Magazine 46 dec 2013 english by HEIA

Horticultural Export Improvement Association

‫جمعية تنمية وتطوير الصادرات البستانية‬

Contents 02 HEIA Trainings 04 New Division for Vegetable Technical Support in HEIA 05 Certification Preparation Services (CPS) 06 Farm Management Diploma 07 Grape Winter Pruning and Dormancy Breaks 09 Modern Agricultural Techniques in Vegetables 10 Producing Sugar Peas for Exporting 12 Quality Services for Strawberry Crop 14 Asparagus Cultivation in Brief 16 Regular Irrigation and fertilization increase the productivity of Olive Trees

Magazine Arabic Section Contact HEIA at: info@heia.org.eg

Board of Directors Mr. Mohsen El Sayed Tawfik Elbeltagy Chairman ‫ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ‬ Mr. Gamal Moustafa Aziz Shash Vice Chairman ‫ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ‬ Mr. Mohamed Hamdy Fayed General Secretary ‫ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ‬ Mr. Hany Kamal Fakhry Abdel Nour Treasurer ‫ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ‬ Mr. Reda Soliman El Gergawy Board Member ‫ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ‬ Mr. Hesham Samir El nagar Board Member ‫ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ‬ Mr. Hammam Abel Monem El Malt Board Member ‫ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ‬ Mr. Yehya Zakaria Shams Board Member ‫ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ‬

News

HEIA Trainings

Apricots, Peaches and Nectarine 30

Post – harvest treatment (Field day)

Post – harvest treatment

Pruning (Field day)

Flowering (Field day)

Seizing (Field day)

Pomegranate

It has been the role of HEIA’s trainings department over the last 17 years – as part of HEIA’s mentorship activity - to train and develop the horticultural sector in Egypt, where experts either Egyptians or non-Egyptians in all specialties train hundreds of agronomists to be leading calibers who can promote Egyptian products globally.

Green beans open field (from A to Z )

Snow Peas (from A to Z )

Therefore, HEIA training department is proud to announce the Training Plan for 2014.

Green beans green house (from A to Z )

Irregation & Fertigation ( Flowering stage )

for our members to introduce new technologies and methods in exporting fresh produce.

Table Grapes 1

Bud breaking (Field day)

Canopy Management (Field day)

Crop Management (Field day)

Post – harvest treatment

Dormancy Stage

•

Mango 6

Flowering Management (Field day)

Flowering & fruit set (Field day)

Summer pruning (Field day)

Post – harvest treatment (Field day)

Frost & winter management

•

Irrigation & Fertilization

Irrigation & Fertilization (Field day)

Pests Management & disease control

Post – harvest treatment & handling

Citrus

Handling & Nurseries Management

Post-harvest treatment

•

Pruning , Irrigation & Fertilization

Pruning , Irrigation & Fertilization (Field day)

Pruning Management and Techniques

Pruning Management and Techniques (Field day)

Flowering & fruit set

Flowering & fruit set(Field day)

Integrated Pest Management

Fruit set and Fruit drop (Field day)

Pre- harvest and Post – harvest techniques

Pre- harvest and Post – harvest techniques (Field day)

Citrus varieties (Field day)

Citrus Packing house (Field day)

Packing house Management and Quality control process

• • • • •

December

November

October

September

August

•

• • •

•

Flowering

Fruit Growth & IPM

Pruning , Training Systems & Organic Fertilizing

Pruning , Training Systems & Organic Fertilizing (field day)

• •

•

Integrated Pest Management

Pesticide Handling

Drip Irrigation System - Designing – Operating – Maintaining

Pest control and Hygiene in the packing- houses

Logistics Management of Exports

Grafting in Vegetables and Fruits

First Aid Training

•

3 1

Citrus (Field day)

Strawberry (Field day)

• •

•

• •

•

GlobalGAP – Internal Audit

TN10 – Tesco Nature's Choice

IFS – International Food Standards for Packing Houses & Food Processors

BRC – British Retail Consortium for Packing Houses & Food Processors

GMP – Good Manufacturing Practice

HACCP-Implementation – Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point

OHSAS 18001 HEALTH & SAFETY STANDARD

ISO 22000

Tailored Training Courses

Human Resources

•

• •

•

Table Grapes (Field day)

•

• •

International Standards & Certification Systems

•

Nematode

•

Support Quality Production

Strawberry 11

July

June

May

April

March

February

January

Days

•

Olive Month

Training Courses

•

Vegetables

HEIA aims at being the leader in developing calibers; this is why we continuously work on renewing our training programs

No.

• •

Strategic Management

Team Building

•

Additionally to the trainings listed in the plan 2014, we organize and conduct trainings upon your request

• • •

Contact Information Horticultural Export Improvement Association-HEIA El Mehwar El Markazi, El Saraya Compound, Bldg. No. 4, Block 1/11, 6th of October City, Egypt Tel: 02 38 37 11 22 ext. 205 FAX: 02 38 37 11 33-44 Email: reham@heia.org.eg 3

News

15 Vegetables Crop to be added to HEIA Technical Services HEIA

Certification Preparation Services (CPS)

association is proud to announce the establishment of Vegetables Production, disease management and Post-harvest Division. The aim of creating such a division is to expand the services of the association to the growers and exporters of vegetables crops and to enhance Egypt competitive advantage in International Markets The vegetable Division includes; green beans, dried beans,peas, Sweet peppers, tomatoes, Spring onions, dried onion,Cucumbers, artichokes, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Iceberg lettuce and Asparagus. The association has assigned highly qualified agronomists to satisfy member’sneeds and to achieve quality standards.

