scholarly journals Permaculture: A Key Driver for Sustainable Agriculture in Nepal

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-173
Author(s):  
Devashish Bhandari ◽  
Bishal Bista
Keyword(s):  
Soil Quality ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Renewable Resources ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Water Retention Capacity ◽  
Environmental Aspects ◽  
Retention Capacity ◽  
Key Driver ◽  
Global Threat ◽  
Properties Of Soil

Our study primarily focused on permaculture for sustained agriculture. Permaculture can be a best alternative for modern industrial and commercial based agriculture which has given a good yield at present but, it is deteriorating soil quality and other environmental aspects. More ever it can lead to a global threat in the future due to overuse and somewhere due to unutilized resources which may give rise to the food and economic insecurity. By compiling the different literatures, we reviewed that permaculture enriches soil quality by increasing organic matter in soil thus increasing water retention capacity, infiltration, nutrient availability, microbial activities and decreasing the erosion. Thus, it increases physical, chemical and biological properties of soil. It provides food and economic safety by providing diverse crops, increasing yield and income of farm andproviding least cost inputs with increasing output. It is an efficient in terms of resource use as it utilizes renewable resources and makes connections like a web among resources. This review can be useful information for students, research topic for permaculturists for making it smoother and other environmental enthusiast. Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 7(2): 167-173  

scholarly journals IMPACT OF CONVERTING AREAS CULTIVATED WITH SUGARCANE TO EUCALYPT PLANTATIONS ON SOIL QUALITY IN NORTHEASTERN BRAZIL

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aldair de Souza Medeiros ◽  
Rener Luciano de Souza Ferraz ◽  
Thamirys Suelle da Silva ◽  
Anderson Vitor Lins da Silva ◽  
Stoécio Malta Ferreira Maia
Keyword(s):  
Soil Quality ◽  
Microbial Biomass Carbon ◽  
Geometric Mean ◽  
Aggregate Stability ◽  
Stability Index ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Forest Region ◽  
Eucalypt Plantations ◽  
Properties Of Soil

ABSTRACT Reforestation is considered an effective method to improve soil quality and drain atmospheric CO2 by sequestering carbon, in both soil and vegetation. In this regard, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of converting areas cultivated with sugarcane to eucalypt plantations (Eucalyptus spp.) on soil quality and carbon sequestration in a Latossolo (Ferralsol) in the Atlantic Forest region of the Alagoas state, Brazil, through multivariate analysis. The systems under evaluation consisted of four areas: one area cultivated with sugarcane for approximately 20 years, taken as the reference area of this study, and the other three adjacent areas cultivated with eucalypt at 1 (E1), 3 (E3) and 6 (E6) years of age, previously cultivated with sugarcane. Physical (bulk density - BD, Mean weight-diameter - MWD, geometric mean diameter - GMD and aggregate stability index - ASI), chemical (soil organic carbon - SOC, total nitrogen - TN, labile carbon - LC and recalcitrant carbon - RC) and biological (Microbial biomass carbon - MBC, soil carbon respiration - C-CO2 and metabolic quotient - qCO2) properties of soil were evaluated. Data were collected, standardized and submitted to exploratory analysis with principal components. The results show that SOC, LC, TN, GMD, MWD and ASI increased, while BD showed a reduction in E3 and E6 systems. The conversion of sugarcane cultivation with burning of straw and manual harvest into eucalypt plantations was efficient at promoting SOC sequestration and improving physical, chemical and biological properties of soil.

scholarly journals Effects of Biochar Amendment on Soil Problems and Improving Rice Production under Salinity Conditions

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gulaqa Aqa Anwari ◽  
Ajmal Mandozai ◽  
Jin Feng
Keyword(s):  
Soil Quality ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Anthropogenic Pollution ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Rice Production ◽  
Soil Productivity ◽  
Sodic Soils ◽  
Biochar Amendment ◽  
Properties Of Soil

