The Andean region is the centre of origin and domestication of at least 9 species of native root and tuber crops in addition to several species of native potatoes. Within this group, Mauka – also known as Miso or Taso ‒ (Mirabilis expansa Ruíz & Pav.) Standl. ‒ Nyctaginaceae) is one of the least well known, despite having much potential. It is cultivated at high altitudes (2300 to 3500 m a.s.l.) in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia and is thought to be of pre-Inca origin. Mauka is characterized by its high nutritional value due to substantial levels of protein, calcium and phosphorus, as well as secondary metabolites with nutraceutical properties of varied application. It also has good potential as a forage plant. Based on ethnobotanical knowledge and scientific investigations, this review presents advances in the agronomic understanding of Mauka since its discovery five decades ago in several isolated rural Bolivian communities. The information presented covers both Andean and non-Andean countries. It includes results from journals on natural resources, botany, agronomy, and the congress minutes from botanical, agronomic and phytogenetic resources conferences. Theses on Mauka specifically and on phytogenetic resources in general were also reviewed. Books and manuals were reviewed in the libraries of the International Potato Center, INIAP-Ecuador, INIA-Peru and universities. The plant is described with emphasis on its agronomic traits and according to its propagation forms (seed or vegetative); in terms of its agroecology, phenology, growth dynamics and their indices, crop management, harvest and post-harvest processes. It is concluded that important advances in the understanding of the agronomy of Mauka have been accomplished. Furthermore, the review highlights aspects requiring further research, in order to develop improved production technologies to ensure its future use and conservation. Show less

Farming development has gone through a long process. After a review of literatures, the results showed that according to the efficiency of resource utilization by plants, the whole process of farming development can be divided into three stages, the whole process of farming development can be divided into three stages: Low level development stage or primitive farming, Level improvement stage and high-quality development new stage. The direction of Farming development is High-quality development. Farming High-quality development is to take some effective measures or methods to make land produce maximum yield and benefit to meet the people’s needs for a better life and safe food, which is the general trend of the times. Show less

The objective of this study was to improve the growth and yields of bottle gourd plants after exposure with spiritual blessing energy treatment (SBET) to the seeds and land. Twenty-one morphological traits of leaves, fruit, seed, and twenty-eight phenological parameters were employed to evaluate bottle gourd’s growth and yields after SBET. Results of bottle gourd showed a diversifiable characteristic of leaves, fruits, and seeds. Nine qualitative traits exhibited with distinct differences in the biofield-energy treatment group compared to the control. At harvest, growth-related phenological parameters such as plant vine length, number of branches, internodal length, and leaf width were significantly improved in the treatment group by 65.43% (p ≤ 0.001), 51.78% (p ≤ 0.01), 49.40% (p ≤ 0.001), and 40.82% (p ≤ 0.001), respectively, compared to the control. Additionally, yield-related parameters such as number of female flowers, number of fruits per vine, and fruit yield per hectare were significantly increased by 47.73% (p ≤ 0.05), 26.52% (p ≤ 0.001), and 38.99% (p ≤ 0.05), respectively, with respect to the control. With distinct qualitative variations and high statistical significance, these results suggest that SBET may serve as a potent non-traditional intervention for optimizing phenological development and agricultural output of bottle gourd. Show less