Flower-visiting insects may be pollinators or, conversely, unrelated to the reproductive process of plants. Interactions between pollinating and non-pollinating flower visitors can negatively influence pollen transfer. Little is known about the effects of bee visits on pollination of squash (Cucurbita spp.) flowers and their interactions with the presence of other floral visitors. The study was conducted at the Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias (Universidad Nacional de Rosario) in the south of Santa Fe (Argentina) and evaluated the effect of the presence of non-pollinating floral visitors on bee foraging in the flowers of two cultivated squash species. Flower sex and squash species C. maxima and C. moschata were included as variables. A total of 937 visitors were recorded in 403 flowers. Bees of the tribes Eucerini and Apini were the most abundant pollinators with an average of 2.3 individuals per flower during 10 minutes of observation. Diptera, flower sex and squash species did not influence the number of bee visits, whereas the prolonged stay of coleoptera and formicids negatively affected the presence of bees on both squash species. The presence of coleoptera reduced bee visits by 38%, while in the presence of ants, bees did not visit the flowers. The theft of nectar and pollen by non-pollinating floral visitors could have a negative effect on the reproductive success of squash.

Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum L.) was introduced to Mexico in 1959. Currently there is an estimated planted area of 835.96 ha and a production of 8,730.27 tons. The fruit is mainly consumed fresh, but quickly loses its external appearance due to dehydration and browning, which limits its commercialization, an alternative may be minimal processing and adjuvant treatments that extend the shelf life. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of coating with cactus mucilage (Opuntia ficus-indica), in the preservation of minimally processed rambutan stored at 5 °C, in two types of packaging. The rambutan was sanitized with chlorinated water (80 ppm), the epicarp was removed and batches were formed for each treatment. The factors were type of container (polyethylene bag and polystyrene container), coating (with and without coating) and time (0, 3, 6, 6, 10 and 12 d). The coating consisted of mucilage obtained from developing cladodes (15–21 cm), applied by dipping. All treatments were stored at 5 ℃. Total soluble solids (TSS), firmness (N) and color (L*, a*, b*, chroma and hue angle) were evaluated at each storage period. Also, 40 untrained judges (47% male and 53% female) evaluated sensory acceptability, consumption intention and acceptance/rejection. The results showed significant effect (p ≤ 0.05) of package type on firmness, chroma and hue angle. Coating had an effect on L* value and product acceptability. Consumption intention was higher, and was maintained for 10 days, in fruits with coating and packaged in polyethylene bags, stored at 5 ℃.

In order to seek management alternatives for anthracnose caused by the fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides in blackberry (Rubus glaucus Benth.), at the Tibaitatá Research Center of the Colombian Agricultural Research Corporation AGROSAVIA (formerly CORPOICA), an experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of the application of the major elements nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and calcium (Ca) on infections of the fungus C. gloeosporioides strain-52. For this purpose, a randomized complete block design was used with an arrangement of treatments in an orthogonal central composite design. To evaluate the relationship of fertilization levels and disease severity, an artificial inoculation was made on thorny blackberry stems using 0.5 cm mycelial discs at a concentration of 9.53 × 104 conidia. Observations consisted of: disease severity (S), incubation period (IP) and rate of development (r). Data analysis was done by the cluster method on the severity variable, a Pearson correlation analysis between variables, as well as a regression to estimate the effect of nutrients applied on the severity of C. gloeosporioides strain-52. The treatments were concentrated in four groups with the ranges (in parentheses) S (15.9% and 91.8%), PI (9 and 15.3) and Tr (0.0254 and 0.0468). A positive and significant correlation was observed between S and r (P < 0.001) and a negative correlation between PI with S and r (P < 0.001). By means of regression analysis, a linear model was generated that showed a reduction in disease severity with increasing N dose and an increase with the levels of P and Ca applied.

Black Death is a virosis caused by the Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV), transmitted by thrips, and represents a complex problem since weed hosts for thrips vectors and the virus is accentuated as virus reservoir and vector sustenance. The objective was to generate, from a list of weeds that act as hosts for the four vector thrips species in the horticultural belt of La Plata, a relative risk categorization as an epidemiological component. Between 2000 and 2003, three sites were selected within the horticultural belt of La Plata (Buenos Aires, Argentina) where flowers of 21 weed hosts of Frankliniella occidentalis, Frankliniella schultzei, Frankliniella gemina and Thrips tabaci were sampled monthly (60 in total). For analysis, the sampling results were grouped into three annual seasons, corresponding to the phenology of greenhouse crops in the region. For the four thrips vectors, the abundance of adult thrips and the presence of their larvae were considered using an unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis and the DGC multivariate mean comparison test to obtain the number of significant groups. From this base grouping, three risk groups (RG) were defined as a source of inoculum for these vectors: high (H), medium (M) and low (L) according to the status of the reproductive host (RH). The groups that emerged were: (H): RH of F occidentalis, (M): RH of F. schultzei and T. tabaci, and (L): RH of F. gemina or non-vector thrips. Periodic survey and early flowering suppression of nine weed species categorized as high risk is proposed. This implies the continuous monitoring of three weed species, to which other companion weeds are added according to the growing season.

In this paper, a new compound health drink of aloe and balsam pear was developed by using high-quality aloe and balsam pear as main raw materials and white granulated sugar and citric acid as auxiliary materials. The effects of the addition of aloe juice, balsam pear juice, white granulated sugar and citric acid on the sensory quality of the beverage were investigated and analyzed. On this basis, the orthogonal test was conducted to determine the best formula for the beverage. The results showed that the order of the factors affecting the quality of the finished product was the addition of aloe juice > white granulated sugar > citric acid > balsam pear juice; the optimal formula is 24% aloe juice, 10% balsam pear juice, 7% white granulated sugar and 0.09% citric acid and the resulting beverage was bright in color, sweet and sour with good flavor, and its physical, chemical and health indicators meet the national standards.

In order to optimize the environmental factors for cucumber growth, a fertilizer and water control system was designed based on the Internet of Things (IoT) system. The IoT system monitors environmental factors such as temperature, light and soil Ec value, and uses image processing to obtain four growth indicators such as cucumber stem height, stem diameter size, number of leaves and number of fruit set to establish a single growth indicator model for temperature, light, soil Ec value and growth stage, and the four growth indicators were fused to obtain the comprehensive growth indicator I_c for cucumber, and calculates its deviation to determine the cucumber growth status. Based on the integrated growth index I_c of cucumber, a soil Ec control model was established to provide the optimal environment and fertilizer ration for cucumber at different growth stages to achieve stable and high yield of cucumber.