Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
Volume:23 Issue: 2, Mar 2021

Today, national parks as a natural resource capital are facing many challenges. Therefore, economic valuation of its functions and services is one of the most important categories of planning and sustainable ecosystem management. The present study aimed to estimate the economic value of ecosystem services in the Lar National Park, Iran. To this aim, the methods of revealed willingness to pay, imputed willingness to pay, and expressed willingness to pay were used. The results of this research showed the economic value of water resources reservation services (1619.802 Million Dollars, $M), soil conservation services (9.218 $M), soil production services (0.804 $M), recreation services (3.004 $M), habitat service (36.722 $M), production services (1.312 $M), carbon sequestration (847.109 $M), and oxygen supply services (93.618 $M). Finally, the total economic valuation of the use services was estimated to be $1867.087 M. Since more than 97% of the values are related to the water conservation and gas regulation services, sustainable ecosystem management is essential for preserving and expanding these services.

The study spatially explored the farm-level opportunity cost of protecting environment and examined the sufficiency level of government support for covering farm level of opportunity cost in TR83 region of Turkey. By using questionnaires, research data were collected from randomly selected 334 farms that participated in Environmentally Friendly Agricultural Land Protection Program (EFALP) and purposively selected 27 conventional farms. Farm-level opportunity cost of protecting environment was calculated via subtracting gross revenue calculated under condition of protecting environment from the gross revenue calculated under conventional ones. Gross revenue under conventional condition and under condition of protecting environment was elicited by using the MOTAD linear approximation of the quadratic programming. Sufficiency of government support for protecting environment was revealed through taking the difference between farm-level opportunity cost for protecting environment and total government support payment for environmental consideration to farm included in EFALP. Research results showed that government support paid to sample farms did not cover opportunity cost of farm for protecting environment in TR83 region. Considering spatially differentiation of farm-level opportunity cost for protecting environment when policy makers determine the quantity of government support may positively enhance the dissemination of EFALP programs and reduce the adverse effects of agricultural practices.

Ratoon Rice (RR) has been proposed to be an effective alternative rice system to increase productivity growth and reduce the environmental impact, but data on the economic performance of RR for farmers are limited. A survey of paddy farms was conducted to assess the impact of the adoption of RR in Hubei, China. Endogenous switching regression framework was used to account for observed and unobserved heterogeneity. We analyzed the effect of yield, income, and technical efficiency of RR adoption. Results show that adoption of RR has great impact on yield, income, and technical efficiency. Increase in rice yield (by 5.12%) and rice income (3.74%) was found for RR farmers; increases of yield, income and technical efficiency was also significant if farmers cultivating single rice shifted to RR. Technical efficiency showed a large difference when RR was adopted by farmers cultivating single rice. Small farms and large farms benefit from the adoption of RR. Large farms benefit more yield and income than small farmer, while small farms are more efficient than large farms. Our findings provide meaningful and timely implications for future national programs and policies to promote the implementation of RR in China that aim to promote more sustainable practices and lower environmental impact in agriculture.

Heat stress, or hyperthermia, can have a serious effect on chicken performance in poultry industry in many parts of the world. Both genetics and environment play key role in the performance of a chicken and, therefore, it is important to consider both factors in addressing heat stress. On genetics level, genome-wide association studies have become a popular method for studying heat stress in recent years. A population of 202 F2 chickens was reared for 84 days to find genes and genomic regions affecting growth traits and immune system. But, due to unexpected acute increase in temperature at day 83, 182 birds died (case) and 20 birds remained alive (control). At the age of 70 days, blood sample of all birds was collected to extract their DNA, using modified salting out method. All samples were genotyped by a 60 K Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) chip. Genome-wide association study was carried out by GCTA to identify gene and genomic regions associated with heat stress tolerance. Results indicated a close relationship between 28 SNPs, located on chromosomes 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 12, 19, 20, and 21 and heat stress tolerance at the level of suggestive significance. Two suggestively significant markers on chromosome 5, namely, GGaluGA273356 and Gga_rs16479429, were located within and 52 Kb downstream of two genes, including MAPKBP1and SPON1, respectively. Gene ontology analysis indicated that the resistance of chickens to acute increase of temperature might be linked to the function of MAPKBP1 and SPON1 genes and their biological pathways. These results will be useful for understanding the molecular mechanisms of SNPs and candidate genes for heat stress tolerance in chickens and provide a basis for increasing genetic resistance in breeding programs.

