A survey of plant-parasitic nematode genera associated with roots of mature date palm trees was conducted in central Iraq to study their occurrence, population density, and geographical distribution. This study in Baghdad, Babil, Diyala, Karbela, Najaf, and Wasit governorates was conducted from 2019 to 2023, during the months from October to April. A total of 150 soil and root samples were gathered from 46 fields, and plant-parasitic nematodes were extracted and morphologically identified to genus level. Eleven genera of plant-parasitic nematodes were detected in the declining order of frequency: Tylenchorhynchus spp. (20%) in Baghdad, Babil, Diyala, Karbala, and Najaf; Meloidogyne spp. (17.3%) in Baghdad, Babil, Diyala, Najaf, and Wasit; Paratylenchus spp. (16%) in Diyala and Najaf; Helicotylenchus spp. (12%) in Baghdad, Diyala, Najaf, and Wasit; Tylenchus spp. (12%) in Baghdad, Babil, Diyala, Najaf, and Wasit; Aphelenchoides spp. (6.7%) in Babil, Diyala, Karbala, and Wasit; Pratylenchus spp. (4%) in Baghdad, Diyala, Najaf, and Wasit; Ditylenchus spp. (3.3%) in Babil and Najaf; Hoplolaimus spp. (1.3%) in Diyala; and Heterodera spp. and Scutellonema spp. (0.7% each) in Diyala. Population density was low in Baghdad. High population density was recorded for Meloidogyne spp. (37,625 J2/1,000 cm3 of soil) and the lowest population density occurred with Paratylenchus spp. (20 nematodes/1,000 cm3 of soil) in Diyala (Al-Jadidah). This appears to be the first report of occurrences of plant-parasitic nematodes of date palm in central Iraq.
Four species of insects, Carpophillus obsoletus Er., Carpophilus sp., Bitoma lycnformis Wall and Scatopse sp., were found in association with infected spathes of date palm with Mauginella scaettae Cav. The later fungus was the dominant species isolated in pure cultures both from diseased spathes and from contaminated insects. Bitoma lycriformis is the first record for Iraq.
Twenty-two of the Starling Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 were collected in Baghdad city during the period from January to September, 2014, and examined for endoparasites. Ten (45.45%) were found infected with either the cestode Passerilepis crenata (Goeze, 1782) (31.81%) or the nematode Dispharynx nasuta (Rudolphi, 1819) (13.63 %). Morphometric and meristic features for these worms were expressed. D. nasuta is recorded here for the first time from S. vulgaris for Iraq.
This work deals with the nematode parasitesfrom the midgut of (16) specimens of Green
toad (Bufo viridis) Laurenti, 1768 collected from Baghdad area,central Iraq.
The parasites are:Cosmocercoides variabilis (Cosmocercidae) that considered as the first
report in Iraq on it and Oswaldocruzia filiformis (Molineidae).
Soil invertebrates community an important role as part of essential food chain and responsible for the decomposition in the soil, helps soil aeration , nutrients recycling and increase agricultural production by providing the essential elements necessary for photosynthesis and energy flow in ecosystems.The aim of the present study was to investigate the soil invertebrates community in one of the date palms plantation in Aljaderia district South of Baghdad, , and their relationships with some physical and chemical properties of the soil , as Five randomly distributed replicates of soil samples were collected monthly. Invertebrates samples were sorted from the soil with two methods, direct method to isolate large invertebrates and indirec
... Show MoreThe artificial silk (Rayon) was produced from the fronds of date palms which was taken from date palm trees (type Al-Zahdi) from the Iraqi gardens. Two main parts of the frond, namely leaves and stalks were used in this study to produce rayon. The palm fronds were converted into a powder of 90-180 micrometers. Major steps were used to produce rayon; delignification, bleaching and finally dissolution. Modified organosolv method which uses organic solvent method was applied to remove high lignin content. Three variables were studied in the delignification process: temperature, the ratio of ethanol to water and digestion time. The results showed that the best percent of lignin removal was (97%) which occured at; digestion time (80 minutes), te
... Show MoreThe climate is one of the natural factors affecting agriculture, and the success of the cultivation of any agricultural crop depends on the nature of the prevailing climate in the area of its cultivation. If the main elements of climate: temperature, rain and humidity, affect the various agricultural activities that can be practiced, and the stages of growth of agricultural crops and also determine the areas of spread. When the climatic requirements of any crop are well available, its cultivation is successful and comfortable. The research starts from the problem of spatial variation of date production spatially in the study area and the reason for choosing dates because of its economic importance, so the research will be based on
... Show MoreTraditional tree management is laborious and costly, thus this work aimed to study the performance of two different types of frond cutting saws (reciprocating saw and vibrating saw) and examine the two saws on five date palm varieties. Four parameters were examined, including cutting time for a single frond, the power needed for cutting a single frond, frond cutting productivity expressed as tree/h, and vibration conveyed to the worker’s hand. A field experiment was designed according to the nested randomized complete block design, including five date palm varieties as the main plot and the type of saw as a sub-plot. Means were compared using the least significant differences (LSD 0
Abstract
In this study, modified organic solvent (organosolv) method was applied to remove high lignin content in the date palm fronds (type Al-Zahdi) which was taken from the Iraqi gardens. In modified organosolv, lignocellulosic material is fractionated into its constituents (lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose). In this process, solvent (organic)-water is brought into contact with the lignocellulosic biomass at high temperature, using stainless steel reactor (digester). Therefor; most of hemicellulose will remove from the biomass, while the solid residue (mainly cellulose) can be used in various industrial fields. Three variables were studied in this process: temperature, ratio of ethano
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