Potato is among the strategic food security commodities in Ethiopia, and the country possesses the highest potential for its production across Africa. Smallholder potato farmers in Ethiopia do not realize the theoretical yield potential of the crop because they do not take the benefit and advantages of using quality seed potato of improved varieties. High disease incidence in seed potato has large implications on potato farming system since the country lacks appropriate quality assurance mechanisms. Seed potato quality assurance relies heavily on the technical support provided by the national research and extension systems than the official seed certification agency. This paper elaborates systematic challenges and opportunities of the seed systems relevant to potato and interrogates two research questions: 1) What type of seed quality assurance mechanisms (informal, quality declared, certified) are under implementation in Ethiopia? 2) How does the current seed quality assurance system operate in terms of reliability, accessibility, and quality standards to deliver quality seed potato? The data were collected through face-to-face in-depth key informant interviews with various seed regulatory laboratory managers and technicians in Oromia, SNNP and SWEP regions in the main seed and ware producing areas of Ethiopia. This was complemented by a comprehensive analysis of relevant documents. The findings show that currently there is no established procedure in place to officially certify early-generation seed potatoes. Two out of six seed quality control laboratories assessed for this study inspected seed potato fields in 2021 but as quality declared seed (QDS), and approved the fields inspected based on visual inspection alone. Our study revealed a weak linkage between early generation seed (EGS) potato producers, commercial and QDS seed potato producers and seed quality control laboratories. Seed potato quality assurance operations were carried out only by few seed regulatory laboratories with several concerns raised over the effectiveness of quality standards since seed-borne diseases such as bacterial wilt have been found at high frequency in the country’s seed potato system. Hence, the current procedures and challenges call for the necessity of upgrading current quality assurance in seed potato certification process. Our study underlines the need for policymakers, development partners, and researchers to collaborate and pool efforts to consider transforming the quality declared system to appropriate seed certification. We recommended that institutionalizing novel plant disease diagnostics into seed regulatory frameworks are needed for sustainable potato production and food security in Ethiopia.

Ultrasound, as mechanical waves with frequencies exceeding 20 thousand hertz, has found wide applications in medicine, physiotherapy, and more recently in agriculture. This study aimed to investigate the impact of ultrasound on potato yield and its parameters, particularly on seed potato yield, quantity, mass, and multiplication coefficient of potato tubers. The research was based on a three-year field experiment, utilizing the randomized block design in a split-split-plot arrangement, in the central-eastern region of Poland. The primary factor were technologies: a) technology with employing ultrasonic pre-planting treatment, b) traditional cultivation without this treatment. The secondary factors were potato varieties. Sonication of tubers was conducted using a bath-type ultrasonic device equipped with piezoe-lectric transducers. Results revealed a significant influence of cultivation technology, cultivar, and weather conditions on seed tubers yield, quantity, and multiplication coefficient of potato tubers. However, genetic traits of the examined varieties and random factors significantly affected the individual seed tuber mass and the number of shoots emerging from a single tuber. Future Outlook: Future research could focus on further optimizing ultrasound application techniques in potato cultivation, considering diverse varieties and environmental conditions. Additionally, it would be worthwhile to analyze the long-term effects of ultrasound on tuber seed potato quality and their ability to adapt to changing climatic and soil conditions. Furthermore, studies investi-gating the impact of ultrasound on other plant species could broaden our understanding of po-tential benefits in agriculture.

The goal of germplasm enhancement is to introgress traits from wild crop relatives into cultivated material and eventually cultivars. It seeks to restore genetic diversity that has been lost over time or to augment cultivated material with novel alleles that improve parents in breeding programs. This paper discusses potato germplasm enhancement efforts in the past, focusing on effective examples such as disease resistance and processing quality. In addition, it outlines new strategies for enhancement efforts, shifting the focus from evaluating phenotypes to tracking and manipulating specific DNA sequences. In the genomics era, germplasm enhancement will increasingly be focused on identifying and introgressing alleles rather than traits. Alleles will come from a broad pool of genetic resources that includes wild species relatives of potato, landraces, cultivated potato itself, and distantly related species. Genomics tools will greatly increase the efficiency of introgressing multigenic traits, and will make it possible to identify rare alleles and utilize recessive alleles.

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of converting potato peel waste into bio ethanol using an in-house produced multi-enzyme preparation. To achieve this, a variety of pre-treatment strategies, including thermal, chemical, and thermo-chemical methods, were applied to the potato peels. These included boiling for 30 and 60 min, steam at varying pressures and times, and different concentrations of chemicals such as H2SO4, HNO3, CH3COOH, HCl, NaOH, Ca(OH)2, KOH, NH3, and H2O2, either alone or in combination with steam. The pre-treated potato peels were then enzymatically hydrolyzed using a crude multi-enzyme cocktail derived from solid-state fermentation of wheat bran by a natural variety of Aspergillus niger P-19, containing cellulases, hemicellulases, pectinase, and amylases. The most effective pre-treatment combination was found to be 3% H2SO4 followed by steam under pressure and enzymatic hydrolysis using the crude multi-enzyme preparation. This combination resulted in the highest yield of reducing sugars (141.04 ±12.31 g/l) with a 98.49% carbohydrate conversion at a 20% substrate loading, giving an ethanol yield of 43.2 g/l. Furthermore, supplementing the medium with peptone, (NH4)(H2PO4), and ZnSO4 at 0.1%w/v each with 22% and 24% solid, respectively, resulted in appreciable yields of 51.67 and 54.75 g/l, further enhancing the ethanol yield.

Ribosomal proteins (RPs) mediate protein synthesis and stability of the ribosomal complex. RPs and rRNA form ribosomal subunits and ri-bosomes, the cellular machinery for protein synthesis, a fundamental biological process related to cell growth and proliferation. The differ-ences between paralogs within the same RP family have led them to ac-quire extraribosomal functions involved in plants' growth, develop-ment, and biotic and abiotic stresses. From transcriptomic analysis, it has been revealed that ribosomal proteins have a crucial role during MTs development. The RPLs; RPL11, RPL29 and RPL40 interact with PEBP family members (Phosphatidylethanolamine-binding proteins), poten-tial activators in the MTs development. In potatoes, genome editing is a promising technology to introduce crop breeding traits. Recently, the edition of the genome through the CRISPR/Cas9 system has made it the most efficient and powerful genetic modification method. Based on this, the gene modulation by overexpression and silencing in RPL11, RPL29 and RPL40 will guide us to understand the effect on the microtuberiza-tion process and produce improved potato plants with the capability of growing under adverse environments (biotic and abiotic stresses). By understanding the molecular biology mechanisms that RPs govern, we can improve crops under today's changing climatic conditions.

This paper evaluates the determinants of decision making in relation to the production of four crops (banana, cassava, potato and sweet potato). Understanding the division of labour and decision-making in crop management may lead to designing better interventions targeted at improving efficiency in smallholder agriculture. A household quantitative survey with heads of households involving 261 women and 144 men in Burundi and 184 women and 222 men in Rwanda was conducted in 2014. Most of the decisions and labour provision during production of both cash crops (potato and banana) and food crops (sweet potato and cassava) were done jointly by men and women in male-headed households. Higher values for ‘credit access’, ‘land size’ and ‘farming as the main occupation of the household head’ increased the frequency of joint decision-making in male-headed households. A decline in the amount of farm income reduced the participation of men as decision makers. A reduction in total household income and proximity to the market was correlated with joint decision making. Gender norms also contributed to the lower participation of women in both decision-making and labour provision in banana and potato cultivation. Although a large proportion of decisions were made jointly, women perceived that men participate more in decision-making processes within the household during the production of cash crops. Increased participation by women in decision-making will require an active and practical strategy which can encourage adjustments to existing traditional gender norms that recognise men as the main decision-makers at both the household and community levels.

In this study, the efficiency of coating (alginate and carrageenan) and osmotic dehydration pre-treatment (NaCl and sucrose) on decreasing oil uptake of potato strips was assessed. It was examined how various pre-treatments affected the sample’s texture, morphology, color and density properties as well as their moisture content and effective moisture diffusion coefficient (Deff). Results showed that NaCl osmotic dehydration pre-treatment and sucrose solution decreased oil uptake by 30.76% and 41.75%. This is attributed to moisture removal increasing caused by improving dielectric properties. Osmotic dehydration and coating pre-treatment frequently enhanced product shrinkage, browning index, a* and ∆E. Conversely, density, lightness, breaking force, Deff and b* decreased. In control samples, SEM revealed a severely damaged internal structure in comparison to a tissue homogenous layer produced by coating. For moisture loss and oil uptake, the coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean square error (RMSE) of eight empirical models were compared. Finally, the Dehghannya and Krokida model (moisture loss) and the Movahhed and Naghavi model (oil uptake) were found the best fit to the experimental data. Although coating pre-treatment and osmotic dehydration can be used as an alternate de-oiling approach for potato chips, the mechanism of oil uptake reduction differ.

