Search Results (8)

Increasing abiotic stress, particularly salinity, poses a significant threat to the germination and seedling development of Tartary buckwheat, thereby limiting its yield potential and broader cultivation. Given Tartary buckwheat’s rich nutritional profile and inherent stress adaptability, enhancing seed tolerance to abiotic stress is essential for ensuring food security and the development of functional food resources. To investigate the role of melatonin in mitigating abiotic stress, seeds of the cultivar ‘Jinqiaomai 2’ were primed with varying melatonin concentrations (with water as the control) at multiple time points. The effects of salt stress on germination and seedling quality were evaluated to determine optimal priming conditions. Subsequent analyses examined seed vigor and physiological and biochemical responses during storage under high temperature and humidity, room temperature, and low-temperature conditions. The results showed that a 3 h melatonin priming consistently resulted in high germination rates (98.7–100.0%). Notably, melatonin at 50 μmol·L⁻¹ was identified as the optimal concentration, significantly improving seedling growth under salinity stress, with increases of 61.1% in seedling length, 59.3% in root length, and 38.9% in root fresh weight compared with the control. Across all storage environments, melatonin-primed seeds exhibited superior vigor and enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity relative to water-primed controls. In conclusion, melatonin priming at an appropriate concentration and duration effectively enhanced the vigor of Tartary buckwheat seeds and alleviated the adverse effects of salinity on germination and storage resilience. However, improved seeds may possess a limited safe storage window and should be sown promptly rather than stored long-term. Full article

A study was conducted in Sierra Leone to identify cassava plants that are asymptomatic and symptomatic to cassava mosaic disease (CMD) and collect planting materials for field trial establishment; determine the prevalence of CMD caused by African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) and East African cassava mosaic virus (EACMV) using the Nuru App and virus indexing techniques; and assess selected agronomic traits in cassava. A total of 80 cassava farms spanning four provinces (Southern, Eastern, Northern, and North-West) were surveyed in April 2022. Findings showed that the cassava variants of the experiment and locations significantly (p < 0.001) affected CMD incidence, severity, growth, and fresh storage root yield traits. The CMD incidence (87.0%) and whitefly abundance (144.8) were highest, and the CMD severity was moderate (4.0) for the plants derived from cuttings obtained from symptomatic Cocoa mother plants, while plants derived from cuttings of improved mother plants exhibited no visible symptoms of the disease and the lowest population (45.1) of whiteflies. The Nuru app is inefficient for phenotypically detecting CMD at 3 months after planting (MAP), while at 6, 9 and 12 MAP, the app efficiently detected the disease using a molecular analysis technique. Resistant, non-diseased plants derived from cuttings obtained from SLICASS 4 mother plants produced the highest fresh storage root yield (54.9 t ha⁻¹). The highest storage root yield loss was recorded in the plants obtained from cuttings of symptomatic variety Cocoa mother plants harvested at Matotoka grassland ecology, Bombali District (90.2%), while those harvested from cuttings of asymptomatic variety Cocoa mother plants grown at the four test environments had a similar storage root yield loss ranging from 40.3 to 46.2%. Findings suggest the importance of genetic variability, environmental adaptation, utilization of diseased-free materials, and phytosanitation as disease management strategies for increased production. These findings provide important insights into the distribution, impact, and spread of CMD and whitefly abundance in the studied areas in Sierra Leone that could be exploited for cassava production, productivity, conservation, and population improvement. Full article

Emphasis on sustainable cassava production is increasing, with aims to increase the net income of cassava farmers in an ecologically friendly way. This study examined the optimization of soil fertilizer management at two research locations (Nampong and Seungsang) in northeastern Thailand. The experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design with five replications. Eight different fertilizer management protocols consisted of (1) no fertilizer application (control), (2) the recommended dosage of chemical fertilizer (RDCF), (3) 3.12 t ha⁻¹ of chicken manure (CM), (4) 937.5 L ha⁻¹ of swine manure extract (SME), (5) CM + SME, (6) ½ RDCF + ½ CM, (7) ½ RDCF + ½ SME, and (8) CM + PGPR (stake soaking with PGPR solution). At the Nampong site, the application of CM + PGPR has the most potential for increasing the cassava yield in terms of the fresh tuber yield when compared with no fertilizer and RDCF applications. At the Seungsang site, the application of CM gave the high fresh tuber yield, without significant differences from RDCF applications. Furthermore, compared to the RDCF treatment, both soil fertilizer management protocols produced positive marginal rate of return values, showing clear potential for contributing to sustainable cassava production. Full article

Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) is a globally significant storage root crop, but it is highly susceptible to yield reduction under severe drought conditions. Therefore, understanding the mechanism of sweetpotato resistance to drought stress is helpful for the creation of outstanding germplasm and the selection of varieties with strong drought resistance. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the phenotypic and physiological traits of 17 sweetpotato breeding lines and 10 varieties under drought stress through a 48 h treatment in a Hoagland culture medium containing 20% PEG6000. The results showed that the relative water content (RWC) and vine-tip fresh-weight reduction (VTFWR) in XS161819 were 1.17 and 1.14 times higher than those for the recognized drought-resistant variety Chaoshu 1. We conducted RNA-seq analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) on two genotypes, XS161819 and 18-12-3, which exhibited significant differences in drought resistance. The transcriptome analysis revealed that the hormone signaling pathway may play a crucial role in determining the drought resistance in sweetpotato. By applying WGCNA, we identified twenty-two differential expression modules, and the midnight blue module showed a strong positive correlation with drought resistance characteristics. Moreover, twenty candidate Hub genes were identified, including g47370 (AFP2), g14296 (CDKF), and g60091 (SPBC2A9), which are potentially involved in the regulation of drought resistance in sweetpotato. These findings provide important insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying drought resistance in sweetpotato and offer valuable genetic resources for the development of drought-resistant sweetpotato varieties in the future. Full article

