scholarly journals Innovative Strategies for the Use of Reflective Foils for Fruit Colouration to Reduce Plastic Use in Orchards

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Hess ◽  
Achim Kunz ◽  
Michael M. Blanke

(1) Background: Plastic in fruit orchards represents an environmental issue due to large CO2eq emissions associated with its production from fossil fuel and disposal (often incineration). (2) Materials and methods: Apple cv. “Braeburn Hillwell” trees on M9 rootstocks under a hail net were used at Campus Klein-Altendorf (CKA), Germany (50 °N) in 2018. In order to reduce the use of plastics to improve the red colouration of fruit particularly under hail nets, three alternatives to the current use of reflective mulch in each alleyway between the tree rows were explored, with uncovered grass alleyways as control. About 2800 colour measurements were done in the four weeks prior to harvest on 720 attached fruit below and above 1 m height in the field, and ca. 6900 additional colour measurements were conducted at harvest. (3) Results: The underlying regulatory mechanisms contrasted between the diffusive reflection of the white woven ground cover (such as LumilysTM or ExtendayTM) in the alleyways and aluminium foil under the trees with regular (straight) light reflection. Good fruit colouring and a plastic reduction were achieved (a) through spreading the white woven ground cover in every other row, and (b) through substituting the white ground cover with aluminium foil (80% recycled). Both methods can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (75–110 kg CO2eq/ha for the first option a). (4) Conclusion: Plastic use in fruit orchards can be reduced by multiple use of the material in the same or several years, spreading it in every other row or substituting it by another reflective material, a relevant step towards an environment-friendly sustainable horticulture.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8532
Author(s):  
Michael M. Blanke ◽  
Sabine D. Golombek

(1) Background: Black plastics pose a general problem in sustainability issues, as the recycling is hampered by the black colour disguising the type of plastics in the NIR scanner on the garbage sorting belt, as the black colour absorbs NIR radiation. Sorting flower/plant pots suffer from their additional soil contamination in the strive for sustainable flower production in horticulture. As these black plastic flowerpots are currently rarely recycled, a study was instigated of reusing them based on Heino Schwarz’s innovative idea. (2) Methods: In the first step, the carbon footprint was calculated for the flowerpots of two sizes employed in the nursery, their customised production from virgin polypropylene and the delivery from the Netherlands to the nursery in Bavaria. In step 2, the carbon footprint was calculated based on PAS 2050-1 for the number of flowerpots in circulation and return rates in 2019 and in 2020 to assess the GHG saved by the innovation. (3) Results: The innovative concept of Heino Schwarz is a discount on returning the customised used flowerpots, with a 40% increase from 24,533 returned flowerpots in 2019 to 39,797 in 2020. This shows the increasing acceptance and environmental awareness of the consumer and the great success. (4) Conclusions and outlook: The present case study has shown that innovative approaches such as discounts for reused/returned flowerpots of the Schwarz nursery can save 3.85–4.56 t CO2eq, a valuable contribution to reducing GHG emissions, creating environmental awareness among the consumers and building a close B2C relationship. The amount of CO2eq saved is equivalent to ca. 40% of the annual carbon burden of a European/German citizen or ca. 23,000 km driven in a private vehicle, the average mileage driven privately in two years.


Author(s):  
Klaus Birkhofer ◽  
Matthew F. Addison ◽  
Fredrik Arvidsson ◽  
Corinna Bazelet ◽  
Janne Bengtsson ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2908 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaoyi Guo ◽  
Xiaozhong Wang ◽  
Yujia Li ◽  
Xinhua He ◽  
Wushuai Zhang ◽  
...  

