Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
Volume:25 Issue: 4, Jul 2023

The control of different agricultural insect pests still relies mainly on the use of synthetic insecticides. However, excessive use of these chemicals cause many problems, including high residue levels, harmful effects on the environment and human health, and development of insect resistance. Therefore, new strategies for the management of agricultural insects are urgently needed. Plant-based natural products are promising alternatives to be applied for pest control, with remarkable and broad-spectrum biological activities. Among the plant secondary metabolites, essential oils, and their major constituents, mainly monoterpenes, have been widely studied for their application in insect control, food additives, perfumes and cosmetics. In this review, we focus on the studies describing the toxic effects of monoterpenes, including fumigant, contact and residual toxicities against insect pests attacking economic crops in fields. Furthermore, the effects of monoterpenes on insect behaviors (antifeedant and repellent activities) and insect growth regulation are also discussed.

Rangeland is a common-pool resource that has become a context for conflict among different exploiter groups. Hence, the present study aimed to identify and evaluate the causes of the Rangelands Conflict (RC) in Iran. This study used a mixed analysis (first qualitative then quantitative) in terms of purpose in the field of applied research. The research sampling method was snowball sampling method in the qualitative phase and random stratification with proportional assignment method in the quantitative phase. Thematic analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used in the qualitative and quantitative phases, respectively. The result of data analysis in the qualitative phase led to the identification of six causes of conflict based on "Society-Culture", "Economy", "Educational-Extension", "Technique-Specialization", "Structure-Legislation", and "Management". The second-order confirmatory factor analysis technique was used in the quantitative phase. The results revealed that the causes of the conflict and their indicators were identified correctly. According to the results, understanding the context of conflicts helps the convergence of views among different stakeholders in achieving the rangelands co-management.

As a tendency of sustainable consumerism, organic food consumption has become a great trend among consumers and one of the unique ones in the global economy. This study aimed to reveal factors affecting consumers’ intention to purchase organic food by using a holistic approach considering behavioral drivers, consumer awareness, and demographic characteristics. Theory of Planned Behavior was used to have a deep understanding of behavioral drivers. Logistic regression analysis was applied to determine the factors affecting consumers' intention to purchase organic food. Behavioral factors were derived by different scales and the suitability of these measurement tools was approved by confirmatory factor analysis. The findings of the study showed that subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, health awareness, social responsibility concern, and trust had a positive influence on individuals' intention to purchase organic food; whereas, subjective attitudes and environmental awareness had no effect. The study produced knowledge on drivers and barriers of organic food consumption that may help all stakeholders of the sector mainly producers, marketers, and policymakers. Results of the study present an integrated model on consumer behavior toward organic food in emerging countries.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is one of the important components to reduce the use of pesticides and their risk to farmers. This study aimed to determine the factors influencing IPM usage to reduce pesticide use by greenhouse farmers based on the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA). A total of 300 farmers from Jiroft, Kerman Province, Iran, participated in this cross-sectional study using multi-stage sampling, in 2021. The data collection tool was a questionnaire including demographic information, status of the use of IPM, and HAPA constructs regarding IPM (risk perception, outcome expectancies, task self-efficacy, action planning, coping planning, recovery self-efficacy, and maintenance self-efficacy), of which psychometric properties were examined and approved. Kruskal-Wallis test and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were used to analyze the data. There was a significant correlation between action planning (r= 0.29), coping planning (r= 0.33), maintenance self-efficacy (r= 0.23), and recovery self-efficacy (r= 0.23) with IPM. SEM revealed a direct and significant relationship between task self-efficacy, maintenance self-efficacy, coping planning, and recovery self-efficacy with IPM. HAPA is suggested to be used as a framework for interventions aiming at increasing application of IPM and lower pesticide use in agriculture.

This study aimed to determine the influences of a health-promoting lifestyle of rural women during the COVID-19 pandemic on the intention to use herbal medicine and to investigate the moderating effects of Corona anxiety on the model. The present research is a cross-section survey conducted using a questionnaire with confirmed validity and reliability. Rural women of Zanjan Province comprised the study population. Multi-stage sampling was performed, and the sample size was calculated as 272 using Cochran's formula. Data were collected between March and May 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. The results revealed that the lifestyle of rural women was moderately health-oriented. The results of the hypothesized structural model showed that dimensions of a health-promoting lifestyle explained 68% of the variability in intention to use herbal medicine. The drivers of intention to use herbal medicine for rural women in order of influence were health responsibility, nutrition, self-actualization, and stress management. The findings on the moderating role of Corona anxiety on the conceptual model of the study revealed that Corona anxiety significantly moderates the path relations of health responsibility and interpersonal relationships with intention to use herbal medicine. This study is significant in determining how Covid-19 infection can increase attention to certain aspects of a healthy lifestyle and intention to use herbal medicines. Furthermore, by looking at the underlying variables correlated to the intention to use herbal medicines, the results of this study could be beneficial in explaining appropriate educational interventions for rural women.