The CPS division at HEIA is a part of the agro sector that works on:

WELCOME

New Agronomists to Join HEIA Team HEIA in its continuous endeavor to create job opportunities for the Agricultural Sector in Egypt, putting into consideration the current situation in Egypt and the role of civil society in achieving sustainabledevelopment, which enhance the Egyptian economy, 13 agronomists were hired in 2013.

Those agronomists will continue HEIA’s successful role in

providing technical services for various crops to fulfill the

increasing demand on HEIA services and cover more areas in Egypt.

Thus, three of them were hired in Luxor branch and the rest of them joint Cairo office .

- Preparing and applying quality standards in farms and companies. - Onsite training to apply the required specifications, plus trainings at HEIA. - Internal Audits for the required certification. - Preparing sites for clients’ visits (supermarkets and their suppliers) CPS division offers its services concerning the required standards for export including the following: • BRC (British Retail Consortium) Global Standard Food Issue 6 • GLOBAL GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) V4 • (TN10) Tesco NURTURE V.Apr10 • LEAF (linking Environment and Framing) Version 10 • ETI • ISO9001:2008 • ISO22000 (Food Safety Management Systems) • SA8000 (SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY) • OHSAS18001:2007

Noting that; the new version (No.10) of the LEAF standards since January 2013. The following table shows the CPS work results at HEIA members’ farms by HEIA experts for seasons; ,2011 ,2010 2012 and number of trainees: CPS services

2010

2011

2012

GLOBAL GAP

TN10

LEAF

BRC

ETI

ISO9001:2008

18001:2007 OHSAS

Feature

Farm Management Diploma

Grape Winter Pruning and dormancy breaks by: Eng. / Ahmed Abdel Tawab – Agronomists in HEIA

The

process of pruning is considered one of the important and vital processes in the grape production in general, and in producing table grapesin particular. The pruning process is done according to some basic rules, which affect the forthcoming technical processes and preserve the table grapes tree.

For the second successful year, HEIA has qualified 30 farm Mangers through organizing Farm Management Diploma, which is considered the first of its kind in Egypt. The diploma has covered the following crops: Citrus, Table Grapes, Mangos and pomegranate. The diploma main objective is to provide the participants with the up to date planning techniques and tools for enhancing productivity. And by the end of the diploma, the trainees will be able to: - Prepare the work plans for their farms. - Set expenses sheet for the whole season. - Draw a comprehensive work strategy; work schedule, labor, raw material and total cost. - Evaluate the work plan before the beginning of the season to save cost. - Monitor the actual work against the planned and controlling the necessary adjustments plus personnel performance control. - Set the season production budget divided per expense and per time to help setting the cash flow sheet. - Make sure all divisions (irrigation, field work, etc.) in 6

producing crops work according to a plan to minimize the bad work consequences. - Forecast a clear needs table to smooth operations and to provide the required labor, fertilizations and equipment. - All techniques and knowledge required to help in setting the master plan for the farm. The diploma was given by the following group of experts: - Alejandro Gayan (ex-agro division at HEIA) as the main lecturer who founded the diploma and designed the program. - Dr. Salah Youssef (chief researcher at the Plant Pathology Research Institute) who gave a lecture on IPM in the farm. - Herbert Hutting (South African expert) who gave a lecture on irrigation and fertilization. - Hussein Marei (HEIA’s citrus council head) who gave a lecture on the technical operations for the citrus. - Shereif Abdelrazeq (HEIA’s mangos council head) who gave a lecture on the technical operations for the mangos. - Eng. Atef Abdellatif, Eng. Ahmed Abdeltawwab who gave a lecture on the technical operations for the table grapes. - Eng. Khaled Saleh who gave a lecture on the technical operations for the pomegranates.

The importance of pruning process: 1- Preserving the number of Bunchesaccording to the required production. 2- Maintaining the space between trees according to the grapevines distance. 3- Continuous renewal of the old wood of the tree. 4- Setting and maintaining the required shape of the tree. 5- Resistance to some diseases, in particular fungal infections. 6- Organization of the vegetative growth, where pruning is considered the first stage in the shoot management. 7- Regulate the relationship between the tree age and its bearing, especially in the early years. 8- Prolong the life of the grape tree. Winter Pruning Fundamentals: 1- Determine the number of buds upon pruning. There are several methods used to calculate the optimum number of buds: • depending on the distances of grapevines , it is calculated at the number of 5.5: 6.5 Bunches per square meter (as an average for most varieties, it will be clarified in details later), i.e. when the grapevines distances are 3 × 2 = 6 m 2 / vine × 6 = 36 Bunches, the result w multiplied by 80% (the vegetative surface) = 28 Bunches. • Depending on the number of buds per square meter, where the basal fertile varieties such as "Flame" and "Early Sweet" we should leave 10 buds / m2. i.e. we should leave 60 buds at grapevines in the 3 x 2 grapevines . Where in the low fertile varieties such as “Superior” we should leave 20 buds / square meter, i.e. we leave 60 buds at grapevines in the 3 x 2 grapevines.i.e. at 3 x 2 grapevines we should leave 120:140 buds / vine based on the region and fertility. 2- Choose a good place to shoot, which maintains the breeding shape of the vine. 3- Choose the mature shoots prune to the greatest indirect lighting.

