In Taiwan, farmers often apply excess compost to ensure adequate crop yield in highly frequent tillage, highly weathered, and lower fertility soils. The potential of biochar (BC) for diminishing soil C mineralization, and improving soil nutrient availability in compost over-fertilized soil is promising, but the study is still under-examined. To test the hypothesis, 434 days in vitro C mineralization kinetics of incubation experiment were conducted. Woody BC 0%, 0.5%, 1.0% and 2.0% (w/w) made of lead tree (Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de. Wit) were added to an Oxisols, and two Inceptisols of Taiwan. In each treatment, 5% swine manure compost (2 times recommended amount) was added and served as the over-fertilized soil. The results indicated that soil type strongly influenced the impact of BC addition on soil carbon mineralization potential. Respiration per unit of total organic carbon (total mineralization coefficient, TMC) of three studied soils significantly decreased with BC addition increased. Principal component analysis (PCA) suggested that for retaining more plant nutrients in addition to the effects of carbon sequestration, it is recommended that farmer could use locally produced biochars and composts in highly weathered and highly frequent tillage soil. Adding 0.5%-1% woody BC in soil should be reasonable and appropriate.

The burdens of malnutrition, protein and micronutrient deficiency, and obesity cause enormous costs to society. Crop nutritional quality has been compromised by the emphasis on edible yield and through the loss of biodiversity due to the introduction of high-yielding uniform cultivars. Heirloom crop cultivars are traditional cultivars grown for a long time (> 50 years), and whose heritage has been preserved by regional, ethnic or family groups. Heirlooms are recognized for their unique appearance, names, uses and historical significance. They are gaining in popularity because of their unique flavors and cultural significance to local cuisine, and their role in sustainable food production for small-scale farmers. As a contrast to modern cultivars, heirlooms may offer a welcome alternative in certain markets. Recently, market channels have emerged for heirloom cultivars in the form of farmer-breeder-chef collaborations and seed savers organizations. There is therefore urgent need to know more about the traits available in heirloom cultivars, particularly for productivity, stress tolerance, proximate composition, sensory quality and flavor. This information is scattered and the intention of this review is to document some of the unique characteristics of heirloom cultivars that may be channeled into breeding programs for developing locally adapted high value cultivars.

Fine-mesh exclusion netting is a potential alternative to organic and conventional insecticide application to control numerous pests of fruit crops. We tested whether fine-mesh exclusion netting would reduce pest abundance and increase marketable yield compared to organic spinosad insecticide sprays in an organically managed blackberry field. At the completion of flowering, we covered blackberry rows (N = 3) with fine-mesh exclusion netting (ProtekNet) and treated alternating rows (N = 3) with an organic spinosad insecticide (Entrust™). Fine-mesh exclusion reduced green June beetle (Cotinus nitida Linnaeus) and bird presence and marginally reduced Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica Newman) presence on blackberry canes compared to organic spinosad insecticide treatment. Exclusion netting reduced the capture of spotted-wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii Matsumara; SWD) in baited traps in the fourth week of exclusion, and reduced the overall number of SWD adults emerging from harvested blackberry fruits. Marketable yield in the fine-mesh exclusion treatments was two times higher than the organic spinosad insecticide treatment. These results suggest that fine-mesh exclusion netting is a functional pest control alternative to organic insecticide treatment.

Soil proteases are involved in the transformation of organic matter and thus influence the nutrient turnover in the ecosystem. Phytohormones, similarly to proteases, are synthesized and secreted into the soil by fungi and microorganisms and regulating their activity in the rhizosphere. The aim of our work was to find out how the presence of auxins, cytokinins, ethephone and chlorocholine chloride affects the activity of native soil proteases at the spruce tree stand. Auxins stimulated the native proteolytic activity in the spruce tree stand. Synthetic auxins most stimulated the activity of 2-naphthoxyacetic acid and the naturally occurring auxins of indole-3-acetic acid in the organic horizon of the spruce forest. Cytokinins, ethephone and chlorocholine chloride inhibited the activity of native soil proteases in the spruce tree stand. The highest inhibitory effect was found in ethephone and chlorocholine chloride. Overall, the negative effect of phytohormones on the activity of the native proteolytic activity may slow down the decomposition of organic matter and thus make plant nutrition more difficult. The outcomes of our work assist with understanding of the effect of substances produced by the rhizosphere on the activity of soil microorganisms and the soil nitrogen cycle.

Applied electrostatic engineering can be used to construct greenhouses that prevent entry of insect pests. Two types of electric field screen were used to exclude pests from the greenhouse: single- and double-charged dipolar electric field screens (S- and D-screen, respectively). The S-screen consisted of iron insulated conductor wires (ICWs) arrayed in parallel (ICW-layer), a grounded metal net on either side of the ICW-layer, and a direct current voltage generator. S-screens were attached to the side windows of the greenhouse to repel whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) that approached the nets. The D-screen was installed in a small anteroom at the greenhouse entrance to capture whiteflies entering through it. The ICW-layers of the D-screen were oppositely charged with equal voltages and arrayed alternately, and an insulator board or grounded metal net was placed on one side of the ICW-layer. The ICW-layers captured whiteflies entering the electric field of the double-charged dipolar electric field. Three screens equipped with yellow or gray boards or a grounded metal net were installed in the anteroom based on the airflow inside the room, as most whiteflies were brought in by air when the door was opened. Two D-screens with boards were useful for directing the airflow toward the wall with the netted D-screen. This screen eliminated the insects and the pest-free air was circulated inside the greenhouse. The D-screen with the yellow board attracted the whiteflies and was effective for trapping them when there was no wind. Our method kept the greenhouse pest-free throughout the entire period of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) cultivation.

Vip3 proteins are increasingly used in insect control in transgenic crops. To shed light on the structure of these proteins, we used the approach of trypsin fragmentation of mutants altering the conformation of the Vip3Af protein. From an alanine scanning on Vip3Af, we selected mutants with an altered proteolytic pattern. Based on the protease digestion patterns, their effect on oligomer formation, and theoretical cleavage sites, we generated a map of the Vip3Af protein with five domains, which match some of the domains proposed independently by two in silico models. Domain I ranges from aa12-198, domain II from aa199-313, domain III from aa314-526, domain IV from aa527-668 and domain V from aa669-788. The effect of some of the mutations on the ability to form a tetrameric molecule revealed that domains I-III are required for tetramerization, while domain V is not. The involvement of domain IV in the tetramer formation is not clear. Some mutations distributed from near the end of domain I up to the end of domain II affect the stability of the first three domains of the protein and negatively impact oligomerization upon trypsin treatment. Because of the high sequence similarity among Vip3 proteins, we propose that our domain map can be extended to many other members of the Vip3 family of proteins.

This study investigated the relationship of acrosome reactions and fatty acid composition on fertility in boar sperm. The acrosome reaction of sperm was induced via methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (MBCD), and acrosome reaction, plasma membrane integrity, and fertility were analyzed. The fatty acid composition of the excess acrosome reacted sperm was determined via gas chromatography. The results showed that the acrosome reaction in sperm was induced over 85% of the time by 60 mM MBCD treatment, and the plasma membrane integrity was significantly decreased and was dependent on the MBCD level. The acrosome reacted sperm resulted in significantly higher saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and lower unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) than the non-acrosome reaction group. Moreover, the acrosome reacted sperm from 60 mM MBCD significantly decreased in vitro fertility and blastocyst formation relative to non-acrosome reacted sperm, and the acrosome reaction was positively correlated with SFAs and negatively correlated with PUFAs. Of these fatty acids, C22:5n-6 (docosapentaenoic acid [DPA]) and C22:6n-3 (docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]) were directly negatively correlated with the acrosome reaction (r = -0.982 and -0.947, respectively). In conclusion, the excessive acrosome reactions may occur by reducing the PUFAs, which may then dramatically decrease sperm fertility in pigs.

Mining activities could produce a large volume of spoils, waste rocks, and tailings, which are usually deposited at the surface and become sources of metal pollution. Phytostabilization of the mine spoils could limit the spread of these heavy metals. Phytostabilization can be enhanced by using soil amendments like manure-based biochar capable of immobilizing metal(loid)s when combined with plant species that are tolerant of high levels of contaminants while simultaneously improving properties of mine soils. However, the use of manure-based biochar and other organic amendments for mine spoil remediation are still unclear. In this greenhouse study, we evaluated the interactive effect of biochar application and compost on shoots biomass yield (SBY), roots biomass yield (RBY), uptake, and bioconcentration factor (BCF) of Zn and Cd in corn (Zea mays L.) grown in mine soil. Biochar sources (BS) consisted of beef cattle manure (BCM); poultry litter (PL); and lodge pole pine (LPP) were applied at 0, 2.5, and 5.0% (w/w) in combination with different rates (0, 2.5, and 5.0%, w/w) of cattle manure compost (CMC), respectively. Shoots and roots uptake of Cd and Zn were significantly affected by BS, CMC, and the interaction of BS and CMC. Corn plants that received 2.5% PL and 2.5% BCM had the greatest Cd and Zn shoot uptake, respectively. Corn plants with 5% BCM had the greatest Cd and Zn root uptake. When averaged across BS, the greatest BCF for Cd in the shoot of 92.3 was from the application BCM and the least BCF was from the application of PL (72.8). Our results suggest that incorporation of biochar enhanced phytostabilization of Cd and Zn with concentrations of water-soluble Cd and Zn lowest in soils amended with both manure-based biochars while improving biomass productivity of corn. Overall, phytostabilization technique and biochar application have the potential to be combined in the remediation of heavy metals polluted soils.

Cocoa is an important commodity crop not only to produce one of the most complex products such as chocolate from the sensory perspective, but one that commonly grows in developing countries close to the tropics. This paper presents novel techniques applied using cover photography and a novel computer application (VitiCanopy) to assess the canopy architecture of cocoa trees in a commercial plantation in Queensland, Australia. From the cocoa trees monitored, pod samples were collected, fermented, dried and grinded to obtain the aroma profile per tree using gas chromatography. The canopy architecture data were used as inputs in an artificial neural network (ANN) algorithm and the aroma profile considering six main aromas as targets. The ANN model rendered high accuracy (R = 0.82; MSE = 0.09) with no overfitting. The model was then applied to a satellite image from the whole cocoa field studied to produce canopy vigor and aroma profile maps up to the tree-by-tree scale. The tool developed could aid significantly the canopy management practices in cocoa trees that have a direct effect on cocoa quality.

Potassium inwardly-rectifying channel, subfamily J, member 12 (KCNJ12) gene is one promising candidate for economic traits because of its crucial roles in myoblast development. Here, a missense mutation (Cys>Arg), was firstly detected to locate in exon 3 of KCNJ12 from three Chinese cattle breeds by DNA-pool sequencing. Then, we performed the association analysis of this SNP with stature in three Chinese cattle populations (n = 820). Significantly positive correlation was revealed by reduced animal general linear model and the genotype of CC is the most excellent genotype in three breeds. Further, we measured the expression profiling of the KCNJ12 gene in various cattle tissues and primary bovine skeletal muscle cells. Ubiquitous expression with high abundance in muscle was observed. Further, in primary bovine skeletal muscle cells, the KCNJ12 mRNA expression was gradually up-regulated in differentiation medium (DM) compared with that in growth medium (GM), suggesting that KCNJ12 gene is involved in bovine myocyte differentiation. Conclusively, KCNJ12 gene is a functional candidate gene which can be used as molecular marker for beef cattle breeding.

Background and Objectives: Due to huge demand and availability of Banana, innovative cost effective method is necessary to promote and smoothen the banana production among farmers commercially mitigating the demand. Method and Materials: In this study, we feed cow dung mixture along with Urea, TSP, MoP, water to the distal part of rachis after cutting down male bud as soon as the female flowers matured into fruits (T1). The effect of this method was then compared with two control groups; one with the same strategy except fertilizer applied on root following ring method (C1, Positive control) and another was male flower untouched without applying fertilizer on rachis or root (C2, Negative control). Results and Conclusion: T1 showed more than double increase in length than controls. In the same way, in case of shape (diameter), T1 (0.46 cm) showed twice as better growth in the C1 (0.22 cm) and C2 (0.18 cm). Trend analysis showed the test group T1 curve is much steeper than the control groups suggesting faster growth rate than the other two. Finally, the cost of fertilizers for T1 per plant was estimated 0.091 USD while for positive control C1 it was 2.9 USD. This study shows an approach to be effective and economic comparing to traditional method of fertilizer application, which can be adapted as a new method of banana production.

