Economic sustainability of Spanish table grapes in different water and technology contexts

Eighty-five percent of Spanish table grapes are produced near the Mediterranean Sea, in very and regions. The irrigation-water availability influences the cropping plans adopted on farms and, on the medium-term, it will also influence viability and competitiveness. This work is aimed at analysing the effects of the main technological improvements introduced on farms and determining the economic consequences, derived from other production scenarios characterized by variability in irrigation-water supply and price. Mathematical programming has been applied to models established for representative farms in Murcia and Alicante. After obtaining the most direct results of investment in technology, the modelization shows that the on-farm water availability exerts a greater effect than the water price, and that only technologically equipped farms can face increases in the price of this resource, keeping their economic sustainability constant

Modelización de la difusión de la tecnología de riego localizado en el campo de Cartagena

Se describe la estructura analítica de los modelos de adopción de innovaciones tecnológicas más utilizados en la literatura, haciendo hincapié en las aplicaciones agrícolas desde el punto de vista del empresario agrario, y se analiza empíricamente cómo se ha difundido la tecnología de riego localizado desde 1975 hasta 2005. Para ello, se han aplicado los modelos Logístico, Gompertz, Exponencial y Bass utilizando datos de campo de una de las comunidades de regantes más grandes de España. Del análisis del proceso se desprende que la tasa de difusión del conocimiento duplica a la de adopción, que la adopción ha llegado a su techo y que la difusión de esta tecnología viene determinada fundamentalmente por el efecto de imitación e interacciones personales

Irrigation water pricing policy and its effects on sustainability of table grape production in Spain

In Spain, production of table grapes is located principally in two very and provinces of the Mediterranean region, which, although geographically close, have very distinct entrepreneurial behavior. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of availability and price of irrigation water on the sustainability of grape operations. First, shadow prices of irrigation water were obtained by applying compromise programming; calculations were performed for the current productive context, and another calculation was performed for the adoption of a series of technological improvements. Also, water demand curves were calculated to analyze the repercussions of applying an increasing tariff, such as that proposed by the current European Water Framework Directive. The results show that it is necessary to increase the technological level of the production phase to guarantee the sustainability of Spanish table grape production units. The most relevant improvements are changing surface irrigation for drip irrigation, perfecting the training structures, covering the fields with screens or plastic, introducing apirena varieties, and earlier harvesting. The resulting shadow prices for irrigation water are very high, indicating that in these production units water availability has a greater effect than price. However, the real prices the farmers could pay do not coincide with the shadow price but with that deducted from the demand curves, which were obtained by simulating the effects of implementing a water-pricing policy. For the farmer to obtain a minimal profit, even though the proposed technological improvements are adopted, the price could not surpass 0.6 epsilon m(-3) in the area with the least technology and 1.1 epsilon M-3 in that with the highest level of technology

Adopción de tecnologías ahorradoras de agua en la agricultura

La importancia del agua para el desarrollo económico de un territorio es evidente. Sin embargo, al tratarse de un recurso limitado, y en muchas zonas de España escaso, para que este desarrollo se realice de forma sostenible se pueden adoptar diversas líneas estratégicas que van desde la disminución de la demanda, hasta el incremento de la oferta, pasando por la mejora de la eficiencia en su utilización (MIMAM, 2007). Aunque las tres estrategias son interesantes, el aumento de la oferta y la disminución de la demanda presentan un alto grado de dificultad, por lo que la mejora de la eficiencia de su uso se revela como una buena opción para alcanzar los objetivos medioambientales establecidos en la Directiva Marco del Agua. La agricultura sigue siendo una de las actividades económicas que hay que impulsar para mantener el empleo y fijar la población en el medio rural. Sin embargo, las elevadas cantidades de agua que precisa hacen que ejerza una fuerte presión sobre el medio hídrico y que genere impactos negativos en los ecosistemas. Como consecuencia de la estrecha vinculación entre rentabilidad de las explotaciones agrarias y regadío, se ha producido un gran desarrollo de las tecnologías relacionadas con el uso del agua en agricultura, desde las fases de captación, embalse y distribución del agua, hasta los instrumentos que permiten aportar agua al cultivo con estricta precisión. La tecnología se convierte así en una herramienta fundamental para aumentar la eficiencia del uso del agua en agricultura, y una buena aliada en las estrategias de ahorro. Además, optimizando la gestión de este recurso natural se mejora el estado ecológico de las aguas y se hace un uso más sostenible, cuestiones de gran relevancia en la aplicación de las actuales políticas agrícolas y medioambientales. Para aumentar la eficiencia del agua en la agricultura se puede actuar a diferentes niveles (Sumpsi et al., 1998). De un lado, en el ámbito de la cuenca, aplicando la tecnología en el transporte del agua desde el embalse regulador hasta la cabecera de la zona regable. De otro lado, en la Comunidad de Regantes, controlando la distribución desde la cabecera de la zona regable hasta las parcelas de los agricultores; y finalmente en la explotación, con técnicas de distribución del agua desde pie de parcela hasta la planta, mediante diferentes sistemas de riego y métodos de programación del mismo. Con relación a este último nivel, la tecnología incluye los procedimientos de aplicación de agua en la planta y los que permiten conocer las necesidades de agua del cultivo. Precisamente en estas dos tecnologías se centra este trabajo, que tiene como objetivo describir las principales tecnologías ahorradoras de agua en las explotaciones agrarias, así como los procesos de adopción y difusión por parte de sus usuarios