4- Choose the appropriate thickness of shoots, not thin (weak) or high thick. 5- Good distribution for shoots, preferably taking the shoots on the wire instead of the top ones which are easy tied. 6- Leave 4: 8 renewal spurs on each cane 1: 2 spurs /2 buds) such spurs should be inside the head of the tree and under the wire. 7 - There are two types of pruning and determination of the number of buds / shoots, based on the fertility of the variety: A – the basal fertile varieties such as “Flame", "Early Sweet” ,"prime", "Red Globe" &"Utom Royal" could be pruned based on the training system, where 2- buds spurs should be pruned in gable but the 5: 6 buds spurs should be pruned in Baron. B – In the low fertility varieties such as "Tomson, superior and Rally" the shoot length should be of 10:12 buds, where in "Crimson" the shoot length should be of 6: 8 buds. 8 – The time period between pruning and spraying of Hydrogen Cyanamid should be as short as possible, it is recommended not to exceed 15 days. The question now is: which is to be determined first? Pruning or dormancy break? What is the optimal time for pruning & use of Hydrogen Cyanamid in the different production areas of Egypt? Does pruning & Hydrogen Cyanamid affect the Bunches abortion and quality? What is the optimal concentration according to the treatment purpose? Does early pruning & use of Hydrogen Cyanamid cause early harvesting. The determinant factor for pruning date is the spraying date of dormancy break substance; hence the pruning process is based on the farm nature, where the period length between both dates should not exceed 15 days. However, the determination of the spraying date of dormancy breaks substance in the different production areas in Egypt

should be according to the natural bud brake date of such areas. Accordingly, Hydrogen Cyanamid spraying could be determined. In case of the purpose of early spraying, we should spray before 6 weeks, where if we wish to delay spraying, we should spray before 3 weeks of natural bud brake. However, in case veins are susceptible to low temperatures after bud brake it will cause Bunch s abortion and it will be changed to the brown color and fall down, in addition the Bunch s will be of low quality. In the early spraying (6 weeks before the natural bud brake) the spraying concentration rate should be (5%), then early bud brake occurs but it will be inhomogeneous. Consequently, three to four (3:4) generations will appear on the vines. It will also take long time for harvesting. Where early harvesting date may not exceed 2:3 days only, we use 4% concentration rate on 5 weeks before the natural bud brake or 3% concentration rate on 3 weeks before the natural bud brake. Spraying the Hydrogen Cyanamid in the optimal time, shall grow homogenous shoots by a rate of 1:2 generations, where at harvesting it will take less time compared to early Hydrogen Cyanamid treatment, which cause early inhomogeneous bud brake, where multiple generations 3:4 or more appears, and the early harvesting date may not exceed 2:3 days only, but it takes long time during harvesting. Chilling hours are calculated by counting the daily hours of less than 8 degrees temperatures over the winter. A variety may have good bud brake upon reaching its required chilling hours. For example, “Superior” variety”, “Early Sweet” and “Prime” need 150 chilling hours, where “Flame” and “Crimson” varieties need 220:240 hours, however, “Tomson” variety needs 260 hours. Therefore, in warm winters (insufficient chilling hours for plant), it is preferred to delay spraying. However, in cool winters (sufficient chilling hours for plant) you can earl spraying taking into account the previous spraying dates. As Grape vines need chilling hours, it also needs warming hours during the season for fruit maturity. This 7

Report could be calculated by the following formula [(daily higher temperature+ daily lower temperature/2) – 10] for every day. These hours are different based on the variety. Therefore, harvesting of “Early Sweet” & “Prime” is earlier than harvesting in “Superior”. And etc.

Dormancy breakers: There several types of dormancy breaks used in breaking the dormancy, such as Hydrogen Cyanamid (H2CN2) or Sodium Azide (NaN3), or as an effect of severe cold or hot weather (temperature shock). However, the Hydrogen Cyanamid is commercially used because it helps in giving homogeneous shoots. Objective of using Dormancy Breaks • Due to the nature of the climatic conditions in the areas where grapevines do not complete its required chilling hours and due to warm winter in Egypt, we use dormancy breaks to enhance plant blooming. • Time of Hydrogen Cyanamid use: the optimal date for pruning in warm areas such as Egypt is 18:21 December, where this research has been conducted in Jordan, and the temperature was 23 C, and the number of hours during day and night where equal. In general, the pruning time is related to Hydrogen Cyanamid spraying. Thus, it should not be early so it might affect the number and size of Bunch s, which will in turn affect the production, or late where it might harm buds. • For earlier bud brake or if the winter shoots are thick, we should use 5% concentration of Hydrogen Cyanamid. Otherwise, if we wish to have homogeneous shoots or in the case of late varieties we should use 3% concentration. What should be taken into account when spraying? 1. To spray in the early morning after the end of early morning fog or immediately after the dew where the shoots are wet for easier absorption of the solution 2. Take the necessary safety precautions when spraying (protective clothes, masks and avoiding eating or drinking) 3. Flooding the shoots completely to cover all the buds by Hydrogen Cyanamid 4. Avoid spraying in windy weather, at high temperatures more than 26c or it’s raining. 5. If it was raining before 6 hours of the spraying time, we should repeat spraying by half of the used concentration. 6. It is recommended to use spreadingagent and color when spraying. 7. Quantity of spraying solution: the solution quantity depends on the type of sprayers and the type of pruning (shoots,spurs), if the back sprayer is used, the solution range should be at (300:400 liters), however, if the gun sprayer is used, the solution range should be at (400-500 liters), where if we use the atomizer sprayer, the solution range should be at (500-700 liters) (to get the best flooding) 8. The nuzzles should be clean and new with a(0.8- 1.2 – 1mm) 8