One of the most important questions in the entrepreneurship literature is how entrepreneurial success can be explained. Despite extensive research on this question, the relationship between the satisfaction of psychological needs and entrepreneurial success has not been well understood, especially among rural entrepreneurs in developing countries. This study mainly aimed to examine the relationship between the satisfaction of basic psychological needs and entrepreneurial success and find out whether well-being and work engagement played mediating roles in this relationship. Data were collected from a sample of 110 rural entrepreneurs in Nahavand County, Iran. Structural Equation Modeling with Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 3.0 statistical software was used to analyze the data. The results indicated that the satisfaction of basic psychological needs was not directly related to entrepreneurial success. However, this relationship was significantly mediated via well-being and work engagement. These findings highlighted well-being and work engagement as important pathways between the satisfaction of psychological needs and entrepreneurial success. The findings also provided important theoretical and practical implications for researchers, policymakers, and entrepreneurs.

Mating in honeybees causes dramatic changes not only in its behavior and physiology but in genes’ transcriptional level. To determine the molecular mechanisms regulating post-mating behavioral changes, we examined gene expression modification and exon-specific expression of the virgin queen versus the queen injected with semen in hemocoel. The DESeq2 package of R was used to identify the Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs). The DEGs were selected for functional enrichment analysis and Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) network construction. We also performed differential exon usage analysis using the DEXseq R package. Results identified a significant expression (FDR< 0.05) of a total of 971 genes between two groups of insects. The mating process produced significant changes in the expression of cell surface receptor signaling pathway, innate immune response, extracellular region, proteinaceous extracellular matrix, nucleous, G-protein coupled receptor activity, heme binding, and transmembrane transporter activity genes. Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) network shows that LOC552504 (titin-like) could be considered as a super-hub gene in the mating process of queens. In addition, we identified exons that were differentially expressed in two groups of honeybee queens. At 10% FDR, we found significant differential exon usage in 79 genes. Among them, GB55396 gene had the most differences in exon usage and could be the best candidate gene for mating and reproductive activation in queens.

Three trapezoidal piles of the mixtures consisting of rose oil processing solid wastes, separated dairy and poultry manure, and straw as bulking agents were composted to determine the effects of aeration pattern employing forced aeration on various physical and chemical properties and energy consumption by aeration. Temperature feedback control of aeration fans was performed with Rutgers strategies in the positive mode. Aeration patterns with on/off cycles (minute/minute) of 5/30, 7.5/30, and 12.5/30 were performed for Pile-1, Pile-2, and Pile 3, respectively. The control group was set to 5/30 (on/off time) and the experimental groups were set to 7.5/30 and 12.5/30 (on/off time). The results showed that although composting performance parameters of temperature and O2 as a function of time showed some differences, the similar end-product quality in terms of pH, EC contents and total phosphorus was achieved. The highest energy consumed by fans per Organic Matter Loss (OML, %) of composting (1.044 kWh/OML) was obtained when the fan on/off cycles of 5/30 was applied. When the fan on-time increased to 12.5 min, the energy consumed by the fan was reduced by 12.55% (0.913 kWh/OML). It was concluded that operating the composting process at the higher fan on-time (Pile-3) within acceptable limits appears to be economically convenient in conjunction with energy consumption by aeration fans.

Agriculture has a pivotal role in the provision of food, fabric and income. Agricultural sector is backbone of Pakistan’s economy, which is strongly dependent on agriculture. Pakistan is renowned globally for its wheat crop. However, wheat production has suffered due to lack of modern farming techniques, inadequate water availability, and relevant soil parameters. The main objective of this study was to monitor stages of wheat growth using Landsat 8 thermal datasets through temperature-based site maps. This study delineates suitable areas for sustainable wheat growth using Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) and GIS. The total area under investigation was 5,697 km2 and the area under wheat cultivation was 2,276.63 km2, out of which 1,684.26 km2 (74%) was found highly suitable, 68.3376 km2 (3%) was moderately suitable, 61.6678 km2 (2.7%) was least suitable, and 462.355 km2 (20.30%) was found not suitable for wheat crop cultivation. The results interoperated that the area with temperature range of 10–18◦C, and pH ranging between 6.2 and 6.5, clay loom soil texture, and 0.85 and 1.1 drainage level indicate highly suitable land for wheat production. This study highlights the local farming techniques, suitable land for wheat production, and patterns of crop harvesting.

