Search results for: biomass - crops residue

Authors: Fekadu Gadissa, Kassahun Tesfaye, Kifle Dagne, Mulatu Geleta

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‘Ethiopian dinich’ also called ‘Ethiopian potato’ is one of the economically important ‘orphan’ edible tuber crops indigenous to Ethiopia. We evaluated the morphological and agronomic traits performances of 174 samples from Ethiopia at multiple locations using 12 qualitative and 16 quantitative traits, recorded at the correct growth stages. We observed several morphotypes and phenotypic variations for qualitative traits along with a wide range of mean performance values for all quantitative traits. Analysis of variance for each quantitative trait showed a highly significant (p<0.001) variation among the collections with eventually non-significant variation for environment-traits interaction for all but flower length. A comparatively high phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation was observed for plant height, days to flower initiation, days to 50% flowering and tuber number per hill. Moreover, the variability and coefficients of variation due to genotype-environment interaction was nearly zero for all the traits except flower length. High genotypic coefficients of variation coupled with a high estimate of broad sense heritability and high genetic advance as a percent of collection mean were obtained for tuber weight per hill, number of primary branches per plant, tuber number per hill and number of plants per hill. Association of tuber yield per hectare of land showed a large magnitude of positive phenotypic and genotypic correlation with those traits. Principal components analysis revealed 76% of the total variation for the first six principal axes with high factor loadings again from tuber number per hill, number of primary branches per plant and tuber weight. The collections were grouped into four clusters with the weak region (zone) of origin based pattern. In general, there is high genetic-based variability for ‘Ethiopian dinich’ improvement and conservation. DNA based markers are recommended for further genetic diversity estimation for use in breeding and conservation.

Keywords: agro-morphological traits, Ethiopian dinich, genetic diversity, variance components

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Authors: Jean Paul Hategekimana, Bampire Claudine, Niyonsenga Nadia, Irakoze Josiane

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Peas, soybeans and rice are crops which are grown in Rwanda and are available in rural and urban local markets and they give contribution in reduction of health problems especially in fighting malnutrition and food insecurity in Rwanda. Several research activities have been conducted on how cereals flour can be mixed with legumes flour for developing baked products which are rich in protein, fiber, minerals as they are found in legumes. However, such activity was not yet well studied in Rwanda. The aim of the present study was to develop bread and biscuit products from peas, soybeans and rice as functional ingredients combined with wheat flour and then analyze the nutritional content and consumer acceptability of new developed products. The malnutrition problem can be reduced by producing bread and biscuits which are rich in protein and are very accessible for every individual. The processing of bread and biscuit were made by taking peas flour, soybeans flour and rice flour mixed with wheat flour and other ingredients then a dough was made followed by baking. For bread, two kind of products were processed, for each product one control and three experimental samples in different three ratios of peas and rice were prepared. These ratios were 95:5, 90:10 and 80:20 for bread from peas and 85:5:10, 80:10:10 and 70:10:20 for bread from peas and rice. For biscuit, two kind of products were also processed, for each product one control sample and three experimental samples in three different ratios were prepared. These ratios are 90:5:5,80:10:10 and 70:10:20 for biscuit from peas and rice and 90:5:5,80:10:10 and 70:10:20 for biscuit from soybean and rice. All samples including the control sample were analyzed for the consumer acceptability (sensory attributes) and nutritional composition. For sensory analysis, bread from of peas and rice flour with wheat flour at ratio 85:5:10 and bread from peas only as functional ingredient with wheat flour at ratio 95:5 and biscuits made from a of soybeans and rice at a ratio 90:5:5 and biscuit made from peas and rice at ratio 90:5:5 were most acceptable compared to control sample and other samples in different ratio. The moisture, protein, fat, fiber and minerals (Sodium and iron.) content were analyzed where bread from peas in all ratios was found to be rich in protein and fiber compare to control sample and biscuit from soybean and rice in all ratios was found to be rich in protein and fiber compare to control sample.

Keywords: bakery products, peas and rice flour, wheat flour, sensory evaluation, proximate composition

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Authors: Harshit Vallecha, Prabha Bhola

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‘Energy for all’, is a global issue of concern for the past many years. Despite the number of technological advancements and innovations, significant numbers of people are living without access to electricity around the world. India, an emerging economy, tops the list of nations having the maximum number of residents living off the grid, thus raising global attention in past few years to provide clean and sustainable energy access solutions to all of its residents. It is evident from developed economies that centralized planning and electrification alone is not sufficient for meeting energy security. Implementation of off-grid and consumer-driven energy models like Decentralized Renewable Energy (DRE) systems have played a significant role in meeting the national energy demand in developed nations. Cases of DRE systems have been reported in developing countries like India for the past few years. This paper attempts to profile the status of DRE projects in the Indian context with their scope and relevance to ensure universal electrification. Diversified cases of DRE projects, particularly solar, biomass and micro hydro are identified in different Indian states. Critical factors affecting the sustainability of DRE projects are extracted with their interlinkages in the context of developers, beneficiaries and promoters involved in such projects. Socio-techno-economic indicators are identified through similar cases in the context of DRE projects. Exploratory factor analysis is performed to evaluate the critical sustainability factors followed by regression analysis to establish the relationship between the dependent and independent factors. The generated EFA-Regression model provides a basis to develop the sustainability and replicability framework for broader coverage of DRE projects in developing nations in order to attain the goal of universal electrification with least carbon emissions.

Keywords: climate change, decentralized generation, electricity access, renewable energy

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Authors: Ujala, Diksha Sharma, Mahinder Partap, Ashish R. Warghat, Bhavya Bhargava

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In soil-less agriculture, hydroponic is considered a potential farming system for the production of uniform quality plant material in significantly less time. Therefore, for the first time, the current investigation corroborates the effect of different cultivation conditions (open-field, poly-house, and hydroponic) on morpho-physiological traits, phenolic content, and essential oil components analysis in three flower color variants (yellow, scarlet red, and orange) of Tagetes patula. The results revealed that the maximum plant height, number of secondary branches, number of flowers, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate were observed under the hydroponic system as compared to other conditions. However, the maximum content of gallic acid (0.82 mg/g DW), syringic acid (3.98 mg/g DW), epicatechin (0.48 mg/g DW), p-coumaric acid (7.28 mg/g DW), protocatechuic acid (0.59 mg/g DW), ferulic acid (2.58 mg/g DW), and luteolin (8.24 mg/g DW) were quantified maximally under open-field conditions. However, under hydroponic conditions, the higher content of vanillic acid (0.43 mg/g DW), caffeic acid (0.49 mg/g DW), and quercetin (0.92 mg/g DW) were quantified. Moreover, a total of nineteen volatile components were identified in the essential oil of different flower color variants of T. patula cultivated under different conditions. The major reported volatile components in essential oil were (-)-caryophyllene oxide, trans-β-caryophyllene, trans-geraniol, 3 methyl-benzyl alcohol, and 2,2’:5’,2”-terthiophene. It has also been observed that the volatile component percentage range in all variants was observed in open-field (70.85 % to 90.54 %), poly-house (59.03 % to 77.93 %), and hydroponic (68.78 % to 89.41 %). In conclusion, the research highlighted that morpho-physiological performance with flower production was enhanced in the hydroponic system. However, phenolic content and volatile components were maximally observed in open-field conditions. However, significant results have been reported under hydroponic conditions in all studied parameters, so it could be a potential strategy for quality biomass production in T. patula.

