Organic banana production in Ecuador: Its implications on black Sigatoka development and plant–soil nutritional status

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 297-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Jimenez ◽  
Lieselot Van der Veken ◽  
Heleen Neirynck ◽  
Helga Rodríguez ◽  
Omar Ruiz ◽  
...  

AbstractBlack Sigatoka, caused by the leaf fungus Mycosphaerella fijiensis Morelet, is a major constraint to banana production around the world. In Ecuador, the biggest banana-exporting country in the world, this disease has become increasingly aggressive. This has resulted in more fungicide applications, which have significantly increased costs in production and for the environment. Consequently, many banana growers have shifted to organic production, which produces greater economic returns as a result of higher sale prices. In addition, production costs are lower as no fungicides are applied. These organic bananas receive substantial amounts of organic products. This study describes the black Sigatoka disease and nutrient status in an organic banana plantation and compares it with a conventionally fertilized and fungicide-treated plantation. Black Sigatoka symptoms were evaluated in the vegetative and flowering stages under both production conditions and in vitro conditions. Univariate and multivariate descriptive statistics were used to analyze the parameters. Disease symptoms were more severe in leaves from the organic field than in leaves from the inorganic field, but the nutrient status (soil and foliar) did not differ between the two farms. Banana plants from the organic farm had 12 functional leaves at flowering and eight functional leaves at harvest. Average banana yields were over 40% lower for organic versus inorganic management; however, the average price received for organic bananas was over two times higher. Profit–cost analysis has shown that the organic banana farm was substantially more profitable than the inorganic one during the time period analyzed. These results indicated that bananas can be grown commercially without fungicides, and the lower productivity levels are compensated by higher prices of organic fruits in international markets. In addition, organic production has beneficial impacts on social and environmental issues.

Author(s):  
Dorota Komorowska

The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficiency of production factors in organic and conventional fruit farms. The results suggest lower level of productivity of land resources on organic farms, which resulted from lower productivity of organic production. The productivity of capital presented similar levels in both groups of households, while the productivity of the labor force was greater in organic farms, because they were bigger than conventional ones. Organic farms were characterised by better economic results than conventional ones, as a result of better production results accompanied by lower production costs of organic farms. Therefore, in the surveyed households, the profitability of land, labor and capital used in the production processes was higher in organic farms.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 47-54
Author(s):  
Jean-Martial F. K. Kassi ◽  
Henri P. N’Guessan ◽  
Seydou Tuo ◽  
Brahima Camara ◽  
Daouda Koné

Black leaf streak disease (BLSD) is the major constraint on banana production around the world. In Côte d'Ivoire, this disease is found in all banana-growing areas and its management involves the use of large volumes of agrochemicals. This mode of production is increasingly denounced by consumers from regarding fruit contamination by phytopharmaceuticals. The objective of this study is to promote the use of NECO 50 EC, a plant extract-based biofungicide in an integrated black Sigatoka management system. The fungitoxic effect of NECO 50 EC was assessed in vitro on Mycosphaerella fijiensis conidia germination and the evolution of black leaf streak disease symptoms under natural infestation. NECO 50 EC was applied over a surface area of 25 ha at a rate of 0.3 l/ha. Its weekly effect on the evolution of the rank of the youngest leaf affected (YLA), the rank of the youngest necrotic leaf (YLN), the number of functional leaves at flowering (NFLF) and the number of functional leaves at harvest (NFLH) was determined and then compared to those of a morpholine (Volley 88 OL) applied over a surface area of 25 ha at a dose of 0.5 l/ha. NECO 50 EC showed an anti-germinating effect on Mycosphaerella fijiensis conidia at low doses, useful in reducing disease spreading. Its application in banana tree plantations reduced disease pressure on the plots. It ensured the protection of new leaves generated (YLA > 4), favored ranks of YLN greater than 9. More than 14 leaves were counted at flowering and more than 7 leaves at harvest were observed. NECO 50 EC, a plant extract-based biological fungicide, may be an effective alternative for black leaf streak disease control in industrial banana tree plantations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 1278-1285
Author(s):  
Mohamed Yafout ◽  
Amine Ousaid ◽  
Ibrahim Sbai El Otmani ◽  
Youssef Khayati ◽  
Amal Ait Haj Said

