Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
Volume:26 Issue: 3, May 2024

The agricultural extension system of India has various kinds of service providers like state agriculture departments, universities, research institutes, Farm Science Centers and private players. This study was conducted in 2020 and attempted to explore the association between average annual net income earned from citrus cultivation and the source of availing citrus extension services through Correspondence Analysis (CA) method of 300 citrus farmers selected from three districts in Maharashtra, India. The farmers with high income (1808.31USD to 2411.09USD/ha) received advisory services of the public research institute ICAR-Central Citrus Research Institute (CCRI) through either personal contact or electronic platforms. Awareness about CCRI services, source of seeking citrus cultivation related information, source of purchasing citrus planting material, using CCRI mobile app and website for citrus advisories, and contacting CCRI scientists for solving citrus farming related issues was found to have significant (P< 0.05) positive relationship with net income from citrus farming through Pearsons’ correlation coefficient, while cost of cultivation and orchard age had negative significant relationship. The multi-linear regression analysis, depicted cost of cultivation, awareness about CCRI services, source of seeking citrus advisories, and source of purchasing planting material had significant association with net income. The findings of correlation and regression thus emphasized the positive significant association of CCRI’s extension services to income from citrus farming. Identifying homogenous target groups of citrus farmers through Classification and Regression Tree (CART) method can serve as policy implication for extension service providers to deliver customized need-based advisories to target clientele.

Careful and focused decision-making in the food sector reduces the challenges threatening food systems' stability. Besides, it can optimally control any changes that result in food shortages. The present study aimed to identify identifiable factors' effects on food insecurity using a dynamic system with an emphasis on consumption behaviors. A dynamic model was developed to understand the long-term interaction between individual characteristics, average cost, average income, and hygiene status, and a dynamic model was then validated and operationalized among 1,000 Alborz Province’s households randomly using a questionnaire. The base scenario for predicting food insecurity changes revealed that food insecurity had increased over ten years, resulting in changes in social and economic status and vulnerability of urban society. Four additional scenarios indicated that the average cost and income could directly affect the food insecurity status in Iran by indirectly influencing policies to increase food security, health, and hygiene. Individual characteristics and food security also influence food insecurity and reinforce the relationship between these variables. The study revealed that dynamic systems modeling could be a valuable tool for assessing food insecurity policies and their factors in developing countries.

Environmental Literacy (EL) is recognized as a fundamental component in directing individuals' environmental preservation behavior. This descriptive-correlation research was conducted with the main objective of explaining the environmental literacy of eco-villages’ students. Data were collected from 175 high school students, selected through census, living in eco-villages in western Iran (n= 175). Findings showed that students' EL was moderate. Three dimensions of EL, including knowledge, attitude, and behavior, were higher in students living in developed Eco-villages than in developing and less developed Eco-villages. Gender, father's job, field of study, and level of Eco-village development had a significant effect on students' EL. However, the effect of educational level and participation in environmental training courses was insignificant. The results of stepwise regressions revealed that the number of years of parents’ education religiosity, study hours per week, and satisfaction with living in rural areas explain 49% of the variance of students' environmental literacy.

Cheetah is one of the endangered wildlife species in different countries around the world, including Iran, and has been included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Today, Iran is the only place where Asiatic Cheetahs can be found, and the latest estimates indicate that only 30 to 40 Asiatic Cheetahs remain. The present study aimed to prioritize the ecosystem functions and services for Asiatic Cheetahs in Iran from the perspectives of experts and professionals. After a literature review, based on the 2018 Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES), among Provisioning, Cultural, and Regulation and Maintenance functions, the Cultural and Regulation and Maintenance functions and 14 services were extracted for Asiatic Cheetahs in Iran. Next, by using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Delphi method, the priority of functions and services was investigated in two stages. The results showed that the most important functions and services were, respectively, as follows: Cultural (4.37), Regulation and Maintenance (4.32) functions, and services related to the Bequest value (4.95) of Asiatic Cheetahs; Existence value (4.93); Educational (4.58); Aesthetic (4.47); Entertainment (recreation and ecotourism) (4.44); Symbolic (4.40); Scientific (3.67), Cultural (3.55), Biodiversity (4.82); and Disease control (3.82). The necessary measures for preventing the extinction of Asiatic Cheetahs include the construction of wildlife corridors in habitats of Cheetahs, promoting participation of communities and non-governmental organizations in the sustainable management of Cheetah habitats, and designing coins with Cheetah to attract public attention and support.

