Effect of suboptimal growing conditions induced by agroecological practices on the yield of 12 Cavendish banana cultivars

Influence of water activity and temperature on growth and mycotoxin production by isolates of Pyrenophora tritici-repentis from wheat

Treatment of Escherichia coli O157:H7 with lactic acid, neutralized electrolyzed oxidizing water and chlorine dioxide followed by growth under sub-optimal conditions of temperature, pH and modified atmosphere

Introduction: With regard to increasing population of country, need to high agricultural production is essential. The most suitable method for this issue is high production per area unit. Preparation much food and other environmental resources with conservation of biotic resources for futures will be possible only with optimum exploitation of soil. Among effective factors for the most production balanced addition of fertilizers increases production of crops higher than the others. With attention to this topic, determination of soil fertility degree is essential tobetter use of fertilizers and right exploitation of soils. Using fuzzy logic and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) could be useful in accurate determination of soil fertility degree. Materials and Methods: The study area (at the east of Rasht city) is located between 49° 31' to 49° 45' E longitude and 37° 7' to 37° 27' N latitude in north of Guilan Province, northern Iran, in the southern coast of the Caspian sea. 117 soil samples were derived from0-30 cm depth in the study area. Air-dried soil samples were crushed and passed through a 2mm sieve. Available phosphorus, potassium and organic carbon were determined by sodium bicarbonate, normal ammonium acetate and corrected walkly-black method, respectively. In the first stage, the interpolation of data was done by kriging method in GIS context. Then S-shape membership function was defined for each parameter and prepared fuzzy map. After determination of membership function weight parameters maps were determined using AHP technique and finally soil fertility map was prepared with overlaying of weighted fuzzy maps. Relative variance and correlation coefficient criteria used tocontrol groups separation accuracy in fuzzy fertility map. Results and Discussion: With regard to minimum amounts of parameters looks some lands of study area had fertility difficulty. Therefore, soil fertility map of study area distinct these lands and present soil fertility groups for better management of soil and plant nutrition. Weight of soil parameters was0.54, 0.29 and 0.17 for organic carbon, available phosphor and potassium, respectively. Fuzzy map of study area includes five soil fertility groups as: 22.9% very high fertility, 27.7% high fertility, 35.53% medium fertility, 10.48% low fertility and 3.39% very low fertility. Consequently, a separated map for soil fertility prepared to evaluate soil fertility of study area for rice cultivation. Toinvestigatethe efficiency of fuzzy model and AHP in increasing the accuracy of soil fertility map, soil fertility map with Boolean method prepared as well. Boolean map showed 58.88% fertile and 41.12% unfertile.15 soil samples from different soil fertility groups of study area were derived fromcontrol of maps accuracy. 13 renewed samples of 15 and 9 soil samples have matched with fuzzy and Boolean map, respectively. Comparison of parameters mean in fuzzy map fertility groups showed that parameters mean amounts of very high and high fertility groups are higher than optimum level except potassium that is a few lower than optimum level in high fertility group, therefore, addition of fertilizers in these groups could not be useful to increase rice crop production. Phosphorus parameter amount is lower than the critical level in very low, low and medium fertility groups, then in these groups phosphorus fertilizer should be added to the soil toincreaserice production. The amount of potassium parameter is higher than the critical level and lower than optimum limit in very low, low, medium and high fertility groups, then in these groups addition of potassium fertilizer will results in theincrease of production. Organic carbon amount is lower than optimum level in very low and low fertility groups. With regard to the relation between organic carbon andnitrogen and phosphorus, therefore, the addition of organic carbon fertilizer could compensate deficit of nitrogen and phosphorus in these groups as well. Attention to the presented explanations and comparison of fuzzy and Boolean maps using parameters amounts in renewed sampling points for control of maps accuracy, it is distinct that fuzzy logic could influencetheoptimum using of fertilizers with increasing map efficiency and accuracy. In addition, relative variance and correlation coefficient amounts showed that fuzzy map has separatedquite wellparameters changes. Conclusion: Effective parameters in soil fertility, includingorganic carbon, phosphorus and potassium were used topreparesoil fertility map for rice cultivation. With regard to the minimum amounts of parameters looks some lands of study area had fertility difficulty. Therefore, soil fertility map of study area distinct these lands and presents soil fertility groups tobetter management of soil and plant nutrition. Fuzzy and Boolean methods were used topreparesoil fertility map. Comparison of these two approaches showed that fuzzy method with AHP caused to increase theefficiency and accuracy of fertility map for rice. Separated and distinguish soil fertility groups in fuzzy map help suitable distribution and optimum use of fertilizers for rice production.