Soil with poor physio-chemical and biological properties prevent plant growth. These poor characteristics may be due to soil creation processes, but also include largely inappropriate agricultural practices and/or anthropogenic pollution. During the last 4 decades, the world has lost one-third of its cropland due to pollution and erosion. Therefore, a series of operations is required to improve and recover the soil. Biochar is a new multifunctional carbon material extensively used as a modifier to improve soil quality and crop production. Previous studies have discussed the properties of biochar with varying soil pollutants and their effects on soil productivity and carbon sequestration. Comparatively, little attention has been paid to the effects of biochar application on rice growth in the problem of soils, especially in the saline-sodic soils. A comprehensive review of the literature with a high focusing on the effects of biochar application on problem soils and rice-growing under salinity conditions is needed. The present review gives an overview of the soil's problem, biochar amendment effects on physicochemical properties of soil, and how the biochar amendment could interact in soil microbes and root with remediation under salinity conditions for improving rice productivity. The findings of this review showed that biochar application can improve soil quality, reduce soil's problem and increase rice production under salinity conditions. It is anticipated that further researches on the biochar amendment will increase our understanding of the interactions of biochar with soil components, accelerate our attempts on soil remediation, and improve rice production under salinity conditions.

scholarly journals The conservation agriculture in northwest of Morocco (Merchouch area): The impact of no-till systems on physical properties of soils in semi-arid climate

2021 ◽  
Vol 234 ◽  
pp. 00037
Author(s):  
Abdelali El Mekkaoui ◽  
Rachid Moussadek ◽  
Rachid Mrabet ◽  
Said Chakiri ◽  
Ahmed Douaik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Water Retention Capacity ◽  
Arid Zones ◽  
Arid Environments ◽  
Retention Capacity ◽  
No Till ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Semi Arid

Conservation agriculture (CA) is characterized by three principles: minimum tillage, even the total absence of tillage in the case of direct seeding (NT), permanent soil cover by mulch, and diversification of crops. Its main objective is to control soil degradation by conserving the physical and biological properties and fertility of the soil, which leads to an improvement in productivity, while preserving the environment. Conventional tillage (CT) used in the arid and semi-arid environments of Morocco (particularly in the study site area of Merchouch) compromise the productivity of established crops in these regions. The work presented consists in the study of the impact of NT on the physico-chemical properties of the soil, especially organic matter (SOM), bulk density (BD), soil moisture (θg), and structural stability (SS) in semi-arid zones. The results show that the use of the NT system positively influences the accumulation of SOM, especially at the soil surface horizon (0-5cm). Concerning θg, there is a significant difference between the two treatments (NT and CT) at the average of the three depths and especially at the horizon 20-40 cm so NT increases the water retention capacity. This study also shows that the mean weight diameter (MWD) of the 3 tests (water, ethanol, and rehumectation) is higher for NT compared to CT. This shows that no-till helped to build a good soil structure over time, which is highly desirable for improving agricultural productivity and conserving natural resources, especially water.

scholarly journals Effects of Annual and Perennial Alleyway Cover Crops on Physical, Chemical, and Biological Properties of Soil Quality in Pacific Northwest Red Raspberry

HortScience ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 344-352
Author(s):  
Rachel E. Rudolph ◽  
Lisa W. DeVetter ◽  
Inga A. Zasada ◽  
Cedar Hesse
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Soil Quality ◽  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Resource Competition ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Red Raspberry ◽  
Physical Chemical ◽  
Properties Of Soil

Cover crops can lessen soil erosion and compaction, improve water infiltration, enhance nutrient availability, suppress weeds, and assist with pest management. However, cover crops are not commonly used in alleyways of established red raspberry (Rubus idaeus) fields in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Rather, the space between red raspberry beds is repeatedly cultivated and the soil is kept bare, which has detrimental effects on soil quality. Adoption of alleyway cover crops is limited because red raspberry growers are concerned about resource competition between a cover crop and red raspberry crop. A 2-year study was conducted in an established ‘Meeker’ red raspberry field in northwest Washington to evaluate the effects of eight annually seeded alleyway cover crops (cultivars of wheat, cereal rye, triticale, oat, and ryegrass), one perennial ryegrass alleyway cover crop, mowed weed vegetation, and the industry standard of cultivated bare soil (Till) on the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil quality in alleyways and raised beds. This included evaluating soil bulk density (Db), compaction, organic matter, pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), macro- and micronutrients, and bacterial and fungal community structure; red raspberry yield and fruit quality were also evaluated. Although there were statistically significant differences among treatments across sampling dates for CEC, there were no consistent trends. Alleyways planted with the perennial ryegrass mix had the lowest mean Db 6 and 24 months after seeding. Tilled alleyways had the lowest Db 12 and 18 months into the study. Red raspberry grown adjacent to Till did not result in a significantly higher estimated yield or fruit total soluble solids than raspberry grown adjacent to cover crops in either year of the experiment. Differences in microbial community structure were observed among seasons rather than treatments. These results do not demonstrate significant effects of alleyway cover crops on red raspberry productivity when applied to established fields. The potential benefits of alleyway cover cropping on soil quality may outweigh any concerns regarding resource competition. Changes in soil quality are often difficult to quantify and require long-term study.

