After about a decade invested in development of plant-based techniques to diagnose tree water status in orchards, midday Stem Water Potential (SWP) is being adopted at the farm level as a irrigation management tool in orchard crops such as walnut and almond. An alternative technique referred to as midday, shaded Leaf Water Potential (LWP) has also been developed for use at the farm level. Effec...

In 2008, a global production rounding 1,724 and 1,053 million metric tones respectively for walnut and hazelnut has been estimated. Bacterial diseases are threatening these nut crops all over the World. Xhanthomonas arboricola pv. juglandis (Xaj) is the agent of walnut bacteriosis, and has been associated also to brown apical necrosis. Several walnut genotypes have shown a range of tolerance to...

Walnut is extensively used in traditional medicine for treatment of various ailments. It is described as an anticancer, anti-inflammatory, blood purifier and antioxidant agent. In this study, we investigated whether or not Walnut could protect neurons against cisplatin-induced neurotoxicity in rats. Dietary walnut (6%) was assessed for its neuroprotective effects through the alteration in perfo...

Regular walnut consumption is associated with better health. We have previously shown that eight weeks of walnut consumption (43 g/day) significantly improves lipids in healthy subjects. In the same study, gut microbiome was evaluated. We included 194 healthy subjects (134 females, 63 ± 7 years, BMI 25.1 ± 4.0 kg/m²) in a randomized, controlled, prospective, cross-over study. Following a nut-fr...

Development, imaginal survivorship, adult longevity and fecundity of the predatory phytoseiid mite Euseius (Amblyseius) finlandicus Oudemans reared on seven different plant pollens were determined in the laboratory. The rationale behind these experiments was to assess the nutritional value and the possible effect on development and population dynamics of the mite. Mites were kept individually o...

Black meristematic fungi are cosmopolitan and able to adapt to extreme fluctuations of ultraviolet radiation, temperature, and moisture and grow in exposed habitats such as stone surfaces. In a survey on fungi associated with fruit rots, leaf spots, canker, gummosis, dieback and trunk diseases of grapevine and walnut trees in Kurdistan Province (Iran), some black meristematic fungal isolates re...

We present a continuous model for the diffusion of sugars across intact plant leaf cuticles. It is based on the flow of sugars from a source, representing the leaf apoplast, to a sink, in the shape of a hemispherical drop of water on the outside of the cuticle. Flow is a function of the difference between sugar concentrations C(Source) and C(Sink) , permeability P of the cuticle, volume V(Sink)...