bacteriocins. However, since their production and purification is laborious and costly, an attractive approach is the administration of probiotic bacteria with bacteriocin-producing capabilities. These types of probiotic bacteria like Lactobacillus rhamnosus isolated from the intestinal tract and Streptococcus dentisani isolated from the oral cavity have been studied for diseases control. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the inhibitory effect of supernatants from L. rhamnosus and S. dentisani on S. mutans. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: Broth cultures of L. rhamnosus G G and S. dentisani 7746 were prepared with 100 nephelometric turbidity units and grown overnight to reach stationary phase. The cultures were centrifuged at 4000rpm for 10min, and the supernatants recovered and filtered to remove any bacteria cells. 100μl of each supernatant were added to 100μl of fresh culture of serotype c strains S. mutans UA159 and ATCC 25175 at 108 CFUs/ml in a 96-wells plate. Controls were 100μl of S. mutans strains with 100μl culture medium used for the growing of each probiotic bacteria (BHI for S. dentisani and MRS for L. rhamnosus). The 96-wells plate was incubated at 37°C inside a UV/V are spectrophotometry reader and the absorbance was monitoring at 600nm every 20minutes for 15h. Findings: The supernatants of S. dentisani 7746 and L. rhamnosus GG present an inhibitory effect against the cariogenic strains S. mutans 25175 and UA 159. The inhibition with the supernatant of L. rhamnosus was immediate while with the supernatant of S. dentisani was significant after 3h (p=0.038, T-student). Conclusion & Significance: The use of supernatants from probiotic bacteria S. dentisani and L. rhamnosus has an inhibitory effect against two strains of cariogenic S. mutans. Further studies are recommended with different supernatant concentration.

Madina Bekchanova has her skill in evaluation of ecosystem services and motivation of enhancing spatial localization of each component of ecosystem services. Her thesis is based on analyzing Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) and its association with different landscapes. After having taken sufficient amount of Master courses in Integrated Ecosystem Assessment, she started to write her thesis. Her thesis is mainly for representing the significance of landscapes in the provision of cultural ecosystem services and tourists perception of CES in different landscapes. In order to analyze tourists perception she used econometric model and simultaneously, she used GIS tools to classify various landscapes. This research can be very helpful for decision makers to plan further operations.

Landscapes are the main resources of providing the sufficient amount of ecosystem services like the provision of food and material, provision of cultural ecosystem services such as recreation, aesthetics or spirituality. However, cultural ecosystem services are rarely studied and little is known about spatial localization of these services. In this research, a framework is adopted and tested in order to classify and map the provision of cultural ecosystem services as observed by tourists in Ugam Chotqol National Nature Park, i.e. Tashkent region in Uzbekistan. In this study a photo-based questionnaire survey is joined with cartographical images of landscape classes to obtain hot and cold spot provision areas of cultural ecosystem services. Statistical analysis is used to represent influences of the respondents’ socio- demographic background and land-use type on the tourists’ perception of these services. According to the results, each of the studied cultural ecosystem services, showed the various spatial patterns on the basis of its distribution and in different landscapes to which they are related. Specifically, traditionally survived areas, located in highlands between 1200 and 3500m asi are considered as hotspot areas for recreational activities, aesthetic beauty and cultural heritage. While, the lowland plains of the study area mainly provide tourists with the spirituality. Results demonstrate that for the tourist perception the highest influence is obtained from land use type, while other aspects such socio demographic factors (gender, age, cultural background, environmental behaviour) and respondents perceived importance of the services are significant but they play subordinate role. It can be concluded that, spatial information about the provision of cultural ecosystem services can help us to design further implementation of land use policies.

Sumeet Singh is currently a Ph.D scholar of Vegetable Science at Punjab Agricultural University and has completed his Master’s and Bachelor’s from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India. He is engaged with one of the pioneer research work of Vegetable grafting in Punjab and has achieved merit fellowship.

