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Castor bean cake for the control of parasites in pasture-finished sheep

The purpose of this study was to evaluate castor bean cake as alternative input in the control of gastrointestinal parasites in sheep raised on irrigated pasture under continuous stocking. The treatments consisted of sheep supplemented with standard diet and pasture fertilized with urea; sheep supplemented with alternative diet and pasture fertilized with urea; sheep supplemented with standard diet and pasture fertilized with in natura castor bean cake; and sheep supplemented with alternative diet and pasture fertilized with in natura castor bean cake. A randomized complete block design (CBD) was used, with 16 replications (sheep), with repeated measures over time, the plots being the treatments, and the subplots the collection times. Infective nematode larvae in the pasture (L3.g DM−1), number of eggs per gram of feces (EPG), globular volume (GV), and total plasma protein (TPP) were evaluated. For adult gastrointestinal parasite counts, CBD was also used with six replications. Except for FAMACHA© grade, all variables had effect (P < 0.01) of the time factor. The average number of L3.g DM−1 and EPG were 126 and 841, respectively, with no effect (P > 0.05) of the treatment factor. The values observed for GV and TPP were higher than 25.9% and 6.4 g·dL−1, respectively, which were considered normal. As organic fertilizer, the fractionated application of in natura castor bean cake does not reduce the contamination of pastures by nematode larvae. The evaluated feeds improve the resilience of the sheep to infection by gastrointestinal parasites. The treatments using castor bean cake reduced the adult parasites present in the abomasum of sheep.

Introduction
The rapid and continuous population growth has increased the demand for food worldwide, forcing producers to produce larger quantities and more efficiently, mainly in the agricultural sector. The use of supplementation, application of fertilizers, mainly nitrogen (N), and irrigation techniques, has become an important option in the intensification of pastoral systems, by promoting increase in biomass production and animal performance, raising the carrying capacity and gain per area (Fagundes et al. 2011).
Among ruminants, sheep stand out for their easy adaptability to different soil and climate conditions, showing good productive performance on pasture (Oliveira et al. 2016). However, sheep farming is limited, mainly due to gastrointestinal parasitism, which causes weight loss, reduced production, low fertility, and high mortality rates during the warm, rainy season in intensively raised animals (Nogueira et al. 2011;Molento et al. 2013).
Haemonchus contortus is the main helminth species that affects small ruminants. It is a hematophagous parasite, causing anemia, weight loss, and it can lead to death (Mavrot et al. 2015;Emery et al. 2016). Anthelmintics have been widely used to control worms. However, its use increases production costs and when used continuously, incorrectly, and indiscriminately, can promote resistance (Melo et al. 2015).
Facing this health concern, several studies have been developed to mitigate the negative effect caused by gastrointestinal nematodes, such as the use of breeds that are more resistant to worm infection, pasture management, use of energy diet, biological control, as well as the use of plants that have anthelminthic properties, and control strategies of the free-living stage of gastrointestinal nematodes in the soil (Vilela et al. 2012;Miranda 2018;Salles et al. 2019).
In addition, Brazil being an agricultural country, the coronavirus pandemic (SARS-COVID-19) generated an increase in commodity prices, mainly corn and soybean, due to the supply and demand behavior of the market, leading to an increase in these agricultural inputs. The use of by-products generated by agribusinesses can contribute to the reduction of costs of animal feeds, such as castor bean cake and meal, which are derived from the extraction of oil of the ricinchemical chain.
Castor bean cake is a protein-energy feed that digests well. Although its use in the in natura form for animal feeding is limited because it contains toxic substances such as Ricinus communis agglutinin, ricinin, and allergen complex (Dang and Van Damme 2015), but a safe detoxification method (Andrade et al. 2019), with satisfactory responses in animal production (Santos Neto et al. 2019;Araújo et al. 2020), can be performed.
As an organic fertilizer, in its in natura form, this byproduct presents interesting nutrient contents, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and low C:N ratio, which favors the mineralization and availability of nutrients for plants , besides having a positive effect on the control of the free-living stage of gastrointestinal parasites in grazing sheep (Maranguape et al. 2020).
Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of detoxified castor bean cake replacing soybean meal as well as castor bean cake as organic fertilizer replacing urea in the control of gastrointestinal parasites of Santa Inês sheep finished on irrigated pasture of Megathyrsus maximus cv. BRS Tamani under continuous stocking.

Description of the experimental area
The study was performed at Três Lagoas Farm, owned by Embrapa Goats and Sheep, and is located in the city of Sobral-CE, Brazil, at latitude 3°44′50″ South and longitude 40°21′28″ West, from October 2019 to February 2020. The climate of the region is classified as BSh, which means it is semi-arid hot, according to the classification proposed by Köppen (1936). Figure 1 shows the climatic data collected at the weather station installed in the experimental area, during the evaluation period.

Humidity
Average Temperature Rainfall Radiation pasture fertilized with in natura castor bean cake (SMCC); and sheep supplemented with alternative diet (based on corn and detoxified castor bean cake) and pasture fertilized with in natura castor bean cake (CCdCC). A randomized block design (RBD) with repeated measures over time was adopted. The plots were the four treatments (SMUR, CCdUR, SMCC, and CCdCC) and the subplots were the collection times, with sixteen replications (animals). The following variables were evaluated: pasture contamination by infective nematode larvae (L 3 .g DM −1 of forage), number of eggs per gram of feces (EPG), globular volume (GV), total plasma protein (TPP), FAMACHA © grade, and body condition score (BCS). Collection times were at 21-day intervals for the variable pasture contamination by infective nematode larvae (L3.g DM −1 of forage) and at 14-day intervals for the other variables. The design used to count parasites in the gastrointestinal tract of the sheep was the randomized block design with four treatments (SMUR, CCdUR, SMCC, and CCdCC) and six replications (sheep). Sixty-four Santa Inês sheep, 32 castrated males and 32 females, averaging 3.6 ± 0.6 months of age and initial weight of 19.42 ± 3.60 kg, were distributed in four treatments formed by four replications, that is, four paddocks (500 m 2 ) containing 4 animals, thus totaling 16 sheep per treatment. Thirty ewes were used as balance animals, with body weight (BW) of 35.0 ± 3.53 kg and approximately 5 years old. The ewes were split into two groups, maintained in two paddocks of Tamani grass, near the experimental area, managed under continuous stocking, and receiving the same concentrate supplements as the test animals. Adult animals were used because they are more resistant to gastrointestinal nematode infection, and, consequently, interfere less in environmental contamination. Balance animals are not considered test animals and are used strategically to maintain the same average height of the pasture (22 cm) among the different treatments. It is worth mentioning that adjusting the stocking rate under grazing allows identical conditions of herbage allowance for all treatments and replications (paddock) of an experiment, reducing biases in the estimates of animal performance and production per area, according to the methodology proposed by Mott and Lucas (1952).

