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Rapid growth of population, diminishing natural resources, climate change, shrinking agricultural lands and unstable markets are making the global food systems rather insecure. Therefore, modern agriculture and food systems should be more productive in terms of output, efficient in operation, resilient to climate change and sustainable for the future generations. As a result, the need of a technological transformation is greater than ever before. Being a recent advancement in computer sciences, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the capacity to address the challenges of this new paradigm. Hence, understanding the importance and applicability of AI in agriculture and food sector could be vital in the journey towards achieving global food security. This review focuses on the AI applications in relation to four pillars of food security (food availability, food accessibility, food utilization and stability) as defined by FAO, in detail. The AI technologies are being applied worldwide in all four pillars of food security even though it has been one of the slower adopted technologies compared to the rest. Nevertheless, it warrants exploring the capabilities of AI and their current impact on the food systems. It is eminent that AI technology has a key role to play in the future agriculture sector. The worldwide AI in agriculture market is expected to reach USD 2,075 million by 2024. Present article reveals how AI technologies could benefit global agriculture and food sector, and examines the ways by which AI can address the prominent issues in Sri Lankan agriculture sector such as labor scarcity, misuse of agrochemicals and inefficient food value chains. Though there are still many challenges and gaps to be addressed at research, policy, administrative and farmer levels, the immense potential of this novel technology should be exploited fast in the journey towards global food security.

Natural plasticity in overt circadian rhythms can be observed in various animals. Little is known about how this phenomenon help Euglena gracilis adapt to environmental stimuli. We used four groups of strain Z. Two groups were from our laboratory, ZObihiro1 and ZObihiro2; Third group was from the National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan (ZNIES-48) and the other was from Osaka Prefecture University (ZOsaka). The latter two were grown photoautotrophically at a light intensity of 84 μmol m-2 s-1 (day-white type lamps) at 25°C with air bubbling, as were ours, for two months prior to experiments. Results showed that ZObihiro2 and ZOsaka grew faster than ZObihiro1 and ZNIES-48. Upon transferring from light to darkness, population growth ceased within 8-10 h with the cell number increase in the dark of 41% in ZObihiro1 and ZObihiro2, 35% in ZOsaka and remarkably low 22% in ZNIES-48. Timing of cell division bursts in the circadian rhythm of cell population growth in 24 h light-dark cycles was the same in all four groups. Magnitudes of the rhythm were different: both ZObihiro1 and ZObihiro2 completely doubled, but ZNIES-48 multiplied by 1.9, and ZOsaka multiplied feebly by 1.7. The photoinduction of commitment to cell division in DD followed a circadian rhythm. All four showed the same peak at subjective dusk, but the amplitudes differed in the order, ZObihiro2 > ZOsaka > ZObihiro1 >> ZNIES-48. The resistance to photosensitization against Rose-Bengal follows a clear circadian rhythm in all substrains except in ZNIES-48. ZObihiro1 and ZOsaka showed the phasing similar to UV resistance rhythm, but ZObihiro2 did not. These results suggest the plasticity of circadian rhythms within a species, if not within a strain. Moreover, it is also apparent that different substrains/ecotypes present within the same Z strain. Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 7(2): 207-216

Background: Underutilized vegetables are those plant species with potential food and medicinal uses, and contributing to the socio-economic welfare of the rural communities. However, they are underexploited. These plants play a vital role in rural communities, particularly for the women, in food supply and preparation and thus contributing to dietary variations and food security in households. The present study was conducted to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and practices on underutilized vegetables by rural women in selected village communities in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka.Methods: A total of 328 respondents comprising of rural women were randomly selected from four villages in Mahailluppallama irrigation block of the Mahaweli zone H in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka. Primary data were collected through face-to-face interviews using an interview schedule and also the direct observations. Results: Seventy-nine (79) underutilized vegetable species were reported to be consumed by the respondents as a part of their normal diet. However, 20 of them were least consumed due to factors such as lack of interest among the younger generation, lack of availability, lack of awareness, and inadequate knowledge on their preparation as a food item. Women play the major role in collecting, preparing and related decision making on underutilized vegetables. Conclusions:A considerable diversity of underutilized vegetables exist in the community. However, some of them were less consumed and were not available in adequate quantities. Measures should be taken to popularize and conserve underutilized vegetables. Documentation of information is also important for sustainable use and exploring the future potential.

Vanda falcata is an epiphytic orchid native to East Asia with high horticultural and ornamental value. However, its wild populations are at risk of extinction due to overcollection and habitat loss. Orchids are highly dependent on mycorrhizal fungi for their nutrient acquisition from seed germination to adulthood; therefore, understanding their mycorrhizal associations throughout the life cycle is essential for their conservation. We investigated the mycorrhizal fungi of adult V. falcata plants through the molecular identification of root samples from 40 individual plants from 13 sites, covering a distance of 1200 km across Japan. To identify the fungi that promote V. falcata seed germination, we performed seed germination tests in vitro with fungal isolates from V. falcata and other epiphytic orchids. In adult plants, we detected a total of 11 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) within two fungal families, Ceratobasidiaceae and Tulasnellaceae, and a single Tulasnellaceae OTU (TU11) was found in samples from 12 sites. However, Vanda falcata seed germination and early development were induced in vitro by Ceratobasidiaceae fungi rather than Tulasnellaceae fungi, including TU11. These results suggest that different mycorrhizal fungi may be predominantly associated with V. falcata in the adult and seed germination stages. This mycorrhizal switching suggests that effective mycorrhizal fungi for conservation may differ between the adult and juvenile stages, even within a single orchid species. Our findings clarify the mycorrhizal associations of endangered epiphytic orchid species and could improve conservation efforts for these rare plants.

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Curly kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) and Chinese kale (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra) are cruciferous vegetables, which have recently gained great popularity in the world as a ‘superfood’. Generally, kale has the capacity to tolerate diverse climatic conditions while demanding fewer inputs, thus making it possible to cultivate them with a minimum cost for crop management. However, kale is still not widespread in Sri Lanka as a vegetable. Therefore, it has not been a commercialized crop to date. This study was conducted to explore the potential for cultivating kale in Sri Lanka. Two cultivars of curly kale (‘Dwarf green curled’ and ‘Winterbor F1’) and Chinese kale were cultivated in three agro-climatic zones representing three main climatic zones in the country, namely the Mid-Country Wet Zone, Mid country Intermediate Zone and Low-Country Dry Zone, using three different media (M1: Existing soil in each location; M2: Sand and coir dust mixture – ratio 1:1; M3: Sand, coir dust, and soil - ratio 1:1:1) at each location. The experiment was carried out as a three-factor factorial with three replicates as a pot experiment. Based on the present study results, even though all the varieties displayed a significantly (p < 0.05) higher growth in terms of dry matter accumulation in the Wet Zone, the growth in the other two locations was also found to be satisfactory. Dry matter accumulation was not significantly different among the varieties within each location. Different media did not have a significant influence on growth. Even though the antioxidant contents in all varieties varied among locations, the values were within the acceptable range. Therefore, both curly kale and Chinese kale can be successfully grown in the tested locations in Sri Lanka and can be easily introduced to local consumers as a ‘superfood’.