Survival analysis of orange tree varieties in Spain

The fundamental basis of Spanish citriculture is its varietal composition, which contributes to the existence of a marketing calendar that extends to almost the entire year. As time goes by, the supply of varieties is continuously renewed, requiring significant investments by growers. The guarantee of a quality supply to the markets, on one hand, and the optimal result of the investments made, on the other, require that, in managing the sector, the characteristics determining the survival of the varieties be taken into account. The main purpose of this study was therefore to assess the influence of the attributes affecting the longevity of orange plantations from a technical and commercial point of view. The duration analysis technique applied to the different varieties has been used. The main attributes determining the elimination of a variety were the presence of seeds in the fruit and the tendency towards a decrease in surface size. Permanence- or survival-friendly attributes included the calibre (large size of the variety, within its group) and the price received by farmers. Precocity, frost resistance, commercial quality and resistance to fruit fly did not have the expected level of significance

Effect of phenylephrine on static and dynamic accommodation.

PURPOSE: We tested the hypothesis that changes in accommodation after instillation of Phenylephrine Hydrochloride (PHCl) observed in some studies could be caused by changes in optics. METHODS: We performed two experiments to test the effects of PHCl on static and on dynamic accommodation in 8 and 6 subjects, respectively. Objective wavefront measurements were recorded of the static accommodation response to a stimulus at different distances or dynamic accommodation response to a sinusoidally moving stimulus (between 1 and 3 D of accommodative demand at 0.2Hz). The responses were characterized using two methods: one that takes into account the mydriatic optical effects on the accommodation produced by higher-order aberrations of the eye and another that takes into account only power changes paraxially due to the action of the ciliary muscle and regardless of the pupil size. RESULTS: When mydriatic optical effects were taken into account, differences in responses before and after PHCl instillation were 0.51±0.53 D, and 0.12±0.15, for static and dynamic accommodation, respectively, and were statistically significant (p0.313). CONCLUSIONS: The mydriatic effect of the PHCl causes optical changes in the eye that can reduce the objective and subjective measurement of accommodation

Ammonia and formaldehyde participate in the formation of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) in addition to creati(ni)ne and phenylacetaldehyde

The formation of formaldehyde from phenylacetaldehyde and phenylalanine, and the contribution of both formaldehyde and ammonia to the production of PhIP from phenylacetaldehyde and creatinine were studied in an attempt to clarify the reaction pathways that produce PhIP. Formaldehyde was produced by thermal degradation of phenylacetaldehyde and, to a lesser extent, also by degradation of phenylalanine, phenylethylamine, styrene, and creatinine. When formaldehyde was added to a mixture of phenylacetaldehyde and creatinine, PhIP yield was multiplied by nineteen. When formaldehyde and ammonia were simultaneously present, PhIP yield was multiplied by fifty and the Ea of the reaction decreased by 61%. All these results point to formaldehyde and ammonia as the two additional reactants required for PhIP formation from both phenylacetaldehyde/creati(ni)ne and phenylalanine/creati(ni)ne mixtures. A general pathway for PhIP formation is proposed. This pathway is suggested to be the main route for PhIP formation in foods. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This study was supported in part by the European Union (FEDER funds) and the Plan Nacional de I + D of the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of Spain (project AGL2012-35627).Peer Reviewe

