Pub Date : 2024-09-07DOI: 10.3390/agronomy14092048
Ana Maria Blejan, Violeta Nour, Georgiana Gabriela Codină
Fruit leathers are convenient, delicious and sophisticated alternatives to natural fruits as a source of nutrients, fibers and bioactive compounds. The present study was conducted to develop new fruit leathers by adding 0.5%, 1.0% and 1.5% wild bilberry (BIPP) and blackcurrant (BCPP) pomace powders in pear leather manufactured with honey (5%), pectin (1%) and lemon juice (2.5%) as additional ingredients. The CIEL*a*b* color parameters, titratable acidity, total phenolics content, total anthocyanins content and DPPH radical scavenging activity were determined in the fruit leathers. In addition, the puncturing force, flexibility and adhesiveness of the fruit leathers were measured and sensory analysis was conducted. The results showed that the addition of pomace powders significantly decreased the lightness, chroma and hue angle and increased the titratable acidity of the fruit leathers while a* values decreased in the leathers with BIPP addition. Flexibility slightly decreased while adhesiveness significantly increased with increasing BIPP and BCPP addition level, changes that were perceived as negative in the sensory analysis. The total phenolic content increased by 2.03, 3.26 and 4.45 times at 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% BIPP addition, respectively, while only by 1.22, 1.42 and 1.60 times at the same levels of BCPP addition. The newly developed fruit leathers could be recommended as alternative snack foods with high nutritional value and functionality.
{"title":"Physicochemical and Functional Characterization of Pear Leathers Enriched with Wild Bilberry and Blackcurrant Pomace Powders","authors":"Ana Maria Blejan, Violeta Nour, Georgiana Gabriela Codină","doi":"10.3390/agronomy14092048","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14092048","url":null,"abstract":"Fruit leathers are convenient, delicious and sophisticated alternatives to natural fruits as a source of nutrients, fibers and bioactive compounds. The present study was conducted to develop new fruit leathers by adding 0.5%, 1.0% and 1.5% wild bilberry (BIPP) and blackcurrant (BCPP) pomace powders in pear leather manufactured with honey (5%), pectin (1%) and lemon juice (2.5%) as additional ingredients. The CIEL*a*b* color parameters, titratable acidity, total phenolics content, total anthocyanins content and DPPH radical scavenging activity were determined in the fruit leathers. In addition, the puncturing force, flexibility and adhesiveness of the fruit leathers were measured and sensory analysis was conducted. The results showed that the addition of pomace powders significantly decreased the lightness, chroma and hue angle and increased the titratable acidity of the fruit leathers while a* values decreased in the leathers with BIPP addition. Flexibility slightly decreased while adhesiveness significantly increased with increasing BIPP and BCPP addition level, changes that were perceived as negative in the sensory analysis. The total phenolic content increased by 2.03, 3.26 and 4.45 times at 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% BIPP addition, respectively, while only by 1.22, 1.42 and 1.60 times at the same levels of BCPP addition. The newly developed fruit leathers could be recommended as alternative snack foods with high nutritional value and functionality.","PeriodicalId":7601,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy","volume":"43 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142209254","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
To investigate the effects and mechanism of prolonged inorganic nitrogen (N) fertilization on the N-use efficiency of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), a long-term study initiated in 2003 was conducted. The study analyzed how N fertilization affects dry matter translocation, N translocation, soil NO3-N, and N-use efficiency. Five different N-fertilizer rate treatments were tested: N0, N52.5, N105, N157.5, and N210, corresponding to annual N fertilizer doses of 0, 52.5, 105.0, 157.5, and 210.0 kg N ha−1, respectively. Results showed that increasing N-fertilizer rates significantly enhanced the two-year average dry matter accumulation amount (DMA) at maturity by 22.97–56.25% and pre-flowering crop growth rate (CGR) by 17.11–92.85%, with no significant increase beyond 105 kg N ha−1. However, no significant correlation was observed between the dry matter translocation efficiency (DTE) and wheat grain yield. Both insufficient and excessive N applications resulted in an imbalanced N distribution favoring vegetative growth over reproductive growth, thus negatively impacting N-use efficiency. At maturity, the N-fertilized treatments significantly increased the two-year average N accumulation amount (NAA) by 52.04–129.98%, with no further increase beyond 105 kg N ha−1. N fertilization also improved the two-year average N translocation efficiency (NTE) by 56.89–63.80% and the N contribution proportion (NCP) of wheat vegetative organs by 27.79–57.83%, peaking in the lower-N treatment (N52.5). However, high-N treatment (N210) led to an increase in NO3-N accumulation in the 0–100 cm soil layer, with an increase of 26.27% in 2018 and 122.44% in 2019. This higher soil NO3-N accumulation in the 0–100 cm layer decreased NHI, NUE, NAE, NPFP, and NMB. Additionally, N fertilization significantly reduced the two-year average N harvest index (NHI) by 9.89–12.85% and N utilization efficiency (NUE) by 11.14–20.79%, both decreasing with higher N application rates. The NAA followed the trend of anthesis > maturity > jointing. At the 105 kg N ha−1 rate, the highest N agronomic efficiency (NAE) (9.31 kg kg−1), N recovery efficiency (NRE) (38.32%), and N marginal benefit (NMB) (10.67 kg kg−1) were observed. Higher dry matter translocation amount (DTA) and N translocation amount (NTA) reduced NHI and NUE, whereas higher NTE improved NHI, NUE, and N partial factor productivity (NPFP). Overall, N fertilization enhanced N-use efficiency in spring wheat by improving N translocation rather than dry matter translocation.
