Search Results (2,508)

Weathered acidic soils are characterized by severe phosphorus (P) fixation and aluminum (Al³⁺) toxicity, limiting crop productivity. Integrated nutrient management (INM), combining mineral fertilizers, organic amendments, and biofertilizers, offers a promising strategy to overcome these constraints. Unlike conventional single-site fertilizer comparisons, this study examined how mineral, organic, and phosphate-solubilizing biological inputs interact with contrasting acidic soil environments across successive seasons, allowing simultaneous assessment of immediate crop productivity and residual soil fertility. Field experiments were conducted over two consecutive cropping seasons (2022–2023 and 2023–2024) at three sites in Tete Province, Mozambique: Ntengo-wa-mbalame, Rinzi, and Angónia Research and Technology Transfer Centre (CITTA). The experiment followed a 2 × 3 × 11 factorial arrangement in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Eleven treatments comprising mineral N, P, K, and S fertilizers, vermicompost, and a multifunctional multi-strain phosphate-solubilizing biofertilizer (Bio-Rock P) were evaluated. Soil chemical properties and crop performance were influenced by site and season (p ≤ 0.001). Ntengo-wa-mbalame had the most favorable fertility, achieving a maximum yield of 34.96 t ha⁻¹ in Year 1, whereas high acidity and exchangeable Al at Rinzi restricted canopy development and increased small, non-commercial tubers (<45 mm). Across sites, exclusive mineral fertilization showed numerical trends toward greater soil pH declines (up to 26%), whereas INM treatments maintained more stable soil pH levels (declines limited to 2.2–10.8%) and significantly reduced toxic exchangeable Al³⁺ down to 0.03 cmol_c kg⁻¹, likely through organo-metallic complexation. Treatments combining mineral inputs, vermicompost, and biofertilizers, particularly T7, showed strong residual effects, increasing available P from 55.34 to 87.02 mg kg⁻¹ by Year 2 while maintaining marketable tuber yields and nutrient recovery statistically comparable to or exceeding mineral fertilization. PCA showed that P agronomic efficiency (P-AE) was positively associated with biomass, tuber number, and total tuber yield. Overall, INM improved nutrient availability, moderated soil acidity and Al toxicity, and supported potato productivity, providing an ecologically sustainable strategy for fragile tropical agrosystems. Full article

Bioprospecting is the identification and exploitation of natural resources for commercial purposes. Cheese whey is a major dairy by-product rich in nutrients and a possible source of bioactive compounds. The aim of this study was to isolate and identify lactic acid bacteria from cheese whey and characterize them based on their probiotic and technological properties, together with their cytotoxicity and cytoprotective effect on intestinal epithelial cells. From 142 isolates, three were selected as potential probiotic strains; all three were identified as Limosilactobacillus fermentum by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The strains co-aggregated with pathogenic bacteria (up to 52.7%), scavenged the ABTS^●+ radical cation (10–70%), produced 374–459 mg/L of exopolysaccharides and tolerated sucrose, NaCl and CaCl₂ at the concentrations tested. L. fermentum VM016, VM023 and VM030 showed no cytotoxicity at 10⁷ CFU/mL and showed a cytoprotective effect against the oxidative stress of menadione at concentrations as low as 10⁴ CFU/mL in IEC-18 cells, and 10⁵ CFU/mL in Caco-2 cells. These results show that cheese whey retains a cultivable lactic acid bacteria fraction already adapted to the physicochemical conditions of the dairy matrix, from which autochthonous cultures can be recovered exhibiting probiotic potential, technological suitability, and favorable preliminary safety indicators for human consumption. Full article

