Search Results (754)

As a typical whole-grain food, fresh waxy corn contains several health-promoting compounds including polyphenols and carotenoids. However, different processing methods can affect the content and health effects of these compounds. This study investigated the effects of atmospheric boiling (AB), high-pressure boiling (HB), high-pressure steaming (HS), and high-speed pulping (HP) on polyphenol and carotenoid content, antioxidant activity, and digestive properties in fresh waxy corn. The results showed that compared with the untreated group, HB could significantly increase the content of polyphenols and carotenoids (p < 0.05), with the contents of ferulic acid, quercetin, rutin and proanthocyanidins increasing by 29.06%, 23.71%, 38.15% and 20.82%, while lutein and zeaxanthin increased by 42.31% and 40.43%, respectively. The contents of ferulic acid and zeaxanthin in fresh waxy corn had the greatest correlation with the total antioxidant capacity. In vitro digestion experiments demonstrated that HB treatment improved the bioavailability of polyphenols and carotenoids; however, compared with young adults, polyphenols, including gallic acid, rutin, and quercetin, rather than carotenoids, acted as components with restricted absorption in the elderly gastrointestinal environment. Full article

The co-inoculation of Bacillus megaterium (CCT 2482) and Bacillus subtilis (CCT 3131) may improve plant phosphorus nutrition and agronomic performance under field conditions. This study evaluated the agronomic efficiency of co-inoculation via seed treatment, combined with different phosphate fertilizer doses, in the morphophysiological and productive performance of corn and soybean under distinct edaphoclimatic conditions. Eight trials (four per crop) were conducted during the 2023/2024 season in a randomized block design with eight treatments and four replications. In soybean, co-inoculation increased leaf phosphorus content, grain mass, number of pods per plant, thousand-grain weight, and yield, even with a 25% reduction in phosphate fertilization. In corn, it improved shoot and root biomass, grains per row, thousand-grain weight, and productivity. These results suggest that co-inoculation may contribute to phosphate fertilization management, although direct comparisons across fertilization levels indicate that its effect depends on crop, variables, and the environment. The bacterial strains exhibited strong potential for phosphate solubilization and plant growth promotion across varied environmental conditions, confirming their adaptability. Therefore, this approach may serve as a complementary strategy for phosphate fertilization management, contributing to improved agronomic performance and more sustainable agricultural production systems. Full article

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of corn processing method (ground corn, GC, vs. steam-flaked corn, SFC) and daily calcium propionate (CaPr; 0 vs. 9.45 g/lamb/d) supplementation on productive performance, dietary energetics, fat deposition, and carcass characteristics in finishing lambs. Thirty-six Dorper × Katahdin lambs (44.95 ± 3.30 kg initial body weight, IBW), blocked by IBW and randomly assigned within block to a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, were used. Diets contained 50% corn grain and treatments consisted of: (1) GC, (2) SFC, (3) GC plus CaPr, and (4) SFC plus CaPr. There were no corn processing × CaPr interactions for growth performance, dietary energetics, or observed-to-expected dietary net energy (NE) ratios. Steam-flaked corn decreased DMI (1.30 vs. 1.35 kg/d; p = 0.0036) and increased average daily gain (ADG; 0.168 vs. 0.144 kg/d), gain-to-feed ratio (G:F), and observed-to-expected dietary NE ratios compared with GC diets (p < 0.05). In contrast, CaPr supplementation increased DMI (1.35 vs. 1.30 kg/d; p = 0.0215) without affecting ADG, G:F, or observed-to-expected dietary NE ratios (p > 0.05). Steam-flaked corn increased hot carcass weight (p = 0.0339), cold carcass weight (p = 0.0241), Longissimus lumborum muscle area (p = 0.0206), and chest depth (p = 0.0368), whereas CaPr increased carcass length (p = 0.0451). Interactions between corn processing and CaPr supplementation were observed for rib fat thickness (p = 0.0491), rump fat thickness (p = 0.0272), visceral fat (p = 0.0485), perirenal fat (p = 0.0209), and shoulder tissue composition, including muscle (p = 0.0309), fat (p = 0.0438), and muscle:fat ratio (p = 0.0348). In GC diets, CaPr supplementation decreased fat deposition and increased muscle proportion, whereas in SFC diets CaPr supplementation increased fat deposition and reduced muscle proportion. Neither corn processing nor CaPr supplementation affected visceral mass (g viscera/g empty body weight). Calcium propionate supplementation decreased hindquarter yield (p = 0.0494), increased shoulder IMPS207 yield (p = 0.0494), and increased purge loss at 24 h (p = 0.0496). Water-holding capacity showed a corn processing × CaPr interaction (p = 0.0170), whereas the remaining meat-quality variables were not affected. Overall, SFC improved productive performance and dietary energy utilization, whereas CaPr increased DMI and altered fat deposition and tissue composition responses depending on corn processing method. Full article

