LIST OF ARTICLES
Carrot remains one of the priority vegetable crops of the Philippines (PSA 2020) with the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) contributing the major production (88.9%; PSA 2016) of the commodity in the Philippines. In the field of plant tissue culture although carrot somatic embryogenesis has extensively served as a model system for early plant development for over 50 years, the illustrations and drawings depicting the various stages in many literatures has remained incomplete. It is with the current journal article that the “triangle stage” was clearly and definitively documented using the modified protocol.
Coccoidea (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) Infesting Coconut Infructescences in the Philippines
Ireneo L. Lit, Jr., Merdelyn T. Caasi-Lit, Cristian C. Lucañas, Whizvir O. Gustilo, and Kristine O. Abenis
Received: May 21, 2021/ Revised: February 25, 2022/ Accepted: April 28, 2022
During a series of field surveys on several coconut-planting provinces in the Philippines, scale insects, including mealybugs, were observed to attack the infructescence and fruits of coconuts, Cocos nucifera L. (Arecaceae). Three families of Coccomorpha, composed of six species of Diaspididae (armored scale insects), including the serious pest Aspidiotus rigidus Reyne, one species of Pseudococcidae [the mealybugs, Nipaecoccus nipae (Maskell)]; and one species of Monophlebidae (giant or cottony cushion scales, Icerya sp.), were noted to attack on coconut infructescences. Two species, Aspidiotus destructor Signoret and Lepidosaphes sp. aff. tapleyi were observed to feed on the fruit directly. Pseudaulacaspis pentagona (Targioni Tozzetti) and P. sp. aff. cockerelli (Cooley) were observed to feed on the leaf petiole and infructescence peduncle. Nipaecoccus nipae (Maskell) and Icerya sp. were found on the calyx, while Hemiberlesia lataniae (Signoret) were found in pedicels and peduncles of the infructescences.
Spatial Distribution of Unaspis mabilis Lit & Barbecho (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) in Lanzones (Lansium domesticum Corrêa) Trees in Aklan, Philippines
Ronelo S. Salaver, Evelyn P. Vedasto, and Michael T. Ibisate
Received: August 14, 2021/ Revised: January 20, 2022/ Accepted: April 27, 2022
Unaspis mabilis Lit & Barbecho (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) adversely affects lanzones production in the Philippines. Characterized as having an aggressive behavior, this leaf-inhabiting species spreads fast and is difficult to control. Since its identification in 2014, it has already reached different parts of the country causing significant damage. Spatial distribution of U. mabilis in lanzones and the effects of weather on its population density were investigated for six months from November 2018 to April 2019 in two orchards in Jumarap, Banga, and Calizo, Balete in Aklan, Philippines. Spatial distribution was measured using dispersion parameters and dispersion indices, whereas correlation study was conducted employing simple and multiple regressions for species’ adult female population counts obtained every 15 days from 30 randomly selected trees. Dispersion parameters and indices confirmed the aggregated distribution of U. mabilis. This aggregated nature was witnessed when pest was highly active from February to April 2019, and during periods of low activity from November 2018 to January 2019. This observed spatial pattern can be linked to the species’ social behavior, the overall effect of their major mortality factors, and the morphological traits of the lanzones plant. Weather parameters such as minimum and maximum temperatures had positive main effects, while high relative humidity and maximum wind speed had negative main effects on species’ population. However, the interaction between maximum and minimum temperatures showed a negative impact, whereas the combination of high relative humidity and maximum wind speed exhibited a positive influence. Rainfall displayed no effect on species’ population change. Resulting data on the spatial distribution and the effects of weather on population can be used as bases for the proper estimation of infestation for an effective pest management against the frequent attack of U. mabilis in lanzones.
