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This study was conducted to assess the habitat suitability of Carissa carandas in India is crucial for its sustainable integration into agriculture under changing climatic conditions. This study utilized Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) modelling to evaluate the species’ distribution across current and future scenarios (2050 and 2070) under four Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs: 2.6, 4.5, 6.0, and 8.5). Results indicated that temperature-related variables, particularly the Minimum Temperature of the Coldest Month (MiTCM, contributing 46.8% in 2070 RCP 2.6) and Isothermality (contributing up to 35.2% in 2070 RCP 8.5), are the dominant climatic drivers. Land use and land cover (LULC) factors such as urbanization (49.8%), total cultivated land (28.1%), and grassland (9.0%) significantly influence habitat suitability. Under current conditions, optimal habitat spans 4,588 km², decreasing by 38.95% under LULC scenarios. Projected habitat changes indicate a 2.04% gain under 2070 RCP 2.6 but an 11.06% decline under 2050 RCP 2.6. Southern and western regions, including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, exhibit high suitability, habitat fragmentation is projected in northern and western India due to climate change and land use modifications. These findings underscore the need for proactive conservation planning and climate-adaptive agricultural strategies to optimize the cultivation of C. carandas. Policymakers and stakeholders should focus on preserving suitable regions while mitigating urbanization-induced habitat loss. Furthermore, integrating underutilized crops into climate-resilient agriculture can enhance biodiversity, improve food security, and support sustainable farming practices in the face of climate change.
 

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Sustainable improvements in agricultural production and productivity necessitate efficient resource utilization; relay intercropping can improve crop yield and land productivity while using fewer inputs. Thus, in a three-year field trial, different cucurbit vegetable crops were tested to see if they were suitable for relay intercropping with perennial castor (Ricinus communis L.). These treatments encompassed various intercropping strategies involving castor, each paired with a different cucurbit: bitter gourd (Momordica charantia), ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula), snake gourd (Trichsanthus cucumerina), bottle gourd (Legenaria siceraria), coccinia (Trichsanthus dioica), and cucumber (Cucumis sativus). Castor and cucumber relay intercropping systems produced the highest castor equivalent yield (1701 kg/ha), followed by castor and ridge gourd (1596 kg/ha). Among all the cucurbit intercropping systems, the castor + cucumber relay system had the highest productivity (4.66 kg/ha/day), profitability (338.8 Rs/ha/day), and relative economic efficiency (198.5%). The best moisture-use efficiency was achieved by castor and bitter gourd relay intercropping (6.58 kg/ha/mm), followed by castor and bottle gourd relay intercropping (6.35 kg/ha/mm). There was a higher net return for relay intercropping of castor and cucumber (Rs.1,23,662/ha), followed by castor and ridge gourd (Rs.1,20,515/ha). Perennial sole castor produced 1312 kg of seeds per hectare, despite its low monetary returns of Rs 41,801/hectare. It has been found that relay intercropping between castor and ridge gourd (3.29), followed by castor and bitter gourd (3.29), produces the highest benefit-cost ratio. As a result, the relay intercropping system, which determines the competitive interaction and productivity of castor and cucurbits, can provide the greatest benefits.

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Background: Fusobacterium necrophorum as a non-spore-forming Gram-negative anaerobic bacillus is an important human and animal pathogen. It may cause severe systemic infections (Lemierre's syndrome) and some other infections. The aim of this study was to subtype Fusobacterium necrophorum by using PCR methods. Materials and Methods: Twenty five strains of Fusobacterium necrophorum subspecies funduliformis were used. Extraction of DNA and typing of the strains using REP-PCR, ERIC-PCR and BOX-PCR were done. Results: Molecular typing of Fusobacterium necrophorum using REP1-R-I and REP-2-I primers generated 2 to 5 amplicons ranging in size from 1500bp to 2000bp. GelCompar comparison of banding patterns revealed seven distinct ribotype strains from 25 strains tested of which most were 2 and 4 with 8 and 7 strains respectively. BOX-PCR subtyping generated 2 to 7 comparable amplicons ranging in size from approximately 600bp to more than 2000bp. ERIC-PCR subtyping generated 6 to 11 amplicons ranging in size from approximately 100bp to 1500bp. Conclusions: F. necrophorum strains have genomic variations that suggest they are never truly clonal in nature, or they may have undergone localized genetic variation across worldwide. This study also showed subtypes existing in Fusobacterium necrophorum species. We have demonstrated that Fusobacterium necrophorum REP-PCR types can be divided into seven, three subtypes by BOX-PCR and six subtypes by ERIC-PCR. BOX-PCR typing proved to be the most discriminatory method, yielding two-seven major bands. The sample size was too small to interpret statistically.