The partial replacement of chemical fertilizers with organic fertilizers is regarded as one of the effective ways to achieve sustainable agricultural development. However, further research is needed to understand how different cropping systems respond to the substitution of organic fertilizers and the underlying mechanisms in the context of calcareous purple soils in the same region. In this study, four field trials involving soybean, wheat, rice, and corn were conducted at different sites within the same regional calcareous purple-soil area to investigate the comprehensive effects of partially replacing chemical fertilizers with organic fertilizers on soil fertility. The initial soil pH at the experimental site ranged from 6.25 to 8.60. The experiment established four treatments, which were CK (sole conventional chemical fertilizer), alongside OC1, OC2, and OC3, in which 10%, 20% and 30% of chemical fertilizer were substituted by a commercial organic fertilizer (45% organic matter, C/N = 25). The results indicate that replacing chemical fertilizers with organic amendments generally led to significant improvements in soil organic matter, available phosphorus, and quick-acting potassium levels. However, the impact on alkaline-hydrolyzable nitrogen varied depending on the crop type. In terms of crop responses, organic fertilizer substitution had a notable effect on nutrient accumulation in grains and overall yield. Soybeans and rice showed positive trends in both nutrient uptake and yield enhancement, while wheat primarily benefited from increased total nitrogen content in its grains. In contrast, corn achieved the best balance between yield and nutrient absorption under the OC2 treatment. An equal-weight membership function evaluation, based on within-system normalization of six soil and crop indicators, ranked the treatments as OC2 > OC3 > OC1 > CK. OC2 therefore showed the highest integrated performance among the four crop systems examined in this study. Under OC2, soil organic matter increased by 1.21–31.24% relative to CK across the four field systems, while significant yield increases of 4.2% and 6.5% were observed in the rice and corn systems, respectively. This study suggests that substituting 20% of chemical fertilizers with organic amendments can effectively enhance soil fertility and boost crop productivity, making it a promising regional fertilization strategy that balances ecological benefits with agricultural output. Full article

Malodorous gases such as ammonia (NH₃) and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) emitted from pig intestines and excrement have become critical environmental bottlenecks restricting the green transformation of the swine industry. Therefore, identifying sustainable protein feed alternatives with odor-reducing potential has become increasingly important. This study evaluated the effects of replacing soybean meal with four distiller’s grains-derived protein raw materials (DGPRMs), including Baijiu DDGS, Sorghum DDGS, Corn DDGS, and Cassava DDGS, using an in vitro fermentation system simulating the intestinal environment of six fattening pigs. After 24 h of fermentation, odor-related gas production, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations, and microbial community composition were analyzed to assess the odor-mitigation potential of these alternative protein sources. Results demonstrated that Baijiu distiller’s grains, sorghum distiller’s grains, and corn distiller’s grains significantly reduced the yields of NH₃ and H₂S under the in vitro fermentation system (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, they reshaped the intestinal microbial community structure by inhibiting the growth and reproduction of odor-producing genera (e.g., Ligilactobacillus) and promoting the enrichment of beneficial genera (e.g., Limosilactobacillus) that were significantly negatively correlated with malodor indicators. Notably, among all tested DGPRMs, Baijiu DDGS exhibited the strongest odor-reducing effect, markedly decreasing NH₃, H₂S, and volatile sulfur compounds while enriching beneficial bacterial taxa associated with reduced odor generation. These findings suggest that selected DGPRMs, particularly Baijiu DDGS, may serve as promising alternative protein ingredients for mitigating odor emissions in pig production systems. Full article

As a core global food crop, the stability of maize yield is directly related to food security. However, maize leaf diseases exhibit diverse morphologies, small initial lesions, and high similarity among different types of lesions, posing significant challenges for timely and accurate identification. Therefore, this paper proposes a maize leaf disease diagnosis model based on an improved YOLO11n. First, a C3k2_AFE module is designed, which adaptively captures rich features by operating a spatial context module and a feature refinement module in parallel. In addition, an adaptive downsampling module is adopted to enhance edge and fine-grained feature extraction. Finally, by integrating the C2PSA module with the CASAttention attention mechanism, symmetric collaborative modeling between the spatial and channel domains is achieved, enhancing the model’s perception of diseases. Experimental results show that the improved YOLO11n model achieves an accuracy of 89.8%, mAP@50% of 88.7%, and mAP@50-95% of 71.8%, which are 1.9%, 1.5%, and 1.4% higher than those of the baseline YOLO11n model, respectively. The number of model parameters is 2.36 MB, which is 8% lower than that of the baseline model. The corn disease diagnosis model proposed in this study effectively addresses the problem of disease detection in corn under complex environmental conditions, significantly improving the accuracy of detection and providing a reference for the application of corn leaf disease detection. Full article

