Prevalence of Salmonella in Fresh Produce Tomatoes Sold in Open Market in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Tomato is a widely consumed vegetable in Burkina Faso and throughout the world. However, when handled improperly, it can serve as a vector of pathogen transmission to human if ingested raw or through cross-contamination with cooked food. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Salmonella spp from tomatoes sold in the markets of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and characteristics of vending conditions. One hundred and ninety-eight (198) different tomato samples were randomly purchased from one hundred and thirteen (113) different vendors in the markets of Ouagadougou. The samples were examined and classified into three categories according to their texture and the level of deterioration. The prevalence of Salmonella spp identification was determined using standard microbiological methods. A survey was conducted using a questionnaire on transport and vending conditions for tomatoes. In total, Salmonella prevalence was 19.19% in all tomato’s samples analyzed and was 18.18% for intact category, 22.73% in D2 category and 16.67% in category D4. The survey revealed poor transport and sales conditions for the majority of tomato sellers. The present study revealed the presence of Salmonella in tomatoes samples. These results highlight the risk associated with the consumption of tomatoes if hygienic practices are not respected during tomatoes handling and preparation. The results of the study also show the need to wash tomatoes systematically after purchase with a disinfectant, especially tomatoes sold in open markets in developing countries.

Nitrogen application levels based on critical nitrogen absorption regulate processing tomatoes productivity, nitrogen uptake, nitrate distributions, and root growth in Xinjiang, China

The unreasonable nitrogen(N)supply and low productivity are the main factors restricting the sustainable development of processing tomatoes.In addition,the mechanism by which the N application strategy affects root growth and nitrate distributions in processing tomatoes remains unclear.In this study,we applied four N application levels to a field(including 0(N0),200(N200),300(N300),and 400(N400)kg/hm^(2))based on the critical N absorption ratio at each growth stage(planting stage to flowering stage:22%;fruit setting stage:24%;red ripening stage:45%;and maturity stage:9%).The results indicated that N300 treatment significantly improved the aboveground dry matter(DM),yield,N uptake,and nitrogen use efficiency(NUE),while N400 treatment increased nitrate nitrogen(NO_(3)^(-)-N)residue in the 20–60 cm soil layer.Temporal variations of total root dry weight(TRDW)and total root length(TRL)showed a single-peak curve.Overall,N300 treatment improved the secondary root parameter of TRDW,while N400 treatment improved the secondary root parameter of TRL.The grey correlation coefficients indicated that root dry weight density(RDWD)in the surface soil(0–20 cm)had the strongest relationship with yield,whereas root length density(RLD)in the middle soil(20–40 cm)had a strong relationship with yield.The path model indicated that N uptake is a crucial factor affecting aboveground DM,TRDW,and yield.The above results indicate that N application levels based on critical N absorption improve the production of processing tomatoes by regulating N uptake and root distribution.Furthermore,the results of this study provide a theoretical basis for precise N management.

Determining the Effects of Selected Organic Fertilizer on Growth and Yields of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum: Var. Rio Grande Tomatoes) in Mundri West County, Western Equatoria State, South Sudan

Worldwide, the demand for agro-organic foods that are healthy, nutritious, and environmentally friendly is increasing dramatically across all nations among consumers. Tomatoes being one of the dietary requirements in almost every meal is not exceptional and its availability in the market all year round is very important to farmers as well as consumers because it is highly demanded as a vegetable par excellence;which is either eaten raw in salads, cooked or processed into liquid ingredients. This study investigates the impact of chicken, goat, and cow manure treatments on tomato plant growth response to height, leaf length, and width, as well as fruit yield. The experimental field trials were conducted over two planting seasons in Mundri West County. It followed a Complete Randomized Design (CRD) approach, consisting of four blocks. Each block contained three treatments replicated four times and a control group. The data of measured parameters from all 16 plots were subjected to one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) using the Gen Stat 14th Edition software. The findings indicate significant differences (P < 0.05) among all the different organic manure applications on tomato plant growth parameters compared to the control group. Chicken manure resulted in the tallest tomato plants (30.1 and 37.9 cm), longest leaves (9.9 and 10.4 cm), and widest leaves (2.1 and 2.5 cm) in both seasons respectively. The study showed plots treated with chicken manure had a highly significant impact (P < 0.05) on the prevalence of aphids (1.0) and white flies (1.4) with the lowest value compared to those with cow and goat manure applied. Additionally, chicken manure led to the highest yields (39.30 and 49.49 tons/ha) in both seasons. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that using chicken manure effectively improves the performance of Rio Grande Tomatoes, and thus, farmers are encouraged to utilize chicken manure to maximize their tomato yields.

