Improvement of Plant Growth and Control of Cultivation Environment Using Electrical Stimuli

Author(s):  
Douyan Wang
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Samuel Ken-En Gan ◽  
Ser-Xian Phua ◽  
Joshua Yi Yeo ◽  
Zealyn Shi-Lin Heng ◽  
Zhenxiang Xing

Polystyrene (PS) is one of the major plastics contributing to environmental pollution with its durability and resistance to natural biodegradation. Recent research showed that mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) and superworms (Zophobas morio) are naturally able to consume PS as a carbon food source and degrade them without observable toxic effects. In this study, we explored the effects of possible food additives and use of worm frass as potential plant fertilizers. We found that small amounts of sucrose and bran increased PS consumption and that the worm frass alone could support dragon fruit cacti (Hylocereus undatus) growth, with superworm frass in particular, supporting better growth and rooting than mealworm frass and control media over a fortnight. As known fish and poultry feed, these findings present worms as a natural solution to simultaneously tackle both the global plastic problem and urban farming issue in a zero-waste sustainable bioremediation cycle.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4.44) ◽  
pp. 122
Author(s):  
Usman Nurhasan ◽  
Arief Prasetyo ◽  
Gilang Lazuardi ◽  
Erfan Rohadi ◽  
Hendra Pradibta

Hydroponics is the cultivation of plants by utilizing water without using soil by emphasizing the fulfillment of nutritional needs for plants. Deep Flow Technic (DFT) is a type of hydroponics that implements a continuous flow of nutrients and there is a pool of half of the diameter of the pipe that inundates the roots of the plant. A common obstacle experienced by DFT is the lack of maintenance of plant growth elements such as water circulation, light intensity, temperature, humidity and pH of the water which causes these plants not to grow optimally. Then it is necessary to monitor and control the circulation of water on DFT-based IoT hydroponics to anticipate changes in plant growth elements. Data on plant growth elements are acquired by sensors integrated with Raspberry Pi. In the monitoring process using the website will display data on plant growth elements in the form of pH, temperature, humidity and water level in the hydroponic reservoir. Temperature and humidity are used as water circulation control parameters that are processed using the Fuzzy Sugeno Method. From the results of the tests that have been carried out, the system can monitor plant growth elements displayed on the website in real time and control water circulation automatically. The system applied in the hydroponics of mustard greens also produces significant growth in leaf number and plant height.   


PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e10066
Author(s):  
Danila Marini ◽  
Tellisa Kearton ◽  
Jackie Ouzman ◽  
Rick Llewellyn ◽  
Sue Belson ◽  
...  

Early virtual fencing trials have effectively contained small groups of sheep within set areas of a paddock when all animals were wearing manual electronic collars. With sheep farming commonly involving large flocks, a potential cost-effective application of virtual fencing would involve applying equipment to only a proportion of the flock. In this study, we tested the ability of virtual fencing to control a small flock of sheep with differing proportions of the group exposed to the virtual fence (VF). Thirty-six Merino sheep were identified as leaders, middle or followers by moving them through a laneway. The sheep were then allocated to groups balanced for order of movement. The groups (n = 9 per group) included applying the VF to the following proportions of animals within each group: (1) 100% (n = 9 VF) (2) 66% (n = 6 VF; n = 3 no VF) (3) 33% (n = 3 VF; n = 6 no VF) (4) 0% (no VF; free to roam the paddock). The groups were given access to their own paddock (80 × 20 m) for two consecutive days, six hours per day, with the VF groups prevented from entering an exclusion zone that covered 50% of the north side of the paddock. During these hours, VF interactions, behavioural time budgets, and body temperature were recorded as measures of stress, and location was tracked with GPS. Group 100% VF and Control were tested on the first two days and groups 33% VF and 66% VF were tested on the following two days. During VF implementation the 100% VF and 66% VF group were successfully prevented from entering the exclusion zone. Having only 33% of the flock exposed to the virtual fence was not successful, with the sheep pushing forward through the VF to join flock mates in the exclusion zone. For learning to respond to the audio cue, sheep in the 33% group received more electrical stimuli with a 0.51 proportion for the ratio of electrical stimuli to audio cue, compared to 0.22 and 0.28 for the 100% and 66% groups, respectively. There were small differences in behavioural patterns of standing and lying on both days of testing, with the 100% VF and 66% VF groups spending more time lying. Although stress-induced hyperthermia did not occur in any of the VF groups, body temperature differed in the 33% VF group. There were no differences in temperature measures between the control and 100% VF animals. This study demonstrates that for a short period, controlling two-thirds of the flock was equally as effective as virtually fencing all animals, while controlling one-third of a flock with a virtual fence was not effective. For the short term, it appears that implementing the VF to a proportion of the flock can be an effective method of containment. Due to the limitations of this study, these results warrant further testing with larger flocks and for longer periods.