Grain production and storage are major components in food security. In the ancient times, food security was achieved through gathering of fruits, grains, herbs, tubers, and roots from the forests by individual households. Advancements in human civilization led to domestication of crops and a need to save food for not only a household, but the nation. This extended need for food security led to establishment of national reservoirs for major produces and this practice varies greatly in different states. Each of the applied food production, handling and storage approaches has got its benefits and challenges. In sub-Saharan Africa, several countries have a public funded budget to subsidize production costs, to buy grains from farmers and to store the produce for a specific period and/or until the next harvests. During the times of famine, the stored grains are later given free to the citizens. If there is no famine, the grain is sold to retailers and/or processors (e.g., millers) who later sell it to the consumers. This approach works well if the produce (mainly grain) is stored under conditions that do not favor growth of molds, as some of these could contaminate the grain with toxic and carcinogenic metabolites called mycotoxins. Conditions that alleviate contamination of grains are required during production, handling and storage. Most of the grain is produced by smallholder farmers under sub-optimal conditions, which make vulnerable to colonization and contamination by toxigenic fungi. Further, the grain is stored in silos at large masses, where it is hard to monitor the conditions at different points of these facilities, and hence it becomes vulnerable to additional contamination. Production and storage of grain under conditions that favor mycotoxins poses major food health and safety risks to humans and livestock who consume the grain. This concept paper focuses on how establishment of local grain production and banking system (LGPBS) could enhance food security and safety in East Africa. The concept of LGPBS provides an extension of advisory and finance support within warehouse receipting system to enhance grain production under optimal conditions. The major practices at the LGPBS, and how each could contribute to food security and safety are discussed. While the concept paper gives more strength on maize production and safety, similar practices could be applied to enhance safety of other grains in the same LGPBS.

Grain production and storage are major components in food security. In the ancient times, food security was achieved through gathering of fruits, grains, herbs, tubers, and roots from the forests by individual households. Advancements in human civilization led to domestication of crops and a need to save food for not only a household, but the nation. This extended need for food security led to establishment of national reservoirs for major produces and this practice varies greatly in different states. Each of the applied food production, handling and storage approaches has got its benefits and challenges. In sub-Saharan Africa, several countries have a public funded budget to subsidize production costs, to buy grains from farmers and to store the produce for a specific period and/or until the next harvests. During the times of famine, the stored grains are later given free to the citizens. If there is no famine, the grain is sold to retailers and/or processors (e.g., millers) who later sell it to the consumers. This approach works well if the produce (mainly grain) is stored under conditions that do not favor growth of molds, as some of these could contaminate the grain with toxic and carcinogenic metabolites called mycotoxins. Conditions that alleviate contamination of grains are required during production, handling and storage. Most of the grain is produced by smallholder farmers under sub-optimal conditions, which make vulnerable to colonization and contamination by toxigenic fungi. Further, the grain is stored in silos at large masses, where it is hard to monitor the conditions at different points of these facilities, and hence it becomes vulnerable to additional contamination. Production and storage of grain under conditions that favor mycotoxins poses major food health and safety risks to humans and livestock who consume the grain. This concept paper focuses on how establishment of local grain production and banking system (LGPBS) could enhance food security and safety in East Africa. The concept of LGPBS provides an extension of advisory and finance support within warehouse receipting system to enhance grain production under optimal conditions. The major practices at the LGPBS, and how each could contribute to food security and safety are discussed. While the concept paper gives more strength on maize production and safety, similar practices could be applied to enhance safety of other grains in the same LGPBS.

High intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi), the ratio of leaf photosynthesis to stomatal conductance, may be a useful trait in adapting crops to water-limited environments. Carbon isotope ratios can be a useful indicator of WUEi, but might not be well correlated with it if the plants compared differ substantially in mesophyll conductance. In this study, six cultivars of soybeans previously shown to differ in WUEi in indoor experiments were grown in the field in Beltsville, Maryland, and mid-day WUEi was measured on nine clear days during mid-seasons of two years. Measurement dates were chosen for diverse temperatures, and air temperatures ranged from 21 to 34 oC on the different dates. Corrected carbon isotope delta values for 13C (CID) were determined on mature, upper canopy leaves harvested during early pod filling each year. WUEi differed among cultivars both years and the differences were consistent across measurement dates. Correlations between mean WUEi and CID were not significant in either year. It is concluded that consistent cultivar differences in WUEi exist in these soybean cultivars under field conditions, but that carbon isotope ratios may not be useful in identifying them.

Pedigree data of the Border Collie dog breed was constructed in Hungary, to examine genetic diversity within the breed and between its different lines. The database based on available herd books from the development of the breed (the late 1800s) until now. The constructed pedigree file consisted of 13 339 individuals from which 1567 dogs (born between 2010 and 2016) composed the reference population that are still alive and active from breeding aspect. Since the breed is subdivided by phenotype, the reference population was dissected according to the existing lines. The number of founders was 894 but only 8 individuals were responsible for contributing 50% of the genetic variability. The reference population had a pedigree completeness 99.6% until 15 generations and inbreeding coefficient of 9.86%, respectively. Due to the changing breed standards and the requirements of the potential buyers the effective population size substantially decreased between 2010 and 2016. Generation intervals varied between 4.09 and 4.71 years where the sire paths were longer due to the later ages when males begin their breeding carrier compared to females. Genetic differences among the existing lines calculated by fixation indices are not significant, nonetheless ancestral inbreeding coefficients are able to show the contrasts.

Pearl millet is an important food crop in the arid and semi-arid tropical regions of Africa and Asia. These regions are home to millions of poor smallholder’s households living in harsh agro ecology and reported higher prevalence of malnutrition. Such poor households have few options in terms of food crops, besides the limited markets. Indeed, pearl millet is one of the food crops they continue to grow for their food and nutritional security. Pearl millet is important sources of dietary carbohydrates, energy, protein, and important minerals such as calcium, iron and zinc. Considering inherent high nutritional values and climate resilient nature (drought and heat), demand for pearl millet as food, beside valued for its Stover as a source of livestock fodder, is projected to grow strongly in Asia (India) and Africa (West and Central Africa). Iron (cause anemia) and zinc (cause stunting) deficiencies are widespread and serious public health problems worldwide, including India and Africa. Biofortification is a cost-effective and sustainable agricultural strategy to address this problem. Research on pearl millet has shown that large genetic variability (30-140 mg/kg Fe and 20-90 mg/kg Zn) available in this crop can be effectively utilized to develop high-yielding cultivars with high iron and zinc densities. Both Open –pollinated varieties (Dhanshakti and Chakti) and hybrids (ICMH 1202, ICMH 1203 and ICMH 1301) of pearl millet with high grain yield (>3.5 tons/ha in hybrids) and high levels of iron (70-75 mg/kg) and zinc (35-40 mg/kg) densities have been developed and released. Currently, India growing >70,000 ha of biofortified pearl millet, besides more pipeline hybrids and varieties are under various stage of testing at the national (India) and international (west Africa) trials for possible release. Genomic tools will be an integral part of breeding program particularly for nutritional traits to use diagnostic markers and genomic selection. Clinical studies showed that 200g grains from biofortified cultivar would provide bioavailable Fe to meet full recommended daily allowance (RDA) in children, adult men and 80% of the RDA in women. Till today, no markets to promote biofortified cultivars/grains/products as no incentive price and such products aims to address food and nutritional security challenges simultaneously. The demand is likely to increase only after investment and integration into modern public distribution system, nutritional intervention schemes, private seed and food companies with strong mainstreaming nutritional policies. In the non-traditional regions, this will contribute to livestock and poultry feed industry as spill-over benefits to improve nutrition.

Spike shape and morphometric characteristics are among the key characteristics of cultivated cereals associated with their productivity. Identification of the genes controlling these traits requires morphometric data harvesting and analysis for numerous plants, which is automatable using technologies of digital image analysis. A method for wheat spike morphometry utilizing 2D image analysis is proposed. Digital images are acquired in two variants: a spike on a table (one projection) or fixed with a clip (four projections). The method identifies spike and awns in the image and estimates their quantitative characteristics (area in image, length, width, circularity, etc.). Models of sections, quadrilaterals, and radial model are proposed for describing spike shape. Parameters of these models are used to predict spike shape type (spelt, normal, or compact) by machine learning. The mean error in spike density prediction for the images in one projection is 4.61 (~18%) versus 3.33 (~13%) for the parameters obtained using four projections. F1 measure in automated spike classification into three types is 0.78 using logistic regression (one projection) and 0.85 using random forest method (four projections). The proposed method is implemented in Java; examples of images and user guide are available at http://wheatdb.org/werecognizer.

Agriculture sector is the backbone of developing countries for their economy. Growing world’s population is putting more pressure on agriculture sector and there is a need to develop new technology to address the crises of food safety and food shortage. Today’s agriculture has been entered in a new era where nanotechnology works as a technological advancement regarding entire agriculture crops, and food sector revolution, even though, it has prodigious applications in food production, food processing, food packaging, food storage and economic growth of industries. Moreover, nanotechnology is the best solution to solve problems related to better food and agriculture. Likewise, biotechnology, nanotechnology also raised high concerns upon safety on biodiversity, health and environment. Nanotechnology is providing efficient alternatives to increase the crop production by managing the insect/pests in agriculture in an eco-friendly manner. It also promotes plant efficiency to absorb nutrients. However, the concerns are very high regarding regulation, safety and approval of nanotechnology products by risk assessment authorities. The suggested review includes stupendous applications of nanotechnology in food and agriculture sector along with its prospective merits and associated risks.

Alterations in root morphology and physiology are important strategies in plants to adapt to low-phosphorus (P) environments. Maize genotypes differed in nitrogen (N) efficiency may also respond differently to low P stress. This study aimed to investigate the responses of root morphological and physiological traits of these two maize cultivars to P deficit and how these traits were linked with the acquisition of soil P. Two maize cultivars, XY335 (N efficient) and ZD958 (N inefficient), were cultivated for 40 days in a calcareous loamy soil amended with (high P) or without (low P) P. Functional root traits were used to evaluate the morphological and physiological responses to low P supply. Two separate short-term experiments determined the correlation between P uptake rate and P supply intensity (hydroponic) or root hair length under two P treatments (rhizobox). Low P status significantly simulated biomass allocation to roots, specific root length and exudations of carboxylates, while decreased root diameter and rhizosphere pH in both maize cultivars. Two cultivars had different total root length and root surface area under low P stress: increased in ZD958 and decreased in XY335. Both genotypes developed longer root hair under P deficit. ZD958 (greater biomass and shoot P content) has a greater capability at accessing soil P than XY335. Rhizosphere exudation of citric acid was significantly higher in ZD958 than in XY335, while there was not significant genotypic difference in rhizosphere pH and exudation of malic acid and acid phosphatase activity. ZD958 had higher P uptake rate than XY335 when solution P was between 12.5 and 250 µM. This study identified ZD958 as a P-efficient genotype, which better adapted to low P stress by altering root physiological traits (exudation of citric acid and P uptake rate), rather than root morphological traits (total root length, root surface area, root hair length). Our results highlight the importance of analyzing root morphological and physiological traits to enhance our understanding of the physiological mechanisms of P acquisition.

The main scope of the presented paper is an assessment of the potential repellent effect of selected essential oils (EOs) against Alphitobius diaperinus, which can cause economic losses in storages and poultry industry. Due to development of pesticide resistance in A. diaperinus populations, as well as an attempt to limit extensive usage of potentially harmful pesticides in food-related industries, there is a strong need for development of alternative methods of management of A. diaperinus infestations. Because of cost-effectiveness, availability and low vertebrate toxicity EOs are promising agents in pest management. In presented paper four of-the-shelf EOs: mint, vanilla, lemon and citronella (and their mixtures) were tested as a potential repellents. Moreover, novel preference assay providing an extended analysis of preference and the locomotor response was used. The most effective EOs were, respectively: citronella and lemon. EOs mixtures were generally more repellent than single EOs, with lemon and vanilla 1:1 mixture acting as the strongest repellent. Few of tested EOs caused significant alterations in locomotor activity, although direct relation wasn’t observed. In conclusion, EOs can be potentially used as a repellent agents in A. diaperinus management. Additionally, data on locomotor activity may lead to better design of pull-push strategies in pest management.

There is a large body of research on determining the impact of field variability of soil on crop yields. In contrast, site-specific information about crop responses to agronomic treatments is less frequent. On-Farm Precision Experimentation (OFPE) brings important information to understand the spatial variation of crop response to agronomic practices and thus to improve agronomic decisions. The objective of this work was to investigate the spatial variability of corn yield responses to nitrogen and seed rates using OFPE in four fields in the US Midwest. Geographically weighted regression was applied to generate local regression coefficients, which were used to delineate response zones in each field. The results showed the existence of great potential to adjust the rates of these inputs according to the response of each zone identified by the proposed method. The results of this study can be applied to reevaluate expectations on variable rate prescriptions guided largely by soil and variability.

The objective of this work was to investigate the use of remotely sensed vegetation indices to improve the quality of yield maps. The method was applied to the yield data of twelve cornfields from the Data Intensive Farm Management project. The results revealed the need to time shift the yield values up to three seconds to better match the sensor readings with the geographic coordinates. The residuals of the yield prediction model were used to identify points with unlikely yield values for that location, as an alternative to traditional approaches using local spatial statistics, without any assumption of spatial dependence or stationarity. The temporal and spatial distribution of the standardized coefficients for each experimental unit highlighted the presence of trends in the data. At least five out of the twelve fields presented trends that could have been induced by data collection.

