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•A cascade biorefinery process for Sargassum muticum (Sm) was proposed.•Dried sap (2% of raw material) was enriched in K and stimulated stem and root growth.•Similar alginate, ...phenolics and fucoidan yields and properties to those from unpressed Sm.•Methane production from autohydrolysis solids increased by 55-76% compared to the use of Sm.•The autohydrolysis at a maximum of 150 °C was optimal for different products.
Marine macroalgae represent an excellent raw material for the production of bioactives, adsorbents, plant biostimulants, soil fertilizers and biogas. The success in the exploitation of seaweeds depends on their characteristics, and the approach used to separate their specific active components. In the context of circular economy, invasive species are a good candidate for exploitation, and biorefinery a key valorization technique. Here we investigate a novel biorefinery scheme for an integral valorization of Sargassum muticum. An initial pressing stage allowed the production of a Sap fraction, which showed potential as a plant biostimulant, increasing both root development and shoot/root ratio, especially when used at a dose of 0.1 g/L lyophilized Sap. The solids after pressing were processed by non isothermal autohydrolysis, using pressurized hot water (up to 120-210 °C), a process previously optimized to solubilize the fucoidan and phlorotannin fractions. The residual solids remaining after pressing and autohydrolysis stages were evaluated for the production of biogas. The obtained value (150 mL CH4/g residual solids at 150 °C) was significantly higher than that found for the raw seaweed. The optimal autohydrolysis temperature (150 °C) is compatible with the production of the fucoidan fraction, although the phenolic content is favoured under more severe operation conditions. We also discuss the possibility of preparing adsorbents for pollutant removal and mineral amendments from the autohydrolysis waste solids.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
This field experiment aimed to assess the effects of Algae biostimulants (NPK + TE) and mycorrhiza on the vegetative and productive parameters of a blueberry orchard, as well as the shelf life of ...fruits at three different stages of harvest. Kosovo benefits from favorable agro-climatic conditions that support high-quality agricultural production. In response to the impact of climate change, the blueberry industry in Kosovo has increasingly adopted Algae biostimulants (NPK + TE) to adapt to changing climate conditions, enhance yields, and improve blueberry resilience against environmental stressors. The experiment was conducted in the Vushtria region on a 6-hectare blueberry orchard using a nested experimental design. The plants were planted at a distance of 1x3 meters, with a density of 3333 plants per hectare in 35-liter pots. The irrigation system used is spaghetti-shaped (4 spaghetti per pot), and the orchard is covered with an anti-hail system. ANOVA analysis revealed significant differences in the number of flowers, number of open flowers, leaf surface, number of fruit, total yield, and canopy volume. Our results indicate that the use of mycorrhiza positively affected the number of flowers, number of open flowers, and number of leaves, ultimately increasing yield and canopy volume compared to the use of Algae biostimulants (NPK + TE). Additionally, treatment with chitosan at the beginning of the harvest extended the shelf life of fruits to 25 days, significantly longer than fruits treated with Algae biostimulants (NPK + TE), (20 days) and in the control 6 days.
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The application of humic substances (HSs) promotes bioactive effects in plants, stimulating growth and development, promoting against biotic and abiotic stresses and increasing ...agricultural productivity. There are countless examples of fertilizers and biostimulants made from HSs that are capable of being used to form state-of-the-art intelligent agricultural technologies with increased efficiency due to their versatility and structural richness. In recent years, the phytotechnics associated with HS application to foliage have improved, and the applications have been expanded to all plant groups; however, the studies are disaggregated and still scarce, hindering the integration of data and the implementation of this technology for researchers, technicians, and specialists. The objective of this review was to gather all possible evidence related to the ability of HSs to stimulate plant metabolism when applied to foliage. This review first addressed the characteristics of foliar application and HSs. Subsequently, studies were organized by plant groups: vegetables, grasses, legumes, fruit, oilseeds, and medicinal and ornamental plants. Regardless of the plant group, HS foliar application stimulated parameters such as biomass and plant height and increased levels of photosynthetic pigments and agricultural productivity. Foliar application promoted protection against stress events, increasing the activity of peroxidase (POX), catalase (CAT), and phenyl alanine ammonium lyase (PAL) enzymes. Fruit quality also improved with HS foliar application, especially the total sugar content and the amount of oil, protein, and fiber, among others. Based on this review, we propose studies that integrate new forms and technologies of HS foliar application to plants. Experiments with various sources of origin, plant types, and environments are necessary to standardize the application forms of these compounds. Thus, we conclude that HSs are a viable technology that is environmentally friendly and highly accessible to small farmers and family farmers.