Some Words About Nature-Inspired Computing

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in various domains has drastically increased during the last decade. Nature-inspired computing is a strong computing approach that belongs to AI and covers a wide range of techniques. It has successfully tackled many complex problems and outperformed several classical techniques. This chapter provides the original ideas behind some nature-inspired computing techniques and their applications, such as the genetic algorithms, particle swarm optimization, grey wolf optimizer, ant colony optimization, plant propagation algorithm, cuckoo optimization algorithm, and artificial neural networks.

Seed Germination of Enterolobium contortisiliquum (Vell.) Morong. (Fabaceae) under Different Temperatures and Drying Method

Enterolobium contortisiliquum (Vell.) Morong a tree commonly known as anglerfish, monkey ear and timbaúva. Due to its wood quality, this tree species is widely used in naval and civil constructions, toys and furniture frames, and can also be used for urban afforestation and restoration of degraded areas. The objective of this work was to standardize the best temperature conditions for conducting the germination tests of E. contortisiliquum seeds under laboratory conditions, considering the fact that the seeds come from coastal tropical Brazil, and to evaluate the desiccation tolerance. The experiments were carried out at the Plant Propagation Laboratory of the Agricultural Engineering and Sciences Campus (CECA) of the Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL), located in the municipality of Rio Largo, Alagoas, Brazil. The design of the experiment was fully randomized, with four repetitions of 25 seeds per treatment. In test I: The newly harvested seeds were subjected to constant temperatures of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40ºC and alternating temperatures of 20-30ºC, with an eight-hour photoperiod, simulated by four fluorescent lamps 20W daylight type. In trial II: The seeds were divided into two lots. The first was the control (initial moisture content). The second was subjected to slow drying on silica gel. A constant temperature of 30ºC is recommended for the germination and vigor test of E. contortisiliquum seeds. The critical means water content for seeds of this species is below 5%.

Reproduction and cultivation of selected forms of mulberry (Morus L.) in the Central region of Russia

Fruit forms of mulberry are promising for cultivation in the Central Lane. In this regard was studied the method of selected forms’ reproduction using the roots’ growth regulator in the coconut substrate. Water was used as a control option. The highest rooting rate was observed using the preparation “Kornevin”. According to ANOVA (Analysis of variance) was reliably proved the dependence of all parameters of the root system on the stimulator of rhizogenesis. The type of container has a significant effect on the development of the root system during growing. For growing mulberry seedlings with a closed root system, it is recommended to use ordinary plastic containers with a volume of 5 liters. Keywords: PLANT PROPAGATION, MULBERRY, MORUS, AIRPOT, GREEN CUTTINGS, MULBERRY PROPAGATION, SELECTIVE FORMS, CONTAINER TECHNOLOGY

CO2 supplementation eliminates sugar-rich media requirement for plant propagation using a simple inexpensive temporary immersion photobioreactor

In-vitro plant propagation systems such as Temporary Immersion Bioreactors (TIBs) are valuable tools that enable production of disease-free plants with improved traits. However, TIB systems can be expensive, difficult to implement, and prone to contamination due to sugar rich propagation media. Using rapidly growing chicory root cultures to expedite design-build-test cycles, we report here an improved, low-cost version of a previously reported Hydrostatically-driven TIB (Hy-TIB) that facilitates economical use of gas mixtures. Bioreactor improvements include decreased material costs, expanded modes of operation, and a horizontal orientation of a plastic film plant growth chambers that increase propagule light exposure. To take advantage of these improvements, we describe here experiments that evaluate the impacts of elevated CO2 on propagation of cacao (Theobroma cacao) secondary embryos and nodal cultures of yam (Dioscorea spp.) during both phototrophic and photomixotrophic growth. Our experiments show that elevated CO2 during plant propagation significantly improved both cacao and yam propagule development and eliminated the need for supplemental sugars in tissue culture growth media. Thus, our improved Hy-TIB shows potential as a simple, low-cost, and scalable propagation platform with cost-effective gas composition control and reduced risk of contamination overgrowth. We provide detailed instructions for assembly of this Hy-TIB design and discuss the implications of its adoption in food-insecure regions of the world.

Fresa: A Plant Propagation Algorithm for Black-Box Single and Multiple Objective Optimization

Fresa implements a nature inspired plant propagation algorithm for the solution of single and multiple objective optimization problems. The method is population based and evolutionary. Treating the objective function as a black box, the implementation is able to solve problems exhibiting behaviour that is challenging for mathematical programming methods. Fresa is easily adapted to new problems which may benefit from bespoke representations of solutions by taking advantage of the dynamic typing and multiple dispatch capabilities of the Julia language. Further, the support for threads in Julia enables an efficient implementation on multi-core computers.

Stable Transformant of Phalaenopsis amabilis Somatic Embryo Carrying 35S::AtRKD4 Develops Into Normal Phenotype of Transgenic Plant

Phalaenopsis amabilis (L.) Blume orchid is an Indonesian national flower. The number of these orchids in their natural habitat is very limited, therefore plant propagation efforts are needed. One of the promising methods is plant propagation by inserting embryo gene AtRKD4 from a model plant Arabidopsis thaliana into the orchid genome to produce many somatic embryos. From previous research, we have obtained 28 plant P. amabilis transformants carrying the AtRKD4 gene, however, it was unknown whether these plants have normal phenotypes and growth similar to their parents. Therefore, descriptions on growth and morphology are needed. This research aimed to evaluate the phenotype of P. amabilis carrying 35S::AtRKD4 the transformants grown in greenhouse. To achieve it, AtRKD4 gene integration stability on transformants genome was analyzed. Morphology and cross-section anatomy structure on transformant and non-transformant plantswere described. The stability of AtRKD4 gene integration in the plant genome was confirmed by amplification of the AtRKD4 gene from genomic DNA with Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) using a specific primer for AtRKD4 and ACTIN genes as the internal control. The quantitative data from morphology and anatomy measurements were analyzed statistically using ANOVA. The results showed that AtRKD4 was stably integrated into the genome of P. amabilis transformants and all transformant plants showed similar morphology and anatomy characteristics as non-transformant plants. The AtRKD4 embryo gene was stably integrated into the orchid genome and the transformant plants grow normally without significant changes in phenotype.

