Search Results (4,998)

Soybean breeding programs targeting tofu quality must evaluate their performance within zones of adaptation. A comprehensive study was carried out to examine soybean breeding lines from three maturity groups (MGs; MG0, MG00, and MG000) from 2018 to 2022. Several agronomic, chemical composition and tofu-related quality traits were evaluated, and the associations among traits were investigated. The results showed that genotypes in MG0 yielded higher and matured later, which confirmed that the selection of targeted genotypes for a specific maturity group was successful. Non-imbibed “stone seeds”, an important quality trait for tofu processors, were higher in MG000 lines. Tofu texture using both GDL and MgCl₂ coagulants was positively associated, indicating one coagulant might be enough for screening purposes. The MG by traits biplot showed very clear MG clustering for all genotypes tested from 2018 to 2022, signifying that the MG has a more pronounced effect on the investigated traits than the environmental effects seen in different years, regardless of the MG. Most tofu-related traits were higher and showed stronger associations in MG0 lines compared to the lines in earlier MGs, indicating a need for future effort in shorter season MGs. Overall, this study provided useful information for selecting soybean lines for tofu end-use application targeting specific MGs. Full article

Greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural production systems are a major area of concern in mitigating climate change. Therefore, a study was conducted to investigate the effects of crop residue, nutrient management, and soil moisture on methane (CH₄) emissions from maize, rice, soybean, and wheat production systems. In this study, incubation experiments were conducted with four residue types (maize, rice, soybean, wheat), seven nutrient management treatments {N0P0K0 (no nutrients), N0PK, N100PK, N150PK, N100PK + manure@ 5 Mg ha⁻¹, N100PK + biochar@ 5 Mg ha⁻¹, N150PK+ biochar@ 5 Mg ha⁻¹}, and two soil moisture levels (80% FC, and 60% FC). The results of this study indicated that interactive effects of residue type, nutrient management, and soil moisture significantly affected methane (CH₄) fluxes. After 87 days of incubation, the treatment receiving rice residue with N100PK at 60% FC had the highest cumulative CH₄ mitigation of −19.4 µg C kg⁻¹ soil, and the highest emission of CH₄ was observed in wheat residue application with N0PK at 80% FC (+12.93 µg C kg⁻¹ soil). Nutrient management had mixed effects on CH₄ emissions across residue and soil moisture levels in the following order: N150PK > N0PK > N150PK + biochar > N0P0K0 > N100PK + manure > N100PK + biochar > N100PK. Decreasing soil moisture from 80% FC to 60% FC reduced methane emissions across all residue types and nutrient treatments. Wheat and maize residues exhibited the highest carbon mineralization rates, followed by rice and soybean residues. Nutrient inputs generally decreased residue carbon mineralization. The regression analysis indicated that soil moisture and residue C mineralization were the two dominant predictor variables that estimated 31% of soil methane fluxes in Vertisols. The results of this study show the complexity of methane dynamics and emphasize the importance of integrated crop, nutrient, and soil moisture (irrigation) management strategies that need to be developed to minimize methane emissions from agricultural production systems to mitigate climate change. Full article

Diaporthe longicolla (syn. Phomopsis longicolla) is an important seed-borne fungal pathogen and the primary cause of Phomopsis seed decay (PSD) in soybean. PSD is one of the most devastating seed diseases, reducing soybean seed quality and yield worldwide. As part of a genome sequencing project on the fungal Diaporthe–Phomopsis complex, draft genomes of eight D. longicolla isolates were sequenced and assembled. Sequences of mitochondrial genomes were extracted and analyzed. The circular mitochondrial genomes ranged from 52,534 bp to 58,280 bp long, with a mean GC content of 34%. A total of 14 core protein-coding genes, 23 tRNA, and 2 rRNA genes were identified. Introns were detected in the genes of atp6, cob, cox1, cox2, cox3, nad1, nad2, nad5, and rnl. Three isolates (PL7, PL10, and PL185E) had more introns than other isolates. Approximately 6.4% of the mitochondrial genomes consist of repetitive elements. Moreover, 48 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and were identified. The mitochondrial genome sequences of D. longicolla will be useful to further study the molecular basis of seed-borne pathogens causing seed diseases, investigate genetic variation among isolates, and develop improved control strategies for Phomopsis seed decay of soybean. Full article

