Quantification of virus syndrome in chili peppers

One of the most important problems to produce chili crops is the presence of diseases caused by pathogen agents, such as viruses, therefore, there is a substantial necessity to better predict the behavior of the diseases of these crops, determining a more precise quantification of the disease’s syndrome that allows the investigators to evaluate better practices, from handling to the experimental level and will permit producers to take opportunistic corrective action thereby, reducing production loses and increasing the quality of the crop. This review discussed methods that have been used for the quantification of disease in plants, specifically for chili peppers crops, thereby, suggesting a better alternative for the quantification of the disease’ syndromes in regards to this crop. The result of these reflections indicates that most methods used for quantification are based on visual assessments, discarding differences of data between distinctive evaluators. These methods generate subjective results.Key words: Quantification, plant diseases, severity, syndrome, viruses

Color image segmentation using perceptual spaces through applets for determining and preventing diseases in chili peppers

Plant pathogens cause disease in plants. Chili peppers are one of the most important crops in the world. There are currently disease detection techniques classified as: biochemical, microscopy, immunology, nucleic acid hybridization, identification by visual inspection in vitro or in situ but these have the following disadvantages: they require several days, their implementation is costly and highly trained. This paper proposes a method for knowing and preventing the disease in chili peppers plant through a color image processing, using online system developed in Java applets. This system gets results in real time and remotely (Internet). The images are converted to perceptual spaces [hue, saturation and lightness (HSL), hue, saturation, and intensity (HSI) and hue saturation and value (HSV)]. Sequence was applied to the proposed method. HSI color space was the best detected disease. The percentage of disease in the leaf is of 12.42%. HSL and HSV do not expose the exact area of the disease compared to the HSI color space. Finally, images were analyzed and the disease is known by the expert in plant pathology to take preventive or corrective actions.Keywords: Applets, knowing disease, color image segmentation, perceptual spacesAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(7), pp. 679-68

Effects of relay intercropping model and application of biological agents on the growth and yield of hot pepper

Tiyung cultivar, the consumer preferences of hot pepper in Magelang Regency, is still low in productivity (7 ton.ha-1). This research aimed to determine the growth and yield of hot pepper planted in relay intercropping as affected by biological agent application as a technology to increase productivity. This research was arranged in a Factorial Randomized Complete Block Design with an intercropping pattern of hot pepper (two and three rows model). The second factor was the application of biological agents, consisting of Trichoderma asperellum, Bacillus velezensis B-27 and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (with and without biological agents). The control was the monoculture of hot pepper without biological agent application. The data observed were analyzed using Analysis of Variance and followed by the Duncan's Multiple Range Test at α= 5 %. The results showed that the relay intercropping of hot pepper produced less numbers of branches and leaves.  It indicated more efficiency in the use of assimilates for the development of generative organs, thereby resulting in the high values fruits weight per plant, which were as high as those in monoculture. The productivity observed in relay intercropping was 12.93 ton.ha-1, which was 15.8 % higher than in monoculture. The application of biological agents significantly increased the stomatal density, the size of stomatal opening, the number of leaves, weight of fruits per plant and productivity of hot pepper. The productivity of plant applied with biological agents was 16.84 ton.ha-1, which was 86.50 % higher than that without biological agents application

Supercritical fluids and fluid mixtures to obtain high-value compounds from Capsicum peppers

Peppers of the Capsicum genus have a rich nutritional composition and are widely consumed worldwide. Thus, they find numerous applications in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. One commercial application is oleoresin production, a nonpolar fraction rich in bioactive compounds, including capsaicinoids and carotenoids. Among the technologies for pepper processing, special attention is given to supercritical fluid technologies, such as supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) with pure solvents and CO2 plus modifiers, and SFE assisted by ultrasound. Supercritical fluid-based processes present advantages over the classical extraction techniques like using less solvents, short extraction times, specificity and scalability. In this review, we present a brief overview of the nutritional aspects of peppers, followed by studies that apply supercritical fluid technologies to produce extracts and concentrate bioactives, besides oleoresin encapsulation. Furthermore, we present related phase equilibrium, cost estimation, and the gaps and needs for the full use of peppers from a sustainable perspective

Plant Responses to Stress and Environmental Stimulus

Plants respond to diverse environmental stimuli such as light, nutrients, temperature, and oxygen, which shape their growth and fate. When these stimuli are suboptimal for adequate plant growth, they cause stress. This book is a collection of research articles providing evidence about plant responses to stresses and environmental stimuli, as well as new methodologies for plant phenotyping

