Annals of Agricultural Science最新文献

Soil type is a vital determinant of soil fertility because of its characteristic biological, chemical, and physical properties. However, the soil fertility of upland soil is probably changed by different agricultural management practices regardless of soil type. This study investigated the features of soil fertility (bacterial biomass, total carbon (TC), and total nitrogen (TN)) in upland fields in Japan. One thousand soil samples from different soil types were collected from upland fields located on 36 prefectures in Japan. The soil fertility was analyzed using the Soil Fertility Index (SOFIX). There were six soil types included in this study: Organic soils (B), Andosols (D), Lowland soils (F), Red-yellow soils (G), Stagnic soils (H), and Brown Forest soils (I). Of these, the soil types D and F occupied the largest percentage of samples. The values of bacterial biomass, TC, and TN varied greatly, regardless of soil type. The soil fertility does not seem to be characterized by the soil type in upland soils in Japan. The correlations between bacterial biomass and TC (r = 0.23, p < 0.01) and bacterial biomass and TN (r = 0.16, p < 0.01) were relatively weak. Conversely, the correlation between TC and TN (r = 0.68, p < 0.01) was moderate. In soil type D, up to 40% of samples had no bacterial biomass detected and 17% possessed a low bacterial biomass. The effect of the soil types may not be a critical factor in soil fertility in the upland fields.

This study aimed to evaluate the performance and fermentation characteristics in the rumen of Garut grade sheep fed bitter cassava (M. esculenta Crantz) leaf meal (BCL) supplemented with cyanide-degrading bacteria (CDB). Fifteen sheep (12 mo with average weight of 18.8 ± 1.02 kg) were placed in individual cages provided experimental diets and free access to water. A completely randomized design applying five treatments and three replicates was used. The treatments were T1 [40% Napier grass:60% concentrate (Con)], T2 [40% Napier grass:45% concentrate: 15% BCL (BCL15)], T3 (BCL15 + CDB), T4 [40% Napier grass:30% concentrate:30% BCL (BCL30)], and T5 (BCL30 + CDB). The data were subjected to analysis of variance and significant differences among treatments were further analyzed using Tukey test. The data of different levels of BCL and CDB inoculation were contrasted using orthogonal contrast test. Feeding BCL 15% and 30% to substitute concentrate ration did not affect feed intake and nutrient digestibility but decreased (P < 0.05) the total volatile fatty acid (VFA), concentration of NH_3, feed efficiency and body weight gain of sheep. Inoculation of CDB to the sheep fed 15% and 30% BCL did not affect total VFA and NH₃ concentration, but it increased (P < 0.05) body weight and feed efficiency. The methane estimation were similar among treatments. In conclusion, CDB inoculation could detoxify cyanide in BCL and enhanced rumen fermentation profile when BCL 15% and 30%.

Psyllium husk (Plantago ovata Forssk.), is an excellent source of natural soluble fiber. Arabic flatbread formulation standardized in a laboratory was scaled up for production in a commercial bakery. The water holding capacity (WHC) of wholegrain wheat flour (WGF), white wheat flour (WWF) and psyllium husk (PS) were found to be 2.9, 2.3 and 59.2 g water/g dry matter, respectively. The total dietary fiber (TDF) for WWF control bread (3.20 ± 0.23%) increased significantly to 5.62 ± 0.16 and 7.56 ± 0.18% with the addition of 3% and 5% psyllium, respectively. The corresponding soluble dietary fiber (SDF) values for these samples were 1.31 ± 0.13, 3.02 ± 0.16 and 4.15 ± 0.14%, respectively. The WWF Arabic flatbread samples also followed a similar trend for TDF and SDF contents with the addition of psyllium husk. At a level of 5% psyllium, the WWF test bread had a puncture force of 2.97 ± 0.16 N (much softer) compared with 3.40 ± 0.35 N for the WWF control bread (0% psyllium), whereas the WGF with 5% psyllium addition had a puncture force of 3.05 ± 0.19 N at the zero day of storage compared to that of 3.94 ± 0.19 N for WGF bread with no psyllium added. The major objective of this study was not only to enhance the soluble dietary fiber content in Arabic flatbread, but also to improve the consumer acceptability of this staple food of this region. Incorporation of psyllium husk did not adversely affect the objective color of crumb or overall consumer acceptability, and produced Arabic flatbread with softer texture, better flexibility (folding) and superior eating quality.

