Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
Volume:20 Issue: 4, Jun 2018

Packaging is considered as one of the sale attractions and motives. The impacts of socio-demographic variables on the customers’ selection procedure are conceptually interesting and have several managerial interests. The present study aimed to identify the effective personal, social, and economic factors in choosing milk packaging type in the Rasht City. To this end, the options were categorized into 4 groups including “milk without packaging”, “bagged milk”, “packet milk” and “bottled milk”. Data were gathered using a questionnaire and some interviews with people. Multinomial Logit Model was used as research method. The results of Hausman test indicated that the 4 groups of milk packaging were independent of each other and, therefore, the nested structure was not required. Results obtained from model estimates showed that age, gender, family size, educational level, and income variables were statistically significant. Among the variables, “family size” negatively affected selection of other alternatives over the reference group (bagged milk), while other variables had positive effect. Finally, marginal effects were calculated for all variables and for each group. After calculating the marginal effects for all variables of each group, it was observed that the dummy variable "gender" had the most marginal effect in packaged milk group.

Sustainable Intensification (SI) in agriculture is fronted as a promising approach to increase agricultural production in Sub-Saharan Africa countries. Technologies that can lead to realization of the SI goal are available but one of the key challenges is the low reach among smallholder farmers due to, among others, ineffective training and co-learning. In this study, a survey methodology was used to obtain data from 145 trainees in a sustainable intensification intervention in Kongwa and Mvomero districts, Tanzania, to analyze the drivers of training transfer. Hierarchical linear regression revealed that motivation of trainees, training design and delivery, and work environment (peer, extension and local institutional support) had positive effects on transfer of the training. For successful transfer of training, recommendations given were a deliberate focus on selection of suitable trainees and ensuring their motivation to learn; use of appropriate documentation, extension and training methods; strengthening farmers’ networks for peer learning; and strengthening collaborations with local institutions.

Spirulina platensis is an edible microalga with high protein content (60-70%). Presently, there is a rising interest to evaluate in vitro cytotoxic effect of edible protein after hydrolysis by the gastric protease. Unfortunately, despite widespread researches about the health effect of hydrolyzed proteins in dairy products, very few studies are available in the field of marine microalgae protein. Therefore, this research was aimed to investigate anticancer and antibacterial effects of the dominant protein of S. platensis after hydrolyzed by Trypsin and Chymotrypsin enzymes on Human colon adenocarcinoma cell and Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. The results revealed that 20-22 kDa protein and its derived peptides decrease bacterial growth and

Influence of water on the dielectric properties of jujube, yellow-locust, and vitex honey was investigated by dielectric spectroscopy in broadband from 40 Hz-40 GHz. At lower frequencies, two relaxations which were from interface polarization and dipole orientation polarization of macromolecules in honey were observed. Other relaxations contributed by free and bound water were observed at microwave frequencies. The analysis of the observed relaxations revealed that the honey/water interface and bound water molecules that interact with the macromolecules in honey are responsible for the changed dielectric properties of honey solutions. Besides, the linear correlations between the permittivity (around 2.45 GHz) and water content of honey solutions were developed, which indicates that water content in honey solutions can be measured by dielectric spectroscopy. In addition, we also compared the dielectric properties of different pure honey types and found that the pure yellow-locust honey, which contains the maximum water content, has the highest permittivity. This suggests that different honey types with different water content can be roughly identified by dielectric spectroscopy. This study shows that the water content influences the dielectric properties of honey and dielectric spectroscopy is feasible for detecting honey adulteration with water.

Poor organoleptic and physicalproperties of Low Fat Cheese (LFC) suggest the use of some hydrocolloids in its production. In this study, the effect of addition of Basil Seed Gum (BSG (into the structure of low-fat white brined cheese was investigated. To obtain a good view about the protein and polysaccharide interactions in cheese, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were also used. The results indicated that the incorporation of BSG into the cheese matrix and the creation of new interactions caused some changes in the cheese properties. There was considerable slump in the hardness value of the cheese samples containing BSG throughout ripening. The addition of BSG in the cheese matrix weakened its microstructure due to a decrease in the electrostatic attraction between the macromolecules, which was mainly a result of high salt concentration. Thermal properties and FTIR spectra of cheese samples were altered with polysaccharide incorporation as well as the ripening period.

