Annals of Agricultural Science最新文献

Dynamis borassi Fabricius (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae) is widely distributed in South America and is an economic pest in commercially important palms (Arecaceae). In Colombia, peach palm production is of socio-economic importance in the Pacific region but has decreased dramatically due to a weevil complex that attacks the top of the palm. Dynamis borassi is the principal cause of this damage. Despite its importance, the biology of this species is unknown. A rigorous study of life cycle duration, as well as each stage of development, is key to future ecological and behavioural studies and essential in the design of comprehensive pest management plans. We report details of the life history of this pest in a laboratory colony. Life cycle and the larval growth were studied under controlled laboratory conditions (27 ± 1 °C and 75 ± 5% RH) using two artificial diets: Diet 1 without peach palm inflorescences and Diet 2 with 100 g of inflorescences. The egg stage lasted 3.5 ± 0.1 days, the larval stage 165.5 ± 4.7 days for Diet 1 and 153.8 ± 3.9 days for Diet 2, and the pupal stage 37 ± 1.7 days for Diet 1 and 39.7 ± 1.2 days for Diet 2. Twelve instars were observed. The instar when pupation took place varied from instar VII to XII. The weight gain curve had four growth phases with both diets. Each diet produced a different life cycle duration and growth rate. No significant differences were found in the life cycle between the diets.

Strawberries are infested with Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in Egypt. This study evaluated the effects of the biochemical components and leaf surface characteristics of ten new strawberry cultivars (Fortuna, Festival, Sahary, Forintaris, Red Merlin, Winter Star, Winter Dawn, Eliana, Montary and Florida) on the levels of infestation by F. occidentalis. There were significant differences in the susceptibility of strawberry cultivars to infestation by F. occidentalis. Fortuna, Sahary, Festival and Forntaris were the most susceptible cultivars. Red Merlin, Winter Star, Winter Dawn and Eliana had intermediate infestations. Montary and Florida were the most resistant cultivars. The relationship between mean number of F. occidentalis and leaf nitrogen was not significant. There was a significant relationship between mean numbers of F. occidentalis and phosphorus, potassium and total phenols content of leaves. The highest mean numbers of F. occidentalis were found on leaves of the Fortuna cultivar with high levels of phosphorus and low levels of potassium and total phenol. The lowest mean numbers of F. occidentalis were found on the leaves of the Montary and Florida cultivars with low levels of phosphorus and high levels of total phenols and potassium. Cultivars with higher density of non-glandular trichomes had significantly fewer F. occidentalis than cultivars with lower densities of non-glandular trichomes on the upper leaf surface. Similarly, cultivars with thicker leaves had significantly fewer thrips than cultivars with thinner leaves. The proper choice of strawberry cultivar is an important component of integrated pest management programs for controlling thrips in strawberry nurseries.

Trichoderma spp. have been widely used in agricultural applications due to its well known biological control mechanism. The usage of this microbial inoculant in Trichoderma-based products attracts the attention of researchers to discover more on other potential benefits of Trichoderma spp. Hence, through research work from worldwide researchers, we present the success of Trichoderma spp. relate to plant diseases, plant growth, decomposition process and bioremediation. Plus, their secondary metabolites production in agroecosystem will also be reviewed in this paper. These surprising findings bring enormous advantages to the agriculture industry in order to apply environmentally friendly agriculture practices.

Endophytic fungi are a group of fungi that reside in the living plant without causing any disease symptoms. It shows symbiotic/mutualistic characteristics with host plants. Endophytic fungi may increase the host defense system against various pathogenic microorganisms and may encompass secondary metabolites of respective host plants. Isolation of endophytic fungi and its metabolites from Justicia gendarussa plant grown in Bangladesh is a recent and new approach. A total of seven endophytic fungi were isolated and purified from the leaf and bark part of the plant. All of the isolated endophytic fungi were identified up to genus level on the basis of macroscopic and microscopic characteristics and up to species level on the basis of molecular characteristics as Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Diaporthe pseudomangiferae, Pseudopestalotiopsis camelliae-sinensis, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Fusarium solani, Colletotrichum tropicale and Colletotrichum siamense. Preliminary chemical screening of the fungal extracts by thin-layer chromatographic technique revealed the presence of various compounds such as flavonoids, anthraquinones, couramins, isocoumarins etc. Fungal strain Pseudopestalotiopsis camelliae-sinensis exhibited significant antiradical activity through DPPH scavenging method and moderate antimicrobial activity against a wide range of human pathogenic microbes. Using brine shrimp lethality bioassay, all the isolates showed strong cytotoxic activity, therefore suggested that all the extracts may have bioactive metabolites. Overall, these findings indicate that Justicia gendarussa and its associated endophytic fungi could be an important source for exploring potentially bioactive compounds or leads for the new drug candidates.

