Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
Volume:24 Issue: 2, Mar 2022

The purposes of the study were: (i) To comparatively estimate the economic performance and productive efficiency of owner and sharecroppers in Kaş District of Antalya Province in Turkey, (ii) To find out the factors affecting the profitability of owner operators and sharecroppers, and (iii) To formulate the policy options in the light of findings. Research data were collected from randomly selected 58 owner operators and 45 sharecroppers by using questionnaire. Cluster analysis was performed to select similar sharecropper and owner operator in terms of farmers’ profile, farm income, and land size. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used to estimate the efficiency measures. Research result showed that labor cost of sample farm had largest share in total farm expenses. The tomato and pepper yield of sharecroppers were higher than that of owners. Net farm income of owner operator and sharecroppers per hectare were $44518.3 and $51248.8, respectively. The mean technical, allocative and economic efficiency of owner operators were 0.724, 0.729 and 0.528, respectively, while that of sharecroppers was 0.851, 0.598 and 0.509, respectively. Sharecroppers had higher technical efficiency score compared to owners, but reverse was the case for allocative and cost efficiency scores. According to the research findings, farmers can increase their technical competence, if both owner operator and sharecropper improved their skills by participating in training and extension programs. Implementing performance-based earning systems may accelerate improving farmers’ technical capability. Reorganizing of farm and controlling marketing cost may also be beneficial for increasing economic efficiency in the research area.

With the increase of the world population, the worries and concerns for food supply increase too. Wheat, as one of the most important agricultural products, which is widely consumed all over the world, has a very important role in people's nutrition, particularly among Iranians, the diet of whom is highly dependent on bread. Product forecasting is critical for any country so that decisions about storage, import or export, etc. can be planned. In this paper, several univariate time series models and the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model are used to forecast wheat production in Iran. Annual wheat production, total annual precipitation, total applied fertilizer, population, and wheat cultivated area data were used in the period between 1961-1962 to 2018-2019. With the minimum values of 1.45894, 1.00329, 1.0448, and 1.09742 obtained for RMSE, AIC, HQC, and SIBC criteria, respectively, Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) (1,1,1) was selected as the best univariate model. In testing the ANN models, total annual precipitation, total applied fertilizer, population, and wheat cultivated, area as input variables, and wheat production, as output variable, were used. Among several NN models, the Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network (MLP-NN) model with five hidden layers had the lowest MSE= 0.153 and was chosen in this study. Comparison between the ANN model and the ARIMA (1,1,1) model showed that RMSE= 0.391, MSE= 0.153, and MAPE= 0.4231 in the ANN model were much lower than that of the ARIMA (1,1,1) model. The results showed the power of ANN models to predict wheat production using efficient parameters, as compared to the ARIMA model.

The paper aims to explore the crucial antecedents of consumer behaviour toward sustainable consumption of organic food. The integrated fuzzy set theory and Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) methods, with experts’ suggestion approach were adopted.The results reveal the six origins of sustainable consumption of organic foods, namely, the government support and guidance, mass media agents, education and research institutions, and consumer demographics (educational level, income status and age). The study grants an alternative approach for sustainable consumption theory using a fuzzy-set theory and DEMATEL methods.

Debate about Genetically Modified Food (GMF) has received much attention in concurrence with the development of biotechnology. This paper examines consumers’ intentions towards GM food in Iran. Given the potential of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in shaping consumers’ behavior, relationships between CSR, trust, and health concerns with consumer intentions towards GM foods have been investigated rarely. This study used a moderated mediation analysis to understand how health concerns, trust in GM foods, and CSR perceptions affect consumer intentions towards GM foods. A survey study with 389 consumers indicates that health concerns reduce trust in GM foods, but trust exerts a positive influence on consumers’ intentions toward these products, thus playing a mediating role between health concerns and consumers’ intentions. More importantly, CSR perceptions magnify the positive effect of trust in GM foods on consumers’ intentions, thus offering evidence for a moderating role of CSR perceptions.