Brazil has been one of the largest soybean producers in recent years. The soybean is a legume commonly found in family meals. Among the diseases affecting the grains, Asian soybean rust is one of the most concerning. The fungus causing the disease is spread by the wind, making it difficult to control. Although it has been researched since its first records, not much data are available regarding the macro propagation behavior of spores. Therefore, this research aimed to model its dispersion based on a partial differential equation, the diffusion–advection equation, used by researchers to model the behavior of any pollutant. The terms of this equation were developed from real data, processed by fuzzy logic, and the simulation results were compared with disease records throughout a harvest. By using this approach to model the spatiotemporal dynamics of this fungus, it was possible to simulate its spread satisfactorily. Additionally, its results were used as input variables for a fuzzy system that estimates the susceptibility of a given location to disease development. Full article

Soybean pod count is a crucial aspect of soybean plant phenotyping, offering valuable reference information for breeding and planting management. Traditional manual counting methods are not only costly but also prone to errors. Existing detection-based soybean pod counting methods face challenges due to the crowded and uneven distribution of soybean pods on the plants. To tackle this issue, we propose a Soybean Pod Counting Network (SPCN) for accurate soybean pod counting. SPCN is a density map-based architecture based on Hybrid Dilated Convolution (HDC) strategy and attention mechanism for feature extraction, using the Unbalanced Optimal Transport (UOT) loss function for supervising density map generation. Additionally, we introduce a new diverse dataset, BeanCount-1500, comprising of 24,684 images of 316 soybean varieties with various backgrounds and lighting conditions. Extensive experiments on BeanCount-1500 demonstrate the advantages of SPCN in soybean pod counting with an Mean Absolute Error(MAE) and an Mean Squared Error(MSE) of 4.37 and 6.45, respectively, significantly outperforming the current competing method by a substantial margin. Its excellent performance on the Renshou2021 dataset further confirms its outstanding generalization potential. Overall, the proposed method can provide technical support for intelligent breeding and planting management of soybean, promoting the digital and precise management of agriculture in general. Full article

To clarify the nutritional mechanisms of quercetin mitigation in the digestive and absorptive functions in rats fed protein-oxidized soybean meal, 48 three-week-old male SD rats were randomly allocated into a 2 × 2 factorial design with two soybean meal types (fresh soybean meal or protein-oxidized soybean meal) and two quercetin levels (0 or 400 mg/kg) for a 28-day feeding trial. The protein-oxidized soybean meal treatment decreased (p < 0.05) the relative weights of the pancreas, stomach, and cecum, duodenal villus height, pancreatic and jejunal lipase activities, apparent ileal digestibility of amino acids, and apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, and ether extract. The supplementation of quercetin in the protein-oxidized soybean meal diet reversed (p < 0.05) the decreases in the duodenal length, ileal villus height, lipase activity, apparent ileal digestibility of amino acids, and apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, and ether extract. Transcriptomics revealed that the “alanine transport” and “lipid digestion and absorption” pathways were downregulated by the protein-oxidized soybean meal compared with fresh soybean meal, while the “basic amino acid transmembrane transporter activity” and “lipid digestion and absorption” pathways were upregulated by the quercetin supplementation. Microbiomics revealed that the protein-oxidized soybean meal increased the protein-degrading and inflammation-triggering bacteria in the cecum, while the relative abundances of beneficial bacteria were elevated by the quercetin supplementation. Full article

Maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) are prevalent summer crops planted widely in the Loess Plateau region of China, which is particularly susceptible to severe soil erosion on the sloping farmland. However, which crop exhibits superior soil and water conservation capabilities while maintaining economic viability, and how their performance in soil and water conservation is affected by slope gradient and rainfall intensity remains unclear. The objective of this study was to compare the impacts of maize and soybean on regulating runoff and sediment through rainfall simulation experiments, and explore the main control factors of soil and water conservation benefits. Five slope gradients (8.7, 17.6, 26.8, 36.4, and 46.6%) and two rainfall intensities (40 and 80 mm h⁻¹) were applied at five respective crop growth stages. Both maize and soybean effectively reduced soil and water losses compared with bare ground, although increasing slope gradient and rainfall intensity weakened the vegetation effect. Compared with slope gradient and rainfall intensity, vegetation coverage was the main factor affecting the performance of maize and soybean in conserving soil and water. The average time delay benefit (TDB), runoff reduction benefit (RRB), and sediment reduction benefit (SRB) of soybean (246.48 ± 11.71, 36.34 ± 2.51, and 54.41 ± 3.42%) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those of maize (100.06 ± 6.81, 25.71 ± 1.76, and 43.70 ± 2.91%, respectively) throughout growth. After planting, the increasing rates of vegetation coverage, TDB, RRB, and SRB with time were consistently higher with soybean than maize. Moreover, under the same vegetation coverage, the TDB, RRB, and SRB of soybean were also consistently higher than those of maize. In conclusion, these findings indicate that soybean outperformed maize in terms of soil and water conservation benefits under the experimental conditions, making it more suitable for cultivation on sloping farmland. This finding offers crucial guidance for the cultivation of dry farming in regions plagued by severe soil erosion, facilitating a balance between economic objectives and ecological imperatives. Full article

Dirigent (DIR) genes play a pivotal role in plant development and stress adaptation. Manihot esculenta Crantz, commonly known as cassava, is a drought-resistant plant thriving in tropical and subtropical areas. It is extensively utilized for starch production, bioethanol, and animal feed. However, a comprehensive analysis of the DIR family genes remains unexplored in cassava, a crucial cash and forage crop in tropical and subtropical regions. In this study, we characterize a total of 26 cassava DIRs (MeDIRs) within the cassava genome, revealing their uneven distribution across 13 of the 18 chromosomes. Phylogenetic analysis classified these genes into four subfamilies: DIR-a, DIR-b/d, DIR-c, and DIR-e. Comparative synteny analysis with cassava and seven other plant species (Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), poplar (Populus trichocarpa), soybean (Glycine max), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), rice (Oryza sativa), maize (Zea mays), and wheat (Triticum aestivum)) provided insights into their likely evolution. We also predict protein interaction networks and identify cis-acting elements, elucidating the functional differences in MeDIR genes. Notably, MeDIR genes exhibited specific expression patterns across different tissues and in response to various abiotic and biotic stressors, such as pathogenic bacteria, cadmium chloride (CdCl₂), and atrazine. Further validation through quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) confirmed the response of DIR genes to osmotic and salt stress. These findings offer a comprehensive resource for understanding the characteristics and biological functions of MeDIR genes in cassava, enhancing our knowledge of plant stress adaptation mechanisms. Full article

Amid the rapid development of modern society, the widespread use of plastic products has led to significant environmental issues, including the accumulation of non-degradable waste and extensive consumption of non-renewable resources. Developing healable, recyclable, bio-based materials from abundant renewable resources using diverse dynamic interactions attracts increasing global attention. However, achieving a good balance between the self-healing capacity and mechanical performance, such as strength and toughness, remains challenging. In our study, we address this challenge by developing a new type of dynamic network from epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) with good strength and toughness. For the synthetic strategy, a thiol–epoxy click reaction was conducted to functionalize ESO with thiol and hydroxyl groups. Subsequently, a curing reaction with isocyanates generated dynamic thiourethane and urethane bonds with different bonding energies in the dynamic networks to reach a trade-off between dynamic features and mechanical properties; amongst these, the thiourethane bonds with a lower bonding energy provide good dynamic features, while the urethane bonds with a higher bonding energy ensure good mechanical properties. The incorporation of flexible PBAT segments to form the rational multi-phase structure with crystalline domains further enhanced the products. A typical sample, OTSO₁₀₀-PBAT₁₀₀, exhibited a tensile strength of 33.2 MPa and an elongation at break of 1238%, demonstrating good healing capacity and desirable mechanical performance. This study provides a promising solution to contemporary environmental and energy challenges by developing materials that combine mechanical and repair properties. It addresses the specific gap of achieving a trade-off between tensile strength and elongation at break in bio-based self-healing materials, promising a wide range of applications. Full article

