Ireneo L. Lit, Jr., Cristian C. Lucañas, Joanne A. Langres, Lolita M. Dolores, Ruby Ana P. Laude, and Merdelyn T. Caasi-Lit Received: July 06, 2023 / Revised: October 16, 2023 / Accepted: October 26, 2023 Samples of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) plants infected with witches’ broom disease were gathered from 13 provinces in the Philippines. Mealybugs were observed to occur in nine out of the 13 cumulative samples. The most predominant among several mealybug species observed was identified as Pseudococcus jackbeardsleyi Gimpel and Miller. P. jackbeardsleyi is not yet known to transmit phytoplasma, especially the one causing cassava witches’ broom (CWB). However, its occurrence in almost 70% of the CWB-infected samples provides circumstantial evidence that it may be related to the spread of the pathogen. This formal report of identification is in support of the studies on the possible role of mealybug species on CWB phytoplasma transmission.

Jerah Mystica B. Novenario and Flor A. Ceballo-Alcantara Received: October 06, 2022 / Revised: January 05, 2024 / Accepted: January 09, 2024 Sweet potato is grown in tropical countries for its edible tubers, which have become an essential food source. It is usually propagated through vine-cutting, which can be obtained from harvested plants or nurseries intended for cutting production only. The recurrent use of vines may cause increased weevil infestation. The crop is known to be infested with insect pests. More importantly, the sweet potato weevil, Cylas formicarius, targets the tubers, thus, causing the economic losses. Sweet potato farmers in Tarlac claim that only one sweet potato cultivar is being attacked by C. formicarius, however, it was found in this experiment that the feeding and feeding behavior of the weevil were not affected by the cultivar provided, such that there is no significant differences observed in the average amount of tubers consumed by both male and female ...

Mark Gabriel S. Sagarbarria, John Albert M. Caraan, Patrick G. Lipio, Ian Bien M. Oloc-oloc, Kazuo N. Watanabe, and Desiree M. Hautea Received: April 28, 2023 / Revised: December 13, 2023 / Accepted: January 16, 2024 Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is one of the most important vegetables grown and consumed in the Philippines hence, continuous breeding programs are vital to maintain the supply of this economically important crop. This study demonstrates the first successful Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation and plant regeneration of the Philippine eggplant cultivar ‘PH 11424’, also known as ‘Mistisa’. Cotyledons from 2-wk-old seedlings were used as explants, which were transformed with disarmed Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 harboring a binary vector for CRISPR/Cas9 expression and hygromycin phosphotransferase (HPT), an antibiotic selection marker. Growth of shoot primordia from the agro-infected explants was observed during selective culture with 7.5 ppm hygrom...

Selcuk Ugurluay and Ali Somay Received: November 09, 2022 / Revised: October 02, 2023 / Accepted: October 03, 2023 The peanut bagging process is not mechanized, it requires a large amount of human labor. In addition, the shovel or canister used in bagging breaks the peanut shell that causes losses. The purpose of this study is to reduce the required workforce by mechanizing the peanut bagging process, and to determine the optimum working criteria (hose diameter and air velocity) of the prototype machine. A peanut pneumatic bagging machine powered by a tractor power takeoff (PTO) was designed and fabricated to convey peanut pods from the ground and fill the product into the bags. To determine the optimum working conditions of the machine, tests are conducted using three hose diameters (100, 120, and 160 mm) and three air speeds (23, 25, and 27 m s-1 ). Machine work capacity, fuel consumption, and physical product damage were identified. The terminal velocity value of the peanut pods ...

Ghorban Ghorbani Nasrabad, Meysam Abedinpour, and Abotaleb Hazarjaribi Received: May 02, 2022 / Revised: March 27, 2023 / Accepted: March 31, 2023 Cotton plays an important role in increasing productivity in the agricultural sector and related industries in the province of Golestan, Iran. However, the cultivation areas decreased considerably in the last couple of decades due to the high costs of production, water scarcity, and climate change. To encourage sustainable increase in production, crop simulation models are parameterized for each region using observed field data. In this study, the AquaCrop model was calibrated and validated for cotton under different field management scenarios using data from a 3-yr field experiment, which was conducted at the research farm of the National Cotton Research Institute, Golestan, Iran. The field experiment comprised six irrigation treatments (W1: rainfed/no irrigation, W2: irrigation at 33% of water requirement [WR], W3: irrigation at 66% WR,...