In this study, three different strip tillage applications were used as an alternative to Conventional Tillage (CT). While Original Strip-Till (OST) machine made by the Maschio Gaspardo was used in one of the applications of the strip tillage, the other two Machines [Horizontal (MHST) and Vertical (MVST) shaft rotary Tillers] were modified and used in strip tillage. Depending on the strip tillage application used, about 35–40% of soil surface was tilled. For the three applications, the penetration resistance and shear stress of soil ranged from 0.45 to 1.91 MPa and from 0.36 to 0.48 N cm–2, respectively. The energy ratio, energy productivity, specific energy, net energy gain, and energy intensiveness were calculated. There were significant differences (P< 0.01) among the treatments in terms of various energy indices and corn silage yields. In the experiments with no hoeing, the silage yield ranged from 3,714 to 3,953 kg ha–1; whereas, with hoeing, the yield increased, ranging from 3,964 to 4,952 kg ha–1. The average net energy gain of corn silage production with and without hoeing applied was 156,155.68 and 131,037.75 MJ ha–1, respectively. Energy use efficiency was the highest in the MHST method with hoeing. As a result, in terms of energy use efficiency, MHST (Modified Horizontal shaft Strip-Till system) method with hoeing can be suggested for use in the Middle Anatolian Region.

This study was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of Microwave-Assisted Vacuum Evaporation (MAVE) and Microwave-Assisted Evaporation (MAE) techniques for production of barberry juice concentrate in comparison to the conventional evaporation techniques. The barberry juice was concentrated by two different methods (indirect heating and the microwave evaporation under pressures of 100 and 30 kPa) to reach 60 °Brix. The results showed that the evaporation rates of MAVE and MAE methods were, respectively, 48.86 and 48.27% higher than indirect heating. The minimum changes in color parameters of barberry juice concentrate (L*, a*, b*, ΔE) were observed for vacuum-microwave evaporation. In addition, applying this method could better preserve anthocyanin content, antioxidant activity, and total phenol content of barberry juice compared to the conventional method.

Formulation of an edible coating based on gum tragacanth and chitosan was optimized for fresh apricots by Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The effects of the concentration of gum tragacanth and chitosan (independent variables) on soluble solids content, weight loss, titratable acidity, pH, reducing sugar, moisture content, and firmness (response variables) were studied. The results showed that the obtained RSM models were fitted for all response variables, except for soluble solids content and titratable acidity. Gum tragacanth and chitosan treatments significantly decreased the weight loss of the apricots during storage. The firmness of apricots was increased at higher concentrations of gum tragacanth. The pH of the apricots was lower at lower concentrations of gum tragacanth and chitosan. This work showed that the coating could improve apricot firmness and stability in terms of weight loss, pH, and moisture content during storage, and increase the commercial value of the product. To meet the desirable properties, the ideal concentrations of gum tragacanth and chitosan in the coating were 1.02 and 0.33% (w/v), respectively.

Properties of solvent/cosolute in a food system obviously can influence the rheological properties of hydrocolloids. In this work, the impact of various concentrations of some sugars (sucrose and glucose at 10, 20, and 30% w/w concentration) and salts (CaCl2 and NaCl, 50, 100, and 150 mM) on the rheological properties of Quince Seed Mucilage (QSM) were investigated. QSM produced high viscosity dispersion with yield stress, which was affected by concentrations and types of salt and sugar. The salts altered the electrostatic interactions between the QSM chains and led to the viscosity reduction. Increasing the salt concentration, decreased the yield stress (τ0) and consistency coefficient (k) values, but led to increase in the flow behavior index (n) value. Sucrose and glucose increased the apparent viscosity of QSM dispersions. High sugar concentrations resulted in higher viscosity. Assessment of the time-dependent flow behavior of QSM dispersions proved that the structural kinetic model had the best data description. All the samples showed thixotropic behavior. The Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) results exhibited a proper understanding of the chain interactions of QSM and changes in the flow behavior. The results of this research showed that CaCl2 and sucrose had more pronounced effect on the rheological properties of QSM.

