Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
Volume:22 Issue: 3, May 2020

The objective of this study was to evaluate the causal relationship between technological innovation and sheep farm’s results, based on a Structural Equation Modeling Approach (SEM) in dairy sheep systems in the center of Spain. Different from traditional multiple-trait models, SEM analysis allows assessment of potential causal interrelationships among outcomes and can effectively discriminate effects. Information from 157 dairy sheep farms in Castilla La Mancha was used. The questionnaires included 38 technological innovations and 188 questions on productive, economic and social data. Four hypotheses were formulated oriented to understand how the farm's technological innovation will affect the productive structure and farm's performance. The results derived from the SEM analysis showed a positive relationship between the technological indicator and the farm’s structure, productivity, and economic results. The variable technological adoption could be regarded as a predictable measure of structure, productivity, and economic performance. Technology is associated with the productive structure. Independent of sheep farms’ size, dairy sheep farms can be positioned in the growing returns area as a consequence of a proper use of it. SEM approach to observational data in the context of dairy sheep system suggests that there is not a single optimal structure. The model built constitutes a tool of great utility to make decisions, as it allows predicting the impact of technologies on final results ex-ante.

Today, with the growing competition in domestic and international markets, the ability of agribusiness companies to survive and to grow depends on choosing and implementing a sustainable business strategy. However, this task actually is not as easy as it seems, because it is important to consider various criteria and interrelations between them for choosing the best business strategy. Additionally, matching business strategy with organizational resources is essential for gaining a competitive advantage. Using the ANP model, the purpose of the current study was to select the most suitable business strategy for one of the largest saffron companies in Iran. The results revealed that differentiation strategy had the highest priority with 39% of the influence. Another finding was that managerial capabilities among organizational resources were relatively more important in choosing a business strategy. According to the findings of the study, it is suggested that agribusiness firm managers pay special attention to three important elements, namely, improving the financial condition, knowing the needs of customers, and creation of new innovative products or services, to implement a differentiation strategy.

Grape is the key product of Qazvin Province and a vast amount of it is annually lost during supply chain due to various causes. This study, therefore, aimed at examining the effective and significant causes of grape losses in supply chain in Qazvin. First, to identify the main causes of the grape losses and to develop the research framework, data was gathered through some qualitative methods. Twenty-three grape growers, researchers, and experts were interviewed by research team as the key informants. Meanwhile, grounded theory techniques were employed for data analysis simultaneous with data collection processes to develop the final theory and model. In second part, the study's hypotheses and research model were formed based upon the developed theory. Then, to examine the research model, Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling and Important-Performance Matrix Analysis techniques were used. The population involved/affected in this part was grape growers from five districts of Qazvin Province. The sample consisted of 380 grape growers who were selected through stratified random sampling. A questionnaire was utilized for data collection and data was analyzed with the Smart-PLS 3.0. Main findings show that “management practices and resource and equipment” had significant effect on the grape losses. In accordance with Important Performance Matrix Analysis (IPMA), “extension and advisory services and management practices” are of paramount prominence. Moreover, in indicators level, providing on-farm participatory training, intelligible educational programs in local media, and financial resources, had the utmost importance in mitigating grape losses.

In Iran, allocating tractors and agricultural machinery to regions that have different characteristics has been a challenge. This study was carried out in order to develop an optimal and practical model for distribution of agricultural machinery throughout the country. Gini coefficient was used in order to investigate whether current status of tractor distribution is suitable. This coefficient confirmed that the current tractor power distribution is not appropriate since there were no relationships between Gini coefficient of distributed machinery power and crop production or farm area. Accordingly, two main techniques were applied to develop a suitable agricultural machinery distribution pattern; i.e. a Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and a Weight Restriction Data Envelopment analysis (WR-DEA) technique. A power distribution category was defined in order to show qualitatively how much machinery power should be sent to each province. The outputs of both FAHP and WR-DEA models showed that three and nine provinces need ‘much more power’ and ‘more power’, respectively, while four and three provinces need ‘absolutely no more power’ and are ‘currently suitable’, respectively. The sensitivity analysis revealed that none of the developed models was sensitive to the weights defined by a panel of experts. The similarity of the results obtained from both models implies that the provided agricultural machinery distribution pattern is reliable and can be used in the country.

