Use Of Tomato Research Articles

Tomato Plant Residues, a Sustainable Fiber Source for Cardboard Packaging

Cardboard packaging is a good example of sustainable material use, yet even more sustainable solutions are available, such as replacing wood fibers with those from alternative sources like agricultural waste. In our research, we produced paperboard from fibers obtained from waste tomato stems using a pilot paper machine, and its basic, surface, and mechanical properties were then determined. Additionally, we produced corrugated cardboard from the tomato fiber-based paperboard and analyzed its performance under different environmental conditions. A comparative analysis was made with commercial corrugated cardboard to determine the differences in mechanical properties and the quality of the prints made using the flexographic printing technique. The results indicated that the properties of tomato fiber-based paperboard and corrugated cardboard are sufficient for many packaging applications. Analyses showed that the mechanical properties of both commercial and corrugated cardboard produced from tomato stems were affected by the environmental conditions, while the change in print quality was minor. Exposure to high humidity had a much greater effect than exposure to low temperature. High humidity lowered the tensile and bursting strength and resistance to compression, resulting in decreased strength and stiffness, while low temperature had a less severe effect. Nevertheless, corrugated cardboard made from tomato-based paperboard can be used for storage of fresh produce locally, as well as for transport packaging, provided the transport box is designed to address its poor stacking strength. The print quality of this cardboard is also suitable for transport packaging, and the readability of the UHF RFID tags remains satisfactory. The findings of this study have significant implications for the development of sustainable materials. The successful use of tomato stems, a waste product from agriculture, in the production of corrugated cardboard supports the circular economy by turning waste into a valuable resource.

Tomato seed fractions enriched muffins: functional, textural, and qualitative characterisation

SummaryThe current study was undertaken to investigate the use of tomato seed oil (TSO) and defatted tomato seed meal (DTSM) individually and in combination for muffin preparation in an effort to utilise the fruit waste generated during food processing and harness its nutritional potential. The incorporation of DTSM and TSO at 0–25% led to a significant increase in the baking yield and weight of muffins, with a more pronounced effect in the case of DTSM‐incorporated muffins. Based on organoleptic evaluation, muffins with incorporation of DTSM and TSO at 20% and 15%, respectively, were most acceptable. Therefore, muffins (DTSM 20 + TSO 15) were prepared with DTSM and TSO replacement at 20% and 15%, respectively. The combined effect of DTSM and TSO resulted in a dietary fibre increase of 61.57% as compared to the control (wheat flour and margarine‐based muffins). As per texture profile analysis, the addition of DTSM led to a significant decrease in hardness, whereas a rise was noted for TSO‐incorporated muffins. Storage studies of muffins for 7 days in low‐density polyethylene pouches indicated no significant degradation in quality parameters. The results obtained in the study confirmed the efficient utilisation of tomato seed fractions for the preparation of nutritionally enriched muffins.

Tomato as a Natural Source of Dyes in the Food Industry: A Patent Data Analysis.

Foods that promote health benefits are being increasingly used. Innovative techniques, such as nanotechnology, have been used to improve functional properties, sensory characteristics, or the conservation of foods. The objective of this study was to identify the technological domain of patents for tomato products with or without nanotechnology and elucidate the technological advances associated with the recent use of tomatoes as a natural food dye in the food industry by exploring patent documents. The search was conducted using the Espacenet and INPI databases. There was an increase in patent document applications employing nanotechnology in 2013, with a peak between 2017 and 2018. China is the lead country in the number of patent applications. In Brazil, the patent applications are variable, and the food industry is most involved in studies on tomatoes as a natural food dye. Most patent deposits using nanotechnology were from companies, and the main sources of the patent application were the food and pharmaceutical industries. There is an increasing trend for the use of tomatoes as natural food dyes, produced with or without nanotechnology, and number of patents filed yearly. New technologies are being developed in several application areas.

