Abstract:
The present study was carried out in the desert
valley (wadi) Abu Salam (63 Km.) east of Berber
city, River Nile State, and in the nursery of the
Faculty of Agriculture, Nile Valley University. The
autecology and biology of major desert specie,
Handal (Citrullus coloynthsis), were studied. The
study area (Wadi Abu Salam) was divided into
three sections; upper, middle and lower. The soil
was classified as sodic soil and contained a high
percentage of clay in the upper section, equal percentage of clay and sand in the middle section and
high percentage of sand in the lower section. The
distribution of Handal plant in the wadi area was
investigated. In the first season, it was only detected in the middle section (0.60-0.72 plants/m2). In
the second season, the plant was distributed in the
three sections of the wadi (1.46-1.66 plants/m2 for
the upper section, 0.27-0.49 plants/m2 for the middle section and 0.3-0.4 plants/m2 for the lower sections).The rate of photosynthesis increased during
the first stage of growth to reach its maximum (2.2-
2.34 gm/day) during the 8th week from the start of
germination, then started to decline till it reached
its minimum rate (0.10-0.12 gm/day) at the maturity
stage in both seasons. Plant roots growth started
at a low rate, then, increased with plant development and became equal after 7 weeks from germination. After that, it decreased until it reached its
lowest rate at the stage of maturity.
Description:
Arab Univ.
J. Agric. Sci.,
Ain Shams Univ.,
Cairo, 21 (1 ), 79-89, 2013
