The objective of this research was to evaluate some quality-defining physicochemical parameters (moisture, specific gravity, pH, free acidity, ash, electrical conductivity, total phenols, and total flavonoids content, K, Ca, Mg, Na, and P) of seven Romanian monofloral honeys (linden, acacia, rapeseed, sunflower, mint, raspberry, and chestnut) collected in 2017. The investigated quality parameters are mainly within the recommended limits set by standards for honey. Sample analyses indicate the presence of antioxidants, such as TPC (17.9–73.2 mg GAE/100 g) and TFC (0.84–4.81 mg QE/100 g), and high amounts of K (101–1462 mg kg⁻¹), Ca (58.3–167.5 mg kg⁻¹), Mg (24.8–330.6 mg kg⁻¹), Na (94.5–233.3 mg kg⁻¹), and P (34.1–137.2 mg kg⁻¹). The Pearson’s correlations between some parameters (such as color/TFC, color/Mg, color/P, EC/Ash, mm Pfund/TFC, TPC/TFC, K/Ash, P/Mg), together with PCA, HCA, and ANOVA statistics, highlight three main factors that explain the variability in the dataset and could be attributed to stability, mineral, and color/antioxidant contributions. FTIR spectra confirm the authenticity of all the monofloral honeys. The results and data processing confirm the influence of environmental elements (soil, water, air) on the honey composition and highlight the quality of honey, as a complete food and a therapeutic product. Full article

An in-depth determination of date fruit properties belonging to a given variety can have an impact on their consumption, processing, and storage. The objective of this study was to characterize date fruits of the ‘Mejhoul’ variety using (i) objective and non-destructive image-analysis features and (ii) measurements of physicochemical parameters. Based on images acquired using a digital camera, more than 1600 texture parameters from the individual color channels L, a, b, R, G, B, X, Y, and Z, and 40 geometric characteristics (including linear dimensions and shape factors for each fruit), were determined. Additionally, pomological features, water content, water activity, color parameters (L*, a*, b*), total soluble solids (TSS), reducing sugars, and total sugars were measured. As a main result, the application of machine vision allowed for the correct detection of ‘Mejhoul’ dates and the determination of the image features. The differences in the values of the histogram’s mean (HMean texture) for individual color channels were determined. The ‘Mejhoul’ date fruit images in color channel a (aHMean equal to 145.88) and color channel b (bHMean: 145.49) were the brightest, and in channel Z they were the darkest (ZHMean: 4.23). Due to the determination of the elliptic shape factor (W₁) of 1.000 and the circular shape factor (W₂) of 0.110, the elliptical shape of the fruit was confirmed. On the other hand, ‘Mejhoul’ dates were characterized by a length of 47.3 mm, a diameter of 26.4 mm, flesh thickness of 6.25 mm, total soluble solids of 62.1%, water content of 28.0%, water activity of 0.652, hardness of 694 g, reducing sugars of 13.8%, and total sugars of 58.8%. Due to the determination of many image features and other parameters, this paper presents the first comprehensive characterization of ‘Mejhoul’ date fruits using a non-destructive imaging technique linked to some physicochemical quality attributes. Full article

Biofuel generation from algae can be increased by using nanotechnology. The present study emphasizes the use of silver nanoparticles on algae for algal fuel generation along with the impact of nanoparticles on biomass, metabolites and lipid profile. Silver ion amassing was enhanced in each algal species, but maximum phytoremediation was found in Ulothrix sp. Carbohydrates increased 3.2 times in Oedogonium sp., 3.3 times in Ulothrix sp., 3 times in Cladophora sp. and 2.7 times in Spirogyra sp. Additionally, the application of nanoparticles enhanced by 2 times the production of proteins in Oedogonium sp., 1.9 times in Ulothrix sp., 1.9 times in Cladophora sp. and 2.1 times in Spirogyra sp. Finally, the total lipid yield increased 60% DCW in Oedogonium sp., 56% DCW in Ulothrix sp., 58% DCW in Cladophora sp. and 63% DCW in Spirogyra sp. using 0.08 mg/L silver nanoparticle application. The lipids and fatty acid fractions from algae containing high concentrations of C16:0, C18:0 and C18:1 enhanced with silver nanoparticle addition were comparable with EN 14214 and ASTM 6751 biodiesel standards. This study indicates that the uptake of AgNPs can enhance the production of fatty acids and be commercialized as sustainable biodiesel. The algae Ulothrix sp. is evidenced as the best competent feedstock for biofuel production. Full article

