Nematodes Affecting Potato and Sustainable Practices for Their Management

Plant-parasitic nematodes are a significant factor limiting potato production and tuber quality in several regions where potato is produced. Overall, parasitic nematodes alone cause an estimated annual crop loss of $ 78 billion worldwide and an average crop yield loss of 10–15%. As a result, sustainable food production and food security are directly impacted by pests and diseases. Degrading land use with monocultures and unsustainable cropping practices have intensified problems associated with plant pathogens. Proper identification of nematode species and isolates is crucial to choose effective and sustainable management strategies for nematode infection. Several nematode species have been reported associated with potato. Among those, the potato cyst nematodes Globodera rostochiensis and G. pallida, the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne spp., the root lesion nematode Pratylenchus spp., the potato rot nematode Ditylenchus destructor and the false root-knot nematode Nacobbus aberrans are major species limiting potato yield and leading to poor tuber quality. Here, we report a literature review on the biology, symptoms, damage and control methods used for these nematode species

Ação conjunta de citocinina, giberelina e auxina em pimentão enxertado e não enxertado sob cultivo protegido

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da utilização do bioestimulante Stimulate® em plantas de pimentão enxertadas e não enxertadas, em ambiente protegido, no aumento de produção. Utilizou-se o delineamento experimental de blocos casualizados, no esquema fatorial 2 x 6, referente a plantas enxertadas e pé-franco e seis doses do Stimulate® (0; 75; 100; 125; 150 e 175 mL p.c. 100 L H2O-1), com quatro repetições. Realizaram-se sete aplicações foliares, quinzenais, do bioestimulante a partir do início do florescimento das plantas e avaliou-se o número total de frutos comerciais produzidos, comprimento, calibre, espessura de parede, massa média e produtividade final, totalizando treze colheitas. As plantas enxertadas foram mais produtivas em relação às plantas pé-franco, produzindo frutos de características agronômicas superiores. No geral, 100 e 125-150 mL p.c. 100 L H2O-1 de Stimulate® promovem incremento na produção de pimentão enxertado e pé-franco, respectivamente.The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of using the Stimulate® biostimulant in grafted and non grafted plants of sweet pepper in a protected environment, to increase production. The experimental design was randomized blocks in a factorial scheme 2 x 6, referring to the grafted and non grafted plants and six doses of Stimulate® (0; 75; 100; 125; 150 and 175 mL p.c. 100 L H2O-1), with four replications. Seven foliar applications of the biostimulant were carried out fortnightly, from the beginning of the plants flowering and the total number of marketable fruits, length, diameter, wall thickness, average weight and final yield were evaluated, totalling thirteen harvests. The grafted plants were more productive than the non-grafted ones, producing fruits with better agronomic characteristics. In general, 100 and 125-150 mL p.c. 100 L H2O-1 of Stimulate® promoted an increase in the production of grafted and non-grafted sweet pepper plants, respectively

SmartCoM: Smart Consumption Management Architecture for Providing a User-Friendly Smart Home based on Metering and Computational Intelligence

Abstract With advances in information technology for health and wellness, Smart Home-based solution providers using Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, have increased in importance and become accepted as an alternative means of saving energy when based on Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS). This paper defines a modern architecture (SmartCoM), which is implemented to monitor and manage residential dwellings by using IoT technologies. This involves setting out the parameters that can make interoperability possible between measurement and management, and the layers of data communication, which are the features necessary for the hardware required for monitoring and measurement. In addition, an interface is defined by a middleware layer to integrate the management of external installations and the visualization of data by means of a cloud service. The SmartCoM end-to-end architecture is defined in detail from the standpoint of the consumer and optimization strategies are employed for both the end customer and the utility. The main advantages of using SmartCoM were confirmed by the numerical results obtained from the proposed architecture. This paper ends by showing the current position of SmartCoM as well as suggesting further stages for this line of research