Search Results (2,205)

This review aims to summarize possible methods for the detection of limonene in the gas phase at low to very low concentrations. Limonene has historically been of interest as a fragrance in cosmetics, the food industry, pharmaceutics, and the production of solvents. The development of analytical methods for limonene was initially driven by its use in relevant industries such as chemical, pharmaceutics, cosmetics, food, agriculture, and forestry. More recently, it has been recognized as a potent biomarker for human metabolic conditions, such as liver disease and certain cancers. The interest in improved limonene detection in exhaled human breath has increased, particularly from the medical field, which demands high reliability, very low detection limits in the parts per billion (ppb) and even parts per trillion (ppt) range, and excellent selectivity against other exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOC). In addition, the detection methods should be portable and affordable to facilitate potential mass screening. This review paper aims to explore all possible detection methods by evaluating their proven analytical capabilities for limonene or discussing their potential usefulness, benefits, and applicability for limonene detection. Full article

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) is a versatile cereal crop with diverse applications in human food, animal feed, and other industries. This study investigated the effects of microbial inoculation on sorghum growth and nutrient uptake at two fertilizer levels (100% and 80% of the recommended dose). Bacillus subtilis, B. pumilus, B. licheniformis, Purpureocillium lilacinum, and Trichoderma harzianum were applied to the soil and plants in a greenhouse experiment using a completely randomized design with six replicates per treatment. Plant growth parameters, including height, shoot and root dry matter, nitrogen and phosphorus content in the shoots and roots and chlorophyll, were assessed. The results showed no statistically significant differences among the treatments for most parameters, except for plant height and shoot dry matter, where the B. subtilis treatment exhibited the lowest values. Notably, treatments that received 80% of the recommended fertilizer dose performed similarly to those that received 100%, suggesting the potential for reduced fertilizer usage with microbial inoculants. Although the microbial treatments did not significantly enhance sorghum growth in this study, evaluating their effects remains crucial for developing eco-friendly alternatives to reduce chemical fertilizers. Further research is needed to optimize the application of microbial inoculants and to understand their impact on soil health and agricultural productivity under various environmental conditions. Full article

The issue of pesticide and chemical residue in food has drawn increasing public attention, making effective control of plant pests and diseases a critical research focus in agriculture. Monitoring of pest populations is a key factor constraining the precision of pest management strategies. Low-cost and high-efficiency monitoring devices are highly desirable. To address these challenges, we focus on Cacopsylla chinensis and design a portable, AI-based detection device, along with an integrated online monitoring and forecasting system. First, to enhance the model’s capability for detecting small targets, we developed a backbone network based on the RepVit block and its variants. Additionally, we introduced a Dynamic Position Encoder module to improve feature position encoding. To further enhance detection performance, we adopt a Context Guide Fusion Module, which enables context-driven information guidance and adaptive feature adjustment. Second, a framework facilitates the development of an online monitoring system centered on Cacopsylla chinensis detection. The system incorporates a hybrid neural network model to establish the relationship between multiple environmental parameters and the Cacopsylla chinensis population, enabling trend prediction. We conduct feasibility validation experiments by comparing detection results with a manual survey. The experimental results show that the detection model achieves an accuracy of 87.4% for both test samples and edge devices. Furthermore, the population dynamics model yields a mean absolute error of 1.94% for the test dataset. These performance indicators fully meet the requirements of practical agricultural applications. Full article

The relationships between mycotoxins content in food commodities or feedstuffs and the foodborne diseases is well known. So far, the available data mainly include chemical methods of mycotoxins decontamination for agricultural commodities or raw materials, including mycotoxin binders. Therefore, the possible use of some natural and cost-effective supplements such as herbs, fungi, microorganisms, or plants with powerful and safe protection against mycotoxin-induced health ailments is the main subject of this review paper. Various antagonistic microorganisms or yeast with fungicidal properties, as well as some herbs or plants that suppress fungal development and the subsequent production of target mycotoxins and/or have protective effect against mycotoxins, are deeply studied in the literature, and practical suggestions are given in this regard. The protection by degradation, biotransformation, or binding of mycotoxins by using natural additives such as herbs or plants to feedstuffs or foods has also been thoroughly investigated and analyzed as a possible approach for ameliorating the target adverse effects of mycotoxins. Possible beneficial dietary changes have also been studied to potentially alleviate mycotoxin toxicity. Practical advice are provided for possible application of the same natural supplements in real-life practice for combating mycotoxin-induced health ailments. Natural feed supplements and bioactive compounds appeared to be safe emerging approaches to preventing health ailments caused by mycotoxins. However, the available data mainly address some in vitro studies, and more in vivo experiments are necessary for introducing such approaches in the real-life practice or industry. Generally, target herbal supplements, antioxidants, or polyenzyme complements could be used as powerful protectors in addition to natural mycotoxin binders. Bioactive agents and enzymatic degradation are reported to be very successful in regard to PAT and OTA, whereas antagonistic microorganisms/fungi/yeasts have a successful application against AFs and PAT-producing fungi. Full article

