Important Agricultural Products Research Articles

Morphological comparison of tympanal organs between Phycitinae and Pyralinae (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Tympanal organ plays an important role for insects in perception, fleeing from predators, defense, finding and choosing sex, communication, and carrying out social interactions. It is positioned in different areas among various insect groups. Tympanal organ is in the abdomen in the Pyralidae family, many species of which are harmful to economically important agricultural products and storage products. This study was conducted to determine the importance of the tympanal organ in the classification of Pyralids. For this purpose, tympanal organs of 10 species (Pyralis farinalis (Linnaeus, 1758), Hypsopygia glaucinalis (Linnaeus, 1758), Endotrichia flammealis ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775), Dioryctria pineae (Staudinger, 1859), D. mendacella (Staudinger, 1859), Oncocera semirubella (Scopoli, 1763), Etiella zinckenella (Treitschke,1832), Acrobasis obliqua (Zeller, 1847), Myelois circumvoluta (Geoffroy in Fourcroy, 1785), Ematheudes punctellus (Treitschke, 1833) in four tribus belonging to Pyralinae and Phycitinae were examined for the first time. Bulla tympani, fornix tympani, pons tympani, rugae odontinae, intersegmental thoraco abdominal membrane, processus spiniforme etc. structures of these species were described and photographed for the first time. The similarities and differences between taxa were analyzed.

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE EFFICACY OF ULTRASOUND IN IN-SITU DETECTION OF CORROSION IN PALM OIL REFINING EQUIPMENT

Palm oil is an important agricultural product for many countries. Stainless steel refining equipment faces corrosion challenges due to the corrosive nature of palm oil, which gradually deteriorates the equipment over time. Ultrasonic testing (UT) can detect corrosion, usually performed during palm mill downtime due to temperature constrain. The study aims to optimize UT at temperatures up to 250°C. The experimental outcomes serve as a foundation for broadening the application of phased array corrosion mapping (PACM) into elevated temperatures. The results offer intricate insights into velocity fluctuations within specific materials, correlating with temperature elevation. In summary, the suite of UT methods demonstrates their aptitude for employment during palm oil refinery operations up to 250°C involving carbon steel as well as 304 and 316 stainless steels. It allows further UT application during the palm mill’s operation and achieves the study’s objective of allowing palm mill owners to detect and monitor corrosion growths without stopping production.

Bio-stimulant based nanodelivery system for pesticides with high adhesion and growth stimulation

Pesticides are important agricultural production materials to ensure global food security, but the low utilization rate during pesticide application has caused a large amount of waste and environmental pollution. The use of pesticide carriers to deliver pesticides can help to prevent rapid release, assist in targeted release, and improve pesticide utilization. However, after completing pesticide delivery, less part of pesticide carriers has more functions and may remain in the environment, leading to material waste and environmental burden. Here, we propose that the environment-friendly carrier materials for pesticide delivery can synergistically enhance control efficacy with pesticides. Based on the bio-stimulant polyglutamic acid, amphiphilic polymers (mPEG-b-PLG) were constructed, and they assembled into nano micelle. After encapsulating prothioconazole (PTC) into the nano micelle through hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions and hydrophobic interactions through co-assembly, mPEG-b-PLG-PTC nanospheres with a diameter of approximately 120 nm were prepared. The nanospheres exhibit pH responsiveness for targeted release of pesticides, as well as excellent retention capacity, droplet bounce inhibition ability, and deposition capacity. At the same time, compared with commercial formulations, it has long-term antifungal properties and lower EC50, while its acute toxicity to human cells is lower, which can reduce cell apoptosis by about 63 %. It is also gratifying that the main root length, plant height, and fresh weight of wheat seedlings treated with mPEG-b-PLG have significantly improved, effectively applying carrier materials for synergistic effects. In summary, this work proposes a promising strategy to synergize pesticide carrier materials as active ingredients, providing new ideas for the integration of pesticide and fertilizer, improving pesticide utilization efficiency, and reducing environmental pollution.

