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Agricultural Science and Technology - Volume:20 Issue: 3, May 2018

Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
Volume:20 Issue: 3, May 2018

  • تاریخ انتشار: 1397/02/23
  • تعداد عناوین: 17
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  • R. Mohammadi, F. Lashgarara *, M. Omidi Najafabadi, R. Dinpanah Pages 435-443
    In recent years, rural marketing has gained significant importance as a driver of economic growth. However, one of the main problems in the production cycle in rural areas is inefficient marketing. Today, the quantitative and qualitative improvement in rural marketing requires accurate and up to date information. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) provide this information. So, survey applications of ICTs are very important in rural marketing mix. A questionnaire survey was conducted on members of rural cooperatives in Garmsar, Iran. Descriptive statistics and structural equation modelling were used to analyze the data using SPSS20 and AMOS20 software, respectively. The descriptive results showed that the rural marketing mix is undesirable. In addition, ICT capabilities have much role in boosting the rural marketing mix. The order of the effects of ICT capabilities on components of this mix are as follows: diffusion capabilities on the promotion (68%), and on the price (31%), location capabilities on the place (54%), and efficiency capabilities on the product (0.33%) and on the price (28%). Moreover, on the basis of the findings from the structural equation modelling, among the four ICT capabilities i.e. diffusion, location, efficiency, and financial, the impact of the financial capabilities of ICT on the price were more than that of the other capabilities (%0.77).
    Keywords: Descriptive statistics, ICT capabilities, Structural equation modeling
  • R. Maghabl, K. Naderi Mahdei *, A. Yaghoubi Farani, M. Mohammadi Pages 445-457
    Nature and rate of technological change is defined inside technological innovation system, a concept developed out of Innovation System Approach. The main purpose of this study was to institutionally map nanotechnological innovation system of Iranian agriculture by investigating current state of hard and soft institutions regarding functions of the system. This study consisted of qualitative and quantitative phases. In the qualitative part, a thematic content analysis was used to compare the current and desired states of high level laws and documents. The quantitative phase was a descriptive survey. In the quantitative phase, the statistical population consisted of active researchers in the field of nanotechnology from agricultural national research institutes and centers, agricultural colleges, and knowledge-based companies. Using Krejcie and Morgan’s table and stratified random sampling, 405 participants were selected. After ranking functions of the system based on their importance, current and desired functional state of hard institutions were compared through paired t-test. In the qualitative phase, current state of NanoTechnological Innovation in Agricultural (NTIA) system was investigated in terms of functions of soft institutions, i.e. 23 high level documents and laws related to nanotechnology, using ATLAS.ti software. Results showed that the functional gap between soft and hard institutions of the innovation system was very deep. This trend indicated that the capacities of various operators of NTIA system were not fully used to advance nanotechnology applications in agriculture.
