Medicinal Crops Research Articles

Efficiency of microfertilizer application to medicinal plants grown under conditions of southern forest-steppe of Western Siberia

The article presents the results of studies on the effectiveness of mineral fertilizers (zinc and copper) in the cultivation of perennial medicinal crops (Achillea millefoliumL.,Tanacetum vulgareL.,Echinacea purpureaL.) on meadow-chernozem soil in the southern forest-steppe of Western Siberia. It was found that the most effective forAchillea millefoliumwas the application of copper fertilizers in the soil at a dose of Cu9.7, providing an increase in yield by 43.2 % relative to background; forTanacetum vulgare –zinc fertilizers at a dose of Zn60(+42.9 % relative to background) and forEchinacea purpureacopper fertilizers at a dose of Cu9.4(+60.3 % relative to background).

Soil moisture content and fertility status of soil through intercropping of medicinal crops in guava orchard of Northern India

Soil moisture content and fertility status of soil through intercropping of medicinal crops in guava orchard of Northern India

Effect of integrated nutrient management on growth of senna (Cassia angustifoliaVahl.)

Senna (Cassia angustifoliaVahl.) belongs to the family Fabaceae and is one of the most significant medicinal crops in India. India holds leading position in the production of senna crop and export of its produce to the world market, annually earning nearly 45 million. Almost all the senna leaves produced in India are exported and the major portion is transported to London market. Thus an experiment was conducted on the “Effect of Integrated nutrient Management on Growth of Senna (Cassia angustifoliaVahl.)” carried out at ParamathiVelur, Namakkal District, Tamil Nadu during the year 2019 - 2021. The field experiment was consisting of different combination of nutrients viz., recommended dose of fertilizers RDF, farmyard manure FYM, vermicompost VC and biofertilizers (Azospirillum AS and Phosphobacteria PB).The senna plants were planted in a plot with the size of 2.2x2.2 m2 with 35 plants @ 45 x 30 cm2 spacing. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with three replications and twelve treatments. Among the various treatments tried, plants supplied with T10 (75%RDF+FYM@10tha-1+Azospirillum@2.5kgha-1 + Phosphobacteria @ 2 kg ha-1) recorded maximum growth parameters such as plant height, number of branches plant-1, plant spread and leaf area plant-1.

Genome-Wide Identification, Characterization, and Expression Analysis of GRAS Gene Family in Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe).

GRAS family proteins are one of the most abundant transcription factors in plants; they play crucial roles in plant development, metabolism, and biotic- and abiotic-stress responses. The GRAS family has been identified and functionally characterized in some plant species. However, this family in ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe), a medicinal crop and non-prescription drug, remains unknown to date. In the present study, 66 GRAS genes were identified by searching the complete genome sequence of ginger. The GRAS family is divided into nine subfamilies based on the phylogenetic analyses. The GRAS genes are distributed unevenly across 11 chromosomes. By analyzing the gene structure and motif distribution of GRAS members in ginger, we found that the GRAS genes have more than one cis-acting element. Chromosomal location and duplication analysis indicated that whole-genome duplication, tandem duplication, and segmental duplication may be responsible for the expansion of the GRAS family in ginger. The expression levels of GRAS family genes are different in ginger roots and stems, indicating that these genes may have an impact on ginger development. In addition, the GRAS genes in ginger showed extensive expression patterns under different abiotic stresses, suggesting that they may play important roles in the stress response. Our study provides a comprehensive analysis of GRAS members in ginger for the first time, which will help to better explore the function of GRAS genes in the regulation of tissue development and response to stress in ginger.