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Background: The sexual propagation of Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) has some limitations to preserve some desirable agronomic characteristics in successive generations. Objective: The present research ...evaluates the effect of a chitosan based-formulation (Quitomax®) on morpho-physiological, rooting attributes and benefit-cost ratio of two cocoa varieties during vegetative propagation. Methodology: The experimental design was completely randomized with a factorial arrangement (A × B), where A represented the two clones and B the three concentrations of chitosan based formulation used (0, 100, 500 and 1000 mg L-1), with three repetitions. per treatment. The survival (%), the stem diameter (mm), the number of leaves, the number and length (cm) of roots, the biomass (g), the gas exchange (A, gs, Ci, E), and an economic analysis of the two cocoa plant varieties were evaluated at 120 days after starting the trial. Results: The clone CCN-51 treated with 500 mg L-1 had significantly the highest results on survival (80%), stem diameter (6.83 mm), number of leaves per plant (8.2), number and length of roots (6.21 and 35.74 cm), aerial and root biomass (4.07 g and 1.64 g) parameters. In gas exchange, the highest values of Water use efficiency (WUE) were observed at 500 mg L-1 in CCN-51 (5.36 mmol mol-1) and 1000 mg L-1 in INIAP-EETP-801 (7.62 mmol µmol-1). In both clones, higher profitability was obtained when applying the chitosan dose of 500 mg L-1, reaching profitability of 40.65 and 50.00% for clones INIAP-EETP-801 and CCN-51, respectively. Implications: The cocoa clone CCN-51 showed plants that exhibited greater development of both the aerial part and the root part of the cocoa seedlings than INIP-EETP-801 coca clones. Conclusion: The chitosan based formulation at 500 mg L-1 is a promissory alternative to improve the evaluated parameters after 120 days of cocoa vegetative propagation.
•Production of untraditional high-value products from microalgae are reviewed.•Modification of biochemical pathways in microalgae for novel products are proposed.•Based on the current analysis, the ...market for microalgae-based valuables will increase.
Microalgae have gained significant importance in biotechnology development, providing valuable goods and services in multiple applications. Although there is a rising market for most of these applications, the incorporation and introduction of microalgae into new venues will extend in the near future. These advances are due to the vast biodiversity of microalgal species, recent genetic engineering tools, and culture techniques. There are three main possible approaches for novel algal compounds from: (1) recently isolated yet less known microalgae; (2) selectively stressed conditions; and (3) enzymatically adjusted compounds from conventional molecules. All these approaches can be combined in a specific manner. This review discusses the opportunities, potential and limitations of introducing novel microalgae-based products, and how the recent technologies can be deployed to make these products financially viable. To give an outlook to the future, an analysis of the developments and predicted future market that further enlarge the promise of cultivating microalgae for commercial purposes are considered.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
•Moringa oleifera leaf extract (MLE) improved growth of squash under water stress.•Physiological and anatomical characters were positively altered by (MLE) application.•Yield and water-use efficiency ...have been increased by (MLE) application.•Foliar application of (MLE) is recommended for crop production under water scarcity.
Natural plant growth biostimulants are intensively used nowadays for plant growing in normal and adverse conditions. Severely affected by salt and drought stresses, squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) is an important vegetable crop that highly ranked in economic importance worldwide. The current study aimed to evaluate whether leaf extract of Moringa oleifera (MLE), as a novel natural biostimulant for plant growth, could play a role in improving drought tolerance in squash plants under saline condition. In summer and fall seasons of 2016, MLE (3%) was foliar sprayed for plants under full (100% of ETc) or deficit irrigation (DI; 80 or 60% of ETc). The effect of MLE on the growth, yield characteristics and water use efficiency (WUE), physio-biochemical attributes, and leaf anatomy of squash plants exposed to DI stress was assessed. MLE-treated plants exposed to DI had higher growth and yield characteristics, harvest index (HI),WUE, chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm and PI), photosynthetic pigments, soluble sugars and free proline, leaf anatomy, relative water content (RWC%) and membrane stability index (MSI%) and had lower electrolyte leakage (EL%) compared to MLE-untreated plants. Application of 3% MLE was effective in alleviating damages of drought stresses in squash plants by maintaining higher RWC, WUE, and osmoprotectants, and lower EL.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
•Partial root zone-drying (PRD) found to be a promise strategy to save water under stress conditions.•PRD + KH maximized the water-use efficiency by eggplant plants.•Growth and yield, antioxidants, ...tissue relative water content and membrane stability were maintained by PRD + KH application.•PRD + KH improved the activity of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants in eggplant plants.