diameter. 9. The quantity of Hydrogen Cyanamid depends on the following: A. The quantity of spraying solution per Acre B. The used concentration is (3%,4% and 5%) Assumed that the used concentration is 5%, the quantity of spraying solution should be 500 liters per feddan, and then we need 25 liters of Hydrogen Cyanamid per feddan. Dormancy mechanic Although the dormancy phase has been subject to many physiological studies there little new and unknown dormancy breaks or control tools mechanics. Recently, researches have proved that dormancy breaking may be as a result of a signal from the plant itself due to cold exposure, or due to its exposure to a dormancy break substance such as Hydrogen Cyanamid or Sodium Azide or due to exposure to thermal shock, or the SalicylicAcid, where these substances may inhibit the catalase enzyme which regulates the H2O2 inside the plant cell, which increase the H2o2 causing a series of stressinduced signaling cascade. The H2o2 assists to get out of dormancy phase through stimulating the enzymesresponsible for theantioxidantsas aresultofresistance to oxidation stress. Theseenzymeshave a rolein activatingcertain vital compoundsresponsible for dormancy phasebreaking. It was concluded that H2o2 is not the only responsible factor for dormancy phasebreaking or (oxidation stress), however there is a second mechanic which is the respiratory stress, where the pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) enzyme and thealcoholdehydrogenase (ADH), activateasaresultof its exposureto a respiratorystress, which increasestherate ofAMP: ATP(the energy compounds), which have a roleindormancyphase breaking. There is another enzyme called sucrose synthase (SuSy) which convert the sucrose (Disaccharide) to fructose (Monosaccharide) and glucose sugar combined with phosphorus. This enzyme worksunderlowoxygencond itionstoprotectthe cellfromlackofoxygen. Also, sucrose synthase enzyme has a role in the biosynthesis of the plant hormones(oxygen /IAA) and the evolution of the meristemicmembranes. Researches have also concluded thatoxidation stressactivates thecalciumsignalinthe plant cell.As well, calciumactivatessever algenesresponsible for dormancy phase breaking. In terms of the resistance ofoxidation stress, a number of important enzymes activate such as (dehydrogenase (G6PD)) whichhave a rolein the ascorbate-glutathione cycle (AGC) and the pentose phosphate pathway). As a result, AGC activity occurs. Andbothenzymeshavea role inthe genetic expression of 1.3betaenzymeD–Gluconaze,this enzyme howeveristhekeyenzymein buds dormancy breaking. As a result of oxygenabsence, the Glycerolcycleand the ethanolfermentation process increase which mayberesponsibl eforthelatestagesof dormancy breaking.

Modern Agricultural Techniques in Vegetables Prepaered by Eng.MotazAbdulaziz, Eng.Ahmed Hassan and Eng. Karim Hussein

Spring Onions (Photon):1 - Planting:It is planted in beginning of July - an early date compared to the normal date in (September-October). The harvesting average days is(85-90 days) because the plant maturity time decreases due to heat unlike in (September-October). It is planted by the planter in 8 agricultural lines on the terrace, the distance between each two terraces is 15 cm, and the distance between plants is (1-2 cm) in summer so the plants shade each other. Planting happens in steps, with 8 feddans in each step.We can plant from (10-12) feddansper one day by the planter machine.

2 - Harvesting:It is harvested manually (by hand) with average feddan productivity of 500 thousand bunches. The onions are prepared for export by cutting its roots but leave only (1-2 ml) from them, then cut the onions to 25 cm long with aknife. Then comes the precooling on 0 ° c to pack from (814) bunches in one carton. Export destinationsare normally: (England, Netherlands, Germany...)

Cucumber (Greenhouses):“Bilqis” is the variety planted in the greenhouses. 1 - Planting:It is prepared in the nursery from (12-15) days in summer, or from (15-18) days in winter then it is transferred into greenhouses. A trench is made in the soil toput the well-rotted manure and other fertilizers and mix them, terraces aremade and drip lines are stretched (25 cm / 2 liters / 1 hour). After that spread the mulchover the terracesand hangthreads from top of the greenhouse to the plant. Specify the planting places with ‘40 cm distances’as in the picture. Thenfix the thread besides the plant opposite to the root’s directionso that the root is not damaged by air.

2 - Breeding:The plant is to be twisted on the thread (every 2 stemsturnover around the thread). At a height of 20 cm all the leaves and flowers are removed, at a height of 50 cm the flowers will be on the main branch with removing the side branches, and at a height of 80 cm the flowers become on the main and side branches with the weight increasing according to the plant strength. 3 - Harvesting:The average productivity per meter is (every 2.5 plants) 16.5 keg’s. Green Beans:2 varieties were used here; “Polesta” - (in open fields& greenhouses), “Hama” - (in greenhouses). Planting methods: in lines or on terraces. • ‘In Lines’ method: Make 9 lines inside the greenhouse in mid-October. This gives 1500 plants per greenhouse. The planting distances is from(4-5) plants per 1 meter. • ‘On Terraces’ method: Make 5 terraces in each greenhouse. • ‘Polsta’ variety in open fields: - Feddan productivity average is from (8-9)tones. - Planting distances is 7 cm between each two plants.