    Keywords: ATLAS.ti software, Functional gap, Hard institutions, Soft institutions
  • F. Bagherzadeh Kasmani, M. A. Karimi Torshizi *, M. Mehri Pages 459-468
    In order to investigate the Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) removal ability of Brevibacillus laterosporus (Bl), 125 male Japanese quails aged 21-day-old were divided into 5 experimental groups with 5 replicates of 5 birds each. The experimental groups were control (basal diet), Bl (basal diet흏 cfu Bl mL-1), AFB1 (basal diet.5 mg AFB1 kg-1), AFB1 (basal diet.5 mg AFB1 kg-1 and 108 cfu Bl mL-1), and AFB1≪殢 Milbond-TX® (basal diet.5 mg AFB1 and 2.5 g Improved Milbond-TX® kg-1). The AFB1 decreased hematocrit (P= 0.003), red blood cells (P
    Keywords: Aflatoxicosis, Gut flora, Meat quality, Quail Spore former probioitcs
  • H. Teymouri, H. Zarghi *, A. Golian Pages 469-483
    An experiment was carried out to study the effect of Hull-Less Barley (HLB) replaced for dietary corn at the rate of zero, 25, 50, 75, and 100% with two levels of Enzyme Cocktail (EC) supplementation (0 and 0.5 g kg-1 of diet) on performance of broiler chickens during the finisher period. Four hundred and fifty male broiler chickens aged 24-days were randomly assigned to 50 pens in a Complete Randomized Design (CRD) experiment, in a 5×2 factorial arrangement, with five replicates of 9 birds each. There were no significant differences in Average Daily Gain (ADG), Average Daily Feed Intake (ADFI), and Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) of birds fed diets with zero, 25, 50, and 75% HLB replacement for corn, whereas the complete replacement of HLB for corn in diet significantly decreased ADG and ADFI and increased FCR. The GastroIntestinal Tract (GIT) organs relative weights and ileal chyme viscosity were significantly increased, and serum lipid metabolites concentrations significantly decreased by the increase in dietary HLB levels. A significantly shorter and thicker villi and thicker muscular layer in jejunum of chickens were observed when diet HLB level increased. The dietary EC supplementation significantly reduced the adverse effects of high dietary level of HLB on performance and GIT characteristics. It is concluded that HLB is a good alternative for broiler finisher diet, if substituted for up to 75% of corn. In addition, supplementation of EC in the finisher diet can decrease the adverse effects of high level of HLB on performance of broiler chickens.
    Keywords: Blood metabolites, Carcass yield, Cereal grains, Growth Performance, Intestinal histology, viscosity
  • S. Pirsa *, R. Dalili, I. Yazdani Pages 485-494
    Iranian famous drinking yoghurt type, named Doogh, is a fermented dairy beverage and constituts an important part of daily beverage consumption in Iran. Doogh is commonly produced from mixing of yoghurt, drinking water, salt, and essence of aromatic vegetables such as thyme, mint, and oregano. In the present work, the effects of Quince seed mucilage [Qm: 0-0.1% (w/w)], Guar gum [Gg: 0-0.2% (w/w)] and storage time (1-21 days) on the physicochemical (pH, acidity and viscosity) and sensory properties of Doogh were studied. The Doogh was stored at 4°C for 21 days to be evaluated. Quince seed mucilage and guar gum were added to Doogh based on a Central Composite Design (CCD). The Response Surface Method (RSM) was applied to find out the optimum conditions and interaction between different factors. Three factors including Doogh storage time and added percentages of Qm and Gg were investigated. The results showed that the optimum condition of factors was different based on response. Based on viscosity of the Doogh, the first day of Doogh production and 0.1% (w/w) of Qm and 0.2% (w/w) of Gg were the best condition.
    Keywords: Central composite design, Doogh viscosity, Response Surface Method (RSM), Yoghurt
  • D. Mirzabagheri, N. Amrollahi Bioki *, M. R. Taheri Zadeh Pages 495-508
    This study evaluated the impact of substrate composition on macrobenthos distribution using a new Coverage Range Index (CRI), and diversity index variables and macrobenthos data sets obtained over a period of 12 months, between June 2015 and June 2016, along 6 sampling transects at 2 sites. The selected transects were all situated in littoral zone of Hormuz Island in the Persian Gulf and had hard bottom type with different substrate compositions. Accordingly, macrobenthos samples at each site were taken from 3 hard bottom types: boulder, cobble, and pebble. CRI and diversity indices (Simpson, Shannon-Wiener, Pielou, Brillouin, Menhinick, Margalef and Berger-Parker) were employed to evaluate the abundance of macrobenthos. CRI was also selected to tentatively assign the investigated abundance range of macrobenthos into 3 coverage range categories: wide, middle, narrow. CRI boundary of the categories was estimated. The analyses of CRI and diversity indices revealed a similar clustering between the sampling transects. These findings indicate that CRI is a simpler indicator in assessing abundance of macrobenthos than diversity indices, because CRI is only based on species abundance, but diversity indices are based on both species number and abundance. Hence, CRI proved to be a universal ecological index due to its different ranges of small to large samples, rare species to dominant ones, and individual specimens to polyps of animal colonies. Future study should focus on extending the database to test CRI in other bottom types. Finally, the results from this study may be useful not only for developing countries but also for any organization struggling to use macrobenthos based indices with restricted financial resources and knowledge.