Keywords: Tagetes patula, cultivation conditions, hydroponic, morpho-physiology

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Authors: Deepa Kundu, Prabhakar Sharma, Sayan Bhattacharya, Jianying Shang

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The discharge of dye-containing effluents in the water bodies has raised concern due to the potential hazards related to their toxicity in the environment. There are various treatment technologies available for the removal of dyes from wastewaters. The use of biosorbent to remove dyes from wastewater is one of the effective and inexpensive techniques. In the study, the adsorption of phenothiazine dye methylene blue onto biosorbent prepared from Lantana camara L. has been studied in aqueous solutions. The batch adsorption experiments were conducted and the effects of various parameters such as pH (3-12), contact time, adsorbent dose (100-400 mg/L), initial dye concentration (5-20 mg/L), and temperature (303, 313 and 323 K) were investigated. The prepared leaf (BCL600) and shoot (BCS600) biochar of Lantana were characterized using FTIR, SEM, elemental analysis, and zeta potential (pH~7). A comparison between the adsorption potential of both the biosorbent was also evaluated. The results indicated that the amount of methylene blue dye (mg/g) adsorbed onto the surface of biochar was highly dependent on the pH of the dye solutions as it increased with an increase in pH from 3 to 12. It was observed that the dye treated with BCS600 and BCL600 attained an equilibrium within 60 and 100 minutes, respectively. The rate of the adsorption process was determined by performing the Lagergren pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetics. It was found that dye treated with both BCS600 and BCL600 followed pseudo-second-order kinetics implying the multi-step nature of the adsorption process involving external adsorption and diffusion of dye molecules into the interior of the adsorbents. The data obtained from batch experiments were fitted well with Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms (R² > 0.98) to indicate the multilayer adsorption of dye over the biochar surfaces. The thermodynamic studies revealed that the adsorption process is favourable, spontaneous, and endothermic in nature. Based on the results, the inexpensive and easily available Lantana camara biomass can be used to remove methylene blue dye from wastewater. It can also help in managing the growth of the notorious weed in the environment.

Keywords: adsorption kinetics, biochar, Lantana camara, methylene blue dye, possible mechanism, thermodynamics

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Authors: Gobena D. Bayisa, A. Mekonen, Megersa O. Dinka, Tilahun H. Nebi, M. Boja

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Crop production in arid and semi-arid regions of Ethiopia is largely limited by water availability. Changing climate conditions and declining water resources increase the need for appropriate approaches to improve water use and find ways to increase production through reduced and more reliable water supply. In the years 2021/22 and 2022/23, a field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of limited irrigation water use on bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production, water use efficiency, and financial benefits. Five irrigation treatments, i.e., full irrigation (100% ETc/ control), 85% ETc, 70% ETc, 55% ETc, and 40% ETc, were evaluated using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replicates in the semi-arid climate condition of Awash basin of Ethiopia. Statistical analysis showed a significant effect of irrigation levels on wheat grain yield, water use efficiency, crop water response factor, economic profit, wheat grain quality, aboveground biomass, and yield index. The highest grain yield (5085 kg ha⁻¹) was obtained with 100% ETc irrigation (417.2 mm), and the lowest grain yield with 40% ETc (223.7 mm). Of the treatments, 70% ETc produced the higher wheat grain yield (4555 kg ha⁻¹), the highest water use efficiency (1.42 kg m⁻³), and the highest yield index (0.43). Using the saved water, wheat could be produced 23.4% more with a 70% ETc deficit than full irrigation on 1.38 ha of land, and it could get the highest profit (US$2563.9) and higher MRR (137%). The yield response factor and crop-water production function showed potential reductions associated with increased irrigation deficits. However, a 70% ETc deficit is optimal for increasing wheat grain yield, water use efficiency, and economic benefits of irrigated wheat production. The result indicates that deficit irrigation of wheat under the typical arid and semi-arid climatic conditions of the Awash Basin can be a viable irrigation management approach for enhancing water use efficiency while minimizing the decrease in crop yield could be considered effective.

Keywords: crop-water response factor, deficit irrigation, water use efficiency, wheat production

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Authors: Andrés Quiroz, Emilio Hormazábal, Ana Mutis, Fernando Ortega, Loreto Méndez, Leonardo Parra

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Red clover root borer, Hylastinus obscurus Marsham (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is the main insect pest associated to red clover, Trifolium pratense L. An average of 1.5 H. obscurus per plant can cause 5.5% reduction in forage yield in pastures of two to three years old. Moreover, insect attack can reach 70% to 100% of the plants. To our knowledge, there is no a chemical strategy for controlling this pest. Therefore alternative strategies for controlling H. obscurus are a high priority for red clover producers. One of this alternative is related to the study of secondary metabolites involved in intrinsic chemical defenses developed by plants, such as isoflavonoids. The isoflavonoids formononetin and daidzein have elicited an antifeedant and phagostimult effect on H. obscurus respectively. However, we do not know how is the dynamic variation of these isoflavonoids under field conditions. The main objective of this work was to evaluate the variation of the antifeedant isoflavonoids formononetin, the phagostimulant isoflavonoids daidzein, and their respective glycosides over time in different ecotypes of red clover. Fourteen red clover ecotypes (8 cultivars and 6 experimental lines), were collected at INIA-Carillanca (La Araucanía, Chile). These plants were established in October 2015 under irrigated conditions. The cultivars were distributed in a randomized complete block with three replicates. The whole plants were sampled in four times: 15th October 2016, 12th December 2016, 27th January 2017 and 16th March 2017 with sufficient amount of soil to avoid root damage. A polar fraction of isoflavonoid was obtained from 20 mg of lyophilized root tissue extracted with 2 mL of 80% MeOH for 16 h using an orbital shaker in the dark at room temperature. After, an aliquot of 1.4 mL of the supernatant was evaporated, and the residue was resuspended in 300 µL of 45% MeOH. The identification and quantification of isoflavonoid root extracts were performed by the injection of 20 µL into a Shimadzu HPLC equipped with a C-18 column. The sample was eluted with a mobile phase composed of AcOH: H₂O (1:9 v/v) as solvent A and CH₃CN as solvent B. The detection was performed at 260 nm. The results showed that the amount of aglycones was higher than the respective glycosides. This result is according to the biosynthetic pathway of flavonoids, where the formation of glycoside is further to the glycosides biosynthesis. The amount of formononetin was higher than daidzein. In roots, where H. obscurus spent the most part of its live cycle, the highest content of formononetin was found in G 27, Pawera, Sabtoron High, Redqueli-INIA and Superqueli-INIA cvs. (2.1, 1.8, 1.8, 1.6 and 1.0 mg g⁻¹ respectively); and the lowest amount of daidzein were found Superqueli-INIA (0.32 mg g⁻¹) and in the experimental line Sel Syn Int4 (0.24 mg g⁻¹). This ecotype showed a high content of formononetin (0.9 mg g⁻¹). This information, associated with cultural practices, could help farmers and breeders to reduce H. obscurus in grassland, selecting ecotypes with high content of formononetin and low amount of daidzein in the roots of red clover plants. Acknowledgements: FONDECYT 1141245 and 11130715.

