Within the framework of a project entitled “Development of Advanced Sweet Potato Cultivation Technology for Smallholder Farmers in Paraguay” implemented by KOPIA Paraguay Center (Korea Partnership for Innovation of Agriculture) in collaboration with Paraguayan Institute of Agricultural T echnology (I PTA) d uring the period 2021-2024, r esults o f four m ain e xperiments are described in this research: selection of suitable varieties, optimal planting and harvesting times, the use of ridges, and optimal chemical fertilization doses. In the selection of suitable varieties for Paraguay, 11 sweet potato varieties were evaluated in departments of San Pedro and Misiones. As a result, varieties Andaí, Jety Paraguay, and Chaco I showed the highest productivity in San Pedro, while varieties Jety Uruguayo, Chaco I, and Taiwanés showed higher productivity in Misiones. The other three experiments were carried out in San Pedro only. Optimal planting and harvesting times were determined with three varieties: Andaí, Pyta Guasu, and Jety Paraguay. For Andaí and Jety Paraguay varieties, they should be planted in December and harvested at 122 days post planting (DPP). For Pyta Guasu, it should be planted in October and harvested at 124 DPP. Regarding productivity response with soil preparation methods, the use of ridges showed higher yields in all planting methods, with the curved method planting being the most productive. Finally, optimal chemical fertilization doses were established in order to improve the total yield. The optimal nitrogen fertilizer dose (urea 45% N) was 40 kg/ha. The optimal phosphorus fertilizer dose (triple superphosphate 45% P2O5) was 80 kg/ha and the optimal potassium fertilizer dose (potassium chloride 60% K2O) was 120 kg/ha.

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is an essential crop in the Paraguayan diet. It plays a crucial role in food security. It is a source of income for family agriculture. It has a significant potential to adapt to various climatic and soil conditions in Paraguay, making it a promising crop for improving productivity. However, Paraguay faces a deficit in the development of sweet potato cultivation technology, resulting in a low productivity of 5.3 ton/ha. Efforts have been made to collect and characterize sweet potato genotypes, covering a diversity of native varieties. These efforts have laid the groundwork for future sweet potato research and development. Still, ongoing research and development of strategies are needed to address existing challenges of improving genetic resource traits and developing cultivation technology and to fully exploit growth opportunities in this sector. This review summarizes sweet potato cultivation in Paraguay, focusing on several key technical aspects. It analyzes current market situation and production conditions as well as the availability of genetic materials adapted to different ecoregions. Additionally, it explores prospects for the development of advanced sweet potato crops, including the production of high-quality, virus-free sweet potato plants with improved productivity.

지구온난화로 인한 물 부족에 대응하고, 작물 생산의 극대화를 위한 효율적인 방법의 하나로 지중점적 관비 시스템이 주목받고 있다. 하지만, 우리나라에서 식량작물에 적용된 지중점적 관비 효과에 대한 이해 및 이와 관련 시스템 개발은 아직 부족한 실정이다. 본 연구는 지중점적 시스템을 이용한 관수 및 관비처리(SF)가 감자(Solanum tuberosum L.)의 생장 및 수량에 미치는 영향을 알아보기 위하여 수행되었다. 지중점적 처리를 위해, 경상국립대학교 시험포장(600 m2)에서 점적관(Ø 14.1 ㎜, 1.6 L h-1)을 80 ㎝ 간격으로 40 ㎝ 깊이에 매설하였다. 감자의 표준시비량(N-P-K: 100-88-130 ㎏ ha-1) 중의 일정량을 기비로 시용한 후, 잔여 시비량인 N-P-K: 50-40-40 kg ha-1을 절반씩 괴경형성기(4월 29일)와 괴경비대기(5월 17일)에 각각 나누어 관비하였다. 대조구(CF)는 전량 기비로 시용하였다. 지중점적 관비 처리시 토양 20㎝ 깊이의 수분함량은 대조구 9.6%, 지중점적 처리구 55.1%로 지중점적처리구의 수분함량이 45.5% 더 높았기 때문에, 관비처리가 잘 수행되었다고 판단되었다. 관비 후 생육특성 조사에서 지중점적처리구와 대조구 간 차이가 없었지만, 수량특성 조사에서는 지중점적처리구가 괴경 직경이 56.0 ㎜로 가장 굵었고, 괴경수 또한 11.6개로 가장 많게 나타나 대조구와 약 12~18%의 차이를 보였다. 상서용 수량 또한, 지중점적처리구가 3,402 kg 10a-1로 대조구 대비 약 10% 더 많았다. 따라서, 봄 감자 재배시 지중점적시스템을 이용한 관비처리가 수량 향상에 도움을 주는 것으로 판단되나, 토성에 따른 투수성 등의 차이로 인한 여러 문제점이 존재할 수 있어, 국내의 노지재배 작물에 지중점적시스템을 적용하여 다양한 토성에서의 체계적인 연구가 필요할 것으로 생각된다.