Pasture establishment and detoxification of the castor bean cake
With the aid of a Dutch auger, 30 single soil samples were collected from the experimental area, then mixed in a container, thus forming a composite sample. Subsequently, a 300-500-g portion of this composite sample was packed in a cardboard box, identified, and taken to the laboratory for analysis of the chemical and physical parameters of the soil. The soil of the experimental area was classified as Ortic Chromic Luvisol according to Santos et al. (2018) and presented the following characteristics: pH = 6.8; organic matter = 17.3 g·kg −1 ; P = 23 mg·kg −1 ; K = 0.2 cmol c ·kg −1 ; Ca = 11.5 cmol c ·kg −1 ; Mg = 3.4 cmol c ·kg −1 ; H + Al = 2.0 cmol c ·kg −1 ; Al = 0.0 cmol c ·kg −1 ; sum of bases (SB) = 15.1 cmol c ·kg −1 ; cation exchange capacity (CEC) = 17.1 cmol c ·kg −1 ; and V = 89%. The soil presented for S, Na, Cu, Fe, Zn, Mn, and B the values of 153; 23; 40; 80; 13; 159; and 1.3 cmol c ·kg −1 , respectively, while the values obtained for clay, silt, coarse sand, and fine sand were 161, 219, 327, and 293 g·kg −1 , respectively.
Based on the soil analysis, the foundation fertilization was carried out with the formulation 06:28:16 to meet the recommendation of 40:70:40 kg of NPK, in addition to 40 kg·ha −1 of micronutrient FTE BR-12 (Cantarutti et al. 1999). Previously, the area went through mechanized crop treatments: stump removal, plowing, and harrowing. The Tamani grass pasture was implemented on July 12, 2019, with the aid of a four-row hydraulic planter. An amount of seeds equivalent to 20 kg·ha −1 was used, and sown at a distance of 40 cm between rows and 2.0 cm deep.
The area was provided with a low-pressure fixed sprinkler irrigation system, with service pressure < 2.5 kgf cm 2 . Irrigation was carried out daily, over the night. The supplied amount of water corresponded to an average crop evapotranspiration of 6.9 mm·day −1 , with application efficiency of 75%. The evaluation of the uniformity of water distribution by the system was performed with the aid of rain gauges spaced at distances of 3.0 × 3.0 m, at a height of 0.5 m from the ground, in two diagonally alternated paddocks.
The in natura castor bean cake used as organic fertilizer had the following values for N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and S: 55; 12; 15.7; 6.5; 8.7; and 1.60 g·kg −1 , respectively, and C:N ratio = 5.2, while for Cu, Fe, Zn, Mn, and B, the values were 26; 532; 168; 62; and 7 mg·kg −1 , respectively. While the castor bean cake destined for animal supplementation was detoxified with calcium oxide, it was performed using electrophoretic characterization (SDS-PAGE) of the samples of in natura castor bean cake extract (in natura CC), detoxified castor bean cake (CCd), and of the diet containing CCd (CCdD), in addition to the analysis of the hemagglutinating activity of lectins of CC according to Andrade et al. (2019).

General pasture management
Prior to the beginning of the trial, on September 09, 2019, the presence of L3 stage larvae in the pasture was assessed (L 3 .g DM −1 ), according to Ueno and Gonçalves (1998). At the time, low contamination of the pasture was observed with a value of 1.0 L 3 .g DM −1 of forage. The contamination of the paddocks occurred between September 09 and 24, 2019, through naturally infected sheep with average of 860 EPG. Subsequently, on September 24, 2019, 42 kg of infected feces with 90% Haemonchus spp (determined by coproculture) were added to the pasture per paddock, which were obtained from the institutions' goat farm. The following calculation was used to determine the quantity of feces needed to infect the paddock: four sheep with an average weight of 25 kg, defecating 2% of their BW during 21 days of stay in the pasture, which is the period corresponding to the evolutionary cycle of the parasites. The feces were obtained from naturally infected animals, presenting an average of 3,505 EPG. The test animals were introduced to the test area on October 3, 2019, and remained there until February 17, 2020.
The applications of fertilizers, chemical (urea) and organic (in natura castor bean cake), occurred 7 days after the end of the pasture contamination (October 1, 2019). The Tamani grass pasture was fertilized according to the treatments with urea (45% N) or in natura castor bean cake (5% N), respectively. For the fertilization management of the Tamani grass under intensive conditions, the recommended 450 kg·ha −1 ·year −1 was followed , maintaining an average height of 22 cm. Both applications were equally fractioned, at the beginning and midway of the crop production cycles, which lasted 24 days each. The pasture was managed under continuous stocking with variable stocking rate (Mott and Lucas 1952). All the paddocks were delimited by a wire mesh fence and provided with feeders, drinking troughs, salt troughs, and 2.0 × 3.0 m shading screens with 50% light transmittance.

General management of animals and diet
Before being placed on to the paddocks, the animals were treated with anti-parasitic drugs including closantel sodium 10% (10 mg·kg −1 ) and levamisole hydrochloride 5% (5 mg·kg −1 ) which were administered orally with 10-day intervals between applications. First: levamisole hydrochloride then closantel and lastly levamisole hydrochloride. The absence of gastrointestinal parasite eggs was later confirmed through EPG. The male sheep were castrated using castration pliers at the beginning of the trial, according to CFMV Resolution No. 877 of February 2008(CFMV 2008. After fecal collection on day 42, it was found that the animals showed low number of EPG with normal GV and TPP, indicating low infection; therefore, on November 20, 2019, the animals were orally infected, with the aid of a syringe, with approximately 3,000 larvae (L3), obtained by coprocultures (Ueno and Gonçalves 1998), containing 90% H. contortus.
The diets based on corn, soybean, and detoxified castor bean cake were formulated for an average daily weight gain of 200 g·day −1 , at a ratio of crude protein (CP) and total digestible nutrients (TDN): 14:67.9 g·kg −1 DM as recommended by Miranda (2018). These diets provide greater microbial protein synthesis to the animals which promote parasite resilience in sheep on pasture and therefore reduce the effects caused by haemonchosis (Miranda 2018). The chemical composition of the ingredients and their proportions are shown in Tables 1 and 2. The supplement was provided at the rate of 1.8% of BW, considering a daily dry matter intake equivalent to 3.6% of BW (NRC 2007). The mineral salt was provided at will in the morning, and the concentrated supplement was provided daily at 5:30 p.m., when African bees (Apis mellifera) are least active in the troughs. The lambs were weighed fortnightly, in the mornings using a digital weighing scale, model BL300pro brand Laboremus.

