bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of genome and base editing tools in maize protoplasts
Authors: Fierlej Yannick , Jacquier Nathanaël M. A. , Guille Loïc , Just Jérémy , Montes Emilie , Richard Christelle , Loue-Manifel Jeanne , Depège-Fargeix Nathalie , Gaillard Antoine , Widiez Thomas , Rogowsky Peter M.
Published: November 2022

Introduction

Despite its rapid worldwide adoption as an efficient mutagenesis tool, plant genome editing remains a labor-intensive process requiring often several months of in vitro culture to obtain mutant plantlets. To avoid a waste in time and money and to test, in only a few days, the efficiency of molecular constructs or novel Cas9 variants (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated protein 9) prior to stable transformation, rapid analysis tools are helpful.

Methods

To this end, a streamlined maize protoplast system for transient expression of CRISPR/Cas9 tools coupled to NGS (next generation sequencing) analysis and a novel bioinformatics pipeline was established.

Results and discussion

Mutation types found with high frequency in maize leaf protoplasts had a trend to be the ones observed after stable transformation of immature maize embryos. The protoplast system also allowed to conclude that modifications of the sgRNA (single guide RNA) scaffold leave little room for improvement, that relaxed PAM (protospacer adjacent motif) sites increase the choice of target sites for genome editing, albeit with decreased frequency, and that efficient base editing in maize could be achieved for certain but not all target sites. Phenotypic analysis of base edited mutant maize plants demonstrated that the introduction of a stop codon but not the mutation of a serine predicted to be phosphorylated in the bHLH (basic helix loop helix) transcription factor ZmICEa (INDUCER OF CBF EXPRESSIONa) caused abnormal stomata, pale leaves and eventual plant death two months after sowing.
Response of the wheat mycobiota to flooding revealed substantial shifts towards plant pathogens
Authors: Francioli Davide , Cid Geeisy , Hajirezaei Mohammad-Reza , Kolb Steffen
Published: November 2022

Rainfall extremes are intensifying as a result of climate change, leading to increased flood risk. Flooding affects above- and belowground ecosystem processes, representing a substantial threat to crop productivity under climate change. Plant-associated fungi play important roles in plant performance, but their response to abnormal rain events is unresolved. Here, we established a glasshouse experiment to determine the effects of flooding stress on the spring wheat-mycobiota complex. Since plant phenology could be an important factor in the response to hydrological stress, flooding was induced only once and at different plant growth stages, such as tillering, booting and flowering. We assessed the wheat mycobiota response to flooding in three soil-plant compartments (phyllosphere, roots and rhizosphere) using metabarcoding. Key soil and plant traits were measured to correlate physiological plant and edaphic changes with shifts in mycobiota structure and functional guilds. Flooding reduced plant fitness, and caused dramatic shifts in mycobiota assembly across the entire plant. Notably, we observed a functional transition consisting of a decline in mutualist abundance and richness with a concomitant increase in plant pathogens. Indeed, fungal pathogens associated with important cereal diseases, such as Gibberella intricans, Mycosphaerella graminicola, Typhula incarnata and Olpidium brassicae significantly increased their abundance under flooding. Overall, our study demonstrate the detrimental effect of flooding on the wheat mycobiota complex, highlighting the urgent need to understand how climate change-associated abiotic stressors alter plant-microbe interactions in cereal crops.
Back to the future: Transplanting the chloroplast TrxF–FBPase–SBPase redox system to cyanobacteria
Authors: García-Cañas Raquel , Florencio Francisco J. , López-Maury Luis
Published: November 2022

Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase) and sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphatase (SBPase) are two essential activities in the Calvin–Benson–Bassham cycle that catalyze two irreversible reactions and are key for proper regulation and functioning of the cycle. These two activities are codified by a single gene in all cyanobacteria, although some cyanobacteria contain an additional gene coding for a FBPase. Mutants lacking the gene coding for SBP/FBPase protein are not able to grow photoautotrophically and require glucose to survive. As this protein presents both activities, we have tried to elucidate which of the two are required for photoautrophic growth in Synechocystis sp PCC 6803. For this, the genes coding for plant FBPase and SBPase were introduced in a SBP/FBPase mutant strain, and the strains were tested for growth in the absence of glucose. Ectopic expression of only a plant SBPase gene did not allow growth in the absence of glucose although allowed mutation of both Synechocystis’ FBPase genes. When both plant FBPase and SBPase genes were expressed, photoautrophic growth of the SBP/FBPase mutants was restored. This complementation was partial as the strain only grew in low light, but growth was impaired at higher light intensities. Redox regulation of the Calvin–Benson–Bassham cycle is essential to properly coordinate light reactions to carbon fixation in the chloroplast. Two of the best characterized proteins that are redox-regulated in the cycle are FBPase and SBPase. These two proteins are targets of the FTR-Trx redox system with Trx f being the main reductant in vivo. Introduction of the TrxF gene improves growth of the complemented strain, suggesting that the redox state of the proteins may be the cause of this phenotype. The redox state of the plant proteins was also checked in these strains, and it shows that the cyanobacterial redox system is able to reduce all of them (SBPase, FBPase, and TrxF) in a light-dependent manner. Thus, the TrxF–FBPase–SBPase plant chloroplast system is active in cyanobacteria despite that these organisms do not contain proteins related to them. Furthermore, our system opens the possibility to study specificity of the Trx system in vivo without the complication of the different isoforms present in plants.
Transcriptome and hormone Analyses reveal that melatonin promotes adventitious rooting in shaded cucumber hypocotyls
Authors: Wang Yuping , Zhao Hailiang , Hu Xiaohui , Zhang Yi , Zhang Zicun , Zhang Lu , Li Lixia , Hou Leiping , Li Meilan
Published: November 2022

