Pub Date : 2023-08-29DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13092278
L. Carmo-Calado, M. J. Hermoso-Orzáez, José La Cal-Herrera, Paulo Brito, Julio Terrados-Cepeda
The objective of the present study was to carry out a technical study of the gasification of almond shells and husks at different temperatures and, subsequently, an economic analysis for the in situ installation of a decentralized unit to produce electricity, through a syngas generator, that would overcome the use of fossil fuels used in this agroindustry. The gasification tests were carried out at three different temperatures (700, 750 and 800 °C) and the results for the tests carried out were as follows: a 50:50 mixture of almond husks and shells was found to have a lower heating value of value of 6.4 MJ/Nm3, a flow rate of 187.3 Nm3/h, a syngas yield of 1.9 Nm3/kg, cold gas efficiency of 68.9% and carbon conversion efficiency of 70.2%. Based on all the assumptions, a 100 kg/h (100 kWh) installation was proposed, located near the raw material processing industries studied, for an economic analysis. The technical–economic analysis indicated that the project was economically viable, under current market conditions, with a calculated net present value of k€204.3, an internal rate of return of 20.84% and a payback period of 5.7 years. It was concluded that thermal gasification is a perfectly suitable technology for the recovery of raw materials of lignocellulosic origin, presenting very interesting data in terms of economic viability for the fixed bed gasification system.
{"title":"Techno-Economic Evaluation of Downdraft Fixed Bed Gasification of Almond Shell and Husk as a Process Step in Energy Production for Decentralized Solutions Applied in Biorefinery Systems","authors":"L. Carmo-Calado, M. J. Hermoso-Orzáez, José La Cal-Herrera, Paulo Brito, Julio Terrados-Cepeda","doi":"10.3390/agronomy13092278","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092278","url":null,"abstract":"The objective of the present study was to carry out a technical study of the gasification of almond shells and husks at different temperatures and, subsequently, an economic analysis for the in situ installation of a decentralized unit to produce electricity, through a syngas generator, that would overcome the use of fossil fuels used in this agroindustry. The gasification tests were carried out at three different temperatures (700, 750 and 800 °C) and the results for the tests carried out were as follows: a 50:50 mixture of almond husks and shells was found to have a lower heating value of value of 6.4 MJ/Nm3, a flow rate of 187.3 Nm3/h, a syngas yield of 1.9 Nm3/kg, cold gas efficiency of 68.9% and carbon conversion efficiency of 70.2%. Based on all the assumptions, a 100 kg/h (100 kWh) installation was proposed, located near the raw material processing industries studied, for an economic analysis. The technical–economic analysis indicated that the project was economically viable, under current market conditions, with a calculated net present value of k€204.3, an internal rate of return of 20.84% and a payback period of 5.7 years. It was concluded that thermal gasification is a perfectly suitable technology for the recovery of raw materials of lignocellulosic origin, presenting very interesting data in terms of economic viability for the fixed bed gasification system.","PeriodicalId":56066,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy-Basel","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41750326","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-29DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13092279
Yue-le Wang, Q. Fu, Zheng Ma, Xin Tian, Zeguang Ji, Wangshu Yuan, Qingming Kong, Rui Gao, Z. Su
With the development and progress of uncrewed farming technology, uncrewed rice transplanters have gradually become an indispensable part of modern agricultural production; however, in the actual production, the working quality of uncrewed rice transplanters have not been effectively detected. In order to solve this problem, a detection method of uncrewed transplanter omission is proposed in this paper. In this study, the RGB images collected in the field were inputted into a convolutional neural network, and the bounding box center of the network output was used as the approximate coordinates of the rice seedlings, and the horizontal and vertical crop rows were fitted by the least square method, so as to detect the phenomenon of rice omission. By adding atrous spatial pyramid pooling and a convolutional block attention module to YOLOv5, the problem of image distortion caused by scaling and cropping is effectively solved, and the recognition accuracy is improved. The accuracy of this method is 95.8%, which is 5.6% higher than that of other methods, and the F1-score is 93.39%, which is 4.66% higher than that of the original YOLOv5. Moreover, the network structure is simple and easy to train, with the average training time being 0.284 h, which can meet the requirements of detection accuracy and speed in actual production. This study provides an effective theoretical basis for the construction of an uncrewed agricultural machinery system.
