Efficacy of Fungicides for Control of White Mold (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum Lib.) De Bary in Lima Bean

White mold of lima bean (Phaseolous lunatus) caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a major disease in India. Isolates of the pathogen from different region of Uttar Pradesh were assayed both in vitro and in the greenhouse (in vivo) for their sensitivity to eight commercially available fungicides, viz., dithiocarbamic acid, carbendazim, ziram, phenylthiourea, carboxin + dithiocarbamic acid, difenoconazole, hydrogen sulphide, and mancozeb. Phenylthiourea and difenoconazole were found to be most effective and these inhibited radial growth of the test organism a level of to 71.5% and 70.5%, respectively. These two fungicides were also found as most promising in controlling the disease under greenhouse conditions, reducing disease severity to 0.14% and 0.22%, respectively compared to the control where it was 18.9%

Citrinin Mycotoxin Contamination in Food and Feed: Impact on Agriculture, Human Health, and Detection and Management Strategies

Citrinin (CIT) is a mycotoxin produced by different species of Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Monascus. CIT can contaminate a wide range of foods and feeds at any time during the pre-harvest, harvest, and post-harvest stages. CIT can be usually found in beans, fruits, fruit and vegetable juices, herbs and spices, and dairy products, as well as red mold rice. CIT exerts nephrotoxic and genotoxic effects in both humans and animals, thereby raising concerns regarding the consumption of CIT-contaminated food and feed. Hence, to minimize the risk of CIT contamination in food and feed, understanding the incidence of CIT occurrence, its sources, and biosynthetic pathways could assist in the effective implementation of detection and mitigation measures. Therefore, this review aims to shed light on sources of CIT, its prevalence in food and feed, biosynthetic pathways, and genes involved, with a major focus on detection and management strategies to ensure the safety and security of food and feed

Recurrent Somatic Embryogenesis and Plantlet Regeneration in Psidium guajava L.

A simple and efficient protocol for recurrent somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration is one of the prerequisites for genetic improvement of guava. An efficient reproducible regeneration somatic embryogenesis protocol was developed in four genotypes of Psidium guajava L. using immature zygotic embryo as starter explant. Somatic embryogenesis induction was obtained on MS basal medium supplemented with 2.0 mgL-1 2, 4-D, 400 mgL-1 L-glutamine, 6% sucrose and 500 mgL-1 Malt extract. Following SE induction different developmental stages of somatic embryos (Globular, heart-shaped, torpedo, cotyledonary) was directly obtained and further recurrent embryogenesis also obtained upon prolonged incubation in induction media. Addition of polyethylene glycol (50 mgL-1) significantly improved the embryos maturation in MS supplemented with and 3% sucrose. The regeneration in MS medium supplemented with BAP (0.5 mgL-1), NAA (0.2 mgL-1), casein hydrolysate (100 mgL-1) and 3% sucrose. High plant regeneration frequency and intensity of somatic embryos (58.5%) obtained. Plant maturation on MS medium supplemented with BAP 2.0 mgL-1 with 2% sucrose. The rooted plants was successfully acclimatize in the greenhouse with a survival rate of 85%. This somatic embryogenesis protocol developed would be helpful in establishment of genetically modified guava aimed at seedlessness, increased shelf life and wilt disease

Not Available

Not AvailableA simple and efficient protocol for recurrent somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration is one of the prerequisites for genetic improvement of guava. An efficient reproducible regeneration somatic embryogenesis protocol was developed in four genotypes of Psidium guajava L. using immature zygotic embryo as starter explant. Somatic embryogenesis induction was obtained on MS basal medium supplemented with 2.0 mgL-1 2, 4-D, 400 mgL-1 L-glutamine, 6% sucrose and 500 mgL-1 Malt extract. Following SE induction different developmental stages of somatic embryos (Globular, heart-shaped, torpedo, cotyledonary) was directly obtained and further recurrent embryogenesis also obtained upon prolonged incubation in induction media. Addition of polyethylene glycol (50 mgL-1) significantly improved the embryos maturation in MS supplemented with and 3% sucrose. The regeneration in MS medium supplemented with BAP (0.5 mgL-1), NAA (0.2 mgL-1), casein hydrolysate (100 mgL-1) and 3% sucrose. High plant regeneration frequency and intensity of somatic embryos (58.5%) obtained. Plant maturation on MS medium supplemented with BAP 2.0 mgL-1 with 2% sucrose. The rooted plants was successfully acclimatize in the greenhouse with a survival rate of 85%. This somatic embryogenesis protocol developed would be helpful in establishment of genetically modified guava aimed at seedlessness, increased shelf life and wilt disease.Not Availabl

Aflatoxins: a global concern for food safety, human health and their management

The aflatoxin producing fungi, Aspergillus spp., are widely spread in nature and have severely contaminated food supplies of humans and animals, resulting in health hazards and even death. Therefore, there is great demand for aflatoxins research to develop suitable methods for their quantification, precise detection and control to ensure the safety of consumers’ health. Here, the chemistry and biosynthesis process of the mycotoxins is discussed in brief along with their occurrence, and the health hazards to humans and livestock. This review focuses on resources, production, detection and control measures of aflatoxins to ensure food and feed safety. The review is informative for health-conscious consumers and research experts in the fields. Furthermore, providing knowledge on aflatoxins toxicity will help in ensure food safety and meet the future demands of the increasing population by decreasing the incidence of outbreaks due to aflatoxins

Identification and characterization of fusarium mangiferae as pathogen of mango malformation in india

Fusarium mangiferae (=F. subglutinans) isolates collect from malformed samples from major mango-growing area of North India. Molecular identification and characterization of eleven most virulent isolates of F. mangiferae, based on pathogenicity tests used for the present study. Species-specific, genus specific ITS-PCR and PCR-RFLP performed for the accurate and easy detection of F. mangiferae. The rDNA-ITS 28S region sequences used for phylogenetic analysis of Fusarium isolates from India and other countries for homology search between them. The phylogenetic tree divided the isolates into three clades (i.e., American, Asian and African) and showed the high level of sequence based similarity (69-99%) among all Fusarium sequences from Asia. Thus, claimed Fusarium mangiferae as dominant pathogen of mango malformation. Furthermore, we conclude that exploiting the nested PCR coupled with PCR-RFLP will help in rapid and accurate detection of F. mangiferae pathogen of mango malformation