Enzymatic Assisted Treatments of Lycopene Extraction from Tomato (Lycopersicon Esculentum) Peels using Rice Bran Oil

Although having the potential to prevent oxidation and cardiovascular diseases due to the substantial amount of lycopene it contains, the massive quantity of tomato peels is now solely discarded as a by-product of the processing industry. In the present study, the effects of enzymatic treatments on lycopene content extracted from tomato peels using rice bran oil were evaluated. A two-step protocol was followed: the tomato peels were treated with enzyme and then extracted with rice bran oil for 1 h at 25 °C and a solid percentage of 3.5%. Treatment factors investigated were Viscozyme L. concentrations (0.5–2.5 %), incubation time (30–150 min) and incubation temperatures (30–70 °C). Antioxidant capacity, peroxide value, acid value and color changes of the rich-pigmented oil product were analyzed. Under the best extraction conditions (Enzyme concentration = 2%; Incubation time = 90 min; Incubation temperature = 50 °C), the lycopene content was extracted up to 320 mg/100 g of dry weight. Results showed that using Viscozyme L. significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased the lycopene content in the pigmented oil product. These results suggested the idea of using a cell-wall degrading enzyme in the extraction to promote the use of tomato by-products as a rich source of lycopene and a good approach for waste utilization.

Physicochemical properties in NOR tomato line MA 131-6-3 after treated with ethephon and calcium carbide induced ripening

Abstract. Khairi A, Murti RH, Irwan SNR, Putra ETS. 2023. Physicochemical properties in NOR tomato line MA 131-6-3 after treated with ethephon and calcium carbide induced ripening. Biodiversitas 24: 3029-3037. Tomato fruit Postharvest Losses (PHL) from rotting, Physiological Weight Loss (PWL), inadequate nutrition, and other factors can lower fruit quality. Tomato is included as climacteric fruit which shows a significant increase in respiration and ethylene. The use of tomato with an extended shelf life due to genetic engineering, such as a Non-Ripening (NOR) tomato, can lower PHL. This experiment was carried out to evaluate physicochemical characteristics of NOR tomato fruit (lineMA 131-6-3 as result of selection F6)during postharvest after being treated by Ethephon (ET) (375, 750, 1,125, and 1,500 ppm), calcium carbide (CaC2) (5, 10, 15, and 20 gkg?1), and control. The experimental design was arranged in Randomized Completely Block Design with three replications.The ambient temperature was 28.30±1.75°C and relative humidity of 60.69±2.33%. The results showed the fruit ripening and physicochemical altered with CaC2 treatment, then followed by yellow but did not alter to the red color for all treatments. The value of reduction sugar, respiration, ethylene, PWL, and pH increased, meanwhile the fruit firmness decreased caused by CaC2. Furthermore, ET could increase rotting during storage.

A Circular Approach for the Valorization of Tomato By-Product in Biodegradable Injected Materials for Horticulture Sector.

This study focuses on the use of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) by-product biomass from industrial plants as reinforcement for designing a range of new degradable and biobased thermoplastic materials. As a novel technique, this fully circular approach enables a promising up-cycling of tomato wastes. After an in-depth morphological study of the degree of reinforcement through SEM and dynamic analysis, mechanical characterization was carried out. Our mechanical results demonstrate that this circular approach is of interest for composite applications. Despite their moderate aspect ratio values (between 1.5 and 2), the tomato by-product-reinforced materials can mechanically compete with existing formulations; PBS-Tomato fiber, for example, exhibits mechanical performance very close to that of PP-flax, especially regarding strength (+11%) and elongation at break (+6%). According to the matrix and particle morphology, a large range of products-biobased and/or degradable, depending on the targeted application-can be designed from tomato cultivation by-products.

Алкогольные напитки с томатными продуктами

New alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages from non-traditional vegetable raw materials expand the domestic product range and allow food producers to develop new market segments. The present research objective was to summarize and analyze the current data on the use of tomatoes in alcohol production.
 The review covered Russian and foreign open access scientific publications and patents registered in Pubmed, E-library, Cyberleninka, Espacenet, and Patentscope in 2005–2021.
 Most publications featured tomato juice in soft drinks production as a means to increase their nutritional value, improve sensory profile, expand the product range, and develop new functional products, e.g., with antioxidant properties, for diabetic consumers, etc. Tomato pulp, juice, or puree is used in beer production. No publications featured the effect of tomato cultivars on the technical properties of the finished product.
 The analysis revealed the need to study the effect of red, yellow, and dark tomatoes on the sensory and physico-chemical quality of beer drinks. Another research prospect is a novel semi-finished product from tomato pomace that would increase the nutritional value of beer drinks.