Data collection
The evaluation of pasture contamination by the quantification of infective L3 nematode larvae recovered occurred every 21 days, between days 0 and 126, at the outset of the experiment (October 3, 2019). With the aid of pruning shears, three random samples of Tamani grass from each paddock were collected, placed in plastic bags, identified, and taken to the laboratory for recovery of infective larvae according to the method of Ueno and Gonçalves (1998).
The average height of the pasture was recorded daily with a graduated ruler, sampling thirty-five spots per paddock. With the aid of a rectangular frame measuring 0.5 × 0.5 m 2 , the total forage dry biomass (TFB) was estimated from the average of two samples of Tamani grass, cut close to the ground in each experimental paddock, always at the end of each 24-day crop growth cycle. In the laboratory, the samples were placed in perforated paper bags, weighed, identified, and dried in a forced ventilation oven at 55 °C until reaching constant weight and then were weighed again, obtaining the TFB, expressed as kg DM·ha −1 .
The collection of variables EPG, GV, TPP, BCS, and FAMACHA © degree were performed every 14 days between days 14 and 126, day 0 being the first day of feeding and beginning of the trial. The degree of anemia of the animals was analyzed by comparing the color of the conjunctiva (robust red, pinkish red, pink, white, and pale white) to the FAMACHA © grades (one, two, three, four, and five) contained in the guide card (Kaplan et al. 2004). To evaluate the BCS, a scale of one to five was considered, taking into account the body condition of the lumbar region of the lambs, where they were rated from one (very thin) to five (obese) (Russel et al. 1969). Both evaluations were always performed by the same previously trained person.
The feces were collected directly from the rectal ampullae to count the number of EPG by coproculture (Ueno and Gonçalves 1998). To quantify the EPG, the McMaster technique was used (Hansen and Perry 1994). The identification of the genus of infective larvae was performed by the technique described by Ueno and Gonçalves (1998). Also, blood samples were collected from the jugular vein of each animal in 4.5 mL Vacutainer® tubes with sodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) as anticoagulant, and used for the determination of GV and TPP variables.
Following Costa et al. (2020), the first group of animals were slaughtered when they reached an average body weight of 28 kg. Before slaughter, the animals were weighed, fasted for 16 h on solid diet, 12 h on liquid diet, and then weighed again after which they were transported to the abattoir plant accredited by the Ministry of Agriculture. Twenty-four animals, six of each treatment, three males and three females, were slaughtered by desensitization through electronarcosis, with electric discharge of 220 V for 8 s, followed by bleeding through carotid and jugular sections, according to RISPOA (Brasil 2017). After slaughter, the anterior and posterior ends of the abomasum, small intestine, and large intestine were ligated in order to avoid leakage of content and helminths between the sections. In the laboratory, the organs were separated, washed, Table 2 Percentage of ingredients and chemical composition of the experimental diets Source: Own research data. Standard diet: based on soybean and ground corn and alternative diet: based on ground corn and detoxified castor bean cake. 1 Composition: phosphorus -65.00 g; calcium -177.50 g; sulfur -20.00 g; magnesium -8.00 g; sodium -162.00 g; cobalt -0.04 g; zinc -1.90 g; manganese -1.35 g; iodine -0.071 g; selenium -0.02 g; fluorine -0.76 g; copper -0.20 g; and vehicle -1.000 g

Item
Percentage of ingredients and all the content was recovered in separate buckets per animal and per organ. The adult parasites were then recovered according to Ueno and Gonçalves (1998).

Description of statistical procedures
For the EPG and number of L3 infective larvae, the data were transformed in log (x + 10) to stabilize variance. The data were subjected to normality (Shapiro-Wilk) and homoscedasticity (Levene) tests and, once the assumptions were met, they were subjected to analysis of variance using the F test. The interaction between treatments × collection time was only unfolded when significant at 5% of probability. To evaluate the treatments, the means were compared through the Tukey's test at 5% of probability. The statistical analyses were performed through the MIXED procedure of the SAS software, where Yijkl = value of the i th experimental unit, which received the treatment combination referring to the j th diet and k th fertilization evaluated in the l th repeated measure; μ = effect of general mean; α i = effect of diet; β j = effect of fertilization; (αβ) ij = effect of interaction between diet and fertilization; γ jk = random effect of the error associated to the experimental units; δ l = effect of repeated measure; (∝ δ) jl = effect of interaction between diet and repeated measure; (βδ) kl = effect of interaction between fertilization and repeated measure; (∝ βδ) jkl = effect of interaction between diet, fertilization, and repeated measure; and ε ijkl = effect of random error associated to each observation, assuming a normal distribution.
For the analysis of the variable gastrointestinal parasites count: where Y ijk = value of the i th experimental unit that received the combination of treatments referring to the j th diet and k th fertilization evaluated in the l th repeated measure; μ = effect of the general mean; α i = effect of the diet; β j = effect of the fertilization; (αβ) ij = effect of interaction between diet and fertilization; and ε ijk = effect of the random error, assuming a normal distribution.
The highest numbers of L3 infective larvae, which were 212 and 287 L3.g DM −1 , were found at days 63 and 126, respectively, of collection ( Fig. 2A). The mean EPG during the experimental period was 841 EPG, which was higher on days 42, 56, and 126, with mean values of 1,172; 1,173; and 1,071 EPG, respectively (Fig. 2B). The animals presented GV ranging from 25.90 to 30.50% during the evaluated periods, with treatment CCdUR presenting a value of 27.45% while for the others, the average was 28.44% (Fig. 2D).
Sheep supplemented with detoxified castor bean cake in pasture fertilized with in natura CC (CCdCC) showed blood levels of TPP similar to the ones managed with CCdUR and SMUR, with SMUR being similar to SMCC (Fig. 2F). Treatment CCdUR caused the highest BCS value, which was 2.70, while the others had an average value of 2.50 (Fig. 2E). Except for the FAMACHA © grade, the other variables analyzed had significant effect (P < 0.01) during the trial period. Throughout the trial, the animals had a FAMACHA © score of 2 or 1 (Fig. 2C). The average body weight of the animals among treatments was 28.08 kg, which had no significant difference (P > 0.05).
The EPG before slaughter (EPG 126d ) showed no difference (P > 0.05), averaging 900 eggs/g feces −1 . After slaughter of the animals, there was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the number of adult gastrointestinal parasites from the abomasum, also, the number of helminths was higher in the animals fed with feed containing soybean meal in pasture fertilized with urea (Table 3).
As for the prevalence of adult helminth species identified in the sections of the gastrointestinal tract of the animals, regardless of the treatments adopted, 100% of the parasites in the abomasum were H. contortus, 100% in the small intestine were Trichostrongylus colubriformis, and 100% in the large intestine were Oesophagostomum columbianum.

