International Journal of Agricultural Economics and Extension

International Journal of Agricultural Economics and Extension ISSN 2329-9797 Vol. 12 (5), pp. 001-004, May, 2024. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Review

Exploring the Controversies Surrounding Genetically Modified Food Crops

Kamil Ekici* and Yakup Can Sancak

Department of Food Hygiene and Technology, Veterinary College, University of Yuzuncu Yil, 65080 Van, Turkey.

Accepted 23 April, 2024

Abstract

Genetic modification is the alteration of genetic material that would not occur naturally. It can be used as a tool to improve the quality of foods. Through genetic modification foods can be produced in larger quantities by increasing its resistance to pests and adverse weather conditions. Their protein and vitamin content may also be increased thus making them more nutritious. There are also claims of potential risks such as possible allergic reactions to modified proteins. To date, no international consensus has been reached for evaluation of the safety of genetically modified plants for consumption. Over the last decade, the safety of genetically modified crops in animal feed or foods for human consumption has been routinely tested in some countries. Protein- and DNA-based methods have been developed for detection of genetically modified organisms. Worldwide legislation now faces questions on the use and labeling requirements of genetically modified crops and their derivatives. Still, there are concerns about the safety of genetically modified crops. Also, genetically modified crops could contain toxic substances or larger amounts of heavy metals and the crops might not be substantially equivalent in genome, proteome, and metabolome to unmodified crops. An additional concern is that contrary to expectations, genetically modified crops may be less nutritious; for example, they might contain lower amounts of essential phytoestrogens, needed to protect against heart disease and cancer. This review will focus on perspectives of the genetically modified food crops.

Key words: Food crops, genetic modification, transgenic, biotechnology-derived crops.
 

International Journal of Agricultural Economics and Extension ISSN 2329-9797 Vol. 12 (4), pp. 001-008, April, 2024. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Genetic modification of maize inbred line for resistance against Exserohilum turcicum via immature embryo culture and incorporation of balsam pear class I Chitinase Gene

Youyin Zhu^1,3, Fenglan Zhao^1,2 and Degang Zhao^1,2,3*

¹Guizhou Key Laboratory of Agro-Bioengineering, Guizhou University, South Campus, Huaxi, Guiyang City, 550025,Guizhou Province, People’s Republic of China.
²College of Life Science, Guizhou University, South Campus, Huaxi, Guiyang City, 550025, Guizhou Province, People's
Republic of China.
³Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Ago-Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University,Huaxi, Guiyang City, 550025,Guizhou Province, People' Republic of China.

Accepted 21 January, 2024

Abstract

Maize is one of the most important food crops worldwide and is subject to many diseases. Genetic engineering offers unique way to improve the current elite line via introduces single or multiple traits. In this report, we transformed an elite maize line, Jiao 51, with a balsam pear class I chitinase gene (Mcchit 1) driven by the maize ubiquitin-1 (ubi1) promoter. Conditions for callus induction from immature embryos were optimized using a Jiao 51 by culture on induction medium. The highest Type-I and Type-II callus induction efficiency of 91.33 and 89.10% were obtained on N6 media supplemented with 2.5 mg L-1 2, 4-D. Both types of calli grew fast. Type-I callus could easily change to Type-II callus. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation was used to generate eight transgenic lines that expressed the chitinase transgene. Assessing the functionality of the Mcchit1 protein in the transgenic plants was conducted using an excised leaf challenge assay. The transgenic maize expressing a balsam pear class I chitinase gene exhibited enhanced tolerance to Exserohilum turcicum in greenhouse conditions. After 5 days inoculation, the number of lesions was significantly fewer, and the size of lesions was significantly smaller compared to the controls.

Key words: Maize (Zea mays. L.), chitinase gene, transformants, fungal disease tolerance, Northern corn leaf blight, Exserohilum turcicum.

International Journal of Agricultural Economics and Extension ISSN 2329-9797 Vol. 12 (3), pp. 001-011, March, 2024. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Effect of soil amendment with yeasts as bio-fertilizers on the growth and productivity of sugar beet

Ramadan AGAMY¹, Mohamed HASHEM^2,3* and  Saad ALAMRI³

¹Department of Agricultural Botany, Faculty of Agriculture, Fayoum University, Fayoum, Egypt.
²Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt, 71516.
³Biology Department, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, P. O. Box 10255, Abha 61321, Saudi Arabia.

Accepted 4 December, 2023

Abstract

The use of yeast as a bio-fertilizer in agriculture has received considerable attention because of their bioactivity and safety for human and the environment. This study evaluated the effect of soil amendment with three newly isolated yeast strains on the productivity and the external and internal structure of sugar beet to prove their application as bio-fertilizer. We conducted a two-year pot experiment to investigate the effects of Kluyveromyces walti, Pachytrichospora transvaalensis and Sacharromycopsis cataegensis on the growth and productivity of sugar beet. Soil was inoculated with three doses of each strain (0.0, 50.0 and 100.0 ml pot-1 with concentration of ~108 cfu ml-1). Results showed that application of the yeasts significantly (P < 0.05) increased the photosynthetic pigments, soluble sugars, sucrose, and total soluble proteins of sugar beet. K. walti showed the best results among the three yeasts. It increased the sucrose content by about 43% of the control. Anatomy of the leaf and the root showed an increase in thickness of the blade, midvein, dimensions of the vascular bundles, and number and diameter of xylem vessels as the result of application of yeasts. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of the culture filtrates of the yeasts detected some beneficial secondary metabolites that could enhance the plant vigor and the physical and chemical properties of the soil. We assume that application of K. walti, P. transvaalensis and S. cataegensis as bio-fertilizers is a good alternative of the chemicals in the sustainable and organic farming and safe for human and environment.

