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The purpose of this study is to examine the interrelationships among the variables of the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of agrarian management, innovative work behaviour (IWB) of employees, knowledge-based dynamic capabilities (KBDC) and innovative performance (IP) of agrarian enterprises. We analysed not only direct effects but also the possibilities of mediating these effects to increase the overall effect on IP. A questionnaire survey was used to collect data from managers of agribusinesses in Slovakia (175 respondents). We used the partial least squares structural equation modelling method and the appropriate software to test the theoretical research model and the proposed hypotheses to examine the relationships among the individual selected constructs in more depth. The findings point to the existence of a statistically significant relationship between EO and IP, which, however, is weaker than the overall effect of the involvement of mediation variables. Each mediation variable (IWB and KBDC) increases the overall effect separately, but their joint mediation action is of the greatest importance, when full mediation takes place. The strength of the relationship between the two main variables is also influenced by the size of the agrarian enterprise such that being larger has a negative moderation effect. Significant differences were also identified in the legal forms of business in favour of companies over agricultural co-operatives (ACs).

This article presents changes in the prices of milk and other dairy products in the European Union (EU). First, the descriptive statistics of the prices of milk and dairy products are presented, and then correlation and regression analyses were conducted to measure the relationships between the prices. We used the augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test and generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) model to measure the stationarity and changes in dairy product prices in the EU. At the EU level, we checked the changes in prices of butter, skim milk powder, whole milk powder, Cheddar, Edam, Gouda, Emmental and whey powder. Our analysis confirmed that the butter, skim milk powder, whole milk powder, Cheddar, Edam and Gouda processes depend on previous values. The biggest price changes were observed in whey powder (34.12%), butter (24.46%) and skim milk powder (21.78%).

The aim of the paper is to explain beef consumption through the economic indicators and the prediction tendencies of beef consumption. There are countries like Slovakia that confirm the opposite trend despite the global trend of consumption growth. In terms of the ecosystems' sustainability, beef production should be adjusted accordingly, as in the case of Slovakia. We focus on the economic aspect of beef consumption from the perspective of sustainability. Commodity prices are considered to be a significant factor influencing consumption and the behaviour of beef consumers. Despite increasing income in Slovakia, consumption of beef covers only 30% of recommended doses in the year 2018. To achieve the objective of the research, we decided to use the calculation of price and income elasticity of food demand using the Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) model to analyse meat consumption trends. The findings confirm that beef consumption will decline in Slovakia in the following years, and it will be progressively replaced by pork and poultry meat.

This article investigates the connections among the prices of biofuels, agricultural commodities and other relevant assets in Europe, the US, and Brazil. The analysis includes a comprehensive data set covering price data for 38 traded titles during the period from 2003 to 2020. We used the minimum spanning tree (MST) approach to identify price connections in a complex trading system. Our analysis of mutual price connections reveals the major defining features of world-leading biofuel markets. We provide the characteristics of the main bioethanol and biodiesel markets with respect to government policies and technical and local features of the production and consumption of particular biofuels. Despite a relatively long and dynamically evolving history of biofuels, the biofuel systems in the US, Brazil and Europe do not converge toward the same pattern of relations among fossil fuels, biofuels, agricultural commodities and financial assets.

This study focuses on evaluating the technical efficiency (TE) of food and drink companies in the Czech Republic and on finding its determinants. The analysis is based on the data of 597 firms and uses the stochastic frontier method. We have identified the key players in the market and the less effective groups of processors. Foreign-owned companies have a strong position because of a better economy, but the results showed that their efficiency is comparable with that of Czech-owned companies. The results helped confirm that the size of the company influences its TE. The lowest efficiency was observed in small companies. TE also differed among branches of the food industry. The highest efficiency was in the bakery and milk industries, and the lowest efficiency was in fruit and vegetable processing. Subsidised firms reached a significantly higher efficiency. With respect to economic results, there is still a need to improve competitiveness through investments.