Discussion
Throughout the experimental period, there was a tendency for a linear increase in the number of L3 infective larvae in the pasture, which was related to the allocation and the time the animals stayed in the pasture, associated with high temperature, humidity (daily irrigation), -animals supplemented with detoxified castor bean cake and pasture fertilized with urea; SMCC -animals supplemented with soybean meal and pasture fertilized with in natura castor bean cake; and CCdCC -animals supplemented with detoxified castor bean cake and pasture fertilized with in natura castor bean cake. Means followed by different uppercase letters in the treatments and lowercase letters in the periods differ from each other by the Tukey's test at P < 0.05 (*), P < 0.01 (**), and absence of letters (P > 0.05) Table 3 The average eggs per gram of feces for the experimental collection period and at day 126, and number of parasites per section of the gastrointestinal tract of sheep finished on pasture under continu-ous stocking, using castor bean cake as a supplement or nematicide fertilizer in the control of gastrointestinal parasites a SMUR -animals supplemented with ground corn and soybean meal, in pasture fertilized with urea; b CCdUR -animals supplemented with ground corn and detoxified castor bean cake, in pasture fertilized with urea; c SMCC -animals supplemented with ground corn and soybean meal, in pasture fertilized with in natura castor bean cake; d CCdCC -animals supplemented with ground corn and detoxified castor bean cake, in pasture fertilized with in natura castor bean cake; e CV(%) -coefficient of variation Means followed by the same lowercase letter in the row are not statistically different through the Tukey's test at 5% of probability and vegetation cover, which favored the reduction of solar radiation inside the canopy ensuring the survival and persistence of helminth larvae of stage L3 ( Fig. 2A). This result was surprising, since Maranguape et al. (2020), who worked with the application of in natura castor bean cake in tanzânia grass pasture during the rainy season to control gastrointestinal parasites, reported that when on application of castor bean cake at a level of 500 kg·ha −1 every 2 months (equivalent to 100 kg·ha −1 of N), there was a reduction in animal infection and contamination of pasture by H. contortus larvae in 60 and 65%, respectively. However, fertilizer distribution every 12 days, particularly organic fertilizer (in natura CC), may have contributed to a reduction in the nematocidal effect of castor bean cake on nematodes in the pasture. Fertilizer fractionation may have mitigated the concentration of active molecules such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) generated during the organic matter decomposition process, such as phenols (Pedroso et al. 2019). VOCs have nematocidal character for phytonematoids (Freire et al. 2012) and may also have nematocidal effect on the free-living stages of gastrointestinal nematodes of small ruminants. Therefore, both organic fertilization with in natura CC and chemical fertilization with urea, applied in portions, were not able to efficiently reduce the contamination of pastures. In addition, the area was irrigated daily, keeping the environment favorable for the movement of larvae along the canopy.
Similar values for the number of L3 infective larvae on the pasture were observed at days 63 and 126 of collection, which are associated to the irrigation management, climatic changes favorable to rainfall, and the increase in stocking rate (equivalence of 120 sheep·ha −1 ) in the last growth cycle of the grass, aiming to maintain pasture management to optimize the carrying capacity, observed in the last collection. At 63 days of collection, the amount of water applied to the pasture was readjusted to more than 1 mm·day −1 in order to meet the daily water demand required for plant growth. The adjustment was based on the crop evapotranspiration 18 days before collection. That contributed to the displacement of L3 larvae along the canopy profile, since in the L3 stage, larvae have migratory behavior, being able to move vertically and horizontally in the pasture, and this movement is more frequent in the presence of water (Van Dijk and Morgan 2011), enabling the recovery of a greater number of L3 larvae under these conditions.
The reduction observed at 84 days of collection for the variable number of L3 infective larvae in the pasture may be associated with the lowering of the grass, initiated 7 days before this collection, in order to ensure the average height of the pasture of 22 cm. Balance animals were distributed among treatments SMUR, CCdUR, SMCC, and CCdCC, with stocking rates corresponding to 85.63; 86.34; 84.60; and 85.31 sheep·ha·cycle −1 , respectively. The management momentarily provided unfavorable conditions for the survival of L3 larvae in the pasture, due to the removal of a greater amount of forage, especially leaves, which contributed to increased luminosity within the canopy, decreased humidity, and destabilization of the thermal condition in the microenvironment, causing larvae to migrate to the lower stratum of the pasture , resulting in lower recovery of infective larvae in this collection ( Fig. 2A). It is also inferred that the increase in stocking rate increased the daily intake of L3 larvae by the animals, influencing the results.
The linear increase observed for EPG up to day 56 of collection is explained by the reinfection of the grazing animals, thereafter there is a reduction, and only at the beginning of the rainy season, corresponding to 126 days of collection, the number of eggs per gram of feces increases again, reaching a value similar to those observed at days 42 and 56 of collection. The decline in the EPG variable observed after 56 days of collection is associated with an immune response of the host to parasitism (Hendawy 2018). Therefore, it is deduced that the artificial infection with 3,000 L3 larvae (90% Haemonchus spp.), performed between 42 and 56 days of collection and, consequently, the establishment of infective larvae in the gastrointestinal tract of the animals, led to the elimination of adult parasites, causing the phenomenon of self-healing (Hendawy 2018) of the sheep, and may have influenced the higher number of infective L3 larvae recovered in the pasture on collection day 63 ( Fig. 2A).
The self-healing response is more pronounced in genetically resistant animals (Allonby and Urquhart 1976). Santa Inês is identified as a breed that is less susceptible to gastrointestinal parasitism, with great ability to initiate an immune response to parasitic infection (Albuquerque et al. 2019;Amarante et al. 2004) due to the high number of eosinophils in the blood, high IgG production, normal cell volume, and low worm charge, requiring less anthelmintic treatments when compared to other breeds (Albuquerque et al. 2019). This fact, associated with the nutritional status of the animals, may have influenced the EPG values, as well as the number of adult gastrointestinal parasites observed in the present study, which was considered a mild infection (< 1000), according to Ueno and Gonçalves (1998). In addition, Embrapa promotes careful selection in its herd, adopting the culling based on the FAMACHA© grade, which allows the selection of animals with greater resistance and resilience to helminths, associated with the breed and nutritional management adopted, corroborating with the results found.
The protein (CP) and energy (TDN) ratio of 14:67.9 proposed by Miranda (2018) and adopted in the present study provided the animals with adequate nutritional support, allowing a better balance in the host-parasite relationship in all the treatments evaluated (supplemented with or without detoxified castor bean cake). The ratio between CP and TDN in the diet allows animals infected or not with Haemonchus spp. to maintain the same production of microbial synthesis and therefore the availability of metabolizable protein for the animal, indicating resilience of the animals to gastrointestinal parasitism (Miranda 2018). This availability of metabolizable protein can divert protein synthesis from muscles and bones to repair and react to stomach lesions caused by H. contortus (Amarante 2009).
Initially, there was a reduction in the globular volume and total plasma proteins between 14 and 56 days of collection, which is explained by the parasitic reinfection of young animals on pasture, confirmed by the increase in EPG in that period. According to Hendawy (2018), young animals are more susceptible to parasitic infections, but with advancing age, the immune response increases. In all treatments and periods evaluated, the GV levels were higher than 23%, indicating that the sheep were clinically healthy, with no signs of anemia (Molento et al. 2013), which is compatible to the evaluation of the FAMACHA © grade, where the color of the ocular mucosa of the animals ranged from robust red to pink red, representing a value below grade two and TPP levels within the range considered normal for the ovine species that is between 6.0 and 7.5 g·dL −1 (Kaneko et al. 1997).
The most evident reduction in body condition score in the last two production cycles (late January and early February) was motivated by changes in the ingestive behavior of the animals, which reduced grazing time with the onset of the rainy season and, consequently, reduced dry matter intake. The lower consumption of dry matter caused nutritional deficit, leading the animals to mobilize body reserves for their physiological maintenance, influencing the reduction in weight gain during the period. However, on average, it was possible to record values between 2.5 and 2.7, which was higher in sheep supplemented with diets containing detoxified castor bean cake and pasture fertilized with urea. The BCS values found in this study are considered median according to Russel et al. (1969), and this value is understood as ideal for determining the slaughter or mating of sheep in this category (Hashimoto et al. 2012;Castro et al. 2013).
The fewer number of parasites in the abomasum of sheep fed with detoxified castor bean cake and pastures fertilized with in natura castor bean cake (CCdCC) is related to the additional and associative effect of the input on the control of gastrointestinal parasites in sheep, increasing its effectiveness in control. It is worth noting that other factors such as adequate nutritional support and a breed more resilient to helminths have contributed decisively to the results found in the other treatments. In these treatments, the sheep showed mild infections, and therefore, there was no need for the application of anthelmintics throughout the experimental period. Thus, there is evidence of the nematocidal effect of castor bean cake on the control of gastrointestinal parasites in sheep, as confirmed by the reduction in the total number of adult worms in the gastrointestinal tract of the animals, which was more significant in sheep supplemented with CCd and pastures fertilized with in natura CC.
Fractionated fertilization with in natura castor bean cake does not reduce pasture contamination by nematode larvae.
Diets that promote resilience to hemoncosis with or without detoxified castor bean cake are efficient in controlling gastrointestinal parasites in Santa Inês sheep.
The association supplement-fertilization with castor bean cake is more efficient in reducing the parasites present in the abomasum of sheep.


