Water is life and is one of the major inputs for agriculture. Earth has a finite supply of fresh water and therefore, demands that every drop of annual rainfall should be conserved and judiciously utilized for production and postproduction agriculture to get maximum nutrients per unit of water. The concept of water productivity in agriculture is now shifting from harvest index per unit of land and water to nutrients (protein, carbohydrate, fat, etc.) produced per unit of water. This varies with food commodities and locations. For example, the total dietary energy produced by potato, maize, peanut, wheat, milk, egg and beef using one m³ of water are about 5600 kcal, 3800 kcal, 2300 kcal, 2280 kcal, 660 kcal, 520 kcal and 100 kcal, respectively. Similarly, the production of protein using one m³ of water by potato, peanut, maize, wheat, egg, milk, chicken, and beef are 150 g, 111 g, 77 g, 74 g, 41 g, 40 g, 33 g and 10 g, respectively. This paper describes the water nutrient productivity of some of the crops and livestock products and suggests as to how to provide food and nutritional security through an appropriate and balanced diet design, to the maximum number of people of the world from the limited and dwindling land, water and bio resources.

The proliferation of food, feed and biofuels demands promises to increase pressure on water competition and stress, particularly for Thailand, which has a large agricultural base. This study assesses the water footprint of ten staple crops grown in different regions across the country and evaluates the impact of crop water use in different regions/watersheds by the water stress index and the indication of water deprivation potential. The ten crops include major rice, second rice, maize, soybean, mungbean, peanut, cassava, sugarcane, pineapple and oil palm. The water stress index of the 25 major watersheds in Thailand has been evaluated. The results show that there are high variations of crop water requirements grown in different regions due to many factors. However, based on the current cropping systems, the Northeastern region has the highest water requirement for both green water (or rain water) and blue water (or irrigation water). Rice (paddy) farming requires the highest amount of irrigation water, i.e., around 10,489 million m3/year followed by the maize, sugarcane, oil palm and cassava. Major rice cultivation induces the highest water deprivation, i.e., 1862 million m3H₂Oeq/year; followed by sugarcane, second rice and cassava. The watersheds that have high risk on water competition due to increase in production of the ten crops considered are the Mun, Chi and Chao Phraya watersheds. The main contribution is from the second rice cultivation. Recommendations have been proposed for sustainable crops production in the future.

Analytical grade (AG) and industrial grade (IG) of three-food grade antioxidants butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and propyl paraben (PP) were analyzed to prove their fungitoxic effect on Aspergillus section Flavi strains. The effect of interactions among 10 antioxidant treatments at water activity levels (0.982, 0.955, 0.937 aW) for 11 and 35 days of incubation and at 25 °C in peanut grains on mycelial growth (CFU g(-1)) and aflatoxin B(1) (AFB(1)) accumulation were evaluated. Both antioxidant grade treatments had a significant effect (P < 0.001) on fungal count. All antioxidant treatments showed the highest effectiveness on control of growth of peanut aflatoxigenic strains at 0.937 aW and at 11 days of incubation. Overall, AG and IG binary mixtures M3 (20 + 10 mM), M4 (20 + 20 mM) and ternary mixtures M5 (10 + 10 +10 mM), M6 (10 + 20 + 10 mM), M7 (20 + 10 + 10 mM) and M8 (20 + 20 + 10 mM) were the treatments most effective at inhibiting growth of Aspergillus section Flavi strains. Industrial grade BHA 10 and 20 mM, binary mixtures M1 (10 + 10 mM), M2 (10 + 20 mM), M3 (20 + 10 mM), M4 (20 + 20 mM) and ternary mixtures M5 (10 + 10 + 10 mM), M6 (10 + 20 + 10 mM), M7 (20 + 10 + 10 mM) and M8 (20 + 20 + 10 mM) completely inhibited AFB1 production. The studied results suggest that IG antioxidant mixtures have potential for controlling growth of these mycotoxigenic species and prevent aflatoxin accumulation at the peanut storage system.

Previous studies have confirmed that electrolyzed water had disinfection potential and enrich functional nutrients during seed germination. However, the effect of slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) on the quality and safety of peanut sprouts is poorly understood. In this study, the influence and mechanism of SAEW on the antibacterial, antioxidant capacity, and allergenicity of peanut sprouts were investigated. Although SAEW‐3 with 33.85 mg/L available chlorine concentration (ACC) showed better antibacterial effect, the SAEW‐2 (23.74 mg/L ACC) group has a 20% and 50% increase in phenolic acid and γ‐aminobutyric acid content, respectively. Moreover, SAEW‐2 induced peanut sprout has the best antioxidant capacity by eliminating free radicals and improving peroxidase activity. SAEW‐2 or SAEW‐3 treatment contributed to decreasing Ara h 1 and Ara h 2 content thus reduce allergenicity. Therefore, SAEW with appropriate ACC could be a promising application in food safety, nutrients enrichment, and health‐improvement of peanut products. NOVELTY IMPACT STATEMENT: Slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) with 23.74 mg/L available chlorine concentration (ACC) has a significant positive effect on the enrichment of phenolic and γ‐aminobutyric acid in germinated peanut. With the help of SAEW, the germination process can further reduce the content of Ara h 1 and Ara h 2, thereby reducing allergenicity. SAEW with appropriate ACC could be a promising application in food safety, nutrients enrichment, and health‐improvement of peanut products.

The inhibitory effect of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) mixture on fungal populations, Aspergillus section Flavi and aflatoxins accumulation in in-pod peanuts during storage in big bags was investigated. In-pod peanuts were previously conditioned at different water activities (0.94, 0.88, 0.84 and 0.76 aw) and treated with food-grade antioxidants. Both control and treated peanuts were stored for 6 months and sampled at monthly intervals. BHA-BHT mixture reduced the incidence of peanut fungal populations between 0.6-20.4% and between 1.2-33.1% during 1-3 and 4-5 storage months, respectively. Aspergillus section Flavi counts decreased with 36.5%, 46.3% and 77.4% in peanuts conditioned at 0.94, 0.84 and 0.76 aw levels and treated with antioxidants. At the above peanut aw conditions, the treatment applied reduced aflatoxin accumulation by 72.1%, while any effect on this metabolite production was observed at 0.88 aw. The antioxidant formulation used in this study has the potential to control aflatoxigenic populations in in-pod peanuts stored in half-permeable silos at ≤0.84 aw level.

The aim of this study was to investigate antifungal and insecticidal activity of two microencapsulated antioxidants: 2(3)-tert-butyl-4 hydroxyanisole (BHA) and 2,6-di(tert-butyl)-p-cresol (BHT) against Aspergillus section Flavi and Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.), a vector carrier of aflatoxigenic fungi on stored peanuts. Susceptibility of Aspergillus section Flavi, insects, and aflatoxin B1 accumulation in sterile peanut kernels conditioned at two different water activities (aw) (0.83 aw and 0.95 aw) was determined with different doses of antioxidant formulations (10, 20 and 30 mM) during 45 days. Moreover, Aspergillus section Flavi isolation frequency from live and dead insects was evaluated. The BHA formulation completely inhibited Aspergillus section Flavi development regardless of aw and doses assayed. Antifungal effect of microencapsulated BHT was highly dependent on aw, with 86–100% fungal inhibition at 20 and 30 mM, at the lowest aw (0.83 aw) and at the end of the experiment. No aflatoxin accumulation was detected in samples treated with the BHA formulation. In general, low levels of Aspergillus section Flavi were detected in dead insects. Our results show efficacy for 45 days, in addition microencapsulated BHT could be an alternative to control peanut pests in dry kernels.