    Keywords: CRI, Diversity indices, Hormuz Island, Littoral zone, Species abundance
  • M. Moghadasi, H. Allahyari * Pages 509-518
    Prey suppression by predators depends on effective predator: prey release ratios. The effectiveness of Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot and Typhlodromus bagdasarjani Wainstein and Arutunjan was evaluated at different predator: prey release ratios for suppression of Tetranychus urticae Koch populations on cucumber plants in the microcosm condition based on three experiments. In the first experiment, 7 days after T. urticae releases, the most reduction in the different stages (densities) of T. urticae and the most increase in both P. persimilis and T. bagdasarjani were observed in predator: prey release ratio of 1:4 followed by ratios of 1:10 and 1:20. In the second experiment, one day after T. urticae release at predator: prey release ratio of 1:4, there was no significant difference between predators effect on the decline of T. urticae stages (densities). In this case, more T. bagdasarjani at all stages was observed on the plants in comparison with P. persimilis. According to the third experiment, 7 days after T. urticae release, there was no significant difference between predator: prey ratio of 1:4 of P. persimilis and 1:2 of T. bagdasarjani on T. urticae suppression. In this case, more P. persimilis was observed on plants in comparison with T. bagdasarjani. Our study demonstrates that the most suppression of T. urticae populations occurred in predator: prey ratio of 1:4 for both predators. Based on our findings, we suggest that P. persimilis and T. bagdasarjani can be released at a ratio of 1:4 for successful control of T. urticae on cucumber.
    Keywords: Biological control, Predatory mites, Spider mites
  • S. E. Abd El- Aziz, N. M. Abd El-Ghany * Pages 519-531
    During different exposure intervals (one, two, four, seven, and fourteen days), the efficacy of different concentrations of original Diatomaceous Earth (DE) and DEs-modifications against the granary weevil, Sitophilus granarius (Linnaeus) adults, were evaluated. The efficacy of DEs was evaluated by recording adult mortality and other parameters including effect on the progeny, grain weight loss, and DE-coherence on wheat kernels. The modified DEs showed higher efficacy than the original-DE. The most effective DE–modification was Al-DE followed by Ca-DE and Na-DE. At 14 days interval, the highest adult mortality reached 98% for Al-DE and Ca-DE modifications in comparison to the control untreated (10%) that indicates highly significant difference between them and control. At 1.5% concentration, Al-DE treatment almost suppressed the progeny (5.0±2.0) in comparison with the untreated treatment (83.333±4.041). The least weight loss was recorded for Al-DE treatment (7.0%) followed by Ca-DE (10.0%), Na-DE (13.0%) and the original-DE (25.0%) compared with the control (38%). Ultrastructural investigations of the antennae, mouth parts and posterior end of control and treated adults were performed using scanning electron microscope. DEs particles damaged sensory organs and parts of the integument throughout the body. Clear destruction among different types of the club segment sensilla was recorded. Moreover, integument cracking and cutting of the mouth parts and the genitalia were recorded. Both Al-DE and Ca-DE treatments strongly cohered very well to the wheat kernels with (1.493±0.002 and 1.492±0.002) at 1.5% concentration, respectively. The DEs coherence on wheat kernels matched directly to the insecticidal efficacy of the DE modifications against S. granarius adults.