Nowadays, the increased pest resistance to chemical pesticides and the pesticide residues in food, together with the toxic effects of pesticides on mammals and the environment, necessitate the use of newer and safer alternatives for controlling insect pests. The use of encapsulation technology for pesticides formulations has led to increased efficiency and controlled release of these substances. In this study, four formulations containing Artemisia sieberi Besser essential oil based on biodegradable polymers such as polyethylene glycol, starch, glycerol mono stearate, and maltodextrin were prepared as powder and pellet to control the rice weevil, Sitophilus oryzae. Chemical composition of A. sieberi essential oil was determined and 16 components were identified. Cis-thujone, Santolinyl acetate, Trans-thujone, and Camphor were the major components of the oil. These formulations were different in the amount and type of polymers and surfactants. Also, these formulations were combined with a different rotation speed of the homogenizer. In this study, the fumigant toxicity of these formulations was compared with the A. sieberi oil. The experiments were carried out on the adult stage of the rice weevil at 27±1°C, 70±5% RH and in total darkness condition. The results showed that the LC50 value of the essential oil after 72 hours was 11.33 ppm, while the LC50 of formulations 1 to 4 were 47.61, 57.55, 23.94, and 44.66 ppm, respectively. Therefore, encapsulation of plants essential oils as a safe pesticide with slow release and fumigant toxicity can be used in integrated pest managements.

Box tree moth, Cydalima perspectalis (Walker, 1859), is one of the major destructive pests that feed on the leaves and shoots of various Buxus species. In the course of this survey, the life cycle of C. perspectalis was studied in laboratory and natural (Hyrcanian Forests) conditions. The laboratory experiments were carried out at temperature of 25±1ºC, 70±10% relative humidity and a photo phase of 16 light: 8 dark hours. The average duration of an egg, larva, pre-pupa, pupa, as well as female and male longevity were 5.09±0.04, 23.15±0.17, 1.04±0.02, 7.80±0.05, 15.31±0.73 and 12.92±0.71 days, respectively. As an important pest newly introduced in northern Iran, the Box tree moth completes two and partial third generations per year. The results of this study would be useful for improving pest management strategies.

Population density and dispersion pattern of Sesamia cretica Led. was determined in maize fields in Varamin (Ahmadabad and Khaveh) and Rey (Aminabad and Talebabad) areas (Tehran, Iran) during two agricultural seasons, 2017 and 2018. A whole plant of maize was selected as a sampling unit to estimate the number of S. cretica larvae. The highest population density of S. cretica larvae per plant was recorded on the 4th and 8th October in Aminabad, 17th and 20th September in Talebabad, 6th and 17th September in Ahmadabad and Khaveh, in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Mean densities of the larvae per plant were 52.62±12.53, 10.50±2.85, 17.45±3.48, 7.57±1.55 in 2017 and 12.00±5.29, 1.00±0.30, 11.05±2.36, 12.00±3.41 in 2018 in Aminabad, Talebabad, Ahmadabad, and Khaveh, respectively. The population of captured male adults in all fields in the second year was less than the first one. Peak numbers of male moths had a difference of 10-22 days between the two studied years. Based on the index of dispersion, the spatial distribution of S. cretica larvae in all fields in both areas was aggregated during the two years of study, except for Aminabad in 2018. According to Taylor’s power law, S. cretica in Ahmadabad and Aminabad in 2017 had a random pattern, while in all fields of the other regions it had an aggregated spatial distribution during 2017 and 2018. In Iwaochr('39')s model, the regression between the mean crowding and the density was not significant in Aminabad and Khaveh in 2017 and Talebabad in 2018, while in the other fields indicated the aggregated spatial distribution. The lowest estimate of the sample size was computed by using Taylor’s power law. The results revealed that population fluctuation of S. cretica was affected by the region, but in spatial distribution pattern, the oviposition behavior of the pest was a much more determining factor than the region. The coefficients of the spatial pattern can be used for improving the sampling program to calculate the population density of S. cretica precisely.