{"title":"Does Nitrogen Fertilization Improve Nitrogen-Use Efficiency in Spring Wheat?","authors":"Aixia Xu, Yafei Chen, Xuexue Wei, Zechariah Effah, Lingling Li, Junhong Xie, Chang Liu, Sumera Anwar","doi":"10.3390/agronomy14092049","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14092049","url":null,"abstract":"To investigate the effects and mechanism of prolonged inorganic nitrogen (N) fertilization on the N-use efficiency of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), a long-term study initiated in 2003 was conducted. The study analyzed how N fertilization affects dry matter translocation, N translocation, soil NO3-N, and N-use efficiency. Five different N-fertilizer rate treatments were tested: N0, N52.5, N105, N157.5, and N210, corresponding to annual N fertilizer doses of 0, 52.5, 105.0, 157.5, and 210.0 kg N ha−1, respectively. Results showed that increasing N-fertilizer rates significantly enhanced the two-year average dry matter accumulation amount (DMA) at maturity by 22.97–56.25% and pre-flowering crop growth rate (CGR) by 17.11–92.85%, with no significant increase beyond 105 kg N ha−1. However, no significant correlation was observed between the dry matter translocation efficiency (DTE) and wheat grain yield. Both insufficient and excessive N applications resulted in an imbalanced N distribution favoring vegetative growth over reproductive growth, thus negatively impacting N-use efficiency. At maturity, the N-fertilized treatments significantly increased the two-year average N accumulation amount (NAA) by 52.04–129.98%, with no further increase beyond 105 kg N ha−1. N fertilization also improved the two-year average N translocation efficiency (NTE) by 56.89–63.80% and the N contribution proportion (NCP) of wheat vegetative organs by 27.79–57.83%, peaking in the lower-N treatment (N52.5). However, high-N treatment (N210) led to an increase in NO3-N accumulation in the 0–100 cm soil layer, with an increase of 26.27% in 2018 and 122.44% in 2019. This higher soil NO3-N accumulation in the 0–100 cm layer decreased NHI, NUE, NAE, NPFP, and NMB. Additionally, N fertilization significantly reduced the two-year average N harvest index (NHI) by 9.89–12.85% and N utilization efficiency (NUE) by 11.14–20.79%, both decreasing with higher N application rates. The NAA followed the trend of anthesis > maturity > jointing. At the 105 kg N ha−1 rate, the highest N agronomic efficiency (NAE) (9.31 kg kg−1), N recovery efficiency (NRE) (38.32%), and N marginal benefit (NMB) (10.67 kg kg−1) were observed. Higher dry matter translocation amount (DTA) and N translocation amount (NTA) reduced NHI and NUE, whereas higher NTE improved NHI, NUE, and N partial factor productivity (NPFP). Overall, N fertilization enhanced N-use efficiency in spring wheat by improving N translocation rather than dry matter translocation.","PeriodicalId":7601,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142209253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-09-07DOI: 10.3390/agronomy14092051
Enrico Maria Lodolini, Nadia Palmieri, Alberto de Iudicibus, Pompea Gabriella Lucchese, Matteo Zucchini, Veronica Giorgi, Samuele Crescenzi, Kaies Mezrioui, Davide Neri, Corrado Ciaccia, Alberto Assirelli
Two different in-row soil management techniques were compared in the Olive Orchard Innovation Long-term experiment of the Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Centre for Olive, Fruit, and Citrus Crops in Rome, Italy. Rows were managed with an in-row rotary tiller and with synthetic mulching using permeable polypropylene placed after cultivar Maurino olive trees planting. The effects of the two treatments were assessed through weed soil coverage and the growth of the olive trees. Results showed better agronomic performance associated with synthetic mulching. The weed control effect along the row of a young high-density olive orchard was higher with the synthetic mulching compared to hoeing. The effect of the synthetic mulching seemed to disappear when removed from the ground (spring 2023) since no significant differences were found for tree size and yield in the two tested in-row soil management systems at the end of 2023. Finally, the growth of the young olive trees (Trunk Cross Sectional Area, Height, and Canopy expansion) measured across the three years, was higher for the synthetic mulched row than the hoed one. The use of synthetic mulching along the row positively forced the vegetative growth of the young olive trees and anticipated the onset of fruit production compared to periodical hoeing: a significantly higher fruit production was registered three years after planting. Root diameter was higher under synthetic mulching one year after planting, and no differences were observed in the following sampling dates showing similar fluctuations linked to the seasonal growth pattern. The life cycle assessment and costing highlighted that the application of mulching had a higher eco- and economic-efficiency than the periodical in-row soil hoeing.