The agricultural sector faces serious challenges due to climate change, threatening global food security. In addition to economic impacts, decreasing agricultural production jeopardizes nutrition, particularly in vulnerable populations. The implementation of mitigation actions and sustainable alternatives becomes urgent. In this context, microbial secondary metabolites (MSMs) emerge as a promising solution. Some of these molecules have the potential to strengthen soil health, increase plant resistance to pests and adverse weather conditions, and improve nutrient availability, for example, LCOs (lipochitooligosaccharides) to improve legume nodulation and several other physiological changes in the plant, and several pyrazines with biocontrol potential. However, although the potential benefits are clear, the industrial viability of commercially using these compounds has not yet been fully established. In addition, the connection of the academic research on MSMs with their potential role in agriculture as bio-inputs is still limited. This review aims to contribute to filling the gaps by aggregating information on the classification, application, and synthesis of these molecules. Additionally, we discuss strategies and technologies that could enhance the use of MSMs in agriculture. Full article

: Rare-earth elements (REEs) are strategic resources that have been extensively utilized in industrial manufacturing, aerospace engineering, and defense technology. Beyond their technological applications, REEs have been demonstrated to enhance agricultural productivity through growth promotion mechanisms in various crops, leading to their recognition as valuable trace element fertilizers in modern farming practices. Consequently, REEs have been increasingly introduced into ecosystems, where they are continuously accumulated in soil and transmitted into food chains, resulting in REE pollution, which has become a significant environmental concern. However, the regulatory mechanisms controlling REE contamination are not well understood. In recent years, the environmental impacts of REEs have attracted increasing attention, especially in their pollution mitigation from industrial and agricultural REE emissions. Bioremediation is regarded as a promising method for contaminated soil treatment. The application of plants and microorganisms to REE-polluted environments has been explored as an emerging research field that combines the synergistic advantages of plant rhizospheric microorganisms and vegetation systems. The combination of phytoremediation and microbial remediation approaches has been shown to enhance soil health restoration, thereby improving the purification efficiency of REE-contaminated soil. This paper, citing 179 references, reviews the roles of plants, microorganisms, and plant–microbe interactions in REE-contaminated soil remediation, and summarizes the available practical methods with which to address REE pollution and the fundamental mechanisms involved. Full article

The detection of pesticide residues in food is crucial for ensuring food safety, safeguarding public health, and promoting sustainable development. Overusing pesticides on agricultural crops can lead to the emergence of various diseases. Traditional methods for detecting pesticides offer high precision with limitations like high cost, the requirement of expert technicians, and tedious analytical procedures. To address these issues, nanozymes have been widely applied due to their advantages such as low cost, high stability, and high sensitivity. This review summarizes the research progress of nanozymes in the detection of pesticide residues in food over the last decade, focusing on the synthesis strategies and catalytic mechanisms of carbon-based, metal-based, metal-oxide-based, metal–organic framework (MOF)-based, fluorescence-based, and other X-based nanozymes. This review covers the application of multimodal sensing based on nanozymes in the detection of pesticides, including colorimetric/fluorescence, fluorescence/photothermal, photothermal/colorimetric, and other multimodal sensing techniques. Finally, this review discusses the main challenges currently faced by nanozymes in the detection of pesticides and the current applications of using AI with nanozymes. It also presents future development prospects, with the aim of providing references for the selection of X-based nanozymes and the choice of appropriate detection methods when dealing with traditional and new pesticides in combination with AI. Full article

