Plant Quality Research Articles

Synergistic Impacts of Plant-Growth-Promoting Bacteria and Selenium Nanoparticles on Improving the Nutritional Value and Biological Activities of Three Cultivars of Brassica Sprouts.

Due to the growing world population and increasing environmental stress, improving the production, nutritional quality, and pharmaceutical applications of plants have become an urgent need. Therefore, current research was designed to investigate the impact of seed priming using plant-growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) along with selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) treatment on chemical and biological properties of three Brassica oleracea cultivars [Southern star (VA1), Prominence (VA2), Monotop (VA3)]. With this aim, one out of five morphologically different strains of bacteria, namely, JM18, which was further identified via 16S rRNA gene sequencing as a Nocardiopsis species with strong plant-growth-promoting traits, isolated from soil, was used. To explore the growth-promoting potential of Nocardiopsis species, seeds of three varieties of B. oleracea were primed with JM18 individually or in combination with SeNP treatment. Seed treatments increased sprout growth (fresh and dry weights) and glucosinolate accumulation. The activity of myrosinase was significantly increased through brassica sprouts and consequently enhanced the amino-acid-derived glucosinolate induction. Notably, a reduction in effective sulforaphane nitrile was detected, being positively correlated with a decrease in epithiospecifier protein (EP). Consequently, the antioxidant activities of VA2 and VA3, determined by the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, were increased by 74 and 79%, respectively. Additionally, the antibacterial activities of JM18-treated cultivars were improved. However, a decrease was observed in SeNP- and JM18 + SeNP-treated VA2 and VA3 against Serratia marcescens and Candida glabrata and VA1 against S. marcescens. In conclusion, seed priming with the JM18 extract is a promising method to enhance the health-promoting activities of B. oleracea sprouts.

Replacing Mineral Fertilizer with Nitrified Human Urine in Hydroponic Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) Production

Source-separated, nitrified, and decontaminated human urine constitutes a promising plant fertilizer that contains a large share of the nitrogen and phosphorus in household wastewater, and other plant nutrients. However, human urine contains high levels of sodium and chloride that can affect salt-sensitive greenhouse crops. Replacing mineral fertilizer with nitrified urine fertilizer could reduce the environmental impact of lettuce production in hydroponic systems, if marketable yield, appearance, and produce quality are not affected. In the present study, a treatment combination of a nitrified urine fertilizer and mineral fertilizers was used to grow lettuce through the nutrient film technique. This was compared to a conventionally fertilized control treatment. No significant differences were observed regarding yield, phenotype, and contents of nitrate, heavy metals, phenolic acids, and chlorophyll in leaf tissue. Calcium content was significantly reduced and sodium was elevated in nitrified urine treatment. For the elements nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, a saving of 48%, 13%, and 15% was calculated, respectively. The calculated carbon footprint from the total fertilizer production was reduced by 34.25%, caused by the nitrified urine treatment. Based on these results, a nutrient solution composed of nitrified urine fertilizer combined with mineral fertilizer may be a promising alternative for growers to produce lettuce with a reduced environmental impact without loss of plant quantity and quality.

Влияние стимулятора роста на биолого- морфологические параметры многолетних травянистых растений