Keywords: daidzein, formononetin, isoflavonoid glycosides, trifolium pratense

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Authors: Erwin San Juan Martinez, Miguel Angel Aguilar Mendez, Manuel Sandoval Villa, Libia Iris Trejo Tellez

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Some nanomaterials may improve the vegetal growth in certain concentration intervals, and could be used as nanofertilizers in order to increase crops yield, and decreasing the environmental pollution due to non-controlled use of conventional fertilizers, therefore the present investigation’s objective was to synthetize and characterize gelatin nanoparticles loaded with calcium generated through pulverization technique and be used as nanofertilizers. To obtain these materials, a fractional factorial design 27-4 was used in order to evaluate the largest number of factors (concentration of Ca2+, temperature and agitation time of the solution and calcium concentration, drying temperature, and % spray) with a possible effect on the size, distribution and morphology of nanoparticles. For the formation of nanoparticles, a Nano Spray-Dryer B - 90® (Buchi, Flawil, Switzerland), equipped with a spray cap of 4 µm was used. Size and morphology of the obtained nanoparticles were evaluated using a scanning electron microscope (JOEL JSM-6390LV model; Tokyo, Japan) equipped with an energy dispersive x-ray X (EDS) detector. The total quantification of Ca2+ as well as its release by the nanoparticles was carried out in an equipment of induction atomic emission spectroscopy coupled plasma (ICP-ES 725, Agilent, Mulgrave, Australia). Of the seven factors evaluated, only the concentration of fertilizer, % spray and concentration of polymer presented a statistically significant effect on particle size. Micrographs of SEM from six of the eight conditions evaluated in this research showed particles separated and with a good degree of sphericity, while in the other two particles had amorphous morphology and aggregation. In all treatments, most of the particles showed smooth surfaces. The average size of smallest particle obtained was 492 nm, while EDS results showed an even distribution of Ca2+ in the polymer matrix. The largest concentration of Ca2+ in ICP was 10.5%, which agrees with the theoretical value calculated, while the release kinetics showed an upward trend within 24 h. Using the technique employed in this research, it was possible to obtain nanoparticles loaded with calcium, of good size, sphericity and with release controlled properties. The characteristics of nanoparticles resulted from manipulation of the conditions of synthesis which allow control of the size and shape of the particles, and provides the means to adapt the properties of the materials to an specific application.

Keywords: calcium, controlled release, gelatin, nano spraydryer, nanofertilizer

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Authors: Radheshyam Yadav, Ramakrishna Wusirika

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Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria (PGPB) and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) Fungi are ubiquitous in soil and often very critical for crop yield and agriculture sustainability, and this has motivated the agricultural practices to support and promote PGPB and AM Fungi in agriculture. PGPB can be involved in a range of processes that affect Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) transformations in soil and thus influence nutrient availability and uptake to the plants. A field study with two wheat cultivars, HD-3086, and HD-2967 was performed in Malwa region, Bathinda of Punjab, India, to evaluate the effect of native and non-native PGPB alone and in combination with AM fungi as an inoculant on wheat grain yield, nutrient uptake and soil health parameters (dehydrogenase, urease, β‐glucosidase). Our results showed that despite an early insignificant increase in shoot length, plants treated with PGPB (Bacillus sp.) and AM Fungi led to a significant increase in shoot growth at maturity, aboveground biomass, nitrogen (45% - 40%) and phosphorus (40% - 34%) content in wheat grains relative to untreated control plants. Similarly, enhanced grain yield and nutrients uptake i.e. copper (27.15% - 36.25%) iron (43% - 53%) and zinc (44% - 47%) was recorded in PGPB and AM Fungi treated plants relative to untreated control. Overall, inoculation with native PGPB alone and in combination with AM Fungi provided benefits to enhance grain yield, wheat biofortification, and improved soil fertility, despite this effect varied depending on different PGPB isolates and wheat cultivars. These field study results provide evidence of the benefits of agricultural practices involving native PGPB and AM Fungi to the plants. These native strains and AM Fungi increased accumulations of copper, iron, and zinc in wheat grains, enhanced grain yield, and soil fertility.

Keywords: AM Fungi, biofortification, PGPB, soil microbial enzymes

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Authors: Disha Bhanot, Vinish Kathuria

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This study focusses on the issue of distress sale in horticulture sector in India, which faces unique challenges, given the perishable nature of horticulture crops, seasonal production and paucity of post-harvest produce management links. Distress sale, from a farmer’s perspective may be defined as urgent sale of normal or distressed goods, at deeply discounted prices (way below the cost of production) and it is usually characterized by unfavorable conditions for the seller (farmer). The small and marginal farmers, often involved in subsistence farming, stand to lose substantially if they receive lower prices than expected prices (typically framed in relation to cost of production). Distress sale maximizes price uncertainty of produce leading to substantial income loss; and with increase in input costs of farming, the high variability in harvest price severely affects profit margin of farmers, thereby affecting their survival. The objective of this study is to model the occurrence of distress sale by tomato cultivators in the Indian state of Maharashtra, against the background of differential access to set of factors such as - capital, irrigation facilities, warehousing, storage and processing facilities, and institutional arrangements for procurement etc. Data is being collected using primary survey of over 200 farmers in key tomato growing areas of Maharashtra, asking information on the above factors in addition to seeking information on cost of cultivation, selling price, time gap between harvesting and selling, role of middleman in selling, besides other socio-economic variables. Farmers selling their produce far below the cost of production would indicate an occurrence of distress sale. Occurrence of distress sale would then be modelled as a function of farm, household and institutional characteristics. Heckman-two-stage model would be applied to find the probability/likelihood of a famer falling into distress sale as well as to ascertain how the extent of distress sale varies in presence/absence of various factors. Findings of the study would recommend suitable interventions and promotion of strategies that would help farmers better manage price uncertainties, avoid distress sale and increase profit margins, having direct implications on poverty.

Keywords: distress sale, horticulture, income loss, India, price uncertainity

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Authors: María José Carrero, Ana M. Borreguero, Juan F. Rodríguez, María M. Velencoso, Ángel Serrano, María Jesús Ramos

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Flame-retardants are incorporated in different materials in order to reduce the risk of fire, either by providing increased resistance to ignition, or by acting to slow down combustion and thereby delay the spread of flames. In this work, polyether polyols with fire retardant properties were synthesized due to their wide application in the polyurethanes formulation. The combustion of polyurethanes is primarily dependent on the thermal properties of the polymer, the presence of impurities and formulation residue in the polymer as well as the supply of oxygen. There are many types of flame retardants, most of them are phosphorous compounds of different nature and functionality. The addition of these compounds is the most common method for the incorporation of flame retardant properties. The employment of glycerol phosphate sodium salt as initiator for the polyol synthesis allows obtaining polyols with phosphate groups in their structure. However, some of the critical points of the use of glycerol phosphate salt are: the lower reactivity of the salt and the necessity of a solvent (dimethyl sulfoxide, DMSO). Thus, the main aim in the present work was to determine the amount of the solvent needed to get a good solubility of the initiator salt. Although the anionic polymerization mechanism of polyether formation is well known, it seems convenient to clarify the role that DMSO plays at the starting point of the polymerization process. Regarding the fact that the catalyst deprotonizes the hydroxyl groups of the initiator and as a result of this, two water molecules and glycerol phosphate alkoxide are formed. This alkoxide, together with DMSO, has to form a homogeneous mixture where the initiator (solid) and the propylene oxide (PO) are soluble enough to mutually interact. The addition rate of PO increased when the solvent/initiator ratios studied were increased, observing that it also made the initiation step shorter. Furthermore, the molecular weight of the polyol decreased when higher solvent/initiator ratios were used, what revealed that more amount of salt was activated, initiating more chains of lower length but allowing to react more phosphate molecules and to increase the percentage of phosphorous in the final polyol. However, the final phosphorous content was lower than the theoretical one because only a percentage of salt was activated. On the other hand, glycerol phosphate disodium salt was still partially insoluble in DMSO studied proportions, thus, the recovery and reuse of this part of the salt for the synthesis of new flame retardant polyols was evaluated. In the recovered salt case, the rate of addition of PO remained the same than in the commercial salt but a shorter induction period was observed, this is because the recovered salt presents a higher amount of deprotonated hydroxyl groups. Besides, according to molecular weight, polydispersity index, FT-IR spectrum and thermal stability, there were no differences between both synthesized polyols. Thus, it is possible to use the recovered glycerol phosphate disodium salt in the same way that the commercial one.

