Production risks in Bulgarian peanut production

As farmers in a transition economy search for new crop enterprises with a potential for income enhancement they are faced with increased risks in the process of resource allocation. It has been noted that biased estimation of production function estimates results from the lack of accountability of risks. Since peanut production in Bulgaria has increased at a varying rate since 1989 it is important that we examine the risks associated with input use. The data for this study were collected from farmers from 18 villages in the southern part of Bulgaria. A total of 205 farmers were surveyed for this study. Peanut yield in Bulgaria is positively related to the quantity of seed used, fungicide, manual labor, investment level and mechanized labor used. Peanut yield is negatively influenced by investment levels but positively by the increase of manual labor. The response of yield to quantity of seed used is elastic, and an addition of a kg of peanut seeds may increase yield by 32kg. However, as the quantity of seeds used per ha increases the risk is expected to increase, hence farmers may be cautious in increasing the quantity of seeds used. Investment capital, manual labor and mechanized labor are positively related to yield and there will be a reduction in yield if the optimal levels of those inputs are surpassed. Thus farmers may increase yield and production by augmenting the seeding rate, other factors remaining constant.Agricultural and Food Policy,

THE ECONOMICS OF PEANUT PRODUCTION IN BULGARIA DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD

We examined peanut production systems and selected factors affecting the development of commercial peanut enterprises in Bulgaria. A survey of 220 individual farms and farm cooperatives engaged in the cultivation of peanuts was conducted during 2000 and 2002. Poor farm structure, low level of technology, and nonconformity to farm decision making impede the financial and economic development of Bulgarian peanut production and farm growth, thus limiting farm enterprises emergence into competitive economic units financially operative in a freemarket economy. The underlying cost structure, couple with small farms, averaging 0.8 ha in size, prevent farmers from capturing economies of scale, limit farm profitability and hence farm modernization. The lack of owned farm machinery, equipment and storage facilities renders the restructuring and specialization extremely difficult. However, peanut production is still a viable farm enterprise for Bulgarian farmers

ИКОНОМИКА НА ФЪСТЪКОПРОИЗВОДСТВОТО В БЪЛГАРИЯ ПРЕЗ ПРЕХОДНИЯ ПЕРИОД

We examined peanut production systems and selected factors affecting the development of commercial peanut enterprises in Bulgaria. A survey of 220 individual farms and farm cooperatives engaged in the cultivation of peanuts was conducted during 2000 and 2002. Poor farm structure, low level of technology, and nonconformity to farm decision making impede the financial and economic development of Bulgarian peanut production and farm growth, thus limiting farm enterprises emergence into competitive economic units financially operative in a freemarket economy. The underlying cost structure, couple with small farms, averaging 0.8 ha in size, prevent farmers from capturing economies of scale, limit farm profitability and hence farm modernization. The lack of owned farm machinery, equipment and storage facilities renders the restructuring and specialization extremely difficult. However, peanut production is still a viable farm enterprise for Bulgarian farmers.Изследвана е системата на производство на фъстъци и факторите влияещи върху развитието на фъстъчения сектор в България. Проучени са 220 индивидуални и кооперативни земеделски стопанства произвеждащи фъстъци през периода 2000-2002 г. Неподходящата структура на земеделските стопанства, ниското технологично равнище, несъобразяването с процеса на вземане на решения затрудняват финансовото и икономическото развитие и ръста на производството на фъстъци. По такъв начин се ограничава и процеса на превръщане на земеделските стопанства в конкурентни единици, способни да работят ефективно в условията на пазарна икономика. Структурата на разходите, наред с дребните земеделски стопанства със средна обработваема площ 0.8 ha възпрепятствуват извличането на полза от икономия от мащаба, ограничават продуктивността, а от тук и процеса на модернизиране на стопанствата. Липсата на собствена техника, оборудване и складова база предопределят и големите трудности на преструктуриране и специализация на производството. Независимо от това, производството на фъстъци все още е изгодно за българските фермери