    Keywords: Insecticidal efficacy, Coherence, SEM, Ultrastructural investigations, Wheat kernel
  • L. Mottaghinia *, M. Hassanpour, J. Razmjou, E. Chamani, M. Hosseini Pages 533-542
  • S. Ghaderi, Y. Fathipour *, S. Asgari Pages 543-556
    One of the most important factors in a sampling and integrated pest management program is to know the population density and spatial pattern of the insects, especially the invasive ones such as Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) that cause a serious problem in tomato cultivation. Therefore, population density and spatial distribution pattern of T. absoluta was determined in Varamin region (Tehran, Iran) during two growing seasons of 2015 and 2016 on seven tomato cultivars ('Primo Early', 'Rio Grande', 'Cal JN3', 'Petomech', 'Early Urbana Y', 'Super Strain B', and 'Super 2270'). The T. absoluta density was estimated as active mines (with live larvae) and inactive mines (without live larvae) per plant, which, summed together, resulted in the total infestation (total mines per plant). In 2015, the highest mean number of total mines made by T. absoluta was on 'Cal JN3' (21.82 mines plant-1) and the lowest mean was on 'Early Urbana Y' (11.08 mines plant-1). In 2016, the highest and lowest mean population density of T. absoluta was observed on 'Cal JN3' (14.44 larvae plant-1) and 'Super Strain B' (4.60 larvae plant-1), respectively. The spatial distribution pattern of T. absoluta was determined by using Morisita's coefficient, Taylor's power law, and Iwao's patchiness regression method as well as dispersion index of variance-to-mean-ratio. The dispersion index indicated the aggregated pattern of spatial distribution in all tomato cultivars during both years. Taylor's and Iwao's models showed aggregated pattern of distribution on Primo Early' and 'Early Urbana Y', respectively, in 2015 and on 'Super 2270' in 2016. But, on the rest of cultivars, the pattern was determined random. Also, Morisita's coefficient revealed a random distribution pattern for T. absoluta in all of the sampling dates. The smallest optimum sample sizes were estimated with Taylor's coefficients. These results revealed that tomato cultivars affected the population density and spatial distribution pattern of T. absoluta. The coefficients of the spatial pattern can be used for improving the sampling program to estimate the population density of T. absoluta accurately.
    Keywords: Population fluctuation, Sampling program, Spatial pattern, Tomato leaf miner
  • W. J. Zhang, Z. L. Huang*, T. H. Zhou, L. Liu, L. Mi Pages 557-569

    Using cotton cultivar that undergoes premature senescence in the late stage of growth, we studied the effects of removing two basal fruiting branches of two cotton varieties, namely, Quanyin-2 and Jiza-999, on the leaf area index, the SPAD value of leaf subtending cotton boll, and the development of cotton fiber in the late stage of cotton growth. We focused on the differences in cotton cellulose accumulation and fiber-related enzyme activities after removal of the basal fruiting branches and the development of cotton fiber during premature senescence. The results showed that removing the basal fruiting branches can maintain the green leaf area of the cotton canopy and the SPAD value of the subtending leaf during the late stage of reproductive growth. The period of rapid accumulation of fiber cellulose lasted longer in plants from which the basal fruiting branches had been removed, and the beginning and end of the rapid accumulation period was later than in the control group with premature senescence. The activities of cellulose synthesis-related enzymes (sucrose phosphate synthase, sucrose synthase, β-1,3-glucanase, and invertase) were higher in plants in which the basal fruiting branches had been removed than in the control group after 10 days post-anthesis. Removing the basal fruiting branches can optimize the accumulation of cellulose in cotton boll during the late growth stage and mitigate the effects of premature senescence on cellulose synthesis. We found that the peak values for cotton fiber development-related enzyme activities in the control group occurred earlier, which tended to bring cotton fiber development forward and negatively impacted fiber yield.