OPTIMALISASI POTENSI LOKAL (TOMAT CAKE) UNTUK PENINGKATAN EKONOMI MASYARAKAT BATUBINTANG, BATUMARMAR, PAMEKASAN BINTANG

This Community Service Assistance Activity aims to provide knowledge and information to the people of Batu Bintang Village, Batumarmar District, Pamekasan Regency, especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises / home businesses.regarding the use of tomatoes into cakes which are processed into various forms of attractive and delicious cakes, this Community Service is carried out by counseling or training on how to make a cake made from tomatoes and showing cake products processed from tomatoes, presentations and direct practice of how to use tomatoes to one of the cake products, then presenting and showing proper packaging according to packaging standards. Community Service activities were undertaken at the Village Hall or at muslimatan village of Batu stars Subdistrict Batumarmar Pamekasan. The willingness and active participation of the community during the process is very high. This is shown by the enthusiasm of the people who want to be given the opportunity to carry out the process of using tomatoes into processed products, namely tomato cake. The conclusion of this Community Service assistance activity is strongly supported by the community and village heads, who in the future will use tomatoes as one of the main ingredients for making cakes and as a solution to overcome the improvement of the community's economic conditions

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) specialized pollination is isolated from neighboring plants and pollinators

Tomato is one of the crops that require buzz pollination, for which a pollinator vibrates the tubular anthers for pollen to be released. This process is efficiently carried out by wild bees, whose distribution varies according to the geographical location and the particular characteristics of the different agroecosystems. The pollination network associated with tomato fields located in an agricultural area of ​​ Cuba was determined by field observations. In addition, it was studied whether pollination influences tomato yield, through exclusion experiments and comparing the characteristics of the fruits obtained in the presence or absence of pollinators. The pollination network consisted of 241 interactions between 12 plants, including tomato, adjacent crops such as papaya and pumpkin, and ruderal species, and 11 floral visitors, fundamentally bees, with 5 species involved. Tomato flowers were almost exclusively visited by the bee species Exomalopsis pulchella, capable of buzz pollination. Species of the genus Exomalopsis are frequent pollinators of tomato in the Neotropic. This denotes a temporary specialization in the use of tomato´s floral resources by Exomalopsis pulchella. Apis mellifera was not detected visiting tomato flowers, despite being present in the pollination network associated with the studied agroecosystem. Pollination significantly increased the dimensions of tomato fruits. Exomalopsis pulchella also visited the ruderal plants Asteraceae sp., Commelinaceae sp. and Milleria quinqueflora. This should be taken into account in the management of the ruderal plant communities that surround the tomato fields, in order to promote and guarantee the presence of the main pollinator of this crop.