The new SARS-CoV-2 belonging to the coronaviruses family has caused a pandemic affecting millions of people around the world. This pandemic has been declared by the World Health Organization as an international public health emergency. Although several clinical trials involving a large number of drugs are currently underway, no treatment protocol for COVID-19 has been officially approved so far. Here we demonstrate through a search in the scientific literature that the traditional Moroccan pharmacopoeia, which includes more than 500 medicinal plants, is a fascinating and promising source for the research of natural molecules active against SARS-CoV-2. Multiple in-silico and in-vitro studies showed that some of the medicinal plants used by Moroccans for centuries possess inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-2. These inhibitory activities are achieved through the different molecular mechanisms of virus penetration and replication, or indirectly through stimulation of immunity. Thus, the potential of plants, plant extracts and molecules derived from plants that are traditionally used in Morocco and have activity against SARS-CoV-2, could be explored in the search for a preventive or curative treatment against COVID-19. Furthermore, safe plants or plant extracts that are proven to stimulate immunity could be officially recommended by governments as nutritional supplements.


Author(s):  
Viktoriya Bondarenko

The level of economic development of entrepreneurship in any country in the world is crucial in increasing the competitiveness of the national economy in the world market of goods and services. The activities of economic entities are the driving force for the sustainable development of regions and their suburban areas, and they also impact the welfare of population. The article dwells on the analysis of scientific approaches to the regulation of economic development of enterprises in suburban areas of the region. The article analyzes the scientific approaches to the regulation of economic development of enterprises in suburban areas of the region. According to the well-known classics of the fundamental economic theory of entrepreneurship development (A. Smith, D. Ricardo, V. Laungard, A. Loria) the peculiarities of economic development of entrepreneurship in suburban territories of the region are determined by the possibility of distribution of surplus production, minimum production costs per unit of production, availability of labor resources. In modern economic theory (M. Weber, A. Pre, S.M. Kimelberg, E. Williams, C. Vlachou, O. Iakovidou, J. van Dijk, P. Pellenbarg) the development of entrepreneurship in suburban areas of the region can be determined by institutional, innovation, technological, social, ecological and other features of the economy at the regional, state or world levels. The complex and comprehensive generalization of the features of economic development of entrepreneurship in suburban areas is proposed. There are (1) the type of decision taken by an enterprise to carry out business activities in the relevant suburban area of the region, and (2) the influence of internal and external factors on economic activity. The article argues that large enterprises are guided by more objective decision-making reasons, attaching the most importance to the physical and innovative environment. Medium and small enterprises are mainly focused on getting benefits for the entrepreneur in the short-term time period and location in the nearest geographic area. The attention was paid to the tools of ensuring economic development of entrepreneurship in suburban areas of the region, taking into account institutional changes in the national economy and the experience of developed countries of the world.


Author(s):  
Lara Bittmann

On December 31, 2019, WHO was informed of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan City, China. A novel coronavirus was identified as the cause by Chinese authorities on January 7, 2020 and was provisionally named "2019-nCoV". This new Coronavirus causes a clinical picture which has received now the name COVID-19. The virus has spread subsequently worldwide and was explained on the 11th of March, 2020 by the World Health Organization to the pandemic.


Author(s):  
Ekta Shirbhate ◽  
Preeti Patel ◽  
Vijay K Patel ◽  
Ravichandran Veerasamy ◽  
Prabodh C Sharma ◽  
...  

: The novel coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), a global pandemic that emerged from Wuhan, China has today travelled all around the world, so far 216 countries or territories with 21,732,472 people infected and 770,866 deaths globally (as per WHO COVID-19 update dated August 18, 2020). Continuous efforts are being made to repurpose the existing drugs and develop vaccines for combating this infection. Despite, to date, no certified antiviral treatment or vaccine prevails. Although, few candidates have displayed their efficacy in in vitro studies and are being repurposed for COVID-19 treatment. This article summarizes synthetic and semi-synthetic compounds displaying potent activity in their clinical experiences or studies against COVID-19 and also focuses on mode of action of drugs being repositioned against COVID-19.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas da Silva Santos ◽  
Matheus Fillipe Langanke de Carvalho ◽  
Ana Claudia de Souza Pinto ◽  
Amanda Luisa da Fonseca ◽  
Julio César Dias Lopes ◽  
...  