Characterization of the Causal Organism of Soft Rot of Tomatoes and Other Vegetables and Evaluation of Its Most Aggressive Isolates

To isolate the causal organism of soft rot of vegetables, diseased samples of potato, tomato, carrot, chilies, and bell pepper, were analyzed in the lab, using nutrient agar (NA) and/or the enrichment host (Bell pepper) technique. Successful isolations were purified by sub-culturing, identified as Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora through biochemical tests and their pathogenicity was confirmed through inoculation on green tomato fruits. The isolates were tested for their aggressiveness to find out the most aggressive one in term of producing maximum soft rot on tomatoes. CRD (completely randomized design), with four replication was used and data were analyzed using LSD (least significant test) test. Among the five isolates evaluated for aggressiveness on tomato fruits, chili isolate was found to be the most aggressive followed by tomato and potato isolates producing 22.3 mm, 7.9 mm, and 7.8 mm diameter soft rot lesions, respectively.

Use of By-Products from the Tequila Industry. Part 12: Composted Agave Bagasse for Growing Grape Tomatoes

Here, we evaluated the possibility of growing grape tomatoes on three different mixtures of composted agave bagasse substrate. Tomatoes were grown in 28-L pots for 106 days under a drip irrigation system with a hydroponic crop nutrient solution. The average production of grape tomatoes was 338.9, 358.9, and 325.7 g/pot/cut for each of the substrates studied, and no significant difference was observed between treatments (p > 0.5). The mean of numbers of grape tomatoes were 34.6, 38.8, and 34.2/pot/cut for each of the substrates studied, and no significant difference was observed between treatments (p > 0.5). The mean weight of individual grape tomatoes was about 10.4 g for all of the substrates tested. These results confirmed the notion that a composted agave bagasse substrate could replace an expensive imported substrate. The remaining challenge is to produce agave bagasse substrate commercially, because to date, agave bagasse substrates have only been produced on a pilot scale for testing. Therefore, it is necessary to implement a stabilized process for producing agave bagasse at a commercial level. This process must consider economic production costs and market value to ensure that the product is competitive with other substrates typically used in soilless crops.

Estimating the Efficiency of Summer Tomatoes Production: A Case Study in Borg El-Arab Area, Egypt

Tomatoes are one of the most popular and widely consumed vegetable crops worldwide. Egypt is characterized by its tomatoes production, whether for domestic use or export. Summer tomato farmers’ income has recently been reduced due to high production costs, particularly in new lands. As a result, the purpose of this research is to evaluate the economic efficiency of the elements used in summer tomato production in the Borg El-Arab area of Egypt as a new land. According to the findings, the summer tomato crop produced a reasonable profit for small-holding farmers in the study area. However, the elements are being used excessively in the production process, particularly seeds and fertilizers, resulting in increased production costs and failure to achieve economic efficiency of the elements used in the study area.