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Soybean, Glycine max, is susceptible to a large number of disease agents such as seedling and root pathogens that cause serious damages to this crop plant. One of these soil-borne pathogens is Macrophomina phaseolina, the causal agent of charcoal root rot. In this study, two bacteria, Pantoea agglomerans and Bacillus sp. BIN, and a fungus, Trichoderma harzianum T100, as potential biocontrol agents, and maneb fungicide, were evaluated against soybean charcoal rot disease in In Vitro and greenhouse conditions. All antagonists inhibited growth of the pathogen in dual culture test by 73.8, 63.3 and 55.3 %, respectively. Data from greenhouse experiments showed that in the presence of pathogen all antagonists increased the growth indices of soybean in both pasteurized and non-pasteurized soil. Reductions of microsclerotia coverage on soybean root and stem by P. agglomerans, Bacillus sp. and T. harzianum were up to 62.5, 87.6 and 62.5 %, respectively and for maneb fungicide was 87.6 % in pasteurized soil. The overall results of this study show high capability of used antagonists in reduction of initial inoculums for next season of this monocyclic disease.

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Sclerotinia stem rot (SSR), caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is one of the most important diseases of canola (Brassica napus) in Golestan province, the leading canola producer in Iran. In order to assess the yield loss of canola caused by SSR, 80 fields were surveyed in four different regions of the province (Gorgan, Ali Abad, Kalaleh and Gonbad) during 2006-2007, and SSR intensity was recorded weekly in the fields. Study of yield loss-SSR severity relationships by linear, nonlinear and multiple regression analyses with final intensity (S_f), time to initial symptoms (t_is), Gompertz rate of disease progress (r_G), and standardized area under disease progress curve (SAUDPC) as independent variables indicate that single point and integral models were significant (P < 0.05) only in three cases. Results of multiple point models which were performed using weekly recorded SSR intensities (S₁, S₂, …), were significant in two cases and a general model for 2007 survey was developed using S₃ to S₆. Eventually, response surface models were developed for each region by integrating t_is with SSR intensity variables (S_f or SAUDPC).

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This paper shows the role of the general dynamic model in empirical research of production technology in agriculture. The model is a first order autoregressive multivariate specification, first developed by Anderson and Blundell. This model is general enough to nest several simpler dynamic as well as static models within it. Therefore, it provides a framework for applying classical testing procedures and identifying the appropriate specification in the empirical econometric model of production. The usefulness of the general dynamic model is shown by estimating the production structure in the Iranian crop sector. The results indicate that the Iranian crop production is best characterized by a long-run static model derived from a non-homothetic translog specification which incorporates non-neutral technological change and allows for structural change after the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

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The control of biological, hydrological and geochemical cycles of soil is the key part of the earth system. The objective of this research was to evaluate changes in soil chemical properties due to deforestation occurred in the Gazafolya Village, Merek Watershed, Kermanshah Province, Iran. Toward this attempt, 35 soil samples were collected from top soil layer using auger in early June, 2013. Soil analysis including pH, carbonate content, electrical conductivity (EC) and exchangeable sodium (Na), soil organic carbon (SOC) and cation exchange capacity (CEC) were made. The results showed that there were no significant differences between soil pH, carbonate content, EC and Na in the forest and rainfed areas while there was significant difference (P> 0.005) between SOC in the forest (2.10%) and rainfed (1.35%) areas. The semi-variance analysis also revealed that the spatial dependence class of SOC in the forest was strong, while it was mainly moderate in the rainfed areas due to improper plowing practices in the rainfed area there was moderate. In addition, the results showed the soil CEC in the forest and rainfed areas were 33.3 and 25.1 cmol_ckg^-1, respectively, indicating significant higher level in the forest area. Semi-variance analysis also revealed a strong spatial variation for CEC in the forest. Finally, there were no significant differences for EC and Na with moderate spatial variation in both areas. It was concluded that SOC and CEC significantly reduced by severe deforestation phenomenon of Zagros Forest.