In this paper, the effects of ultrasonic pretreatment on the drying kinetics, bioactive components (polysaccharides, total phenols, total flavonoids and antioxidant), qualitative characteristics (color index, lobetyolin and syringin) and microstructure of Codonopsis pilosula during radio frequency vacuum drying (RFVD) were studied. The average drying rate curve showed that the whole drying process could be divided into three stages: accelerating period, constant drying rate period and falling drying rate period. Deff values ranged from 6.61425 to 9.46745 × 10⁻⁸. Analysis of the drying rate constants revealed that different conditions of pretreatment were effective in increasing the drying rate. Ultrasonic pretreatment has a positive effect on the retention of polysaccharide content; low frequency favors retention of total phenols, flavonoids and syringin; and with the increase in ultrasonic time and ultrasonic power, the antioxidant capacity was higher than that without ultrasonic treatment. Ultrasonic pretreatment significantly improved color and microstructure. In summary, the pretreatment condition of ultrasonic frequency 20 kHz and power 60 W for 30 min is suitable, which provides a certain reference for the application of ultrasonic pretreatment technology in RFVD of Codonopsis pilosula slices. Full article

Melatonin acts as a seed germination activator, plant growth regulator, leaf senescence retardant, and, in general, has a multifunctional role as a ‘defence molecule’; furthermore, by interacting with other molecules, such as phytohormones and gaseous molecules, it greatly enhances plant adaptation to different environments. However, there are not enough studies about the use of melatonin on horticultural crops, and even fewer studies have outlined the differences related to this phytohormone use between protected environment and in open field. The two latter systems have different growing conditions that could lead to diversified application doses. As the choice of melatonin dose depends on all crop system components, the present research aimed to assess the effects of three melatonin concentrations (1 ppm, 5 ppm and 10 ppm) plus an untreated control, on yield, quality, and antioxidants of four strawberry cultivars (i.e., Kabarla, Fortuna, Sweet Ann, Festival) grown either in greenhouse or in open field. Research was conducted to assess the yield parameters were better affected by greenhouse than open field, and mean fruit weight was the highest in cultivar Sweet Ann. In open field 10 ppm showed the highest values of fruit number and yield, but in greenhouse did not differ from 5 ppm which led to the highest fruit number. At all melatonin doses, cultivar Kabarla demonstrated the highest yield, compared to the other cultivars, with the maximum value of about 46 t·ha⁻¹. Plant dry weight was 90% higher under greenhouse than in open field conditions, and 52% or 132% higher with cultivar Kabarla in comparison with Fortuna and Sweet Ann, respectively. The melatonin dose of 10 p.p.m showed 56% higher plant dry weight in comparison to the untreated control. Fortuna showed higher values of fruit dry matter, soluble solids, and glucose than Sweet Ann. The fruit dry matter was 7% lower at 10 ppm melatonin than in the untreated control. Fructose was higher under 1 ppm melatonin with 245 mg·g⁻¹ d.w. compared to the untreated control with 220 mg·g⁻¹ d.w. in Festival, whereas in Fortuna was the highest in the control fruits, the latter also showing the highest titratable acidity in Fortuna and Sweet Ann. The highest phenolics content was recorded under 10 ppm melatonin in open field, and with 5 ppm in greenhouse; the phenolics content was the highest under 1 ppm melatonin dose in Kabarla and 5 ppm in Fortuna. Under the protected environment 5 and 10 p.p.m. melatonin elicited the highest accumulation of ascorbic acid; 10 ppm were more effective in Fortuna and Sweet Ann, and 5 ppm in Festival. The most enhanced antioxidant activity was recorded under 5 p.p.m. melatonin dose in Fortuna and Festival. The present study confirms that the dose of melatonin to apply to strawberry crop closely relates both to cultivar and crop system. Full article