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Assessment of land suitability using a soil-indicator-based approach in a geomatics environment

The study aims to develop new approach for soil suitability evaluation, Based on the fact that choosing the proper agricultural sites is a requirement for good ergonomic and financial feasibility. The AHP included a selection of different criteria used for analysis and categorized according to their usefulness in relation to the growth conditions/requirements of the selected crops. Lithology, soil physicochemical, topography (slope and elevation), climate (temperature and rainfall), and irrigation water were the main criteria selected for the study. The study indicated that the area is suitable for agricultural use, taking into account the quality of the water used to maintain the quality of the soil. According to the FAO the suitability result was for S1 (0.71%), S2 (19.81%), S3 (41.46%), N1 (18.33%) and N2 (19.68%) of the total area. While the results obtained from the new approach for the study 9.51%, 30.82%, 40.12% and 19.54 for very high, high, moderate, low and very low suitability respectively, Taking into account that the constraints units of FAO is located in very low suitability class with 0.69% of the total area which Not valid for crop production due to some restrictions. The findings of the study will help narrow the area to the suitable sites that may further be sustainably used for annual and/or perennial crops. The proposed approach has high potential in applications for assessing land conditions and can facilitate optimal planning for agricultural use.

Agriculture is one of the main pillars on which the Egyptian economy depends, as it contributes significantly to the development and advancement of society 1 . The state pays great attention to trying to achieve self-sufficiency in some strategic crops such as wheat, rice and corn. Agriculture in Egypt in its contribution becomes a significant contribution to the national economy, as the agricultural sector obtains the jobs of many of the total workers in Egypt, and the agricultural sector supports the majority of the population living in the neighboring areas 1,2 .
Land suitability assessment, frequently carried out to ascertain whether kind of land use is suited for a specific region, is the first phase in agricultural land use planning 3 . A technique for evaluating a piece of land called land suitability assessment identifies the main barriers to growing a particular crop 4,5 . Both qualitative and quantitative evaluations are included in the assessment of land suitability. Climate, hydrology, terrain, vegetation, and soil qualities are taken into account in the qualitative land suitability assessments 6 , whereas the results of the quantitative assessment are more precise and the yield is estimated 7 . For determining the suitability of a piece of land, many people have employed the FAO land evaluation framework [8][9][10] and physical land evaluation methodologies 11 .
There are many methodologies for evaluating the land and measuring the suitability of crops, all of which are characterized by specific inputs, and are not subject to a shortage or increase in the number of inputs. Its inflexibility is considered a negative. Hence, the thought was to create a new methodology that would have flexibility in terms of the number and diversity of inputs, and consider the environmental inputs an essential component in the evaluation. A piece of land must be suitable for a particular use in order to be considered suitable. The land may be taken into consideration in its current state or following upgrades. The evaluation and classification of certain land parcels according to their appropriateness for predetermined applications is the land suitability classification process. Evaluation of site appropriateness can help with better land management, reducing land www.nature.com/scientificreports/ The climate for the year 2020 was having maximum average maximum daily temperature of 37 °C while minimum of 20 °C, while the mean precipitation of 2020 was about 10 mm. The is arid continental with average annual temperature of 20.4 °C and average annual rainfall 102 mm of the last 30 years. Figure 2 and Table 1 data indicate that the soil temperature regime is thermic and soil moisture regime is torric. The soil texture is mostly homogeneous consisting of sandy loam to loamy sand and in some subsoils contains chill layer. The deep subsurface layers of most soil profiles contain gypsum crystals and a few lime deposits. Most of the layers are made   Data management and analysis. Figure 3 shows the methodological procedures used to evaluate sites for suitability of different crops. Study the degree of suitability of crops and selection of suitable sites that require classification of selected factors and formulation of weighted criteria using a GIS approach 45 . The topographic data obtained from different sensor data of the DEM (12.5, 30, 90 M) were combined with those obtained from paper topographic maps and elevation points obtained from field visits during the study. www.nature.com/scientificreports/ The result was a continuous surface, which formed a bitmap, from which the slope data was derived with high accuracy. Following Ryan et al. 46 a potentiometric method was used to determine Soil pH using a high impedance voltmeter on a soil suspension of 1:2 (soil: water). While a potentiometric method was used to determine the soil Electrical conductivity (EC). Also, the hydrometer method 47 was used to determine Soil texture while the percolation test was used to determine drainage on the farmer fields.
Mapping suitable sites for perennial/annual crop production. According to AbdelRahman et al. 18 , Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) interpolation was used to create thematic maps of the study area. Climate (temperature and precipitation), soil properties i.e. (EC, pH, ESP, OM, texture, drainage, CaCO 3 , CEC, AWHC, FC, BD, and PD), Irrigation Capability Index, surface soil temperature, evapotranspiration, topography (elevation and slope) and landscape were used to determine the current/potential suitability for horticulture/field crops production. These traits were ranked and given a number ranging from 0 to 100 (Table 3). Figure 3 shows the steps used to produce study maps, for each of the criteria used has its relative importance arising from determining the weight of each criterion. The weight of the indicators (criterion) allows obtaining a reasonable comparison due to the unification of the reference of indicators with different scales and backgrounds in measurements. Hence it is possible to obtain a common criterion for applying weighted superposition to each of the input criteria. This was achieved using spatial analysis tools 48 .