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On the basis of preliminary in vitro screening tests, a competent strain of Pantoea agglomerans ENA1 (P. agg. ENA1) recovered from soybean nodule was evaluated for its antagonistic activity against Macrophomina phaseolina causal agent of charcoal rot of soybean. The results of various in vitro assays showed that P. agg. ENA1 is capable of exerting strong antagonistic effect against M. phaseolina inhibiting its mycelial growth up to 89% as compared to control. The results showed a significant reduction of the disease as measured in host-plant weight increase, reduced microsclerotial coverage of the host tissues and decreased population of the pathogen in soil. Soils treated with the antagonist in presence of the pathogen resulted in 40% increase in aerial fresh weight and 63% decrease in root and stem surface covered by microsclerotia as compared with control. Furthermore, a significant decrease in the pathogen population ranging from 73 to 76% was observed in sterile and non-sterile soils, respectively. P. agg. ENA1 is suggested as a potent biocontrol agentthat provides excellent rhizosphere colonization and control of M. phaseolina    

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Research Subject: Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) is a silicone polymer that nowadays despite unique characteristics and high application potential of its microparticles, their preparation via bulk emulsification methods is a main challenge due to the limitations in mixing process, high viscosity and low surface energy of PDMS that make impossible accurate  control of final obtained particles. In the present work, size-controlled PDMS microparticles were prepared from a high-viscosity material.
Research Approach: PDMS microparticles were obtained by using glass capillary co-flow microfluidic device. The designed microfluidic device is facile, inexpensive and reusable and facilitated preparation of the high-viscosity PDMS microdroplets. Stabilizing the oil-in-water emulsion was obtained by optimizing the bath components and curing process that resulted in monodisperse and spherical PDMS microparicles. Effect of the some important adjustable parameters such as microchannel diameter and flow rate on the flow regimes and microparticles polydispersity were investigated by means of optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.
Main Results: Results showed a dripping regime for producing monodisperse microparticles at low flow rates of the continuous phase and monodisperse microparticles from it. On the contrary, microparticles obtained from jetting regime are more polydisperse and smaller in comparison with dripping regime. By reducing the diameter of inner microchannel, microparticles with a diameter of 1.83 µm were obtained. Using the designed technology, uniform nanocomposite PDMS/ZnO microparticles 318 µm in diameter containing 15% ZnO were obtained from an oil phase viscosity of 7550 mPa.s. Therefore by an optimized and facile method, size-controllable uniform microparticles can be prepared that are proposed for various applications including drug delivery, bioengineering and electronic industry.

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The objective was to study the population development of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick, 1917) on tomato in greenhouse conditions at Droh. The trial assessed the occurrence of T. absoluta adults from the month of October to May in traps; a low numbers is noted. The high numbers recorded (170 adults/greenhouse) are caught at the end of crop cycle. The mean number of capture is 22 adults/ week/ trap. Regarding the other developmental stages, immatures of T. absoluta are also very low mainly at the beginning of the crop season. The highest numbers of immature stages recorded is: 36 eggs per 30 leaves on 19 April 2012, 14 larvae 19 April and 3 May 2012. One pupa is recorded on 17 November 2011 and 26 January 2012. During the survey, no natural enemies are detected on the different developmental stages of T. absoluta.

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The optimal cropping pattern for Sistan water resources management was determined through a goal programming technique within the GAMS programming environment. Results showed that the optimum cultivation area and net profit of the agricultural sector in the Sistan region could increase up to 18.1 and 39.8%, respectively, compared to the current status. An increase in the farm irrigation efficiency from the current 35 to 55% would increase the net profit of the agricultural sector by 49.7% despite 6.4% reduction in water consumption. At the same time, 20% increase in the efficiency of water delivery system to farmlands would lead to 8.2 and 17.2% increases in the cultivation area and net profit, respectively. The results of combining these two management scenarios indicated that farming net profit would increase by 64.3%, while total water consumption in agricultural sector would decrease by 2.3%. Under wet condition, cultivated area and net profit would respectively increase about 32 and 44%. However, upon drought years, the cultivated area and net profit would experience 86.9 and 87.3% loss, respectively.

