Jojoba oil (JO) extracted from seeds has outstanding properties, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities, and can be stored forlong periodsof time. The unique properties of jojoba oil depend on its chemical composition; therefore, the effect of the jojoba genotype on the chemical properties and active components of the seed oil was evaluated in this study. Oil samples were collected from 15 elite Egyptian jojoba lines. The chemical composition, such as moisture, crude fiber, crude oil, ash, and crude protein of elite lines’ seeds was determined to investigate the variation among them based on the jojoba genotype. In addition, the iodine value was obtained to measure the degree of jojoba oil unsaturation, whereas the peroxide number was determined as an indicator of the damage level in jojoba oil. Fatty acid composition was studied to compare elite jojoba lines. Fatty acid profiles varied significantly depending on the jojoba genotype. Gadoleic acid exhibited the highest percentage value (67.85–75.50%) in the extracted jojoba oil, followed by erucic acid (12.60–14.81%) and oleic acid (7.86–10.99%). The iodine value, peroxide number, and fatty acid composition of the tested elite jojoba lines were compared withthose reported by the International Jojoba Export Council (IJEC). The results showed that the chemical properties of jojoba oils varied significantly, depending on the jojoba genotype.

The world is facing food insecurity problem due to shortage of workforce and growing world population. Robotization of crop production will help to boost food production, through effective labour conservation. This study was carried out to optimize the performance of tomato fruits’ robotic harvesters, through field practices (pre-harvest treatments). Tomato (Cv. UC82B) was cultivated under four major field practices, which were: control, organic treatment, inorganic treatment using potassium nitrate (KNO₃), and combine treatment using the combination of compost manure and KNO₃. Tomato fruits were harvested at the pink maturity stage and were subjected to compression test, using the Universal Testing Machine, at three compression speeds of 15 mm/min, 20 mm/min and 25 mm/min. Results obtained from the study showed that, field practices and compression speed significantly (p ≤0.05) affected the failure parameters (failure force, failure energy and deformation) of the tomato fruits. Regardless of the compression speed, the fruits produced with combined treatment had the highest failure parameters; while the control fruits developed the least failure parameters. Tomato fruit produced using the combined treatment developed failure force, failure energy and deformation of 87.60 N, 701.97 N.mm and 16.88 mm respectively. In the terms of the compression speed, the study revealed that the ability of the fruits to absolved compression force declined significantly, as the compression speed increased from 15 mm/min to 25 mm/min, across the four treatments regimes. These results will be useful during the programming and application of automatic tomato fruits harvesting robots, to optimize their efficiency, hence improving food security condition.

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of compost manure and organic soap on hydrocarbon degradation in petroleum products contaminated soil. 10 kg of top soil collected at a depth of 0-20 cm, air dried and sieved, were poured into plastic containers. The soil samples were was pounded with 1 L of spent engine oil, 1 L of kerosene, 1 L of petrol and 1 L of diesel daily for five days. The containers were placed under natural environmental conditions for three weeks to enable full acclimatization of the petroleum products with the soil. A completely randomized design comprising T1 (Polluted soil without treatment ‘control’); T2 (10 kg contaminated soil + 500 g organic soap); T3 (10 kg contaminated soil + 500 g compost manure); and T4 (10 kg contaminated soil + 500 g compost manure + 500 g organic soap) was used for this study. Some physical characteristics (soil porosity and specific gravity) and Total Hydrocarbon Content (THC) of the soil samples were tested for, after the full acclimatization of the soil samples, and at the end of the 10 week experimental period, in accordance with standard methods. Results of the study showed that addition of the compost manure and organic soap the contaminated soil samples significantly (p ≤0.05) degraded the THC, and improved the soil physical characteristics. The result showed that the combination of compost manure and organic soap gave the best remediation result (from 957.21 mg/kg to 154.36 mg/kg), followed by organic soap (from 957.21mg/kg to 203.61 mg/kg), and then compost manure (from 957.21 mg/kg to 262.03 mg/kg). At the end of the experimental period, vegetative growth was observed in the treated soil samples; whereas, in the control soil samples vegetative growth was absent. Results obtained from this study have shown that amending petroleum products contaminated soils with compost manure and organic soap will enhance remediation of petroleum products contaminated sites.

Soil heavy metals pollution is a major global threat, because of its impact to plants, animals, and the soil geotechnical properties. Geostatistical method was used to investigate the spatial distributions of aluminum and lead within a section of the Delta State University of Science and Technology, Ozoro, Nigeria. A total area of 1 km2 (100 hectares) was covered within the school environment. Twenty -five (25) topsoil samples were collected, at the end of the dry season (March 2021); when the water table in the study area was very low. The lead and aluminum concentrations of the 25 samples were measured by using the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) approved methods. Using a geostatistical tool, the lead and aluminum concentrations and distribution in the soil were plotted on predication maps. The maps revealed irregular spatial distributions of lead and aluminum ions within the study area. The lead concentration was highest at the North-central region of the study area; while lead concentration was lowest at the Eastern region of the study area. In terms of the aluminum metal, the highest aluminum concentration was observed in the North eastern region; while aluminum concentration was lowest at the South western region. Data obtained from this study will be useful for agricultural and civil engineering purposes, mainly in the area of decision-making.

Growth Performance of Five Bean ( Phaseolus spp ) Varieties as Influenced by Organic Amendment