HortScience ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 618c-618
Author(s):  
F.A. Bliss ◽  
Ali A. Almehdi

Seedlings of Prunus mahaleb are often used as rootstocks for sweet cherry (P. avium) scion cultivars in commercial orchards. While they are desirable based on ease of propagation and economical production of nursery stock, seedlings may be variable resulting in nonuniform compound trees, and they are susceptible to several important diseases. Seedling sources have shown substantial variability for population uniformity of plant growth, and reaction to crown gall, powdery mildew and Phytophthora root rot. Segregating families also vary for pollen fertility, inbreeding response and control of scion growth. Multiple screening for favorable trait combinations is underway to develop improved sources of cherry rootstocks.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aulia Zakia ◽  
Satriyas Ilyas ◽  
Candra Budiman ◽  
Syamsuddin , ◽  
Dyah Manohara

<p align="center"><strong><em>ABSTRACT <br /></em></strong></p><p><em>The objectives of this study was to evaluate biopriming of chili seed with rhizobacteria to improve plant growth and control Phytophthora blight disease in a greenhouse. This experiment used three isolates of rhizobacteria, i.e. E1, E3C2 and F2B1, and isolate <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Phytophthora</span> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">capsici</span> (Cb6) isolated from the production center of chili in East Jawa. Laris variety from PT. East West was used in this experiment. This experiment used randomized block design with one factor, i.e. 11 levels of seed treatment (E1 rhizobacteria, E3C2 rhizobacteria, F2B1 rhizobacteria, E1+E3C2 rhizobacteria, E1+F2B1 rhizobacteria, E1+E3C2+F2B1 rhizobacteria, seed soaking in water, without soaking, metalaxyl, positive control and negative control). The result showed that seed treatment with combination of E1+F2B1 isolates when grown in nursery, significantly increased the height and number of leaves in chilli. Besides, seed treatment with F2B1 isolate and combination of E1+F2B1 isolates after transplanting were capable to improve plant growth and control Phytophthora blight disease in greenhouse.</em></p><p><em>Keywords: greenhouse, isolate rhizobacteria, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Phytophthora</span> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">capsici</span></em></p><p align="center"><em>  <br /></em></p><p align="center"><strong>ABSTRAK <br /></strong></p><p>Tujuan penelitian ini ialah mengevaluasi perlakuan <em>biopriming</em> benih cabai dengan rizobakteri dalam meningkatkan pertumbuhan bibit dan mengendalikan kejadian busuk Phytophthora di rumah kaca. Perlakuan <em>biopriming</em> benih dengan rizobakteri menggunakan tiga isolat rizobakteri E1, E3C2 dan F2B1 dan isolat <em>Phytophthora capsici</em> Cb6 hasil eksplorasi pertanaman cabai Jawa Timur. Benih yang digunakan dalam percobaan merupakan benih varietas Laris produksi PT. East West. Percobaan menggunakan rancangan acak kelompok satu faktor, masing-masing perlakuan diulang empat kali, dengan 11 taraf perlakuan, antara lain R0+ (kontrol positif, benih direndam dalam PDB tanpa perlakuan rizobakteri dengan inokulasi <em>P. capsici</em>), R0- (kontrol negatif, benih direndam dalam PDB tanpa perlakuan rizobakteri dan tanpa inokulasi <em>P. capsici</em>), R1 (perlakuan benih dengan isolat E1), R2 (isolat E3C2), R3 (isolat F2B1), R4 (kombinasi isolat E1+E3C2), R5 (kombinasi isolat E1+F2B1), R6 (kombinasi isolat E1+E3C2+F2B1), R0RA (benih direndam dalam air 24 jam), R0TR (benih tanpa rendam), R0M (benih direndam dalam metalaksil). Tanah inokulum <em>P. capsici</em> diberikan 28 hari setelah pindah-tanam di sekitar pangkal batang tanaman cabai di bawah permukaan tanah. Hasil percobaan menunjukkan, perlakuan dengan kombinasi isolat E1+F2B1 saat persemaian di rumah kaca nyata meningkatkan tinggi dan jumlah daun tanaman cabai. Perlakuan benih dengan isolat F2B1 maupun kombinasi isolat E1+F2B1 setelah pindah-tanam di rumah kaca memiliki kemampuan meningkatkan pertumbuhan tanaman serta mengendalikan penyakit busuk Phytophthora. </p><p>Kata kunci: isolat rizobakteri,<em> Phytophthora capsici</em>, rumah kaca</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 883 (1) ◽  
pp. 012049
Author(s):  
L D Indarwati ◽  
E Sulistyaningsih ◽  
B Kurniasih