Abstract. Purpose is to study the effectiveness of the “Lignogumat” drug on the growth, development and decorative qualities of some flower and ornamental crops (Campanula persicifolia L., C. carpatica Jacg., Phlox paniculata L.) in the forest-steppe zone of the Bashkir Cis-Ural. Methods. Observations of the seasonal rhythm of plant development were carried out according to the method of phenological observations in botanical gardens, the assessment of ornamental features was carried out according to the generally accepted method of state variety testing of ornamental crops. Scientific novelty. For the first time in the conditions of the Bashkir Cis-Ural, the influence of the growth stimulator “Lignogumat” on the decorative qualities of some types of flower crops of the collection of the SUBGI UFRC RAS was studied. Results. The features of phenology, growth, as well as the decorative qualities of plants during fertigation with a growth regulator are analyzed. When evaluating decorativeness on a 100-point scale in C. persicifolia, it was found that “Lignogumat” is effective for such decorative features as the number of leaves, the abundance of flowering and the density of the inflorescence; there is also a reduction in the duration of the period from regrowth to flowering by 5 days. In C. carpatica, such morphometric parameters as flower and inflorescence size, abundance and duration of flowering have improved; also, the drug helps to increase the area of the horizontal projection of the color spot on the bush by 2.6 times compared to the control. Ph. paniculata “Lignogumat” is effective for such decorative features as the size of the inflorescence, the abundance and duration of flowering, also during fertigation, the area of the horizontal projection of the color spot on the bush increased by 1.5 times, thereby increasing the decorative qualities of the phlox.

Endophytic fungus Colletotrichum sp. AP12 promotes growth physiology and andrographolide biosynthesis in Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees.

Endophytic fungi can promote host plant growth, enhance antioxidant defense enzyme activity, and induce the biosynthesis and accumulation of secondarymetabolites. Therefore, using endophytic fungi to improve the quality and yield of medicinal plants or important crops is an effective means of regulation. Colletotrichum sp. AP12 has been reported to produce andrographolide compounds (ADCs). This study aimed to investigate the effects of AP12 and its elicitors on the growth, defense enzyme activity, accumulation, and transcription levels of key genes in Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees (A. paniculata). Using fermentation method to prepare AP12 into the inactivated fermentation solution (IFS), fermentation solution (FS), inactivated mycelium solution (IMS), and mycelium solution (MS), and the results showed that all four fungal elicitor components (ECs) could promote A. paniculata growth, enhance antioxidant defense enzymes, and increase ADC content and yield, especially the IMS group that had the highest leaf area, whole plant dry weight, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) enzyme activities, total lactone contents, and yields, which were 2.37-, 1.60-, 2.20-, 3.27-, 1.59-, and 2.65-fold of the control, respectively. The 14-deoxyandrographolide (NAD) in the host irrigated with MS was 3.35-fold that of the control. In addition, AP12-infected A. paniculata sterile seedlings could significantly increase ADC content and expression levels of key enzyme genes, especially on day 12, when the total lactone content of the host reached 88.881± 5.793 mg/g DW, while on day 6, CPS gene expression level reached 10.79-fold that of the control, in turn promoting the biosynthesis and accumulation of andrographolide. In conclusion, the endophytic fungus AP12 is beneficial to the growth and secondary metabolism of A. paniculata, which is helpful for the cultivation and application of the biological bacterial fertilizer in A. paniculata, providing a theoretical and research basis for the use of endophytic fungi as a microbial resource to improve the quality and yield of medicinal plants.

Effect of INM and Biofertilizers on Growth, Yield and Quality of Eggplant (Solanum melogena)

This study aimed to determine the most effective combination of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) and biofertilizers for enhancing the growth, yield, and quality of eggplants (Solanum melongena). A randomized block design with ten treatments was employed, incorporating various biofertilizers (Trichoderma harzanium, Azotobacter, and Rhizobacter) and INM components (vermicompost, farmyard manure, and poultry manure).The treatment combinations were T1 (100% Recommended Dose of Fertilizer - RDF), T2 (75% RDF + 25% Vermicompost + Azotobacter), T3 (50% RDF + 50% Vermicompost + Azotobacter), T4 (25% RDF + 75% Vermicompost + Azotobacter), T5 (75% RDF + 25% FYM + Trichoderma harzanium), T6 (50% RDF + 50% FYM + Trichoderma harzanium), T7 (25% RDF + 75% FYM + Trichoderma harzanium), T8 (75% RDF + 25% Poultry manure + Rhizobium), T9 (50% RDF + 50% Poultry manure + Rhizobium), and T10 (25% RDF + 75% Poultry manure + Rhizobium). The findings revealed that T1 exhibited the best performance in terms of growth parameters, while T10 demonstrated the highest yield. Regarding quality, T7 exhibited the most favourable outcomes. These results suggest that the appropriate combination of biofertilizers and INM components can significantly impact the growth, yield, and quality of egg plants. The significance and implications of these findings lie in their potential to enhance eggplant production through sustainable agricultural practices.