The present study aimed to identify strategies for the application of pro-environmental technologies for greenhouse vegetable production in Tehran Province, Iran. It is an applied research type whose main instrument is a questionnaire. The population of the study consisted of 109 experts in Tehran Province, of which 86 experts were selected by stratified random sampling method (based on Krejcie and Morgan’s table). The questionnaire was revised with the help of the experts who had significant experience in crop protection to ensure the validity of the instrument. A pilot study was conducted on 22 experts in Alborz Province to determine the reliability of the questionnaire. Cronbach’s Alpha scores were acceptable for different sections of the questionnaire (0.71-0.82), so, the instrument was reliable. The research methodology is descriptive, and the SWOT analysis was used. First, the internal environment was analyzed to prepare a list of strengths and weaknesses in applying pro-environmental technologies, and then, a list of opportunities and threats were identified by analyzing the external environment. Some derived strategies include the development of appropriate mechanisms to control the sale and use of pesticides by removing barriers to registration, mass production, storage, handling, transport and consumption of biological agents, and reinforcement of the knowledge of greenhouse owners regarding biological control.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and other types of small non-coding RNAs play a crucial role in the regulation of gene expression in eukaryotes either by post-transcriptional degradation or attenuating translation of messenger RNAs. In the case of the chicken (Gallus gallus), knowledge regarding miRNAs is still limited. In the present study, a computational approach was employed to screen miRNAs from the Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) of the chicken. A total of 21,298 known miRNAs belonging to 114 metazoan species were searched for homology against more than 192,020 EST sequences of the chicken. Consequently, 60 potential miRNA candidates were identified according to a range of filtering criteria. As a result, four novel miRNAs were found among the identified miRNAs including gga-miR-92a, gga-miR-2438, gga-miR-2970-5p, and gga-miR-2970-3p belonging to miR-92, miR-2438 and miR-2970 families. To predict their targeted genes, a BLAST search was done against the chicken 3' UTR mRNA database. As a result, 678, 422, 171 and 110 targets were determined for gga-miR-92a, gga-miR-2438, gga-miR-2970-5p, and gga-miR-2970-3p, respectively. Most of the predicted target genes participate in multiple biological processes, including immune system, regulation of cAMP biosynthesis, regulation of cyclase activity and regulation of lyase activity. Finally, a phylogenetic analysis of gga-miR-2970 and gga-miR-92a sequences revealed a close relationship between the chicken and Taeniopygia guttata, while gga-miR-2438 shares maximum percentage sequence similarity with bta-miR-2438 in Bos taurus. The present study is the first attempt to screen microRNAs from ESTs originating from the chicken leading to the identification of novel miRNAs.

Lavender leaves, widely used as flavors for foods and beverages, are a rich source of phenol components and antioxidant. Drying method is of vital importance for keeping these compounds. In this study, lavender leaves were dried by means of Atmospheric Freeze (AF), Multi-Stage Semi-Industrial Continuous (MSSIC), and Near Infrared-Vacuum (NIR-Vacuum) dryers and optimized by Response Surface Methodology (RSM) for the highest drying rate, total phenol content, antioxidant capacity, and the lowest color indicators change. Lavender leaves were also dried under natural conditions as the traditional method. Multi-stage drying caused tempering phenomenon and, consequently, drying rate increased obviously. Near infrared-vacuum dryer had suitable performance on keeping the active ingredients of lavender leaves. Optimum point to dry lavender leaves in atmospheric freeze dryer was found to be -5℃. The optimum temperature points in the multi-stage semi-industrial continuous dryer were achieved to be 60, 40, and 60℃ for the first, second, and third stages, respectively. The optimum point in near infrared-vacuum dryer was 60℃ and 20 kPa for air temperature and pressure, respectively. Based on the results, among several drying methods, near infrared-vacuum dryer was the more suitable for drying lavender leaves.

