Category Archives: b_original_articles

I Nengah Kencana Putra^*, I Putu Suparthana, Ni Putu Timur Ina

Department of Food Science and Technology, Udayana University, Bali, Indonesia

Abstract

The flour of tannia tuber has the potential to be used as raw material for various flour-based food products. However, some of its functional properties are still limited, so it needs to be improved. This study aimed to determine the effect of parboiling treatment on the physicochemical properties of pregelatinized tannia flour (PTF). PTF preparation was carried out by boiling the tannia tuber slices at varying temperatures and times, before drying in an oven dryer at 70°C, milling, and sieving through a 60 mesh sieve. The native tannia flour (without parboiling) was also prepared as a control sample. The results showed that the parboiling treatment significantly improved the flour water absorption capacity (WAC) and swelling power (SP), and also it remarkably decreased the flour pasting temperature and pasting time, so it enhanced pasting characteristics of the flour. Parboiling treatment at 95^oC for 10 minutes generated the fine PTF with WAC (2.76 g/g), water soluble index (6.7%), SP (9.08 g/g), water content (7.00%), amylose level (24.68%), amylopectin level (29.53%), pasting time (11 minutes), pasting temperature (68.27^°C), final paste viscosity (1,773.33 cP), and type C pasting profile. Based on its characteristics, PTF is possible to be used as a partial substitute for wheat flour in the production of flour-based foods such as simulated chips, noodles, biscuits, and cakes.

Keywords: Tannia pregelatinized flour, Parboiling, Physicochemical properties, Microstructure

Muhammad Waqas Aslam Cheema^1,2, Tassadduq Rasool^1,3*, Hassan Munir¹, Muhammad Mazhar Iqbal⁴, Tayyaba Naz⁵, Muhammad Ikram-ul-Haq¹, Ahmad Mustafa¹, Mubashar Nadeem¹, Sami Ullah⁶

¹Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

²Pakistan Oilseed Board Development, Ministry of National Food Security and Research, Islamabad, Pakistan

³Directorate General Soil Survey, Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

⁴Soil and Water Testing Laboratory, Chiniot, Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad, Pakistan

⁵Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

⁶PARC Arid Zone Research Institute, D.I. Khan, Pakistan

Abstract

The impact of phytotoxic potential of sorghum formations and herbicide application along with their comparative economic advantages over each other in the wheat crop, was evaluated in present filed study. The sorghum formulations with their application volumes were as i) the water soaked extract (330 L ha^-1), ii) water boiled extract (15, 20, 25 or 30 L ha^-1), iii) fine powdered (270, 360, 450 or 540 g ha^-1). Most of the sorghum formulations controlled weed density in array 24-61%. The weeds dry weight was declined by 20-59% and crop yield raised upto 25%. The water soaked extract at a volume of 330 L ha^-1 and water boiled extract at 20 L ha^-1 volume were not only useful in weed control but also enhanced yield and demonstrated economic profitability. These treatments provided higher rates of marginal returns % 154.54 $ and 47.70 $, respectively. Although, sorghum powder were effective in weed control but were uneconomical because of their high production cost.

Keywords: Allelopathy, Toxins, Weeds, Wheat, Herbicides

Evangelia Gouva^1,2*, Cosmas Nathanailides¹, Ioannis Paschos¹, Fotini Athanassopoulou², Ioannis S. Pappas²

¹Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ioannina, Kostakioi Arta, 47100, Arta, Greece

²Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Thessaly, Trikalon str. 224, 43100 Karditsa, Greece

Abstract

The current study looks at acute and sub-lethal Copper toxicity on developing zebrafish embryos up to 96 hours post fertilisation (PSF). We allocated four-hour PSF zebrafish embryos in four groups with duplicates, and 500 mg, 50 mg, and 0.05 mg l⁻¹ and a control group for 96 hours PSF. All fish exposed to 500 mg l⁻¹ copper died within the first 6 hours PSF. Significant sub-lethal copper toxic effects on developing Zebrafish were manifested in the 0.05 and the 50 mg groups, by increased heartbeat rate within the first 25 hours PSF in the 0.05 and 50 mg group. The sub-lethal toxic effect was also manifested in the metabolism of developing embryos, with a reduced rate of utilisation of yolk and lower growth rate and anatomical malformations within the first 25 hours in the 50 mg group and after 50 hours PSF in both the 0.05 and 50 mg group. The results indicate that reduced metabolic rate and increased heartbeat rate are potential early signs of sub-lethal Cu toxicity in developing Zebrafish well before other developmental defects are visually evident.