scholarly journals Nitrogen and Water Use Efficiency in Conservation Agriculture

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-66
Author(s):  
Milan Acharya
Keyword(s):  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Physical Chemical ◽  
Ground Water Recharge ◽  
Water Recharge ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Properties Of Soil

Conservation agriculture is resource conserving strategy for improving productivity and profitability of farming through efficient utilization of available resources with minimum foot print to the environment. Conservation Agriculture helps in carbon sequestration, soil erosion control, ground water recharge and moisture conservation. Conservation agriculture has been found to improve physical, chemical and biological properties of soil compared to conventional practices and ultimately helps in increasing nutrient and water use efficiency. Optimizing soil fertility and soil moisture simultaneously is possible through CA practice which ultimately increases resource use efficiency.Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 6(2): 63-66

scholarly journals Estimating some hydrophysical properties of soil using mathematical modeling

2018 ◽  
Vol 193 ◽  
pp. 02035 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vitaly Terleev ◽  
Wilfried Mirschel ◽  
Aleksandr Nikonorov ◽  
Roman Ginevsky ◽  
Viktor Lazarev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Standard Procedure ◽  
Original Method ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Information Support ◽  
Richards Equation ◽  
Water Retention Capacity ◽  
Retention Capacity ◽  
Properties Of Soil

At substantiating land amelioration and land management designs, as well as during periods of operation and reconstruction of water facilities, information support plays an important role in relation to the hydrophysical properties of soil. Effective implementation of this support faces a number of challenges. Such problems include the very high laboriousness of carrying out the corresponding engineering surveys and laboratory studies. In this regard, the methods of indirect estimating the hydrophysical properties, the measurement of which requires considerable labor, are very in demand for land amelioration and land management practices. An equally acute problem is the problem of the functional representation of the coefficients of the Richards equation, which is widely used in engineering-hydrological calculations. The paper suggests: 1) the original method for assessment of the ratio of the values of the hydraulic conductivity function of soil to the moisture filtration coefficient using data from direct measurements of the water-retention capacity of soil carried out according to the standard procedure; 2) the mathematical model describing the hydrophysical properties of soil, and the system of functions with interpreted parameters that physically adequately describe the coefficients of the Richards equation. In carrying out the study, data on soils of different texture were used. A sufficiently low error in the dot approximation (fitting-procedure) of the experimental data confirms the physical adequacy of the proposed system that includes the functions describing the coefficients of the Richards equation.

Evaluation of Resistant Starch Quality from Different Types of Banana in Batter Coating Formulation to Reduce Oil Absorption in Fried Food

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-120
Author(s):  
Karissha Fritzi Della ◽  
Mutiara Pratiwi ◽  
Purwa Tri Cahyana ◽  
Maria DPT Gunawan-Puteri
Keyword(s):  
Resistant Starch ◽  
Extraction Process ◽  
Fat Content ◽  
Water Retention Capacity ◽  
Oil Absorption ◽  
Retention Capacity ◽  
Fried Food ◽  
Musa Paradisiaca ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Coating Formulation

Fried food is convenient for many people due to its pleasant texture and taste. On the other hand, it comes with the risk of high oil absorption which might lead to certain health problems. Resistant starch (RS) has been known to have a functionality of reducing oil absorption. Three different types of banana: Kepok (Musa paradisiaca formatypica), Raja Bulu (Musa paradisiaca L.) and Ambon (Musa paradisiaca L. var sapientum) were evaluated on its performance when utilized as source of resistant starch especially on their application in reducing oil absorption in fried food. Tempeh was used as the food model. Banana starch (RS2) was isolated through water alkaline extraction process, continued with modification process through three repeated cycles of autoclaving-cooling process to obtain the RS3. RS3 was added into the batter coating formulation at three substitution ratios (10%, 30% and 50%) and then used to coat tempeh before frying. Evaluation of resistant starch in batter and battered productwas conducted on the following parameters: fat content, water retention capacity (WRC), coating pick up and sensory analysis. The result of this study revealed that Raja Bulu showed the most effective result on reducing oil absorption in the food tested. In the three bananas used, the ratio of 50% performed best in coating pick up (highest), WRC (highest) and fat content(lowest) parameters, but not significantly different with the 30% ratio. In terms of sensory acceptance, using Raja Bulu as the selected banana type, 30% of substitution ratio was significantly more preferable by the panelists in crispness, oiliness, and overall acceptance attributes compared to control and other substitution ratios.