Background: Malaria greatly affects the world health, having caused more than 228 million cases only in 2018. The emergence of drug resistance is one of the main problems in its treatment, demonstrating the urge for the development of new antimalarial drugs. Objective: Synthesis and in vitro antiplasmodial evaluation of triazole compounds derived from isocoumarins and a 3,4- dihydroisocoumarin. Method: The compounds were synthesized in 4 to 6-step reactions with the formation of the triazole ring via the Copper(I)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between isocoumarin or 3,4-dihydroisocoumarin azides and terminal alkynes. This key reaction provided compounds with an unprecedented connection of isocoumarin or 3,4-dihydroisocoumarin and the 1,2,3-triazole ring. The products were tested for their antiplasmodial activity against a Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine resistant and sensitive strains (W2 and 3D7, respectively). Results: Thirty-one substances were efficiently obtained by the proposed routes with an overall yield of 25-53%. The active substances in the antiplasmodial test displayed IC50 values ranging from 0.68-2.89 μM and 0.85-2.07 μM against W2 and 3D7 strains, respectively.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1076
Author(s):  
Anne Gégout Petit ◽  
Hélène Jeulin ◽  
Karine Legrand ◽  
Nicolas Jay ◽  
Agathe Bochnakian ◽  
...  

The World Health Organisation recommends monitoring the circulation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We investigated anti–SARS-CoV-2 total immunoglobulin (IgT) antibody seroprevalence and in vitro sero-neutralization in Nancy, France, in spring 2020. Individuals were randomly sampled from electoral lists and invited with household members over 5 years old to be tested for anti–SARS-CoV-2 (IgT, i.e., IgA/IgG/IgM) antibodies by ELISA (Bio-rad); the sero-neutralization activity was evaluated on Vero CCL-81 cells. Among 2006 individuals, the raw seroprevalence was 2.1% (95% confidence interval 1.5 to 2.9), was highest for 20- to 34-year-old participants (4.7% (2.3 to 8.4)), within than out of socially deprived area (2.5% vs. 1%, p = 0.02) and with than without intra-family infection (p < 10−6). Moreover, 25% of participants presented at least one COVID-19 symptom associated with SARS-CoV-2 positivity (p < 10−13), with highly discriminant anosmia or ageusia (odds ratio 27.8 [13.9 to 54.5]); 16.3% (6.8 to 30.7) of seropositive individuals were asymptomatic. Positive sero-neutralization was demonstrated in vitro for 31/43 seropositive subjects. Regarding the very low seroprevalence, a preventive effect of the lockdown in March 2020 can be assumed for the summer, but a second COVID-19 wave, as expected, could be subsequently observed in this poorly immunized population.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-33
Author(s):  
Srinivas Goli ◽  
K. S. James ◽  
Devender Singh ◽  
Venkatesh Srinivasan ◽  
Rakesh Mishra ◽  
...  

Abstract Investment in family planning (FP) provides returns through a lifetime. Global evidence shows that FP is the second-best buy in terms of return on investment after liberalizing trade. In this study, we estimate the cumulative benefits of FP investments for India from 1991 to 2016 and project them up to 2061 with four scenarios of fertility levels. The findings suggest that India will have greater elasticity of FP investments to lifetime economic returns compared to the world average (cost–revenue ratio of 1:120). We have taken four scenarios for the goalpost, viz., 2.1, 1.8, 1.6, and 1.4. Although different scenarios of total fertility rate (TFR) levels at the goalpost (i.e., the year 2061) offer varied lifetime returns from FP, scenario TFR < 1.8 will be counterproductive and will reduce the potential benefits. With a comprehensive approach, if the country focuses more on improving the quality of FP services and on reducing the unmet need for FP to enhance reproductive health care and expand maximum opportunities for education and employment for both women and men, it can improve its potential to reap more benefits.


Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 494
Author(s):  
Riccardo Lo Bianco ◽  
Primo Proietti ◽  
Luca Regni ◽  
Tiziano Caruso

The objective of fully mechanizing olive harvesting has been pursued since the 1970s to cope with labor shortages and increasing production costs. Only in the last twenty years, after adopting super-intensive planting systems and developing appropriate straddle machines, a solution seems to have been found. The spread of super-intensive plantings, however, raises serious environmental and social concerns, mainly because of the small number of cultivars that are currently used (basically 2), compared to over 100 cultivars today cultivated on a large scale across the world. Olive growing, indeed, insists on over 11 million hectares. Despite its being located mostly in the Mediterranean countries, the numerous olive growing districts are characterized by deep differences in climate and soil and in the frequency and nature of environmental stress. To date, the olive has coped with biotic and abiotic stress thanks to the great cultivar diversity. Pending that new technologies supporting plant breeding will provide a wider number of cultivars suitable for super-intensive systems, in the short term, new growing models must be developed. New olive orchards will need to exploit cultivars currently present in various olive-growing areas and favor increasing productions that are environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable. As in fruit growing, we should focus on “pedestrian olive orchards”, based on trees with small canopies and whose top can be easily reached by people from the ground and by machines (from the side of the top) that can carry out, in a targeted way, pesticide treatments, pruning and harvesting.


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