Floral Biology and Pollination of Red Hot F1 Hybrid Hot Pepper (Capsicum frutescens x C. annuum) in the Philippines
Rodelina C. Deyto and Cleofas R. Cervancia
Received: November 03, 2021/ Revised: February 03, 2022/ Accepted: March 28, 2022
The floral biology and pollination of Red Hot F1 variety hot pepper, Capsicum frutescens x C. annuum, were studied in this paper. Its flowers are herkogamous and inodorous, and the pollen and nectar serve as rewards to visitors. Anthesis occurred during morning, from 0600 h to 1000 h and peaked on the second day. The pollen grains are simple and numerous with high viability, 96 ± 1.06%. Receptivity of stigma synchronized with pollen viability. This hot pepper variety is partially protogynous. The asynchronous flowering, dichogamy, and herkogamy in hot pepper are their adaptive strategies to promote outcrossing and for reproductive assurance. Four insect species visited the flowers but only the carpenter bee, Xylocopa sp., and the stingless bee, Tetragonula biroi (Friese), are the true pollinators. The foraging activity, which peaked at 0900 h, synchronized with anthesis. Fruit set in an open-pollinated (87 ± 13.12%) and hand-pollinated plants (84 ± 19.37%) were significantly higher than in the control (26 ± 14.30%). Open-pollinated plants produced fruits and seeds with significantly higher quantity and quality.
Association Mapping for Drought Tolerance and Yield-Related Traits in Cowpea Accessions Using Genome-Wide Association Study and Population Structure Analysis
Gabriel V. Nkomo, Moosa M. Sedibe, Maletsema A. Mofokeng, and Rian Pierneef
Received: August 08, 2020/ Revised: February 03, 2022/ Accepted: March 06, 2022
Cowpea is an important drought-tolerant crop that is grown mainly in Africa. The objective of this study was to conduct association mapping of drought tolerance phenotype with seedling and yield-related traits in cowpeas. A total of 60 cowpea accessions were used in the study. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were discovered through genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). In the primary pipeline analysis, fragments of poor-quality sequences with reproducibility below 90% and read depths lower than 3.5 for SNPs or 5 for presence–absence markers were filtered out. Approximately 2.5 million sequences per barcode/sample were identified and used in marker calling. Association mapping was conducted using single-marker regression (SMR) in Q Gene, and the general linear model (GLM) and mixed linear model (MLM) built in TASSEL v5.0. The population of the cowpea accessions was analyzed using STRUCTURE 2.3.4. Inferred number of populations (ΔK) of cowpea accessions grown in the greenhouse and glasshouse were six (6) and seven (7), respectively. Approximately 2.5 million sequences per barcode/sample were identified and used in marker calling. The total number of SNPs in the raw file was 438,198. After a quality control procedure, a variant call format (vcf). One SNP marker, was associated with number of pods (NP) with a p value < 0.001 while fifty SNP markers, were associated with pod weight (PWT) at p < 0.001. The same number of four SNP markers, were associated with average seeds per pod (AVSPD) at p < 0.001 and also with pod length (PL). Five SNP markers, were associated with pod width (PWDTH) at p < 0.001. Major differences among the significantly associated SNPs were observed in the two environments which were under different temperature conditions. The 65 SNP markers identified can be used in cowpea molecular breeding to select for drought tolerant phenotypes in cowpea through marker assisted selection (MAS).
Evaluation of Thermal and Drying Characteristics of Dried Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) Shell Waste
Aytaç Moralar and Soner Çelen
Received: April 23, 2021/ Revised: February 22, 2022/ Accepted: March 22, 2022
As a biomass fuel, the hazelnut shell must be milled into sawdust and dried to contain a certain amount of moisture. For this purpose, calorific value, drying rates, thermal values, moisture diffusion, activation energy, and energy consumption at the end of the drying of the hazelnut shell, which is dried in the conveyor belt and microwave dryer, were calculated. The total minimum energy consumed by the hazelnut shell at the end of the experiment in microwave drying was measured as 0.2 kWh for 460 W and 4.65 kWh at 80°C drying temperature in conveyor belt drying until the final moisture value reached 1.1 ± 0.8% wet basis at the end of the experiment. The effective diffusivity of moisture of hazelnut shell changed from 4.13×10-7 to 1.89×10-6 m2 s-1, and the activation energy was found as 2.275 W g-1 in microwave drying. The effective diffusivity of moisture of hazelnut shell changed from 6.39×10-7 to 9.21×10-7 m2 s-1, and the activation energy was found as 19 kJ / mol in the conveyor belt drying. In general, the diffusion coefficient increased with increasing air temperature and decreased with increasing microwave power. At the end of the experiments, the temperature in the product was measured as 72°C in microwave drying and 73.5°C in conveyor belt drying. According to these values, it has been determined that the most suitable drying system for waste disposal was the microwave drying system. The calorific value was measured as 20028.52 kJ/kg in conveyor belt drying and 20036.76 kJ/kg in microwave drying. Microwave drying yielded better results with an increase of 2.72%.