ФИНАНСОВО ИКОНОМИЧЕСКИ АНАЛИЗ НА ПРОИЗВОДСТВОТО НА ФЪСТЪЦИ В БЪЛГАРИЯ

Peanut is not listed as one of the major crops in the Bulgarian agricultural sector, but its economic and fi nancial viability is promising, but unknown. We use enterprise budgets, capital budgeting techniques, risk analysis and logistic regression models to examine the fi nancial and economic structure of peanut farms and to evaluate the factors infl uencing short and long-term profi tability. The results show that peanut production is a profi table venture for most peanut farmers in Bulgaria. Long-run analyses show that peanut production may be economically feasible and producers engaged in production for a period of seven years, and at a discount rate of 13%, may generate internal rates of return (IRR) that vary from -20.57% to 67.39%. About 70% of the farms studied had IRRs greater than the discount rate. Sensitivity analyses show that profi tability of peanut production was infl uenced by yield and variable costs. There were risks at the village level associated with peanut production.Въпреки, че фъстъците не са основна култура за България, те имат значителен икономически и финансов потенциал, който не е достатъчно проучен. За изследване на икономическото и финансово състояние на стопанствата произвеждащи фъстъци, както и за оценка на факторите, които влияят върху ефективността в кратко срочен и дългосрочен аспект бяха използвани техниките на производствените и капиталови бюджети, анализ на риска и логистични регресионни модели. Получените резултати показаха, че за повечето стопанства отглеждащи фъстъци в България производството е рентабилно. Анализите в дългосрочен план показват, че производството на фъстъци за период от седем години може да бъде икономическо оправдано при дисконтов фактор от 13%, като вътрешната норма на възвращаемост (IRR) варира от 20.57% до 67.39%. За около 70% от изследваните стопанства IRR превишава дискантовия фактор. Резултатите от анализа на чувствителността показват, че ефективността на производството на фъстъци се влияе от средните добиви и променливите разходи. На равнище селище съществуват някои рискове на производство на фъстъци

Plant prebiotics and human health: Biotechnology to breed prebiotic-rich nutritious food crops

Microbiota in the gut play essential roles in human health. Prebiotics are non-digestible complex carbohydrates that are fermented in the colon, yielding energy and short chain fatty acids, and selectively promote the growth of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillae in the gastro-intestinal tract. Fructans and inulin are the best-characterized plant prebiotics. Many vegetable, root and tuber crops as well as some fruit crops are the best-known sources of prebiotic carbohydrates, while the prebiotic-rich grain crops include barley, chickpea, lentil, lupin, and wheat. Some prebiotic-rich crop germplasm have been reported in barley, chickpea, lentil, wheat, yacon, and Jerusalem artichoke. A few major quantitative trait loci and gene-based markers associated with high fructan are known in wheat. More targeted search in genebanks using reduced subsets (representing diversity in germplasm) is needed to identify accessions with prebiotic carbohydrates. Transgenic maize, potato and sugarcane with high fructan, with no adverse effects on plant development, have been bred, which suggests that it is feasible to introduce fructan biosynthesis pathways in crops to produce health-imparting prebiotics. Developing prebiotic-rich and super nutritious crops will alleviate the widespread malnutrition and promote human health. A paradigm shift in breeding program is needed to achieve this goal and to ensure that newly-bred crop cultivars are nutritious, safe and health promoting

Types of gene effects governing the inheritance of oleic and linoleic acids in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Oleic and linoleic acids are major fatty acids in peanut determining the quality and shelf-life of peanut products. A better understanding on the inheritance of these characters is an important for high-oleic breeding programs. The objective of this research was to determine the gene actions for oleic acid, linoleic acid, the ratio of oleic to linoleic acids (O/L ratio) and percentage oil (% oil) in peanut. Georgia-02C, SunOleic 97R (high-oleic genotypes) and KKU 1 (low-oleic genotypes) were used as parents to generate P1, P2, F2, F3, BC11S and BC12S. The entries were planted in a randomized complete block design with four replications in the rainy season (2008) and the dry season (2008/2009). Gas liquid chromatography (GLC) was used to analyze fatty acid compositions. The data were used in generation means analysis to understand gene effects. The differences in season, generation and generation X season interactions were significant for oleic acid in the crosses Georgia-02C X KKU 1 and SunOleic 97R X KKU 1. Additive, dominance and epistasis gene effects were significant for oleic acid, linoleic acid, O/L ratio and % oil. Initial selection can be carried out in early segregating population, and final selection in late generations.Keywords: Breeding, gene actions, generation mean analysis, groundnut, oil qualit

Gene expression profiling in peanut using high density oligonucleotide microarrays

