Effects of some chemical treatments on standard germination, field emergence and vigour in hybrid maize seeds

The main aim of this experiment was to investigate the possible effects of some active ingredients and their combinations, commonly adopted for maize seed treatment in Italian agriculture, on seed germination, vigour (cold test) and field emergence. Among the seed treatments, fludioxonil + metalaxyl-M (non-systemic fungicides) with the insecticide mixture tefluthrin (belonging to the pyrethroids class) and methiocarb (belonging to the carbamates), negatively affected field emergence of hybrid maize seeds under favourable and restricted temperature conditions, and the cold test results. The two insecticides showed a significant synergistic detrimental action compared with the effects of each active ingredient. These results confirm the need for precaution when using new formulations with an insecticide mixture. The cold test was confirmed as an excellent test able to highlight a possible loss of seed vigour, which usually is not evident with a standard germination test, and to estimate seed performance in the field, especially under cold temperatures, as often happens when adopting modern crop management techniques like sod seeding and early sowing at the end of winter

Yield and Quality of Essential Oils in Hemp Varieties in Different Environments

Due to its possible utilization in cosmetics, medicine and crop protection, as a valuable alternative to petrochemical-derived products, hemp essential oil is now considered a product with high value added and a promising marketing potential. This experiment was conducted with the aim of evaluating the effect of four different locations of Northern Italy during two years (four environments) and three hemp monoecious varieties on the production and quality of essential oils (EOs) obtained by inflorescences harvested at full flowering of female flowers. The highest inflorescence yield was obtained at Maiano 2017, where a superficial groundwater layer (1.5 m) was present, with values that ranged from 1.69 of Fedora to 2.06 t ha 121 of Futura. EOs production ranged between 3.4 and 4.9 L ha 121 , affected mainly by the variety effect. The terpene in EOs, very similar between varieties and environments, was mainly composed of sesquiterpenes (caryophillene and humulene, as the most abundant) rather than monoterpenes (\u3b1-pinene, \u3b2-myrcene and trans-\u3b2-ocimene, in particular). Phytocannabinoids, and in particular cannabidiol (CBD), were not removed from tissues by the steam during hydrodistillation, and if this is confirmed by further experiments, the residual biomass, now considered as waste, could assume significant importance as a source for further utilization

Cross-validation of active and passive microwave snowfall products over the continental United States

Surface snowfall rate estimates from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission’sCoreObservatorysensors and theCloudSatradar are compared to those from the Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor (MRMS) radarcomposite product over the continental United States during the period from November 2014 to September 2020. Theanalysis includes the Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) retrieval and its single-frequency counterparts, the GPMCombined Radar Radiometer Algorithm (CORRA), theCloudSatSnow Profile product (2C-SNOW-PROFILE), and twopassive microwave retrievals, i.e., the Goddard Profiling algorithm (GPROF) and the Snow Retrieval Algorithm for GMI(SLALOM). The 2C-SNOW retrieval has the highest Heidke skill score (HSS) for detecting snowfall among the productsanalyzed. SLALOM ranks second; it outperforms GPROF and the other GPM algorithms, all detecting only 30% of thesnow events. Since SLALOM is trained with 2C-SNOW, it suggests that the optimal use of the information content in theGMI observations critically depends on the precipitation training dataset. All the retrievals underestimate snowfall ratesby a factor of 2 compared to MRMS. Large discrepancies (RMSE of 0.7–1.5 mm h21) between spaceborne and ground-based snowfall rate estimates are attributed to the complexity of the ice scattering properties and to the limitations of theremote sensing systems: the DPR instrument has low sensitivity, while the radiometric measurements are affected by theconfounding effects of the background surface emissivity and of the emission of supercooled liquid droplet layers

Evaluation of genetic diversity between toxic and non toxic Jatropha curcas L. accessions using a set of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers

Scepticism about Jatropha as a competitive biofuel feedstock especially on marginal soils has been growing; in fact, the jatropha-biofuel chain is risky economically and often financially unfeasible without significant government subsidies under these conditions. A valorization of the by-products and in particular of the extruded seed cake (about 70% (w/w) of the processed seed), as animal feed, currently prevented by the presence of phorbol esters (PE) toxins, could contribute to a significant improvement in the economic sustainability of the crop. Strategies for breeding improved varieties could be accelerated by DNA-based molecular marker technology. Wild Mexican accessions and accessions from other parts of the world (South America and Africa) were analyzed by 40 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. SSR primers were chosen on the grounds of their Tm, length, degree of polymorphism and specificity for toxic trait. The genetic study pointed out a high degree of similarity both within and among the non Mexican accessions. The Mexican accessions proved to be non toxic and genetically differentiated forming a well separated cluster from out of Mexico accessions. Some polymorphic loci were close correlated with the character toxicity and useful, once validated their association in segregating populations for Marker Assisted Selection (MAS). Keywords : Jatropha curcas , genetic variability, molecular markers, non-toxic accession, phorbol esters, simple sequence repeat (SSR) genotyping African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(3), pp. 265-27