Supply chain of tomato : Linking Indian Farmers to International Consumers

The consumption pattern of Indian consumers is fast diversifying due to rapid internationalization of dietary patterns, rising double income families and ever-increasing health consciousness. As a result, consumers have shifted significantly from consuming merely food grains to vegetables and fruits. This change has accelerated the demand for more and more horticultural produce, both raw and processed. Tomato is one of the major horticulture crops consumed world widely. The consumption of tomato products increased over the past few years. According to the report of WPTC the increase in the consumption of processed tomato indicates a slow shift of consumers away from fresh products towards processed products. The demand for tomato is high in Europe, North America, Italy, U.S.A, Russia and Germany. The demand of the processed tomato is more most of the tomato is consumed as sauce for pizza and pasta. Tomato is one of the most widely grown vegetable crops in Uttarakhand and Tarai region of North India. In Uttarakhand 119742 metric tons of tomato is cultivated in an area of 9360.75 hectares (NHB, 2019). The farmers of Uttarakhand prefer tomato cultivation as the agro-climate condition is favourable. Moreover, wide spread use of tomatoes for different food preparations such as soups, salads, pickles, chutney, paste, puree, ketchups, junk and ready to eat food has increased demand for tomatoes. In Uttarakhand, the generated produce is not efficiently supported by the existing market infrastructure. The entire supply chain of tomato is laden with inefficiencies: poor transportation facilities, lack of cold chain facilities, lack of processing units, poor connectivity from farm to market, huge post-harvest losses and large no. intermediaries. The grower’s still practice traditional cultivation methods remain unaware of consumer needs, preferences and prevailing market prices. This causes large fluctuation in consumer prices and low quality of non-standardized produce. This is a double whammy as farmers realize poor prices on the one hand whereas consumers pay exorbitant prices on the other hand. Horticulture crops being high value crops are important in enhancing income for the farmers besides creating on farm and off farm employment. It is important for India to leverage its diverse agro-climates and distinct seasons, which makes it possible for farmers to grow a wide variety of horticulture crops. The objective of this paper is to design an efficient supply chain model which can better price realization of farmers and also ensures timely, adequate, quality supplies to consumers at the right prices.

Chemical Composition of Tomato Seed Flours, and Their Radical Scavenging, Anti-Inflammatory and Gut Microbiota Modulating Properties.

In the current study, the chemical composition and total phenolic content of tomato seed flours, along with potential health beneficial properties, including free radical scavenging capacities, anti-inflammatory capacities, and gut microbiota profile modulation, were examined using two different batches. Eight compounds were identified in the tomato seed flour, including malic acid, 2-hydroxyadipic acid, salicylic acid, naringin, N-acetyl-tryptophan, quercetin-di-O-hexoside, kaempferol-di-O-hexoside, and azelaic acid. The total phenolic contents of tomato seed flour were 1.97–2.00 mg gallic acid equivalents/g. Oxygen radical absorbing capacities (ORAC), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging capacities (DPPH), and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) cation radical scavenging capacities (ABTS) were 86.32–88.57, 3.57–3.81, and 3.39–3.58 µmoles Trolox equivalents/g, respectively, on a per flour dry weight basis. The mRNA expression of the pro-inflammatory markers, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), were dose-dependently suppressed by tomato seed flour extracts. The extracts altered five of the eight bacterial phyla and genera evaluated. The results may provide some scientific support for the use of tomato seed flour as value-added food ingredients.

An Alternative Healing Method for Grafted Tomato Transplants: The Effect of Light Exclusion and Substrate Temperature on Plant Survival and Growth

The use of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) grafting is gaining traction across the United States, but small-scale growers face the challenge of creating optimum postgrafting healing conditions. The practice of blocking light for a period of 2 to 4 days while maintaining high humidity is commonly recommended for healing grafted tomato transplants; however, research is exploring alternatives to this practice. The present study investigated a low-input healing method for grafted tomato transplants with a specific focus on light and the use of propagation heat mats to regulate substrate and healing chamber air temperatures during the 7-day healing process. We hypothesized that 4 days of light exclusion and the use of propagation heat mats would improve grafted tomato transplant survival and growth. ‘Cherokee Purple’ was used as the scion and ‘RST-04-106-T’ was used as the rootstock. The whole plot factor was heat [propagation mats set at 80 °F (heat) or no propagation mat (no heat)] and the subplot factor was light exclusion (0, 4, or 6 days of dark). The highest survival rate among treatments was 97% in 0 days of dark with no heat treatment; survival decreased to 84% in 4 and 6 days of dark with no heat treatments. The plant survival rate was 96% with 0 days of dark and heat treatment; however, the survival rates were 63% and 45% for the 4- and 6-day dark treatments, respectively. The scion stem diameter was largest for transplants grown in 0 days of dark, but there was no difference in stem diameter due to heat treatments. There were no differences among scion or rootstock biomasses due to heat or light treatments. These results demonstrate that propagation mats set at 80 °F to regulate the substrate temperature were detrimental to grafted transplant survival under extended periods of light exclusion. However, this finding creates the basis to explore lower levels of substrate temperature modification. Our work also indicates that light exclusion may not be necessary for healing grafted tomato plants regardless of root-zone temperature treatments. Future work should examine the interactions of various substrate and air temperatures under full light conditions and their effects on grafted tomato transplant survival and growth. This work contributes to the ongoing research of how to optimize low-input healing methods that may be readily adopted by small-scale tomato growers.