Melatonin, a multi-regulatory molecule, stimulates root generation and regulates many aspects of plant growth and developmental processes. To gain insight into the effects of melatonin on adventitious root (AR) formation, we use cucumber seedings subjected to one of three treatments: EW (hypocotyl exposed and irrigated with water), SW (hypocotyl shaded and irrigated with water) and SM (hypocotyl shaded and irrigated with 100 µM melatonin). Under shaded conditions, melatonin induced significant AR formation in the hypocotyl. To explore the mechanism of this melatonin-induced AR formation, we used transcriptome analysis to identify 1296 significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Comparing SM with SW, a total of 774 genes were upregulated and 522 genes were downregulated. The DEGs were classified among different metabolic pathways, especially those connected with the synthesis of secondary metabolites, with hormone signal transduction and with plant-pathogen interactions. Analyses indicate exogenous melatonin increased contents of endogenous auxin, jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, cytokinin and abscisic acid levels during AR formation. This study indicates melatonin promotes AR formation in cucumber seedings by regulating the expressions of genes related to hormone synthesis, signaling and cell wall formation, as well as by increasing the contents of auxin, cytokinin, jasmonic acid, salicylic acid and abscisic acid. This research elucidates the molecular mechanisms of melatonin’s role in promoting AR formation in the hypocotyl of cucumber seedings under shaded conditions.
Chitin-induced systemic disease resistance in rice requires both OsCERK1 and OsCEBiP and is mediated via perturbation of cell-wall biogenesis in leaves
Authors: Takagi Momoko , Hotamori Kei , Naito Keigo , Matsukawa Sumire , Egusa Mayumi , Nishizawa Yoko , Kanno Yuri , Seo Mitsunori , Ifuku Shinsuke , Mine Akira , Kaminaka Hironori
Published: November 2022

Chitin is a well-known elicitor of disease resistance and its recognition by plants is crucial to perceive fungal infections. Chitin can induce both a local immune response and a systemic disease resistance when provided as a supplement in soils. Unlike local immune responses, it is poorly explored how chitin-induced systemic disease resistance is developed. In this study, we report the systemic induction of disease resistance against the fungal pathogen Bipolaris oryzae by chitin supplementation of soils in rice. The transcriptome analysis uncovered genes related to cell-wall biogenesis, cytokinin signaling, regulation of phosphorylation, and defence priming in the development of chitin-induced systemic response. Alterations of cell-wall composition were observed in leaves of rice plants grown in chitin-supplemented soils, and the disease resistance against B. oryzae was increased in rice leaves treated with a cellulose biosynthesis inhibitor. The disruption of genes for lysin motif (LysM)-containing chitin receptors, OsCERK1 (Chitin elicitor receptor kinase 1) and OsCEBiP (Chitin elicitor-binding protein), compromised chitin-induced systemic disease resistance against B. oryzae and differential expression of chitin-induced genes found in wild-type rice plants. These findings suggest that chitin-induced systemic disease resistance in rice is caused by a perturbation of cell-wall biogenesis in leaves through long-distance signalling after local recognition of chitins by OsCERK1 and OsCEBiP.
An integrated physiology, cytology, and proteomics analysis reveals a network of sugarcane protoplast responses to enzymolysis
Authors: Zhang Demei , Wang Rui , Xiao Jiming , Zhu Shuifang , Li Xinzhu , Han Shijian , Li Zhigang , Zhao Yang , Shohag M. J. I. , He Zhenli , Li Suli
Published: November 2022

The protoplast experimental system eis an effective tool for functional genomics and cell fusion breeding. However, the physiological and molecular mechanisms of protoplast response to enzymolysis are not clear, which has become a major obstacle to protoplast regeneration. Here, we used physiological, cytological, proteomics and gene expression analysis to compare the young leaves of sugarcane and enzymolized protoplasts. After enzymatic digestion, we obtained protoplasts with viability of > 90%. Meanwhile, the content of malondialdehyde, an oxidation product, increased in the protoplasts following enzymolysis, and the activity of antioxidant enzymes, such as peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), acid peroxidase (APX), and O2-, significantly decreased. Cytologic analysis results showed that, post enzymolysis, the cell membranes were perforated to different degrees, the nuclear activity was weakened, the nucleolus structure was not obvious, and the microtubules depolymerized and formed several short rod-like structures in protoplasts. In this study, a proteomics approaches was used to identify proteins of protoplasts in response to the enzymatic digestion process. GO, KEGG, and KOG enrichment analyses revealed that the abundant proteins were mainly involved in bioenergetic metabolism, cellular processes, osmotic stress, and redox homeostasis of protoplasts, which allow for protein biosynthesis or degradation. RT-qPCR analysis revealed that the expression of osmotic stress resistance genes, such as DREB, WRKY, MAPK4, and NAC, was upregulated, while that of key regeneration genes, such as CyclinD3, CyclinA, CyclinB, Cdc2, PSK, CESA, and GAUT, was significantly downregulated in the protoplasts. Hierarchical clustering and identification of redox proteins and oxidation products showed that these proteins were involved in dynamic networks in response to oxidative stress after enzymolysis. Our findings can facilitate the development of a standard system to produce regenerated protoplasts using molecular markers and antibody detection of enzymolysis.
Regeneration pattern and genome-wide transcription profile of rhizome axillary buds after perennial rice harvest
Authors: Yao Fan , Hu Qingyi , Yu Yingzhen , Yang Lifan , Jiao Shuliang , Huang Guangfu , Zhang Shilai , Hu Fengyi , Huang Liyu
Published: November 2022