Illuminating the path to sustainable rice harvesting: A solar-based paddy harvester

Paddy is the most important agricultural crop product in Bangladesh since it is widely used in daily life as a main meal intake. Currently, traditional manual harvesting process is widely used to harvest paddy grains in Bangladesh. However, manual harvesting is laborious, time-consuming, and costly. Utilization of modern machineries such as combined paddy harvester machines can increase grain productivity while reducing significantly the number of labour-hours. Combine rice harvesters possess traditional diesel engine that burns gasoline fuels i.e. diesel. The overriding concern of this diesel oil combustion is the production of greenhouse gases that adversely affect the environment. In addition, reports suggest that oil reserve might be depleted to zero in next 40 years. This manuscript presents a comprehensive review on the paddy grain production statistics, the pros and cons of traditional rice crop harvesting processes, and the historical development of mechanization in the agricultural sectors of Bangladesh. It also presents a novel design route to convert commercial diesel-driven combine paddy harvester machine to solar energy-operated combine rice harvester machine with its required accessories. In particular, a new design concept with a remarkable cost estimation process of solar-powered harvesters is proposed. A field study has been conducted in Sonagazi Upazilla under Feni district of Bangladesh to evaluate the potential use of the proposed solar-powered harvester machine. Our study suggests that solar-driven rice harvester is a promising concept in the paddy crop harvesting process and it will reduce the overall costs for short and long-term uses compared to estimated costs of commercial diesel-driven harvesters. To combat the scarcity of gasoline in the future, it is an obvious choice to bring a paradigm shift in solar energy harvesting and its utilization in the agricultural sectors of Bangladesh. It is expected that the proposed solar-driven rice harvester concepts with their in-depth analysis (including costs) would be able to draw attention to business entrepreneurs and investors who will be excited to initiate a program to manufacture solar-powered rice harvester machines in practice.

Use of the HEC RAS model for the analysis of exceptional floods in the Ouémé basin

Abstract. The Ouémé River basin extends over almost half of Benin's territory, entirely located in a humid tropical climate. This river system includes a deltaic zone (delta of the Ouémé) known for its high agricultural potential and thus subject to a socio-economic development agenda. The Ouémé delta is facing recurrent floods that maintain rural agricultural population into a retrograding crisis with significant damages such as losses of properties. The objective of this study is to improve decision-making in the Ouémé basin through the simulation of exceptional floods using the HEC-RAS model. The HEC RAS model is a conceptual model, which works through mathematical and physical formulas to implement environmental phenomena for forecasting, understanding and analysis purposes. The model inputs used are basin GIS data, hydro-meteorological data, characteristics of existing hydraulic structures, etc. The targeted outputs include 1D/2D/3D view plans with support of satellite images, tables, graphs and curves. It is worth mentioning that the model provides outputs compatible with other tools, such as civil engineering (Civil 3D, Revit, Infraworks, etc.) and GIS, that help to expand the valorization fields. The implementation of the model in the Ouémé basin has made it possible to note: (i) that the recurring effect of losses and damages is justified by the settlement of the population on the river banks; (ii) that there is an important agricultural production in areas of high flood risk; (iii) that depending on the occurrence of the phenomenon, the flooded extent and the height of submersion remains variable, and more important for extreme flooding; (iv) about 12.07 % occurrence of river flood against 13.24 % for flash flood at a return period of 30 years. Moreover, it is very relevant to note that most of flood waters converge to the western part of the basin (an area with a low risk of flooding, stretched over 63.68 km2) and to the eastern part around the Damè-Wogon depression (an area at high risk of flooding, stretched over 10.49 km2).