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A survey was performed to investigate the fauna of Ichneumonidae in Fars province during 2012 to 2013. Totally, 14 species belonging to 13 genera and six subfamilies were collected and identified including: Exetastes adpressorius (Thunberg, 1822) (Banchinae); Diadegma semiclausum (Hellén, 1949) (Campopleginae); Cryptus inculcator (Linnaeus, 1758); Dichrogaster saharator (Aubert, 1964) (Cryptinae); Diplazon laetatorius (Fabricius, 1781); Enizemum ornatum (Gravenhorst, 1829); Homotropus nigritarsus (Gravenhorst, 1829); Homotropus signatus (Gravenhorst, 1829) (Diplazontinae); Colpognathus celerator (Gravenhorst, 1807); Diadromus collaris (Gravenhorst, 1829); Ichneumon sarcitorius Linnaeus, 1758; Virgichneumon callicerus (Gravenhorst, 1820) (Ichneumoninae); Orthocentrus asper (Gravenhorst, 1829); Picrostigeus setiger (Brischke, 1871) (Orthocentrinae), of which Exetastes adpressorius and Picrostigeus setiger are newly recorded for the fauna of Iran. In addition the male of the latter species is recorded for the first time and described. All species except Dichrogaster saharator are new for Fars province.

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Stripe rust cause by Pucciniastriiformis f. sp. tritici is one of the most important diseases of wheat and can cause severe yield loss in many wheat growing regions of the world including Iran. To determine yield loss caused by this disease and evaluate the effect of some chemical components on reduction of yield loss in south of Iran, field experiments were carried out in split plot design with three replications at Ahvaz research station during 2014-2015. Three cultivars; Chamran, Virinak and Boolani, were used and artificial inoculation was performed using an isolate which was collected from south of Iran and designated as Yr27 race variant. Meanwhile the effects of propiconazole and some herbicides on yield loss reduction were studied. In this study, grain yield and area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) were measured. Statistical analysis showed that the level of the yield reduction was significantly different in the three studied cultivars and different treatments. Propiconazole could control the disease significantly. The highest yield loss was observed for cv. Boolani in both with (9%) and without (54%) fungicide treatments. Combined application of propiconazole and herbicides significantly reduced yield loss compared with using them separately. The results of crop loss modeling using integral and multiple point regression models showed that the integral model (L = 0.017AUDPC-17.831) could explain more than 69% of AUDPC variations in relation to crop loss in all cultivars. In multiple point models, disease severity at various dates was considered as independent variable and crop loss percentage as dependent variable. This model with the highest coefficient of determination had the best fitness for crop loss estimation. The results showed that the disease severity at GS39, GS45, GS50 and GS60 stages (Zadok's scale) were more important for crop loss prediction than those in other phenological stages.

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Variance of rainfed crops yield in different years is one of the main problems of world agriculture, specially in arid regions. There are two major groups of factors that might affect the development of agriculture.The First group are factors that are either constant in time or can be controlled with modifing methods and technologies. The second group are unsustainable factors related to microclimate of each region (such as the rate of rainfall, temperature, relative humidity, etc.) which we can not have any control on them; because climate modifing based on optimum need of any crop is possible only in Greenhouse conditions and in small scale, Therefore, recognizing the climatic parameters that influence crop yield is very important. By taking these factors into account, models can be prepared for forcasting the productivity and necessary plans can be made for providing the necessary crops in case of any shortage or saving them in stocks in case that there are more than enough. In this research, the effective climatic parameters in the productivity of rainfed wheat in west Azarbaijan province has been studied, and the relation of crop yield and climatic parameters has been investigated by making different multiple-regression models. Finally, some modells has been presented for forcasting the rainfed wheat productivity in west Azarbaijan province. Result of this study show annaully rainfall total and annaully frost days average parameters have the more important role in the produce of find model.

