Evaluating the effects of agricultural wastes on concrete and composite mechanical properties: a review

Wastes generation and emission of greenhouse gases are the major concerns of the contemporary world. Concrete’s cements companies in the globe are producing up to 2.8 billion tons of cements annually. This contributed to the emission of anthropogenic substances into the atmosphere which destroys the ozone layers. The incessant disposal of these agricultural wastes has detrimental effect on the environmental and human health. Thus, utilizing these wastes as secondary resources in concrete is a reasonable consideration in sustainable waste management in the circular economy. The use of agricultural wastes in concrete production has been gaining attraction in recent years, however, their effectiveness and performance in concrete need evaluation. This study presents an overview of the effects of some agricultural wastes: Bagasse, Coconut shell, Cotton, Oil palm and Hemp fibers on concrete and composite’s mechanical properties. As reviewed, Sugar-Cane Bagasse Ash (SCBA) and Coconut Shell Ash (CSA) are rich in cementitious (pozzolanic) properties (SiO2, Fe2O3 and Al2O3) for cement production up to 70%. Sugar-cane bagasse and oil palm-fiber ashes improved concrete workability. SCBA and CSA highly increased the concrete compressive strengths. The concrete tensile strengths were increased up to 97% with the inclusion of cotton and bagasse ashes. The SCBA, hemp-fiber and treated oil palm - fiber ash increased the concrete and composite’s flexural strengths up to 11.3%, 26.2% and 50.7% respectively. In conclusion, the output of this review will supply full data of the research gaps yet to cover on the use of agro-wastes in concrete for future investigations

Determination of Ethyl Carbamate in Commercial Sweetened Sugar Cane Spirit by ESI-MS/MS Using Modified QuEChERS and 18-Crown-6/Trifluoroacetic Acid Spiking Additives

A fast, sensitive, and selective direct injection electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (DI‑ESI‑MS/MS) method that is able to quantify ethyl carbamate in commercial sweetened sugar cane spirit is described. The preparation method uses a modified QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) with potassium carbonate added to sweetened sugar cane spirit to separate the aqueous phase from the ethanol phase. The aqueous phase contains sucrose that suppresses electrospray ionization. Ethyl carbamate supernatant from the ethanol phase is transferred and enriched with 18-crown-6/trifluoroacetic acid additives. The additives sequester metal cations reducing the ionization of sodium and potassium, favoring the detection of ethyl carbamate as sole protonated cations. The method was successfully applied for the quantification of eleven real samples and certified sugar cane spirit demonstrating its applicability for quality control and regulatory analysis. The method showed reliable analytical parameters compared to conventional gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method commonly used for ethyl carbamate analysis. DI-ESI-MS/MS method requires just a fast step sample clean up and presents consistent values for the limit of detection (LOD 48.0 μg L−1) and limit of quantification (LOQ 160.0 μg L−1). Furthermore, the recoveries obtained were close to 100%, with relative standard deviations below 10% of sample certificates.

The impact of the volume of sugar cane on the wages of workers in the sugarcane refinery, ketol district, Aceh central regency

Sugarcane (Saccharum Offcinarum L) is one of the important commodities for making sugar which has become a necessity for industry and households. Sugarcane which is processed into sugar granules or often known as brown sugar is located in the Ketol District, Central Aceh Regency. Central Aceh Regency, especially in Ketol District, West Blang Mancung Village, is one of the sugar cane producers. Sugarcane is an annual plant that has its own characteristics, because in the stem there is sugar, sugarcane plants belong to the grass family (Gramenia) such as rice, corn and others. Linear regression analysis is an indirect approach that is used to measure the effect of the volume of sugarcane juice on the wages of workers in the sugar mill Sulaiman Ali sugarcane mill, Ketol District, Central Aceh Regency. The results of the linear regression analysis obtained from the research results are the equation = 7179,497 + 14,464 X1. Where it means that every increase in the total volume of sugarcane juice by 14,464 will increase the wage income of milling workers at the Sulaiman Ali sugarcane refinery, Ketol District, Central Aceh Regency, amounting to Rp. 14,464 /person with an average income of Rp. Rp 34,656.25/person/one production process.