Partial root-zone drying (PRD) applied in an alternate strategy (PRDalt) can regulate plant physiological and antioxidative defense system responses, and it is considered as an irrigation water-saving method. The current study was carried out using pot experiments to elucidate the potential role of potassium humate (KH) in integration with PRDalt in regulating eggplant physiological and defense systems responses, and irrigation water-saving. PRDalt significantly reduced the plant growth and yield, leaf photosynthetic gas exchange, leaf relative water content (RWC) and membrane stability index (MSI), while significantly increased leaf and root contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and leaf and root activities of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants compared to Full irrigation (control; FI). Integrative application of PRDalt + KH increased water-use efficiencies; WUEfw (calculated as g fruits L−1 applied water) by 97.9% and WUEpt (calculated by dividing the net photosynthetic rate by transpiration rate) by 20.3% compared to the controls. It also further increased leaf and root activities of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, while controlled the contents of MDA and H2O2, and maintained plant growth and yield, leaf photosynthetic gas exchange, RWC and MSI at the same levels in plants of FI. Results of this study recommend using the integrative strategy of PRDalt + KH to confer the same eggplant growth and yield of the FI control and save about 50% of irrigation water.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
•Current mechanistic understanding and quantification of cherry cracking.•The role of climatic, agronomic and fruit characteristics involved in cracking.•Overview of rain covers, mineral sprays, ...anti-transpirants and growth regulators.•Biostimulants and candidate mineral sprays that may be effective against cracking.•Overview of the search for QTLs and genetic markers linked to cherry cracking.
Sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) is highly perishable and is greatly affected by orchard management and environmental conditions, such as excess rainfall before harvest. Rain-induced cracking is the major cause of crop loss in sweet cherry in most production areas of the world. Advances in understanding the physiological and molecular mechanisms involved in cracking physiology in combination with orchard management strategies to limit cherry cracking are discussed. The current opinions to explain fruit cracking is that the process initiates with water uptake by the fruit surface that results in localised bursting of cells that release malic acid into the apoplast. This results in swelling of the epidermis and weakening of the epidermal and hypodermal cells until macroscopic fruit cracking. This review focusses on management strategies such as rain cover protection, mineral sprays, anti-transpirants and growth regulators. Tree responses to growth regulators and biostimulants vary with cultivar, application frequency, concentration and type, making it hard to generalize their effects. New approaches to limit cracking are presented, including the development of tolerant cultivars, candidate mineral sprays, biostimulants and technologies for rainwater removal such as orchard air-blast sprayers or creating downwash by helicopters.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
•Tomato plants primed with SeNPs induce resistance against late blight disease.•SeNPs-primed plants showed remarkable plant growth promotion.•A significant deposition of callose, lignin and H2O2 was ...observed in primed plants.•Induced resistant plants triggered biochemical and defense responsive genes.•Myco-engineered SeNPs as a nano-fungicide for crop protection.
With the advent of rapid evolution of oomycete pathogen lineages, the need for sustainable agriculture practices has become the need of the hour. The late blight of tomato caused by Phytopthora infestans, has recently emerged as one such devastating disease in India that led to huge crop losses. Hence, in the present work seed priming with mycogenic selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) for elicitation of resistance against tomato late blight disease is investigated. It also aims to understand the defense responses triggered by SeNPs at cellular, biochemical and transcriptomic levels. Enhanced plant growth parameters were observed in bioactive SeNPs-primed tomato plants as compared to control plants. SeNPs-primed and pathogen inoculated plants exhibited a significant protection of 72.9 % against late blight disease. The primed plants also recorded a remarkable accumulation of lignin, callose and hydrogen peroxide that serve as the cellular defense over the control plants. Further, an elevated level of lipoxygenase (LOX), phenylalanine lyase (PAL), β-1,3-glucanase (GLU), superoxide dismutase (SOD) corroborated the biochemical defense in primed plants, which was also reflected in the corresponding transcriptome profiling of the genes encoding the enzymes. Thus, the present study represents an orchestrated correlation between resistance and defense responses incited by SeNPs against tomato late blight disease, which can be used as nano-biostimulant fungicide in protecting tomato plants.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