Interest in organic foods is increasing at a moment when humanity is facing a range of health challenges including the concern that some conventionally produced foods may pose possible adverse effects on human and livestock health. With the increasing human population, intensive production is increasingly trending towards high-input systems that aim to close yield gaps, increase crop yields, and develop new crop varieties with higher yield potential and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, all within the context of incorporating specific traits to satisfy consumer demand. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most consumed foods under different cultural diets, however its production faces some challenges related to soilborne diseases, marketable yield and quality, sugars and dry matter content of the produced tubers, tuber content in terms of nitrate, minerals, vitamins, bioactive compounds and antioxidants, and consumer appreciation regarding the sensory characteristics of tubers and processed products. Different studies have been investigating some of these challenges, with sometimes straightforward and sometimes connflicting results. This variability in research results indicates the general non-transferability of the results from one location to another under the same management practices in addition to differences in plant material. This review compares some characteristics of raw or boiled potato and processed products from potato tubers grown organically and conventionally. Ideally, such information may be of benefit in decision making by consumers in their dietary choices, by potato growers in their selection of crop management practices, and by scientists looking at potential areas for future research on potatoes.

In today’s world, it is the need of the hour to adopt new technology to sustain the production of the future. Nanotechnology is gaining popularity for its efficiency in various applied fields of science. In agriculture, nanomaterials have a huge impact on the efficiency of fertilizers pesticides, etc. As it requires very fewer quantities and has a negligible residual effect the environment is safe with the innovation of Nano fertilizer. Keeping this view into account an experimental Trial at a farmer’s field was carried out at Berui village in the Hooghly District of West Bengal during the winter (rabi) season of 2019 – 20 under the supervision of Berui Cooperative, KVK-Hooghly, BCKV, and IFFCO with nano-Urea, nano-Zn and nano-Cu using RBD design with 10 treatments and 3 replications. Experimental results revealed that the highest tuber yield was obtained in T-7 (50% N+100% P & K+ 2 spray of nano-Urea), and that was followed by T-10 (50% N + 100% P & K + 50% Zn + 1 spray each of Nano-Urea, Zn and Cu) and T-8 (100% N-P-K + 50% Zn + 2 spray of Nano-Zn). The performance of nano fertilizers, Nano- Urea, was quite promising and economically viable as compared to the 100% recommended dose with commercial fertilizers (RDF).

Sweet potatoes are a crucial crop for Asian and African countries. Its nutritional content and capacity to keep you healthy have increased in recent years. Moreover, sweet potatoes' fibre also keeps your gut happy. Most sweet potato varieties don't bloom. Due to pollination issues, sweet potatoes are also incompatible with each other. Sweet potato blooms are self-sterile, so they don't mix well in breeding programmes. Traditional and modern breeding procedures didn't always work with sweet potatoes, but some did. Using molecular biology methods, some individuals become more resistant to illnesses by eliminating particular genes. The crop's nature and growth should be improved. All of this should be done to acquire new characteristics in sweet potatoes by crossing them. Sweet potatoes are a superb tuberous crop, but they have issues with pollination and adjusting to new breeding procedures. Modern breeding and biotechnology methods can be used to get the most out of this crop. These are "chronological" ways to get the most out of farming.

Seed potato treatment is vital for plant protection, yield enhancement, and product quality. In the conducted research, the plant biostimulator Supporter was applied to evaluate its impact on potato yields. Field studies were conducted in Northeastern, Northwestern, Western, and Southwest Poland from 2015 to 2017, using a randomized complete block design with a split-plot arrangement. The use of seed treatment technology with the Supporter product resulted in increased overall and commercial potato yields and improved yield tuber structure compared to traditional cultivation methods without tuber treatment before planting. Conclusion: The application of the plant biostimulator Supporter in seed potato treatment technology brings significant benefits, including, increased potato yield and improved yield structure. The cultivation location significantly influences potato yield and tuber structure. Understanding these differences can aid in better adapting cultivation practices and selecting varieties to specific local conditions, potentially leading to increased potato crop productivity. In terms of efficiency and yield quality, further research into its application in agricultural practice is recommended, which may contribute to further increasing potato production efficiency and quality. Developing more ecological and efficient farming practices can help meet society's growing food needs.

Every land plant exists in close relationship with microbial communities of several niches: rhizosphere, endosphere, phyllosphere, etc. The growth and yield of potato – a critical food crop worldwide – highly depend on the diversity and structure of bacterial and fungal communities with which the potato plant coexists. The potato plant has a specific part – tubers, and the soil near the tubers as sub-compartment is usually called “geocaulosphere”, which is associated with storage process and tare soil microbiome. Specific microbes can help the plant to adapt to particular environment conditions and resist to pathogens. There is a number of approaches to modulate the microbiome that provides organisms with desired traits during inoculation. The mechanisms of plant–bacterial communication remain understudied, and for the further engineering of microbiomes with particular features the knowledge on potato microbiome should be summarized. The most recent approaches to microbiome engineering include construction of a synthetic microbial community or management of plant microbiome using genome engineering. In this review, the various factors that form the microbiome of potato and the role of these factors in overcoming the negative impact of drought and pathogens are surveyed.

Plant height is one of the key agronomic traits for improving the yield of sweetpotato. The phytohormones, especially gibberellins (GAs) are crucial to regulate plant height. The 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED) is the key enzyme for abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis signalling in higher plants. However, its role in regulating plant height has not been reported to date. Here, we cloned a NCED gene, IbNCED1, from sweetpotato cultivar Jishu26. This gene encoded the 587-amino acid polypeptide containing an NCED superfamily domain. The expression level of IbNCED1 was highest in the old tissues in the field-grown Jishu26. The expression of IbNCED1 was induced by ABA and GA. Overexpression of IbNCED1 promoted the accumulation of ABA and inhibited the content of active GA3 and plant height, and affected the expression levels of genes involved in the GA metabolic pathway. IbNCED1 overexpression reduced sensitivity to GA3 and exogenous application of GA3 could rescue the dwarf phenotype. In conclusion, we suggest that IbNCED1 regulates plant height and development by controlling the accumulation of active GA3 signalling pathway in transgenic sweetpotato.

We studied the link between carbon and water fluxes to understand the response of net ecosystem carbon exchange (NEE) to water availability conditions of three different potato water regimes cropping systems [full irrigation (FI), deficit irrigation (DI) and rainfed (RF)]. Through the eddy covariance technique, we measured CO₂ and water vapor exchanges and determined surface resistances, omega factor, and inherent water use efficiency (IWUE). Additionally, continuous plant growth determinations of leaf area index (LAI) and specific leaf area (SLA) were made over the three cropping systems. The RF potato was a net carbon source (NEE = 187.21 ± 3.84 g C m⁻²), while both, FI (NEE= −311.96 ± 12.82 g C m⁻²) and DI (−17.3 ± 4.6 g C m⁻²) were a net carbon sink. Greater sink activity is due to high fluxes of gross primary productivity (GPP) [where the GPP > ecosystem respiration (R_eco)] and evapotranspiration (ET), and the high efficiency in the exchange of carbon and water. Without water limitations, the larger canopy, with greater photosynthetic activity (GPP/R_eco > 2) as well as with low internal resistance offers a greater area for water and carbon exchange, and the highly coupled and synchronized ET – GPP fluxes are primarily controlled by the radiative environment. The lower sink capacity of the DI potato crop and the carbon source activity from the RF, are consequences of a smaller area for water and carbon exchange due to the smaller canopy, and a low IWUE from decoupled and desynchronized carbon and water exchange caused by unbalanced restrictions on ET and GPP fluxes. Specifically, at DI potato, ET remained at a high rate, while GPP was reduced by means of non-stomatal limitations. In the rainfed potato, vapor pressure deficit (VPD) played a significant role increasing midday canopy resistance (Rc) up to 13 times compared to irrigated sites, when VPD was around 0.8 kPa. In consequence, ET and GPP fluxes decreased together, but GPP decreased more than ET because of stomatal and non-stomatal limitations.

The objective was to estimate the monetary loss of potato producers up to the year 2100 as a result of temperature and precipitation impacts, taking into account the A2 and B2 scenarios of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). The Pooled Production Panel Model was used, whose database was prepared taking into account climatic variables (temperature and precipitation) and agricultural variables (production, harvested area, farm-gate price) for the period 1996 - 2020, which form the independent variables of the study. The estimations used 60 observations and a total of 38 estimations were run in the econometric software EViews8, of which Equation 05 of the Production Pooled Panel Model was chosen as the best. The model obtained used temperature and precipitation forecasts from Brazil's INPE (National Institute for Space Research), validated for the study area. The results indicate a concave function between potato production (t/ha), temperature and precipitation. Finally, based on the A2 climate scenario, which is the most pessimistic and using the period 2021 - 2100, a loss for potato producers of approximately 8'927,521.48 million soles was estimated.