Standardization and reclassification of criteria.
Applying multi-criteria assessment and weighting factors. To assign weights to the various criteria, AHP approach of Multi Criteria Evaluation (MCE) was utilized. Using information from literature reviews, a pairwise comparison matrix was created for the criteria. On a scale of 1 to 9, in terms of importance, each criterion was compared to the others [49][50][51][52] (Table 4).
When a factor is compared to itself, it has a signed value of unity, but when it is compared to another factor, it has any value within the Saaty's range, and the factor it is compared to have the reciprocal value. The approximate eigenvector (max) was produced using the criteria weight and weighted sum value, and this was employed in the consistency ratio (CR) calculation [Eq. (1)] 53 .
where CI = Consistency index and RCI = Random consistency index. In AHP, the judgement matrix that is the pair wise comparison is only considered consistent if the CR is less than 0.01. The CI values were calculated using Eq. (2) 53 .
(1) CR = CI RCI (2) CI = C max − n Rn−1  www.nature.com/scientificreports/ Overlaying map layers. Crop requirements were matched with land attributes to assess the study area's crop production potential; the weights created by the AHP technique were applied to the reclassified thematic maps/layers of each variable soil, topography, agro-climatic map, and land use map. After doing a weighted overlay analysis with spatial analyst tools (GIS), the weighted maps/layers were overlaid, and a suitability map was created.
Land suitability units. Using GIS and modelling tools, the land suitability model was created. Using a parametric method, the lands were categorised 11 . The parametric technique uses many ratings to define characteristics of the land and climate. According to the Sys table, the determining factors for land suitability in this method are ranked between a minimum and maximum value (often between 0 and 100) 11 . A feature will receive a score of 100 if it is very influential and 0 otherwise. These rankings are displayed using formula (3)'s letters A, B, C, etc. Equation (3) was used to calculate various features and land indices 54 .
To determine different characteristics and land indexes the following equation is used.
where, R min is a parameter with a minimum rank, And A, B, C …is parameters rank influencing the land suitability.
The selected climatic, topography, and soil parameters were compared pairwise using expertise views and then processed using AHP. To generate the AHP matrix, values ranging from 1 to 9 were assigned to each factor based on their relative importance, as outlined by Saaty [39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52] . The scale ranges from 1 to 9, with 1 indicating equal importance and 9 indicating exceptional importance. The matrix is then constructed (Tables 5 and 6) in order to determine priority weights from the pairwise comparison matrix and eigenvector values using the formula below.
where w 1 is the sum of row for pairwise comparison and n is the size of matrix.
The consistency ratio (CR) was calculated to verify the consistency of comparison as: www.nature.com/scientificreports/ where CI is the consistency index, n is the number of elements being compared in the matrix, λ max is the largest or principal eigenvalue of the matrix where CR is the consistency ratio, CI is the consistency index, RI is the random index. If the CR ≤ 0.10, it means that the pairwise comparison matrix has an acceptable consistency. Otherwise, If CR ≥ 0.10 it means that pairwise consistency has inadequate consistency according to Bozdag et al. 55 . Following the criteria weight, the standardized criteria were aggregated by using weighted overlay, and suitability maps were then produced according to: Physical land suitability procedure. FAO 8,9 for land suitability ensures qualities/characteristics are matched with each specific crop requirement in order to determine the suitability class of land for the same crop. Then, land parameters such as climate, erosion risk, wetness, soil physical qualities, soil fertility and chemical properties, and topographical data were compared to Sys et al. 11,54 target crop requirements and their adaptation to region conditions. To build raster suitability maps for each parameter for target crops, interpolation with a pixel size of 10 m was employed to produce final suitability maps for the crops.
A new approach for soil suitability assessment. Based on the idea that soil is the most essential element in terrestrial ecosystems in arid, semi-arid, and dry zones 56 , weighting factors were assigned to each category of the examined criteria, which were adopted from Medalus project methodology, based on OSS 57 . Tables 7, 8, 9 and 10 demonstrate the suggested suited assigned indices for different categories of each parameter, based on the notion of Ferrara et al. 58 .  where I p index of parent material, I t index of soil texture, I d index of soil depth, I s index of slope gradient, I EC soil salinity, I pH index of soil pH below about 5.6 is considered low for most crops. Generally, the ideal pH range is between 6.0 and 7.0., I ESP index of Exchangeable Sodium Percentage , I CEC index of soil's cation exchange capacity , n number of parameters used. The equation modified to be flexible to include all soil parameters which could affect soil quality and consequently influence the result of soil suitability.
The adapted soil Fertility Index (SFI) could be calculated on basis of the following equation, and classified according to categories shown in Tables 5, 6, 7 and 8.
where I p index of parent material, I t index of soil texture, I pc index of soil physicochemical, I s index of slope gradient, I Ca index of Calcium carbonate in soil. I OM index of soil organic matter, I b index of soil bulk density, I w index of soil water properties (FC, AWHC…), n number of parameters used.
Vegetation quality was a direct indicator for the soil health condition, quality and fertility conditions. plant cover, drought resistance and erosion protection to the soils are three facets reflect soils conditions 41 . The main source for mapping vegetation and plant cover classifications was satellite photographs. As indicated in table, appropriate rating values for each of the erosion protection, drought resistance, and vegetative cover classes were adapted based on OSS 57 Table 9. The Vegetation Quality Index (VQI) was calculated using the equation below, and VQI was categorised using the ranges shown in Table 10 where: I Ep index of erosion protection, I Dr index of drought resistance and I Vc index of vegetation cover). I RS index of remote sensing indices (NDVI, …), n number of parameters used.
The Climatic Quality Index (CQI) was calculated utilising variables that affect plant water availability, such as rainfall, air temperature, and aridity, as well as climate dangers that may limit plant growth that was stated by Thornes 59 . Table 11 shows the climatic quality index categorization groups according to OSS 57 . The Aridity Index (AI) is used to assess the climate quality index, and it is calculated using FMA's approach in accordance with the formula below. The CSI was calculated using rainfall and evapotranspiration data from 33 metrological stations in the current study as follows: where: P is average annual precipitation and ETP is average annual Potential Evapo-transpiration.
Calculating Soil suitability Index where SI a is the actual/current suitability index   www.nature.com/scientificreports/ where SI p is the potential suitability index and S is the suitability calculated by Eq. (7). The Ranges and classes of desertification sensitivity index are illustrated in Table 12.