The trading of natural rubber derivatives in the Indian commodity exchanges was banned several times in the past. Hence, in India, the derivatives on natural rubber are not traded actively and regularly. We have examined the possibility of a forecast model and a cross hedge tool for the natural rubber price by using crude oil futures in India. Results of the Johansen cointegration test proved that there is no cointegration equation in the model; hence, there is no scope to develop long-run models or error correction models. We have developed a vector autoregressive [VAR(2)] model to forecast the rubber price, and we examined the possibility of a cross hedge for natural rubber further by using the Pearson correlation coefficient and Granger causality test. We have extended our research to a structural VAR analysis to examine the effect of crude futures and exchange rate shocks on the natural rubber price. Our results showed that there is a short-term relationship between the crude oil futures price, the exchange rates of the US dollar to the Indian rupee, the Malaysian ringgit to the Indian rupee and the Thai baht to the Indian rupee; and the natural rubber price in India. The effort of policymakers to cause the Indian rupee to appreciate against the Thai baht and Malaysian ringgit may increase the natural rubber price in India. Natural rubber traders, growers and consumers can use crude futures to hedge the price risk. The Indian Rubber Board can suggest the VAR(2) model to predict the short-run price for natural rubber.

Agricultural structures are quite heterogeneous across the European Union (EU), and it is likely that the underlying technology also differs across regions. In this article, we claim that the heterogeneity of agriculture across the EU affects the process of income creation (i.e. the relative importance of the factors of farm income differ for different agricultural models). A panel of farms representative for 125 regions reporting to the EU Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) during the period from 2007 to 2018 is used. In this article, those regions are grouped into three clusters. A system generalised method of moments (GMM) panel estimator is applied to each cluster. The results showed that total factor productivity (TFP), relative prices and agricultural subsidies make different contributions to farm net value added (FNVA). In particular, the income growth of farms in regions dominated by large farms seems to react more to marginal changes of the explanatory variables.

With the advent of the era of big data, data mining methods show their powerful information mining ability in various fields, seeking the association information hidden in the data, which is convenient for people to make scientific decisions. This paper analyses the butterfly effect in the agricultural product industry chain from the perspective of producer and consumer by using multidimensional time and space theory and proposes a new price forecasting method. We consider that the price change of agricultural products is not only affected by the balance of market supply and demand but also by the factors of time and space. Taking the pig industry chain of Sichuan Province as an example, this paper explores and excavates the data from 2010 to 2020 in the time dimension. Interestingly, we found that the price changes in pork in the market are generally highly correlated with the prices of slaughtered pigs, piglets a few weeks ago and the prices of multiple feed a few months ago. Based on the precise time-space factors, we improved the price forecasting model, greatly improved the accuracy of price prediction, and proved the effectiveness of multidimensional spatiotemporal association mining. The research in this paper is helpful to establish a brand-new agricultural product price prediction theory, which is of great significance to the development of the agricultural economy and global poverty alleviation.

On the complex framing of the agricultural fields, related to the corporate social responsibility (CSR), the general objective of this paper is to assess the impacts of environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials of CSR and human capital features on the financial performance of agricultural companies. The data consists of a sample of 412 public companies from the Thomson Reuters Eikon database, with data for 2020, operating in 17 agricultural areas with headquarters allocated around the world. The methodological endeavor embeds two econometric procedures, multifactorial models of robust regression and structural equation modelling (SEM). The research results bring new evidence to underline the risks related to the sustainability of the financial performance of agricultural companies and the decisive role played by the ESG dimensions to counteract these risks, particularly by the environmental pillar, along with CSR specific strategies and human capital characteristics (management board and employees). We propose several strategies for companies operating in agricultural fields in order to enhance profitability by CSR measures.