Soil health is fundamental to sustainable agriculture, crop productivity, and vital ecosystem services. However, climate change increasingly threatens the functional integrity of soil due to rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, and extreme weather events. These factors accelerate soil degradation and disrupt the physical, chemical, and biological processes essential for maintaining soil health. This review synthesizes recent evidence regarding the impacts of climate change on soil health and crop production, while also evaluating sustainable management strategies designed to enhance agricultural resilience. Techniques such as conservation agriculture, organic matter management, diversified cropping systems, and integrated nutrient management can improve soil structure, nutrient cycling, water retention, carbon sequestration, and overall crop productivity. Furthermore, emerging technologies offer new opportunities for real-time, site-specific, and data-driven soil management. These technologies include remote sensing, geographic information systems, artificial intelligence, digital agriculture, and advanced soil monitoring tools. Additionally, policy and socioeconomic factors—particularly financial incentives, extension services, and institutional support—are critical in encouraging farmers to adopt these practices. Despite recent advancements, challenges such as economic barriers, technological limitations, regional variability, and a lack of long-term evidence hinder the widespread implementation of sustainable soil health practices. This review provides an integrated perspective that links climate-driven changes in soil’s physical, chemical, and biological properties with sustainable management practices, emerging technologies, and policy support. It highlights the interactions and trade-offs among these components to promote climate-resilient and sustainable agricultural systems. Full article

Nitrogen pollution and eutrophication are among the most significant environmental challenges affecting coastal ecosystems worldwide, stimulating interest in sustainable nutrient-removal strategies. Marine macroalgae have emerged as promising biological tools for nutrient biofiltration owing to their rapid growth, high nutrient uptake capacity, and ability to convert dissolved nitrogen into valuable biomass. This review examines the mechanisms underlying nitrogen utilization in marine macroalgae and their implications for photosynthetic regulation, biofiltration efficiency, and biomass valorization. Particular emphasis is given to the uptake and assimilation of nitrate, ammonium, urea, and dissolved organic nitrogen, as well as the physiological pathways governing nitrogen metabolism and photosynthetic performance. The interactions between nitrogen availability, chlorophyll synthesis, photochemical efficiency, and electron transport are discussed to highlight the central role of nitrogen in macroalgal productivity. The review further evaluates the application of marine macroalgae in wastewater treatment, integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA), land-based aquaculture effluent remediation, and coastal nutrient management. Key environmental and operational factors influencing biofiltration efficiency, including light, temperature, salinity, water flow, seasonal variability, and species selection, are critically assessed. In addition, the potential for biomass valorization following nutrient recovery is explored, focusing on protein production, nutraceutical compounds, phycocolloids, agricultural biostimulants, and other high-value bioproducts that support circular bioeconomy approaches. Finally, future research directions are identified, with particular attention to climate change impacts, multifunctional cultivation systems, omics-based technologies, physiological modeling, and large-scale implementation challenges. Overall, marine macroalgae represent a sustainable and multifunctional solution for nutrient remediation, resource recovery, and biomass production, offering significant opportunities for advancing environmentally responsible aquaculture, wastewater management, and blue bioeconomy development. Full article

Climate change is accelerating soil degradation, threatening agricultural sustainability and soil climate resilience. Key climate stressors include drought, altered precipitation, extreme rainfall, erosion and salinization. Artificial Intelligence (AI), combined with advanced sensing technologies, offers new opportunities for data-driven soil management under dynamic environmental conditions. This review aims to critically examine recent advances in AI-based approaches for soil monitoring, modelling and decision support, with an emphasis on soil management practices that can contribute to enhancing soil climate resilience. We analyze machine learning and deep learning methods applied to multisource data, from field observations, laboratory analyses, proximal sensing, remote sensing, meteorological records, geospatial information and agricultural management data, to predict key soil properties, including moisture, nutrient status, carbon dynamics and indicators of degradation. A total of 106 peer-reviewed studies were analysed. This review further explores AI-driven strategies for adaptive soil management, including precision irrigation, fertilization management and early-warning systems for drought, salinity and soil degradation. Key challenges, such as data heterogeneity, model explainability, sensor reliability and transferability across soil types and climates, are also discussed. Finally, emerging directions, including explainable AI, multimodal data fusion and digital soil twins, are highlighted, positioning AI-enabled sensing as a basis for climate-resilient soil management. Full article