\nThis study objective was to determine the dose of organic and inorganic fertilizers which can increase N, P and K nutrients uptake as well as the growth and yield of sweet corn on inceptisol soil of lowland swamp. Inceptisol soil has low soil fertility and relatively low to moderate levels of organic matter content. Application of organic fertilizer on inceptisol soil of lowland swampis expected capable to increase N, P and K nutrients as well as yield of sweet corn. This research was conducted from April to July 2014 at Experimental Farm Area of Pulau Semambu Village, Indralaya Utara Subdistrict, Ogan Ilir District, South Sumatra Province. The method used in this research was randomized block design consisting treatments as follows: 75% inorganic fertilizer + 5 ton.ha−1organic fertilizer, 50% inorganic fertilizer + 5 ton.ha−1organic fertilizer, 25% inorganic fertilizer + 5 ton.ha−1 organic fertilizer, 0% inorganic fertilizer + 5 ton.ha−1organic fertilizer with six replications. The recommended dose of inorganic fertilizerswas 200 kg.ha−1 urea, 100 kg.ha−1 SP-36 and 100 kg. ha−1 KCl. The results showed that treatment of 75% of inorganic fertilizer + 5 ton.ha−1organic fertilizer had produced N, P and K nutrients uptake with magnitude of 1.850, 0.418 and 2.374 g.plant−1 respectively as well as good growth and yield of sweet corn with magnitude of 356.36 g. plant−1or 15.21 ton ha−1.\n

BackgroundThis study used data from recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) to examine the impact of high parity on under-five and neonatal mortality. The analyses used various techniques to attempt eliminating selection issues, including stratification of analyses by mothers’ completed fertility.MethodsWe analyzed DHS datasets from 47 low- and middle-income countries. We only used data from women who were age 35 or older at the time of survey to have a measure of their completed fertility. We ran log-binominal regression by country to calculate relative risk between parity and both under-five and neonatal mortality, controlled for wealth quintile, maternal education, urban versus rural residence, maternal age at first birth, calendar year (to control for possible time trends), and birth interval. We then controlled for maternal background characteristics even further by using mothers’ completed fertility as a proxy measure.ResultsWe found a statistically significant association between high parity and child mortality. However, this association is most likely not physiological, and can be largely attributed to the difference in background characteristics of mothers who complete reproduction with high fertility versus low fertility. Children of high completed fertility mothers have statistically significantly increased risk of death compared to children of low completed fertility mothers at every birth order, even after controlling for available confounders (i.e. among children of birth order 1, adjusted RR of under-five mortality 1.58, 95% CI: 1.42, 1.76). There appears to be residual confounders that put children of high completed fertility mothers at higher risk, regardless of birth order. When we examined the association between parity and under-five mortality among mothers with high completed fertility, it remained statistically significant, but negligible in magnitude (i.e. adjusted RR of under-five mortality 1.03, 95% CI: 1.02-1.05).ConclusionsOur analyses strongly suggest that the observed increased risk of mortality associated with high parity births is not driven by a physiological link between parity and mortality. We found that at each birth order, children born to women who have high fertility at the end of their reproductive period are at significantly higher mortality risk than children of mothers who have low fertility, even after adjusting for available confounders. With each unit increase in birth order, a larger proportion of births at the population level belongs to mothers with these adverse characteristics correlated with high fertility. Hence it appears as if mortality rates go up with increasing parity, but not for physiological reasons.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected various sectors, including agriculture. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of smallholder farmers in Morocco's Fez-Meknes and Marrakesh-Safi regions regarding the potential effects of the pandemic on agricultural systems and the adoption of agroecological practices during the lockdown. The findings showed that farmers implemented diverse agroecological practices such as intercropping, organic fertilization, and local seed usage. However, the pandemic negatively affected the regular course of ag-ricultural practices of 51.6% of the participants. The majority expressed concerns about market closures, labor availability, access to agricultural materials, and fertilizers. Farmers with more than two hectares of land were the most affected and less likely to embrace agroecological practices, whereas those with less than two hectares continuously adopted these practices and were less affected by COVID-19. Although 54.7% of the respondents reported no changes in their dependence on agroecological practices, 41.1% indicated that this dependency increased after the COVID-19 crisis. Understanding farmers' behavior during the pandemic can inform future agricultural policies that prioritize healthy and sustainable food production. This study underscores the importance of investing in agriculture and building resilience to ensure sustainable food systems in the face of future crises.