The key to invasive pest management lies in preemptive action. However, most current research using species distribution models is conducted after an invasion has occurred. This study modeled the potential distribution of the globally notorious sweet potato pest, the sweet potato weevil (Cylas formicarius), that has not yet invaded Korea using MaxEnt. Using global occurrence data, bioclimatic variables, and topsoil characteristics, MaxEnt showed high explanatory power as both the training and test areas under the curve exceeded 0.9. Among the environmental variables used in this study, minimum temperature in the coldest month (BIO06), precipitation in the driest month (BIO14), mean diurnal range (BIO02), and bulk density (BDOD) were identified as key variables. The predicted global distribution showed high values in most countries where the species is currently present, with a significant potential invasion risk in most South American countries where C. formicarius is not yet present. In Korea, Jeju Island and the southwestern coasts of Jeollanam-do showed very high probabilities. The impact of climate change under shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP) scenarios indicated an expansion along coasts as climate change progresses. By applying the 10th percentile minimum training presence rule, the potential area of occurrence was estimated at 1,439 km2 under current climate conditions and could expand up to 9,485 km2 under the SSP585 scenario. However, the model predicted that an inland invasion would not be serious. The results of this study suggest a need to focus on the risk of invasion in islands and coastal areas.

The fungus Alternaria alternata, responsible for causing brown to black spotting on numerous fruits and vegetables globally, was identified in 2022 as the causative pathogen of brown spot disease in potatoes in Korea. In pursuing potential inhibitors against A. alternata growth, we evaluated 15 mushroom culture filtrates: eight from Trametes spp. and seven from Polyporus spp., known for their antibacterial and anticancer properties. Antifungal activity was assessed by exposing each filtrate to A. alternata on a paper disc. Four filtrates displayed inhibitory action against the fungus, albeit with mild effects. Our findings highlight the potential of Trametes and Polyporus fungi as emerging antifungal candidates, offering promise in preventing potato brown spots.

This study investigated the antioxidant characteristics of sweet potato according to different plant parts and drying methods. The sweet potato plant parts were divided into root tubers, stems, stalks, leaves, and tips, and the drying methods were freeze-drying and hot air drying. Total polyphenol and flavonoid contents and radical scavenging activity of the sweet potato plant parts were significantly different depending on the plant parts and drying methods. The total polyphenol content of freeze-dried sweet potato leaves and tips were 52.76 and 46.19 mg chlorogenic acid equivalents/g sample, and the total flavonoid contents were 222.47 and 214.12 mg quercetin equivalents/g sample, respectively, and decreased with hot air drying. DPPH radical scavenging activity was higher in freeze-drying than hot air drying and was significantly different depending on the plant parts. The ABTS radical scavenging activity of freeze-dried sweet potato leaves and tips were 43.48 and 44.68 mg Trolox equivalents/g sample, respectively, and decreased with hot air drying. Therefore, additional studies on the functionality of using by-products from sweet potato cultivation are needed.

As the average temperature on Earth increases due to global climate change, crops are further needed to overcome this issue. Since sweet potato has high yield potential, can grow in harsh environments, and contains abundant nutrients, it is a potential substitute food in response to environmental crises. Compared to grains such as rice and barley, sweet potato has a lower glycemic load and contains various natural antioxidants, showing a variety of physiological functions. Thus, sweet potato is in the spotlight as a healthy food. Although domestic sweet potato production continued to decrease from 1990 to 2010, its production was maintained or slightly increased until 2020 due to the changes in consumers’ dietary habits that emphasize health. In this regard, steamed or roasted sweet potatoes were consumed as a snack substitute in the previous eating form. Furthermore, sweet potato starch has been used in various industries, including food. Therefore, this study intends to discuss the value of sweet potatoes as food, the production trend and cultivation method of sweet potatoes in South Korea, and the industrial application of sweet potatoes.

