Effects of organic fertilisers and compost extracts on organic tomato production

The effects of various fertilizers and different compost extracts on crop health and tomato yield were studied in the field in 2004–2005 in two locations in Iran. Treatments included different fertilizers (cattle, sheep and chicken manures, green waste and household composts and chemical fertilizers) and five aqueous extracts (from cattle manure, chicken manure, green-waste and house-hold composts and water as control). The effect of fertilizer type on tomato yield was significant in both locations (P < 0.05). Organic fertilizer use did not obtain higher yields compared to using chemical fertiliser. Generally, chicken manure and green-waste compost led to the highest and lowest tomato yield among different organic fertilizers, respectively. The effect of aqueous extracts was not significant on either crop health or tomato yield with these results were being very limited and inconsistent. Improved efficacy of acceptable alternatives to agrochemicals, especially in organic farming, is required

Evaluation of Physicochemical and Microstructure Properties of Expanded Quinoa

Introduction  Quinoa, which is known as the mother grain,has higher protein content than common cereals and possesses a large lysine content. Quinoa is composed mainly of carbohydrates (60-75%), of which 10-13% is dietary fiber. Quinoa also has a slightly higher protein content (12-16%) compared with cereal grains and fat content (5-9%) that is rich in unsaturated fatty acids. Quinoa seeds contain similar or slightly higheramounts of bioactive compounds such as polyphenols (2.7-3.8 g/kg). Moreover, quinoa is gluten-free, thus providing the ability to enhance the selection of gluten-free products forconsumers with celiac disease, but this type of characteristicis challenging to development of bakery products from quinoa with desirable physicochemical properties. Processing of cereal grains and pseudo-cereals into products that deliver a nutritive valueto consumers represents a considerable opportunity for large scale food processing. There havebeen some reported studies on roasting, extrusion, steam pre-conditioning and pearling of quinoafor further uses. Extrusion cooking is a promising technology for improvement of functional properties of quinoa flour. The Evaluation of physicochemical properties and microstructure of Expanded quinoa as affected by extrusion conditions was the main goal of this project.   Material and Methods  In this study, a parallel twin-screw extruder (Jinan Saxin, China) with die diameter of 3 mm was applied. The effects of extrusion process parameters including feed moisture content (14 and 16%) and die temperature (130, 150 and 170 °C) on final moisture content, bulk density, water absorption index (WAI), color parametersL* (lightness), a*(redness), b*(yellowness), hardness, and microstructure of Expanded quinoa were studied. Extrusion was carried out using a co-rotating twin screw extruder with L/D ratio of 10:1 and die diameter of 4 mm. The feed rate of flour and the screw speed were set at 40 kg/h and 200 rpm, respectively. The physicochemical properties were measured using standard methods. The hardness measurement was performed by a texture analyzer. The cylinder steel probe (2 mm diameter) was set to move at a speed of 1 mm/s The samples were punctured by the probe to a distance of 10 mm . The color parameters of the samples were determined by the Hunterlab machine. The morphology of samples was assessed using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM).       Results and Discussion  A comprehensive study on impacts of extrusion processing conditions on quinoa flour was conducted. The effect of process variables on the physicochemical attributes of the extrudates was observed. the expanded quinoa with higher feed moisture content had greater moisture and those extruded at higher die temperatures showed lower moisture content (p<0.05). Moisture can reduce the shear force as a plasticizer and increase the amount of moisture absorption of the product. While increasing the die temperature, the effect of shear force on starch dextrification increases and reduces moisture absorption (p<0.05). WAI was significantly influenced by extrusion variables. In fact, feed moisture content and die temperature both positively changed the WAI of quinoa flour so that all extruded samples had significantly higher WAI than the untreated sample (p<0.05). Moreover, the sample with the higher feed moisture content (24%) treated at the highest extrusion temperature (170 °C) showed the largest and lowest water absorption and Hardness respectively (p<0.05). Another important feature of expanded quinoa is the lightness index, the results revealed that extrusion cooking caused a reduction in L* and enhancements in a* and b*. While changes in color parameters were more pronounced at more severe die temperature, higher feed moisture content counteracted the effects of cooking temperature on the color of the products. As expected from changes in the abovementioned color parameters, the sample with lower feed moisture content (16%) treated at the highest extrusion temperature (170 °C) experienced the greatest color change (ΔE). The texture profile analysis (TPA) indicated that higher feed moisture content yielded extrudates with harder texture whereas, extrusion at higher temperature resulted in lower hardness. The scanning electron micrographs showed that the native quinoa flour encompassed both small- and large-sized starch granules while the extruded sample mainly consisted of disaggregated particles. Furthermore, extrusion cooking of samples with higher feed moisture content caused formation of more uniform starch aggregates with smoother surfaces

