Annals of Agricultural Science最新文献

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.

Strawberry anthocyanins often undergo chemical degradation during storage, which leads to color fading and bioactivity loss. These changes are increased by ascorbic acid, which accelerates anthocyanin degradation. The present study investigated the effect of citric acid as an alternative to ascorbic acid to adjust strawberry nectar pH. Several additions were also used as co-pigment sources to enhance color stability during a five-month dark storage period at ambient temperatures. The results showed that citric acid increased the stability of total and monomeric anthocyanin and reduced the formation of polymeric color. The fortification of the strawberry nectar with 0.2% green tea extract, 3% hot rosella extract, and 0.5% low-methoxyl pectin in the presence of citric acid led to enhance strawberry nectar color, high stability, and reduce anthocyanin degradation.

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.

Lutein is a yellow plant pigment belonging to the xanthophyll family of carotenoids and widely present in marigold flowers. Lutein is an effective antioxidant that may be utilized in foods as a natural coloring pigment and functional food ingredient. The present study evaluated the effect of lutein in two types of marigold flowers belonging to the Tagetes erecta and Tagetes patula species on selected functional properties of baked pan bread. Marigold flowers dried by three different methods (oven, vacuum, freeze-drying) were incorporated into white wheat flour (WWF) and wholegrain wheat flour (WGF) bread recipes. Lutein content in marigold flower petals and baked breads were quantified using Ultra-Fast Liquid Chromatography (UFLC). Texture and color properties of baked bread crust and crumb were determined. Tagetes erecta marigold flower showed significantly higher amount of lutein, and freeze-drying process was found to be the best technique for preserving lutein in the baked products. The freeze-dried African marigold and French marigold petals had lutein content of 150.98 ± 26.87 ppm and 78.26 ± 0.66, respectively. The L* value and whiteness of baked breads decreased which led to decreasing lightness of WWF bread crumb after addition of MFP. The total color difference, ∆E, and the redness index, RI, between control WWF bread crumb and WGF bread crumb increased as the level of MFP increased in the bread formulations. The data suggest that lutein-rich ground marigold may be used as a functional food ingredient to enhance color as well as antioxidant properties of bread.

Black oncom is a fermented product from the by-product of peanuts that can be processed into flour and used as a food ingredient in the development of biscuit products. These biscuit products offer the same potential benefits as peanuts. Therefore, an evaluation of the potential aspects of nutritional contents (amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins (B6, B9 and E), minerals (Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Se), and food safety (aflatoxin B1 and total aflatoxin)) of black oncom biscuits compared to peanut biscuits was needed. Based on the independent t-test analysis, black oncom biscuits had significantly higher nutritional contents (p < 0.05) than peanut biscuits, especially the amino acid components of leucine, isoleucine, valine, threonine, arginine, proline, serine, glycine, alanine, vitamin B6, magnesium and zinc. The fatty acid profile, in general, was not significantly different than peanut biscuits, except for heptadecenoic, docosahexaenoic, arachidonic, arachidic, oleic, linolenic and omega 9 fatty acids. In addition, black oncom biscuits had a low aflatoxin content in accordance with food safety standards. Overall, black oncom biscuits have higher nutritional contents than peanut biscuits in several amino acids, vitamin B6, and several minerals and contain aflatoxins that meet the safety standards.

Melinjo (Gnetum gnemon L.) is a beneficial agroforestry plant that contains antioxidant compounds broadly studied as a natural source in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical uses. The antioxidant compounds benefit human health and plant to develop defense mechanisms under environmental stresses, such as drought stress. This study aims to evaluate the defense mechanism of melinjo under drought stress. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) was used to simulate drought stress to melinjo seedlings for 5, 10, 20, and 40 days compared to zero-day control without PEG. The inhibition and detoxification activities of 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), hydroxyl, superoxide radical, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were determined to evaluate antioxidant capabilities during drought stress. Lipid peroxidation and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) contents were also analyzed to evaluate the level of cellular damage during drought stress. The seedling's growth was significantly reduced as a response to the longer duration of drought stress treatment. On the contrary, the level of lipid peroxidation and H₂O₂ were increased, followed by the escalation of antioxidant activities. This result indicates that many antioxidant compounds act together to develop a defense mechanism in melinjo seedlings, and the different duration of drought stresses influences their capabilities.

The consumption of recommended amount of dietary fiber is a challenge not only for most consumers but also for the food scientists to design fiber-enriched foods with acceptable eating quality, texture, color and flavor. The addition of psyllium husk (PS) significantly made the bread texture softer with increasing levels, producing the lowest compression force value (2.48 ± 0.37 N) at a 5% level. Addition of coarse wheat bran (at 10 and 20% levels) to white wheat flour (WWF) produced a significantly softer bread texture (4.65 ± 0.61 to 5.27 ± 0.32 N) compared with the harder texture with the fine wheat bran addition (5.04 ± 0.33 to 6.82 ± 0.57 N) for the control samples, respectively. When psyllium at 5% level was added to either the WWF or wholegrain wheat flour (WGF), it produced a significantly softer bread texture. Interestingly, the incorporation of diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglyceride (DATEM) emulsifier (0.5%) in the WWF or WGF bread samples containing 5% psyllium did not significantly improve the textural properties of bread samples. When WWF + 5%PS (4.03 ± 0.12 N) buns were compared with WGF + 5%PS, the WGF +5%PS buns (7.37 ± 0.16 N) had a significantly harder texture. The results of compression force (N) and higher consumer acceptability values of these products clearly brought out the superior textural properties of wheat pan bread and buns made by this newer approach, than the common approach of using only the wholegrain wheat flour. Future studies on the effect of various wheat bran treatments, such as steaming or extrusion on the textural properties of pan bread and buns are recommended.

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is an important crop cultivated in India and other warmer regions of the world. The crop is dependent on insect pollinators for its fruit set. However, information about pollination ecology in Indian states remains undetermined. We used a replicated field-scale experiment to identify the native pollinators and their foraging behaviour, including abundance, visitation rate, duration of visit, and pollination efficiency. We compared treatments with open-pollinated, hand-pollinated and the addition of two managed pollinator species to estimate the yield enhancement potential of managed stingless bees and western honey bees and their impact on native pollinator species. We found that ants, bees, butterflies, beetles, and wasps visited the flowers either for nectar, pollen, and/or floral tissue. Regarding the ‘pollinator importance’ value of the visitors, Halictus acrocephalus and Lasioglossum funebre were the most effective native pollinators. Despite their contribution, the plants showed a significant pollination deficit in the open-pollinated system which can be overcome by supplementary pollination services through the management of western honey bees (Apis mellifera) and/or stingless bees (Tetragonula iridipennis). However, the application of A. mellifera colonies greatly reduces the abundance, visitation rate and foraging time (amount of time spent per visit on a flower) of native pollinators. Hence, the utilization of managed stingless bee colonies for pollination services is more suitable and has a lesser impact on native pollinator species, which may lead to sustainable agricultural practices.