Development of saffron corm resources with higher ability to acquire nutrients and produce more dry matter may offer one solution to mitigate the yield loss problem in growing areas. In the present study, variability in growth, nutrition, and biomass production among saffron ecotypes grown for a two-year field experiment was investigated at Kerman, a semi-arid region of Iran, during the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 growing seasons. The results indicated that the studied ecotypes significantly differed in the mentioned parameters and responded differently to growing seasons. High-agronomic performance (yield) and nutrient-efficient ecotypes, e.g. Ferdows, Sarayan, and Bajestan, accumulated more nutrients as a result of increased Relative Growth Rate (RGR) and Net Assimilation Rate (NAR) before the critical stage, resulting in higher dry matter production. In contrast, ecotypes with lower potential to acquire nutrients, e.g. Zarand and Torbat, had lower growth and dry matter. Further, the results showed that variation in nitrogen (N) concentration in corms and leaves was not significant, although significant variation existed in N uptake, N uptake efficiency, and N use efficiency. This can be due to variation observed in the ability of corms to utilize nutrients for dry matter production. Cluster analysis revealed the presence of highly efficient, moderately efficient, and inefficient ecotypes. Generally, the results indicated that ecotypes with higher growth rate before critical stage showed more potential to uptake and utilize nutrients to produce more dry matter, and exhibited more nutrients use efficiencies. Overall, this study suggested that the nutrient acquisition capacity of ecotypes, a desired feature associated with higher biomass production, can be an important factor in selection programs.

Fig (Ficus carica L. cv. Sabz) fruit growth and development under rain-fed conditions differs from fig grown under irrigated conditions and responds differently to the growth regulators application. This study aimed to reveal how ethephon (0, 50, 100, 150, 200 mg L-1) and 2,4-D isopropyl ester (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 mg L-1) can accelerate fruit ripening in fig cv. ‘Sabz’. Fruits were sprayed three times by foliar application at 15-days intervals for two consecutive years. The highest fruit ripening percentage occurred with the second time that ethephon (200 mg L-1) was sprayed. Application of 100 mg L-1 ethephon increased the total soluble solids with the second and third foliar spraying. Ostiole cracking in dry fig fruits became most prevalent when applying 50 mg L-1 ethephon by the third foliar spraying. The highest carotenoid content was caused by 100 mg L-1 ethephon by the second foliar application. Furthermore, the highest sugar content occurred in response to the second foliar spraying of 50 mg L-1 ethephon. The second 2,4-D isopropyl ester (10 mg L-1) foliar spraying significantly increased fruit diameter. Since the crop has asynchronous nature of ripening, harvesting continued for several weeks. Ethephon (200 mg L-1) accelerated fig harvesting and made it occur about 7 days sooner under rain-fed conditions. Therefore, accelerating fig fruits ripening can reduce the likelihood that fruits will be exposed to drought near the end of the season. Also, ethephon treatment can help prevent loss of fruit quality.

Quince (Cydonia oblonga L.) tree has been introduced as a self-compatible tree, but due to the very low fruit set in some orchards/genotypes and some reports about self-compatible alleles, it is necessary to investigate the effect of using out-crossing for improving and increasing yield of different cultivars of this species. This study was carried out on 'Isfahan' quince cultivar in the orchard of Fajr Agricultural Company, Iran, in 2019 and 2020. The experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design with four treatments including cross-pollination with 'Limouei' quince cultivar, open pollination, hand self-pollination, and self-pollination. The flowers of cultivar 'Isfahan' were emasculated in the balloon stage and were pollinated with the pollen of 'Limouei'. For self-pollination treatment, flowers in the balloon stage were covered with a bag without any emasculation or crossing. For hand self-pollination, 'Isfahan' flowers were emasculated and pollinated with 'Isfahan' pollen. The highest percentage of initial and final fruit sets was obtained in the cross-pollination treatment with 'Limouei' followed by the open pollination treatment. There was no fruit set in the self-pollination treatment. Outcrossing by 'Limouei' resulted in the highest number of seeds as well as the fruit weight. Fruit quality traits such as TSS, TA, firmness, pectin, and total phenol content did not show a significant difference among cross-pollination with 'Limouei', open pollination, and hand self-pollination. Using different cultivars with proper overlap at flowering time can increase the percentage of fruit set.