The presence of various biotypes of Lactobacillus helveticus seems to be related to the specificity of the ecosystem, which is one of the main determinants of the unique features of cheese produced in particular regions. So far, it has been proved that even biotypes isolated from the same niche differ significantly from each other and many features exhibited by these bacteria are strain-dependent. Therefore, the new strains of L. helveticus T104 and T105 (isolated from traditionally fermented Polish dairy product) were applied in the production of ripened cheeses due to their potential health-promoting properties. We determined changes in fat, fatty acids, protein, amino acids, and some physicochemical characteristics, e.g. antioxidant properties of the produced cheeses (in three stages of ripening). Tricine-SDS-PAGE and MALDI-TOF MS analysis showed some differences in protein and peptide profiles. Final products obtained using L. helveticus T105 exhibited the greatest amount of free amino acids, which are important precursor of cheese aroma and flavor. The research indicated that the tested strains could be applied in the manufacture of cheeses. Moreover, the cheese produced using the said strain exhibited the highest free radical scavenging capacity (88.89% after pre-ripening and 92.74% in the final products) even in comparison to the control cheese variant produced using the industrial L. helveticus strain. Obtained findings indicate that the tested strains exhibit technological and functional potential that provide a reference for further study and might contribute to the development of functional food products with novel, valuable characteristics.

In this research, the potential of the electrospraying technique was used for encapsulation of curcumin in natural polymers such as Whey Protein Isolate (WPI) and mixture of WPI/β-CycloDextrin (β-CD). The encapsulated particles were physicochemically characterized and curcumin release profile was evaluated. At WPI concentration of 25%, more uniform particles were formed and most of them were smaller than 0.7 µm in diameter. The encapsulation efficiency of curcumin in WPI and WPI/β-CD solutions was determined as 45.4% and 53.6%, respectively. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and ThermoGravimetric Analysis (TGA) of the obtained encapsulated curcumin revealed that WPI and WPI/β-CD polymers could not increase thermal stability of curcumin. Encapsulated curcumin had a better stability than pure curcumin at acidic and alkaline conditions, and the release of curcumin after 7 hours was lower than 40% with the sustained mode in buffer solution conditions (pH= 7.4).

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of gamma doses (0, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5, 2, and 3 kiloGray (kGy)) on some physicochemical, microbial, and sensorial characteristics of fresh pomegranate arils stored in a refrigerator for 30 days. Based on the results, the weight loss of all samples increased significantly during storage time. The total anthocyanin, and total phenolic contents in the pomegranate arils decreased with an increase in the radiation dose and storage time. Irradiation at doses ≥ 1 kGy reduced the a* values. Irradiation at ≥ 0.75 kGy doses significantly reduced the growth of bacteria and fungi. Sensory evaluation indicated that the samples irradiated at doses ≥ 1 kGy had overall scores above the acceptance limit (2.5) until day 14. However, none of the samples was acceptable after the 14th day of storage. Overall, irradiation at1-2 kGy is recommended for pomegranate arils based on the physicochemical, microbial, and sensory parameters.

One of the best-known rice-infecting microorganisms is Aspergillus flavus, which produces toxic metabolites known as Aflatoxins (AFs). This study was designed to detect potential simultaneous biosynthesis of the four main AFs (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, and AFG2) in rice-infecting strains of A. flavus. The AF prevalence was studied in 109 strains of A. flavus, which were collected from stored Indian rice grains from 300 locations in the Middle Euphrates region of Iraq from 2015 to 2016. The potential AFs were extracted and quantified simultaneously using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) equipped with a photodiode array detector. The results revealed that 29% (n= 32) of strains were non-aflatoxigenic, while the remaining 71% (n= 77) were confirmed to be aflatoxigenic, with variable ability to produce mono-, bi-, and tri-AFs. AFB1, AFG2, AFG1, and AFB2 were produced by 49 (45%), 44 (40%), 20 (18%), and 17 (16%) strains, respectively, at various concentrations. The concentration of AFB1 was the highest among the A. flavus strains, with a mean value of 3,561.9 µg kg-1. In conclusion, the most abundant AF synthesized by the rice-infecting A. flavus strains was AFB1. Contamination with AFs continues to pose potential health risks to animals as well as humans. These results clearly indicate that the improper storage conditions of rice in Iraq were favourable for the growth of A. flavus and contamination with AFs. National-level studies are mandatory to avoid foodborne intoxications. Strict regulations should be devised and imposed to prevent synthesis of AFs on rice grains.

