Aspects of EFL University Learners’ Lexical and Phraseological Proficiency as Predictors of Writing Quality

This study aims to examine the relationship between the productive knowledge of some lexical and phraseological indices and the quality of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ writing. A sample of 120 expository essays, written by semesters 1 and 5 university students in a less proficient EFL context, are rated by human evaluators and automatically examined for the target indices. The results show that, unlike the index of lexical diversity, both indices of content word frequency and range could significantly discriminate between different proficiency levels. For the phraseological indices, both the proportions of rare and frequent bigrams yielded between-group differences, with higher proficiency students performing significantly better in both categories. Using a regression analysis, the results show that the use of rare and contextually restricted content words and the production of larger proportions of rare and frequent bigrams could be considered indicators of better writing proficiency. The study suggests implications for the teaching of EFL.Cette étude vise à examiner la relation entre les compétences lexicales/phraséologiques et la qualité de la production écrite des étudiants de l’anglais/langue étrangère. Un échantillon de 120 essais explicatifs écrits par des étudiants des semestres 1 et 5 dans un contexte EFL moins compétent, sont notés par des évaluateurs humains et examinés pour les indices cibles en utilisant un traitement automatique. Les résultats montrent que, contrairement à l'indice de diversité lexicale, la fréquence et la distribution contextuelle de mots de contenu peuvent distinguer entre les deux différents niveaux. Pour les indices phraséologiques, les proportions de bigrammes rares et fréquents ont produit des différences entre les deux groupes : les étudiants de S5 sont les plus performants avec de meilleurs résultats dans les deux catégories. À l'aide d'une régression linéaire, les résultats montrent que l'utilisation de mots de contenu rares et contextuellement restreints et aussi une plus grande proportion de bigrammes rares et fréquents pourraient être considérés comme des indicateurs d'une meilleure compétence en production écrite. L'étude suggère des implications pour l'enseignement et l’apprentissage de l'anglais en tant que langue étrangère

Effect of PGPR and mixed cropping on mycorrhizal status, soil fertility, and date palm productivity under organic farming system

A field study was carried out for two years at an organic farm under arid climate in Morocco to investigate the effect of an integrated biofertilization approach on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal (AMF) abundance and infectivity, soil fertility, yield, and fruit quality of date palm. The biofertilization approach included three management practices namely application of compost, inoculation with a consortium of native PGPR strains originally isolated from date palms of Drâa-Tafilalet region (Pseudomonas koreensis, Serratia nematodiphila, S. marcescens, and Klebsiella sp.) and using mixed-cropping with sorghum. Accordingly, four treatments were established in this study: 1) mixed-cropping with sorghum, 2) PGPR inoculation, 3) sorghum + PGPR, and 4) control (without sorghum or PGPR). All treatments received compost as organic amendment. Results revealed that mixed-cropping with sorghum significantly increased AMF colonization intensity and spore density by more than 50% and 29%, respectively. Sorghum association also resulted in a significant increase in organic matter concentrations of up to 2.95% against 2.45% in monocropping soils. The integrated biofertilization approach resulted in the highest yield with an increase rate of 10.6% and 12.1% in the first and the second year, respectively compared to date palms receiving compost alone. Similarly, the mineral composition and quality characteristics of date fruits were significantly improved. The enhancement of soil fertility and date palm productivity under harsh environmental conditions represents a first step towards the adoption of sustainable practices in the region and in similar areas

Lyties poveikis universiteto studentų pasiekimams: Nacionalinės žemės ūkio mokyklos Maroke, Mekneso mieste, atvejis