Keywords: DMSO, fire retardants, glycerol phosphate disodium salt, recovered initiator, solvent

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Authors: Jasmal A. Syamsu, Muhammad Yusuf, Hikmah M. Ali, Mawardi A. Asja, Zulkharnaim

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This study was conducted and aimed in identifying and mapping the pasture as an ecological base of beef cattle. A survey was carried out during a period of April to June 2016, in Suppa, Mattirobulu, the district of Pinrang, South Sulawesi province. The mapping process of grazing area was conducted in several stages; inputting and tracking of data points into Google Earth Pro (version 7.1.4.1529), affirmation and confirmation of tracking line visualized by satellite with a variety of records at the point, a certain point and tracking input data into ArcMap Application (ArcGIS version 10.1), data processing DEM/SRTM (S04E119) with respect to the location of the grazing areas, creation of a contour map (a distance of 5 m) and mapping tilt (slope) of land and land cover map-making. Analysis of land cover, particularly the state of the vegetation was done through the identification procedure NDVI (Normalized Differences Vegetation Index). This procedure was performed by making use of the Landsat-8. The results showed that the topography of the grazing areas of hills and some sloping surfaces and flat with elevation vary from 74 to 145 above sea level (asl), while the requirements for growing superior grass and legume is an altitude of up to 143-159 asl. Slope varied between 0 - > 40% and was dominated by a slope of 0-15%, according to the slope/topography pasture maximum of 15%. The range of NDVI values for pasture image analysis results was between 0.1 and 0.27. Characteristics of vegetation cover of pasture land in the category of vegetation density were low, 70% of the land was the land for cattle grazing, while the remaining approximately 30% was a grove and forest included plant water where the place for shelter of the cattle during the heat and drinking water supply. There are seven types of graminae and 5 types of legume that was dominant in the region. Proportionally, graminae class dominated up 75.6% and legume crops up to 22.1% and the remaining 2.3% was another plant trees that grow in the region. The dominant weed species in the region were Cromolaenaodorata and Lantana camara, besides that there were 6 types of floor plant that did not include as forage fodder.

Keywords: pastoral, ecology, mapping, beef cattle

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Authors: Lucija Pustahija, Christine Bandl, Wolfgang Kern, Christian Mitterer

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Concerning today´s ecological demands, producing reliable materials from sustainable resources is a continuously developing topic. Such an example is the production of carbon materials via pyrolysis of natural gases or biomass. The amazing properties of pyrolytic carbon are utilized in various fields, where in particular the application in building industry is a promising way towards the utilization of pyrolytic carbon and composites based on pyrolytic carbon. For many applications, surface modification of carbon is an important step in tailoring its properties. Therefore, in this paper, an investigation of different oxidation methods was performed to prepare the carbon surface before functionalizing it with organosilanes, which act as coupling agents for epoxy and polyurethane resins. Made in such a way, a building material based on carbon composites could be used as a lightweight, durable material that can be applied where water or air filtration / purification is needed. In this work, both wet and dry oxidation were investigated. Wet oxidation was first performed in solutions of nitric acid (at 120 °C and 150 °C) followed by oxidation in hydrogen peroxide (80 °C) for 3 and 6 h. Moreover, a hydrothermal method (under oxygen gas) in autoclaves was investigated. Dry oxidation was performed under plasma and corona discharges, using different power values to elaborate optimum conditions. Selected samples were then (in preliminary experiments) subjected to a silanization of the surface with amino and glycidoxy organosilanes. The functionalized surfaces were examined by X-ray photon spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectroscopy, and by scanning electron microscopy. The results of wet and dry oxidation methods indicated that the creation of functionalities was influenced by temperature, the concentration of the reagents (and gases) and the duration of the treatment. Sequential oxidation in aq. HNO₃ and H₂O₂ results in a higher content of oxygen functionalities at lower concentrations of oxidizing agents, when compared to oxidizing the carbon with concentrated nitric acid. Plasma oxidation results in non-permanent functionalization on the carbon surface, by which it´s necessary to find adequate parameters of oxidation treatments that could enable longer stability of functionalities. Results of the functionalization of the carbon surfaces with organosilanes will be presented as well.

Keywords: building materials, dry oxidation, organosilanes, pyrolytic carbon, resins, surface functionalization, wet oxidation

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Authors: Prangya Ranjan Rout, Puspendu Bhunia, Rajesh Roshan Dash

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In a developing country like India, providing reliable and affordable wastewater treatment facilities in rural areas is a huge challenge. With the aim of enhancing the nutrient removal from rural domestic wastewater while reducing the cost of treatment process, a novel, integrated treatment system consisting of a multistage bio-filter with drop aeration and a post positioned attached growth carbonaceous denitrifying-bioreactor was designed and developed in this work. The bio-filter was packed with ‘dolochar’, a sponge iron industry waste, as an adsorbent mainly for phosphate removal through physiochemical approach. The Denitrifying bio-reactor was packed with many waste organic solid substances (WOSS) as carbon sources and substrates for biomass attachment, mainly to remove nitrate in biological denitrification process. The performance of the modular system, treating real domestic wastewater was monitored for a period of about 60 days and the average removal efficiencies during the period were as follows: phosphate, 97.37%; nitrate, 85.91%, ammonia, 87.85%, with mean final effluent concentration of 0.73, 9.86, and 9.46 mg/L, respectively. The multistage bio-filter played an important role in ammonium oxidation and phosphate adsorption. The multilevel drop aeration with increasing oxygenation, and the special media used, consisting of certain oxides were likely beneficial for nitrification and phosphorus removal, respectively, whereas the nitrate was effectively reduced by biological denitrification in the carbonaceous bioreactor. This treatment system would allow multipurpose reuse of the final effluent. Moreover, the saturated dolochar can be used as nutrient suppliers in agricultural practices and the partially degraded carbonaceous substances can be subjected to composting, and subsequently used as an organic fertilizer. Thus, the system displays immense potential for treating domestic wastewater significantly decreasing the concentrations of nutrients and more importantly, facilitating the conversion of the waste materials into usable ones.

Keywords: nutrient removal, denitrifying bioreactor, multi-stage bio-filter, dolochar, waste organic solid substances

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Authors: M. Y. Maila, H. P. Makhubele

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Roasting is one of the oldest preservation method used in foods such as nuts and seeds. It is a process by which heat is applied to dry foodstuffs without the use of oil or water as a carrier. Groundnut seeds, also known as peanuts when sun dried or roasted, are among the oldest oil crops that are mostly consumed as a snack, after roasting in many parts of South Africa. However, roasting can denature proteins, destroy amino acids, decrease nutritive value and induce undesirable chemical changes in the final product. The aim of this study, therefore, was to evaluate the effect of various roasting times on the food value of the runner groundnut seeds. A constant temperature of 160 °C and various time-intervals (20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 min) were used for roasting groundnut seeds in an oven. Roasted groundnut seeds were then cooled and milled to flour. The milled sundried, raw groundnuts served as reference. The proximate analysis (moisture, energy and crude fats) was performed and the results were determined using standard methods. The antioxidant content was determined using HPLC. Mineral (cobalt, chromium, silicon and iron) contents were determined by first digesting the ash of sundried and roasted seed samples in 3M Hydrochloric acid and then determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. All results were subjected to ANOVA through SAS software. Relative to the reference, roasting time significantly (p ≤ 0.05) reduced moisture (71%–88%), energy (74%) and crude fat (5%–64%) of the runner groundnut seeds, whereas the antioxidant content was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased (35%–72%) with increasing roasting time. Similarly, the tested mineral contents of the roasted runner groundnut seeds were also significantly (p ≤ 0.05) reduced at all roasting times: cobalt (21%–83%), chromium (48%–106%) and silicon (58%–77%). However, the iron content was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) unaffected. Generally, the tested runner groundnut seeds had higher food value in the raw state than in the roasted state, except for the antioxidant content. Moisture is a critical factor affecting the shelf life, texture and flavor of the final product. Loss of moisture ensures prolonged shelf life, which contribute to the stability of the roasted peanuts. Also, increased antioxidant content in roasted groundnuts is essential in other health-promoting compounds. In conclusion, the overall reduction in the proximate and mineral contents of the runner groundnuts seeds due to roasting is sufficient to suggest influences of roasting time on the food value of the final product and shelf life.