Capsicum (Greenhouses):- A multispan greenhouse of 12 Feddans with full computerized control for the plants’ surrounding environment in terms of (heat, lighting, wind, or respiration… etc) with average 3 plants in 1 meter. Planting method is divided into; 6 Feddansplanting in compost bagsand 6 Feddansplanting directly in the soil. - This technology is unique and is the only in Egypt that imitates the Dutch greenhouses system.

- The capsicum varieties planted are specially assigned to this kind of technology where the 1 meter produces 16 kegs. The target this year is (20-21)kegs per meter to be sold in the European markets per piece offruit with average fruit weight of (150-300)grams. - Four varieties were planted; red (Red light – Strike), and yellow (Viasta – Danero). 9

Report

Producing Sugar Peas

important to look at the soil pH,as sugar peas is widely cultivated in lands of 6.5 to 7or 8pH soil, i.e. in light acidic soil to alkaline soil with observing the irrigation and fertilization requirements. Peas isa medium salinity tolerant (especially for sodium) between the most tolerant (kidney beans) and least tolerant (beans).

for Exporting

International Market Demand for Sugar Peas because of Nutritional Benefits

Dr. FaikSawiris explains the production conditions of Sugar Peas By Dr / FaikSawiris, Technical Coordinator of Vegetables Council in HEIA

Sugar peas: is divided into PisumSativum Variety Macrocarpon (Snow Peas) or PisumSativum Variety Saccharatum (Snap / Sugar Peas). It differs from regular peas whereas regular peas PisumSativum Variety Humil has edible Flageolut while sugar peas are characterized by three main features: 1- very slow in forming the small inner seeds. 2- Very slow in forming the fibers in the external membrane of the pod. 3- The high concentration of sugars in the pods.

wasderived under the name Sugar Snap. 5) In the year 1984, the world has started to cultivate the first cultivar of Sugar Snap under the name Sugar Daddy. Breeding programs continued for thirty years because the required and desired characteristics were often recessive and discreet and mostly depend on a large set of genes. The propagation and cultivation of these varietiesstart to increase gradually in USA. The largest areas were found in the western parts of the United States of America. Both sugar peas varieties are characterized by their no need for lobbing and their sweeter taste than other varieties. Also they form no fibers in pods. Sugar Snap variety is also characterized by having edible Flageolut and pods.

2) Crop Rotation Peas are Sensitive to crop rotation just like bens, whereas the appropriate crop rotation according to the Egyptian conditions is the triple rotation, i.e., cultivation of peas in any spot only once every 3 years, where the opposite i.e., any frequent cultivation of peas in the same location may lead to: A) a sharp decline in the micro-nutrient elements content, which is hard to be substituted by fertilization. B) The rapid spread of soil fungal diseases that cannot be resisted that only could be noticed after affecting plants already (i.e.see the impact of the fungal disease and resist it while it is difficult to eliminate the disease itself). Lands not suitable for peas cultivation: 1) Saline lands: with more than 800 ppm soil or 600 ppm in water. 2) Lands with high level of water: (shallow) more than 50 cm. 3) Taffla lands.

Suitable Temperatures for sugar peas cultivation: •For Germination: optimum degree 24 - 28 °C, germination slows in 34 °C, and stops at all in 38° C, however the minimum degree for germination is 4° C. •For Plant Growth: the appropriate degree is between 2023° C. • Setting : the appropriate degree is between 20-22° C, and it stops when temperature increases to 26° C, and the quality of the pods improve between 13-18° C.

•Notes: 1) Crop production rate decreases by a daily average of 6 kg perone degree higher than 27° C per acre. 2) Cropproduction rate decreases bya daily average of 30 kg perone degree higher than 35° C per acre. 3) the most appropriate date for cultivation in Giza region is between the first of October until mid of November, while crops in some regions of the North Coast could be cultivated one month earlier. Early cultivation in Giza regions under the palms or black Thiramdid not give positive results. 4) The Average production of exporting sugar peas crop cultivated in Giza region in the first week of October using nets amounted to 6-7 tons per acre. The average harvest per day is between 30 - 40 kg per labor.Usually, harvesting process needs about 150 workers to collect sugar peas within a period of 45 - 55 days.

Nutritional Value: Every 100 grams of sugar peas gives 176 KJ, 7.5% carbohydrates, 0.39% fats, 2.8 % protein and 88.8% moisture. In addition, it is rich in elements such as phosphorus, iron, manganese, potassium, essential amino acids and A, B6, K, E, C & B9 vitamins. Basics of land preparation for cultivation:

Sugar peas History and Origin: Since the beginning of history, ordinary peas, which its falgeolut only were edible whether green or dry, in southwest Asia. Seeds of peas were found in tombs of the ancient Egyptians but both types of sugar peas emerged in the twentieth century as follows: 1) in the year 1952 Dr. M.C. Parker has discovered a mutation in the regular peas that was fiber-free shell and was given the name (RS 87). 2) In the year 1953, the mutation was propagated and grown in the form of Snow Peas and for freezing (manufacturing) purposes. 3) In the year 1968 Dr. Calvin Lamberm has conducted a breeding program of producing various types of peas. 4) In the year 1978, the first cultivar of the new peas 10

Growing peas on nets

Harvesting sugar peas

If you want to have more information, please contact

the association to attend lectures and seminars, as well as to buy the technical book of the crop. Growing peas on double terraces 1) Suitable land Peas succeed in a wide range of soil (light, sandy, clay, or loamy) provided that each variety has to be treated appropriately in terms of irrigation and fertilization. It is

rowing peas on threads 11

Feature

Quality Services for

Strawberry Crop

Increasing the marketing value and competitive

in supporting the Egyptian horticultural exports during

goal of Producers, Suppliers and Exporters, which is

exporters, is improving the services’ types and benefits

advantage of Egyptian Strawberry crop is the ultimate done throughimproving the inputs and outputs of the

production cycle and marketing plan of the crop according to the required standards.