Assessment of Novel Genetic Diversity Induced by Mutagenesis and Estimation of Genetic Parameters in Sesame M4 Mutant Lines

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is an ancient oilseed, aromatic, and medicinal crop widely used for its high-quality oil and seeds. The available genetic diversity in Morocco is too limited; thus, a mutagenesis breeding program was adopted. This study was carried out to evaluate the novel variability induced and observed in 11 M4 mutant lines and to estimate some valuable genetic parameters. The experiment was conducted in two different environments using a randomized complete block design with three replications. Phenological, morphological, and agronomic traits were recorded. To estimate the effect of genotype, environment, and their interaction, ANOVA and planned contrast analyses were performed. To examine relatedness among genotypes, cluster analysis was performed. Significant differences among mutants and between parent cultivars and their respective mutant lines were observed. Genetic parameters such as genotypic (GCV) and phenotypic (PCV) coefficients of variation, broad-sense heritability (H2 b.s), genetic advance (GA), and genetic advance over the mean (GAM) were high in most traits. Highly productive mutants, ‘US2-1’ and ‘US1-2’, were observed, exhibiting the highest number of capsules per plant and seed yield ever reported. Additionally, there are other promising mutants with early flowering, early maturity, and a reduced height of the first capsule. This suggests that mutagenesis can be successfully applied to develop high-yielding sesame varieties along with other improved phenological and agromorphological traits. All these mutant lines can be used as promising germplasm to develop competitive sesame cultivars to meet the increasing demand for sesame oil and seeds in the actual context of climate change.

Characters Association and Path Coefficient Analysis among Quantitative Traits of Chrysanthemum (Dendranthema×Grandiflora Tzvelev)

The present experiment was carried out under naturally ventilated polyhouse at the experimental farm of Division of Flower and Medicinal Crops, ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India for two years during 2019 (August-November) and 2020 (August-December) The experiment was laid out in completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications under naturally ventilated polyhouse. Analysis of variance showed significant differences among genotypes for all the traits. Results revealed that the days to optimum flowering exhibited positive and significant correlation with plant height (0.599), days to bud initiation (0.628), days to first flower opening (0.985) and flowering duration (0.571), whereas, positive significant correlation with flower diameter (0.324). The results of path coefficient analysis using correlation coefficients revealed that days to first flower opening (1.033) exhibited positive and very high direct effect on days to optimum flowering while, number of leavesplant-1 (0.040), days to bud initiation (0.056), flower diameter (0.025) and flower duration (0.022) showed positive and negligible direct effect. Therefore, the selection on the basis of traits viz., plant height, days to bud initiation, days to first flower opening, flower duration and flower diameter will be more effective for improvement of the flowering traits in chrysanthemum breeding.

Inter-specific differences of medicinal bioactive products are correlated with differential expressions of key enzyme genes in Scutellaria baicalensis and Scutellaria viscidula

Revealing the dynamic accumulation and synthesizing mechanism of medicinal bioactive products is critical for the evaluation and utilization of crops in medicinal industry. Huangqin ( Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi) and Nianmao-Huangqin ( Scutellaria viscidula Bge) are important medicinal crops containing flavonoids with good bioactivities. Previous studies have found significant differences of flavonoid contents between the two species. Nevertheless, the dynamic changes of bioactive products and related differential synthesizing mechanism remains unknown. In this study, an inter-specific comparative study was reported on the dynamic accumulation of eight bioactive products (scutellarin, scutellarein, baicalin , wogonoside, apigenin , baicalein, wogonin, and chrysin) and the expression of seven key enzyme genes in different organs (root, stem, and leaf) during different growth stages (May, June, July, August, September, and October) of S. baicalensis and S . viscidula . The results showed that the eight bioactive products were differentially accumulated in different growth stages for the two species. Specifically, the contents of five ingredients (except wogonoside, scutellarein and apigenin) in roots of S. baicalensis were significantly higher than those in S. viscidula in harvest stage (October). Meanwhile, the relative expression of seven key enzyme genes in baicalin synthesizing pathway showed significant spatio-temporal specificities. The expression of UBGAT in downstream baicalin synthesis was significantly higher in roots of S. baicalensis than that of S. viscidula ( P < 0.05). Moreover, there exist significant correlations between the content of bioactive products and the expression of key enzyme genes. The expression of upstream ( CLL-7 , FNSII-1 , FNSII-2 ) and downstream ( F6H and UBGAT ) key enzyme genes were significantly positively correlated with the contents of baicalin in both S. baicalensis and S. viscidula. On the contrary, the expression of GUS was significantly negatively correlated with the content of baicalin in the two species. Collectively, these results give clear evidences that the expression of key enzyme genes (e.g., FNSII-2 , GUS , and UBGAT ) in baicalin synthesis is probably the main reason for the difference of bioactive products, suggesting that S . viscidula can be used as an alternative to S. baicalensis in pharmaceutical industry. Furthermore, these findings will provide a theoretical basis for exploring the inter-specific differences of bioactive products in medicinal crops within the same genus, thereby revealing the molecular mechanism of quality formation of Chinese medicinal materials. • Eight bioactive products showed content difference between two Scutellaria crops. • Seven key genes were differentially expressed in S. baicalensis and S. viscidula . • Difference of product content was correlated with difference of gene expression. • S. viscidula can be used as alternative medicinal source to S. baicalensis . • Molecular mechanism of differential bioactive product contents was revealed.