Perbandingan Metode Sterilisasi Untuk Perbanyakan Rubus rosifolius Secara in Vitro

AbstrakRubus rosifolius adalah salah satu jenis rasberi liar yang memiliki potensi cukup tinggi untuk dikembangkan sebagai tanaman buah. Selain itu, metode perbanyakan tanaman merupakan salah satu faktor yang berpengaruh dalam pembudidayaan. Lebih lanjut, informasi terkait upaya perbanyakan R. rosifolius secara in vitro masih sangat terbatas. Percobaan ini ditujukan untuk mengetahui metode sterilisasi yang tepat pada eksplan R. rosifolius. Sebanyak 17 metode sterilisasi telah diujicobakan di Laboratorium Kultur Jaringan BKT Kebun Raya Cibodas-LIPI. Bahan sterilisasi yang digunakan, yaitu detergen, tween 80, bakterisida, fungisida, clorox/pemutih (NaClO), alkohol 70%, larutan Plant Preservative Mixture (PPM), vitamin C/asam askorbat, dan povidone iodine/antiseptik. Hasil percobaan menunjukkan bahwa metode sembilan merupakan metode sterilisasi yang cukup optimum untuk sterilisasi eksplan R. rosifolius. Metode sembilan mampu menghambat munculnya mikroorganisme endofitik hingga 8 hari dan tidak menyebabkan warna eksplan menjadi cokelat/browning. Tahapan sterilisasi pada metode sembilan meliputi pencucian dengan detergen, perendaman dengan bakterisida + fungisida selama +30 menit, perendaman dengan clorox 10% + tween 80 selama +15 menit, pencucian dengan larutan PPM selama +15 menit. AbstractRubus rosifolius is one of the species from wild raspberries, which is has high potential to develop as a fruit crops. In the other hand, the technique of plant propagation became an important factor for cultivation. Moreover, the information related to the in vitro propagation of R. rosifolius is very limited. This experiment was aimed to determine the best method to sterilize an explants of R. rosifolius. About 17 methods of sterilization have been tried in the laboratorium of tissue culture at Cibodas Botanical Garden-Indonesian Institute of Sciences. The combination of detergent, tween 80, bactericide, fungicide, sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), alcohol 70%, plant preservative mixture (PPM), ascorbic acid, and povidone iodine were used during the experiment. The results show that the method of sterilization number nine could be inhibit the emergence of endophytic organisms for eight days and keep an explant in green with a little brownish compared by the others methods. The method of sterilization number nine was consist of several steps i.e. wash by detergent, soak in bactericide + fungicide for +30 minutes, soak in sodium hypoclorite 10% + tween 80 for +15 minutes, wash by PPM solution for +15 minutes.

System reliability-redundancy allocation by the multiobjective plant propagation algorithm

PurposeIncreasing the system reliability is one of the most important concerns in an industrial plant to become competitive. However, focusing on the overall system reliability increases the overall design cost. The problem is investigated as a multiobjective optimization problem.Design/methodology/approachIt implements the Multiobjective Plant Propagation Algorithm (PPA), also known as the Strawberry Algorithm for the system reliability-redundancy allocation problem.FindingsThe Pareto set of a pharmaceutical plant involving ten subsystems connected in series is generated in order to highlight the applicability of the algorithm.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations include the study of two objective functions.Practical implicationsIt allows the decision-maker to select the best solution according to his target.Originality/valueThis work represents the first implementation of the multiobjective PPA for solving the multiobjective system reliability optimization in the literature.

Optimal Siting and Sizing of Distributed Generators by Strawberry Plant Propagation Algorithm

Increasing the unplanned penetration of Distributed Generators (DGs) has spurred active and reactive power losses in the distribution system. This article suggests using a novel Strawberry Plant Propagation Algorithm (SPPA) for planning the placement of the DGs with the aim of reducing the network (active) power losses and improving the overall voltage profile. The proposed method (SPPA) has been tested on 33 and 69 node radial systems in MATLAB. A cost analysis was also performed and compared with other contemporary methods. The results for the considered variables show the significance of the proposed method in comparison to various other counterparts, including the Mine Blast Algorithm and Particle Swarm Optimization.

Propagation and cultivation of large-fruited blackberry 'Karaka Black' and 'Black Butte' in various conditions

The method of propagation of these varieties of blackberries Karaka Black and Black Butte by green cuttings using peat and coconut substrate and growth regulators kornevin and Biofish was studied. The greatest rooting was noted when using the preparation kornevin on a coconut substrate, but according to the set of parameters of the root system (root length, number of roots and volume of the root system), it is recommended to use the complex "kornevin-Biofish". The dependence of all the parameters of the root system on the type of substrate, as well as the interaction of the substrate with varietal characteristics and the stimulator of rhizogenesis, has been reliably proved. When growing, a varietal reaction was revealed in the length of the roots and the volume of the root system to the type of container. It is recommended to use Airpot containers for growing seedlings as they provide the largest volume of the root system with the optimal root length. Keywords: PLANT PROPAGATION, BLACKBERRY, RUBUS, AIRPOT, GREEN CUTTINGS, BLACKBERRY PROPAGATION, CONTAINER TECHNOLOGY, KARAKA BLACK, BLACK BUTTE