The strawberry crop should be fresh, free of decay and safe and to ensure that the quality of Pre- harvest and Postharvest operation is highly required.

The Consumers’ requirements are the main objective of

production and marketing activities. These requirements

determine the producer, exporter and importer vision. Also, the consumers’ requirements set the market price value.

It is worth noticing that the competitive advantage in each

exporting country varies according to the price and quality of the produce.

Therefore, planning the exact production quantity and exporting volume is required to ensure enhancing the

Egyptian reputation and increasing the revenue of the producers and exporters.

Creating a unified marketing plan that aims at achieving

cooperationbetween Egyptian exporters,increasing profit and preserving the rights of producers and supportive services is a national objective.

If we look closely to the supply chain of strawberry crop,

we will find out that %90 of the exported strawberries are

carried out through direct contact with small producers and the suppliers.

Therefore, it is crucial for all the parties involved to be aware of the quality requirements.

How can HEIA participate in achieving all of that?

the last 10 years, which is witnessed by a lot of farmers and for HEIA’s members which help in booming the Egyptian economy.

1. Pre- Harvest Stage:

• Training labors on harvesting and handling techniques which grantee the quality of the crop (i.e. the appearance, shape, internal structure).

• Training labors on Decreasing Waste.

• Training labors on Safety and Personal Hygiene.

• Training farms’ supervisors and small farmers on confirming with customers’ specifications. • Avoiding and fruits defects resulted by Physical, Chemical or biological contamination.

• Controlling and supervising all the above services and submitting a detailed report on raw material and final product status. 2.Packing house Stage:

• Assisting in planning the flow of the product in the packing house. • Training on packing and packaging.

• Training on quality standards required by Global Gap, IFS and BRC.

What are the main services HEIA provide? First Quality control during production:

• Designing Production lines.

• Reporting System to evaluate the product from harvesting till precooling.

HEIA hire foreign experts with high levels of expertise and

knowledge in producing different varieties of strawberries according to consumers’

needs in the targeted market provided that the varieties fit the Egyptian environment. Those experts

all production

supervise

levels:

• Nursery

(seedling

production): all the production processes of the nursery

(soil analysis

– irrigation –

fertilization – pest control)

• Production (including): preparing the land –

planting – supervising

irrigation – fertilization

– pest control– flowering

setting – fruit observation)

– fruit

Second Quality control of the Final product :

One of HEIA’s priorities, as one of the biggest parties involved 12

Report

Asparagus Cultivation In Brief

Eng. Moataz Abdelaziz Botanical name: asparagus officinalis Common names: asparagus Family: liliaceae, the lily family • Plant Description:-

Asparagus

plant consist of “roots-crown-spears” and it’s a herbaceous perennial, and it lasts for 15 to 20 years without replanting if it is well cared for crown and the climate is suitable. It does not do well if summers are extremely hot and long and winters are mild, Asparagus crown needs to be planted deeply for this reason we transplant the asparagus after one year. - Available year-round, spring is the best season for fresh asparagus. Crops are harvested from late February to June, with April being the prime month. - The stalks shoot up from the crown of the plant and grow into fern-like leaves when allowed to develop. It takes three years from the sowing of the seed to the harvest of the first stalks.

All male varieties with high yield:- ‘Jersey Giant’: Medium to large green spears with purplish bracts (scaly leaves); resistant to fusarium and rust disease; cold tolerant - ‘Jersey Knight’: Similar to ‘Jersey Giant’ in size and appearance with thick, flavorful spears; highly resistant to rust; tolerant to fusarium; adapted to most climates - ‘Jersey Supreme’: Slender to medium diameter green spears; high yielding and uniform in size; good rust resistance; adapted to temperate, cool and warm regions - ‘Atlas’: Combines the heat tolerance of ‘U.C. 157’ (an older California variety) with the productivity of the Jersey varieties. tips stay tight in higher temperatures longer than with other varieties 2) White: Preferred in Europe, these sunlight-deprived stalks are a little milder and more delicate

- GIJNLIM Very early production high total yield numerous and heavy spears; excellent quality. • Asparagus varieties:1) Green: Ranging from pencil-thin to very thick. Most American asparagus is of this variety. 14

- GROLIM Early production high total yield dark green, open plants not prone to Botrytis, therefore good for organic.

as sorghum or rye, in the area where you plan to plant asparagus, you’re in luck. A cover crop [turned into the soil before planting] will increase the soil’s organic matter, which is very beneficial to asparagus. • Growing Asparagus and Using Crowns: - The plants are either male or female. The female produces seeds, which not only reduce the size of the stalks, but also crowd the beds with seedlings. Since the males do not expend energy making seeds, their stalks are larger and more desirable. New cultivars have been bred to produce only male plants for more cost-efficient crops. - There are three ways to plant Asparagus “seed-seedling productionspeedling trays “ 1. Growing Asparagus by seed outside directly into the soil as soon as the ground is warm enough, usually end of April. And it takes from 1 to 1.5 kg/Fed

- THIELIM Early production high total yield strong growth with large and rather open plants Not very prone to botrytis. - Ravel Very early production High total yields Well-formed and firm crowns Smooth and straight spears Excellent taste Strong.