(Background) Phytotoxicity refers to the capacity of chemical substances or environmental factors to have a negative impact on plants. This is a crucial issue in both the context of crop cultivation and environmental protection. (Material and Methods) The research results were based on a 3-year field experiment conducted at the experimental station in Jadwisin (52°28′ N, 21°02′ E) on loamy soil. The experiment was set up using a randomized sub-block design in a split-split-plot arrangement, with three replications. The first-order factor consisted of potato cultivars, while the second-order factors were weed control methods: 1) Control – without protection; 2) mechanical weed control, extensive mechanical treatments to close rows; 3) Sencor 70 WG – pre-emergence (PRE) of potatoes; 4) Sencor 70 WG + Titus 25 WG + Trend 90 EC – PRE of potatoes; 5) Sencor 70 WG – post-emergence (POST) of potatoes; 6) Sencor 70 WG + Titus 25 WG + Trend 90 EC – POST of potatoes; 7) Sencor 70 WG + Fusilade Forte 150 EC – POST of potatoes; 8) Sencor 70 WG + Apyros 75 WG + Atpolan 80 SC – POST of potatoes. The phytotoxic effects of herbicides on potato plants and weeds were assessed every 7 days, starting from the date when the first signs of damage appeared, until they stabilized or disappeared. (Results:) Phytotoxic damage to potato and weed plants were caused by the chemical weed control methods used. The response of potato plants to herbicides was significantly related to the genetic traits of the cultivars and meteorological conditions in the years of research. (Conclusion:) Phytotoxicity is an important aspect in both agriculture and environmental protection. Research on its mechanisms and impact will enable the development of effective plant protection strategies and the preservation of ecosystem balance.

Given the existing movable rotating plate type grading device for potatoes with a high safety factor and heavy mass, the body frame of the grading device and movable rotating plate were optimized and a lightweight design was carried out. Based on ANSYS Workbench 2022, the static analysis of the body frame before and after improvement was compared, and it was verified that the strength and deformation of the optimized body frame met the design requirements, and the weight of the optimized body frame was reduced by 32.3%. Based on the direct optimization module of ANSYS Workbench 2022, the plate length, width, and height were used as design variables for the lightweight design of the movable rotating plate. The MOGA algorithm was used to generate sixty design solutions, and the optimal combination of size parameters for the plate was 610 mm, 95mm, and1.2 mm. Compared with the whole grading device before optimization, the total mass was reduced by 22.86% after optimization. The research of this article provides a reference for the structural design and optimization analysis of potato grading devices.

Biomimetic foods are expected to have potential health benefits for the management and prevention of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In the current research, two commercially available and affordable plant proteins (soy protein isolate-SPI and pea protein isolate-PPI) at two levels (5%, 10%) were added to the Yangyu jiaotuan with an objective to develop a product with reduced glycemic properties and high protein content while maintaining its original taste and texture. The results showed that several important textural properties such as hardness and chewiness did not change significantly during the refrigerated storage. The storage modulus G′ increased with refrigerated storage time for different samples, there were significant differences among the five samples (with and without protein addition) with respect to frequency dependence during rheological measurements. The in vitro starch digestion experiments showed that the starch hydrolysis of Yangyu jiaotuan decreased considerably with the increase in PPI content and during refrigerated storage due to starch retrogradation. Protein has protected the microstructure and there was less damage when compared to samples without protein. The bimodal peaks of the particle size distribution curves showed that the newly developed Yangyu jiaotuan contains two different sizes of particles, the smaller particles (~30 μm) corresponded to PPI and starch granules, while the larger particles corresponded to the fragments of gel network of the starch matrix. Based on the above results, Yangyu jiaotuan mixed with pea protein is a convenient potato staple food product, which complies with the biomimetic potato food very well.

The formation and development of potato tissues and organs is a complex process regulated by a variety of genes and environmental factors. However, the regulatory mechanisms underlying the growth and development are still unclear. In this study, we used autotetraploid potato JC14 as experimental subject to analyze the transcriptome of root, stem and leaf at seedling, tuber formation and tuber expansion stages to explore the spatio-temporal expression pattern of genes and genetic development characteristics. The results identified thousands of differentially expressed genes and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that these genes were mainly involved in defense response and carbohydrate metabolism pathways. A total of 12 co-expressed Gene modules were identified by Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA), and 4 modules were screened out with the highest correlation with potato stem developmental traits. Core genes in the network were further investigated and functionally annotated by computing the connectivity of genes within the module. The results unveiled number of hub genes in stems at different developmental stages, including carbohydrate metabolism related genes, the defense response related genes, and transcription factors. These findings provide important leads for further understanding of the molecular regulation and genetic mechanisms of potato tissue development.

Various kinds of primary metabolisms in plants are modulated through sulfate assimilation that the uptake of this inorganic compound can be regulated via the sulfate transporters, such as sulfotransfer-ases (SOTs), engaged in the sulfur metabolism. In the current study a genome-wide approach has been utilized for recognition and characterization of SOT family genes in the significant nutritional crop po-tato (Solanum tuberosum L.). As a result, 29 StSOT genes were identified in the potato genome, which were mapped onto the nine S. tuberosum chromosomes. The protein motifs structure demonstrated two highly conserved 5' PSB region and 3' PB motif that are essential for sulfotransferase and catalytic ac-tivities. The protein-protein interaction networks also significantly demonstrated an interesting collabo-ration between SOTs and the other genes, such as PRTase, APS-kinase, protein phosphatase and APRs, in sulfur compounds biosynthesis and regulation of the flavonoid and brassinosteroid metabolic pro-cesses, which clearly detected the importance of sulfotransferases for potato proper growth/development and stress dealing. Notably, the homology modeling of StSOT proteins and dock-ing analysis of their ligand-binding sites revealed the presence of some stress-responsive residues, such as proline, glycine, serine and lysine, in their active sites. The expression assay of StSOT genes via the potato RNA-seq data clearly suggested the engagements of these gene family members in plants growth and extension as well as responses to various hormones and biotic/abiotic stimulus circum-stances. Our predictions can be informative for the functional characterization of the SOT genes in po-tato and may the other nutritional crops.

Growing potato demands considerable external inputs of pesticides due to its susceptibility to various pests and pathogens. Here we present an attempt to differentiate the Slovak rural landscape with respect to the possibility of effective potato cultivation and to characterise soil parameters of current potato cultivation areas with the aim to increase the sustainability of the potato production. The selection was based on soil climatic, production and economic parameters. By using the GIS tools and existing databases on soil characteristics in Slovakia, maps of soil suitability categories for potato cultivation were generated. In Slovakia, it was found that 12.3% of farmland is very suitable for potato cultivation and that as much as 43.1% is not suitable. Later the specified categories were characterised in detail and specified with respect to geographic, soil, climatic, production and economic parameters. Currently, most potato crops are cultivated on Eutric Cambisols (27%), Chernozems (20%) and Mollic Fluvisols (18%). Loamy soils (65%), soils without gravel (62%), deep soils (74%) and soil situated on plains (55%) are dominant in these regions. We suggest that potato cultivation should be concentrated on the most suitable areas, thereby increasing the economic profitability, improving the ecological stability of the country and supporting the sustainability of the agriculture.

According to statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization, the world population will increase to about 91 million (Asia 51 million, Africa 19 million). A rise in the world’s population means an increased need for food. However, climate change has caused desertification and unpredictable weather, creating problems in the supply and demand of food. Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is an alternative to solving the food problem, as it is one of the world’s most important food crops, especially in developing countries. The tuberous roots of sweet potato are usually used as staple food, animal feed, industrial material, or raw material for alcohol production. In the future, more variations of sweet potato will be needed for breeding this crop. Recently, molecular markers developed for sweet potato have demonstrated good potential for use in genetic selection. In this study, a cDNA library was constructed from the total RNA of sweet potato leaves. A total of 789 copies of the cDNA were cloned in Escherichia coli by employing the pGEM-T Easy vector. Sequencing was carried out by Solgent Co. (Korea). As many as 579 expressed sequence tag–simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers were designed (73.38%) from the known cDNA nucleotide base sequences. The lengths of the developed EST-SSR markers ranged from 100 to 499 bp (average length 238 bp). Their motif sequence types were varied, with most being dinucleotides and pentanucleotides, and the most commonly found motifs were CAGAAT (29.0%) and TCT (2.8%). Based on these SSR-containing sequences, 619 pairs of high-quality SSR primers were designed using WebSat and Primer3web. The total number of primers designed was 144. Polymorphism was evident in 82 EST-SSR markers among 20 Korean sweet potato cultivars tested and in 90 EST-SSR markers in the two parents of a mapping population, Yeseumi and Annobeny. In this study, the hexaploid sweet potato (2n = 6x = 90) EST-SSR markers were developed in the absence of full-sequence data. Moreover, by acting as a molecular tag for particular traits, the EST-SSR marker can also simultaneously identify information about the corresponding gene. These EST-SSR markers will allow the molecular analysis of sweet potato to be done more efficiently. Thus, we can develop high-quality sweet potato while overcoming the challenges from climate change and other unfavorable conditions.