Safety of agricultural machinery and tractor maintenance planning with fuzzy logic and MCDM for agricultural productivity

Productivity is one of the most important measures used to determine the growth and development level of countries or sectors. A wide variety of projects have been planned and implemented to increase agricultural productivity. The productivity to be obtained in agriculture; Soil conditions, climate, seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, labor and agricultural mechanization directly affect it. Agricultural mechanization is the realization of agricultural activities by using energy together with agricultural tools and machines. Agricultural mechanization; It is an important agricultural production technology that helps increase agricultural productivity. Due to the inadequate maintenance planning of agricultural machinery, agricultural machinery cannot be utilized at the desired level in agricultural production. Most agricultural equipment is subject to frequent changes in speed and direction of movement while operating. Damage that can be seen on a single machine; It also causes other machines to malfunction. During the year, especially in the months when agricultural activity is high, excessive working tempo can cause tractors to malfunction. The breakdown of tractors causes disruptions in agricultural activities. In addition, the breakdown of tractors increases the repair costs. Since there is no tractor maintenance planning, farmers face interruptions in agricultural activities due to tractor malfunction. However, tractor malfunctions may cause cost and economic losses. For these reasons, there is a need for appropriate maintenance planning of agricultural machinery in order to continue agricultural activities without disruption. Maintenance planning; It consists of a set of preventive activities to improve the reliability and availability of any system. The main purpose of this study is to determine and rank the importance level weights of the criteria that are important for agricultural machinery maintenance planning using the fuzzy AHP method. Fuzzy AHP method, which provides ease of application, was preferred in determining the Criterion Weights. The research proposes a framework to determine the weights of appropriate criteria for care planning selection through a combined approach of fuzzy multi-criteria decision making involving relevant stakeholders. On the basis of the prioritization of criteria of tractor maintenance planning (TMP), it was found from the ranking that checking for all fluid levels (TMP1) ranked first. This respectively is followed by checking for general conditions (TMP4), checking for tires and wheels (TMP2) and checking for batteries (TMP3). With the results of the study, a guide was created for farmers and other stakeholders, as well as decision makers, to help plan the maintenance of machines in better working conditions. It is also thought that this study will be encouraging for other studies.

TeaViTNet: Tea Disease and Pest Detection Model Based on Fused Multiscale Attention

The tea industry, as one of the most globally important agricultural products, is characterized by pests and diseases that pose a serious threat to yield and quality. These diseases and pests often present different scales and morphologies, and some pest and disease target sizes can be tiny and difficult to detect. To solve these problems, we propose TeaViTNet, a multi-scale attention-based tea pest and disease detection model that combines CNNs and Transformers. First, MobileViT is used as the feature extraction backbone network. MobileViT captures and analyzes the tiny pest and disease features in the image via a self-attention mechanism and global feature extraction. Second, the EMA-PANet network is introduced to optimize the model’s learning and attention to the Apolygus lucorum and leaf blight regions via an efficient multi-scale attention module with cross-space learning, which improves the model’s ability to understand multi-scale information. In addition, RFBNet is embedded in the module to further expand the perceptual range and effectively capture the information of tiny features in tea leaf images. Finally, the ODCSPLayer convolutional block is introduced, aiming to focus on acquiring richer gradient flow information. The experimental results show that the TeaViTNet model proposed in this paper has an average accuracy of 89.1%, which is a significant improvement over the baseline network MobileViT and is capable of accurately detecting Apolygus lucorum and leaf blight of different scales and complexities.

An Apple Detection and Localization Method for Automated Harvesting under Adverse Light Conditions

The use of automation technology in agriculture has become particularly important as global agriculture is challenged by labor shortages and efficiency gains. The automated process for harvesting apples, an important agricultural product, relies on efficient and accurate detection and localization technology to ensure the quality and quantity of production. Adverse lighting conditions can significantly reduce the accuracy of fruit detection and localization in automated apple harvesting. Based on deep-learning techniques, this study aims to develop an accurate fruit detection and localization method under adverse light conditions. This paper explores the LE-YOLO model for accurate and robust apple detection and localization. The traditional YOLOv5 network was enhanced by adding an image enhancement module and an attention mechanism. Additionally, the loss function was improved to enhance detection performance. Secondly, the enhanced network was integrated with a binocular camera to achieve precise apple localization even under adverse lighting conditions. This was accomplished by calculating the 3D coordinates of feature points using the binocular localization principle. Finally, detection and localization experiments were conducted on the established dataset of apples under adverse lighting conditions. The experimental results indicate that LE-YOLO achieves higher accuracy in detection and localization compared to other target detection models. This demonstrates that LE-YOLO is more competitive in apple detection and localization under adverse light conditions. Compared to traditional manual and general automated harvesting, our method enables automated work under various adverse light conditions, significantly improving harvesting efficiency, reducing labor costs, and providing a feasible solution for automation in the field of apple harvesting.