Perennial rice is a new type of rice that allows the harvest of rice for multiple years without growing new seedlings annually. This technology represents a green and sustainable agricultural production mode with many advantages for balancing agricultural ecology and food security. However, the differences in regeneration patterns between perennial and annual rice and the gene regulatory pathways of the apical dominance in axillary bud growth after harvest in perennial rice are still unclear. In this study, perennial rice (PR23) and annual rice (Chugeng28) were used to investigate axillary bud growth patterns before and after apical spike removal. After elimination of apical dominance at different development stages, perennial rice rhizome axillary buds at the compression nodes germinated more rapidly than others and developed into new seedlings. The axillary buds at the high-position nodes in annual rice grew faster than those at other nodes. Furthermore, the global gene expression patterns of PR23 rhizome buds at compression nodes grown for 1, 3, 4, and 5 days after apical spike removal were analyzed by transcriptome sequencing. Compared with the control buds without apical removal, 264, 3,484, 2,095, and 3,398 genes were up-regulated, and 674, 3,484, 1,594, and 1,824 genes were down-regulated in the buds grown for 1, 3, 4, and 5 days after apical spike removal, respectively. Trend analysis of the expressed genes at different time points was performed and co-expression network was constructed to identify key genes in rhizome axillary bud regrowth. The results showed that 85 hub genes involved in 12 co-regulatory networks were mainly enriched in the light system, photosynthesis-antenna protein, plant hormone signal transduction, ABC transporter and metabolic pathways, which suggested that hormone and photosynthetic signals might play important roles in the regulation of rhizome axillary bud regeneration in perennial rice. Overall, this study clarified the differences in the regeneration patterns of axillary buds between perennial and annual rice and provided insight into the complex regulatory networks during the regeneration of rhizome axillary buds in perennial rice.
The current status and factors related to the preparation of home first-aid kits in China
Authors: Ge Pu , Zhang Jinzi , Lyu Ke , Niu Yuyao , Li Qiyu , Xiong Ping , Liu Jiaxin , Yang Yajie , Deng Yuqian , Li Xialei , Yu Wenli , Yin Mei , Sun Xinying , Han Xu , Wu Yibo
Published: November 2022

Background

Home first-aid kits can play an important role when residents are injured, suddenly become seriously ill or suffer from disasters.

Purpose

To explore the home first-aid kit preparedness of Chinese residents and the relationship between demographic sociological characteristics, self-efficacy, Big Five personality, health literacy and home first-aid kit preparation behavior.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted. Information was collected through a self-designed questionnaire consisting of sociological characteristics, the New General Self-Efficacy Scale (NGSES), the Health Literacy Scale Short-Form (HLS-SF12), and the 10-item short version of Big Five Inventory (BFI-10). Rank sum test, Chi-square test, and logistic regression were used to explore the relationship between independent variables and home first-aid kit preparation behavior.

Results

A total of 9,344 respondents were included, and 2,156 (23.07%) prepared home first-aid kits. Among the respondents who had prepared their home first-aid kits, disinfection supplies (85.20%), medical masks (84.51%), commonly used drugs (82.79%) were the most frequently available. The respondents whose geographic area was Central and Western China, permanent residence in the urban area, secondary education or above, monthly income of 3,000 RMB or above, health care cost-bearing method mainly resident health insurance, high subgroup of self-efficacy, high subgroup of health care dimension in health literacy, and whose openness and conscientiousness was high subgroup were more likely to prepare home first-aid kits (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The preparation rate for home first-aid kits in China is less than a quarter. The public's home first-aid kit preparation behavior is related to demographic characteristics, self-efficacy, health literacy, and the openness of the Big Five personality. A multi-level linked national emergency literacy education system should be established to enhance the residents' attention to home first-aid kits and improve the residents' ability to prevent emergencies.
Batch Acquisition for Parallel Bayesian Optimization—Application to Hydro-Energy Storage Systems Scheduling
Authors: Gobert Maxime , Gmys Jan , Toubeau Jean-François , Melab Nouredine , Tuyttens Daniel , Vallée François
Published: November 2022