Yield Response, Nutritional Quality and Water Productivity of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) are Influenced by Drip Irrigation and Straw Mulch in the Coastal Saline Ecosystem of Ganges Delta, India

In the coastal zone of the Ganges Delta, water shortages due to soil salinity limit the yield of dry season crops. To alleviate water shortage as a consequence of salinity stress in the coastal saline ecosystem, the effect of different water-saving (WS) and water-conserving options was assessed on growth, yield and water use of tomato; two field experiments were carried out at Gosaba, West Bengal, India in consecutive seasons during the winter of 2016–17 and 2017–18. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with five treatments viz., surface irrigation, surface irrigation + straw mulching, drip irrigation at 100% reference evapotranspiration (ET0), drip irrigation at 80% ET0, drip irrigation at 80% ET0 + straw mulching. Application of drip irrigation at 80% ET0 + straw mulching brought about significantly the highest fruit as well as the marketable yield of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). The soil reaction (pH), post-harvest organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (N, P and K) status and soil microbial population along with the biochemical quality parameters of tomato (juice pH, ascorbic acid, total soluble solids and sugar content of fruits) were significantly influenced by combined application of drip irrigation and straw mulching. Surface irrigation significantly increased the salinity level in surface and sub-surface soil layers while the least salinity development was observed in surface mulched plots receiving irrigation water through drip irrigation. The highest water productivity was also improved from drip irrigation at 80% ET0 + straw mulched plots irrespective of the year of experimentation. Such intervention also helped in reducing salinity stress for the tomato crop. Thus, straw mulching along with drip irrigation at 80% ET0 can be recommended as the most suitable irrigation option for tomato crop in the study area as well as coastal saline regions of South Asia. Finally, it can be concluded that the judicious application of irrigation water not only increased growth, yield and quality tomatoes but also minimized the negative impact of soil salinity on tomatoes grown in the coastal saline ecosystem of Ganges Delta.

Tomato as Potential Source of Natural Additives for Meat Industry. A Review.

Tomato industry produces huge amounts of by-products that represent an environmental and economic problem. However, these by-products contain multiple bioactive compounds, which would make them a renewable source for obtaining natural antioxidants and colourants (carotenoids). This is in line with the preferences of the current consumer who demands more natural and healthy products. However, the lipophilic character of carotenoids means that their extraction must be carried out using toxic organic solvents. To overcome environmental and health problems of organic solvents, the application of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) for the extraction of lipophilic compounds such as lycopene was used successfully, achieving yields similar to those obtained with conventional techniques. Nonetheless, the extraction conditions must be carefully selected, to obtain high yields and at the same time maintain a high antioxidant capacity. On the other hand, the use of tomato and tomato extracts as natural additives in meat products are reduced in comparison with other natural antioxidant/colourant extracts. However, different researches conclude that the use of tomato improved nutritional quality, reduced lipid oxidation and increased stability during the shelf-life period of meat products, while retaining or increasing sensory properties and overall acceptability, which converts tomato by-products into a promising source of natural additives.

The role of a class III gibberellin 2-oxidase in tomato internode elongation.