Deep learning models based on hyperspectral data and time-series phenotypes for predicting quality attributes in lettuces under water stress

Efficiently analyzing the relationship between plant phenotypes, quality, and resistance remains challenging. In this study, deep learning models based on hyperspectral data and time-series phenotypes from the high-throughput plant phenotyping (HTPP) platform were proposed to predict quality attributes of lettuce under water stress, including SSC, pH value, nitrate (NO3–), and calcium (Ca2+). First, deep learning models were developed using the Inception module and raw hyperspectral data to non-destructively predict the above quality attributes. In addition, partial least squares regression (PLSR) and support vector regression (SVR) were used to develop prediction models to evaluate performance of the Inception module. Second, the residual and attention modules were implemented to enhance performance of the Inception module. Third, time-series phenotypes were fed into four recurrent neural networks (RNNs), such as TimeDistributed (TD), long short-term memory (LSTM), Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU), and Bidirectional RNN (BRNN) and combined with the optimal deep learning models based on hyperspectral data to enhance prediction precision. The optimal performance of the Inception-residual-attention-TD model was achieved with Rp2 of 0.8900 and 0.9435 for SSC and NO3–, respectively. The Inception-residual-TD model with Rp2 of 0.9583 provided the most accurate pH value prediction. With Rp2 of 0.8716, the Inception-attention-LSTM model provided the most accurate prediction of Ca2+. Meanwhile, the Inception-residual-TD model was used to detect water stress, producing an Accuracyp of 98.86%. The Inception-residual model based on pixel-wise hyperspectral data was used to visualize the spatial distribution of pH value, and the distribution map was used to detect early water stress. The results indicate that deep learning models can use hyperspectral data and time-series phenotypes to predict lettuce quality attributes and water stress in a non-destructive manner.

PHYTOCHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF PERSEA AMERICANA LEAVE

Objective: Persea americana is a popular plant that is well known for its fruit, which is highly consumed due to its nutritional and medicinal values. The rich secondary metabolites content of P. americana creates an opportunity to utilize it as a functional food or standardized herbal preparations. The quality of a medicinal plant is determined by the active substances produced by the plant. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to determine the secondary metabolites present in P. americana grown in uncultivated farmland in Ogbomoso, Oyo State Nigeria. Methods: The dried pulvurised leaves of P. americana from uncultivated farmland in Ogbomoso, Oyo State Nigeria were extracted with methanol by the maceration method and partitioned successively with solvents of increasing polarity. The extracts obtained were subjected to phytochemical screening and the total phenolics were determined spectrometrically using the folin–ciocalteu method. Results: The phytochemical screening showed that P. americana is rich in various secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, saponins, tannins, and alkaloids. The total phenolic content gave 500µg/g gallic acid equivalent. The total flavonoid content obtained was 250µg/g using quercetin as standard. The anti-oxidant assay of the crude extract showed a high activity of 89.05% at a concentration of 0.05g/ml. Conclusion: Total phenolic content of the plant is likely to be a key for determining the free radical scavenging and ROS reducing ability of the plant.

