Integrated Pest Management ( IPM ) for Date Palm in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The aim of this study is to evaluate the most important damaging diseases and pests of the date palm ( Phoenix dactylifera L. ) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as cited in the publications and reports. The results of this study indicated that the red palm weevil, which was reported in the country for the first time twelve years ago, is the most serious insects pest. This is in addition to the other arthropod pests which include : Oryctes elegans, Pseudophilus testaceous, Batrachedra amydraula, Arenipses sabella, Chrysomphalus dictypermi, Ommatissus binotatus, Parlatoria blanchardi, Oligonychus afrasiaticus, and birds which attack the fruits. The date palm diseases caused by fungi are of great economic importance. The wilt diseases, Khamedj, Al-wijam, and Diplodia diseases are among the important diseases of date palm in some growing areas of the Kingdom. The study suggests the adoption of a comprehensive IPM program that suits the infection of date palm by one or more of the previous pests. This program includes : cultural practices ( such as selection of healthy off-shoots, resistant to pests and free of diseases ) and other cultural practices, physical, mechanical, legestilative, biological, chemical and other control methods that my influence pest behavior and minimize damage that can be caused by these serious pests

Integrative Effects of Rice-Straw Biochar and Silicon on Oil and Seed Quality, Yield and Physiological Traits of Helianthus annuus L. Grown under Water Deficit Stress

Water deficit stress can negatively affect oil quality, crop yields and soil infertility. Thus, we investigated the effects of rice-straw biochar, foliar silicon and their combination on quality, yield and physiological traits of sunflower grown under three water deficit stress treatments. Water stress treatments were 50% (WS0; no stress), 70% (WS1; moderate stress) and 90% (WS2; severe stress) depletion of the available soil moisture. The results showed that WS1 and WS2 negatively affected oil quality, mycorrhizal spores, yield and physiological traits of the sunflower; however, biochar, silicon and their combination significantly (p ≤ 0.05) improved most of those traits. Oil and oleic acid contents of sunflower grown under WS2 were decreased by 18% and 25.8% compared to those grown under WS0, respectively. Nevertheless, the biochar and silicon combination resulted in higher oil (10.2%) and oleic acid (12.2%) in plants grown under WS2 than those grown in untreated plots. Also, a significant increase (182% and 277%) in mycorrhizal spores was obtained in soil treated combination of biochar and silicon under WS1 and WS2 in comparison to untreated soil, respectively. On the other hand, plants grown under WS1 and WS2 exhibited reduced seed yield ha−1 by 16.5% and 53.5% compared to those grown under WS0, respectively. However, seed yield ha−1 were increased by 26.8% and 27.1% in plots treated with combined treatment compared to untreated plants, respectively. In addition, the biochar and silicon combination significantly increased stomatal conductance by 21.4% and 12.1%, reduced proline by 56.6% and 51.2% and reduced catalase activity by 13.4% and 17.3% under WS1 and WS2 compared to those grown in untreated plots, respectively. Therefore, the combined treatment of biochar and silicon can minimize and alleviate the negative effects of WS1 and WS2, improve oil quality, physiological traits, microbial activity and seed yield ha−1 in sunflower plants

Clinical pharmacy definition, required education, training and practice in Saudi Arabia: A position statement by the Saudi society of clinical pharmacy

The Saudi Society of Clinical Pharmacy (SSCP) is a scientific and professional society in the field of clinical pharmacy that operates under the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties governance. The SSCP believes that there is a need to define and describe many aspects related to the clinical pharmacy profession in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, there is an increasing demand for promoting the concept of clinical pharmacy and developing a consensus regarding the scope of practice and clinical pharmacist's required postgraduate education and training in Saudi Arabia. This paper is intended to present several position statements by the SSCP that define the concept of clinical pharmacy, describe the required education and training, and highlight clinical pharmacists' scope of practice in Saudi Arabia. This paper calls for further investigations that examine the impact of clinical pharmacists on individual and population health levels. © 2021 The Author(s)Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Potential of Hyperspectral and Thermal Proximal Sensing for Estimating Growth Performance and Yield of Soybean Exposed to Different Drip Irrigation Regimes Under Arid Conditions

Proximal hyperspectral sensing tools could complement and perhaps replace destructive traditional methods for accurate estimation and monitoring of various morpho-physiological plant indicators. In this study, we assessed the potential of thermal imaging (TI) criteria and spectral reflectance indices (SRIs) to monitor different vegetative growth traits (biomass fresh weight, biomass dry weight, and canopy water mass) and seed yield (SY) of soybean exposed to 100%, 75%, and 50% of estimated crop evapotranspiration (ETc). These different plant traits were evaluated and related to TI criteria and SRIs at the beginning bloom (R1) and full seed (R6) growth stages. Results showed that all plant traits, TI criteria, and SRIs presented significant variations (p < 0.05) among irrigation regimes at both growth stages. The performance of TI criteria and SRIs for assessment of vegetative growth traits and SY fluctuated when relationships were analyzed for each irrigation regime or growth stage separately or when the data of both conditions were combined together. TI criteria and SRIs exhibited a moderate to strong relationship with vegetative growth traits when data from different irrigation regimes were pooled together at each growth stage or vice versa. The R6 and R1 growth stages are suitable for assessing SY under full (100% ETc) and severe (50% ETc) irrigation regimes, respectively, using SRIs. The overall results indicate that the usefulness of the TI and SRIs for assessment of growth, yield, and water status of soybean under arid conditions is limited to the growth stage, the irrigation level, and the combination between them