Effects of topping and non-topping on growth-regulating hormones of flue-cured tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.)—a proteomic analysis

IntroductionUntil now, the mechanism underlying the impact of topping on hormone regulation in tobacco plants remains unclear, and most studies investigating the hormone signaling pathways in plants rely on genes or transcriptional pathways.MethodsThis study examines the regulatory mechanisms of hormones in the roots and leaves of tobacco plants with and without topping at the protein level.ResultsThe results demonstrate that, compared with non-topped plants, topping leads to a decrease in the levels of IAA (auxin), ABA (abscisic acid), and GA (gibberellin) hormones in the leaves, whereas the content of the JA (jasmonic acid) hormone increases. Furthermore, in the roots, topping results in an increase in the levels of IAA, ABA, and JA hormones, along with a decrease in GA content. In the leaves, a total of 258 significantly different proteins were identified before and after topping, with 128 proteins upregulated and 130 proteins downregulated. In the roots, there were 439 proteins with significantly different quantities before and after topping, consisting of 211 upregulated proteins and 228 downregulated proteins. Notably, these proteins were closely associated with the metabolic and biosynthetic pathways of secondary metabolites, as indicated by functional categorization.ConclusionsWhen integrating the hormone changes and the proteomics results, it is evident that topping leads to increased metabolic activity and enhanced hormone synthesis in the root system. This research provides a theoretical foundation for further investigations into the regulation and signaling mechanisms of hormones at the protein level before and after topping in plants

TENDENCIAS INVESTIGATIVAS EN EL DESARROLLO DE PRODUCTOS MECATRONICOS EN LA ACTUALIDAD (RESEARCH TRENDS IN THE MECHATRONIC PRODUCTS DEVELOPMENT CURRENTLY)

Resumen La mecatrónica es un campo interdisciplinario de ciencias de la ingeniería caracterizado por la integración e interconexión entre la ingeniería mecánica, la ingeniería eléctrica y la informática. Los productos mecatrónicos son en su mayoría estructuralmente complejos, pero son una solución óptima para muchos campos de la Industria como la medicina, la agricultura, la agroindustria entre otros. Este artículo tiene como objetivo principal identificar las tendencias investigativas en los proyectos mecatrónicos NPD en la actualidad. Para ello se hace una revisión bibliográfica, citando trabajos importantes en el área a partir del año 2017 y abordando el objetivo principal de cada investigación, para así agruparlas en enfoques e identificar las tendencias investigativas actualmente. Al final se puede concluir que la tendencia es reducir el costo total en un producto mecatrónico, así como de comenzar a adaptar los conceptos de las nuevas tecnologías de la Industria 4.0 (I4.0) a los proyectos de desarrollo de nuevos productos mecatrónicos (NPD). Palabras Clave: Enfoques investigativos, NPD, proyecto mecatrónico, tendencia investigativa. Abstract Mechatronics is an interdisciplinary field of engineering sciences characterized by the integration and interconnection between mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science. Mechatronic products are mostly structurally complex, but they are an optimal solution for many fields of Industry such as medicine, agriculture, agroindustry among others. The main objective of this paper is to identify research trends in the development of mechatronics products today. To meet this objective, a bibliographic review is made, citing important works in the area from 2017 on and addressing the main objective of each investigation in order to group them into approaches and identify current investigative trends. In the end, it can be concluded that the trend is to reduce the total cost of a mechatronic product, as well as to begin to adapt the concepts of the new technologies of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) to mechatronic NPD (new project development) projects. Keywords: investigative approaches, NPD, Mechatronic Project, Research trend

A mechatronic system for automated topping and suckering of tobacco plants

In agricultural crops, such as tobacco, the budding part of the plant is removed (topping) and the growth of axillary shoots (called suckers) is controlled with chemicals in order to produce good quality heavy-bodied darker tobacco leaves. Nowadays, topping and suckering are largely performed by hand and as a result the application process is time consuming. In this study, the design and implementation of a novel mechatronic system is presented, whereby the topping and suckering treatments can be performed automatically. The mechatronic system and its auxiliary equipment were mounted on a three-wheeled mobile platform. The novel system includes a topper unit, a high-precision sprayer, and a bifurcated metal guide designed to keep the plants in an upright position. An infrared beam sensor is mounted below the circular saw blade to locate the plant stalk and trigger a pulse so that the high-precision sprayer applies the proper amount of suckercide to the tobacco stalk. The high-precision sprayer travels parallel to and over the tobacco plant rows with a speed that matches the ground speed of the wheeled mobile platform. This is achieved by the use of a built-in drive wheel encoder. The mechatronic system was tested in both laboratory and field conditions. In the tests carried out, the travel speed of the three-wheeled platform was kept between 0.1 and 0.5 m/s. The topping and suckering of five tobacco plants lasted approximately 20 s. Traditional application has a disadvantage over the mechatronic system in that each worker is independent of the others and the speed of the whole process is essentially determined by the slower worker. In future work, the mechatronic system can be integrated into a small autonomous wheeled platform, a drone, or can be mounted on the horizontal boom of a suitably modified trailer sprayer. © 2019 Elsevier B.V