Category Archives: b_original_articles

Olarewaju Michael Oluba^*

Department of Biochemistry, Food Safety and Toxicology Research Unit, Environment and Technology Research Cluster, College of Science and Engineering, Landmark University, P.M.B. 1001, Omu Aran, Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study evaluated the interaction between changes in fermentation period and nutrient/antinutrient composition of indigenous white cassava (IWC) gari and provitamin A biofortified yellow cassava (pVABYC) gari. For both the cassava varieties, as the fermentation time was increased from 2 to 5 days, the moisture and fat contents increased significantly whereas the ash and fibre contents reduced significantly. Phytate level decrease by 15.8% and 10% in the IWC gari and pVABYC gari respectively due to increase in fermentation period from 2 to 5 days. Tannin reduced by 3.4% and 5.1% while cyanogenic potential decreased by 10% and 27.8% in the IWC gari and pVABYC gari respectively due to increase in fermentation period from 2 to 5 days. As the fermentation time increased from 2 to 5 days, the total carotenoids, β-carotene, and provitamin A carotenoids reduced by 20.7%, 22.2%, and 23.4%, respectively, for pVABYC and by 22.6%, 21.4%, and 20.7%, respectively, for IWC. The percentage retention of the total carotenoids, β-carotene, and provitamin A carotenoids in the gari samples obtained from the two cassava varieties decreased significantly with an increase in the fermentation time. In conclusion, as the fermentation time increases, pVABYC is found to have a better nutritional retention capacity than IWC. Thus, pVABYC gari retains more nutrient in addition to providing 100% more β-carotene than IWC.

Keywords: Biofortified cassava, Vitamin A deficiency, Provitamin A carotenoids, Anti-nutritional factors, Fermentation, Food processing

Naeem Sarwar^1*, Khuram Mubeen², Allah Wasaya³, Atique-ur-Rehman¹, Omer Farooq¹, Muhammad Shehzad⁴

¹Department of Agronomy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan

²Department of Agronomy, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan

³College of Agriculture, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Bahadur Sub-Campus, Layyah, Pakistan

⁴Department of Agronomy, University of Poonch, Rawalakot, AJ&K, Pakistan

Abstract

We studied the role of addition of various organic supplements for zinc uptake and overall maize crop performance. In field experiment, different sources of organic matter were added as supplement doses in the form of compost, biochar, humic acid and biofertilizer with or without soil zinc application. All other agronomic practices were remained normal as per farming community recommendation. Results revealed that various organic supplements significantly improved the crop performance not under zinc applied soil while also under zinc deficient soil. Crop showed accelerated growth in term of leaf area index, leaf area duration, crop growth rate etc which further leads toward better crop yield and quality. Organic supplements (biochar>compost>humic acid>biofertilizer) improve the crop production in zinc deficient as well as in zinc fertile soil but this effect was most prominent under biochar application. Findings suggest that farmers can enhance the maize crop productivity with the addition of organic supplements under zinc fertilization.

 Keywords: Crop, Soil fertility, Organic supplements, Yield

Madhura  Jayasinghe^1*, Binosha Fernando², Subhashinie Senadheera³, Pubudu Gunawardene⁴, Somathilaka Ranaweera¹

¹Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Gangodawila, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka

²Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer’s disease Research and Care, Sir James McCusker Alzheimer’s Disease Research Unit, School of Medical and health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Australia

³Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Saliyapura, Sri Lanka

⁴Zooplus AG, Sonnenstraße 15, Munich, Germany

Abstract

Manganese deficiency may cause severe health disorders and is becoming prevalent in societies that are rapidly urbanising.  Determining the Manganese contents and its relationship with the intake of protein, fibre and fats is important; which may allow people to select Manganese rich foods based on their major macronutrients. A cross-sectional study including detailed dietary assessment for two weeks, followed by proximate analysis of regularly consumed diets was conducted using 1200 adults from three different social segments as; lecturers/teachers (400), managerial employees in the private sector (400), and houses wives (400). Each social segment was assumed to elicit different lifestyles and different daily Manganese and Macronutrient intake levels. Most frequently consumed food items by them and their respective portion sizes were identified. Those were prepared using mostly practiced cooking methods and chemically analysed for proximate compositions of fat, protein, dietary fibre and Manganese contents. Regression and general liner models were used to estimate the association between protein, fibre and fat intake and Mn levels. The average daily protein, fibre and fat intakes were 53.51, 36.85 and 41.85 grams respectively. The average Manganese intake was 1.87 grams. There were significantly negative association between dietary Manganese levels and fat intake (β=-0.041, p<0.00). Increased dietary fat intake was associated with low levels of Manganese (β=-0.041, p<0.00) for all social segments. Higher protein (β=0.019, p=0.01) or fibre intake (β=0.013 p=0.002) reduced the risk of Manganese deficiency. Overall, dietary Manganese elicited a positive correlation with proteins and fibre in foods, but a negative correlation with dietary fat.

 Keywords: Manganese, Dietary fibre, Fats, Protein

Hussein Jasim Shareef*

Date Palm Research Center, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq

Abstract

Organic fertilizer can be viewed to diminish the negative effect of saltiness on the plant. Foliar application of yeast (4 g l^-1) and algae (4 ml l^-1) extracts on Hillawi offshoots, watered with salt or freshwater examined. The outcomes demonstrated that yeast extracts improved both the hormone levels and the date palm biochemical reactions. Salinity reduced all examined growth parameters (leaf area, plant height, and leaves number). Likewise, chlorophyll content in leaves decreased. Organic fertilizers improved date palm growth. Yeast application increased chlorophyll content, organic solutes, and substances growth included indole-3-acetic acid, zeatin, and gibberellin. However, the yeast extracts increased amino acids and ascorbic acid. The organic fertilizer lowered the accumulation of sodiumin the leaf. It increased uptake of potassium, bringing about a higher K⁺/Na⁺ ratio. Improving plant development under saltiness conditions was identified with an enhancement in the content of amino acids and carbohydrate content. The use of yeast extract could induce the recovery of the plant exposed to salinity. Organic fertilizers (yeast and seaweed extracts), which are economically and environmentally friendly, can be recommended to farmers for alleviating salinity.

 Keywords: GA3, Auxins, Algae extracts, Yeast extracts

Tamrin Abdullah, Irwan Irwan, Tutik Kuswinanti, Itji Diana Daud, Asman Asman*, Andi Nasruddin, Nurariaty Agus

Department of Plant Pests and Diseases, Faculty of Agriculture, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia

Abstract

Entomopathogenic fungi have been proved controlling plant pests, and most of the entomopathogenic fungi isolated from the agroecosystem. The research was carried out to characterize the entomopathogenic fungi diversity associated with different agroecosystem on a different location in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Fungi of rice field ecosystems were found more diverse than on dryland ecosystems, and the genus was Fusarium species, Aspergillus species, Rhizopus species, Trichoderma species, Penicillium species, Rhizoctonia species and Metharizium species. Moreover, Fusarium species and Rhizopus species were the most frequent genus isolated from rice field ecosystem, while on dryland ecosystems, the fungus of Metharizium species found more frequent than Fusarium species and Aspergillus species According to a geographical location on rice field ecosystems. The number of fungi isolated on the regency of Gowa more numerous than regency of Sidrap, Takalar, and Pinrang. Meanwhile, on the dryland ecosystems, three locations were the city of Makassar, the regency of Maros, and the regency of Polman. Among three areas, the regency of Maros founded more fungi than regency of Polman and Makassar. This study exhibits the diversity of fungi on the rice field, and dryland ecosystems were quite different.

