Open Access Published by De Gruyter Open Access

Volume 5 Issue 1

January 2020

Issue of Open Agriculture

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Contents
Journal Overview

A two-factorial field experiment with soybean ( Glycine max (L.) Merill) was conducted in a randomized block design, with four replications. The tested factors were seed priming method and genotype responses. There had been seven soybean varieties (Aldana, Aligator, Annushka, Augusta, Lissabon, Mavka, and Merlin) and each of them had control (unprimed) and seed primed groups. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of hydropriming on germination ability and emergence under field conditions, on the growth and development of selected soybean varieties. Shortly before harvest, 10 randomly selected plants were collected from each plot, and their morphological and yield-related traits were measured. In addition, the seed yield was assessed. On the basis of statistical analysis, significant differences were found between the applied hydropriming method and the control group in regard to morphological traits. Seed treatment resulted in a slight increase in harvested seed yield, which is within error margin. The seed yield of Aligator increased significantly by 0.5 t ha −1 , indicating a genotype-specific different reaction to seed priming in terms of yield.

The purpose of this article was to give a comprehensive review of the published research works on biological control of different fungal, bacterial, and nematode plant diseases in Iran from 1992 to 2018. Plant pathogens cause economical loss in many agricultural products in Iran. In an attempt to prevent these serious losses, chemical control measures have usually been applied to reduce diseases in farms, gardens, and greenhouses. In recent decades, using the biological control against plant diseases has been considered as a beneficial and alternative method to chemical control due to its potential in integrated plant disease management as well as the increasing yield in an eco-friendly manner. Based on the reported studies, various species of Trichoderma , Pseudomonas , and Bacillus were the most common biocontrol agents with the ability to control the wide range of plant pathogens in Iran from lab to the greenhouse and field conditions.

Fifty wheat seed variety (var.) CIRNO C2008 were gamma irradiated with 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, or 600 Gy by using a Cobalt-60 source at 907.39 Gy/h, and the nonirradiated seeds were considered the control ( M 0 ). A photoperiod of 13 h of darkness (14°C) and 11 h of light (2 h at 18°C, 7 h at 25°C, and 2 h at 18°C) was used for 30 days, in a growth chamber (BJPX-A450; BIOBASE) for quantifying the morphometric traits of the irradiated vs nonirradiated seeds. The germination percentage (from 88.89% in M 0 to 77.78% in 600 Gy) did not show significant differences among treatments; while the survival percentage (from 100% in M 0 to 6.66% in 600 Gy) and plant height (from 19.21 cm in M 0 to 1.16 cm in 600 Gy) showed negative significant ( p < 0.05) difference among nonirradiated seeds ( M 0 ) and the rest of the treatments. Finally, based on the survival percentage, the calculated lethal dose was 290.6 Gy, which will allow obtaining promising wheat mutants. Gamma irradiation is a promising alternative to obtain a greater wheat variability for advanced mutant lines.

Special Issue on the 10th Circumpolar Agriculture Conference 2019

Open Access December 31, 2020

Preface to the Special Issue on the 10th Circumpolar Agriculture Conference 2019

Päivi Soppela

Page range: 912-913

The peculiarity of natural conditions of Yakutia plays an important role in the formation of economic activities of its population. A significant number of rivers and lakes are a favorable condition for the development and preservation of traditional fishing. Currently, more than 89% of the commercial fish catch is produced in the lower reaches of the large northern rivers and lakes in the Arctic and subarctic zones of Yakutia. The main part of this catch is whitefish species, which are valued for their fat content, protein content, culinary, and taste qualities. Fish is a valuable food product for the population of Yakutia. This article presents the results of the study on the nutritional value and the content of heavy metals in the Arctic cisco meat. The high content of fat and protein in the studied samples shows that the Arctic cisco meat belongs to high-protein and high-calorie products and has a high biological value. It was found that on average, the level of toxic metals in the Arctic cisco meat does not exceed the norms accepted in Russia for fish products. The data obtained suggest that the content of heavy metals in fish is due to the peculiarities of living conditions and environmental pollution. Over the past decades, the volume of fish production in Yakutia has been declining due to the socioeconomic and climatic factors. Due to the anthropogenic pollution of water in rivers and lakes by oil products and effluents and waste from various sectors of the economy, especially the mining industry, there is a reduction in the fish resources and there is a need to monitor the environmental condition of the fishing reservoirs and the fish food quality.