{"title":"YOLOv5-AC: A Method of Uncrewed Rice Transplanter Working Quality Detection","authors":"Yue-le Wang, Q. Fu, Zheng Ma, Xin Tian, Zeguang Ji, Wangshu Yuan, Qingming Kong, Rui Gao, Z. Su","doi":"10.3390/agronomy13092279","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092279","url":null,"abstract":"With the development and progress of uncrewed farming technology, uncrewed rice transplanters have gradually become an indispensable part of modern agricultural production; however, in the actual production, the working quality of uncrewed rice transplanters have not been effectively detected. In order to solve this problem, a detection method of uncrewed transplanter omission is proposed in this paper. In this study, the RGB images collected in the field were inputted into a convolutional neural network, and the bounding box center of the network output was used as the approximate coordinates of the rice seedlings, and the horizontal and vertical crop rows were fitted by the least square method, so as to detect the phenomenon of rice omission. By adding atrous spatial pyramid pooling and a convolutional block attention module to YOLOv5, the problem of image distortion caused by scaling and cropping is effectively solved, and the recognition accuracy is improved. The accuracy of this method is 95.8%, which is 5.6% higher than that of other methods, and the F1-score is 93.39%, which is 4.66% higher than that of the original YOLOv5. Moreover, the network structure is simple and easy to train, with the average training time being 0.284 h, which can meet the requirements of detection accuracy and speed in actual production. This study provides an effective theoretical basis for the construction of an uncrewed agricultural machinery system.","PeriodicalId":56066,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy-Basel","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49553702","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-29DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13092266
G. Wang, Huixin Xu, Hongyang Zhao, Yuguo Wu, X. Gao, Zheng Chai, Yuqing Liang, Xiaoke Zhang, Rong Zheng, Qian Yang, Yuan Li
This study was undertaken to identify oat (Avena sativa L.) varieties optimal for cultivation in the Jiuquan region, China, in 2021. A selection of 27 domestic and international oat varieties were analyzed, considering ten key agronomic traits, including plant height, stem diameter, spike length, leaf width, and yield. Employing methods such as cluster analysis, principal component analysis, and grey correlation degree, a comprehensive evaluation was conducted. The principal component analysis distilled the ten indicators to three core components. The most influential factors in the first principal component were plant height, ear length, and hay yield, while leaf length and leaf area index were the highest contributors to the second component. The stem-to-leaf ratio emerged as the principal indicator in the third component. The cluster analysis resulted in the classification of the 27 oat varieties into 3 categories. Following a comprehensive evaluation through the grey correlation degree and principal component analysis methodologies, we found that the oat varieties Sweety 1, Fuyan 1, Dingyan 2, Baler, Quebec, and Longyan 2 received the highest scores. These varieties, hence, appear to be the most suitable for cultivation and promotion in the Jiuquan region. This study thus provides invaluable insights into oat cultivation practices, offering guidance for farmers, agricultural policymakers, and future research in the field.
{"title":"Screening Optimal Oat Varieties for Cultivation in Arid Areas in China: A Comprehensive Evaluation of Agronomic Traits","authors":"G. Wang, Huixin Xu, Hongyang Zhao, Yuguo Wu, X. Gao, Zheng Chai, Yuqing Liang, Xiaoke Zhang, Rong Zheng, Qian Yang, Yuan Li","doi":"10.3390/agronomy13092266","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092266","url":null,"abstract":"This study was undertaken to identify oat (Avena sativa L.) varieties optimal for cultivation in the Jiuquan region, China, in 2021. A selection of 27 domestic and international oat varieties were analyzed, considering ten key agronomic traits, including plant height, stem diameter, spike length, leaf width, and yield. Employing methods such as cluster analysis, principal component analysis, and grey correlation degree, a comprehensive evaluation was conducted. The principal component analysis distilled the ten indicators to three core components. The most influential factors in the first principal component were plant height, ear length, and hay yield, while leaf length and leaf area index were the highest contributors to the second component. The stem-to-leaf ratio emerged as the principal indicator in the third component. The cluster analysis resulted in the classification of the 27 oat varieties into 3 categories. Following a comprehensive evaluation through the grey correlation degree and principal component analysis methodologies, we found that the oat varieties Sweety 1, Fuyan 1, Dingyan 2, Baler, Quebec, and Longyan 2 received the highest scores. These varieties, hence, appear to be the most suitable for cultivation and promotion in the Jiuquan region. This study thus provides invaluable insights into oat cultivation practices, offering guidance for farmers, agricultural policymakers, and future research in the field.","PeriodicalId":56066,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy-Basel","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45238486","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-29DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13092268