Impacts of Crop Type and Climate Changes on Agricultural Water Dynamics in Northeast China from 2000 to 2020

Northeast China (NEC) is one of the most important national agricultural production bases, and its agricultural water dynamics are essential for food security and sustainable agricultural development. However, the dynamics of long-term annual crop-specific agricultural water and its crop type and climate impacts remain largely unknown, compromising water-saving practices and water-efficiency agricultural management in this vital area. Thus, this study used multi-source data of the crop type, climate factors, and the digital elevation model (DEM), and multiple digital agriculture technologies of remote sensing (RS), the geographic information system (GIS), the Soil Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA-SCS) model, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Penman–Monteith (FAO P-M) model, and the water supply–demand index (M) to map the annual spatiotemporal distribution of effective precipitation (Pe), crop water requirement (ETc), irrigation water requirement (IWR), and the supply–demand situation in the NEC from 2000 to 2020. The study further analyzed the impacts of the crop type and climate changes on agricultural water dynamics and revealed the reasons and policy implications for their spatiotemporal heterogeneity. The results indicated that the annual average Pe, ETc, IWR, and M increased by 1.56%/a, 0.74%/a, 0.42%/a, and 0.83%/a in the NEC, respectively. Crop-specifically, the annual average Pe increased by 1.15%/a, 2.04%/a, and 2.09%/a, ETc decreased by 0.46%/a, 0.79%/a, and 0.89%/a, IWR decreased by 1.03%/a, 1.32%/a, and 3.42%/a, and M increased by 1.48%/a, 2.67%/a, and 2.87%/a for maize, rice, and soybean, respectively. Although the ETc and IWR for all crops decreased, regional averages still increased due to the expansion of water-intensive maize and rice. The crop type and climate changes jointly influenced agricultural water dynamics. Crop type transfer contributed 39.28% and 41.25% of the total IWR increase, and the remaining 60.72% and 58.75% were caused by cropland expansion in the NEC from 2000 to 2010 and 2010 to 2020, respectively. ETc and IWR increased with increasing temperature and solar radiation, and increasing precipitation led to decreasing IWR in the NEC. The adjustment of crop planting structure and the implementation of water-saving practices need to comprehensively consider the spatiotemporally heterogeneous impacts of crop and climate changes on agricultural water dynamics. The findings of this study can aid RS-GIS-based agricultural water simulations and applications and support the scientific basis for agricultural water management and sustainable agricultural development.

Reasoned Economic Innovations for General Equilibrium Competition

When some win, others lose, and this is a natural competitive process in an equilibrium economy. With objective competition of general equilibrium, maximum efficiency and optimal use and redistribution of resources are achieved. But some hidden external and internal monopolies interfere with such equilibrium in the microeconomic markets sectors, including entire regions and industries. Accordingly, equilibrium competition is disrupted, which requires adequate unexpected innovative protective mechanisms of the state and the international community. If government economic departments or corporate management watch all criminal activity of hidden monopolies with their hands folded in pockets, a temporary disruption of effective equilibrium competition could lead to protracted stagnation and “thrombotic shocks” in local and international markets. For an example of applying the above in practice, when predatory monopolies import agricultural products at artificially low dumping prices, which ruins even very successful local businessmen, it is necessary to establish import-substituting free zones with a reasonably calculated minimum tax to stimulate exports. In objects to recommend innovative economic (fiscal-managerial) mechanisms for maintaining effective equilibrium competition, in the article, using the methods of grouping and summarizing statistical data, a preliminary assessment of countries in need of international and government support was carried out and results were obtained to improve the proportions in the core of market competition and for ease the burden of reasoned free zonal taxation.