 Keywords: Toxicity, Development, Fish, Metabolism

Waqas Aslam¹, Rana Shahzad Noor², Saif Ullah¹, Hong Chen^1*

¹College of Economics and Management, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China

²Department of Agriculture, Biological, Environment and Energy Engineering, College of Engineering, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China.

Abstract

Agriculture is one of the main sources of economic sustainability across major developed countries in the world. It is in view of these, that this study seeks to investigate the perceived comparative advantage of organic and conventional farming systems in recent times. This study aimed at comparing the inputs and outputs of organic and conventional farming systems in Punjab province in Pakistan.  In terms of farm inputs, the study revealed that organic crop farmers experienced higher mean expenses on irrigation and labor force with 12% and 7% difference respectively while on fertilizers and pesticides, the conventional farmers’ mean expenses were significantly higher. In terms of farm outputs, the study also revealed that the conventional farmers yield was higher than that of the organic farmers by 11%. Irrespective of the findings, it was realized that people preferred to consume organic crops based on the quality of the crops prompted using natural manure unlike the conventional crops where the fertilizers are more of chemicals.

Keywords: Organic, Conventional, Sustainability, Farming system, Agriculture, Yield

Oladunni Bola Olafisoye¹, Oluwafemi Omoniyi Oguntibeju^2*, Otolorin Adelaja Osibote³

¹Faculty of Applied Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa

²Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Phytomedicine & Phytochemistry Group, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville, South Africa

³Faculty of Applied Sciences, Department of Mathematics and Physics, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

This study evaluated the quantitation of synthetic phenolic antioxidants and trace elements in virgin palm oil. A Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with Ultra Violet Visible detection spectrophotometry was employed for the analysis of synthetic antioxidants. The synthetic antioxidants studied were Butylatedhydroxyanisole (BHA), Butylatedhydroxytoluene (BHT), 2-ethylhexyl 4 methoxycinnamate (EEMC) and Propyl gallate (PG). A proposed ICP-OES using oil-water micro emulsion as sample preparation method was used for metallic element analysis because it is not only reproducible, accurate and reliable but also convenient because it provided a sample extraction capable of breaking down the complex matrix in virgin palm oil. The limits of detection for BHA, BHT, EEMC and PG were found to be 0.041, 0.057, 0.06 and 0.03 mg/L respectively while the limits of quantification values were 0.56, 0.49, 0.05 and 0.04 mg/L respectively. None of the synthetic antioxidants was detected in the samples studied. This was an indication that local farmers probably preserved the oil samples prior to storage by traditional methods. The elemental analysis of virgin palm oil is necessary to decide if the oil is suitable for food, fuel or raw materials for the chemical industry. The concentrations of metallic elements found in the oil samples analysed in this study ranged between 0.006 mg/kg in Ubiaja plantation and 161.576 mg/kg in Benin City plantation respectively. Tin recorded high concentration in Benin City plantation and Pb a low concentration in Ubiaja plantation. The concentrations of metallic elements were rather high in most samples hence the oil is best suitable for use as raw material for the chemical industry. It can therefore be concluded that the level of environmental pollution on the plantation be eradicated or reduced to the barest minimum to improve the quality of the virgin palm oil for human consumption.

Keywords: Synthetic antioxidants, Virgin palm oil, Micro emulsion techniques, Metallic elements, RP-HPLC, ICP-OES

Amna Ikram¹, Hafiz Muhammad Usman Aslam^2*, Muhammad Atiq², Luqman Amrao², Safdar Ali², Nasir Ahmad Khan², Khalid Naveed³

¹Department of Pest warning and Quality control of Pesticides, Punjab, Pakistan

²Department of Plant Pathology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

³Department of Plant Pathology, University of Agriculture, Sub-campus Depalpur, Okara, Pakistan