In the present work, the effect of infrared drying power on dehydration and rehydration characteristics, energy consumption, and essential oil yield of common wormwood leaves was studied. Thin layers of the leaves were dried at power levels of 200, 300, 400, and 500W. Effective moisture diffusivity values for the leaves over the applied drying conditions were obtained to be in the range of 8.84×10-8-2.76×10-7 m2 s-1. Rehydration curves for the dried leaves were obtained at constant temperature of 80°C and fitted to Peleg model. Rehydration capacity of the leaves decreased with increasing infrared drying power. In comparison with the fresh levels, infrared drying caused both increment and decrement in essential oil yield. The highest and the lowest oil yields were obtained from the samples dried at the power levels of 200 and 500W, respectively. Specific energy consumption changed from 4.22 to 10.56 MJ kg-1.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of inulin (IN) and resistant dextrin (RD) as fat replacer and prebiotic on gluten-free biscuit and its dough. To make the gluten-free biscuits, we used rice flour, corn flour and corn starch in the proportion of 3:1:1, respectively. The influence of prebiotics on the dough properties was studied via texture profile analysis including firmness, cohesiveness, adhesiveness, gumminess and springiness. Biscuit quality was assessed by spreading behavior, texture and surface characteristics, chemical properties, and sensory evaluation. Compared to the control, a significant increase in firmness (17.04 N to 52.85 N), cohesiveness (0.49 to 0.65) and gumminess (8.45 N to 32.71 N) of dough (except RD25) was observed when substitution percent of fibers increased. Adhesiveness and springiness did not have significant changes. Enhancing of fat replacement percentage caused significant changes compared to the control in hardness (9.60 to 24.52 N) and L* (58.79 to 56.94), a* (8.99 to 9.71), water activity (0.225 to 0.096), moisture (4.97% to 4.12%), total fat (12.65% to 3.90%), peroxide index (1.89 to 0.90 meq/kg), fiber (2.02% to 9.51%), carbohydrate (76.49% to 84. 63%), and calorie (443.38 to 396.52 Kcal). The consumers did not find significant differences in acceptability between the control biscuits and the biscuits with 25% of fat replaced by RD and IN except color and flavor that were better than the control. Gluten-free biscuits containing IN25 and RD25 were similar to the control biscuits, and they could have additional health benefits derived from IN and RD presence.

Molecular species identification has become more ubiquitous in diagnostics of insects, particularly in situations where morphological identification is a laborious or time-consuming process. Tetranychid mites are serious agricultural pests. Identification of tetranychid mites is usually arduous and requires a high level of taxonomic expertise because of their minute size, their close morphological similarities as well as limited number of diagnostic characters. Most species of the spider mites of the genus Tetranychus Dufour in Iran are morphologically similar, differing only in the diameter of the aedeagal knob in males. Because this genus contains many important pests, the unambiguous identification of species is crucial for effective pest management. In this study, a single-step multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction (multiplex PCR) was used to discriminate two predominant spider mite species occurring in greenhouses in Iran: Tetranychus urticae Koch and Tetranychus turkestani (Ugarov and Nikolskii). The single-step multiplex PCR developed here, based on ITS regions, is rapid, reliable, sensitive and relatively simple. The entire identification protocol from DNA extraction to electrophoresis could be completed in four hours. Moreover, it is adequately simple to be implemented in any molecular laboratory.

Many studies have been done so far on the reproductive biology of carob moth, Ectomyelois ceratoniae, considering different environmental conditions, however, climate regions’ indirect effects cascaded up to the carob moth performance are not studied yet. A soil-pomegranate fruit cv. Malas-carob moth system was utilized based on three populations of pomegranate cv. Malas grown in three different climate regions of Iran (Aqda, Tarom-e-Oliya, and Saveh). Aqda region supported the highest nitrogen content for both soil and fruit; however, according to the two-sex life table, population growth parameters did not vary significantly in the carob moth reared on the fruits collected from these three climate regions. There was no correlation between soil nitrogen content and all population growth and biological parameters of the pest. Among all population growth and biological parameters, pupal period (r= -0.997, P= 0.047) and development time (r= -0.997, P= 0.051) showed inverse correlations with fruit nitrogen at 10% significance level. It was concluded that climate region indirect effect on the carob moth performance could not emanate under the pomegranate cultivar shade, however, this hypothesis should be tested in future.