Design, construction and field testing of a manually feeding semiautomatic sugarcane dud chipper

Sugarcane is the main sugar crop, and sugar is an important agricultural product in Egypt. There are many problems with the technology used in the current planting method of sugarcane, which has a great impact on the planting quality of sugarcane, which have a series of problems, such as low cutting efficiency and poor quality. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to design, construct, and field testing of a semiautomatic sugarcane bud chipper assisted with pivot knives for cutting sugarcane buds and germinating them in plastic trays inside a greenhouse until they reached an average length of 35 cm, and then planting them in the field. In the field tests five cutting speeds (35, 40, 45, 50, and 56 rpm. (Revolution Per minute), three cutting knives (1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 mm) were used for cutting sugarcane stalks with four different diameters (1.32, 1.82, 2.43, and 2.68 cm). The obtained results showed that the values of the damage index and invisible losses were within acceptable limits (ranging between − 1.0 and 0.0) for all the variables under the test. Still, the lowest damage index and invisible losses were recorded with the buds that were cut with a knife of 1.5 mm thickness and cutting speeds less than 50 rpm. The skipping rate increases with the increase in cutting speed and stalk diameter, ranging between 0.0 to 13%. The maximum machine productivity was 110 Buds per minute at a cutting speed of 35 rpm and stalk diameter of 1.32 cm. The paper's findings have important application values for promoting the designing and development of sugarcane bud chipper and sugarcane planting technology in the future.

Analysis of Factors Affecting the Innovation Level of Agricultural Operators

In this research, it is aimed to determine the factors affecting the innovation level of agricultural enterprises. Konya province was chosen as the research area because it is one of the important agricultural production centres in Türkiye. Stratified random sampling method was used within the scope of the study. A total of 268 agricultural enterprise owners were interviewed face to face and survey data were compiled. Multiple regression model was applied in the analysis of the factors affecting the perception of innovations by the operator. In this research, considering the characteristics of the data collected by the questionnaire, the linear regression model, which uses functional forms in regression models, was used. In the study, innovation index was taken as the dependent variable in the linear regression model. Independent variables were determined as education, experience, number of parcels, amount of land, active capital, amount of land, agricultural income, following innovations, receiving training on agricultural issues, participating in agricultural activities, following events related to agriculture on social media and cooperation with institutions. As a result of the model, a positive relationship was determined between education, experience, number of parcels, amount of land, active capital, amount of land, agricultural income, following innovations, receiving training on agriculture-related issues, participating in agriculture-related activities, following agriculture-related events on social media and cooperation with institutions and innovation index.

Identifying the abilities of biostimulants to improve vegetable production compared with conventional fertilizer

Vegetables are important agricultural products with numerous health benefits. Excessive chemical fertilization to meet the food challenge has resulted in environmental and soil health hazards. Considering this aspect, the current study was conducted with the aim to introduce biostimulants as an alternative to chemical fertilizers to improve soil quality, crop quality, and yield. In the first experiment, the response of radish was noted against the application of glycine (GLY), aspartic acid (ASP), lysine (LYS), vitamin B complex (VBC), and chemical fertilizers (CF). The biostimulants were sourced from Sigma Aldrich and Martin Dow Market Ltd. The results indicated that ASP has significantly improved the phenolic contents in shoot (1.01%) and root (12.23%) compared with CF. Additionally, total protein was significantly increased in shoot with GLY (251.81%) and in root with ASP (57.06%). Shoot ascorbic acid contents were significantly improved with ASP (179.90%), VBC (159.91%), and LYS (139.92%). Plant fresh and dry weight was improved with VBC (478.31%) and ASP (364.73%). The N and P concentrations in radish root were higher in VBC (25.93%) and LYS (100%). Soil organic matter was improved ASP (61.51%), followed by VBC (60.13%). Soil available P concentration was also enhanced with LYS (40.43%), ASP (31.20%), and VBC (23.19%). The second experiment was focused on identifying the response of turnip crop against the following treatments: chemical fertilizers (CF), Isabion® (ISA), 25% CF + LYS + GLY (CLG), 25% CF + ASP + GLY (CAG), and 25% CF + ASP + LYS (CAL). The biostimulants were sourced from Sigma Aldrich Syngenta, Pakistan. The results denoted that CAL and ISA significantly improved the phenolic contents in turnip shoot and root. The ascorbic acid in turnip shoot was improved with CAL (19.27%), CAG (18.13%), ISA (17.68%), and in root with CLG (26.96%). The P concentration in turnip shoot was significantly higher in ISA (19.25%), CLG (16.85%), and CAG (12.26%). Soil total N was improved in all treatments. ISA improved the available P concentration, whereas CF (67.87 mg kg−1) followed by ISA (65.93 mg kg−1) improved the soil available K. Both studies conclude that biostimulants capable of improving vegetable quality.