A network of environmental inputs and internal signaling controls plant growth, development and organ elongation. In particular, the growth-promoting hormone gibberellin (GA) has been shown to play a significant role in organ elongation. The use of tomato as a model organism to study elongation presents an opportunity to study the genetic control of internode-specific elongation in a eudicot species with a sympodial growth habit and substantial internodes that can and do respond to external stimuli. To investigate internode elongation, a mutant with an elongated hypocotyl and internodes but wild-type petioles was identified through a forward genetic screen. In addition to stem-specific elongation, this mutant, named tomato internode elongated -1 (tie-1) is more sensitive to the GA biosynthetic inhibitor paclobutrazol and has altered levels of intermediate and bioactive GAs compared with wild-type plants. The mutation responsible for the internode elongation phenotype was mapped to GA2oxidase 7, a class III GA 2-oxidase in the GA biosynthetic pathway, through a bulked segregant analysis and bioinformatic pipeline, and confirmed by transgenic complementation. Furthermore, bacterially expressed recombinant TIE protein was shown to have bona fide GA 2-oxidase activity. These results define a critical role for this gene in internode elongation and are significant because they further the understanding of the role of GA biosynthetic genes in organ-specific elongation.

Variation of morphological descriptors for the evaluation of tomato germplasm and their stability across different growing conditions

• Tomato standardized descriptors are essential for germplasm management. • Little information exists on stability of tomato descriptors across environments. • Wide ranges of variation were found for 12 tomato varieties in three environments. • Genotype × environment interaction and heritabilities of descriptors were very variable. • PCA projections of a same accession from different environments clustered together. Germplasm and breeding materials are usually characterized using morphological and agronomic descriptors, which should have a high heritability. Despite the widespread use of tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ) standardized descriptors, little information exists on environmental effects on descriptor values and their heritability. We have evaluated 12 tomato accessions from seven cultivar groups in three different environments (open-field conventional, open-field organic, and greenhouse) and characterized them with 36 descriptors. A wide range of variation was found for most descriptors, demonstrating their utility for describing tomato materials and their diversity and relationships. The analysis of descriptors variation reveals that while for some descriptors with a simple genetic control the accession effect accounts for 100% of the variation, for others like yield per plant only 10.83% of the variation observed is due to the accession effect. Although significant differences were found among environments for most descriptors, including a much higher yield in the open-field conventional environment than in the two others, the environmental effect was low for most traits. However, the genotype × environment effect generally had an important contribution to the structure of variation for many descriptors, and for three traits it had the highest contribution to the percentage of the sum of squares. As a result of the variation structure, the heritability values are high (>0.7) for only 10 descriptors, while for five is low (<0.3). Principal components analysis (PCA) reveals that projections in the PCA graph of a same accession grown in different environments plot together in the same area of the PCA graph. Although cultivar groups are generally clearly separated in the PCA graph, accessions from the same cultivar group in some cases are intermixed. These results have important implications for detecting tomato duplicates and establishing core collections, as well as for analyzing germplasm and breeding results, when using data sets containing data of accessions grown in different environments.

Establishing diagnosis and recommendation integrated system (DRIS) for industrial use of tomato

Establishing diagnosis and recommendation integrated system (DRIS) for industrial use of tomato

Interspecies rootstocks affect cadmium accumulation in postgrafting generation plants of potential cadmium-hyperaccumulator Solanum photeinocarpum.

Pot and field experiments were conducted to study the effects of interspecies rootstocks on cadmium (Cd) accumulation characteristics of the potential Cd-hyperaccumulator Solanum photeinocarpum postgrafting generation plants. Four treatments (ungrafted and S. photeinocarpum seedlings grafted on the rootstocks of eggplant, potato, and tomato) were utilized in the present study. In the 2 pot experiments, eggplant and potato reduced biomass of S. photeinocarpum postgrafting generation plants, whereas tomato increased shoot biomass compared with the control (ungrafted seedlings). Compared with ungrafted seedlings, tomato increased and eggplant decreased Cd contents in shoots of S. photeinocarpum postgrafting generation. Only tomato increased Cd extraction by shoots of S. photeinocarpum postgrafting generation compared with ungrafted seedlings. In the field experiment, only tomato increased shoot Cd content of S. photeinocarpum postgrafting generation by 8.31% and shoot Cd extraction by 9.30% compared with ungrafted seedlings. Therefore, use of tomato as rootstock could enhance the ability of S. photeinocarpum postgrafting generation plants to remediate Cd-contaminated soil. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:2845-2850. © 2016 SETAC.