An excess of material input in fruit orchards has brought serious environmental problems, particularly in China. However, studies on the estimation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in peach orchards are limited. In this study, based on questionnaire surveys in major peach-producing regions, including the North China Plain (n = 214), as well as northwest (n = 22) and southwest (n = 33) China, the carbon footprints (CFs) of these orchards were calculated by the life cycle assessment. The potential emission reduction in each region was estimated by combining the GHG emissions and CFs with plantation areas and fruit yields. The results showed that the average GHG emissions in the North China Plain, northwest, and southwest regions were 15,668 kg CO2-eq ha−1, 10,386 kg CO2-eq ha−1, and 5580 kg CO2-eq ha−1, with corresponding CFs of 0.48 kg CO2-eq ha−1, 0.27 kg CO2-eq ha−1, and 0.20 kg CO2-eq kg−1, respectively. The main contribution source of GHG emissions in these three regions was fertilizer (77–95%), followed by electricity, pesticides, and diesel. By adopting advanced farming practices with high yield and a high partial factor productivity of fertilizer, the GHG emissions could be reduced by ~13–35%, with the highest potential reduction in the North China Plain. In conclusion, the GHG emissions and their CFs were impressively high in China’s major peach-producing regions, but these GHG emissions could be substantially decreased by optimizing nutrients and irrigation management, including the rational selection of fertilizer rates and types with water-saving irrigation systems or practices (e.g., mulching) for increasing fertilizer and water use efficiency, and maintaining a sustainable peach production in China or similar countries.


2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Ayres Carvalho ◽  
Kenneth H. Quesenberry

Abstract Arachis pintoi Krapov. & W.C. Gregory is a herbaceous, perennial legume, exclusively native to Brazil. It is considered a multiple use legume, being grown for forage; ground cover in fruits orchards, forest, and low tillage systems; erosion control; and ornamental purposes. Accessions of the A. pintoi USA germplasm collection of the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) were evaluated to characterize its reaction to Meloidogyne arenaria (Neal) Chitwood, M. javanica (Treub) Chitwood, and M. incognita (Kofoid and White) Chitwood. Arachis pintoi germplasm presented great variability and high levels of resistance to M. arenaria, M. javanica, and M. incognita.


2015 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 221-225
Author(s):  
Christian Ghermec ◽  
Mariana Ciobanu ◽  
Ionela Gabriela Bucse

The steels elaborated through proceedings that are specific to powder metallurgy have as raw material the iron powder which is enriched in carbon through various proceedings: carburizing in a methane-bearing atmosphere or in a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)-bearing atmosphere, with the addition of synthetic cementite. In order to be developed as environment friendly technologies, there are made researches in order to reduce GHG emissions.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 1136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Fan ◽  
Rong Yi ◽  
Lei Yu ◽  
Yulan Wu ◽  
Tian Chen ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
pp. 70-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Bashmakov ◽  
A. Myshak

This paper investigates costs and benefits associated with low-carbon economic development pathways realization to the mid XXI century. 30 scenarios covering practically all “visions of the future” were developed by several research groups based on scenario assumptions agreed upon in advance. It is shown that with a very high probability Russian energy-related GHG emissions will reach the peak before 2050, which will be at least 11% below the 1990 emission level. The height of the peak depends on portfolio of GHG emissions mitigation measures. Efforts to keep 2050 GHG emissions 25-30% below the 1990 level bring no GDP losses. GDP impact of deep GHG emission reduction - by 50% of the 1990 level - varies from plus 4% to minus 9%. Finally, very deep GHG emission reduction - by 80% - may bring GDP losses of over 10%.


Author(s):  
Marco, A. Márquez-Linares ◽  
Jonathan G. Escobar--Flores ◽  
Sarahi Sandoval- Espinosa ◽  
Gustavo Pérez-Verdín

Objective: to determine the distribution of D. viscosa in the vicinity of the Guadalupe Victoria Dam in Durango, Mexico, for the years 1990, 2010 and 2017.Design/Methodology/Approach: Landsat satellite images were processed in order to carry out supervised classifications using an artificial neural network. Images from the years 1990, 2010 and 2017 were used to estimate ground cover of D. viscosa, pastures, crops, shrubs, and oak forest. This data was used to calculate the expansion of D. viscosa in the study area.Results/Study Limitations/Implications: the supervised classification with the artificial neural network was optimal after 400 iterations, obtaining the best overall precision of 84.5 % for 2017. This contrasted with the year 1990, when overall accuracy was low at 45 % due to less training sites (fewer than 100) recorded for each of the land cover classes.Findings/Conclusions: in 1990, D. viscosa was found on only five hectares, while by 2017 it had increased to 147 hectares. If the disturbance caused by overgrazing continues, and based on the distribution of D. viscosa, it is likely that in a few years it will have the ability to invade half the study area, occupying agricultural, forested, and shrub areas


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