scholarly journals Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) productivity influenced by microbial inocula under nitrogen-limited conditions in aquaponics

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. e0247534
Author(s):  
Jessica A. Day ◽  
Christian Diener ◽  
Anne E. Otwell ◽  
Kourtney E. Tams ◽  
Brad Bebout ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lactuca Sativa ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Complex Interplay ◽  
Conventional Agriculture ◽  
Microbiome Composition ◽  
Below Ground ◽  
Minimal Environmental Impact ◽  
Microbial Inocula

The demand for food will outpace productivity of conventional agriculture due to projected growth of the human population, concomitant with shrinkage of arable land, increasing scarcity of freshwater, and a rapidly changing climate. While aquaponics has potential to sustainably supplement food production with minimal environmental impact, there is a need to better characterize the complex interplay between the various components (fish, plant, microbiome) of these systems to optimize scale up and productivity. Here, we investigated how the commonly-implemented practice of continued microbial community transfer from pre-existing systems might promote or impede productivity of aquaponics. Specifically, we monitored plant growth phenotypes, water chemistry, and microbiome composition of rhizospheres, biofilters, and fish feces over 61-days of lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. crispa) growth in nitrogen-limited aquaponic systems inoculated with bacteria that were either commercially sourced or originating from a pre-existing aquaponic system. Lettuce above- and below-ground growth were significantly reduced across replicates treated with a pre-existing aquaponic system inoculum when compared to replicates treated with a commercial inoculum. Reduced productivity was associated with enrichment in specific bacterial genera in plant roots, including Pseudomonas, following inoculum transfer from pre-existing systems. Increased productivity was associated with enrichment of nitrogen-fixing Rahnella in roots of plants treated with the commercial inoculum. Thus, we show that inoculation from a pre-existing system, rather than from a commercial inoculum, is associated with lower yields. Further work will be necessary to test the putative mechanisms involved.

scholarly journals Negative plant-microbiome feedback limits productivity in aquaponics

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica A. Day ◽  
Anne E. Otwell ◽  
Christian Diener ◽  
Kourtney E. Tams ◽  
Brad Bebout ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Soil Salinization ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
Conventional Agriculture ◽  
Microbiome Composition ◽  
Negative Feedbacks ◽  
Plant Microbiome

AbstractThe demand for food will outpace productivity of conventional agriculture due to projected growth of the human population, concomitant with shrinkage of arable land, increasing scarcity of freshwater, and a rapidly changing climate. Efforts to increase conventional agricultural output come with significant environmental impacts stemming from deforestation and excessive use of chemicals, including soil salinization, erosion, and nutrient runoffs. While aquaponics has potential to sustainably supplement food production with minimal environmental impact, there is a need to better characterize the complex interplay between the various components (fish, plant, microbiome) of these systems to optimize scale up and productivity. For instance, much of our knowledge of beneficial and detrimental microbial communities vis-à-vis crop productivity comes from studies on plant-microbiome interactions in soil. Here, we investigated how the practice of continued transfer of microbial communities from pre-existing systems might promote or impede productivity of aquaponics. Specifically, we monitored plant growth phenotypes, water chemistry, and microbiome composition of rhizospheres, biofilters, and fish feces over 61-days of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) growth in aquaponic systems inoculated with bacteria that were either commercially sourced or originating from a pre-existing aquaponic system. Strikingly, L. sativa plant and root growth was significantly reduced across all replicates inoculated with the established microbiome. Further analyses revealed the reduced productivity was potentially a consequence of plant-specific pathogen enrichment, including Pseudomonas, through transfer of microbiomes from pre-existing systems – a phenomenon consistent with negative feedbacks in soil ecology. These findings underscore the need for diagnostic tools to monitor microbiome composition, detect negative feedbacks early, and minimize pathogen accumulation in aquaponic systems.

scholarly journals Microbes: Food for the Future

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 971
Author(s):  
Matilde Ciani ◽  
Antonio Lippolis ◽  
Federico Fava ◽  
Liliana Rodolfi ◽  
Alberto Niccolai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Negative Externalities ◽  
Agriculture Soil ◽  
Global Concern ◽  
Food Commodities ◽  
Hydrogen Oxidizing Bacteria

