Agronomy

Robusta coffee is a major commercial crop in the Central Highland of Vietnam with high economic and export value. However, this crop is adversely affected by various pathogens, particularly nematodes. This study aimed to screen active anti-nematode rhizobacterial strains for sustainable coffee production. Among more than 200 isolates, the isolate TUN03 demonstrated efficient biocontrol with nearly 100% mortality of J2 coffee nematodes Meloidogyne spp. and 84% inhibition of nematode egg hatching. This active strain was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa TUN03 based on its 16S rRNA gene sequence and phylogenetic analysis. In greenhouse tests, the strain TUN03 significantly reduced the coffee nematode population in the rhizome-soil with an 83.23% inhibition rate and showed plant growth-promoting effects. Notably, this is the first report of the nematicidal effect of P. aeruginosa against coffee nematodes. This potent strain further showed an antifungal effect against various crop-pathogenic fungi and was found to be the most effective against Fusarium solani F04 (isolated from coffee roots) with a 70.51% inhibition rate. In addition, high-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed that this bacterial strain also secretes plant growth regulators including indole acetic acid (IAA), gibberellic acid (GA3), kinetin, and zeatin in significant amounts of 100, 2700, 37, and 9.5 µg/mL, respectively. The data from this study suggest that P. aeruginosa TUN03 may be a potential biocontrol agent and biofertilizer for the sustainable production of Robusta coffee and other crops. Full article

The phytohormone jasmonic acid (JA), a cyclopentane fatty acid, mediates plant responses to abiotic stresses. Abiotic stresses rapidly and dynamically affect JA metabolism and JA responses by upregulating the expression of genes involved in JA biosynthesis and signaling, indicating that JA has a crucial role in plant abiotic stress responses. The crucial role of JA has been demonstrated in many previous studies showing that JA response regulates various plant defense systems, such as removal of reactive oxygen species and accumulation of osmoprotectants. Furthermore, increasing evidence shows that plant tolerance to abiotic stresses is linked to the JA response, suggesting that abiotic stress tolerance can be improved by modulating JA responses. In this review, we briefly describe the JA biosynthetic and signaling pathways and summarize recent studies showing an essential role of JA in plant responses and tolerance to a variety of abiotic stresses, such as drought, cold, salt, and heavy metal stress. Additionally, we discuss JA crosstalk with another key stress hormone, abscisic acid, in plant abiotic stress responses. Full article

The development of high-yielding heat-tolerant cotton cultivars harboring plastic phenotypes across warming climatic regions is prime objectives of today’s cotton breeding programs. We evaluated eight parents and 15 F₁ hybrids under normal and heat stress conditions. Agronomic and biochemical characters were analyzed using standard least square, correlation, principal component analysis (PCA), and hierarchical clustering. The results explained a significant reduction in all traits except hydrogen peroxide contents, catalase, and peroxidase activities with a prominent increase under heat stress. A significant positive correlation was observed among all agronomic and biochemical traits. POD was found to have a maximum positive correlation with CAT (0.947) and minimum with boll weight (0.050). PCA showed first two components accounting for 78.64% of the total variation, with 55.83% and 22.80% of the total variation, respectively. Based on multivariate analyses methods 23 genotypes have been placed in 3 groups: tolerant (cluster-3), moderately tolerant (cluster-2), and susceptible (cluster-1). In a general perspective hybrids have better performance across normal and heat stress supports the idea of hybrid adaptability across stress environments. In specific FH-458 × FH-313 cross performed best across both conditions for yield and physiological traits. Hence, the generated information from the present study would support breeders in developing heat-resilient cultivars to endure the prevailing extreme environmental conditions. Full article