In this study, we aimed to use the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) to explain farmers’ pro-environmental behavior, and we subsequently applied our conceptualization of the PTM to explain the effects of pro-environmental behavior as well as some alternatives to achieve a sustainable livelihood in the Borkhar Region, Isfahan Province, Iran. The population of this study comprised rural smallholder farmers who produced agricultural and horticultural crops under drought in 2017-2019. The study sample consisted of 293 smallholder farmers selected through stratified random sampling. A questionnaire was utilized for data collection, and data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings suggest that self-efficacy, perceived vulnerability, and response efficacy have a positive relationship with farmers’ pro-environmental behavior. In addition, the perceived severity and response costs are negatively related to farmers’ pro-environmental behavior. The findings further show that alternative crops and alternative income sources are the main predictors of achieving a sustainable alternative livelihood. Moreover, saffron cultivation and rural handicrafts were found to be highly important indicators that enhance sustainable alternative livelihood under drought. Therefore, concentrating efforts and shifting the focus to these alternatives leads to increased farmers’ livelihood resilience in the long run.

Extension and educational programs use various measures to advise farmers on adapting to climate change. Satisfaction with these programs is a tool to study their effectiveness. In this respect, studying the factors influencing satisfaction with extension and educational programs can help planners and policymakers of the agricultural sector in general, and agricultural extension in particular, to improve the quality of these programs. Therefore, the present paper explores the factors influencing satisfaction and loyalty in extension and educational programs. The statistical population was composed of all participants of these programs in Fars Province, Iran. A total of 150 participants was estimated as the sample size. Participants were selected through random sampling. Data collected from the participants were analyzed by structural equation modeling. The results showed that the research variables had optimal validity and reliability. The variables of appropriate extension packages and perceived value were among the most important factors dictating satisfaction with extension and educational programs. In addition to these two variables, other factors including image, emotions, perceived economic return, and tangibles of the educational programs had direct impacts on satisfaction and indirect impacts on loyalty to these programs. Research findings can help farmers to adapt to climate change.

This study aimed to evaluate the productivity, nutritional, and fermentative characteristics and aerobic stability of white oat, barley, and wheat silages that had been subjected to pre-drying at different phenological stages, with or without the application of additives. The experimental design used was completely randomized, in a 3×3×2 factorial design (three forage species, three additives, and two phenological stages), with three replications. After harvest, the cereals were exposed to the sun, and prior to ensiling, were treated (or not) with an inoculant containing a mixture of fermentative bacteria and enzymes and/or propionic acid. Comparing the cereals harvested at different vegetative and reproductive stages, revealed higher percentages of crude protein when the cut was made in the vegetative stage, lower contents of neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, and lignin; and higher levels of neutral detergent fiber digestibility after 30 hours of incubation. Addition of the inoculant containing homofermentative and heterofermentative bacteria promoted the production of silages with higher lactic acid levels, lower pH values, and losses of ammonia-N. Compared with the control group, addition of propionic acid did not improve fermentative characteristics. Cereals harvested at the vegetative stage produced silage with a best bromatological composition. Although the use of biological additives did not alter the bromatological composition of the pre-dried silages, treatment with the bacterial inoculant improved most fermentative parameters; however, it was ineffective in enhancing the aerobic stability of silage after exposure to air.

During threshing process, wheat stems are easily broken when subjected to the combined forces of continuous tension, bending and compression of threshing bars. To reveal the causes of breakage, it is very significant to study the broken morphology and minimum breaking force of wheat stems undergoing multiple forces combination sequence. In this study, the mechanical characteristics of wheat stems undergoing single and combined forces were tested and analyzed. The results showed that when wheat stems are subjected to single load, the internodes are easiest to be broken under tensile force. When mixed-mode conditions of various forces are applied, the internodes are most easily broken under the combination of cantilever beam bending and three-point tension and the nodes of wheat are most prone to breakage when subjected to three-point compression. Under all loading states, the nodes of wheat are most prone to breakage when subjected to three-point compression. The damaged areas of internodes tend to be broken more easily. Consequently, the research of minimum breaking force of wheat stems undergoing multiple forces combination sequence reveals the substance of the breakage of wheat stems during threshing process.