Xia Yu, Shihao Xiao, Ting-Xiu Yan, Zhongping Chen, Quan Zhou, Yuzhuo Pan, Wenting Yang, Meijuan Lu
Corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) intercropping is one of the main traditional intercropping systems used. We hypothesized that sweet corn–soybean intercropping with reduced nitrogen application could improve the crops’ fresh grain yield and nitrogen acquisition. We clarified whether sweet corn intercropped with soybean has the advantages of improved crop yield and carbon and nitrogen accumulation and assessed interspecific competition in the intercropping systems. A four-year (2017–2020) field experiment was conducted with three nitrogen application levels (0, 150, and 300 kg∙ha−1) and three planting patterns (monocropped sweet corn, monocropped soybean, sweet corn–soybean intercropping) at Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China. The LER (land equivalent ratio), AG (aggressivity), and CR (competitive ratio) were calculated using the fresh grain yield and nitrogen and carbon accumulation of sweet corn and soybean. The LER values were greater than 1.0 in most of the intercropped patterns, except for the value based on the crops’ fresh grain yield without nitrogen application in 2020. Sweet corn had greater values of CR and AG than soybean in the intercropping system. Compared with common nitrogen application (300 kg∙ha−1), reduced nitrogen application (150 kg∙ha−1) did not significantly reduce the LER or the average CR and AG values. Under reduced nitrogen application, the values of LER, CR, and AG, based on the crops’ fresh grain yield and nitrogen acquisition, were not significantly different between the four years. In conclusion, based on the LER, CR, and AG, sweet corn–soybean intercropping had the advantage of crop yield and nitrogen acquisition, and sweet corn was the superior competitor. Sweet corn–soybean intercropping with nitrogen application (150 kg N ha−1) showed good inter-annual stability of crop productivity and competitiveness of the sweet corn.
玉米-大豆间作是我国主要的传统间作制度之一。我们假设减少施氮的甜玉米-大豆间作可以提高作物的鲜粮产量和氮素获取。我们阐明了甜玉米与大豆间作是否具有提高作物产量和碳氮积累的优势，并评估了间作系统中的种间竞争。在中国南昌的江西农业大学进行了为期四年（2017–2020）的田间试验，采用三种氮施用水平（0、150和300 kg∙ha−1）和三种种植模式（单作甜玉米、单作大豆、甜玉米-大豆间作）。利用甜玉米和大豆的鲜粮产量和氮碳积累计算了LER（土地当量比）、AG（侵略性）和CR（竞争性比）。在大多数间作模式中，LER值均大于1.0，但基于2020年不施氮作物鲜粮产量的LER值除外。在间作系统中，甜玉米的CR和AG值大于大豆。与普通施氮（300 kg∙ha−1）相比，减少施氮（150 kg∙ha−1）并没有显著降低LER或平均CR和AG值。在减少施氮的情况下，基于作物鲜粮产量和氮获取的LER、CR和AG值在四年之间没有显著差异。总之，基于LER、CR和AG，甜玉米-大豆间作具有作物产量和氮素获取的优势，甜玉米是优势竞争对手。施氮（150 kg N ha−1）的甜玉米-大豆间作表现出良好的作物生产力年际稳定性和甜玉米的竞争力。
{"title":"Interspecific Competition as Affected by Nitrogen Application in Sweet Corn–Soybean Intercropping System","authors":"Xia Yu, Shihao Xiao, Ting-Xiu Yan, Zhongping Chen, Quan Zhou, Yuzhuo Pan, Wenting Yang, Meijuan Lu","doi":"10.3390/agronomy13092268","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092268","url":null,"abstract":"Corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) intercropping is one of the main traditional intercropping systems used. We hypothesized that sweet corn–soybean intercropping with reduced nitrogen application could improve the crops’ fresh grain yield and nitrogen acquisition. We clarified whether sweet corn intercropped with soybean has the advantages of improved crop yield and carbon and nitrogen accumulation and assessed interspecific competition in the intercropping systems. A four-year (2017–2020) field experiment was conducted with three nitrogen application levels (0, 150, and 300 kg∙ha−1) and three planting patterns (monocropped sweet corn, monocropped soybean, sweet corn–soybean intercropping) at Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China. The LER (land equivalent ratio), AG (aggressivity), and CR (competitive ratio) were calculated using the fresh grain yield and nitrogen and carbon accumulation of sweet corn and soybean. The LER values were greater than 1.0 in most of the intercropped patterns, except for the value based on the crops’ fresh grain yield without nitrogen application in 2020. Sweet corn had greater values of CR and AG than soybean in the intercropping system. Compared with common nitrogen application (300 kg∙ha−1), reduced nitrogen application (150 kg∙ha−1) did not significantly reduce the LER or the average CR and AG values. Under reduced nitrogen application, the values of LER, CR, and AG, based on the crops’ fresh grain yield and nitrogen acquisition, were not significantly different between the four years. In conclusion, based on the LER, CR, and AG, sweet corn–soybean intercropping had the advantage of crop yield and nitrogen acquisition, and sweet corn was the superior competitor. Sweet corn–soybean intercropping with nitrogen application (150 kg N ha−1) showed good inter-annual stability of crop productivity and competitiveness of the sweet corn.","PeriodicalId":56066,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy-Basel","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44885663","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The advancement of smart agriculture, with information technology serving as a pivotal enabling factor, plays a crucial role in achieving food security, optimizing production efficiency, and