3) Violet or Purple: This variety is most commonly found in England and Italy and has a very thick and substantial stalk. - ‘Purple Passion’: Large reddish-purple spears that turn green when cooked, sweeter and more tender than greenspeared asparagus; susceptible to rust - ‘Crimson Pacific’: An open pollinated variety producing a good crop of purple spears. A leading variety giving a high yield with a very even grade-out. Excellent, sweet flavor • Planting:- To avoid disease problems, choose a site where corn or asparagus did not grow the year before. - If you can plant a cover crop, such

2. Growing asparagus in speedling trays is the optimum way, the tray have 196 cell each cell dimensions 3.80cm x 3.80cm by 5cm deep with efficiency to 92-98% Seeds can be given a head start by sowing indoors in late February. Before sowing, soak the seeds in water to speed the process of germination soak the seeds in water for 24 hours before planting in order to break the dormancy period and speed up germination. Sow seeds into individual pots on depth 1-2cm with compost &coarse sand 1:1 and well-rotted manure. Water gently and place pots in a warm room which is approximately 15-18 degrees Celsius. When germination has taken place, move the pots to a soft lighting do not place in full sun. Before planting outside the seedlings will have to be hardened off. Move the plants outside during the day over a period of 3 weeks after the threat of frost has passed. -This way requires almost 200gm of Asparagus hybrid seeds.

The advantages of speedling trays over direct seeding are: 1. Requires less seed per Fed. 2. Requires less precise irrigation at time of planting 3. The transplants get a better start in the field and can possibly be harvested after one season’s growth. - A. soil preparation:- The objective during the first 3 years after planting is to encourage maximum fern growth so that plants build extensive storage root systems. - Asparagus will not tolerate extreme acid soil conditions and grows best at a pH of 6.5–7.0. Lower pH values may promote fusarium disease in asparagus. - Plant asparagus crowns in trenches, 15 to 30 cm deep and about 30cm wid.

- Leave 30-45 cm between plants and ideally 2 meters between rows. Cover the asparagus crowns after you have set them out with the thick roots spread horizontally around each crown.

- Surround the asparagus crowns with well-rotted manure and light soil allowing for the shoots to push through easily. The crowns should be buried about 7.5 - 12 cm under the soil. However, make sure that your soil is warm and that you don't over water the soil so that the crowns rot. Then cover them with remaining fill soil.

develop into tall, attractive plants with lacy leaves. - It’s important that a gardener look at their asparagus plants and not push them before they are ready. If the plants’ ferns grew lush and tall (about shoulder-height) the first year, it’s OK to harvest the spears for about two weeks the second spring (instead of the usual six to eight weeks. He also recommends waiting one more year before harvesting if the spears did not grow that tall, or if new emerging spears look spindly, to ensure robust plants the following year - By the crop’s third season, you should be able to pick a full harvest , that means “you can pick all the spears that emerge over six to eight weeks” • When to Stop Harvest:- Be sure to harvest the spears before their tips begin to open, however. Once the tips open, the spears become tough. Warm temperatures encourage tips to open faster, so you may need to harvest daily if your area experiences a sudden warm spell. In cool, spring weather expects to harvest taller spears a couple of times each week. As soon as you see most of the spears coming up spindly. - When the diameter being a pencil or less, Stop harvesting. Spindly spears are a sign that the plants are stressed • Pests and Diseases Common in Asparagus Plants:- Fungal diseases:1) Fusarium Root and Crown Rot ‫فيوزاريوم الجذور وعفن التاج‬:Pathogen:- fusarium oxysporium , Fusarium proliferatum

2) Asparagus Rust ‫صدأ االسبرجس‬:Pathogen:- Puccinia asparagi - Asparagus can take three years to produce a crop, so buying plants that are 1 or 2 years old can be expensive. The advantage of using seed is that there is no transplanting or root shock which can occur when transplanting young plants. • Harvesting:- Future harvests, allow the underground crowns to become wellestablished during the first year or two after planting. If you do not harvest the spears (which are actually the plants’ newly emerging shoots), they will

- Insect pests:1) Asparagus Beetles ‫خنفساء االسبرجس‬:Pathogen:- Crioceris asparagi

2) Asparagus Aphid ‫المن‬:Pathogen:- Brachycorynella asparagi 15

Feature

HEALTH BENEFITS OF

Regular Irrigation and fertilization increase the productivity of

ORANGE JUICE

Olive Trees

Dr. Yehia Ibrahim reveals the effects of Climate on olive production, and explains Methods of increasing Olive crop yield. Dr. Yehia Ibrahim - Fruit Production Professor, Alexandria University Faculty of Desert & Environmental AgricultureFouka-Matrouh summarizes to producers and investors the conditions which affect the production of Olive trees as follows:

