Search Results (1,150)

Melatonin (MT) has been widely recognized for its ability to mitigate the effects of abiotic stress and regulate plant development. In this study, we investigated the role of exogenous MT in enhancing heat tolerance in sweet potato, with a particular focus on its capacity to alleviate heat stress-induced damage. MT treatment significantly reduced oxidative stress, as evidenced by decreased levels of hydrogen peroxide, superoxide ions, and malondialdehyde (MDA), all of which were elevated under heat stress. To uncover the underlying mechanisms, RNA sequencing was performed on three experimental groups: control (CK), heat stress alone (HS), and MT pre-treatment followed by heat stress (MH). A total of 3491, 3280, and 1171 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the CK vs. HS, CK vs. MH, and HS vs. MH comparisons, respectively. MT treatment notably modulated the expression of genes involved in redox regulation and nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism. Moreover, MT enhanced the expression of genes associated with key signaling pathways, including mitogen-activated protein kinases (MPK3) and plant hormone signal transduction components, such as ethylene response factor (ERF). These findings offer novel insights into the mechanisms by which exogenous MT enhances heat tolerance in sweet potato, highlighting its role in regulating antioxidant systems, metabolic pathways, and hormone signaling. This study presents valuable strategies for improving crop resilience to heat stress. Full article

The Discrete Element Method (DEM) is an innovative numerical computational approach. This method is employed to study and resolve the motion patterns of particles within discrete systems, contact mechanics properties, mechanisms of separation processes, and the relationships between contact forces and energy. Agricultural machinery involves the interactions between machinery and soil, crops, and other systems. Designing agricultural machinery can be equivalent to solving problems in discrete systems. The DEM has been widely applied in research on agricultural machinery design and mechanized harvesting of crops. It has also provided an important theoretical research approach for the design and selection of operating parameters, as well as the structural optimization of potato harvesting machinery. This review first analyzes and summarizes the current global potato industry situation, planting scale, and yield. Subsequently, it analyzes the challenges facing the development of the potato industry. The results show that breeding is the key to improving potato varieties, harvesting is the main stage where potato damage occurs, and reprocessing is the main process associated with potato waste. Second, an overview of the basic principles of DEM, contact models, and mechanical parameters is provided, along with an introduction to the simulation process using the EDEM software. Third, the application of the DEM to mechanized digging, transportation, collection, and separation of potatoes from the soil is reviewed. The accuracy of constructing potato and soil particle models and the rationality of the contact model selection are found to be the main factors affecting the results of discrete element simulations. Finally, the challenges of using the DEM for research on potato harvesting machinery are presented, and a summary and outlook for the future development of the DEM are provided. Full article

Several countries around the world are facing the issue of freshwater availability, where agriculture is highly dependent on irrigation, consuming 70% of this vital resource. Water availability is the most limiting factor for the crop production sector and one of the main regulators of the spatial distribution of plants. It is noted that in recent years, the methods of irrigation water application have been improved. Currently, research is directed towards irrigation strategies that reduce water applications. A partial root drying (PRD) technique involves irrigating one-half of the root zone while leaving the other half in relatively dry soil. This method is used in the production of various crops, such as potatoes and cotton. However, the mechanism of PRD, including the physiological and molecular biological processes involved, is not fully understood. In this study, tomato plants were treated with PRD and nitrogen (N) top-dressing. The results showed that PRD could significantly increase the fruit yield, photosynthetic activities, nitrate reductase activity, and fruit quality in the tomato plants, and PRD could also promote the concentrations of oxygen species (O₂⁻), malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline contents, and activities of antioxidant enzymes. In addition, PRD could enhance stress resistance by increasing disease resistance and NP1 and DRED3 antioxidant enzyme activity. Tomato plants treated with PRD compared to the control showed high photosynthetic activity, high yield, better quality of production, and low leaf blight incidence. Overall, the results indicate that PRD is a feasible approach that could be effectively utilized in tomato fields to improve plant growth and production compared with the control. Full article