scholarly journals Kombucha Tea as a Reservoir of Cellulose Producing Bacteria: Assessing Diversity among Komagataeibacter Isolates

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1595
Author(s):  
Salvatore La China ◽  
Luciana De Vero ◽  
Kavitha Anguluri ◽  
Marcello Brugnoli ◽  
Dhouha Mamlouk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intraspecific Diversity ◽  
Water Retention Capacity ◽  
Combined Model ◽  
Discrimination Power ◽  
Retention Capacity ◽  
High Mechanical Strength ◽  
Kombucha Tea ◽  
Typing Methods ◽  
Fermented Beverage ◽  
Tea Production

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is receiving a great deal of attention due to its unique properties such as high purity, water retention capacity, high mechanical strength, and biocompatibility. However, the production of BC has been limited because of the associated high costs and low productivity. In light of this, the isolation of new BC producing bacteria and the selection of highly productive strains has become a prominent issue. Kombucha tea is a fermented beverage in which the bacteria fraction of the microbial community is composed mostly of strains belonging to the genus Komagataeibacter. In this study, Kombucha tea production trials were performed starting from a previous batch, and bacterial isolation was conducted along cultivation time. From the whole microbial pool, 46 isolates were tested for their ability to produce BC. The obtained BC yield ranged from 0.59 g/L, for the isolate K2G36, to 23 g/L for K2G30—which used as the reference strain. The genetic intraspecific diversity of the 46 isolates was investigated using two repetitive-sequence-based PCR typing methods: the enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) elements and the (GTG)5 sequences, respectively. The results obtained using the two different approaches revealed the suitability of the fingerprint techniques, showing a discrimination power, calculated as the D index, of 0.94 for (GTG)5 rep-PCR and 0.95 for ERIC rep-PCR. In order to improve the sensitivity of the applied method, a combined model for the two genotyping experiments was performed, allowing for the ability to discriminate among strains.

scholarly journals Buoyancy control in ammonoid cephalopods refined by complex internal shell architecture

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Peterman ◽  
Kathleen A. Ritterbush ◽  
Charles N. Ciampaglio ◽  
Erynn H. Johnson ◽  
Shinya Inoue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Tension ◽  
Water Retention Capacity ◽  
Functional Explanation ◽  
Retention Capacity ◽  
Biomechanical Stress ◽  
Liquid Retention ◽  
3D Printed ◽  
Functional Explanations ◽  
Hydrophilic Coatings ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe internal architecture of chambered ammonoid conchs profoundly increased in complexity through geologic time, but the adaptive value of these structures is disputed. Specifically, these cephalopods developed fractal-like folds along the edges of their internal divider walls (septa). Traditionally, functional explanations for septal complexity have largely focused on biomechanical stress resistance. However, the impact of these structures on buoyancy manipulation deserves fresh scrutiny. We propose increased septal complexity conveyed comparable shifts in fluid retention capacity within each chamber. We test this interpretation by measuring the liquid retained by septa, and within entire chambers, in several 3D-printed cephalopod shell archetypes, treated with (and without) biomimetic hydrophilic coatings. Results show that surface tension regulates water retention capacity in the chambers, which positively scales with septal complexity and membrane capillarity, and negatively scales with size. A greater capacity for liquid retention in ammonoids may have improved buoyancy regulation, or compensated for mass changes during life. Increased liquid retention in our experiments demonstrate an increase in areas of greater surface tension potential, supporting improved chamber refilling. These findings support interpretations that ammonoids with complex sutures may have had more active buoyancy regulation compared to other groups of ectocochleate cephalopods. Overall, the relationship between septal complexity and liquid retention capacity through surface tension presents a robust yet simple functional explanation for the mechanisms driving this global biotic pattern.

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