{"title":"Differentiated In-Row Soil Management in a High-Density Olive Orchard: Effects on Weed Control, Tree Growth and Yield, and Economic and Environmental Sustainability","authors":"Enrico Maria Lodolini, Nadia Palmieri, Alberto de Iudicibus, Pompea Gabriella Lucchese, Matteo Zucchini, Veronica Giorgi, Samuele Crescenzi, Kaies Mezrioui, Davide Neri, Corrado Ciaccia, Alberto Assirelli","doi":"10.3390/agronomy14092051","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14092051","url":null,"abstract":"Two different in-row soil management techniques were compared in the Olive Orchard Innovation Long-term experiment of the Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Centre for Olive, Fruit, and Citrus Crops in Rome, Italy. Rows were managed with an in-row rotary tiller and with synthetic mulching using permeable polypropylene placed after cultivar Maurino olive trees planting. The effects of the two treatments were assessed through weed soil coverage and the growth of the olive trees. Results showed better agronomic performance associated with synthetic mulching. The weed control effect along the row of a young high-density olive orchard was higher with the synthetic mulching compared to hoeing. The effect of the synthetic mulching seemed to disappear when removed from the ground (spring 2023) since no significant differences were found for tree size and yield in the two tested in-row soil management systems at the end of 2023. Finally, the growth of the young olive trees (Trunk Cross Sectional Area, Height, and Canopy expansion) measured across the three years, was higher for the synthetic mulched row than the hoed one. The use of synthetic mulching along the row positively forced the vegetative growth of the young olive trees and anticipated the onset of fruit production compared to periodical hoeing: a significantly higher fruit production was registered three years after planting. Root diameter was higher under synthetic mulching one year after planting, and no differences were observed in the following sampling dates showing similar fluctuations linked to the seasonal growth pattern. The life cycle assessment and costing highlighted that the application of mulching had a higher eco- and economic-efficiency than the periodical in-row soil hoeing.","PeriodicalId":7601,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy","volume":"42 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142209255","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Growth monitoring of crops is a crucial aspect of precision agriculture, essential for optimal yield prediction and resource allocation. Traditional crop growth monitoring methods are labor-intensive and prone to errors. This study introduces an automated segmentation pipeline utilizing multi-date aerial images and ortho-mosaics to monitor the growth of cauliflower crops (Brassica Oleracea var. Botrytis) using an object-based image analysis approach. The methodology employs YOLOv8, a Grounding Detection Transformer with Improved Denoising Anchor Boxes (DINO), and the Segment Anything Model (SAM) for automatic annotation and segmentation. The YOLOv8 model was trained using aerial image datasets, which then facilitated the training of the Grounded Segment Anything Model framework. This approach generated automatic annotations and segmentation masks, classifying crop rows for temporal monitoring and growth estimation. The study’s findings utilized a multi-modal monitoring approach to highlight the efficiency of this automated system in providing accurate crop growth analysis, promoting informed decision-making in crop management and sustainable agricultural practices. The results indicate consistent and comparable growth patterns between aerial images and ortho-mosaics, with significant periods of rapid expansion and minor fluctuations over time. The results also indicated a correlation between the time and method of observation which paves a future possibility of integration of such techniques aimed at increasing the accuracy in crop growth monitoring based on automatically derived temporal crop row segmentation masks.
{"title":"Crop Growth Analysis Using Automatic Annotations and Transfer Learning in Multi-Date Aerial Images and Ortho-Mosaics","authors":"Shubham Rana, Salvatore Gerbino, Ehsan Akbari Sekehravani, Mario Brandon Russo, Petronia Carillo","doi":"10.3390/agronomy14092052","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14092052","url":null,"abstract":"Growth monitoring of crops is a crucial aspect of precision agriculture, essential for optimal yield prediction and resource allocation. Traditional crop growth monitoring methods are labor-intensive and prone to errors. This study introduces an automated segmentation pipeline utilizing multi-date aerial images and ortho-mosaics to monitor the growth of cauliflower crops (Brassica Oleracea var. Botrytis) using an object-based image analysis approach. The methodology employs YOLOv8, a Grounding Detection Transformer with Improved Denoising Anchor Boxes (DINO), and the Segment Anything Model (SAM) for automatic annotation and segmentation. The YOLOv8 model was trained using aerial image datasets, which then facilitated the training of the Grounded Segment Anything Model framework. This approach generated automatic annotations and segmentation masks, classifying crop rows for temporal monitoring and growth estimation. The study’s findings utilized a multi-modal monitoring approach to highlight the efficiency of this automated system in providing accurate crop growth analysis, promoting informed decision-making in crop management and sustainable agricultural practices. The results indicate consistent and comparable growth patterns between aerial images and ortho-mosaics, with significant periods of rapid expansion and minor fluctuations over time. The results also indicated a correlation between the time and method of observation which paves a future possibility of integration of such techniques aimed at increasing the accuracy in crop growth monitoring based on automatically derived temporal crop row segmentation masks.","PeriodicalId":7601,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy","volume":"58 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142209315","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Arundo donax (family: Poaceae) is a perennial rhizomatous plant with considerable economic and ecological benefits. The plant is characterized by its fast growth, high yield, wide adaptability, and strong disease resistance. However, widespread cultivation is difficult because A. donax can only be asexually propagated. This study tested the efficacy of an aqua-based culture method with short duration and high rooting rate. The aqua-based culture protocol involved treating cane fragments with the commercial broad-spectrum rooting powder ABT-1 (No. 1 of the ABT series) at 100 mg/L for 24 h, followed by culturing in tap water for 19 days. We found that plant materials sampled from September to February of the following year were more suitable for aqua-based culturing than materials sampled from other months. Nodes on different parts of the cane did not vary significantly in the ability to form seedlings. The rooting percentage reached >95% after only 20 days, while the sprouting percentage was >93%. The seedlings obtained were strong, with high survival rates during cultivation and acclimation. No strict requirements for the growing media were necessary to achieve these results. In conclusion, this study provides an empirical foundation for a technique that could facilitate the factory production of high-quality A. donax seedlings.
