Pearl millet forage productivity under sprinkler irrigation system in sandy soil

A field experiment was conducted in a private farm (30o40' N latitude, 32o15' E longitude, and 10.0 m above mean sea level), Ismailia Governorate, Egypt, during the 2020 and 2021 summer growing seasons. The aim was to study the effect of four irrigation treatments (125, 100, 75% ETo, and farmer practice) on pearl millet forage yield. Average amounts of applied irrigation water under 125, 100, 75% ETo and farmer practice were 4637, 3710, 2782, and 5950 m3/ha, respectively with respective average water consumption values of 4130, 3308, 2482, and 5302 m3/ha. Compared to the farmer practice, the saved water was 22, 38, and 53 % for the 125, 100, and 75% ETo treatments. Average water use efficiency values were 7.91, 7.55, 6.96 and 4.59 kg/m3, and average water productivity values were 7.04, 6.73, 6.21, and 4.08 kg/m3 for 125, 100, 75% ETo and farmer treatments, respectively. The Ky factor was 1.17 indicating that the pearl millet crop is moderately sensitive to water stress. Irrigating pearl millet in sandy soils with 100% ETo will save 38% of applied irrigation water, achieve water use efficiency of 7.55 green yield/m3 of water consumed, and water productivity of 6.73 kg green yield/m3 of water applied. Keywords: Pearl millet, BIS model, sprinkler system, sandy soil, water use efficiency and water productivit

Twelve-month observational study of children with cancer in 41 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction Childhood cancer is a leading cause of death. It is unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted childhood cancer mortality. In this study, we aimed to establish all-cause mortality rates for childhood cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors associated with mortality. Methods Prospective cohort study in 109 institutions in 41 countries. Inclusion criteria: children <18 years who were newly diagnosed with or undergoing active treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, retinoblastoma, Wilms tumour, glioma, osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, medulloblastoma and neuroblastoma. Of 2327 cases, 2118 patients were included in the study. The primary outcome measure was all-cause mortality at 30 days, 90 days and 12 months. Results All-cause mortality was 3.4% (n=71/2084) at 30-day follow-up, 5.7% (n=113/1969) at 90-day follow-up and 13.0% (n=206/1581) at 12-month follow-up. The median time from diagnosis to multidisciplinary team (MDT) plan was longest in low-income countries (7 days, IQR 3-11). Multivariable analysis revealed several factors associated with 12-month mortality, including low-income (OR 6.99 (95% CI 2.49 to 19.68); p<0.001), lower middle income (OR 3.32 (95% CI 1.96 to 5.61); p<0.001) and upper middle income (OR 3.49 (95% CI 2.02 to 6.03); p<0.001) country status and chemotherapy (OR 0.55 (95% CI 0.36 to 0.86); p=0.008) and immunotherapy (OR 0.27 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.91); p=0.035) within 30 days from MDT plan. Multivariable analysis revealed laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR 5.33 (95% CI 1.19 to 23.84); p=0.029) was associated with 30-day mortality. Conclusions Children with cancer are more likely to die within 30 days if infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, timely treatment reduced odds of death. This report provides crucial information to balance the benefits of providing anticancer therapy against the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children with cancer

Effect of Climate Variability on Water Footprint of Some Grain Crops under Different Agro-Climatic Regions of Egypt

The water footprint (WF), based on irrigation water quality, is important as a decision-making tool for crop selection based on the comparative advantage of water consumption and yield to maximize agricultural water productivity and sustainably improve water use efficiency. This paper presents a generic link between climate variability and water footprint. To support this link, a case study is presented for wheat and maize in different agro-climate zones in Egypt. In this study, the three agro-ecological zones, Nile Delta, Middle Egypt, and Upper Egypt, were selected to represent three different microclimates. The climate data were analyzed to estimate reference evapotranspiration (ETo) and calculate crop water use (CWU) for wheat and maize from 2015 through 2019. Cultivated area and yield data were analyzed during the study period. Water footprint (WF) was calculated for old land (clay soils) and new lands (sandy soils) in three climate regions based on blue and grey water. Green water was excluded due to negligible rainfall depths in Egypt. The results showed that the mean values of WF for maize were 1067, 1395, 1655 m3/ton in old land and 1395, 1634, 2232 m3/ton in new land under the three climate regions, respectively, while it was 923, 982, 1117 m3/ton in old land and 1180, 1258, 1452 m3/ton for wheat in new land for the three regions, respectively. The results show that the crop water use fluctuated over regions due to climate variability where the CWU values were 6211, 7335, 8007 m3/ha for maize and 4348, 4825, 5774 m3/ha for wheat in the three regions, respectively. The results show an 11% and 33% increase in maize and an 18% and 29% increase in wheat CWU in Middle and Upper Egypt regions comparing to what was observed in Nile Delta due to an increase in solar radiation, temperature, and wind speed. The Egypt mean value of wheat water footprint was 1152 m3/ton and mean value of maize water footprint was 1563 m3/ton. The data clearly show the effect of microclimate variability on WF and irrigation requirements between regions. The methodology and results from this study provide a pathway to help the policy makers to mitigate climate change impacts on crop yield and to enhance water resources management in major crop production regions by redistribution of the cropping patterns based on the comparative advantages of each crop within each region. The crop choices relative to the soil water retention characteristics could also contribute to the moderation of microclimate, which affects ETo and ETc and the water footprint

Ultra-sonication treatment for saline groundwater: A new innovative approach for preventing emitter clogging in surface drip irrigation systems

Clogging is a serious problem in drip irrigation, especially when using saline groundwater; this may cause uneven water distribution. However, efficient and environmentally friendly methods are rarely available for mitigating clogging. In the present study, an innovative and environmentally friendly technology using ultrasonic waves within radio frequency without the use of chemicals to treat emitter clogging, is evaluated. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the chronological changes in the emitter flow rate and the effect of ultrasonic (US) water treatments on solving the problem of emitter clogging in the field. The performance of the drip irrigation system is tested by measuring emitter discharge and estimating the average emitter discharge (qav), the manufacturer coefficient of variation (CVm), the distribution uniformity of the lowest quarter (DUlq), the application efficiency (AE) and the Christiansen uniformity coefficient (CUC). The results showed that the qav for the emitters improved from 3.37 l/h before treatment to 4.1 l/h after 180 h of US irrigation water treatment. The DUlq and the AE of the drip irrigation system were respectively 76.7% and 69.1% before treatment, due to the presence of salts in the groundwater, which caused emitter clogging. After 180 hours of US water treatment, DUlq and AE improved to respectively 90.3% and 81.3%. This improvement led to saving about 15% of the daily irrigation water. This study showed that ultrasonic water treatment is highly effective as chemical-free treatment method with great potential for preventing emitters clogging in drip irrigation systems, and could be further promoted in drip irrigation with saline groundwater. Keywords: Clogging, drip, irrigation, emitter, saline groundwater, ultrasoni

Twelve-month observational study of children with cancer in 41 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Childhood cancer is a leading cause of death. It is unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted childhood cancer mortality. In this study, we aimed to establish all-cause mortality rates for childhood cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors associated with mortality