2nd Global Conference on Agriculture

Potato early and late blights are major threats to long-term potato production, affecting many farmers worldwide, notably in Africa. In order to ensure sufficient supply and food security for the world's rapidly expanding population, early identification and treatment of the potato blight diseases are essential. As a result, using computer vision for potato disease diagnostic systems may be able to overcome the limitations of the traditional leaf disease diagnosis process, which is time-consuming, inaccurate and expensive. Computer-assisted diagnosis of potato leaf disease is becoming more widespread. However, there are several limitations to the use of computer vision for real-time potato disease recognition, such as strong image backgrounds, vague symptom edges, lack of real-field potato leaf image data, variation in symptoms from the same infection, and a lack of an efficient real-time system. To address the aforementioned issues, the current study examined a cutting-edge convolutional neural network (CNN) called DenseNet121 running on the NVIDIA Jetson Nano for real-time classification of potato leaf diseases. Transfer learning with publicly available online potato leaf datasets improves the resilience of the model. The deep-learning-based approach described was found to be effective in the automatic identification of potato blight diseases. By precisely identifying the plants affected by potato blights, site-specific fungicide treatment has the potential to reduce pesticide consumption, boost potato producer profitability, and reduce environmental risks.

The argument in the existing literature is that fewer females than males are participating as small-scale farmers and there is a need to increase women participation, to increase production and address past injustices. Nevertheless, most of the existing data collected is from men than women reinforcing the notion that women are not farmers or producers. Neglecting gender issues in agriculture can be costly, socially and economically and incorporating social protection functions in order to empower women contributes to reducing the gender gap in agricultural productivity. The purpose of this paper is to explore how social protection programmes advance women's empowerment and tackle gender inequalities within the agricultural sector particularly in Namibia. Most papers in this field tend to use quantitative methodologies which leaves a gap in terms of deeper understanding of the problem. A case study research design is therefore adopted in this paper using a qualitative methodological approach and three data sources were used: desk research (also referred to as desk reviews), secondary data and semi-structured interviews with women in farming in Namibia. Most females derived income from other activities than income from agriculture to allow them to put food on the table. Women lack equal access to inputs, including fertiliser, better seeds, mechanical equipment, and agricultural extension services that would connect them with information about improved agricultural practices due to having to juggle agriculture with household chores. The paper calls for creating an enabling environment for everyone with a passion in participating in agriculture.

Chitin is the most abundant biopolymer after cellulose in nature. It has great economic value because of its biological properties and diverse applications. In the present study, chitin was extracted and characterized from three stored products’ pests including the confused flour beetle, Tribolium confusum, the cowpea seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus and the angoumois grain moth, Sitotroga cerealella. Chemical demineralization and deproteinization were done by treatment with 1 M hydrochloric acid solution and 1 M sodium hydroxide solution, followed by a 1% potassium permanganate solution for decolorization. In addition, elemental analysis was conducted on obtained chitins. The investigation revealed that C. maculatus had the highest yield of chitin at 18.28%, followed by T. confusum and S. cerealella with the yields of 13.96% and 5.51%, respectively. The dry body weight of C. maculatus, T. confusum and S. cerealella were found to be 61.05%, 51.04% and 42.75%, respectively. Results from this investigation also showed that the carbon-nitrogen ratio of the angoumois grain moth chitin was 8.13 with a deacetylation degree of 174.34 calculated from the elemental analysis. In addition, the elemental analysis showed that the carbon-nitrogen ratio of the confused flour beetle chitin was 7.13 with a deacetylation degree of 115.94 whereas the carbon-nitrogen ratio of the cowpea seed beetle chitin was determined to be 5.40 with a deacetylation degree of 15.13. Soil application of the chitin specimens as biofertilizers on growth and yield of grain sorghum, Sorghum bicolor showed a significant increase in the dry matter and the plant leaf surface.