Augmentative release of native natural enemies is a prominent strategy for suppression of crop pests. Intrinsic differences among populations of natural enemies may affect their efficiency in pest management programs. We characterized life history traits of 13 climatically and geographically isolated populations of Habrobracon hebetor Say (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from different regions of Iran to assess their suitability for biological control of noctuid moths. All experiments were performed at 25±1°C, 65±5 RH and 16:8 (L:D) hours photoperiod regime. Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) was used as a laboratory host. Our results revealed significant variation in female longevity, paralysis and parasitism rate, sex ratio, reproductive rate and host allocation among different H. hebetor populations tested. The highest number of offspring (124.2) and parasitized larvae (160.1) were observed in Bandar Lengeh and the lowest ones was observed in Urmia and Jiroft, respectively (3.4 and 9.3 for Urmia and 3.1 and 10.1 for Jiroft). Also, the wasps of Bandar Lengeh paralyzed more than 95% of the introduced host larvae. The longest female longevity and male production (21.3 days and 80.1, respectively) were in Bandar Abbas and Bandar Lengeh (21.3 days and 80, respectively), while the lowest ones were in Dehloran (12.9 days and 40.2, respectively). Gorgan population deployed the highest number of Ephestia kuehniella larvae in foraging behavior test. These results show considerable variation in the life history traits of various populations of H. hebetor, which may affect performance of these populations under field condition.

This research was conducted to evaluate the controlling effects of various plant extracts obtained from 38 agricultural materials of traditional agriculture against rice blast (Pyricularia oryzae) in rice plants. We also evaluated the inhibition rates of other crop pathogens, two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae), and weeds by three selected plant extracts. Rice blast was completely suppressed by 3% ethanol extracts of Rheum palmatum roots, and suppressed by 97% and 77% in response to treatment with 10% ethanol extracts of onion (Allium cepa) bulbs and pine tree (Pinus densiflora) leaves, respectively, under in vitro conditions. Moreover, a seedling bioassay revealed that rice injuries of two cultivars (Ilmibyeo and Hopyeongbyeo) caused by rice blast were reduced by 40-71, 29-63, and 23-63% in response to treatment with 5% and 10% ethanol extracts of R. palmatum roots, A. cepa bulbs, and P. densiflora needles, respectively, compared with non-treated controls. The selected R. palmatum extract also controlled crop diseases caused by Phytophthora capsici, Bortytis cinerea, Rhizoctonia solani, and cucumber powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca fuliginea). R. palmatum extracts at 10% reduced two-spotted spider mites by 46% when compared with each control. A broad leaf weed, Quamoclit coccinea Moench and a grass weed, Echinochloa oryzicola were inhibited 46-55% by R. palmatum roots, A. cepa bulbs, and P. densiflora needles at 10%. Thus, the selected plant extracts may be used for control of crop diseases and weeds in organically cultivated crop fields.

