Processing tomato is an important agricultural crop worldwide suffering from genetic erosion due to a severe genetic diversity reduction and domestication hindrance. In Tunisia, some old underutilized tomato cultivars are increasingly being considered as genetic resources and are marginally used by small farmers constituting a real safety valve for the sustainability of the processing tomato value chain. Those tomato cultivars differ in their biometric, processing and functional quality attributes. Therefore, there is an increasing interest to examine their performances for processing and fresh market quality improvement. Recently, there was also a particular focus on improving the quality of fresh fruit via the introgression of high-pigment genes in processing tomato in order to obtain a high quality processed products. The results are important as large differences are highlighted and the main traits affecting tomato quality are also reported and clearly discussed. This suggest that maintaining of the existing genetic pools among cultivated tomato is as important as creating novel hybrids.

In this study, dragon fruit was dried by a microwave-assisted foam drying method and the effect of different microwave powers (350, 460 and 700W) on the drying kinetics and powder product properties were investigated. The properties (foam stability, expansion and density) of the foams obtained by adding egg white to dragon fruit puree were examined. The highest R2 and lowest RMSE and χ2 values of foam dried samples obtained from the Silva models. The effective moisture diffusion coefficient values of the samples (5.93×10-8-1.16×10-7 m2/s) increased due to the increase of microwave power. Activation energy values were calculated as 74.77 W/g. The effects of different microwave powers on moisture, water activity, color and powder product properties of dragon fruit powders dried by foam drying method were determined. In addition, in all conditions where microwave foam drying is performed, dragon fruit powders showed very good flowability and low stickiness.

The experiment was conducted under in-vivo condition in a betelvine baroj at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU), Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh. Nineteen isolates of Sclerotium rolfsii collected from different regions of Bangladesh designated as isolate-1 to isolate-19. Soil inoculated with S. rolfsii exhibited mycelial growth on the soil surface and around the base of the betelvine plant within 2-4 days after inoculation. Only 2 days after inoculation were required to manifest cottony colony on soil surface near root zone of inoculated betelvine plants by the isolate-3, 5, 7, 9 and 12. The first disease symptoms were observed within 6 to 16 days after inoculation where minimum days were required by the isolate-9 and maximum by the isolate-2 and 14. The highest lesion length (6.50 cm) was produced by the isolate-9 and isolate-13. All the isolates were found to be pathogenic in some cases, disease delayed due to their degree of pathogenicity. The isolate-9 showed highest disease incidence of 100% which was superior as compared to all other isolates at 15 days after inoculation. The isolate-19 showed least disease incidence of 66.66% even at 30 days after inoculation. Among the isolates, the most pathogenic one was isolate-9 collected from Kaligonj upazilla of Jhenaidah.

The viruses that cause avian flu (influenza) are highly contagious and highly variable viruses commonly found in birds. Wild birds in aquatic habitats are thought to be natural reservoirs for influenza viruses, but domestic poultry and other birds can also be infected. Influenza viruses belong to the orthomyxovirus family. Influenza A viruses are the only orthomyxoviruses known to naturally affect birds. Many bird species are susceptible to infection with influenza A viruses. Influenza A viruses have nucleocapsid and matrix proteins associated with their antigenic properties but are subtyped according to the hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N) antigens. In addition, avian influenza virus infections are considered to be one of the most important public health problems of the 21st century. Only in the last century, avian influenza viruses have created 4 different pandemics and have caused the death of a large number of poultry all over the world. The main purpose of this study is to provide information about avian influenza virus characteristics, important virus subtypes, clinical symptoms and antiviral drugs by analyzing the “Avian influenza” known as a poultry epidemic that has had significant effects in the 21st century.

This study assessed the proximate composition, sensory quality and consumer acceptability of beef sausage fortified with edible meat waste. Lean beef and edible meat waste (EMW) samples were obtained from commercial abattoir and combined in ratio 50:50 and 70:30 and designated as T1 and T2 respectively, while CT contained 90% lean meat and 10% fat. The fresh T1, T2 and CT sausages were thermal processed using microwave and oven-grilling cooking methods. The results showed significant difference in moisture, protein, lipid and ash content of raw and cooked sausages across treatments. Raw sausage fortified with EMW had higher protein and lower lipid contents compared to control treatment (90/10, CT). Cooking of the sausage significantly decreased moisture and increase lipid, protein and lipid content, with microwaved sausage having higher values. The results of sensory quality showed that beef sausage fortified with EMW were all acceptable to consumers, irrespective of the cooking methods used. The distribution of consumers who liked the appearance, colour, texture and flavour of the sausage meat containing EMW were higher than those who dislike the products. Therefore, this study shows that EMW could be successfully used in meat industry to improve quality of sausage during production.

