Economic Losses In Agriculture Research Articles

Developing a Nano Platform for Bovine Brucellosis Diagnostic Product

Background: Brucellosis is one of the most common zoonoses caused by Brucella species. Brucella is an intracellular pathogen that causes abortion in domestic animals and brucellosis in humans. The disease has no specific pathognomonic signs; hence a prompt and accurate diagnosis of the disease plays a very critical role in preventing brucella transmission and treating the disease.Methods: Research was carried out at the Department of Veterinary Science of Kazakh National Agrarian Research University and in the Molecular Biology laboratory of the Institute for Plant Biology and Biotechnology under the Committee of Science of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Studies were carried out on a killed culture of the vaccine strain Brucella abortus RB19, genomic DNA of B. abortus RB19, Grapevine virus A, plasmid vectors for DNA cloning, a fluorescent nano marker, and Brucella membrane proteins.Results: The research demonstrated that brucellosis remained one of the most common zoonotic diseases worldwide. This disease not only resulted in significant economic losses in agriculture but also posed a serious threat to public health.Conclusions: The study successfully established prokaryotic expression vectors for efficient protein production, validated through sequencing and Western blotting, and proposed a promising nano-platform for plant-based synthesis of brucellosis proteins, with potential implications for diagnostic kit development and vaccine research in agriculture.Keywords: Brucellosis; Brucella; Outer membrane proteins; Omp16

IMPACT OF SOIL STERILIZATION FROM DIFFERENT LOCATIONS, WHEAT SEEDS CLEANING AND THEIR INTERACTIONS ON WEED CONTROL, AND YIELD AND YIELD COMPONENTS

IMPACT OF SOIL STERILIZATION FROM DIFFERENT LOCATIONS, WHEAT SEEDS CLEANING AND THEIR INTERACTIONS ON WEED CONTROL, AND YIELD AND YIELD COMPONENTS

Climate change flood risks and post-flood agricultural and non-agricultural economic losses in flood-prone Bait households Muzaffargarh district of Punjab, Pakistan

Climate change flood risks and post-flood agricultural and non-agricultural economic losses in flood-prone Bait households Muzaffargarh district of Punjab, Pakistan

G-C3 N4 @CuO electrostatic self-assembly toward Ralstonia solanacearum: Insights from cytomembrane and motility disruption.

Ralstonia solanacearum, a notorious and refractory bacterial plant pathogen, threatens multiple vegetable crops and causes significant economic loss in agriculture. Long-term use of traditional medicines not only increases the problem of drug resistance, but also causes great environmental pollution. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new agents with high efficacy and low toxicity. In this study, we have synthesized and characterized graphitic carbon nitride incorporated copper oxide composite (g-C3 N4 @CuO), which showed higher antimicrobial effect than graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets (g-C3 N4 nanosheets) and copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs). Ralstonia solanacearum exposed to g-C3 N4 @CuO exhibited higher levels of oxygen toxicity, cell membrane damage, DNA damage, motility disruption and even cell death compared to g-C3 N4 nanosheets and CuONPs. In addition, g-C3 N4 @CuO was more effective in the control of tobacco bacterial wilt than g-C3 N4 nanosheets and CuONPs. Thus, this study provides a new perspective on g-C3 N4 @CuO control of bacterial diseases in crops, and the mechanism is related to the destruction of cell membrane damage and motility disruption. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Tryptanthrin Derivative B1 Binds Viral Genome-Linked Protein (VPg) of Potato Virus Y.

Potato virus Y (PVY) is a plant virus that is known to be responsible for substantial economic losses in agriculture. Within the PVY genome, viral genome-linked protein (VPg) plays a pivotal role in the viral translation process. In this study, VPg was used as a potential target for analyzing the antiviral activity of tryptanthrin derivatives. In vitro, the dissociation constants of B1 with PVY VPg were 0.69 μmol/L (measured by microscale thermophoresis) and 4.01 μmol/L (measured via isothermal titration calorimetry). B1 also strongly bound to VPg proteins from three other Potyviruses. Moreover, in vivo experiments demonstrated that B1 effectively suppressed the expression of the PVY gene. Molecular docking experiments revealed that B1 formed a hydrogen bond with N121 and that no specific binding occurred between B1 and the PVY VPgN121A mutant. Therefore, N121 is a key amino acid residue in PVY VPg involved in B1 binding. These results highlight the potential of PVY VPg as a potential target for the development of antiviral agents.