The reallocation of dry matter (DM) and nitrogen (N) from vegetative tissues to the grain sinks are critical for grain yield. The objective of this study was to quantify the DM and N accumulation, partition, and reallocation at the single-leaf, different-organ, and individual-plant scales and clarify the responses to different levels of N availabilities. A two-year field experiment was conducted in Jinlin province, Northeast China, with three N fertilizer rates to create the different N availability levels: N0 (N deficiency), N1(low supply), and N2 (high supply). The results showed that grain N depends more on reallocations of vegetative organs compared with grain DM. Besides, vegetative organs reallocated more DM and N to grain under lower N availability, whereas, more grain DM and grain N were derived from post-silking leaf photosynthesis and post-silking N uptake from the soil under high N availability. Furthermore, the reallocation amount and reallocation efficiency of leaf DM and leaf N content differed among leaf ranks and were regulated by N availability, specifically, the DM reallocation occurs mainly on senesced leaves, whereas the leaf N reallocation was in live leaves. These results provide a theoretical basis for deriving parameters in crop models for the simulation of the demand, uptake, partition, and reallocation processes of DM and N.

Recent research has proposed to modify leaf-colour traits to improve canopy photosynthesis (Ac) by allowing light penetration to lower layers of a dense canopy. However, whether and how enhanced light penetration can really increase Ac and whether leaf-colour modification influences other growth-related traits remain unclear. Canopy light and nitrogen profile parameters (i.e., the extinction coefficient for light, KL; and for nitrogen, KN; and their ratio, KN/KL), Ac, and agronomic yield traits were examined in nine rice genotypes comprising different genetic backgrounds and their leaf-colour variants. Compared with stay-green (G) variants, yellow-leaf (Y) variants caused larger effects on crop growth and development: altered growth duration (increased in one genetic background while decreased in the other), lower tiller number, and reduced leaf area. As with G traits, a delayed senescence at the post-flowering stage was observed in Y variants, which was associated with nitrogen dynamics in plants. Although Y variants expectedly allowed more light penetration into lower layers of the canopy (i.e., lower KL), the local leaf-nitrogen, and thus, local leaf photosynthetic capacity (i.e., Amax) profiles did not necessarily follow more closely the light profile. Improved Ac was observed in the Y variant of one genetic background but not of the other, and the higher Ac was due to improved leaf photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency and higher canopy KN values. This contributed to its higher daily crop growth rate (CGR) and thus greater yield productivity. Multiple regression analysis of the data of all nine genotypes indicated that the KN:KL ratio was the most important factor determining Ac and CGR. Our results suggest that phenotypic variations of multiple traits caused by leaf-colour modification can be exploited by breeding or crop management for improving rice biomass and yield.

In this study, we were interested in search of E. coli O157: H7, Shiga-toxin producing (STEC) in 230 samples of meat from different market located in Tlemcen city, Algeria. After enrichment and use of selective agents (Sorbitol Mac Conkey medium added with MUG supplement) that are intended to curb the growth of the annex flora, we have isolated 5 strains from meat. These strains presented the main characteristics of E. coli O157: H7, non sorbitol fermenting and negative β-Dglucuronidase, were biochemically tested for confirmation by the API 20E, and subjected to slide agglutination with the E. coli Latex kit O157:H7 Genetic characterization revealed that all strains possess the genes stx2 and ehxA hemolysin, one strain does not possess the eae gene for intimin but instead it is the only strain that has the gene stx1. The study of the resistance of the strains to antibiotics disclosed they are sensitive to all antibiotics tested, ampicillin (10 μg), chloramphenicol (30 μg), gentamycin (10 μg), colistin 10 μg , flumequin (30 μg) , enrofloxacin (5 μg), nitrofurantoin (300 μg), cephalotin (30 μg), sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (1.25/23.75 μg), nalidixic acid (30 μg), norfloxacin (10 μg), ofloxacin (5 μg), kanamycin (30 μg), neomycin (30 μg), ceftiofur (30μg) and tetracycline (30 μg). Isolates were classed as sensitive or resistant to each antibiotic according to the Clinical and Laboratories Standards Institute guidelines (NCCLS, 2003). E. coli strain ATCC 25922 was used for quality control.

