Sustainable agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions critically depends on the interactions between soil physical properties, water dynamics, and mechanized field operations. In this context, soil physical attributes, such as texture, bulk density, aggregate stability, and soil water potential, play a crucial role in determining soil–water–machine interactions. Soil attributes such as texture, bulk density, aggregate stability, and soil water potential govern both water movement and retention, as well as traction efficiency, draft energy, and compaction under mechanized traffic. Deviations from the optimal soil moisture range in sandy or calcareous soils increase wheel slip, energy consumption, and soil structural degradation, resulting in uneven infiltration and reduced water-use efficiency. This review synthesizes recent research on these coupled processes, emphasizing how soil mechanics and hydraulics collectively influence irrigation performance and mechanization energy requirements. The novelty of this study lies in presenting an integrated soil–machine–water conceptual framework that captures the continuous interactions and interdependencies among soil physical state, machine behavior, and water movement. By highlighting these dynamic relationships, this review provides a systems-level perspective on energy and water interactions in dryland agroecosystems, offering a foundation for predicting the environmental implications of mechanized operations under arid conditions. Overall, the review demonstrates that sustainable mechanized agriculture in arid regions requires integrated management of soil physical state, machine operation, and irrigation timing, where maintaining soil moisture within an optimal operational range is the key factor for reducing energy losses, preventing soil compaction, and improving water productivity.

In the Middle East and North Africa as well as in numerous countries in South America and Southeast Asia, water scarcity is a real concern. Therefore, water desalination has become a key solution and an important source of freshwater production. Solar stills are used for water desalination but they require low depth of sea or brackish water and sufficient solar radiation to evaporate water. In this investigation, a phytodesalinator is presented for the first time. The halophyte used in this work is Sesuvium portulacastrum L., a heat-tolerant euhalophyte. The presented phytodesalinator can replace basic solar stills during cold seasons if there is sufficient sunlight to ensure the transpiration process in the plant. The euhalophyte S. portulacastrum was tested for its ability to desalinate reject brine as grown for two subsequent phytodesalination cycles. Several factors were found to affect the productivity of the phytodesalinator, in particular, solar radiation, phytodesalination duration, and plant density. Nevertheless, it exhibited an average productivity of 2.44 kg/m²/d and showed several advantages in comparison with basic solar stills.

Agriculture is a key pillar of the economy, constantly facing challenges due to population growth and climate change. Enhancing the sustainability and efficiency of crop production and improving water use efficiency are essential. to evaluate air injection into subsurface drip irrigation system for zucchini production as efficient method for subsurface drip irrigation systems to improve water use efficiency (WUE), and zucchini production in heavy clay soils. Results showed that injecting air through built-in emitters using a compressor during the last third of the irrigation time maintained acceptable system performance, as measured by indicators like CV, qvar, and EU%. It also improved the physical properties of dry sieved aggregates and enhanced the availability of macronutrients, significantly improving and maintaining heavy clay soil, leading to a 27% increase in zucchini crop yields and 22% water savings compared to the control. Economic analysis indicated that air injection was a feasible option, increasing gross returns by 21% compared to the control, with a benefit-cost ratio of 2.3% for air injection versus 1.8% for the control.

This study investigates the optimal water and nitrogen fertilization levels to enhance the productivity and quality of Mombasa grass (Panicum maximum cv. Mombasa) under drought-prone conditions. Four irrigation treatments were applied based on irrigation depth: high irrigation (I1 = 691.2 mm), control irrigation (I2 = 575.0 mm), moderate stress (I3 = 460.8 mm), and severe stress (I4 = 345.6 mm). Two nitrogen fertilization levels were tested: full fertilization (F1 = 300 kg N·ha⁻¹) and half fertilization (F2 = 150 kg N·ha⁻¹). Severe water stress (I4) significantly reduced growth parameters, with fresh weight (FW) decreasing by 21.9% and dry weight (DW) decreasing by 20.3% compared to the control. In contrast, higher irrigation levels (I1 and I2) notably improved FW and DW. Full nitrogen application (F1) enhanced FW, DW, and plant height, whereas the half dose (F2) resulted in lower growth performance. Water productivity (WP) was highest under moderate stress (I3) combined with F1, and under severe stress (I4) combined with F2, it was the worst. Protein percentage per irrigation water unit (PPW) increased with greater water deficits, while total protein production per irrigation water unit (TPW) peaked under higher irrigation levels. These findings indicate a trade-off between forage quality (PPW) and quantity (TPW), where PPW is more critical for marketing purposes and TPW is better suited for on-farm feeding. Economically, treatment I3F1 proved to be the most efficient option under moderate water availability. It combined reduced irrigation with a high fertilizer rate, resulting in a strong net return and the second-highest benefit-cost ratio among all treatments. This indicates its potential as a cost-effective and resource-efficient strategy in water-limited environments.

Annually, a considerable amount of agricultural waste is produced leading to serious environmental pollution if not managed effectively. A wide range of bio-decomposers, including fungi, bacteria, and actinomycetes may break down the complex agro-residues in an eco-friendly way through secreting many cellulolytic and amylolytic enzymes. The present study aimed at exploring the ability of Frankia to degrade cellulose and starch and identifying the cellulase and α-amylase genes in Frankia genomes for potential agricultural waste degradation. Frankia alni ACN14a and Frankia casuarinae CcI₃ produced clear zones around growing hyphae on carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and starch substrates. The hydrolytic index (HI) ranged from 1 to 2.14 reflecting variation in their degradation efficacy. Quantification of CMCase (carboxymethyl cellulase) production in strain ACN14a presented the maximum activity (0.504 U/mL) under 1% CMC after 16 days whereas strain CcI₃ produced a weak activity after 6 days from incubation. Besides, amylase activity in strain ACN14a reached the highest value (3.215 U/mL) after 4 days of growing with 1% starch, while strain CcI₃ had the superior production (3.04 U/mL) after 12 days from 1% starch condition. Data mining and genome blasting led to the identification of multiple genes related to cellulose and starch degradation. Two endoglucanases (celA1, FRAAL4955 and celA2, FRAAL4956), two glycosyl hydrolase family 16 (FRAAL6120 and FRAAL2663), and one glycosyl hydrolase family 16 (Francci3_3843) were predicted in the two genomes. Likewise, the α-amylase genes (FRAAL5900) from Frankia alni ACN14a and (Francci3_3679) from strain CcI₃ were identified. The gene expression of endo-1, 4-beta-glucanase (celA2, FRAAL4956) revealed the maximum increment in its mRNA abundance under 0.25% CMC exposure and showed a 3.3-fold increase. Frankia capability to degrade cellulose and starch represents a critical process in nutrient cycling and environment protection.