Degradation activities: The degradation of casein was determined by the method described by Song et al. (1993), using tryptic soy agar (TSA) plates supplemented with 7.5% skim milk. Starch degradation (1%) was detected in TSA plates. The inoculated plates were incubated at 30 °C for 2 days and then flooded with iodine solution . The urease activity was determined by using urea agar base medium