Brazil has approximately 30 million hectares of lowland areas, known locally as “Varzea,” but very little is known about their fertility and crop production potential. A field experiment was conducted for three consecutive years to evaluate response of lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.) grown in rotation with common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) on a Varzea (low, Humic Gley) soil. Rice was grown at low (no fertilizer), medium (100 kg N ha−1, 44 kg P ha−1, 50 kg K ha−1, 40 kg FTE-BR 12 ha−1), and high (200 kg N ha−1, 88 kg P ha−1, 100 kg K ha−1, 80 kg FTE-BR 12 ha−1 fritted trace element-Brazil 12 as a source of micronutrients) soil fertility levels. Green manure with medium fertility was also included as an additional treatment. Average dry matter and grain yields of rice and common bean were significantly (P < 0.01) increased with increasing fertilization. Across the three years, rice yield was 4327 kg ha−1 at low fertility, 5523 kg ha−1 at medium fertility, 5465 kg ha−1 at high fertility, and 6332 kg ha−1 at medium fertility with green manure treatment. Similarly, average common bean yield was 294 kg ha−1 at low soil fertility, 663 kg ha−1 at medium soil fertility, 851 kg ha−1 at high fertility, and 823 kg ha−1 at medium fertility with green manure treatment. Significant differences in nutrient uptake in bean were observed for fertility, year, and their interactions; however, these factors were invariably nonsignificant in rice.

The total phenolic content and jasmonic acid (JA) content of foliage from gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii ‘Festival Salmon’) subjected to low and high fertilization rates were measured to determine effects of fertilization on phytochemicals implicated in defense of insect pests. Gerbera seedlings were fertilized with low (only supplied with initial fertilizer charge present in professional growing media) or high (200 mg·liter−1 N; recommended rate) fertilization rates. Since JA is induced in response to wounding, treatments consisted of ± mechanical wounding with a hemostat to one physiologically mature leaf and the subsequent harvest of that leaf at specified time intervals (0, 0.5, 1, 3, and 10 h) for JA quantification. Total phenolic content was measured in mature and newly formed leaves. Plants receiving low fertility had reduced aboveground dry mass, were deficient in nitrogen and phosphorous, and had approximately a 9-fold higher concentration of total phenolics in mature leaf tissue compared to high fertility plants. Newly formed leaves had greater concentrations of phenolics than mature leaves in low fertility plants. In response to wounding, JA accumulation was more rapid and higher concentrations of JA were sustained longer in low fertility plants than in high fertility plants. These results show that altering fertilization does affect phytochemicals implicated in defense against insect pests, and these chemical defenses are increased in the foliage of low fertility gerberas.

Organic fertilizer can improve soil management and alleviate soil nutrient loss caused by excessive fertilization. This study determines a fertilization scheme that can achieve high and stable crop yield and effective soil fertilization by exploring the effects of different organic fertilizer proportions on soil nutrient content, fertilizer utilization rate, and wheat yield. The experiment was conducted from 2018 to 2020 using the Xinchun 38 wheat variety and gray desert soil. The experiment used six treatments: no fertilizer (CK), with normal nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer (CF). The amount of conventional chemical nitrogen fertilizer was reduced by 6%, 12%, 18%, and 24%, respectively, and supplemented with organic nitrogen fertilizer of the same proportion. The experimental treatment codes were SF6, SF12, SF18, and SF24, respectively. Plant samples from six wheat growth stages and 0–20 cm soil samples were collected to analyze the nitrogen and phosphorus content and organic matter; dry matter accumulation, crop yield, and yield components were measured at the harvest stage. Soil available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and soil organic matter contents increased with the replacement ratio of organic fertilizer after three consecutive years of application. The available nutrients and organic matter in soil treated with SF18 and SF24 were significantly higher than those in CK and CF. The dry matter accumulation and nutrient accumulation of wheat increased with increasing organic fertilizer replacement rates of SF18 and SF24, respectively. Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer utilization rates, partial productivity, and agricultural use efficiency also increased, with the SF18 and SF24 treatments having higher organic fertilizer replacement rates than those in the other treatments. The number of ears, 1000-grain weight, and yield of wheat treated with SF18 treatment produced the best results. Therefore, continuously using organic fertilizer as a partial replacement for conventional fertilizer can increase wheat growth and soil nutrient availability, which can improve the utilization rate of fertilizer, thereby achieving stability and even a significant increase in yield.

Effects of suboptimal growth conditions on the subsequent UV-C resistance of Listeria monocytogenes in coconut liquid endosperm and apple juice

Temperature Dependence of Chlorophyll Fluorescence Induction and Photosynthesis in Tomato as Affected by Temperature and Light Conditions During Growth

Rhizobial symbiotic interactions are known for nitrogen fixation, providing commercial crops and other plants with self-sufficiency in nitrogen requirements. An enormous contribution from nitrogen fixation is vital to the global nitrogen cycle. The symbiotic nitrogen reduces the carbon footprint of crop cultivation, which underlines its importance in agricultural sustainability. Extensive research efforts have been made to understand the symbiotic relationship at molecular, physiological, and ecological levels. This led to the isolation and modification of symbiotic strains for enhanced nitrogen efficiency. During the evaluation of strains for nitrogen fixation in exchange for supporting the bacterium in terms of space and resources, it has been observed that the accrued benefits to the host plants extend well beyond the nitrogen fixation. The symbiotic interaction has been advantageous to the host for better growth and development, tolerating a stressful environment, and even keeping the pathogenic microbial enemies at bay. Additionally, it enabled the availability of the mineral nutrients, which otherwise were inaccessible to the host. In this chapter, we bring together the information with a focus on the role of rhizobial symbiotic interactions that promote plant growth and productivity through phytohormone synthesis, by facilitating the availability of mineral nutrients, and by improving the plant tolerance to sub-optimal growth conditions.