Scientific measurement of Agricultural Carbon Emissions (ACE) and its formation mechanism is of great significance for the effective formulation of high-quality agricultural development strategies. Therefore, the objectives were to study the characteristics of ACE, its formation mechanism, and its economic relevance in Chongqing by adopting the IPCC and 1997-2019 data, and with LMDI index and Decoupling index. The empirical analysis shows that the total ACE presents an M-shaped trend of "rising-steady fluctuation-falling". Energy structure, energy intensity, and population size have a negative driving effect on ACE, but economic activity is the main factor. The decoupling elasticity characteristics of ACE and economic growth are mainly weak decoupling and strong decoupling, of which the relationship is significantly coordinate. Therefore, to consolidate and enhance the goal of ACE reduction, it is necessary to strengthen the research and development of agricultural low-carbon production technology and promotion. We will continue to deepen supply-side structural reform in agriculture. We will improve the ecological environment in agriculture and rural areas.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of 20 and 40 kGy doses of Gamma-Ray (GR), 90 and 120-second- Infrared Irradiation (IR), as well as 15 and 30 minute- Roasting (R) at 140˚C on Amino Acid (AA) profile, AA degradation, ruminal Dry Matter (DM), and Crude Protein (CP) degradation kinetics and in vitro digestibility of Linseed Meal (LSM). The results indicated that while the AAs contents of untreated LSM were relatively higher, the disappearances of AA were decreased by GR and IR after 16 hours of incubation in the rumen (P< 0.01). Moreover, irradiation decreased the water-soluble fraction and increased the potentially degradable fraction of DM and CP (P< 0.01). On the other hand, GR treatments decreased the Effective Ruminal Degradability (ERD) of DM and CP at ruminal outflow rates of 0.05 and 0.08 h-1 (P< 0.01). The digestible undegradable protein and the metabolizable protein of GR and IR at three outflow rates (0.02, 0.05 and 0.08 h-1) were significantly higher than the roasted treatment and the control group (P< 0.01). Metabolizable Protein (MP) of IR did not have a significant difference with the control group in the outflow rate of 0.02, but there was significant increase in outflow rates of 0.05 and 0.08 h-1 (P< 0.01).

Fatty Liver Hemorrhagic Syndrome (FLHS) is common in poultry. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate gene expression in a variety of ways at epigenetic, chromatin remodeling, transcriptional, and translational levels. Chicken liver produces lipoproteins and most of the precursors to egg yolk with the help of RNA such as MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and lncRNAs. In order to analyze lncRNAs in liver, RNA-seq data of six samples were downloaded from National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) (3 birds with fatty livers from the paternal group and 3 control birds).Then, using the DESeq2 package, the difference in expression of lncRNAs in the samples was analyzed. Functional enrichment analysis was established by STRING and the PPI network visualized by Cytoscape. Annotation of the data was carried out by DAVID 6.8. The biological pathways were searched in Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). The results of the analysis of Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs) showed that there were 24356 annotated genes. Also, 101 lncRNAs were found. Gene Ontology (GO) term enrichment analysis suggested that DEGs significantly enriched in metallocarboxypeptidase activity, protein ubiquitination, etc. KEGG pathway analysis showed that DEGs related with biosynthesis of antibiotics and biosynthesis of amino acids (P< 0.05). Examination of gene loci revealed that the expression process of GCGR, PDK3 and PCK1 genes was in line with the expression of neighboring lncRNAs. Examination of this number of lncRNAs along with their target genes can help in selecting laying hen lines with less chance of developing fatty livers.