The co-circulation of duck hepatitis A virus subtypes 1 (DHAV-1) and 3 (DHAV-3) in ducklings has resulted in significant economic losses. Because ducklings infected with DHAV-1 or DHAV-3 show similar clinical signs and gross lesions, it is important to discriminate these subtypes as early as possible for better clinical management. On the basis of multiple alignments of the 5′-noncoding region sequences of strains DHAV-1 and DHAV-3, universal and type-specific primers were designed and synthesized. Using the primers in a one-tube reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assay, reference strains of DHAV-1 and DHAV-3 (isolated over a span of 60 years and covering many different countries) were successfully amplified, indicating that the primer sequences were completely conserved. The amplicon sequences results and the sizes of amplicons from reference DHAV-1 and DHAV-3 isolates correlated completely with their genotypes. Moreover, with this one-tube RT-PCR system, the amplicon sizes of liver samples of reference DHAV-1- or DHAV-3-infected birds matched perfectly with their respective genotypes, as determined by virus isolation and neutralization tests. No other RNA viruses of duck origin were detected with the synthesized primers. The sensitivity of viral RNA detection was 10 pg. With this system, 20% genotype 1, 45% genotype 3, and 9% co-infection of the two genotypes were detected in 55 clinical samples. This novel approach could be used for the rapid genotyping DHAV-1 and/or DHAV-3 infection in routine clinical surveillance or epidemiologic screening.

Soil pH, either low (acidity) or high (alkalinity) is one of the major constraints that affect many biochemical and biological processes within the cell. The present study was carried out to understand the oxidative damage and antioxidant defense in wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. BARI Gom-25) grown under different pH regimes. Eight-day-old seedlings were exposed to growing media with different pH levels (4.0, 5.5, 7.0 and 8.5). Seedlings grown in pH 4.0 and in pH 8.5 showed reductions in biomass, water, and chlorophyll contents; whereas plants grown at pH 7.0 (neutral) exhibited better performance. Extremely acidic (pH 4.0) and/or strongly alkaline (pH 8.5)-stress also increased oxidative damages in wheat by excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and methylglyoxal (MG) production, which increased lipid peroxidation and disrupted the redox state. In contrary, the lowest oxidative damage was observed at neutral condition followed by strong acidic condition (pH 5.5), which was attributed mainly due to better performance of the antioxidant defense and glyoxalase systems. Interestingly, seedlings grown at pH 5.5 showed a significant increase in morphophysiological attributes compared with extreme acidic (pH 4.0)- and strong alkaline (pH 8.5)-stress treatments, which indicates the tolerance of wheat to the acidic condition.

Diversification is an important strategy for managing risk in agricultural systems. Risk analysis can help to support farmers’ diversification strategies, but existing analytical methods are complicated and little used. The minimum regret model helps to fill this gap. It provides a simple, transparent calculation procedure that can be executed with existing spreadsheet software. Regret is an important heuristic in the behavioural sciences and regret-based models are used in finance. The article presents the model with a numerical example. It also presents a framework to compare minimum regret portfolios with two limit cases (maximum utility and minimax regret). A case study illustrates the use of the model and the comparative framework.

Fusarium graminearum is a cereal pathogen responsible for economic losses worldwide every year. An understanding of its growth is key to control its infection, but current growth models are limited because their size-based approach provides little information about the mold's metabolism. Recently, a RGB (red, green and blue) imaging analysis demonstrated the predictability of F. graminearum color change as it grows in yeast extract agar (YEA). This study aimed to verify the same phenomenon in oats (a_w = 0.94, 0.97 and 0.99) and rice (a_w = 0.97, 0.98 and 0.99). Photos were taken using a professional camera and a smartphone (iPhone 6) after incubation and during the subsequent 16 days, and average RGB was quantified using ImageJ software. The photos showed very similar color variations, regardless of the type of grain or a_w. The mold first adopted a k-selection strategy by growing as a mycelium and then a r-selection strategy, increasing spore production. All RGB channels showed positive Pearson correlations between them (p < 0.001) and it was possible to design a model showing two lag phases, the first prior to a mycelial phase and the second prior to a sporular phase at the end of the experiment.

The objective of this study was to determine the association of physiological responses and root distribution patterns on yield of the second ratoon cane and the relationships among these traits. Seventeen sugarcane genotypes were planted in a randomized complete block design with four replications. The second ratoon crop was evaluated for germination percentage, cane yield, SPAD chlorophyll meter reading (SCMR), chlorophyll fluorescence, relative water content (RWC), specific leaf area (SLA) and stomatal conductance. Root length density (RLD) was evaluated by auger method. The root samples were divided into upper soil layer and lowers soil layers to study root distribution patterns. Sugarcane genotypes were significantly different for RLD, germination percentage and cane yield. Root distribution patterns were classified into three groups based on the RLD. High RLD between plants in the upper soil layers at 90 DAH was positively correlated with high germination, whereas high RLD between rows in the lower soil layers at 90 and 270 DAH was associated with high cane yield. RWC at 90 DAH and stomatal conductance at 180 DAH were closely related to germination percentage, whereas chlorophyll fluorescence and stomatal conductance at 180 DAH were closely related to cane yield.

To close the nutrient-related yield gaps in maize, balanced nutrition using primary and secondary macronutrients as well as micronutrients is recommended. Multi-nutrient diagnostic field trials were conducted in Guinea Savanna of Nigeria to assess the interactive effects of macronutrients and micronutrients on maize grain yields, nutrient uptake as well as N, P and K use efficiencies. The treatments consisted of a control (zero fertilizer applied), an NPK treatment and 10 other treatments in which macronutrient (Mg, S) and/or micronutrients (B, and Zn) were added to the NPK. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with 3 replications. Data collected were subjected to mixed model with nutrient management strategy as fixed effects while replication nested in location and interaction between location and nutrient management strategy as random effects. The results revealed significant effects (P < 0.05) of nutrient management strategy on maize yield, nutrient uptake and nutrient use efficiencies of N, P and K. The study revealed that yield advantage over the recommended NPK fertilizer as a result of application macronutrients and micronutrients were highest with Mg in Lere (2.4 t ha⁻¹), S + B + Zn in Faskari (2.8 t ha⁻¹), S + B in Doguwa (1.5 t ha⁻¹) and S + Zn in Toro (2.4 t ha⁻¹).  Addition of Mg, S and B significantly increases macronutrient uptakes over the recommended NPK only. Agronomic use efficiency, internal utilization efficiency, apparent recovery efficiency and partial factor productivity were significantly increased with the addition of S, Mg, and B but were not improved with Zn application. It was concluded that nutrient limitations to maize in the Guinea Savanna go beyond N, P and K. This study recommends that S, Mg, and B are needed to improve maize productivity and engender improve the use efficiency of NPK fertilizers.

The present protocol described staining protocol for Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in aromatic crop grown under nutrient stress through DAB and NBT histochemical method.  Spearmint (Mentha spicata) were grown under manganese and salt toxicity stresses and after 10 and 20 days of the stress treatments, plants showed stunted growth. The morphological characteristics of leaves under stresses were observed. Manganese toxicity and salt stress induced the production of ROS.  Accumulation of hydrogen peroxide was characterised as brown spots from the DAB polymerisation which were emerged and clearly observed in leaves from plant grown under 2.5 and 5 mM concentrations of manganese as well as 300 mM concentration of salt.  Furthermore, accumulation of superoxide anion was characterised as blue pigments based upon the ability of cells to reduce NBT.  Spearmint leaves showed the distribution of the blue pigment which was obviously observed under the 5 mM of manganese and 300 mM of salt. DAB and NBT staining method can be the rapid method to characterise ROS accumulation in plant cell under the abiotic stresses.

Dryland winter wheat in Loess Plateau is facing yield reduction due to shortage of soil moisture and delayed sowing time. Field experiment was conducted at Loess Plateau in Shanxi Province, China from 2012 to 2014, to study the effect of subsoiling and conventional tillage and different sowing dates on the soil water storage and contribution of N accumulation and remobilization to yield of winter wheat. The results showed that subsoiling significantly improved the soil water storage at 0-300 cm depth, improved the number of tillers and pre-anthesis N translocation in various organs of wheat and post-anthesis N accumulation, eventually increased the yield up to 17-36%. Delaying sowing time had reduced the soil water storage at sowing and winter accumulated temperature by about 180˚C. The contribution of N translocation to grain yield was maximum in glume+spike followed by in leaves and minimum by stem+sheath. In addition a close relationship was found between the N accumulation and translocation and the soil moisture in the 20-300 cm. Subsoiling during the fallow period and the medium sowing date was beneficial for improving the soil water storage and increased the N translocation to grain, thereby increasing the yield of wheat, especially in dry year.

In China, there are increasing needs for greater genetic diversity of maize (Zea mays L.) germplasm and for hybrids appropriate for machine harvesting. to test and distinguish American maize inbred lines with exceptional combining ability, Four Chinese maize inbred lines (Chang7-2, Zheng 58,four-144 and four-287) were used to judge combining ability and heterosis of 16 U.S.A inbred lines by a NCII genetic mating method. The result showed: Among the American inbred lines, 6M502A,LH208,NL001,LH212Ht,PHW51,FBLA and LH181 showed excellent GCA for yield characteristics; while RS710,PHP76,FBLA,and PHJ89 showed excellent GCA for machine harvesting characteristics. In hybrid combinations, NL001×Chang7-2,LH212Ht×Chang7-2,FBLA×four-144,LH181×four-287,PHK93×four-287 had better SCA for yield characteristics; while NL001×Chang 7-2,6M502A×Chang7-2,LH212Ht×Chang7-2,LH181×four-287,PHW51×Chang7-2 were better than the check for machine harvesting characteristics. NL001×Chang7-2, 6M502A×Chang7-2,LH212Ht×Chang7-2,LH181×four-287,PHW51×Chang7-2 showed excellent total combined advantages compared to the check and potential for future utilization in Inner Mongolia corn production.

This study spatially estimates degraded lands in Indonesia that have limited functions for food production, carbon storage, and conservation of biodiversity and native vegetation, and examines their suitability to grow biodiesel species (Calophyllum inophyllum, Pongamia pinnata and Reutealis trisperma) and biomass species (Calliandra calothyrsus and Gliricidia sepium). Results showed that Indonesia has ∼3.5 million ha of degraded lands potentially suitable for these species. With the all-five-species scenario, these lands had the potential to produce 1105 PJ yr⁻¹ of biomass and 3 PJ yr⁻¹ of biodiesel. With the biodiesel-only-species scenario, these lands showed the potential to produce 10 PJ yr⁻¹ of biodiesel. Despite this energy potential, however, the land sizes were too small to support economies of scale for biofuel production. The study findings contribute to identifying lands with limited functions, modeling biofuel-species growth on regional lands and estimating carbon stocks of restored degraded lands in Indonesia.

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is a well-known mycotoxin, responsible for outbreaks of gastrointestinal disorders in Japan. Fusarium graminearum, a parasite of cereal crops, produces this toxin and this is one of the reasons why it is important to understand its metabolism. It is possible to predict the mold’s color change and the quantity of DON synthesized throughout its lifecycle. Furthermore, a_w has been found to affect the amount of DON. This study aimed to analyze the potential of F. graminearum surface color as a predictor of DON concentration at a_w = 0.94, 0.97 and 0.99. Thus, 36 specimens were incubated at 25 °C, 12 at each a_w. After 4, 8, 12 and 16 days, 3 specimens from each a_w were collected for color analysis and DON quantification. For color analysis, photos were taken and red, green and blue (RGB) channels were measured on ImageJ software. DON was quantified through liquid chromatography (HPLC). Color changes were only observed at a_w = 0.99 because at lower a_w the molds presented high growth of white mycelium. Yet, DON increased in all cases. It was only possible to relate the colors with DON concentration at a_w = 0.99, where they presented inverse proportionality.

Examining the soil microbiome structure has a great significance in exploring the mechanism behind plant growth changes due to maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max Merr.) crop rotation. This study explored the effects of soil microbial community structure after soybean and maize crop rotation by designing nine treatments combining three crop rotations (continuous cropping maize or soybean; and maize after soybean) with three fertility treatments (organic compound fertilizer, chemical fertilizer, or without fertilizer). Soil was sampled to 30 cm depth the second year at approximately the middle of the growing season, and was analyzed for physical, chemical, and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiles. Bacteria was found to be the predominant component of soil microorganisms, which mainly contain the PLFAs i15:0, 16:1 ω 7c, 16:0, 10Me16:0, and 18:1 ω 7c. The concentration of soil gram-negative bacteria from the soybean and maize rotation was less than in soybean continuous cropping when organic fertilizer was applied to both. Crop rotation reduced the percentage of fungi in the soil, among which the effect of organic compound fertilizer application was significantly reduced 24%. The combined crop rotation with organic fertilizer can reduce maximum the percentage of fungi/bacteria. In addition, the content of soil aggregate and organic matter had great influence on gram-positive bacteria and actinomyces, and soil pH had a greater impact on other fungi.

Subsoil tillage loosens compacted soil for better plant growth, but promotes water loss, which is a concern in areas commonly irrigated. Therefore, our objective was to determine the physiological responses of high yield spring corn (Zea mays L.) to Subsoil tillage depth when grown in the western plain irrigation area of Inner Mongolia that leads to the best water use efficiency. The experiment during 2014 and 2015 used Zhengdan958 and Xianyu335 with three differing subsoil tillage depths (30, 40, or 50 cm) as trial factor and shallow rotary as a control. Subsoil tillage increased shoot dry matter accumulation, leading to a greater shoot/root ratio. Subsoil tillage helped retain greater leaf area index in each growth stage, increase the leaf area duration, net assimilation rate, and relative growth rate, with greater effects as tillage was deeper, effectively delaying the aging of the blade. Grain yields were increased by 0.7%–8.9% on average in subsoil tillage treatments compared to conventional soil treatment shallow rotary, Water use efficiency were increased by 1.93%–18.49% on average in subsoil tillage treatment compared to shallow rotary, resulting in net income increases by 2.24% to 6.97% compared to shallow rotary. Among the three different subsoil tillage depth treatment, the grain yield, water use efficiency, and net income is the best under the treatment of subsoil tillage depth of 50 cm.