Victorino A. Bato and John Osbert M. Alindogan Received: January 16, 2021 / Revised: June 29, 2023 / Accepted: November 07, 2023 Instructions on building a do-it-yourself soil moisture sensor using Arduino microcontrollers abound on the Internet. These do-it-yourself soil moisture sensors are favorite projects by both plant and microcontroller enthusiasts because the parts are affordable and the end product is functional. In the absence of proper calibration, these soil moisture sensors cannot generate usable information on the status of plant-available-water in the soil. This research demonstrates the calibration of an Arduino-based soil moisture sensor using the soil moisture characteristic curve of a clay loam soil. Van Genuchten’s model was used to generate an equation and various parameters specific to the soil. An acceptable correlation was achieved between the soil volumetric moisture content and raw sensor value, with an R2 = 0.63. A highly significant result was achieved on...

Soner Çelen and Sultan Pektaş Received: September 12, 2022 / Revised: October 04, 2023 / Accepted: October 13, 2023 This study investigated the theoretical, analytical, and experimental effects of parameters such as bed height, air velocity, and air temperature on drying using a fluidized bed dryer. The objective was to examine how these parameters influence the drying process of salt products in a pilot fluidized bed dryer and establish the foundation for the development of a future full-scale machine. Salt products with an initial moisture content of 3% were used in all experimental trials. The pressure drop was determined by calculating the minimum fluidization rate, Archimedes and Reynolds number. The calculated values were compared with the analyses conducted using the Multiphase Flow with Interphase eXchanges (MFIX) program and the tests performed on the pilot-scale static fluidized bed dryer equipment to verify the accuracy. Upon comparing the parameters in fluidized bed dryi...

Jey-R S. Ventura and Ruby Lynn G. Ventura Received: April 13, 2022 / Revised: December 01, 2023 / Accepted: January 12, 2024 This research evaluated the techno-economic feasibility of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) production using corn stover as a substrate for the fermentation process. The target PHB plant production was set at 1000 t PHB per yr, with a daily production of about 3 t PHB. The required corn stover biomass was around 12 000 t per yr. The economic analysis of this study suggested that 91.13 M US$ is needed to put up the targeted plant production capacity, with 94% of the total investment to be allotted to the direct fixed capital cost. Annual operating cost was rated at 4.71 M US$ per yr. Fixing the return of investment (ROI) at 7%, the base selling price of PHB was computed at 11.80 US$ kg-1 . On the other hand, increasing the PHB productivity from 0.34 g PHB L-1 d -1 of the batch operation to a 1.20 g PHB L-1 d -1 of the continuous process may reduce the PHB price to 6.5...

Mary Ann U. Baradi, Jessica M. Solero, Clarence T. Dangcil, Gerome A. Corpuz, and Marissa V. Romero Received: March 03, 2023 / Revised: October 06, 2023 / Accepted: November 07, 2023 This study sought to determine the effects of redrying techniques (no redrying or Control, 2-h, 4-h, and 6-h redrying with stirring every 30 min, Farmer’s Practice or 6-h redrying with one stirring) on grain quality of stored inorganic and organic paddy rice as well as the redrying method that gives the best quality rice. PSB Rc82 rice harvested in October 2016 was used in the experiment conducted in February 2017. Quality parameters evaluated were moisture content, brown rice, total milled rice, crude protein content in percent, total phenolic content, and 2-2 diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity. PSB Rc82 paddy exposed to various redrying techniques had moisture contents ranging between 9.10% – 11.60% moisture content (wet basis) (MCw.b.). Brown rice (70.19% – 72.52%), to...

Shielameh Peralta-Milan, Osamu Baba, and Severino G. Salmo III Received: June 03, 2023 / Revised: October 16, 2023 / Accepted: January 02, 2024 Study site selection is essential for the success of many fisheries-related programs. A thorough site selection could provide transparency in the decision-making process and optimize resources. In this research, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach was used to select sites for a market study of reef-associated seafood in Alaminos City, Northwestern Philippines. Out of the 10 coastal barangays, four (Lucap, Sabangan, Telbang, and Victoria) were initially chosen, and the difference between these sites and the priority sites generated from AHP was examined. Five decision criteria and 10 alternatives (coastal barangays) were analyzed to calculate priority weights using pairwise comparisons. The AHP analysis showed that among the set of criteria, the presence of coral reefs, registered number of fishers, proximity to public market, and e...