preserving the environment. Simultaneously, wireless communication technology holds a critical function within the context of applying the Internet of Things in agriculture. In this research endeavor, we present an algorithm for lightweight channel authentication based on frequency-domain feature extraction. This algorithm aims to distinguish between authentic transmitters and unauthorized ones in the wireless communication context of a representative agricultural setting. To accomplish this, we compiled a dataset comprising legitimate and illegitimate communication channels observed in both indoor and outdoor scenarios, which are typical in the context of smart agriculture. Leveraging its exceptional perceptual capabilities and advantages in parallel computing, the Transformer has injected fresh vitality into the realm of signal processing. Consequently, we opted for the lightweight MobileViT as our foundational model and designed a frequency-domain feature extraction module to augment MobileViT’s capabilities in signal processing. During the validation phase, we conducted a side-by-side comparison with currently outstanding ViT models in terms of convergence speed, precision, and performance parameters. Our model emerged as the frontrunner across all aspects, with FDFE-MobileViT achieving precision, recall, and F-score rates of 96.6%, 95.6%, and 96.1%, respectively. Additionally, the model maintains a compact size of 4.04 MB. Through comprehensive experiments, our proposed method was rigorously verified as a lighter, more efficient, and more accurate solution.
{"title":"A Lightweight, Secure Authentication Model for the Smart Agricultural Internet of Things","authors":"Fei Pan, Boda Zhang, Xiaoyu Zhao, Luyu Shuai, Peng Chen, Xuliang Duan","doi":"10.3390/agronomy13092257","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092257","url":null,"abstract":"The advancement of smart agriculture, with information technology serving as a pivotal enabling factor, plays a crucial role in achieving food security, optimizing production efficiency, and preserving the environment. Simultaneously, wireless communication technology holds a critical function within the context of applying the Internet of Things in agriculture. In this research endeavor, we present an algorithm for lightweight channel authentication based on frequency-domain feature extraction. This algorithm aims to distinguish between authentic transmitters and unauthorized ones in the wireless communication context of a representative agricultural setting. To accomplish this, we compiled a dataset comprising legitimate and illegitimate communication channels observed in both indoor and outdoor scenarios, which are typical in the context of smart agriculture. Leveraging its exceptional perceptual capabilities and advantages in parallel computing, the Transformer has injected fresh vitality into the realm of signal processing. Consequently, we opted for the lightweight MobileViT as our foundational model and designed a frequency-domain feature extraction module to augment MobileViT’s capabilities in signal processing. During the validation phase, we conducted a side-by-side comparison with currently outstanding ViT models in terms of convergence speed, precision, and performance parameters. Our model emerged as the frontrunner across all aspects, with FDFE-MobileViT achieving precision, recall, and F-score rates of 96.6%, 95.6%, and 96.1%, respectively. Additionally, the model maintains a compact size of 4.04 MB. Through comprehensive experiments, our proposed method was rigorously verified as a lighter, more efficient, and more accurate solution.","PeriodicalId":56066,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy-Basel","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48886909","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-28DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13092255
J. Jankauskienė, K. Laužikė
The age of seedlings affects not only the quality of the seedlings but also the yield. The age of seedlings of sweet peppers grown in a greenhouse and their cultivation method has been little studied. Therefore, the aim of this research was to determine the effect of agrotechnological tools (direct seeding or transplanting) on sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) seedling quality and crop yield. The research was carried out in a greenhouse covered with double polymeric film at the Institute of Horticulture, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry. Two factors were investigated: seedling establishment method (direct seeding and transplanting) and their different age (60, 50, and 40 days). The 60-day-old seedlings (both sown directly and grown by transplanting) were taller, and had more leaves, a larger leaf area, and a thicker stem, than the 50- and 40-day-old seedlings. The highest content of dry matter was found in the leaves of 60-day-old seedlings that were grown by transplanting. The chlorophyll index was also highest in the leaves of these seedlings. The highest photosynthetic parameters (photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, intercellular CO2, transpiration rate) were found in the leaves of 40-day-old seedlings (both sown directly and grown by transplanting). Higher yields were demonstrated in sweet peppers whose seedlings were planted in the greenhouse at the age of 60 days and which were sown directly in cups.