This study evaluated dose-dependent effects of dietary N-carbamylglutamate (NCG) on muscle growth, nutrient composition, and metabolic profiles in Danzhou chickens. A total of 480 one-day-old female Danzhou chicks were randomly assigned to diets supplemented with 0, 400, 800, or 1200 mg/kg NCG for 35 days and slaughtered at 35 days of age. NCG at 400–800 mg/kg improved growth performance, increased crude protein and free amino acids (arginine, methionine), and altered fatty acid composition in a muscle-specific manner, with increased breast-muscle MUFA and decreased leg-muscle arachidonic acid and DHA; total PUFA did not differ. Histological analysis showed that NCG increased leg-muscle fiber cross-sectional area and Feret diameter, accompanied by a reduction in fiber density. Mechanistically, NCG altered the mRNA expression of IRS2, IGF1, MyoG, AKT1, and FOXO1 in a manner consistent with modulation of the IGF-1/IRS2/PI3K/Akt/FoxO1 axis. Metabolomics suggested an association with purine metabolism; however, this finding is exploratory and does not establish causality. Integrated multi-omics revealed crosstalk between purine and lipid metabolism. Among the doses tested, 800 mg/kg produced the largest response for several endpoints; however, no formal dose-optimization model was fitted, and the optimal dose remains to be determined. The 1200 mg/kg dose did not further improve most endpoints, indicating a nonlinear dose response. This study provides the first multi-omics evidence demonstrates that NCG modulates muscle growth, nutrient composition, and metabolic profiles in indigenous chickens through coordinated regulation of anabolic signaling, purine metabolism, and lipid remodeling. Direct meat-quality measurements were not performed; therefore, effects on eating quality, technological quality, oxidative stability, and consumer preference remain to be established. Full article

Soil contamination by potentially toxic elements (PTEs) remains a major global challenge due to their persistence, toxicity, and bioaccumulation capacity. Despite being widely used for the ex situ remediation of soils polluted by organic contaminants, bioslurry reactors (BSRs) have been scarcely employed for the bioremediation of PTE-polluted soils. BSRs are indeed capable of treating a wide range of contaminated soils, which are often unsuitable for remediation by conventional biological treatments. BSRs allow control of mixing, aeration, and nutrient conditions, thus enhancing mass transfer, pollutant desorption, and microbe–pollutant interactions. In addition, diverse microbial metabolic mechanisms can be exploited to mobilize or transform PTEs through bioleaching, redox reactions, complexation, and acid generation. Numerous studies have demonstrated substantial removal efficiencies for PTEs, such as Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Zn, and As. Despite their advantages, large-scale implementation of BSRs faces challenges related to operational costs, reactor design, energy demand, and the need for precise control of physicochemical parameters. Advances in microorganism immobilization, genetic engineering, and online parameter monitoring may represent levers for a wider application of this technology. This review represents the first systematical attempt to address the issue of BSR application to PTE-polluted soil remediation. The principles of BSR functioning are discussed together with the mechanisms of microbial bioleaching, highlighting the potentialities of BSR technology and addressing gaps and opportunities to fully exploit BSRs as a sustainable and economically viable tool for remediating PTE-polluted soils. Full article