Trifolium ambiguum was grown from seed in a mixture with Festuca arundinacea and Phalaris aquatica at four grass densities under high fertility, and at two intermediate grass densities under low fertility, with frequent or infrequent defoliation imposed from week 15 to week 31, in large pots for 1 year. Selective defoliation of the clover at week 35, and 3-4 weeks drought were imposed on high and low fertility treatments in the post-cutting period. The impact of these treatments was assessed by destructive harvest of shoots, roots and rhizomes. Plant densities of T. ambiguum and grasses were unaffected by the treatments; however, rhizome numbers were reduced by increasing density of grasses, by frequent defoliation, and at high fertility compared with low fertility where grass vigour was very poor. Selective defoliation of T. ambiguum and short-term drought temporarily reduced the contribution of T. ambiguum to harvested herbage, but had no permanent effect on growth rate. Final root and rhizome biomass of T. ambiguum was reduced by increasing density of grass, by frequent defoliation and at high fertility where grass competition was vigorous. We conclude that early growth of T. ambiguum, in particular root and rhizome development, may be better where the density of companion grasses is low, or grass vigour is low due to low fertility, provided soil P and S are not limiting for clover growth. Defoliation in the presence of vigorous grass competition reduces root and rhizome development and may not be effective in minimizing competition. Options for inclusion of T. ambiguum in mixed swards are discussed.

The identification of molecular markers for fertility is critical for the sustainability of livestock production. We profiled small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) in sperm from rams with high fertility (HF) and low fertility (LF) phenotypes to uncover their roles in ram sperm fertility. Rams were categorized into high-fertility (HF, n = 31; 94.5 ± 2.8%) and low-fertility (LF, n = 25; 83.1 ± 5.73%) phenotypes based on pregnancy rates (average 89.4 ± 7.2%). From these, sperm samples of HF (n = 4; pregnancy rate 99.2 ± 1.6%) and LF (n = 4; pregnancy rate 73.6 ± 4.4%) rams underwent sncRNA sequencing. Small RNA sequencing produced 14,962,876 reads in LF rams and 17,401,094 reads in HF rams, showing distinct sncRNA biotypes, including miRNAs, tRNAs, snoRNAs, snRNAs, and rRNAs. Among these, miRNAs comprised 7.12% of reads in LF rams and 3.78% in HF rams, while rRNAs and repeats formed significant proportions in both groups. A total of 1673 known and 627 novel miRNAs were identified, with 227 differentially expressed miRNAs between the HF and LF groups. We showed that key miRNAs, such as oar-miR-200b and oar-miR-370-3p, were upregulated in HF sperm, while downregulated miRNAs in LF, such as oar-miR-26b and oar-let-7d, were associated with impaired sperm function and DNA fragmentation. A functional enrichment analysis of miRNA target genes highlighted pathways related to ribonucleoprotein complex biogenesis, RNA processing, and gene expression regulation. These findings establish the critical role of sperm sncRNAs as regulators of fertility and potential biomarkers in breeding soundness tests for the precision farming of livestock for global food security.

Cold adapted microorganisms are gaining importance in view of their ability to colonize extreme low temperature environments. These microorganisms are emerging as promising source of bioactive metabolites. The Himalaya represent one of the 34 globally recognized biodiversity hotspots due to their unique and rich biodiversity. Documentation of microbial diversity from the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) has received attention in the last two decades. The culturable microbial diversity studied in soils from high altitudes in IHR exhibited predominance of cold adapted ascomycetes fungi. Morphological and molecular characterization placed maximum number of these fungal species in the genera Penicillium, Aspergillus, Paecilomyces, Trichoderma, Cladosporium and Phialophora. Polyextremophily (tolerance to a wide range of temperature, pH and salt concentration) was one of the remarkable characteristics of these fungi. Furthermore, elevated sporulation, overproduction of enzymes and bioactive metabolites (pigments, in particular), with respect to temperature stress were observed as other characteristics of these fungi. These characteristics were attributed to the adaptation strategies of these organisms in extreme low temperature environments, along with the ‘‘resilience dependent biotechnological applications’’. Case studies exhibited the importance of ‘‘suboptimal growth conditions’’ in overproduction of metabolites that mediate ecological processes such as lignin degradation, phosphate solubilization and biocontrol.