In an experiment conducted at vegetable research farm, PAU Ludhiana in 2012-13, a study was conducted to evaluate the effect of integrated weed management in brinjal cv. BH-6747. The experiment was conducted both in nursery and in field crop. Nine different weed control treatments were used in nursery experiment which included solarization (30 days before sowing), pendimethali 0.225 kg a.i./ha, pendimethalin 0.300 kg a.i./ha, oxyfloufen 0.120 kg a.i./ha, oxyflourfen 0.175 kg a.i./ha, trifluralin 0.240 kg a.i./ha, trifluralin 0.300 kg a.i./ha along with weed free and un-weeded plot. Pendimethalin and oxyflourfen were used as pre-emergence and trifulralin was used as pre-plant herbicide. Minimum dry weight was recorded in chemical treated plots of oxyfloufen 0.175 kg a.i./ ha as compared to rest of treatments which indicated maximum weed control in nursery. In field experiment fifteen different weed control treatments were used which included black plastic mulch, herbicides and manual weeding. Pendimethalin 0.75 a.i.kg/ha, pendimethalin 0.56 a.i.kg/ha alone and then pendimethalin 0.56 a.i.kg/ha integrated with hand weeding (45 DAT) and then with directed spray of gramaxone 1.0 a.i.kg/ha (45 DAT) was used. Similarly, it was used with oxyflourfen 0.15 a.i.kg/ha and with trifluralin 0.60 a.i.kg/ha. Minimum dry weight was achieved in black polythene mulch followed by oxyflourfen integrated with hand weeding. Other attributes like plant height, number of branches, fruit weight, fruit girth and length and total yield were superior in black mulch treatment followed by oxyflourfen integrated with hand weeding. Maximum gross return was in black mulch followed by oxyflourfen 0.15 a.i.kg/ha+hand weeding (45 DAT). It is thus concluded from the present investigation oxyflourfen 0.175 kg a.i./ha can be used in the nursery of brinjal while oxyfloufen 0.15 kg a.i./ha followed by hand weeding after 45 days after transplanting can be recommended in brinjal crop to get maximum benefit.

Dilpreet Talwar is currently a student of Ph.D program in which he is specializing in Vegetable Science at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. He has done his Bachelor’s of Sciences in Agriculture with Horticulture as an elective and Masters in Vegetable Science. It was his capacity that he kept up with his co-curricular activities as a PAU magazine editor (Punjabi Section, year 2014-15). He got University merit scholarship during 3rd and 4th semester of his masters.

Biofertilizers improve the nutrient uptake and quality attributes of onion by reducing the inorganic fertilizers dose and improving the farmer’s income. The study was conducted at Vegetable Research Farm, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. In an experiment, fifteen treatments comprised of various combinations of biofertilizers, organic manures and chemical fertilizers were compared. Biofertilizers improve the nutrient status of the soil because Azotobacter and Azospirillum provide nitrogen to plant and soil by fixation process. The results revealed that N and K level in soil at time of harvesting was maximum in T3 (Azospirillum along with recommended dose of N, P and K) while P level was found to be maximum in T5 (PSB along with recommended dose of N, P and K). Maximum TSS, Ascorbic acid and dry matter was attained with Azospirillum along with recommended dose of N, P and K followed by Azospirillum along with 75 % dose of N and full dose of P and K and it was significantly superior than control treatment. It may be concluded that Azospirillum either along with RDF or with 75 % dose of N suggested for sustainable production of onion.

Barinderpal Singh is currently a student of Master’s program in which he is specializing in Vegetable Sciences at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. He will complete his Master by May 2017. He has been engaged in pioneer research work “Integrated nutrient management in tomato”. He has done his Bachelor of Sciences in Agriculture with Horticulture as an elective.

Bio-fertilizers are living microorganisms, derived from roots or soil, which improve the soil microbial content, growth and yield attributes in rainy season tomato. In an experiment, 14 treatments comprising of various combinations of bio-fertilizers, organic manures and chemical fertilizers were compared to assess the impact of different sources of nutrients on performance of tomato. The results revealed that plant height after 30, 60 and 90 days of transplanting, number of branches per plant, number of fruits per plant and leaf surface area was found to be maximum with the application of Azotobacter along with recommended dose of fertilizers (T1). Likewise, application of Azospirilum along with recommended dose of fertilizers (T3) produced maximum fruit weight, fruit diameter and total yield. Highest soil organic carbon content (0.38 %) was observed in the treatments T11 (FYM @ 20 t/ha along with Azotobacter and Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhizae (VAM)) and T12 (Farm Yard Manure (FYM) @ 20 t/ha). Highest bacterial count (26.2×106) and actinomycetes count (36×104) was recorded in treatment T12 (FYM @ 20 t/ha). It can be concluded that, the application of Azotobacter along with recommended dose of inorganic fertilizers improve vegetative growth, while Azospirillium along with recommended dose of inorganic fertilizers improves yield attributes in rainy season tomato as far as the sustainability and environmental considerations are concerned. The present study highlights the need of usage of bio-fertilizers along with organic and inorganic manures/fertilizers to enhance the nutrient availability and improve soil health.

Kamalpreet Kaur is currently a student of Ph.D program in which she is specializing in Extension Education at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. She will complete her Doctorate by June 2017. She has done her Bachelor of Sciences in Agriculture with Agronomy as an elective and Master’s in Agricultural Extension Education.

