Scientific Journals of INIA (Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria)
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Improvement of drought tolerance in five different cultivars of Vicia faba with foliar application of ascorbic acid or silicon
Get PDFAim of study: To explore the role of ascorbic acid (AsA) or silicon (Si) in improving drought tolerance in five faba bean cultivars under irrigation water deficit (IWD).Area of study: The experimental farm; 30° 36′ N, 32° 16′ E, Egypt.Material and methods: Three drip irrigation regimes (WW, well-watered, 4000 m3 water ha-1; MD, moderate drought, 3000 m3 water ha-1; and SD, severe drought, 2000 m3 water ha-1) were applied to plants, which were sprayed 25, 40, and 55 days after sowing with 1.5 mM AsA or 2.0 mM Si vs distilled water as a control.Main results: Drought negatively affected physiological attributes (photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange parameters, relative water content, membrane stability index, electrolyte leakage (EL), and lipid peroxidation), which restricted plant growth and yields, and stimulated alterations in both enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant activities. However, AsA or Si application mitigated drought effects on physiological attributes, improving growth, yields and water use efficiency by raising antioxidant activities and suppressing lipid peroxidation and EL in stressful cultivars. The mitigating effects of AsA and Si were more pronounced under MD.Research highlights: ‘Nubaria-2’, ‘Giza-843’, and ‘Sakha-3’ were more tolerant than ‘Giza-716’ and ‘Sakha-4’, suggesting the use of AsA or Si to ameliorate the IWD effects on stressful cultivars. Certain physiological traits exhibited positive association with growth and seed yield, demonstrating their importance in enhancing seed yield under irrigation treatments
Operating leverage and the cost of debt in European agri-food firms
Get PDFAim of study: To analyse the effect that operating leverage exerts on the cost of debt of agri-food firms in Europe, both in isolation and indirectly through its other risk factors.Area of study: We used panel data made up of 18,360 European firms from 2009 to 2016 (146,880 observations).Material and methods: The data were extracted from the ORBIS database and EUROSTAT. The econometric approach was estimated by the Generalized Method of Moments.Main results: The results obtained confirm that operating leverage or cost structure, in addition to affecting the cost of debt, also affects the relationship between that cost and other sources of risk. More specifically, indebtedness, size, specificity and age all affect the cost of debt to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the level of operating leverage of the company.Research highlights: The main contribution was the study of the cost of external financing as a function of the cost structure, because this directly influences the competitiveness of companies in a key sector of the European economy. We also demonstrated the country effect, taking into account the different policies and practices regarding the assumption of risk by firms. The agri-food sector has been subject to special aid programs of research & development distributed unevenly across countries. If we add to this the national subsidy programs, the level of indebtedness is not a clear determinant of the cost of debt. The main determinant of that cost is the operating leverage
The cost of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in farms in Central Andes of Ecuador
Get PDFAim of study: Reduction of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions derived from food production is imperative to meet climate change mitigation targets. Sustainable mitigation strategies also combine improvements in soil fertility and structure, nutrient recycling, and the use more efficient use of water. Many of these strategies are based on agricultural know-how, with proven benefits for farmers and the environment. This paper considers measures that could contribute to emissions reduction in subsistence farming systems and evaluation of management alternatives in the Central Andes of Ecuador. We focused on potato and milk production because they represent two primary employment and income sources in the region’s rural areas and are staple foods in Latin America.Area of study: Central Andes of Ecuador: Carchi, Chimborazo, Cañar provincesMaterial and methods: Our approach to explore the cost and the effectiveness of mitigation measures combines optimisation models with participatory methods.Main results: Results show the difference of mitigation costs between regions which should be taken into account when designing of any potential support given to farmers. They also show that there is a big mitigation potential from applying the studied measures which also lead to increased soil fertility and soil structure improvements due to the increased soil organic carbon.Research highlights: This study shows that marginal abatement cost curves derived for different agro-climatic regions are helpful tools for the development of realistic regional mitigation options for the agricultural sector
Effect of irrigation water quality on soil properties and infrared spectroscopic signatures