Abstract

In Pakistan, powdery mildew of pea is an emerging pathogen to notable production of pea. The research was conducted to evaluate the currently available resistant source against the powdery mildew (Erysiphe pisi) and its management through nutrients (micronutrients and macronutrients) and plant activators (citric acid, benzoic acid, salicylic acid, K2HPO4, KH2PO4). Thirteen varieties/lines were grown under a randomized complete block design (RCBD). The data of disease incidence were examined at weekly intervals to evaluate the resistant source against this disease. Varieties/lines including No. 267, F-16, and Peas-2009 exhibited a resistant response to E. pisi with a disease incidence of 3.3, 6.6, and 1.6% respectively. The winner showed moderately resistant response with disease incidence 23.46%. Green grass (45.05%), VIP (37.7%), Peas meto (29.50%), Aleena (30.63%) and Azad (36.00%) were moderately susceptible. The Varieties PF-450 (65.00%), and Sprinter (61.70%) showed susceptible response. The Varieties Climax (74.00%) and Meteor (73.53%) were highly susceptible to powdery mildew. The macronutrients proved to be the highly effective with lowest disease incidence as 8.14%. Salicylic acid was the most effective plant activator followed by K2HPO4 that exhibited the minimum diseases incidence 16.38% and 22.62% respectively. Our findings concluded that the variety Peas-2009 was highly resistant against the powdery mildew. Macronutrients and salicylic acid (SA) were highly potent nutrient and plant activator in minimizing the development of this radical fungal pathogen.

Keywords: Screening, Pisum sativum, Nutrients, Erysiphe pisi, Plant activators

Asma Aris¹, Zainap Ab Easa Hasan¹, Shamarina Shohaimi¹, Noor Baity Saidi², Nur Ain Izzati Mohd Zainudin¹

¹Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang Selangor, Malaysia

²Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract

Fusarium is a well-known soil-borne fungus where most species belonged in this genus is prominently phytopathogenic. Nevertheless, this pathogenic species has affected the production of pumpkin worldwide. This study underlines the morphological, phylogeny and pathogenicity characteristics of Fusarium for a better disease-control strategy. Twenty-six Fusarium isolates were collected from wilt infected pumpkin in various locations of Peninsular Malaysia. From the combinations of morphological and molecular identifications, four species were identified as F. oxysporum (2 isolates), F. solani (4 isolates), F. proliferatum (7 isolates) and F. incarnatum (13 isolates). Microscopic and macroscopic observation visualized distinct characteristics of the identified Fusarium species. Sequence analyses of tef1α and β-tub genes inferred by maximum likelihood tree resulted in distinct section-specific characteristics. Meanwhile, pathogenicity test of Fusarium isolates presented by the seed inoculation produced various degrees of severities. Fusarium solani C2526P recorded the highest severity of 93.8% after 30 days of post inoculation (dpi). Symptoms have been identified as early as 10 dpi producing stunted growth of the plants. On the other hand, Fusarium oxysporum D2532P recorded 85.3% disease severity. Pathogenic Fusarium caused stunted growth, chlorosis, wilting and necrosis especially at the root of pumpkin plants. This study provides valuable information and methods to manage wilt infected pumpkin in the future.

 Keywords: Fusarium wilt, Cucurbita pepo, Phylogeny, Pathogenicity

Maryam Yousaf¹, Romana Anjum¹, Nadeem Ahmed⁴, Muhammad Ahmad Zeshan^2*, Safdar Ali¹, Muhammad Usman Ghani³

¹Department of Plant Pathology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

²Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Pakistan

³Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

⁴Department of Plant Pathology, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan

Abstract

Sphaerotheca fuliginea is the most commonly recorded fungus that cause powdery mildew of cucurbits. The outbreak of this disease occurred in Pakistan in Neelam valley. Current study was conducted to minimize significant economic losses by using different combinations of fungicides and nutritional amendments. Fungicides Bravo (Chlorothalonil) and Score (Difenoconazol) and nutrient solutions of Agsil (Potassium silicate) and Peak (mono potassium phosphate) were applied alone and in combination to manage the disease. Bravo and Score were applied @ 1.5ml/L and 2.5ml/, respectively while 0.1% solutions of both Agsila and Peak was used. Nutritional amendments were used before the onset of disease and fungicides were applied after the appearance of disease. All the treatments were randomized in three replications. The findings described the combination of fungicides was most efficient in decreasing disease incidence as it reduced the powdery mildew incidence upto 60%. In individual fungicidal applications, Bravo treated plants showed less disease incidence (36%) than Score (40%). However to avoid from the environmental hazards nutritional amendments is the safest option which gave 50% reduction in disease incidence. Agsil was more effective than Peak in individual applications and it showed 47% disease incidence that was 49% in case of Peak.