Agricultural production can achieve sustainability by appropriately applying agricultural mechanization, especially in developing countries where smallholding farmers lack sufficient agricultural machinery for their farming operations. This paper aimed to study the extent to which small-, medium-, and large-scale farms in the Delta of Egypt use agricultural mechanization in their wheat crop farming operations. K-means clustering was used to aggregate and analyze the scenarios implemented by farmers for wheat cultivation so as to suggest guidelines for each cluster of farmers on how to mechanize their indoor wheat agricultural operations to maximize production. The study is divided into two parts: Firstly, data were collected regarding the percentage of small, medium, and large farms; the cultivated area of wheat crops in small-, medium-, and large-scale farms; and the size of tractors, as an indicator of the mechanization available in the governorates of Egypt’s Delta. Secondly, data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 2652 smallholding farmers, 328 medium-holding farmers, and 354 large-holding farmers from Egypt’s Delta governorates. Based on the surveyed data, 14, 14, and 12 scenarios (indexes) were established for small-, medium-, and large-scale farms, respectively, related to various agricultural operations involved in wheat crop production. These scenarios were analyzed based on the centroids using K-means clustering. The identified scenarios were divided into three clusters for the three levels of farms. The data obtained showed the need for smallholding farmers to implement mechanization, which could be achieved through renting services. These findings, if implemented, would have huge social and economic effects on farmers’ lives, in addition to increasing production, saving time and effort, and reducing dependence on labor. Full article

Basal Stem Rot (BSR), a disease caused by Ganoderma boninense (G. boninense), has posed a significant concern for the oil palm industry, particularly in Southeast Asia, as it has the potential to cause substantial economic losses. The breeding programme is currently searching for G. boninense-resistant planting materials, which has necessitated intense manual screening in the nursery to track the progression of disease development in response to different treatments. The combination of hyperspectral image and machine learning approaches has a high detection potential for BSR. However, manual feature selection is still required to construct a detection model. Therefore, the objective of this study is to establish an automatic BSR detection at the seedling stage using a pre-trained deep learning model and hyperspectral images. The aerial view image of an oil palm seedling is divided into three regions in order to determine if there is any substantial spectral change across leaf positions. To investigate if the background images affect the performance of the detection, segmented images of the plant seedling have been automatically generated using a Mask Region-based Convolutional Neural Network (RCNN). Consequently, three models are utilised to detect BSR: a convolutional neural network that is 16 layers deep (VGG16) model trained on a segmented image; and VGG16 and Mask RCNN models both trained on the original images. The results indicate that the VGG16 model trained with the original images at 938 nm wavelength performed the best in terms of accuracy (91.93%), precision (94.32%), recall (89.26%), and F1 score (91.72%). This method revealed that users may detect BSR automatically without having to manually extract image attributes before detection. Full article

To ameliorate soil oxygen deficiencies around subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) drippers, aerated irrigation (AI) was introduced to supply aerated water to the soil through venturi installed in the SDI pipeline. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of AI on the soil respiration rate and the mechanism of regulation. The Daejeon experiment included two treatments: AI and unaerated SDI as a control check (CK), and used the National Soil Quality Zhanjiang Observation and Experiment Station as a platform to carry out a 2-year (2020–2021) positioning experiment. The effects on the soil respiration rate, soil temperature, soil water content, oxygen content, soil bacterial biomass and root biomass of the two treatments were established. The oxygen content, soil bacterial biomass and root biomass regression equation, using the partial least squares regression analysis (PLSR) algorithm and structural equation modeling (SEM), screened out the influence of soil respiration under AI treatment as the main soil environmental factor and driving mechanism of rate change. The results showed that compared with the control CK, the soil respiration rate, soil oxygen content, root biomass and soil bacterial biomass were significantly enhanced under AI treatment, the soil water content had a decreasing trend, and there was no significant difference in the effect on soil temperature between the different treatments. The regression fitting results showed that the soil respiration rate under both treatments was negatively correlated with soil temperature using a quadratic polynomial correlation, linearly correlated with the soil oxygen content, positively correlated with root biomass and soil bacterial biomass using power function and positively correlated with the soil water content using a cubic polynomial correlation. The PLSR and SEM results demonstrated that aerated irrigation technology could drive the increase in the soil respiration rate by changing the soil oxygen content, root biomass and bacterial biomass. Full article

