Application of Tamarind Waste Extracts to Improve the Antioxidant Properties of Tamarind Nectars

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - Tamarind fruits are consumed worldwide and their seeds have an underexploited potential. We assessed the effect of the addition of a freeze-dried aqueous of...     

Genetic analysis of earliness in upland cotton Gossypium hirsutum L. I. Morphological and phenological variables

Inheritance and interrelationships of morphological and phenological components of earliness were evaluated in a diallel analysis involving seven early-maturing parents and a standard cultivar. This study was initiated in 1993 by making all possible crosses, without reciprocals, among the eight parents. Field evaluation of the eight parental genotypes and the 28 F1 was made in 1994 in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Of 13 earliness components studied, all but days to first square, vertical flowering interval, boll maturation period, and production rate index showed significant additive genetic variance. Heritability estimates ranged from 0.02 for production rate index to 0.39 for days to first open boll. Correlation analysis showed generally that the lower the node to the first fruiting branch and the shorter the plant, the earlier was the onset of squaring, flowering, and boll opening.     

Histological evidence of accumulation of iron in postlarvae of red abalone,Haliotis rufescens

The effect of iron on abalone postlarvae (Haliotis rufescens) was investigated in a controlled‐culturing system. Three iron concentrations (0.15, 1.5 and 15 mg L^?1 of Fe) and a control (no iron added) were used to culture H. rufescens postlarvae while being fed the diatom Navicula inserta over 10 days. Results indicate that H. rufescens postlarvae accumulate iron granules in the stomach, digestive gland and mantle, but not in the gills or other tissues. The number and diameter of iron granules in tissues increased with increasing iron concentration in the culturing environment. The iron accumulation is assumed to have been acquired in the digestive system through the iron‐enriched diatom feed and in the mantle through subcutaneous iron transfer. The lack of iron granules in the gills suggests that iron is not absorbed through the respiratory system, as is the case for many filter feeding bivalves. Exposure to the highest iron concentration (15 mg L^?1) resulted in tissue abnormalities where granules accumulated, and may have significantly affected the health of H. rufescens postlarvae. These findings provide valuable information for the regulation of appropriate iron levels within aquaculture settings and highlights the importance of monitoring iron levels within abalone larval culturing environments.     

Organic matter stabilization in two Andisols of contrasting age under temperate rain forest

Recent studies with Andisols show that the carbon (C) stabilization capacity evolves with soil age relative to the evolution of the mineral phase. However, it is not clear how soil mineralogical changes during pedogenesis are related to the composition of soil organic matter (SOM) and ¹⁴C activity as an indicator for the mean residence time of soil organic matter (SOM). In the present study, we analyzed the contribution of allophane and metal–SOM complexes to soil C stabilization. Soil organic matter was analyzed with solid-state ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Additionally, the soil was extracted with Na-pyrophosphate (Al_p, Fe_p) and oxalate (Al_o, Si_o, and Fe_o). Results supported the hypothesis that allophane plays a key role for SOM stabilization in deep and oldest soil, while SOM stabilization by metal (Al and Fe) complexation is more important in the surface horizons and in younger soils. The metal/C_p ratio (C_p extracted in Na-pyrophosphate), soil pH, and radiocarbon age seemed to be important indicators for formation of SOM–metal complexes or allophane in top- and subsoils of Andisols. Changes in main mineral stabilization agents with soil age do not influence SOM composition. We suggest that the combination of several chemical parameters (Al_p, Fe_p and C_p, metal/C_p ratio, and pH) which change through soil age controls SOM stabilization.     

Compositional variation amongst sorghum hybrids: Effect of kafirin concentration on metabolizable energy

Kafirins are stored proteins that negatively affect the nutritional quality of sorghum grain. Kafirin concentration and other chemical characteristics were determined in 12 sorghum hybrids and varied significantly, from 58% (HB1) to 42% (HB12) as percent total protein. Kafirin concentration correlated negatively with crude protein (CP) (−0.49), with acid detergent fiber (−0.40), apparent metabolizable energy (−0.61), and true metabolizable energy corrected for N (−0.63). HB12 was the hybrid with the lowest content of kafirins, amylose and tannins, and the highest content of apparent metabolizable energy. No differences were observed in the concentration of starch, but differences were found in apparent metabolizable energy (3325–2944 kcal kg⁻¹) probably due to a greater availability of starch, related to differences in kafirin concentration.     