{"title":"Effect of Sweet Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Seedling Age and Cultivation Method on Seedling Quality, Photosynthetic Parameters and Productivity","authors":"J. Jankauskienė, K. Laužikė","doi":"10.3390/agronomy13092255","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092255","url":null,"abstract":"The age of seedlings affects not only the quality of the seedlings but also the yield. The age of seedlings of sweet peppers grown in a greenhouse and their cultivation method has been little studied. Therefore, the aim of this research was to determine the effect of agrotechnological tools (direct seeding or transplanting) on sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) seedling quality and crop yield. The research was carried out in a greenhouse covered with double polymeric film at the Institute of Horticulture, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry. Two factors were investigated: seedling establishment method (direct seeding and transplanting) and their different age (60, 50, and 40 days). The 60-day-old seedlings (both sown directly and grown by transplanting) were taller, and had more leaves, a larger leaf area, and a thicker stem, than the 50- and 40-day-old seedlings. The highest content of dry matter was found in the leaves of 60-day-old seedlings that were grown by transplanting. The chlorophyll index was also highest in the leaves of these seedlings. The highest photosynthetic parameters (photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, intercellular CO2, transpiration rate) were found in the leaves of 40-day-old seedlings (both sown directly and grown by transplanting). Higher yields were demonstrated in sweet peppers whose seedlings were planted in the greenhouse at the age of 60 days and which were sown directly in cups.","PeriodicalId":56066,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy-Basel","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49669374","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-28DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13092256
W. E. Anyomi, M. Barnor, J. Eleblu, A. Danquah, S. Avicor, K. Ofori, I. Hale, F. Padi, E. Danquah
Shea is an agroforestry tree species known primarily for its rich butter, which contains stearin and tocopherol, and has ultraviolet ray absorption property; it is used in cooking, body care and traditional medicines. This tree is, however, uncultivated and collection of its nuts by rural dwellers is threatened by increased urbanization with its accompanying land use pressure and the need for fuel wood for rural households. There is also increased demand for shea products worldwide necessitating the need for shea improvement strategies. At the apex of this improvement program lies the need for germplasm collection, characterization, conservation and utilization. In order to conserve elite shea materials amidst dwindling shea populations threatened by climate change, there is a need to develop shea germplasm banks based on the representation of genetic and phenotypic variation focusing on known traits. The objective of the study was to evaluate 282 shea accessions for germplasm conservation and to determine the genetic diversity of the collected materials to inform future collections and drive crop improvement strategies. Leaf traits were used to differentiate and group the selected materials. Leaf length ranged between 16.83 cm and 30.85 cm, and leaf blade length ranged between 12.28 cm and 20.68 cm. Petiole length varied between 5.53 cm and 10.2 cm and the blade to petiole ratio was from 1.41 to 2.69. Correlation studies revealed significant negative correlation between the latitude of collection and all leaf traits measured. There was significant positive correlation between blade length and petiole length (0.57), blade length and total leaf length (0.87) and petiole length and breadth (0.49). The collected materials were grouped at 90% into two, based on the morphological descriptors studied. Three different approaches were employed to genetically analyze the materials based on single nucleotide polymorphic markers (SNP). A phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the SNPs generated; this grouped the materials into three, with various subgroups. Principal coordinate analysis also produced three distinct groups with groupings not based on geographical area of collection. Discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) also confirmed three groupings. The genetic diversity of the collection was very low (Hs) = 0.0406, which is an indication of potential inbreeding within the shea populations. To conclude, there was higher variation within locations than between locations.