Get PDFAim of study: To study the effect of irrigation with medium-to-low-quality water on an olive farm that seems to be causing salinity and/or sodicity problems in soils, and the ability of infrared spectroscopy to detect this problem.Area of study: The study was conducted in an olive (Olea europaea L.) grove located in Guarromán (Jaen, Spain), on the boundary of the Sierra Morena Mountains and the Guadalquivir Depression.Material and methods: The olive farm is cultivated over two soil typologies, a calcareous area (carbonated) dominated by Regosols and a siliceous area with Leptosols. Typical soil physical and chemical parameters were determined, as well as near and mid infrared spectra were collected for analysis.Main results: Soil physical properties were affected by irrigation, with low infiltration rates and symptoms of structural degradation. Chemical properties were also altered, showing high pH, low amounts of organic carbon and N, and high sodium concentrations. These effects were stronger in the samples directly affected by the irrigation bulb, with the siliceous soils more affected than carbonated, probably due to the positive effect of the higher amounts of calcium in the latter. Using infrared spectroscopy, it was possible to discriminate the samples of this farm affected by sodicity from similar soil samples in Jaen province not affected.Research highlights: the use of medium-to-low quality irrigation water affected soil physical and chemical properties. Infrared spectroscopy could be useful for quick assessment of soil quality and soil degradation from salinity and sodicity
The rhizosphere microbiome and biological control of weeds: A review
Get PDFThe productivity of important grain crops wheat, rice and maize is adversely affected by various biotic and abiotic stresses. Weeds and phytopathogens are the major biotic stresses involved in biomass reduction and yield losses of these cereal crops. Various weeds compete with crop plants for natural resources viz. light, moisture, nutrients and space, and cause yield losses to agricultural produce. Weeds also increase harvesting costs and reduce quality of the farm produce. Weed management strategies include crop rotation, mechanical weeding or treatment with different herbicides. Although, sprays of different herbicides control various destructive weeds but their excessive use is environmentally unsafe and uneconomic. Indiscriminate use of these agrochemicals for weed control has resulted into considerable pollution of soil, groundwater and atmosphere. Therefore, effective biological weed management is an attractive approach for achieving the increased crop production to meet the food demands of the escalating global population. Many bacteria and fungi have been identified from the plant rhizospheres, which suppress the growth of weeds. The production of indole acetic acid, aminolevulinic acid, toxins and hydrogen cyanide has been correlated with the growth suppression of various weeds. Interestingly, inoculation with bioherbicides results in creation of biased rhizosphere leading to resource partitioning of nutrients towards growth stimulation of crop plants. Thus, inoculation of plants with bioherbicides has been found to increase germination percentage, seedling vigor, root and shoot growth, seed weight and increased grain, fodder and fruit yields. These environment-friendly biocontrol strategies for management of weeds are highly compatible with the sustainable agriculture
Morphological, molecular and pathogenic characterization of Phytophthora palmivora isolates causing black pod rot of cacao in Colombia
Get PDFAim of study: To characterize isolates of Phytophthora sp. causing black pod rot (BPR) of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.).Area of study: Eight cocoa-growing regions in Colombia.Material and methods: Sixty isolates of Phytophthora sp. were obtained from tissues of cacao pods showing symptoms of BPR. Isolates were characterized using the morphology of sporangia and chlamydospores, molecular sequencing of regions of nuclear DNA (rDNA-ITS) and mitochondrial (COX) and virulence in different genotypes of cocoa pods.Main results: A high phenotypic variability between the isolates was determined, being the pedicel length and the length/width ratio (L/W) the most stable characters for species identification. Short pedicels with an average of 3.13 μm ± 0.28 and a length/width ratio of sporangia (L/W) with an average of 1.55 μm ± 0.11 were established as the most consistent morphological characteristics within palmivora species.Research highlights: Phytophthora pamivora was the only species associated to BPR, identified using morphology together with sequence analyses
New estimates of total factor productivity, technical and efficiency changes for the global agricultural economy
Get PDFAim of study: The accuracy of international and intertemporal comparisons of total factor productivity (TFP) growth requires the use of indicators that satisfy transitive and multiplicative properties, such as the Färe-Primont index (FPI). This paper compares the evolution of TFP in global agriculture.Area of study: Worldwide.Material and methods: The evolution of TFP in global agriculture was measured by the traditional Malmquist index (MI) and by the FPI, with alternative measurements of input capital.Main results: We found a significantly lower TFP growth with the FPI. New estimates of TFP growth for 1961-2015 show that output oriented scale-mix efficiency drives TFP growth, with an important technological change between 1996 and 2000 and another in 2014. Regional comparisons reveal heterogeneous trends in efficiency, linked to institutional reforms and agricultural R&D.Research highlights: More realistic figures and global comparisons of agricultural productivity provide a better understanding to implement better policies. Available measures of capital stock do not yield significant differences in TFP estimations, but the precise identification and estimation of the heterogeneous drivers and burdens is fundamental for boosting agricultural productivity and its benefits on global food security