Potential use of edible crops in the phytoremediation of endosulfan residues in soil

Endosulfan is a persistent and toxic organochlorine pesticide of banned or restricted use in several countries. It has been found in soil, water, and air and is bioaccumulated and magnified in ecosystems. Phytoremediation is a technology that promises effective and inexpensive cleanup of contaminated hazardous sites. The potential use of tomato, sunflower, soybean and alfalfa species to remove endosulfan from soil was investigated. All species were seeded and grown in endosulfan-spiked soils (8000 ng g−1 dry weight) for 15 and 60 days. The phytoremediation potential was evaluated by studying the endosulfan levels and distribution in the soil-plant system, including the evaluation of soil dehydrogenase activity and toxic effects on plants. Plant endosulfan uptake leads to lower insecticide levels in the rhizosphere with regards to bulk soil or near root soil at 15 days of growth. Furthermore, plant growth-induced physical-chemical changes in soil were evidenced by differences in soil dehydrogenase activity and endosulfan metabolism. Sunflower showed differences in the uptake and distribution of endosulfan with regard to the other species, with a distribution pesticide pattern of aerial tissues > roots at 15 days of growth. Moreover, at 60 days, sunflower presented the highest pesticide levels in roots and leaves along with the highest phytoextraction capacity. Lipid peroxidation levels correlated positively with endosulfan accumulation, reflecting the negative effect of this insecticide on plant tissues. Considering biomass production and accumulation potential, in conjunction with the reduction of soil pesticide levels, sunflower plants seem to be the best phytoremediation candidate for endosulfan residues in soils.

Use of tomato and cucumber waste fruits in goat diets: effects on rumen fermentation and microbial communities in batch and continuous cultures

SUMMARYTwoin vitroexperiments were conducted to analyse the effects of replacing dietary barley grain with wastes of tomato and cucumber fruits and a 1 : 1 tomato : cucumber mixture on rumen fermentation characteristics and microbial abundance. The control (CON) substrate contained 250 g/kg of barley grain on a dry matter (DM) basis, and another 15 substrates were formulated by replacing 50, 100, 150, 200 or 250 g of barley grain/kg with the same amount (DM basis) of tomato or cucumber fruits or 1 : 1 tomato : cucumber mixture. In Expt 1, all substrates were incubated in batch cultures with rumen micro-organisms from goats for 24 h. Increasing amounts of tomato, cucumber and the mixture of both fruits in the substrate increased final pH and gas production, without changes in final ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N) concentrations, substrate degradability and total volatile fatty acid (VFA) production, indicating that there were no detrimental effects of any waste fruits on rumen fermentation. Therefore, in Expt 2 the substrates including 250 g of waste fruits (T250, C250 and M250 for tomato, cucumber and the mixture of both fruits, respectively) and the CON substrate were incubated in single-flow continuous-culture fermenters for 8 days. Total VFA production did not differ among substrates, but there were differences in VFA profile. Molar proportions of propionate, isobutyrate and isovalerate were lower and acetate : propionate ratio was greater for T250 compared with CON substrate. Fermentation of substrates containing cucumber (C250 and M250) resulted in lower proportions of acetate, isobutyrate and isovalerate and acetate : propionate ratio, but greater butyrate proportions than the CON substrate. Carbohydrate degradability and microbial N synthesis tended to be lower for substrates containing cucumber than for the CON substrate, but there were no differences between CON and T250 substrates. Abundance of total bacteria,Fibrobacter succinogenesandRuminococcus flavefaciens, fungi, methanogenic archaea and protozoa were similar in fermenters fed T250 and CON substrates, but fermenters fed C250 and M250 substrates had lower abundances ofR. flavefaciens, fungi and protozoa than those fed the CON substrate. Results indicated that tomato fruits could replace dietary barley grain up to 250 g/kg of substrate DM without noticeable effects on rumen fermentation and microbial populations, but the inclusion of cucumber fruits at 250 g/kg of substrate DM negatively affected some microbial populations as it tended to reduce microbial N synthesis and changed the VFA profile. More studies are needed to identify the dietary inclusion level of cucumber which produces no detrimental effects on rumen fermentation and microbial growth.