Robusta coffee has been grown traditionally in Southern Thailand. This study aimed to evaluate the adaptation in the growth development of sole Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora) saplings and rubber-Robusta coffee saplings intercropping (8- and 16-year-old rubber plantations) planted between the shaded and unshaded conditions. The results showed that capturing light by sole Robusta coffee saplings (100%) was greater than those recorded in the 8- and 16-year-old rubber plantations (93 and 78.22%) over the measurement period. Soil moisture content was markedly higher in both rubber sites (6.34 and 7.25%) throughout the growing season compared to the full sunlight condition. In addition to the rubber canopy, the Leaf Area Indexes (LAI) over the entire period varied from 0.35 to 3.29 and 0.38 to 2.33 for the 8- and 16-year-old rubber plantations, respectively. Results at 18 months after growing also indicated that Robusta coffee saplings grown in full sunlight had higher values of new leaves, and canopy width also had higher values than those of the other two treatments based on rubber intercropping. Meanwhile, no significant differences in photosynthetic pigments (Chla, Chlb, Chla/Chlb, Chltotal, and Car) were observed between the 8-year-old rubber plantations compared to the full sunlight coffee trees. For the root competition, there were significant differences in fine root length in the 20 and 40 cm layers, which were greatly found in 18 months old coffee plants under direct sunlight. Meanwhile, the older rubber trees (16 years) showed a high density of root spread penetrated to all soil depths compared to younger rubber trees (8 years). Thus, these results indicated that the growth potential of Robusta coffee saplings was strongly limited by a combination of shaded and root competition conditions under rubber plantation. Changes in the leaf and root structural traits of Robusta coffee saplings under the conditions of rubber ecological plantations would be valuable for manipulating the efficient growth of coffee for long-term rubber-based intercropping systems.

The objective of this work was to understand the mechanisms of physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses to salinity stress of three Turkish melon genotypes (YYU 1, YYU 4 and CU 196) and cv. Ananas. The study used Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) and pots were irrigated with Hoagland nutrient solution after two-leaf stage until harvesting by 50 and 75 mM NaCl concentrations. For evaluation of responses, chlorophyll and carotenoid content, total phenolic and flavonoid amount, proline variations, and nutrient elements were determined. Moreover, qRT-PCR analyses were performed to identify the expression level of six TF (Transcription Factors) genes (WRKY24, TCP15, CmHD-Zip, mTERF2, Dof3 and CmADH2). Increase in salt application led to increase in chlorophyll content in the melon genotypes, but decrease (about 55%) in cv. Ananas. Phenolic, flavonoid, and proline contents varied based on the melon genotypes, but generally increased in Ananas. Expression levels of TCP15 and WRKY24 showed more fold change at 75 mM NaCl treatment. On the other hand, the expression of CmADH2 and Dof3 showed more fold change at 50 mM NaCl treatment. Finally, according to adaptation mechanisms of melon genotypes, the study might help in selection and detection of the salt tolerant ones.

Ajowan is an important medicinal plant that grows mainly in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. To evaluate salinity tolerance of 25 Iranian ajowan ecotypes, three-step screening was conducted at germination, seedling, and adult plant growth stages using 0, 50, 100 and 150 mM of NaCl. The significant effects of salinity were observed at the three studied growth stages of ajowan ecotypes. Germination percentage, seed vigor, and biomass dry weight of investigated ecotypes decreased with the increase in NaCl levels. Different responses were observed among ajowan ecotypes in terms of activity of antioxidant enzymes of catalase and peroxidase, with the increasing salinity stress levels .Under the salinity stress, the proline content increased in the majority of the investigated ecotypes. Salinity stress had adverse effects on single plant seed yield and yield components. Results of the calculated correlation coefficient and path coefficient analysis showed that activity of catalase antioxidant enzyme and 1,000-seed weight were the most important characteristics that can be suggested as selection criteria for seed yield of ajowan under salinity stress conditions. The overall results suggest that nine Iranian ajowan ecotypes including Arak, Felaverjan, Ghoom, Hamedan, Karaj, Ghaen, Tehran, Yazd, and Shiraz were the salinity-tolerant ecotypes.

Since the commercialization of transgenic crops in 1996, the biotech crop planted area has continuously increased. The European consumers have particularly been sceptical about transgenes in food products and EU (European Union) has enacted very complex legislation. The area of food analytics requires continuous development and improvement of detection methods to track the legislative framework and respond to consumers requirements. In the last decade, real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) based methods have been the methods of choice for numerous laboratories, but for various reasons, end-point PCR based methods have still been used. In our research, 73 samples of food and feed were analysed for the presence of common elements of transgene construct – Cauliflower Mosaic Virus 35S promoter (P-35S) and Agrobacterium tumefaciens Nopaline Synthase Terminator (T-NOS), using end-point PCR based methods. These samples had been previously tested for the presence of the same elements using validated real-time PCR based methods. Comparison of the used methods sensitivity showed that real-time PCR based methods have undeniable advantage. More important factor is specificity, and the fact that the list of approved Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is constantly increasing necessitates updating of validation methods procedures. Considering upward trend of approved GMOs, it is important to pay more attention to the improvement and specialization of GMO detection methods.