The levels of acrylamide intake because of potato crisps consumption remains unknown in Kenyan context. This study assessed the exposure to acrylamide because of consumption of potato crisps in Nairobi, Kenya. A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 315 crisps consumers in Nairobi, and consumption patterns were collected using a pre-tested structured 7-day recall questionnaire. A total of 43 branded and 15 unbranded potato crisps samples were purchased in triplicates of 100 g and acrylamide was quantified using a gas chromatograph with a flame ionization detector. Consumption data were combined with the data on acrylamide contents from which dietary acrylamide intake was calculated using a probabilistic approach based on @Risk TopRank 6 risk analysis software for excel. The mean estimated acrylamide intake was 1.57 µg/kg body weight (BW) per day while the 95th (P95) percentile was 5.1 µg/kg BW per day, with margins of exposures (MOE) being 197 and 61, respectively. The intake of acrylamide was significantly ( P < 0.05) higher in unbranded crisps with a mean value of 2.26 and 95th percentile of 6.54 µg/kg BW per day, MOE being 137 and 47, respectively. There were extremely lower MOE indicating higher exposure to acrylamide by the consumers mainly because of the higher acrylamide contents in potato crisps, and hence the need for mitigation measures.

Intensive agricultural practices and heavy use of inorganic fertilizers have significantly accelerated soil degradation. Mineralization of the organic matter of soil affects soil health and the abundance of soil beneficial microbes (SBMs) and its dynamics in the soil. The research to investigate the shifting of microbial population and the soil health was conducted in natural forest, agricultural, and degraded ecosystems. The research setting involved randomized block design consisting of six ecosystems, namely, natural forest, agricultural soil (oil palm: 10, 9, 8, and 7 years old), and degraded soils. The soil samples were taken with four replications from rhizomicrobiome of each land use. In the soil health analysis, it was understood that soil beneficial microbes (SBMs) consist of total bacteria, phosphate-solubilizing bacteria, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, total actinomycetes, and total fungi). The results showed that natural forest, oil palm plantation, and degraded land demonstrated a significant effect on the changes in biodiversity of SBM in rhizomicrobiome. The highest population of SBMs was in natural forest followed by the 10-year-old oil palm plantations and the lowest was recorded in degraded soils. These results confirm that the shift of forest ecosystems to agricultural soils will accelerate the degradation and decline of soil health.

Organic agriculture is a system of production whose principles are health, ecology, fairness, and care. Bearing in mind the principle of health and its links to agriculture and human health, the main goal of this work is to suggest the inclusion of organic agriculture as a public health indicator. For this purpose, four scientific online databases such as b-on, PubMed ® , Scielo, and ScienceDirect were used for searching the research publications relating organic agriculture (and organic farming) with human health. However, no study suggesting organic agriculture as a public health indicator has been found. For this reason, a pictorial conceptual model that advocates the inclusion of organic agriculture as an indicator of public health was developed for the first time. This proposal intends to provide a tool that can be used by organizations and public health institutions when revising and updating their health indicators.

About this journal

Scope

Veterinary Medicine
Agro-ecology
Soil science
Plant science
Horticulture
Forestry, Wood technology
Animal science
Entomology
Aquaculture
Hydrology, Irrigation
Food science
Nutrition
Agricultural economics
Bio-based economy
Agricultural engineering
Landscape management
Postharvest technology
Climate-based agriculture
Amelioration
Tropical agriculture
Microbiology
Agroforestry
Sustainable development
Biomass, Biofuel
Agronomy
Agricultural Extension Education
Rural development
Agricultural information and communication
Capacity Building
Mycology

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