In recent times, there has been an urgent requirement for a technique that can be used by dairy farmers to assess the quality of milk of an individual cow during milking. A near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopic sensing system was designed on an experimental basis for the online assessment of the three major milk constituents (fat, protein, and lactose), solids not fat (SNF), milk urea nitrogen (MUN), and somatic cell count (SCC). This system was used to obtain the NIR spectra of non-homogenized milk during milking over a wavelength range of 700 to 1,050 nm. Calibration models for predicting three major milk constituents, SNF, MUN and SCC of non-homogenized milk were developed, and the precision and accuracy of the models were validated. The coefficients of determination, standard errors of prediction, and bias values showed high levels of precision and accuracy for the prediction of the considered parameters. The results indicated that the developed NIR spectroscopic sensing system can be used to assess milk quality in real-time during milking. This system can provide dairy farmers with information concerning milk quality and physiological condition of each cow, and can therefore optimize dairy farm management.

Soil saprophytic fungi isolated from the waste paper sludge were identified by ITS genes sequencing. Their antagonistic effects on mycelial growth of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL) were tested in vitro, and Trichoderma virens, 911 (Tv911) had inhibited 60.35％ of the growth compare to control. Moreover, it was selected for investigating plant growth promoting abilities on Japanese mustard spinach, tomato and radish in manufacturer recommended soils, farmer use nursery soil (FNS) and home garden soil (HGS). Plant height of one-month old Japanese mustard spinach and tomato were increased 16.22％ and 50.26％ in treated FNS and 9.84％ and 7.00％ in treated HGS in comparison with non-treated control, respectively. Fresh shoot and root weight of radish were also increased 23.83％ and 58.86％ in treated FNS and 12.77％ and 64.45％ in treated HGS. Disease suppression of Tv911 against FOL was also examined, and disease severity of fusarium wilt of tomato was significantly reduced. Additionally, the Tv911 colonization was observed as a stable in soil and increased in root tissue over growing period of one month. Therefore, this strain has the potential for plant growth promotion and diseases suppression against FOL, and it would be useful as a biological agent in crop production.

Technology to control cut flower opening and improve cut flower quality is important to meet consumer demands. We investigated the effects of light environment on flower opening in cut rose. Cut roses were kept under red light-emitting diode (LED), blue LED, and white fluorescent lights, and in constant darkness. We measured their flower opening, petal growth, water uptake, and water evaporation rates. In cut roses subjected to red light treatment, flower wilting was suppressed, and they exhibited a higher petal fresh weight than those subjected to other treatments. The same trend was observed in cut roses without leaves. Water uptake and evaporation rates were significantly higher in cut roses subjected to white fluorescent light treatment than in those subjected to other treatments; however, there was no significant difference when leaves were removed. Thus, water uptake and evaporation did not have relevance in improving the quality of cut roses subjected to red light treatment. Our results showed that light environment strongly affects flower opening and water balance in cut roses. Thus, understanding the response of a cut flower to light stimuli might lead to the development of a new method to control flower opening and water uptake in cut flowers.