Current projections estimate that in 2050 about 10 billion people will inhabit the earth and food production will need to increase by more than 60%. Food security will therefore represent a matter of global concern not easily tackled with current agriculture practices and curbed by the increasing scarcity of natural resources and climate change. Disrupting technologies are urgently needed to improve the efficiency of the food production system and to reduce the negative externalities of agriculture (soil erosion, desertification, air pollution, water and soil contamination, biodiversity loss, etc.). Among the most innovative technologies, the production of microbial protein (MP) in controlled and intensive systems called “bioreactors” is receiving increasing attention from research and industry. MP has low arable land requirements, does not directly compete with crop-based food commodities, and uses fertilizers with an almost 100% efficiency. This review considers the potential and limitations of four MP sources currently tested at pilot level or sold as food or feed ingredients: hydrogen oxidizing bacteria (HOB), methanotrophs, fungi, and microalgae (cyanobacteria). The environmental impacts (energy, land, water use, and GHG emissions) of these MP sources are compared with those of plant, animal, insect, and cultured meat-based proteins. Prices are reported to address whether MP may compete with traditional protein sources. Microalgae cultivation under artificial light is discussed as a strategy to ensure independence from weather conditions, continuous operation over the year, as well as high-quality biomass. The main challenges to the spreading of MP use are discussed.

scholarly journals Automated Weed Detection Systems: A Review

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saraswathi Shanmugam ◽  
Eduardo Assunção ◽  
Ricardo Mesquita ◽  
André Veiros ◽  
Pedro D. Gaspar
Keyword(s):  
Weed Control ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Control Methods ◽  
Weed Detection ◽  
Conventional Agriculture ◽  
Detection Systems ◽  
Efficient Reduction ◽  
Production Research ◽  
And Control

A weed plant can be described as a plant that is unwanted at a specific location at a given time. Farmers have fought against the weed populations for as long as land has been used for food production. In conventional agriculture this weed control contributes a considerable amount to the overall cost of the produce. Automatic weed detection is one of the viable solutions for efficient reduction or exclusion of chemicals in crop production. Research studies have been focusing and combining modern approaches and proposed techniques which automatically analyze and evaluate segmented weed images. This study discusses and compares the weed control methods and gives special attention in describing the current research in automating the weed detection and control. Keywords: Detection, Weed, Agriculture 4.0, Computational vision, Robotics

scholarly journals Multitemporal Geospatial Evaluation of Urban Agriculture and (Non)-Sustainable Food Self-Provisioning in Milan, Italy

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1846 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Pulighe ◽  
Flavio Lupia
Keyword(s):  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Total Production ◽  
Ancillary Data ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
The City

Urban agriculture in Global North cities is strongly promoted as a sustainable solution to achieve different goals, such as food production, quality of life, and well-being. Although several attempts have been made to evaluate urban agriculture production, few studies have investigated food production in a multitemporal geospatial way and considered per capita population needs, gender, and age strata consumption. This study presents a spatiotemporal quantification of urban agriculture in the city of Milan (Italy) for assessing food self-provisioning potential. We utilized high-resolution Google Earth images and ancillary data to create a detailed cadaster of urban agriculture for the years 2007 and 2014. Based on four scenarios of food production and statistical data on vegetables and cereals consumption, we estimated current total production and requirements for the city dwellers. Our results showed that the actual extension of vegetable gardens (98 ha) and arable land (2539 ha) in the best scenario could satisfy approximately 63,700 and 321,000 consumers of vegetables and cereal products, respectively. Overall, current urban agriculture production is not able to meet vegetables and cereal consumption for more than 1.3 million city residents. Scenario estimates suggest rethinking land use promoting horticultural production to achieve more sustainable food systems.

scholarly journals Stakeholders’ Perspectives to Support the Integration of Ecosystem Services in Spatial Planning in Switzerland

Environments ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. 88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rémi Jaligot ◽  
Jérôme Chenal
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Spatial Planning ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Q Methodology ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Paradigm Change ◽  
Biological Functions ◽  
Stakeholder Perspectives ◽  
Land Use And Management ◽  
Ecosystem Multifunctionality

Integrating the concept of ecosystem services (ES) into spatial planning is an opportunity to make land use and management choices that maximize the delivery of multiple ES. The assessment of social demand can be useful for the identification of priority areas or potential conflicts among stakeholders. We used Q-methodology to understand stakeholder perspectives on ES to facilitate their integration into spatial planning in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. Three perspectives, utilitarian, cultural and protective, were analyzed and used to discuss potential implications for spatial planning. First, ecosystem multifunctionality and synergies among ES should be emphasized. Second, the food production system should move away from a productive-only approach, to a system that protects soils and their functions. Providing a paradigm change, arable land could be protected to the same level as forests and farmers could be incentivized further to change their practices. Finally, our findings show a potential over-interpretation of the importance of cultural ES in current planning policies, as most participants would be ready to change their behaviors to preserve biological functions. It would be useful to conduct a similar study in other cantons to ensure that the results are fully representative of the current situation in Switzerland.

scholarly journals Review: Challenges and opportunities for revitalising smallholder irrigation schemes in South Africa