Pieris brassicae (L.), a brassica specialist, is one of the most destructive and widespread pests of cruciferous crops in many countries of the world. It causes about 40 per cent damage on cruciferous crops including cabbage and cauliflower which are the two major vegetables produced and consumed in India. Development of an insect resistant cultivar is a sought after goal in insect-pest management as it provides farmers with an effective, economically sound, and environment friendly option for pest management. However, the first step in the development of an insect resistant cultivar is precise knowledge of source(s) of resistance. In this study, we screened a diverse array of 63 brassicaceous accessions (mostly wild crucifers) under field as well as laboratory conditions to determine P. brassicae performance under free choice (in the field) and no choice (in laboratory) conditions. Resistant accessions were identified among Brassica barrelieri, B. fruticulosa, B. maurorum, Crambe abyssinica, Diplotaxis muralis, D. tenuisiliqua, Erucastrum abyssinicum, Raphanus rugosum, Sinapis alba and S. arvensis. Biochemical analysis of the putative accessions revealed that high concentration of total glucosinolates had a significant negative impact on insect development, while reverse was true for total phenols and total flavonols. Our findings may be useful for genetic improvement of both vegetable and crop brassicas aimed at development of cultivars resistant to P. brassicae. This research again shows the importance of crop wild relatives for finding pest resistance.

Greenhouse products are subject to contamination by pesticides used to control pests and diseases. Toxicity on human and non-target animals, destruction of environment, and bioaccumulation are just some of the problems caused by indiscriminate use of pesticides. Imidacloprid and abamectin are two widely used pesticides to control greenhouse pests in Varamin region (Tehran Province, Iran). The aim of this study was to determine the effect of some household operations including refrigerated storage (48 hours), immersion in water (5 hours) and combination of these two treatments on reduction of pesticide residues in two most freshly consumed vegetables, cucumber and tomato. Sampling was performed in three randomly selected greenhouses of each crop in Varamin. Pesticides residue were extracted from samples according to QuEChERS method and determined by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) system equipped with UV detection and analytical column C18 (250×4.6 mm). Results showed that crops were contaminated more than maximum residue level of these pesticides. Although in most cases, refrigerated storage treatment reduced pesticides residue more than immersion in water, their combination was the most effective treatment. Based on the results, this treatment caused imidacloprid residues reduction of 91.3 and 60.2% and abamectin residues reduction of 81.4 and 70.3% in cucumber and tomato, respectively. These findings showed that some easy, accessible, and domestic solutions can dramatically reduce residues of these two common pesticides.

ZnO is extensively used in a wide range of industrial applications. Hence, considerable accumulation of this substance occurs in the environment. The objective of the present study was to compare and characterize the growth of model tobacco plant at different ZnO levels in various rooting media (i.e., water-based, perlite-based, and sand-based). In soilless medium (especially water-based), ZnO levels lower and/or higher than 1µM showed negative impacts on fresh weights, some of leaves indices, and number of flowers and fruits. In soil-based media, 250 and 500 mg ZnO kg-1 often scored the highest values for the mentioned indices. However, all evaluated indices were much higher in water-based than the other two media. Flavonoids, antocyanins and FRAP capacity increased at highest levels in soil-grown and perlite-grown media, but Zn content was the same for all concentrations in soil-grown plants. Photosynthetic pigments decreased at 1,000 mg kg-1 in soil-based media. Overall, the sensitivity to small changes in ZnO levels was much higher in water-based compared to the other two media, while ZnO supply resulted in improvement of some parameters in soil-based media. Soil and perlite possess certain experimental limitations (e.g., surface absorption, unfavorable pH, low gas exchange, limited spread of roots and insoluble Zn-complexes), while water-grown plants were comparatively better than the other media in terms of experimental control and handling. These results show different effects of ZnO levels in different media and also suggest the water-based medium as a possible alternate for future accurate investigations of Zn trials.