This study was carried out to determine the effects of leaf damage rates at different growth stages of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) cultivars under Eastern Mediterranean conditions of Turkey (Osmaniye Province). The study was conducted in completely randomized design in split-split-plots with three replications, in 2020 and 2021. Cultivars NC 7 and Halisbey were in the main plots, growth stages (R1, R2 and R3) in sub-plots, and leaf damages (control, 25, 50, and 75%) in the sub-sub-plots. Yield and various quality parameters were measured and recorded. The highest value of the number of pods per plant was obtained from the Halisbey (24.5±0.4) cultivar, the R2 period (23.5±0.6), and the control (25.7±0.6) treatment. The number of pods per plant decreased when the leaf damage increased. The highest pod yield was obtained from NC 7 cultivar (2302±8.2 kg ha-1) and R1 period (2041±9.1 kg ha-1). The order of leaf damage treatments in terms of yield was as the control (2536±8.8 kg ha-1), 25% LD treatment (2011±8.0 kg ha-1), 50% LD treatment (1906±11.9 kg ha-1), and 75% LD (1481±7.6 kg ha-1). Thus, it was determined that the selection of cultivars and integrated control against diseases and pests are important in order to reduce the effect of leaf damage on the quality and yield of peanuts in Osmaniye conditions.

Ascorbic Acid (AsA) is a water-soluble antioxidant that makes plants resistant to environmental stresses by neutralizing free radicals. However, it is unknown to what extent this antioxidant may help Improve Irrigation Water Use Efficiency (IWUE) and reduce the adverse effects of water deficit on mung bean growth and yield. In an attempt to clarify whether exogenous application of this antioxidant could alleviate the adverse effects of water deficit on mung bean plants, two seasons (2019 and 2020) of field experiments were conducted using twelve combinations of three AsA levels (distilled water as a control and 10 and 20 mM of AsA) and four irrigation water amounts (25, 50, 75, and 100% of the plant water requirement). Based on the results, the maximum IWUE was obtained with W50AsA20 in the two seasons. The beneficial effect of AsA application on IWUE was determined under water stress conditions (W50). High water deficit (W50) plus applying 20 mM ascorbic acid, i.e. W(50)AsA(20) treatment, improved seed yield about 43.7% as in the two seasons compared to high water deficit without ascorbic acid, i.e. W(50)AsA(0). In 2019 and 2020, water saving in W(50)AsA(20) compared to the control, was equal to 50% (2,550 and 2,500 m3 ha-1, respectively). In W(50)AsA(20) treatment, the increase of seed yield ranged between 79-107% in both seasons. Thus, the results reveal the potency of AsA to save water under low water supply and increase yield in mung bean fields.

Mutagenesis has been one of the effective methods for creating genetic diversity and plant mutants can be significant bio-resources for crop breeding and functional genomics studies. The genetic and phenotypic diversity of 95 selected mutants from 17 mutant populations, obtained from an EMS mutagenized rice Hashemi variety, were phenotypically and molecularly assessed in M3 generation. Phenotypic variation of these mutants showed that grain yield components varied among the selected mutants compared to the control plants. In parallel, genetic diversity assessed by 13 Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats )ISSR) primers showed that the number of amplified fragments per primer varied from 4 (pr1-7) to 11 (ISSR-7, ISSR-11). In general, 13 primers amplified 99 fragments, 50 of which were polymorphic (52.92%). The genetic variation created by ISSR markers within 17 populations varied from 11.11% in HM9 (Hashemi Mutant Line number 9) to 45.45% in HM2. The average molecular polymorphism value was 0.27. In the total genetic variance, 95% of differences were attributed to within-population diversity, and 5% were related to among-populations. The Unweighted Pair-Group Method with Arithmetic mean (UPGMA) trees illustrating ISSR diversity classified the rice mutant population into seven groups, which were further supported by model-based STRUCTURE analysis. In general, the studied mutant genotypes revealed desirable genetic characteristics in populations 13 and 17, with em3h204 and em3h280 genotypes being the most divergent.