Keywords: dry roasting, legume, oil source, peanuts

Procedia PDF Downloads 258

Authors: Ayman El Sabagh, SobhySorour, AbdElhamid Omar, Adel Ragab, Mohammad Sohidul Islam, Celaleddin Barutçular, Akihiro Ueda, Hirofumi Saneoka

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Salinity is one of the major factors limiting crop production in an arid environment. What adds to the concern is that all the legume crops are sensitive to increasing soil salinity. So it is implacable to either search for salinity enhancement of legume plants. The exogenous of osmoprotectants has been found effective in reducing the adverse effects of salinity stress on plant growth. Despite its global importance soybean production suffer the problems of salinity stress causing damages at plant development. Therefore, in the current study we try to clarify the mechanism that might be involved in the ameliorating effects of osmo-protectants such as proline and glycine betaine and compost application on soybean plants grown under salinity stress. Experiments were carried out in the greenhouse of the experimental station, plant nutritional physiology, Hiroshima University, Japan in 2011- 2012. The experiment was arranged in a factorial design with 4 replications at NaCl concentrations (0 and 15 mM). The exogenous, proline and glycine betaine concentrations (0 mM and 25 mM) for each. Compost treatments (0 and 24 t ha-1). Results indicated that salinity stress induced reduction in all growth and physiological parameters (dry weights plant-1, chlorophyll content, N and K+ content) likewise, seed and quality traits of soybean plant compared with those of the unstressed plants. In contrast, salinity stress led to increases in the electrolyte leakage ratio, Na and proline contents. Thus tolerance against salt stress was observed, the improvement of salt tolerance resulted from proline, glycine betaine and compost were accompanied with improved membrane stability, K+, and proline accumulation on contrary, decreased Na+ content. These results clearly demonstrate that could be used to reduce the harmful effect of salinity on both physiological aspects and growth parameters of soybean. They are capable of restoring yield potential and quality of seed and may be useful in agronomic situations where saline conditions are diagnosed as a problem. Consequently, exogenous osmo-protectants combine with compost will effectively solve seasonal salinity stress problem and are a good strategy to increase salinity resistance in the drylands.

Keywords: compost, glycine betaine, proline, salinity tolerance, soybean

Procedia PDF Downloads 349

Authors: Lalit Kumar, Rashid Al Shidi

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Phoenix dactylifera (date palm) is a major crop in many middle-eastern countries, including Oman. The Dubas bug Ommatissus lybicus is the main pest that affects date palm crops. However not all plantations are infested. It is still uncertain why some plantations get infested while others are not. This research investigated whether tree density and the system of planting (random versus systematic) had any relationship with infestation and levels of infestation. Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems were used to determine the density of trees (number of trees per unit area) while infestation levels were determined by manual counting of insects on 40 leaflets from two fronds on each tree, with a total of 20-60 trees in each village. The infestation was recorded as the average number of insects per leaflet. For tree density estimation, WorldView-3 scenes, with eight bands and 2m spatial resolution, were used. The Local maxima method, which depends on locating of the pixel of highest brightness inside a certain exploration window, was used to identify the trees in the image and delineating individual trees. This information was then used to determine whether the plantation was random or systematic. The ordinary least square regression (OLS) was used to test the global correlation between tree density and infestation level and the Geographic Weight Regression (GWR) was used to find the local spatial relationship. The accuracy of detecting trees varied from 83–99% in agricultural lands with systematic planting patterns to 50–70% in natural forest areas. Results revealed that the density of the trees in most of the villages was higher than the recommended planting number (120–125 trees/hectare). For infestation correlations, the GWR model showed a good positive significant relationship between infestation and tree density in the spring season with R² = 0.60 and medium positive significant relationship in the autumn season, with R² = 0.30. In contrast, the OLS model results showed a weaker positive significant relationship in the spring season with R² = 0.02, p < 0.05 and insignificant relationship in the autumn season with R² = 0.01, p > 0.05. The results showed a positive correlation between infestation and tree density, which suggests the infestation severity increased as the density of date palm trees increased. The correlation result showed that the density alone was responsible for about 60% of the increase in the infestation. This information can be used by the relevant authorities to better control infestations as well as to manage their pesticide spraying programs.

Keywords: dubas bug, date palm, tree density, infestation levels

Procedia PDF Downloads 159

Authors: Saad Mohamed Elsaid Onaizah

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One of the reasons for the intensive use of pesticides is to protect agricultural crops and orchards from pests or agricultural worms. The period of time that pesticides stay inside the soil is estimated at about (2) to (12) weeks. Perhaps the most important reason that led to groundwater pollution is the easy leakage of these harmful pesticides from the soil into the aquifers. This research aims to find the best ways to use trated activated charcoal with gold nitrate solution; For the purpose of removing the deadly pesticides from the aqueous solution by adsorption phenomenon. The most used pesticides in Egypt were selected, such as Malathion, Methomyl Abamectin and, Thiamethoxam. Activated charcoal doped with gold ions was prepared by applying chemical and thermal treatments to activated charcoal using gold nitrate solution. Adsorption of studied pesticide onto activated carbon /Au was mainly by chemical adsorption forming complex with the gold metal immobilised on activated carbon surfaces. Also, gold atom was considered as a catalyst to cracking the pesticide molecule. Gold activated charcoal is a low cost material due to the use of very low concentrations of gold nitrate solution. its notice the great ability of activated charcoal in removing selected pesticides due to the presence of the positive charge of the gold ion, in addition to other active groups such as functional oxygen and lignin cellulose. The presence of pores of different sizes on the surface of activated charcoal is the driving force for the good adsorption efficiency for the removal of the pesticides under study The surface area of the prepared char as well as the active groups were determined using infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Some factors affecting the ability of activated charcoal were applied in order to reach the highest adsorption capacity of activated charcoal, such as the weight of the charcoal, the concentration of the pesticide solution, the time of the experiment, and the pH. Experiments showed that the maximum limit revealed by the batch adsorption study for the adsorption of selected insecticides was in contact time (80) minutes at pH (7.70). These promising results were confirmed, and by establishing the practical application of the developed system, the effect of various operating factors with equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic studies is evident, using the Langmuir application on the effectiveness of the absorbent material with absorption capacities higher than most other adsorbents.

Keywords: waste water, pesticides pollution, adsorption, activated carbon

Procedia PDF Downloads 46

Authors: M. Sagarika, M. Chandra Sekhar

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Agricultural residues are producing in large quantities in India and account for abundant but underutilized source of renewable biomass in agriculture. In India, the amount of crop residues available is estimated to be approximately 686 million tons. Anaerobic digestion is a promising option to utilize the surplus agricultural residues and can produce biogas and digestate. Biogas is mainly methane (CH4), which can be utilized as an energy source in replacement for fossil fuels such as natural gas, oil, in other hand, digestate contains high amounts of nutrients, can be employed as fertilizer. Solid state anaerobic digestion (total solids ≥ 15%) is suitable for agricultural residues, as it reduces the problems like stratification and floating issues that occur in liquid anaerobic digestion (total solids < 15%). The major concern in solid-state anaerobic digestion is the low mass transfer of feedstock and inoculum that resulting in low performance. To resolve this low mass transfer issue, effective mixing of feedstock and inoculum is required. Mechanical mixing using stirrer at the time of digestion process can be done, but it is difficult to operate the stirring of feedstock with high solids percentage and high viscosity. Complete premixing of feedstock and inoculum is an alternative method, which is usual in lab scale studies but may not be affordable due to high energy demand in large-scale digesters. Developing partial premixing methods may reduce this problem. Current study is to improve the performance of solid-state anaerobic digestion of corn stover at feedstock to inoculum ratios 3 and 5, by applying partial premixing methods and to compare the complete premixing method with two partial premixing methods which are two alternative layers of feedstock and inoculum and three alternative layers of feedstock and inoculum where higher inoculum ratios in the top layers. From experimental studies it is observed that, partial premixing method with three alternative layers of feedstock and inoculum yielded good methane.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion, premixing methods, methane yield, corn stover, volatile solids