A high concentration of nitrate and total nitrogen (N) in Chinese violet (CV) weed (Asystasia gangetica) has a potential benefit as a digestible protein source for ruminant production in humid tropical regions. We conducted a study using twelve Kacang goats in a crossover design to investigate the effect of CV weed on intake, nutrient utilization, and growth. Four dietary treatments were tested: Guinea grass (Panicum maximum) ad libitum (GG), GG ad libitum and CV (1% live weight, LW) (GG + CV), CV ad libitum (CV), and CV ad libitum plus cassava chip (1% LW) (CV + CC) (dry matter, DM basis). No sign of nitrite toxicity was observed when the goat fed CV diet while intake, N retention, and LW gain was higher than goats on the GG and GG + CV diets (P < 0.001). Digestibility of DM was similar to the goats on the GG + CV diet but higher than the goats on the GG diet (P < 0.001). However, the goats on the CV diet had a higher urinary N loss compared to the goats on GG and GG + CV diets (P < 0.001). The cassava supplementation (CV + CC) increased DM digestibility and lowered urinary N loss (P < 0.001). Hence, the CV weed could be fed as a sole diet or as a supplement to the Kacang goat fed a low-quality forage for improvement of nutrients intake, digestibility, and gain, while the urinary N loss could be lowered by cassava supplementation.

Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citrates) is grown in tropical and semi-tropical climates. It is an aromatic herb widely used as a flavoring agent in human foods due to its potent flavor. It also includes essential oils, which are important for their antibacterial, antidiarrheal, antifungal, antioxidant, and growth-promoting properties. The experiment was carried out to evaluate lemongrass essential oil (LGEO) supplementation in growing quails. 240 seven days old unsexed Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) were divided into four groups of 30 quails each. There were ten replicates for each group, with six birds per replicate. The first group received no supplementation, whereas the second, third, and fourth groups received LGEO supplements 0.2, 0.4, and 0.8 g/kg, respectively. Results showed that the growth performance (GP) traits were affected positively by LGEO addition (P ≤ 0.01) at 0.4 g/kg compared to control. All carcass traits were improved significantly (P ≤ 0.01) as affected by LGEO supplementation except carcass percentage. Also, LGEO supplementation enhances meat quality as it improves significantly (P ≤ 0.01) thigh meat water holding capacity (WHC) and pH values. Blood characteristics showed significantly decrease (P ≤ 0.01) on lipid profile, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and malondialdehyde (MDA) as affected by LGEO supplementation, inversely total protein, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), catalase, reduced glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were significantly increased by LGEO supplementation. Likewise, LGEO supplementation improves the concentration of lactobacillus. Results indicated that adding LGEO at 0.4 g/kg diet in quails diets enhance GP, meat quality, blood characteristics, and caecum microorganisms.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of eggshell-based manure (EBM), calcium chloride (CaCl₂), and their combined application in preventing food wastage. Tomato (cv. Tropimech) plants were subjected to seven pre-harvest treatments regimes. Treatments consisted of one level of control, two levels of EBM (0.83 and 1.7 ton ha⁻¹), two levels of CaCl₂ (0.08 and 0.17 ton ha⁻¹), and two levels of combined treatment of EBM and CaCl₂ (0.91 and 1.87 ton ha⁻¹). The tomato fruits were harvested at the red maturity stage, and some of their physical, mechanical, textural and biochemical qualities were determined according to standard procedures. All the parameters were investigated at 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 storage days. Results obtained showed that the treatment options had a significant (p ≤ 0.05) effect on all the parameters evaluated. Irrespective of the treatment concentration, the results revealed that combined treatment was a better treatment option compared to the single treatment option. Apart from the skin firmness, physiological weight loss and spoilage rate, the fruits produced with combined treatment had better physical, mechanical, textural and biochemical properties throughout the storage period. It was observed that fruits produced with CaCl₂ experienced the highest skin firmness, lowest physiological weight loss and minimum spoilage; fruits produced with EBM exhibited the maximum physiological weight loss, highest spoilage rate and minimum skin firmness. This study results will be useful to agricultural engineers on the best pre-harvest treatment option to adopt, to produce tomato fruits with better engineering qualities, hence minimizing food wastage.