Within the last three decades commodity markets, including soft commodities markets, have become more and more like financial markets. As a result, prices of commodities may exhibit similar patterns or anomalies as those observed in the behaviour of different financial assets. Their existence may cast doubts on the competitiveness and efficiency of commodity markets. It motivates us to conduct the research presented in this paper, aimed at examining the Halloween effect in the markets of basic soft commodities (cocoa, coffee, cotton, frozen concentrated orange juice, rubber and sugar) from 1999 to 2020. This long-time span ensures the credibility of results. Apart from performing the two-sample t-test and the rank-sum Wilcoxon test, we additionally investigate the autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (ARCH) effect. Its presence in our data allows us to estimate generalised autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity [GARCH (1, 1)] models with dummies representing the Halloween effect. We also investigate the impact of the January effect on the Halloween effect. Results reveal the significant Halloween effect for cotton (driven by the January effect) and the significant reverse Halloween effect for sugar. It brings implications useful to the main actors in the market. They may apply trading strategies generating satisfactory profits or providing hedging against unfavourable changes in soft commodities prices.

The introduction of the euro is one of the great achievements of the European integration process. We ask whether the creation of the euro led to a significant increase in pig meat trade in the eurozone. The pig meat industry is the most important in the European meat sector, and the EU is the world's second-biggest producer of pork and the leading supplier of pig meat to the global market. No study has yet been conducted in this respect for this sector. Our results suggest that pig meat trade was encouraged between countries sharing the euro, although the impact of EU single market was still greater. Trade creation was also observed, increasing pig meat exports from eurozone to non-eurozone countries. Also, non-eurozone EU exporters suffer from a diversion effect that benefits eurozone exporters.

The egg yolk undergoes an irreversible gelation process when freezing to -6 °C or lower. In this experiment, liquid egg yolk (LEY) was frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -18 °C for 150 days. The measurement of pH and colour of LEY were performed. The examination of the rheological and calorimetric properties of samples was also carried out. The results indicated that the pH of LEY changed significantly during frozen storage, increasing from 6.37 ± 0.02 to 6.58 ± 0.03 over five months. The colour of the samples also showed a significant change compared to the fresh sample. The rheological properties of the LEY also changed significantly after 1 day of freezing and during frozen storage, with a clear increasing trend of the yield stress. The results of the calorimetric study showed that freezing and frozen storage did not affect the denaturation temperature, however, the denaturation enthalpy was reduced by about half after five months of frozen storage.

Chitosan (CS) is an effective clarifying agent for fruit juice. However, its low antioxidant ability is a limitation in preserving the antioxidant capacity of the juice during clarification. In this work, an antioxidant CS derivative, tannic acid-modified CS (TA-CS), was used as a clarifying agent to optimise the clarification of kiwifruit juice. By using response surface methodology and the transmittance of the juice as a response, the optimal clarification conditions were obtained as follows: TA-CS concentration of 600 μg mL^-1, juice pH of 3.5, and heating temperature of 70 °C. Under the optimal conditions, TA-CS showed an excellent clarification effect on kiwifruit juice, which was confirmed by the high transmittance of 99.3%. Meanwhile, the retention rate of vitamin C in the juice reached 97.0% for the TA-CS treatment, being significantly higher than that for the CS treatment. Our results suggest that TA-CS may be a promising clarifying agent for the production of fruit juice.

Mycobacteria in drinking water and in the water of swimming pools, whirlpools, hydrotherapy facilities and aquaria contribute significantly to human exposure to triggers of immune regulated chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Technological elements of water distribution systems, especially their inner surface, taps, shower heads and blind spots where sediments settle, affect the number of mycobacteria in the water. The review presents the possibilities of using analytical instruments for rapid determination of mycobacteria and for their typing as an alternative to classical culture and a method of monitoring specific nucleic acid sequences by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Information about the use of flow cytometry (FCM), matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) spectrometry, Raman and infrared (IR) spectroscopy and biosensors are presented.