Various products are used to mitigate the negative effects of abiotic stress in olive trees. The aim of the research was to examine an anti-transpirant product (Vapor Gard^®, V) and a kaolin- based product (Manisol, K) effect on the growth of two-year-old olive tree seedlings under high temperature. The study was conducted in a greenhouse on trees of a native cultivar of Campania (cv. Salella) grown in pot during the growing season from May to September 2020. The experimental design included two products: di-1-p-menthene (product V) and kaolin (product K), applied five times at 20 day intervals compared with a control. The following biometric, physiological, and nutraceutical parameters were evaluated: stomatal conductance, chlorophyll a fluorescence, Soil Plant Analysis Development (SPAD) index, relative water content (RWC), shoots growth, total leaf area per plant, trunk cross-sectional area, dry matter partitioning, total polyphenols, and antioxidant activity. The results obtained showed that the application of di-1-p-menthene (V) was able to induce a significant improvement of shoots growth (+37.22%) and trunk cross-sectional area (+46.60%) and a reduction of the stomatal conductance and an increase of leaf RWC values. Application with kaolin had positive effects on the total polyphenol content, with an increase over the control of 240.33% and higher antioxidant activity values. Further studies are necessary to determine the effect of these products on the biometric, physiological and nutraceutical parameters of mature olive trees cultivated in open field conditions. Full article

A comprehensive understanding of the water and air permeability of soil is necessary for modelling the transport properties which depend on soil structure. We aimed to evaluate the suitability of image analysis to estimate gas and liquid transport in soil using resin-impregnated soil blocks. The soil texture, TOC, density, porosity, air capacity (VV), air permeability (logAP), and the saturated hydraulic conductivity (logK_S) of a Cambisol developed from loess were measured. To characterise the pores, using the soil structure images, we determined the macroporosity (AA), index of soil pore-network growth rate, percolation number (logn_PER), length of pore path/unit area (PLA), and relative volume of pores overlapping top and/or bottom edge of the image (VTB). logK_S and logAP related to morphometric parameters of soil structure derived from the image analysis. The main factor controlling the soil’s infiltration was the total volume of soil pores (VV and AA). AA, PLA, VTB, and logn_PER were equally useful for characterising the soil pore system. These results will contribute to more accurate estimations of gas and liquid transport in soils and allow to obtain historical hydraulic properties and model long-term trends in the soil water regime based on the existing collections of thin sections and polished blocks. Full article

The growth of fraudulent pesticide trade has become a threat to farmers’ health, agrochemical businesses, and agricultural sustainability, as well as to the environment. However, assessment of the levels of farmers’ exposure to fraudulent pesticides in the literature is often limited. This paper conducted a quantitative study of farmers’ recognition and purchasing behaviors with regard to fraudulent pesticides in the Dakhalia governorate of Egypt. Using a structured questionnaire, data were collected by face-to-face interviews with 368 farmers in three districts of the governorate. The questionnaire included questions on socioeconomic characteristics, risk perception, recognition behavior, and purchasing behavior regarding fraudulent pesticides. The findings indicate that farmers perceived high risks to farmer health and crop yield (a score of 4 out of 5) and a moderate risk to the environment (3.5 out of 5) from fraudulent pesticides. Nonetheless, nearly three-fourths of the farmers had purchased fraudulent pesticides anyway. The statistical analysis suggests that farmers who resist purchasing fraudulent pesticides have higher education, longer experience in farming, and better recognition of fraudulent pesticides. To improve farmers’ ability to distinguish and avoid fraudulent pesticides, the paper recommends communication-related anti-counterfeiting measures such as awareness extension programs, as well as distribution measures in cooperation with other stakeholders. Full article

The basic need common to all living beings is water. Less than 1% of the water on earth is fresh water and water use is increasing daily. Agricultural practices alone require huge amounts of water. The drip technique improved the efficiency of water use in irrigation and initiated the introduction and development of fertigation, the integrated distribution of water and fertilizer. The past few decades have seen extensive research being carried out in the area of development and evaluation of different technologies available to estimate/measure soil moisture to aid in various applications and to facilitate the use of drip irrigation for users and farmers. In this technology, plant moisture and temperature are accurately monitored and controlled in real time over roots in the form of droplets, by developing smart monitoring system to save water and avoid water waste using drip irrigation technology. Water is delivered to the roots drop by drop, which saves water as well as prevents plants from being flooded and decaying due to excess water released by irrigation methods such as flood irrigation, border irrigation, furrow irrigation, and control basin irrigation. Drip irrigation with an embedded intelligent monitoring system is one of the most valuable techniques used to save water and farmers’ time and energy. In this paper, we design an embedded monitoring system based in the integrated 65 nm CMOS technology in agricultural practices which would facilitate agriculture and enable farmers to monitor crops. Hence, to demonstrate the feasibility, a prototype was constructed and simulated with modelsim and validated with nclaunch the both tools from Cadence, as well as implementation on the FPGA board, was be performed. Full article