Bayesian Optimization (BO) with Gaussian process regression is a popular framework for the optimization of time-consuming cost functions. However, the joint exploitation of BO and parallel processing capabilities remains challenging, despite intense research efforts over the last decade. In particular, the choice of a suitable batch-acquisition process, responsible for selecting promising candidate solutions for batch-parallel evaluation, is crucial. Even though some general recommendations can be found in the literature, many of its hyperparameters remain problem-specific. Moreover, the limitations of existing approaches in terms of scalability, especially for moderately expensive objective functions, are barely discussed. This work investigates five parallel BO algorithms based on different batch-acquisition processes, applied to the optimal scheduling of Underground Pumped Hydro-Energy Storage stations and classical benchmark functions. Efficient management of such energy-storage units requires parallel BO algorithms able to find solutions in a very restricted time to comply with the responsive energy markets. Our experimental results show that for the considered methods, a batch of four candidates is a good trade-off between execution speed and relevance of the candidates. Analysis of each method’s strengths and weaknesses indicates possible future research directions.
A Multi-Dimensional Matrix Product—A Natural Tool for Parameterized Graph Algorithms
Authors: Kowaluk Mirosław , Lingas Andrzej
Published: November 2022

We introduce the concept of a k-dimensional matrix product D of k matrices A1,…,Ak of sizes n1×n,…,nk×n, respectively, where D[i1,…,ik] is equal to ∑ℓ=1nA1[i1,ℓ]×…×Ak[ik,ℓ]. We provide upper bounds on the time complexity of computing the product and solving related problems of computing witnesses and maximum witnesses of the Boolean version of the product in terms of the time complexity of rectangular matrix multiplication. The multi-dimensional matrix product framework is useful in the design of parameterized graph algorithms. First, we apply our results on the multi-dimensional matrix product to the fundamental problem of detecting/counting copies of a fixed pattern graph in a host graph. The recent progress on this problem has not included complete pattern graphs, i.e., cliques (and their complements, i.e., edge-free pattern graphs, in the induced setting). The fastest algorithms for the aforementioned patterns are based on a reduction to triangle detection/counting. We provide an alternative simple method of detection/counting copies of fixed size cliques based on the multi-dimensional matrix product. It is at least as time efficient as the triangle method in cases of K4 and K5. Next, we show an immediate reduction of the k-dominating set problem to the multi-dimensional matrix product. It implies the W[2] hardness of the problem of computing the k-dimensional Boolean matrix product. Finally, we provide an efficient reduction of the problem of finding the lowest common ancestors for all k-tuples of vertices in a directed acyclic graph to the problem of finding witnesses of the Boolean variant of the multi-dimensional matrix product. Although the time complexities of the algorithms resulting from the aforementioned reductions solely match those of the known algorithms, the advantage of our algorithms is simplicity. Our algorithms also demonstrate the versatility of the multi-dimensional matrix product framework.
Unbalance Vibration Suppression of Maglev High-Speed Motor Based on the Least-Mean-Square
Authors: Wu Huachun , Yu Mengying , Song Chunsheng , Wang Nianxian
Published: November 2022

The harmonic response caused by unbalanced excitation vibration for the high-speed rotating machinery will reduce the control accuracy and stability of the maglev high-speed motor, and limit the increase of its speed. When the active magnetic bearing is used to solve the unbalanced vibration, it will increase additional electromagnetic force and energy consumption, sometimes leading to the saturation of the power amplifier, and will transfer to the bearing foundation, causing the foundation to vibrate. In this paper, we analyzed periodic unbalance excitation force and the principle of rotor unbalanced vibration suppression, and the unbalance vibration model of the maglev rotor is derived. The Least-Mean-Square (LMS) algorithm is introduced into the PID control, an unbalance vibration control strategy based on real-time filtering compensation of rotor displacement signal is proposed, the vibration is eliminated by filtering the synchronous frequency and harmonic signal of the input of the PID control. The experimental results show that the proposed method can improve the maglev rotor’s rotation accuracy, reduce the magnetic bearing’s maximum control current, and decrease the vibration of the supporting foundation.
Suppression of Tomato Bacterial Wilt Incited by Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum Using Polyketide Antibiotic-Producing Bacillus spp. Isolated from Rhizospheric Soil
Authors: Singh Dinesh , Devappa Venkatappa , Yadav Dhananjay Kumar
Published: November 2022