Extracts with antifungal activity against Botrytis cinerea from potato industry waste

Potato tuber (Solanum tuberosum L.) is the fourth most important agricultural product after wheat, rice, and maize. Fresh potatoes or processed potato products generate large amount of by-products, such as peel, leaves, and stems. In peel and leaf potato, organic acids, amino acids, phenolic acids, flavonoids, iridoids, oxylipins, glycoalkaloids among other compounds have been identified. In this work, potato leaves were used to extract compounds with antifungal activity against the phytophatogenic fungus Botrytis cinerea. Solvents with different polarities were used to extract bioactive compounds from potato leaves. The purification of bioactive compounds from leaf extracts from S. tuberosum was performed in various chromatographic steps, obtaining a bioactive fraction with at least two compounds. Based on the spectroscopic and thin-layer chromatographic data analysis, it can be suggested that this active fraction would have a terpenoid and an aromatic compound. This fraction inhibited the mycelial growth of B. cinerea with an ED50 of 4.3 mg L−1. The unpurified extracts showed only pro-oxidant activity; however, the bioactive fraction did not show pro-oxidant or antioxidant effects. The results of this work suggest that potato by products can be used in the production of biofungicides to control to B. cinerea.

Green technology innovation, trade deficit and carbon emission transfer in agriculture under the new “dual circulation” development pattern of China

Under the new development pattern of domestic and international “dual circulation” in China, studying the relationship among green technology innovation, agricultural trade deficit (ATD) and carbon emission transfer embodied in agricultural trade (ATCT) becomes crucial for achieving coordinated and unified high-quality economic development and efficient environmental protection. Based on this, the paper uses environmental input–output model, “two-stage” decoupling and recoupling model, panel vector auto-regressive model, spatial econometric model and “rolling” Grey-BP neural network prediction model to explore present status of ATD, ATCT and their relationship, driving role of green technology innovation, as well as whether that relationship will be improving in the future. The results reveal the following: (1) China's ATD and ATCT show an increasing trend year by year, and their inter-provincial differences are gradually significant over time. The overall relationship between ATD and ATCT does not display ideally, which makes it necessary to quickly transform that relationship into reasonable and ideal state. (2) Green technology innovation has significant positive “U-shaped” and inverted “U-shaped” local effects on ATD and ATCT respectively, with a reasonable range of ATD reduction while ATCT increase valuing from 0 to 0.290, and has significant positive “U-shaped” spatial spillover effect on both without any reasonable range. The short-term effect of green technology innovation on coordinated promotion between ATD and ATCT is superior to the long-term one. (3) Green technology innovation has a significant regional heterogeneity. Regional differences must be taken into consideration seriously, and the measures adapted to local conditions are crucial. The role of fundamental and progressive green technology innovation has heterogeneity, which means that targeted development and utilization of green technology products are important. (4) Regardless of the time horizon, the relationship between ATD and ATCT will improve, which can provide a key step for coordinated development of economy and environment in agricultural trade. Therefore, in order for China to implement and promote further opening-up, reduce agricultural trade dependence, ensure food security and important agricultural product supply, as well as achieve the unity of high-quality economic development and ecological efficient protection, it is necessary to reasonably reverse trade deficit and increase carbon emission transfer in agriculture.