Rapeseed is cultivated as a valuable oilseed plant throughout the world. The rapeseed oil contains significant amounts of unsaturated fatty acids. A total number of twenty-five cultivars of (winter/spring) rapeseed were grown in greenhouse conditions. In order to investigate genetic diversity, genomic DNA was extracted from the leaves and polymerase chain reaction was performed using 12 pairs of SRAP primers. Based on the results, 96 polymorphic bands were detected, in which the EM10-ME10 primer pairs with 14 bands and the EM1-ME14 and EM10-Me1 primer pairs with 4 bands had produced the maximum and minimum number of polymorphic bands, respectively. The Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) index varied from 0.25 to 0.499 and the genetic diversity based on Neichr('39')s index was 0.18 to 0.33. The cluster analysis using UPGMA method, with 95% accuracy of the grouping, was introduced as more appropriate than the other clustering methods. This method divided the studied cultivars into five distinct groups. The most genetic distance was recorded between Hydromel and Elvis, Zarfam, Artist and Okapi cultivars, and the lowest was shown between Artist and Okapi cultivars. Based on the results of principal coordinate analysis, the first and second components explained 83.66% of the variation, which represents the improper distribution of the SRAP markers on the whole genome. Overall, this study demonstrated high genetic diversity among cultivated rapeseed cultivars, which may be attributed to their high genetic background and environmental effects.

The fungitoxic effect of 25 botanicals belonging to 17 different families was evaluated against Colletotrichum musae (Berk. & M. A. Curtis) Arx causing banana anthracnose disease. Among all, Solanum torvum showed the maximum antifungal activity followed by the Allium sativum × Allium cepa (Zimmu) and Adenocalymma alliaceum. Post-harvest treatment of banana fruits with leaf extracts of S. torvum, zimmu, and A. alliaceum in room and cold storage condition significantly reduced the disease incidence and also de novo synthesis of defense related Peroxidase (PO) and PolyPhenol Oxidase (PPO) compounds. Of all the leaf extracts, S. torvum showed the least incidence of disease with highest activity of defense related compounds. An attempt was made to identify the antifungal compounds through chromatographic techniques like TLC and RP-HPLC. Different leaf extracts of S. torvum were obtained using different solvents and evaluated fungitoxic effect against the pathogen in vitro. Acetone was found the best in extracting the bioactive antifungal compounds from S. torvum. Further TLC analysis showed the presence of phenolic compound and development of blue spot at Rf 0.65 and eluted purified blue spot exhibited a maximum inhibition of the pathogen in vitro. The presence of syringic acid was evident from the RP-HPLC analysis. The results seem to be the new report for the presence of phenolic compounds in the leaf extract of S. torvum. The botanical Solanum torvum could be used as botanical fungicide, as an alternative to synthetic fungicides to manage the disease effectively.

The Severe strain of Beet Curly Top Virus (BCTV-Svr) and Beet Curly Top Iran Virus (BCTIV) are considered as the main causal agents of sugar beet curly top disease in Iran and mixed infections of BCTV-Svr and BCTIV usually occur in nature. As the use of resistant cultivars is the safer and stable tool for management of the disease, the objective of current work was to identify sugar beet genotypes resistant to both agents. To this end, the reaction of thirty-eight sugar beet genotypes to infection by each of BCTV-Svr and BCTIV was separately evaluated using their infectious clones under the greenhouse condition. Incubation period, recovery, and disease severity index were considered for selection of resistant genotypes. As a result, ten and seven sugar beet genotypes resistant to, respectively, BCTV-Svr and BCTIV were selected. To evaluate the resistant genotypes, the experiments were repeated under greenhouse condition. In the field experiment with natural infection of viruses, the resistant genotypes were assessed and six sugar beet genotypes (S1 91019, S1 91022, S1 91023, S1 91028, S1 91029, and S1-91041) resistant to BCTV-Svr and BCTIV were identified; which could be used in future breeding programs.