Salinity affects eco-physiological aspects and biochemical compositions in chia (Salvia hispanica L.) during germination and seedling growth

• Chia plant was more sensitive to salinity during seedling growth stage compared to the germination's one. • During germination, antioxidant enzymes activity increased with increasing salinity up to 200 mM. • At seedling growth, the highest amount of total phenols and flavonoid was achieved at the 40 mM salinity level. • During seedling growth, the highest amount of soluble sugars, nitrogen and protein was obtained at salinity levels less than 40 mM. • Based on Gompertz model's, salinity reduced germination and seedling establishment and increased the time to reach the maximum value of these traits. Salvia hispanica (chia), a genus of Lamiaceae is a super food plant, which could be used as an oilseed and industrial medicinal crop in agro-ecosystems. High salinity inhibits chia seed germination and seedling growth, but the plant is moderately tolerant to salt. It is therefore important to study the role of antioxidant enzymes, biologically active compounds, and other eco-physiological responses related to salinity tolerance in this plant. However, despite of many nutritional benefits, there is a lack of information about chia seeds and seedling eco-physiology. Two experiments were conducted based on the completely randomized design in three replications. In the first experiment, salinity tolerance of chia was evaluated using final germination percentage, mean germination time, germination rate, seedling vigor and antioxidant enzymes activity at germination stage at six levels of sodium chloride (NaCl) solutions including (0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 mM). In the second experiment, salinity tolerance of chia seedling were evaluated at seven levels of NaCl solutions up to 150 mM (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 150 mM). Results revealed that salinity significantly affected all traits except for seedling water content and photosynthetic water use efficiency at the seedling stage. Among seed germination parameters, only mean germination time increased by 77.2% at 200 mM salinity concentrations compared to control. Seed soluble protein increased by 37.50% at 50 mM NaCl and then declined by at 150 mM 46.36%. The activity of catalase and peroxidase increased 125.5% and 99.4% with increasing NaCl concentration from 150 to 200 mM, but malondialdehyde activity decreased 53.9%. It was revealed that secondary metabolites (total phenol and flavonoids) in chia seedlings increased by 55.0% and 9.9% at 40 mM, NaCl concentration while soluble sugars, nitrogen and protein content declined by 73.0, 57.6 and 57.6% at 150 mM compared to control salinity treatment. In addition, salinity had a negative effect on stomatal conductance, photosynthesis and transpiration rate, which are key players in salinity stress tolerance mechanisms of chia seedlings, especially up to 40 mM salt concentrations. Non-linear gompertz function provided an excellent description for chia seed germination (R 2 adj ≥ 0.97 and RMSE ≤ 4.49) and seedling establishment (R 2 adj ≥ 0.93 and RMSE ≤ 5.41) under salinity condition. A significant reduction in seed vigor index (40.4%) occurred at 50 mM NaCl concentration. chia seedlings below 40 mM NaCl concentration may encounter less detrimental effect.

Increasing the bioproductivity of Ammi majus L. with the use of growth regulators and microfertilizers

It is possible to optimize the bioproductive process by adjusting the hormonal status of the plant organism. In this regard, in the development of advanced growing technologies in medicinal plant growing, much attention is paid to the use of natural bioregulators for the treatment of seeds and vegetative plants with various active substances. The development of an effective system for the use of growth regulators and microfertilizers is an important link in resource-saving technologies for medicinal crops, since they are environmentally safe, harmless and highly effective at low consumption rates of biologically active substances of polyfunctional action. In 2020-2021, in the Middle Volga branch of the Federal State Budget Scientific Institution VILAR, an experiment was conducted to study the effect,of growth regulators and micronutrient fertilizers on the growth, development, increasing the yield of Ammi majus L. fruits. For two years of research, Albit showed the best results in the use of raw material areas, the average yield of Ammi majus L. fruits was 819 kg/ha, which is 162 kg/ha more than the control variant.