Procedia PDF Downloads 207

Authors: Pawan Kumar, Pitamber Singh Negi

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Many of the regeneration failures in conifers are often being attributed to heavy insect attack and pathogens during the period of seed formation and under storage conditions. Conifer berries and seed insects occur throughout the known range of the hosts and also limit the production of seed for nursery stock. On occasion, even entire seed crops are lost due to insect attacks. The berry and seeds of both the species have been found to be infected with insects. Recently, heavy damage to the berry and seeds of Juniper and Chilgoza Pine was observed in the field as well as in stored conditions, leading to reduction in the viability of seeds to germinate. Both the species are under great threat and regeneration of the species is very low. Due to lack of adequate literature, the study on the damage potential of seed insects was urgently required to know the exact status of the insect-pests attacking seeds/berries of both the pine species so as to develop pest management practices against the insect pests attack. As both the species are also under threat and are fighting for survival, so the study is important to develop management practices for the insect-pests of seeds/berries of Juniper and Chilgoza pine so as to evaluate in the nursery, as these species form major vegetation of their distribution zones. A six-year study on the management of insect pests of seeds of Chilgoza revealed that seeds of this species are prone to insect pests mainly borers. During present investigations, it was recorded that cones of are heavily attacked only by Dioryctria abietella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in natural conditions, but seeds which are economically important are heavily infected, (sometimes up to 100% damage was also recorded) by insect borer, Plodia interpunctella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and is recorded for the first time ‘to author’s best knowledge’ infesting the stored Chilgoza seeds. Similarly, Juniper berries and seeds were heavily attacked only by a single borer, Homaloxestis cholopis (Lepidoptera: Lecithoceridae) recorded as a new report in natural habitat as well as in stored conditions. During the present investigation details of insect pest attack on Juniper and Chilgoza pine seeds and berries was observed and suitable management practices were also developed to contain the insect-pests attack.

Keywords: borer, chilgozapine, cones, conifer, Lepidoptera, juniper, management, seed

Procedia PDF Downloads 120

Authors: Thiwanka Weerakkody, Lakmali Handagiripathira, Poshitha Dabare, Thisari Guruge

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The determination of gross alpha and beta activity in water is important in a wide array of environmental studies and these parameters are considered in international legislations on the quality of water. This technique is commonly applied as screening method in radioecology, environmental monitoring, industrial applications, etc. Measuring of Gross Alpha and Beta emitters by using iSolo alpha beta counting system is an adequate nuclear technique to assess radioactivity levels in natural and waste water samples due to its simplicity and low cost compared with the other methods. Twelve water samples (Six samples of commercially available bottled drinking water and six samples of industrial waste water) were measured by standard method EPA 900.0 consisting of the gas-less, firm wear based, single sample, manual iSolo alpha beta counter (Model: SOLO300G) with solid state silicon PIPS detector. Am-241 and Sr90/ Y90 calibration standards were used to calibrate the detector. The minimum detectable activities are 2.32mBq/L and 406mBq/L, for alpha and beta activity, respectively. Each of the 2L water samples was evaporated (at low heat) to a small volume and transferred into 50mm stainless steel counting planchet evenly (for homogenization) and heated by IR lamp and the constant weighted residue was obtained. Then the samples were counted for gross alpha and beta. Sample density on the planchet area was maintained below 5mg/cm. Large quantities of solid wastes sludges and waste water are generated every year due to various industries. This water can be reused for different applications. Therefore implementation of water treatment plants and measuring water quality parameters in industrial waste water discharge is very important before releasing them into the environment. This waste may contain different types of pollutants, including radioactive substances. All these measured waste water samples having gross alpha and beta activities, lower than the maximum tolerance limits for industrial waste water discharge of industrial waste in to inland surface water, that is 10-9µCi/mL and 10-8µCi/mL for gross alpha and beta respectively (National Environmental Act, No. 47 of 1980). This is according to extraordinary gazette of the democratic socialist republic of Sri Lanka in February 2008. The measured water samples were below the recommended radioactivity levels and do not pose any radiological hazard when releasing the environment. Drinking water is an essential requirement of life. All the drinking water samples were below the permissible levels of 0.5Bq/L for gross alpha activity and 1Bq/L for gross beta activity. The values have been proposed by World Health Organization in 2011; therefore the water is acceptable for consumption of humans without any further clarification with respect to their radioactivity. As these screening levels are very low, the individual dose criterion (IDC) would usually not be exceeded (0.1mSv y⁻¹). IDC is a criterion for evaluating health risks from long term exposure to radionuclides in drinking water. Recommended level of 0.1mSv/y expressed a very low level of health risk. This monitoring work will be continued further for environmental protection purposes.

Keywords: drinking water, gross alpha, gross beta, waste water

Procedia PDF Downloads 164

Authors: Hai-Hong Gu, Yan-Jun Ai, Zheng Zhou

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Vanadium and titanium are rare metals with superior properties and are important resources in aerospace, aviation, and military. The vanadium/titanium magnetite are mostly ultra-lean ores, and a large number of tailings has been produced in the exploitation process. The tailings are characterized by loose structure, poor nutrient, complex composition and high trace metal contents. Returning green manure has been shown to not only increase plant biomass and soil nutrients but also change the bioavailability of trace metals and the microbial community structure. Fungi play an important role in decomposing organic matter and increasing soil fertility, and the application of organic matter also affects the community structure of fungi. The effects of green manure plants, alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), returned to the tailings in situ on community structure of fungi, nutrients and bioavailability of trace metals in vanadium/titanium magnetite tailings were investigated in a pot experiment. The results showed that the fungal community diversity and richness were increase after alfalfa green manure returned in situ. The dominant phyla of the fungal community were Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and Ciliophora, especially, the phyla Ciliophora was rare in ordinary soil, but had been found to be the dominant phyla in tailings. Meanwhile, the nutrient properties and various trace metals may shape the microbial communities by affecting the abundance of fungi. It was found that the plant growth was stimulated and the available N and organic C were significantly improved in the vanadium/titanium magnetite tailing with the long-term returning of alfalfa green manure. Moreover, the DTPA-TEA extractable Cd and Zn concentrations in the vanadium/titanium magnetite tailing were reduced by 7.72%~23.8% and 8.02%~24.4%, respectively, compared with those in the non-returning treatment. The above results suggest that the returning of alfalfa green manure could be a potential approach to improve fungal community structure and restore mine tailing ecosystem.

Keywords: fungal community, green manure returning, vanadium/titanium magnet tailings, trace metals

Procedia PDF Downloads 42

Authors: Agbortoko Manyigbe Ayuk Nkem, Eno Cynthia Osuh

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This paper sets to examine the relationship between climate change and urban livelihood through a vulnerability assessment of the urban poor in Douala. Urban development in Douala places priority towards industrial and city-centre development with little focus on the urban poor in terms of housing units and areas of sustenance. With the high rate of urbanisation and increased land prices, the urban poor are forced to occupy marginal lands which are mainly wetlands, wastelands and along abandoned neighbourhoods prone to natural hazards. Due to climate change and its effects, these wetlands are constantly flooded thereby destroying homes, properties, and crops. Also, most of these urban dwellers have found solace in urban agriculture as a means for survival. However, since agriculture in tropical regions like Cameroon depends largely on seasonal rainfall, the changes in rainfall pattern has led to misplaced periods for crop planting and a huge wastage of resources as rainfall becomes very unreliable with increased temperature levels. Data for the study was obtained from both primary and secondary sources. Secondary sources included published materials related to climate change and vulnerability. Primary data was obtained through focus-group discussions with some urban farmers while a stratified sampling of residents within marginal lands was done. Each stratum was randomly sampled to obtain information on different stressors related to climate change and their effect on livelihood. Findings proved that the high rate of rural-urban migration into Douala has led to increased prevalence of the urban poor and their vulnerability to climate change as evident in their constant fight against flood from unexpected sea level rise and irregular rainfall pattern for urban agriculture. The study also proved that women were most vulnerable as they depended solely on urban agriculture and its related activities like retailing agricultural products in different urban markets which to them serves as a main source of income in the attainment of basic needs for the family. Adaptation measures include the constant use of sand bags, raised makeshifts as well as cultivation along streams, planting after evidence of constant rainfall has become paramount for sustainability.