Short-Term Forecasting of Pork Price Based on The ARIMA Model

China's large population requires a large and diverse amount of food, of which pork is one of the important agricultural products related to the national economy and people's livelihood. Based on the pork price data from 2010 to July 2023, this paper adopts the ARIMA time series model to forecast the pork price in the short term from August 2023 to February 2024 in order to provide a powerful reference for the macroeconomic management of the country. After testing, the ARIMA model has a certain guiding and reference value for predicting the high and low pork prices in the short term, which can provide a decision-making basis for the macroeconomic management of the country.

Innovative measurement, trade-off-synergy relationship and influencing factors for agricultural net carbon emissions and effective supply of agricultural products in China

Sensitive zone of global climate change has been formed in China, and it has become a hot topic how can agriculture ensure food security and the supply of important agricultural products while achieving the “Dual Carbon” goal in the country. Based on such background, this paper uses the IPCC carbon emission calculation method, environmental input-output model and economic-water-carbon coefficient method to measure agricultural net carbon emissions, adopts bivariate spatial auto-correlation analysis and SYS-GMM to explore separately the relationship between agricultural net carbon emissions and effective supply of agricultural products, as well as the carbon reduction effect, growth effect and reasonable range of green technology innovation. The results show that: (1) China's agricultural net carbon emissions reveal a spatial distribution of “higher in the east than in the west than in the center” and a temporal characteristic of increasing year by year; China's effective supply of agricultural products shows an increasing trend and a spatial distribution of “higher in the east than in the center than in the west” in 2006–2012 and “higher in the east than in the west than in the center” in 2013–2020. (2) In 2006, 2010, 2015 and 2020, the number of provinces that belong to low-low agglomeration trade-off zone, low-high agglomeration synergy zone, non-significant zone, high-low agglomeration non-trade-off-synergy zone and high-high agglomeration trade-off zone averagely accounted for 12.500 %, 30.000 %, 26.667 %, 9.167 % and 21.667 % of the totality, respectively. (3) The carbon reduction and production growth effects of green technology innovation both show an inverted “U-shape”, and green technology innovation is conducive to both reducing agricultural net carbon emissions and improving supply of agricultural products when it is within a reasonable range of greater than 0.930. (4) Green technology innovation not only has significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity impact, but also exhibits a differential effect on productive agricultural carbon emissions, agricultural trade carbon emissions, agricultural carbon sinks, total output of agricultural products and agricultural net imports in international trade. Therefore, it is proposed that China should establish and improve green technology innovation incubation platforms, guide all participants to ensure the investment and application of green technology products within a reasonable range, formulate and implement regional differential policies and plan in accordance with local conditions, drive ultimately coordinated promotion of agricultural carbon emission reduction and product supply guarantee and lay an important foundation for achieving high-quality economic development and efficient ecological protection.

Transcriptomic Data Analysis Using the Galaxy Platform: Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) Flowers as Example.

Coffee, an important agricultural product for tropical producing countries, is facing challenges due to climate change, including periods of drought, irregular rain distribution, and high temperatures. These changes result in plant water stress, leading to significant losses in coffee productivity and quality. Understanding the processes that affect coffee flowering is crucial for improving productivity and quality. In this chapter, we describe a protocol for transcriptome analysis using available Internet software, mainly in the Galaxy Platform, using RNA-Seq data from flowers collected from different parts of the coffee tree. The methods presented in this chapter provide a comprehensive protocol for transcriptome analysis of differentially expressed genes from flowers of coffee plant. This knowledge can be utilized in coffee genetic improvement programs, particularly in the selection of cultivars that are tolerant to water deficit.

First Report of Vacuiphoma oculihominis Causing Fruit Rot on Navel Orange (Citrus sinensis) in China.