Abiotic stress factors such as salinity, drought, and heavy metal pollution limit agricultural production by causing loss of plant growth, product quality and yield. Recent studies in the agricultural field have turned to biosafe and sustainable approaches that will increase tolerance to environmental changes in plants and alleviate stress-induced damage. Plant polyamines contain many forms with chemical diversity that play a role in metabolic processes in plants. It is also known that polyamine contents in plants increase as a stress response. Therefore, the use of exogenous polyamines in stress tolerance studies is one of the promising ideas. 1,3-Diaminopropane (DAP) is a simple diamine and the precursor of spermidine, which is essential for growth regulation and signaling pathways in plants. This study examined the effects of exogenous DAP treatments in three dosages (D1, 0.1 mM; D2, 0.5 mM; D3, 1 mM) on plant growth, photosynthesis and antioxidant system in wheat plants under arsenic (As, 100 µM) stress. Wheat seedlings were harvested after 7 days treatment period. All enzyme activity assays and native-PAGE analyses were conducted on samples to evaluate the activity/isozyme compositions of the antioxidant system. Growth parameters, oxidative stress markers and Photosystem II efficiency were detected. Our results show that DAP applications reduced As stress-induced ROS accumulation and lipid peroxidation in wheat leaves. While As stress caused the suppression of the antioxidant system in leaves, it was observed that exogenously applied DAP increased the antioxidant enzyme activities. Furthermore, DAP attenuated stress-induced damage on photosynthesis-related parameters. As a result, the use of natural compounds to increase plant tolerance to abiotic stresses has the potential to improve agricultural production.

Food security is of paramount importance to key stakeholders in the agribusiness sector. Over the years, quality, and safety assessments of fresh and processed horticultural products have become increasingly important with issues such as global food security, and with the advent of a global pandemic Hyperspectral imaging (HSI), originally developed for remote sensing applications, has recently emerged as an alternative analytical tool for non-destructive food analysis. Recent advances in computer technology have led to the development of imaging systems capable of identifying quality problems rapidly on the processing line, with the minimum of human intervention. This paper provides a comprehensive review on recent applications of hyperspectral imaging technology for preharvest and postharvest analysis for biosecurity diagnostics. It explores hyperspectral imaging architecture, its equipment, image acquisition and data processing. While gathering satisfactory datasets is very crucial, HS imaging tasks are still costly and time-consuming. Usually, available HS image data is not enough to train and develop classification models. Significant progress has been made in the area of developing specialized software and toolbox for such image and spectral data analysis. Machine learning algorithms have evolved and is now utilized to alleviate the bottle neck for automatic image acquisition, data dimensionality reduction and even develop classification models for early bruise/disease detection and fruit grading/sorting applications. Also, new and more straightforward data collection and manipulation methods are being proposed to help mitigate the cost and effort required for a real HSI benchmark dataset. This information is useful for those in the growers/ processing industries and food safety and quality control stakeholders.

High selection pressure at the nil-competition regime has been recommended to develop maize (Zea mays L.) open-pollinated lines of high plant yield efficiency, approaching the crop yield performance of hybrids. Additionally, nil-competition could promote self-pollination due to the better synchronization of pollen and silk emergence to exploit the additive genetic effects. To address these hypotheses, mass selection was applied for five generations using as starting material the F2 of the maize hybrid ‘PR31G98’ under open-pollination conditions and a density of 0.74 plants/m2. The selection was based on single-plant yield under the selection pressure of about 7%, finally leading to two open-pollinated lines, i.e., HS5-21 and HS5-23. To assess the lines’ crop yield potential, they were evaluated along with ten commercial hybrids across two locations and two years at the density of 8.89 plants/m2 with adequate irrigation and fertilization (normal regime), and the density of 5.33 plants/m2 with deficit irrigation and fertilization (low-input regime). The hybrids averaged 164 and 119 kg/ha at the normal and low-input regimes, respectively. In relation to hybrids, line HS5-21 yielded 97% (159 kg/ha) at the normal regime and 79% (93 kg/ha) at the low-input regime. The respective records of line HS5-23 were 106% (174 kg/ha) and 86% (102 kg/ha). The results were promising regarding enhanced gene fixation and exploitation of additive gene action. The high selection pressures led to relatively homogeneous half-sib lines that approximate the productivity and stability levels of commercial hybrids.