Need for stable quality control and drug pharmacopeia in African pharmaceutical settings: a new way to independent drug production

For years now, Africa are on the verge of a shortage of drug production1,2, quality control of traditional/indigenous plants, and imported drugs due to limited stable pharmacopeia availability specifically for African herbs, drugs, and plants. Therefore, we write this piece to raise and put African Union stakeholders into action to see the need to have a stable quality control drug pharmacopeia in Africa. In the course of advancing sustainable drug discovery and development, many countries are making indelible efforts through the implementation of policies regulating medicines. Pharmacopoeia is a reverenced compendium of regulations and official standards for the qualitative and quantitative compositions of medicines and manufacturing of drugs3. Unlike the British Pharmacopoeia (BP), United States Pharmacopoeia (USP), and European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.), the African Union (AU) has 2 pharmacopeias: the African Pharmacopoeia (169 traditional plants) and African Herbal Pharmacopoeia (51 traditional plants), which have detailed botanical description of medicinal plants and quality control protocols of traditional medicines that should be followed for chemical analysis and medicinal development of the selected African traditional plants4,5. However, this pharmacopeia does not have regulations and official standards for the quality and quantitative composition of other unlisted indigenous plants and imported drugs for quality control analysis in African settings. The limitations of the indigenous continental monograph silently promote the deindustrialization of pharmaceutical manufacturing and productivity in Africa. Lack of indigenous regulatory compendial influences poor manufacturing practice and inappropriate processes in the supply chain that support substandard and falsified medicines in many low-middle incomes countries in Africa6. The AU Commission and other indigenous pharma experts should take the lead and actions toward the development of full standard pharmacopeia for all indigenous/traditional plants to promote pharma industrialization and improve standardization of quality medicine7, and quality control of drug composition and traditional medicine in Africa, and for Africans without compromising on international standards. A collative review of the USP, Ph. Eur., and BP can provide the right direction for a start to look inward as Africans to provide a working draft that could advance the frontiers of good manufacturing practice, quality controls, proper marketing authorization and appropriate supply chain of medicines and herbal products in the AU. Regular training for experts or professionals would support the drive and sustainability of these regulations to help the government and other competent authorities in various African countries. Ethical approval None. Sources of funding None. Author contribution V.N.N.: conceptualized the study. V.N.N., A.T.A., and F.A.A.: draft manuscript, review editing, formatting, and referencing. Conflict of interest disclosure The authors declare that they have no financial conflict of interest with regard to the content of this report. Research registration unique identifying number (UIN) N/A. Guarantor Victor N. Nweze. Provenance and peer review Not commissioned, externally peer reviewed.

The consequences of synthetic auxin herbicide on plant-herbivore interactions.

Although herbicide drift is a common side effect of herbicide application in agroecosystems, its effects on the ecology and evolution of natural communities are rarely studied. A recent shift to dicamba, a synthetic auxin herbicide known for 'drifting' to nontarget areas, necessitates the examination of drift effects on the plant-insect interactions that drive eco-evo dynamics in weed communities. We review current knowledge of direct effects of synthetic auxin herbicides on plant-insect interactions, focusing on plant herbivory, and discuss potential indirect effects, which are cascading effects on organisms that interact with herbicide-exposed plants. We end by developing a framework for the study of plant-insect interactions given drift, highlighting potential changes to plant developmental timing, resource quantity, quality, and cues.

Impact of Different Shed Houses and Growing Media on Growth, Yield and Quality of Strawberry

Partial controls of the microclimatic conditions have a major influence on plant growth and productivity. Moreover, plant growth is largely dependent on the physicochemical properties of the growing media. The purpose of this study was to see how different growing media and shade houses affected strawberry plant growth, yield, and quality attributes. The experimental treatments include net house, UV poly shade house, and open field (control) conditions; and three different growing media i.e., 50% soil + 50% cowdung, 50% soil + 50% vermicompost, and 50% soil + 50% cocopeat were studied. According to the findings, strawberries grown in a net house with cocopeat substrate had the highest chlorophyll content (SPAD value) (46.1), fruit yield (289.16 g plant-1), total soluble solid (8.0%), reducing sugar (8.75 mg g-1) and total anthocyanin (30.80 mg 100 g-1). In contrast, fruits grown under UV poly shed with cocopeat substrate exhibited increased plant height (20.33 cm) and ascorbic acid (46.94 mg 100 g-1). Vermicompost based growing media showed no satisfactory improvement in the reproductive growth characteristics of strawberry plants. Therefore, cocopeat based growing media and net house shade may be recommended to obtain better strawberry yield and quality.