{"title":"Elucidation of the Genetic Diversity within Some In Situ Shea Germplasm in Ghana","authors":"W. E. Anyomi, M. Barnor, J. Eleblu, A. Danquah, S. Avicor, K. Ofori, I. Hale, F. Padi, E. Danquah","doi":"10.3390/agronomy13092256","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092256","url":null,"abstract":"Shea is an agroforestry tree species known primarily for its rich butter, which contains stearin and tocopherol, and has ultraviolet ray absorption property; it is used in cooking, body care and traditional medicines. This tree is, however, uncultivated and collection of its nuts by rural dwellers is threatened by increased urbanization with its accompanying land use pressure and the need for fuel wood for rural households. There is also increased demand for shea products worldwide necessitating the need for shea improvement strategies. At the apex of this improvement program lies the need for germplasm collection, characterization, conservation and utilization. In order to conserve elite shea materials amidst dwindling shea populations threatened by climate change, there is a need to develop shea germplasm banks based on the representation of genetic and phenotypic variation focusing on known traits. The objective of the study was to evaluate 282 shea accessions for germplasm conservation and to determine the genetic diversity of the collected materials to inform future collections and drive crop improvement strategies. Leaf traits were used to differentiate and group the selected materials. Leaf length ranged between 16.83 cm and 30.85 cm, and leaf blade length ranged between 12.28 cm and 20.68 cm. Petiole length varied between 5.53 cm and 10.2 cm and the blade to petiole ratio was from 1.41 to 2.69. Correlation studies revealed significant negative correlation between the latitude of collection and all leaf traits measured. There was significant positive correlation between blade length and petiole length (0.57), blade length and total leaf length (0.87) and petiole length and breadth (0.49). The collected materials were grouped at 90% into two, based on the morphological descriptors studied. Three different approaches were employed to genetically analyze the materials based on single nucleotide polymorphic markers (SNP). A phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the SNPs generated; this grouped the materials into three, with various subgroups. Principal coordinate analysis also produced three distinct groups with groupings not based on geographical area of collection. Discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) also confirmed three groupings. The genetic diversity of the collection was very low (Hs) = 0.0406, which is an indication of potential inbreeding within the shea populations. To conclude, there was higher variation within locations than between locations.","PeriodicalId":56066,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy-Basel","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42036188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-28DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13092265
V. Ziogas, Epameinondas Kokkinos, A. Karagianni, Evgenia Ntamposi, Apostolis Stilianos Voulgarakis, S. Hussain
Lemon is a prominent citrus fruit that supports regional economies worldwide. Several agronomic and fruit quality attributes are affected by the rootstock selection, thus its selection is essential for a successful grove. This study aims to compare the agronomic and quality attributes of four lemon cultivars (‘Mikrokarpo Messaras’, ‘Nouvel Athos’, ‘Femminello Commune,’ and ‘Zia gara Bianca’) grafted onto three rootstocks (‘Sour Orange’, ‘Yuma Ponderosa lemon’, and ‘Volkameriana’). The yield and rootstock/scion ratio were estimated along with fruit morphological characteristics (size, equatorial, and polar diameter). Internal fruit quality was also estimated (total soluble solids, total acidity, juiciness, ascorbic acid, total phenols, and total antioxidant activity). ‘Volkameriana’ rootstock stood out among the studied rootstocks, as all grafted lemon varieties increased their productivity. Its combination with the Italian cultivar ‘Femminello Commune’ exhibited enhanced tree vigor and tree yield. For all studied cultivars, the use of ‘Volkameriana’ or ‘Yuma Ponderosa lemon’ rootstocks decreased the total soluble content and total acidity, increased the ascorbic acid content, and did not influence the TSS/TA ratio, total phenols or total antioxidant activity. In conclusion, the vigorous ‘Volkameriana’ and ‘Yuma Ponderosa lemon’ rootstocks are a promising replacement for ‘sour orange’. This research provides valuable insights into the potential use of ‘Yuma Ponderosa lemon’ as a rootstock for lemons, as existing literature is rather limited.