Honey, a natural healing agent and a sweet food, has been used since ancient times. A honey sample could possess many biological activities depending on its chemical composition. The amount and the diversity of these minor components of honey mainly depend on the floral sources. That is why the biological activity of the honey sample obtained in a region should be determined. In this study, total phenolic and flavonoid content, antioxidant activity, melissopalynological analyses and antimicrobial activity of twenty honey samples obtained from Doganyol, Malatya, Turkey were examined. In order to determine the in vitro antibacterial activity of honey samples, the agar well diffusion (AWD) method, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) assays were used. For this purpose, ten Gram-positive bacteria and eight Gram-negative bacteria were used. Total phenolic content was found in the range from 9.68 ± 0.72 to 29.40 ± 1.03 mg GAE g^-1 sample. Antioxidant activity of honey samples varied from 2.21 ± 0.46 to 6.03 ± 1.11 µmol FeSO₄ 7H₂O g^-1. Honey samples showed moderate antimicrobial activity against tested microorganisms, especially against Gram-positive bacteria. It could be concluded from our findings that there is a good correlation between total phenolic content and the biological activity of honey samples.

The isolation of mannitol from natural sources, e.g. from plant extracts or broths, requires considerable time and effort. The separation of mannitol from aqueous solutions containing also glucose, fructose, and sucrose was tested using discontinuous preparative anion- and cation-exchange chromatography. The suitability of the application in the separation of carbohydrates and especially mannitol was tested under various conditions and using three different types of ion-exchangers. The effect of sorbent regeneration and modification on the separation was also examined using different concentrations and volumes of chemical agents. The fractions collected after the discontinuous chromatography were analysed on the content of mannitol by the high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD) method. The successful isolation of pure mannitol fraction, using water as a mobile phase and a combination of sodium chloride and hydroxide for sorbent regeneration, was achieved only on anion-exchange chromatography.

γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the human body, but its content decreases with age. So it is suitable to supplement the body's GABA from diet. Hongqu wine is popular because of the addition of Monascus strains in the saccharification process, which makes the wine rich in functional ingredients such as GABA, and monacolin K. In this study, the fermentation parameters of Hongqu wine were optimised to maximise the GABA content through response surface methodology (RSM). The optimal conditions were as follows: 500 g of steamed rice was mixed with 115.4% of boiled water containing 10 g of sodium glutamate and adjusted to pH 3.8 with lactic acid, and then 32% of Hongqu seed inoculum was added. After 5 days of fermentation at 28 °C, 1.5 g of activated yeast was inoculated for ethanol fermentation at 30 °C for 5 days. Finally, the average content of GABA in Hongqu wine amounted to 710.24 mg L^-1, which is close to the value predicted by RSM model (692.44 mg L^-1), indicating the statistical fit is good. This provided technical support and theoretical guidance for the production of Hongqu wine rich in GABA by two-stage fermentation.

Native cassava flour can be modified to be instant flour by heating the cassava flour in ethanol solution. The impact of heating temperatures of 60, 80, and 100 °C (coded as ICF-60, ICF-80, and ICF-100) on the properties of instant cassava flour (ICF), including colour, morphological, and thermal properties, water absorption, and solubility indexes and pasting behaviour, were investigated. Results showed that ICF produced at higher temperatures exhibited lower lightness, higher redness, and yellowness values. ICF-60 and ICF-80 still displayed the granular forms and birefringence properties of native starches, while granules of ICF-100 were broken and partially lost their birefringence properties. Results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis suggested that the amylopectin double helixes of crystalline regions within the structure of ICF orientated to more perfect conformation before they were disrupted at the highest heating temperature (100 °C). During hydration, the starch granules of ICF-60 and ICF-80 absorbed water into their granules; meanwhile, ICF-100 entrapped water within the matrix formed by the entanglements of ICF-100 particles. Results of pasting behaviour analysis indicated that ICF-60 and ICF-80 showed better thermal stability while ICF-100 exhibited the highest cold viscosity.