Eksistensi wisata tani betet dalam kegiatan ekonomi masyarakat lokal di Kabupaten Nganjuk (Studi kasus wisata tani di Desa Betet Kecamatan Ngronggot)

Kabupaten Nganjuk adalah salah satu daerah yang dinilai sangat potensial dalam mengembangkan industri pariwisatanya, terutama di bidang wisata alam. Dengan wilayah yang terletak di dataran rendah dan pegunungan. Dalam hal ini pemerintah memberikan penyuluhan tentang perwujudan desa wisata sebagai upaya peningkatan pendapatan desa, sehingga mampu memotivasi masyarakat setempat untuk mendirikan desa berbasis wisata. Di Desa Betet Kecamatan Ngronggot ini juga memiliki potensi alam mengenai wisata desa yaitu Wisata Tani Betet. Dimana wisata tani ini terletak di dekat persawahan warga setempat dengan memanfaatkan lahan tanam tebu dan air sungai mengalir. Abstrak Nganjuk Regency is one of the areas that is considered very potential in developing its tourism industry, especially in the field of natural tourism. With areas located in the lowlands and mountains. In this case the Government provides counseling on the realization of tourism villages as an effort to increase village income, so as to motivated local communities to establish tourism based villages. In Betet Village, Ngronggot District, it also has natural potential regarding village tourism, namely Betet Farmers Tourism. Where this farming tourism is located near the rice fields of local residents by utilizing sugar cane planting land and flowing river water.

Nitrate Removal Performance of Denitrifying Woodchip Bioreactors in Tropical Climates

In Australia, declining water quality in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is a threat to its marine ecosystems and nitrate (NO3−) from sugar cane-dominated agricultural areas in the coastal catchments of North Queensland is a key pollutant of concern. Woodchip bioreactors have been identified as a potential low-cost remediation technology to reduce the NO3− runoff from sugar cane farms. This study aimed to trial different designs of bioreactors (denitrification walls and beds) to quantify their NO3− removal performance in the distinct tropical climates and hydrological regimes that characterize sugarcane farms in North Queensland. One denitrification wall and two denitrification beds were installed to treat groundwater and subsurface tile-drainage water in wet tropics catchments, where sugar cane farming relies only on rainfall for crop growth. Two denitrification beds were installed in the dry tropics to assess their performance in treating irrigation tailwater from sugarcane. All trialled bioreactors were effective at removing NO3−, with the beds exhibiting a higher NO3− removal rate (NRR, from 2.5 to 7.1 g N m−3 d−1) compared to the wall (0.15 g N m−3 d−1). The NRR depended on the influent NO3− concentration, as low influent concentrations triggered NO3− limitation. The highest NRR was observed in a bed installed in the dry tropics, with relatively high and consistent NO3− influent concentrations due to the use of groundwater, with elevated NO3−, for irrigation. This study demonstrates that bioreactors can be a useful edge-of-field technology for reducing NO3− in runoff to the GBR, when sited and designed to maximise NO3− removal performance.

PENINGKATAN DAYA SAING USAHA PERKEBUNAN TEBU RAKYAT DI JAWA: TANTANGAN DARI PERSPEKTIF KEBIJAKAN / Improving the Competitiveness of Sugarcane Farming in Java: Challenges from Policy Perspectives