An aeroponic seed potato production technology project has been established in Pakistan through the Technical Cooperation Project (TCP) between RDA-KOPIA and PARC. For sustainable potato production, producing high-quality and disease-free potato seeds is critical in Pakistan. The majority of the farmers recycle their own seeds or obtain them through informal ways. Consequently, tuber-borne illnesses proliferate, seeds deteriorate, and yield diminishes. To mitigate such problems, the country moved to sustainable seed potato production by adopting rapid seed multiplication strategies like the combination of tissue culturing with aeroponic seed production technology which is being evaluated as an alternative to traditional pre-basic seed production methods. A series of experiments were carried out to evaluate the shoot development and mini tuber production attributes between two cultivars, different plantlet size and planting period between October 27, 2021, and January 27, 2022, at the NARC aeroponic facility. A CRD design with three replications was used. The study aimed to compare the productivity by variety, plantlet size and planting period to improve aeroponic seed production technology in Pakistan. The results indicated that Lady Rosetta outperformed Asterix in terms of shoot growth and small tuber output. Early planting at an optimal temperature of 27 degrees Celsius in the daytime showed a substantial difference when compared to late planting in November and tuberization was commenced 50-55 days after transplantation. Furthermore, in an aeroponic seed potato production system, normal plantlets (8-10 cm) at the time of transplantation, performed better than medium and small plantlets. In a nutshell, it was determined that normal size plantlets (8-10 cm) of Lady Rosetta cultivar, planted at optimum time to plant showed best results in the aeroponic system at NARC, Islamabad, Pakistan.

This study was carried out to determine the sprouting period of early and mid-season varieties, which includes ‘Atlantic’, ‘Chubaek’, and ‘Superior’, during the summer storage period in a semi-underground warehouse without cooling system. And also it was investigated the effect of chlorpropham [Propan-2-yl N-(3-chlorophenyl)carbamate, CIPC] treatment on the sprouting inhibition for the varieties. This study was conducted to figure out a sprout inhibitory effect when CIPC was applied to 1kg of the potato tubers at concentrations of 10 mg and 20 mg which are lower than the treatment concentrations of ca 30 mg prescribed by the positive list system (PLS). The internal temperature of the warehouse used in this experiment was lowered by 5°C or more than the outside temperature. The difference between the lowest and highest temperature during the experiment throughout the day was 5°C. It showed the effect of reducing to 1/2 of the difference in outdoor temperature. As for the sprouting of potatoes, the extremely early variety ‘Chubaek’ sprouts appeared at the 6th week of storage of control and it was the fastest sprouting potato among the control groups of the varieties. Sprouting began to appear in the Superior at the 6th week of storage, while the ‘Atlantic’ sprouted at the 8th week of storage. The appearance of sprouts was suppressed in all treatment groups of ‘Atlantic’ and ‘Superior’ varieties in CIPC treatments. Sprouts were observed in all treatment groups of ‘Chubaek’ after the 7th week, but the elongations of the sprouts in tubers were completely inhibited until the 8th week of storage. ‘Atlantic’ and ‘Superior’ seemed to have a sprouting inhibitory effect even with a low CIPC concentration of 10 mg·kg-1, with the exception of extremely early variety ‘Chubaek’ that breaks out of the dormancy quickly. Although weight loss occurred continuously during storage, it was minor loss of 0.7-1.6%. There was no consistent trend for changes of the loss in the varieties and CIPC treatments. Most common pathological disorder was the dry rot during the experiment, but only few were affected. The use of the tubers treated at 18°C and 90% RH for 10 days and the rack of refrigeration system which lead to lack of convection seemed to have suppressed the spread of pathogens.

