Journal Of Agrobiotechnology (Journal of UniSZA - Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin)
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Physicochemical Properties and Microbial Count of Bacterial Survival in Freeze Dried Goat Milk Yogurt Powder
Get PDFYogurt is a fermented milk product that has a semi-solid texture and has a short shelf life. It must be stored properly in temperature of 4ºC and below to prevent the microbial spoilage due to it high in moisture content and water activity. This study aimed to produce freeze dried goat milk yogurt powder with different percentage of honey and analyse the physicochemical as well as compare the microbial count of bacterial growth in fresh goat milk yogurt and reconstituted goat milk yogurt powder. The four formulations prepared were 6% of sugar (CY), 3% of honey with 3% of sugar (LHY), 4% of honey with 2% of sugar (MHY) and 6% of honey (HHY). The results showed each formulation has significant differences for the physicochemical analysis. The percentage of honey added into the yogurt was affected the pH value of the yogurt which have a range from pH 4.18 to 4.45. Meanwhile the results for colour analysis shown that the yellowness value of goat milk yogurt was increased as the percentage of honey added inside the yogurt was increased, as contributed by dark brown colour of honey. The bacterial survival in CY, LHY, MHY and HHY samples for fresh goat milk yogurt and reconstituted goat milk yogurt powder showed the significant different (p<0.05) with the range from 6.40 to 8.75 log cfu/ml and 5.79 to 8.07 log cfu/ml respectively. Therefore, it can be concluded that freeze drying was a suitable method to produce yogurt powder and LHY sample was the best formulation in producing the highest number of survival bacteria (log cfu/ml)
Effect of Osmotic Dehydration as a Pre -Treatment on Air Fried Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas) Chips
Get PDFAir frying is a modern frying technique that promises low oil content of fried products. However, the main limitation of air frying is that it requires a longer operating time than deep fat frying. Previous studies found that osmotic dehydration is beneficial as frying pre-treatment to improve the quality of fried products and reduce frying time, but to date, there is no study investigating its application in air frying. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of osmotic dehydration as pre-treatment on the quality of air-fried sweet potato chips. Sweet potatoes were cut into slices with the same thickness, and then soaked in distilled water, 5% sodium chloride solution, and 10% sodium chloride solution for one hour. The potato slices were then air fried at two temperatures: 160˚ and 180˚C for 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 minutes. Then, moisture content, colour, texture, diameter shrinkage and thickness expansion were analysed. The moisture content of air fried chips decreased with the increasing of frying time. The osmo-dehydrated sample showed lower moisture content which could the reduce frying time from 12 mins to 9 mins at 160ºC. Osmo-dehydrated sweet potato slices produce paler chips, but the treatment preserved the red and yellow colour of the sample. Air fried sweet potatoes that were osmotically dehydrated samples shrank more in diameter than the control samples. The increased thickness of chips was caused by crust formation and the bubbles formed at the surface due to the barrier formed by the tight surface, resulting in vapour expansion inside the pores of the chips. The hardness of pre-treated chips increased significantly with decreasing moisture content. Using osmotic dehydration pre-treatment in the air frying process can yield promising results in less frying time and better retention in terms of red and yellow colour
Study on Water Pollution Impacts on Human Health from Water Usage based on Household’s Perception at Setiu River Basin
Get PDFAnthropogenic activity near the Setiu River basin can have a detrimental effect on people who use water in the area in terms of their body health. This study was important to assess the impact of river water degradation based on household perception so that the related parties can take intensive action to address this problem on the impact of river water degradation on human health. It involved 203 locals living along the Setiu River basin. Questionnaires were distributed and collected through face-to-face and "Google forms". The survey was conducted for four months from 1 January 2022 to 1 May 2022. All the respondents were locals who are Malaysian citizens. The data were obtained through questionnaires including questions based on a 5-point Likert scale and analysed by the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Software. Current water quality data was obtained through secondary data from the Department of Environment (DOE), Terengganu. The respondents' Income, Awareness, Knowledge, and Attitudes supported the hypothesis that demographic and socio-economic factors had significant differences in the risk perception for the impact of water pollution on human health. This study identified health issues related to the water pollution of Sungai Setiu among the residents from the questionnaire distributed by a regression analysis model