Carotenoids, the bright yellow, orange, and red pigments of many fruits and vegetables, are essential components of the human diet as bioactive compounds not synthesized in animals. As a staple crop potato has the potential to deliver substantial amounts of these nutraceuticals despite their lower concentration in tubers compared to edible organs of other plant species. Even small gains in tuber carotenoid levels could have a significant impact on the nutritional value of potatoes. This review will focus on the current status and future perspectives of carotenoid biofortification in potato with conventional breeding and biotechnological approaches. The high biodiversity of tuber carotenoid levels and composition is presented, with an emphasis on the under-exploited native germplasm that represents a wide reservoir of useful genetic variants to breed carotenoid-rich varieties. The following section describes the structural genes involved in carotenoid metabolism and storage known to have a major impact on carotenoid accumulation in potato, together with the strategies that harnessed their expression changes to increase tuber carotenoid content. Finally, the little information available on the regulation of carotenoid metabolism and the desirable future advances in potato carotenoid biofortification are discussed. Full article

Potatoes are one of the most important food crops worldwide, but their growth and development are often seriously threatened by potato bacterial wilt. The wettable powder produced by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens C4 under optimized fermentation conditions effectively inhibits potato bacterial wilt. In this study, lipopeptide antibiotics were identified via PCR and MALDI-TOF-MS, and their antibacterial activity was determined. The optimal formulation of C4 wettable powder was optimized via a single-factor experiment combined with a response surface. The effect of C4 wettable powder on potato bacterial wilt was evaluated. In the antibacterial activity test, surfactin showed better inhibition ability. After determining the optimal liquid fermentation conditions and wettable powder formula, the surfactin activity increased to 540.15 mg/L, and the C4 wettable powder activity reached 69.67 × 10⁸ cfu/g. The results of the pot experiment showed that the best cost-effectiveness was achieved under 500 times dilution and spraying, with a control effect of 79.05 ± 24.79%. The physiological and biochemical results showed that C4 wettable powder could induce rapid defense enzyme responses in leaves and enhance plant resistance to pathogenic bacteria. The results showed that C4 wettable powder effectively controlled potato bacterial wilt, and its application method was determined. Full article

Cadmium in agricultural soils has emerged as a substantial threat to crop health and yields through its bioaccumulation along the food chain, with further repercussions for the growth, development, and population dynamics of herbivorous insects. In this study, potted potato plants were treated with Cd²⁺ solutions at concentrations of 0 mg/kg, 30 mg/kg, 60 mg/kg, 90 mg/kg, and 120 mg/kg. Colorado potato beetles (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) were fed on potato leaves exposed to these varying concentrations of cadmium, and the effects on their growth and development were assessed. The results revealed that: 1. The developmental period, pupal stage, and pre-oviposition period of the first-instar larvae of L. decemlineata feeding on cadmium-contaminated leaves was significantly prolonged, while both the lifespan and fecundity were reduced. 2. Key population parameters, including the innate rate of increase (r), finite rate of increase (λ), net reproductive rate (R₀), and gross reproduction rate (GRR), were evidently lower in cadmium-exposed L. decemlineata, while the average generation time did not show a significant difference. 3. Cadmium exposure also resulted in a remarkable reduction in survival and reproductive rates at specific life stages, along with an increase in the incidence of deformations in newly emerged adults. These findings underscore the detrimental effects of cadmium on both crop health and pest populations. This study holds valuable implications for more effective implementation of pest control strategies in the future, offering robust scientific evidence to support the safeguarding of food security. Full article

Fusarium fungi are widespread pathogens of food crops, primarily associated with the formation of mycotoxins. Therefore, effective mitigation strategies for these toxicogenic microorganisms are required. In this study, the potential of pulsed electric field (PEF) as an advanced technology of increasing use in the food processing industry was investigated to minimize the viability of Fusarium pathogens and to characterize the PEF-induced changes at the metabolomic level. Spores of four Fusarium species (Fusarium culmorum, Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium poae, and Fusarium sporotrichioides) were treated with PEF and cultured on potato dextrose agar (PDA) plates. The viability of the Fusarium species was assessed by counting the colony-forming units, and changes in the mycotoxin content and metabolomic fingerprints were evaluated by using UHPLC-HRMS/MS instrumental analysis. For metabolomic data processing and compound identification, the MS-DIAL (v. 4.80)–MS-CleanR–MS-Finder (v. 3.52) software platform was used. As we found out, both fungal viability and the ability to produce mycotoxins significantly decreased after the PEF treatment for all of the species tested. The metabolomes of the treated and untreated fungi showed statistically significant differences, and PEF-associated biomarkers from the classes oxidized fatty acid derivatives, cyclic hexapeptides, macrolides, pyranocoumarins, carbazoles, and guanidines were identified. Full article