Horticulture sector plays a prominent role in economic growth for most of the developing countries. India is the largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world next only to China. Among the horticultural crops, fruit crops are cultivated in majority of the area. Fruit crops play a significant role in the economic development, nutritional security, employment generation, and overall growth of a country. Among fruit crops, mango and banana are largest producing fruits of India. Generally, Karnataka is called as the horticultural state of India. In Karnataka, mango and banana are highest producing fruit crops. With these prospective, yield of mango and banana of Karnataka have been chosen as study variables. Forecasting is a primary aspect of developing economy so that proper planning can be undertaken for sustainable growth of the country. In this study, classes of linear and nonlinear, parametric and non-parametric statistical models have been employed to forecast yield of mango and banana of Karnataka. The major drawback of linear models is the presumed linear form of the model. In most of the cases, the time series are not purely linear or nonlinear as they contain both linear and nonlinear components. To overcome this problem a hybrid model has been proposed which consists of linear and nonlinear models. The hybrid model with the combination of Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and Support Vector Regression model performed better in both model building as well as in model validation as compared to other models.

The aim of this study was to determine Total Phenolic Compound (TPC) and antioxidant activity changes depending on the ripening in Rosa canina, R. dumalis, R. dumalis ssp. boissieri and R. villosa rosehip species. Rosehip fruits were harvested in 6 different times from July to September. TPC content and antioxidant activities were determined by spectrophotometric methods. TPC and antioxidant activities of the studied species increased during ripening. TPC (1510.57 mg GAE 100 g-1/H-6) and antioxidant activities (TEAC: 364.12 µmol trolox equivalent g-1/H-6 and FRAP: 286.79 µmol trolox equivalent g-1/H-6) were higher in R. dumalis (MR-15) than the other studied species. There was a high correlation between the TPC and the antioxidant activity. Also, there was a positive correlation between maturation, phenolics and antioxidant activities. This correlation was high in R. dumalis and low in R. canina. However, it was not possible to express the existence of a relationship between temperature, TPC, and antioxidant activity. It was possible to express the existence of correlations between the color of fruits and some studied characteristics. The correlations between the colors of the fruits and TPC and antioxidant activity of R. dumalis were found higher than the other species.

Missing values in a data set is a widely investigated problem. In this study, we propose the use of support variables that are closely associated with the variable of interest for the imputation of missing values. Level of association or relationship between the variable of interest and support variables is determined before they are included in the imputation process. In this study, the barley (Hordeum vulgare) grain yield in the semi-arid conditions of Cyprus was used as a case study. Monthly rain, monthly average temperature, and soil organic matter ratio were selected as support variables to be used. Multivariate regression employing support variables, bivariate, kernel regression and Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques were employed for the imputation of missing values. Obtained results indicated a better performance using multivariate regression with support variables, compared with those obtained from other methods.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of mineral (F) and Mineral-organic Fertilizers (MF) on soil CO2 flux during winter in grassland and cornfield in Southern Hokkaido, Japan, from May 2013 to April 2014. CO2 flux was measured by the static chamber method. Soil CO2 concentration was determined using silicone tubes pipe. The environmental variables, i.e. climate and soil, were also analyzed in this study. Results showed that, in freezing period, CO2 flux in MF was lower than F plots in grassland (0.1 and 0.4 Mg C ha-1 period-1, respectively). However, in melting period, CO2 flux in F was lower than MF plots (0.01 and 0.1 Mg C ha-1 period-1, respectively). CO2 flux in F and MF plot was similar in cornfield in freezing (0.5 Mg C ha-1 period-1) and melting (0.01 Mg C ha-1 period-1). These results were opposite to the annual CO2 flux where MF was higher than F plot in both grassland (10.9 and 8.5 Mg C ha-1 period-1, respectively) and cornfield (8.7 and 6.2 Mg C ha-1 period-1, respectively). Soil CO2 concentration during winter was relatively higher in grassland than cornfield. Soil NH4-N and Water Extractable Organic Carbon (WEOC) showed a positive correlation with soil CO2 concentration (r2= 0.39 and r2= 0.19, respectively). On the other hand, a negative correlation was observed between soil CO2 concentration and soil NO3-N content (r2= -0.39).