Universal Stress Protein (USP) plays an important regulatory role in the response to abiotic stress. Most of the research related to USP so far has been conducted on plant models such as Arabidopsis, rice, and cotton. The potato is one of the four major food crops in the world. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the expression pattern of the potato StUSP gene family under abiotic stress conditions. In this study, a total of 108 USP genes were identified from the genome of the Atlantic potato, divided into four subgroups. And based on the genetic structure, the physical and chemical properties of proteins and other aspects of their biological characteristics are comprehensively analyzed. Collinear analysis showed that the homologous genes of StUSPs and four other representative species (Arabidopsis, rice, coyote tobacco, and tomato) were highly conserved. The cis-regulatory elements of the StUSPs promoter are involved in plant hormones, environmental stress, mechanical damage, and light response. RNA-seq analysis showed that under different abiotic stresses, there are differences in the expression patterns of members of each subgroup. WGCNA co-expression analysis of the central gene showed that the differential co-expression gene is mainly involved in the plant-pathogen response process, plant hormone signal transduction, and the biosynthesis process of secondary metabolites. Through qRT-PCR analysis, it was confirmed that StUSP13, StUSP14, StUSP15, and StUSP41 may be important candidate genes involved in the response to adversity stress in potatoes. The results of this study provide the basis for further research on the functional analysis of StUSPs in the potato response to adversity stress.

: The primary use of the potato is direct consumption. The classification of potatoes into consumption type is made on the basis of consumption evaluation of hydrothermally treated tubers. Nutrient deficiency in the soil, including Mg, contributes to the inhibition of potato growth and development and negatively affects the cooking characteristics of the tubers. Magnesium and biostimulants are responsible for plant nitrogen management. Thus, it is necessary to control the content of harmful nitrates and toxic nitrites in tubers. In potato production, it is also important to maintain appropriate conditions during storage. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of mineral fertilization with magnesium and a biostimulant preparation during cultivation of edible potato and long-term storage on the traits determining utility-consumption type and the content of harmful nitrogen compounds in tubers. The study was conducted using the early potato variety Satina. In a three-year (2015-2017) three-factor experiment: evaluation date (immediately after harvest and after six months of storage), soil fertilization with mineral magnesium (0, 30, 60, 90 kg MgO ha-1), application of an amino acid biostimulant (0, 1.5, 3.0 l ha-1), five consumption traits of tubers after cooking determining the utility-consumption type of potato were determined. In addition, the consumer safety of the potato was determined based on the nitrate and nitrite content of the tubers. The tendency to overcook tubers significantly depended on all the factors used during potato cultivation. In contrast, the texture and structure of tuber flesh after cooking depended only on mineral fertilization with magnesium. The flesh of the tubers after cooking was most tender (1.0 pt) and firm (1.4 pt) after the application of 60 and 90 kg MgO ha-1, respectively. The moisture level of the flesh after cooking was significantly influenced by the interaction of magnesium fertilization with the biostimulant preparation. The factors of the experiment did not modify the utility-consumption type (B/A), while there was a change in the type in relation to that specified by the grower - general utility (B). The applied cultivation technology and long-term storage did not deteriorate the consumer safety of tubers (<200 mg kg-1) in terms of NO3 (max. 112.1 mg kg-1) and NO2 (max. 1.08 mg kg-1) contents. Organoleptic traits: mealiness, moisture and flesh structure were significantly positively related to nitrate and nitrite content of tubers immediately after harvesting and to nitrite concentration after long-term storage.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L) gradually becomes a stable food worldwide since it can be treated as practical nutritional supplement and antioxidant, as well as energy provider for human beings. Financially and nutritionally, cultivation and utility of potatoes is worthy enough attention of the world. To further explore functionality and maximize utilization of component parts, also to develop new products based on potato still be an ongoing issue. To maximize the benefits of potato and induce new high-value products while avoiding unfavorable properties of the crop has been a growing trend in food and medical areas. This review intends to summarize the factors that influence the changes in the key functional components of potatoes and discuss referred research focuses, then help further researchers to make efforts into. Afterwards, it summarizes the application of the latest commercial products and potential value of components existing in potato. Particularly, there are several main tasks for the next potato research: preparing starchy foods for special group of people and developing fiber-rich products to supply the dietary fiber intake as well as manufacturing bio-friendly and specific design films/coating in packaging industry; extracting bioactive proteins and potato protease inhibitors with high biological activity, and continue to build new commercial products based on potato protein and examine their health benefits. Noteworthy, the preservation methods play a key role in phytochemicals contents left in foods and potato performs superior to many common vegetables when meeting demand of mineral daily intake and alleviating mineral deficiencies.

Potato is one of the main crops grown worldwide under different climatic conditions. Potato is conventionally produced under intensive tillage practices under the same or different soil types. Research has shown some contrasting effects of the tillage practices on the soil properties, crop growth, yield, and quality. Under the reducing available freshwater for food production, soil management practices are more targeting conservation and system sustainability. It is therefore critical to revisit literature on the tillage practices and their impact on the soil, crop, and crop yield. This review presents research results of studies conducted exclusively on potatoes comparing different types of tillage practices and is a valuable source of information for potato growers and scientists as it is not only focused on the impact of tillage practices on soil properties but also on potato tuber yield and grade, tuber specific gravity, and the impact of tillage practices on diseases in potatoes.

The potato tuber moth PTM, Phthorimaea operculella, is one of the most economically important potato pests worldwide. In the present study, the potential of Steinernema feltiae and Steinernema carpocapsae for controlling PTM in potato tubers was evaluated compared to alpha-cypermethrin. Steinernema carpocapsae in both concentrations (12.6×10⁶IJs and 6.2×10⁶IJs) showed a lower number of emerged insects than alpha-cypermethrin (10 mg ai l^-1). Alpha-cypermethrin (20 mg ai l^-1) showed the highest efficacy against PTM (81.17%), S.carpocapsae (12.6×10⁶IJs), and alpha-cypermethrin (10 mg ai l^-1) showed similar efficacy (72.53%) while S. feltiae (6.2×10⁶IJs) showed the lowest efficacy (39.04%). The results showed that S.carpocapsae in both concentrations and S. feltiae (12.6×10⁶IJs) were efficient the same as alpha-cypermethrin (10 mg ai l^-1) having no environmental and health adverse impacts issued in the chemical insecticides usage. Both concentrations of alpha-cypermethrin and S. carpocapsae showed the least tuber damage with no significant differences, while it was as high as the control (59.26%) in both concentrations of S. feltiae. This promising finding introduces EPNs as a part of the potato tuber protection program in storage. Accordingly, EPNs can be considered as an appropriate alternative to synthetic chemicals for PTM control without any residue and health problems.

The current study emphasizes on optimizing a suitable ratio of enzymatically hydrolyzed potato powder (EHPP) and whole milk powder (WMP) to produce a quality yogurt by evaluating the physicochemical and rheological properties. The results showed that the addition of EHPP decreased the pH towards acidic conditions which resulted in the high acidity of yoghurt. The proximate composition showed that EHPP increased the ash, protein, water holding capacity (WHC) while fat, synersis, color parameters and total solid were decreased when compared to control yoghurt (CY) sample. Moreover, texture profile (TPA) analysis showed that the addition of EHPP decreased the hardness and cohesiveness while springiness did not show significant difference. Furthermore, rheological properties revealed that EHPP decreased the storage modulus (G’) and loss modulus (G”) when compared with control. In addition to this, sensory analysis revealed that the treatment P4M (1:3) was found as optimum ratio regarding taste, flavor, and aroma. Besides this, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirms that the high amount of EHPP resulted in the void holes while CY showed dense gel structure. The prepared yogurt with EHPP provides an excellent flavor, satisfying sweetness and homogeneous texture. These findings suggest the optimum formulation ratio of prepared yogurt was found to be P4M (1:3) for desirable attributes and consumer acceptance. The prepared yogurt from the EHPP presents the potential industrial applications.

Glycoside Hydrolase 3 (GH3) is a phytohormone-responsive family of genes that has been found in many plant species. It is implicated in the biological activity of indolacetic (IAA) and jasmonic acids (JA), and also affects plant growth and developmental processes and some stresses. In this study, GH3 genes were identified in 48 plants, which belong to algae, moss, fern, gymnosperm and angiosperm. No GH3 representative gene has been found in algae, and our research identified 4 genes in mosses, 19 in ferns, 7 in gymnosperms, and numerous in Angiosperms. The results showed that GH3 genes mainly occur in seed plants. Phylogenetic analysis of all GH3 genes showed three separate clades. Group I was related to JA adenylation, group II was related to IAA adenylation, and group III was separated from group II but the function was not clear. The structure of GH3 protein indicated highly conserved sequence in the plant kingdom. The analysis of JA-adenylation related to gene expression of GH3 in potato (Solanum tuberosum) showed that StGH3.12 highly responded to Methyl Jasmonate (MeJA) treatment. Expression levels of StGH3.1, StGH3.11, and StGH3.12 were high in flower and StGH3.11 expression was also high in stolon. Our research revealed the evolution of the GH3 family, which is useful for studying the precise function about JA-adenylation GH3 genes in S. tuberosum under development and biotic stresses.