In South Korea, spring potatoes account for over 60% of total potato production, but global warming and anomalous weather events may impact their growth and yield. This study examined potato cultivation practices across 12 locations with varying climates, analyzing meteorological factors, soil properties, and potato composition to identify stable cultivation areas. A survey of 45 farms revealed earlier planting dates in G3 regions compared to G2 and G1. Regions were classified into three groups (G1, G2, and G3) based on climatic conditions, with G1 representing the most temperate regions, G2 indicating regions with moderate climates, and G3 including areas with the warmest climates. The Superior variety was predominately cultivated in average areas of 1.4 ha. Yields ranged from 22,500 to 35,000 kg/ha, with G2 regions producing the highest yields. During tuber formation, plant height in G2 and G3 was greater than in G1, but no differences were noted at harvest. Planting times correlated with higher February and March temperatures, which were highest in G3. Soil properties were suitable across all regions, with minor variations. Ash and crude fat content were highest in G1 crops, while ascorbate and glutathione levels were highest in G3. No significant differences were found in total phenol and flavonoid content, though G2 and G3 showed higher antioxidant activity. Similar weather during the main growth period (April–June) minimized regional differences in growth, yield, and quality, but ongoing monitoring is recommended as climate change progresses. Overall, this study provides insights into how climatic conditions affect potato cultivation in South Korea and emphasizes the importance of adapting farming practices to ensure stable yields under changing climate conditions. Full article

Potato, a vital food and cash crop, necessitates precise identification and area estimation for effective planting planning, market regulation, and yield forecasting. However, extracting large-scale crop areas using satellite remote sensing is fraught with challenges, such as low spatial resolution, cloud interference, and revisit cycle limitations, impeding the creation of high-quality time–series datasets. In this study, we developed a high-resolution vegetation index time–series by calculating coordination coefficients and integrating reflectance data from Landsat-8, Landsat-9, and Sentinel-2 satellites. The vegetation index time–series were enhanced through using linear interpolation and Savitzky–Golay (S-G) filtering to reconstruct high-quality data. We employed the harmonic analysis of NDVI time–series (HANTS) method to extract features from the time–series and evaluated the classification accuracy across five feature sets: vegetation index time–series features, band means, vegetation index means, texture features, and color space features. The Random Forest (RF) model, utilizing the full feature set, emerged as the most accurate, achieving a precision rate of 0.97 and a kappa value of 0.94. We further refined the feature subset using the SHAP-SFS feature selection method, leading to the SHAP-SFS-RF classification approach for differentiating potato from non-potato crops. This approach enhanced accuracy by approximately 0.1 and kappa value by around 0.2 compared to the RF model, with the extracted areas closely aligning with statistical yearbook data. Our study successfully achieved the accurate extraction of potato planting areas at the county level, offering novel insights and methodologies for related research fields. Full article

Potato is one of the most important food crops in the world and occupies a crucial position in China’s agricultural development. Due to the large number of potato varieties and the phenomenon of variety mixing, the development of the potato industry is seriously affected. Therefore, accurate identification of potato varieties is a key link to promote the development of the potato industry. Deep learning technology is used to identify potato varieties with good accuracy, but there are relatively few related studies. Thus, this paper introduces an enhanced Swin Transformer classification model named MSR-SwinT (Multi-scale residual Swin Transformer). The model employs a multi-scale feature fusion module in place of patch partitioning and linear embedding. This approach effectively extracts features of various scales and enhances the model’s feature extraction capability. Additionally, the residual learning strategy is integrated into the Swin Transformer block, effectively addressing the issue of gradient disappearance and enabling the model to capture complex features more effectively. The model can better capture complex features. The enhanced MSR-SwinT model is validated using the potato plant dataset, demonstrating strong performance in potato plant image recognition with an accuracy of 94.64%. This represents an improvement of 3.02 percentage points compared to the original Swin Transformer model. Experimental evidence shows that the improved model performs better and generalizes better, providing a more effective solution for potato variety identification. Full article