Common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) is a fast-growing pseudo cereal rich in beneficial biologically and nutritive important components making it important in food supply of fast-growing world population. The aim of this study was to determine the concentration of Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Zn in non-hulled and hulled seed of in field grown buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) cultivars by ICP-OES method. Experiment was conducted at experimental open field at Nenadic (Sombor). Fourteen different cultivars (Oberon, B. Petrovac exp 1., Darja 1, Populacija B.T., Novosadska plus, Češka, Bamby, Novosadska, B. Petrovac exp 2., B. Petrovac exp 3., K-11, Bily, Ajda and Darja 2) were sown in 3 m long rows with 25 cm of inter-row spacing and 15 cm spacing between plants in the row. The standard growing technique was applied. Results showed that buckwheat samples are a rich source of several minerals (Fe, Mn, Cu, and Zn). Concentrations of iron and copper among examined cultivars in general were similar between hulled and non-hulled seeds. Concentration of Mn was between 10 and 40 % higher in non-hulled seeds, whereas cultivar Novosadska plus has the highest concentration 16.33 mg/kg. However, concentration of Zn was higher in hulled seeds, for cultivar K-11 was highest 19.53 mg/kg. Examined buckwheat cultivars, both hulled and non-hulled, in terms of micro and macro nutrient content reveal importance of using wholegrain food in consumption of world population.

In 2016, the Puerto Rican Congress codified the “Law for the use of the DelPaís Mark” (the DelPaís Law), creating a composite certification mark called Productos DelPaís de Puerto Rico (the DelPaís Mark) for raw fruits, milk, honey, meats, egg, fish, ornamental plants, spices, vegetables, starches, and value-added products. The Puerto Rican Department of Agriculture intended the DelPaís Mark to function as a certification mark and Geographical Indication (GI) to differentiate local from imported products to promote purchasing of locally produced items and eventually export internationally. A GI is a source identifier identifying that a place makes a particular product with unique characteristics, so there is a higher consumer’s recognition and willingness to buy such products and help these communities’ economic development. Despite the Department’s efforts, the DelPaís Mark deters positive economic growth of small and medium enterprises, failing as a Certification Mark and potential GI. The cases of Café de Colombia, Hawaiian Kona Coffee, Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, and Tequila de Mexico derive Five Factors predominating in GI policies. These are Product Definition, Collective Organization, Marketing, Legal-Institutional Framework, and Economic Impact. Some issues found in the DelPaís Law range from inconsistent marketing, vague administrative procedures, lack of product definitions, disorganized support, and limited economic impact. Recommendations serve as guidelines for uniformity in production, marketing plan, organizing supply chain, financial and technical aid, a cooperative food hub, and recording data to measure progress and attract investors for the existing certification mark and creating a GI.

Climate change and environmental variability affect plant growth whereas limiting resources is a major cause of yield loss for maize. The aim of this research was to investigate the ability of maize genotypes to utilize available inputs and improve productivity at a lower density after mycorrhizal inoculation. Ten commercial hybrids and three open pollinated lines (HS6-21, HS6-23 and C) were evaluated in two RCB experiments under normal irrigation and fertilization with 8.88 plants m-2, and at 50% irrigation and fertilization with 5.33 plants m-2 but with mycorrhizal inoculant. Chlorophyll content was measured at different growth stages while quantum yield and photosynthetic parameters (net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate) at anthesis and physiological maturity. In most cases, measurements were affected strongly by genotype and not by the different treatments although in some parameters an interaction was observed. Line C did not differ with the best hybrids in all measurements of chlorophyll content under both regimes, while HS6-23 was included in the best genotypes under low input conditions. HS6-23 was among the superior genotypes at the first quantum yield measurement under both conditions but during the second one, no difference between the genotypes under all conditions was detected. Similarly, based on their photosynthetic performance, lines HS6-23 and C were included among the best genotypes. Finally, the results of chlorophyll content and photosynthetic parameters at anthesis were strongly correlated with grain yield only under the normal input regime. The results of this research may elucidate maize plasticity and yield response.