Bacillus spp. has the potential to control bacterial and fungal diseases of crops. In vitro study, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens DSBA-11 showed best to inhibit the growth of Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum as compared to Bacillus cereus JHTBS-7, B. pumilus MTCC-7092, B. subtilis DTBS-5 and B. licheniformis DTBL-6.Three primers sets from nucleotide sequences of polyketide antibiotic synthase genes viz., macrolactin, difficidin and bacillaene of B. amyloliquefaciens FZB42 were designed and standardized protocol for simultaneous detection of polyketide antibiotics-producing strains of Bacillus spp. by multiplex—PCR with products size of 792 bp, 705 bp and 616 bp respectively. All the strains of B. amyloliquefaciens contained three polyketide antibiotic synthase genes, and B. subtilis possessed difficidin and macrolactin, whereas B. cereus JHTBS-7, B. pumilus MTCC-7092 and B. licheniformis DTBL-6 did not contain any polyketide antibiotic genes. By using this technique, polyketide-producing strains of Bacillus spp. were screened within a short period with high accuracy. These polyketide synthase genes were cloned by using a T&A vector to study the role of these genes in producing antibiotics that suppressed the growth of R. pseudosolanacearum under both in vitro and in vivo conditions. Bio-efficacy of cloned products of these genes macrolactin, bacillaene, and difficidin along with parent strain B. amyloliquefaciens DSBA-11 inhibited the growth of R. pseudosolanacearum and formed 1.9 cm2, 1.9 cm2, 1.7 cm2 and 3.3 cm2 inhibition area under in vitro conditions respectively. Minimum bacterial wilt disease intensity (29.3%) with the highest biocontrol efficacy (57.72%) was found in tomato cv. Pusa Ruby (susceptible to wilt disease) was treated with B. amyloliquefaciens DSBA-11 followed by cloned products of difficidin and macrolactin under glasshouse conditions. Hence, the developed multiplex protocol might be helpful for screening polyketide antibiotics producing potential strains of Bacillus spp. from soil which can apply for managing the wilt disease of tomatoes. The polyketide antibiotics produced by bacteria might have a significant role suppression of R. pseudosolanacearum due to the disintegration of cells.
Efficacy of Gas-Containing Conditioning Technology on Sterilization and Preservation of Cooked Foods
Authors: Li Dan , Liang Dong , Li Zhonghua , Liu Yang , Guo Zhonghua , Wu Zhicai , Cao Chunping , Zhang Chunhong , Chen Cunkun
Published: November 2022

Gas-containing conditioning technology (GCT) employs mild sterilization methods to preserve the original qualities and nutrients of foods and is particularly suitable for processing various cooked foods or food ingredients. In this study, five kinds of dishes from daily life were processed with GCT. Thermal penetration detection technology was utilized to monitor the internal temperature of food and ambient temperature in real-time, and the optimal scheduled processes of each food were summarized. Additionally, foods were processed after GCT, and the total number of bacteria (<102 cfu/g) and coliform colonies (<50 MPN/100 g) were significantly reduced. Moreover, to detect the preservation effect of GCT, the processed foods were stored at 37 °C for 14 days, and the total number of colonies remained low (<10 cfu/g). These results revealed the multistage mild sterilization process, confirmed the excellent sterilization and preservation effects of GCT, and provided important experimental data for further applications of GCT in special environment foods.
Analysis of HMCVT Shift Quality Based on the Engagement Characteristics of Wet Clutch
Authors: Lu Kai , Lu Zhixiong
Published: November 2022

A wet clutch is the key shift part of the hydro-mechanical continuously variable transmission (HMCVT), and the working characteristics have an important influence on the shift quality of HMCVT. To reduce impact during the shift and improve engagement quality, this paper analyzed the influence of system oil pressure and the clutch’s working flow on the engagement characteristics of the wet clutch in terms of shift quality. Firstly, the engagement characteristics (including oil pressure variation characteristics and dynamic torque characteristics) of the wet clutch were tested with different working flows and system oil pressures based on the HMCVT shift clutch bench. Then, the shift impact and sliding friction work were used to evaluate the shift quality. An evaluation function was established based on the maximum shift impact and the maximum sliding friction work to obtain the optimal shift quality. Finally, a shift model was built using Simulation X to simulate the shift quality of nine groups of engagement characteristics. The results showed that increasing the working flow can reduce the wet clutch engagement time by 1.7 s at most, and increasing the system oil pressure can only reduce this by 0.1 s. The higher working flow and system oil pressure can increase the shift impact and reduce the sliding friction work. The combination of the working flow and system oil pressure with the minimum evaluation function value is (10 L/min, 2.0 MPa), and the shift quality is the best. The research can provide a reference for the design, shift control, and shift quality improvement of an HMCVT wet clutch.
Tomato Disease Classification and Identification Method Based on Multimodal Fusion Deep Learning
Authors: Zhang Ning , Wu Huarui , Zhu Huaji , Deng Ying , Han Xiao
Published: November 2022

Considering that the occurrence and spread of diseases are closely related to the planting environment, a tomato disease diagnosis method based on Multi-ResNet34 multi-modal fusion learning based on residual learning is proposed for the problem of limited recognition rate of a single RGB image of a tomato disease. Based on the ResNet34 backbone network, this paper introduces transfer learning to speed up training, reduce data dependencies, and prevent overfitting due to a small amount of sample data; it also integrates multi-source data (tomato disease image data and environmental parameters). The feature-level multi-modal data fusion method is used to retain the key information of the data to identify the feature, so that the different modal data can complement, support and correct each other, and obtain a more accurate identification effect. Firstly, Mask R-CNN was used to extract partial images of leaves from complex background tomato disease images to reduce the influence of background regions on disease identification. Then, the formed image environment data set was input into the multi-modal fusion model to obtain the identification results of disease types. The proposed multi-modal fusion model Multi-ResNet34 has a classification accuracy of 98.9% for six tomato diseases: bacterial spot, late blight, leaf mold, yellow aspergillosis, gray mold, and early blight, which is higher than that of the single-modal model. With the increase by 1.1%, the effect is obvious. The method in this paper can provide an important basis for the analysis and diagnosis of tomato intelligent greenhouse diseases in the context of agricultural informatization.
Performance Evaluation of Liquorice Harvester with Novel Oscillating Shovel-Rod Components Using the Discrete Element Method
Authors: Wan Lipengcheng , Li Yonglei , Zhang Chao , Ma Xiang , Song Jiannong , Dong Xiangqian , Wang Jicheng
Published: November 2022