Artificial intelligence (AI) provides significant benefits for hydroponic systems by enabling precise nutrient management, efficient water recycling, and predictive decision support. However, adoption of AI in Omani hydroponic operations remains inconsistent, and the mechanisms linking contextual factors to farm-level performance are not well understood. This study investigates how technological, organizational, and environmental conditions relate to AI adoption, the association between adoption and perceived performance, and the mediating role of adoption in this relationship. An exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach, based on the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) framework, was employed. Data from nineteen interviews produced 563 coded references, and that material then shaped the item wording of a structured survey we administered to seventy-nine respondents. Reliability analysis using Cronbach’s alpha demonstrated acceptable to excellent internal consistency (α = 0.71–0.92). All three TOE dimensions were significant predictors of AI adoption (β = 0.29–0.33; R² = 0.58). AI adoption emerged as the sole significant direct predictor of perceived performance (β = 0.70; R² = 0.67), with none of the TOE dimensions retaining a significant direct association. Bootstrap analysis with five thousand resamples confirmed significant indirect effects for the Technological and Environmental dimensions, while the indirect effect for the Organizational dimension was inconclusive: its confidence interval crossing zero—a pattern we read as jointly reflecting heterogeneous organizational capacity across farms and the limited statistical power of a study this size for smaller effects. This study advances the TOE framework within Gulf-region hydroponic agriculture, identifies AI adoption as a key mediating mechanism, and provides evidence-based recommendations for policymakers, agricultural institutions, and technology providers. Since we define performance here in terms of water recycling, resource use and yield stability, the observed associations speak directly to sustainable production in arid settings. Full article

Hulless barley (Hordeum vulgare L. var. nudum) is a nutritious cereal but suffers from prolonged cooking and asynchronous gelatinization with rice. Pre-gelatinization technology can address these issues, yet optimal processing parameters are needed to preserve its bioactive components. This study optimized the infiltration and drying processes for pre-gelatinized hulless barley rice. Infiltration cycles and durations were evaluated using sensory scores, texture analysis, and gelatinization degree; drying temperatures (80–160 °C) and times were optimized based on quality and nutrient retention. Secondary infiltration for 4 h significantly outperformed traditional soaking, yielding higher retention of polyphenols (130.73 mg/100 g), flavonoids (50.01 mg/100 g), and β-glucan (2.96%). Drying at 80–100 °C for 90–120 min produced the best sensory and textural properties, maximal retention of polyphenols (128.46 mg/100 g), flavonoids (45 mg/100 g), β-glucan (3.1%), and reducing sugars (482.84 mg/100 g at 80 °C/120 min), and the highest DPPH and ABTS⁺ radical scavenging activities. Higher temperatures (≥120 °C) caused significant degradation of these functional components and reduced antioxidant capacity. The optimal combination—secondary infiltration for 4 h followed by drying at 80–100 °C for 90–120 min—effectively balances processing efficiency with nutritional and functional quality. This optimized process provides a practical technical solution for large-scale production of high-quality pre-gelatinized hulless barley rice. Full article

Extrusion technology enables the development of nutrient-dense snacks, but most commercial extrudates rely on nutrient-poor cereal flours. This study evaluates the effect of the incorporation of mushroom-fermented flours (MFF) from Ganoderma sessile (GS) and Pleurotus ostreatus (PO), at increasing substitution levels, on the physicochemical, structural, nutritional, and functional (bioactive) properties of corn-based extrudates, relative to a corn control. Partial substitution (10–20%) significantly reduced expansion index and hardness, and reduced or maintained density, relative to the corn control, without causing structural collapse. At 100% substitution, the two species diverged sharply: GS100 retained an expansion index statistically indistinguishable from the corn control and a density numerically closer to, though still significantly different from, the corn control, while developing a markedly lower final pasting viscosity than the corn-containing formulations; PO100 produced the highest density and lowest expansion index of the entire data set, with an essentially flat pasting profile, despite both flours showing comparable shifts in protein, ash, and carbohydrate content. Incorporation of MFF markedly increased protein, ash, total phenols, triterpenes, and reducing power relative to the corn control, with the largest gains at 100% substitution; free radical-scavenging capacity increased significantly only in the 100% MFF extrudates. These results demonstrate that solid-state fermentation combined with extrusion is an effective strategy for producing nutritionally and functionally enhanced snacks. Full article