Abstract Shallot is a horticulture crop with a fibrous root system, which is susceptible to water deficit, particularly in the bulb formation stage. This study was carried out to examine the effects of salicylic acid (SA) and biosilica (Si) exogenous induction on plant growth of shallot grown under water deficit in plastic baskets. A factorial 4×2 experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with four blocks. The first factor of treatments was a four-level exogenous induction, i.e., 0.5mM SA, 6mM Si, combination (0.5mM SA and 6mM Si), and control (0 without SA and Si). The second factor was a level of interval irrigations i.e, one-day interval and three-day interval. The results showed that the treatment of combination 0.5mM SA and 6mM Si can maintained a plant height and the number of leaves was better than the control under water deficit. Avoidance was one of the mechanisms of shallot in dealing with water deficit, namely by reducing the stomatal density. Decreased stomatal density was negatively correlated with water use efficiency.


1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 133a
Author(s):  
Jonathan M. Frantz ◽  
Gregory E. Welbaum ◽  
Zhengxing Shen ◽  
Ron Morse

“Float-bed” (FB) is a simple hydroponic system used by the tobacco industry for transplant production. “Ebb-and-flood” (EF) is a modified FB system with periodic draining of the bed to limit water availability and control plant growth. Field-bed cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. gp. Capitata) transplant production was compared with FB, EF, and overhead-irrigated plug-tray greenhouse systems. Plants were produced in May and June and transplanted in a field near Blacksburg, Va., in June and July of 1994 and 1995, respectively. Beds for FB and EF production consisted of galvanized metal troughs (3.3 × 0.8 × 0.3 m) lined with a double layer of 0.075-mm-thick black plastic film. In 1994, both EF and FB seedlings were not hardened before transplanting, were severely stressed after transplanting, and had higher seedling mortality compared with plants from other systems. Plug-tray transplants showed the greatest increase in leaf area following transplanting and matured earlier than seedlings produced in other systems. In 1995, EF- and FB-grown cabbage plants were hardened by withholding water before transplanting, and seedlings had greater fresh mass and leaf area than plug-tray or field-bed seedlings 3.5 weeks after transplanting. Less succulent cabbage transplants were grown in EF and FB systems containing 66 mg·L-1 N (40% by nitrate) and 83 mg·L-1 K. Compared with the FB system, the EF system allowed control of water availability, which slowed plant growth, and increased oxygen concentration in the root zone. Both EF and FB systems are suitable for cabbage transplant production.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darius Wen-Shuo Koh ◽  
Brennan Yi-Xing Ang ◽  
Joshua Yi Yeo ◽  
Zhenxiang Xing ◽  
Samuel Ken-En Gan

Polystyrene (PS) is one of the major plastics contributing to environmental pollution with its durability and resistance to biodegradation. Recent research has found mealworms ( Tenebrio molitor) and superworms ( Zophobas morio) to be able to utilize PS as a carbon food source and degrade them without toxic effects. In this study, the effects of food additives on plastic consumption augmentation were studied, with small additions of sucrose and bran found to increase PS consumption. To close the plastic carbon cycle, we also evaluated the use of worm frass for dragon fruit cacti ( Hylocereus undatus) growth and found that superworm frass supported rooting and growth better than mealworm frass and control media over a fortnight. Superworms, apart from being known fish and poultry feed, have been shown to be a suitable natural solution to the PS plastic problem that can support plant growth towards a zero-waste sustainable bioremediation cycle.


HortScience ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 607e-607
Author(s):  
Niels Ehler ◽  
Mark A. Rose ◽  
Jesper Mazanti Hansen

Currently, greenhouse environmental computers are programmed to monitor and control the macroclimate instead of directly controlling plant growth and development, which are features of more interest to growers. Our objective was to develop a generic system to represent and control the dynamic plant processes that regulate plant growth in the greenhouse. Before plant growth can be directly controlled, the dynamic interactions between the microclimate around plants and plant physiological processes must be further understood. Future computerized control systems must be able to display an intuitive, interactive software program that helps the user understand and make use of the dynamic relationships between climate controls, climate processes, and plant processes. A conceptual framework was designed for a user interface with a biological orientation. This software consists of five different elements: the information provider, the information monitor, the information browser, the growth system controller, and the system visualizer. A demonstrator application illustrating this concept was developed and connected in real time to a standard greenhouse environmental computer. Crop tissue temperature is calculated and used instead of conventional irradiance limits to control shading screens to optimize the amount of radiation absorbed by the crop. The application is based on a set of generic automatically created paradox databases. A graphical user interface on the screen displays virtual plants that are used for visualizing, understanding, and controlling the different processes governing the crop tissue temperature.


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