The aim of this study was to determine the authenticity of honey by processing microscopic images and obtaining an algorithm for classifying various honey frauds. In this study, sucrose, fructose, and fructose-glucose solution at a ratio of 0.9 were used to make honey adulteration. The level of adulterated honey was based on the weight percentages of 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 and 100 by stirring. Different samples were imaged under a microscope. Each image was processed in 33 monochrome color spaces and 15 parameters were extracted from it. The three main and effective parameters of various color spaces were selected using sensitivity analysis for modeling honey fraud by adaptive Fuzzy Neural Inference System (ANFIS), Artificial Neural Network (ANN), and response surface methodology. Various criteria were used to evaluate the performance of the models such as coefficient of determination, mean square error, sum of squared estimate of errors, and mean absolute errors. The results showed that the determination coefficient and the mean square error of the artificial neural network model was 0.974 and 0.0024, respectively. Finally, using the desirability function, the artificial neural network model was selected as the best model due to less prediction error values and desirability of 0.948.

The tomato leafminer (Tuta absoluta Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is one of the most important pests of tomato worldwide. In this study, resistance of different populations of the tomato leaf miner from Isfahan Province was evaluated against abamectin. The median Lethal Concentrations (LC50) of different populations were estimated by bioassays using a leaf-dip method. The LC50 value of abamectin in the reference population of Isfahan University of Technology (IUT) was estimated as 5.67 mg ai L-1, while the population of Shahre-e-Abrisham 1 showed the highest (25-fold) resistance, with an LC50 value of 143.18 mg ai L-1. Pre-treatment of different populations with diethyl maleate (DEM) synergist, an inhibitor of glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs), increased significantly abamectin toxicity. GST activity was also found significantly different between resistant and reference populations. Triphenyl phosphate (TPP), an inhibitor of esterases (ESTs), reduced the LC50 value of abamctin in the populations as much as 1.73- to 3.73-fold. The activity of ESTs in these populations was also significantly different. Furthermore, inhibition of cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYP450s) by piperonyl butoxide (PBO) increased abamectin toxicity between 1.3- to 2.9-fold in tested populations. The highest ratios of synergism for DEM (5.86), TPP (3.73-fold), and PBO (2.91-fold) were observed in Shahre-e-Abrisham 1. It seems that GSTs and ESTs play a more important role in the resistance development against abamectin in the studied populations. High levels of resistance to abamectin in the collected populations from Isfahan Province shows the importance of insecticide resistance management based on the early detection of resistance and alternative use of insecticides.

Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) damages potato, tomato, and eggplant, and is one of the most serious agricultural pests all over the world. Due to its resistance against chemical insecticides and some biopesticides, new biocontrol agents compatible with different ecological conditions are needed urgently for the integrated pest management programs of this pest. For this purpose, we studied the insecticidal effects of thirteen indigenous microbial isolates including entomopathogenic bacteria, fungi, and nematodes from our culture collection against L. decemlineata with screening and dose-response tests under laboratory conditions. Bacillus thuringiensis strain Xd3 caused 83% and 73% mortality against larvae and adults of the pest at 109 CFU mL-1 concentration within 10 days, respectively. While fungal isolate Metarhizium anisopliae Gg-12 yielded 98% mortality with 107 conidia mL-1 concentration on larvae at 15 days, mortality provided by Gg-12 on adults reached 100% at the same concentration and period. Steinernema websteri AS1 was determined as the most effective entomopathogenic nematode with 92% mortality within seven days on larvae. Based on probit analysis, the LC50 values of B. thuringiensis Xd3 against larvae and adults were calculated as, respectively, 1.73×106 and 1.69×107 CFU mL-1, and that of M. anisopliae Gg12 were 1.18×104 and 6.2×103 conidia mL-1, and that of S. websteri AS1 was 117 IJs mL-1. Considering these results, the biopesticides developed from these isolates can be used safely and successfully in the pest management control programs of Colorado potato beetle.