The pear leaf blister moth is a significant pest in apple orchards. It causes damage to apple leaves by forming circular mines. Its control depends on monitoring two events: the flight of the first generation and the development of mines up to 2 mm in size. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop two models using artificial neural networks (ANNs) and two monitoring devices with cameras for the early detection of L. malifoliella (Pest Monitoring Device) and its mines on apple leaves (Vegetation Monitoring Device). To train the ANNs, 400 photos were collected and processed. There were 4700 annotations of L. malifoliella and 1880 annotations of mines. The results were processed using a confusion matrix. The accuracy of the model for the Pest Monitoring Device (camera in trap) was more than 98%, while the accuracy of the model for the Vegetation Monitoring Device (camera for damage) was more than 94%, all other parameters of the model were also satisfactory. The use of this comprehensive system allows reliable monitoring of pests and their damage in real-time, leading to targeted pest control, reduction in pesticide residues, and a lower ecological footprint. Furthermore, it could be adopted for monitoring other Lepidopteran pests in crop production. Full article

In recent years, considerable attention has been paid to the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that might lead to serious environmental problems, yet few studies relate to the insecticide application during agricultural process. As there appears to be a notable lack of research on the VOCs pollution of insecticides, we aimed to assess the occurrence of insecticide VOCs in the laboratory and during the agricultural process in China that have not been previously investigated. We discuss the estimation of VOCs emission potentials (EPs) and actual emissions (AEs) posed by insecticide applications. For this purpose, nine insecticide formulations were collected for testing and were analyzed via a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) and a pump-suction photoionization detection (PID) gas detector. The results showed that the EPs of nine insecticide samples ranged from 12.30% to 81.30%, with a median of 41.59% and a mean of 45.41%. The average actual emission ratio (AER) for the different formulations ranged from 48.76% to 72.12%. AER value was significantly positively correlated with temperature, but significantly negatively correlated with relative humidity and atmospheric pressure. The results of this study provide a technical reference for establishing the corresponding emission inventory and determining the total amount of pesticide VOCs. Full article

The chicken egg is one of the most globally-consumed animal protein sources with high-quality protein value. However, there is a growing concern about the association between excessive egg consumption and the increasing risk of cardiovascular disease incidence. Meanwhile, corn silk extract (CSE) is known to have hypo-lipidemic bioactive properties, as well as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Thus, the present study was designed to investigate the effect of feeding laying hens three different CSE levels on egg cholesterol content as well as egg production performance and oxidative stress marker levels. A total of 240, 40-week-old, Hy-Line Brown laying hens were divided into 4 symmetric groups (10 hens × 6 replicates). The control group was fed a basal diet while the other three groups were given the basal diet supplemented with 100 mg, 200 mg, or 400 mg CSE per kg feed, respectively. Egg production performance was monitored for eight successive weeks. Internal and external egg quality parameters were also measured. At the end of week 48 of age, blood samples were collected to determine the plasma lipid profile, stress markers, and liver function indicators. Data revealed that supplementation of 200 mg and 400 mg CSE to laying hen diets had a positive effect on egg production performance with a significant increase in egg numbers and egg weight as well as significantly improved feed efficiency. Egg quality parameters were significantly improved with CSE supplementation. Lipid peroxidation levels and inflammation marker concentrations significantly decreased for the experimental groups that were fed 200 mg and 400 mg CSE compared with the control group. Meanwhile, blood total cholesterol decreased significantly with CSE supplementation, along with an increase in high-density and a decrease in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol content. A high positive correlation was found between liver and egg cholesterol contents (r = 0.902, p < 0.0001) which was linearly decreased with the increasing level of CSE supplementation. Egg cholesterol content significantly decreased by 9 to 19% in the CSE-supplemented groups compared with the control group. The present study demonstrated that CSE at 100 mg/kg and up to 400 mg/kg diets can be safely used to improve laying hen egg production performance with a direct effect on lowering egg cholesterol content as well as improving the redox status. Full article