 Keywords: Entomopathogenic fungi, Agroecosystem soil, Diversity, South Sulawesi

Hafeez ur Rahim^*1,2, Ishaq Ahmad Mian¹, Muhammad Arif ³, Sajjad Ahmad³, Zaid Khan³

¹Department of Soil & Environmental Sciences, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan

²School of Environmental sciences and technology, Dalian University of Technology, Liaoning, China

³Department of Agronomy, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan

Abstract

There are numerous benefits of biochar and summer legumes in the soil fertility status enhancement, so, keeping in consideration these benefits, a research study was designed to investigate the soil fertility status influence with the carryover effect of biochar and summer legumes at the UAP Research Farm, during winter 2016-2017. An experiment in the rotation was conducted in summer 2016 having three summer legumes for a specific purpose i.e. mungbean (grain), sesbania (green manuring), and cowpea (fodder), control was also comprised. Biochar synthesized domestically in a furnace from small wood cuttings on a pyrolysis temperature (400–500^◦C) and applied once to legumes @ 0, 5 and 10 tons ha^-1. When the legumes were harvested, the residues of sesbania remained in the soil, while the residues of the other two legumes were taken away. The test for soil fertility status investigation was performed on subsequent wheat in RCBD with three replicates on the previous field layout of legumes. Significantly maximum soil total nitrogen, extractable P, K, Fe, Zn, Mn were obtained in the plots previously incorporated with sesbania. However, Cu was not significantly affected. While, in the case of preceding biochar, maximum soil total nitrogen, extractable P, K, Cu, Fe, Zn, and Mn were obtained on 10 tons ha^-1. The biochar-legumes interaction was significant for macronutrients while non-significant for micronutrients. Thus, it is concluded that preceding legumes and previously applied biochar showed a significant carry-over effect on soil fertility status.

Keywords: Biochar, Summer legumes, Soil fertility status

Rafi Qamar1, Imtiaz Anjum1, Atique-ur-Rehman2*, Muhammad Ehsan Safdar1, Hafiz Muhammad, Rashad Javeed3, Abdul Rehman1, Yasir Ramzan4
1Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Pakistan
2Department of Agronomy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan
3Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Vehari Campus, Pakistan
4Wheat Research Institute, AARI, Faisalabad, Pakistan

Abstract

Climate change emerges in different forms such as drought, which is prevalent all over the world, especially in semi-arid and arid regions. Crop production especially wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield is affected due to water shortage at critical growth stages in Pakistan. A greenhouse experiment was conducted by using plastic trays to assess the performance of wheat to exogenous silicon (Si) application under water stress which in applied through skipping irrigation at critical stages at College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Pakistan. Experiment include irrigation levels (I1: irrigation at crown root stage + booting stage, I2: irrigation at crown root stage + anthesis stage, I3: crown root stage + grain development stage, I4: crown root stage + booting stage + anthesis stage + grain development stage, I5: crown root stage + tillering stage + booting stage + earing stage + milking stage + dough stage) and foliar application of Si viz., Si0: 0% (Control), Si1: 0.25%, Si2: 0.50%, and Si3: 1% (w/v). Treatment combination I1 + Si0 significantly reduced yield and yield attributes, net assimilation rate, Si contents in plants, leaf water potential, chlorophyll content, root length and water use efficiency furthermore, increased evapotranspiration efficiency. In contrast, treatment combination I5 + Si3 significantly increased these parameters and reduced evapotranspiration efficiency. Moreover, treatment combinations I4 + Si3 and I3 + Si3 were statistically at par with treatment combination I5 + Si3 which indicating the role of Si in mitigating negative impact of water shortage and improved these parameters. It is concluded that plant exhibited positive response at irrigation levels I3 and I4 in combination with foliar-applied Si3 while irrigation level lower than I3 with Si3 was not showed positive improvement in crop productivity.

Keywords: Net assimilation rate, Silicon, Water stress, Water use efficiency, Relative water content

Muhammad Imran Hyder Baloch^*, Muhammad Tarique Tunio

Faculty of sciences, Allama Iqbal Open University, H-8, 44310, Islamabad, Pakistan