Bioconversion of plant wastes is one of the most important processes among the modern enzyme technologies. The purpose of conducted work was to study pretreatment parameters for agro-industrial plant residues with higher basidiomycetes under the conditions of solid state fermentation (SSF). was selected as a result of screening three strains of producers of Lacasse enzymes fungi. Two of them Ganoderma sp. GV 01 and Pleurotus drynus IN-11 proved to be the best lignin polymer destructors. From plant residues, wheat straw, rice straw, corn straw, aboveground mass of potatoes (AMP) and sunflower lignocellulosic wastes (SLW) were tested. The results showed that the decrease in the percentage of lignin depended on fungi species, the duration of cultivation and the type of substrate. The best delignification result was obtained on the corn straw substrate. In 15-day fermented biomasses of Pleurotus drynus IN-11 the content of lignin decreased from 18.0% to 7.6% and in biomass delignified by Ganoderma sp GV 01 to 6.5%. Pleurotus drynus IN-11 was found to be a better lignin destructor in wheat straw, in which the content of lignin decreased from 19.0% to 11.6%. In the case of delignification of the upper parts of potatoes, the reduction of biopolymer by 4-6.7% was obtained. Considerable delignification ability of sunflower lignocellulosic residue was revealed in the biomass fermented with Pleurotus drynus IN-11, in which reduction of lignin from 19.7% to 8.6% was found.

In Saudi Arabia, irrigation water is mainly obtained from aquifers and is mostly characterized by moderate to high levels of salinity. Hence, information on crop response to salinity stress is of great importance for optimal irrigation and fertilizer management. The most common methods used to assess instantaneous plant stress states are physiological or laboratory measurements, but they may be costly, destructive, and time-consuming. One rapidly developing alternative method for detecting plant stress is spectroscopy, which relies on light energy absorbed by plants. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the response of hydroponics tomato plants to salinity stress using spectroscopy. The growth performance of three tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) cultivars (Valouro-RZ, Ghandowra-F1 and Feisty-Red), grown in a hydroponic glass greenhouse, was examined under three salinity levels (2.5, 6.0 and 9.5 dS m-1). Although the increase in salinity level was associated with an increase in the spectral reflectance in the Visible, Red-Edge and NIR regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, Valouro-RZ and Feisty-Red cultivars showed no significant differences in the spectral reflectance in the Visible range between salinity1 (2.5 dS m-1) and salinity2 (6.0 dS m-1). Slight reduction, but not statistically significant, in the total tomato fruit yield was recorded under salinity2 compared to salinity1 (2.5 dS m-1) for Valouro-RZ (6.76%) and Feisty-Red (6.79%). The results of this study indicated that the Valouro-RZ and Feisty-Red tomato cultivars can be successfully grown under hydroponics using irrigation water of up to 6.0 dS m-1 salt concentration without sacrificing the total fruit yield.

The Flavor is one of the most important characteristics in food that is appreciated most by the consumers. However, the mysteries of the secret of flavor to unravel are very complicated tasks. The number of volatile compounds that can be present in a food may be in the range of 300-500 compounds and these may vary due to the interaction between flavor components and the food matrix. Thus, identifying and quantifying the volatile compounds is the basic step in determining the volatile markers, which contribute to the aroma character of the food. Several techniques can be used to determine the volatile composition of a food, but some methodologies are gaining importance due to their ease of handling, sensitivity and in the extraction of the volatile compounds that are often present in food in very low quantities such as parts per million or trillion etc. This talk will broadly discuss the various approaches to be adopted for determination of biomarkers and their role in the quality control of fruits and fruit products. The research undertaken on non-conventional tropical fruits will be presented to discuss the challenges in monitoring the volatile profile in such products.

The umbuzeiro (Spondias tuberosa Arruda Camara) belongs to the Anacardiaceae family and is native to the Caatinga biome region of Brazil. The fruit, known as umbu, has good appearance and exotic flavor, and is an important crop to small farmers. Fruit is usually consumed as fresh or used to produce pulp, jellies, sweets, ice cream and drinks. The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), located in Petrolina, PE, has recently launched commercial cultivars of umbuzeiros, BRS48, BRS52, BRS55 and BRS68, which have high productivity and fruit size. The objective of this study was to determine the volatile profiles of the new umbu cultivars, BRS48, BRS52, BRS55 and BRS68, harvested at ripe stage of maturity. A total of 31 volatile organic compounds were identified. The chemical class of compounds found in the largest concentrations was of terpenes (17 compounds), followed by aldehydes (7 compounds), esters (6 compounds) and ketones (1 compound). The main compounds identified were limonene, β-myrcene and ethyl butanoate which were present in 4 genotypes, but their respective areas were different between the samples. The limonene presented largest area (180.81x106 a.u.) in the BRS48 sample and β-myrcene was the most representative (350.33x106 a.u.) in sample BRS68. This variation in relation to the volatile compounds can be characterized to their specific genotype in theripe stage of umbu fruits.