Argonaute and Dicer are essential for communication between Trichoderma atroviride and fungal hosts during mycoparasitism.

Trichoderma species are known for their mycoparasitic activity against phytopathogenic fungi that cause significant economic losses in agriculture. During mycoparasitism, Trichoderma spp. recognize molecules produced by the host fungus and release secondary metabolites and hydrolytic enzymes to kill and degrade the host's cell wall. Here, we explored the participation of the Trichoderma atroviride RNAi machinery in the interaction with six phytopathogenic fungi of economic importance. We determined that both Argonaute-3 and Dicer-2 play an essential role during mycoparasitism. Using an RNA-Seq approach, we identified that perception, detox, and cell wall degradation depend on the T. atroviride-RNAi when interacting with Alternaria alternata, Rhizoctonia solani AG2, and R. solani AG5. Furthermore, we constructed a gene co-expression network that provides evidence of two gene modules regulated by RNAi, which play crucial roles in essential processes during mycoparasitism. In addition, based on small RNA-seq, we conclude that siRNAs regulate amino acid and carbon metabolism and communication during the Trichoderma-host interaction. Interestingly, our data suggest that siRNAs might regulate allorecognition (het) and transport genes in a cross-species manner. Thus, these results reveal a fine-tuned regulation in T. atroviride dependent on siRNAs that is essential during the biocontrol of phytopathogenic fungi, showing a greater complexity of this process than previously established.IMPORTANCEThere is an increasing need for plant disease control without chemical pesticides to avoid environmental pollution and resistance, and the health risks associated with the application of pesticides are increasing. Employing Trichoderma species in agriculture to control fungal diseases is an alternative plant protection strategy that overcomes these issues without utilizing chemical fungicides. Therefore, understanding the biocontrol mechanisms used by Trichoderma species to antagonize other fungi is critical. Although there has been extensive research about the mechanisms involved in the mycoparasitic capability of Trichoderma species, there are still unsolved questions related to how Trichoderma regulates recognition, attack, and defense mechanisms during interaction with a fungal host. In this work, we report that the Argonaute and Dicer components of the RNAi machinery and the small RNAs they process are essential for gene regulation during mycoparasitism by Trichoderma atroviride.

Design, Synthesis, Antifungal Evaluation, Structure-Activity Relationship (SAR) Study, and Molecular Docking of Novel Spirotryprostatin A Derivatives.

Phytopathogenic fungi cause plant diseases and economic losses in agriculture. To efficiently control plant pathogen infections, a total of 19 spirotryprostatin A derivatives and 26 spirooxindole derivatives were designed, synthesized, and tested for their antifungal activity against ten plant pathogens. Additionally, the intermediates of spirooxindole derivatives were investigated, including proposing a mechanism for diastereoselectivity and performing amplification experiments. The bioassay results demonstrated that spirotryprostatin A derivatives possess good and broad-spectrum antifungal activities. Compound 4d exhibited excellent antifungal activity in vitro, equal to or higher than the positive control ketoconazole, against Helminthosporium maydis, Trichothecium roseum, Botrytis cinerea, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Fusarium graminearum, Alternaria brassicae, Alternaria alternate, and Fusarium solan (MICs: 8-32 µg/mL). Compound 4k also displayed remarkable antifungal activity against eight other phytopathogenic fungi, including Fusarium oxysporium f. sp. niveum and Mycosphaerella melonis (MICs: 8-32 µg/mL). The preliminary structure-activity relationships (SARs) were further discussed. Moreover, molecular docking studies revealed that spirotryprostatin A derivatives anchored in the binding site of succinate dehydrogenase (SDH). Therefore, these compounds showed potential as natural compound-based chiral fungicides and hold promise as candidates for further enhancements in terms of structure and properties.

