Greenhouse Gas Emissions of the Forest Supply Chain in Austria in the Year 2018

Wood is a renewable product, but for the supply of wood non-renewable materials are also necessary, which can have negative environmental impacts. The objective of this study was to analyze the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by the forest supply chain in Austria using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methods. The forest supply chain consists of several processes like site preparation and tending, harvesting, and transport. In total, 30 relevant forest processes from seedling production until delivery of wood to the plant gate were considered. Results show that in the year 2018, a total of 492,096 t of CO2 eq. were emitted in Austria for harvesting and transportation of 19.2 hm³ of timber. This corresponds to 25.63 kg CO2 eq. per m³. At 77%, transport accounts for the largest share of emissions within the supply chain. Extraction causes 14% of emissions, felling and processing cause 5%, and chipping causes 4%. GHG emissions for felling, delimbing, and crosscutting are much lower when using a chainsaw compared to harvester. The high numbers for the transport can be explained by the high transportation distances. Especially for the transportation of wood, it is necessary to find more climate-friendly solutions from a technical and organizational point of view. The provision of wood is climate-friendly, and its use enables the substitution of fossil fuels or materials with higher negative effects on climate change such as aluminum, steel, or concrete.

The importance of coconut seedling production in guyana

The demand for coconut water and coconut oil is increasing thus there is interest in expanding coconut cultivation. Coconut is primarily planted on approximately 28,500 acres by more than 1,400 farmers along the Guyana coastline with the Atlantic Ocean and in the Pomeroon Riverain area. Tall types (e.g. Jamaica Tall) are planted for oil while Dwarf types (e.g. Malaysian Dwarf Green, Suriname Brown) are planted primarily for water. At least 50% of the Tall type population is more than 50 years old and needs to be replanted to increase productivity. Farmers traditionally collect seedlings growing from dropped nuts at the base of trees without attention to prolificacy. Since a coconut tree productive life is more than 50 years, the economic impact of this practice can be significant. Via training programs, CARDI is encouraging the structured production of coconut seedlings to increase yields. This project aims to enhance the supply of quality seedlings using local seed nuts. Mother palms that display prolific bearing habits, resistance to pest and diseases plus vigorous growth habit were geotagged and recorded in a database. Seed nuts were purchased from farmers who own these trees and subsequently distributed (in batches of 400) to ten selected (age, gender, location) lead farmers to establish coconut seedling nurseries. Each lead farmer was assisted by 10 second ring farmers in the establishment of their nurseries under CARDI supervision. Results to date show that weed control and irrigation were important nursery activities. Some nurseries needed to be fenced to counter damage by animals (cows, sheep, goats). Average germination of seed nuts was approximately 50%. Available seedlings are being distributed to second ring farmers and lead farmers. CARDI will continue the national survey to identify outstanding mother palms. Measures to increase average germination must also be implemented. Local coconut seedling nurseries should therefore be encouraged as their “success” will alleviate the pressure to import seed nuts thus avoiding the attendant risk of introducing exotic diseases (e.g. lethal yellowing disease) into Guyana. Further, given that a coconut palm will live 50 to 70 years, the importance of carefully selecting premium quality coconut seedlings as a bedrock to develop and grow the industry cannot be over emphasized.

Carbonized rice husk as an alternative substrate for Ocimum basilicum L. seedling production

The substrate used in seedling production plays a major role in the initial plant development. In this sense, the objective was to evaluate the emergence capacity and establishment of basil seedlings in different proportions of alternative substrates based on charred rice husk and commercial substrate S10®. The experiment was carried out in expanded polyethylene trays, using basil seeds (Horticeres seeds®), which lasted 28 days. The experimental design was completely randomized, with five treatments (T1: 100 % commercial substrate (BCS); T2: 80 % BCS + 20 % Charred rice husk (CRH); T3: 60 % BCS + 40 % CRH; T4: 40 % BCS + 60 % CRH; T5: 20 % BCS + 80 % CRH) and three repetitions. Were evaluated leaf number, shoot length, root length, root dry mass, shoot dry mass, leaf area, germination, germination speed index, substrate physical analysis (density (dry and wet)), total porosity and aeration space, and chemical analysis (hydrogen potential (PH), and electrical conductivity (EC)). It was observed in the results that the substrate type interferes in the development and quality of the basil seedling. In the shoot lenght parameter, the treatment with 40 % BCS + 60 % CRH (T4) had a significant difference compared to the other treatments. Among the substrates, the best seedling performance was observed in the substrate with 80 % BCS + 20 % CRH (T2), which provided better seedling quality in relation to the other treatments.