Fruits of genus Spondias are considered exotic fruits of good appearance, nutritional quality, pleasant aroma and flavor, and these are very much appreciated for consumption in the fresh or processed form. One of the main quality attributes in fruits is the aroma, which along with its taste results inmflavor, being one of the main indicators of the appreciation of a fruit and its derived products. Thus, this work aimed to analyze the aromatic profile and identify the active compounds of the aroma of fruits of genus Spondias, viz. cajá, umbu and cajá-umbu and in products derived by means of gas chromatography coupled with gas-olfactometry mass spectrometry (GC-MS/O) using HSSE-SBSE techniques for extractions. The extraction by HSSE captured volatile compounds of the 3 species of Spondias analyzed, presented a greater number of compounds (112). Among the volatile compounds identified in the pulp of cajá, umbu and cajá-umbu fruits, were the butyl butanoate, possessing green and poignant aroma, which was common in the three fruits, with a lower concentration (51 µg/mL) in umbu, intermediate (156 µg/mL) in cajá-umbu and higher (1573 µg/mL) in cajá. Eighteen main biomarker compounds of aroma were identified in pulp of cajá, 13 for the aroma of umbu and 14 for the aroma of cajá-umbu, among which ethyl butanoate and butyl butanoate presented characteristic odors of cajá and umbu fruits. The GC-O indicated that terpenes and esters were the major chemical classes of volatile compounds in the pulps analyzed, contributing to their characteristic aroma with a predominance of fruity, sweet, floral and citrus odor notes.

Climatic conditions for soybean cultivation in Latvia are not typical, in addition, the sum of sunlight/temperature and precipitation required to produce a soybean crop varies from year to year. There is a risk that the weather will not be able to ripen even early varieties in a region. Studies show that the green part of soybean plants is also used in animal nutrition preparing as hay or silage. The aim of this study was to evaluate chemical composition of different soybean varieties harvested before ripening as a raw material of hay or silage. Test weight, protein, fat, ash, fibre, acid detergent fibre (ADF) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) of soybean varieties ‘Erika’, ‘Bolgar’ and ‘Viola’ green part were determined at different stages of readiness. The results of the study showed a significant increase in protein (from 9.18% to 12.06%) and fat (from 1.18% to 4.40%) content of dry matter variety ‘Bolgar’ from September to October. Protein content of the dry soya green mass was not affected by variety at the same developing stage but significantly changed among different stages of readiness. As the plant develops, the sucrose content in the green mass increases, and so does the total sugar content.

India represents one of the major global agrarian economies with about 70% of its rural households still depending upon agriculture for their livelihood. Majority of the farmers in India are small and marginal. Affordability to irrigate determine the sustainability of the agricultural activities and also the income of the farmers. The Government quite often is required to support availability of cheap electricity resulting in huge subsidy requirements. Solarisation of grid connected agriculture pumps assumes critical significance in this respect due to maturing of technology and continuously declining solar costs. The pace of implementation, however, is still to catch up as Solarisation is a capital-intensive solution. The Government of India is providing impetus through specially crafted schemes and this has given emergence to various business models benefiting the farmers and the Government also. This paper discusses the overall context of Solarisation of agricultural pumps in India, reviews the business models and identifies situations for their replicability.

The aim of this work was to study the influence of microbial biostimulants on the residue levels of the neonicotinoid insecticide thiamethoxam on maize guttation. A three-year pot experiment (2020-2022) was conducted over the early growth stages of maize (VE-V7) by simulating the application of pesticides and biological factor on that growth stages. Three replications of each treatment: C= Control, E= insecticide application, M= insecticide application plus the use of commercial product of mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) were established. The insecticide and AMF formulations were applied with the use of drip irrigation. Two drip applications were occurred with an interval of 15 days. Maize guttation was collected in 5 different sampling intervals, with the first one just after the second drip application. Samples were directly subjected to a HPLC-DAD analysis by using external calibration solutions. The results revealed that during the 2020 growing season, thiamethoxam concentrations on guttation of E treatment ranged from 0.24 (1st sampling) to 0.55ppm (5th sampling) while in the M treatment ranged from 3.80 (1st sampling) to 0.93ppm (5th sampling). Thiamethoxam concentrations on guttation, during 2021 period, ranged from 0.42 (1st sampling) to 0.74ppm (5th sampling) in E treatment and from 2.25 (1st sampling) to 0.92ppm (5st sampling) in M treatment. During 2022, thiamethoxam residues in maize guttations ranged from 0.26 (1st sampling) to 0,41ppm (5st sampling), and from 2.68 (1st sampling) to 1.02ppm (5st sampling) in E and M treatment, respectively. These results suggest that combined application of commercial product of mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and the insecticide, significantly increase the concentrations of thiamethoxam in guttation exudates.