Agriculture is the largest sector of Nepalese economy among the south-Asian developing countries that contributed 26.98 % share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the year 2018/19. The capacity to derive maximum output by per unit of resource is resource use efficiency. Resource use efficiency of a producer explains the comparison between inputs and output value. Potato is staple vegetable in every parts of Nepal. Cobb-Douglas production function is used to predict the significance of inputs in income from cash crops. Due to lack of optimum utilization of available resources in cultivation of vegetable like lack of technical knowledge, low education level, and extensive service the productivity and production is low in Nepalese economy. It ensures vegetable security in Nepal. Though, there are extensive researches on the resource use efficiency and productivity issues on agriculture, very few papers explored in the case of Sudurpaschim province of Nepal OBJECTIVE: This study had the specific purposes: (1) To identify the factors affecting in resource use efficiency and productivity of potato production (2) to utilize the resource use efficiency and productivity in potato production and (3) to show the type of returns to scale in potato production. METHODS: Applying post-positivist paradigm and quantitative causal survey research design, it explored the resource use efficiency and productivity through the semi-structured questionnaire from 140 households by random sampling. Data analysis was carried out by multiple regression model using Cobb-Douglas production function. SPSS software was used to find quantitative results. From the analysis of data using mean, and SD, t-test, analysis of variance, Durbin-Waston test, Marginal Value Product and marginal Factor cost, findings of this research was emerged. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The major findings: education level, extension service, farm size and pesticide cost were significant variables in potato production; seed, hired labor, Family Yard Manure and pesticide cost were overused and needed to decrease their cost for optimum allocation and there was decreasing returns to scale in production. This study emphasized on increasing education level, extensive service and farm size for optimum utilization of resources and increasing returns to scale. SIGNIFICANCE: Barriers to Indian potatoes and increasing returns to scale are only possible through protection policy of government. For optimum use of resources and increasing returns to scale, government can introduce capital intensive technique. This study can be implied in policy making and improving existing situation of agriculture, and allocating budget.

This study used Dutch potatoes at the end of dormancy as the material to explore the impact of menthol (0.2 and 0.5 g/kg based on potato mass) treatment on sprouting inhibition and potato quality. The findings revealed that a menthol concentration of 0.5 g/kg effectively inhibited potato tuber sprouting and significantly reduced glucoside alkaloids production. After a storage period of 15 days, the sprouting percentage and glucoside alkaloids content of potatoes treated with 0.5 g/kg menthol were observed to be significantly lower at 4.17% and 68.63 mg/kg, respectively, compared to the control group which exhibited values of 100% and 282.01 mg/kg, respectively (P < 0.05). Throughout the storage period, 0.5 g/kg of menthol promoted respiration, reduced malondialdehyde production in potatoes, inhibited polyphenol oxidase activity, and slowed down tissue browning. Additionally, it mitigated the decline in starch and soluble protein content, inhibiting the accumulation of reducing sugars.

In Germany, the phloem sucking planthopper Pentastiridius leporinus (Hemiptera: Cixiidae) currently represents the epidemiological driver for the spread of the syndrome “Basses Richesses” in sugar beet, which results in a reduced sugar content and an economic loss for the farmers. This disease is associated with the γ-proteobacterium ‘Candidatus Arsenophonus phytopathogenicus’ and the Stolbur phytoplasma ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’. Recently, P. leporinus was found in potato fields in Germany associated with Stolbur-like symptoms in this crop. In this study, we confirmed that the vector completes its lifecycle on sugar beet as well as on potato when reared under controlled conditions. Transmission experiments with adults of this vector combined with molecular analyses showed for the first time that both pathogens are transmitted by this vector to potato. For an accurate assessment of the Ca. P. solani and Ca. A. phytopathogenicus titers in the vector and host plants, gBlocks derived from the hsp20- and 16S rRNA gene were employed, respectively. For Ca. P. solani the limit of detection was determined in potato and sugar beet material. The results of this study will further research on the epidemiology of the syndrome “Basses Richesses” and “Stolbur” diseases and the response of host plants and vector insects to both pathogens.

The paper presents research results on biocomposites made from a combination of extruded apple pomace (EAP) and potato starch (SP). The products were manufactured by hot pressing using a hydraulic press with a mold for producing samples. The prepared biocomposites were subjected to strength tests, surface wettability was determined and color analysis was carried out. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and cross section observed in Scanning electron microscope (SEM) were also performed. The obtained test results showed that the combination of apple pomace (EAP) and starch (SP) enabled the production of compact bicomposite materials. At the same time, it was found that each increase in the share of starch in the mixture for producing biocomposites increased the strength parameters of the obtained materials. With the highest share of starch in the mixture, 40%, and a raw material moisture content of 14%, the material had the best strength parameters and was even characterized by hydrophobic properties. It was also found that materials with a high content of starch are characterized by increased temperature resistance. Analysis of SEM microscopic photos showed well-glued particles of apple pomace, pectin, gelatinized starch and a smooth external structure of the samples. Research and analyzes have shown that apple pomace reinforced only with the addition of starch can be a promising raw material for the production of simple, biodegradable biocomposite materials.

Artificial intelligence techniques are now widely used in various agricultural applications, including the detection of devastating diseases such as late blight (Phytophthora infestans) and early blight (Alternaria solani) affecting potato (Solanum Tuberorsum L.) crops. In this paper, we present a mobile application for potato crop pest detection based on deep neural networks. The images were taken from the PlantVillage dataset with a batch of 1000 images for each of the three identified classes. An exploratory analysis of the architectures used for early and late blight diagnosis in potatoes was performed, achieving an accuracy of 98.76%, with MobileNetv2. Based on the results obtained, an offline mobile application was implemented, supported on devices with Android 4.1 or later, also featuring an information section on the 27 pests affecting potato crops and a gallery of symptoms. For future work, segmentation techniques will be used to highlight the damaged region in the potato leaf by evaluating its extent and possibly identifying different types of pests affecting the same plant.

Fusarium dry rot is one of the major postharvest potato diseases of during storage after harvest, which not only results in quality degradation but also brings up huge economic losses. The dis-ease can be elicited by some species of Fusarium, the pathogenic fungi of Fusarium causing potato dry rot are considerably diverse in various countries and regions. Fusarium spp. infection is as-sociated with dry rot produce mycotoxins, which has phytotoxicity and mycotoxicoses on hu-mans and animals. Chemical synthetic fungicide is considered as the main control measure to Fusarium dry rot of potato, nevertheless, it is unfortunate that the persistent application inevitably results in the emergency of resistant strain and environmental contamination. A comprehensive disease control strategy includes potato cultivar selection, appropriate cultural practices (crop rotation, cultivate pattern, fertilization, and irrigation), harvesting process and postharvest treatment (harvesting, classification, packaging, wound healing), storage condition (environ-mental disinfection, temperature, humidity and gas composition) along with the application of fungicide pre-harvest or postharvest. Recently, emerging studies indicated that eco-friendly strategies include physical control, chemical methods (such as the application of generally rec-ognized as safe (GRAS) compounds or chemical (elicitors) and biological control have been in-troduced to combat Fusarium dry rot of potato.

Potato tubers are susceptible to wounding during post-harvest processes, leading to quality decline, perishability and large economic losses. In this study, the potato cultivar, ‘Longshu No.7’, was foliar-sprayed with 3% chitosan (w/v) three times during the pre-harvest period after flowering to evaluate the effect of foliar spraying with chitosan on suberization processing at wounds of harvested potato tubers. Our results demonstrate that foliar-sprayed with chitosan significantly reduced wound-induced fresh weight loss and dry rot disease index by 37.34% and 41.60% on the 28 day after wounding, respectively. Foliar-sprayed with chitosan accelerated the deposition of suberin polyphenolics and lignin at the wound sites of potato tubers with the formation of thicker cell layers. This occurred with increased localized activities of key enzymes in the suberin polyphenolics and lignin pathways, including phenylalanine ammonia lyase, 4-coumaryl-coenzyme A ligase, cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase and peroxidase (33.90–64.32%), as well as the contents of cinnamic acid, sinapic acid, flavonoids, lignins and total phenolics (19.70–23.46%) at wound sites of potato tubers on the 7 day after wounding. Our results indicated that foliar application of chitosan accelerated wound-induced suberization of potato tubers and could mitigate post-harvest product damages.