The objective of this research was to evaluate the production and phytochemical quality of cucumber fruits (Cucumis sativus), in response to the foliar application of different seaweed extracts. This study was carried out under shadow mesh conditions in the autumn - winter agricultural cycle at Instituto Tecnológico de Torreón, Torreón, Coahuila. The experimental design was completely random, using six treatments with six repetitions each. The treatments evaluated were: Macrocystis pyrifera, Bryothamnion triquetrum, Ascophyllum nodosum, Grammatophora sp., Macrocystis intergrifolia, and a control treatment with inorganic fertilization. The substrate used was a mixture of sand and vermicompost. The yield, commercial quality and phytochemical compounds of the fruit were evaluated.  Results showed that yield using Steiner solution (6.75 kg m⁻²) was higher than that obtained with Bryothamnion triquetrum algae (6.07 kg m⁻²). Regarding the phenolic content, the extracts surpassed the control treatment, with Macrocystis pyrifera and Macrocystis integrifolia being statistically equal, with values of 47.37 and 43.73 mg equiv. of Ac. Gallic 100 g fresh weight, respectively. The antioxidant capacity by ABTS+ and DPPH+ methods was higher using the treatment with algae Macrocystis pyrifera with 149.4 and 454.1 μM equiv Trolox/100 g fresh base, respectively. This treatment also presented the highest value of vitamin C with 5.07 mg/100 g fresh base, being 27% greater than the control treatment. Algae extracts increased the quality of the fruits by obtaining the highest antioxidant capacity, making their use a viable option to minimize the application of conventional fertilizers, thereby attenuating the effects on the environment and improving the health of the population.

In the current natural environment, due to the complexity of the background and the high similarity of the color between immature green tomato and plant, the occlusion of the key organs (flower and fruit) by the leaves and stems will lead to low recognition rate and poor generalization of the detection model. Therefore, an improved tomato organ detection method based on convolutional neural network has been proposed in this paper. Based on the original Faster R-CNN algorithm, Resnet-50 with residual blocks was used to replace the traditional vgg16 feature extraction network, and K-means clustering method was used to adjust more appropriate anchor size than manual setting to improve detection accuracy. A variety of data augmentation techniques were used to train the network. The test results showed that compared with the traditional Faster R-CNN model, the mean average precision (mAP) of the optimal model was improved from 85.2% to 90.7%, the memory requirement decreased from 546.9MB to 115.9 MB, and the average detection time was shortened to 0.073S/sheet. As the performance greatly improved, the training model can be transplanted to the embedded system, which lays a theoretical foundation for the development of precise targeting pesticide application system and automatic picking device.

Intercropping significantly improves land use efficiency and soil fertility. This study examines the impact of three cultivation systems (monoculture sugarcane, peanut-sugarcane and soybean-sugarcane intercropping) on soil properties and diazotrophs. Sugarcane rhizosphere soil was sampled from the farmers’ field. Soil properties and nifH gene abundance were analyzed by high throughput sequencing. Moreover, a total of 436,458 nifH gene sequences were obtained and classified into the 3201 unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Maximum unique OTUs resulted with soybean-sugarcane intercropping (<375). The dominant groups across all cultivation were Alpha-proteobacteria and Beta-proteobacteria. On the basis of microbial community structure, intercropping systems were more diverse than monoculture sugarcane. In the genus level, Bradyrhizobium, Burkholderia, Pelomonas, and Sphingomonas were predominant in the intercropping systems. Moreover, diazotrophic bacterial communities of these cultivation systems were positively correlated to the soil pH and soil enzyme protease. Moreover, low available P recovered from intercropping system showed a strong correlation with higher nutrient uptake activity of soil microbes. Based on the results, our investigation concluded that intercropping system caused a positive effect on the growth of diazotrophic bacterial communities and it might boost the soil fertility and this kind of study helps to develop an eco-friendly technology for sustainable sugarcane production.

Extracellular enzymes catalyze biogeochemical reactions in soil, cycling carbon and nutrients in agricultural systems. Enzymes respond quickly to soil management, including organic amendment inputs, such as biochar, a charcoal-like solid byproduct of bioenergy production. In a previous agricultural field trial, a pine biochar amendment caused an approximately 40% decrease in the enzyme activities of β-glucosidase (BG) and phosphatase (PHOS). The large surface area of the pine biochar has the potential to sorb nutrients and other organic molecules. To test if sorption caused decreased enzyme activity, we used a laboratory assay to quantify the activity of two sorbed enzymes: BG and acid PHOS, involved in the cycling of carbon and phosphorous. The enzymes were incubated with three solid phases: (1) the high surface area pine biochar, (2) the agricultural soil, and (3) a low surface area grass biochar, for an additional comparison. We quantified the sorbed enzymes at pH 6, 7, and 8, using a Bradford protein assay, and measured the immobilized enzyme activities via high-throughput fluorometric analysis. After sorption onto pine biochar, detectable BG and PHOS activity levels dropped by over 95% relative to the soil, supporting direct sorption as one mechanism that reduces enzyme activity in biochar amended soil. This laboratory assay demonstrated that sorption could account for the lack of priming of native soil organic matter and changes in soil phosphorous cycling after pine biochar addition.

The sustainability of agriculture depends as much on the natural resources required for production as it does on the stakeholders that manage those resources.  It is thus essential to understand the variables that influence the decision-making process of agricultural stakeholders to design educational programs, interventions, and policies geared towards their specific needs, a required step to enhance agricultural sustainability.  We examined the perceptions, experiences, and priorities that influence management decisions of five major groups of agricultural stakeholders (conventional small grain producers, organic small grain producers, organic vegetable producers, extension agents and agro-industry crop consultants, and researchers) across the Montana, United States.  Results revealed that while stakeholder groups have distinct perceptions, experiences, and priorities, there were similarities across groups.  Specifically, organic vegetable and organic small grain producers showed similar responses that were, in turn, divergent of conventional producers, researchers, and crop consultants.  Conventional small grain producers and researchers showed overlapping response patterns while crop consultants formed an isolated group. Our results reinforce the need for agricultural education and programs that address unique and shared experiences, priorities, and concerns of multiple stakeholder groups.  This study endorses the call for a paradigm shift from the traditional top-down agricultural extension model to one that accounts for participants’ socio-ecological contexts to facilitate the adoption of sustainable agricultural systems that support environmental and human wellbeing.

Irrigation scheduling is used by growers to determine the right amount and timing of water application. In most parts of Mozambique, 90% of the total yearly precipitation occurs from November to March. The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon influences the climate in Mozambique and affects the water demand for crop production. The objectives of this work were to quantify the effects of ENSO phenomenon on tomato crop water requirements, and to create the AgroClimate irrigation tool (http://mz.agroclimate.org/) to assist farmers in improving irrigation management. This study was based on daily grid-based climate information from 1983 to 2016 from the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis. Daily crop evapotranspiration was calculated by Hargreaves equation and crop coefficients. This tool is available online and considers different planting dates, ENSO phases, and crop growing season lengths. Irrigation needs varied from less than 250 mm per growing cycle during winter to 550 mm during spring. Both El Niño and La Niña influenced the irrigation scheduling, especially from November to March. El Niño periods were related with increased water demand due to drier and warmer conditions while the opposite was observed for La Niña. The ENSO information might be used to understand climate variability and improve tomato irrigation scheduling in Mozambique.

Various environmental challenges, related to oil palm commodity has became a major environmental challenge to oil palm production. The aim and objective of this study is to analyze the actual water footprint of oil palm based on root water uptake under varying crop age and soil type. The research was conducted in Pundu Village, Central Kalimantan. The methodology adopted in carrying out this study consists of various stages which includes observing soil moisture, rainfall, and water table, ETo, root water uptake and oil palm water footprint. The highest rate of water consumption was the 13 years oil palm on spodosol soil type with an average daily rate of 3.73 mm/day. The lowest evapotranspiration was represented by the 7th year oil palm on spodosol with an average rate of 3.07 mm/day. The total water footprint value obtained was between 0.56 – 1.14 m3/kg for a variety of plants with various age and soil types. It can be deduced that the water footprint value of oil palm vary for different crop age and soil types on temporal scale. The study also presented that the source of green water from the first root zone of oil palm deliver the highest contribution for oil palm root water uptake.

Corn tassel is a by-product from hybrid corn seed production and a new source of phytochemicals including compounds with antioxidant activity. Four tassel development stages were evaluated in eight commercial corn varieties. Corn varieties and tassel developmental stages showed significant variations (P0.01) for all parameters. Total phenolic content and antioxidant activity were highest in field corn. KGW1, a purple waxy variety, had the highest anthocyanin content and carotenoid content at tassel development stages at 50% and 75% of pollen shed, whereas the tassel developmental stages at the 1st day of pollen shed and 50% of pollen shed had the highest of anthocyanin yield and carotenoid yield. The most suitable time for tassel harvest should be between the 1st day of pollen shed to 50% of pollen shed. Phytochemicals and antioxidants that are extracted from corn tassel can be used as a functional food supplement, natural pharmaceuticals and cosmetic products.

Extracellular enzymes catalyze biogeochemical reactions in soil, cycling carbon and nutrients in agricultural systems. Enzymes respond quickly to soil management, including organic amendment inputs, such as biochar, a charcoal-like solid byproduct of bioenergy production. In a previous agricultural field trial, a pine biochar amendment caused a 40% decrease in the enzyme activities of β-glucosidase (BG) and phosphatase (PHOS). The large surface area of the pine biochar has the potential to sorb nutrients and other organic molecules. To test if sorption caused decreased enzyme activity, we used a laboratory assay to quantify the activity of two sorbed enzymes: BG and acid PHOS, involved in the cycling of carbon and phosphorous. The enzymes were incubated with three solid phases: (1) the high surface area pine biochar, (2) the agricultural soil and (3) a low surface area grass biochar, for an additional comparison. We quantified the sorbed enzymes at pH 6, 7, and 8, using a Bradford protein assay and measured the immobilized enzyme activities via high-throughput fluorometric analysis. After sorption onto pine biochar, detectable BG and PHOS activity levels dropped by over 95% relative to the soil, supporting direct sorption as one mechanism reducing enzyme activity in biochar amended soil. This laboratory assay demonstrated sorption could account for lack of priming of native soil organic matter and changes in soil P cycling after pine biochar addition.

Fusarium graminearum causes head blight in wheat and corn, and produces chemicals harmful for humans and other animals. It is important to understand how it grows in order to prevent outbreaks. There are 3 well-known growth models for microorganisms and they seem applicable to molds: linear, Gompertz and Baranyi. This study aimed to see which could better represent F. graminearum growth. Three replicates were grown in yeast extract agar (YEA) for 20 days. The Feret’s radius was measured in ImageJ software, and then related to the models. Linear model was the most closely correlated to the actual growth. Thus, considering that it was the most representative of the reality and it is easier to use, it seems to be the best logical choice for F. graminearum growth studies.

Several studies explore in depth the biochemistry and genetics of the pigments present in Fusarium graminearum but there is a need to discuss about their relationship with the mold’s observable surface color pattern variation throughout its lifecycle. Furthermore, they require basic cataloguing and description of their major features known so far. Colors are a viable alternative to size measurement in growth studies. When grown on yeast extract agar (YEA) at 25 °C, F. graminearum initially exhibits a whitish mycelium, developing into a yellow-orange mold by the sixth day and then turning into wine-red. The colors are likely due to accumulation of the golden yellow polyketide aurofusarin and the red rubrofusarin, but the carotenoid neurosporaxanthin possibly play also a major role in the yellow or orange coloration. Torulene might contribute for red tones but it perhaps ends up being converted into neurosporaxanthin. Culmorin is also present but it does not contribute for the color, though it was initially isolated in pigment studies, and there is the 5-deoxybostrycoidin-based melanin, but it occurs mostly in the teleomorph’s perithecium. There is still a need to chemically quantify the pigments throughout the lifecycle, analyze their relationships and how much each impacts F. graminearum surface color.

Agroforestry is increasingly being recognized as a holistic food production system that can have numerous significant environmental, economic, and social benefits. This growing recognition is paralleled in the U.S. by the budding interest in regenerative agriculture and motivation to certify regenerative practices. Current efforts to develop a regenerative agriculture certification offer an opportunity to consider agroforestry’s role in furthering regenerative goals. To understand this opportunity, we first examine how agroforestry practices can advance regenerative agriculture’s five core environmental concerns: soil fertility and health, water quality, biodiversity, ecosystem health, and carbon sequestration. Next, we review a subset of certification programs, standards, guidelines, and associated scientific literature to understand existing efforts to standardize agroforestry. We determine that development of an agroforestry standard alongside current efforts to certify regenerative agriculture offers an opportunity to leverage common goals and strengths of each. Additionally, we determine that there is a lack of standards with measurable criteria available for agroforestry, particularly in temperate locations. Lastly, we propose a framework and general, measurable criteria for an agroforestry standard that could potentially be implemented as a standalone standard or built into existing agriculture, forestry, or resource conservation certification programs.