Exogenous GSH protects tomatoes against salt stress by modulating photosystem Ⅱ efficiency, absorbed light allocation and H2O2-scavenging system in chloroplasts

The effects of exogenous GSH（reduced glutathione）on photosynthetic characteristics,photosystem Ⅱ efficiency,absorbed light energy allocation and the H2O2-scavenging system in chloroplasts of salt-stressed tomato（Solanum lycopersicum L.）seedlings were studied using hydroponic experiments in a greenhouse.Application of exogenous GSH ameliorated saline-induced growth inhibition,the disturbed balance of Na＋ and Cl- ions and Na＋/K＋ ratios,and the reduction of the net photosynthetic rate（Pn）.GSH also increased the maximal photochemical efficiency of PSⅡ（Fv/Fm）,the electron transport rate（ETR）,the photochemical quenching coefficient（qP）,and the non-photochemical quenching coefficient（NPQ）.In addition,GSH application increased the photochemical quantum yield（Y（Ⅱ））and relative deviation from full balance between the photosystems（β/α-1）and decreased the PSⅡ excitation pressure（1-qP）and quantum yield of non-regulated energy dissipation（Y（NO））in leaves of salt-stressed tomatoes without BSO（L-buthionine-sulfoximine,an inhibitor of key GSH synthesis enzymeγ-glutamylcysteine synthetase）or with BSO.Further,the addition of GSH depressed the accumulation of H2O2 and malondialdehyde（MDA）,induced the redistribution of absorbed light energy in PSⅡ reaction centers,and improved the endogenous GSH content,GSH/GSSH ratio and activities of H2O2-scavenging enzymes（including superoxidase dismutase（SOD）,catalase（CAT）,peroxidase（POD）and key enzymes in the AsA-GSH cycle and Grx system）in the chloroplasts of salt-stressed plants with or without BSO.Therefore,GSH application alleviates inhibition of salt-induced growth and photosynthesis mainly by overcoming stomatal limitations,improving the PSⅡ efficiency,and balancing the uneven distribution of light energy to reduce the risk of ROS generation and to mediate chloroplast redox homeostasis and the antioxidant defense system to protect the chloroplasts from oxidative damage.Thus,GSH may be used as a potential tool for alleviating salt stress in tomato plants.

Correlation Between Endogenous Hormones of Stem Apices and Fruit Locule Numbers in Tomatoes During Floral Bud Differentiation Stages

The study was designed to elucidate the changes in the endogenous hormones of stem apices in tomatoes and the function of correlative endogenous hormones in tomatoes during floral bud differentiation stages. The tomato parents were crossed and reverse crossed by using two inbred lines of multi-locule （MLK1） and few-locule （FL1） with significant difference, and the relationship between endogenous hormones GA3, IAA, and ABA levels and ovary locule numbers of parents and progeny during floral bud differentiation initial stage, floral bud differentiation stage, sepal petal formation stage, carpel formation initial stage, and ovary locule complete formation stage was studied. GA3 levels in P1, P2, F1, and RF1 were consistent with locule numbers, and IAA and ABA levels were reverse to ovary locule numbers during the key stage. The correlation showed that, during sepal petal formation stage, the ovary locule numbers were positively correlated with GA3, GA3/IAA, and GA3/ABA, and were negatively correlated with IAA and ABA. It was speculated that increasing GA3 levels or decreasing IAA and ABA levels of stem apices in tomato might be able to enhance ovary locule numbers. The sepal petal formation stage was an important stage which regulated endogenous hormones in the ovary locule formation.

Effects of biodegradable mulch on soil water and heat conditions,yield and quality of processing tomatoes by drip irrigation

To combat the problem of residual film pollution and ensure the sustainable development of agriculture in oasis areas,a field experiment was carried out in 2019 at the Wuyi Farm Corps Irrigation Center Test Station in Urumqi,Northwest China.Four types of biodegradable mulches,traditional plastic mulchs and a control group(bare land;referred to as CK)were compared,including a total of six different treatments.Effects of mulching on soil water and heat conditions as well as the yield and quality of processing tomatoes under drip irrigation were examined.In addition,a comparative analysis of economic benefits of biodegradable mulches was performed.Principal component analysis and gray correlation analysis were used to evaluate suitable mulching varieties for planting processing tomatoes under drip irrigation.Our results show that,compared with CK,biodegradable mulches and traditional plastic mulch have a similar effect on retaining soil moisture at the seedling stage but significantly increase soil moisture by 0.5%-1.5%and 1.5%-3.0%in the middle and late growth periods(P<0.050),respectively.The difference in the thermal insulation effect between biodegradable mulch and plastic mulch gradually reduces as the crop grows.Compared with plastic mulch,the average soil temperature at 5-20 cm depth under biodegradable mulches is significantly lowered by 2.04°C-3.52°C and 0.52°C-0.88°C(P<0.050)at the seedling stage and the full growth period,respectively,and the water use efficiency,average fruit yield,and production-investment ratio under biodegradable mulches were reduced by 0.89%-6.63%,3.39%-8.69%,and 0.51%-6.33%(P<0.050),respectively.The comprehensive evaluation analysis suggests that the black oxidized biological double-degradation ecological mulch made from eco-benign plastic is the optimal film type under the study condition.Therefore,from the perspective of sustainable development,biodegradable mulch is a competitive alternative to plastic mulch for large-scale tomato production under drip irrigation in the oasis.