Fruit yield and quality in fig (Ficus carica L.) are highly influenced by mineral nutrition, especially Calcium (Ca) and potassium (K). In this study, the impact of soluble potassium sulfate (K2SO4) foliar application on yield, fruit quality, and leaf nutrient content was assessed during three consecutive years (2017- 2019) on fig cv. ‘Bouhouli’ grown in Northwest Tunisia. Potassium sulfate was sprayed at 2% concentration on leaves of ‘Bouhouli’ trees twice each year during fruit development. This improved fruit weight by 29.5% and 34.9% in the first and second years, respectively, while yield and fruit quality were improved in 2018 only. The fruit ostiole-end cracking, which is one of the fruit quality criteria, was reduced under potassium treatment by 3-fold (17%) compared to the control (53%), in 2018. Also, potassium treatment increased significantly the content of total soluble solids in the fruits during the first two seasons. Besides, K leaf concentration significantly increased after the 2% K2SO4 treatment in 2018 and 2019. These results suggest that potassium sulfate foliar sprays could be used as part of an efficient and sustainable fertilizer program to improve fig tree yield and fruit quality.

This study was carried out to investigate fruit yield and quality characteristics among new nectarine cultivars grown in the eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey. ‘Gardeta’, ‘Gartario’, and ‘Garofa’ nectarine cultivars were cultivated on ‘GN15’ rootstock. The flowering stage, fruit set percentage, yield, and fruit quality properties of these cultivars were investigated between 2018 and 2021. During the study, chill requirements ranged between 391 and 600 chilling hours and between 207 and 361 chill units in the area, and huge values were obtained for the average initial fruit set above 60% and the final fruit set above 45%. ‘Gardeta’ had the highest cumulative yield per tree (80.15 kg tree-1) and cumulative yield per hectare (133.04 tons ha-1). The fruit size, Total Soluble Solids (TSS) content, and fruit coloration were homogeneously distributed in all three cultivars. In addition, the Flowering (F) and Initial Fruit Set (IFS) characters were negatively correlated with Fruit Weight (FW), Fruit Length (FLE), and Fruit Diameter (FD). As a result, the ‘Gardeta’ was found remarkable with late flowering, the highest yield, and superior fruit quality characteristics such as size, red skin color, and high TSS/total acidity values in the eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey. In addition, the date of Full Flowering (FF) and Fruit Firmness (FF) were negatively correlated with fruit Skin color L* (SL), C (SC), and h° (SH) variables. The results demonstrated that the new nectarine cultivars used here showed changes in yield parameters and fruit quality attributes depending on the genotypic and environmental effects.

Various culture media contain a variety of materials that affect plant growth and development. Finding the best media culture among the various materials is thus critical to plant productivity. This study was conducted based on a completely randomized design using eight treatments and three replications. The treatments included the ratios 30:10:60 of perlite-vermicompost-coco peat, peat moss-vermicompost-palm peat, coco peat-vermicompost-palm peat, perlite-vermicompost-palm peat, and the ratios 30:70 of peat moss-palm peat, coco peat-palm peat, perlite-palm peat, and vermicompost-palm peat. Cucumber seeds were planted in pots containing these culture media under greenhouse conditions. After the four-leaf stage, the morpho-physiological responses of the seedlings were evaluated. According to the findings, when compared to perlite-vermicompost-coco peat medium, peat moss-vermicompost-palm peat increased shoot fresh weight by 5.5-fold, root fresh weight by 4.5-fold, root dry weight by 5.8-fold, shoot dry weight by 7-fold, stem diameter by 1.7-fold, shoot length by 2.3-fold, root length by 1.3-fold, and leaf area by 3.8-fold. However, compared to seedlings grown in peat moss-vermicompost-palm peat medium, the amount of auxin and reactive oxygen species decreased while total soluble sugars and peroxidase increased in perlite-vermicompost-coco peat medium. Our findings indicate that the composition of peat moss-vermicompost-palm peat can be used as a beneficial medium to improve quality of cucumber seedling under greenhouse conditions.