Online or offline: High temperature, sales channel adjustment, and agricultural profit

Extreme weather poses significant challenges to agricultural supply chain management, especially in developing countries. In this paper, we investigate to what degree can the adjustment of sales channels mitigate the economic consequences of supply chain risks of fresh agricultural products driven by extreme weather. Exploiting a field survey of fresh agricultural products from smallholder farmers in rural China, we empirically show that the high temperatures driven-supply risks can be mitigated by sales channel adjustment from offline to online and thus increase producers' agricultural profit. One percentage point increase in online channel sales driven by high temperature raises farmers' unit profit growth by 1.12 CNY. In the absence of sales channel adjustment, farmers’ agricultural economic losses due to high temperatures could be up to 26.65% higher. These findings are significant not only because high temperature events are predicted to increase significantly in the future, but also because they shed light on how smallholder farmers with limited adaptability to extreme weather can better adapt to adverse conditions by supply chain management - thus prospering rural e-commerce and development.

Canopy protection cyber-physical system (CPCPS) for smart agricultural management of frost damage in apple orchards

Frost events have resulted in huge economic losses in agriculture. Apple flower buds are susceptible to being damaged by cold weather in early spring, leading to reduced apple production. Applying heat is one of the most effective methods to prevent apple flower bud damage. However, growers generally determine when and how to apply heat in orchards based on their experiences and available labor force, leading to either insufficient heating or energy waste. In this study, a frost protection cyber-physical system (CPCPS) was developed to make heating decisions based on real-time ambient temperature and wind direction data. The CPCPS consisted of a real-time temperature sensing system, an angle auto-adjusted heater, and an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to move the heating system. The results show that the CPCPS improved protection performance during the field tests. Compared to the non-CPCPS, the CPCPS increased the percentages of canopy protected time by 198.8 % and 111.9 % in two low-temperature field tests. The outcome of the study can be beneficial for enhancing protection performance of canopies in apple orchards.

Enhancing Conservation Strategies for Wild and Migratory Bird Habitats in South Asia: A Comprehensive Review

Birds are important elements of an environment. The review articles show the significance, challenges, and conservation strategies for wild and migratory bird habitats in South Asia which have diverse landscapes host crucial ecosystems, providing breeding grounds, stopovers, and wintering areas for countless bird species. Anthropogenic activities, climate change, pollution, and invasive species threaten these habitats, necessitating effective conservation measures. Habitat assessment, monitoring, restoration techniques, and adaptation strategies are explored. The impact of climate change on bird habitats is discussed, emphasizing the importance of habitat resilience and adaptive management. Community engagement and education are pivotal in conservation, with successful models involving local communities in decision-making processes. The article also addresses the status of illegal bird hunting in the Indian subcontinent, emphasizing the need for strengthened law enforcement and community involvement. Though birds are important element of the environment, however, they are cause to spread some disease in especially migratory birds. It’s have contribution to biodiversity, pest control, and pollination but can also cause economic losses in agriculture and pose risks to aviation. Managing coexistence between birds and human activities is required for successful conservation program. Interdisciplinary research, long-term monitoring, and quantitative assessments of habitat resilience is underscored. The article concludes with a future plan for wild and migratory bird management in Bangladesh, outlining measures such as habitat protection, community involvement, and international collaboration.
 Graphical Abstract

Microsporidia dressing up: the spore polaroplast transport through the polar tube and transformation into the sporoplasm membrane.