This study aimed to investigate the residue levels and dissipation rates of chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and their oxon derivatives in greenhouse-grown tomatoes and to evaluate the acute and chronic Hazard Quotients (HQ) for consumption of these products. The quantification analyses of chlorpyrifos and diazinon and their degradation products were performed using Gas Chromatography Coupled with Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). The Monte Carlo simulation technique was used to evaluate the variability and uncertainty of the data and to achieve more accurate results in the health risk assessment process. The chronic HQ values of chlorpyrifos and diazinon residues ranged from 0.24 to 0.85 and 0.06 to 1.09 for adults, 0.45 to 1.34 and 0.12 to 1.66 for adolescents, and 0.71 to 1.80 and 0.21 to 3.78 for children, respectively. After five days of storage in room and refrigerator temperatures, the HQ values of diazinon and chlorpyrifos were higher than the acceptable limits. According to the Monte Carlo simulation, the HQ and the estimated daily intake (EDI) values were more affected by the consumption rate followed by pesticide concentration and body weight. Therefore, due to the high frequency of tomato consumption, it is necessary to reduce the concentration of pesticides in this product in order to reduce human health risk.

Seasonal flight of the adults, larval activity, and damage caused by Leopard moth, Zeuzera pyrina L., was studied in the walnut orchards in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari province, Iran. Pheromone baited traps were set up in the studied orchards from May 10 (before the emergence of adult males) to July 15 (the end of the adults’ flight) to monitor the flight dynamics. Observation on development of different stages of the pest was done weekly throughout the growing season. The infestation ratio of twigs and number of active galleries per tree were recorded at studied locations. According to the results, the pest completed its life cycle within a year and overwintered as 4th and 5th instar larvae inside the galleries in trunk and main branches of walnut trees. The flight season of Z. pyrina started in the second decade of May, the peak occurred in the first decade of June, and the flight ended by the second decade of July. Eggs were laid individually next to the buds on the twigs and 1st instar larvae tunneled directly into inner wood. The maximum damage in shoots and twigs was observed at the third decade of August and, thereafter, larvae gradually moved to the main branches and trunk. Results showed that the biology and seasonal flight pattern of Z. pyrina in this province are different from other infested areas and that may be because of the climate condition. The knowledge of the observed differences may be useful to develop a successful integrated management strategy against Z. pyrina.

In this study, genetic diversity among watermelon accessions was studied by analyzing morphological and physiological traits using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Thirty-seven morphological and physiological traits showed significant variation among the accessions. Some watermelon accessions showed typical attributes of seed characters and fruit flesh and skin color. Principle component analysis allocated the high variance percentage for fruit and seed characters. Cluster analysis of morphological and physiological characters separated Citrullus colocynthis in one independent cluster clearly. The 18 RAPD markers represented 126 polymorphic bands of 154 total bands. Cluster analysis using RAPD markers at similarity 0.54 also clarified colocynth genotypes in one separated group. Three main clusters distinguished for other accessions that were classified mainly by fruit shape and flesh color, then, by fruit skin color. The most similarity (1) was observed among three accessions in the same cluster, contrary to the different collecting areas, which may indicate that accessions were distributed in different areas from the same genetic sources. The Genetic Similarity coefficients (GS) among evaluated accessions ranged from 0.45 to 1.00, indicating that they had relatively high genetic diversity. Altogether, the high variation, especially for phenotypic traits, of watermelon accessions in Iran could be considered as a good resource for selection and breeding program.

Soil salinity is one of the most important environmental constraints that reduce plant growth and productivity. This study aimed to investigate the effects of various NaCl concentrations on the physiological properties of grape cultivars. NaCl was added at three levels (0, 25, and 50 mM) to Murashige and Skoog medium under in vitro conditions to assess various effects on 21 grape cultivars. Effects of salinity stress were investigated on ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase activities, as well as malondialdehyde, protein, proline, chlorophyll A and B contents, of all samples. The results showed that with an increase in salinity, the amount of antioxidant enzymes, proline content, and protein increased in cv. Rasha, suggesting that it was more tolerant than the other cultivars. Malondialdehyde and Electrolyte leakage accumulation also increased in all cultivars, but this increase was higher in salinity-sensitive cultivars, such as hybrids and wild cultivars than resistant cultivars. During salinity stress, chlorophyll content decreased, and the lowest decrease in chlorophyll content was recorded in cv. Rasha, compared to other cultivars. This research demonstrated that the resistance of cv. Rasha, H6 and H4 to salinity stress was due to its ability to adjust proline, protein content, and antioxidant enzymes.