    Keywords: Cellulose synthesis, cv. Jiza-999, cv. Quanyin-2, Fiber-related enzyme, Premature senescence
  • A. Rasoulnia, S. M. Alavi *, H. Askari, N. Farrokhi, M. Soltani Najafabadi Pages 571-582
    Citrus canker has worldwide distribution and is still a devastating disease caused by the bacteria Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xcc). With the aim of evaluating C. aurantifolia response mechanism, plant leaves non-inoculated and inoculated with the bacteria were collected in 1, 4, and 7 days post-inoculation. Consequently, the chlorophyll pigment content and fluorescence were determined, and proteomics study was conducted. Results indicated that pathogen infection, despite the negative effect on chlorophyll pigment content, improved the physiological condition. The maximum efficiency of PSII photochemistry and PSII quantum Yield (YPSII) as well as photochemical quenching increase were observed in infected plants compared to the control, whilst non-photochemical quantum decreased during infection. Judging by the results, the proteomic analysis revealed that these responses were mirrored by rapid changes in the host proteome that included the up-regulation of carbohydrate metabolism proteins and down-regulation of the ATP generating proteins during pathogen infection. The results indicated that the pathogen manipulates the host homeostasis by its effector proteins to exploit in its favor.
    Keywords: citrus canker, pathogen, proteomics
  • Raja S.*, M. R. Verma, P. C. Satpathy, L. M. Yadav, R. Kumar, Z. Ullah, R. Khaiwal, R. K. Dubey, S. Kumar, D. Singh, M. R. Desmukh, D. Verma, P. M. Govindakrishnan Pages 583-595
    Potato (Solanum tuberosum ssp. tuberosum) cultivars grown under tropical conditions exhibit comparatively poor yields compared to the temperate conditions, hence, there is need for stable cultivars with greater yields. The interactions of four cultivars with ten environments for 2 years under All India Coordinated Research Project (Potato) across the country for 2 harvesting stage (75 and 90 DAP) revealed that the cultivars were significantly different among themselves for Total Yield (TY) and Marketable Yield (MY) harvested at 75 and 90 DAP at seven and eight environments, respectively. The pooled analysis showed a significant difference for cultivar and environmental main effects for all traits, indicating the existence of cultivars genetic variability justified from the heterogeneity of environments. The significant effect of G×E interaction for TY and MY at 90 DAP, and a non significance for the same traits at 75 DAP clearly indicated that the prevailing environments during early crop stage were uniform as compared to its later harvesting stage. Partitioning of G×E interaction into linear and non linear components were highly significant for all traits, strongly suggesting the real differences in cultivars for regression over environmental means and the response of cultivars to environment was controlled genetically. The cultivar K. Pukhraj was proven as early bulking and stable cultivar for TY and MY at 75 DAP and predictable in nature, as against K. Khyati which was stable cultivar for TY and MY at 90 DAP across growing environments. Hence, K. Khyati, which recorded the highest TY (27.45 t ha-1) and MY (25.24 t ha-1) for harvesting at 75 DAP, and TY (31.28 t ha-1) and MY (28.19 t ha-1) at 90 DAP, can be recommended for tropical conditions.
    Keywords: G×E interaction, Indian potato cultivars, Marketable yield, Stable cultivar, Tuber yield
  • E. Bakhshi, N. Safaie *, M. Shamsbakhsh Pages 597-607
    Seventy five bacterial strains were isolated from cucurbits rhizosphere and examined for antagonistic activities against Macrophomina phaseolina isolate 44, the causal agent of melon charcoal root rot disease. The results of screening strains including B2, B11, B12 and BKN showed high potential of antagonistic activities against the pathogen in laboratory experiments. Inhibition of mycelial growth varied from 54.3 to 62.22%, 39.43 to 54.82%, 78.52 to 100%, and 64.45 to 88.89% in dual culture, volatile metabolite, antibiotic production, and cell free culture tests, respectively. In greenhouse experiment, seed treatment with strain B2 significantly (P= 0.01) controlled the disease by increasing plant growth indices including height, shoot and root fresh weight, shoot and root dry weight by 37.98, 36.27, 32.97, 34.44, and 30.39%, respectively, as compared to the control. The biochemical and physiological tests as well as gyrA sequence confirmed these four strains as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. Results indicated that strain B2 could be an important new biological control agent for charcoal root rot disease of melon.