Microsporidia are obligate intracellular parasites that infect a wide variety of hosts including humans. Microsporidian spores possess a unique, highly specialized invasion apparatus involving the polar filament, polaroplast, and posterior vacuole. During spore germination, the polar filament is discharged out of the spore forming a hollow polar tube that transports the sporoplasm components including the nucleus into the host cell. Due to the complicated topological changes occurring in this process, the details of sporoplasm formation are not clear. Our data suggest that the limiting membrane of the nascent sporoplasm is formed by the polaroplast after microsporidian germination. Using electron microscopy and 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3' tetramethyl indocarbocyanine perchlorate staining, we describe that a large number of vesicles, nucleus, and other cytoplasm contents were transported out via the polar tube during spore germination, while the posterior vacuole and plasma membrane finally remained in the empty spore coat. Two Nosema bombycis sporoplasm surface proteins (NbTMP1 and NoboABCG1.1) were also found to localize in the region of the polaroplast and posterior vacuole in mature spores and in the discharged polar tube, which suggested that the polaroplast during transport through the polar tube became the limiting membrane of the sporoplasm. The analysis results of Golgi-tracker green and Golgi marker protein syntaxin 6 were also consistent with the model of the transported polaroplast derived from Golgi transformed into the nascent sporoplasm membrane.IMPORTANCEMicrosporidia, which are obligate intracellular pathogenic organisms, cause huge economic losses in agriculture and even threaten human health. The key to successful infection by the microsporidia is their unique invasion apparatus which includes the polar filament, polaroplast, and posterior vacuole. When the mature spore is activated to geminate, the polar filament uncoils and undergoes a rapid transition into the hollow polar tube that transports the sporoplasm components including the microsporidian nucleus into host cells. Details of the structural difference between the polar filament and polar tube, the process of cargo transport in extruded polar tube, and the formation of the sporoplasm membrane are still poorly understood. Herein, we verify that the polar filament evaginates to form the polar tube, which serves as a conduit for transporting the nucleus and other sporoplasm components. Furthermore, our results indicate that the transported polaroplast transforms into the sporoplasm membrane during spore germination. Our study provides new insights into the cargo transportation process of the polar tube and origin of the sporoplasm membrane, which provide important clarification of the microsporidian infection mechanism.

Economic impacts of land degradation: Evidence from Côte d'Ivoire

AbstractLand degradation poses major environmental and economic problems to Côte d'Ivoire because of the dependence of its economy on agriculture. There is a lot of literature measuring the effects of land degradation on crop productivity or qualitatively describing economic impacts on farmers' livelihoods. However, there is little knowledge available quantifying the economic losses in agriculture due to land degradation within a methodologically rigorous causal framework. Therefore, we evaluate the net farming income reduction caused by land degradation in the Trays ecosystem in Cote d'Ivoire using an instrumental variable two‐stage least square‐IV method and primary household surveys and soil sampling data collected from 780 farmers in this study area. The findings indicate that soil organic matter (SOM), education, property rights, and farm size squares positively influence the net farming income, while plot slope, erosion, and farm size reduce the net farmer incomes. Specifically, a reduction of 0.07 units on average of the net farming income is observed when the SOM decreases by 1 percentage point. These findings help us draw the attention of the farmers, government, and non‐governmental organizations to the necessity of adopting sustainable land management practices to deal with land degradation, and improve farmers' income and the population's welfare through maintaining fertile and healthy soils.

Bacillus velezensis WB invokes soil suppression of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum by inducing particular taxa

Fusarium wilt of watermelon caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum (Fon) results in a substantial economic losses in agriculture. Biological control agents (BCAs) help in controlling the infection of Fon. However, it remains unclear whether the application of BCAs can invoke soil suppression by inducing specific microbial groups concerned with disease suppression to synergistically resist fungal pathogens. The objective of this project was to determine the microbial mechanisms involved in disease suppression by BCAs. Here, we conducted pot experiments to explore Fusarium wilt in watermelon and soil microbial communities in response to different treatments. We found that the application of Bacillus velezensis WB enhanced disease suppression in nonsterilized soil. We further found that disease suppression in the WF treatment was connected to influence on the resident soil microbial communities, explicitly by causing an increase in Hyphomicrobiaceae and Chitinophagaceae. Pathogen suppression by the above two families was further studied in laboratory and pot experiments. The results showed that a synthetic community consisting of specific bacterial taxa effectively decreased the incidence of Fusarium wilt. B. velezensis WB introduction impacts the resident soil microbiome and invokes soil suppression by inducing resident microbes. Our results should help in designing synthetic microbial communities to improve soil function.