Does phenotyping of Hypericum secondary metabolism reveal a tolerance to biotic/abiotic stressors?

In this review we summarize the current knowledge about the changes in Hypericum secondary metabolism induced by biotic/abiotic stressors. It is known that the extreme environmental conditions activate signaling pathways leading to triggering of enzymatic and non-enzymatic defense systems, which stimulate production of secondary metabolites with antioxidant and protective effects. Due to several groups of bioactive compounds including naphthodianthrones, acylphloroglucinols, flavonoids, and phenylpropanes, the world-wide Hypericum perforatum represents a high-value medicinal crop of Hypericum genus, which belongs to the most diverse genera within flowering plants. The summary of the up-to-date knowledge reveals a relationship between the level of defense-related phenolic compounds and interspecific differences in the stress tolerance. The chlorogenic acid, and flavonoids, namely the amentoflavone, quercetin or kaempferol glycosides have been reported as the most defense-related metabolites associated with plant tolerance against stressful environment including temperature, light, and drought, in association with the biotic stimuli resulting from plant-microbe interactions. As an example, the species-specific cold-induced phenolics profiles of 10 Hypericum representatives of different provenances cultured in vitro are illustrated in the case-study. Principal component analysis revealed a relationship between the level of defense-related phenolic compounds and interspecific differences in the stress tolerance indicating a link between the provenance of Hypericum species and inherent mechanisms of cold tolerance. The underlying metabolome alterations along with the changes in the activities of ROS-scavenging enzymes, and non-enzymatic physiological markers are discussed. Given these data it can be anticipated that some Hypericum species native to divergent habitats, with interesting high-value secondary metabolite composition and predicted high tolerance to biotic/abiotic stresses would attract the attention as valuable sources of bioactive compounds for many medicinal purposes.

Comparison of Mineral Composition in Microgreens and Mature leaves ofCelery (Apium graveolens L.).

Celery (Apium graveolens L.), a medicinal crop, occupies a significant position in the human diet possessing several essential macro- and microelements. For proper proximate analysis, an experiment was executed by taking 20 celery genotypes. The genotypes were analyzed for macro- and microminerals which include nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), sulfur (S), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and manganese (Mn). Results from analysis revealed thatthe amount of N, P, Ca, Na, and S was higher in microgreens, whereas a higher value for K was found in mature leaves. Zn, Cu, and Mn contents were found to be higher in mature leaves, while no significant difference was observed for Fe content in microgreens and mature leaves. The inclusion of celery microgreens in our daily diet would fulfill a significant portion of our daily mineral requirement. This is the first report on mineral comparison between microgreens and mature leaves ofcelery. It opens a new avenue for further enhancement of minerals via biofortification of this medicinal wonder crop through systematic breeding efforts. On the basis of mineral analysis, three genotypes, namely PAU2, PAU4, and PAU16, were found superior in terms of mineral composition in microgreens and matureleaves of celery. Principal component and cluster analyses divide the genotypes into two different clusters on the basis of variability in mineral composition.

Response of Cnidium officinale Makino Plants to Heat Stress and Selection of Superior Clones Using Morphological and Molecular Analysis.

Cnidium officinale is a medicinal plant cultivated for its rhizomes, which are used in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean traditional medicine. This medicinal crop is highly susceptible to heat stress and cannot be cultivated in regions of higher temperatures. In the present study, ten clones from Korea (clones 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 11, 14, 15, 22, and 26) were evaluated for their heat tolerance in vitro at 25, 30, 32.5, and 35 °C, and growth characteristics including plant height, the number of leaves and roots were evaluated. The initial experiment was conducted to find the threshold level for significant damage to the plant, while the second experiment was to screen the germplasm to select heat-tolerant clones. Most of the clones were sensitive to heat stress (clones 1, 2, 8, 11, 14, 15, 22, and 26), and few clones (clones 5 and 6) could perform well at an elevated temperature of 32.5 °C. Molecular analysis of the expression of heat-responsive genes, including heat shock protein (CoHSP), catalase (CoCAT), and cystine protease (CoCP), was performed by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) carried out with heat-tolerant and heat-sensitive clones. Two of the heat-tolerant clones (clones 5 and 6) showed significant expression of CoHSP and CoCAT genes at elevated temperature treatment. These clones can be used for further evaluation and cultivation.

