Current Research in Agricultural Sciences

Water extracts of pomegranate peel and hojicha tea leaf inhibit the growth of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus

Natsumi Nakamura, Yusuke Komiya, Hisaya K Ono, Keizo Arihara — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains capable of causing infections and food poisoning have emerged worldwide in response to the use of various antimicrobial agents. To date, several drugs have been used to combat these bacteria. We focused herein on functional foods (particularly food waste products), which are safer and exhibit fewer side effects than drugs. The objective of present study is to elucidate the growth inhibitory effects of several food waste products on Staphylococcus aureus using three different Staphylococcus aureus strains, JCM2413 as the standard strain, and MW2 and N315 as MRSA strains. One percent water extracts of ten food waste products (grapefruit peel, pineapple leaf, dragon fruit peel, persimmon peel, turnip leaf, pomegranate peel, apple peel, potato peel, hojicha tea leaf, and banana peel) were added to the medium, and colonies were counted after a 24-hour incubation. Significant decreases were observed in MW2 and N315 colonies with pomegranate peel and hojicha tea leaf extracts. By contrast, no significant difference was observed in JCM2413 in any of the extracts. We demonstrated that water extracts of pomegranate peel and hojicha tea leaves possess bacteriostatic activity specific to MRSA. Our findings help to improve food safety with reducing food loss. However, further studies are needed to elucidate the detailed mechanism of the effects of pomegranate peel and hojicha tea on MRSA.

Combining ability of maize (Zea mays l.) inbred lines adapted to sub-humid central highland of Ethiopia

Takele Mitiku, Gudeta Nepir, Demoz Negera — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0500

The production of maize, a primary food crop in Africa, is hampered by a lack of high-yielding cultivars, biotic and abiotic stressors. In order to create high-yielding maize varieties, choosing promising germ plasm that have good combining ability, and heterotic groups is so important. Estimating the GCA and SCA of grain yield and other yield-related traits of maize inbred lines was the goal of this work. In 2019 using line by tester mating design, 26 inbred lines were crossed with two testers to produce 52 F1 hybrids. The experiment was carried out in the Ambo and Kulumsa Agricultural Research Centres in the 2020 cropping season using an alpha lattice design with two replications. Analysis of variance revealed significant mean squares attributable to crosses and lines in each location and across locations for targeted traits. The finding of the line x tester ANOVA showed significant mean squares for lines, testers, and cross for grain yield, anthesis date, silking date, plant height, ear height, kernel row per ear, and number of ears per plant. This show inconsistency of inbred lines traits across testing sites. While crossings L1xT2, L17xT1, L8xT1, L10xT1, L14xT1, L20xT2, L24xT2, and L26xT1 were effective particular combiners, inbred L2, L4, L5, L7, L10, and L13 were strong general combiners for grain yield. The best particular combiners for plant and ear height traits were L11xT1, L17xT1, and L11xT1, L26xT2, while L14, L21, and L22 worked well for EPP and L14 for KPR with T1.

Growth response of nursery raised cashew seedlings to light clay soil amended with inorganic fertilizers

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0500

This study aims to evaluate the performance of light clay soil amended with inorganic fertilizer in the early cashew seedling growth phase. The two month experiment was set up in a screenhouse at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria. The experiment was laid out in Complete Randomized Design. The first factor consists of cashew biotypes (large and medium) while the second factor includes 2 fertilizer combinations (Urea and Single-Super-Phosphate (SSP)). The treatments include Large + 0 (L0 as control), Large + 40kg/ha Urea + 30kg/ha SSP (L1), Large + 80kg/ha Urea + 60kg/ha SSP (L2), Medium + 0 (M0 as control), Medium + 40kg/ha Urea + 30kg/ha SSP (M1), and Medium + 80kg/ha Urea + 60kg/ha SSP (M2). We applied the treatments one month after sowing. One nut seed per nursery polythene bag was sown using a light clay soil growing medium. The physicochemical properties of the growing media were analyzed while data on seedling emergence, growth parameters, and % seedling survival were recorded. Data was analyzed using Analysis of Variance, and treatment means were separated using Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at 0.05% probability level. Seedlings with no fertilizer treatments, L0 (4.5) and M0 (4.0), had the best seedling vigour, while L2 (2.5) and M2 (2.0) had the lowest, respectively, in a 5-grade score. The control, jumbo, and medium biotypes recorded a survival rate of 100%, 33.33%, and 16.67%, respectively. The application of the inorganic fertilizers to the light clay soil used negatively influenced cashew seedling growth.