Acidic dairy products-evalution sensory

This paper presents a model approach of the author for evaluating the quality level of the acid dairy products. In the situation where most dairy products are now seen only through the view of the chemist analyst, the paper presents in figures the comptetent consumer opinin by means of standards of the sensory analysis. Following an evaluation sensory testing, panelists selected products with the best features, highlighting by scores the correspondence between the theoretical and factual issues related especially to the aroma of a dairy product

IN VITRO EFFICACY OF SOME PLANT EXTRACTS AGAINST DAMPING OFF DISEASE OF TOMATOES

Plant diseases control represent a major challenge that farmers are facing in the management of cropping systems. Rhizoctonia solani is a soilborne fungal pathogen causing tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) root-rot and damping off, and generating compromised quality of crops and reducing yields. Ethanol extracts of five medicinal plants, marigold (Tagetes patula), horsetail (Equisetum arvense), elderberry (Sambucus nigra), burdock (Arctium lappa), liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) were investigated to determine their antifungal potential against Rhizoctonia. Solani. In vitro testing demonstrated a high growth inhibition of the extracts. Four of the extracts totally inhibited the mycelial growth of R. solani compared to the untreated control, at 10% concentration in growth media. For all plant extracts considered, the growth inhibition increased with the concentration of each extract. The obtained results support an interesting direction of research, meaning the use of plant extracts in controlling diseases attacking economically important crops for integrated pest management programmes

Assessment of 25 genes reported to influence thousand grain weight in winter wheat germplasm

Exploitation of genetic variation for TGW and related traits is a promising approach to improve wheat yield in wheat breeding programs. The aim of this study was the molecular characterization of 34 winter wheat cultivars with functional markers for the assessment of candidate genes known to enhance thousand grain weight and/or thousand grain weight components. We analyzed the effects of 25 genes related to water-soluble carbohydrates, starch, cell division and grain size regulation, abiotic stress, chlorophyll, and adaptability on grain size and weight. Ten genes were found to be associated with grain size and/or thousand grain weight: Six genes were associated with grain length (TaSST-D1, TaFlo2-A1, Ppd-D1, 6-SFT-A2, TaTEF-7A, and Tackx4), five with grain width (TaSnRK2.3-1B, Ppd-D1, TaSST-D1, 1-FEH w3, and TaGS-D1), three with factor form-density (TaGS1a, TaPPH-7A, and Ppd-D1), and three with TGW (TaSST-D1, TaFlo2-A1, and Tackx4). Also, a possible new haplotype at 6-SFT-A2 and TaSST-D1 loci was identified during the study. These results confirmed many previous studies mostly performed on spring wheat, but also contradicted some others and identified new possible associations, providing proof that the genetic background of wheat cultivars and interactions with the growing environment affect the expression of genes and/or QTL’s that can influence grain size and weight. Our results demonstrated that accumulation of favorable/superior alleles has a significant positive effect on the studied traits, as genotypes with an allelic profile comprised of all favorable alleles for each trait were superior compared to genotypes with different allelic profiles