{"title":"An Efficient Aqua-Based Culture Method for the Propagation of High-Quality Arundo donax Seedlings","authors":"Jialin Guo, Wei Li, Gangqiang Cao, Luyue Zhang, Zhengqing Xie, Weiwei Chen, Gongyao Shi, Fang Wei, Baoming Tian","doi":"10.3390/agronomy14092047","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14092047","url":null,"abstract":"Arundo donax (family: Poaceae) is a perennial rhizomatous plant with considerable economic and ecological benefits. The plant is characterized by its fast growth, high yield, wide adaptability, and strong disease resistance. However, widespread cultivation is difficult because A. donax can only be asexually propagated. This study tested the efficacy of an aqua-based culture method with short duration and high rooting rate. The aqua-based culture protocol involved treating cane fragments with the commercial broad-spectrum rooting powder ABT-1 (No. 1 of the ABT series) at 100 mg/L for 24 h, followed by culturing in tap water for 19 days. We found that plant materials sampled from September to February of the following year were more suitable for aqua-based culturing than materials sampled from other months. Nodes on different parts of the cane did not vary significantly in the ability to form seedlings. The rooting percentage reached >95% after only 20 days, while the sprouting percentage was >93%. The seedlings obtained were strong, with high survival rates during cultivation and acclimation. No strict requirements for the growing media were necessary to achieve these results. In conclusion, this study provides an empirical foundation for a technique that could facilitate the factory production of high-quality A. donax seedlings.","PeriodicalId":7601,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy","volume":"96 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142209289","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Soybeans are an essential source of food, protein, and oil worldwide, and the nodules on their root systems play a critical role in nitrogen fixation and plant growth. In this study, we tackled the challenge of limited high-resolution image quantities and the constraints on model learning by innovatively employing image segmentation technology for an in-depth analysis of soybean nodule phenomics. Through a meticulously designed segmentation algorithm, we broke down large-resolution images into numerous smaller ones, effectively improving the model’s learning efficiency and significantly increasing the available data volume, thus laying a solid foundation for subsequent analysis. In terms of model selection and optimization, after several rounds of comparison and testing, YOLOX was identified as the optimal model, achieving an accuracy of 91.38% on the test set with an R2 of up to 86%, fully demonstrating its efficiency and reliability in nodule counting tasks. Subsequently, we utilized YOLOV5 for instance segmentation, achieving a precision of 93.8% in quickly and accurately extracting key phenotypic indicators such as the area, circumference, length, and width of the nodules, and calculated the statistical properties of these indicators. This provided a wealth of quantitative data for the morphological study of soybean nodules. The research not only enhanced the efficiency and accuracy of obtaining nodule phenotypic data and reduced costs but also provided important scientific evidence for the selection and breeding of soybean materials, highlighting its potential application value in agricultural research and practical production.