Key words: Bio-fertilizer, sugar beet, yeast, anatomy, secondary metabolites.

International Journal of Agricultural Economics and Extension ISSN 2329-9797 Vol. 12 (2), pp. 001-006, February, 2024. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Energy analysis of main residual biomass in Croatia

Tajana Kricka, Nikola Bilandzija*, Vanja Jurisic, Neven Voca and Ana Matin

Faculty of Agriculture University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska cesta 25, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.

Accepted 6 September, 2023

Abstract

This paper examines the total quantities of combustible (carbon, hydrogen, and sulphur) and non-combustible matters (oxygen, nitrogen, moisture, and ash) contained in biomass of all major forest crops (oak, beech-tree, maple, yoke elm and fir), woody horticultural crops (apple, grapevine, sour-cherry, plum, and hazelnut) and arable crops (wheat, soybean, rapeseed, and sunflower) in the territory of Croatia. Also, in addition to briquette production, pelleting is the most often used technology in the biomass treatment. For this purpose, pellets were produced from these sorts of biomass and analyzed according to DINplus standard requirements (durability, bulk density, diameter, length, ash content, nitrogen content, sulphur content, chlorine content, volatiles content, coke content, fixed carbon content and lower energy value).

Key words: Renewable energy sources, agricultural biomass, forest biomass, pellets.

International Journal of Agricultural Economics and Extension ISSN 2329-9797 Vol. 12 (1), pp. 001-006, January, 2024. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Exploring the effects of OWOH consumption on rat enzymatic and haematological profiles: A Nigerian cotton seed-derived condiment

David O. M.* and Falegan C. R.

Department of Microbiology, Ekiti State University, P.M.B. 5363, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

Accepted 16 November, 2023

Abstract

The proximate, energy, microbial load of two different OWOH samples were determined using standard methods. The enzymatic, haematological and nutritional changes in rats fed OWOH samples were also determined. The bacterial loads in the two OWOH samples ranged between 4.5 × 10⁶ and 7.5 × 10⁷ cfu/g in BACILLUS fermented OWOH (BFO) and, 5.7 × 10⁶ and 6.6 × 10⁷ cfu/g in naturally fermented OWOH (NFO), respectively. The microbial load in the samples reached the peak value at 72 h of fermentation. Rats fed on diet supplemented with BFO and NFO had average consumption of 10.42 and 8.05 g/rat/day, respectively, while the control (soy meal supplemented) groups recorded 8.49 g/rat/day. At the end of the feeding experiment, the test diets had lower body weight gain compared to the control; though the difference was not significant (p < 0.05). Compared with the control, the rats in the dietary groups had lower organ weight. NFO group had the least amount of packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin concentration and red blood cell (RBC) count with the values of 34%, 9.78 g/dl and 6.92 × 10⁶/mm³, respectively. The alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) ratio were 0.05 and 0.91 for both NFO and BFO, respectively. Test groups had increased amount of AST compared with the control. The values recorded for BFO and NFO were not significantly different from the control.

Key words: Owoh, condiment, cotton seeds, transaminases, phosphatases, haematological parameters, proximate analyses.

International Journal of Agricultural Economics and Extension ISSN 2329-9797 Vol. 12 (1), pp. 001-007, January, 2024. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Emergence of grapevine dieback caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae and Neoscytalidium dimidiatum in Basrah, Southern Iraq

Abdullah H. Al-Saadoon¹, Mohanad K. M. Ameen¹, Muhammed A. Hameed²* Adnan Al-Badran¹ and Zulfiqar Ali³

¹Department of Biology, College of Science, Basrah University, Iraq.

²Date Palm Research Centre, Basra University, Iraq.

³Departments of Plant Breeding and Genetics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan.

Accepted 30 November, 2023

Abstract

In Basrah, grapevines suffer from dieback. Lasiodiplodia theobromae and Neoscytalidium dimidiatum were isolated from diseased grapevines, Vitis vinifera L. and identified based on morphological characteristics and DNA sequence data of the rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. The results of the pathogenicity test conducted under greenhouse conditions for L. theobromae and N. dimidiatum reveal that both species were the causal agents of grapevines diebacks in Basrah, Southern Iraq. A brief description is provided for the isolated species.

Key words: grapevine, dieback, Lasiodiplodia theobromae, Neoscytalidium dimidiatum, internal transcribed spacer (ITS), rDNA, Iraq.