Pest control is an important guarantee for agricultural production. Pests are mostly light-avoiding and often gather on the bottom of crop leaves. However, spraying agricultural machinery mostly adopts top-down spraying, which suffers from low pesticide utilization and poor insect removal effect. Therefore, the upward spraying mode and intelligent nozzle have gradually become the research hotspot of precision agriculture. This paper designs a leaf-bottom pest control robot with adaptive chassis and adjustable selective nozzle. Firstly, the adaptive chassis is designed based on the MacPherson suspension, which uses shock absorption to drive the track to swing within a 30° angle. Secondly, a new type of cone angle adjustable selective nozzle was developed, which achieves adaptive selective precision spraying under visual guidance. Then, based on a convolutional block attention module (CBAM), the multi-CBAM-YOLOv5s network model was improved to achieve a 70% recognition rate of leaf-bottom spotted bad point in video streams. Finally, functional tests of the adaptive chassis and the adjustable selective spraying system were conducted. The data indicate that the adaptive chassis can adapt to diverse single-ridge requirements of soybeans and corn while protecting the ridge slopes. The selective spraying system achieves 70% precision in pesticide application, greatly reducing the use of pesticides. The scheme explores a ridge-friendly leaf-bottom pest control plan, providing a technical reference for improving spraying effect, reducing pesticide usage, and mitigating environmental pollution. Full article

Understanding the soil bacterial communities involved in carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling can inform beneficial tillage and crop rotation practices for sustainability and crop production. This study evaluated soil bacterial diversity, compositional structure, and functions associated with C-N cycling at two soil depths (0–15 cm and 15–30 cm) under long-term tillage (conventional tillage [CT] and no-till [NT]) and crop rotation (monocultures of corn, soybean, and wheat and corn–soybean–wheat rotation) systems. The soil microbial communities were characterized by metabarcoding the 16S rRNA gene V4–V5 regions using Illumina MiSeq. The results showed that long-term NT reduced the soil bacterial diversity at 15–30 cm compared to CT, while no significant differences were found at 0–15 cm. The bacterial communities differed significantly at the two soil depths under NT but not under CT. Notably, over 70% of the tillage-responding KEGG orthologs (KOs) associated with C fixation (primarily in the reductive citric acid cycle) were more abundant under NT than under CT at both depths. The tillage practices significantly affected bacteria involved in biological nitrogen (N₂) fixation at the 0–15 cm soil depth, as well as bacteria involved in denitrification at both soil depths. The crop type and rotation regimes had limited effects on bacterial diversity and structure but significantly affected specific C-N-cycling genes. For instance, three KOs associated with the Calvin–Benson cycle for C fixation and four KOs related to various N-cycling processes were more abundant in the soil of wheat than in that of corn or soybean. These findings indicate that the long-term tillage practices had a greater influence than crop rotation on the soil bacterial communities, particularly in the C- and N-cycling processes. Integrated management practices that consider the combined effects of tillage, crop rotation, and crop types on soil bacterial functional groups are essential for sustainable agriculture. Full article

To address the problem of the low nitrogen (N) content of carbon materials prepared through the direct carbonization of food waste, soybean meal and egg whites with high N contents were selected to carry out carbonization experiments on food waste. At 220 °C, the effects of hydrothermal carbonization and microwave carbonization on the properties of supercapacitor electrode materials were investigated. The results show that food waste doped with soybean meal and egg whites could achieve good N doping. At a current density of 1 A·g⁻¹, the specific capacitance of the doped carbon prepared by hydrothermal doping is as high as 220.00 F·g⁻¹, which is much greater than that of the raw material prepared through the hydrothermal carbonization of food waste alone, indicating that the hydrothermal carbonization reactions of soybean meal, egg white, and food waste promote the electrochemical properties of the prepared carbon materials well. However, when a variety of raw materials are mixed for pyrolysis carbonization, different raw materials cannot be fully mixed in the pyrolysis process, and under the etching action of potassium hydroxide, severe local etching and local nonetching occur, resulting in a severe increase in the pore size distribution and deterioration of the electrochemical performance of the prepared carbon materials. At a current density of 1 A·g⁻¹, the specific capacitance of these prepared carbon materials is 157.70 F·g⁻¹, whereas it is only 62.00 F·g⁻¹ at a high current density of 20 A·g⁻¹. Therefore, this study suggests that the hydrothermal carbonization process is superior to the microwave pyrolysis carbonization process for preparing supercapacitor electrode materials with multiple samples doped with each other. Full article