The broiler industry plays a crucial role in global food security and faces sustainability challenges that drive research aimed at assessing the environmental impacts of production. In this context, the objective of this study was to evaluate the environmental performance of different growth stages of broiler chickens in a Brazilian poultry industry. The analysis followed the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology and the ReCiPe 2016—Midpoint H calculation method. The data used were primary, provided by a company in the sector, and secondary, obtained from the Ecoinvent 3 inventory database. SimaPro version 9.5 software was used to perform the LCA analyses, with a functional unit of 1 kg of live broiler chicken and a system boundary at the farm gate. The results revealed that, at all stages, freshwater ecotoxicity had the greatest environmental impact, linked to the production of feed ingredients such as soybean and corn grains and crude soybean oil. Across the entire chain, the global warming potential value was 1.69 kg CO₂-eq, with the final fattening stage showing the worst environmental performance. The study contributes to quantifying environmental performance and identifying critical inputs associated with environmental burdens in broiler production systems, providing evidence to support environmental management and sustainability assessment in poultry production. Full article

White corn (Zea mays L.) is a staple grain in the Mexican diet and an important source of carbohydrates, proteins, dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds. This study evaluated the effects of H₂O₂ elicitation and germination time on germination performance, bioactive compounds, and antioxidant capacity of white corn sprouts. Response surface methodology, based on a rotatable central composite design (13 treatments) was used to optimize H₂O₂ concentration (0–50 mM) during 24 h soaking and germination times ranging from 0 to 96 h. Optimal conditions were 20 mM H₂O₂ and 92 h germination, yielding 94% germination, 236.94 mg GAE/100 g free phenolic content, 21.63 mg/100 g GABA, and 6311.06 µmol TE/100 g antioxidant capacity (ABTS). Under these conditions, protein, GABA, and gallic acid contents, as well as antioxidant activity, increased by 9.26%, 34.01%, 30.95%, and 27.24%, respectively, compared with germinated grains without elicitor treatment. These findings demonstrate that H₂O₂-assisted germination is an effective strategy for enhancing the nutritional and functional properties of white corn sprouts. Full article

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) is a key dryland cereal in northern China yet multi-regional information on its disease–pest complexes remains limited. Using a 2025 field-monitoring dataset from 84 sites in 11 provincial-level regions, this study assessed the occurrence spectrum, regional variation, relative pressure, provincial spatial patterns, complex types, and statistical co-occurrence associations of major diseases and insect pests observed during a single grain-filling-stage survey. Field records were standardized numerically, and richness metrics, relative pressure indices, complex-type classification, provincial mapping, and binary correlation analysis were applied. Foxtail millet blast, millet downy mildew, and foxtail millet sheath blight were the dominant field-diagnosed disease categories, with occurrence rates of 97.18%, 89.74%, and 73.02%, respectively. Stink bug-related records represented by the hyaline grass bug, double-spotted long-tarsed leaf beetle records, armyworm records, foxtail millet leaf beetle records, and Asian corn borer records were the most common insect pest variables. Northeast China showed higher disease richness and total disease–pest richness, while Northeast China and the North China–Huang-Huai region had higher total disease–pest pressure. Pest-dominated sites accounted for 47.62% of all sites. Co-occurrence analysis identified strong positive statistical associations, particularly between millet downy mildew and stink bug-related records. These results provide a grain-filling-stage monitoring baseline for foxtail millet disease–pest complexes and support integrated monitoring, regional surveillance, and exploratory classification-based interpretation. The findings should be interpreted as cross-sectional field-monitoring results rather than evidence of seasonal dynamics, causal disease–pest interactions, or validated control thresholds. Full article