Potato virus Y (PVY) is one of the most important constraints to potato production worldwide. There is an increasing occurrence of recombinant PVY strains PVYNTN and PVYN-Wi and a decline in the incidence of the nonrecombinant PVYO. We hypothesized that this may be due to the ability of these recombinant strains to antagonize and/or outcompete PVYO in mixed infections. To deter-mine this, we investigated interactions between PVYO and three recombinant PVY strains com-mon in North America: PVYNTN, PVYN-Wi, and PVYN:O. Overall, our study showed that these inter-actions are tissue dependent. Specifically, PVYNTN, the main causal agent of potato tuber necrotic ringspot disease (PTNRD), was found to be more adaptable than PVYO, especially in potato leaves due, at least in part, to the Ny gene that confers hypersensitive resistance (HR) to PVYO. Further-more, PVYN-Wi was found to repress PVYO in potato tubers but act synergistically in potato leaves. The PVYO-induced foliage necrosis in cultivar ‘Ranger Russet’ was observed to be more severe in plants co-infected by PVYN-Wi and PVYN:O, respectively, resulting in plant death. Strikingly, this PVYO -induced necrosis was suppressed by PVYNTN in doubly infected plants. These interactions may, at least partially, explain the decreasing incidence of PVYO in United States potato produc-tion regions, especially given that many cultivars contain the Ny gene, which likely limits PVYO enabling PVYNTN and PVYN-Wi to outcompete. We also found that replication and cell-to-cell movement of these PVY strains in tubers at 4C was similar to levels at ambient temperature.

This study investigated the efficacy of carvone, abscisic acid (ABA), gibberellin (GA3), and variable temperature in managing dormancy and sprouting in aeroponically grown mini-tuber potato seeds. Results showed that carvone treatment effectively reduced weight loss rate by 12.25% and decay rate by 3.33% at day 25, compared to control. ABA treatment significantly enhanced germination rate to 97.33%. GA3 treatment resulted in the longest sprouts of 14.24 mm and reduced MDA content by 23.08% at day 30, indicating its potential in shortening dormancy and maintaining membrane integrity. Variable temperature treatment showcased a balanced performance in reducing weight loss and maintaining a lower relative conductivity, indicating less cellular damage. Enzymatic activities of α-amylase, CAT, and SOD were modulated by the treatments, ensuring a balanced enzymatic environment for seed vitality. These findings provide a robust foundation for refining post-harvest management strategies to optimize germination uniformity and preserve the quality of aeroponic potato seeds during extended dormancy, promising enhanced yield and productivity in potato cultivation.

Potato (Solanumtuberosum L.) is the world's largest non-cereal crop, occupying a position critical for global food security, the fourth largest crop food in China. Due to its location and weather conditions, Yunnan province is the fourth largest potato producer in China with twice yearly production system. However, compared to high number of consumers, potato yield is still low to satisfy the population need. In this study, we have analyzed impacts of three cultivation factors: (1) three cultivation models (T1, T2, and T3), (2) planting density (T1, T2, and T3), (3) soil covering (T1, T2, T3, T4) on plant growth, and yield production. The soil moisture content, temperature, roots growth, stems development, leaf area index, and number-weight of tubers per plant and per plot (g) have significantly increased with commercial yield average of 3tones/mu. This suggests that the combination of these three factors would be a great potato extension model in winter climate zones similar to Yunnan Province. This will contributes in satisfaction of the world population potato consumption need.

Faced with increasing climate challenges, this pioneering study introduces groundbreaking approaches to ensure the resilience of potato crops in east-central Poland. Our research aimed to develop an innovative, cost-effective system tailored to the diverse local conditions of this region. Conducted between 2018 and 2020, the study analyzed integrated and organic production systems across different soil types and potato varieties. The experiment was conducted using a randomized block design with three replications in two locations. Integrated practices, enhanced by mineral fertilization and chemical protection, notably delayed the onset of late blight by 16 days and extended the critical infection period by 17% compared to their organic counterparts. Remarkably, the integrated systems resulted in a 49% increase in total production and a 52% increase in commercial yields, demonstrating their effectiveness in enhancing crop resilience. Different potato varieties exhibit varied responses to cultivation systems, influencing both yield and disease resistance. Further investigation into these varietal responses can help optimize cultivation practices, leading to improved efficiency and sustainability in potato farming. Location and soil conditions have a significant impact on potato yield and the spread of potato blight. Further research into specific soil properties and the adaptation of varieties to local conditions can contribute to increased productivity and stability in potato production. This study not only paves the way towards sustainable agriculture but also highlights the crucial role of soil diversity in shaping resilient farming practices.

Development of high nutritious bakery products with optimum utilization of food waste is a major challenge for food industries. Food waste is major challenge in an each country. The optimum utilization of food waste for sustainable development goal of country is important ant for growth of the nation. The aim of the present work is to prepare value-added composite flour mixed bread from wastes of fruit and vegetables. The composite flour was prepared in four formulations of Peel and Pomace Wheat Flour (PPWF), as PPWF1, PPWF2, PPWF3 and PPWF4. Compositing flour was blended by a mix of vegetable and fruits pomace powders and whole wheat flour. Indian gooseberry pomace powder, apple pomace powder, bottle gourd peel powder, and potato peel powder were used with whole wheat flour to make pomace and whole wheat flour compositions as PPWF1, PPWF2, PPWF3 and PPWF4. Broadly this work was divided into three phases, first phase has conducted nutritional and functional analysis on peel and pomace powders individually, which shows the significance of using them for our research work. The second phase works in the creation of composite flours with different composition ratios as discussed above as PPWF. This phase shows the nutritional and functional analysis of four composite flours. Out of these four flours, PPWF3 contained a good amount of fiber 8.16%, crude protein 3.18%, total phenolic content 14.48%, moisture 9.5%, vitamin C 13.64mg/100g, and total phenolic compound 14.48(mg/GAE/g) which are maximum and acceptable range values as compared to other three composite flours and the wheat flour-control group flour. Then in the third phase, the PPWF3 is used as a partial replacement ratio of wheat flour in wheat flour due to its high phenolic content, Vitamin C, and the richness of fibers. This composite flour is used to make bread dough, two samples G1 and G2 are made; out of which G2 offers better nutritional, functional, and sensory evaluations in comparison with refined wheat four bread is taken as a control group. Thus, such utilization of food wastes in bread making can generate a value of wastes and can improve nutritional attributes of bread, which may improve an individual’s health.

Soft Rot Pectobacteriaceae (SRP) bacteria as Pectobacterium and Dickeya are phytopathogenic agents responsible of blackleg disease on several crop as potato, affecting the yield and depressing the seed production quality. However, neither conventional nor biocontrol product are available on the market to control this disease. In this study Pseudomonas PA14H7, a bacteria isolated from potato rhizosphere, was selected as a potential antagonist agent against Dickeya. In order to understand the mechanism involved in this antagonism we managed to identify the main active(s) molecule(s) produced by PA14H7. In that way, cell-free supernatant (CFS) of PA14H7 cultures were extracted and analyzed by LC-MS, GC-MS and NMR. We have correlated biological activity in extracted CFS-PA14H7 to the presence of 7-hydroxytropolone (7-HT) complexed with iron. Even if this molecule is produced by other Pseudomonas and mostly known for its antibacterial and antifungal activities, it is the first description of its involvement as an effective molecule against pectinolytic bacteria. We have synthesized 7-HT in order to determine the real amount produced by PA14H7 and to compare its activity at the same concentration with that of CFS-PA14H7. This study aims to understand the origin of the antagonist activity of PA14H7 as a potential biocontrol agent against potato blackleg.

Childhood malnutrition is one of the most persistent public health problems throughout developing countries including Nigeria. This study focused on the evaluation of complementary food produced by solid-state fermentation of Fonio and Soybean using Rhizopus oligosporus (2710) and Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSP) using Lactobacillus planterum, (B-41621). Solid state fermentation (SSF) was carried out by inoculating Fonio and Soybean with spore suspension (1×10⁶spores/ml) of Rhizopus oligosporus (2710) and OFSP with spore suspension (1×10⁶spores/ml) of Lactobacillus planterum (B-41621). The samples were blended in the following ratios: Fonio and Soybean 100: 100 (AS), fonio/soybean and OFSP 50: 50(ASO), and compared with a commercial infant formula which served as the control (CTRL). Quality characteristics of the samples were evaluated. Results showed that moisture, crude protein, fibre, ash content, beta carotene and titratable acidity increased significantly (p<0.05) as fermentation progressed. The iron content ranged from 6.57–8.41mg/100g while the beta carotene content ranged from 15.80 –17.35mg/100g. Viscosity ranged from 8200 –15400cP, while that of swelling capacity ranged from 2.25-3.41(g/g). In sensory scores, there were no significant (p>0.05) difference between the average mean scores of the samples. SSF improved the nutritional content and flavour of the developed complementary food which is needed for infant growth and development.

Late blight caused by the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora infestans is a devastating disease of potato and tomato worldwide, including Israel. The population structure of this pathogen was monitored in potato and tomato fields in Israel during a 36-year period of 1983-2019. Isolates of the pathogen were tested for sensitivity to phenylamide fungicides, mating type, race structure, and genotype. The phenotypic and genotypic structure of the population from potato have changed greatly from one year to another, from one season to the next, within a season and within a single field. Major changes also occurred in the population collected from tomato crops. The mechanisms driving these multiple changes and the heterogeneous nature of the population in Israel are shown to derive from multiple migration events of the pathogen via seed tubers from Europe and from fitness-driven selection processes.