Phytopharmaceutical practices of traditional health practitioners in Burkina Faso: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundTraditional health practitioners constitute an important part of the health care system in Burkina Faso, particularly in the supply of traditional herbal medicines. Quality and safety of these medicines rely heavily on practices employed during their traditional development. However, traditional phytopharmaceutical practices are poorly described in Burkina Faso. This study aimed to describe the phytopharmaceutical practices of traditional medicine practitioners in Burkina Faso.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional descriptive ethno-pharmaceutical study, conducted from October 1 to November 30, 2020, among traditional practitioners in four randomly selected health districts: Nongr-Massom (Centre region), Tenkodogo (Centre-East region), Diapaga (East region) and Dafra (Hauts-Bassins region). An anonymous semi-structured face-to-face questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic data and data on raw materials and finished products.ResultsSixty-seven (67) traditional health practitioners, aged 56 years on average, including a majority of men (72%), participated in the study. Gathering of wild medicinal plants was the main source of raw materials acquisition (51.5%), which were usually leaves (32.3%). These raw materials were usually sun-dried (43.9%) and packaged mostly in plastic bags (37.2%). They were derived from 60 plant species belonging to 33 botanical families. Fabaceae was the most represented family (18.7%) and Khaya senegalensis Juss. (Meliaceae) the most cited plant species (5.2%). The finished products had an average shelf life of 17 months and were usually prepared as a decoction (31.7%) and administered most often orally (71.4%). Gastrointestinal disorders were the main predictable adverse events of the finished products (54%).ConclusionThis study showed that THPs have important knowledge in the use of medicinal plants, but several shortcomings are observed in their phytopharmaceutical and plant protection practices. Continuous improvement of these practices, through education and training of traditional health practitioners, is essential for the conservation of plant biodiversity and quality assurance of traditional herbal medicines.

Influence of alpine meadow deterioration on soil microbial communities in the Yangtze River source region

Introduction: Although soil microbial populations are a good predictor of soil texture, little is known about how they react to alpine meadow deterioration.Methods: This study utilized Illumina HiSeq sequencing to investigate the effects of alpine meadow degradation on soil microbial communities in the Yangtze River source basin at five different degradation levels [i.e., non–degraded (ND), slightly degraded (LD), moderately degraded (MD), severely degraded (SD), and very severely degraded (VD)].Results: The results indicated that bacterial and fungal α-diversity were not substantially different (p > 0.05) across the damaged alpine meadows, while β-diversity significantly differed (p < 0.01), indicating a higher variation in the microbial community due to alpine meadow degradation. Proteobacteria reduced considerably (p < 0.05) by 8.75%, 22.99%, and 24.65%, while Acidobacteria increased significantly (p < 0.05) by 41.67%, 85.20%, and 108.67%, in MD, SD, and VD compared with ND, respectively. Ascomycota declined significantly (p < 0.05) in the MD, whereas unclassified phyla rose significantly (p > 0.05) in the VD compared to the ND. The heatmaps of bacterial and fungal communities revealed two clusters: a ND, LD, and MD group and a SD and VD group, suggesting significant changes in soil microorganisms of alpine meadow in the SD and VD. Redundancy analysis (RDA) revealed that soil moisture, soil bulk density, soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and plant biomass could explain 73.8% and 39.4% of the variance in bacterial and fungal community structure, respectively.Discussion: These findings imply that degradation of the alpine meadow impacts both plant and soil qualities, ultimately leading to changes in soil microbial populations in the Yangtze River’s source region.