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Trichoderma is one of the efficient biocontrol agents due to its high reproductive capacity, ability to survive under unfavorable conditions, efficiency in nutrient utilization, capacity to modify the rhizosphere, strong aggregativeness against the pathogenic fungi and efficiency in promoting plant growth and defense mechanisms. Therefore, the present investigation is carried out as an alternative practical and safe approach for mass multiplication of Trichoderma on different agro based media. Among them wheat straw and farmyard manure were found to be the best solid media supplemented with 10% wheat flour.The highest population count of Trichoderma species was observed in wheat straw. Antioxidant producing crops were also added to this carrier medium at a rate of 5g/kg in order to enhance the shelf life of propagules of Trichoderma species. Maximum population count wasobserved in soybean, maize and brown rice.  

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    The high molecular weight polymeric fraction of gluten, glutenin macro-polymer (GMP) shows strong relation with breadmaking quality of wheat. In this study, GMP was extracted from different Iranian wheat cultivars with different breadmaking performances. The correlation was investigated between the wet weight and (small-strain deformation) rheological characteristic of GMP-gel with bread quality (loaf volume and height). The results showed a significant relation between gel amount and bread loaf volume and height. However, no positive and significant correlation was found between small-strain deformation rheological characteristics (storage modulus and tan delta) with breadmaking characteristics. Concluding, despite to GMP wet weight which is accepted as a predictive measure for breadmaking quality, small-strain deformation rheological analysis of GMP-gel can not be used for screening breadmaking quality between wheat cultivars.  

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A field trial was carried out during the rainy season of 2015 at the Teaching and Research Farm of Faculty of Agriculture, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria to determine the effectiveness of maize Zea mays L. as an intercrop in managing the pests of okra Abelmoschus esculentum L. There were five treatments namely 1: 1, 2: 1, 3: 1 (okra to maize intercrop ratios), farmers’ practice (random intercrop) and control plot (sole okra). The treatments were assigned one to a plot and arranged in randomized complete block design with four replications. Data were taken on number of days to 50% seedling emergence, 50% flowering and 50% fruiting, number of holes in the leaf damage, number of fruits, weight of undamaged fruits, weight of damaged fruit and population density of insect pests. The sole okra had the highest leaf damage and number of insect pests. Podagrica uniforma Jacoby (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) was the most important insect pest of okra in terms of population density. Okra intercropped with maize in the ratio of 1:1 was the most effective intercrop system in insect pest management. The intercrop pattern should be promoted while random intercrop pattern practiced by farmers should be discouraged.

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The present study analyses the effects of multifunctional areas (MA) for three years (2013–2015) on an intensive multi-crop farm in Portugal. The implementation of MA resulted in a wide range of enhancements in the insect community, such as significant effects as a reservoir, allowing an increase of 102.47% in the number of species and 97.64% of individuals. MA play an important role in conservation strategies and help increase the population of rare and threatened arthropod species.

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Purpose: In order to express human granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (hGM-CSF) under heat shock. Materials and Methods: Two expression plasmids were constructed based on pBC(SK) plasmid. The expression cassettes in the two plasmids are equipped with a 75 base pair fragment, derived from the PL promoter of the bacteriophage lambda (λ). The plasmids also contain a temperature mutant of repressor coding gene (CI857) to regulate the promoter activity. The two plasmids differ from each other in having a transcription termination signal or not, down stream to the recombinant gene in the expression cassette. A pelB signal sequence was also used in order to have the recombinant protein in the periplasmic space of Escherichia coli. The efficiency of the constructed plasmids was demonstrated by heat-regulated expression of hGM-CSF. Results and Discussion: The protein analysis of the recombinant bacteria, containing either of the two plasmids, indicates a successful expression and complete processing of the hGM-CSF precursor, following the heat shock activation of the λPL promoter. In order to enhance the applicability of the terminator containing plasmid, for the expression of other proteins of interest by heat regulation, a multiple cloning site including eleven unique restriction sites was inserted in the plasmids. The heatregulated plasmids, designed in this work, have provided suitable tools to study the expression of recombinant proteins under temperature up-shift in Escherichia coli, when the use of chemical inducers are not desirable.