Comparison of different selection methods for improving litter size in sheep using computer simulation
Get PDFAim of study: To assess selection methods via introgression to improve litter size in native and synthetic sheep breeds.Area of study: Sanandaj, Kurdistan, Iran.Material and methods: Selection approaches were performed using classical, genomic, gene-assisted classical (GasClassical) and gene-assisted genomic (GasGenomic) selection. Litter size trait with heritability of 0.1 including two chromosomes was simulated. On chromosome 1, a single QTL as the major gene was created to explain 40% of the total additive genetic variance. After simulation of a historical population, the animals from the last historical population were split into two populations. For the next 7 generations, animals were selected for favorable or unfavorable alleles to create distinct breeds of A or B, respectively. Then from the last generation, both males and females from breed B were selected to create a native population. On the other hand, males from breed A and females from breed B were mated to simulate a synthetic population. Finally, intra-population selections were carried out based on high breeding values during the last five generations.Main results: The genetic gain in the synthetic breed was higher than that of the native breed under all selection methods. The frequencies of favorable alleles after five generations in the classical, genomic, GasClassical and GasGenoimc selection approaches in the synthetic breed were 0.623, 0.730, 0.850 and 0.848, respectively.Research highlights: Combining gene-assisted selection with classical or genomic selection has the potential to improve genetic gain and increase the frequencies of favorable allele for litter size in sheep
Pollen tube growth and fruit set in quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.)
Get PDFAim of study: To determine the self-compatibility level of eight quince cultivars.Area of study: The region of Belgrade (Central Serbia).Material and methods: Pollen tube growth in vivo and fruit set in two pollination variants (self- and open-pollination) were studied in eight quince cultivars. The quantitative parameters of pollen tube growth (average number of pollen tubes in the upper and middle third of the style, base of the style and in the ovary; the dynamics of pollen tube growth through these parts of the pistil) was determined using the fluorescence microscopy.Main results: The parameters of pollen tube growth and fruit set were primarily dependent on the genotype and variants of pollination. All studied parameters were significantly higher in the open-pollination variant compared with the self-pollination in all cultivars. In the self-pollination variant, ʻLeskovackaʼ and ʻVranjskaʼ had the highest number of pollen tubes that penetrated the ovary (2.10 and 0.54 in average, respectively), as well as the largest percentage of pistils with the penetration of pollen tubes in the nucellus of ovules six days after pollination (40.09% and 14.74%). Also, they had the highest percentage of initial fruit set (17.01% and 28.52%) and final fruit set (9.32% and 9.86%). Based on this, ʻLeskovackaʼ and ʻVranjskaʼ can be classified as self-compatible cultivars, while the others are self-incompatible.Research highlights: The majority of quince cultivars were self-incompatible. When establishing new orchards with these cultivars, care should be taken about the choice of pollenisers in order to achieve high yields
Influence of substrate density and cropping conditions on the cultivation of sun mushroom
Get PDFAim of the study: To evaluate agronomical features demanded by the sun mushroom (Agaricus subrufescens) in order to optimise the commercial cultivation of this worldwide demanded medicinal mushroom.Area of study: The study was carried out in Castilla-La Mancha (Spain), the second most productive region of cultivated mushrooms in Spain.Material and methods: In this work we summarise the results obtained while evaluating the performance of sun mushroom crops (A. subrufescens). Two agronomical traits have been evaluated, the effect on the productive outputs of applying five different compost filling rates of high N substrate (yield and BE of the compost), and the influence of implementing two different conditions for the induction to fructification on the analytical properties of the harvested mushrooms. Besides, two commercial compost formulations (CM and VC) obtained from local providers have been used.Main results: The number of sporophores harvested and the yield per unit area increased with rising density of compost load, although the biological efficiency was not significantly modified. Compost fill rate of 70 kg m-2 provided an average yield of 13.33 kg m-2 and BE=55.45 kg dt-1, generally higher than those values reported in the literature. The proposed moderate slow induction provides better yields, particularly in the last flushes, and larger sporophores. Proximate analysis of harvested sporophores has not shown significant differences between treatments or factors.Research highlights: As guidance for growers, compost fill weight between 65 and 70 kg per m2 of productive area with a moderate slow induction to fructification is presented as the best option for commercial production under controlled environmental conditions