Liquorice harvesting is the key process in the development of the liquorice industry. For harvesting liquorice with about 400 mm growth depth, a lightweight harvester with novel oscillating shovel-rod components was developed. Draft force, total torque, specific energy consumption, separation proportion, and soil structure maintenance were used to evaluate harvester performance under varied working conditions, and throw intensity and total torque were analyzed. A DEM model was developed to simulate the excavation and separation of soil. Three sets of single-factor simulation tests and one set of field tests were conducted. The results indicated that: Each 1 mm increase in amplitude decreased draft force by 463.35 N and increased total torque and specific energy consumption by 35.03 Nm and 4.3 kJ/m3, respectively. Each 1 Hz increase in vibration frequency increased specific energy consumption by 3.12 kJ/m3, while draft force and total torque decreased by 375.75 N and 28.44 Nm, respectively. Each 0.1 m/s increase in forwarding speed increased the draft force, total torque and specific energy consumption by 1302.72 N, 13.26 Nm and 3.82 kJ/m3, respectively. The main separation areas of the shovel-rod were front areas, where the soil separation proportion is greater than 60%, and the soil was completely separated at the end areas. The soils after harvesting had a relatively minimal disturbance in all layers, with soil structure maintenance greater than 0.61, and soil structure was well maintained. The liquorice plants were separated from the soil after passing smoothly through the oscillating shovel-rod components, during which the soil at different layers fell in sequence. This study revealed the interactive relationship between working components and soil, specifically the potential to maintain soil structure after harvesting. This new finding will assist in developing harvest techniques for rhizome crops with deep growth depth.
Characteristics of Potential Evapotranspiration Changes and Its Climatic Causes in Heilongjiang Province from 1960 to 2019
Authors: Nie Tangzhe , Yuan Rong , Liao Sihan , Zhang Zhongxue , Gong Zhenping , Zhao Xi , Chen Peng , Li Tiecheng , Lin Yanyu , Du Chong , Dai Changlei , Jiang Hao
Published: November 2022

Climate change refers to the statistically significant changes in the mean and dispersion values of meteorological factors. Characterizing potential evapotranspiration (ET0) and its climatic causes will contribute to the estimation of the atmospheric water cycle under climate change. In this study, based on daily meteorological data from 26 meteorological stations in Heilongjiang Province from 1960 to 2019, ET0 was calculated by the Penman–Monteith formula, linear regression method and the Mann–Kendall trend test were used to reveal the seasonal and inter-annual changing trend of ET0. The sensitivity-contribution rate method was used to clarify the climatic factors affecting ET0. The results showed that: (1) From 1960 to 2019, the maximum temperature (Tmax), minimum temperature (Tmin) and average temperature (Tmean) showed an increasing trend, with climate tendency rate of 0.22 °C per decade (10a), 0.49 °C/(10a), 0.36 °C/(10a), respectively. The relative humidity (RH), wind speed (U) and net radiation (Rn) showed a decreasing trend, with a climate tendency rate of −0.42%/(10a), −0.18 m/s/(10a), −0.08 MJ/m2/(10a), respectively. (2) ET0 showed a decreasing trend on seasonal and inter-annual scales. Inter-annually, the average climate tendency rate of ET0 was −8.69 mm/(10a). seasonally, the lowest climate tendency rate was −6.33 mm/(10a) in spring. (3) ET0 was negatively sensitive to Tmin, and RH, while positively sensitive to Tmax, TmeanU and Rn, its sensitivity coefficient of U was the highest, which was 1.22. (4) The contribution rate of U to ET0 was the highest on an inter-annual scale as well as in spring and autumn, which were −8.96%, −9.79% and −13.14%, respectively, and the highest contribution rate to ET0 were Rn and Tmin in summer and winter, whose contribution rates were −4.37% and −11.46%, respectively. This study provides an understanding on the response of evapotranspiration to climatic change and further provides support on the optimal allocation of regional water resource and agricultural water management under climate change.
The Role of Micro-Irrigation Systems in Date Palm Production and Quality: Implications for Sustainable Investment
Authors: Ghazzawy Hesham S. , Sobaih Abu Elnasr E. , Mansour Hani A.
Published: November 2022