Effect of Preharvest Abiotic Stresses on the Accumulation of Bioactive Compounds in Horticultural Produce

The quality of horticultural products is the result of the interaction of different factors, including grower\u2019s crop management ability, genotype, and environment. Sub-optimal environmental conditions during plant growth can induce abiotic stresses and reduce the crop performance with yield reduction and quality losses. However, abiotic stresses can induce several physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses in plants, aiming to cope with the stressful conditions. It is well known that these abiotic stresses are also elicitors of the biosynthesis of many metabolites in plants, including a wide range of bioactive compounds, which firstly serve as functional molecules for crop adaptation, but they have also a great interest for their beneficial effects on human health. Nowadays, the consumer is oriented to low-energy foods with low fat content, but at the same time, growing attention is paid to the presence of bioactive molecules, which are recognized as health-related compounds and concur to the nutraceutical value of plant-derived foods. In this context, fruit and vegetables play an important role as sources of bioactive ingredients in the diet. At the cultivation level, the understanding of crop responses to abiotic stresses and how they act in the biosynthesis/accumulation of these bioactive compounds is crucial. In fact, controlled abiotic stresses can be used as tools for improving the nutraceutical value of fruit and vegetables. This review focuses on the quality of vegetables and fruits as affected by preharvest abiotic stressors, with particular attention to the effect on the nutraceutical aspects

A Multidisciplinary Lifestyle Intervention for Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: The Role of a Pulse-Based Diet and Aerobic Exercise on Reproductive, Cardio-Metabolic, and Quality of Life Outcomes

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex endocrinopathy associated with adverse cardio-metabolic, reproductive, and quality of life outcomes. Controversy surrounds the optimal diet composition to mediate favourable health-related outcomes for women with PCOS. The main hypothesis of the present work was that a nutritionally balanced, low-glycemic index, pulse-based diet containing lentils, beans, split peas, and chickpeas would increase insulin sensitivity; thereby, improving multiple health-related outcomes of PCOS. The objectives of the present work were 1) to examine the prevalence and characteristics of metabolic syndrome (MetS), glucoregulation, type 2 diabetes, and risk factors for cardiovascular disease in women with PCOS, and 2) to compare the effect of a pulse-based diet to the National Cholesterol Education Program’s Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) diet on reproductive health measures, cardio-metabolic risk profile, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) indices, dietary intakes, and pulse consumption behaviours in women with PCOS. To examine the study Objective 1, data were pooled from 2 prospective and cross-sectional studies on 237 women with PCOS and 42 (non-PCOS) controls (18-36y; Chapter 3). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 29.5% in the PCOS group, approximately 6-fold higher than age-matched controls (P<0.001), with worse glucose control, acanthosis nigricans, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP), triglyceride (TG), high- (HDL-C) and low- (LDL-C) density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol to HDL-C (TC/HDL-C), and highly sensitive C-reactive protein levels (P<0.001 to P=0.03). Women with PCOS and MetS exhibited exacerbated levels of insulin and glucose responses to an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), TC, TC/HDL-C ratio, hirsutism, and acanthosis nigricans than BMI-matched counterparts without MetS (P<0.001 to P=0.05). Our observations support the opinion that MetS exacerbates hyperandrogenism, dyslipidemia, and glucose control in PCOS, possibly by aggravating inherent insulin resistance. To address the main goal of the study, Objective 2, 95 women with PCOS (18-35y) were randomized to receive either the pulse-based diet or the TLC diet, without purposefully inducing calorie restriction, for 16 weeks. All women participated in an aerobic exercise program and received education and counselling about PCOS and lifestyle modification. Thirty women in the pulse-based diet and 31 in TLC diet group completed the study. Chapter 4 represents the reproductive outcome results of Objective 2. Bilateral antral follicle count, ovarian volume, total testosterone (TT) levels, average and longest intervals between menses decreased over time in both groups (P≤0.05). Sex-hormone binding globulin levels increased (P<0.01) in both groups with a tendency for a greater increase in the pulse-based diet group (P=0.07). In Chapter 5, cardio-metabolic outcomes of Objective 2 are addressed. The pulse-based diet group had a greater reduction in total area under the curve (AUC) for insulin response to an OGTT than the TLC diet group (P=0.05). Following the intervention, the pulse-based diet group exhibited lower diastolic BP, TG, LDL-C, and TC/HDL-C, as well as a greater increase in HDL-C when compared to the TLC diet group (P≤0.05). Body weight, waist circumference, percent body fat, SBP, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, glucose AUC, and TC decreased in both groups (P≤0.03). Both groups maintained some of the improvements in cardio-metabolic and endocrine measures after 16 and 12 months post-intervention, including TT, HDL-C, and TC/HDL-C levels (P≥0.05); however, contrary to our hypothesis, groups had a tendency to revert to the baseline measures for certain cardio-metabolic and endocrine measures including fasting insulin and TC levels 6 and 12 months after the completion of the intervention (P≤0.05). Following the 16-week intervention, the HRQoL scores of both groups increased in the domains of knowledge, concerns about PCOS, healthcare satisfaction, and lifestyle practices comprised of physical activity and healthy diets (P<0.05; Chapter 6). The dietary component of Objective 2 is addressed in Chapter 7. Both intervention groups voluntarily reduced their average daily energy intake from baseline (P<0.001). Dietary intakes increased for fiber, folate, magnesium, iron, and decreased for cholesterol in the pulse-based diet group compared to the TLC diet group (P<0.05). Women in the pulse-based diet group exhibited higher scores in the domain of knowledge about the nutritional composition of pulses, recommended servings of legumes based on Canada’s Food Guide, environmental, and economic benefits of pulse consumption when compared with the TLC diet group (P<0.05). Both groups exhibited increased scores in the domain of attitudes about the palatability, accessibility, preparation, and affordability of pulse foods over the 16 weeks (P<0.01). Supported by the favourable health outcomes from the present intervention, an evidence-based pulse-based recipe resource guide has been developed for use by allied healthcare professionals and their clients (Appendix C). In conclusion, both dietary interventions, without calorie restriction, in combination with aerobic exercise, education, and healthcare counselling yielded substantial improvements in multiple PCOS-specific health outcomes. The pulse-based diet was more effective than the TLC diet in decreasing insulin response to OGTT, improving many key risk factors for cardiometabolic disease, and the overall dietary intakes in women with PCOS. In general, women did not maintain the reproductive and metabolic improvements. Further research is required to promote the consumption of nutrient-rich pulse foods and sustainable adherence to healthy lifestyle behaviours in women with PCOS in the long term

