Pruetthichat Punyawattoe^1*, Woravit Sutjaritthammajariyangkun¹, Supangkana Thirawut¹, Nalina Chaiyasing¹, Suchada Supornsin¹, Sonthaya Sampaothong², Tomohiro Nagura³

¹Pesticide Application Research Section, Entomology and Zoology Group, Plant Protection Research and Development Office, Department of Agriculture, Bangkok, Thailand

²Department of Agricultural Extension and Communication, Faculty of Agriculture at Kamphaeng Saen, Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen Campus, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand

³Siam Yamaha Motor Robotics Co., Ltd., Thailand

Abstract

The physical spray efficacy was compared between unmanned helicopter and motorized knapsack sprayer for the application of pesticide in rice paddy field in Thailand. The unmanned helicopter treatment resulted in a significantly higher number of droplet density than that of the motorized knapsack sprayer treatment. In addition, droplet deposition did not differ between the two spraying techniques on the top and panicle positions. However, droplet deposition on the bottom position from the unmanned helicopter was higher than that from the motorized knapsack sprayer. The unmanned helicopter effectively reduced droplet losses to the ground compared with that of the motorized knapsack sprayer. With respect to droplet drift from sprayed area, the distance achieved by the unmanned helicopter was 3 m greater than that by the motorized knapsack sprayer. These results suggest that the efficacy of the unmanned helicopter was similar or greater than that of the motorized knapsack sprayer. Overall, we found that unmanned aerial vehicles improved performance and enabled rational pesticide application rice production in Thailand.

 Keywords: Unmanned helicopter, Droplet density, Droplet deposition, Droplet losses, Droplet drift

Michelson Azo’o Ela^1*, Aïne Bidiki Bouba², Pélagie Djenatou³, Fernand-Nestor Tchuenguem Fohouo⁴

¹Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Maroua, Maroua, Cameroon

²Department of Life and Earth Sciences, Higher Teachers’ Training College, University of Maroua, Maroua, Cameroon

³Maroua Regional Agricultural Research Center for the Development CRRA-M, Institute of Agricultural Research for the Development, Maroua, Cameroon

⁴Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Ngaoundere, Ngaoundere, Cameroon

Abstract

Field experiments were conducted to find out the floral activity of insects on Mangifera indica cv. Kent (Anacardiaceae) for assessing the impact on pollination and fruit set in 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 seasons. Two treatments were made with open-pollinated flowers (treatment A) and secondly bagged panicles (treatment B). The diversity of the entomofauna and certain foraging parameters were recorded in treatment A and a comparison of fruit set was made for both treatments. Twenty-six insect species were recorded overall. Bees were sporadic with a relative abundance of only ˂ 9%. The order Diptera with a relative abundance of 89.35% was the most species-rich. Chrysomya putoria (Calliphoridae) and an undetermined species belonging to the genus Sarcophaga (Sarcophagidae) were constant species. These flies were active daily during study with a peak of activity at the 7:00-10:00 a.m. recorded time interval. Flower visits by flies were noted as 89% for nectar harvesting and 11% for pollen collection. During their foraging activity, flies induced the pollination of hermaphroditic flowers which resulting in an improvement in mango fruit yields. The rate of mature fruit per panicle was 0% in treatment B during both years, with 1.07% in 2018/2019 and 1.85% in 2019/2020 in treatment A. Flies are here identified as essential flower-visiting insects and pollinators of M. indica which guaranteed fruiting of this crop in Maroua (Cameroon).

Keywords: Mango tree, Diptera, Yield, Self-incompatibility, Cross pollination

Samuel Amiteye^1,2, Andrew Sarkodie Appiah^1*, Frederick Boateng², Jacob Teye Kutufam¹, Harry Mensah Amoatey²

¹Biotechnology Centre, Biotechnology and Nuclear Agricultural Research Institute (BNARI), P. O. Box AE 50, Accra, Ghana.