Bleaching techniques impact on some quality parameters in two different cold-pressed oils obtained at farm scale

The consumption of cold-pressed oil, such as linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) and hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) oil has increased recently. In these oils obtained on the farm, a large number of components able to affect oil quality (mainly chlorophylls) are present. Given this, an experiment was conducted with the following aims: (1) to compare different bleaching methods by applying ultrasound waves and earths in cold-pressed hempseed and linseed oils and (2) to evaluate the effect of different types (acid-activated and natural) and amount (2% and 4%) of earths with different processing temperatures (60 and 80°C) in hempseed oil, utilizing a bleaching method with earths alone. Regarding the linseed oil, any bleaching methodologies adopted must not include ultrasound treatment, as the high temperatures reached determine high levels of oxidation to the detriment of the oil. Concerning the hemp oil, the natural earths, especially at farm level, should be preferred, because in addition to removing chlorophyll satisfactorily, when used at 4% even at the lowest temperature (60°C), an improvement of the stability and nutritional value (Vit. E) of the oil was observed

The Performance and Potentiality of Monoecious Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Cultivars as a Multipurpose Crop

Given the growing interest in multipurpose hemp crop, eight monoecious cultivars were compared in a two-year trial for quantitative and qualitative yield in a Mediterranean environment characterized by a temperate and humid climate with hot summers. All hemp cultivars were evaluated for yield potential of (i) seed plus stem at seed maturity, and (ii) essential oil yield from inflorescences harvested at full flowering. The second goal was set to test the ability of cultivars to supply new seeds after the removal of inflorescence at full flowering. Among the cultivars, Fedora obtained the best results for seed (0.79 and 0.52 t ha1) and vegetable oil yield (0.17 and 0.09 t ha1) normally and with inflorescence removed plants, respectively. Futura, conversely, showed the best results for inflorescence (3.0 t ha1), essential oil (9 L ha1), and stem yield at seed maturity (8.34 t ha1), as means across the two years. The cultivars studied generally reached the grain-filling stage during a period that was drier and warmer than the average of the same multi-year period, and this negatively affected seed quality. The oil fatty acid composition was mainly composed of polyunsaturated fatty acids (75% on average) and not affected by the cultivar. In conclusion, although the hemp grower should always clearly know the main production objective of the crop, the monoecious cultivars available today allow a multipurpose use of hemp crop, improving the sustainability of the cultivation activity

Males with low serum levels of vitamin D have lower pregnancy rates when ovulation induction and timed intercourse are used as a treatment for infertile couples: results from a pilot study

Background: Vitamin D (Vit D) is important for the regulation of reproductive physiology. In humans, maternal Vit D deficiency has been implicated in several reproductive- and pregnancy-related disorders. Very few data are available regarding the Vit D status in male partners of couples attempting pregnancy. This observational study (IRB Prot. N. 078/13) aimed to evaluate whether low Vit D serum levels in males might decrease the rate of successful conception in couples attempting pregnancy. Methods: Male and female partners of infertile couples (n = 102) were classified into 2 GROUPS according to normal (≥30 ng/ml) or low (below 30 ng/ml) serum Vit D levels in male partners. Semen analysis was performed in each male participant based on the WHO reference criteria. The female partners of both groups were subjected to 3 consecutive cycles of gonadotropin-induced mono-ovulation. The main outcome measures included the clinical pregnancy rate, delivery per patient and per cycle, and miscarriage rate between the 2 groups evaluated at the end of the three-month period of the study. Results: In male partners of both groups, standard semen analysis did not highlight substantial differences in sperm concentration, sperm progressive motility, or typical form. The pregnancy rates per patient and per cycle and delivery rates per patient and per cycle were all significantly higher (p< 0.05) in couples with normal Vit D levels. Conclusions: These results suggest the existence of a relationship between male Vit D serum levels and semen ability to begin a pregnancy during cycles of timed vaginal intercourse. © 2015 Tartagni et al