The pollution of agricultural soils, water and plants by trace elements (TEs) in the Nile Delta Region, Egypt, is of great importance. This study aimed to investigate the spatial and seasonal variation of some TEs in the agricultural area adjacent to Kitchener Drain and to evaluate the ecological risk posed by these elements using six indices. Soil and plant samples were collected from seven sites close to the drain, while water samples were collected from the corresponding sites inside the drain during three seasons (winter, spring and fall). The results showed that all studied TEs in the soil varied seasonally and spatially among the locations around the drain. Most of the studied elements in the soil were higher in the southern and middle area around the drain. All studied elements in the soil were also higher in the winter than other seasons. Nickel and lead were almost non-detected during all seasons in plant tissues, while other elements were higher in the winter than other seasons. In contrast to the soil and plant tissues, water samples demonstrated lower or non-detected levels of TEs. The results also indicated that the values for the risk assessment indices differed among the studied TEs. Therefore, there is a risk of increasing the concentration of some metals in the study area due to anthropogenic pollution from the adjacent polluted drain through irrigation with contaminated water and spreading of contaminated dredged materials on agricultural fields.

The integrated application of different fertilizers including nano-fertilizers might is a major area of interest within the field of modern agriculture. So, a field experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of different types of fertilizers separately on productivity of red cabbage and broccoli under salinity and waterlogging stresses. The applied fertilizers include mineral fertilizer (i.e., recommended NPK fertilizers), organic fertilizer (i.e., compost tea) and nano-fertilizers (i.e., nano- copper or nano-Cu and nano-selenium or nano-Se) have been used in this study. It has been noticed that, the vegetative growth of red cabbage and broccoli may depend on the kind of fertilizer. The organic fertilizers were and still one of the most important kind of fertilizers even under soil salinity conditions. The nano-fertilizer could be considered a promising fertilizer in particular the biological version. Fertilizers in nano form may help plants and support them against the insect infection. It could be concluded that, soil fertility was and still and will be one of the most important strategies in the sustainable agriculture. This needs a comprehensive and an integrated program of fertilization. These fertilizers should include all kinds and should apply in right time, amount or dose, place and form as known with 4 R strategy. Biological nano-fertilizers might be promising tools in modern and non-conventional agriculture. Furthermore, urgent investigations are needed to highlight on the risks of these nanomaterials if any.