Efficacy of Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) Larvae Meal as Feed on Growth Performance for Juvenile Javan Mahseer (Tor tambra)
Get PDFFish meal (FM) is a well known protein source for fish feed and its heavy utilization has contributed to overfishing that lead to increase price of formulated feed due to scarcity of fish resources for fish meal. Several studies were done to identify the best substitution of FM including Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae as a potential candidate for FM replacement. This study was done to investigate the proximate composition of Black Soldier Fly Larvae Meal (BSFLM) and to determine its efficacy as feed on growth performance of Javan Mahseer (Tor tambra). Three types of treatment were used namely F0 or control (0% BSFLM and 100% FM), F50 (50% BSFLM and 50% FM) and F100 (100% BSFLM and 0% FM). Each treatment was fed twice daily for 20 days to 10 Javan Mahseer with the average initial weight of 0.1g respectively. Analyses conducted was proximate composition and growth performance like specific growth rate, feed conversion ratio, survival rate and body weight gain. Data was analysed using One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) SPSS Windows 27. Results show that crude protein in F0, F50 and F100 were 37.52%, 30.36% and 27.52%; while F50 indicated best BWG (66.71%) and lowest FCR (3.16) respectively. It can be concluded that treatment 50% inclusion of BSF is the best ratio for good growth performances of Javan Mahseer
Phytoremediation Process of Water Spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) in Absorbing Heavy Metal Concentration in Wastewater
Get PDFHeavy metals have become one of the environmental pollutants in water. To overcome this problem, the phytoremediation process was used as the method to cleanse polluted media. The objectives of the study are to determine the heavy metal accumulation by water spinach (Ipomea aquatica) in different types of heavy metal and to determine the level of heavy metal reduction in contaminated water. Ipomea aquatica was placed in containers that had solutions of different heavy metal concentrations. The selected heavy metals are cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu), with a concentration of 5 ppm, 10 ppm, and 15 ppm, respectively. This study lasted about 20 days. Every four days, plant and water samples are collected. The plant samples were dried, digested, and analyzed by using ICP-OES. The two-way ANOVA statistical test was used to measure the differences in the amounts of the heavy metals accumulated in the plant and water. The accumulation of elements in plants shows a gradual increase in the uptake of cadmium, Cu, and Zn. Ipomea aquatica is suitable to take up cadmium, where the highest level of cadmium found was 13.99 mg/kg. On day 8, the level of heavy metals in the water gradually decreases for Cu and Zn. The presence of heavy metals in the water had decreased by 82.20 % on the last day of treatment. Ipomea aquatica accumulated more heavy metals while the number of heavy metals in the water decreased over a period of days. For all heavy metal types, significant differences in heavy metal concentration were obtained at p<0.05, showing that Ipomea aquatica can be used in the phytoremediation approach to remove heavy metals from wastewater
RealStrong Tricho Acti-Plus (Trichoderma koningii) for Enhanced Plant Growth and Yield of Chili