Diplopods as Bioindicators of Soils: Analysis of Midgut of Individuals Maintained in Substract Containing Sewage Sludge

Diplopods feed organic matter in decomposition; however, some environmental factors can promote changes in tissues of these animals. Sewage sludge has been applied for recuperation of physical structure of degraded soil. This work analyzed the influence of the sludge from a city of São Paulo in the midgut of the diplopod Rhinocricus padbergi. After the exposition to sludge, the midgut was prepared for histological and ultra-structural analyses. After 1 week of exposition, there were various glycoprotein globules in the fat body, which appeared, ultrastructurally, little electron dense. In the animals exposed for 2 weeks, there was an intensive renovation of the epithelium with the invasion of regenerative cells, which was observed in the histological and ultra-structural analyses. These data showed that the sludge present various substances that were very hazardous for these animals; more studies were necessary before the application of this in agriculture.     

A mathematical approach to simulate spatio-temporal patterns of an insect-pest,the corn rootworm Diabrotica speciosa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in intercropping systems

We report on the use of a spatially explicit model and clustering analysis in order to investigate habitat manipulation as a strategy to regulate natural population densities of the insect-pest Diabrotica speciosa. Habitat manipulation involved four major agricultural plants used as hosts by this herbivore to compose intercropping landscapes. Available biological parameters for D. speciosa on bean, soybean, potato and corn obtained under laboratory conditions were used to group the homogeneous landscapes, composed by each host plant, by a similarity measure of host suitability either for larval survival and development, and adult survival and fecundity. The results pointed corn as the most dissimilar culture. Therefore, intercropping corn with any other crop system tested could reduce insect spread through landscape. This was proved using a cellular automata model which simulate the physiological and behavioural traits of this insect, and also different spatial configurations of the intercropping. Spatio-temporal patterns obtained by simulations demonstrated that the availability of corn bordering the field edge, which are areas more likely to invasion, is key for insect population control.     

Efficiency and TFP Growth in the Spanish Regions: The Role of Human and Public Capital

Abstract This paper analyzes the productivity growth of the Spanish regions between 1965 and 1995, decomposing productivity gains into technological progress and efficiency change by means of Malmquist indices. Once estimates of efficiency are obtained, the aim of this paper is to analyze the effects of human and public capital on growth in terms of their impact on Total Factor Productivity (TFP). Public capital is believed to increase the productivity of the private factors of production whereas human capital is thought to contribute to the production process as an additional input and to have a dynamic influence on growth through its impact on technological innovation (shifts in the production frontier) and technological diffusion (movements toward the frontier), which are the components of this TFP measure. Considering inefficiencies will then allow the effects of these variables on TFP growth to be estimated via technological progress and efficiency gains.     

The extraction of rattan-like lianas in the new world tropics: a possible prototype for sustainable forest management

The tropical forests of the Americas contain great biological diversity yet they are being rapidly destroyed by population pressure, injudicious logging, and inappropriate government policies. In this article we explain how the extraction of rattan-like lianas could represent a sustainable system of forest management in which smallholder incomes are increased while relieving deforestation pressures.     

Hopper (Homoptera: Auchenorrhyncha) diversity in shaded coffee systems of Turrialba, Costa Rica

Diversity of hopper species (suborder Auchenorryncha) in coffee (Coffea arabica) plantations with no shade (C) was compared with the diversity in plantations with shade of either poró (Erythrina poeppigiana) (CP) or poró plus laurel (Cordia alliodora) (CPL) in Turrialba, Costa Rica. Species-abundance and rarefaction curves were plotted for each system, and indices of diversity (Shannon-Wiener), dominance (Simpson), species evenness, and similarity (Jaccard) were calculated. The majority of hopper species and individuals belonged to the Cicadellidae family. A particular species dominated in each system: Graphocephala sp. (C), Fusigonalia lativittata (CP) and Hebralebra nicaraguensis (CPL). The richness and diversity of hopper species were highest in the CP system, followed by the CPL and C systems. Species similarity was closest between the CP and CPL systems, but varied considerably according to plant component and geographic location of each plot. Even though hoppers have not been reported as coffee pests in Mesoamerica, some of them cause serious problems elsewhere. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.