Fermented dairy products mostly harbour some microbiota, also known as probiotics. Over the last years, there has been a significant increase in interest in probiotics. Among them, Pediococcus strains also exist in fermented dairy products, including kefir. However, the probiotic potential of Pediococcus strains has not been explored extensively. This study was performed to evaluate the probiotic potential of Pediococcus strains from traditionally produced kefir samples. To do this, a total of 32 kefir samples from Marmara and Central Anatolia regions in Turkey was collected. The samples were exposed to conventional microbiological analysis to culture lactic acid bacteria (LAB), followed by identification using VITEK^® mass spectrometer (MS), and molecular characterisation of Pediococcus strains by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). After that, the probiotic potential of each Pediococcus strain was tested for resistance to gastric acidity and bile salt and property of hydrophobicity. Overall, 22 strains (34.9%) were identified as Pediococcus spp. out of 63 LAB isolates. Among them, only one isolate, Pediococcus pentosaceus K6, was found to be resistant to gastric acidity, bile salt and to have hydrophobic properties. In conclusion, our study suggests that a limited number of strains could reveal their potential probiotic action on the host organism. Thus, Pediococcus strains of diverse natural origins can provide more insights into further probiotic supplement designs in human nutrition without genomic intervention.

The success of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay depends on template deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) being sufficient with respect to both quantity and quality. Some biological materials contain compounds which inhibit the functioning of DNA polymerase and thus need to be removed as part of the DNA extraction procedure. The aim of the present experiments was to optimise the process of DNA isolation from various types of black, fruit and herbal teas. A comparison was made between two cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-based protocols and two commercially available DNA purification kits. The yield and integrity of the extracted DNA were monitored both spectrophotometrically and using agarose gel electrophoresis. The presence/absence of inhibitors in the DNA preparations was checked by running quantitative real-time PCRs. The optimal protocol was deemed to be the CTAB method described in ISO 21571:2005, so this method is recommended for the routine sample analysis of tea products.

In this study, 22 mung bean varieties from different producing areas in China were used as materials to provide a theoretical basis for the breeding and utilisation of special mung bean sprout varieties. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were used to comprehensively evaluate the overall quality. Finally, 22 germinated mung bean varieties were divided into 3 edible quality grades according to their quality scores. The results showed that Lvfeng 2 and Ankang mung bean sprouts with better comprehensive characters were varieties with higher scores, which could be developed and utilised as characteristic mung bean sprouts. The content of protein, total phenol and antioxidant capacity of edible parts of Lvfeng 2 and Ankang mung bean after germination are higher than those of other varieties, so they are suitable for research and development as functional mung bean sprouts.

Beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) is one of the plants that contain biologically active compounds that have a function in the prevention and treatment of a wide variety of diseases. The study aims to design new cookies that will support certain groups, such as schoolchildren who may be anaemic. Also, to determine four cookie treatments that were planned to substitute white wheat flour with extraction rate of 72% as follows: T₀ (0%), T₁ (2.5%), T₂ (5.0%), T₃ (7.5%), and T₄ (10%) of beetroot powder to replace 100 g of flour; the cookies were baked at 180 °C for 30-35 min. The chemical composition was assessed, included total phenols, flavonoids, and minerals. Furthermore, during a three-week storage period, antioxidant activity and betalain pigments were evaluated, and sensory evaluation and microbiological assessment were done. Sensory evaluation revealed that the replacement ratio of 10% beetroot was acceptable to the cookies manufactured from white wheat flour with extraction rate of 72%. Compared to the control, a slight decrease was found in the total count of bacteria, fungi, and moulds. We recommend baking beetroot-enriched cookies since it enhances the organoleptic and microbiological characteristics.

Leaf rust caused by Puccinia triticina Eriks. (Pt) is one of the most devastating fungal pathogens affecting wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production worldwide. Deployment of resistant cultivars is the most environmentally friendly approach to control the disease. In this study, thirty-seven wheat lines from the Hubei and Shaanxi provinces in China were evaluated for seedling resistance in the greenhouse using eighteen Pt races. These lines were also tested for slow rusting resistance in the field in the 2014 to 2018 growing seasons. Eleven molecular markers closely associated with known Lr genes were used as part of the postulation process. Seven known Lr genes, 1, 13, 18, 14a, 26, 34 and 46 either singly or in combination were postulated in twenty-five cultivars. Lr1 and Lr26 were the most commonly identified genes detected in thirteen and ten cultivars, respectively. Lr13 and Lr46 were each found in four and five cultivars. Lr34 was present in three cultivars. Lr18 and Lr14a were identified in cultivar Xi'nong 538. Six cultivars displayed slow rusting resistance in the field tests. The resistant cultivars identified in the present study can be used as resistance parents in crosses aimed at pyramiding and the deployment of leaf rust resistance genes in China.