Abstract

The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence rate, worm load, effects of strongyles infestation on blood parameters and comparative efficacy of Oxfendazole, Ivermectin and Pyrantel anthelmintics against strongyles in the horses at Quetta and suburbs. For this purpose, 100 horses were randomly selected and kept untreated for anthelmintics for 3 months before commencement of study. Overall, prevalence was found to be at 48%. Among them, 40 positive horses were randomly divided into 4 groups namely A, B, C and D comprising 10 horses in each group. Group A was treated with Oxfendazole, group B with Ivermectin, group C with Pyrantel while group D was kept an untreated (No Anthelmintic). The efficacy of anthelmintics was evaluated on reduction of eggs per gram (EPG) of the faecal sample on day 7 and 14 post-medication. The efficacy of Oxfendazole in Group A was 91.43% and 97.14%, efficacy of Ivermectin was 95.24% and 97.62% whereas efficacy of Pyrantel was 87.18% and 94.87% on day 7^th and 14^th day post-medication respectively. All the anthelmintics administered were effective against strongylosis with ivermectin having comparatively better efficacy followed by oxfendazole and pyrantel. Worm load had direct relation on blood parameters and its reduction showed significant improvement in total erythrocyte count (TEC), Haemoglobin (Hgb) and Packed Cell Volume (PCV) on day 7 and 14. Efficacy of routinely used anthelmintics should be regularly determined through faecal examination for EPG count to cater for development of resistance.

Keywords: Horse, Anthelmintic, Strongylosis, Haemoglobin, Total erythrocyte count, Packed cell volume

Ir. Beni Hidayat^1*, Udin Hasanudin², Syamsu Akmal¹, Muhamad Muslihudin¹

¹Agricultural Technology Department, Politeknik Negeri Lampung, Lampung, Indonesia

²Agricultural Product Technology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Lampung, Lampung, Indonesia

Abstract

Solid-state fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the most optimal method to increase protein content and reduce cyanide content of cassava pulp to use it as a food ingredient.  This research aimed to evaluate the effect of fermentation time on the growth dynamics of S. cerevisiae, chemical, amylographic profile and granular morphology changes on cassava pulp fermentation.  The results of the study revealed that S. cerevisiae was able to grow logarithmic up to 72 hours of fermentation with starch and dietary fiber as a nutrition source and causes changes in viscosity profile and granular morphology. The increase in the total number of cells (viable cell and dead cell) will increase single cell protein biomass, which will increase the protein content to 7.07% and reduce cyanide content to 8.78 ppm.

Keywords: Amylographic profile, Cassava pulp, Fermentation, Food, Granular morphology

Rashid Latif Ujjan¹, Agha Mushtaque Ahmed^1*, Ali Zachi Abdulqader Alhilfi², Fahad Nazir Khoso¹, Ali Murad Rahoo³, Imran Ali Rajput⁴, Din Muhammad Soomro¹

¹Department of Entomology, FCPT, Sindh Agriculture University Tando Jam, Sindh, Pakistan

²Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, University of Basrah, Iraq

³Wheat Research Centre, Sakrand, Sindh, Pakistan

⁴PARC- Arid Zone Research Institute, Umerkot, Sindh, Pakistan

Abstract

Gram pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) is one of the essential insect pests which inflict heavy crop losses. The performance of pheromone traps against pest in chickpea field for mass trapping at different heights (2’, 4’ & 6’) was tested at Pulse section ARI Tando Jam. Each height of trap was replicated three times with experimental units of nine traps in area of 1080 square feet. The result regarding moth catches at different height of sex pheromone traps and dates in chickpea field was observed significantly different. Overall, the highest moth population was in the month of February (2.67±1.76). A maximum mean number of moths (36.33±5.17) were observed at 6’ height. The results also showed +ve correlation (r=0.601) between larvae and moth and with temperature and relative humidity (r=0.420; r=0.480). The pod damage and larvae were also correlated positively with each other (r=0.820). In addition, H. armigera was also captured after harvesting time in fellow land that indicated population of moth also appeared in the absence of host plant but flying ability of moths reduced and most of moths captured at 4 feet (10 moths). Flight ethology of moth was recorded during three different periods of the day. Only few moths (0.3-1.3) captured in day time and most at sunset time (15.3±2.3). Thus, the present results assumed that the pheromone traps are ideal way to monitor the pest population and such traps should be installed at 6’ height during cropping season and 4’ after harvesting in order to control larvae those pupate inside the soil.

Keywords: Helicovera armigera, Sex pheromone, Trap height, Chickpea