Keywords: adaptation, Douala, Cameroon, climate change, development, livelihood, vulnerability

Procedia PDF Downloads 259

Authors: Irena Maus, Katharina Gabriella Cibis, Andreas Bremges, Yvonne Stolze, Geizecler Tomazetto, Daniel Wibberg, Helmut König, Alfred Pühler, Andreas Schlüter

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Within the agricultural sector, the production of biogas from organic substrates represents an economically attractive technology to generate bioenergy. Complex consortia of microorganisms are responsible for biomass decomposition and biogas production. Recently, species belonging to the phylum Thermotogae were detected in thermophilic biogas-production plants utilizing renewable primary products for biomethanation. To analyze adaptive genome features of representative Thermotogae strains, Defluviitoga tunisiensis L3 was isolated from a rural thermophilic biogas plant (54°C) and completely sequenced on an Illumina MiSeq system. Sequencing and assembly of the D. tunisiensis L3 genome yielded a circular chromosome with a size of 2,053,097 bp and a mean GC content of 31.38%. Functional annotation of the complete genome sequence revealed that the thermophilic strain L3 encodes several genes predicted to facilitate growth of this microorganism on arabinose, galactose, maltose, mannose, fructose, raffinose, ribose, cellobiose, lactose, xylose, xylan, lactate and mannitol. Acetate, hydrogen (H2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) are supposed to be end products of the fermentation process. The latter gene products are metabolites for methanogenic archaea, the key players in the final step of the anaerobic digestion process. To determine the degree of relatedness of dominant biogas community members within selected digester systems to D. tunisiensis L3, metagenome sequences from corresponding communities were mapped on the L3 genome. These fragment recruitments revealed that metagenome reads originating from a thermophilic biogas plant covered 95% of D. tunisiensis L3 genome sequence. In conclusion, availability of the D. tunisiensis L3 genome sequence and insights into its metabolic capabilities provide the basis for biotechnological exploitation of genome features involved in thermophilic fermentation processes utilizing renewable primary products.

Keywords: genome sequence, thermophilic biogas plant, Thermotogae, Defluviitoga tunisiensis

Procedia PDF Downloads 470

Authors: Aswini M. S.

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Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most significant vegetable crops in terms of its economic benefits. Both fresh and processed tomatoes are consumed. Tomatoes have a limited genetic base, which makes breeding extremely challenging. Plant breeding has become much simpler and more effective with genome editing tools of CRISPR and CRISPR-associated 9 protein (CRISPR/Cas9), which address the problems with traditional breeding, chemical/physical mutagenesis, and transgenics. With the use of CRISPR/Cas9, a number of tomato traits have been functionally distinguished and edited. These traits include plant architecture as well as flower characters (leaf, flower, male sterility, and parthenocarpy), fruit ripening, quality and nutrition (lycopene, carotenoid, GABA, TSS, and shelf-life), disease resistance (late blight, TYLCV, and powdery mildew), tolerance to abiotic stress (heat, drought, and salinity) and resistance to herbicides. This study explores the potential of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing for enhancing yield in tomato plants. The study utilized the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology to functionally edit various traits in tomatoes. The de novo domestication of elite features from wild cousins to cultivated tomatoes and vice versa has been demonstrated by the introgression of CRISPR/Cas9. The CycB (Lycopene beta someri) gene-mediated Cas9 editing increased the lycopene content in tomato. Also, Cas9-mediated editing of the AGL6 (Agamous-like 6) gene resulted in parthenocarpic fruit development under heat-stress conditions. The advent of CRISPR/Cas has rendered it possible to use digital resources for single guide RNA design and multiplexing, cloning (such as Golden Gate cloning, GoldenBraid, etc.), creating robust CRISPR/Cas constructs, and implementing effective transformation protocols like the Agrobacterium and DNA free protoplast method for Cas9-gRNAs ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) complex. Additionally, homologous recombination (HR)-based gene knock-in (HKI) via geminivirus replicon and base/prime editing (Target-AID technology) remains possible. Hence, CRISPR/Cas facilitates fast and efficient breeding in the improvement of tomatoes.

Keywords: CRISPR-Cas, biotic and abiotic stress, flower and fruit traits, genome editing, polygenic trait, tomato and trait introgression

Procedia PDF Downloads 47

Authors: Yenisleidy Martínez-Martínez, Yannay Casas-Ledón, Jo Dewulf

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Wind power constitutes a cleaner energy source with smaller unfavorable impacts on the environment than fossil fuels. Its development could be an alternative to fight climate change while meeting energy demands. However, wind energy development requires first determining the existing potential and areas with aptitude. Also, potential socio-economic and environmental impacts should be analyzed to prevent social rejection of this technology. In this context, this work performs a suitability assessment on a GIS environment to locate suitable areas for wind energy expansion in South-Central Chile. In addition, suitable areas were characterized in terms of potential goods and services to be produced as a proxy for analyzing potential impacts and trade-offs. First, layers of annual wind speed were generated as they represent the resource potential, and layer representing previously defined territorial constraints were created. Zones depicting territorial constraints were removed from resource measurement layers to identify suitable sites. Then, the appropriation of the primary production in suitable sites was determined to measure potential ecosystem services derived from human interventions in those areas. Results show that approximately 52% of the total surface of the study area has a good aptitude to install wind farms. In this area, provisioning services like food crops production, timber, and other forest resources like firewood play a key role in the regional economy and thus are the main cause of human interventions. This is reflected by human appropriation of the primary production values of 0.71 KgC/m².yr, 0.36 KgC/m².yr, and 0.14 KgC/m².yr, respectively. In this sense, wind energy development could be compatible with croplands, which is the predominant land use in suitable areas, and provide farmers with cheaper energy and extra income. Also, studies have reported changes in local temperature associated with wind turbines, which could be beneficial to crop growth. The results obtained in this study prove to be useful for identifying available areas for wind development, which could be very useful in decision-making processes related to energy planning.

Keywords: net primary productivity, provisioning services, suitability assessment, wind energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Tadesse Kebede Dabsu

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Insect pest is one the major limiting factor for sustainable food production. To overtake insect pest problem, since Second World War, producers have used excessive insecticide for insect pest management. However, in the era of 21st Century, the excessive use of insecticide caused insect resistant, insecticide bioaccumulation, insecticide hazard to environment, human health problem, and the like. Due to these problems, research efforts have been focused on the development of environmental free sustainable insect pest management method. To minimize all above mentioned risk utilizing of biological control such as entomopathogenicmicroorganism include bacteria, virus, fungus, and their productsare the best option for suppress insect population below certain density level. The objective of this review was to review the updated available studies and recent developments on the entomopathogenic bacteria (EPB) as biological control of insect pest and challenge of using them for control of insect pest. EPB’s mechanisms of insecticidal activities, type, taxonomy, and history are included in this paper body. EPB has been successfully used for the suppression of populations of insect pests. Controlling of harmful insect by entomopathogenic bacteria is an effective, low bioaccumulation in environment and food, very specific, reduce resistance risk in insect pest, economically and sustainable method of major insect pest management method. Identified and reported as potential major common type of entomopathogenic bacteria include Bacillus thuringiensis, Photorhabdus sp., Xenorhabdus spp.Walbachiaspp, Actinomycetesspp.etc. These bacteria being enter into insect body through natural opening or by vector release toxin protein inside of insect and disrupt the cell’s content cause natural mortality under natural condition. As per reported by different scientists, insect orders like Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, and Dipterahave been successful controlled by entomopathogenic bacteria. As per coming across in different scientific research journals, much of the work was emphasised on Bacillus thuringiensisbsp. Therefore, for commercial production like Bacillus thuringiensi, detail research should be done on other bacteria species. The efficacy and practical application of EPB are restricted to some crops and greenhouse area, but their field application at farmers’ level very less. So still much work needs to be done to the practical application of the EPB at widely application. Their efficacy, pathogenicity, and host range test should be tested under environmental condition.