Sprouted seeds represent intriguing ready-to-eat micro-scale vegetables for the healthy food market, since they are tasty and rich in bioactive compounds. However, sprouts have been recently proposed as a source for the extraction and purification of several phytochemicals to be used in food supplementation or pharmaceutics. Recently, there has been an industrialization of sprout production, carried out indoor, often with use of artificial light, which have implications on biomass yield and composition, and on energetic and economic costs. This work investigates the effects of different radiation wavelengths from light emitting diodes (LED) on free and bound phenolics and antioxidant activity of sprouts and wheatgrass of einkorn (Triticum monococcum L. ssp. monococcum) and emmer ([(Triticum turgidum L. spp. dicoccum, (Schrank ex Schübler) Thell.)]). After 3 days of grain incubation in the dark, three light treatments were applied, labelled as BLUE (447 and 470 nm), RED (627 and 655 nm), and SUN (447, 470, 505, 530, 590, 627, 655 nm), for a same total photon flux density (PFD) of 200 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹. Sprouts were harvested at 5 days after sowing (DAS) and wheatgrass at 9 DAS. The effect of light was generally not significant for sprouts, much greater and species-specific for wheatgrass: BLUE in einkorn and RED in emmer generally increased free and total content of polyphenol (PC), tannins (TC), flavonoid (FC) and phenolic acids (PAs). The antioxidant activity was increased by BLUE in einkorn and decreased by RED in both species. BLUE and RED resulted energy saving compared to SUN.

The current study proposes to produce a UF- soft cheese by incorporated with Aloe vera pulp at the levels of (5, 10, and 15 g/100 g) milk retentate and probiotic cultures. The nutritional properties of the Aloe vera pulp and its effect on the viability of lactic acid bacteria were analyzed. Chemical properties, rheological analysis, sensory characteristics, and verify the viability of probiotic bacteria in the cheese during cold storage for 4 weeks were evaluated. The results indicated that Aloe vera pulp possessed excellent quantities of water-soluble vitamins such as (B1) 9.73 mg/g, (B2) 141.2 mg/g, and (B3) 4.63 mg/g along with a high content of maltose and fructose as disaccharides and galactose as monosaccharide. Moreover, adding 10% Aloe vera pulp in the MRS medium leads to the proliferation of the counts of different lactic acid cultures more than one log cycle. The total solids, protein, pH, and fat content of UF-cheese decreased significantly (P < 0.05) with the increased percentage of added Aloe vera pulp. Also, the treatments fortified with 15% Aloe vera pulp increased the probiotics counts around 1.5 log cycles at the finale of the storage period compared by control. The hardness decreased with the increase in the percentage of added Aloe vera pulp in cheese, while it increased with the progress of the storage period. The sensory analysis of cheese supplemented with 15% Aloe vera pulp and stored for 4 weeks had the best sensory properties and good acceptable.

This study aimed to develop a comprehensive quantification of 20 bioactive compounds in Achillea millefolium L (A. millefolium) fractions obtained by different solvents (petroleum ether (pet-ether), ethyl acetate (EtOAc), methanol (MeOH) and water) using HPLC quantitative analysis. Additionally, total flavonoids (TF), total phenolics (TP), antioxidants (DPPH, ABTS) and cytotoxic activities of A. millefolium fractions on k562, HeLa, MCF7, A431 and A549 Cell Lines were evaluated using MTT assay [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] and compared to doxorubicin as a standard. According to the obtained results, TP ranged from 3.8 to 91.85 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g fraction, while TF ranged from 9.68 to 79.50 mg catechin equivalent (CE)/g generally. The lowest IC₅₀ values were recorded for doxorubicin compared by all fractions except for EtOAc fraction against Hela cells, followed by water fraction, which showed the highest anticancer potential against MCF-7 cells. In contrast, the pet-ether fraction showed the lowest IC₅₀ value against K562 cells. The cell cycle profile and apoptosis analysis of the EtOAc fraction was studied in HeLa cells. EtOAc fraction caused preG1 apoptosis and cell growth arrest in G2/M in HeLa cancer cells. Overall, this study heightens the importance of A. millefolium, which may be a promising and valuable source of natural antioxidant and anticancer agents to be used in the development of new functional and therapeutic compounds in the future.

Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] is an important grain legume which is widely grown in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for food and feed. Its grain contains high levels of protein, energy, micro- and macro-nutrients. In SSA cowpea productivity is considerably low due to a wide array of abiotic and biotic stresses, and socio-economic constraints. This review summarizes challenges and constraints to cowpea production, breeding methods and progress, genetic variation and analysis of cowpea. Therefore, this review could serve as baseline information for cowpea breeders, agronomists and producers in Namibia as well as for similar agro-ecologies in SSA.

One of the successful strategies for the improvement of the sustainable food chain is to achieve economic success while improving environmental performance. For this point of view, water-soluble polysaccharides (WSP) were extracted from some agricultural by-products (potato peel (PoP), pea peel (PeP) and taro peel (TP) as Egyptian agro-waste products). Furthermore; Physicochemical parameters, structural, antioxidant and functional properties of the extracted polysaccharides were investigated via High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) as well as DPPH radical and ABTS radical assays. The most predominant sugar(s) content in PoP were glucose and stachyose (50.12 and 20.68 g/100 g), in PeP was sucrose (34.34 g/100 g) and in TP were stachyose and glucose (47.4, 35.73 g/100 g). FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of different polysaccharides functional groups (OH, CH, CH₂ and CH₃). On the other hand, the extracted (water-soluble) polysaccharides exhibited high thermal stability (up to 220 °C) that makes them applicable in high-temperature food processing. PoP and PeP showed good water holding capacities (4 g water/g sample each) and PeP showed higher emulsifying capacity and stability (41.88%, 37.23%). Furthermore, PoP, PeP and TP polysaccharides exhibited noticeable antioxidant potentials as indicated by IC₅₀ values (1.91, 3.96 and 8.41 mg/mL). Overall, the findings in the present study indicated that PoP, PeP and TP from waste products might be considered as promising sources for natural functional additives for different types of foods.

The effect of six months storage at 25 °C and 35 °C of Halawa tahinia on physicochemical and nutraceutical properties were evaluated. The results revealed that the highest value of phenol content of Halawa tahinia is 215.8 mg GAE 100 g⁻¹ at zero time, while, the lowest level is 156.41 mg GAE 100 g⁻¹ at 25 °C stored for six months. The highest antioxidant value is 64.38% at zero time and the lowest is 42.42% stored at 25 °C for six months. Results showed a decrease in antioxidant activity, total phenolics content (TPC) and anthocyanin during storage of Halawa tahinia at 25 °C and 35 °C. The raw material Halawa tahinia found to contain the highest amounts of phenols, antioxidant activities and anthocyanins, which were 320.47 mg GAE 100 g⁻¹, 71.80%, and 0.54 mg cya-3-glu100 g⁻¹, respectively. While, the soapwort root contained lower amounts of phenols and antioxidant as the values found was 30.17 mg GAE 100 g⁻¹ and 5.06%, respectively. There was no significant difference between TPC and anthocyanin content in Halawa tahinia at 25 °C and at 35 °C. The anthocyanin levels of Halawa tahinia stored at 35 °C for six months decreased from 0.48 mg cya-3-glu 100 g⁻¹ at zero time to 0.12 mg cya-3-glu100 g⁻¹ at the sixth month. The color values of Halawa tahinia increased during storage at 25 °C and 35 °C. However, the total phenolics, antioxidant activity and anthocyanin contents of Halawa tahinia decreased significantly during processing and storage for six months at 25 °C and 35 °C. However, still, it is of considerable amount.