{"title":"An Efficient and Low-Cost Deep Learning-Based Method for Counting and Sizing Soybean Nodules","authors":"Xueying Wang, Nianping Yu, Yongzhe Sun, Yixin Guo, Jinchao Pan, Jiarui Niu, Li Liu, Hongyu Chen, Junzhuo Cao, Haifeng Cao, Qingshan Chen, Dawei Xin, Rongsheng Zhu","doi":"10.3390/agronomy14092041","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14092041","url":null,"abstract":"Soybeans are an essential source of food, protein, and oil worldwide, and the nodules on their root systems play a critical role in nitrogen fixation and plant growth. In this study, we tackled the challenge of limited high-resolution image quantities and the constraints on model learning by innovatively employing image segmentation technology for an in-depth analysis of soybean nodule phenomics. Through a meticulously designed segmentation algorithm, we broke down large-resolution images into numerous smaller ones, effectively improving the model’s learning efficiency and significantly increasing the available data volume, thus laying a solid foundation for subsequent analysis. In terms of model selection and optimization, after several rounds of comparison and testing, YOLOX was identified as the optimal model, achieving an accuracy of 91.38% on the test set with an R2 of up to 86%, fully demonstrating its efficiency and reliability in nodule counting tasks. Subsequently, we utilized YOLOV5 for instance segmentation, achieving a precision of 93.8% in quickly and accurately extracting key phenotypic indicators such as the area, circumference, length, and width of the nodules, and calculated the statistical properties of these indicators. This provided a wealth of quantitative data for the morphological study of soybean nodules. The research not only enhanced the efficiency and accuracy of obtaining nodule phenotypic data and reduced costs but also provided important scientific evidence for the selection and breeding of soybean materials, highlighting its potential application value in agricultural research and practical production.","PeriodicalId":7601,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142209282","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-09-06DOI: 10.3390/agronomy14092044
Anlly Santillan Huaman, José Jesús Tejada-Alvarado, Ligia García, Jheiner Vásquez-García, Elizabeth Fernandez, Nuri Carito Vilca-Valqui, Manuel Oliva-Cruz
Phaseolus vulgaris L. is a legume of high nutraceutical value, widely cultivated and consumed. However, common bean production faces challenges such as water stress that severely affects its growth and yield. This study evaluated the morphological and physiological response of four native P. vulgaris accessions subjected to different irrigation treatments under greenhouse conditions. A completely randomized design with factorial arrangement was used, evaluating three irrigation frequencies (100%, 50%, 25%) in combination with four accessions (PER1003541, PER1003542, PER1003543, PER1003544). The results showed that with the 25% irrigation treatment, PER1003544 showed a 54.62% decrease in leaf area, while PER1003542 and PER1003543 experienced reductions of 56.56% and 59.24%, respectively. In addition, accession PER1003544 reported a smaller reduction in the number of flowers and pods, with decreases of 40.21% and 29.9%, in contrast to PER1003543, which showed decreases of 60.66% and 52.63%, respectively. Accessions PER1003541 and PER1003544 also recorded the lowest reductions in dry biomass, with 31.85% and 35.41%, respectively. Regarding yield, PER1003544 and PER1003541 experienced reductions of 59.01% and 69.79%, respectively, unlike PER1003543, which showed a 90% decrease. In relation to stomatal density, PER1003541 recorded a reduction of 28.28%, while PER1003544 had a decrease of 37.10%, and PER1003543 experienced a reduction of 47.05%; chlorophyll content showed a similar trend. Finally, PER1003544 maintained a relatively stable stomatal index, with a reduction of 29.01%, compared to PER1003543, which reduced by 60.99%. In conclusion, accession PER1003544 stands out as a promising variety for breeding programs focused on water stress tolerance, contributing to food security and agricultural sustainability in areas affected by limited water availability. However, PER1003541 would be a suitable additional option, offering farmers flexibility in their crop selection according to the specific conditions of their environment.
{"title":"Morpho-Physiological Response of Four Native Accessions of Phaseolus vulgaris L. Subjected to Water Stress under Greenhouse Conditions in Northeastern Peru","authors":"Anlly Santillan Huaman, José Jesús Tejada-Alvarado, Ligia García, Jheiner Vásquez-García, Elizabeth Fernandez, Nuri Carito Vilca-Valqui, Manuel Oliva-Cruz","doi":"10.3390/agronomy14092044","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14092044","url":null,"abstract":"Phaseolus vulgaris L. is a legume of high nutraceutical value, widely cultivated and consumed. However, common bean production faces challenges such as water stress that severely affects its growth and yield. This study evaluated the morphological and physiological response of four native P. vulgaris accessions subjected to different irrigation treatments under greenhouse conditions. A completely randomized design with factorial arrangement was used, evaluating three irrigation frequencies (100%, 50%, 25%) in combination with four accessions (PER1003541, PER1003542, PER1003543, PER1003544). The results showed that with the 25% irrigation treatment, PER1003544 showed a 54.62% decrease in leaf area, while PER1003542 and PER1003543 experienced reductions of 56.56% and 59.24%, respectively. In addition, accession PER1003544 reported a smaller reduction in the number of flowers and pods, with decreases of 40.21% and 29.9%, in contrast to PER1003543, which showed decreases of 60.66% and 52.63%, respectively. Accessions PER1003541 and