Molecular characterization and pathogenicity of an infectious clone of tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus isolate infecting Cucumis melo

Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) is a member of the genus Begomovirus, and causes devastating disease in the world. In recent years, ToLCNDV was rapidly spreading in China and induces severe economic losses in agriculture. In this study, we sequenced and characterized the complete genome of ToLCNDV isolates from melon plants showing leaf curling and stunting symptoms in Jiangsu Province of China. We constructed a full-length infectious cDNA clone of ToLCNDV, which could induce systemic infection with typical symptoms in Nicotiana benthamiana, Citrullus melo, and Citrullus lanatus plants through agrobacterium-mediated inoculation. Further experimental evidence demonstrated that the virions produced in plants infected with the infectious clone of ToLCNDV are biologically active and sap-transmissible. We also evaluated the resistance of commercial melon cultivars to ToLCNDV and found all testing melon cultivars were susceptible to ToLCNDV. Collectively, the reverse genetic system developed herein will facilitate further research on biological functions of proteins encoded by ToLCNDV and plant-ToLCNDV interactions, which might provide new insights into breeding resistance germplasm in crops.

Flood Monitoring Using Sentinel-1 SAR for Agricultural Disaster Assessment in Poyang Lake Region

An extensive number of farmlands in the Poyang Lake region of China have been submerged due to the impact of flood disasters, resulting in significant agricultural economic losses. Therefore, it is of great importance to conduct the long-term temporal monitoring of flood-induced water body changes using remote sensing technology. However, the scarcity of optical images and the complex, fragmented terrain are pressing issues in the current water body extraction efforts in southern hilly regions, particularly due to difficulties in distinguishing shadows from numerous mountain and water bodies. For this purpose, this study employs Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data, complemented by water indices and terrain features, to conduct research in the Poyang Lake area. The results indicate that the proposed multi-source data water extraction method based on microwave remote sensing data can quickly and accurately extract a large range of water bodies and realize long-time monitoring, thus proving a new technical means for the accurate extraction of floodwater bodies in the Poyang Lake region. Moreover, the comparison of several methods reveals that CAU-Net, which utilizes multi-band imagery as the input and incorporates a channel attention mechanism, demonstrated the best extraction performance, achieving an impressive overall accuracy of 98.71%. This represents a 0.12% improvement compared to the original U-Net model. Moreover, compared to the thresholding, decision tree, and random forest methods, CAU-Net exhibited a significant enhancement in extracting flood-induced water bodies, making it more suitable for floodwater extraction in the hilly Poyang Lake region. During this flood monitoring period, the water extent in the Poyang Lake area rapidly expanded and subsequently declined gradually. The peak water area reached 4080 km2 at the height of the disaster. The severely affected areas were primarily concentrated in Yongxiu County, Poyang County, Xinjian District, and Yugan County.

Optical Methods for the Detection of Plant Pathogens and Diseases (Review)

Plant diseases of an infectious nature are the reason for major economic losses in agriculture throughout the world. The early, rapid and non-invasive detection of diseases and pathogens is critical for effective control. Optical diagnostic methods have a high speed of analysis and non-invasiveness. The review provides a general description of such methods and also discusses in more detail methods based on the scattering and absorption of light in the UV, Vis, IR and terahertz ranges, Raman scattering and LiDAR technologies. The application of optical methods to all parts of plants, to a large number of groups of pathogens, under various data collection conditions is considered. The review reveals the diversity and achievements of modern optical methods in detecting infectious plant diseases, their development trends and their future potential.

