Cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants significantly contribute to affordable healthcare and livelihood security. This study aims to investigate the economic analysis of Syrian oregano (Origanum syriacum) production with total area of 1000 m2, depending on some standard economic indicators. The results showed that the annual net profit constitutes 56% of the total annual revenues. Furthermore, the net present value after six years was a positive value, and the index of profitability was 2.71, which confirms the economic viability of this project. The internal rate of return (IRR) reached 90.67%, which is a good number compared to the bank interest rate. Although this project does not occupy large areas, (a small possession 500-2000 m2 is sufficient for its establishment), but it is able to achieve guaranteed profits within a short period. Therefore, Thyme cultivation should be expanded by providing small farmers the necessary technical support and drawing their attention to economic efficiency of such project.

The fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda is a lepidopteran pest that can damage and destroy a wide variety of crops. It is widely present in the Americans and has been invasive in Africa since 2016. Larvae of S. frugiperda were found for the first time in four rural farms on maize plants (Zea mays) located in Tafas town (Dara’a Governorate, in the south‐west of Syria) in November 2020. Infested maize showed the typical damage symptoms caused by S. frugiperda. Furthermore, morphological identification of larvae based on standard parameters of larvae confirmed the identity of the pest as fall armyworm. Considering the recent introduction of the pest into the EPPO region, it could be concluded that the pest probably entered Syria through natural spread (active flight and via wind currents) from Jordan, which borders Syria in the southern part and where the pest was found very recently.

A small-scale survey was conducted on 64 beehives located in four governorates of Syria in order to assess for the first time the presence of honeybee-infecting viruses and of Varroa destructor mites in the country. RT-PCR assays conducted on 192 honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) using virus-specific primers showed that Deformed wing virus (DWV) was present in 49 (25.5%) of the tested samples and Chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV) in 2 (1.04%), whereas Acute bee paralysis virus, Sacbrood virus, Black queen cell virus and Kashmir bee virus were absent. Nucleotide sequences of PCR amplicons obtained from DWV and CBPV genomes shared 95-97 and 100% identity with isolates reported in the GenBank, respectively. The phylogenetic tree grouped the Syrian DWV isolates in one cluster, distinct from all those of different origins reported in the database. Furthermore, 19 adult V. destructor females were genetically analyzed by amplifying and sequencing four fragments in cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (cox1), ATP synthase 6 (atp6), cox3 and cytochrome b (cytb) mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genes. Sequences of concatenated V. destructor mtDNA genes (2696 bp) from Syria were similar to the Korean (K) haplotype and were found recurrently in all governorates. In addition, two genetic lineages of haplotype K with slight variations (0.2-0.3%) were present only in Tartous and Al-Qunaitra governorates.

AbstractThe productivity of crops irrigated with saline water or grown on salt‐affected soils depends on the salt tolerance of the crops, their accessions, and various environmental and cultural conditions such as soil properties, climate and irrigation methods. The level and ability of plants to tolerate salt stress is the most critical information for the successful management of salt‐affected agricultural lands and saline irrigation waters. In this paper, responses of three food legume crops (faba bean, chickpea and lentil) to salinity stress were analysed using the threshold‐slope linear response function and modified discount function. The response functions are calibrated using the 2009–2010 season data and validated using the 2010–2011 season data from faba bean, chickpea and lentil experiments conducted in Raqqa, Syria. The comparison was also made through SALTMED model predictions. The results of this study show that the salinity response functions and productivity of grain yield are highly variable within the accessions of the same crop. For optimum outcome, practitioners need to consider salinity response functions and also the productivity of different accessions and their response to salinity in relation to the soil and available irrigation water salinity levels. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

AbstractThe information on salinity threshold levels for food legumes when irrigating with saline water is limited and old. In a multi‐year study at two sites in the Euphrates Basin, we aimed at (i) evaluating the potential of saline water irrigation for chickpea, faba bean and lentil production; and (ii) using the SALTMED model to determine threshold crop yields based on irrigation water salinity in equilibrium with ambient soil solution salinity. To evaluate 15 accessions each of lentil and chickpea, and 11 accessions of faba bean, three irrigation treatments were used with salinity levels of 0.87, 2.50 and 3.78 dS m‐1 at Hassake and 0.70, 3.0 and 5.0 dS m‐1 at Raqqa. Aggregated grain yields showed significant differences (p < 0.05) among crop accessions. Calibration and validation of the SALTMED model revealed a close relationship between actual grain yields from the field sites and those predicted by the model. The 50% yield reduction (π50 value) in chickpea, lentil, and faba bean occurred at salinity levels of 4.2, 4.4 and 5.2 dS m‐1, respectively. These results suggest that of the three food legume crops, faba bean can withstand relatively high levels of irrigation water salinity, followed by lentil and chickpea. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