Evaluacija svojstava vezanja sluzi sjemenki biljke Plantago psyllium

Mucilage extracted from Plantago psyllium seeds was evaluated for inertness and safety parameters. The suitability of psyllium mucilage for a pharmaceutical binder was assessed in paracetamol tablets. Properties of the granules prepared using different concentrations of psyllium mucilage was compared with PVP and tragacanth. Psyllium mucilage at 5 % (m⁄m) level was found to be comparable with 3 % (m⁄m) of PVP. Investigated paracetamol tablets indicated that psyllium mucilage can retard the drug release.U radu je ispitivana neškodljivost i sigurnost uporabe sluzi ekstrahirane iz sjemenki biljke Plantago psyllium. Primjenjivost te sluzi kao veziva u farmaceutskim pripravcima ispitana je na tabletama paracetamola. Granule pripravljene s različitim koncentracijama sluzi uspoređene su s granulama s PVP-om i tragakantom. Sluz s udjelom 5 % (m/m) usporediva je s otopinom PVP-a masenog udjela 3 %. Pripravljene tablete paracetamola ukazuju na to da ispitivana sluz može usporiti oslobađanje lijeka

Root-emitted volatile organic compounds: can they mediate belowground plant-plant interactions?

peer reviewedBackground Aboveground, plants release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that act as chemical signals between neighbouring plants. It is now well documented that VOCs emitted by the roots in the plant rhizosphere also play important ecological roles in the soil ecosystem, notably in plant defence because they are involved in interactions between plants, phytophagous pests and organisms of the third trophic level. The roles played by root-emitted VOCs in between- and within-plant signalling, however, are still poorly documented in the scientific literature. Scope Given that (1) plants release volatile cues mediating plant-plant interactions aboveground, (2) roots can detect the chemical signals originating from their neighbours, and (3) roots release VOCs involved in biotic interactions belowground, the aim of this paper is to discuss the roles of VOCs in between- and within-plant signalling belowground. We also highlight the technical challenges associated with the analysis of root-emitted VOCs and the design of experiments targeting volatile-mediated root-root interactions. Conclusions We conclude that root-root interactions mediated by volatile cues deserve more research attention and that both the analytical tools and methods developed to study the ecological roles played by VOCs in interplant signalling aboveground can be adapted to focus on the roles played by root-emitted VOCs in between- and within-plant signalling

Dryland Farming in Iran and Its Impact on Rangelands and Nomadic Life

This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management, the National Agricultural Library, and the University of Arizona Libraries.The Rangelands archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform March 202

Some Characteristics of Iranian Rangelands

This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management, the National Agricultural Library, and the University of Arizona Libraries.The Rangelands archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform March 202

The Effect of Increased Temperature on Flowering Behaviour of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.)

Abstract Flowering in saffron requires a period of incubation at high temperatures for flower differentiation followed by a period of low temperatures for flower emergence. Global warming could adversely affect the flowering of saffron because of its high sensitivity to temperature. Flowering behaviour of saffron in response to rising temperature was studied in an experiment conducted in controlled environment. Corms with identical sizes were collected form green or fully withered field grown plants and sown in plastic pots. Pots were incubated in 25, 27 and 30 °C for 70, 90 and 120 days. By the end of each incubation period, pots incubated in 25, 27 and 30 °C were transferred to 17, 19 and 21 °C, respectively. Days to flowering, development rate and growth characteristics of saffron were measured in alternative temperature regimes of 25/17, 27/19 and 30/21 °C in combination with 3 incubation periods and in 3 replications. The results indicated that increasing incubation temperature up to 27 °C had no significant effects on saffron flowering behaviour however, no flower was appeared from corms incubated in 30°C. Increased duration of incubation period had adverse effects on flower emergence and corms incubated for 120 days were only flowered in 27/19 °C temperature regime. The optimal flowering response and the highest number of vegetative buds was obtained when 90 days incubation period at 27 °C was followed by a period for flower emergence at 17°C. Corms lifted from green or withered plants showed similar response to temperature regimes and incubation periods. However, in average duration of sowing to flowering was 5 days longer in corms lifted from green plants. Comparing the results of this research with daily temperature in the main saffron production areas of Khorasan provinces showed that increasing mean daily temperature by 2 °C during summer and autumn results in a considerable delay in flowering of saffron

Climate Change and Rainfed Wheat Production in Iran

Abstract\ud This research was conducted to evaluate the impacts of climate change on rainfed wheat growth and yield at country level. Weather data generated by a General Circulation model based on the ICCP scenarios for the target years of 2025 and 2050. Daily weather data including minimum and maximum temperatures, precipitation and radiation were used as the inputs of a growth simulation model for rainfed after calibration and validation for predicting wheat yield under current climatic conditions. Using the model, the impacts of climate change on wheat growth and yield was predicted and compared with the current data. The simulation results indicated that leaf area index and absorbed radiation by wheat canopy was reduced under climatic conditions of the target years. Reduction of absorbed radiation resulted to a lower crop growth rate and consequently drastic reduction in dry matter production. Estimated drought stress index for the future climate conditions showed that reduction of crop growth rate was mainly resulted from water shortage due to increased evapotranspiration. Reduction of the length of growth period together with a considerable decline of harvest index resulted in a significant reduction of rainfed wheat yield despite the positive effects of increased CO2 concentration and this negative impacts on wheat yield was intensified from 2025 towards 2050. Simulation results showed that the potential impact of climate change on rainfed wheat yield was more pronounced in Eastern regions of the country compared to the Western production areas. The overall country level reduction of rainfed wheat yield was estimated in the range of 16 to 25 % and 22 to 32% for the years 2025 and 2050, respectively.\ud \ud Keywords: Climate change, Rainfed wheat, General Circulation models, Simulation, Yield, Ira