Avocado Research

Context: Indonesia is a tropical country with high UV rays. UV rays can increase melanin synthesis in the skin and cause the skin to become darker and hyperpigmented. One way to overcome this problem is the use of skin lightening agents through the mechanism of tyrosinase inhibition. Flavonoids have antioxidant activity and inhibit the process of melanogenesis.  Also, avocado seeds contain secondary metabolites of flavonoids in the form of catechin.

Aims: To determine the potential and activity of catechin as skin lightening agent against the target protein, tyrosinase, by in silico test using molecular docking method and in vitro test compared to kojic acid.

Methods: In silico assay was carry out using a computational method with autodock 4.2 program to demonstrate the affinity of active compound (catechin) with tyrosinase as the target protein by evaluating the binding energy value. Inhibition of tyrosinase is one way to inhibit the formation of melanin, so the skin becomes brighter. Spectrophotometry method was conducted to measure the absorbance of dopachrome and calculate the percentage of tyrosinase inhibition to be altered as IC50.

Results: The energy values ​​of catechin and kojic acid in tyrosinase enzymes were -7.64 kcal/mol and -5.03 kcal/mol, respectively. The energy value of the catechin bond was smaller than kojic acid in the tyrosinase. The bond energy value showed that catechin had greater potential than kojic acid as a skin lightening agent by inhibiting tyrosinase in silico using the molecular docking method. The IC50 value from ethyl acetate extract of avocado seeds disrupt the tyrosinase using the in vitro test was 93.02 ± 1.98 mg/mL, while IC50 kojic acid was 48.67 ± 0.1 mg/mL.

Conclusions: Avocado seeds extract containing catechin has a potential activity as a lightening agent by inhibiting the tyrosinase. Further research must be done to fractionation the extract to get a significant effect.

Marketing strategies is a key aspect in the well being of a firm. Many small and medium enterprises have over time sought to develop workable strategies that will help them better their performance. The Avocado industry in Kenya has been the key forcus in Kenya and many aggreements have been sighend to improve market access. Despite availability of market opportunities, exporters have over time struggled to improve their performance abroad. Their  market share in the international market and get more sales is still low. This study, therefore, looks into the influence of market adaptation strategies on performance of  small and medium enterprises exporting avocado in kenya. The objectives are; to examine the influence of promotion strategy on performance small and medium enterprises exporting avocado in Kenya, to determine the effect of promotion adaptation on performance of small and medium enterprises exporting avocado in Kenya, to determine the effect of product adaptation on performance of small and medium enterprises exporting avocado in kenya and to determine the effect of product quality planning strategy on performance of small and medium enterprises exporting avocado in kenya. The study will use a descriptive research design to meet the expressed objectives. Questionnaires and interviews will be used to collect data from the owners of the firms. The collected data will then be analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis.

The conservation of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is rearranging the rural landscapes of Michoacán and Estado de México, Mexico. Based on ethnographic and historical data, and combining insights from the green security and neoliberal conservation literatures, this paper examines how monarch butterfly conservation unfolds in an area shaped by a recent designation as a UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve as well as increasing violence associated with the Mexican Drug War. I argue that these processes are deeply interconnected. I show how the conservation program, and the broader neoliberal project of which it is part, have undermined social control of land by converting communally managed forests into a supposedly human-free reserve. This has transformed the region into a frontier zone that facilitates the increased presence of organized crime groups and devolves responsibility for forest security to local residents. I show how the monarch reserve’s core and buffer land boundary, and the human and nonhuman divide underpinning it, reconfigures authority in ways that deepen the control of organized crime, facilitate the expansion of il/licit economies, and undermine sustainable community forest management. While international conservation actors view the reserve as the best strategy for preventing the disappearance of the monarch's migratory phenomenon, my analysis concludes that the MAB has increased the risk of disappearance of both its butterfly and human inhabitants. As an alternative to conventional conservation strategies designed to separate human and nonhuman nature, principles from nondualist traditional ecological ethics can inform better pathways for protecting both the region’s humans and nonhumans.