Integrated foliar spraying has been proposed as an effective measure to mitigate the increasingly severe impacts of hot–dry–windy (HDW) events on winter wheat yield under ongoing climate change, and its physiological effectiveness has been mechanistically validated. However, there are still few quantitative assessments of the application of this technology at the regional scale. First, hourly meteorological data from the ERA5-Land reanalysis (1981–2020) were matched to the centroids of 599 counties within China’s major winter wheat-producing regions, allowing precise alignment with county-level yield data. Subsequently, spatial and temporal trends of sub-daily HDW events were analyzed. These HDW events were classified according to daily duration into three categories: short-duration (HDW_sd1, 1 h d⁻¹), moderate-duration (HDW_sd2, 2–3 h d⁻¹), and prolonged-duration (HDW_sd3, 4–8 h d⁻¹). Finally, a difference-in-differences (DiD) approach combined with panel matching methods was employed to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of integrated foliar spraying technology—comprising plant growth regulators, essential nutrients, fungicides, and insecticides—on wheat yield improvements under varying irrigation conditions. The results indicate that HDW is a major compound event threatening high-yield and stable-yield regions within the main winter wheat production areas of China, and in the study area, the annual average number of HDW days ranges from 3 to 13 days, increasing by 1–4 days dec⁻¹. While HDW events continue to intensify, the integrated foliar spraying technology effectively mitigates yield losses due to HDW stress. Specifically, yield increases of up to 18–20% were observed in counties with sufficient irrigation infrastructure since the large-scale implementation began in 2012, particularly in regions exposed to more than 2 days of HDW stresses annually. However, the effectiveness of integrated foliar spraying was notably compromised in areas lacking adequate irrigation infrastructure, highlighting the necessity of reliable irrigation conditions. In these poorly irrigated areas, yield improvements remained limited and inconsistent, typically fluctuating around negligible levels. These findings underscore that robust irrigation infrastructure is pivotal to unlock the yield benefits of integrated foliar spraying technology, while also highlighting its transformative potential in advancing climate-smart agriculture globally—particularly in regions grappling with intensifying compound stress events driven by climate change, where this innovation could foster resilient and adaptive food systems to counter escalating environmental extremes. Full article

Chlorogenic acids (CGAs) are a group of important plant secondary metabolites produced in the phenylpropanoid metabolic pathway; they are formed via the conjugation of caffeic and quinic acids and are widely distributed across different plant species. Renowned for their multifunctional activities—including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, antidiabetic, and anti-obesity properties—CGAs are versatile natural food additives with diverse industrial applications. This review summarizes five distinct CGA biosynthetic pathways, the structural and regulatory genes involved, and their key biological functions. The insights aim to facilitate a deeper understanding of CGA metabolism and streamline its exploitation in agriculture and human health. Full article

This study explores the use of Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), Total Sustainability Assessment, and Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) as tools to evaluate the environmental, social, and economic impacts in Agri-industry. It highlights the unique trajectory of LCA and LCSA implementation in Latin America, shaped by the region’s distinct environmental, social, and economic contexts, contrasted with global research trends. Evidence shows the importance of biodiversity, conservation, and deforestation mitigation in Latin American LCA applications, which differ from the urban-focused impacts seen in regions like Europe or North America. Furthermore, it emphasizes the significant role of LCSA in addressing socio-economic challenges unique to Latin America, such as inequality and labor conditions. The research reveals the benefits of LCA and LCSA methodologies in the agro-industrial sector, particularly in addressing social issues like land use rights and rural community welfare. Despite challenges such as limited access to high-quality data and the need for capacity building, the innovative application of these methodologies in Latin America offers valuable insights for the global community. Our work relies on Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to analyze the LCSA literature from 1990 to 2024, identifying evolving trends and research focal areas in sustainability. The analysis herein presented highlights the need for a multi-dimensional and holistic approach to sustainability research and practice. Our findings also emphasize the importance of developing comprehensive models and integrated methodologies to effectively address complex sustainability challenges. Environmental information remains crucial for policy processes, acknowledging uncertainties in estimations and the connection between land use change, agriculture, and emissions from the global food economy and bioenergy sectors. The research underscores the dynamic nature of LCSA and the importance of continually reassessing sustainability efforts to address pressing challenges. Full article

Agricultural supply chains face growing scrutiny due to rising concerns over food authenticity, safety, and sustainability. These challenges stem from issues such as contamination risks, fraudulent labelling, and the absence of reliable, real-time tracking systems. Existing systems often rely on centralised databases and fragmented data flows, limiting traceability, data integrity, and end-to-end visibility. While blockchain technology offers potential, most research focuses narrowly on traceability, overlooking its role in establishing secure product identity and its integration with emerging tools. This review investigates how Decentralised Identifiers (DIDs), digital twins, and smart contracts—in conjunction with blockchain—can create verifiable digital representations of agricultural products and automate trust mechanisms. Through an analysis of over sixty recent sources and leading standards (e.g., W3C DIDs, Hyperledger Aries), the study identifies key gaps in interoperability, governance, and system maturity. A layered system architecture is proposed, and its application is demonstrated in a cold-chain case scenario. The paper concludes with a roadmap for empirical validation and policy alignment, contributing a practical and scalable framework for researchers, practitioners, and regulators advancing blockchain-enabled traceability systems. Full article