Throughout our experience as teachers, we feel intrigued by the observation of changes that have occurred in relation to gender in terms of number and performance. However, this observation needs to be confirmed by studies and scientific results in order to avoid prejudice. This paper investigates the number of girls enrolled in the School of Agriculture compared with the number of boys since the establishment of the school. The study also explores gender differences in their academic achievement. The data used include exam scores of students at the National School of Agriculture in Meknes from 2008 to 2015. The scores will be considered according to the independent variables, namely subjects, the graduating classes and gender. Subjects are classified into three main categories: scientific subjects (mathematics and statistics), technical subjects (agronomy and animal care), and language subjects (English and French). The analysis results showed a noticeable increase in the number of girls compared to boys. Moreover, girls proved to be more likely to perform better than boys in different subjects.Mūsų, kaip dėstytojų, patirtis liudija, kad vyksta studentų skaičiaus ir pasiekimų pokyčiai, susiję su lytimi. Tačiau norint išvengti nepagrįstų apibendrinimų, turi būti remiamasi moksliniais tyrimais ir studijomis. Šiame straipsnyje aptariama, kiek merginų, lyginant su vaikinais, studijuoja Maroke, Mekneso mieste, esančioje Nacionalinėje žemės ūkio mokykloje, nuo pat šios mokyklos įkūrimo. Remiantis šitos mokyklos studentų egzaminų, laikytų nuo 2008 m. iki 2015 m., įvertinimais, tyrime taip pat gilinamasi į tai, kaip lyčių skirtumai veikia akademinius pasiekimus. Šie įvertinimai analizuojami, atsižvelgiant į nepriklausomus kintamuosius, tokius, kaip studijų dalykai, baigimo metai ir lytis. Studijų dalykai skirstomi į tris pagrindines kategorijas: mokslinius dalykus (matematiką ir statistiką), techninius dalykus (agronomiją ir gyvulininkystę) ir kalbos dalykus (anglų ir prancūzų kalbas). Tyrimo rezultatai rodo, kad į šią aukštąją mokyklą įstoja žymiai daugiau merginų negu vaikinų. Be to, atlikta analizė liudija, jog merginų akademiniai pasiekimai yra aukštesni nei vaikinų skirtingose srityse

Optimization of the deficit irrigation management for strawberry production in the Loukkos region

The Moroccan red fruit sector has undergone remarkable development over the last decade, driven by the increase in demand from international markets and promoted by the national agricultural strategy. However, this development calls for the sustainability of water resources, especially in the current context of climate change which makes the future availability of water uncertain. In this sense, deficit irrigation (DI) is one of the promising techniques to improve the efficiency of crop water use. Strawberry is one of the most sensitive red fruits to water deficit. Sufficient and correct irrigation is critical to successful production. Therefore, growers often bring in quantities that exceed the needs of the crop, especially in areas where the cost of water is relatively negligible. In this paper, we studied the response of the two strawberry varieties (Sabrina, Victory) to four water treatments ranging from 50% to 125% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc). The two varieties differed significantly in yield and water consumption, with significant reductions in yield under DI treatments (50%ETc) for Sabrina. However, the fully irrigated treatment (100% ETc), and the DI treatments (75% and 50% ETc) did not show significant differences in yield for Victory

Quelle évolution des méthodes et outils du conseil agricole : cas de la région Fès-Meknès

Elaborée pour accompagner la mise en œuvre du Plan Maroc Vert, la stratégie du conseil agricole constitue une nouvelle vision du dispositif de conseil et d’accompagnement des acteurs. L’objectif de ce travail est d’identifier les changements de méthodes et d’outils de conseil agricole suite à la mise en place de la dite stratégie dans la région de Fès- Meknès. L’usage des technologies de l’information et de la communication, outil incontournable dans le processus du conseil agricole, est plus particulièrement analysé. Deux outils complémentaires de collecte des informations ont été utilisés : des entretiens semi-directifs avec les responsables des centres de conseil agricole et une enquête individuelle auprès de 51 conseillers agricoles de la région Fès-Meknès. L’analyse comparative entre les méthodes et les outils du conseil agricole d’il y a une décennie et ceux d’aujourd’hui révèle qu’elles ont significativement évoluées. En effet le conseil individualisé et personnalisé, nécessitant un suivi et un accompagnement de l’agriculteur sur le moyen terme, est apparu récemment. Mais cette approche impose plus de contraintes aux conseillers agricoles vu le nombre élevé d’agriculteurs par conseiller et le manque de moyens logistiques, notamment de déplacement. Les technologies de l’information et de la communication peuvent jouer un rôle déterminant pour surmonter ces contraintes et favoriser l’accès à l’information, la formation, le manque de moyens ou celles liées aux agriculteurs. Cependant elles restent peu utilisées bien que la majorité des conseillers agricoles disposent des équipements nécessaires car les technologies de l’information et de la communication TIC n’ont pas encore été couplées à des outils numériques de conseil

Aspects of EFL University Learners’ Lexical and Phraseological Proficiency as Predictors of Writing Quality