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), the fifth-most important cereal crop globally, serves as a cornerstone crop for food security, forage production, and bioenergy feedstock on arid and semi-arid marginal lands, owing to its high water use efficiency derived from C4 photosynthesis and exceptional tolerance to abiotic stresses. Conventional sorghum breeding has long been constrained by insufficient genetic dissection of complex traits, the “black box” of genotype-to-phenotype mapping, and poorly understood genotype-by-environment interactions, resulting in stagnant genetic gain. In recent years, rapid advances in multi-omics technologies—including genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, single-cell omics, and microbiomics—have propelled sorghum research from single-gene mapping to systems-level dissection of regulatory networks, providing a novel paradigm for elucidating the molecular basis of agronomic traits across all molecular layers and breaking through the bottlenecks of conventional breeding. This review systematically synthesizes recent advances in sorghum multi-omics research, dissecting the molecular basis of key agronomic traits across distinct omics layers. We summarize the integrated multi-omics precision breeding technology system and elaborate on the practical applications of multi-omics approaches for four core breeding objectives: stress tolerance, yield, quality, and nutrient use efficiency. Finally, we discuss current challenges and future perspectives, aiming to provide a theoretical framework and technical reference for molecular design breeding in sorghum. Full article

Background: Growing evidence suggests that the structural integrity of plant tissues is an important determinant of starch digestibility and postprandial metabolic responses in cereals, legumes, and starch-rich foods. This narrative review evaluates the influence of botanical tissue architecture and the degree of milling on physicochemical properties, product quality, starch digestibility, and metabolic responses in cereal- and legume-based foods. Methods: The evidence was critically synthesized from studies on physicochemical characterization, in vitro starch digestibility, acute postprandial and long-term human intervention studies, and relevant systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Results: The preservation of intact cells, cellular aggregates, and coarser flour fractions limits water penetration and delays starch swelling and gelatinization, whereas extensive milling increases starch damage and susceptibility to enzymatic hydrolysis. Botanical origin further influences these effects, with legumes generally exhibiting lower starch digestibility than cereals because of their thicker and less permeable cell walls. Increasing the proportion of coarse flour fractions may also impair loaf volume, texture, processing performance, and consumer acceptability. Acute postprandial human intervention studies typically report attenuated glycemic responses following consumption of structurally preserved cereal- and legume-based foods, with several studies also showing improved insulinemic and incretin responses. However, human evidence is more heterogeneous than the relatively consistent in vitro evidence for slower starch hydrolysis with greater preservation of cellular structure, and these effects do not necessarily translate into lower postprandial glycemic responses. Evidence regarding appetite regulation and long-term metabolic outcomes remains limited or inconsistent. Conclusions: Cellular integrity and botanical structure are important but under-recognized determinants of carbohydrate functionality. Preserving plant tissue structure by controlling the degree of milling may contribute to the modulation of starch digestibility and postprandial metabolic responses. Integrating structural characteristics alongside nutrient composition may support the development of healthier cereal- and legume-based foods while maintaining technological functionality, consumer acceptability, and metabolic health. Full article

Improper disposal or open burning of agricultural waste releases smoke, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases, contributing to air pollution and climate change. The utilization of agricultural wastes as substrates for biofertilizer production offers a sustainable approach to waste valorization and nutrient recycling. This study evaluated the effects of agricultural waste type and contact time on the nutrient composition of Trichoderma sp.-based biofertilizer produced from sawdust, rice husk, and guinea corn husk. A factorial experiment was conducted using four substrates and four incubation periods (0, 5, 10, and 15 days). Nutrient parameters, including total nitrogen (TN %), phosphorus (P %), and potassium (K %), were determined and subjected to analysis of variance. The biofertilizer exhibited high microbial viability, with a highest propagule density of 6.46 × 10¹¹ CFU ml⁻¹, indicating successful fungal colonization. Significant (p < 0.0001) effects of substrate type, contact time, and their interaction were observed for all nutrient parameter accumulation. Total nitrogen increased with incubation time, reaching a maximum of 0.901% in guinea corn husk after 15 days. Rice husk recorded the highest phosphorus concentration (2.497%) at 15 days, while sawdust produced the greatest potassium concentration (2.389%) at 15 days. The results indicate that Trichoderma sp. effectively bio-converts agricultural residues into nutrient-rich biofertilizers, with substrate type influencing nutrient profiles. This technology represents a promising strategy for sustainable soil fertility management and circular agricultural production systems, depending on substrate type used and incubation time. Full article