Comparative proteomic analysis reveals novel insights into the continuous cropping induced response in Scrophularia ningpoensis.

Scrophularia ningpoensis is a well-known medicinal crop. Continuous cropping seriously affects the yield and quality, but little is known about the influence of continuous cropping on metabolic pathways. In this study, the difference in protein abundance between continuous cropping and non-continuous cropping of S. ningpoensis roots was studied by proteomics, and the molecular mechanism that protects S. ningpoensis against continuous cropping was explored. The results suggested that continuous cropping in S, ningpoensis altered the expression of proteins related to starch and sucrose metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, pentose phosphate pathway, citric acid cycle, phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, terpenoid backbone biosynthesis, monoterpenoid biosynthesis, sesquiterpenoid and triterpenoid biosynthesis, and steroid biosynthesis. Among these processes, the most affected were phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and starch and sucrose metabolism, which may be important for continuous cropping resistance. The effect of continuous cropping on S. ningpoensis was demonstrated at the proteome level in this work, and identified candidate proteins that may cause continuous cropping reactions. The paper provides the theoretical foundation and scientific reference for enhancing the continuous cropping resistance of S. ningpoensis. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Screening of elite germplasms for industrially valuable medicinal crop Stevia rebaudiana for stevioside and rebaudioside A production: An HPTLC-linked chemotaxonomic assessment

Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni (Asteraceae) is a South American perennial herb native to the Paraguay region. It is high-value commercial crop in the food industry because of an array of bioactive diterpenoid glycosides, the most important of which are the steviol glycosides, stevioside (Stev) and rebaudioside A (Reb A). Standardized extract from Stevia leaves, which is high in steviol glycosides, can be used as a high-potency sweetener. The current study proposes a high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) approach for estimating stevioside and rebaudioside that is rapid, verified, and repeatable. A collection of 32 chemotypes of Stevia rebaudiana were collected from 32 districts across nine Indian states. Stevioside and rebaudioside A content ranged between 1.43 - 5.88 % and 0.77 - 1.95 % respectively across 32 chemotypes of S. rebaudiana . Among all the studied samples, SrP1 chemotype was found to possess the highest quantity of stevioside (5.88 %) and rebaudioside A (1.95 %), followed by SrH11 (5.28 % Stev; 1.89 % Reb A) chemotypes obtained from Jalandhar, Punjab and Palampur, Himachal Pradesh respectively. Chemotype SrWb32 (1.43 % Stev; 0.77 % Reb A) collected from Bardhaman, West Bengal exhibited least amount of stevioside and rebaudioside A. The current fast, reproducible, and validated HPTLC method presents an efficacious toolkit to explore the quantitative variation in the stevioside and rebaudioside A contents in natural S. rebaudiana chemotypes. This methodology may be employed to screen high stevioside and rebaudioside A yielding elite genotypes for future propagation as well as commercialization of these highly potent sweeteners to deal with the ever-expanding demand for alternative yet natural sweeteners in food industries. • Thirty two populations or chemotypes of Stevia rebaudiana were analysed to detect steviol glycosides. • Chemotypes of the plant revealed altitudinal variation in steviosides and rebaudisides A content. • Elite chemotypes can further be used for propagation and commercial utilization.

An assessment, prospects, and obstacles of industrially important medicinal crop Indian Senna (Cassia angustifolia Vahl.): A review

Senna is a medicinal herb widely utilized in Ayurveda, Unani, and allopathic medicine. The leaves and pods of Senna are the most valuable portions, as they contain the compounds sennoside-A and sennoside-B. The laxative properties of sennoside-A and sennoside-B are the fundamental reasons for their use. The demand for Senna on a global scale provides opportunities to cultivate this plant commercially. Farmers are more lucrative towards this crop owing to the low cost of cultivation, drought tolerance crop, being a good source of income, and requiring less maintenance. The availability of improved cultivars and agronomic practices provides an excellent opportunity for the farmers to take up the cultivation under residual moisture during the Rabi season will enhance the yield and socio-economic status of the farmers.

