Mushroom flavour

Mushrooms and fungi not only present a fascinating world of shapes, both macro- and microscopic, but they are also an interesting source of flavours, fragrances and odours, e.g. garlic, coconut, flour-like, cucumber or fruit-like, as well as the most characteristic for this kingdom of living organisms mushroom-like flavour and aroma. Fungi can possess many different and interesting flavours and fragrances - starting from nice anise-like, fruit-like, cucumber, garlic, to cheese-garlic, and ending with potato or flour-like smells. Some mushrooms emit carbide or distinctly faecal-like odour. The taste of mushrooms is frequently correlated with their aroma. What components does the core of a mushroom flavour consist of? Chemical analysis of specimens reveals compounds responsible for characteristic flavour and odour. It was found that the most characteristic flavour compound is defined mainly by C8 volatiles. Between all C8 compounds the most important for mushroom flavour are oct-1-en-3-ol, octan-3-ol, octan-3-on and oct-1-en-3-on. Fungi and mushrooms can enable biotechnological production of some flavour components, for instance the Nidula niveotomentosa produces a characteristic raspberries compound - raspberry ketone in submerged cultures; the biotechnological production can also provide rare and tasty forest mushroom biomass e.g. edible boletus.Bogactwo aromatów w świecie grzybów pozwala na biotechnologiczne wykorzystanie ich do otrzymywania bądź to czystych związków, jak np. w przypadku ketonu malinowego pozyskiwanego z Nidula niveotomentosa, bądź np. aromatycznej grzybni mogącej zastąpić rzadkie i pożądane gatunki grzybów leśnych, np. borowików

Tubercle disease of sugar beets, the lost pathogen, and the thin border between pathogenicity and stimulatory effect

Tubercle disease or a bacterial pocket disease of sugar beets are names used to describe one of the gall-malformed diseases of sugar beet roots. Xanthomonas beticola is the historical name of the pathogen supposedly causing bacterial pocket disease. There were no isolates deposited in any collection corresponding to the originally isolated bacteria, except two strains from the NCPPB (National Collection of Plant Pathogenic Bacteria, UK). However, both isolates were identified as related to Bacillus pumilus, which raised doubts about their pathogenicity. In our laboratory, greenhouse, and preliminary field experiments, we demonstrated that such strains are not pathogenic to sugar beets. Furthermore, both strains promoted their growth, improved their yield quality, and partly protected them against Rhizoctonia solani in a field experiment

Rhizoctonia solani AG5 and Its Offspring – Morphology and Sensitivity to Fungicides

The objective of these studies was to identify differences and similarities within the progeny of Rhizoctonia solani AG5, which arose from basidiospores produced by the maternal strain ID23. The following characteristics were analyzed: appearance of the mycelium (color, structure, zonation, and presence of sclerotia), growth rate (at 10°C, 20°C, and 30°C), fungicide sensitivity, and hyphal structure. The mycelial color of R. solani AG5 ranged from white/cream to light and dark brown. The structure of the mycelium may be compacted or flattened with visible zoning or fluffy with dark brown sclerotia on the colony surface. Homokaryons and heterokaryons derived from homokaryons were analyzed by constructing a phylogenetic tree using morphological data. Single basidiospore-grown isolates formed a separate subclade, the majority of which were grouped with a maternal isolate; however, heterokaryons derived from them created a separate subclade. In addition, isolates grown in basidiospores germinated at low temperatures created their own group, but with some exceptions. This shows a divergence in the morphological parameters of the subsequent generations and within generations. The optimal temperature for growth was found to be between 20°C and 30°C. The exceptions were strains obtained from basidiospores that germinated at refrigerated temperatures. For these samples, 10°C was found to be the optimal growth temperature. The hyphae of homokaryons were characterized by the presence of branching at an almost right angle and the presence of a septum at the site of constriction of the branch itself. The mean diameter of hyphae ranged 2.93–15.60 μm, depending on the age of hyphae. The fungicidal compounds at a concentration of 10 ppm had no significant effect on the activity of the tested strains, whereas a tenfold increase in the dose reduced the growth ability of the tested isolates. The activity of fungicides containing azoxystrobin, thiuram, or thiophanate-methyl on R. solani resulted in a reduction in the mycelial growth rate only in the case of azoxystrobin and thiuram, and in some cases, it was completely inhibited (thiophanate-methyl)

