Search

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by some species of fungi that may contaminate a wide variety of foods, and which can cause acute and chronic toxic effects in both animals and humans (mycotoxicoses). Their presence has been identified in rice crops. The present manuscript revises several worldwide researches about the various kinds and frequency of occurrence of mycotoxins in rice. Aflatoxins, citrinin, deoxynivalenol, sterigmatocystin, fumonisins, zearalenone, cyclopiazonic acid, patulin, gliotoxin and some trichothecenes are the main mycotoxins that have been identified in this cereal, and their levels variate widely throughout the samples of rice that were analysed. In several countries of the Asian continent the consumption of this cereal constitutes the main source of these secondary metabolites. Due to the importance of rice as a basic element of the human diet, it is necessary to carry out further research about this subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: One of the major challenges of melon (Cucumis melo L.) yield is the decrease of fruit yield and quality caused by soil diseases. Soil disinfection with methyl bromide (MB) has been used to prevent soil-borne diseases damage; however, use of MB is being restricted because this substance damages the ozone layer. Searching for new MB alternatives, field experiments were carried out in open fields in soils infested with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis, Olpidium bornovanus, and Melon Necrotic Spot Virus (MNSV) in Colima, Mexico, where melons had only been grown previously using soil fumigation with MB. Yield and quality of melon cultivar Cruiser F1 (Harris Moran seed company) grafted on two rootstocks of Cucurbita maxima Duchesne× Cucurbita moschata Duchesne (“RS841”; Séminis seed company and “Shintosa Camelforce”; Nunhens seed company) were evaluated during two consecutive years. Each experiment had five treatments, two of which with non-grafted plants at a density of 18,519plants/ha, with and without MB fumigation. The other three treatments consisted of grafted plants in non-fumigated soil with plant densities of 14,815, 11,111, and 9260plants/ha. The use of melon grafted on “RS841” and “Shintosa Camelforce” rootstocks significantly increased the average fruit weight and the total yield of melons in soil without the need for MB. Grafting may be considered an alternative to MB fumigation. With the use of grafted melon plants, planting density may be reduced by 60%, obtaining higher yields than those obtained from non-grafted plants grown on fumigated land. Fruits harvested from grafted plants had equal firmness than those harvested from non-grafted plants, without affecting the content of soluble solids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Papaya can be grown in southeast Spain. • Papaya yield in this place is higher than which obtained in the rest of the world. • Early sex-identified papaya and transplanted in large plants produces early. • Grafting hermaphrodite papaya plants on female plants can be viable. One of the major problems when planting papaya using traditional methods is sex identification of the plant to obtain the highest yield from hermaphrodite fruits. The problem derives from the competence between plants, before sex identification, when three to four plants are planted together. This problem was solved applying a R.A.P.D. technique (Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA) in early sex-identification in the laboratory of the nursery with the first true leaf of the plant. Furthermore, economic costs and wasted vegetal material caused by removing female plants from production can be avoided by grafting hermaphrodite plants onto female plants. The nursery facilities for horticultural plants in Almería allow herbaceous grafting work, as well as the production of balanced relationship between aerial and root biomass. For this reason, an experiment was conducted to evaluate yield parameters in the planting of large and small, sex-identified plants. The plants grown were the main papaya cultivar produced in Continental Europe, called 'Intenzza', and a new cultivar called 'Sweet Sense'. Within a greenhouse cultivation system in the South of Europe, the early stage sex-identified plants transplanted as "large plant" size gave higher yields in contrast with traditional methods of planting papaya, but the technique does not affect fruit size and retains sweetness. From a morphological point of view, although the growing and development technique is different it does not cause significant differences in the papaya by the time of harvest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]