This study was carried out to determine the effects of different PGPR formulations, chemical fertilizers, and their combinations on some color characteristics and nutrient content of bract leaf of two cultivars of Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch in a research greenhouse between July 2015 and July 2017. The treatments included bacterial formulations: (1) BI: Paenibacillus polymyxa TV-12E+Pseudomonas putida TV-42A+Pantoea agglomerans RK-79, (2) BII: Bacillus megaterium TV-91C+Pantoea agglomerans RK-92+Bacillus subtilis TV-17C, (3) BIII: Bacillus megaterium TV-91C+Pantoea agglomerans RK-92+Kluyvera cryocrescens TV-113C, and (4) BIV: Bacillus megaterium TV-91C+Pantoea agglomerans RK-79+Bacillus megaterium TV-6D). Also, fertilizer treatments included the full amount of commonly used Chemical Fertilizer (CF= 150 g 100 L-1) and combination of the reduced amount of chemical fertilizer by 50% with each bacterial formulation, and control. The first red leaves, life of bracts, color properties (L, a* and b*), content of anthocyanin, chlorophyll content in green leaf, macro and micronutrient contents of bracts were evaluated in the experiment. CF and BII+50%CF applications encouraged the coloring of bract leaves early (4.01%). It was determined that CF (7.76%), BI+50%CF (6.03%) and BII+50%CF (5.27%) applications significantly increased chlorophyll content of poinsettia bract when compared to the control. Darker colored bracts were obtained from BI and BIV applications compared to the control. The highest total nitrogen amount (3.69%), soluble phosphorus (4,285.33 mg kg-1), potassium (28,132.45 mg kg-1) and calcium (8,299.03 mg kg-1) amount were found in the BII+50%CF application. It was determined that bacterial formulations BI, BIV, BIV+50%CF and BII+50%CF had positive effects on some plant aesthetic, quality characteristics, and nutrient content of bract of poinsettia and can be used in poinsettia production stage as one of the biological products. Thus, bacterial formulations may replace or reduce use of chemical fertilizers in poinsettia production.

Satureja sahendica Bornm is an endemic, native, and aromatic plant in Iran, with thymol being its main and major volatile component, which is used in food and pharmaceutical industries. Increasing the oil yield and phenolic compounds in essential oil leads to increased medicinal effects. In this study, the effects of mycorrhizal fungi (Glomus mosseae, G. intraradices, and combination of G. mosseae and G. intraradices) and different levels of water stress [D1= Control (no water stress), D2= No irrigation during stem elongation till blooming, D3= No irrigation at the blooming up to start of flowering, and D4= No irrigation at 50% flowering up to full flowering] were studied on S. sahendica oil, in two years. When the seedlings were transferred to the field, 10 g of mycorrhiza fertilizer (containing mycorrhizal fungus spores) were added to the rhizosphere of each seedling. The plants were harvested at full flowering and the essential oils were obtained by hydro-distillation and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The highest amount of oil yield (66.13 kg ha-1) was obtained using G. intraradices in non-stress conditions in the second year. The highest percentage of thymol was obtained in G. mosseae×control in the first year (74.59%), whereas in the second year, the highest amount of thymol was in G. mosseae×D4 (61.97%). This study showed that with the use of mycorrhizal fungi, even in conditions of water shortage, S. sahendica produced more essential oil with a higher percentage of thymol. With the use of mycorrhizal fungi, the essential oil can easily be increased and the number of compounds changes.

In this study, two transport methods for tomato (room temperature and refrigerated transport) as well as post-harvest packaging treatments (thin polyethylene packaging bags, thick polyethylene packaging bags, use of 1%calcium chloride, use of absorbent paper in the box, and control) were examined at four stages of post-harvest consumer chain transport. These stages included: (1) Farm, after harvesting and putting in boxes, (2) Transport, after transferring products for wholesale and during discharging, (3) Wholesale, after discharging and when selling to local retailers usually 24-36 hours after harvesting time, and (4) Retail stores (2 days after harvesting time at most). The total acid level, vitamin C, and lycopene of the fruit differed across different farms, different transportation conditions, post-harvest treatments, and the four stages of product transport. The total percentage of unacceptable fruits was significant in post-harvest treatments and at different stages of transport. Among post-harvest treatments, packaging with high-density plastic and absorbent paper with 7.94 and 12.16% of weight loss, respectively, claimed the minimum and maximum physiological loss in fruit weight. The minimum post-harvest loss (4.21 percent) was related to high-density plastic packaging.