Get PDFTricho Acti-Plus (produced by Sabah Softwoods Hybrid Fertilizer Sdn. Bhd.) is a powder-based microbial inoculant containing the active ingredient of Trichoderma koningii, designed to control fungal diseases as a biocontrol agent in plants and indirectly support plant growth and yield. Chili producers are habituated to apply environmentally damaging chemical-based inorganic fertilizers for the better production and yield of chili. Which is one of the major causes of damaging soil productivity. Trichoderma koningii is mainly well-known to be used against fungal diseases of plants but its potential use for chili growth and yield is still unknown. With this purpose in mind in this experiment different concentrations of Tricho Acti-Plus solution were prepared as treatments; 0.0 ml (T1, control), 200 ml (T2), 400 ml (T3) and 600 ml (T4) and applied two (2) times to the chili plants as foliar spray; at the time of seedling transplanting till 35 days after transplanting, aiming to investigate Tricho Acti-Plus effectiveness on the growth and yield of local chili bara (Variety-1) and chili kulai 461 (Variety-2). From the findings it was observed that application of Tricho Acti-Plus significantly boosted up the vegetative growth and yield of both chili varieties, but rarely a positive effect was observed on yield parameters of Variety-1. Based on overall performance among 4 treatments T3 exhibited significantly (p≤0.05) the highest effectiveness for both vegetative growth and yield parameters; on plant height (55.64 cm), numbers of branches (61.2), numbers of leaves (341), numbers of fruits (125 at week 10; 77.2 at week 12), fruit length (4.3 cm at week 10; 4.08 cm at week 12), fruit weight (1.4 g) and total yield (0.11 kg at week 10; 0.068 kg at week 12). Meanwhile, the similar results were also achieved for Variety-2 under T3 for numbers of branches (51.8), numbers of leaves (213.6), fruit length (14.4 at week 10, 13.9 at week 12) and total yield (0.171 Kg at week 10). Only for few of the parameters T4 and T1 (control) also exhibited best performance. Therefore, based on the top performance T3 is recommended for the best vegetative growth and yield of both chili varieties. From the overall results of this experiment it can be decided that the RealStrong Tricho Acti-Plus is suitable to be used as a biofertilizer for the growth, yield and quality of chili besides the commonly known capability to prevent from fungal diseases
Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Identifies Potentially Relevant Genes in Rubber Clones with a High Latex Yield (Hevea brasiliensis)
Get PDFSince the 1950s, the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) has significantly contributed to Malaysia's agricultural economy due to its capability to produce high-value natural rubber. Due to the presence of cis-1,4-polyisoprene, natural rubber exhibits unique properties such as flexibility, high elasticity, and efficient heat dispersion. Cis-1,4-polyisoprene is synthesized via two distinct metabolic pathways: the isoprenoid and rubber biosynthesis. RNA sequencing was performed on 12 specimens from the bark, leaf, and latex tissues of two rubber clones, RRIM 3001 (high latex yield) and RRIM 712 (low latex yield). After quality assessment, these specimens generated a mean of 73,816,244 clean reads. The differential expression analysis revealed that the Acetyl-CoA-Acetyltransferase (AACT) and Diphosphomevalonate Decarboxylase (MVD) genes (via the MVA pathway), as well as the Small Rubber Particle Protein (SRPP) and Rubber Elongation Factor (REF) genes (via the rubber biosynthesis pathway), were overexpressed in the bark, leaf, and latex tissues of RRIM 3001 compared to RRIM 712. The transcription factor Ethylene Response Factor (ERF) was also found to be more highly expressed in RRIM 3001 than in RRIM 712. Five rubber clones with random yield characteristics were used in quantitative amplification analysis to validate AACT, MVD, SRPP, REF, and ERF genes. The quantitative analysis shows that the five genes were consistently expressed with the yield characteristics of the five random rubber clones
Assessment of Fruit Fly Infestation on Melon Manis Terengganu (Cucumis melo var. inodorus) at Different Fruit Ripening Stages
Get PDFCucumis melo var inodorus or known as Melon Manis Terengganu (MMT) is a new variety of rockmelon and has been developed and grown exclusively in Terengganu since 2015. However, pest infestations such as fruit flies have reduced melon production yields, and research on fruit flies is still poorly studied in this new variety. Therefore, this study was aimed to identify the fruit fly’s species infested MMT as well as to determine the infestation rate of fruit flies on MMT at different ripening stages. The infested MMT fruits were randomly collected for three consecutive weeks prior to harvest and each week was represented as unripe stage (Week 1), ripe stage (Week 2) and fully-ripe stage (Week 3). Each week, 10 fruit samples were brought to the laboratory and weighed individually before being placed in plastic containers. The fruits were reared until all larvae transformed into pupae for determination of infestation rates and emergence of adult fruit flies for species identification. A total of 232 of fruit flies adults emerged from 30 MMT fruit samples collected and all the flies were identified as Zeugodacus cucurbitae (previously known as Bactrocera cucurbitae). Unripe stage fruits recorded the highest infestation rate of fruit flies at 28.24 ± 18.58 pupae/kg and followed by ripe stage at 24.47 ± 8.17 pupae/kg. Whilst the fully-ripe stage had the lowest infestation rate of flies at 13.5 ± 5.07 pupae/kg. However, no significant difference (P>0.05) of infestation rate was recorded among the different fruit stages. This study contributes new information on the fruit fly’s species that attack MMT and its infestation rate. Hence, these findings are expected to help better management of MMT fruit flies in the future