Olive

trees bear droughtand high temperature;due to the nature of the leaves`structurewhich works on reducing water lossthrough Transpiration , as well as the endurancecapacity of cells protoplasm fordrought, but the rate of growth and yielddecreases under these circumstances. Increasing irrigation also leads to poorventilation and roots`rot and thus lessabsorption rate of water and the rate oftrees`growth. Consequently, this leadsto low yield, so we must provide soilwith sufficient water betweenField capacity and permanent welt point inorder to get an economical productionin quantity and quality. Where the treesneedsof water varies depending on thegeneral environmental conditions in thearea of agriculture and on the cultivationintensity. TheAdult and productive olive treesgo through four different stages ofgrowth. These stages varyaccording to the regions climaticconditions as well as the cultivated varieties .i.e. earlyor late varieties. These stages are as thefollows: 1 – Initiation flowering: where growthoccurs for the new buds that will bearnext year crop. 2 –Fruit Growth: it begins from the pit hardening untilthe second half of August. 3 - Fruit Maturation (Veraison): Starts in the secondhalf of August till harvesting and varydepending on crop type and variety. 4 –Induction and bud break: beginafter harvesting(mid - autumn and untilthe beginning of unraveling phase orblossom shift to the next year) The Impact of the Lack of Irrigation and Fertilization on the Productivity of Olives: 16

First: the negative impact on of number of flowersand atrophy of the ovaries, consistingof fruits in the case of water shortagesduring the induction period andInitiation flowering (December to March). As usual, many farmers used to preventirrigation and fertilization or decrease itin this period, which reflected negativelyon the crop in the following year. Thescientific explanation for this is thatmost of the olive farms exist in theterritory of a desert poor in nutrients, aswell as the high proportion of sand reducing its ability to retain water and nutrients, which requires supplying the trees with suitable irrigation and fertilization. For the Induction Phase to be efficient the trees should be exposed to lowtemperatures during the winter period (less than 6 °C) and the budsalso contain sufficient amount of carbohydrates needed to the transformationprocess. Second: flowers drop during blooming and Fruit Set. In this period, trees needs of water andnutrients increases due to the growth ofbuds, which will give the next year crop, as well as open flower buds and growth, which also requires no water shortagefor no loss of a large amount of flowers,so the crop will be decreased and thisis what is observed in this year whentemperatures changes occurred and fewrains during the blooming period whichled to the death of pollen and non -completion of the process of pollination.Thus, a large amount of flowers werelost and shot berries on the trees increases which caused a shortageor even no crop. General Recommendations for Marketable Crop: As we mentioned earlier that the olivesgrown in sandy soil requires specialcare vary depending on climate, soiltype, as well as the ages of the trees. Recommendations are:

1 - Applying drip irrigation method, which is most common in olive farmsin the world. The benefits of thismethod are optimal usage of water, does not need to prepare soil surface, rationalization offertilizer which is added to irrigationwater, according to the actual need for the trees and decreasing cost of serviceoperations and thereby increase the Netreturn.This method is used by placing twowater pipes in each line and moving the pipe in accordance withthe treegrowth and roots. This has to begradually done during the winter in orderto get out the salts on the plantation holeedgesand removing them far from the sucking roots. 2 -In a drip irrigation method, dripperswith the disposal of 4 or 8 liters / hourare used;8-4 points are used per treedepending on the trees`age. In high temperature cases, it is advised to usewith the disposal of 8 points or 12 l / hand a 6-4 drippers per tree. In the sandy soil, where youlose water quickly, you should reduce theperiod between irrigations, preferably,one early in the morning and theother in the evening. 3 –Avoid plant thirst during bud break to decrease the percentage of flowers drop and Fruit Set. 4 - Avoid plant thirst during Fruit Maturation (Veraison) which is during the months of Augustand September. Insufficient irrigationwater produces pungent oil (highacidity) that is in the case of oil varieties.Table varieties, effect will be on thedevelopment of the fruit size, evidencedby the presence of fruits wrinkle. 5 – More attention should be giving to organic fertilization. It isone of the most important factors thathelp to avoid all the above problems and savewater and increase soil moisture retentionand spread the roots that keeps thebalance of shoot and root. It helps also toovercome the phenomenon of flotation,flowers and fruits drop. This is the mainreason for this phenomenon as observedin many farms this year.

PROVIDES VITAMIN C Drinking at least two glasses of orange juice per day increases the vitamin C concentration within the body by 40 to 64 percent. Vitamin C, an essential vitamin that cannot be synthesized by the human body, is an important antioxidant, a substance that protects the body against the harmful effects of free radicals, the molecules that may cause tissue damage and early aging. PROTECTS AGAINST INFLAMMATION The intake of glucose and high-fat meals induces the development of inflammatory reactions within the body. Inflammatory reactions lead to the development of increased insulin resistance, a common cause of Type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis, the hardening of blood vessel walls due to fat deposition. The intake of orange juice, together with a high-carbohydrate, high-fat meal, prevents the occurrence of inflammation within the body, making it a good preventive measure against the development of insulin resistance and atherosclerosis. IMPROVES DIASTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE Regular orange juice consumption may improve diastolic blood pressure. According to this study, orange juice contains hesperidin, a healthy water-soluble plant pigment. Hesperidin serves to improve the activity of small blood vessels, blood pressure and decrease the cardiovascular risk biomarkers in susceptible patients. DECREASES BAD CHOLESTEROL LEVELS Regular orange juice consumption may lead to the decrease the level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in patients with high cholesterol level.