Malondialdehyde trapping by food phenolics

10 Páginas.-- 5 Figuras.-- 1 Tablas.-- Material suplementarioThe reactions between malondialdehyde and 2,5-dimethylresorcinol, orcinol, olivetol, and alkylresocinols were studied in an attempt to investigate both if this lipid oxidation product is trapped by phenolics analogously to other reactive carbonyls and to elucidate the chemical structures of the produced adducts. After being formed, malondialdehyde is both partially fractionated to acetaldehyde and oligomerized into dimers and trimers. All these compounds react with phenolics producing three main kinds of derivatives: 5(or 7)-alkyl-7(or 5)-hydroxy-4-methyl-4H-chromene-3-carbaldehydes, 7-alkyl-9-hydroxy-6H-2,6-methanobenzo[d][1,3]dioxocine-5-carbaldehydes, and 4-(3-formylphenyl)-7-hydroxy-4H-chromene-3-carbaldehydes. A total of twenty-four adducts were isolated by semipreparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and characterized by mono- and bi-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS). Reaction pathways to explain the formation of all these compounds are proposed. Obtained results show that phenolics can trap malondialdehyde producing stable derivatives. The function(s) that such derivatives can play in foods remain(s) to be elucidated.This study was funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MCIN) from Spain, the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) from Spain, and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (ERDF, a way of making Europe) from the European Union (Project RTI2018-096632-B-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033).Peer reviewe

Addition of olivetol to crackers decreases malondialdehyde content and produces malondialdehyde-olivetol adducts

8 Páginas.-- 6 FigurasThis study was undertaken to investigate the malondialdehyde-trapping ability by m-diphenols and the consequent decrease of malondialdehyde in foods. Olivetol was added to crackers, which were prepared with wheat flour and either oxidized or fresh sunflower, linseed, and camelina oils. When crackers were prepared with oxidized oils, olivetol-containing crackers contained less malondialdehyde (∼30%) than control crackers. This decrease of malondialdehyde content was parallel to the formation of malondialdehyde-olivetol adducts (250-1300 ng/g). When fresh oils were employed, storage produced more malondialdehyde (300-700%) in control than in olivetol-containing crackers. This decrease of malondialdehyde content was also parallel to the formation of malondialdehyde-olivetol adducts (10-90 ng/g). In both cases, the formation of adducts required the contribution of either formaldehyde or acetaldehyde. Obtained results suggest that olivetol not only removed malondialdehyde, but also short chain aldehydes, therefore contributing to the decrease of the content of these toxic aldehydes in phenolic-enriched crackers.This study was funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MCIN) from Spain, the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) from Spain, and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (ERDF, a way of making Europe) from the European Union (Projects RTI2018-096632-B-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and PID2022-137100OB-100/AEI/10.13039/501100011033). Authors are also indebted to CSIC (Grant 2022AEP022).Peer reviewe

Reactive carbonyl-scavenging ability of 2-aminoimidazoles: 2-amino-1-methylbenzimidazole and 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5- b ]pyridine (PhiP)

© 2014 American Chemical Society. The carbonyl-scavenging ability of 2-amino-1-methylbenzimidazole (AMBI) and the heterocyclic aromatic amine 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) was investigated in an attempt to identify new routes that can modify the carbonyl content of foods. The reaction of both AMBI and PhIP with 2-alkenals, 2,4-alkadienals, 4-oxo-2-alkenals, 4,5-epoxy-2-alkenals, and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal produced fluorescent adducts, whose structure was determined for the adduct produced between AMBI and 2-pentenal. This adduct was isolated and identified by one- and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance and high-resolution mass spectrometry as 2,10-dihydro-2-ethyl-10-methylpyrimido[1,2-a]benzimidazole. The formation of these adducts was parallel to the elimination of AMBI and PhIP. The Ea of the reaction between PhIP and 4-oxo-2-nonenal was 27.4 kJ/mol. All these results suggest that 2-aminoimidazoles can be employed to modify the carbonyl content of foods. At the same time and because the reaction produces the disappearance of the amino compound, lipid-derived carbonyl compounds can be employed to eliminate 2-aminoimidazoles, which suggests a new strategy for the elimination of heterocyclic aromatic amines in foods.This study was supported in part by the European Union (FEDER funds) and the Plan Nacional de I + D of the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of Spain (Project AGL2012-35627).Peer Reviewe