Evaluation of Allelopathic Potential of Pluchea indica on Brassica chinensis and Zea mays
Get PDFWeeds have become one of the leading causes of crop production losses, including the cost of weed management, weed crop competition, and weed intervention with crop management practices. Moreover, herbicide use in agricultural systems is currently being debated due to the potential adverse effects on the environment and human health. The utilization of the allelopathic phenomenon is widely considered an alternative weed management strategy. However, allelopathic study of Pluchea indica plant was limited. P. indica is a flowering plant under family Asteraceae, locally known as Beluntas. Thus, this study was conducted to determine the allelopathic effects of the aqueous leaf extract of P. indica on the seedling growth of tested plant species and to investigate the effect of P. indica leaf debris on the growth of tested plant species. In this study, the allelopathic potential of P. indica leaves were investigated through petri dish bioassay and soil bioassay method. The two tested plant species were chosen for the bioassay: monocotyledonous; maize (Zea mays) and dicotyledonous; mustard (Brassica chinensis). These tested plant species were chosen for the experiment due to their known quick seedling growth behaviours and commonly used in allelopathic studies. The result showed that as the concentration of aqueous leaf extract increased, the inhibition percentage of the radicle length of B. chinensis and Z. mays were increased. However, stimulatory effect was observed on the radicle length of B. chinensis and Z. mays when 1.3%and 2.5% w/w P. indica leaf debris were applied. Thus, aqueous leaf extract and leaf debris of P. indica have potential allelopathic effects on the growth of B. chinensis and Z. mays. Further studies need to be conducted on other bioassay species especially weed species, to elucidate the allelopathic potential of P. indica in weed control
Influence of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) on growth and yield performance of Brazilian spinach (Alternanthera sissoo)
Get PDFThe presence of abundant oil palm residues in Malaysia prompted the need to utilize this waste to avoid environmental pollution. Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is a thick, brownish liquid effluent comprising large amounts of solids and high organic content, convertible into a valuable source of biomass. Based on the nutrient content of POME, this waste has the potential to be utilised as an alternative source of plant nutrients and organic medium in different agricultural crop production. Very recent Brazilian spinach (Alternanthera sissoo) is getting rapid interest among scientists and nutritionists for its easy growing and great nutritional values. But growing this spinach in Malaysia is still unfamiliar and no information about growing it using POME. Therefore, a study was conducted to determine the effects of different ratios of POME on growth and yield performance of Brazilian spinach (Alternanthera sissoo). The experiment was conducted at Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Sandakan campus, Sabah, Malaysia. The stem cuttings of Brazilian spinach were transplanted into polybags containing different ratios of POME, cocopeat and sands as T1 (70% POME + 15% cocopeat + 15% sand), T2 (60% POME + 20% cocopeat + 20% sand), T3 (50% POME + 25% cocopeat + 25% sand) and T4 (normal soils) as control treatment following randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications. Among all the measured parameters significantly (P≤0.05) the highest plant height (30.68 cm), maximum numbers of branches (14.50), maximum numbers of leaves (60.50), canopy coverage area (29.13 cm2), highest growth rate (78.0%), maximum fresh weight (330 g) and maximum dry weight (79.63 g) all were achieved from the Brazilian spinach grown under T1, followed by T2 and T3. So, from the overall findings undoubtedly it can be concluded that T1 was the best treatment for overall growth and yield of Brazilian spinach