Yahualica tree seedling chile production (Capsicum annuum) on different substrates and its behavior during the development of the crop

In order to observe the differences between substrates in the production of Yahualica chili pepper (Capsicum annuum) seedling and plant, in the field and greenhouse at the University Center of Cs. Biological and Agricultural of the University of Guadalajara, this investigation was carried out, where six substrates were evaluated: Promix-GLX, Promix-FLX, Sunshine-3, Berger-BN2, Germinaza and 50% Germinaza + 50% Earthworm Humus. In seedlings, the following were evaluated: Emergence Speed, Emergence Percentage, Stem Thickness, Seedling Length, Number of Leaves, Fresh Weight Aerial Part, Fresh Weight root, aerial part dry weight and root dry weight, and during plant development in field and greenhouse: Plant height, and Fresh weight of ripe fruit. Significant differences were found between treatments (P≤0.05) in the seedling and plant quality variables. Consequently with the mixture of 50% Germinaza + 50% Earthworm Humus, Berger BN2 and Sunshine 3, the best seedling quality was obtained. And moreover the best plant development was observed in the greenhouse, with an average plant height of 139 cm and a fresh fruit yield of 651 g. When germinaza was combined with earthworm humus (50:50), the results were significant to obtain vigorous plants, high percentage of emergence.

Pengaruh Hasil Larutan Fermentasi Daun Gamal terhadap Pertumbuhan, Produktivitas dan Kualitas pada Tanaman Kale Curly (Brassica oleracea var. sabellica)

This research aims to determine the effect of giving gamal leaf ferment solution on the growth, productivity and quality of kale plants and to obtain the concentration of gamal leaf ferment solution which has an optimum effect on the growth, productivity and quality of curly kale plants. The research method used in this study is the experimental method. The results showed that based on the results of the test of variance, liquid organic fertilizer (POC) fermented gamal leaves with concentrations of 0%, 40 ml/l, 80 ml/l, 120 ml/l and 180 ml/l had a very significant effect on plant growth. kale curly seen from plant height, number of leaves, stem diameter, and crown width, then related to the effect of giving gamal leaf ferment solution on the productivity of Kale Curly plants shows that there is a very significant effect on the parameters of root wet weight and root dry weight for each concentration given , whereas for the parameters of shoot wet weight and shoot dry weight did not show a significant effect, then on the quality of kale curly plants showed that there was a very significant treatment of POC fermented gagal leaves on total chlorophyll, but not significantly different for chlorophyll A, chlorophyll B, and vitamin C. So that it can be concluded that in this study the administration of fermented gamal leaves had a very significant effect on the growth of kale culy plants, for productivity there was a very significant effect on the parameters of root wet weight and root dry weight, but not with shoot wet weight and shoot dry weight , while for the quality of kale curly there was a very significant treatment for total chlorophyll, but not for chlorophyll A, chlorophyll B, and vitamin C, while the most optimum concentration of fermented galam leaves for growth, productivity, and quality of kale curly was administration of fermented gamal leaves with a concentration of 120 ml/l.
 Keywords: Gamal Leaves Fermentation, Quality, Growth, Productivity, Curly Kale Plant

Yield, Fructans Accumulation, and Nutritional Quality of Young Chicory Plants as Related to Genotype and Nitrogen Fertilization

Growth and quality attributes were quantified in Cichorium intybus L. and Cichorium endivia L. in response to the nitrate supply. Chicory was grown in Italy, in a cold greenhouse from the 11 of February 2020, in a pot with commercial soil and sand with and without 12 mM of Ca(NO3)2. Seventy-six days after sowing, the growth variables, contents of leaf and root carbohydrates (glucose, fructose sucrose starch and fructans), carbon, nitrate sulphate and phosphate were measured. Fertilization significantly increased the yield and specific leaf dry weight (SLDW) of the C. endivia. The shoot/root ratio was increased in C. intybus with high N; this also increased the carbohydrate content in leaves and roots of C. endivia compared to the value measured in C. intybus. The interaction between fertilization and genotype significantly affected fructans and nitrate accumulation in taproots. Fertilization decreased the sulphate and phosphate contents in the leaves and roots of both chicory species. The yield and quality of young chicory plants can be modulated by species selection and nitrate fertilization. The genotype and nitrogen supply interact in modulating the yield and the inulin and nitrate accumulation in the taproot, thereby affecting its nutritional value and representing a powerful tool to cultivate this new produce for healthy human nutrition.

