Although several studies have examined the effect of sewage sludge (SS) application on various legume crops, there is insufficient information confirming the agronomic and environmental sustainability of SS usage in a broad bean cultivation systems. Therefore, a greenhouse experiment was completed to assess the soil heavy metal (HM) pools, growth, yield, and HM uptake of Faba sativa Bernh. (broad bean) grown in the agricultural soils supplemented with SS in comparison to control soils (nonamended). The experimental design was completely randomized with six replicates. The amendment with SS significantly elevated the organic matter (OM) content, soil salinity and Al, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn concentrations, although the soil pH decreased. As allowed by the Council of European Communities, the concentrations of the determined HMs were less than the accepted limit for SS used in agriculture. Generally, SS applications of up to 120 t/ha produced a considerable increase in the growth measurements and biomass of broad bean. However, the broad bean biomass, shoot height, number of branches, root length, absolute growth rate, number of leaves, and leaf area declined in reaction to a rate of 150 t/ha. The HM concentrations in various tissues of broad bean plants exposed to SS were significantly higher than those in the untreated plants. However, most HM concentrations were inside the permissible limits and did not overcome the maximum levels of phytotoxic. The broad bean was recognized by a bioaccumulation factor less than 1.0 for the majority of the HMs. The translocation factors for the determined HMs (excluding for Al, Co, and Pb in stems and leaves) were less than 1.0. Therefore, the SS utilized in this study could be used as a fertilizer for broad bean crops and could as well act as a replacement manner for SS elimination.

The biodiversity of 12 coffee (Coffea arabica L.) cultivars collected from the Al-Baha region in the southwest of Saudi Arabia was evaluated using 25 morphological variations and genetic diversity as demonstrated by molecular polymorphism generated by eight Inter Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSRs) and nine Start Codon Targeted (SCoT) primers. Substantial variations were scored in the morphological traits reflected in the clustering of the examined cultivars in PCA of the coffee cultivars. The examined cultivars were grouped in two groups, one included the cultivars coded Y5, Y6, R113, and Y7 and the other group comprised two clusters; one comprised cultivars coded R8 and R4 and the other comprised cultivars R112, R114, and Y2. In the meantime, the cultivars coded R9 and R111 were differentiated together from other cultivars, while the Y3 cultivar was confirmed by the analysis of ISSR data and SCoT data, which also support the grouping of R9 and R111 cultivars. Principle Component Analysis (PCA) of morphological, ISSR, and SCoT data as a combined set differentiated the examined species into four groups in a scatter plot in agreement with their separation in the cluster trees. The diversity profile among the examined C. arabica cultivars proved that R111 and R4 cultivars are highly diverse, while R8 and Y5 cultivars exhibit low diversity. Alpha diversity indices indicated that R9 and R111 cultivars are the most dominant and stable C. arabica cultivars among the examined samples in the study region.

The wild species of Solanum are important genetic resources for the medicinal and vegetable crop species of the genus and reservoir of genes for developing new economic uses of Solanum species. In this article, the genetic diversity and systematics of 14 Solanum accessions representing 11 species growing in the southwestern highlands of Saudi Arabia were evaluated using morphological variations and molecular polymorphism generated by 13 ISSR primers. Substantial variations were scored in 26 morphological characters and reflected in the cluster analysis of the examined accessions based on morphological variation. In the cluster trees illustrating the relatedness of the examined accessions based on morphological variation and ISSR polymorphism, the accessions of S. villosum and S. nigrum were differentiated as one cluster and S. dulcamara was associated with S. sisymbriifolium. In the meantime, S. coagulans was clustered with S. macracanthum. The analysis of ISSR data confirms that S. villosum is related to S. nigrum and supports the grouping S. incanum and S. glabratum based on the morphological traits. Principle Component Analysis (PCA) analysis of morphological and ISSR data as a combined set, differentiated the examined species into four groups in a scatter plot. The differentiation of the species/populations in the PCA scatter diagram agrees with their separation in the cluster trees. The four groups are 1. S. macracanthum, S. coagulans and S. schimperianum. 2. S. glabratum and S. incanum. 3. S. dulcamara, S. sisymbriifolium and S. torvum, 4. S. nigrum, S. villosum, and S. villosum ssp. puniceum.

Canola ( Brassica napus L.), essential for food and biodiesel, suffers from productivity losses due to soil sali-nity. This study evaluated the effect of ascorbic acid (AsA) foliar spray on mitigating sodium chloride (NaCl)-induced salt stress in two canola varieties, Sandal (V1) and Rachna...