Tuber Production, Gas Exchange and PAR (Incident On Leaf Surface) of Potato Cultivars in Response to the Planting Patterns and Drip Irrigation System
Sonya Behmanesh, Mehrdad Yarnia, Davoud Hassanpanah, Ebrahim Khalilvand Behrouzyar, and Bahram Mirshekari
Received: October 18, 2021/ Revised: March 01, 2022/ Accepted: May 17, 2022
The performance of potato cultivars was evaluated using four planting arrangements and drip irrigation on some photosynthetic traits and tuber production and weight in Ardabil region, Iran during 2017–2018. The results showed that planting arrangement significantly affected tuber weight traits per plant, photosynthetic carbon dioxide source of leaf surface (C ref), photosynthetic active radiation of leaf surface (Q Leaf), atmospheric pressure (P), decomposed carbon dioxide of leaf surface (C ‘ an), decomposed water of leaf area (e ‘ an), and total exchanged carbon dioxide (ΔC) at 1% probability level. The highest amounts of photosynthetic traits (C ref) and (Q Leaf) in the Milva cultivar with the planting arrangement of four rows with a width of 150 cm were found to be 434.90 mg kg-1 and 10.85 μmol m-2 s-1, respectively, which increased by 17 mg kg-1 and 2.53 μmol m-2 s-1, respectively, compared to the control (two rows with a spacing of 150 cm with surface irrigation and a planting density of 53,333 plants per hectare) (R1). The high C ref resulted from removing the vacant space and from maximum use of resources. The increased Q Leaf is due to the zigzag placement of plants, received radiation level, and photosynthetically active radiation on the leaf surface. Considering acceptable changes in the studied traits, cultivating the Milva cultivar with a planting arrangement of four rows is recommended in the Ardabil region.
Forecasting Pistachio Production in Turkey: A Comparison of ARIMA, Grey and Exponential Smoothing Models
Görkem Örük
Received: March 03, 2022/ Revised: May 10, 2022/ Accepted: May 17, 2022
This research aims to forecast pistachio production in Turkey using the Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), the grey model (G.M. (1,1)), and Exponential Smoothing (Holt’s and Brown’s) models. The Food and Agriculture Organization provided the annual statistics on pistachio production in Turkey from 1961 to 2019, which was used in this study. Pistachio production is expected to increase between 2020 and 2030. The mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE), and the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) statistics were used to assess the performance of the models. The G.M. (1,1) model was found to be significantly better than other models, and it was used to make future predictions. Results showed that the forecasted production value for 2020 was 157.80 thousand tons, rising to 302.86 thousand tons in 2030. Pistachio production is expected to increase during the next ten years.
Ethnomycological Expedition: Mycophagy, Species Listing and Toxicity Assessment of Macrofungi in Bambang Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines
Angeles M. De Leon, Jerry C. Lagman, Jeanne Rose C. Lazaga, Pamela H. Maniquiz, Pia Louise A. Martinez, Janine D. Nieves, and Sofronio P. Kalaw
Received: April 23, 2020/ Revised: September 13, 2021/ Accepted: May13, 2022
In the Philippines, studies have been conducted on the taxonomic identification of wild macrofungi. However, data about the utilization, diversity, and toxicity of wild macrofungi are still insufficient especially from the mountainous hard to reach areas of the country. Therefore, this study was conducted to document the macrofungal species utilization and diversity of wild macrofungi in Barangay Buag, Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya to come up with a species listing of macrofungi in the area and screening of selected macrofungi for its teratogenic and cytotoxic activity using Danio rerio embryo and Artemia salina nauplii. Purposive sampling method was used in the collection of the macrofungi species. Results showed that 15 macrofungi were declared as utilized either as food, medicine, or as an additional source of income by the community. During the collection, 53 macrofungal samples were collected; of these eight were utilized and identified by the community with their local names. However, only seven of the eight species were identified scientifically using their morphological and molecular characteristics namely: Auricularia cornea, Schizophyllum commune, Coprinus disseminatus, Mycena sp., Ganoderma lucidum, Polyporous tenuiculus, and Volvariella volvacea. Out of the 53 macrofungal samples collected 44 (39 morphologically and 5 molecularly) were identified, 24 were identified to species level, and 20 were identified to genus level, all belonging to 20 families 32 genera and 24 species. The molecularly identified macrofungi are Ganoderma neo-japonicum, Ganoderma applanatum, Polyporus tenuiculus, Agaricus erectosquamosus, and Helotiales sp. Lyophilized hot water extract (LHWE) of Ganoderma applanatum and Thelepora sp. generally exhibited teratogenic effects against developing D. rerio embryos during the teratogenicity assay. The varying treatment concentration of the LHWE of G. applanatum and Thelephora sp. significantly revealed toxic effects such as coagulation and no heartbeat, for teratogenic effects of the extract, growth retardation, scoliosis, malformation of head, and malformation of tail were the noted effects on the developing D. rerio. Furthermore, the other abnormalities that were not mentioned as teratogenic endpoints were observed such as unpigmented tail, and curved embryo body. The LHWE of G. applanatum and Thelephora sp. projected an LC50 of 979.33 ppm (mildly toxic) and 10.763 ppm (highly toxic) respectively which was based on the brine shrimp lethality assay.