This study evaluated the quantitative and qualitative traits of 13 local summer squash populations. The experiment was carried out in a randomized block design with 3 replications for two years (2019 to 2020). The following traits were considered in this study: number, weight, length, width, and length/width ratio of fruits, seed yield, seed yield/fruit yield ratio, 1000 seeds weight, percentage of empty seeds, seed length, seed width, seed kernel/whole seed ratio, and seed oil percent. Also, quality tests were conducted including ease of separation of skin from the kernel, taste quality, and desirability of seed shape and size from the consumer's point of view. The analysis of variance showed significant differences in most of the studied traits. Based on the results of the mean comparison of traits, the highest seed yield was observed in Ghalami-Kalaleh#1 and Mashhady-Azadshahr and then Mashhady-Khoy populations. The highest taste quality from the consumer point of view belonged to the Goushti-Kalaleh population. The results represent a positive and highly significant correlation between seed yield and fruit number. No significant correlation was observed between seed yield and other related traits. It is recommended that fruit number trait be considered in selecting programs and modifying high-yielding populations.

The growing interest in natural edible coatings to substitute commercial waxing would preserve agricultural products' postharvest quality. Tomato fruits' physical and chemical changes were investigated post-coating with 1.5% guar gum, then stored at room temperature or cold storage conditions. Tomato fruits at “breaker stage” were soaked in a 1.5% guar gum solution for 1 minute and then stored at room temperature (21°C, RH 45%) or cold storage (10°C, RH 85%). Results showed that guar gum coating significantly (P≤ 0.05) preserved fruit firmness and organoleptic quality attributes. The fruit weight loss, decay percentage, Titratable Acidity (TA), Total Soluble Solids (TSS), and fruit color development were significantly preserved in guar gum-coated fruits compared to non-coated fruits. Guar gum could maintain the quality of tomato fruit combined with low temperature for 35 days. Moreover, fruits coated with 1.5% guar gum kept at room temperature preserved the quality of fruits as uncoated fruits stored at cold temperatures. Therefore, guar gum could be an alternative to cold storage, as it is environmentally friendly and more economical than cold storage, especially in developing countries.

MADS-box genes play important roles in the regulation of floral organ development. In this gene family, AGAMOUS genes are responsible for stamen and carpel development. In the double-flowered form of Amaryllis, compared to its wild type, the stamen number is reduced to three, there is no pistil, and, in contrast, tepal numbers have increased. In this investigation, we examined the AGAMOUS (AG) gene function in these alterations. Therefore, we isolated one AGAMOUS coding sequence named AmAG. Then, the expression level of this gene in the wild form and double-flowered Amaryllis was evaluated using quantitative real-time PCR. The phylogenetic results showed that the partial AmAG gene has high homology with the sequences of AGAMOUS ortholog genes in the Amaryllidaceae family and plants close to this family. Also, there were no differences in the sequence of partial AmAG genes in wild and double-flowered forms. Real-time PCR revealed that, in wild form, AmAG gene expression was low in the first to third whorl and high only in the fourth whorl. While in double flowered form, AmAG gene expression in four whorls was low. The lower expression of AmAG in the fourth whorl of double-flowered form had caused such morphological alterations, the reasons for which should be determined in other experiments.

Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lep.: Gelechiidae) is a major pest of tomato crops that causes high yield losses. Currently, in most countries, T. absoluta management is mainly based on chemical control. Nonetheless, special emphasis is being placed on implementing environmentally safe strategies. Commercial formulations based on Bacillus thuringiensis may be a good alternative, as they have been used to control other insect pests successfully. The laboratory and greenhouse data presented in this work are evidence that B. thuringiensis is highly efficient in controlling T. absoluta. Moreover, the toxicity effect of three pesticides (Biolep, Abamectin, and Indoxacarb) was evaluated against the first and last instar larvae of T. absoluta. Results indicate that the Bt formulation has the highest efficacy compared to the chemical pesticides. Abamectin and Indoxacarb had low mortality effect on the first and last instars of T. absoluta. In conclusion, the Bt formulations are recommended as an effective, environmentally friendly, and safe biopesticide for controlling tomato leafminer.

Nitrogen is one of the most critical elements for plants and herbivores because it is the main component of amino acids and nucleic acids. Understanding the relationship between nitrogen fertilization and the biology and reproductive potential of pests are critical in integrated pest management programs. This study evaluated the effects of nitrogen fertilization on the biology and life history traits of the jujube lace bug, Monosteira alticarinata Ghauri, feeding on jujube trees. The fertilizer treatments were administered at 0, 50, and 100% of recommended rates. The results showed that the lace bugs reared on plants receiving no nitrogen fertilization had a significantly longer total developmental time, shorter adult longevity, and lower fecundity than those reared on the other treatments. The lace bugs that fed on plants fertilized at the highest nitrogen fertilization level had the highest fecundity compared to those reared on other treatments. The net reproduction, mean generation time, gross reproductive rate, finite rate of increase and intrinsic rate of natural increase of lace bugs feeding on plants treated with the highest nitrogen dose were the highest, but doubling time was the lowest. The present data suggest that increasing nitrogen availability to the plants has the potential to increase population of the jujube lace bug and its damage to jujube trees.