The use of essential oils and new drug delivery systems have been considered two approaches for controlling plant pathogenic fungi. This study aimed to synthesize, characterize, and evaluate the antifungal activity of Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLNs) incorporating Mentha×Piperita L. Essential oil (MPE) compared to the free MPE. In the present study, the formulations of SLNs incorporating MPE (MPE-SLNs) were synthesized by high-shear homogenization and ultrasound method, and they were assessed by Z-average diameter, particle size distribution, Zeta potential, leakage stability during 6 months of storage, encapsulation efficacy, and morphological properties of the SLN formulations. The results indicated that the particle size of MPE-SLN formulations was 155.5±4.7 nm with a PDI of 0.156±0.012, a Zeta potential of -15.93±0.87 mV, and encapsulation efficacy of about 88±0.88%. They were physically stable for 6 months of storage. The results also showed that the in vitro minimum inhibition concentration for MPE on the fungal microorganisms, Rhizoctonia solani and Rhizopus stolonifer, were 2,000 and 1,000 ppm, respectively, and for MPE-SLNs it was 1,000 and 750 ppm, respectively. Therefore, the antifungal activity of MPE-SLNs was more significant than MPE, and none of the fungi were susceptible to essential oil-free SLNs. Based on the results, MPE-SLNs can be used for the safe preservation of a wide array of foods and agricultural products.

Climate change can have significant impacts on crop growth, yield, water requirement and, consequently, crop water productivity. In this study, the effect of climate change under RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5 projection scenarios of the CanESM2 model on soybean yield and water requirement was investigated in Kermanshah, west of Iran. Crop growth was simulated using crop growth simulation models (DSSAT and AquaCrop) based on historical (1985-2015) and projected (2025-2064) weather data. Using the AquaCrop model in RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5 scenarios, the average increase in seasonal crop evapotranspiration (ETc) was estimated to be 9.4, 11, and 14.9%, respectively. The results of the DSSAT model showed 4.1, 8.5, and 12.1% increase in seasonal ETc under the RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5 scenarios, respectively. Based on the AquaCrop and DSSAT models, soybean yield decreases by 5.3, 3.7, and 2% and by 5.7, 4.8, and 1.6% for the RCP8.5, RCP4.5, and RCP2.6 scenarios, respectively. The results also show a decrease in crop water productivity under climate change scenarios as a result of increased ETc and reduced grain yield. According to AquaCrop and DSSAT models, the maximum daily ETc that should be used for the design of irrigation systems will increase by 11.5 and 10.2%, respectively.

In the Shahroud Watershed, there has been an increasing occurrence of landslides that have caused a lot of human and financial losses. Therefore, landslide susceptibility zonation is crucial for reducing landslide risk. The aim of this study was to compare the Landslide Susceptibility Maps (LSMs) of different methods. Therefore, thematic layers of the ten causal factors were prepared. Then, a landslide inventory map consisting of 104 landslides covering 1401 hectares was compiled and partitioned into two subsets including 70% for training and 30% for testing purposes. Three landslide susceptibility maps were prepared using the Frequency ratio (Fr), Statistical index (Si), and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) methods. The validation process showed that the Si [Area Under the Curve (AUC)= 0.732] and Fr (AUC= 0.707) models presented a more valid LSM than AHP (AUC= 0.651) method. The Qs (Quality sum) index values also confirmed the results of the ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) curve such that the Qs index values of 1.71, 1.43, and 0.62 for, respectively, Fr, Si, and AHP models implied a more accurate LSMs of the Fr and Si models than the one from the AHP. The results of this study can be used as a basic step for landslide risk management in the study area.