Backcrossing is a powerful tool for plant breeding. The improved marker-assisted backcrossing intends to transfer targeted genes or quantitative trait loci (QTLs) of interest from a donor parent into a recurrent parent. In this study, a tobacco BC4F3 population was generated using Y3 and K326 as hybrid parents and YF1-1 as F₁ parents. High-throughput sequencing data of 381 pedigree populations were used to construct high-density genetic maps containing 24 142 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers with an average genetic distance of 0.59 cM. A genome module analysis was then performed for all the offspring. A total of forty-three candidate QTLs for six agronomics traits were identified. This study provides original biomarkers for tobacco breeding and offers clues for prospective backcrossing applications in other plants.

Anthocyanin pigmentation is an important morphological marker that is commonly used to identify rice varieties and for linkage analysis. The following study investigates the genetic factors involved in the purple stigma (Ps) and purple apiculus (Pa) traits of an important indica rice cross between Zhenshan 97 (purple stigma and purple apiculus) and Minghui 63 (grey stigma and colourless apiculus). A recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from this cross was used for quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping of the purple stigma and purple apiculus traits. As a result, one major QTL for the purple stigma trait, temporarily designated qPS-1-1, and one major QTL for the purple apiculus trait, temporarily designated qPA-1-1, were mapped to the short arm of chromosome 6 in the interval between the two markers Y4073L and *P. The LOD peaks of qPS-1-1 and qPA-1-1 were 44.0127 and 173.3585, respectively. In addition, qPS-1-1 and qPA-1-1 explained 66.7416% and 98.6441% of the total phenotypic variance, respectively. The Zhenshan 97 allele increased the purple stigma trait by approximately 8.0355% (for qPS-1-1) and 9.8863% (for qPA-1-1). Moreover, since qPS-1-1 and qPA-1-1 were strongly correlated, they were also located in the same vicinity of the C gene on the short arm of chromosome 6, which suggested that the two QTL might be the same. By comparing these and previous results, it was deduced that qPS-1-1 or qPA-1-1 was the C gene and was pleiotropic for both the colouration of the apiculus and the colouration of the stigma in rice.

The ornamental gourd Cucurbita pepo L. is a ubiquitous crop native to North America, exhibiting highly diverse fruit characteristics. Studying the genetic diversity of ornamental gourds can help identify and evaluate the curated germplasm resources, understand the phylogenetic relationships among them, and highlight ways in which the germplasm resources can be used to address gaps in the understanding. In this study, a set of 85 of 323 previously identified polymorphic expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) genetic markers were selected to evaluate the genetic relationships among 47 C. pepo accessions and one C. foetidissima accession. This collection consisted of accessions from the subspecies pepo, texana, and the hybrid texana × pepo. Our analyses yielded a total of 271 alleles, with an average of 3.2 alleles per genetic locus. The dendrogram construction, principal coordinate analyses, and genetic value calculation revealed several robust subclusters in the texana subspecies accessions. From these results, we propose five new distinct morphotypes based on our construction of a concise SSR fingerprint. Moreover, our study confirms that the fruit shape similarity among accessions is a fair reflection of genetic relatedness.

