The objective of this study is to apply a potato model for the Andean Ecoregion and extend this model with Late Blight epidemiology and fungicide spray scheduling in order to evaluate effects (trade-offs) of fungicide applications on potato yield.
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Field experiments were carried out in 1991 and 1992 on sandy soil highly infested with the potato cyst nematode Globodera pallida. Half the trial area was fumigated with nematicide to establish two levels of nematode density. Three levels of soil compaction were made by different combinations of artificial compaction and rotary cultivation. Two potato cultivars were used in 1991 and four in 1992. Both high nematode density and soil compaction caused severe yield losses, of all cultivars except cv. Elles which was tolerant of nematode attack. The effects of the two stress factors were generally additive. Analysis of the yield loss showed that nematodes mainly reduced cumulative interception of light while compaction mainly reduced the efficiency with which intercepted light was used to produce biomass. This indicates that nematodes and compaction affect growth via different damage mechanisms. Nematodes reduced light interception by accelerating leaf senescence, by decreasing the specific leaf area and indirectly by reducing overall crop growth rate. Partitioning of biomass between leaves, stems and tubers was not affected by nematode infestation but compaction decreased partitioning to leaves early in the growing season while increasing it during later growth stages. The effects of nematodes and compaction on root length dynamics and nutrient uptake were also additive. This suggests that the commonly observed variation in yield loss caused by nematodes on different soil types is not related to differences in root system expansion between soils of various strength. Cv. Elles, which showed tolerance of nematodes by relatively low yield losses in both experiments, was characterised by high root length density and thick roots. These characteristics did not confer tolerance of soil compaction, since compaction affected root lengths and tuber yields equally in all cultivars. In the first experiment only, high nematode density led to decreased root lengths and lower plant nutrient concentrations. The yield loss which occurred in the second experiment was attributed to the effects of nematodes on other aspects of plant physiology. Copyright © 1995, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved
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Reducing the use of pesticides by early visual detection of diseases in precision agriculture is important. Because of the color similarity between potato-plant diseases, narrow band hyper-spectral imaging is required. Payload constraints on unmanned aerial vehicles require reduc- tion of spectral bands. Therefore, we present a methodology for per-patch classification combined with hyper-spectral band selection. In controlled experiments performed on a set of individual leaves, we measure the performance of five classifiers and three dimensionality-reduction methods with three patch sizes. With the best-performing classifier an error rate of 1.5% is achieved for distinguishing two important potato-plant diseases.
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The catalytic oxidation of potato starch by [MnIV2 (μ-O)3(tmtacn)2][H2O](CH3COO)2 (Mncat, with tmtacn =1,4,7-trimethyl-1,4,7-triazacyclononane) with H2O2, was recently introduced as a promising alternative to ubiquitous sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl). Here, we report an in-depth investigation into interactions of the catalyst with the starch granule. Pitted starches obtained by pre-treatment with high-frequency ultrasound (HFUS) were shown to result in a uniquely homogeneous oxidation. To study this further, fractionation of oxidised potato starch was done which showed a preference for the oxidation of smaller granules with a higher relative surface area. This result was corroborated by chemical surface gelatinisation of fractionated granules. These studies showed that the inside of the granules was oxidised, but that Mncat had a moderate preference for oxidation of the periphery. Together, these results allow for a better understanding of oxidation of starch by Mncat and how it differs from NaOCl oxidation making further optimisation of the process possible.
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This study provides insights into novel combinations of hydrothermal modifications and mineral enrichment by demonstrating the versatility of this environmentally more benign approach compared to other common chemical starch modifications like crosslinking. Heat-moisture treatment (HMT) (15 % moisture, 100 °C) of native potato starch (NPS) affords granular products that gelatinise at lower temperatures, hold more water as gel, and are more susceptible to enzymatic digestion. Prior mineral enrichment of NPS with sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium ions yielded significant changes in pasting curves, with monovalent cations increasing peak viscosity, while divalent cations decrease peak viscosity through ionic crosslinking of phosphate groups, allowing further fine tuning of swelling behaviour. Both short and long HMT (4 h and 16 h) triggered partial disruption of crystallinity and an increase in particle size without visible surface damage as evidenced by X-ray diffraction, laser diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. These novel products may find applications where a thickening agent is needed, and high levels of target minerals are desirable like sport nutrition. The viscosity behaviour, available energy and essential minerals may be beneficial to the formulation and nutritional value of energy gels, while adhering to clean-label requirements of today`s food industry.