Keywords: Powdery mildew, Pumpkin, Management, Evaluation

Ali F. Al-Mehemdi^1*, Medhat M. Elsahookie², Mohammed H Al-Issawi³

¹Center of Desert Studies, University of Anbar, Iraq

²Department of Field Crops Sciences, College of Agriculture, University of Baghdad, Iraq

³Department of Field Crops Sciences, College of Agriculture, University of Anbar, Iraq

Abstract

Two trials were carried out over two locations, Ramadi and Fallujah included nine genotypes of Fennel, in order to assess the interaction between genotypes (G) and locations (E) using real data from the two experiments. The nine genotypes of fennel were randomly distributed under with Sudoku square design using type-I and model-I for combined analysis. The methodologies of this type and model solution were explained in details in the current study. Genotypes were significantly differed (P>0.01) in the first location. In the combined analysis, the genotype by location (G X E) interaction was also significant (P>0.01) which is due to the effect of the genotype. It can be concluded that Sudoku square design is suitable for selecting better genotypes as a honeycomb design and to test the multi-environment trial yield. Therefore, augmented studies should be conducted to extract the efficiency of this design using other types and models embedded in this design.

Keywords: GxE interaction, Fennel, Locations, Sudoku design

Muhammad Mazhar Iqbal^1*, Tayyaba Naz², Hafeez-u-Rehman³, Sehar Nawaz⁴, Muhammad Abdul Qayyum⁵, Mazhar Iqbal Zafar⁶, Omer Farooq⁷, Atiqure-urRehman⁷, Muhammad Imtiaz⁸, Ghulam Murtaza², Abid Mahmood⁹, Shahzada Munawar Mehdi¹⁰, Shahid Javed¹¹, Muhammad Aleem Sarwar¹², Muhammad Ishaq Javed¹³

¹Soil and Water Testing Laboratory, Chiniot. Department of Agriculture, Government of Punjab, Pakistan

²Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

³Soil and Water Testing Laboratory, Sialkot. Department of Agriculture, Government of Punjab, Pakistan

⁴Centre of Agricultural Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

⁵Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences. Ghazi University, Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan

⁶Department of Environmental Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

⁷Department of Agronomy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan

⁸Environmental Biotechnology Division, National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faisalabad, Pakistan

⁹Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad, Department of Agriculture, Government of Punjab, Pakistan

¹⁰Rapid Soil Fertility Survey and Soil Testing Institute, Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

¹¹Provincial Reference Fertilizer Testing Laboratory, Raiwind, Lahore, Pakistan

¹²Soil and Water Testing Laboratory for Research, AARI, Faisalabad, Pakistan

¹³Agricultural Economics Section, AARI, Faisalabad, Pakistan

Abstract

The impact of applied farm manure (FM) on growth of maize and tissue Pb concentration in maize grown on saline-sodic sandy loam and sandy clayey loam textured Pb-toxic soils was evaluated in present pot study. The soils were spiked with Pb at 200 kg ha^-1 soil and equilibrated for 60 days at about field capacity. Treatments were comprised of three levels of FM (0, 20 or 40 g kg^-1 soil) arranged in completely randomized design each replicated thrice. The highest dry matter of maize shoots from sandy loam soil was recorded with the applied 40 g kg^-1 FM. From sandy loam soil, maximum dry matter of shoots was noted with FM at 20 and 40 g kg^-1. Applied FM at 20 and 40 g kg^-1 produced statically similar dry matter of maize roots in sandy clayey loam soil. While in sandy loam soil, 20 g kg^-1 FM application resulted in significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher dry matter of maize roots than control treatment and 40 g kg^-1 FM application. The applied FM at 20 and 40 g kg^-1 consequence in statically similar shoot and root Pb concentration grown on both textured Pb-toxic soils but lower compared to that of the control soils. For post-experiment soils, minimum plant available Pb in sandy loam soil with FM at 40 g kg^-1 was recorded while in sandy clayey loam, minimum plant available Pb was observed with the addition of FM at 20 and 40 g kg^-1.

Keywords: Farm manure, Organic matter, Pb concentration, Salinity, Sodicity, Pb venomous soil