In order to explore the yield-increasing mechanism of mechanized potato planting with corn straw mulching, a two-year ( 2021 and 2022 ) field experiment was conducted to study the effects of mechanized no-tillage with straw mulching on potato yield and water use efficiency. This experiment included corn straw mulching potato mechanized no-tillage planting ( JG ), plastic film mulching ( HM ) and open flat planting ( CK ). The results showed that mechanical no-tillage with straw mulching had significant effects on soil water content, yield and water use efficiency in 0-100 cm soil layer (p&lt; 0.05). There was no significant difference in yield between JG and HM, but it was significantly higher than that of CK. The yield of JG was 3.09 %~12.27 % higher than that of CK. The yield increase was mainly achieved by increasing the potato weight per plant ( 0.697 ~ 0.862** ) and the average single potato weight ( 0.048 ~ 0.631 ). The tuber weight per plant was positively correlated with the plant height at seedling stage ( 0.03 ~ 0.92** ), and positively correlated with the dry weight of stems and leaves at tuber expansion stage and starch accumulation stage ( 0.74** ~ 0.95**). It was negatively correlated with the number of branches at tuber formation stage ( -0.33 ~ -0.88** ). Compared with CK, JG could significantly improve the water use efficiency of potato and reduce the water consumption during the whole growth period of crops. In 2021, JG was 6.5 % higher than CK, and HM was 6.88 % lower than CK. In 2022, JG and HM increased water use efficiency by 26.17 % and 14.50 % compared with CK. It can be seen that JG is a green and efficient mechanized potato cultivation technology suitable for dry farming areas.

Four groups (sugar, lipid, protein and waste based) of bait materials combined with boric acid were evaluated in laboratory and field conditions. When compared to all the sugar-based bait materials, a mixture of honey with boric acid registered to be the most effective in attracting the maximum number (83.00) of red ants followed by a mixture of molasses with boric acid (55.00). Likewise, among the oils tested, the highest number (47.33) of red ants registered was in the mixture of rice bran oil with boric acid followed by mustard oil with boric acid mixture (37.00). Similarly, from the protein-based bait materials, the maximum number of red ants (35.00) attraction was found in the mixture of gram flour with boric acid which was followed by dog biscuits with boric acid mixture (27.67). When all the waste-based bait materials were tested, sugarcane trash with boric acid mixture attracted most of the red ants (96.67) followed by banana peel with boric acid mixture (36.67). Based on the laboratory performance, the two best bait materials in each group were assessed against red ant, Dorylus orientalis in potato crops. Of the 8 bait materials tested, the use of rice bran oil with boric acid was found to be more attractive against red ants (1564.66, 1972.33 and 2636.33 during tuber formation, tuber maturity and harvesting stages, respectively) in potato crop when compared to other bait materials. Additionally, the attraction of D. orientalis was tested separately against rice bran oil, boric acid and rice bran oil in combination with boric acid using Y-tube olfactometer under laboratory conditions. Results indicated that rice bran oil in combination with boric acid had the highest attractiveness ratio of 86.66 per cent followed by boric acid and rice bran at 76.66 and 73.33 per cent, respectively. The outcome of the current investigation can be explored for the management of red ant menace in potato and other field crops, particularly grown under organic cultivation approach.

The aim of this study is to examine an efficient and environmental friendly process for hydrolyzing starch, an industrial-derived by-product of the potato processing industry, and to use the produced hydrolysates as substrates for methane production. A full factorial experiment was designed and the optimal concentrations of FeSO4·7H2O, H2O2 and temperature were determined obtaining a yield of 99.5%, with a total carbohydrates content equal to 28.65 g, when the input parameters were at their high level: FeSO4·7H2O 1.00g/L, H2O2 0.51 g/L and temperature 70.0oC. The hydrolysis kinetics were also examined revealing that temperature was the most important factor among the three optimization parameters. Furthermore, biodegradability tests were carried out to measure the methane production potential from the produced hydrolysates. The specific methanogenic activity was reached 0.669 g CODCH4/gVSS-day proving the effectiveness of the hydrolysis process and highlighting the potential of this food manufacturing by-product for bioenergy production. A preliminary cost analysis showed that a small investment for utilizing the starch in an existing wastewater treatment facility of a potato processing industry becomes profitable before the end of the 3rd year obtaining a NPV 37.5% higher than the NPV of the current utilization scenario.

Phytophthora. infestans is a well known late blight causing oomycetes pathogen. It evolves and adapts to the host background and new fungicide molecules rapidly within a few years of their release, may be due to the predominance of transposable elements in its genome. Frequent and huge applications of fungicides cause environmental concerns. Here we developed target specific RNA interference based molecules, that are capable of effectively reducing the late blight infection. cDNA microarray expression data was used for the selection of genes involved in the early stage of infection process, sporulation etc. The in vitro synthesis of double stranded RNA molecule, targeting SDH, EF-1α, GPI-HAM344, PLD-3 and HSP-90 encoding genes revealed the reduction in growth, sporulation and symptom expression, which were subsequently assessed by culture bioassay, detached leaf assay and topical application methods. The multiple genes targeted dsRNA nano clay sprayed plants showed enhanced disease resistance (4% disease severity) and least sporulation (<1x103), compared to naked dsRNA spray. Use of nano clay was assumed to be involved in the effective delivery, protection and boosting the action of RNAi in potato plants. A significant difference in the growth, sporulation count, disease severity and reduced expression of the genes and confocal microscopy imaging authenticates the effects of SIGS on late blight disease progression. Our research demonstrated that topical dsRNA nano clay spray under the open-air environment could be an alternative to chemical fungicides and transgenic approaches as a novel plant protection strategy for late blight in an environmentally friendly manner.

The acquisition of vegetation coverage information is crucial for crop field management, and utilizing visible light spectrum vegetation indices to extract vegetation coverage information is a commonly used method. However, most visible light spectrum vegetation indices do not fully consider the relationships between the red, green, and blue bands during their construction, making it difficult to ensure accurate extraction of coverage information throughout the crop's entire growth cycle. To rapidly and accurately obtain potato vegetation coverage information, drones were used in this study to obtain high-resolution digital orthoimages of potato growth stages. Based on the differences in the grayscale values of potato plants, soil, shadows, and drip irrigation belts, this study presents a combination index of blue and green bands (BGCI) and a combination index of red and green bands (RGCI). The vegetation index intersection method was used with 10 vegetation information indices to extract vegetation coverage, and the differences in extraction accuracy were compared with those of the maximum entropy method and bimodal histogram method. Based on the high-precision fraction vegetation coverage (FVC) extraction results, the Pearson correlation coefficient method and random forest feature selection were used to screen 10 vegetation and 24 texture features, and the top 6 vegetation indices most strongly correlated with the FVC were selected for potato growth stage FVC estimation and accuracy verification. A high-precision potato vegetation coverage estimation model was successfully established. This study revealed that during the potato tuber formation and expansion stages, the BGCI combined with the vegetation index intersection method achieved the highest vegetation coverage extraction accuracy, with overall accuracies of 99.61% and 98.84%, respectively. The RGCI combined with the vegetation index intersection method achieved the highest accuracy, 98.63%, during the maturation stage. For the potato vegetation coverage estimation models, the model based on the BGCI achieved the highest estimation accuracy (R2=0.9116, RMSE=5.7903), and the RGCI also achieved good accuracy in terms of vegetation coverage estimation (R2=0.8987, RMSE=5.8633). In the generality verification of the models, the R2 values of the FVC estimation models based on the BGCI and RGCI were both greater than 0.94. A potato vegetation coverage estimation model was constructed based on two new vegetation information indices, demonstrating good accuracy and universality.

The rhizosphere fungal community can play an important role in determining plant growth and health. In this study, using high-throughput sequencing, we investigated the fungal diversity and community composition in the roots and rhizosphere soil of 21 potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars. The samples were collected at three different sampling points. Furthermore, we assessed the differences in both diversity and composition of pathogen and saprotroph communities. In soil and roots, the fungal richness and relative abundance of pathogens and saprotrophs were mainly affected by sampling time. However, root fungal communities were also significantly affected by cultivar. The most substantial effect of cultivar was on root pathogen diversity. Moreover, the occurrence of most pathogens strongly varied among cultivars. Soil fungal community composition was primarily determined by sampling time; whereas in roots, the primary determinant was cultivar. Our results demonstrate changes in fungal communities over the potato growing season, as well as highlight the importance of potato cultivar on root fungal communities, and emphasise their importance in plant breeding.

Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), as an important regulator of potato growth, seriously affects the growth and yield of potato. Although many studies have reported that IAA-producing Bacillus can promote plant growth, little research has been done on its synthesis pathway and the molecular mechanisms. In this study, IAA-producing strain WL35 was identified as Fitibacillus barbaricus, and its yield was 48.79 mg·L-1. The results of the pot experiments showed that WL35 significantly increased plant height, stem thickness, chlorophyll content and number of leaves of potato plants by 31.68%, 30.03%, 32.93% and 36.59%, respectively. In addition, in the field experiments, WL35-treated plants increased commercial potatoes yield by 16.45%, vitamin C content by 16.35%, protein content by 75%, starch content by 6.60%, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium accumulation by 9.98%, 12.70% and 26.76%, respectively. Meanwhile, the synthetic pathway of WL35 was found to be dominated by the tryptophan-dependent pathway, the IAM, TAM and IPA pathways worked together, and the pathways that played a role at different times were different. Furthermore, RNA-seq analysis showed that there were a total of 2875 DEGs regulated in the samples treated with WL35 seed dressing compared with the CK, of which 1458 genes were up-regulated and 1417 genes were down-regulated. Potato roots express differential genes enriched in processes such as carbohydrate metabolism processes and cellular polysaccharide metabolism, which regulate potato plant growth and development. The above results provide a theoretical basis for the further exploration of the synthesis pathway of IAA and its growth-promoting mechanism on potato.

Agriculture is one of the indispensable fields for the survival of mankind. Potatoes also have a significant role in the field of agriculture. The quality and quantity of potatoes are significantly impacted by several diseases, such as early blight and late blight, and manual interpretation of these leaf diseases is time-consuming and inconvenient. Fortunately, leaf appearance is used to detect diseases in potato plants. Productivity will considerably rise if the infections are detected early. Different types of image processing methods and machine learning methods are used for early recognition of those diseases from leaf images so that the product losses are decreased significantly. For the incredible and marvelous performance of CNN, it is the most popular deep learning method that is used immensely for the recognition of leaf diseases from images. Several pretrained deep learning models, such as VGG16, ResNet50, InceptionV3, MobileNetV2, Xception, and a deep learning model developed using CNN, are employed for potato leaf disease classification and recognition on the same dataset. The transfer learning technique is applied to the pretrained model and the data augmentation technique is applied to the Proposed CNN model for potato disease classification from leaf samples. Compared to pretrained models, the proposed CNN model offers the lowest loss and highest accuracy for potato leaf disease detection while using fewer parameters and layers. It achieves the best performance with a test accuracy of 99.33% compared to other Pretrained models used in the diagnosis of potato leaf disease.

It has long been known that phytohormone auxin plays a promoting role in tuber formation and stress tolerance in potatoes. Our study aimed to identify and characterize the complete sets of auxin-related genes that presumably constitute the entire auxin signaling system in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.). The corresponding genes were retrieved from sequenced genomes of the doubled monoploid S. tuberosum DM1-3-516-R44 (DM) of the Phureja group, the heterozygous diploid line RH89-039-16 (RH), and the autotetraploid cultivar Otava. Both canonical and noncanonical auxin signaling pathways were considered. Phylogenetic and domain analyzes of deduced proteins were supplemented by their expression profiling and 3D molecular modeling. The canonical and ABP1-mediated pathways of auxin signaling appeared to be well conserved. Total number of potato genes/proteins presumably involved in canonical auxin signaling is 46 and 108 in monoploid DM and tetraploid Otava, respectively. Among studied potatoes, spectra of expressed genes obviously associated with auxin signaling were partly cultivar-specific and quite different from analogous spectrum in Arabidopsis. Most of the noncanonical pathways found in Arabidopsis appeared to be low probable in potato. This was equally applied to all cultivars used irrespective of their ploidy. Thus, some important features of the (noncanonical) auxin signaling pathways may be variable and species-specific.

Under Egyptian soil conditions, when phosphorus fertilizers were applied to the soil, it gets fixed and converts to unavailable form, leading to low solubility for the plant. This study were fulfilled on sweet potato (cv. Beauregard) under undesirable soil properties (CaCO3 10.8 vs 11.3%) using Bacillus megaterium DSM 2894 strain under different five mono calcium phosphate (CSP) levels [(69(CSP20); 138(CSP40); 207 (CSP60); 276 (CSP80) and 345 ((CSP100) kg ha-1 of calcium superphosphate (CSP)] to arise the potential efficiency of some nutrients uptake and decease the applied total amount of CSP in 2019 and 2020 seasons. The results mentioned that highest values were obtained by inoculated plants with DSM2894 strain under 20, 60 and 100% of CSP for all studied nutrients content in both seasons, except Mn content in the 2019. Also, inoculated plants with DSM2894 under previous treatments for all tuberous root nutrients content, except Fe and Zn contents in both seasons, in addition protein and anti-radical power and total yield. Statistically, leaf nutrients uptake and tuberous root content were highly significant affected by DSM and CSP combination. Appling of phosphorus fertilizer with DSM2894 mixture was gave the best values as compared with phosphorus fertilizer or DSM2894, individually.

(max 200 words): The contamination of groundwater is a serious concern for ecosystems and human health. In this regard, biochar represents a promising low-cost and sustainable material for in-situ groundwater remediation. Herein, biochar waste of biomass energy production process derived from pine wood gasification at 950°C was used as active carbonaceous material in combination with different biopolymers: chitosan (CS), alginate (ALG), potato starch (PST), and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) to produce BC@biopolymer composite materials. Different concentrations of biochar (0.3–1.0 g·L-1) and biopolymers (0.2–20.0 g·L-1) were tested and blending mode was used as simple and straightforward strategy to obtain BC composites. Scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), UV-Visible, infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, specific surface area (BET method), pore volume, and pore size distribution (textural parameters), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and ζ-potential were used to investigate the composite chemical structure, stability, and to assess the interaction among counterparts. On optimized formulations, breakthrough tests and batch adsorption isotherms on trichloroethylene (TCE) as a model contaminant were performed to evaluate the capability of composites to be delivered through a porous medium determining the transport properties, (hydrodynamic dispersion retention percentage, and adsorption capacity). This biopolymer-modified biochar holds significant promise as a sustainable and effective solution to address various groundwater pollution challenges.

This article presents the results of isolating and identifying EPF species and screening thermotolerant and highly virulent EPF strains that are promising for controlling Colorado potato beetle populations. Soil samples were collected from southern Kazakhstan for the isolation of fungi used in the experiments. Using the insect bait method, 41 isolates of EPF were obtained from the soils of southern Kazakhstan. PCR analysis based on ITS and TEF loci (elongation factor Ef1a) showed that all the isolates belong to the species B. bassiana. However, analysis of the ITS locus revealed two cryptic species: B. bassiana and B. pseudobassiana. No other fungal species were detected, likely due to the insufficient informativeness of the ITS and TEF loci in distinguishing species. Further studies with other loci are required. As a result of selecting natural isolates for virulence and thermotolerance, the following strains were identified: B13, B14, B15, B22, B23, B24, B25, B23-23, Bc4, Bc7, and Bc8. These strains showed high virulence (100% on the 11th day after treatment) and tolerance to suboptimal temperatures (+15°C and +30°C). Therefore, they are considered the most promising for use in the context of climate change. The data suggest that, despite the source of the isolates, EPF have great potential for controlling Colorado potato beetle populations, as the majority of isolates lead to fatal outcomes. Their geographical origin primarily influences their temperature preferences, which negatively affect their effectiveness in field conditions.

In potato, high levels of nitrogen (N) can lead to excessive vegetative growth at the expense of tuber development, resulting in lower yield and poor quality tubers. We found that Solanum tuberosum CLE4 (StCLE4) is expressed most strongly in the roots on N-rich media and positively regulates root growth of potato in N-deficient conditions. We noted that StCLE4 functions as a negative regulator of normal shoot apex development similar to CLV3 in Arabidopsis. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that overexpression of StCLE4 results in repression of the StIT1 gene, a regulator of potato tuber initiation. Overexpressing StCLE4 stolons were transformed into branches that were similar to milder it1 phenotype. We also found that NIN-like proteins, key regulators of nitrate signaling, bind to the regulatory sequence of StIT1 in yeast one-hybrid assay. Taken together, our findings suggest that StCLE4 regulates shoot, root and stolon growth in potato.

The bacterial wilt pathogen, first known as Bacillus solanacearum, has undergone numerous taxonomic changes since its first description in 1896. The history and significance of this pathogen is covered in this review with an emphasis on the advances in technology that were used to support each reclassification that finally led to the current separation of Ralstonia solanacearum into three genomic species. Frequent name changes occurred as methodology transitioned from phenotypic, biochemical, and molecular studies, to genomics and functional genomics. The diversity, wide host range and geographical distribution of R. solanacearum has resulted in its inclusion in a “species complex” as genomic analyses of elucidated phylogenetic relationships among strains. Current advances in phylogenetics and functional genomics now open new avenues for research into the epidemiology and control of the devastating bacterial wilt disease.