RESEARCH NOTE
Antibiotic Sensitivity Profile of Mastitis Pathogens from Dairy Cows in a Selected Farm in Laguna, Philippines
Niko Lawrence H. Ylagan, Flor Marie Immanuelle R. Pilapil-Amante, and Hope G. Rovira
Received: July 07, 2020/ Revised: March 30, 2022/ Accepted: March 31, 2022
Due to their inappropriate and indiscriminate use in treating mastitis, most antibiotics are now ineffective. The aim of the study was to determine the antibiotic sensitivity profile of identified bovine mastitis pathogens. Twenty-seven out of 38 isolates were revived from a previous work and were identified for antibiotic sensitivity. Gram-negative isolates were Klebsiella pneumoniae, Brevundimonas diminuta, Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumanii, Vibrio metschnikovii, Flavimonas oryzihabitans and Pantoea agglomerans. Gram-positive isolates were Streptococcus agalactiae, Lactococcus lactis, Streptococcus sp. group C or G, and Corynebacterium renale. Enterobacteriaceae isolates were resistant to Beta lactams, Erythromycin, Nitrofurantoin, Novobiocin, and Clindamycin but were sensitive to Fluroquinones. Miscellaneous Gram-negative isolates were sensitive to Colistin and Ofloxacin but were resistant to Beta lactams, Novobiocin, and Clindamycin. Str. agalactiae isolates were sensitive to Cefaclor, Ofloxacin, and Gentamicin but were resistant to Cloxacillin and Trimethoprim. Gram-positive isolates were sensitive to Oxytetracycline, Ofloxacin, Erythromycin, and Gentamicin. Mastitis treatment guided by antibiotic sensitivity testing is a promising course of therapy likely to succeed. The regimen can be further improved by a combination of non-antibiotic therapeutic methods, responsible use of suitable antibiotics, good sanitation protocols, and organized recording of data.
A Modified Carrot (Daucus carota L.) Somatic Embryogenesis Protocol to Elicit the Different Stages of Early Plant Development
Raul B. Javier Jr., Maria Salve C. Vasquez, Lourdes B. Cardenas, Maria Genaleen Q. Diaz, Antonio C. Laurena, and Maria Lourdes O. Cedo
Received: January 03, 2022/ Revised: January 06, 2022/ Accepted: March 08, 2022
Carrot callus was successfully induced on solid Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 0.1 mg/L 2,4-D and 3 mg/L BAP or 1 mg/L Kinetin. Calli from the BAP supplemented medium were friable whereas those from the Kinetin medium were compact. Explants exposed to light were green-pigmented while those in the dark were achromatic. To attain fine cell suspensions, calli were broken into smaller pieces prior to placement in the liquid media with the phytohormone supplements. The exponential growth phase was determined from the cell suspensions where the Kinetin supplemented medium in the dark was used. The observed data on higher cell density and propensity for cellular division was the basis for its use in the subsequent SE growth determination. Compared to the 90% purity from literature, the modified approach by subculturing with intermittent starvation cycles, using a low phytohormone concentration, and using the 700 μM diameter blue tip was found to be efficient and cost-effective, resulting in 77.4% purity in terms of a particular cell developmental stage. Morphological stages following sequential transition through the earliest stages of SE were observed: single cells, dividing cells, cell clusters, globular stage, triangular stage, heart stage and torpedo stage. The transitory stages, triangular, and heart stages were documented.