Effect of organic fertilizers used in sandy soil on the growth of tomatoes

In order to reveal the regulating capacity of organic fertilizers on sandy soil, pots experiments were carried out. The growth of tomatoes planted on sandy soil amended by organic fertilizers was measured. Organic fertilizers can be helpful to improve the plant height, stem diameter, the aerial parts fresh weight, root fresh weight, leaf photosynthetic rates and photosynthesis, and lay a good foundation for the growth of ??tomatoes. The effect of organic fertilizer is the most significant. Among all the treatments of adding 2.5%, 5%, 10% organic fertilizers, adding 10% organic fertilizers are the best. It can significantly enhance the growth and photosynthesis of tomatoes, and it is among the best of these three soil treatments for sandy soil.

Effect of Organic and Chemical Fertilizer Application on Growth, Yield, and Quality of Small-Sized Tomatoes

Tomatoes in Japan are generally cultivated under management systems that use chemical fertilizers and synthetic chemical pesticides. However, the continuous use of these fertilizers and pesticides damages the soil environment and reduces the number of soil microorganisms. Organic farming has a relatively low environmental impact compared to conventional farming techniques, but typically has lower and more unstable yields. In this study, we investigated the effect of organic and chemical fertilizer application on growth, yield, and quality of small-sized (cherry) tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes were cultivated using organic and chemical organic fertilizers. Average weight and lateral diameter were significantly higher under organic fertilizer than under chemical fertilizer. In addition, shoot dry weight was significantly higher under organic fertilizer than chemical fertilizer. Lycopene content was significantly higher under organic fertilizer than chemical fertilizer. The total carbon (TC), total phosphorus (TP), total potassium (TK), available phosphoric (SP) and exchangeable potassium (SK) contents, C/N ratio, and pH were significantly higher under organic fertilizer than chemical fertilizer. Bacterial biomass, nitrite (NO? 2-N) oxidation activity, nitrification (N) circulation activity, and phosphoric (P) circulation were higher under organic fertilizer than chemical fertilizer. From these results, the study indicates that appropriate controls such as TC, total nitrogen (TN), and C/N ratio of organic fertilizer increased microbial biomass and enhanced nutrient circulation such as N circulation activity and P circulation activity. These results can be used to improve current organic farming practices and promote soil conservation.

The Effect of High Day and Low Night Temperature on Pollen Production, Pollen Germination and Postharvest Quality of Tomatoes

Temperature integration where high day temperatures are compensated by lower night temperatures is one strategy that can be used to reduce energy consumption in greenhouses. Crop tolerance to temperature variation is a prerequisite for using such a strategy. Greenhouse experiments were conducted on tomatoes cvs, Capricia, Mecano and Cederico in order to investigate the effect of different day/night temperature regimes (24/17, 27/14 and 30/11℃) where the same mean temperature was maintained for the production and germination of pollen. In addition, fruit quality as determined by fruit firmness, dry matter content, soluble solids, titratable acids, and pH was examined at harvest and after seven and 14 days of storage. The 30/11℃ treatment significantly increased pollen production and germination compared to the 24/17℃ treatment, while the 27/14℃ treatment was generally in between the other two treatments. Fruits grown at the 27/14℃ treatment were significantly firmer, while fruits grown at 24/17℃ had higher dry matter content, soluble solids, and titratable acids compared to the other treatments. There were significant differences between cultivars with respect to firmness, dry matter, titratable acidity, and pH. The quality of the fruits changed during storage, but the storability of the tomatoes was not affected by preharvest temperature treatments. The overall conclusion was that the 27/14℃ treatment was superior to the other two temperature treatments with respect to the studied parameters.