Optimizing the spatial distribution of plants under normal conditions of water and fertilizer is widely used by farmers to improve soybean yield. However, the relationship between soybean yield and spatial plant distribution in the field has not been well studied. This study examined the effect of planting density and plant distribution pattern on soybean plant growth, yield components, canopy light interception, and dry matter accumulation. We also analyzed the relationship between photosynthetic rate, dry matter accumulation, and yield under different planting densities and plant distribution. A two year field experiment was conducted during the 2018 and 2019 soybean planting seasons. Two planting densities (1.8 × 10⁵ and 2.7 × 10⁵ plants ha⁻¹) and two plant distribution patterns (uniform and non-uniform plant spacing) were tested. Higher planting density significantly increased the canopy light interception and dry matter accumulation during soybean growth, leading to increased soybean productivity. The seed yield of soybean under higher planting density was 22.8% higher than under normal planting density. Soybean planted under uniform spacing significantly reduced the differences plant-to-plant. Uniform plant spacing significantly increased the canopy light interception and dry matter accumulation of the soybean population. In addition, the coefficient of variation of seed weight per plant between individual plants under uniform plant distribution decreased by 71.5% compared with non-uniform plant distribution. Furthermore, uniform plant distribution increased soybean seed yield by 9.5% over non-uniform plant distribution. This study demonstrates that increasing planting density under uniform plant distribution can be useful to obtain higher seed yield without increasing other farm inputs. Full article

This study aims to compare photoacoustic (FTIR–PAS), diffuse reflectance (DRIFT), and attenuated total reflection (ATR) FTIR modalities in the wide wavenumber range from NIR (7500 cm⁻¹) to FIR (150 cm⁻¹) for the same silicate soil samples under the same conditions. The possibilities of non-destructive rapid qualitative analysis of soils by these modalities without comprehensive data treatment were compared. The assignment of more than 100 bands for the chernozem and sod-podzolic as common types of silicate types of soil was made. The following groups of bands of organic matter and inorganic matrix were reliably found in spectra of all or at least two modalities: 3690–3680 cm⁻¹ (hydrogen-bonded SiO–H…H₂O stretch, not ATR), 2930–2910 cm⁻¹ and 2860–2850 cm⁻¹ (methylene stretch), 1390–1380 cm⁻¹, (symmetric stretch carboxylate, DRIFT and FTIR–PAS); 2000–1990 cm⁻¹, 1885 cm⁻¹, and 1790–1783 cm⁻¹ (SiO₂ overtones, DRIFT and FTIR–PAS), 1163–1153 cm⁻¹, SiO₂ lattice (not FTIR–PAS), 1037 cm⁻¹ (Si–O or Al–O stretch), 796 cm⁻¹ (lattice symmetrical Si–O–Si stretch); 697 cm⁻¹, SiO₂; and 256 cm⁻¹ (not FTIR–PAS). Amide I, II, and III bands appear in DRIFT and FTIR–PAS spectra while not in ATR. Except for methylene and carboxylate groups, CH vibrations (3100–2900 cm⁻¹) are not seen in ATR. Bands at 1640–1630 cm⁻¹, 1620–1610 cm⁻¹, 1600–1598 cm⁻¹ (primary water bands and probably carboxylate) appear in the spectra of all three modalities but are unresolved and require data treatment. It is preferable to use all three modalities to characterize both soil organic matter and mineral composition. DRIFT provides the maximum number of bands in all three modalities and should be selected as a primary technique in the NIR and 4000–2000 cm⁻¹ regions for hydrogen-bonding bands, CH_X groups, and the silicate matrix. ATR–FTIR complements DRIFT and provides a good sensitivity for soil water and the matrix in 2000–400 cm⁻¹. FTIR–PAS in 4000–1500 cm⁻¹ reveals more bands than DRIFT and shows the highest sensitivity for absorption bands that do not appear in DRIFT or ATR-IR spectra. Thus, FTIR–PAS is expedient for supporting either DRIFT or ATR–FTIR. This modality comparison can be a basis for methodological support of IR spectroscopy of soils and similar organomineral complexes. Full article