Experimental approach for quantifying crop water use and pollutant loading from agricultural plot

Storm water runoff is the main contributor to non-point source (NPS) pollution in agricultural land. This issue is extremely important in tropical region due to its high intensity and frequent storms. The objectives of this study were to determine the crop coefficient of two vegetable crops – bittergourd (Mormordica Charantia) and chilli (Capsicum Annuum), investigate the mechanism of NPS pollutant transport and the influence of hydrologic regime on the pollutant loading. This study was conducted at the Modern Agriculture Centre in Kluang, Johor, from August 2013 to May 2014. A total of 86 rainfall events were recorded but only 52 storms had generated measurable runoff. Samples of runoff, soil water and groundwater were collected after every rainfall event and analysed for nutrient and sediment contents. Twenty-six reference evapotranspiration (ETo) models which were classified into four different groups were employed and their performance was ranked based on eight different statistical test. Penman model provide the best result in estimating ETo while the Schendel model tended to overestimate the observed pan ET. The limited parameters used in the temperature based group causes poor performance in predicting the ETo values. Crop coefficient (Kc) curves for both crops were developed as the ratio of actual ET measured by minilysimeters to the ET values of the best model. The Kc values for the bittergourd were 0.58, 0.88 and 0.69 while for chili were 0.58, 0.95 and 0.73 for the initial, mid and end growth stages, respectively. More runoff event was observed for the bittergourd as its growing period coincided with the North-East Monsoon. The average runoff-rainfall ratio is less than one percent due to the high hydraulic conductivity of the site. The concentrations of nutrients and sediments were very high with maximum Nitrite (NO2), Nitrate (NO3), Ammoniacal-Nitrogen (NH3-N), Phosphate (PO4), Total Nitrogen (TN), Total Phosphorus (TP), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) concentrations in the runoff were 0.385, 10, 4.2, 13.7, 27, 18, 190 and 15000 mg/l respectively. However, the calculated pollutant loading were low due to the remarkably small surface runoff volume. Soil water analysis at 15 and 60 cm soil depth shows a high Phosphorus (P) element leaching to the deeper depth even though P is less mobile. Nitrate concentration showed an increasing trend compared to other nutrients with a maximum of 1.7 mg/l at the end of the study period. The calibration and validation of the Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM2) were carried out to model the leaching of NO3 to the groundwater. The results of this study can be applied to formulate more reliable water management schemes based on the water requirement of the vegetable crops and providing new information for controlling NPS pollution loading from agricultural activities