This research examines the role of micro-irrigation systems, i.e., sprinkler and drip irrigation, on date palm production and quality in a semi-arid region. The field experiment was carried out for two successful seasons at a private farm, in the Al-Nubaria region of Egypt. The date palm was planted under pressurized irrigation (drip irrigation and mini-sprinkler irrigation) to investigate the effect of both irrigation systems and three water treatments (100, 80, and 60% from ETc) on the yield and quality of date palms. Results on the productivity of date palm yields showed that the yield of date palm under a drip-irrigation system with 80% of crop water demand was an equal match to the yield of the sprinkler-irrigated date palm with 100% of crop water demand. This reflects the high efficiency of the drip irrigation system compared to the sprinkler irrigation system in date palms, especially in the semi-arid region. The results showed a significant increase in productivity by increasing water applied from 60% up to 80 and 100%. Quality attributes of date palm (particularly, sucrose, purity, and extractable sugar %) have a rise with increasing water deficit. The results have numerous implications, especially for sustainable investment in date palms. Implications for three aspects of sustainable investment, economic, social, and environmental, are discussed.
Research on Characteristics of Airway Pressure Loss in Seeding-Wheel-Type Pneumatic Seeder
Authors: Zhang Xirui , Wen Zhentuo , Wang Qingjie , Li Hongwen , Zhang Zhifu , Liu Junxiao
Published: November 2022

In order to optimize the parameters of the mechanism, reduce the pressure loss and improve the efficiency of pneumatic utilization, the principles and types of pneumatic loss in different areas were defined, and the key parameters, including the diameter of the horizontal air pipe, the angle of the air pipe, and the diameter of the negative pressure aperture, which affect the pressure loss, were analyzed. In addition, an orthogonal simulation experiment was carried out using Fluent software, and determined the best parameter combination, which is as follows: the diameter of the horizontal air pipe must be 15 mm, the angle of the air pipe must be 105°, and the diameter of the negative pressure aperture must be 34 mm. It can be concluded from the simulation results that the average airflow velocity of the seed-sucking hole is 102.59 m⋅s−1, the minimum airflow velocity of the seed-sucking hole is 101.58 m⋅s−1, and the airflow velocity standard deviation of the seed-sucking hole is 0.54 m⋅s−1. The trend of the test results was consistent with the simulation results, which verified the reliability of the numerical analysis. These results will provide theoretical guidance for research on the obstruction effect of complex airways on airflow.
Evaluation of the European Green Deal Policy in the Context of Agricultural Support Payments in Latvia
Authors: Pilvere Irina , Nipers Aleksejs , Pilvere Aija
Published: November 2022

The European Green Deal policy will significantly affect the resilience and development of agriculture, which will be determined by the 2021–2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms, entering into force in 2023. Therefore, the European Commission determines that at least 25% of the direct payments should be earmarked for eco-schemes, while 35% of the funding for rural development should be allocated to climate and environmental support measures. Support payments constitute a significant part of farmers’ income and guide their decision-making for production development. Therefore, the goal of the research was set by analysing the existing CAP support payment system in 2019 to determine the possible impact of the reform envisaged for 2023 on farms of various specialisations and sizes in Latvia. The analysis revealed that in Latvia in 2019, 83% of the total number of farms received support, the amount of the support was EUR 5616 per year per farm on average, and within the Single Area Payment Scheme (SAPS), the support was higher by 24%. Among the funding recipient farms, the support accounted for 28% of the farms’ income, calculated per 1 hectare. The detailed calculations carried out indicate that the possible base support payments as a result of the CAP 2023 reform are expected to be higher specifically in cattle breeding and dairy farming, which may contribute to even greater greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the future and thus reduce the likelihood of achieving the goals of the European Green Deal policy.
Explainable Neural Network for Classification of Cotton Leaf Diseases
Authors: Amin Javeria , Anjum Muhammad Almas , Sharif Muhammad , Kadry Seifedine , Kim Jungeun
Published: November 2022

Every nation’s development depends on agriculture. The term “cash crops” refers to cotton and other important crops. Most pathogens that significantly harm crops also impact cotton. Numerous diseases that influence yield via the leaf, such as powdery mildew, leaf curl, leaf spot, target spot, bacterial blight, and nutrient deficiencies, can affect cotton. Early disease detection protects crops from additional harm. Computerized methods perform a vital role in cotton leaf disease detection at an early stage. The method consists of two core steps such as feature extraction and classification. First, in the proposed method, data augmentation is applied to balance the input data. After that, features are extracted from a pre-trained VGG-16 model and passed to 11 fully convolutional layers, which freeze the majority and randomly initialize convolutional features to subsequently generate a score of the anomaly map, which defines the probability of the lesion region. The proposed model is trained on the selected hyperparameters that produce great classification results. The proposed model performance is evaluated on two publicly available Kaggle datasets, Cotton Leaf and Disease. The proposed method provides 99.99% accuracy, which is competent compared to existing methods.
Metarhizium Associated with Coffee Seedling Roots: Positive Effects on Plant Growth and Protection against Leucoptera coffeella
Authors: Franzin Mayara L. , Moreira Camila C. , da Silva Leila N. P. , Martins Elem F. , Fadini Marcos A. M. , Pallini Angelo , Elliot Simon L. , Venzon Madelaine
Published: November 2022