Astragalus gymnolobus Fischer (Leguminosae family) is an endemic plant to Turkey. Firstly, an in vitro regeneration system was achieved using leaf and petiole explants on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with different cytokinins [Thidiazuron (TDZ), Kinetin (KIN), Benzyladenine (BA)], auxins [Indole-3-Butyric Acid (IBA), Indole-3-Acetic Acid (IAA), 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and Naphthalene Acetic Acid (NAA)] and Gibberellic Acid (GA3) at diverse concentrations. Best shoot formation was obtained with leaf explants and only TDZ alone or TDZ and IAA combinations were effective for shoot forming. The best shoot inducing response (17.60 shoots per explant at 23.81% shoot frequency) was recorded at 0.5 mg L-1 TDZ alone. Among the TDZ stand-alone treatments, 0.05 and 0.1 mg L-1 TDZ were also effective in terms of shoot induction frequency (31.82 and 30.43%, respectively). Root formation was obtained after 3 months (3.5 roots per shoot with 77.8% root frequency) only in auxin free MS medium (control) when regenerated shoots were cut off 0.5-1 cm from the base to exclude the callus part. This study also aimed to determine and compare the antibacterial and antioxidant properties and phenolic composition of in vitro-regenerated and field-grown A. gymnolobus. The results revealed that field-grown leaves generally showed higher biological activities and had higher amounts of phenolic compounds. Furthermore, A. gymnolobus leaves were noteworthy sources of rutin. This initial in vitro culture protocol for endemic A. gymnolobus is valuable for genetic resources conservation and can be used in stress application studies to increase the level of phenolic substances in in vitro-grown plants.

The antioxidant capacity and polyphenol contents in leaves of Vitis tiliifolia are unknown. Leaves from four accessions of Vitis tiliifolia grown ex situ in the collection of the Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, Veracruz - Mexico, were collected in Autumn (2015) and Spring (2016), dehydrated and used to make water infusions at 80oC for 5 minutes. The four accessions were propagated from wild grapevines which grow in Huatusco, Atlahuilco, Cosautlan and Ixtaczoquitlan. The aqueous infusions were analyzed to evaluate the antioxidant capacity by application of 2,2-DiPhenyl-1-PicrilHydrazyl (DPPH), and the total phenolic compounds (total reducing power) were determined spectrophotometrically by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The polyphenols identification and quantification were determined using an ultrahigh resolution liquid chromatograph. Fourteen compounds, including trans-resveratrol, quercetin and rutin were identified. The infusions obtained from leaves of Huatusco and Ixtaczoquitlan accessions had the highest contents of total phenols. The infusions from leaves of Cosautlan and Ixtaczoquitlan accessions showed the highest antioxidant activities. The results indicate that the Vitis tiliifolia leaves in infusions are a rich source of bioactive compounds. This is the first time that the phenolics content and the antioxidant capacity of leaf infusions of Vitis tiliiflolia leaves are reported. As a large variability was found in the compounds of the different accessions, a selection of the genotypes with the most suitable composition of the leaves for their use in infusions and subsequent cultivation could represent a way for the valorization of Vitis tiliifolia and to diversify the agricultural productions in tropical areas.

The present study was carried out to investigate biochemical, morphological, and physiological processes involved in the adaptive processes of cut roses grown in arching and high-rack culture systems under water deficit condition. Rose plants ‘Club-Nika’ were subjected to three water regimes [control (100% of irrigation needs), moderate water stress (75%), and severe water stress (50%)] factorially combined with two training systems defined as arching and high-rack systems. Water deficit significantly reduced morphological and qualitative traits as well as water relations of cut roses. Water deficit significantly reduced Net CO2 assimilation rate (PN), transpiration rate (E), and stomatal conductance (gs), whereas it did not affect Water Use Efficiency (WUEi) and intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci). Surprisingly, water deficit did not affect chlorophyll content [chl a, chl b and total chl (a + b)] and proline accumulation of leaves. Considering the lack of change in intercellular CO2 concentration, it seems likely that both stomatal closure and metabolic impairment limit photosynthetic CO2 assimilation under water deficit. Regardless of irrigation regimes, rose plants trained with high-rack culture system showed a superiority for most of the qualitative and quantitative attributes compared to those trained with arching system. The high-rack system resulted in 60% higher extra-quality stems (> 60 cm) compared with the plants trained with arching. It can be concluded that cut roses respond to water deficit through adaptive changes in physiological and morphological levels to reduce water loss without any negative impact at biochemical level.