Deficit irrigation decision-making of indigowoad root based on a model coupling fuzzy theory and grey relational analysis

Water scarcity is a critical constraint to the cultivation of medicinal crops. Establishing irrigation requirements for medicinal plants is crucial for the large-scale production of crude drugs in China. To evaluate the response of indigowoad root growth to water deficit (WD) under-mulched drip irrigation, and determine the optimal deficit irrigation mode for this medicinal crop in Hexi Corridor’s desert oasis, two WD levels were applied: mild (65–75% FC [field capacity]) and moderate (55–65% FC). These treatments were implemented during the vegetative growth (VG) and fleshy-root growth (RG) stages, and sufficient water supply maintained during the other plant stages. A total of seven combined treatments were imposed, with sufficient water supply (85–75% FC) as the control treatment. From the 2-year-long (2017, 2018) field experiment’s results, 12 indicators of indigowoad root growth, yield, water consumption and quality attributes were evaluated via weighted fuzzy evaluation and a grey relation-coupling model. Results indicated that, with greater irrigation amounts throughout the plant growth period, the fuzzy evaluation value of growth, yield and water consumption indicators increased whereas their quality indicators decreased. The fuzzy evaluation value of yield indicators of V1G0 (mild WD treatment during VG) was the highest (0.1582, 0.1581), while that of growth indicators was also relatively high (0.1524, 0.1532). Fuzzy evaluation values of growth and yield indicators of V1G1 (mild WD during VG and RG) exceeded those of V1G2 (mild WD during VG and moderate WD during RG), but evaluation value of quality indicators was lower for V1G1 (0.1457, 0.1457) than V1G2 (0.1494, 15155). Based on the weighted grey relation model, the comprehensive score of V1G0 was deemed best. Therefore, to ensure both yield and quality, the V1G1 is recommended. Our results can provide a scientific basis for efficient water-saving cultivation of indigowoad root in Hexi oasis regions.

Antifungal Activity of Ginger Rhizome Extract against Fusarium solani

Fusarium solani is one of the most ruinous soil-borne pathogens and seriously affects crop yields and quality worldwide. Ginger is an important medicinal crop, and ginger rhizome extract (GRE) has been used as an alternative for chemical fungicides and bactericides. We investigated the fungistatic effect of GRE on F. solani and analyzed the chemical constituents of GRE using UPLC-MS/MS. Antifungal assay results showed that 20 mg/mL of GRE completely inhibited the growth of F. solani. Morphological analysis revealed that GRE destroyed the morphology and structure of mycelia, thus inhibiting mycelial growth. Furthermore, GRE suppressed the activities of cell wall-degrading and cellular respiratory-related enzymes and decreased the content of fusaric acid, which reduced or even abrogated the infection ability of F. solani. UPLC-MS/MS analysis showed that GRE constituents belonged to eight categories, among which phenolic acids were the highest in content (46.29%) and tannins were the lowest in content (0.06%). When the antifungal activities of major phenolic and flavonoid compounds were evaluated, 4.0 mg/mL 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde and 15.0 mg/mL quercetin were found to completely inhibit F. solani growth. These results highlight GRE as an excellent source of antifungal compounds and suggest the possibility of using 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde and quercetin as natural fungicides to control crop diseases.

Critical control point-based assessment and intervention of ochratoxin A risk in Angelicae Gigantis Radix production.