This study’s objective was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tomato supply and prices in Gudimalkapur market in Hyderabad, India. The lockdown imposed by the government of India from 25 March 2020 to 30 June 2020 particularly affected the supply chain of perishable agricultural products, including tomatoes as one of the major vegetable crops in the study area. The classical time series models such as autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) intervention models and artificial intelligence (AI)-based time-series models namely support vector regression (SVR) intervention and artificial neural network (ANN) intervention models were used to predict tomato supplies and prices in the studied market. The modelling results show that the pandemic had a negative impact on supply and a positive impact on tomato prices. Moreover, the ANN intervention model outperformed the other models in both the training and test data sets. The superior performance of the ANN intervention model could be due to its ability to account for the nonlinear and complex nature of the data with exogenous intervention variable. Full article

Imbalance of nutrients limits crop yields. Although K fertilization receives sufficient attention in research and practice, Mg supply is rather neglected. The effect of Mg fertilization (0, 5 and 10 g Mg/m²), combined with two K fertilization rates (10 and 15 g K/m²), on potato production and soil exchangeable K and Mg was studied in a three-season microplot field experiment in the Novosibirsk region, Russia. Tuber yield did not respond to the increased K fertilization, but increased at 5 and decreased at 10 g Mg/m². Total Mg concentration in tubers increased at 15 g K/m², whereas N, P and K were not affected by fertilization. The tuber yield was maximal (3.6 kg/m²) at 10 g K/m² and 5 g Mg/m². Soil exchangeable Mg increased by the year, resulting in preferential development of the aboveground phytomass due to apparently increased Mg availability and K/Mg imbalance. Potato production depended on the year, strongly implicating weather conditions. Therefore, the weather and the chemical nature of K and Mg fertilizers (as pertinent to their release mode from fertilizer in soil), are important for balancing their proportions and amounts while assessing interactions among nutrients in potato production and adjusting regional fertilization strategies. Full article

Fe and Mn (hydr)oxides are widely used as contaminant sorbents in water/wastewater systems but their potential use as micronutrient fertilizers is still poorly known. In this research, four nano-metal (hydr)oxides (amorphous Mn oxide (AMO), Fe-Mn binary oxide (FMBO), two-line ferrihydrite (2L-Fh) and goethite) were successfully synthesized and completely characterized (infrared and Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction particle size, specific surface area, point of zero charge). AMO, FMBO and 2L-Fh were introduced to interact with AgNO₃ (20.0 µM) and TlNO₃ (100.0 µM) diluted solutions for three days to check their potential capability as potential Ag⁺ and Tl⁺ adsorbents. AMO and FMBO (4% w/w) were tested as nanofertilizers by arranging a hydroponic bioassay for 35 days on white lupin culture as a Mn-hyperaccumulator plant model. AMO structure was identified as an amorphous mixture of Mn oxides while FMBO was an Fe dopped birnessite. Both materials were efficient in extracting Ag⁺ and Tl⁺ although large Mn concentration was released from FMBO to the solutions. AMO and FMBO promoted Fe and Mn nutrition in plants. Synthetic iron chelate (Fe-EDDHA), present in the nutrient dissolution, could be adsorbed onto AMO surface by producing Fe and Mn accumulation in roots and increasing Mn uptake rate without toxicity symptoms. Therefore, AMO and FMBO not only demonstrated their efficiency as adsorbents, but also displayed they would be promising nanomaterials as micronutrient fertilizers. Full article