India and a large number of other countries have made commitments to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in short to medium term based on the existing state of emissions and the resources likely to be available in future in those countries. Large solar power plants have been extensively used as one of the tools to reduce carbon intensity of an economy. However, requirement of large tracts of lands solely for setting up such plants becomes a hindrance in progress after a certain point. Increasing population and corresponding increase in the food and energy demands further aggravate the problem. Agrivoltaics, the use of land for solar photovoltaics without disrupting agriculture, as a concept tends to address the vulnerabilities of single land use based solar PV such as land availability and landscape transformation. Further, due to predominant decentralized nature of such projects, transmission losses are also reduced as compared to centralised electrical power generation. This makes agrivoltaics a potential contributor to achieve commitment of 50 % of India’s electricity requirement from the renewable energy by 2030. This study analyses the approach towards development of agrivoltaics in India in view of varying agroclimatic zones, technical paraments and policy environment in the country. It delves deep into the factors favoring and those likely to be constraining such development and measures needed to amplify the positive side and attenuate the negative side. With the growing interest in agrivoltaics in India, this study would help in identifying the crucial elements and approaches for promoting agrivoltaics in India.

The article analyses the development mix of catch crop during the 2019–2021 growing seasons in the AREI Stende Research Center, Latvia. The experiments were performed to measure biomass and dry matter the amount of above ground parts and root parts produced by catch crops and their changes at different sowing dates and different pre-crop. The Mix of catch crops were: 1. Rye (Secale cereale L.) + winter rapeseed (Brassica napus В.) + phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth). 2. Oats (Avéna satíva L.) + summer vetches (Vicia sativa L.) + phacelia. 3.Oats + mustard (Sinapis alba L.). 4. Annual ryegrass (Lolium multijlorum Lam.) + buckwheat (Fagopýrum esculéntum L.) + phacelia. 5 Rough disc (Control, residual weeds in the field). Sowing time had a great effect on biomass and dry matter production. Research was done in the following crop rotation – winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) with catch crops Mix 1-4 and Control. The effectiveness of catch crops depended on the choice of species, sowing time and main crop harvesting time, as well as on weather conditions during the spring and winter period. Rough disc produced the least above ground of green mass part. In the first sowing period - 3.83 t ha-1 and 2.45 t ha-1 in second sowing. Of all the most effective were Mix of catch crops which produced the most above ground of green mass parts, the Mix 3, first sowing period - 9.07 t ha-1 and 5.11 t ha-1 in second sowing. The paper was prepared in the framework of EIP-AGRI project “Progressive land cultivation system as the basis for environmentally friendly and effective crop production”, No.19-00-A01612-000011.

In southern parts of Europe, a balanced use of both heating and cooling is required to control the greenhouse temperatures throughout the year. Especially, with climate change and increasingly hot summers, the need for efficient greenhouse cooling and humidity control has become more and more important. In this work, we present the status of a project that aims to demonstrate by proof of concept the integration of heat pumps and thermal energy storage in a research greenhouse in Bucharest, Romania. The objective is to convert the current fossil-based energy system of the greenhouse into a renewable and more energy-efficient system to optimize the indoor climatic conditions. This will contribute to a more sustainable operation of the greenhouse with minimized energy usage and reduced CO2 emissions, while the overall productivity will be enhanced through increased growth of the plants and vegetables. The main challenge of the greenhouse is to provide sufficient cooling during the hot summer months, as the indoor temperature rises to unacceptable levels for the plants during summer. A novel, energy-efficient concept is currently being installed at the greenhouse, comprised of an integrated heat pump system, air handling units, dry coolers, and borehole thermal energy storage (BTES). The main principles of the novel energy concept are presented in this poster presentation.