Impacts of Sletr1-1 and Sletr1-2 mutations on the hybrid seed quality of tomatoes

Shelf life is an important breeding trait in tomato, especially for the tomato production in subtropical and tropical regions. Previously we have isolated and characterized ethylene receptor mutants, Sletr1-1 and Sletr1-2 from mutant population based on Micro-Tom cultivar. Sletr1-1 showed insensitivity to ethylene while Sletr1-2 showed reduced sensitivity to ethylene. We also have demonstrated that the traits are useful for extending fruit shelf life of the hybrid tomato cultivars. For commercializing the hybrid cultivars, the seed quality is another important trait. In this study, we evaluated the effects of the Sletr1-1 and Sletr1-2 mutations on the seed quality characteristics of F_1 hybrid lines generated by crossing Sletr1-1 and Sletr1-2 with three commercial tomato cultivars, Intan, Mutiara and Ratna. Sletr1-1 mutation conferred insensitivity to ethylene in the F_1 hybrid seedlings, resulting in negative effects including reduced germination rate, vigor index and emergence speed index. Interestingly Sletr1-2 mutation had almost no effect on the seed quality characteristics of the F_1 hybrid lines, suggesting that Sletr1-2 was suitable for producing high quality of hybrid seeds.

The antithrombotic activity of mini-type tomatoes is dependent on the particular variety and the stage of harvest. Lycopene content does not contribute to antithrombotic activity

The prevention of arterial thrombotic disease has a high priority in developed countries. We have focused our studies on the antithrombotic activity of those fruits and vegetables with the potential to prevent the disease, and the present study was undertaken as part of a series of investigations to examine beneficial fruits and vegetables. For this purpose, suitable laboratory tests as well as diets have been devised. In the current investigation, we have classified various tomato varieties with antithrombotic properties, and we now have extended our overall data to include more than ten antithrombotic varieties of fruits and vegetables. A method designed to measure shear-induced platelet activity (the Global Thrombosis Test, GTT) was used to assess haemostasis in vitro and a He-Ne laser-induced thrombosis technique was utilized to examine arterial thrombogenesis in vivo. Concentrations of the antioxidant, lycopene, were also measured. Three mini-type tomato varieties, coded “Cin”, “Pik” and “Caec”, and one mediumtype variety, coded “K”, were harvested at different stages of maturity. All mini-type varieties demonstrated antithrombotic activity at an early (green) stage. The antithrombotic activity decreased with the maturation of “Cin” and “Caec” but remained constant at all stages of maturity with “Pik”. The medium variety, “K”, did not possess antithrombotic activity. Lycopene was not detected at any stage in any of the tomato varieties, suggesting that this antioxidant did not contribute to antithrombotic activity. The present results indicated that the antithrombotic activity of tomatoes is dependent on the particular variety and stage of maturity, and that this activity is not due to lycopene.

Improvement of Bio-Efficacy to Reduce Bacterial Wilt Complex Disease in Tomatoes through Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and Pseudomonas fluorescens under Field Conditions