The aviation sector makes up 11% of all transportation emissions and is considered a “hard to abate” sector since, due to the long distances to be traveled, opportunities for electrification are rather limited. Therefore, since there are no alternatives to fuels, Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs), or fuels produced from biomass, have recently been developed to reduce climate-changing emissions in the aviation sector. Using Life Cycle Assessment, this research evaluated the environmental compatibility of different SAF production routes from seven biomasses: four food feedstocks (Soybean, Palm, Rapeseed, and Camelina), one non-food feedstock (Jatropha curcas L.), and two wastes (Waste Cooking Oil, or WCO, and Tallow). The evaluation was carried out using SimaPro 9.5 software. The results showed that the two potentially most favorable options could be Camelina and Palma, as they show minimal environmental impacts in 4 and 7 out of 18 impact categories, respectively. Soybean, on the other hand, appears to be the least sustainable precursor. Considering GWP, SAF production could reduce the values compared to fossil fuel by 2.8–3.6 times (WCO), 1.27–1.66 times (Tallow), 4.6–5.8 times (Palm), 3.4–4.3 times (Jatropha), 1.05–1.32 times (Rapeseed), and 4.36–5.5 times (Camelina), demonstrating the good environmental impact of these pathways. Finally, the sensitivity analysis showed that SAF production from waste could be an environmentally friendly option, with rather low environmental impacts, in the range of 5.13 g CO₂ eq/MJ for Tallow and 3.12 g CO₂ eq/MJ for WCO. However, some of the energy would have to come from sustainable energy carriers such as biomethane and renewable sources such as photovoltaic energy. Full article

Lard is highly appreciated for its flavor. However, it has not been elucidated how to consume lard while at the same time eliminating its adverse effects on postpartum cognitive function. Female mice were divided into three groups (n = 10): soybean oil (SO), lard oil (LO), and a mixture of soybean oil and lard at a ratio of 1:1 (LS). No significant difference was observed between the SO and LS groups in behavioral testing of the maternal mice, but the LO group was significantly worse compared with these two groups. Moreover, the SO and LS supplementation increased docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and total n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels in the brain and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing bacteria in feces, thereby mitigating neuroinflammation and lowering the p-ERK(1/2)/ERK(1/2), p-CREB/CREB, and BDNF levels in the brain compared to the LO group. Collectively, the LS group inhibited postpartum cognitive impairment by regulating the brain fatty acid composition, neuroinflammation, gut microbiota, and the SCFA/ERK(1/2)/CREB/BDNF signaling pathway compared to lard. Full article

Biochar return to the field has been widely explored, but there is a problematic disconnect between biochar preparation and biochar return to the field. In this study, soybean straw is used as a raw material and is sieved into two components: 60-mesh (0.250 mm) and 110-mesh (0.130 mm). Four kinds of biochar were obtained by pyrolysis under the condition of no heat preservation and heat preservation for 60 min. The biochar was applied to the soil, and the effects of biochar on soil and capsicum growth were analyzed by Spearman correlation. Compared with the control group, soil pH, soil electrical conductivity, and soil organic matter decomposition were increased by 0.58, 101 μs/cm, and 9.48%, respectively. The fruit quantity, plant height, water, fat, soluble solid, and titrable acidity of capsicum were increased by 1, 0.55, 0.08, 0.62, 0.67, and 0.7 times, respectively. Spearman correlation analysis showed that soil properties and capsicum growth were most affected by biochar’s specific surface area (SSA). Therefore, increasing the biomass mesh number and heat preservation time is beneficial to increasing the SSA of biochar and facilitating the return of biochar to the field and the best preparation conditions are 110-mesh soybean straw biomass pyrolysis and heat preservation for 60 min. Full article