Chrysophyllum albidum fruits are underutilized because they are seasonal and perishable in nature due to physiological, biochemical and microbial alteration. This study investigated the potency of calcium chloride (CaCl2) in suppressing postharvest deterioration of Chrysophyllum albidum fruits. Ripe wholesome fruits of Chrysophyllum albidum were harvested and treated with different concentrations of CaCl2 (1, 2, and 3%) at three different dip times (5, 10, and 15 min). The goal was to use established analytical methods to investigate the influence of CaCl2 on the firmness, weight loss, pH, titratable acidity, total sugar (TS), pectin, color, microbial (fungi and bacteria) loads of Chrysophyllum albidum fruits. All the treated fruits were stored at ambient temperature 28 ± 2°C and 90± 5% relative humidity for 15 days. The obtained results indicated that treating Chrysophyllum albidum fruits with 3% CaCl2 for 15 min was found the most effective in controlling weight loss, microbial load, color, firmness, and other compositional changes such as pH, titratable acidity, pectin and total sugar. It was observed that CaCl2 treated samples showed reduced fungal loads from 6.00 × 103 SFU/g at harvest to 0.02 × 103 SFU/g after 15 d of storage as compared to untreated samples. No record of bacterial load was detected on Chrysophyllum albidum fruits treated with 3% CaCl2 for 15 min. The shelf life of Chrysophyllum albidum fruits could be extended for 15 d without excessive deterioration in quality by treating the fruits with 3% CaCl2 for 15 min with a minimum quality loss, as compared to the control sample which had greater compositional changes with maximum quality loss during storage at ambient temperature.

This study was aimed to determine the effect of hatching system (house and machine) and egg weight (heavy and light) on growth performance and meat quality traits in geese. The study was carried out for 12 weeks with a total of 220 Turkish native geese. The geese were individually weighed every 2 weeks during the study, on these same weeks feed conversion ratio (FCR) was measured. Hot and cold dressed, blood, head, foot, edible internal organs (heart, liver, gizzard), abdominal fat, neck, back, breast, thigh and wing percentages were determined. Also cooking loss, drip loss, color and pH were determined as meat quality traits. There was no significant difference between the egg weight groups in terms of BW. However, the geese produced in the house hatching system showed more BW from 6 to 12 weeks of age onwards compared to the machine system. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of FCR by 8 weeks. Both 10 and 12 weeks FCR were determined as the worst house heavy, while the best house light groups. Hot and cold carcass percentages in geese hatched from heavy were higher rates than light eggs. The percentage of wings differed significantly among geese produced from different egg weight groups. Breast meat cooking loss was found higher rates in heavy eggs than light eggs, while thigh meat cooking loss was found higher rates in the house than machine system. The results of this study show that geese hatched in the house system had more BW at the slaughter age compared to machine system geese. In addition, geese produced from heavy eggs showed a higher hot and cold dressed percentages than geese produced from light eggs.

Phloxine is used as a food dye. In this study, genotoxicity of phloxine at the root tip of Allium cepa L. was investigated. A. cepa L. meristematic root tip cells were treated with ten different doses of phloxine. In this way, the EC50 value was determined. Then, phloxine was applied to root tips at EC50/2, EC50 and EC50×2 doses. Treatment time was determined as 24, 48 and 72 hours. As a result, it was revealed that phloxine caused chromosomal aberrations in cells in mitotic cycle at the root tip of A. cepa. There are equatorial plate shifting in metaphase, laggard chromosome, disturbed spindle, chromosome stickiness, C-mitosis, polar shifting among the observed chromosomal aberrations. It was stated that the % chromosomal aberration index (CAI) increased depending on concentration increase. It has been demonstrated that the highest % chromosomal aberration index occurred at the EC50×2 dose for 72 hours. According to the research, it was revealed that phloxine has a genotoxic effect on the root cells of A. cepa. For this reason, it can be emphasized that care should be taken in its use in foods.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, belonging to the Pseudomonadaceae family, is Gram-negative, rod-shaped, motile, aerobic, endospore negative, oxidase and catalase positive. It is widely found in nature and isolated from soil, plants, water and animals. It can grow rapidly on the surface of the food and form oxidized products and mucous substances. P. aeruginosa, one of the leading foodborne pathogens, causes important concerns in food safety due to being a source of contamination, causing food poisoning and antimicrobial resistance in animals, forming biofilms and difficulties in preventing biofilms. In this review, information on history, microbiological, cultural and biochemical characteristics, virulence factors and pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa are given. In addition, infections caused by P. aeruginosa and its presence in food are described.

The fall armyworm [Spodoptera frugiperda, (JE Smith, 1797) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)] is a polyphagous pest native to tropical and subtropical regions of America. After it was detected for the first time in Nepal in the Nawalpur area on 9th May 2019, it has become a major threat in maize fields even though it has over 80 host species to proceed its life cycle. Due to its migratory nature, FAW moth can travel up to 500 km before oviposition, and infestation of its larva has resulted in vast devastation of the vegetative as well as reproductive parts of plants causing significant yield loss in maize. A mature larva possesses a dark head with an upside-down pale Y-shaped marking on the head area and black four spots that are arranged in a square on the second last body segment. This paper audits the executive choices (avoidance, observing, push-pull, cultural, biological, organic, chemical, and integrated techniques to incorporate in FAW susceptible areas) that apply to smallholder farmers who do not have the monetary asset to buy compound pesticides and other costly control instruments. For the majority of Nepalese farmers with low resources and small landholding, push-pull technology is beneficial and applicable. Botanicals that have bioactive chemical compounds, insecticidal, pest repellent properties are environment-friendly and degradable, readily available in tropical and subtropical regions of Nepal. The assessment of the efficacy of implemented management practices against FAW has revealed that implementation of more than one method of management practices showed the least percentage of infestation as compared to the individual method.