²Department of Nuclear Agriculture and Radiation Processing, School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana

Abstract

As a prerequisite for the breeding of virus-resistant okra cultivars, the effect of Okra mosaic virus infection on physiological performance of ten okra cultivars were assessed under field conditions within the coastal savannah agro-ecological zone of Ghana. All cultivars succumbed to the disease and expressed varying degrees of symptoms. The results showed that plant height at initial and 50% flowering were significantly reduced with cultivar Clemson spineless showing the highest reduction of 38% and 35% respectively. Plant height at 50% podding was also reduced in all cultivars with the highest reduction (40%) occurring in cultivar Clemson spineless. Virus-infected plants of cultivars Kwabenya 1, Labadi dwarf and Asutem took on the average 43 days to attain 50% flowering compared to 25 days in healthy or control plants. Diseased plants had significantly (P<0.05) delayed, taking on the average 47 days after planting to attain 50% podding compared to the control plants with an average of 35 days. Infected plants of cultivars Kwabenya 1 and Labadi dwarf took the highest number of 51 days to attain 50% podding. Pod length and width were also reduced in all cultivars but were highest in cultivars Lucky 19 F1 and Clemson spineless at 52.19% and 46.25% respectively. Based on this assessment, cultivars Adom and Asutem which were less affected in terms of disease severity and fruit yield reduction could be exploited in future breeding programmes.

Keywords: Okra, Plant growth, Okra mosaic virus, Virus resistant, Symptoms

Nonna Fatima H. Abello¹, Edivine E. Remedios², Danny E. Carabio², Valerie U. Pascual³, Pet Roey L. Pascual^1,2

¹Crop Biotechnology Unit, Center for Studies in Biotechnology, Cebu Technological University, Barili Campus, Barili, Cebu, Philippiines

²Crop Science Department, College of Agriculture, Cebu Technological University, Barili Campus, Barili, Cebu, Philippines

3Department of Agricultural Economics and Development Studies, Cebu Technological University, Barili Campus, Barili, Cebu, Philippines

Abstract

In the Philippines, native corn substitutes rice during rice scarcity which makes it the second most important staple crop. Japanese snail is considered an economically important mollusk pest but is known to address plant growth problems when used as amino acid fertilizer. The study compared seaweed residue, bamboo shoot residue, Japanese snail residue and their combination with organic pesticide, Guduchi, to commercially available compost fertilizer (10t/ha). These were done in three replications arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design. Photosynthetic parameters were measured using LI-6800 Portable Photosynthesis System. Application of Japanese snail residue improved height from 4th to 8th week by 67.53 cm. Bamboo shoot residue also showed effectiveness in improving the plant height on the 8th week at 139.13±6.28SD cm.  On leaf length, Japanese snail residue outperformed the commercial basal organic fertilizer from the second up to the eighth week by 38.5 cm. On reproductive stage, Japanese snail showed the highest weight of ears at 86.6± 20.36SD g and is comparable with seaweed residue in the weight of kernels per ear at 69.60± 1.48SD g. However, in the computed yield, Japanese snail fertilizer has the lowest at 2.13±09SD g but the combination of pesticide and Japanese snail obtained the highest at 3.33±04SD g. Seaweed residue alone attained the highest transpiration rate and the lowest assimilation rate at 1604168655.67±191.66SD µmol H2O m-2 s-1 and 13.16±0.69SD µmol CO2 m-2 s-1, respectively while the combination of Japanese snail and Guduchi was the one that improved stomatal conductance to CO2 and the total conductance to CO2 at 478.6350±34.82SD μmol mol¯  and 47.5083±3.55SD Pa. Japanese snail residue has the lowest vapor pressure deficit at leaf temperature at 4.54±0.02SD kPa which showed significantly strong correlation with increase leaf length and plant height. Hence, Japanese snail residue fertilizer has the potential to be used as solid organic fertilizer for the growth of indigenous corn.