<p align="center">ABSTRAK</p><p align="center"> </p><p>Produksi gula dari usaha perkebunan tebu rakyat di Jawa hingga saat ini masih menjadi andalan produksi gula nasional, tetapi dalam lima tahun terakhir kontribusinya menurun sejalan dengan semakin menurunnya areal tebu. Kondisi ini menunjukkan bahwa daya saing usaha tebu rakyat semakin menurun yang diindikasikan oleh tingkat keuntungan yang terus menurun dan lebih rendah daripada usaha tani lainnya. Untuk meningkatkan daya saing usaha tebu rakyat diperlukan kebijakan pemerintah dalam rangka membantu memecahkan masalah atau mengatasi kendala-kendala, baik yang bersifat teknis maupun ekonomi. Tulisan ini bertujuan untuk mempelajari alternatif kebijakan teknis yang diperkirakan dapat membantu mengatasi kelangkaan sumber daya yang kemungkinan terjadi; serta mempelajari kemungkinan diperlukannya kebijakan pemberian insentif agar kebijakan teknis secara efektif dapat berjalan, melalui simulasi penetapan harga jual tebu dan gula. Alternatif kebijakan teknis yang bisa diterapkan untuk membantu mengatasi kelangkaan sumber daya yang terjadi pada sumber daya lahan, tenaga kerja, pupuk, benih tebu dan modal. Kelangkaan lahan mendorong terjadinya pergeseran budidaya tebu ke lahan kering, dengan potensi produktivitas lebih rendah, sehingga perlu pengembangan infrastruktur irigasi sederhana. Kelangkaan tenaga kerja terjadi berulang pada saat kegiatan puncak, sehingga perlu pola tanam tebu yang memungkinkan penerapan mekanisasi. Kelangkaan pupuk sering terjadi karena kegiatan pemupukan tebu bersamaan dengan usaha tani lainnya, sehingga perlu koordinasi antar lembaga terkait untuk menyediakan pupuk khusus untuk usaha tebu. Benih tebu bermutu sangat langka, sehingga perlu penyederhanaan peraturan penjenjangan kebun benih tebu, agar produksi benih dapat berjalan. Modal usaha tebu rakyat masih langka dan belum sepenuhnya dapat dipenuhi dengan penyaluran KUR Khusus Tebu, sehingga perlu kebijakan operasional untuk meningkatkan akses terhadap KUR. Selain itu masalah ketidakpastian harga tebu juga harus diatasi, melalui kebijakan penetapan harga jual tebu, yang sekaligus sebagai insentif bagi pekebun untuk meningkatkan produktivitas tebu.</p><p align="center">ABSTRACT</p><p align="center"> </p><p>Sugar production from smallholder farming in Java still has significant contribution to the national sugar production, however, in the last five years the contribution has decreased in line with the decreasing sugar cane area. This condition indicates that the competitiveness or profitability rate is decreasing and lower than other farmings. To improve the competitiveness, government policies are needed in order to assist in relaxing the constraints, both technical and economic constraints. This paper aims to study the technical policies that are expected to overcome the scarcity of resources that are likely to occur; as well as to study the possible incentive policies applied to support the technical policies, through simulations of the pricing of sugar cane and sugar. Alternative technical policies are applied to overcome resource scarcity in land resources, labor, fertilizer, sugar cane seeds and capital. Land scarcity has encouraged the shift of sugarcane cultivation to dry land, with lower productivity potential, so it needs the development of simple irrigation infrastructure. Labor scarcity occurs repeatedly during peak activities hence it is necessary to cultivate sugarcane patterns that allow the application of mechanization. Fertilizer scarcity often occurs because of sugarcane fertilization activities in concurrence with other farmings, so it is necessary to coordinate between related institutions to provide special fertilizer for sugar cane farms. Quality sugar cane seeds are very rare, so it is necessary to simplify the regulation of the classifications of sugarcane seeds, in order the seed production can run. The capital is still scarce and can not be fully fulfilled with the KUR (small scale credit program), so it needs operational policies to improve the access to KUR. In addition, the problem of sugarcane price uncertainty must also be addressed, through the policy of pricing of sugarcane, which also as an incentive for farmers to increase the productivity.</p>

Microbiological attributes of a cultivated Plinthosol with sugarcane on different levels of straw

The objective of this work was to evaluate the microbiological attributes of a Plinthossol cropped with sugar cane in straw. The experiment was installed in União (04 ° 51’09”S and 42 ° 53’10 ‘’ W, altitude 52 m), northern region of Piauí state, Brazil. The experimental design was randomized blocks, with four replications, and treatments corresponding to different rates of straw (Mg.ha-1) (0, 4.19, 9.54, 13.04 and 18.38). Microbiological attributes were determined at a depth of 0-10 cm. Data was submitted to analysis of variance, cluster analysis and main components. An increase of straw in the soil influenced the stocks and contents of C, Cmic, Nmic, respiration and microbial and metabolic quotients. Cluster analysis combined the treatments into three distinct groups. 9.54 Mg.ha-1 of straw treatment was isolated from other treatments, being strongly correlated to the microbial quotient. The group formed by the treatments 13.04 and 18.38 Mg.ha-1 of straw correlated with most of the evaluated attributes, being the best proportions to be used to improve soil quality.

PENDAPATAN USAHATANI TEBU RAKYAT DAN POLA KEMITRAAN PADA PETANI MITRA PT BUMA CIMA NUSANTARA, KABUPATEN LAMPUNG UTARA

The objectives of this research were to find out the income of sugar cane farming and the implement of partnership pattern between PT Buma Cima Nusantara and partner farmers in Bunga Mayang Sub-District, North Lampung Regency. The location was determined purposively, considering that Bunga Mayang Sub-District has been the center of sugar cane production in North Lampung Regency. The number of respondents in this research were 66 respondents and taken randomly. Data were collected from January to February 2020. The analytical methods that used were farm income analysis and descriptive qualitative analysis. The study shows that the average income for total cost of sugar cane farming is Rp12,056,030.40/hectare and the R/C ratio is 1.49. The partnership pattern that PT Buma Cima Nusantara and partner farmers implemented is a agribusiness operational cooperation partnership pattern, where the sugar cane farmers act as a group of partners that provide land, facilities, and labors and PT Buma Cima Nusantara acts as a partner company that provides costs, capital, management, procurement of production facilities, and the guarantor of the product market.Key words: income, partnership, sugar cane farming