Honey is the most famous natural sweet substance produced by honeybees (Apis mellifera). It contains numerous functional compounds, from which health benefits are obtained. In Chile, the production of honey is associated with its unique biodiversity, but it is exported mostly, as bulk honey. This work aimed to characterize the chemical and biological properties of Chilean honey on a large scale. The use of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) technique, combined with multivariate statistical analysis was introduced to study the chemical profiles of polyfloral honey. The use of a complementary mass spectrometry method allowed the identification of 25 different constituents in the studied honey, including hydrocarbons, acids, esters, glycoside isoprenoids, ketones, and a dihydroxyflavanone. The evaluation of biological properties in Chilean honey was measured in a representative number of polyfloral samples. For this purpose, the total phenolics and flavonoid content were measured in the selected samples. The antioxidant activity of the honey was evaluated through the ferric reducing antioxidant power assay (FRAP) and the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging method. On the other hand, the antibacterial activity was assessed by the dilution technique to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the honey against seven bacterial strains, including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The results demonstrated that the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of Chilean honey are variable and they could have similar properties in comparison with other well-recognized bioactive honey.

Multilocation trials are important in plant breeding carried out in the field of agronomy. A combination of agronomy and plant breeding is needed to improve plant characteristics and stability testing before releasing new varieties. A single stability analysis method may not be sufficiently representative to determine the performance of genotypes across environments, which sometimes lead to wrong decisions about genotype stability. The objective of this study was to estimate yield potential, adaptability, and stability of superior lines resulting from inbred landraces based on parametric and nonparametric, and a genotype main effect G × E interaction (GGE) biplot. Fourteen inbred lines from Bengkulu landrace rice varieties were evaluated in five environments from January 2019 to November 2020. The experiment was conducted using a complete randomized block design with two replications. The results showed that the highest yield grouping based on the G × E heat-map, genotypes G13(BKL4-B1-268-10), G10(BKL2-B3-264-6), G7(BKL1-B3-261-3), and G5(BKL1-B1-259-1), was found in Sungai Serut. There was a strong positive correlation (r = 1.00) between the mean yield (Y_i) and YSi, S²_di and Di, and W_i² and StabVar. Meanwhile, the genotype occurred in the top third of the ranks (TOP) had a positive correlation of 0.78, indicating a suitable stability parameter to identify high-yield genotypes. There were four consistently stable lines based on parametric and nonparametric stability analyses: G10(BKL2-B3-264-6), G7(BKL1-B3-261-3), G13(BKL4-B1-268-10), and G5(BKL1-B1-259-1). The GGE approach methods showed consistent stability, and lines G13(BKL4-B1-268-10), G10(BKL2-B3-264-6), G5(BKL1-B1-259-1), G7(BKL1-B3-261-3), and G6(BKL1-B2-260-2) had high-yield potential, wide adaptability, and stability, and are recommended for further testing as candidates for new varieties.

The greenhouse whitefly (GWF), Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood), is a cosmopolitan pest of horticultural crops. The study purpose was to assess the GWF adult population dynamics on potato and its populations on different planting dates and different host plant species. A survey was conducted to determine the GWF population on potato and its associated abiotic factors from January to December 2019. Four crop species, common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), potato (Solanum tuberosum), and chili (Capsicum annum) were planted in two field experiments with different planting dates (7 April and 10 July). The results showed that during high rainfall, the GWF densities were very low. However, as the rainfall declined, the population increased and reached its peak in August. Again, when the rain started in September, the population drastically dropped and continuously declined as the rainfall increased until the year-end. The rainfall rate negatively correlates with the GWF population, but there was no significant correlation between temperature and the insect population. Populations of GWF adult, egg, and nymph were significantly higher in planting date 2 than in planting date 1. On both planting dates, the GWF populations on common bean were significantly higher than those on the other host plants. Hence common bean is the potential to be used as a trap crop in potato or chili plantations. Further studies are necessary to develop efficient and effective ways of utilizing bean as a trap crop.