Improperly practiced postharvest procedures can pose mycotoxin-related risks during medicinal herb production. As a health food material with pharmacological activities, Angelicae Gigantis Radix (AGR) has been extensively used in oriental medicine or functional foods. Compared with the official protocol, conventional practices were investigated for provisional critical control points (CCPs) in terms of ochratoxin A (OTA) contamination. Conventional practices include field-drying, which was associated with increased fungal exposure. Compared with conventional methods, the washing process in the official protocol was not advantageous for reducing OTA contamination in final products. Instead, drying was examined to assess the fungal growth risk during AGR production. To reduce the energy cost, product overload and shortened drying time could lead to failure in controlling fungal overgrowth and subsequent OTA production. In particular, inner parts of the load contained a higher OTA content than outer parts close to the heat outlet of the dryer. Improper thermal drying of loads allowed the growth of ochratoxigenic species during AGR production. Collectively, non-field-drying and optimally loaded thermal drying are easy preventive actions in key CCPs that need to be well maintained to attenuate any further microbial risk. These assessments provide insights into good practice-based mycotoxin risk management in producing herbal medicinal crops and new cost-efficient appropriate interventions for small-scale farms.

Assessment of cold resistance in &lt;i&gt;Momordica charantia&lt;/i&gt; l. accessions according to pollen germination at low temperatures &lt;i&gt;in vitro&lt;/i&gt;

Background. Bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.) is a vegetable and medicinal crop new for Russia. Its high heat demand is the main factor limiting the possibilities of its cultivation in a temperate continental climate. Evaluation and selection of more cold-resistant accessions is required for breeding new cultivars and expanding production. Previously obtained data attest to a possibility of assessing cold hardiness in the mature male gametophyte phase in vitro.Materials and methods. Eight bitter melon accessions, including parent forms, F hybrids and cv. ‘Gosha’, were grown in the unheated film greenhouse of the Central Siberian Botanical Garden, Novosibirsk (54°49’ N, 83°06’ E) for evaluation and selection for cold resistance. The ratio of pollen germination in vitro on a 15% polyethylene glycol solution with a molecular weight of 6000 (PEG 6000) with the addition of boric acid (0.006%) at a temperature of 10°C for 24 h to the same indicator at 25°C / 3 h (in %) was used as a criterion of cold resistance.Results. The cultivar ‘Gosha’, the accession Okinawa green from Japan, and the F1 hybrid (Feng Guang × Okinawa green) had the highest cold resistance, with the values of 59.7; 53.8 and 48.2%, respectively. The inheritance of cold resistance in F , assessed by the pollen germination index, depending on the crossing combination, changed from intermediate in two hybrids [F1 Feng Guang × Gosha) and F1 Feng Guang × Okinawa green)] to overdominant (positive heterosis) in the hybrid F1 (Feng Guang × Okinawa white).

Segetal vegetation in Matricaria recutita (l.) crops according to protection methods and its influence on growth dynamics and inflorescence formation

Aim. After all, the quality of medicinal raw materials, and subsequently the preparations made from them, directly depend on the number of weeds present in the crop. Currently, producers of agricultural products who cultivate medicinal plants, namely medicinal chamomile, are faced with such a question as the protection of medicinal crops from harmful organisms, especially weeds, during cultivation technology. The research was aimed at establishing the dependence of the growth dynamics of medicinal chamomile plants and the productivity of inflorescences on the degree of weediness of crops by segetal plants. Methods. The weed protection system included agrotechnical, chemical and integrated methods of control. Results. It was found that the most common weeds in the chamomile agrophytocenosis were Centaurea cyanus L., Polygonum patulum, Convolvulus arvensis L., Avena fatua, Echinochloa crus-galli L., Galinsoga parviflora Cav., Chenopodium album L., Galium aparine L., Raphanus raphanistrum L., Barbarea vulgaris R.Br. It was established that the use of the autumn sowing period of chamomile contributed to more effective suppression of weeds, since a certain number of weeds die in winter at low temperatures.The average weediness after harvesting the predecessor before preparing the field for sowing medicinal chamomile was 115–123 pcs./m2. Agrotechnical protection measures reduced the number of weeds to 42–50 pcs./m2, the use of herbicide, respectively – 17–18 pcs./m2, integrated protection – 12–15 pcs./m2. Conclusion. We have established that the Perlyna Lisostepu variety has significant resistance to weeds. As for the dependence of the growth dynamics and productivity of chamomile on the implementation of weed control measures, the combination of all measures, that is the use of only an integrated method, makes it possible to best deal with harmful plants namely to reduce their number on average over the years of research to 12 pcs./m2 and obtain a yield of 1.5 t/ha of raw mass of inflorescences.