Fresh and soft cheeses feature high moisture content, elevated water activity, and nutrient richness, creating favorable conditions for foodborne pathogens including Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus, which can contaminate products via post-pasteurization biofilm formation on processing equipment. Because conventional thermal and chemical preservation methods can compromise organoleptic and nutritional quality, biological control strategies have emerged as promising alternatives to enhance microbiological safety. This review critically evaluates three biopreservation modalities along their technological maturity gradient: bacteriophages and endolysins, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and bacteriocins, and postbiotics. Bacteriophages present high operational readiness, supported by regulatorily cleared commercial preparations; however, their lytic activity is frequently constrained by low temperatures, acidic pH, and matrix-bound fat. AMPs and bacteriocins—anchored by nisin—are extensively researched, with contemporary innovation focusing on advanced delivery vehicles, including active packaging, nanoencapsulation, and in situ bacteriocinogenic starter cultures, to preserve peptide stability throughout ripening. Postbiotics—here referring specifically to preparations consistent with the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) consensus definition of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components, as distinct from the cell-free supernatants and fermentates most often tested in cheese—offer good physicochemical stability and dose control, albeit with lower and more variable intrinsic antimicrobial potency. Across all modalities, multi-target hurdle approaches consistently outperform single-agent applications, with surface-targeted delivery representing the dominant engineering strategy. Persistent limitations across all strategies include post-treatment bacterial regrowth, matrix interference, non-standardized activity units, and unresolved regulatory status. Moving forward, standardized, full-shelf-life challenge trials in real cheese matrices under harmonized storage conditions are imperative to benchmark these biointerventions head-to-head against conventional methods and live protective cultures. Full article

Phosphogypsum (PG) is a bulk industrial solid waste generated during wet-process phosphoric acid production. Its agricultural use may improve specific soil properties but may also increase the risk of agricultural non-point-source pollution. Differences in phosphate-rock source, production process, degree of washing, stockpiling history, and treatment method result in substantial variation among PG materials in mineral composition and in the concentrations, modes of occurrence, and release potential of P, F, soluble salts, potentially toxic elements, and naturally occurring radionuclides. This review combines a structured literature search with a qualitative synthesis of risk evidence and uses agricultural soils, the root zone, and field boundaries as the principal assessment domains. It examines the release, transformation, immobilization, crop uptake, leaching below the root zone, and export through runoff, erosion, and drainage of PG-associated constituents. It also evaluates the mechanisms, pollutant partitioning, agronomic effects, and non-target risks of hazard-reduction and functionalization technologies. Available evidence indicates that the agronomic effects and environmental risks of PG cannot be assessed solely on the basis of total constituent concentrations, Ca and S supply, the results of a single leaching test, or short-term crop responses. They also depend on the releasable pollutant load, cumulative application rate, soil chemical and hydrological conditions, crop exposure, and long-term stability. Washing, leaching, separation, stabilization, thermal treatment, and biological treatment can reduce the concentrations or releasability of some pollutants in the treated solid but may also transfer pollutants to wastewater, sludge, residues, or gaseous streams. Following source traceability, risk screening, and treatment where necessary, PG may be used to ameliorate sodic soils, regulate nutrient availability, or stabilize some pollutants through ion exchange, adsorption, precipitation, surface complexation, and organic–mineral binding. Its effectiveness and associated risks depend on material properties, soil conditions, target pollutants, and application methods. Accordingly, this review proposes a conceptual framework for the safe utilization of PG that integrates source traceability, material classification, selective hazard-reduction treatment, functionalization design, soil–crop matching, tiered verification, and long-term monitoring. The framework identifies assessment priorities and management considerations for specific materials and application scenarios. Full article