Penelitian ini bertujuan menguji kualitas selai alpukat yang dibuat dengan perlakuan 3 jenis pemanis alami berbeda ditinjau dari aspek kadar air, nilai a w , total sugar, total mikroba, total padatan terlarut, dan uji hedonik. Parameter penelitian meliputi kadar air, nilai a w , total sugar, total mikroba, total padatan terlarut dan kesukaan selai alpukat dengan perlakuan pemberian jenis pemanis T1=gula aren, T2=gula pasir, T3=madu. Penelitian ini menggunakan desain rancangan acak lengkap (RAL) dengan tiga perlakuan dan tujuh kali pengulangan. Data yang diperoleh dianalisis dengan menggunakan ANOVA untuk parameter kadar air, nilai a w , total sugar, total mikroba, total padatan terlarut. Sedangkan untuk parameter kesukaan menggunakan uji Kruskal Wallis. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa terdapat pengaruh pemberian jenis pemanis alami berbeda terhadap kualitas kadar air, nilai a w , total sugar, dan total padatan terlarut selai alpukat. Selai dengan pemberian pemanis gula aren merupakan perlakuan pemberian pemanis dengan kualitas terbaik yang menghasilkan selai alpukat dengan kadar air = 14,73%, nilai a w 0,832, total sugar 39,509%, total mikroba 5,3.10 3 CFU/g dan total padatan terlarut 81,9%. Dari segi kesukaan, selai dengan pemberian pemanis gula pasir paling disukai baik secara warna, rasa, aroma, tekstur, dan overall.

Avocado (Persea americana) is one of the most important crops in Mexico as it is the main producer, consumer, and exporter of avocado fruit in the world. However, successful avocado commercialization is often reduced by large postharvest losses due to Colletotrichum sp., the causal agent of anthracnose. Chitosan is known to have a direct antifungal effect and acts also as an elicitor capable of stimulating a defense response in plants. However, there is little information regarding the genes that are either activated or repressed in fruits treated with chitosan. The aim of this study was to identify by RNA-seq the genes differentially regulated by the action of low molecular weight chitosan in the avocado-chitosan-Colletotrichum interaction system. The samples for RNA-seq were obtained from fruits treated with chitosan, fruits inoculated with Colletotrichum and fruits both treated with chitosan and inoculated with the fungus. Non-treated and non-inoculated fruits were also analyzed. Expression profiles showed that in short times, the fruit-chitosan system presented a greater number of differentially expressed genes, compared to the fruit-pathogen system. Gene Ontology analysis of differentially expressed genes showed a large number of metabolic processes regulated by chitosan, including those preventing the spread of Colletotrichum. It was also found that there is a high correlation between the expression of genes in silico and qPCR of several genes involved in different metabolic pathways.

The past two decades have seen a surge in global demand for avocados, which have become popular among middle- and high-income fractions of society in developed regions of the world. Avocados are predominantly consumed far from their centers of origin and out of their traditional cultural context. The United States imports 87 percent of its avocados from a single region in Mexico, Michoacán. The systems of production and provision that have risen to meet the demand for this fashionable fruit have had devastating social and environmental effects, including deforestation, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, pollution, displacement of indigenous populations, food insecurity, cartel violence and human rights abuses. Although the costs associated with avocado production are significant, consumers in the U.S. cannot clearly discern them in part due to complex, opaque global food systems. This project takes the form of an ESRI Story Map – a digital platform that blends text with a variety of visual content – in order to provide a comprehensive, multi-media account of the avocado’s rise to fame and the costs that arise along its path from the fields in Michoacán to an eatery in New York City. This project is intended for a broad audience and hopes to bring transparency to the avocado supply chain and awareness to the social and environmental impacts driven by our demand for this green fruit. The following white paper provides an overview of the project, along with a review of concepts, methodological tools, and coursework that helped frame the project’s scope and provided the impetus behind its creation.

Avocado (Persea americana) is one of the most important crops in Mexico as it is the main producer, consumer, and exporter of avocado fruit in the world. However, successful avocado commercialization is often reduced by large postharvest losses due to Colletotrichum sp., the causal agent of anthracnose. Chitosan is known to have a direct antifungal effect and acts also as an elicitor capable of stimulating a defense response in plants. However, there is little information regarding the genes that are either activated or repressed in fruits treated with chitosan. The aim of this study was to identify by RNA-seq the genes differentially regulated by the action of low molecular weight chitosan in the avocado-chitosan-Colletotrichum interaction system. The samples for RNA-seq were obtained from fruits treated with chitosan, fruits inoculated with Colletotrichum and fruits both treated with chitosan and inoculated with the fungus. Non-treated and non-inoculated fruits were also analyzed....