As the diploid progenitor of common wheat, Aegilops tauschii is used as a genetic resource for improving common wheat. In this study, the genetic differentiation index between Yellow River (Shaanxi and Henan) and Xinjiang groups (0.322, 0.377) were obviously higher than between the former and Central Asia groups (0.231, 0.289). Meanwhile, the genetic distances between Yellow River (Shaanxi and Henan) and Xinjiang groups (0.285, 0.329) exhibit larger values compared with those between the former and Central Asia groups (0.283, 0.321). These results reveal that the genetic constitution of Yellow River and Central Asia groups is of more similarity compared with Xinjiang group. The phylogenetic tree demonstrates that Ae. tauschii in Yellow River and part of that in Central Asia are firstly gathered to be a subset. Then the subset and Xinjiang group are classified into a clade, which could be assigned to Central Asia and Middle East populations, implying that Ae. tauschii in Yellow River has a closer relationship with part of that in Central Asia compared with Xinjiang. Our finding further clarifies that Ae. tauschii in Yellow River might be directly derived from one/several types from Central Asia such as Turkmenistan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

Among gliadins, α-gliadins are important active proteins in triggering celiac disease in human beings owing to the presence of toxic epitopes. A set of 177 α-gliadin gene sequences and the corresponding proteins were analyzed. Twenty accessions of hexaploids including 1, 14, and 5, respectively representing A, B, and D, with no intact CD-epitopes in α-gliadins, were identified. Twenty-two and 13 conserved motifs in non-repetitive domains NR1 and NR2, respectively, of α-gliadins differentiated all the amino acid sequences encoded by A genome of both diploids and hexaploids. Most of the amino acid sequences encoded by D genome (70 of 75 in hexaploids and 13 of 16 in diploids) could be identified by 22 amino acid motif. Large variations and lesser number of intact CD-epitopes was observed for α-gliadins belonging to B genome. As compared to diploids, repeat length of polyglutamine repetitive domain QII of B genome was lower in hexaploids indicating loss of Q residues during evolution of hexaploid wheat. The information can be used in assigning any α-gliadin sequences onto A, B, and D genomes and identifying wheat accessions with lesser CD-epitopes. The result presented here will be useful for the wheat improvement programs aiming for the management of celiac disease in human beings.

The influence of seed priming on the growth, amino and fatty acids contents of two wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cvs. Keumkang and Backjung were evaluated through pot experiments in greenhouse and at field conditions. Four priming treatments involving three soaking media: 2.5% potassium Chloride (KCl), 1% potassium Sulfate (K2SO4), distilled water (H2O) and unprimed (dry seeds) as the control were laid out in a randomized complete block design with four replications for each experimental condition. Under greenhouse condition, 1% K2SO4 priming enhanced growth and yield of wheat, while 2.5% KCl reduced the dry matter yield in Keumkang, but not in Backjung. In field condition, 1% K2SO4 improved the growth of both cultivars and increased the yield of Backjung, while 2.5% KCl in Keumkang had the lowest yield. Overall, this study showed that seed priming with 2.5% KCl and 1% K2SO4 triggered specific changes in the Amino Acids (AA) and Fatty Acids (FA) compositions in grain and had carry-over effects on the plant’s metabolic adjustments, which were specific to the cultivar and the growing environmental conditions. The compositional changes in AA and FA induced by seed priming have a profound impact on grain and flour quality of wheat.