Mao-tai lees (ML) is a by-product produced in the process of Mao-tai liquor production and contains high levels of crude protein, starch and fiber, and large yield. Thus, the ML has the potential to become feedstuffs alternatives in livestock production. The present study evaluated the nutritional values of ML and fermented ML (FML), including the first stage (FML I; microbial fermentation), the second stage (FMTL II; microbial fermentation), and the final stage (FFML; microbial fermentation with proteases), and explored their effects on in vitro intestinal fermentation. The results showed that the FFML had higher contents of acid detergent fiber, acid detergent lignin, crude fiber, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, starch, Vitamin B₂, B₆, and B₁₂, whereas the FML II presented higher contents of calcium, copper, iron, manganese, magnesium, and Vitamin B₁ compared with the other groups. Compared with the ML, the total free amino acids (FAAs) and total bioamine contents were higher in the FML II and FFML and had lower total hydrolyzed amino acids and total other free organic acids contents, among which the FFML had higher total FAAs and total bioamine contents. The FMLs had lower n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio compared with the ML; however, the FFML had lower n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio than the other groups. Furthermore, the FFML had higher concentrations of 1,7-diaminoheptane, isobutyrate, isovalerate, putrescine, and spermidine in vitro fermentation, suggesting that the FFML had greater proteolysis than the other groups. Collectively, these findings suggest that microbial fermentation with proteases could alter the nutritional composition and promote in vitro intestinal proteolysis of ML, which may be an effective way for promoting the protein utilization of ML. The study provides an effective potential strategy to develop novel feedstuff alternatives. Full article

The Luochuan area is an important area for apple production in China. With the renewal and transformation of aged apple orchards, the occurrence of apple replant disease (ARD) was inevitable and has seriously affected the sustainable development of apples. Therefore, we randomly selected 14 soil samples from aged apple orchards in the Luochuan area to study the structural changes in the soil fungal community. The results showed that there were significant differences in the diversity of fungal communities between different aged apple orchards. The harmful fungi Gibberella, Fusarium, and Cryptococcus existed in 14 aged apple orchards in the Luochuan area, but their abundances were different in different aged apple orchards. A FUN Guild analysis showed that fungi were mainly present in the aged apple orchards in Luochuan in the saprotroph and pathotroph nutrition modes. Pathogenic fungi were widely present, which increased the risk of disease and seriously affected the growth and development of fruit trees. To sum up, there was a strong correlation between the ages of orchards and the unbalanced microbial community structure. Therefore, pathogenic fungi could be prevented and controlled during the renewal and transformation of aged orchards to reduce the impact of ARD on the apple industry. Full article

Fish products comprise more than 20% of total Ecuadorian exports. Ecuador introduced the “National Green Export Review” (NGER) in 2015, which aims at making Ecuador’s fishing industry more sustainable to improve the international market access to Ecuador’s fish products. Has this policy achieved its goal? In order to answer this question, this article applies the local projection approach to explore the dynamic impact of the NGER on Ecuador’s share of fish exports in the world fish market. Contrary to expectations, the results are consistent with the view that the NGER does not enhance Ecuador’s competitiveness. The NGER is also not able to compensate for the fall in Ecuador’s share in the world fish market, which has been induced by a change in consumer preferences for tuna and shrimp, Ecuador’s main fish products. The concluding section of the paper provides policy advice on how to make the NGER more effective in achieving its goal. Full article

The production of high-quality seeds and planting material is the basis for increasing the efficiency and sustainability of crop production. The main aim of this article is to develop proposals to ensure that supply meets the demand in the seed and planting material market Ukraine. The future prospects are also discussed. The paper uses statistical and comparative analysis. The patterns of foreign trade in seeds and planting material to and from Ukraine are analyzed. The high level of import dependence of Ukraine leads to excessive exposure to instability in the world seed market. The development of seed production in Ukraine is discussed and analyzed along with the ways for improving commercial circulation of seeds and planting materials. The export volumes of grains and oilseeds in 2020 were the highest of those over the last three decades and amounted to USD 18.7 million, which is almost twice more than in 2019. Corn seeds dominate in exports (72%). The volume of imports of seeds of grains and oilseeds exceeded exports by 22 times in value and, in 2020, amounted to USD 409.4 million. In the total volume of imports, imports of sunflower seeds accounted for 53%. The upward trend of seed imports has been maintained since 2010. It was the result of increased demand for imported seeds by large- and medium-sized agricultural producers. In 2020, COVID-19 gave impetus to the development of domestic seed production and foreign breeding companies within the country. Prospective ways to accelerate the development of the organization of the Ukrainian seed and planting material market are outlined. Ukraine has prospects for increasing the export of seeds of grains and oilseeds by expanding its production by foreign companies operating in Ukraine. Solving problems of competitiveness seed production in Ukraine will make it possible to strengthen the role of domestic breeding in the seed market, as well as to use the best foreign varieties through their commercial circulation. Full article