PER1003544 also recorded the lowest reductions in dry biomass, with 31.85% and 35.41%, respectively. Regarding yield, PER1003544 and PER1003541 experienced reductions of 59.01% and 69.79%, respectively, unlike PER1003543, which showed a 90% decrease. In relation to stomatal density, PER1003541 recorded a reduction of 28.28%, while PER1003544 had a decrease of 37.10%, and PER1003543 experienced a reduction of 47.05%; chlorophyll content showed a similar trend. Finally, PER1003544 maintained a relatively stable stomatal index, with a reduction of 29.01%, compared to PER1003543, which reduced by 60.99%. In conclusion, accession PER1003544 stands out as a promising variety for breeding programs focused on water stress tolerance, contributing to food security and agricultural sustainability in areas affected by limited water availability. However, PER1003541 would be a suitable additional option, offering farmers flexibility in their crop selection according to the specific conditions of their environment.","PeriodicalId":7601,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142209283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-09-06DOI: 10.3390/agronomy14092038
Tatiana Pagan Loeiro da Cunha-Chiamlera, Tarik Chileh-Chelh, Miguel Urrestarazu, Mohamed Ezzaitouni, Rosalía López-Ruiz, Manuela Gallón-Bedoya, Miguel Á. Rincón-Cervera, José L. Guil-Guerrero
Amaranthus viridis L. is a wild edible plant that occasionally is cultivated as an alternative crop because of its interest as a functional food and its adaptation to high-saline soils. In this work, leaves from A. viridis were compared with their grown in controlled environment (GCE) counterparts in a soilless system at electrical conductivities (EC) and different light exposures for assessing growth parameters, moisture, total phenolic and total flavonoid content, phenolic compound profiles, vitamin C, antioxidant activity, and antiproliferative activity against the HT–29 human colorectal cancer cell line. The highest biomass production was obtained using EC of 2.5 dS m−1 and the AP67 Milk LED lamp. Vitamin C in wild samples ranged from 83.1 to 104.9 mg 100 g−1 fresh weight (fw), and in GCE ones, it ranged from 112.3 to 236.7 mg 100 g−1 fw. Measured by the DPPH and ABTS assays, the antioxidant activity was higher in wild than in GCE plants: the ranges for wild samples were in the 1.8–4.9 and 2.0–3.9 mmol of Trolox Equivalent (TE) 100 g−1 dry weight (dw) ranges, and for GCE ones in the 1.3–1.9 and 1.5–2.2 mmol TE 100 g−1 dw ranges, respectively. As for phenolic compounds, in wild samples, the range was from 14.65 to 22.70 mg 100 g−1 fw, and these amounts were much higher than those found in their GCE counterparts, in which the range was from 2.58 to 5.95 mg 100 g−1 fw. In wild plants three compounds, namely trans-p-coumaric acid, isorhamnetin–3–O–glucoside, and nicotiflorin, accounted for more than half of the total quantified phenolic compounds. The MTT assay revealed concentration- and time-dependent inhibitory effects on HT–29 cells for all checked extracts. Cancer cells were less influenced by extracts from GCE plants, which showed higher GI50 compared to wild plants. This work improves knowledge on the growth parameters, phytochemical profiles, and biological activities of wild and GCE A. viridis.
{"title":"Crop Productivity, Phytochemicals, and Bioactivities of Wild and Grown in Controlled Environment Slender Amaranth (Amaranthus viridis L.)","authors":"Tatiana Pagan Loeiro da Cunha-Chiamlera, Tarik Chileh-Chelh, Miguel Urrestarazu, Mohamed Ezzaitouni, Rosalía López-Ruiz, Manuela Gallón-Bedoya, Miguel Á. Rincón-Cervera, José L. Guil-Guerrero","doi":"10.3390/agronomy14092038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14092038","url":null,"abstract":"Amaranthus viridis L. is a wild edible plant that occasionally is cultivated as an alternative crop because of its interest as a functional food and its adaptation to high-saline soils. In this work, leaves from A. viridis were compared with their grown in controlled environment (GCE) counterparts in a soilless system at electrical conductivities (EC) and different light exposures for assessing growth parameters, moisture, total phenolic and total flavonoid content, phenolic compound profiles, vitamin C, antioxidant activity, and antiproliferative activity against the HT–29 human colorectal cancer cell line. The highest biomass production was obtained using EC of 2.5 dS m−1 and the AP67 Milk LED lamp. Vitamin C in wild samples ranged from 83.1 to 104.9 mg 100 g−1 fresh weight (fw), and in GCE ones, it ranged from 112.3 to 236.7 mg 100 g−1 fw. Measured by the DPPH and ABTS assays, the antioxidant activity was higher in wild than in GCE plants: the ranges for wild samples were in the 1.8–4.9 and 2.0–3.9 mmol of Trolox Equivalent (TE) 100 g−1 dry weight (dw) ranges, and for GCE ones in the 1.3–1.9 and 1.5–2.2 mmol TE 100 g−1 dw ranges, respectively. As for phenolic compounds, in wild samples, the range was from 14.65 to 22.70 mg 100 g−1 fw, and these amounts were much higher than those found in their GCE counterparts, in which the range was from 2.58 to 5.95 mg 100 g−1 fw. In wild plants three compounds, namely trans-p-coumaric acid, isorhamnetin–3–O–glucoside, and nicotiflorin, accounted for more than half of the total quantified phenolic compounds. The MTT assay revealed concentration- and time-dependent inhibitory effects on HT–29 cells for all checked extracts. Cancer cells were less influenced by extracts from GCE plants, which showed higher GI50 compared to wild plants. This work improves knowledge on the growth parameters, phytochemical profiles, and biological activities of wild and GCE A. viridis.","PeriodicalId":7601,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142209264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-09-06DOI: 10.3390/agronomy14092045
Cristina Patanè, Sarah Siah, Valeria Cafaro, Salvatore L. Cosentino, Sebastiano A. Corinzia