This study aims to examine the relationship between the productive knowledge of some lexical and phraseological indices and the quality of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ writing. A sample of 120 expository essays, written by semesters 1 and 5 university students in a less proficient EFL context, are rated by human evaluators and automatically examined for the target indices. The results show that, unlike the index of lexical diversity, both indices of content word frequency and range could significantly discriminate between different proficiency levels. For the phraseological indices, both the proportions of rare and frequent bigrams yielded between-group differences, with higher proficiency students performing significantly better in both categories. Using a regression analysis, the results show that the use of rare and contextually restricted content words and the production of larger proportions of rare and frequent bigrams could be considered indicators of better writing proficiency. The study suggests implications for the teaching of EFL.Cette étude vise à examiner la relation entre les compétences lexicales/phraséologiques et la qualité de la production écrite des étudiants de l’anglais/langue étrangère. Un échantillon de 120 essais explicatifs écrits par des étudiants des semestres 1 et 5 dans un contexte EFL moins compétent, sont notés par des évaluateurs humains et examinés pour les indices cibles en utilisant un traitement automatique. Les résultats montrent que, contrairement à l’indice de diversité lexicale, la fréquence et la distribution contextuelle de mots de contenu peuvent distinguer entre les deux différents niveaux. Pour les indices phraséologiques, les proportions de bigrammes rares et fréquents ont produit des différences entre les deux groupes : les étudiants de S5 sont les plus performants avec de meilleurs résultats dans les deux catégories. À l’aide d’une régression linéaire, les résultats montrent que l’utilisation de mots de contenu rares et contextuellement restreints et aussi une plus grande proportion de bigrammes rares et fréquents pourraient être considérés comme des indicateurs d’une meilleure compétence en production écrite. L’étude suggère des implications pour l’enseignement et l’apprentissage de l’anglais en tant que langue étrangère

The impact of “continuous” deficit irrigation on carrot crop development in the Saïs plain, Morocco

In the Maghreb, as in many arid and semi-arid zones, water resources are vulnerable to climatic variations, for which reason various scientific studies are being conducted in an attempt to face these changes while maintaining the yield potential of crops. The aim of the following paper is to evaluate the impact of continuous deficit irrigation (CDI) on the carrot (Daucus Carota L.) crop. A complete randomized block design (CRBD) involving five treatments and four repetitions was adopted for this experimental design. The studied treatments are: T1(125% ETc), T2(100% ETc), T3(85% ETc), T4 (75% ETc) and T5 (66% ETc). Vegetative, biochemical, and yield parameters were measured to identify carrot response and provide optimal water management for deficit irrigation on carrot. Irrigation at 125% ETc achieved the highest yield (59 tons/ha). However, in terms of yield, treatment (T1) was not significantly different from (T2) nor (T3). Meanwhile, the 66% ETc water deficit treatment (T5) showed remarkable decreases in yield. This means that even when providing more water it does not increase the yield meaning that the plant does not use the given water but instead, it is lost and on the other hand a 15% water deficit did not significantly impact the yield

Characterization of the length and the distance of insertion of the branches of apple trees

The current study focused on the branches Cherry Gala variety of apple in Azrouregion.The objective is to characterize the length and the insertion distance of different structures of apple trees based on nondestructive and exhaustive measurements of the branches. In total 2982 branches were identified and measured in the two stages (stage 1, stage 2) on different 6 levels present at each stage known as A, B, C, D, E, and F. The length of the branches in each stage and level was classified into 1 to 5 homogeneous classes. The length of vegetative branch variation was not significant between stages 1 and 2 but the insertion distance was significant for level D and not for levels A, B, and C. For five different length structures bearing fruit, the variation was significantly different for B, C, and D levels between stages 1 and 2 (length of fruiting spurs/ Dard/ Bourse; insertion distance of Dard and Bourse). The analysis showed that the length of the branches decreases while passing from one first stage to the second. The average branch length for stage 1 is 4,84 cm against 4,05 cm for stage 2. In each stage, the length decreases progressively while passing from one level to a higher level, except for level E of stage 1 and levels E and F of stage 2

Comparative Analysis of Branch Diameter Variations in ’Cherry Gala’ Apple Trees

This study presents a detailed characterization of the branch architecture of the ’Cherry Gala’ apple variety, conducted in Azrou region, Morocco, with a focus on two distinct stages of growth. The main objective was to measure and analyze the diameters at the base and extremity of various architectural components, including the trunk, scaffold branches, and specific fruit-bearing structures like dard, bourse, and fruiting spurs. Our analysis revealed that the variation in diameter at the base was not significantly different between stages for fruiting spurs and dard, but was significant for bourse. Conversely, the diameter at the extremity showed significant variation for fruiting spurs and bourse, but not for dard. Additionally, the study found a predominance of bearing branches, which constituted 44% of the total. However, crowned twigs, simple twigs, and woody twigs, representing only 5% of the branches, were excluded from the analysis due to their low numbers. The study also established significant correlations between the base and extremity diameters across different types of branches. These findings provide valuable insights into the structural dynamics of ’Cherry Gala’ apple trees, which could be instrumental in optimizing orchard management practices and enhancing yield predictions. Future research could benefit from incorporating these structural aspects with fruit production data for a more holistic understanding of apple tree growth and productivit