Keywords: Organic agriculture, Japanese snail, seaweed residue, morphological responses, photosynthetic responses

Leila Bouneb², Zohra Chekroud^1,2*, Ibtihedj Souda², Zoulikha Ouchenane³

¹Research Laboratory of Interactions of Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Biotechnology, University of August 20^th, 1955, Skikda, Algeria

²Department of Sciences of Life and of Nature, Faculty of Sciences, University of August 20^th, 1955, Skikda, Algeria

³Regional Military and University Hospital Abdelali Benbaatouch, Constantine, Algeria

Abstract

Diabetic foot infections are common complications of diabetes. Antibioresistant bacteria are associated with a higher incidence of lower-limb amputation. Punica granatum L. is one of the plants used by many civilisations in the treatment of infectious maladies. Our work consists of evaluating in vitro the antibacterial activity of three extracts of pomegranate peels on Gram positive and Gram negative bacterial strains isolated from diabetic foots pus. The active molecules were obtained by maceration of pomegranate peel powder in ethanol/water (30/70) and fractionation using three solvents: dichloromethane (EDCM), ethyl acetate (EEA)  and the n-Butanol (En-BuOH). The bacterial susceptibility to the extracts was determined using  the disks diffusion test and the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) by dilution in liquid medium using sterile microplates. The three extracts were active against the tested strains with maximum activity of the extract (En-BuOH) against Staphylococcus epidermidis (35.3 ±0.3 mm). Enterobacter aerogenes was less sensitive to the extracts (EDCM) and (EEA) (9±0.9 and 9.6±0.6 mm respectively). The weakest MIC (0.12 mg/ml) was recorded within Morganilla morganii with the three fractions and within Proteus mirabilis with the fraction ethyl acetate. Furthermore, the highest MIC (> 250 mg/ml) was fond within Staphylococcus aureus and Enterobacter aerugenes with dichloromethane, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa with different fractions. More of that, the extracts were characterised by an antibacterial activity better than some used antibiotics to whom the strains were  multiresistant.

Keywords: Antibacterial activity, diabetic foot, minimal inhibitory concentration, Punica granatum L.

Omer Ahmed Ghafour, Chawan Nawzad, Jutyar Kazm Khalaf, Niga Karim Bchkol, Ashna Latif Sharif, Shaida Rahim Watman, Taib Ahmed Hama Soor

Medical Laboratory Department, Technical College of Health, Sulaimani Polytechnic University, Sulaimani, Iraq

Abstract

Vegetables are a form of delivering pathogenic bacteria, such as Pseudomonas spp. This study investigated the rate of vegetable contamination by bacteria with their bacteriological and molecular characterization in Sulaimani Province. The colony forming unit was used to indicate the rate of bacterial contamination per gram of vegetable. As a result, all studied vegetables were found to be highly contaminated by bacteria at high rates, reaching 64,816 bacteria/gm. Among them, coriander showed the highest rate of contamination (89,720 cfu/g), while the carrot had the lowest rate (43,260 cfu/g). The highest rate of bacterial contamination was in Qaladze region and Sulaimani city, while the least contamination was observed in Chamchamal. In total, 54 Pseudomonas bacteria were isolated and PCR amplification of 16SrRNA gene (670 bp) was used for the final confirmation. The resistance rate of Pseudomonas bacteria was the highest against Amoxicillin, (%98.2) and amoxycilin/clavulanic, (%96.4), while the Ceftriaxone and Ceftazidime remained more affective against the bacteria. Out of 54 Pseudomonas isolates, four isolates (7.4%) were found to carry blaOXA resistance gene, and two isolates (3.7 %) were positive to blaCMY. None of Pseudomonas isolates carried blaCTX, blaSHV or blaTEM genes. It is concluded that all vegetable types in the study were contaminated by bacteria at high rates, but the rates were different in the varying types of vegetables. All vegetable samples in all geographical areas were contaminated by Pseudomonas bacteria containing isolates that carry blaOXA and blaCMY genes, which are highly resistant to many antibiotics. Therefore, the vegetables in the studied area are at a threatening level to the public health if not properly handled and treated.

Key Words: Food-borne diseases, Vegetables, Pseudomonas, Resistance genes, beta lactamases.