Newhall navel orange [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck] is an economically important agricultural product in China. In February 2022, a rare lesion symptom was observed on Newhall navel oranges that were harvested from an orchard Ganzhou city, Jiangxi province, China (25.53° N, 114.79° E) and stored for 90 days (18±2℃, 80 to 90% RH) at the Jiangxi Key Laboratory for Postharvest Technology and Non-destructive Testing of Fruits and Vegetables (28.68° N, 115.85° E). Approximately 2% (15/750) of the oranges exhibited symptoms, with normal appearance but ink-black flesh and juice, yellowish lesions on edges of the symptoms, and no unusual odor. To isolate the pathogen, three 5 × 5 mm pieces of symptomatic tissue from a diseased orange were disinfected in 75% ethanol for 30 s, rinsed three times with sterile water, and inoculated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 25±1℃ and a 12:12 h photoperiod for 7 days. A pure isolate named ND-hsp was obtained. The colony was light yellow center with pale edge on the top and brown on the bottom. Conidia and pycnidia were observed on PDA medium after 2 months. Conidia were long oval, no septa, 2.9 × 3.4 μm (n = 50), and pycnidia were solitary, 39.4 × 43.9 μm (n = 20), with one or no orifice, brown to dark brown. The morphological characteristics of ND-hsp strain on PDA, oatmeal agar and malt extract agar were similar to those of the Didymellaceae (Aveskamp et al. 2010). Ulteriorly, the genomic DNA of the ND-hsp isolate was extracted from its mycelia using a fungal genomic DNA extraction kit (Solarbio, Beijing, China) for subsequent phylogenetic analyses. Four primer sets, LR0R (Rehner and Samuels 1994) /LR7 (Vilgalys and Hester 1990), V9G (Hoog and Gerrits 1998) /ITS4 (White et al. 1990), Btub2Fd/Btub4Rd (Woudenberg et al. 2009) and RPB2-5F2 (Sung et al. 2007)/RPB2-7cR (Liu et al. 1999) were used to amplify the corresponding DNA fragments of large subunit ribosomal RNA (LSU), internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), beta-tubulin gene (TUB2) and RNA polymerase Ⅱ second largest subunit (RPB2), respectively. The obtained sequences were assigned GenBank accession numbers and showed 99 to 100% identity with their counterparts of Vacuiphoma oculihominis UTHSC DI16-308. A phylogenetic tree was constructed in MEGA 7.0 using the concatenated sequences, placing the isolate within the V. oculihominis clade by 100% bootstrap support. Pathogenicity experiments were performed in triplicate. Ten Newhall navel oranges were surface sterilized with 75% ethanol and inoculated with 15μL of a spore suspension (2×106 spores/ml) into a 3 mm-diameter wound on the equator. The control group received sterile water instead of the spore suspension. Treated and control oranges were incubated at 25±1 ℃ and about 90% relative humidity for 20 days. All oranges were cut longitudinally or transversely through the inoculated wound and examined internally. The oranges inoculated with ND-hsp exhibited ink-black flesh and juice symptoms consistent with the initial oranges. The control oranges remained asymptomatic. Under the Koch's rule, V. oculihominis was reisolated from diseased oranges and kept in Collaborative Innovation Center of Postharvest Key Technology and Quality Safety of Fruits and Vegetables in Jiangxi Province. GenBank database analysis confirms that V. oculihominis has been found in human eye secretions and decayed trees. This is the first report of V. oculihominis as a pathogen on navel oranges in China. Our findings contribute to understanding of citrus fruit pathogens.

Construction of Mathematical Start-Up Business Index Formulation for Swiftlet Ranching Industry in Malaysia

An important agricultural product exported by Malaysia is swiftlet nests. Due to its high demand many entrepreneurs venture in this industry. Hence with the bioactive ingredients and dietary values are significant in support the manufacture of medicines in EBN. However, there are a lot of entrepreneurs who unable to fulfill the request of EBN production and failed in this industry. To prevent failure in the birds' nest swiftlet ranching industry, a mathematical modelling formulation should be developed. Thus, the purpose of the research is to construct a general formulation of the start-up business index equation for the swiftlet ranching industry in Malaysia. Experts interviewed found that there were eight factors of starting a business that mattered. Based on the findings, the weightage of the start-up business factors has been used in constructing the general formulation of start-up business index function of the swiftlet ranching industry in Malaysia. Hence, we will develop the system of start-up business factors in the swiftlet birds nest ranching industry using the general formulation of the start-up business index equation.