Developing Sustainable Agriculture Systems in Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Production by Using Chitosan and Chitin-Based Biostimulants.

Chitosan is illustrated in research as a stimulant of plant tolerance and resistance that promotes natural defense mechanisms against biotic and abiotic stressors, and its use may lessen the amount of agrochemicals utilized in agriculture. Recent literature reports indicate the high efficacy of soil or foliar usage of chitin and chitosan in the promotion of plant growth and the induction of secondary metabolites biosynthesis in various species, such as Artemisia annua, Curcuma longa, Dracocephalum kotschyi, Catharanthus roseus, Fragaria × ananassa, Ginkgo biloba, Iberis amara, Isatis tinctoria, Melissa officinalis, Mentha piperita, Ocimum basilicum, Origanum vulgare ssp. Hirtum, Psammosilene tunicoides, Salvia officinalis, Satureja isophylla, Stevia rebaudiana, and Sylibum marianum, among others. This work focuses on the outstanding scientific contributions to the field of the production and quality of aromatic and medicinal plants, based on the different functions of chitosan and chitin in sustainable crop production. The application of chitosan can lead to increased medicinal plant production and protects plants against harmful microorganisms. The effectiveness of chitin and chitosan is also due to the low concentration required, low cost, and environmental safety. On the basis of showing such considerable characteristics, there is increasing attention on the application of chitin and chitosan biopolymers in horticulture and agriculture productions.

Deep Learning in Precision Agriculture: Artificially Generated VNIR Images Segmentation for Early Postharvest Decay Prediction in Apples.

Food quality control is an important task in the agricultural domain at the postharvest stage for avoiding food losses. The latest achievements in image processing with deep learning (DL) and computer vision (CV) approaches provide a number of effective tools based on the image colorization and image-to-image translation for plant quality control at the postharvest stage. In this article, we propose the approach based on Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) techniques to use synthesized and segmented VNIR imaging data for early postharvest decay and fungal zone predictions as well as the quality assessment of stored apples. The Pix2PixHD model achieved higher results in terms of VNIR images translation from RGB (SSIM = 0.972). Mask R-CNN model was selected as a CNN technique for VNIR images segmentation and achieved 58.861 for postharvest decay zones, 40.968 for fungal zones and 94.800 for both the decayed and fungal zones detection and prediction in stored apples in terms of F1-score metric. In order to verify the effectiveness of this approach, a unique paired dataset containing 1305 RGB and VNIR images of apples of four varieties was obtained. It is further utilized for a GAN model selection. Additionally, we acquired 1029 VNIR images of apples for training and testing a CNN model. We conducted validation on an embedded system equipped with a graphical processing unit. Using Pix2PixHD, 100 VNIR images from RGB images were generated at a rate of 17 frames per second (FPS). Subsequently, these images were segmented using Mask R-CNN at a rate of 0.42 FPS. The achieved results are promising for enhancing the food study and control during the postharvest stage.