AbstractMigration is often driven by low incomes, scarcity of natural resources and lack of employment opportunities. Syria has suffered from 4 years of consecutive droughts, with grave consequences on resources, pushing rural people to migrate. The impact effect of remittances on livelihoods in dry areas needs more understanding; our study addresses that gap. We used a rapid appraisal and a formal survey of 608 randomly selected rural households in 2009 after two droughts. We found that migration has positive impact on rural livelihoods and represented more than 50 per cent of the annual per capita income. It also supported land reclamation and holds a potential to support development. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A virus survey was carried out in spring and summer 2010 in Syrian fig orchards and gardens in 9 cities and in a varietal collection at Idleb. A total of 90 fig samples were collected and tested by RT-PCR for the presence of Fig leaf mottle-associated virus 1 (FLMaV-1), Fig leaf mottle-associated virus 2 (FLMaV-2), Fig mild mottleassociated virus (FMMaV), Fig mosaic virus (FMV), Fig latent virus 1 (FLV-1), Fig cryptic virus (FCV), Fig fleck-associated virus (FFkaV), and Hop stunt viroid (HSVd) using sets of specific primers. PCR results showed that about 84% of the trees were infected with at least one virus. FMV was the prevailing virus (56.7%), followed by FFkaV (36.7%), FLMaV-2 (31.1%), FMMaV (12.2%), FLV-1 (11.1%) and FLMaV-1 (4.4%), whereas FCV was not found. HSVd was detected in 13.3% of the samples. In a phylogenetic tree, the nucleotide sequences of most Syrian HSVd-fig isolates grouped with those reported in Lebanon from the same host and from mulberry, forming a distinct clade (M-group). This is the first report of FMMaV, FMV, FLV-1 and HSVd in fig trees in Syria.

Newly ecdysed 5th instar Schistocerca gregaria nymphs were orally treated with LC75 of the chitin synthesis inhibitor teflubenzuron (135ppm) for 24h; subsequently they were offered an untreated diet for the duration of this instar. Ultrastructural observation of the cuticle in 7 day old untreated 5th instar desert locust nymphs showed that the moulting events had already began. Meanwhile, in treated nymphs of the same age, the ultrastructure of the integument showed that the moulting process was delayed, as no new chitin lamellae of 5th instar were formed and lamellae of the previous instar were still evident. Furthermore, a protein matrix was observed as a homogenous layer with the lack of chitin and occurrence of vacuoles and abundance of mitochondria. The cuticle dry weight in treated 8day old nymphs was significantly less than that of the control, (i.e. 8.5 and 15mg/nymph, respectively). Furthermore, in 8day old treated 5th instar nymphs, chitin and total soluble protein content were 4.5 and 4.85mg/ nymph, respectively. These weights were also highly significantly less than their equivalent control being 8.5 and 7.85mg/nymph for chitin and total soluble protein, respectively. Inhibition in chitin and protein synthesis was calculated to be 88.9% and 61.85%, respectively, in 8day old 5th instar nymphs following their treatment with LC75 concentration of teflubenzuron.

For about sixty-five years, the problem of landownership and control of resources continue to be a political development issue in the Philippines—between the wealthy landlords and the poor and landless farmworkers. Agrarian reform is viewed as a necessary condition for agricultural modernization and rural industrialization and the fundamental mooring for global competition. After 12 years of implementing the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) in the Philippines, the Department of Agrarian Reform and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources have redistributed 5.33 million hectares of land that account for 53.4 percent of the total farmland. This accomplishment represents 66 percent of the total CARP scope. About 3.1 million rural poor households, who constitute about forty-two percent of the total agricultural population, have directly benefited from the land redistribution. Agrarian Reform has contributed to improvement of the socioeconomic conditions of landless farmers and political development of the Philippines in terms of engaging the landless in the process of policy making and distribution of large private landholdings to the landless. The various modalities that give peasants a stake in society such as decisive role in agrarian legislations, engaging them in dialogue to resolve agrarian cases, presenting manifesto pinpointing their criticisms and recommendations on implementing rules and guidelines, identification of farmer beneficiaries and lands to be covered, negotiation on the mode of land acquisition and distribution and computation of land values, have significantly influence the process of democratization and establishment of participatory institutions at the local and national levels.