Mediterranean climate is marked by arid climate conditions in summer, therefore, crop irrigation is crucial to sustain plant growth and productivity in this season. If groundwater is utilized for irrigation, an impressive water pumping is needed to satisfy crop water requirements at catchment scale. Consequently, irrigation water quality gets worse, specifically considering groundwater salinization near the coastal areas due to seawater intrusion, also triggering soil salinization. With reference to an agricultural coastal area in the Mediterranean basin (Southern Italy), close to the Adriatic sea, an assessment of soil salinization risk due to processing tomato cultivation was carried out. A simulation model was arranged to perform, on daily basis, a water and salt balance along the soil profile. Long-term weather data and soil physical parameters representative of the considered area were utilized in applying the model, also considering three salinity levels of irrigation water. Based on the climatic analysis performed and the model outputs, the probability of soil salinity came out very high, such as to seriously threaten tomato yield. Autumn-winter rainfall resulted frequently insufficient to leach excess salts away from the soil profile and reach sustainable conditions of tomato cultivation. Therefore, alternative cropping strategies were prospected.

Rain-fed maize production has significantly declined in Zimbabwe especially in semi-arid and arid areas causing food insecurity. Erratic rainfall received associated with mid-season dry spells largely contribute to low and variable maize yields. This study involved a survey of current farmers’ cropping practices, analyses of climatic data (daily rainfall and daily minimum and maximum temperature) of Hwedza station and simulation of maize yield response to climate change using DSSAT CERES crop growth simulation model. The climatic and maize yield data was analysed using mean correlation and regression analyses to establish relationships between rainfall characteristics and maize yield in the study area. Survey results showed that maize was the staple food grown by 100% of the farming households while 8.7% also grew sorghum. The survey concludes that 56.2% of the farmers grew short season varieties, 40.2% medium season varieties and 3.6% long season varieties. The result of the correlation analysis of climatic data and maize yield showed that number of rain days had strong positive relationship (r = 0.7) with maize yield. Non-significant yield differences (p > 0.05) between maize cultivar and planting date criteria were obtained. Highest yields were obtained under the combination of medium season maize cultivar and the DEPTH criterion in all simulations. The range of simulated district average yields of 0.4 t/ha to 1.8 t/ha formed the basis for the development of an operational decision support tool (cropping calendar).

Overexpression of a constitutively active truncated form of OsCDPK1 (OEtr) in rice produced smaller seeds, but a double-stranded RNA gene-silenced form of OsCDPK1 (Ri) yielded large seeds, suggesting that OsCDPK1 plays a functional role in rice seed development. In the study presented here, we propose a model in which OsCDPK1 plays key roles in negatively controlling the grain size, amylose content, and endosperm appearance, and also affects the physicochemical properties of the starch. The dehulled transgenic OEtr grains were smaller than the dehulled wild-type grains, and the OEtr endosperm was opaque and had a low amylose content and numerous small loosely packed polyhedral starch granules. However, the OEtr grain sizes and endosperm appearances were not affected by the temperature being either optimal (25 °C ) or low (22 °C) or high (31 °C) during the grain-filling phase. In contrast, the transgenic Ri grains were larger, had higher amylose contents, and had more transparent endosperms filled with tightly packed polyhedral starch granules. This demonstrates that OsCDPK1 plays a novel functional role in starch biosynthesis during seed development and affects the transparent appearance of the endosperm. These results improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms through which the grain filling process occurs in rice.

The Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) of the Communication, Ocean, and Meteorological Satellite (COMS) increases the chance of acquiring images with greater clarity at eight times a day and is equipped with spectral bands suitable for monitoring crop yield with a moderate spatial resolution. The objectives of this study were to classify nationwide paddy fields and to project rice (Oryza sativa) yield and production using the grid-based GRAMI-rice model and GOCI satellite products over South Korea from 2011 to 2014. Solar insolation and temperatures were obtained from COMS and the Korea local analysis and prediction system for model inputs, respectively. The paddy fields and transplanting dates were estimated using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) reflectance and land cover products. The crop model was calibrated using observed yield data in 11 counties and was applied to 62 counties in South Korea. The overall accuracies of the detected paddy fields ranged from 89.5 to 90.2%. The simulated rice yields statistically agreed with observed yields, with root-mean-square errors of 0.219 to 0.451 ton ha-1 and Nash–Sutcliffe efficiencies of 0.241 to 0.733 in four years, respectively. According to paired t-tests (α = 0.05), the simulated and observed rice yields were not significantly different. These results demonstrate the possible development of a crop information delivery system that can classify land cover, simulate crop yield, and monitor regional crop production on a national scale.

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is one of the popular pulse crops grown for traditional consumption, not only in Oman but also in Arabian Peninsula and other countries. In Oman, the famers living in and around high altitude mountain areas mostly grow it. This paper highlights features of variation in seed color and diversity in seed traits found in collected accessions from the joint collecting missions of 2008-2010 between the staff of College of Agriculture, Sultan Qaboos University and the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries throughout all the governorates of the Sultanate of Oman. 41 seed samples/accessions were collected from 38 sites. Of these, the highest number of accessions was collected from Batinah South governorate (38) represented mostly by the mountains of Rustaq, followed by the mountains of Interior/Al-Dakhliyah (8), and Dhahira & Buraimi (4). Only one accession was collected from mountains of the Eastern/ Al-Sharqiyah governorates. The seed accessions were found diverse with respect to all seed characters studied, i.e. seed length (cm) and width (cm) and 1000-seed weight (g) besides seed color. The faba bean accessions were classified into 9 genetically diverse clusters based on the Principal Component Analysis, which indicated that the contribution of seed width and 100-seed weight to the total variation existing in indigenous germplasm collected from all the governorates of Oman. It was found from the critical analysis of seed colors that 38 accessions were homogenous (pure) with one color and three were heterogeneous with combinations of colors.

Endothall dipotassium salt and monoamine salt are herbicide formulations used for controlling submerged aquatic macrophytes and algae in aquatic ecosystems. Microbial activity is the primary degradation pathway for endothall. To better understand what influences endothall degradation, we conducted a mesocosm experiment to 1) evaluate the effects of different water and sediment sources on degradation, and 2) determine if degradation was faster in the presence of a microbial community previously exposed to endothall. Endothall residues were determined with LC-MS at intervals to 21 days after endothall application. Two endothall isomers were detected. Isomer-1 was abundant in both endothall formulations, while isomer-2 was only abundant in the monoamine endothall formulation and was more persistent. Degradation did not occur in the absence of sediment. In the presence of sediment degradation if isomer-1 began after a lag phase of 5-11 days and was almost complete by 14 days. Onset of degradation occurred 2-4 days sooner when the microbial population was previously exposed to endothall. We provide direct evidence that the presence and characteristics of sediment are of key importance in the degradation of endothall in an aquatic environment, and that monoamine endothall has two separate isomers that have different degradation characteristics.

Agroforestry is increasingly being recognized as a holistic food production system that can have numerous significant environmental, economic, and social benefits. This growing recognition is paralleled in the U.S. by the budding interest in regenerative agriculture and motivation to certify regenerative practices. Current efforts to develop a regenerative agriculture certification offer an opportunity to consider agroforestry’s role in furthering regenerative goals. To understand this opportunity, we first examine how agroforestry practices can advance regenerative agriculture’s five core environmental concerns: soil fertility and health, water quality, biodiversity, ecosystem health, and carbon sequestration. Next, we review a subset of certification programs, standards, guidelines, and associated scientific literature to understand existing efforts to standardize agroforestry. We determine that development of an agroforestry standard alongside current efforts to certify regenerative agriculture offers an opportunity to leverage common goals and strengths of each. Additionally, we determine that there is a lack of standards with measurable criteria available for agroforestry, particularly in temperate locations. Lastly, we propose a framework and general, measurable criteria for an agroforestry standard that could potentially be implemented as a standalone standard or built into existing agriculture, forestry, or resource conservation certification programs.

Supplementary lighting is commonly used in high-quality seedling production. In this study, grafted tomato seedlings were grown for 10 days in a glasshouse with a 16-hour daily supplementary lighting at 100 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ PPFD from either high pressure sodium (HPS), metal halide (MH), far-red (FR), white LEDs (W), or mixed LEDs (W₁R₂B₁) to determine which light sources improve the seedling quality. The control did not have any supplementary light. The physiological parameters and the expression of genes related to photosynthesis were analyzed. The results show that the root length, biomass, number of leaves, chlorophyll (SPAD), dry weight to height ratio (WHR) of the scion, and specific leaf weight (SLW) were the greatest for grafted seedlings grown in W₁R₂B₁. The level of root ball formation was the greatest for seedlings grown in W₁R₂B₁, followed by those grown in W, HPS, and MH. Seedlings grown in FR did not fare very well, as they were very thin and weak. Moreover, the expression of two photosynthetic genes (PsaA and PsbA) was significantly increased by W₁R₂B₁ and W, which suggests that the plastid or nuclear genes might be regulated. The overall results suggest that W₁R₂B₁ was the most suitable light source to enhance the quality of grafted tomato seedlings. The results of this study could be used as a reference for seedling production in glasshouses, and provide new insights in the research of lights affecting the development of plants.

Developing countries like Pakistan is among those where lack of adoption to science and technology advancement is a major constraint for Satellite Remote Sensing use in crops and land use land cover digital information generation. Exponential rise in country population, increased food demand, limiting natural resources coupled with migration of rural community to urban areas had further led to skewed official statistics. This study is an attempt to demonstrate the possible use of freely available satellite data like Landsat8 under complex cropping system of Okara district of Punjab, Pakistan. An Integrated approach has been developed for the satellite data based crops and land use/cover spatial area estimation. The resultant quality was found above 96% with Kappa statistics of 0.95. Land utilization statistics provided detail information about cropping patterns as well as land use land cover status. Rice was recorded as most dominating crop in term of cultivation area of around 0.165 million ha followed by autumn maize 0.074 million ha, Fallow crop fields 0.067 million ha and Sorghum 0.047 million ha. Other minor crops observed were potato, fodder and cotton being cultivated on less than 0.010 million ha. Population settlements were observed over an area of around 0.081 million ha of land. 

Developing countries like Pakistan is among those where lack of adoption to science and technology advancement is major constraint for Satellite Remote Sensing use in crops and land use land cover digital information generation. Exponential rise in country population, increased food demand, limiting natural resources coupled with migration of rural community to urban areas had further led to skewed official statistics. This study is an attempt to demonstrate the possible use of freely available satellite data like Landsat8 under complex cropping system of Okara district of Punjab, Pakistan. An Integrated approach has been developed for the satellite data based crops and land use/cover spatial area estimation. The resultant quality was found above 96% with Kappa statistics of 0.95. Land utilization statistics provided detail information about cropping patterns as well as land use land cover status. Rice was recorded as most dominating crop in term of cultivation area of around 0.165 million ha followed by autumn maize 0.074 million ha, Fallow crop fields 0.067 million ha and Sorghum 0.047 million ha. Other minor crops observed were potato, fodder and cotton being cultivated on less than 0.010 million ha. Population settlements were observed over an area of around 0.081 million ha of land. 

In 2013, thirty-eight treadle pumps (TPs) were installed as low-cost technology introduction for small-scale irrigation in eastern Ethiopia. This pilot project also trained six farmers on tube well excavation, installation and maintenance of pumps. In June 2015, researchers visited nine of the 38 TP villages, and found only two functional TPs. The rest were replaced with a new technology developed by the trained farmers. Adopters of the new technology stated that the limited water output and high labor demand of the conventional TP did not optimally fulfil their irrigation water requirements. The new technology had spread quickly to more than one hundred households due to three key factors. First, farmers’ innovative modifications of the initial excavation technique addressed the discharge limitations of the conventional TP by excavating boreholes with wider diameter. Second, local ownership of the new technology, including skills used in well drilling and manufacturing excavation implement, made the new irrigation technology affordable and accessible to the majority of households. Third, this innovation spread organically without any external support, confirming its sustainability. Farmers, empowered by training, gained more control in developing technology options tailored to local needs and conditions of their communities.

The Mozambican dairy industry landscape is not well known because the research about it presents numerous inconsistencies. These inconsistencies are possibly due to miscommunication between scholars, entrepreneurs, the government and other actors, besides major events such as the civil war and policy changes and overall lack of coordination. This study aimed to catalog and relate the major studies and findings in the Mozambican dairy research, contextualize them historically, analyze the implications and provide hints for future researchers. Dairy research seemed intimately related to the industry’s development, and it has been dependent on the country’s sociopolitical changes and opportunities. Social and economic studies are more abundant, perhaps because the dairy industry is emerging, thriving to stand out in a very competitive environment, but there are also studies in applied sciences, especially microbiology and chemistry. There are promising directions to follow such as the improvement of herding techniques (e.g. feeding, disease control), multidisciplinary synergies or exploration of traditional dairy products such as masse. Also, it would be important for institutions to share their research through electronic platforms, even the information published prior to the existence of the worldwide web.