To eliminate the complex nonlinear mixing relationships among spectral features in near-infrared (NIR) quantitative analysis, and to overcome the limitations of principal component analysis (PCA), which relies solely on covariance structure and linear assumptions and is therefore incapable of effectively handling nonlinear signals, this study employs kernel-independent component analysis (KICA), for nonlinear feature extraction from NIR spectra, combined with a regression model to achieve rapid detection of tannin content in sorghum grains. KICA effectively separates nonlinearly mixed source signals by mapping spectral data into a high-dimensional feature space via the kernel trick. The prediction model built on KICA-extracted features and support vector regression (SVR) consistently delivered the highest test-set prediction accuracy and exhibited the smallest training-to-test R² gap among all evaluated models across repeated random splits, confirming its superiority over PCA-based feature extraction methods and standalone SVR, and its competitive performance relative to ICA-based methods, in both predictive accuracy and generalization capability. Additionally, KICA yielded a lower reconstruction error for the original spectra, indicating its ability to more completely retain the nonlinear informative content of the spectral data. By calculating the mean absolute coefficient of each independent component, it was found that the component with the highest contribution was strongly correlated with the wavelength range near the characteristic absorption peaks of tannin, thereby enhancing the chemical interpretability of the features. On a publicly available corn NIR dataset, the proposed method also achieved superior prediction results compared with benchmark methods, validating its generalization capability across different sample types and quality attributes. This study confirms the feasibility of introducing nonlinear blind source separation via KICA into NIR quantitative analysis, offering a promising approach for spectral feature extraction in the rapid quality assessment of agricultural products with complex matrices. Full article

The expansion of ruminant production has increased methane (CH₄) emissions, highlighting the need for nutritional strategies that improve productivity while mitigating environmental impacts. Yaks, generally considered low CH₄ producers, are increasingly raised under intensive winter-housed systems on the Qinghai–Xizang Plateau, highlighting the need to assess how dietary concentrate-to-forage (C:F) ratios affect both CH₄ emissions and growth performance. This study investigated the effects of three dietary C:F ratios [L-C (48:52), M-C (60:40), H-C (72:28)] on growth performance, ruminal fermentation, microbial diversity (n = 6 per group) and CH₄ emission (n = 3 per group) in winter-housed yaks. The results indicated that average daily gain (ADG) was significantly higher in M-C and H-C, while the feed-to-gain ratio (F/G) was significantly lower in M-C and H-C than in L-C (p < 0.05). Total CH₄ production (g/day) did not differ among treatments (p > 0.05), while CH₄ yield per unit body weight gain (CH₄/BWG) was significantly reduced in M-C and H-C (p < 0.05). The protozoal count was significantly lower in H-C, and the proportions of isobutyrate and isovalerate were significantly higher in H-C and M-C compared with L-C (p < 0.05). 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that increasing the C:F ratio reduced the relative abundance of the archaeal genus Methanobrevibacter, while Thermogymnomonas exhibited a significant increase (p < 0.05). Collectively, these findings indicate that increasing the C:F ratio in winter-housed yaks improves growth efficiency and lowers CH₄/kg BWG, with the M-C group showing the most favorable balance between productivity and environmental sustainability. Full article

As extreme weather events increasingly threaten global food systems, accurately assessing climate risks and predicting regional crop yields remains a critical challenge. Conventional prediction models often rely on direct weather-to-yield relationships, bypassing continuous crop physiological responses and limiting their capacity to capture fine-grained temporal impacts of meteorological anomalies. To address this, we propose a novel two-stage spatiotemporal functional framework that integrates high-resolution daily weather trajectories with satellite-derived indicators, utilizing the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and Land Surface Water Index (LSWI) to represent canopy structural vigor and hydraulic status, respectively. In the first stage, a Historical Functional Linear Model (HFLM) dynamically maps daily meteorological trajectories (temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation) onto continuous physiological curves under strict temporal causality constraints. This generates bivariate coefficient surfaces that reveal dynamic windows of vulnerability and capture divergent, lagged physiological responses to climate stress. In the second stage, a spatially heterogeneous functional additive model integrates these weather-shaped physiological trajectories alongside raw meteorological dynamics as joint predictors for county-level yields. By extracting functional principal components and modeling flexible non-linear biological responses while accounting for continuous spatial heterogeneity, this dual-channel frameworkcaptures key aspects of both chronic physiological stress and acute meteorological shocks. Validated across a 25-year (2000–2024) U.S. Corn Belt panel, the proposed DC-FAM achieves a mean weighted mean squared prediction error (WMSPE) of 242.33 (bu/acre)² and a median out-of-sample $R_{\mathrm{cv}}^2$ of 0.422, outperforming all benchmarks including a random forest. Attribution of the 2012 flash drought further demonstrates the framework’s capacity to mechanistically trace the complete disaster propagation chain from anomalous spring warming to mid-summer hydraulic failure. The proposed framework provides a transparent, biophysically grounded tool for decoding dynamic climate stress trajectories and disaster propagation chains, offering potential implications for adaptive farm management and precision agricultural insurance. Full article