Potato dry rot is one of the potato storage diseases caused by Fusarium species and is a representative pathological disorder that induced post-harvest loss during storage. Chlorpropham treatment for sprouting inhibition is mainly used for room temperature storage of potatoes for processing. In this study, the inhibitory effect of chlorpropham on Fusarium-induced dry rot of potato ‘Dano’. To investigate the mycelial growth rate of the dry rot fungus (Fusarium solani Appel & Wollenw), mycelial growth was investigated in a chlorpropham (5.0, 50.4, 503.8, and 5,038 ppm) and prochloraz (0.1, 1.0, 10.0, and 100.0 ppm) medium containing F. oxysporum mycelia. Mycelia were more inhibited as the concentration of chlorpropham and prochloraz increased during incubation at 20°C, and the inhibition rate was 98.2% and 100% when treated with 503.8 ppm of chlorpropham and 10ppm of prochloraz in 14 days, respectively. Potato Dano tubers inoculated with F. oxysporum were dipped in chlorpropham (5.0, 50.4, and 503.8 ppm) and prochloraz (100 ppm) to investigate the effect of preventing dry rot during cold storage at 20°C and 4°C in vivo. The disease diameter of potatoes stored at room temperature (about 20°C) was reduced to 13.0 mm in the prochloraz 100 ppm teatment, and 10.7 mm in the chlorpropham 50.4 ppm treatment compared to 13.7 mm in the control tuber at 70 days of storage. The disease progression in all treatments including control was similar with no statistically significant difference at 4°C air temperature. From the results of this study, it is considered that treatment with 50.4 ppm of chlorpropham after harvest will be useful for suppressing dry rot of stored potatoes.

지중점적 관수･관비 시스템은 지구온난화로 인한 물 부족과 낮은 토양비옥도 문제에 대응하기 위한 효율적인 방법의 하나로 주목받고 있다. 그러나, 국내 식량작물에 대한 지중점적 관수 효과, 특히 지중점적 관비와의 결합에 대한 이해와 관련 시스템 개발은 여전히 미미하다. 본 연구에서는 기존의 표면 관수 및 시비(CF)와 비교하여 지중점적 관수 및 관비 처리(SSF)에 따른 감자(Solanum tuberosum L.)의 성장 및 수량 특성을 측정하였다. 지중점적 처리를 위해, 경상국립대학교 실험 포장(583 m2)에서 점적관(Ø 14.1 ㎜, 1.6 L h-1)을 80 ㎝ 간격으로 깊이 40 ㎝에 매설하였다. 감자의 표준 시비량(N-P-K: 100-88-130 ㎏ ha-1) 중 일정량 기비(N-P-K: 50-48-90 ㎏ ha-1) 후, 잔여 시비량인 N-P-K: 50-40-40 kg ha-1을 괴경형성기와 괴경비대기에 절반씩 나누어 관비하였다. 감자 생육 특성 중 초장은 지중점적 처리구에서 가장 길게 나타났으나, 경직경은 대조구에서 가장 두껍게 나타났다. 총 수량과 상서용 수량은 각각 대조구에서 38.6 Mg ha-1, 27.4 Mg ha-1로 지중점적처리구와 비교하여 총 수량은 14.0%, 상서용 수량은 20.8% 높게 나타났다. 지중점적 관수 후 깊이 80 ㎝까지의 토양 단면조사에 따른 수분 분포는 10~35%의 수분함량을 보였으며, 모세관 확산 현상에 의해 중력으로 인한 수분의 하강이 우세하게 나타났다. 따라서, 사양토 조건에서 지중점적관수･관비 처리에 따른 감자의 생육과 물의 이동은 투입비용과 에너지 효율성을 고려한 작물 생산성을 높기기 위해 지중점적 관수시스템, 매설 깊이나 관수방법 등에 대한 추가적인 연구가 필요할 것으로 사료된다. 검색어 – 관비, 관수, 물관리, 식량작물, 지중점적