Results
Spatial variation of investigated soil properties. The sampling sites were between − 19 and 197 m above sea level. This discrepancy in height led to a clear discrepancy in the values of the samples, and in spite of that, the material of origin affected the study area with the convergence of the values of clay sand, and CaCO 3 . Soil texture is related to long-term soil fertility and quality. Texture ranges from sandy to loamy sand; the texture of the soil indicates the quality of the porosity of the soil, which shows the weak and medium capacity for water holding capacity, increased gas diffusion, and rapid water movement through the soil sector. Calcareous soil dominates the area with more than 10% CaCO 3 . The carbonate defines the soil; it has a high pH, ranging from 7.5 to 8, depending on the other soil minerals that naturally occurring chemicals. Fertilization troubles are caused by a high pH ( Fig. 4 and Table 13). The desert region is characterized by poor nutrients, but it is noticeable that the percentage of organic matter and nutrients has increased in the eastern region, which has long periods of cultivation in the last decade. It is noticeable that the agricultural management used in the area improved most of the soil properties. (Fig. 4 and Table 13).

Spatial variation of ground water TDS and land use/land cover.
TDS of up to 500 mg/l is the highest desired level, and up to 1500 mg/l is the maximum permissible level, according to WHO guidelines. The TDS value in the research area ranges from 94.01 to 1898.21 mg/l. It is noticeable that there is an agreement between the distributions of agriculture in the region with the distribution of salinity of the ground water.
Ground water is the only source in the region for irrigation (Fig. 5).
The field points were used in the work of supervised classification to obtain the ground cover of the area, which contains; annual crops (13), perennial crops (17%), fallow land (28%), bare soil (43%), and urban less than 1% (Fig. 5).
Land suitability. The application of the two methods resulted in differences in the areas as shown in Table 14 and Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. A clear difference was found in the areas, as shown in Table 13, due to the entry of new factors into the assessment of suitability, especially management using modern methods of agriculture, as well as entering the validity and suitability of irrigation water for agricultural use. Figure 5 Correlation between FAO and the new suitability approach. From the correlation between two methods FAO and the new suitability approach where R = 0.723 for the current/actual suitability and R = 0.642 for the potential suitability, it was found that in a straight way; exist of a positive correlation between the two methods. This indicated the more closely the two methods are related.
Crops suitability. Although FAO methodology for assessing the suitability of a particular site to produce a particular crop under a specific agricultural production system based on agro-climatic conditions i.e. heat and humidity, and on agricultural conditions i.e. soil and morphology. However, by using the new methodology considering using the suitability of water for growing the selected crops, the proposed methodology was found to be efficient for all crops (Figs. 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14) as shown from the R-Square calculation in Table 15.
Wheat. The number of irrigations and the time of one irrigation is determined by the age of the plant, sprinkler drainage and weather conditions. In the calcareous lands irrigated by the drip irrigation system, wheat needs 7 irrigations during the season without delaying the watering About (20-25) days, and irrigation is continued after that every 15-20 days, taking into account the lack of irrigation during wind blowing after the spikes are expelled. According to the report of the Climate Information Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land   www.nature.com/scientificreports/  www.nature.com/scientificreports/ Irrigation capability. The method is based on the topographical, physical, and chemical features of the soil, with social and economic restrictions being ignored. The study's findings revealed that the soil is highly suitable, moderately acceptable, and marginally suitable. Due to the main limiting constraints of depth, slope, and sand dunes, there is currently a small area that is not suitable for irrigation. In general, around 80.3 percent of irrigated land is high suitable S1, 17.1 percent is moderate suitable S2, and the marginally appropriate account for about 2.6 percent. In addition, research on water quality, water requirements, and irrigation intervals, as well as assessments of the suitability of various horticultural crops to maximize the study area's water productivity and production, may be advised. There are two commonly used methods in the area; sprinkler irrigation and drip irrigation (Fig. 15).