LEAF BLIGHT DETECTION USING DEEP LEARNING

Plant leaf blight is a common disease that affects many crops, causing significant economic losses in agriculture. Early detection of blight is essential for farmers to prevent the spread of the disease, control its severity, and improve crop yields. Manual detection of blight is time-consuming and often unreliable, making it necessary to use advanced technologies for accurate and efficient detection. Plant leaf blight detection systems can help farmers monitor their crops in real-time and identify blight at an early stage. This enables farmers to take appropriate measures such as crop rotation, timely application of fungicides, and improving plant nutrition to prevent the spread of the disease. By using plant leaf blight detection systems, farmers can reduce the economic losses caused by the disease and ensure the availability of healthy crops for consumption. This project presents a smart system for leaf blight detection that uses deep learning and convolutional neural networks (CNN) and is implemented on an Android platform. The system comprises an image acquisition module, a pre-processing module, and a leaf blight classification module. The image acquisition module captures images of leaves from a mobile camera, while the pre-processing module enhances the quality of images by removing noise and enhancing contrast. The leaf blight classification module uses a pre-trained CNN model to accurately classify images into healthy or diseased categories and provide the Confidence level of the Blight (disease) present.

A novel Bacillus sp. with antagonistic activity against a plant pathogen, Fusarium graminearum, and its potential antagonistic mechanism.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a wheat disease caused by the plant pathogen Fusarium graminearum, which leads to crop yield losses and agricultural economic losses, as well as poses a threat to the environment and human health. Effective biocontrol of F. graminearum is urgent. An antagonistic strain HZ-5 with 59.2% antagonistic activity against F. graminearum in vitro had been isolated from sea mud of Haizhou Bay using a dual-culture assay, which was highly homologous with Bacillus halosaccharovorans according to the 16S rRNA sequence. The antagonistic activity of HZ-5 had been further studied. HZ-5 had a broad range of antagonistic activity against another six plant pathogenic fungi and was effective in controlling FHB of wheat in pot experiment. The substances with antagonistic activity were temperature insensitive, and had been purified by HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) to prove to be secreted lipopeptides. The antagonistic substances induced the biosynthesis of chitin and glycerol, while ergosterol , cholesterol, and phosphatidylcholine reduced their inhibitory effects on F. graminearum. These data would be helpful to provide a better biocontrol strain against FHB, and to provide important basis to elucidate the antagonistic mechanism of biocontrol.

Identification of propranolol and derivatives that are chemical inhibitors of phosphatidate phosphatase as potential broad-spectrum fungicides

Plant diseases cause enormous economic losses in agriculture and threaten global food security, and application of agrochemicals is an important method of crop disease control. Exploration of disease-resistance mechanisms and synthesis of highly bioactive agrochemicals are thus important research objectives. Here, we show that propranolol, a phosphatidate phosphatase (Pah) inhibitor, effectively suppresses fungal growth, sporulation, sexual reproduction, and infection of diverse plants. The MoPah1 enzyme activity of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae is inhibited by propranolol. Alterations in lipid metabolism are associated with inhibited hyphal growth and appressorium formation caused by propranolol in M. oryzae. Propranolol inhibits a broad spectrum of 12 plant pathogens, effectively inhibiting infection of barley, wheat, maize, tomato, and pear. To improve antifungal capacity, we synthesized a series of propranolol derivatives, one of which shows a 16-fold increase in antifungal ability and binds directly to MoPah1. Propranolol and its derivatives can also reduce the severity of rice blast and Fusarium head blight of wheat in the field. Taken together, our results demonstrate that propranolol suppresses fungal development and infection through mechanisms involved in lipid metabolism. Propranolol and its derivatives may therefore be promising candidates for fungicide development.

Trichodermic acids from an endophytic Trichoderma sp. and their antifungal activity against the phytopathogen Botrytis cinerea

Phytopathogen Botrytis cinerea is a necrotrophic pathogen with a wide host range, which causes considerable economic losses in agriculture. Consequently, it is necessary to find safe and effective antifungal agents against B. cinerea from natural sources. In this study, eight octahydronaphthalene derivatives (1−8) including four new natural products named trichodermic acids E − H (1−4), were isolated from an endophytic fungus Trichoderma sp. Their structures were determined by analysis of their nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectra (HR-ESI-MS) and by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) data. All compounds showed some extent of antifungal activities against B. cinerea with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 4 to 64 μg/mL. Notably, compound 8 showed significant inhibition with an MIC of 4 μg/mL, which was visually confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). These findings provide a potential application of trichodermic acids as natural “hit” fungicides in agriculture.