The evaluation of leaf area provides valuable information for decision-making for the cassava yield trail. The objectives of this study were (1) to determine the relationship between the leaf area and yield of the segregating populations and (2) to investigate the suitable mathematical model for calculating cassava leaf area. The single-row trial for 60 segregating progenies of Kasetsart 50 × CMR38–125–77 was conducted from 2021 to 2022. The trial for eighteen progenies and the Kasetsart 50 and CMR38–125–77 was carried out in 2022. The sampled leaves for each genotype were collected to measure the leaf area. The length (L) and width of the central lobe (W), number of lobes (N), the product of the length and width (L × W; K), and the product of the length and number of lobes (L × N; J) were recorded for developing the mathematical models. The result showed that there were statistically significant correlations between the maximum individual leaf area and the total crop fresh weight and storage root fresh weight. The mathematical model LA = −3.39L + 2.04K + 1.01J − 15.10 is appropriate to estimate the maximum individual leaf area and leaf area index (LAI). This mathematical model also provided the estimated individual maximum leaf area that had the highest correlation with actual biomass at the final harvest as compared to the other three functions. The results showed statistical significance for the estimated LAI and biomass correlation. Full article

S-ovalbumin content is an indicator of egg freshness and has an important impact on the quality of processed foods. The objective of this study is to develop simplified models for monitoring the S-ovalbumin content of eggs during storage using hyperspectral imaging (HSI) and multivariate analysis. The hyperspectral images of egg samples at different storage periods were collected in the wavelength range of 401–1002 nm, and the reference S-ovalbumin content was determined by spectrophotometry. The standard normal variate (SNV) was employed to preprocess the raw spectral data. To simplify the calibration models, competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS) was applied to select feature wavelengths from the whole spectral range. Based on the full and feature wavelengths, partial least squares regression (PLSR) and least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) models were developed, in which the simplified LSSVM model yielded the best performance with a coefficient of determination for prediction (R²_P) of 0.918 and a root mean square error for prediction (RMSEP) of 7.215%. By transferring the quantitative model to the pixels of hyperspectral images, the visualizing distribution maps were generated, providing an intuitive and comprehensive evaluation for the S-ovalbumin content of eggs, which helps to understand the conversion of ovalbumin into S-ovalbumin during storage. The results provided the possibility of implementing a multispectral imaging technique for online monitoring the S-ovalbumin content of eggs. Full article

New-found interest in sweetpotato production in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S. has been steadily increasing in the last several years. Sweetpotatoes are usually grown for fresh market use and novel marketing strategies and new consumer niches are providing farmers options of growing new sweetpotato varieties with exciting colors and flavor profiles that are adapted to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S. Petite sweetpotatoes have gained market attention because they are easier to handle and faster to cook compared to U.S. No. 1 storage roots. The goal of this research was to determine the performance and adaptableness of eight commercial sweetpotato varieties and two unreleased accessions for U.S. No.1 and Petite sweetpotato production under black plastic mulch tailored for the mild temperate growing conditions of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S. Two in-row spacings (15 cm and 30 cm) and two harvest dates (90 and 120 days after planting, DAP) were evaluated during the 2018 and 2019 growing seasons. Our results showed that the ideal harvest time is at least 120 DAP compared to an early harvest at 90 DAP as there was a 2-fold difference in marketable yield at both 15 and 30 cm in-row spacing with marketable yield between 20 and 54 t ha⁻¹. ‘Averre’ and ‘Beauregard’ produced the highest U.S. No. 1 and Petite yields under both in-row spacing treatments harvested at 120 DAP for both years evaluated, though the general effect of in-row spacing and DAP interaction (separate years) on yield performance was cultivar specific. We also found that growing degree days is a better predictor for harvest than days after planting, with an accumulation of at least ~700 GDD (base temperature 15.5 °C) or ~1300 GDD (base temperature 10 °C) for both U.S. No. 1 and Petite roots. Additional studies are required to identify the stability of cultivars tested and treatments imposed with environmental interactions in this region. In addition, there is an urgency for updated sweetpotato management practices exclusively designed for sweetpotato varieties for the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S. Full article

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of seasonal variation on canopy size, and the effect of canopy size on light penetration of ‘Rayong 9′ cassava under irrigated and rainfed conditions. Rayong 9 was planted under two water regimes in a randomized complete block design with four replications in May and November for two years. At final harvest, years were significantly different (p ≤ 0.05) for biomass, shoot dry weight, and harvest index and contributed to large portions of total variations in shoot dry weight (56.8%) and HI (44.5%). Planting date was a significant source of variations in all measured characters, and it contributed to the largest portions of variations in biomass, storage root dry weight and storage root fresh weight (46.1–60.9%). Water regimes were not significantly different for most characters except for harvest index (p ≤ 0.01). The canopy of the crop planted in May grew rapidly in early growth stages in the rainy season and then slowly after the rainy season. The canopy of the crop planted in November grew rapidly in the middle to the late growth stages. Irrigation did not significantly increase root yield although it slightly increased canopy development, leaf area index (LAI), light penetration and photosynthesis. Irrigation at the late growth stages of the crop planted in May significantly increased storage root yield. Irrigation at these growth stages helped maintain canopy development, LAI and light penetration. Full article