Discussion
In order to obtain a high production, alfalfa is grown in dry and hot areas under irrigation, because good production requires large quantities of water and for this reason alfalfa must be cultivated under the sprinkler irrigation system. Light and deep sandy areas in the study area, most of which are well drained, but it is not considered a preferred soil for alfalfa as long as it lacks nutrients, especially alkaline ones, but it is possible to improve this soil by providing fertilizers, especially potassium and phosphorous, and planting it with alfalfa seeds treated with Nitrogenous nodule bacteria. The agricultural cycle means creating suitable conditions for the agricultural plant, and preserving it from many diseases, pests and weeds, and the plant can grow, thrive and produce away  www.nature.com/scientificreports/ from these impurities. It is preferable to plant potatoes, for example, after alfalfa, because alfalfa, as it is known, provides the soil with many quantities of nitrogen, and important elements such as phosphorous and potassium. It is wrong to leave the land that was planted with alfalfa without cultivation, because this increases the growth of weeds, and also negatively affects the soil itself, so it is preferable, after every 4-5 years of cultivation of alfalfa, to cultivate the soil with potatoes.
At present, wheat cultivation is widely spread in the desert lands, especially after the introduction of modern means of agricultural technology. Varieties play a key role in the cultivation of wheat and in influencing production, so it is recommended to plant varieties in dry and semi-arid desert areas that are commensurate with the nature of these areas. With the quantities of irrigation and fertilizers provided to it, it is preferable in this case to plant varieties with short stems that are resistant to wind and soil salinity, in addition to their resistance to pests, diseases and various environmental conditions, and the seeds must be treated and sterilized before planting, and the field must be prepared before planting. Wheat cultivation needs a lot of water, in order to get good production, which is why irrigation is given to the plant in dry or semi-desert areas almost every day, even just before maturity. It is recommended to irrigate wheat in sandy lands using sprinkler irrigation. Among the many varieties of wheat, it is preferable to choose varieties with short stems that do not exceed 50-80 cm in length, and these varieties are called High Yielding Varieties = HYV. It is preferable to plant potatoes after wheat, then leguminous plants, so that the agricultural cycle becomes as follows "Cereals (wheat)-potatoes-legumes".
Barley plays an important role as a second agricultural crop in forage production after alfalfa. It is distinguished from alfalfa in that it does not need much irrigation water, as it is able to withstand and resist drought and cold more than alfalfa. One of its advantages is also that if it is planted before alfalfa in the same soil, it is able to control many weeds, and for this reason it is preferred to plant it before alfalfa in an organized agricultural cycle. Barley does not require distinct agricultural lands (because the longevity of barley is very short, as it can be harvested after three months), but the barley plant prefers highly acidic or humid lands, and this is not available in desert lands, and this can be compensated by providing alkaline fertilizers In addition to calcium carbonate and phosphorous fertilizers, barley also prefers deep, well-drained soils that are available in sandy soils. It is advisable to grow barley after agricultural plants capable of leaving behind some nutritional components, such as potatoes, especially if they are fertilized with municipal fertilizers, and it is not at all desirable to plant it after plants that leave behind large amounts of nitrogen in the soil (such as legumes), because too much nitrogen is harmful to barley, Its resistance to environmental and weather conditions is weakened, and for this reason also, barley prefers cultivation after short-lived plants that do not consume much soil food and do not leave behind  www.nature.com/scientificreports/ many harmful weeds, and among these plants that barley prefers to be planted after potatoes, peas, sunflowers or plants Other oilseeds and early vegetables.
Vegetable cultivation. It is very possible to grow vegetables in desert areas under modern irrigation systems. The cultivation of vegetables in desert lands in terms of agricultural methods and in terms of the use of irrigation can be divided into three sections: (1) Vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes, onions, eggplants, melons, melons, mallow, sweet corn, honey squash, etc.…, can be grown in the field, and irrigation water is provided to them by sprinkler or by lines or basins.
(2) Vegetables such as cucumbers and peppers (spicy and sweet) can be grown in greenhouses, and irrigation is provided by drip.
(3) Vegetables such as tomatoes, mallow and others can be grown in shaded houses, and irrigation water is provided to them by lines or basins. Field vegetable crops are usually grown in desert areas, as unprotected cultivation, but they can be protected from the wind by planting windbreaks, such as tamarisk trees and sispins. Irrigation methods for vegetables vary according to its quality, tomatoes, eggplant, and squash are irrigated by irrigation lines, and potatoes and onions, for example, are irrigated by spraying. Although vegetable crops are different. There are different irrigation methods in them, but they all share certain agricultural factors that affect their growth and production, and these factors include the following: (1) Soil and its treatment: Deep-rooted and well-drained sandy lands are considered suitable for growing vegetables, especially if the required fertilizers are provided to them, and they have been well prepared for planting seeds or for planting seedlings, such as removing weeds, paving the soil and cutting lines, and other agricultural works which ensures the healthy growth of vegetables. (2) Optimal agricultural methods for vegetables: In order to obtain good vegetable production, appropriate agricultural dates and cycles must be maintained, healthy and resistant seeds must be selected, diseases, pests and weeds must be combated, and the necessary fertilizers must be provided to plants. (3) Maintaining the appropriate planting time, not only ensures a healthy growth of vegetables, but also avoids unsuitable weather and environmental conditions, especially high temperatures and severe sand cyclones that may be fatal to young plants.
Limitation factors are shown in Figs. 10, 11, 12 and 13 and presented in Table 15. These outcomes agreed with other models used to categorize soil suitability. Additionally, the findings imply that high adaptability soils typically have large yields. This relationship can be used to identify soil properties that will be more simply and precisely calculated using computers to calculate crop yields 60 .
Although various suitability models have recently been used extensively to build digital soil maps 60 , there have been few attempts to employ ML models to digitally map different land suitability classes [61][62][63] . In the Sapa    64 used a hybrid neural-fuzzy model to map different land suitability classes and forecast rice yields. Eight environmental factors, three socioeconomic factors, and land cover made up the list of auxiliary variables. These factors were elevation, slope, soil erosion, sediment retention, and length of flow, ratio of evapotranspiration to precipitation, water yield, and wetness index for 155,000 km 2 of northern Australia 65 . Also, it was concluded that the quick assessment of regional-scale agricultural potential in a distant place is facilitated by the combination of digitally obtained soil and land features with a traditional land suitability framework [66][67][68][69][70][71][72] . Despite the fact that the studied area as part of New Delta is rapidly becoming into one of Egypt's most agriculturally productive areas and plays a significant part in the nation's crop production ranking, Maps of land suitability can categorize the regions that are best suited for cultivating the major crops and can aid in boosting their output. However, in these semi-arid areas, such knowledge is typically hard to get by 73 .
The conventional method is expensive and time-consuming. The proposed approach map, however, is preferred for handling the typical land suitability evaluation design since it is less affected by these limits. This is especially true in arid areas like Egypt, where there is little available data on the soil. As a result, this methodology may be an appealing strategy for large-scale land suitability assessment.
The thin soil depth, high pH, and gravel constraints in the research region generally indicated that it was unsuitable for use as agriculture. These restrictions are the primary causes of the study area's actual wheat and barley yields falling short of their potential yields (from questionnaires). Therefore, land improvement activities like agricultural land levelling, decreasing pH, increasing soil organic matter by farming farmyard manure, green manure, and cover crops, supplementary irrigation, and gravel gathering are required to improve the study area's suitability for croplands and increase its production. This study offered helpful data that may be used to calculate the impact of management decisions in the new Delta region and other.

Conclusion
Appropriate categories and criteria were developed for each aspect based on its usefulness for agricultural site selection. The AHP approach of pair-wise comparison matrix was used to assign weights to each of the considered factors. Thus, weighted overlay analysis was used to construct the crops site suitability map for the research region for all possible lithology's by taking into account selected factor maps.
This has aided in the resolution of time-consuming issues that are frequently linked with crop site selection. The current study's findings identify priority and non-priority areas for perennial and/or annual sites. This technique can provide more precise data to support decisions and cut down on the amount of time it takes to www.nature.com/scientificreports/ plan agricultural use. This is considered critical for the development agricultural use. The new proposal is an open equation to accommodate all the inputs affecting the order and classes of suitability as well as the suitability classes of different crops. Also it can absorb the factor of experience and management. That is, the equation succeeds with the use of minimum data set of input for suitability order, as well as all data set of environmental factors affecting crops suitability classes. The suggested methods for classifying site suitability for field and horticultural crops were assessed in this paper. Because each parameter's impact on a land suitability evaluation is different, maps of different parameters are required as inputs for GIS-based land suitability classification. It is crucial to determine the relative importance of each parameter before overlaying these maps. In the current work, the fuzzy AHP method was applied www.nature.com/scientificreports/ to address these issues and was contrasted with the traditional FAO method. The findings indicate that using the fuzzy method to assess land suitability is a promising approach. When lands are used for agricultural purposes, it gives the chance to evaluate the suitability of the lands as a level or grade of performance. When lands are used for agricultural purposes, it is possible to evaluate the suitability of the lands as a level or grade of performance for each attribute by using specific fuzzy indicators. The capacity to generate a weighted average estimate of the suitability of the land across all of the attributes is provided by composite fuzzy. It was determined that for the analysis of land suitability, the fuzzy AHP method is more accurate than the traditional FAO method. Future research into the suitability of land might benefit from further fuzzy AHP method development. As a result, the suggested model offers notable improvements in land evaluations with excellent results in arid locations when compared to the most conventional methodologies. The soil evaluation map created by this study may quickly assist regional governments and decision-makers, and the method herein given can be simply re-applied over large areas to evaluate the suitability of the land and estimate the crop output. In order to assist the development and implementation of sustainable agricultural operations and to realize the SDGs of Agenda www.nature.com/scientificreports/ 2030, the model herein provided can be swiftly adopted in other dry locations (different from those in which the model was developed).

Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Figure 15. Irrigation capability.