Agroforestry is increasingly being recognized as a holistic food production system that can have numerous significant environmental, economic, and social benefits. This growing recognition is paralleled in the U.S. by the budding interest in regenerative agriculture and motivation to certify regenerative practices. Current efforts to develop a regenerative agriculture certification offer an opportunity to consider agroforestry’s role in furthering regenerative goals. To understand this opportunity, we first examine how agroforestry practices can advance regenerative agriculture’s five core environmental concerns: soil fertility and health, water quality, biodiversity, ecosystem health, and carbon sequestration. Next, we review a subset of certification programs, standards, guidelines, and associated scientific literature to understand existing efforts to standardize agroforestry. We determine that development of an agroforestry standard alongside current efforts to certify regenerative agriculture offers an opportunity to leverage common goals and strengths of each. Additionally, we determine that there is a lack of standards with measurable criteria available for agroforestry, particularly in temperate locations. Lastly, we propose a framework and general, measurable criteria for an agroforestry standard that could potentially be implemented as a standalone standard or built into existing agriculture, forestry, or resource conservation certification programs.

The global demands for various grains including durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) are expected to increase substantially in the coming years due to ever-growing human population’s needs for food, feed and fuel. Thus, providing consistent or increased durum grain to the world market is one of the priorities for policy-makers, researchers, and farmers. What are the major achievements in agronomic advancement for durum wheat cultivation in recent decades? How might the current cropping systems be improved to increase crop yield and quality and improve resource use efficiencies while minimizing input costs and decreasing negative impact on the environment? Canada is one of the major durum wheat producers in the world, as Canada contributes about 50% to global trade of durum grain. Canada’s research achievements in durum wheat might serve as a guide for advancing the cultivation of the crop in other regions/countries on the planet. This review summarizes the major Canadian research findings in the aspects of durum wheat agronomics during the period 2001 to 2017 years. It highlights the main advancements in seeding and tillage, crop rotation and diversification, and use of pulse-induced microbiomes to improve soil health and feedback mechanism. The genetic gain and breeding for resistance against abiotic and biotic stresses are discussed. Finally, we identified main constraints and suggested some near-term research priorities. The research findings highlighted in this review will be of use for other areas on the planet to increase durum wheat productivity, improve soil fertility and health, and enhance long-term sustainability.

Blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) has been recognized worldwide as a valuable source of health-promoting compounds, becoming a crop with some of the fastest rising consumer demand trends. Fruit firmness is a key target for blueberry breeding as it directly affects fruit quality, consumer preference, transportability, shelf life, and the ability of cultivars to be machine harvested. Fruit softening naturally occurs during berry development, maturation, and postharvest ripening. However, some genotypes are better at retaining firmness than others, and some are crispy, which is a putatively extra-firmness phenotype that provides a distinct eating experience. In this review, we summarized important studies addressing the firmness trait in blueberry, focusing on physiological and molecular changes affecting this trait at the onset of ripening and also the genetic basis of firmness variation across individuals. New insights into these topics were also achieved by using previously available data and historical records from the blueberry breeding program at the University of Florida. The complex quantitative nature of firmness in an autopolyploid species such as blueberry imposes additional challenges for the implementation of molecular techniques in breeding. However, we highlighted some recent genomics-based studies and the potential of a QTL mapping analysis and genome editing protocols such as CRISPR to further assist and accelerate the breeding process for this important trait.

A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed on a set of 260 lines which belong to three different bi-parental flax mapping populations. These lines were sequenced to an averaged genome coverage of 19× using the Illumina Hi-Seq platform. Phenotypic data for 11 seed yield and oil quality traits were collected in eight year/location environments. A total of 17,288 single nucleotide polymorphisms were identified, which explained more than 80% of the phenotypic variation for days to maturity (DTM), iodine value (IOD), palmitic (PAL), stearic, linoleic (LIO) and linolenic (LIN) acid contents. Twenty-three unique genomic regions associated with 33 QTL for the studied traits were detected, thereby validating four genomic regions previously identified. The 33 QTL explained 48-73% of the phenotypic variation for oil content, IOD, PAL, LIO and LIN but only 8-14% for plant height, DTM and seed yield. A genome-wide selective sweep scan for selection signatures detected 114 genomic regions that accounted for 7.82% of the flax pseudomolecule and overlapped with the 11 GWAS-detected genomic regions associated with 18 QTL for 11 traits. The results demonstrate the utility of GWAS combined with selection signatures for dissection of the genetic structure of traits and for pinpointing genomic regions for breeding improvement.

In this study was investigate the effect of vegetative treatment with the herbicides Basagran 480 SL, Pulsar 40 and Express 50 WG on the fat content of seeds of different Bulgarian cotton cultivars. The experiment was carried out with twelve Bulgarian cotton cultivars - Chirpan-539, Helius, Trakia, Vicky, Philipopolis, IPK-Veno, Boyana, Avangard, Natalia, Darmy, Dorina and Nelina belonging to Gossypium hirsutum L. For the first time in the world, cotton cultivars resistant to herbicides Basagran 480 SL (bentazone), Pulsar 40 (imazamox) and Express 50 WG (Tribenuron-methyl) have been established. They are applied at the bud formation stage of cotton. Fat content in cotton seeds was determined by extraction - SR ISO 6492. For the first time in the world it has been established that in the vegetative treatment with herbicides the most valuable with regard to cottonseed fat content are all cultivars treated with Basagran 480 SL, except Chirpan-539 and Helius. It has been established for the first time that from the point of view of growing technology with vegetative treatment with the herbicide Express 50 WG, the most valuable are the cultivars Chirpan-539, Helius, Trakia, Vicky, Philipopolis, IPK-Veno, Boyana, Avangard, Natalia. None of the cultivars is highly rated when treated with the herbicide Pulsar 40 with regard to fat content in seeds.

Heat stress affects the yield of medicinal plants and can reduce biomass and/or metabolite production. In order to evaluate the effect of heat-induced stress on the essential oil production in Mentha x piperita L. var. Mitcham (Mitcham mint) and Mentha x arvensis var. piperascens Malinv. ex L. H. Bailey (Japanese mint), we studied the chemical composition of the oils of the two mint species under different heat shock stress in growth chambers. The antibacterial activity of the essential oils was also evaluated; microscopic observation (fluorescence and electron transmission) was used to assess the effect of the tested samples on bacterial growth. The results obtained shed light on the mint essential oils composition and biological activity in relation to heat stress.

Iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) deficiency in cereal grains has deleterious effects on the health of millions of people, especially in developing countries. As wheat, as a staple crop, is consumed in large quantities, its micronutrient content is important. Crops in Africa are often grown under low nitrogen (N) and low phosphorous (P) conditions. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of low N and low P stress on Fe and Zn and phytic acid concentration, in two commercial spring wheat cultivars with excellent baking quality. The two cultivars did not differ significantly for the measured characteristics. Across all treatments the average values for Fe varied between 19.60-28.61 mg kg^-1, Zn between 17.68-33.79 mg kg^-1 and phytic acid between 5.03-6.92 mg g^-1. Low P stress lead to the highest values of Fe and Zn, and the lowest value for phytic acid. Phytic acid:Fe and phytic acid:Zn ratios were also highly significantly reduced under low P stress conditions. Low N conditions caused significantly increased Zn levels.  Despite this, the phytic acid:Fe and phytic acid:Zn ratios were relatively high under all conditions, indicating a low bioavailability of both Fe and Zn in these wheat cultivars.

Conservation agriculture (CA) could be very effective for agricultural sustainability under Mediterranean environments, where farmers rely on short rotation based on durum wheat. In this work we investigated the effect of different combination of tillage treatments and crop sequence (conventional tillage and wheat monocropping, CT-WW; conventional tillage, and wheat following faba-bean, CT-WF; zero tillage and wheat monocropping, ZT-WW; zero tillage and wheat following faba-bean, ZT-WF) on yield, grain quality traits as well as on diseases incidence and severity in durum wheat (var. Saragolla). The results of a two-years of data of a long-term experiment (7-year experiment; split-plot design) are discussed. The CA approach (ZT+WF), which induced always the highest grain yields (6.1 t ha-1 and 3.3 t ha-1 in 2016 and 2017) thanks to an increased number of spikes m-2 (296 vs 269 and 303 vs 287 spikes m-2 in 2016 and 2017, respectively) as well as to a more pronounced ear length, demonstrated significant positive influences in terms of grain quality. It promoted grain protein accumulation (12.1% for ZT+WF versus 11.4% for ZT+WW and 12.4% for ZT+WF versus 10.6% for ZT+WW in 2016 and 2017), improved gluten quality (in terms of SDS sedimentation test) and colour of the grain. The abundance of crop residues determined a higher incidence and severity of Zymoseptoria tritici leaf symptoms under CA system; nevertheless the late appearance of infection was the main reason of not affecting yield and quality traits. The presence of faba-bean (WF) in the rotation significantly reduced leaf symptoms of Z. tritici.

A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed on a set of 260 lines which belong to three different bi-parental flax mapping populations. These lines were sequenced to an averaged genome coverage of 19× using the Illumina Hi-Seq platform. Phenotypic data for 11 seed yield and oil quality traits were collected in eight year/location environments. A total of 17,288 single nucleotide polymorphisms were identified, which explained more than 80% of the phenotypic variation for days to maturity (DTM), iodine value (IOD), palmitic (PAL), stearic, linoleic (LIO) and linolenic (LIN) acid contents. Twenty-three unique genomic regions associated with 33 QTL for the studied traits were detected, thereby validating four genomic regions previously identified. The 33 QTL explained 48-73% of the phenotypic variation for oil content, IOD, PAL, LIO and LIN but only 8-14% for plant height, DTM and seed yield. A genome-wide selective sweep scan for selection signatures detected 114 genomic regions that accounted for 7.82% of the flax pseudomolecule and overlapped with the 11 GWAS-detected genomic regions associated with 18 QTL for 11 traits. The results demonstrate the utility of GWAS combined with selection signatures for dissection of the genetic structure of traits and for pinpointing genomic regions for breeding improvement.

In this study, grapevine was used as the research material. This plant which epitomizes the opinion that vertical gardens can have a positive influence on human psychology with their beautiful view, e.g., the hanging gardens of Babylon about 2500 years ago. The study in question was conducted in 2016 at Bingol University, Faculty of Agriculture, the Department of Garden Plants research and application area. The offshoot growth was measured in a fertilizer experiment that formed the control, first application (200 g/100 L water, leaf) and second application (100 g/100 L water + 20% leaf + root). Moreover, the plant’s footprint in the vertical area was determined. The average offshoot growth of 1103 P American grapevine rootstock in the first and second applications was measured as 61.5 cm and 39.5 cm respectively, and it was 43.0 cm and 51.0 for C American grapevine rootstock. The average growth of 1103 P and 1616 C American grapevine in the control group was determined as 30.6 cm and 32.1 cm. The average growth of both American grapevine rootstocks used in the experiment was determined to be higher for the first and second applications than the controls.

Conyza canadensis is a species invading large agricultural areas throughout the world, mainly to its ability to evolve herbicide resistance. Specifically, in Hungary, extensive areas have been infested by this species due to the difficulty in controlling it with glyphosate. To corroborate this fact as resistance and not as an incorrect herbicide application, eight suspicious glyphosate-resistant C. canadensis populations from different Hungarian regions were studied. In dose-response assays with glyphosate, the LD50 and GR50 values indicated that populations 1 to 5 were resistant to this herbicide (H-5 population the most resistant). Besides, the shikimic acid accumulation tests corroborated the results observed in the dose-response assays. 11 alternative herbicides from 6 different mode of action (MOA) were applied at field doses as control alternatives on populations H-5 and H-6 (both in the same regions). The H-5 population showed an unexpected resistance to flazasulfuron (ALS-inhibitor). The ALS enzyme activity studies indicated that the I50 for H-5 was 63.3 fold higher compared to its correspondent susceptible population (H-6). Therefore, the H-5 population exhibited multiple-resistance to flazasulfuron and glyphosate, being the first case reported in Europe for this two MOA. For that reason, the other herbicides with different MOA have to be tested here.

Weed seedbank is an indication of future weed infestation potential of the species and is essential for making strategic planning for its sustainable management. Parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus L.) is an invasive alien species threatening the biodiversity and the environment in Malaysia. A study was, therefore, conducted to estimate the soil seedbank of the weed at four soil depths of four villages of Kuala Muda, Kedah. The aim was to indicate the critical s of parthenium weed seedbank in Malaysia. Soil samples were collected from the sites using a soil core. The seeds were extracted from the soil samples with sieve shaker at the Universiti Malaysia Kelantan laboratory, Jeli Campus. The study indicates that the weed seedbank is in critical level at the area. The highest number of weed seeds (6915/m2) was found in Kg. Kongsi 6, followed by Kg. Sungai Tok Rawang (4481 seeds/m2). The top layer of soil, 0-5 cm, contained the maximum number of weed seeds (4878 seeds/m2) and a significant number of seeds (316 seeds/m2) were noticed at 10-15 cm soil depth. The study suggests the Malaysian government to take immediate action to control parthenium weed seedbank of the sites.

The breeding of stress-tolerant cultivated plants that would allow for a reduction in harvest losses and undesirable decrease in quality attributes requires a new quality of knowledge on molecular markers associated with relevant agronomic traits, on quantitative metabolic responses of plants on stress challenges, and on the mechanisms controlling the biosynthesis of these molecules. By combining metabolomics with genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics datasets a more comprehensive knowledge of the composition of crop plants used for food or animal feed is possible. In order to optimize crop trait developments, to enhance crop yields and quality, as well as to guarantee nutritional and health factors, that provides the possibility to create functional food or feedstuffs, the knowledge about the plants’ metabolome is crucial. Next to classical metabolomics studies, this review focusses on several metabolomics based working techniques, such as sensomics, lipidomics, hormonomics and phytometabolomics, which were used to characterize metabolome alterations during abiotic and biotic stress, to find resistant food crops with a preferred quality or at least to produce functional food crops are highlighted.