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Transcriptome expression analysis in peanut to date has been limited to a relatively small set of genes and only recently has a significant number of ESTs been released into the public domain. Utilization of these ESTs for oligonucleotide microarrays provides a means to investigate large-scale transcript responses to a variety of developmental and environmental signals, ultimately improving our understanding of plant biology.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have developed a high-density oligonucleotide microarray for peanut using 49,205 publicly available ESTs and tested the utility of this array for expression profiling in a variety of peanut tissues. To identify putatively tissue-specific genes and demonstrate the utility of this array for expression profiling in a variety of peanut tissues, we compared transcript levels in pod, peg, leaf, stem, and root tissues. Results from this experiment showed 108 putatively pod-specific/abundant genes, as well as transcripts whose expression was low or undetected in pod compared to peg, leaf, stem, or root. The transcripts significantly over-represented in pod include genes responsible for seed storage proteins and desiccation (e.g., late-embryogenesis abundant proteins, aquaporins, legumin B), oil production, and cellular defense. Additionally, almost half of the pod-abundant genes represent unknown genes allowing for the possibility of associating putative function to these previously uncharacterized genes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The peanut oligonucleotide array represents the majority of publicly available peanut ESTs and can be used as a tool for expression profiling studies in diverse tissues.</p

Genome-wide transcriptome and physiological analyses provide new insights into peanut drought response mechanisms

Drought is one of the main constraints in peanut production in West Texas and eastern New Mexico regions due to the depletion of groundwater. A multi-seasonal phenotypic analysis of 10 peanut genotypes revealed C76-16 (C-76) and Valencia-C (Val-C) as the best and poor performers under deficit irrigation (DI) in West Texas, respectively. In order to decipher transcriptome changes under DI, RNAseq was performed in C-76 and Val-C. Approximately 369 million raw reads were generated from 12 different libraries of two genotypes subjected to fully irrigated (FI) and DI conditions, of which ~329 million (90.2%) filtered reads were mapped to the diploid ancestors of peanut. The transcriptome analysis detected 4,508 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), 1554 genes encoding transcription factors (TFs) and a total of 514 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among the identified DEGs. The comparative analysis between the two genotypes revealed higher and integral tolerance in C-76 through activation of key genes involved in ABA and sucrose metabolic pathways. Interestingly, one SNP from the gene coding F-box protein (Araip.3WN1Q) and another SNP from gene coding for the lipid transfer protein (Aradu.03ENG) showed polymorphism in selected contrasting genotypes. These SNPs after further validation may be useful for performing early generation selection for selecting drought-responsive genotypes

Effect of elevated CO2 on peanut performance in a semi-arid production region

With the intensification and frequency of heat waves and periods of water deficit stress, along with rising atmospheric carbon dioxide [CO2], understanding the seasonal leaf-gas-exchange responses to combined abiotic factors will be important in predicting crop performance in semi-arid production systems. In peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.), the availability of developmental stage physiological data on the response to repeated water deficit stress periods in an elevated [CO2] (EC) environment is limited and necessary to improve crop model predictions. Here, we investigated the effects of season-long EC (650 µmol CO2 m−2 s−1) on the physiology and productivity of peanut in a semi-arid environment. This study was conducted over two-growing seasons using field-based growth chambers to maintain EC conditions, and impose water-stress at three critical developmental stages. Our results showed that relative to ambient [CO2] (AC), long-term EC during water-stress episodes, increased leaf-level light-saturated CO2 assimilation (Asat), transpiration efficiency (TE), vegetative biomass, and pod yield by 58%, 73%, 58%, and 39%, respectively. Although leaf nitrogen content was reduced by 16%, there was 41% increase in maximum Rubisco carboxylation efficiency in EC, indicating that there was minimal photosynthetic down-regulation. Furthermore, long-term EC modified the short-term physiological response (Asat) to rapid changes in [CO2] during the water-stress episodes, generating a much greater change in EC (54%) compared to AC (10%). Additionally, long-term EC generated a 23% greater Asat compared to the short-term EC during the water-stress episodes. These findings indicate high levels of physiological adjustment in EC, which may increase drought resilience. We concluded that EC may reduce the negative impacts of repeated water-stress events at critical developmental stages on rain-fed peanut in semi-arid regions. These results can inform current models to improve the projections of peanut response to future climates