Temperature is a key factor influencing plant growth and productivity; however, temperature fluctuations can cause detrimental effects on crop growth. This study aimed to assess the effect of seed priming on Camelina sativa L. under heat stress. Experimental treatments were comprised of; seed priming including, no-priming, hydropriming (distilled water priming), and osmopriming (thiourea applications at 500 ppm), heat stress (control = 20 °C and heat stress = 32 °C), and camelina varieties (7126 and 8046). Heat stress hammered crop growth as relative water content and photosynthetic rate were reduced by 35.9% and 49.05% in 7126, respectively, and 25.6% and 41.2% in 8046 as compared with control-no thiourea applied. However, osmopriming with thiourea improved the root and shoot length, and biomass production compared to control–no application under heat stress, with more improvement in variety 8046 as compared with 7126. Moreover, the maximum values of gas exchange and water relations were recorded at thiourea priming and no stress as compared with no-priming under heat stress that helped to improve seed yield by 12% in 7126 and 15% in 8046, respectively. Among the varieties, camelina variety 8046 showed better performance than 7126 by producing higher seed yield especially when subjected to thiourea priming. In conclusion, thiourea seed priming helped the plants to mitigate the adverse effects of heat stress by upregulating plant physiological attributes that lead to maintain camelina seed yield. Full article

Demand for Asian vegetables is rising rapidly due to changing demographics and increasing consumer awareness of their health benefits. However, growers are not familiar with growing these “foreign” crops due to insufficient technical information regarding suitable cultivars for different regions, production schedules, disease and pest susceptibility, and postharvest management. The objective of this study was to conduct trials in different production systems and climate regions to demonstrate the potential of growing Asian vegetables in Texas. We conducted preliminary trials of nine leafy greens in the open field, high tunnel, and greenhouse (container and hydroponic production) to explore the suitability and potential for year-round production. We also conducted field trials for warm season crops in the open field in different climate zones. Results indicated that for cool season leafy greens, open field production has a limited growing season, high tunnel has the potential to extend the growing season, while greenhouse may provide year-round production using soilless substrate container culture or hydroponic system. For warm season crops, early planting is recommended for high yield. Additional research is warranted in different regions to test more species and cultivars and optimize the production system of high-performing cultivars to maximize production and profitability. Full article

Consumers have given preferences to food products that, in addition to the nutritional properties, also present bioactive characteristics with beneficial health effects. The use of Nonconventional Food Plants (NCFP) has been an asset for the food industry, not only due to its abundance but, also, because it does not compete with other vegetable matrices used for human consumption for its nutritional properties, chemical and bioactive potentiality. The present work aimed to study the granulometry and water absorption index of three seeds of unconventional food plants: niger, millet and birdseed, followed by their nutritional value, content in free sugars, fatty acids, organic acids, tocopherols and phenolic compounds by chromatographic methods and, also, the evaluation of the antioxidant, hepatotoxic and antimicrobial potential in their hydroethanolic extracts. Bakery products were developed with a partial replacement of wheat flour, using the centroid simplex method to understand the effect of applying NCFP flours in the final physical–chemical characteristics. The high granulometry associated with the high water absorption index indicates that the use of NCFP flours would have to be complemented with other flours for baking. The chemical composition of niger seed stood out the most; however, all seeds presented relatively low IC₅₀ and MIC values for the inhibition of lipid peroxidation and antimicrobial activity, respectively. Finally, breads made with a mixture of millet and birdseed flour showed the greatest similarity to the control bread. Considering their composition in bioactive compounds, the use of these seeds is highly advisable in the context of a fortified diet, being sources of compounds of high nutritional value and with beneficial health effects for the final consumer. Full article

Intellectual capital (IC) has become a crucial strategic resource in the knowledge economy. The purpose of this study is to understand the IC-financial performance relationship of listed Chinese agricultural companies. This paper uses the original value added intellectual coefficient (VAIC) model, the adjusted VAIC (AVAIC) model, and the modified VAIC (MVAIC) model to measure IC. The results show a positive and significant relationship between IC and financial performance (return on assets and return on equity) in three models. Additionally, human capital and physical capital are two major driving forces. In the AVAIC model, innovation capital exerts a positive impact on financial performance, whereas this impact is not significant at the 5% level in the MVAIC model. The results suggest that further improvements in IC measurement are still needed. This study has important implications for both academia and industry regarding IC measurement. Full article