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) of Fabaceae family belongs to genus Cajanus usually grown in semi-arid tropics of Asia and Oceania, Africa and America. This crop has been a best source for improving food and soil quality amongst farmers. However, its seed have been always questioned for purity. This problem is managed by using polymorphic SSR markers. In present study, a DNA fingerprints generated by seven SSR markers and hybrid testing is performed on Pigeonpea test samples along with parental lines. The seed samples of pigeonpea were germinated in laboratory and three week old leaves samples were used for DNA isolation by CTAB method. A total of 9 alleles were observed in three test samples using three primers out of seven primers. The screening of the allelic data associated with the three cultivated varieties, revealed markers (CcM0246) displayed unique allelic profiles for one variety. Yet, the genetic fingerprinting data is not well resolved to potentially distinguished two bands of hybrid that are merely of 4–8 bp to confirm hybrid testing of seed. Hybrid testing of may be confirmed including more SSR primers prepared from genomic DNA of pigeonpea.

Aflatoxins are a known cause of primary liver cancer in Mozambique since pre-independence epidemiological studies. However, their impact goes beyond the public health, affecting the country’s economy and raising legal concerns. As a developing country endemic for Aspergillus, the nation has been struggling to keep pace with external trade quality demands, delicate policy making, still dealing with the farmers’ limitations to control the contamination. The contamination shows variations over time, space and the different commodities. Considering the recommendations of the Codex Alimentarius, the major crops will be highly implicated unless there is major intervention from the authorities to control the toxins.

Highly weathered soils in the tropics are low in fertility, negatively affecting plant growth. The potential of biochar for improving soil nutrient retention is reportedly promising, triggering this study to assess the nutrient retention capacities of two biochars when applied at 2% in combination with two composts also applied at 2% to an Ultisol (Ustic Kanhaplohumult, Leilehua series) and an Oxisol (Rhodic haplustox, Wahiawa series) of Hawai’i. Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa cv. Bonsai) was used as the test plant in two greenhouse plantings, which had a factorial completely randomized design with three replicates per treatment. The results indicated that the combined additions of biochar and compost significantly increased the pH, EC, P and K of the soils; improved Ca, Mg and Fe uptake; and increased shoot and total cabbage fresh and dry matter. Exchangeable aluminum in the Ultisol was decreased from 2.5 cmol+/kg to virtually zero. Extractable Mn and Fe in the high Mn-Oxisol were decreased by 55 and 42%, respectively. Chinese cabbage growth in the Ultisol amended with the lac tree (Schleichera oleosa) wood biochar and vermicompost was almost twice over lime at 2 cmol+/kg. Essential nutrients in the plant tissues, with the exception of N and K, were sufficient for the cabbage growth, suggesting increases in nutrients and reduced soil acidity by the additions of biochar combined with compost were the probable cause.

Increased nutrient withdrawal by rapidly expanding intensive cropping systems, in combination with imbalanced fertilization, is leading to potassium (K) depletion from agricultural soils in Asia. There is an urgent need to better understand the soil K-supplying capacity and K-use efficiency of crops to address this issue. Maize is increasingly being grown in rice-based systems in South Asia, particularly in Bangladesh and North East India. The high nutrient extraction, especially K, however, causes concerns for the sustainability of maize production systems in the region. The present study was designed to estimate, through a plant-based method, the magnitude, and variation in K-supplying capacity of a range of soils from the maize-growing areas and the K-use efficiency of maize in Bangladesh. Eighteen diverse soils were collected from several upazillas (or sub-districts) under 11 agro-ecological zones to examine their K-supplying capacity from the soil reserves and from K fertilization (@ 100 mg K kg-1 soil) for successive seven maize crops grown up to V10-V12 in pots inside a net house. A validation field experiment was conducted with five levels of K (0, 40, 80, 120 and 160 kg ha-1) and two fertilizer recommendations based on “Nutrient Expert for Maize-NEM” and “Maize Crop Manager-MCM” decision support tools (DSSs) in 12 farmers’ fields in Rangpur, Rajshahi and Comilla districts in Bangladesh. Grain yield and yield attributes of maize responded significantly (P < 0.001) to K fertilizer, with grain yield increase from 18 to 79% over control in all locations. Total K uptake by plants not receiving K fertilizer, considered as potential K-supplying capacity of the soil in the pot experiment, followed the order: Modhukhali >Mithapukur >Rangpur Sadar >Dinajpur Sadar >Jhinaidah Sadar >Gangachara >Binerpota >Tarash >Gopalpur >Daudkandi >Paba >Modhupur >Nawabganj Sadar >Shibganj >Birganj >Godagari >Barura >Durgapur. Likewise in the validation field experiment, the K-supplying capacity of soils was 83.5, 60.5 and 57.2 kg ha-1 in Rangpur, Rajshahi, and Comilla, respectively. Further, the order of K-supplying capacity for three sites was similar to the results from pot study confirming the applicability of results to other soils and maize-growing areas in Bangladesh and similar soils and areas across South Asia. Based on the results from pot and field experiments, we conclude that the site-specific K management using the fertilizer DSSs can be the better and more efficient K management strategy for maize.

In wild habitats, fruit dehiscence is a critical strategy for seed dispersal; however, in cultivated crops it is one of the major sources of yield loss. Therefore, indehiscence of fruits, pods, etc., was likely to be one of the first traits strongly selected in crop domestication. Even with the historical selection against dehiscence in early domesticates, it is a trait still targeted in many breeding programs, particularly in minor or underutilized crops. Here, we review of this trait in pulse (grain legume) crops, which are of growing importance as a source of protein in human and livestock diets, and which have received less attention than cereal crops and the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. We specifically focus on the i) history of indehiscence in domestication across legumes, ii) structures and the mechanisms involved in shattering, iii) the molecular pathways underlying this important trait, iv) an overview of the extent of crop losses due to shattering, and the effects of environmental factors on shattering, and, v) efforts to reduce shattering in crops. While our focus is mainly pulse crops, we also included comparisons to crucifers and cereals because there is extensive research on shattering in these taxa.

In Mozambique, the aflatoxin research started in 1960’s and has been carried through apparently unrelated efforts according to opportunities. However, there was a major trend divided in early epidemiological studies and recent agricultural research. Early investigators found strong correlation between aflatoxin contamination and primary liver cancer. Since then, there have been efforts to analyze the extent of contamination, especially in groundnuts and maize. More recent investigation and intervention aimed mostly to reduce the level of contamination enough to allow such commodities to gain acceptance in the international market. The current status of knowledge is still marginal but the increasing involvement of local authorities, academia and international organizations seems promising.

Size-based fungal growth studies have limitations. For example, the growth in size stops in closed systems once it reaches the borders and poorly describes the metabolic status, especially in the stationary phase. This might lead mycotoxin studies to unrealistic results. Color change could be a viable alternative as pigments are results of the mold’s metabolic activity. This study aimed to verify the possibility of using gray values and the RGB system to analyze the growth of Fusarium graminearum. It consisted color and area measurement using the ImageJ software for specimens grown in yeast extract agar (YEA). The results suggest the usability of color and gray values as reliable tools to analyze the growth of F. graminearum.

Mozambique is endemic to aflatoxigenic Aspergillus but the country has to heavily rely on foreign research to deduct what is happening locally. There is some information produced by local scholars and institutions but it needs to be “tied” together. This review briefly synthetizes the country’s major findings in relation to the toxin’s etiology, epidemiology, detection and control, discussing and meta-analyzing them as far as they allow. The causes and foods affected are the same as in most tropical countries, the toxin is widespread and the level of exposure is high. Regarding the control, it is still marginal but some institutions have driven efforts in this direction. Learning from other countries is still the best approach to take, as the solutions are probably the same for most places.

Glycoside Hydrolase 3 (GH3) is a phytohormone-responsive family of genes that has been found in many plant species. It is implicated in the biological activity of indolacetic (IAA) and jasmonic acids (JA), and also affects plant growth and developmental processes and some stresses. In this study, GH3 genes were identified in 48 plants, which belong to algae, moss, fern, gymnosperm and angiosperm. No GH3 representative gene has been found in algae, and our research identified 4 genes in mosses, 19 in ferns, 7 in gymnosperms, and numerous in Angiosperms. The results showed that GH3 genes mainly occur in seed plants. Phylogenetic analysis of all GH3 genes showed three separate clades. Group I was related to JA adenylation, group II was related to IAA adenylation, and group III was separated from group II but the function was not clear. The structure of GH3 protein indicated highly conserved sequence in the plant kingdom. The analysis of JA-adenylation related to gene expression of GH3 in potato (Solanum tuberosum) showed that StGH3.12 highly responded to Methyl Jasmonate (MeJA) treatment. Expression levels of StGH3.1, StGH3.11, and StGH3.12 were high in flower and StGH3.11 expression was also high in stolon. Our research revealed the evolution of the GH3 family, which is useful for studying the precise function about JA-adenylation GH3 genes in S. tuberosum under development and biotic stresses.

Mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek] in Australia has been transformed from a niche opportunistic crop into a major summer cropping option for dryland growers in the summer-dominant rainfall regions of Queensland and New South Wales. This transformation followed stepwise genetic improvements in both grain yields and disease resistance. For example, more recent cultivars such as ‘Crystal’, ‘Satin II’ and ‘Jade-AU‘  have provided up to a 20% yield advantage over initial introductions. Improved agronomic management to enable mechanised management and cultivation in narrow (<50 cm) rows has further promised to increase yields. Nevertheless, average yields achieved by growers for their mungbean crops remain less than 1 t/ha, and are much more variable than other broad acre crops.  Further increases in yield and crop resilience in mungbean are vital. In this review, opportunities to improve mungbean have been analysed at four key levels including phenology, leaf area development, dry matter accumulation and its partitioning into grain yield. Improving the prediction of phenology in mungbean may provide further scope for genetic improvements that better match crop duration to the characteristics of target environments. There is also scope to improve grain yields by increasing dry matter production through the development of more efficient leaf canopies. This may introduce additional production risks as dry matter production depends on the amount of available water, which varies considerably within and across growing regions in Australia. Improving crop yields by exploiting photo-thermal sensitivities to increase dry matter is likely a less risky strategy for these variable environments. Improved characterisation of growing environments using modelling approaches could also better define and identify the risks of major abiotic constraints. This would assist in optimising breeding and management strategies to increase grain yield and crop resilience in mungbean for the benefit of growers and industry.

In 2013, thirty-eight treadle pumps (TPs) were installed as low-cost technology introduction for small-scale irrigation in eastern Ethiopia. The pilot project also included training of selected farmers on well excavation, installation and maintenance of pumps. In June 2015, researchers visited nine of the 38 TP sites, and found only two functional TPs. The rest were replaced with a new technology. Farmers who adopted the new technology stated that the limited water output and high labor demand of the conventional TP did not optimally fulfil their irrigation water requirements. The new hybrid technologies have spread quickly to more than one hundred households due to three key factors. First, farmers’ innovative modifications of the initial excavation technique addressed the discharge limitations of the conventional TP by excavating boreholes with wider diameter. Second, community ownership of the new technology, including local skills used in well drilling and fabricating excavation implement, made the new irrigation technology affordable and accessible to a higher number of households, leading to faster diffusion of the technology. Third, this innovation has spread organically without any external support. Adoption of the new technology enabled some farmers to accumulate enough resources to diversify their livelihoods into non-farm activities.

The study attempts, above all, to provide a summary, with a strictly scientific basis, about the strategies of conservation of autochthonous agrobiodiversity followed in Italy. A special focus is dedicated on vegetables and, therefore, could represent a contribution to improve the national strategy for the safeguarding of its agrobiodiversity in general. The paper offers also an outlook on the most critical factors of the ex situ conservation and some actions which need to be taken. Some examples of ‘novel’ recovered neglected crops are also given. Finally a case study is proposed: ‘Mugnolicchio’, a neglected race of Brassica oleracea L., cultivated in Altamura (Ba) in southern Italy. ‘Mugnolicchio’ might be considered as an early step in the evolution of broccoli (B. oleracea L. var. italica Plenck) like ‘Mugnoli’ another neglected race described from Salento (Apulia).

The consumer’s acceptability of hamburgers elaborated with the flank of culling cows in which the content of salt or fat had been partially replaced was studied. A mixture of potassium chloride, potassium ferrocyanide and sodium ferrocyanide was used as substitutes for the salt. Oat flakes or a mixture of chia and flax seeds were used as substitutes for the fat. The hamburgers were tasted by 34 consumers. Consumers did not detect significant differences between the control and the rest of the formulations. Neither the gender nor the age of the consumers influenced the sensory appraisal. However, many comments regarding texture failures were recorded. Therefore, the substitution of salt and / or fat in the composition of hamburgers made with the flank of cows is a viable alternative for the commercialization of these pieces of low commercial value as long as the texture of the same is adjusted to resemble it to the control.