Mulching practices have demonstrated the potential to increase crop yields and resource utilization efficiency. However, the response of different crops with various growth stages to different mulching practices remains unclear, particularly in the rainfed agroecosystem. Therefore, a two-year field experiment (2013–2015) of different crops (wheat, maize, and potato) was conducted to evaluate the effects of three different mulching treatments: straw strip mulching (SM), plastic film mulching (PM), and conventional planting without mulching as the control (CK), on soil moisture and temperature, evapotranspiration (ET), water use efficiency (WUE), crop yield and economic benefits on the Loess Plateau. The results indicated that both mulching practices significantly increased the soil water content (SM: 4.3% and PM: 3.6%) compared to CK. However, the effects on soil temperature varied between mulching practices, PM increased soil temperature by 4.9% compared to CK, while SM decreased it by 6.3%. The improved soil hydrothermal conditions, characterized by favorable temperatures and higher soil water status would lead to a higher crop daily growth rate (5.3–49.8%), as well as greater dry matter accumulation (4.7–36.7%). Furthermore, mulching practice (SM and PM) has a significant influence on crop yield and its components of various crops, as well as WUE. The mean grain yield of SM and PM was, respectively, increased by 11.4% and 27.1% for winter wheat, compared to CK, 1.8% and 24.3% for spring maize, and 23.0% and 13.9% for potato, respectively. Compared to CK, PM yielded a higher net economic benefit and WUE for winter wheat and spring maize, while SM presented the best economic benefit and WUE for potato. In conclusion, a comprehensive analysis of crop yield, economic benefits, and resource utilization efficiency suggests that straw strip mulching for potato is a more sustainable environmentally friendly mulching practice, recommended for rainfed farming systems on the Loess Plateau and areas with similar climatic conditions. Full article

Modern potato varieties from high-input, conventional farming-focused breeding programs produce substantially (up to 45%) lower yields when grown in organic production systems, and this was shown to be primarily due to less efficient fertilization and late blight (Phytophthora infestans) control methods being used in organic farming. It has been hypothesized that the breeding of potato varieties suitable for the organic/low-input sector should (i) focus on increasing nutrient (especially N) use efficiency, (ii) introduce durable late blight resistance, and (iii) be based on selection under low-input conditions. To test this hypothesis, we used an existing long-term factorial field experiment (the NEFG trials) to assess the effect of crop management practices (rotation design, fertilization regime, and crop protection methods) used in conventional and organic farming systems on crop health, tuber yield, and mineral composition parameters in two potato varieties, Santé and Sarpo mira, that were developed in breeding programs for high and low-input farming systems, respectively. Results showed that, compared to Santé, the variety Sarpo mira was more resistant to foliar and tuber blight but more susceptible to potato scab (Streptomyces scabies) and produced higher yields and tubers with higher concentrations of nutritionally desirable mineral nutrients but lower concentrations of Cd. The study also found that, compared to the Cu-fungicides permitted for late blight control in organic production, application of synthetic chemical fungicides permitted and widely used in conventional production resulted in significantly lower late blight severity in Sante but not in Sarpo mira. Results from both ANOVA and redundancy analysis (RDA) indicate that the effects of climatic (precipitation, radiation, and temperature) and agronomic (fertilization and crop protection) explanatory variables on crop health and yield differed considerably between the two varieties. Specifically, the RDA identified crop protection as a significant driver for Santé but not Sarpo mira, while precipitation was the strongest driver for crop health and yield for Sarpo mira but not Santé. In contrast, the effect of climatic and agronomic drivers on tuber mineral and toxic metal concentrations in the two varieties was found to be similar. Our results support the hypothesis that selection of potato varieties under low agrochemical input conditions can deliver varieties that combine (i) late blight resistance/tolerance, (ii) nutrient use efficiency, and (iii) yield potential in organic farming systems. Full article

Potato is the dominant tuber and root crop grown in Tigray. However, the productivity is very low due to moisture stress, traditional production techniques, and low-yielding varieties. Hence, this study aimed to optimize potato yield by selecting suitable genotypes under both supplemental and non-supplemental irrigation conditions. The study involved five potato genotypes and two irrigation levels used as treatments arranged in a split plot using a randomized complete block design with three replications. Results revealed a significant difference in days to flowering and maturity, marketable and total tuber yield, and water productivity due to the main and interaction effect of genotype and irrigation. CIP-3960478.90 recorded significantly higher marketable yield (27.13 t ha⁻¹), total tuber yield (28.71 t ha⁻¹), and water productivity (7.59 kg m⁻³) under supplemental irrigation. Genotype CIP-394611.112 had achieved high marketable yield (24.45 t/ha), total yield (25.60 t/ha) and total water productivity (8.51 kg m⁻³) under non-irrigated treatment. Additionally, the potato water requirements in September and October exceeded the rainfall amounts, suggesting that supplemental irrigation is necessary during this period for optimal yields. Likewise, genotypes CIP-394611.112 and CIP-3960478.90, are recommended for semi-arid areas to enhance tuber yield with or without irrigation. Full article