Artificial application of water to soil or crop is known as irrigation. The increased competition for water between agricultural, industrial and urban consumers creates the need for continuous improvement of irrigation practices in commercial vegetable production. At present, the efficiency of the irrigation systems adopted is less than 30%. The design of study was descriptive research. To know the status of micro-irrigation, review was collected by evaluating the research work done on micro-irrigation in vegetables. With the use of surface and sub-surface irrigation methods, ground level of water is depleting day by day in India and Punjab. In Punjab, 110 blocks out of 142 blocks were under dark zone of water. In case of vegetables, more number of irrigation is required due to more number of harvests. In the last decade, micro-irrigation technologies are very helpful to enhance the profit of farmers by improving the water use efficiency. Major micro-irrigation technologies are drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation. The results reveal that micro irrigation is a water saving technique, reduces the energy use; increasing yield and quality of crops, reduce weed problems, soil erosion and cost of cultivation in labour-intensive operations in tomato, chilli, brinjal, capsicum, cucumber and sweet potato etc. It improves the water use efficiency by reducing the water losses and evapo-transipiration losses from fields. Farmers did not adopt micro-irrigation technologies due to complex practices, lack of knowledge, problem of dripper clogging and high initial investments. It can be concluded that there is need to promote these technologies by organizing camps at farmer field/block level or by providing subsidy to farmers or by creating awareness about declining water table to farmers so that farmers should adopt micro-irrigation technologies which helps to improve the water table of soil.

Zufan Nigusu, an MSc holder in biology from Addis Ababa University, is among the few female scientists in Ethiopia who brought change in management of spices, non- edible oil crops and condiments related to the environment. She has had an influence on the development of a new perspective on the use and management of spices, non- edible oil crops and condiments in Ethiopia. Her suggestions got attention by the government and brought a significant change on the ecosystem by preserving the spices, non-edible oil crops and condiments that were about to disappear from the face of the earth. She is an enthusiastic female scientist working hard to bring about change both on-site and in the classroom.

A study aimed at identifying and documenting local uses and management of of spices, condiments and non-edible oil crops in five selected sites in Northern Ethiopia was conducted. A total of 78 informants which consists, 6 agricultural experts, 12 spice vendors, 45 garden owners and 15 cultivated field owners were encountered. This study documented the traditional knowledge of the local people on using, managing and other ethnobotanical aspects based on information through semi-structured interview, field observation, market survey and informant consensus methods. 27 spices and condiments (92.6% herbs, 3.7% shrubs and tree), three non-edible oil crops, Jatropha curcas, Ricinus communis and Vernonia galamensis were collected from homegardens, farmlands, and wild habitats. Local uses and their distribution and traditional conservation methods are noted. Altitudinal ranges, habit, habitat of spices, condiments, and non- edible oil crop plants were documented. Results of preference ranking on 7 spices and condiments showed that Capsicum annum, Allium sativum, Capsicum frutescens, Ruta chalepnesis, Ocimum basilicum, Trigonella foenum-graecum and Nigella sativa are the most common food flavorings in the area. Allium sativum is the most preferred medicinal spice followed by Ruta chalepnesis, Lepidium sativum, Foeniculum vulgare and Artemisia absinthium. The most threatening factors include replacement of spices and condiments by cash crops, grazing, scarcity of water, Pests, and ill-advised method of harvesting. The day to day uses of spices, condiments, non-edible oil crops and plants requires administrative and conservation activities. Technical support from the government and non-government organization to boost the production within the boundary of the agroecosystem is recommended.

Mirkhon Asadov has experience in assessing the state of the environment, health and welfare of the population. As the General Director of the NGO "Toza Tabiat"- "Pure Nature", he developed a number of international joint projects. In co-operation with the Central Asia Aid Fund (CAAF) (the Netherlands) and the NGO Toza Tabiat (Uzbekistan), "Drinking water for two villages in the Bukhara region (2005-2008)" was implemented. Within the framework of this project, the NGO "Toza Tabiat" drilled one well (110 m), and two villages were supplied with drinking spring water. Currently, he is working as a construction manager for the company and implements projects for environmentally friendly private homes and oversees a research group on monitoring and assessing the quality of drinking water in the region.