Keywords: insect pest, entomopathogenic bacteria, biological control, agent

Procedia PDF Downloads 116

Authors: Riadh Zorgati, Thomas Triboulet

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In quite diverse application areas such as astronomy, medical imaging, geophysics or nondestructive evaluation, many problems related to calibration, fitting or estimation of a large number of input parameters of a model from a small amount of output noisy data, can be cast as inverse problems. Due to noisy data corruption, insufficient data and model errors, most inverse problems are ill-posed in a Hadamard sense, i.e. existence, uniqueness and stability of the solution are not guaranteed. A wide class of inverse problems in physics relates to the Fredholm equation of the first kind. The ill-posedness of such inverse problem results, after discretization, in a very ill-conditioned linear system of equations, the condition number of the associated matrix can typically range from 109 to 1018. This condition number plays the role of an amplifier of uncertainties on data during inversion and then, renders the inverse problem difficult to handle numerically. Similar problems appear in other areas such as numerical optimization when using interior points algorithms for solving linear programs leads to face ill-conditioned systems of linear equations. Devising efficient solution approaches for such system of equations is therefore of great practical interest. Efficient iterative algorithms are proposed for solving a system of linear equations. The approach is based on a preconditioning of the initial matrix of the system with an approximation of a generalized inverse leading to a stochastic preconditioned matrix. This approach, valid for non-negative matrices, is first extended to hermitian, semi-definite positive matrices and then generalized to any complex rectangular matrices. The main results obtained are as follows: 1) We are able to build a generalized inverse of any complex rectangular matrix which satisfies the convergence condition requested in iterative algorithms for solving a system of linear equations. This completes the (short) list of generalized inverse having this property, after Kaczmarz and Cimmino matrices. Theoretical results on both the characterization of the type of generalized inverse obtained and the convergence are derived. 2) Thanks to its properties, this matrix can be efficiently used in different solving schemes as Richardson-Tanabe or preconditioned conjugate gradients. 3) By using Lp norms, we propose generalized Kaczmarz’s type matrices. We also show how Cimmino's matrix can be considered as a particular case consisting in choosing the Euclidian norm in an asymmetrical structure. 4) Regarding numerical results obtained on some pathological well-known test-cases (Hilbert, Nakasaka, …), some of the proposed algorithms are empirically shown to be more efficient on ill-conditioned problems and more robust to error propagation than the known classical techniques we have tested (Gauss, Moore-Penrose inverse, minimum residue, conjugate gradients, Kaczmarz, Cimmino). We end on a very early prospective application of our approach based on stochastic matrices aiming at computing some parameters (such as the extreme values, the mean, the variance, …) of the solution of a linear system prior to its resolution. Such an approach, if it were to be efficient, would be a source of information on the solution of a system of linear equations.

Keywords: conditioning, generalized inverse, linear system, norms, stochastic matrix

Procedia PDF Downloads 112

Authors: Hongtao Zhu, Dezhi Sun

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Nitrogen and phosphorus are essential nutrients for biomass growth. But excessive nitrogen and phosphorus can contribute to accelerated eutrophication of lakes and rivers. Constructed wetland is an efficient and eco-friendly wastewater treatment technology with low operating cost and low-energy consumption. Because of high affinity with ammonium ion, zeolite, as a common substrate, is applied in constructed wetlands worldwide. Another substrate seen commonly for constructed wetlands is steel slag, which has high contents of Ca, Al, or Fe, and possesses a strong affinity with phosphate. Due to the excellent ammonium removal ability of zeolite and phosphate removal ability of steel slag, they were considered to be combined in the substrate bed of a constructed wetland in order to enhance the simultaneous removal efficiencies of nitrogen and phosphorus. In our early tests, zeolite and steel slag were combined with each other in order to simultaneously achieve a high removal efficiency of ammonium-nitrogen and phosphate-phosphorus. However, compared with the results when only zeolite was used, the removal efficiency of ammonia was sharply decreased when zeolite and steel slag were used together. The main objective of this study was to establish an overview of the interaction of steel slag and zeolite on ammonium nitrogen removal. The CaO dissolution from slag, as well as the effects of influencing parameters (i.e. pH and Ca2+ concentration) on the ammonium adsorption onto zeolite, was systematically studied. Modeling results of Ca2+ and OH- release from slag indicated that pseudo-second order reaction had a better fitness than pseudo-first order reaction. Changing pH value from 7 to 12 would result in a drastic reduction of the ammonium adsorption capacity on zeolite, from the peak at pH7. High Ca2+ concentration in solution could also inhibit the adsorption of ammonium onto zeolite. The mechanism for steel slag inhibiting the ammonium adsorption capacity of zeolite includes: on one hand, OH- released from steel slag can react with ammonium ions to produce molecular form ammonia (NH3∙H2O), which would cause the dissociation of NH4+ from zeolite. On the other hand, Ca2+ could replace the NH4+ ions to adhere onto the surface of zeolite. An innovative substrate filling configuration that zeolite and steel slag are placed sequentially was proposed to eliminate the disadvantageous effects of steel slag. Experimental results showed that the novel filling configuration was superior to the other two contrast filling configurations in terms of ammonium removal.

Keywords: ammonium nitrogen, constructed wetlands, steel slag, zeolite

Procedia PDF Downloads 228

Authors: Habib Abida, Noura Dahri

Abstract:

Flash floods are among the most serious natural hazards that have disastrous environmental and human impacts. They are associated with exceptional rain events, characterized by short durations, very high intensities, rapid flows and small spatial extent. Flash floods happen very suddenly and are difficult to forecast. They generally cause damage to agricultural crops and property, infrastructures, and may even result in the loss of human lives. The city of Gabes (South-eastern Tunisia) has been exposed to numerous damaging floods because of its mild topography, clay soil, high urbanization rate and erratic rainfall distribution. The risks associated with this situation are expected to increase further in the future because of climate change, deemed responsible for the increase of the frequency and the severity of this natural hazard. Recently, exceptional events hit Gabes City causing death and major property losses. A major flooding event hit the region on June 2nd, 2014, causing human deaths and major material losses. It resulted in the stagnation of storm water in the numerous low zones of the study area, endangering thereby human health and causing disastrous environmental impacts. The characterization of flood risk in Gabes Watershed (South-eastern Tunisia) is considered an important step for flood management. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method coupled with Monte Carlo simulation and geographic information system were applied to delineate and characterize flood areas. A spatial database was developed based on geological map, digital elevation model, land use, and rainfall data in order to evaluate the different factors susceptible to affect flood analysis. Results obtained were validated by remote sensing data for the zones that showed very high flood hazard during the extreme rainfall event of June 2014 that hit the study basin. Moreover, a survey was conducted from different areas of the city in order to understand and explore the different causes of this disaster, its extent and its consequences.

Keywords: analytical hierarchy process, flash floods, Gabes, remote sensing, Tunisia

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