Potato is an important cash crop of Pakistan and widely cultivated in plains and mountains of Punjab. Khyber Pakhtun Khawa Gilgit Baltistan, on an area of 0.313 million hectares in summer, autumn and spring with an annual production of 07.9 million tons. In Pakistan potato yield is 25.2 tons per hectare, which is although above the world average but comparatively low as compare to the potential and other advance potato growing countries because of several reasons. Availability of healthy seeds and advance production technology are the major constraints to achieve the higher potato production goals. It is very alarming that in spite of good position in potato growing countries, we are unable to produce good quality seed. In Pakistan >01% quality seed is available against the seed demand around 0.5-0.7 million tons per annum and mostly depend upon the imported seed 15000-20000 tons per annum. Tissue culture industry has been a proven global technology in potato seed production, so it is dire need of the growing population and climatic change to adopt these modern technologies of potato production for sustainable and higher production and income to contribute potato growing farmers of Pakistan. It is possible with the commercial use of tissue culture and allied techniques as aeroponic potato seed production along with good management and plant protection measures to provide indigenous high vigor and high yield potential potato seed. Pakistan Agricultural Research Council has established Aeroponic Potato Seed Production facility at National Agricultural Research Center with the collaboration of Korean Govt RDA-KOPIA Pakistan. The Aeroponics is a modern technology for growing plants by providing a nutrient solution in the air without soil. Plants grow rapidly in the growth chamber under the aseptic environment, balanced nutrition and sufficient oxygen availability that improves potatoes production in the aeroponic system. This can produce 10 times more yield than conventional production systems. Aeroponics techniques are credited for making potato yield more efficient, and can reduce the number of steps in the potato seed multiplication. Through tissue culture and aeroponics facilities development in Pakistan, first ever more than 200,000 nucleus mini harvested at NARC from the autumn 2021 and spring 2022 planation at KOPIA screen houses. Further seed multiplication from the harvest is under progress at up hills and more than 500,000 tubers (G1) are expected to be harvested during October-November 2022. It is very encouraging, impressive and successful venture of KOPIA at Pakistan for the potato seed production and self-sufficiency to insure food security in the country.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of using air potato (Dioscorea bulbifera) powder to make sponge cakes. The sponge cake batter was made by adding 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40% of air potato powder, and the resultant anti-oxidative properties and quality characteristics were analyzed. The study showed that the height, batter yield, and loss rate of sponge cakes decreased as increasing amounts of air potato powder were added, but the weight, viscosity, moisture content, and specific gravity increased. An evaluation of the color showed that the L and b values were highest in the control group but the a value was highest in the 40% group. There was no significant difference between samples in terms of cohesiveness, although the study showed a significant increase in the hardness, chewiness, and gumminess as the quantity of air potato powder in the sponge cakes increased. The total polyphenol content and DPPH radical scavenging activity increased noticeably as more air potato powder was added to the sponge cakes. The results thus showed that the study groups with the addition of air potato powder showed higher antioxidant activity than the control group.

This study was performed to evaluate the quality characteristics and antioxidant activity of Nurungji by varying the purple sweet potato powder addition time (AR: added after rice cooking, BR: added before rice cooking) and powder ratio (0, 2, 4, 6, 8%) on the prepared rice during Nurungji’s manufacturing. In both AR and BR samples, water binding capacity, soluble solid content, reducing sugar, and hardness increased with an increasing proportion of purple sweet potato powder; however, the pH and moisture content decreased. The L value and b value decreased and increased with the influence of anthocyanin in purple sweet potato powder. The total polyphenol, flavonoid, anthocyanin contents, DPPH, and ABTS radical scavenging activity were highest in Nurungji with 8% of purple sweet potato powder. Moreover, AR samples showed higher antioxidant activity than BR samples. Based on the study results above, the preparation of Nurungji with 8% purple sweet potato powder by AR process was more favorable based on the content of antioxidants and antioxidant activity.

본 연구는 저장 온도를 달리하여 높은 상대습도의 환경에서 건조 감자를 저장하였을 때 발생하는 품질변화를 관찰하였다. 저장기간 및 건조온도가 증가함에 따라 L* value 는 감소하였고, a* 및 b* value는 증가하는 경향을 나타내었다. 수분활성도는 높은 습도 조건으로 인해 10일차부터 급격히 증가하였으며, 환원형 비타민 C 함량은 급격히 감소하는 경향을 나타내었다. pH 값은 저장기간 동안 완만하게 감소하였으며 40oC에서 저장했을 때 큰 폭으로 감소하였다. 저장기간 동안 대장균군은 검출되지 않았으며, 일반 세균 수는 저장 온도가 증가함에 따라 많이 검출되었다. 전체적으로 20oC와 30oC에서 저장한 시료 간의 차이는 크지 않았으나, 40oC에서 저장한 시료의 경우 큰 품질변화를 나타내었고, 밀봉된 상태로 저장한 대조구의 경우 품질변화가 적게 나타나는 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 따라서 본 연구결과를 종합해 볼 때, 밀봉하여 산소와 수분을 차단한 상태로 저장하는 것이 제품 고유의 특성을 유지하는데 가장 효과적이며, 높은 습도의 환경일 경우 낮은 온도로 저장하는 것이 품질 변화를 지연시키는데 도움이 될 것으로 판단된다.