Soil aggregate stability is an important factor that impacts ecological restoration and soil erosion. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is also an important factor affecting soil characteristics and quality. The triple-cropping system has the potential to enhance soil aggregate stability by promoting a more diverse and continuous plant cover, which could lead to improved soil structure and resistance to erosion. Over two consecutive years, this study was conducted to explore the impacts of the triple-cropping system on soil aggregate stability, soil carbon pool, and carbon sequestration characteristics in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. This study set up five planting modes, namely milkvetch–early rice–late rice (CRR, CK), milkvetch–early rice–sweet potato||soybean (CRI), rape–early rice–late rice (RRR), rape–early rice–sweet potato||soybean (RRI) and potato–early rice–late rice (PRR). The contribution of soil aggregates > 2 mm under CRI increased by 20.77%, 6.71%, and 2.19% to the control in winter cropping and early and late rice harvesting periods, respectively. During the winter harvest period, the geometric mean diameter (GMD) and mean weight diameter (MWD) of the CRI treatment were significantly higher than other treatments (p < 0.05), with increases of 7.53–16.28% and 4.67–10.28% respectively. After the late rice harvest, the GMD values of the CRI and PRR treatments were significantly higher than the control treatment by 13.56%, and the MWD values were higher than those of other treatments by 4.24–13.17%, 3.74–12.63% (p < 0.05). Furthermore, CRI also improved the GMD and MWD of soil aggregates, and the stability of soil aggregates was improved by winter milkvetch (treatment of CRI) and paddy-upland multi-crop models (treatment of PRR). RRR treatment was beneficial to the accumulation of soil organic carbon and slowed the loss of soil organic carbon. Irrigation and drought multiple cropping can effectively increase the content of soil active organic carbon, among which the treatment of CRI had the best performance and the most significant effect in increasing the content of soil active organic carbon. After the late rice harvest, the soil’s active organic carbon content in the CRI treatment was the highest, which was significantly different from the control treatment and increased by 35.62% compared with the control (p < 0.05). Compared with before planting, the soil microbial biomass carbon content in each treatment increased by 12.07–27.59% after the late rice harvest. The soil-dissolved organic carbon content in CRI treatment was the highest, which was significantly higher than CK treatment, RRR, and PRR, with an increase of 46.88%, 42.42%, and 30.56%, respectively (p < 0.05). In addition, the accumulation of soil microbial biomass carbon, soil dissolved organic carbon content, and soil easily oxidized organic carbon content was promoted by multi-cropping in rice fields, and the increase from CRI and RRI treatment was more significant. In conclusion, in the triple-cropping area of paddy fields in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, the milkvetch–early rice–sweet potato||late soybean and rape–early rice–sweet potato||late soybean models are conducive to the optimal management of the soil carbon pool and carbon sequestration. These models can improve the multiple cropping index, reduce costs, and increase revenue. Full article

Wireworms (Agriotes spp., Coleoptera, Elateridae) are a major threat to potatoes, as are the current commercial standards for assessing potato damage. To reduce wireworm impacts on potato crops and comply with IPM legislation, we started research to assess the potential for new Italian 4x-breeding clones to reduce wireworm feeding on daughter tubers. Two sets of trials were carried out over a six-year period (2018–2023): in-field and in semi-natural conditions, with pots used to introduce a set number of reared wireworms. In the field trials, the varieties were planted in 4.8 × 9–12 m plots in a randomized-block layout with at least three replications. The same wireworm damage assessment was used for both sets of trials. The assessment involved counting all the erosions/scars caused by wireworm feeding activity. The prevalent wireworm species studied was Agriotes sordidus. Both sets of trials showed that some 4x-breeding clones were tolerant to wireworm attacks. The percentages of tubers damaged (any symptom) or with at least one ordinary/large hole was up to five times lower than in the commercial varieties. Glycoalkaloids and the caffeic acid content in tubers are considered to be the main cause of lower appetibility to wireworms. Full article