There is potential for expanding lentil cultivation to dry and warm Mediterranean rain-fed environments at low altitudes, where early sowings are recommended to profit from winter rains and escape drought and excessive heat at the grain filling stage. In cooler areas, frost might be a problem in the early sowings, however, in warmer areas such as our low altitude warm southern Spanish environments the most detrimental factor on lentil seed yield appeared to be high temperatures at grain-filling stage, particularly heat waves of more than 5 days with T_max > 30 °C. This was followed by broomrape infection, the combination of both being dramatic. We detected variation for stress tolerance, with S17 and R7 accessions outstanding for all stress indexes used, followed by S23, Nsir, S6, and S12. Broomrape infection ranked second risk in the area. No complete resistance to broomrape was identified, but there was a significant variation in the level of infection, with accessions S14 and R17 being the more resistant across environments. This offers prospects for combining heat tolerance and broomrape resistance by breeding. Full article

The organic wastes of plant origin and, in particular, those coming from sources related to tourism activities, such as those generated from golf courses and touristic coasts, constitute an increasing concern due to the rise in their production and their unsuitable management. Thus, this work aimed to assess the use of different composting strategies to manage these specific green wastes, such as grass clippings and pruning waste from a golf course and marine plant debris, mainly from posidonia (Posidonia oceanica L.). To this end, two composting scenarios were established: the first only considered green wastes in the composition of the composting mixtures, and the second used sewage sludge as a co-composting agent. The temperature of the piles was monitored, and physicochemical and chemical parameters were also studied throughout the process. The results obtained showed that composting is a feasible method to manage and recycle this type of green waste, obtaining end products with suitable physicochemical and chemical characteristics. However, proportions of sea plant wastes in the composting mixture higher than 30% can compromise the fertilizing value of the final compost. Moreover, the use of an additional co-composting agent (sewage sludge) improved the characteristics of the end products obtained, provided that this co-composting agent had suitable initial characteristics. Full article

The objective of this study was to examine peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) kernel percent sound splits as a function of sound mature kernel seed size when shelled on a reciprocating sheller. Data were compiled from a total of 139 field experiments conducted in the Virginia-Carolina region and Georgia from 2005 to 2020. Runner and Virginia peanut market types were graded according to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) standards using standard sheller screens with upper grid sizes corresponding to the red pan from the pre-sizer of 10.3 × 19.1 mm (26/64 × 3/4 ″) and 13.5 × 25.4 mm (34/64 × 1 ″) with minimum bar grid clearances of 8.7 (11/32 ″) and 12.7 mm (1/2 ″), respectively. A subset of runner market type samples was graded using the Virginia sheller screen. Grade data per market type and sheller screen was analyzed separately. Among runner market types shelled with the standard runner-type screen, percent sound splits increased linearly with increasing seed size at the logit rate of 1.16 per sound mature kernel g (p < 0.001). Sound splits for Virginia and runner market types shelled on the standard Virginia-type screen did not significantly vary by kernel size (p = 0.939 and 0.687, respectively). Extra-large kernels (proportion) for Virginia types linearly increased with seed size at 1.91 per sound mature kernel g (logit scale) (p < 0.001). Runner market types sized 75 to 91 g/100 sound mature kernels (605 to 500 seed/lb) were estimated to have a 50% probability of a 2.3 to 4.5% or greater increase in sound splits when shelled with the standard runner-type screen compared to runner-type seed sized 55 g/100 sound mature kernels (820 seed/lb), respectively, equivalent to a potential deduction increase of 1.8 to 4.4 USD /1000 kg. For both Virginia and runner market types, seed weight linearly increased with pod weight at 0.169 and 0.195 g/g (p < 0.001), respectively. Results from this study may be used as a reference to suggest runner-type seed sizes above which larger reciprocating sheller screen utilization in line with USDA grading practices is warranted to reduce mechanically induced sound splits during grading and subsequent economic deduction penalties for corresponding farmer stock peanut. Full article