    Keywords: Antagonistic activity, Biological control, Cucurbits Macrophomina phaseolina, Rhizosphere
  • S. W. Przemieniecki *, T. P. Kurowski, M. Damszel, K. Krawczyk, A. Karwowska Pages 609-619
    The SP-A9 strain of Bacillus sp., which is most closely related to Bacillus subtilis, demonstrated excellent antifungal properties in laboratory analyses. The percentage of inhibition in the dual culture test was similar for all investigated phytopathogens (Fusarium culmorum, F. oxysporum and Monographella nivalis) at approximately 46%. The analyzed strain was found to be cellulolytic and strongly chitinolytic, and its biochemical properties indicate that it easily adapted to various environmental conditions. The strain's sporulation ability and high proliferation rate in acidic, alkaline, and highly saline environments (9% NaCl) further confirmed its adaptability to adverse conditions. In a pot experiment, the basic biometric parameters of spring wheat grain inoculated with Bacillus sp. SP-A9 were not modified, but a significant increase in grain yield was observed (by 18% in soil contaminated with F. culmorum and by 19% in soil contaminated with F. oxysporum). The increase in yield was correlated with the number of wheat plants, which suggests that the analyzed strain minimized the pathogen-induced inhibition of plant growth. Bacillus sp. SP-A9 can reduce economic losses resulting from diseases caused by fungi of the genus Fusarium and contribute to reduced use of crop protection chemicals, thus minimizing environmental pollution.
    Keywords: Antifungal properties, Environmental pollution, Fusarium spp, Phytopathogens
  • B. Hosseini, A. Sarpele, N. Farrokhi * Pages 621-632
    Monosporascus cannonballus and M. eutypoides are the causative agents of melons’ root rot and vine decline, with little knowledge about their mechanisms of infection. M. cannonballus secretome was isolated and subdivided into two fractions based on molecular weight (smaller and larger than 10 kDa), and further separated via high voltage paper electrophoresis and SDS-PAGE, respectively. Large cell-free filtrates of the fungus were found to contain biologically active proteins that were further characterized via mass spectrometry and revealed to be α-1,2-mannosidase and serine protease. Meanwhile, biochemical analyses of low molecular weight compounds were suggestive to be similar to marasmines. Both fractions were capable of inducing phytotoxicity, once infiltrated into the melon leaves. This is the first report of phytotoxic compounds isolated from M. cannonballus contributing to disease induction in melon plants.
    Keywords: Biologically active compounds, Cucmis melon, Marasmine, Phytotoxin, Protein, Root rot, vine decline
  • M. Danish *, H. Seikh, M. I. Robab Pages 633-645
    A pot experiment was carried out to determine the effects of Meloidogyne incognita on Psoralea corylifolia at different inoculum levels viz., 100, 500, 1,000, 2,000 J2 per plant in each pot containing 2.5 kg sterilized soil with complete randomized block design. Results indicated significant reduction in all the growth and yield parameters of the plants in comparison to non-inoculated control plants. Biochemical parameters such as photosynthetic pigments viz., Chlorophyll a, Chlorophyll b and carotenoid contents and enzymatic activity like nitrate reductase and carbonic anhydrase were significantly decreased when inoculum levels were increased. Highest and significant (P≤ 0.05) reduction was noticed at 2,000 J2, in comparison to healthy plants. The number of nematodes in the infected root was higher and the size of the galls was larger at high inoculums levels. The root and the soil populations of second stage-juveniles indicated that M. incognita reproduced successfully on the roots of P. corylifolia. The damages caused due to severe infection might lead to death of the affected plant.
    Keywords: Enzymatic activity, Inoculum level, Morphology, Photosynthetic pigments