In this study, the effects of repeated cycles of drying and rehydration on some physiological traits were assessed in long shelf-life tomatoes cultivated in a typical semi-arid area of Southern Italy. Three Sicilian landraces (‘Custonaci’, ‘Salina’, and ‘Vulcano’) from the germplasm collection at CNR-IBE (Catania, Italy) and a commercial tomato mini-plum (‘Faino Hy., control) were investigated under three water regimes: DRY (no irrigation), IRR (long-season full irrigation) and REW (post-drought rewaterings). Net photosynthetic assimilation rate (Pn), leaf transpiration (E), stomatal conductance (gs), instantaneous water use efficiency (WUEi), leaf intercellular CO2 (Ci, ppm), and leaf temperature (°C), were measured during the growing season. At harvest (late July), fruit production per plant was measured and ripened fruits were analysed for total solids (TS), soluble solids (SS), reducing sugars (RS), vitamin C (AscA), and total phenols (TP). Pn promptly responded to rewatering (REW), quickly increasing immediately after irrigation, and declined with soil drying up. All genotypes had similar physiological pathways in DRY, but in IRR, ‘Faino’ had higher Pn (up to 31 μmol CO2 m−2s−1) and E (up to 18 mmol H2O m−2s−1). Stomatal conductance (gs) after rewatering steeply increased and quickly declined after that. All local landraces had the same gs in IRR and REW. Variations in RWC were less pronounced than those in other physiological parameters. WUEi in REW and DRY proceeded similarly (up to 3 μmol CO2 mmol H2O). Irrigation in REW significantly promoted plant productivity over the DRY control (up to +150% in ‘Vulcano’). TS and SS in REW were lower than those in DRY, but higher (+19 and +7%, respectively) than in IRR. Vitamin C was greater in DRY and REW (26 and 18% higher than in IRR, respectively). TP in all local tomatoes were significantly higher (up to +29% in ‘Vulcano’) than those in the commercial control. Water regime had a minor effect on TP in ‘Custonaci’ and ‘Salina’. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) provided information on the changes in physiological and fruit quality traits in tomatoes in relation to cultivars and water regimes. The results of this study also revealed that a water-saving irrigation strategy where few irrigations are applied after prolonged periods of drought might be profitable in terms of fruit production enhancement in long shelf-life tomatoes and that limited rewaterings in most cases, help retaining high levels of fruit quality traits.
{"title":"Potential Impact of Drought and Rewatering on Plant Physiology and Fruit Quality in Long-Shelf-Life Tomatoes","authors":"Cristina Patanè, Sarah Siah, Valeria Cafaro, Salvatore L. Cosentino, Sebastiano A. Corinzia","doi":"10.3390/agronomy14092045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14092045","url":null,"abstract":"In this study, the effects of repeated cycles of drying and rehydration on some physiological traits were assessed in long shelf-life tomatoes cultivated in a typical semi-arid area of Southern Italy. Three Sicilian landraces (‘Custonaci’, ‘Salina’, and ‘Vulcano’) from the germplasm collection at CNR-IBE (Catania, Italy) and a commercial tomato mini-plum (‘Faino Hy., control) were investigated under three water regimes: DRY (no irrigation), IRR (long-season full irrigation) and REW (post-drought rewaterings). Net photosynthetic assimilation rate (Pn), leaf transpiration (E), stomatal conductance (gs), instantaneous water use efficiency (WUEi), leaf intercellular CO2 (Ci, ppm), and leaf temperature (°C), were measured during the growing season. At harvest (late July), fruit production per plant was measured and ripened fruits were analysed for total solids (TS), soluble solids (SS), reducing sugars (RS), vitamin C (AscA), and total phenols (TP). Pn promptly responded to rewatering (REW), quickly increasing immediately after irrigation, and declined with soil drying up. All genotypes had similar physiological pathways in DRY, but in IRR, ‘Faino’ had higher Pn (up to 31 μmol CO2 m−2s−1) and E (up to 18 mmol H2O m−2s−1). Stomatal conductance (gs) after rewatering steeply increased and quickly declined after that. All local landraces had the same gs in IRR and REW. Variations in RWC were less pronounced than those in other physiological parameters. WUEi in REW and DRY proceeded similarly (up to 3 μmol CO2 mmol H2O). Irrigation in REW significantly promoted plant productivity over the DRY control (up to +150% in ‘Vulcano’). TS and SS in REW were lower than those in DRY, but higher (+19 and +7%, respectively) than in IRR. Vitamin C was greater in DRY and REW (26 and 18% higher than in IRR, respectively). TP in all local tomatoes were significantly higher (up to +29% in ‘Vulcano’) than those in the commercial control. Water regime had a minor effect on TP in ‘Custonaci’ and ‘Salina’. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) provided information on the changes in physiological and fruit quality traits in tomatoes in relation to cultivars and water regimes. The results of this study also revealed that a water-saving irrigation strategy where few irrigations are applied after prolonged periods of drought might be profitable in terms of fruit production enhancement in long shelf-life tomatoes and that limited rewaterings in most cases, help retaining high levels of fruit quality traits.","PeriodicalId":7601,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142209313","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Water resources, energy, and food are fundamental resources for high-quality regional development. In the process of rapid regional economic growth, integrating the utilization of these fundamental resources has become a critical challenge for achieving high-quality development in the Ili River Valley. To explore the coordinated development status of water, energy, and