A review on the potential of empty fruit bunch (EFB) compost as growing medium for oil palm seedling production

The oil palm industry is among the important sectors in Malaysia. The productions of palm oil keep increasing year by year due to high demand from other countries, generating an abundance of wastes from the field and the mill. These wastes may significantly affect the environment. Composting is one of the methods to reduce the volume of waste. The compost material is widely used especially in agriculture activities due to its properties which have been enhanced during the composting process. Empty fruit bunch (EFB) compost mostly returns to the soil as mulch to conserve soil moisture and acts as organic fertilizer since it contains high nutrients needed by the plant. Currently, the depletion of fertile soil leads to less availability of growing medium, especially in the nursery. The properties of the growing medium are important to ensure better root development of seedlings and subsequently affect the overall plant growth. Therefore, numerous studies have been conducted to identify the suitable growing medium as a substitute for topsoil which is currently limited to raising seedlings in the nursery. This review examines the current methods of composting EFB and provides summarized research information on the effect of EFB compost on oil palm seedling growth. The oil palm wastes that are properly managed could produce value-added by-products and promotes sustainable agriculture practices.

Raising Climate-Resilient Embolden Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Seedlings during the Cool Season through Various Types of Nursery Bed Management

Facing cold stress is amajor constraint in seedling production during the winter season as, most particularly in recent times due to uncertain climatic conditions, no sustainable technology has been reported that could be easily adopted by farmers withlimited resources. Therefore, field experiments were carried out during winter 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 at the Central Research Farm of Bidhan Chandra KrishiViswavidyalaya, West Bengal, India to study the growth, survival potential, yield and nutritional and biochemical properties of boro rice seedlings as influenced by two seedbed management practices viz. conventional seedbed (farmers’ practice) and improved seedbed (polythene protected with micronutrient supplementation). The major objective was to lower the nurserybed duration without compromising seedlings’ health and to studythe economic viability during the winter season. The experiment was laid out in ten experimental units and deployed anindependent-sample t-test to compare the performance of the seedlings. The microclimatic changes were also itemized from both seedbeds. The seeds sownunder improved nursery conditions resulted in better seedling emergence (~90%) and survival percentage (~85%) as compared to the conventional seedbed (~70% and 65%). Growth attributes in terms of plant height, biomass accumulation, root characteristics, tiller count, and growth rate were observed to be better from the polythene-protected nursery bed. Theimproved nursery bed accounted for 20% higher seedling count at the time of transplantation over the conventional bed. The microclimatic situation under a polythene covering was also favorable for germination and seedling growth. Maximum nutrient (N, P, and K) concentrations, as well as chlorophyll content, wererecorded from improved seedlings. Results suggested that the improved seedbed management was apotential alternative toearly embolden seedling production during the winter to avoid climatic abnormalities. Most importantly, improved seedbeds ensured a comprehensive route from germination to healthy seedling production without any failure in thesmalltime window, which involvedless input as well as cost involvement. This technique could diffusethe problem oflate sowing conditions in the rice–rice cropping system.

Effect of Phytohormones on rooting behaviour in air layers of Phoebe cooperiana, an economically important tree species of Arunachal Pradesh, India

This study reports the response of air layers of Phoebe cooperiana (Common name: Tapil) to different concentrations of rooting hormones in mid hills of Arunachal Pradesh. Ten trees between the ages of 7 and 10 were selected at Boleng village of Siang district, Arunachal Pradesh, India for the experiment. Eight treatments comprising of IBA and NAA at concentrations of 1000ppm, 2000ppm and 3000ppm each, Rootex hormone for semi-hardwood and control were applied to a total of 240 layers during April 2020. After 60 days, rooting percentage, mean number of roots and length of the longest root were recorded. Significant variation (p<0.05) among treatments was observed for all root parameters. Among treatments, the highest rooting percentage and mean a number of roots were obtained in layers treated with NAA 3000ppm (80% and 21.33 respectively). The length of the longest root was the highest in layers treated with NBA 2000ppm (4.23cm). The highest survival percentage of layers two months after transplanting was observed in those treated with NAA 3000ppm (54.16%) and the least in control (23.07%). The technique offers an easy and cheap method of propagation for farmers as well as for government and private agencies to enhance seedling production of the species.

Germination potential of Hymenaea courbaril L. in different maturation stages

The production of quality forest seedlings in large quantities is essential for the restoration of environments that have been deforested and degraded. However, obtaining seeds with high vigor is a challenge for several tree species native to Brazil. The objective of this work was to verify the germination potential of jatobá-da-mata seeds at different stages of maturation, in order to favor the production of seedlings of this species in nurseries. The seeds were extracted from green and ripe fruits detached from the mother plant and ripe fruits collected from the ground. The germination percentage, average germination time, emergence speed index, average speed, relative frequency, leaf area of the seedling, and length of the aerial part and root were measured. The planting was carried out with mechanically scarified and intact seeds from each maturation group. The results indicated that non-scarified green seeds can be used for planting and seedling production, as they do not require pre-germination treatment and have a favorable germination percentage (79%). Fruit seeds harvested from the ground, on the other hand, needed a method to overcome integumentary dormancy, such as mechanical scarification, obtaining a germination rate of 85%. The seeds of ripe fruits harvested in the matrix showed greater vigor, with a higher percentage of germination (96 to 100%), a higher emergence speed index, shorter average germination time, and seedlings with greater leaf area and greater length of shoot.