Conservation Agriculture (CA) alters soil properties and microbial processes compared to conventional agriculture. These changes can affect soil-atmosphere greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes. In this overview, we summarized the results of global literature and the gaps in measuring and understanding of GHG fluxes in CA systems and conventional agriculture. Some studies compared soil carbon sequestration and soil respiration in conservation agriculture and no-tillage system with conventional agriculture and the results were not consistent in all experiments. Interactions between CA pillars and soil factors such as soil moisture, temperature, texture can determine the rate of respiration rate and soil-atmosphere CO₂ fluxes. The majority of studies reported larger N₂O emissions in no-tillage treatment compared with conventional tillage while some other studies reported no difference between no-tillage and conventional tillage systems. In the majority of CA studies, there is lack of required information which is necessary to understand the mechanisms and processes that affect soil GHG fluxes. Determining factors like climate, amount of plant residues, soil type, crop types included in crop rotation and cover crops and duration of the study are not considered. Static chamber method was used for measuring soil-atmosphere GHG fluxes in the majority of studies. Spatial and temporal changes in GHG flux rates are high and missing part of highly episodic events by using static chamber method may result over- or under-estimation in flux balance calculation. Applying standard techniques for measuring continuous fluxes can help to calculating accurate GHG balance.

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is capable of improving soil health and ecosystem functions. Soil carbon sequestration is one of the ecosystem processes that is of importance in sustainable land management involving reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation to climate change. In this study, we wanted to determine, during the first year of the process of establishing a CA cropping system in rain-fed areas in Madhya Pradesh state of India, which soil health indicators show measurable signs of improvement. Four field trials were selected, each comprising two neighboring plots. One plot (15×15 m) was managed conventionally under farmer practice and was tilled before sowing seeds, and in the adjacent plot Conservation Agriculture practices were applied. No mineral fertilizers or pesticides were applied in both treatments. Soil health indicators of soil aggregate stability, soil-atmosphere CO₂ fluxes, water infiltration, soil moisture, potentially mineralizable nitrogen, soil organic content and bulk density were measured. Results demonstrate that soil CO₂ emissions in CA soils decreased and soil aggregates stability improved in the first year. Generally, in CA soils, there were measurable improvements in all soil health indicators but  only some of them were statistically significant.

The effects of different priming techniques were evaluated to improve the dormancy and germination of wild seeds of “Piquín” chili pepper. Three experiments were designed for pre-sowing treatment of seeds: a) chemical seeds digestion; b) halopriming (with K⁺ or NH₄⁺ of NO₃^-, SO₄^2- or Cl^-) at different priming times (24, 48 or 72 h) and osmotic potential (-5, -10 or -15 atm) and c) previously selected halopriming (KNO₃ and NH₄NO₃) + Gibberellic acid (GA₃, at 100 or 200 ppm) were tested. Digestion treatments did show a negative effect on seed germination. Recommended values of osmotic potential (Ψ_s), to improve Piquín chili seed germination, must be between -10 and -15 atm (-1.0 and -1.5 MPa) and the priming time must be between 48 and 72 hours. Priming techniques can considerably reduce Capsaicinoids content on seeds, improve dormancy, seed germination performance, and increase the rate and uniformity of seedling establishment. KNO₃ and secondly GA₃ treatments may improve rapid and uniform germination and seedling emergence. The results provide basic information to develop guidelines for commercial establishment of Piquín pepper crops.

The effects of different priming techniques were evaluated to improve the dormancy and germination of wild seeds of “Piquín” chili pepper. Three experiments were designed for pre-sowing treatment of seeds: a) chemical seeds digestion; b) halopriming (with K⁺ or NH₄⁺ of NO₃^-, SO₄^2- or Cl^-) at different priming times (24, 48 or 72 h) and osmotic potential (-5, -10 or -15 atm) and c) previously selected halopriming (KNO₃ and NH₄NO₃) + Gibberellic acid (GA₃, at 100 or 200 ppm) were tested. Digestion treatments did show a negative effect on seed germination. Recommended values of osmotic potential (Ψ_s), to improve Piquín chili seed germination, must be between -10 and -15 atm (-1.0 and -1.5 MPa) and the priming time must be between 48 and 72 hours. Priming techniques can considerably reduce Capsaicinoids content on seeds, improve dormancy, seed germination performance, and increase the rate and uniformity of seedling establishment. KNO₃ and secondly GA₃ treatments may improve rapid and uniform germination and seedling emergence. The results provide basic information to develop guidelines for commercial establishment of Piquín pepper crops.

The effects of different priming techniques were evaluated to improve the dormancy and germination of wild seeds of “Piquín” chili pepper. Three experiments were designed for pre-sowing treatment of seeds: a) chemical seeds digestion; b) halopriming (with K⁺ or NH₄⁺ of NO₃^-, SO₄^2- or Cl^-) at different priming times (24, 48 or 72 h) and osmotic potential (-5, -10 or -15 atm) and c) previously selected halopriming (KNO₃ and NH₄NO₃) + Gibberellic acid (GA₃, at 100 or 200 ppm) were tested. Digestion treatments did show a negative effect on seed germination. Recommended values of osmotic potential (Ψ_s), to improve Piquín chili seed germination, must be between -10 and -15 atm (-1.0 and -1.5 MPa) and the priming time must be between 48 and 72 hours. Priming techniques can considerably reduce Capsaicinoids content on seeds, improve dormancy, seed germination performance, and increase the rate and uniformity of seedling establishment. KNO₃ and secondly GA₃ treatments may improve rapid and uniform germination and seedling emergence. The results provide basic information to develop guidelines for commercial establishment of Piquín pepper crops.

Among the plant nutrients potassium (K) is one of the vital elements required for plant growth and physiology. Potassium is not only a constituent of plant structure but also plays regulatory function in several biochemical processes related to protein synthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, enzyme activation. There are several physiological processes like stomatal regulation and photosynthesis are dependent on K. In the recent decades K was found to provide abiotic stress tolerance. Under salt stress, K helps in maintaining ion homeostasis and regulation of osmotic balance. Under drought stress condition K regulates the stomatal opening and makes the plants adaptive to water deficit. Many reports provided the notion that K enhances the antioxidant defense in plants and therefore, protects the plants from oxidative stress under various environmental adversities. Also, it provides some cellular signaling alone or in association with other signaling molecules and phytohormones. Although a considerable progress in understanding K-induced abiotic stress tolerance in plants has been achieved the exact molecular mechanisms of such protections are still under research. In this review, we summarized the recent literature on the biological functions of K, its uptake, and translocation and its role in plant abiotic stress tolerance.

There is increasing evidence that the impact of climate change on the productivity of grasslands will at least partly depend on their biodiversity. A high level of biodiversity may confer stability to grassland ecosystems against environmental change, but there are also direct effects of biodiversity on the quantity and quality of grassland productivity. To explain the manifold interactions, and to predict future climatic responses, models may be used. However, models designed for studying the interaction between biodiversity and productivity tend to be structurally different from models for studying the effects of climatic impacts. Here we review the literature on the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and productivity of grasslands. We first discuss the availability of data for model development. Then we analyse strengths and weaknesses of three types of model: ecological, process-based and integrated. We discuss the merits of this model diversity and the scope for merging different model types.

Predicting the growth response of seedlings from the environmental responses of photosynthesis and metabolism may be improved by considering the dynamics of non-structural carbohydrate, NSC, over a diurnal cycle. Attenuation of growth metabolism when NSC content is low could explain why some NSC is conserved through the night. A dynamic model, incorporating diurnal variation in NSC, was developed to simulate growth of seedlings hour-by-hour. I compared predictions of this model to published growth and NSC data for seedlings that varied according to temperature, light, day length, or CO₂. Prolonged-darkness experiments showed a temperature dependent upper limit on the respiration capacity. Respiration was attenuated as NSC was depleted. Furthermore, when NSC was high at dawn, inhibition of photosynthesis could attenuate the accumulation of NSC under low temperature, or high light, or high CO₂. These concepts were used to simulate plant metabolism and growth rates and diurnal variation of NSC in tomato seedlings under two light levels and various temperatures. Comparison of other results using the same model parameters showed the dynamic model could predict results for starch and starch-less plants, and when growth was affected by CO₂ enrichment and day length.

Photosynthetic activities of the sago palm (Metroxylon sagu Rottb.) were studied to find out its sensitivity to changes in ambient air temperature. The minimum ambient air temperature designed for the experiment was 25–29⁰C, while the higher end was 29–33⁰C. Several photosynthetic parameters were studied to support our analysis in sago photosynthetic activity, including diurnal leaf gas exchange, assimilation rate vs. CO₂ concentration, leaf greenness, leaf chlorophyll content, and photosynthetic rate vs. irradiance. We found that sago palm photosynthetic activity tends to be more sensitive to minimum than to maximum ambient air temperature. The plants exposed to higher air temperatures had dark green leaf color associated with higher rates of diurnal photosynthesis, chlorophyll content, and rubisco limited photosynthetic activity. They also exhibited higher trend in optimum irradiance absorption level. Consequently, maximum light energy dissipation occurred at higher temperatures.

Bamboo agroforestry is currently being promoted as a viable land use option to reduce dependence on natural forest for wood fuels in Ghana. To align the design and introduction of bamboo agroforestry in conformity with farmers’ needs, perceptions, skills and local cultural practices, information on its acceptability and adoption potential among farmers is necessary. It is therefore the objective of this study to (1) describe bamboo ethnobotany and (2) assess socioeconomic factors that affect the acceptability and adoption of bamboo and its integration into farming practices. Accordingly, information has been collected from 200 farmers in the dry semi-deciduous forest zone of Ghana. The study identified the socioeconomic risks and uncertainties as well as biophysical factors that are likely to influence the potential adoption of bamboo agroforestry in the study region. Gender, age, farmers’ known uses of bamboo, the practice of leaving trees on farmlands, farmers’ networking and access to extension services, land availability and ownership by farmers were identified as suitable predictor variables for the adoption of bamboo agroforestry. It is envisaged that bamboo agroforestry is a good bet in the DSFZ though there is the need to explore domestic energy (fuelwood) provision and substitution potential in order to have a broader picture of the technology.

Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in maize (Zea mays L.) is an important trait to maximize yield with minimal input of nitrogen (N) fertilizer. Expired Plant Variety Protection (ex-PVP) Act-certified germplasm may be an important genetic resource for public breeding sectors. The objectives of this research were to evaluate the genetic variation of N-use traits and to characterize maize ex-PVP inbreds adapted to the U.S. Corn Belt for NUE performance. Eighty-nine ex-PVP inbreds [36 stiff stalk synthetic (SSS), and 53 non-stiff stalk synthetic (NSSS)] were genotyped using 26,769 single-nucleotide polymorphisms, then 263 single-cross maize hybrids derived from these inbreds were grown in eight environments from 2011 to 2015 at two N fertilizer rates (0 and 252 kg N ha⁻¹) and three replications. Genetic utilization and the yield response to N fertilizer were stable across environments and were highly correlated with yield under low and high N conditions, respectively. Cluster analysis identified inbreds with desirable NUE performance. However, only one inbred (PHK56) was ranked in the top 10% for yield under both N-stress and high N conditions. Broad-sense heritability across 12 different N-use traits ranged from 0.11 to 0.77, but was not associated with breeding value accuracy. Nitrogen-stress tolerance was negatively correlated with the yield increase from N fertilizer.

Watermelon fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. niveum (FON) is a destructive soil-borne disease throughout the world leading to serious economic losses and limit watermelon production. Cuminic acid, extracted from the seed of Cuminum cyminum L., belongs to benzoic acid analogues. In this study, the median effective concentration (EC₅₀) values for cuminic acid in inhibiting mycelial growth of FON was 22.53μg/mL. After treatment with cuminic acid, mycelial morphology was seriously influenced; cell membrane permeability and glycerol content were increased markedly, but pigment and mycotoxin (mainly fusaric acid) were significantly decreased. Synthesis genes of bikaverin and fusaric acid both were down regulated compared with the control confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR. In greenhouse experiments, cuminic acid at all concentrations displayed significant bioactivities against FON. Importantly, significant enhancement of activities of SOD, POD, CAT and decrease of MDA content after cuminic acid treatment in watermelon leaves were observed in vivo. These indicated that cuminic acid not only showed high antifungal activity, but also could enhance the self-defense system of the host plant. Above all, cuminic acid showed the potential as a biofungicide to control FON.

Within the genus Macrolophus (Heteroptera: Miridae), the species M. costalis (Fieber), M. melanotoma (Costa) and M. pygmaeus (Rambur) are present in the Mediterranean region on a wide variety of plant species. While M. costalis can easily be separated from the other two by the black tip at the scutellum, M. pygmaeus and M. melanotoma are cryptic species, extremely similar to one another in external traits, which have resulted in misidentifications. M. pygmaeus is an efficient biological control agent, both in greenhouse and field crops. The misidentification of these cryptic species could limit the effectiveness of biological control programs. Although morphology of the left paramere of the male genitalia has been used as a character for identification of these two cryptic species, there is controversy on the reliability of this character as a taxonomic tool for these species. Using geometric morphometric techniques, which are a powerful approach in detecting slight shape variations, the left parameres from these three Macrolophus species were compared. The paramere of M. costalis was larger and had a different shape than that of M. melanotoma and M. pygmaeus; however, no differences in size or shape were found between the left paramere of M. melanotoma and that of M. pygmaeus. Therefore, our results confirm that this character is too similar and it cannot be used to discriminate between these two cryptic species.