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Plant Breeders Rights were granted to Vandinter Semo BV on 29th December 2020 for the Andean Lupin variety COTOPAXI. COTOPAXI is result of cooperation between Vandinter Semo, Hanze University of Applied Sciences and the H2020 BBI-JU European research project LIBBIO. Andean Lupin (Lupinus mutabilis) has its origin in South America and is one of the four lupin species for human consumption. Andean Lupin is a sustainable alternative for soybean because of its comparable oil and protein content and its contribution to biodiversity and soil improvement. COTOPAXI is the first Andean Lupin variety in Europe that has been granted with Plant Breeder Rights. Andean lupin oil has excellent fatty acid composition and is therefore suited for food applications like margarines and mayonnaises and also for cosmetic applications, especially hair care products, lipsticks and nourishing anti-aging skin care products. Andean Lupin bean is also rich in proteins, oligosaccharides, alkaloids and bioactive components. Andean lupin proteins can be used as functional food ingredients and as animal feed. Oligosaccharides have functional food applications because of their fermentative (prebiotic) potential in the human large intestine. Alkaloids are of interest because of their medical potential as anti-cancer medicine and as biodegradable natural crop protection agents. Andean lupin bioactives are suited as ingredients in anti-aging cosmetics and in functional foods. Andean lupin contributes to the plant-based protein transition and to EU policy becoming more independent from foreign protein imports. Rob van Haren, Professor Transition Bioeconomy at Hanze University of Applied Sciences, says: “Andean Lupin is one of the “lost crops of the Incas” like quinoa and chia. Andean lupin grows in the same agro-ecozone as potato and has therefore a great areal potential. Andean lupin oil and protein contents are comparable with soybean and hence its business case has the same potential as well.” Rob van Haren together with other partners initiated in 2015 the H2020 research project LIBBIO for developing the Andean lupin supply chain and its biorefinery processing. This was made possible by an Andean lupin pre-breeding collection established by Kiemkracht, the innovation alliance from Product Board Arable Products and the Innovation Network of the Ministry of Agriculture. Bert-Jan van Dinter, director Vandinter Semo, says: “We have been active in plant breeding for more than a century, our company started in 1914. Our focus is to breed new varieties for soil improvement and soil health. We also breed for double-target crops for yield and soil improvement. We started our cooperation in 2008 first with Kiemkracht and later with Hanze UAS within the H2020 project LIBBIO. Obtaining Plant Breeder Rights in Europe within 5 years of research is unique. COTOPAXI is the first variety emerging from our new breeding program. In coming years we intend to breed for properties like sweetness (low alkaloids), earliness and crop yield”. The Andean lupin COTOPAXI contributes to farmer income, sustainable and circular agriculture, profitable processing and biorefinery and sustainable natural products for European consumers.
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The current western agrifood system is highly successful in providing for human needs. However, the dominant agricultural approach of up-scaling and specialisation is put under pressure by a number of developments in the global landscape. Global developments such as population growth, pollution, soil degradation and climate change, in which agriculture plays a crucial role, make the need for a transition towards a paradigm with a broader range of values evident. Niche initiatives often develop as a reaction to needs not fulfilled by the regime. Therefore, certain niches may have the potential of driving a necessary transition. This research aims to determine if permaculture, being a niche, has this potential. The main question for this research was formulated as follows: How can a production system based on permaculture principles contribute to the agrifood transition? To answer this question, relevant current trends and global developments were used as a basis for developing a future scenario. Empirical qualitative data on permaculture businesses in the Netherlands was gathered as well, of which the results were used for a determination of permaculture’s performance in this future scenario. This was done by comparing a standardised permaculture system with a conventional potato system. As a result of this comparison, the Unique Selling Points of permaculture were identified, which determine the future potential of permaculture.
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Designing and personalising systems for specific user groups encompasses a lot of effort with respect to analysing and understanding user behaviour. The goal of our paper is to provide a new methodology for determining navigational patterns of behaviour of specific user groups. We consider agricultural users as a specific user group, during the usage of a decision support system supporting cultivar selection - OPTIRas(TM). Combining process mining techniques with insights from decision making theories, we provide a method of analysing logs resulted from usage of decision support systems. For instance, farmers show difficulties in fulfilling the goal of OPTIRas, while other agricultural users seems to manage better. The results of our analysis can be used to support the redesign and personalization of decision support systems.
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Banana is an important commercial fruit crop for smallholder farmers in Arba Minch, southern Ethiopia. However, its sector is experiencing many constraints and limited attention given to productivity and marketing. Therefore, this study was conducted to analyze the banana value chain in order to identify constraints on productivity and marketing, and possibilities of improvements towards a sustainable value chain in Arba Minch. Data were collected through a survey, key informants’ interviews, and focus group discussions. Different analytical and statistical tools were used for data analysis. Results describe actors, supporters, and influencers of the existing banana chain. The current banana chain has three different distribution channels in Arba Minch. The channel that connects with rural consumers has the highest value share for farmers while the channel that includes traveling traders has the lowest value share for farmers. The marketing cooperative channel has an intermediate value share for farmers in the chain. Poor agronomic practice, diseases, pests, and climate change were the major constraints for the banana yield while limited market information, lack of cold store and refrigerated trucks, poor post-harvest handling, lack of alternative markets, and weak capacity of cooperatives were the main constraints for banana marketing in Arba Minch. Economic, social and environmental indicators have a moderate sustainability performance within the Ethiopian context. The chain has an advantage in terms of profitability, employment, emission of air pollutants and constraints in terms of coordination, value share, profit margin, market diversity, product and market information, transportation, waste management, and safety and hygiene.
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