The Central Asian lowlands are characterized by an arid and continental climate. At the same time, the large streams and rivers have been providing water for the development of flourishing oases and extensive irrigated farming areas. Bukhara is one of those oases. The population of 1.7 mln and especially the agricultural sector (with an irrigated area of 275,000 ha) use a considerable amount of water. But as the flat topography does not provide sufficient natural drainage, water logging and raising groundwater tables have become serious problems for the agricultural productivity. The combination of the high salinity of the irrigation water and the generous application of fertilizers leads to a widespread soil salinization. Excessive leaching is supposed to reduce the top soil salinity, but as the drainage system is only covering a small portion of the irrigated areas and is in need of maintenance, this process only contributes to the ongoing salinization and the reduction of soil fertility and crop yields. Obtained data indicate that the groundwater table is rising throughout the region while the groundwater salinity is decreasing. The soil salinity on the other hand is, after an improvement during the first half of the study period, slightly increasing since 2009, which also is reflected in the slight worsening of the condition of the reclaimed land during the same period. Most of the plains in the Aral Sea basin are characterized by a high natural soil salinity. In the floodplains the salinity is increased by the accumulation of salty minerals eroded in the upstream mountainous regions. Due to the arid climate and the intensive irrigation farming the floodplains are also prone to the hazardous development of secondary soil salinization. Furthermore, the Aral Sea Basin countries, especially Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, are heavily impacted by the climate change because of the high sensitivity of the arable lands in the arid lowlands as well as a strong population and economic growth and increasing demands for the food safety. The climate change (increase of the air temperature and the evapotranspiration), long-term reduced runoff from the Central Asian glaciers and more frequent droughts also increase the water consumption for irrigation. As a consequence of this, the soil salinity will further increase and the productivity of the agricultural lands will continue to deteriorate.

Ouafae Pakhrou got her Master’s degree in crop production and during her end-of-course internship she worked on the molecular characterization of cork oak (Quercus suber L.) using molecular markers ISSR and SSR. recently, she obtained her Doctorat in Molecular biology and plant biotechnology and worked on the characterization of genetic diversity of an endemic tree to Morocco "Argan tree". This study aims to identify promising trees that can be used in the constitution of a "core collection" and the establishment of conservation and management programs. This work is carried out in the Laboratory of Microbiology and Molecular Biology at the Faculty of Sciences of Rabat University Mohamed V and financially supported by Hassan II Academy of Science and Technology (Morocco)

Argania spinosa L., the only representative of the monotypic genus Argania (Sapotaceae) is a plant endemic to Morocco with great ecological and economical values. The oil extracted from the Argan fruit possesses innumerable nutritional and cosmetic properties. However, the area and the density of the argan forest are in continuous deterioration. In the present study, two molecular marker techniques AFLP and IRAP were used for genetic evaluation of 130 individuals collected from 13 population locations in south-west Morocco. A total of 477 polymorphic bands were amplified by 4 primer AFLP combinations specific to regular genome, and 154 polymorphic bands were observed using 4 IRAP combination primers. Average polymorphic information content (PIC), resolving power (RP) and marker index (MI) were 0.24, 12.7 and 9.40, respectively for IRAP markers, while AFLP markers showed high resolving power (35.81) and Marker index (25.61), also the polymorphic information content was 0.21. The two-marker techniques target different regions of the genome, which justifies the need to combine two markers in obtaining reliable estimates of genetic diversity. Cluster analysis of the combined data revealed that 130 individuals could be divided into two sub-populations based on STRUCTURE, UPGMA (Unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean) clustering, and PCoA (principal coordinate analyses). The Jaccard's genetic similarity ranged from 0.17 to 0.60 and the genetic differentiation among populations was low (AMOVA = 19%, Gst = 0.21), indicating the possibility of gene flow between the studied populations (Nm= 1,809). These results have an important implication for Argan tree germplasm conservation and management programs.

Chaimaa Yatrib is Ph.D at Mohammed V university, Faculty of science in Rabat. She is interested in the study of genetic diversity and application of news molecular tools to the conservation of endangered species. She is currently working on the case of Argania spinosa. in the framework of the project ArganBiogen. This latter is supported by Hassan II Academy of Science and Technology (Morocco) and The Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Professional Training of Morocco.

The argan tree (Argania spinosa L.) is an oil-agro-forestry-pastoral tree that is endemic to Morocco and with a very important socio-economical role. However and due to drought in the early century the argan ecosystem has become overgrazed. This phenomenon combined with overexploitation of argan for fuel, together with land clearance for agriculture, resulted in an alarming reduction of the argan forest. In order to facilitate extensive examination at genetic, phenotypic, and physiological levels and to provide a subset of representative accessions, it is necessary to construct a core collection based on molecular data. In the present study, and for the first time, a core collection of argan tree was constructed from accessions covering all the argan forest’s distribution area in Morocco by heuristic search and based on 13 Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) marker combinations. Our study showed that the relationship between the core collection and the geographic distribution of the entire collection is very weak. Also, the number of amplification bands in the core collection was the same as in the entire collection (245 alleles). Shannon’s index for only one of the SSR primers (7.69%) and Nei’s index for three of the SSR primers (23.07%) were lower in the core collection than in the entire collection. The comparison of the random core collection and the true core collection showed that the latter retained larger genetic diversity. Altogether, the core collection constructed in our study is representative of the genetic diversity of and could help perform effective conservation strategy to preserve the Argan forest in Morocco.