Parkia platycephala pod (PP) is a native feed resource with good nutritional value that can be included in sheep diets as a potential alternative ingredient without impairing the meat quality. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of two feeding strategies differing in forage source and corn processing form, including the use of Parkia platycephala pod and whole corn grain, on the physicochemical characteristics, proximate composition, and mineral profile of sheep meat. For this, the Semimembranosus muscle from the hind legs of twelve castrated male Dorper × Santa Inês sheep was evaluated. The animals were fed two diets: diet 1—without Parkia platycephala pod (30% Tifton hay + 20% ground corn)—and diet 2—with Parkia platycephala pod (30% Parkia platycephala pod + 0% ground corn). A completely randomized design with two treatments and six replicates was used. There was no effect of diet on the physicochemical characteristics, proximate composition and mineral profile of the Semimembranosus muscle (p > 0.05). Therefore, the inclusion of Parkia platycephala pod in sheep diets is recommended, as it does not alter meat quality. Full article

Limited empirical evidence is available validating the energy value assigned to steam-flaked corn (SFC) for small ruminants in current NRC feeding standards. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of corn processing, including steam-flaking, on growth performance, dietary energetics, visceral fat deposition, and carcass characteristics of finishing lambs. Forty-eight Dorper × Katahdin ram lambs (42.0 ± 0.27 kg initial body weight) were assigned to one of four treatments (n = 12 per treatment) and fed high-concentrate diets for 45 d containing 50% yellow corn grain. Treatments differed only in the form of corn presentation: whole corn (WC), cracked corn (CC), ground corn (GC), or SFC. Cracked corn was produced using a roller mill without a sieve (mean particle size 4 to 6 mm), whereas ground corn was processed through a 3 mm sieve (mean particle size 1 to 2 mm). For SFC, WC was steamed for 20 min at approximately 102 °C before rolling, and flake density was adjusted to 0.36 kg/L by roller tension. Dry matter intake was 10.1% greater in SFC than in WC (p = 0.020), whereas CC and GC showed intermediate responses. Final body weight (+4.7%), average daily gain (+30.8%), and observed dietary net energy for maintenance (NE_m; +10.4%) were greater in SFC than in GC (p < 0.05), whereas WC and CC showed intermediate responses. Gain-to-feed ratio was greater in SFC than in GC and CC (p = 0.028), representing increases of 24.6% and 18.2%, respectively. Empty body weight and visceral fat deposition were also affected by treatment (p < 0.05), with greater visceral fat deposition in SFC and CC than in GC, whereas WC showed intermediate responses. Steam-flaked corn increased longissimus lumborum muscle area by 17.7% relative to GC (p = 0.048) and increased perirenal fat deposition relative to WC, CC, and GC (p = 0.048). However, most carcass characteristics and meat quality variables were not affected during the 45 d experimental period (p > 0.05). Using a replacement technique, estimated NE_m values (Mcal/kg) for CC, GC, and SFC were 2.00, 1.88, and 2.24, respectively. The NE_m value for SFC was in close agreement (2.24 vs. 2.30 Mcal/kg) with current feeding standards, whereas dry-processed corn showed lower estimated NE_m values (p = 0.025), representing reductions of 9% and 17% for CC and GC, respectively. In conclusion, SFC improved growth performance and dietary energy utilization relative to GC, while producing limited effects on carcass-related responses under the conditions of this 45 d study. Full article

State-owned grain enterprises (SOGEs) in China serve dual roles as implementers of policy-oriented stockpiling and as market-oriented operators. Their purchasing and selling behaviors profoundly influence grain price volatility, which in turn affects farmers’ incomes and the stability of agricultural operations. Based on provincial-level monthly panel data from January 2013 to December 2023, this study constructs price volatility indicators for the grain procurement and wholesale market. A fixed-effects model examines the impact of SOGEs’ purchasing and selling behaviors on grain market price volatility, followed by analyses of mechanisms and heterogeneity. The findings reveal that, during the centralized market arrival period, the purchasing behavior of SOGEs generates a significant demand shock, amplifying price volatility in the grain procurement market. By contrast, their selling behavior exhibits counter-cyclical adjustment characteristics in the wholesale market, mitigating price deviations through inventory regulation and guiding price fluctuations back toward supply-and-demand fundamentals. Mechanism tests indicate that market power, price expectation guidance, and the strategic responses of private enterprises are the primary channels through which SOGEs’ behaviors affect price volatility. Heterogeneity analysis shows that external shocks and regional development disparities significantly influence the market stabilization effects of SOGEs’ purchasing and selling behaviors. This study provides mechanism-level empirical evidence for understanding the price influence of SOGEs in grain markets, offering valuable insights for improving counter-cyclical grain regulation policies. Full article