Heat stress is a major production constraint of wheat in South Asia, particularly in the Gangetic plains of India and Bangladesh. The leaf chlorophyll status is a key determinant for a high rate of photosynthesis under stress. The present experiments included 238 genotypes in 2016-2017 and 321 genotypes in 2017-2018 under optimum and under heat stress conditions. Subsequently, a set of 100 genotypes selected on basis of the heat susceptibility index was evaluated in 2018-2019 under heat stress conditions to study the relationship between important physiological traits and yield under stress. A significant correlation of soil plant analysis development (SPAD) value of the two upper leaves with stay-green trait and grain yield indicates the importance of chlorophyll content, both in flag and penultimate leaf, in maintaining leaf areas under greenness (LAUG) and grain yield under heat stress. The SPAD in the flag and penultimate leaf was responsible for 8.8% and 10.9%, respectively, of the variation in grain yield. For the stay-green trait, 8.4% and 7.2 % of the variation was governed by the SPAD value in the flag and penultimate leaf, respectively. These results suggest that, in addition to the flag leaf, the chlorophyll status of the penultimate leaf can be an important criterion for the selection of superior wheat genotypes under heat stress. The genotypes SW-139; SW 108; DWR-F8-35-9-1; NHP-F8-130; DWR-F8-3-1 that maintained a high chlorophyll content in the flag and penultimate leaf can be used further in breeding programmes addressing heat resistance in wheat.

Punica granatum L. is one of the oldest known edible fruits. Numerous chemical compounds have been isolated from pomegranate seeds, juice, and peels, which have beneficial effects on human health. This study aimed to perform the physicochemical and morphological properties of twenty-four pomegranate genotypes from various provinces of Iran. Fifteen fruits of each cultivar are collected at harvest maturity in the normal ripening period for the pomegranate from the Iranian pomegranate genetic collection in Yazd, Iran. Five fruits were randomly harvested from each of four orientations of the tree, and were immediately taken to the laboratory for analysis. Three replicates were maintained for each analysis. The results indicated the highest levels of anthocyanin was observed in S783 and R633, while polyphenols in Q529, the antioxidant capacity in N755 and the total soluble solids levels in R633 and the total acidity levels were found in K477 and E336. On the other hand, the fruit weight (in S948), fruit diameter (in SH1738), crown diameter (in R533), total weight of the seeds (in S948), peel thickness (in S716), peel colour (in S948), and red juice (in S783) are significantly affected by the genotype. At a similarity of 50%, the genotypes were divided into nine sub-clusters including A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H and I. These identified genotypes can be rolled out in future breeding programmes.

Rice is one of the main staple food crops and is consumed by more than half of the global population. Optimizing the flowering time may help to maximize grain production. In this study, we characterized a rice mutant, Zixiangnuo early-flowering mutant (ZXN-E). Compared with the wild-type variety, Zixiangnuo (ZXN), the mutant plants flowered earlier, were shorter and produced smaller panicles. Bulked segregant analysis revealed a 7-bp deletion in the first exon of the Grain number, plant height, and heading date 7 (Ghd7) locus. The allele with the 7-bp deletion was not detected in the rice varieties included in the 3 000 Rice Genomes Project. Thus, the 7-bp deletion identified in the naturally occurring mutant ZXN-E is a novel variation. Our findings suggest that ZXN-E may be a useful germplasm for breeding new rice varieties.

Fusarium head blight (FHB), mainly caused by Fusarium graminearum, is one of the most devastating diseases of wheat globally. FHB causes an extensive reduction in yield and reduces the grain quality through its contamination with Fusarium toxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON), T2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, nivalenol, and zearalenone. This review provides an overview of updated progress of genetic studies on the resistance to FHB, with an emphasis on the sources of resistance to FHB, resistance gene/quantitative trait loci (QTL) mining, resistance gene cloning, major FHB resistance genes/QTL identification by molecular markers, and resistance mechanisms. The achievements of resistance breeding based on phenotype selection and molecular markers was also summarised. Based on the systematic analysis of breeding limitations and utilisation of FHB resistant materials, the authors put forward three suggestions: First, to toughen the resistance identification of wheat, testing traits such as Fusarium damaged kernel and DON need special attention as visual symptoms are less reliable, resistant varieties should be popularised, and the screening the resistant genes should be strengthened; The second is to use the additive effect of quantitative resistance genes accumulated from existing varieties to reduce the cost of resistance in order to create high yielding resistant varieties. Thirdly, to enhance research and utilization of new genes.