{"title":"Effect of Rootstock Selection on Tree Growth, Yield, and Fruit Quality of Lemon Varieties Cultivated in Greece","authors":"V. Ziogas, Epameinondas Kokkinos, A. Karagianni, Evgenia Ntamposi, Apostolis Stilianos Voulgarakis, S. Hussain","doi":"10.3390/agronomy13092265","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092265","url":null,"abstract":"Lemon is a prominent citrus fruit that supports regional economies worldwide. Several agronomic and fruit quality attributes are affected by the rootstock selection, thus its selection is essential for a successful grove. This study aims to compare the agronomic and quality attributes of four lemon cultivars (‘Mikrokarpo Messaras’, ‘Nouvel Athos’, ‘Femminello Commune,’ and ‘Zia gara Bianca’) grafted onto three rootstocks (‘Sour Orange’, ‘Yuma Ponderosa lemon’, and ‘Volkameriana’). The yield and rootstock/scion ratio were estimated along with fruit morphological characteristics (size, equatorial, and polar diameter). Internal fruit quality was also estimated (total soluble solids, total acidity, juiciness, ascorbic acid, total phenols, and total antioxidant activity). ‘Volkameriana’ rootstock stood out among the studied rootstocks, as all grafted lemon varieties increased their productivity. Its combination with the Italian cultivar ‘Femminello Commune’ exhibited enhanced tree vigor and tree yield. For all studied cultivars, the use of ‘Volkameriana’ or ‘Yuma Ponderosa lemon’ rootstocks decreased the total soluble content and total acidity, increased the ascorbic acid content, and did not influence the TSS/TA ratio, total phenols or total antioxidant activity. In conclusion, the vigorous ‘Volkameriana’ and ‘Yuma Ponderosa lemon’ rootstocks are a promising replacement for ‘sour orange’. This research provides valuable insights into the potential use of ‘Yuma Ponderosa lemon’ as a rootstock for lemons, as existing literature is rather limited.","PeriodicalId":56066,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy-Basel","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42980838","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-28DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13092258
Marios Maroulis, S. Matsia, Georgios Lazopoulos, O. Pârvulescu, V. Ion, O. Bujor, Joshua Cabell, A. Løes, Athanasios Salifoglou
Brown algae and fish waste contain high-value compounds with potentially beneficial effects on plant growth. Several commercial fertilizer products are currently available, but the characteristics of the materials are usually not well-described. Fish and seaweed residues originating from the Norwegian coast are available, after industrial processing, which may be combined into complete fertilizers exerting additional effects on crop plants (biostimulants). In this study, raw samples of fish and seaweed residues were investigated using ecofriendly technologies (drying, leaching), targeting search and isolation of potential biostimulants, followed by physicochemical characterization (elemental analysis, UV–visible, FT-IR, ICP-MS, ICP-OES, electrical conductivity, pH, etc.). Organic solvent extractions were employed to determine the available mineral content, micro- and macro-nutrients, antioxidant compounds, and amino acid content by chemical hydrolysis. The in vitro biotoxicity profile (cell viability, morphology, migration) of the generated extracts was also perused, employing Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli) along with sensitive neuronal eukaryotic cell lines N2a58 and SH-SY5Y, to assess their time- and concentration-dependent efficacy as antimicrobials and agents counteracting oxidative stress. The analytical composition of all raw materials showed that they contain important nutrients (K, P, Ca, N) as well as organic compounds and amino acids (Gly, Asp, Glu, Leu, Phe) capable of acting as plant biostimulants. Concurrently, the inherently high conductivity values and salt content necessitated leaching processes, which result in Na+ and K+ decreasing by more than ~60% and justifying further their use in soil treatment formulations. The aforementioned results and assertions, combined with physical measurements (pH, electrical conductivity, etc.) on naturally occurring and dried samples as well as green solvent extracts, formulated a physicochemical profile reflecting well-defined inorganic–organic species that might function as biostimulants. The collective physicochemical and biological properties support the notion that appropriate mixtures of marine organism residues may be efficient fertilizers for crop plants and concurrently possess biostimulant characteristics.