La Región del Pico de Tancítaro con 67 456 ha es una de las zonas con mayor producción de aguacate (Persea americana Mill. cv. Hass) en Michoacán, México. Al inicio de la década de 1970 empezó el cambio de cobertura vegetal y uso de suelo para el cultivo de aguacate, acelerándose desde la década de 1990. Así, el objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la aptitud territorial para este cultivo con el conocimiento local del paisaje en la Región, la implementación del modelo Agrilocal y la premisa de que algunos de los factores socioeconómicos y ambientales que los agricultores consideren para determinar cuales zonas son más aptas para el cultivo de aguacate, están contenidos en los patrones espaciales actuales e históricos de la distribución de este cultivo (observables en imá-genes de satélite). Los resultados del modelo Agrilocal indicaron que la mayoría de las zonas de aptitud óptima, dentro de la región de estudio, se usan para el cultivo de aguacate (clases de aptitud alta y muy alta) en 87 y 62 % de la superficie, respectivamente. Esto muestra que las zonas con mayor potencial para implementar este cultivo son escasas, en particular por la competencia entre el crecimiento de los asentamientos humanos, la expansión de otros cultivos y el propio cultivo de aguacate en la región. La aplicación del modelo Agrilocal se estimó deseable en las demás regiones del estado de Michoacán, donde el cultivo de aguacate es importante para la economía local. Permitir la expansión descontrolada del cultivo puede ocasionar deterioro ambiental y poner en riesgo la sustentabilidad de esta actividad en el estado. Palabras clave: Pico de Tancítaro, modelo Agrilocal, cultivo de aguacate, evaluación de tierras. ABSTRACT The region of Pico Tancitaro, with 67 456 ha, is one of the areas with the highest production of avocado (Persea americana Mill. cv. Hass) in Michoacan, Mexico. The first changes in vegetation and use of soil for the cultivation of avocado occurred in the early 1970s; these changes increased as of the 1990s. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the land suitability for this crop with the local knowledge of the Region landscape and implement the Agrilocal model, with the premise that some of the socioeconomic and environmental factors that the farmers consider to determine which areas are more suited for avocado cultivation, are contained in the current and historical spatial patterns of distribution of this crop (observed in satellite images). The Agrilocal model results indicate that 87 and 62 % of the areas with the highest suitability (high and very high suitability categories, respectively), within the area of study, are used for the cultivation of avocado. This shows that the areas with the highest potential to implement this crop are scarce, mainly due to the competitivity between the growth of human settlements, the expansion of other crops, and the cultivation of avocado itself in the region. The application of the Agrilocal model was estimated desirable in the rest of the State of Michoacan regions, where the cultivation of avocado is important for the local economy. Allowing the uncontrolled expansion of this crop can cause environmental deterioration and put at risk the sustainability of this activity in this state.

Phytophthora root rot caused by Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands., is distributed worldwide and causing great economic losses to the avocado producers. The search for avocado rootstocks that present resistance against this rot has been done by screening in germplasm banks and wild materials of this species. Resistance of avocado to P. cinnamomi has been determined through of different methods, both direct (shoots, stem and roots inoculation with zoospore suspension) and indirect (mycelium attraction and electrolyte leakage). In this study, the objective was to evaluate the resistance of ten Mexican race avocado genotypes against isolates of P. cinnamomi (Pc1, Pc2) by changes in the electrical conductivity in inoculated roots fragments suspension. Electrical conductivity was measured and registered 24, 48, 72 and 96 h after inoculation. Variance analysis was carried out and no effect was found on genotypes x isolates interaction, yet significant differences were found within genotypes and within isolates. ‘Duke 7’ genotype was identified as resistant, showing the lowest electrical conductivity average value of 0.141 mS·cm-1 from all the evaluated genotypes. P. cinnamomi isolate Pc2 was found to be significantly (P ≤ 0.05) more pathogenic by inducing an average change of 0.536 mS·cm-1 on the electrical conductivity of the avocado genotypes, while isolate Pc1 showed an average value of 0.470 mS·cm-1. Most genotypes presented values greater than 1 on the ratio in electrical conductivity change. Therefore, even when this technique cannot be used as an absolute test for resistance, it is suggested to be considered as a complementary test in a rootstock selection process for resistance.

The present experiment was carried out to evaluate some methods to attract honeybee Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera, Apidae) to two avocado varieties (Persea americana Mill.). Extracts of Cymbopogon citratus, Ocimum basilicum, Lippia alba, Citrus sp leaf, Eucalyptus sp leaf, the eugenol and linalol (SIGMA) were employed as attractors. The treatments were: covered; powdered discovered (PD); discovered with tubes and not powdered discovered (NPD). It was observed that the attractiveness of the tested substances disappeared minutes after their application, using or not the glycerin, in both varieties. The utilization of the extracts of Lippia alba, Eucalyptus sp leaves and Citrus sp leaves presented an increase in number of Apis mellifera, in Quintal variety. Data showed that the frequency of A. mellifera was higher in the Quintal variety compared to the Fortuna variety. This might have happened due to higher sugar concentration of nectar in flowers of Quintal variety. It was observed that A. mellifera preferred to visit the flowers of avocado tree of Quintal variety, for nectar and pollen collection, compared to Fortuna variety. None of the characteristics presented significant difference among the treatments, in both varieties of fruit. However, it was observed that, in Quintal variety, the fruits which obtained PD and NPD treatments were heavier, longer and with higher pulp thickness compared to the only obtained fruit of covered treatment. The products tested in tubes were not efficient to attract Apis mellifera in both varieties.