Preliminary assessment of the possibility of supporting the decomposition of biodegradable packaging

This article presents a preliminary evaluation of the possibility of using grass biomass from a sports field as a compost ingredient which positively affects the degree of decomposition of the biodegradable wrappings. For 5 months the biodegradable bags were stored, both empty and filled with organic waste in the heap of grass clippings. After that period, fragments of the bags were observed under the microscope and then assessed the state of their decomposition. The results indicate that the biomass used favourably affected the process of bag degradation, however the speed of decomposition of the empty bags was quicker than the bags filled with the organic waste

Weed beet and bolters on sugar beet plantations

Burak cukrowy stanowi jedną z ważniejszych upraw rolniczych w Polsce. Zjawisko pośpiechowatości na skutek wernalizacji roślin było wcześniej znane, jednak rośliny te w znakomitej większości nie wytwarzały nasion. Od lat 90. ubiegłego stulecia, wraz z wprowadzeniem nasion reprodukowanych w basenie Morza Śródziemnego, w uprawie tej pojawiły się rośliny wytwarzające nasiona w pierwszym roku wegetacji. Są one efektem przekrzyżowań materiałów hodowlanych z gatunkami dzikimi buraka tam występującymi. Zaniedbania ze strony plantatorów doprowadziły do wzrostu ich liczebności i znacznego zachwaszczenia nimi pól buraka. Monitoring plantacji w rejonach zachodnio północnych kraju wykazał, że na wielu polach sytuacja stała się krytyczna, a liczebność burakochwastów stawia dalszą uprawę buraka na tych polach pod znakiem zapytania.Sugar beet is one of the more important crop in Poland. Occurrence of bolting plants as an effect of vernalization was previously known but such plants created seeds very rare. Sugar beet seed plants appeared in nineties of XX when seeds produced in Mediterranean Sea area were introduced to practice in Poland. They are a progeny of hybridization between breeding materials and beet wild species beet. The increase of seed plant number in field is a result of growers’ neglect. Monitoring in north west part of Poland shows that the situation in some fields is critical and number of weed beet is so high that it is almost impossible to sow sugar beet there

Early detection of Solanum lycopersicum diseases from temporally-aggregated hyperspectral measurements using machine learning

Abstract Some plant diseases can significantly reduce harvest, but their early detection in cultivation may prevent those consequential losses. Conventional methods of diagnosing plant diseases are based on visual observation of crops, but the symptoms of various diseases may be similar. It increases the difficulty of this task even for an experienced farmer and requires detailed examination based on invasive methods conducted in laboratory settings by qualified personnel. Therefore, modern agronomy requires the development of non-destructive crop diagnosis methods to accelerate the process of detecting plant infections with various pathogens. This research pathway is followed in this paper, and an approach for classifying selected Solanum lycopersicum diseases (anthracnose, bacterial speck, early blight, late blight and septoria leaf) from hyperspectral data captured on consecutive days post inoculation (DPI) is presented. The objective of that approach was to develop a technique for detecting infection in less than seven days after inoculation. The dataset used in this study included hyperspectral measurements of plants of two cultivars of S. lycopersicum: Benito and Polfast, which were infected with five different pathogens. Hyperspectral reflectance measurements were performed using a high-spectral-resolution field spectroradiometer (350–2500 nm range) and they were acquired for 63 days after inoculation, with particular emphasis put on the first 17 day-by-day measurements. Due to a significant data imbalance and low representation of measurements on some days, the collective datasets were elaborated by combining measurements from several days. The experimental results showed that machine learning techniques can offer accurate classification, and they indicated the practical utility of our approaches