Molecular basis of flavonoid accumulation in tea leaves grafted with Camellia sinensis var. assamica cv. “Yinghong9” as rootstock based on multi-omics analysis

Grafting plays a significant role in tea plant cultivation and influences the growth and quality of tea plants. However, the specific molecular mechanisms through which tea rootstocks affect the metabolic regulation in grafted leaves have not been thoroughly investigated. Our results showed that compared with self-root grafting (EC1-EC1), the total amount of flavonoids and catechins in the leaves of "Echa 1″ (scion) and ″Yinghong9″ (rootstock) increased, while the total free amino acids decreased, particularly bitter amino acids. To further understand the molecular mechanisms of metabolic regulation in tea plant grafting, ″EC1-EC1″ and ″EC1-YH9″ were used to analyze the metabolome and transcriptome. Metabolomic analysis identified 1091 metabolites, among which 173 were differentially accumulated metabolites, with 87 upregulated and 86 downregulated metabolites. Notably, the most abundant metabolite class was the flavonoids in the grafted leaves of YH9 as rootstock. This increase was primarily attributed to the upregulated expression of key genes involved in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathways, including chalcone isomerase, dihydroflavonol 4-reductase, and UDP-glycosyltransferase 75C1. In addition, the rootstock reduced the abundance of amino acid compounds and the expression levels of related metabolic pathway genes, which also affected the quality of grafted leaves. Overall, these results provide valuable genetic resources for studying the molecular insights of tea rootstocks on the metabolic regulatory network of grafted leaves.

Water extracts of Spirulina platensis and Chlorella vulgaris enhance tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) tolerance against saline water irrigation

The research aimed to examine the enhancement effect of Spirulina platensis (blue-green microalga or Cyanobacterium) and Chlorella vulgaris (green microalga) water extracts as biological stimulant in improving growth parameters, chlorophyll content, yield, and fruit quality of tomato plants under salinity stress. Tomato seeds (Solanum lycopersicum L. of cv. Agyad) were soaked in three microalgae water extracts at a 10% concentration (Chlorella vulgaris, Spirulina platensis, and Chlorella:Spirulina at a ratio of 1:1). Chemical and biochemical analyses for the used materials and products were achieved. After germination, tomato transplants were irrigated with saline water at three levels of saline water (2, 4, and 7 dS/m) using sea salt. Successive grown tomato transplant at 7.0 dS/cm were infused in clayey soil. The grown plants were preyed by algal extract and irrigated by the same solution. Vegetative growth, yield, shelf life, and chlorophylls (a and b) were determined. It was found that the highest vegetative growth, yield, and chlorophyll content were measured in tomato transplants with the Spirulina:Chlorella mixture, followed by Spirulina platensis and Chlorella vulgaris water extracts; all of these measurements increased significantly in response to microalgae treatments. Experimental tomato fruits of Chlorella and mixture treatments can stay for 45 days at room temperature. Both algal extracts and their mixture enhanced the bioaccumulation of micronutrients (Fe, Zn, Mn, and Cu), compared with the control, while Chlorella extract surpassed Spirulina and mixture extracts. Concerning the used dried algae and their water extract, Spirulina platensis surpasses Chlorella vulgaris for protein and ash content.

Bacterial Endophytes, a resilient way toward sustainable agriculture: provide plant growth promotion and biocontrol of plant pathogens

Plant pathogens are considered a major constraint in decreasing the quality and quantity of plants and plant products by attacking the seed from its germination to the harvesting stage. To date, various multifunctional chemical pesticides have been applied to control these infectious entities, but these chemical pesticides are not as effective in controlling them. That is why "bacterial endophytes," an alternative to these chemical pesticides, have been determined in the history of mankind through multidisciplinary ways. At the same time, these endophytes work to save the living environment, improve plant growth, and control infectious plant pathogens. The current study summarizes and analyzes the pioneering and recent works on plant bacterial endophytes and their mechanisms as biocontrol agents/plant growth promotion, interaction with the host plant, root colonization, systemic colonization of aerial plant tissues, phytohormone production and modulation, host specificity, genes expressed in the endosphere, multi-omics approaches to improve endophyte use, and biopesticide formulation by these bacterial endophytes. The manuscript highlights the most necessary information about bacterial endophytes, and the study will play a vital role in the further use and handling of these bacterial endophytes for sustainable agricultural production.