Effects of Variety and Fermentation Time on the Quality of Rice Wine

A study was conducted to investigate the effect of variety and fermentation time on rice wine quality. Two rice varieties, X- Jigna and Gomera, and three fermentation times, 5, 6 and 7 days were used to study the physicochemical and sensory qualities of wine. Significant difference was observed at P<0.05 among the rice varieties with respect to different wine quality parameters and maximum pH (4.98), total soluble solids (3.83 °Brix) and overall sensory acceptance (4.32) were recorded for rice wine prepared from X- Jigna with 5 days of fermentation time. Wine prepared from Gomera variety for 7 days of fermentation time recorded the highest alcohol content (15.47%) followed by X- Jigna variety with the same days of fermentation time (14.90%). In comparison, the wine from Gomera rice variety with 6 days of fermentation time was found the least overall acceptance (3.84). Rice wine could, therefore, be produced for immediate consumption as a value added product and future research is still required to determine the potential of other rice varieties, the effect of other factors and the shelf life stability of the rice wine.Keywords: Fermentation time Rice variety Rice wine physicochemical X- Jigna and Gomer

Interplant Communication of Tomato Plants through Underground Common Mycorrhizal Networks

Plants can defend themselves to pathogen and herbivore attack by responding to chemical signals that are emitted by attacked plants. It is well established that such signals can be transferred through the air. In theory, plants can also communicate with each other through underground common mycorrhizal networks (CMNs) that interconnect roots of multiple plants. However, until now research focused on plant-to-plant carbon nutrient movement and there is no evidence that defense signals can be exchanged through such mycorrhizal hyphal networks. Here, we show that CMNs mediate plant-plant communication between healthy plants and pathogen-infected tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). After establishment of CMNs with the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus mosseae between tomato plants, inoculation of ‘donor’ plants with the pathogen Alternaria solani led to increases in disease resistance and activities of the putative defensive enzymes, peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, chitinase, β-1,3-glucanase, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and lipoxygenase in healthy neighbouring ‘receiver’ plants. The uninfected ‘receiver’ plants also activated six defence-related genes when CMNs connected ‘donor’ plants challenged with A. solani. This finding indicates that CMNs may function as a plant-plant underground communication conduit whereby disease resistance and induced defence signals can be transferred between the healthy and pathogen-infected neighbouring plants, suggesting that plants can ‘eavesdrop’ on defence signals from the pathogen-challenged neighbours through CMNs to activate defences before being attacked themselves