Water SA ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (3 July) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Fanadzo ◽  
B Ncube
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Capacity Building ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Smallholder Farming ◽  
The Government ◽  
Smallholder Irrigation

South Africa is classified as a water-scarce country, and depends on agriculture for food production. The irrigation sector is the largest consumer of water in the country, accounting for about 62% of water utilisation, but also losing 30–40%. Given the threat of drought and climate change, efficient irrigation systems have become a necessity, especially in the smallholder farming sector where most losses occur. Smallholder irrigation schemes (SIS) were developed to improve rural livelihoods through sustainable food production for food security and poverty alleviation, but these development objectives remain largely unfulfilled. The objectives of this review were to assess challenges facing SIS and explore opportunities for revitalising the schemes. The focus was on government policy and strategies to support smallholder farmers. A review of government policy showed that although the needs and interests of smallholder farmers are high on the national agenda, there is insufficient financial support to the sector, suggesting that smallholder agriculture is not really seen as a potential driver of the economy. The core focus of the government on repairing irrigation infrastructure while neglecting the soft components relating to capacity building has partly been blamed for the failure of SIS in South Africa. Capacity building is one of the missing links in smallholder irrigation development and many failures have been attributed to lack of adequately trained farmers and extension staff, particularly in irrigation water management. Land tenure insecurity has been singled out as a major institutional challenge leading to poor performance of irrigation schemes. The diversity of schemes means that different kinds of interventions are needed to respond to varying farmers’ needs, resources and agricultural contexts. These findings point to the need to balance the soft and hard components of the irrigation schemes for sustainability. It is therefore evident that the government needs to review its priorities in revitalisation of SIS. Land tenure policies allowing increased access to arable land need to be developed urgently, together with the promotion of alternative cropping systems that are suitable forthe smallholder farming sector.

scholarly journals Theorising Indigenous Farmers’ Utilisation of Climate Services: Lessons from the Oil-Rich Niger Delta

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7349
Author(s):  
Eromose Ehije Ebhuoma ◽  
Mulala Danny Simatele ◽  
Llewellyn Leonard ◽  
Osadolor Obiahon Ebhuoma ◽  
Felix Kwabena Donkor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Niger Delta ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
British Petroleum ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Climate Services ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Zero Hunger

In the wake of a rapidly changing climate, climate services have enabled farmers in developing countries to make informed decisions, necessary for efficient food production. Climate services denote the timely production, translation, delivery and use of climate information to enhance decision-making. However, studies have failed to analyse the extent to which Indigenous farmers residing and producing their food in an environment degraded by multinational corporations (MNCs) utilise climate services. This study addresses this gap by analysing Indigenous farmers’ utilisation of climate services in Igbide, Olomoro and Uzere communities, in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews were used to obtain primary data. Findings suggest that although the activities of Shell British petroleum, a MNC, have compromised food production, other factors have fuelled farmers’ unwillingness to utilise climate services. These include their inability to access assets that can significantly scale up food production and lack of weather stations close to their communities needed to generate downscaled forecasts, amongst others. This paper argues that failure to address these issues may stifle the chances of actualising the first and second sustainable development goals (no poverty and zero hunger) by 2030 in the aforementioned communities.

Population and Global Food Security

2017 ◽  
pp. 40-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Supriya Tiwari ◽  
Barkha Vaish ◽  
Pooja Singh
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Global Food Security ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Global Food

Global food security is one if the major issues that needs utmost attention of the scientific community in near future. The growing food demand of the society is putting enormous pressure on the resources over which the food supply of the civilization depends. The two major components affecting the global food security are population and global climate change. The rate at which the population of the World is increasing, the food production needs to be doubled to meet the growing requirements. Consequences of global climate change not only reduce the productivity of major staple crops, but also cause destruction of the arable land that can be used for agricultural purposes. The present chapter discusses the effects of population increase and climate change upon food production, which will play a significant role in food security around the globe in near future.

Population and Global Food Security

2018 ◽  
pp. 41-64
Author(s):  
Supriya Tiwari ◽  
Barkha Vaish ◽  
Pooja Singh
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Global Food Security ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Global Food

Global food security is one if the major issues that needs utmost attention of the scientific community in near future. The growing food demand of the society is putting enormous pressure on the resources over which the food supply of the civilization depends. The two major components affecting the global food security are population and global climate change. The rate at which the population of the World is increasing, the food production needs to be doubled to meet the growing requirements. Consequences of global climate change not only reduce the productivity of major staple crops, but also cause destruction of the arable land that can be used for agricultural purposes. The present chapter discusses the effects of population increase and climate change upon food production, which will play a significant role in food security around the globe in near future.

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