Bacterial wilt complex disease of tomato(Solanum lycopersicum L.)was incited jointly by bacterial wilt pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum and Meloidogyne incognita worldwide.Bio-efficacy of bacterial antagonists i.e.B.amyloliquefaciens DSBA-11 and P.fluorescens DTPF-3 was studied against the wilt disease complex in tomato at National Phytotran facility Indian Agricultural Research Institute(IARI),New Delhi,at 26±2°C.Minimum wilt disease incidence(26.00%)with the highest bio-control efficacy(64.15%),less juvenile population(19.33 J2/g of soil)of M.incognita was recorded in the combined application of DTPF-3+DSBA-11 after 30 d of inoculation under glasshouse conditions.In a field study,minimum bacterial wilt disease incidences 19.0%and 20.4%were recorded in the bleaching powder treatment followed by mixed application of DSBA-11+DTPF-3,19.6%and 21.2%wilt incidence in 2014 and 2015 respectively.However,a reduction of root-knot gall index was recorded a maximum of 59.76%and 69.62%in DSBA-11+DTPF-3 treated plants followed by 54.88%and 60.13%over control in DTPF-3 treatment in 2014 and 2015 respectively.The yield of tomato fruit was increased over control by 17.48%and 16.97%in 2014 and 2015 respectively under field conditions.A combination of P.fluorescens DTPF-3+B.amyloliquefaciens DSBA-11 suppressed bacterial wilt and root-knot diseases and also increased the yield of the tomato fruit significantly(p<0.05)under field conditions.

Effect of Grafting on Growth and Shelf Life of Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Grafted on Two Local Solanum Species

The Rio Grande variety of tomato is widely grown because of its high productivity during the cold and dry seasons, and its resistance to Verticillium wilt (caused by Fusarium oxysporium) and to stem canker (Alternaria). Grafting tomato onto compatible rootstocks resistant to these diseases offers a better potential to overcome soil-borne diseases, abiotic stresses, improve growth, yield and fruit quality. However, in Cameroon, there is little or no information on grafting between Rio Grande tomato and selected eggplant rootstocks. The objectives of this study were: 1) To determine the compatibility between Rio tomato grafting and a popular local eggplant (Nkeya) rootstock;2) To verify the effect of grafting on flowering time;3) To evaluate the effect of eggplant rootstocks on growth, fruit shelf life and fruit quality of Rio tomatoes. The trial was conducted in a randomized complete block design with 3 replications. Rio Grande (To) was the ungrafted treatment used as a control. To/Ko, To/To and To/Nk were the grafted treatments eventually transplanted to the field. Growth data were subjected to analysis of variance using SPSS software. Descriptive analyses were performed for the other parameters. The results revealed that, 1) The cleft grafting method used was successful with success rate varying between 90 and 100%;2) Grafting influenced flowering date (DAT, p = 0.05) as well as tomato growth parameters including stem height (H, 1.49 × 10-10 p 0.00014) and collar diameter (SD, 4 × 10-14 p 0.009). The To/To treatment was significantly different from the ungrafted cultivar To, which had no significant difference in stem diameter. A significant difference in plant height was also observed between the ungrafted treatment To and the To/Ko and To/Nk treatments. In addition, only the collar diameter of To/Nk was different from To. Also, there was no significant difference between To/To and To, but a significant difference between To/Ko and To/Nk compared to To. Conversely, grafting improved the lifespan of To/Ko. Ultimately, the grafting method used was successful, but further studies are needed to overcome the problem of graft incompatibility in order to improve the agronomic performance of grafted plants.

Effect of Nitrogen Deficiency and Toxicity in Two Varieties of Tomatoes(Lycopersicum esculentum L.)

Tomato is one of the most important vegetables cultivated in Mexico. Nitrogen-based fertilizers have greatly contributed to the increase in tomato production;however, the excessive application of this fertilizer may affect yield and fruit quality. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of increasing in rates of nitrogen from deficiency to toxic levels. Five N-treatments (0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 mM of N) were applied in two tomato varieties, Caballero and Victoria The optimum N doses for leaf growth in both varieties was 30 mM reaching 13.0 and 13.5 cm in Caballero and Victoria respectively. At low toxic levels leaf growth was recovered more easily in Caballero than Victoria. Nitrate concentration for the low toxicity treatment was greater in leaf and stems for Caballero than Victoria;conversely nitrate in fruits was higher in Victoria. Final yield per plant was not statistically different between varieties except at the low toxic treatment where Caballero had a yield of 780 g per plant compared to that of 330 g per plant of Victoria. Tomato quality was also affected by the applied N-doses, where treatment 30 mM reached the maximum fruit firmness in both varieties while high toxic N-levels decreased significantly this parameter. Soluble solids and titratable acidity increased with increased N-Doses. Caballero variety seems to be more tolerant than Victoria at low levels of N-toxicity.