Xenorhabdus spp. bacteria are known to produce antifungal compounds that are highly efficacious against important plant pathogens such as Botrytis cinera. Generally, centrifuged and filtered supernatant or growth cultures are used to test effects of secondary metabolites of Xenorhabdus bacteria against different phytopathogens. We hypothesized that turning the bacterial supernatant into powder will increase the antifungal effects of the bioactive metabolite. Therefore, as a first step, we investigated and compared the effects of powder and liquid forms of antifungal metabolites of X. szentirmaii against B. cinerea. The powdered form of the supernatant was obtained using spray drying technology. The different doses of the powdered supernatant and their liquid equivalents were compared via in vitro assays. Our data indicated that the antifungal activity of the liquid Xenorhabdus supernatant was stronger than the powdered form in in vitro assays. We posit that during the pulverization process, some of the antifungal compounds in cell-free supernatants were either degraded or evaporated as the supernatants were subjected to high processing temperatures and pressure of the spray drying process. It is also possible that the powdered form of the supernatant did not dissolve well in PDA, so, the antifungal compound had limited contact with the tested fungal pathogen. Future studies should extract and purify the bioactive compound/s present in the supernatants of these bacteria and test their efficacy in ppm doses as powdered forms of these compounds have longer shelf-life and can be easily formulated compared to liquid supernatants.

To reduce pesticide resistance in plant pathogens, alternate approaches are needed to be explored. In this study, dried powder of Withania coagulans was evaluated for the management of Alternaria solani causing early blight disease in tomato both in vitro and in planta. Different dried powder doses (5, 10, and 15% w/v) of different parts (succulent shoot, stem and leaves) of W. coagulans were tested against in vitro growth of Alternaria solani through food poisoned technique. Also, different dried powder doses (15 and 30 g kg-1 soil) of different parts (succulent shoot, stem and leaves) of W. coagulans were applied to soil at different application times [5, 10, and 15 Days Before Transplantation (DBT)] and were evaluated for the control of early blight in tomato plants under screen house conditions. Results from in vitro studies showed that the highest dose 15% (w/v) and succulent shoot plant part showed a maximum antifungal activity. Results from screen house experiment showed that the highest dose of 30 g kg-1 soil and longest application time of 15 DBT of succulent shoot dried powder suppressed the disease severity effectively in tomato plants (artificially inoculated with Alternaria solani) resulted in significantly higher root length, shoot length, and fresh biomass. Results of this study suggested that succulent shoot dried powder at 30 g kg-1 of soil applied at 15 DBT can be used for the management of tomato early blight disease under screen house conditions.

Squash Mosaic Virus (SqMV) is a Comovirus that infects many cucurbit crops worldwide. In this study, the first two complete genome sequences of SqMV (BSQ and TSQ) from Iran were determined. The RNA genomes of isolates BSQ and TSQ were, respectively, 5,754 and 5,755 (RNA1) and 3290 and 3271 (RNA2) nucleotides (nt) in length, excluding the 3'-terminal poly (A) tail. RNA1 of both isolates encodes a single polyprotein of 1858 amino acids (aa). The identity between the two Iranian isolates (BSQ and TSQ) was 94.24% nt and 94.82% aa for RNA1 and 88.80% nt and 89.50% aa for RNA2. In comparison to other SqMV isolates, BSQ and TSQ shared the highest nucleotide sequence identities of 95.12 % to 93.56 % (RNA1), and 87.59 % to 87.19 % (RNA2), respectively, with the Spanish isolate (RZ-SqMV). Phylogenetic analysis based on complete genome sequences reveals that SqMV isolates cluster into three distinct groups. BSQ was clustered alongside a Spanish isolate in one group and TSQ was separately clustered with a Chinese and US isolates in another group. Recombination analysis revealed that BSQ (RNA1, 2) and TSQ (RNA2) were putative recombinants. BSQ had 6 recombination sites within 5'-UTR, helicase, protease, RdRP (in RNA1), SCP and 3'-UTR (in RNA2) regions, whereas TSQ had 4 recombination sites within 5'-UTR, MP (two breaking points) and LCP region.