food (W-E-F) in the Ili River Valley, we constructed a comprehensive evaluation indicator system for the regional W-E-F system, and we calculated and analyzed the comprehensive development level, coupling coordination degree, and spatial equilibrium of the W-E-F system from 2008 to 2020. The results indicate that the comprehensive evaluation indicators of the W-E-F system in the Ili River Valley exhibited an overall upward trend, indicating that the system is moving in a positive direction. Among them, the water subsystem’s comprehensive evaluation indicator showed an upward trend but fluctuated significantly during the study period, with the excessive proportion of agricultural water consumption being a key factor affecting its development. Furthermore, the comprehensive evaluation indicator of the energy subsystem showed a slight downward trend, indicating constraints on the development of energy subsystems. Agricultural surface pollution and industrial waste pollution are the primary factors limiting its development. Meanwhile, due to the significant attention from governments at all levels, the food subsystem has been developed rapidly, with its comprehensive evaluation indicator showing a significant upward trend, which shows that the region is actively promoting food production capacity enhancement initiatives. Additionally, the coupling degree of the W-E-F system remained in a state of coordinated coupling, with an average value between 0.7 and 1.0, indicating a high overall development level, and that the development of each resource affects and constrains that of the other two. The coupling coordination degree transitioned through phases of near coordination, primary coordination, good coordination, and moderate coordination, and all counties and cities showed a tendency to evolve towards high coupling, indicating significant potential for the further development of the regional W-E-F system coupling and coordination. Among the subsystems, the food subsystem exhibited the highest spatial equilibrium (0.78) and the smallest spatial disparities, while the energy subsystem demonstrated the lowest spatial equilibrium (0.40) and the largest spatial disparities. There were still significant issues with the utilization and equilibrium of the regional resource allocation, necessitating integrated planning for the coordinated development of the W-E-F system to achieve sustainable resource management and high-quality ecological and economic development.
{"title":"Assessing the Coordination and Spatial Equilibrium of Water, Energy, and Food Systems for Regional Socio-Economic Growth in the Ili River Valley, China","authors":"Guopeng Qin, Jian Liu, Haixia Lin, Tehseen Javed, Xuehui Gao, Yupeng Tang, Xiaoguo Mu, Muchan Guo, Zhenhua Wang","doi":"10.3390/agronomy14092037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14092037","url":null,"abstract":"Water resources, energy, and food are fundamental resources for high-quality regional development. In the process of rapid regional economic growth, integrating the utilization of these fundamental resources has become a critical challenge for achieving high-quality development in the Ili River Valley. To explore the coordinated development status of water, energy, and food (W-E-F) in the Ili River Valley, we constructed a comprehensive evaluation indicator system for the regional W-E-F system, and we calculated and analyzed the comprehensive development level, coupling coordination degree, and spatial equilibrium of the W-E-F system from 2008 to 2020. The results indicate that the comprehensive evaluation indicators of the W-E-F system in the Ili River Valley exhibited an overall upward trend, indicating that the system is moving in a positive direction. Among them, the water subsystem’s comprehensive evaluation indicator showed an upward trend but fluctuated significantly during the study period, with the excessive proportion of agricultural water consumption being a key factor affecting its development. Furthermore, the comprehensive evaluation indicator of the energy subsystem showed a slight downward trend, indicating constraints on the development of energy subsystems. Agricultural surface pollution and industrial waste pollution are the primary factors limiting its development. Meanwhile, due to the significant attention from governments at all levels, the food subsystem has been developed rapidly, with its comprehensive evaluation indicator showing a significant upward trend, which shows that the region is actively promoting food production capacity enhancement initiatives. Additionally, the coupling degree of the W-E-F system remained in a state of coordinated coupling, with an average value between 0.7 and 1.0, indicating a high overall development level, and that the development of each resource affects and constrains that of the other two. The coupling coordination degree transitioned through phases of near coordination, primary coordination, good coordination, and moderate coordination, and all counties and cities showed a tendency to evolve towards high coupling, indicating significant potential for the further development of the regional W-E-F system coupling and coordination. Among the subsystems, the food subsystem exhibited the highest spatial equilibrium (0.78) and the smallest spatial disparities, while the energy subsystem demonstrated the lowest spatial equilibrium (0.40) and the largest spatial disparities. There were still significant issues with the utilization and equilibrium of the regional resource allocation, necessitating integrated planning for the coordinated development of the W-E-F system to achieve sustainable resource management and high-quality ecological and economic development.","PeriodicalId":7601,"journal":{"name":"Agronomy","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142226471","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}