Differential Equation Model of Carbon, Nitrogen and Zinc Components in Growing Tomatoes

Tomato is a common food on the human table. Up to now, the research on the growth and development model of tomato has been about 50 years. There are many researches on the main nutrients of tomato, such as carbon and nitrogen, but few on the trace element zinc. In this paper, taking plant nutrient C, N and Zn as variables, the differential equation model of C, N and Zn in tomato growth and development was established. According to the research of tomato as a whole and divided into root and leaf, the one-compartment and two-compartment models of tomato growth and development were established. The model was analyzed by Matlab program, and the existing experimental data was used to test the numerical simulation results, which proves that the model conforms to the facts.

Multi-class detection of cherry tomatoes using improved YOLOv4-Tiny

The rapid and accurate detection of cherry tomatoes is of great significance to realizing automatic picking by robots.However,so far,cherry tomatoes are detected as only one class for picking.Fruits occluded by branches or leaves are detected as pickable objects,which may cause damage to the plant or robot end-effector during picking.This study proposed the Feature Enhancement Network Block(FENB)based on YOLOv4-Tiny to solve the above problem.Firstly,according to the distribution characteristics and picking strategies of cherry tomatoes,cherry tomatoes were divided into four classes in the nighttime,and daytime included not occluded,occluded by branches,occluded by fruits,and occluded by leaves.Secondly,the CSPNet structure with the hybrid attention mechanism was used to design the FENB,which pays more attention to the effective features of different classes of cherry tomatoes while retaining the original features.Finally,the Feature Enhancement Network(FEN)was constructed based on the FENB to enhance the feature extraction ability and improve the detection accuracy of YOLOv4-Tiny.The experimental results show that under the confidence of 0.5,average precision(AP)of non-occluded,branch-occluded,fruit-occluded,and leaf-occluded fruit over the day test images were 95.86%,92.59%,89.66%,and 84.99%,respectively,which were 98.43%,95.62%,95.50%,and 89.33% on the night test images,respectively.The mean Average Precision(mAP)of four classes over the night test set was higher(94.72%)than that of the day(90.78%),which were both better than YOLOv4 and YOLOv4-Tiny.It cost 32.22 ms to process a 416×416 image on the GPU.The model size was 39.34 MB.Therefore,the proposed model can provide a practical and feasible method for the multi-class detection of cherry tomatoes.

Intermodal Competition: Cargo Airships versus Long-Haul Trucking for Perishable Commodities

Intermodal competition changes with changes in technology, economics, and environmental concerns. Trucks and airships are generally considered not to be competitors, but this depends on the distance of haul. The tonne-kilometer cost of trucking rises much more quickly with distance than it does the cost of a cargo airship. At some distance, the two modes are direct substitutes. The costs of the Mexico-Canada refrigerated truck supply chain are compared with the costs of a 100t-lift, electrically-powered airship. The flight characteristics of the Hindenburg Zeppelin are used as a model for a modern cargo airship. The supply chain cost of trucking tomatoes is used to test the theorical proposition. The cost difference works out to about US10￠/kg (5￠/lb) advantage for trucking Mexican tomatoes to Canada. However, this cost disadvantage of the airship could be made up by their vibrationless ride, better air circulation and one-day service versus four days by truck. This alternative form of transportation could have a positive impact on worldwide north-south distribution of food. Airships can overcome trade barriers and distance to open new markets for perishable food exports. In addition, they would reduce the carbon emissions of transport. Canada imports 160,000 refrigerated truckloads of fruits and vegetables by from the southern US and Mexico. With an average driving distance of 3,000 km, these trucks emit 606,000 MT of CO2 annually. Airships powered by hydrogen fuel cells would have zero-carbon emissions. Markets are not yet incorporating the environmental advantage of airships in any freight comparison, but inevitably this will be important.