{"title":"Chemical and Biological Profiling of Fish and Seaweed Residues to Be Applied for Plant Fertilization","authors":"Marios Maroulis, S. Matsia, Georgios Lazopoulos, O. Pârvulescu, V. Ion, O. Bujor, Joshua Cabell, A. Løes, Athanasios Salifoglou","doi":"10.3390/agronomy13092258","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092258","url":null,"abstract":"Brown algae and fish waste contain high-value compounds with potentially beneficial effects on plant growth. Several commercial fertilizer products are currently available, but the characteristics of the materials are usually not well-described. Fish and seaweed residues originating from the Norwegian coast are available, after industrial processing, which may be combined into complete fertilizers exerting additional effects on crop plants (biostimulants). In this study, raw samples of fish and seaweed residues were investigated using ecofriendly technologies (drying, leaching), targeting search and isolation of potential biostimulants, followed by physicochemical characterization (elemental analysis, UV–visible, FT-IR, ICP-MS, ICP-OES, electrical conductivity, pH, etc.). Organic solvent extractions were employed to determine the available mineral content, micro- and macro-nutrients, antioxidant compounds, and amino acid content by chemical hydrolysis. The in vitro biotoxicity profile (cell viability, morphology, migration) of the generated extracts was also perused, employing Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli) along with sensitive neuronal eukaryotic cell lines N2a58 and SH-SY5Y, to assess their time- and concentration-dependent efficacy as antimicrobials and agents counteracting oxidative stress. The analytical composition of all raw materials showed that they contain important nutrients (K, P, Ca, N) as well as organic compounds and amino acids (Gly, Asp, Glu, Leu, Phe) capable of acting as plant biostimulants. Concurrently, the inherently high conductivity values and salt content necessitated leaching processes, which result in Na+ and K+ decreasing by more than ~60% and justifying further their use in soil treatment formulations. The aforementioned results and assertions, combined with physical measurements (pH, electrical conductivity, etc.) on naturally occurring and dried samples as well as green solvent extracts, formulated a physicochemical profile reflecting well-defined inorganic–organic species that might function as biostimulants. The collective physicochemical and biological properties support the notion that appropriate mixtures of marine organism residues may be efficient fertilizers for crop plants and concurrently possess biostimulant characteristics.","PeriodicalId":56066,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy-Basel","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46475982","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-28DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13092263
Yankuan Zhou, Min Zhou, Yuan-yuan Wang, Xintong Jiang, Pei Zhang, Kang-kang Xu, Bin Tang, Can Li
Cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (CYP) is one of the three detoxification metabolic enzymes in insects, and is involved in the metabolism and transformation of endogenous substances as well as the activation and degradation of exogenous compounds. This study aims to reveal the molecular mechanism of CYP9E2 in Tribolium castaneum in adapting to high-CO2 stress. By predicting the sequence function of CYP9E2, analyzing the temporal and spatial expression profile of TcCYP9E2, and using RNAi to silence TcCYP9E2 combined with a high-CO2 stress treatment, we measured the carbohydrate content, trehalase activity, and gene expression levels in trehalose metabolism of T. castaneum. A bioinformatics analysis showed that the predicted molecular weight of the protein encoded by TcCYP9E2 is 60.15, the theoretical isoelectric point is 8.63, there is no signal peptide, and the protein is hydrophilic. An evolutionary tree analysis showed that TcCYP9E2 belongs to the CYP6 family and belongs to the CYP3 group; and the spatiotemporal expression profile results showed that TcCYP9E2 was highly expressed in the larvae midgut 48 h after injection of dsCYP9E2, with survival rates decreasing with the increase in CO2 concentration. Under the condition of 75% CO2, the contents of glycogen, glucose, ATP, and membrane-bound trehalase decreased significantly after the injection of dsCYP9E2. The expression of TRE-1, TRE-2, and GP in trehalose metabolism and energy pathways was significantly downregulated.
{"title":"Characterization of the TcCYPE2 Gene and Its Role in Regulating Trehalose Metabolism in Response to High CO2 Stress","authors":"Yankuan Zhou, Min Zhou, Yuan-yuan Wang, Xintong Jiang, Pei Zhang, Kang-kang Xu, Bin Tang, Can Li","doi":"10.3390/agronomy13092263","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13092263","url":null,"abstract":"Cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (CYP) is one of the three detoxification metabolic enzymes in insects, and is involved in the metabolism and transformation of endogenous substances as well as the activation and degradation of exogenous compounds. This study aims to reveal the molecular mechanism of CYP9E2 in Tribolium castaneum in adapting to high-CO2 stress. By predicting the sequence function of CYP9E2, analyzing the temporal and spatial expression profile of TcCYP9E2, and using RNAi to silence TcCYP9E2 combined with a high-CO2 stress treatment, we measured the carbohydrate content, trehalase activity, and gene expression levels in trehalose metabolism of T. castaneum. A bioinformatics analysis showed that the predicted molecular weight of the protein encoded by TcCYP9E2 is 60.15, the theoretical isoelectric point is 8.63, there is no signal peptide, and the protein is hydrophilic. An evolutionary tree analysis showed that TcCYP9E2 belongs to the CYP6 family and belongs to the CYP3 group; and the spatiotemporal expression profile results showed that TcCYP9E2 was highly expressed in the larvae midgut 48 h after injection of dsCYP9E2, with survival rates decreasing with the increase in CO2 concentration. Under the condition of 75% CO2, the contents of glycogen, glucose, ATP, and membrane-bound trehalase decreased significantly after the injection of dsCYP9E2. The expression of TRE-1, TRE-2, and GP in trehalose metabolism and energy pathways was significantly downregulated.","PeriodicalId":56066,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy-Basel","volume":"68 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2023-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41259840","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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