Agriculture is presently facing several ecological concerns related to the upsurging request for premium-value food produced in compliance with natural horticultural tools. The use of natural substances, such as biostimulants, principally protein hydrolysates (PHs), could be useful to maximize overall vegetable plant fitness. However, the mode of application (foliar spray or fertigation) could affect biostimulant efficiency. The current research was conducted to evaluate the effect of a Zea mays-derived PH (Surnan^®, SPAA, Pescara, Italy) and its mode of application (foliar spray and/or fertigation) on yield traits, mineral profile, nutritional and functional components, along with NUE of “Florida fortuna” strawberry cultivated under tunnel. The findings showed that the corn-based PH effectively enhanced yield and number of marketable fruits per plant (NMFP) compared with the control (+20.1% and +25.4%, respectively). Fruits from biostimulated plants also showed a higher fruit lightness and ascorbic acid and anthocyanin concentration than fruits from control plots. Furthermore, Surnan^® PH increased nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of strawberry plants. Captivatingly, plants biostimulated via fertigation showed the highest fruit potassium (K) concentration, while those exposed to the foliar spray had the highest fruit phenolic concentration. Generally, our findings recommended that the application of Zea mays-derived PH via foliar spray could be considered a suitable tool to increase functional traits of strawberry grown under tunnel. Full article

Natural phenolic substances have emerged as promising alternatives to synthetic antimicrobials in both agriculture and the food industry, where concerns over microbial resistance and chemical residues are rising. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current literature, highlighting the potential of these compounds as effective antimicrobial agents. A systematic evaluation of in vitro and in vivo studies was conducted, focusing on the efficacy of various phenolic compounds against a range of pathogens. The analysis revealed that natural phenolics not only inhibit microbial growth but also enhance the shelf life and safety of food products and protect crops from disease. Moreover, although laboratory results are promising, the translation of these findings into practical applications requires further investigation. Overall, the evidence supports the potential for natural phenolic substances to serve as integral components in sustainable agriculture and food preservation strategies. Full article

Agriculture and food production can cause a variety of adverse environmental impacts. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the only standardised method so far that provides a comprehensive assessment of the environmental burden of products. LCA results can be expressed as environmental impacts (midpoint level) or environmental damage (endpoint level). Communication on environmental impact is mostly carried out as a part of the Carbon Footprint (CF) or Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), while reporting on environmental damage is rarely used. Due to the growing interest of consumers in ‘healthy’ food, it is important that food producers address the environmental damage. Therefore, an overview of existing Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods that provide insight into endpoint indicators describing damage to human health has been performed and presented in this paper. The application of the selected LCIA methods is demonstrated for the case of food products, highlighting the fact that the results obtained by different LCIA methods are not directly comparable due to a variety of methodological limitations, such as the existence of different environmental indicators and their structure. Finally, the usage of the LCA method for designing food products is presented, with the aim of enabling consumers to choose diets with lower environment and human health impacts. Full article

Precise detection of potato diseases is critical for food security, yet traditional image segmentation methods struggle with challenges including uneven illumination, background noise, and the gradual color transitions of lesions under complex field conditions. Therefore, a collaborative segmentation framework of Otsu and Sobel edge detection based on the beluga whale optimization algorithm with a danger sensing mechanism (DSBWO) is proposed. The method introduces an S-shaped control parameter, a danger sensing mechanism, a dynamic foraging strategy, and an improved whale fall model to enhance global search ability, prevent premature convergence, and improve solution quality. DSBWO demonstrates superior optimization performance on the CEC2017 benchmark, with faster convergence and higher accuracy than other algorithms. Experiments on the Berkeley Segmentation Dataset and potato early/late blight images show that DSBWO achieves excellent segmentation performance across multiple evaluation metrics. Specifically, it reaches a maximum IoU of 0.8797, outperforming JSBWO (0.8482) and PSOSHO (0.8503), while maintaining competitive PSNR and SSIM values. Even under different Gaussian noise levels, DSBWO maintains stable segmentation accuracy and low CPU time, confirming its robustness. These findings suggest that DSBWO provides a reliable and efficient solution for automatic crop disease monitoring and can be extended to other smart agriculture applications. Full article