Metarhizium species can be mutualistic symbionts of plants. They are able to colonize roots, promote plant growth and provide protection against pests. We previously found Metarhizium robertsii and M. brunneum associated with coffee roots in a diversified coffee system. Here, we investigated whether these fungi, when inoculated in coffee seedlings, can associate with roots, improve seedling growth and indirectly protect against the coffee leaf miner (CLM) Leucoptera coffeella (Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae). We performed a greenhouse experiment with coffee seedlings using suspensions of each Metarhizium species applied as soil drenches to potted seedlings. We also challenged these plants with CLM infestation (two adult couples per plant). We recovered Metarhizium spp. from most of the seedling roots 43 days after fungal inoculation. Plants inoculated with M. robertsii showed a 30% leaf area increase compared to the control. Both isolates promoted protection against CLM in coffee seedlings, reducing the percentual of leaf area mined and prolonging CLM development time by two days versus controls. Besides this protection provided by Metarhizium, M. robertsii also improves seedling growth. Therefore, these Metarhizium species could be considered for the development of inoculants for coffee seedlings.
Uniform Root Layer Application at Optimal Timing Can Effectively Improve Root-Knot Nematode Disease Control in Rui Yam
Authors: Zeng Rong , Fang Wensheng , Li Xinshen , Huang Shuijin , Wang Xi , Zhou Qingyou , Wang Qiuxia , Cao Aocheng , Sun Yang , Hua Juling
Published: November 2022

Root-knot nematode disease seriously threatens the production of Rui yams, making it important to explore effective management strategies, including the optimal time for disease control and efficient application techniques. In this study, we monitored the dynamics of a root-knot nematode J2 population in the soil using field sampling; moreover, we investigated the dynamics of root-knot nematode disease using a field sampling and visual in situ device based on identifying species of root-knot nematodes in Rui yams. Additionally, experiments pertaining to optimal application time and techniques were conducted in Ruichang and Nanchang. This is the first study to propose that chemical control should be optimally timed, with one application administered at the time of yam seedling flush, and another given approximately 60 days later. Applications of a 41.7% fluopyram suspension (1426 g.a.i./hm2) and a 30% fosthiazate microencapsulated suspension (2925 g.a.i./hm2) achieved disease control effects of 81.56–83.15% and 75.95–78.42%, respectively. Additionally, the comparative analysis demonstrated that using uniform root layer application technology at the optimal time produces a control effect exceeding 80%, which is significantly higher than conventional techniques such as drip irrigation and root irrigation. These results provide theoretical and technical support for the efficient control of root-knot nematode disease in Rui yams.
Biophysical Simulation of Sheep Grazing Systems Using the SGS Pasture Model
Authors: Smith Andrew P.
Published: November 2022

The performance of farming systems models for grazed grasslands are seldom evaluated against comprehensive field data. The aim of this study was to evaluate the capacity of a daily time step, grazing systems simulation model—the SGS (Sustainable Grazing Systems) Pasture Model—to simulate production and aspects of sustainability. This was completed by evaluating temporal changes in soil water balance, some major nitrogen (N) fluxes, as well as plant and animal production using data from two large scale experimental sites with grazing sheep. The simulations were broadly in agreement with the measurements. In cases where divergence occurred the reasons were apparent and could be explained by reference to the model structure or aspects of the field data. In particular, the simulations showed good agreement with the observed soil water, but poorer agreement with the volumes of runoff. The simulated N in leachate and soil inorganic N were less in agreement with the measured data. The model outputs were sensitive to symbiotic biological fixation by subterranean (sub) clover and mineralisation of soil organic matter, which were not measured. Similarly, there were variable results for the simulation of animal growth and production. The complexities of simulating grazing systems and comparing field observations to simulated values are discussed.
Seed Germination and Early Seedling Growth Responses to Drought Stress in Annual Medicago L. and Trifolium L. Forages
Authors: Müller Francuois , Masemola Letty , Britz Ethan , Ngcobo Nothando , Modiba Stephen , Cyster Lilburne , Samuels Igshaan , Cupido Clement , Raitt Lincoln
Published: November 2022

Climate change in the Mediterranean-like regions of South Africa has resulted in increased rainfall variability, a delayed start to the wet winter season, and increased occurrences of out-of-season summer rainfall events. These changes in bioclimatic conditions are predicted to become more pronounced and, therefore, could result in poor seedling establishment and false breaks from the soil seed bank, followed by seedling desiccation in annual medic and clover pastures. This study therefore aimed to quantify and compare the responses of three annual Medicago species and five annual Trifolium species to drought stress imposed at the seed germination, seedling establishment, and early seedling growth stages. Three separate controlled trials were conducted. Firstly, the seeds were germinated in seed germination chambers at constant temperatures ranging from 5 to 30 °C, in 5 °C increments, with five osmotic treatments within each temperature, and germination was recorded daily. For the second experiment, seeds were planted at 100, 70, 50, and 30% of the soil’s moisture-holding capacity without subsequent watering, and emergence was recorded daily. For the third experiment, one-month-old seedlings were subjected to two water-limitation periods (15 or 30 days), and their subsequent morphological responses were measured. The results from these experiments indicated that the species differed significantly in their responses to drought, and the best-performing species often differed when drought was imposed at different development stages. Five species—M. polymorpha L., M. truncatula Gaertn., T. alexandrinum L., T. vesiculosum Savi., and T. subterraneum L. ssp. subterraneum—were able to tolerate incidences of drought better than other species and, thus, should be prioritized for further research into the variation in drought tolerance between cultivars within these species.