Muhammad Imran^1,2, Amjed Ali¹, Muhammad Ehsan Safdar¹

¹Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan

²Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA

Abstract

 A field experiment was conducted at Agriculture Research Farm, College of agriculture, University of Sargodha and National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad to compare maize hybrids (H) and nitrogen (N) rates, growth, yield and yield components, using a split plot design with three replications in 2017 and 2018. The main plots were supplemented with one of the following levels of N (kg ha^-1:  100 (N1), 175 (N2), N3 (250), N4 (325), and N5 (400) using three different hybrids (H), H1 (P-3939), H2 (30-T-60), and H3 (30-Y-87) in the sub-plots. Data were analyzed using the MIXED procedures of SAS. The statistical models included the individual effects of N and H, the interactions between N and H, and the random effect of the year. Orthogonal polynomial contrasts were constructed to determine the optimum level of N. The yield and yield components were improved at 325 kg N ha^-1 with significant effects on maximum plant height, number of grains per cob, number of grains per m² and grain yield. The results revealed that yield, total number of grains m^-2, number of grains per cob, 1000 grains weight, number of grain rows per cob, cob girth, and cob length were maximized (P < 0.001) at the N4 level without having an interaction with the H of maize crop.  It was concluded that the selection of best H for each location at 325 kg N ha^-1 can be used to enhance the efficiency of maize yield in autumn season at both locations under irrigated conditions.

Keywords: Zea mays, Agronomic characters, Nitrogen, yield, Yield components.

Muhammad Younas¹, Muhammad Atiq¹, Nasir Ahmed Rajput¹, Wasim Abbas², Muhammad Rizwan Bashir², Salman Ahmad³, Muhammad Sami Ullah¹, Waqas Ashraf Bhatti⁴, Nadia Liaqat¹, Irfan Ahmad⁵

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

²Plant Pathology Section, PPRI, Ayyub Agricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad, Pakistan

³Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, Pakistan

⁴Department of Plant Pathology, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan

⁵Department of Forestry and Wildlife, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

Abstract

Onion is one of the world’s most important vegetable crop cultivated in Pakistan and plays a significant role in human diet.  Numerous diseases attack on onion crop, but purple leaf blotch is the most important one, because it causes 80 to 90% of onion yield loss all over the world. In current experiment twenty-three fungicides at three concentrations (0.5, 1, and 1.5 g/L) were evaluated against Alternaria porri causing purple blotch under Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) on susceptible variety of onion (Pink Panther). Among all fungicides, chlorostrobin expressed prominent results causing 62.05% reduction in disease severity, followed by Nanok (61.55), Shincar (54.86), Cabrio top (53.33), Thril (50.00), Jalwa (48.11), Success (45.00), Alliette (41.61), Rally (39.83), Copper oxychloride (36.66), Score (33.05), Topas (29.88), Melodydue (13.27), Dithane M (11.66), Sulphax (6.55), Ridomil Gold (3.38) % respectively as compared to control. Similar results were observed in case of interaction b/w treatments and their concentrations.  Results of current study are helpful for farmers, scientist, and researchers for timely management of purple leaf blotch disease of onion.

Keywords: Amaryllidaceae, Allium cepa, Chlorostrobin, Nanok, Fosetyl Aluminium

Resi Alpionita¹, Tri Atmowidi², Sih Kahono²

¹Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, IPB University, Dramaga Campus, Bogor, Indonesia

²Laboratory of Entomology, Zoology Division, Research Center for Biology, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Bogor, Indonesia

Abstract

Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) is a fruit-producing plant with high economic value and essential horticultural commodities in Indonesia. Although strawberry plants have hermaphrodite flowers, this plant requires pollinating insects because the mature male and female organs are not often mature at the same time. Honey bees and stingless bees were reported as effective pollination agents of various plants. This study aims to measure pollination services of Apis cerana and Tetragonula laeviceps on strawberry plants. Visiting activity of A. cerana and T. laeviceps were observed by focal sampling method from 8 am to 4 pm. The pollen load on insect were measured by using the acetolysis method. The results showed the highest duration visits of A. cerana (12.64±0.47 seconds/flower) and the number of flowers visited (12.80±0.65 flowers/three minutes) occurred at 8 to 9 am. Meanwhile, in T. laeviceps, the highest duration visits (89.15±9.03 seconds/number) and the number of flowers visited (2.18±0.22 flowers/three minutes) occurred at 9 to 10 am. The number of pollens carried by A. cerana and T. laeviceps were 303275 and 86281 pollen grains, respectively. Manual and bee pollinations increased the number of fruits formation, fruit size and weight, and vitamin C content compared with control plants.

Keywords:  Pollination services; Apis cerana; Tetragonula laeviceps; strawberry.