Effects of Soil and Foliar Applied Fertilizers on Growth, Yield and Sugar Quality of Two Sugarcane Cultivars under Rainfed Conditions

Background: In north-eastern Thailand, sugarcane is planted normally in late rainy season wherein the plants may experience drought stress during its early growth stage in dry season and waterlogging stress during late growth stage at peak of rainy season. Hence, the objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of soil application alone and soil combined with foliar application of nutrients on growth, yield and sugar quality of sugarcane grown under rainfed conditions. Methods: The field experiment was conducted during November 2016 to December 2017. A split-plot design with three replications was laid out. The two sugarcane cultivars (KK3, K93-219) were assigned as main plots. The fertilizer application methods were assigned as sub-plots that comprised of four treatments: (1) soil applied NPK, (2) soil NPK + foliar N and K applied at 90 days after planting (DAP), (3) soil NPK + foliar N and K applied at 210 DAP and (4) soil NPK + foliar N and K applied at 90 and 210 DAP. Result: The soil NPK + foliar N and K applied at 90 and 210 DAP improved yield components and cane yield. The cultivar K93-219 produced significantly higher cane yield than KK3. The fertilizer application methods and cultivars had no significant effect on sugar quality such as brix (%), purity (%), polarity (%), fiber (%) and commercial cane sugar (CCS-%).

Nano Zinc-Oxide Enhanced Photosynthetic Apparatus and Photosystem Efficiency of Maize (Zea Mays L.) in Sandy-Acidic Soils

Conventional Zinc (Zn) fertilization (e.g., zinc sulfate) often leads to poor availability in soils. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (nano ZnO) can be a potential solution, but their effect on crop photosynthetic activity isn’t well documented. The effects of nano ZnO (50, 100, 150, 200 mg L-1) and application methods (seed-coating, soil-drench, and foliar-spray) in comparison with ZnSO4 recommended dose were evaluated for plant height, biomass, chlorophyll pigments and photosystem efficiency in a greenhouse pot experiment. 100 mg L-1 of nano ZnO significantly increased the chlorophyll (Chl.) a, b, a+b, carotenoids (x+c), a+b/x+c, SPAD, leaf Chl., total chlorophyll content plant-1, plant height and total biological yield (by 18-30%, 33-67%, 22-38%, 14-21%, 14-27%, 12-19%, 12-23% 58-99%, 6-11% and 16-20%, respectively) and reduced Chl. a/b (by 6-22%) over the other treatments (p<0.01) irrespective of application methods. Nano ZnO applied at 100 mg L-1 significantly increased photochemical quenching (qP) and efficiency of photosystem II (EPSII) compared to 150 and 200 mg L-1 regardless of application methods. The positive correlations between Chl. a and Chl. b (r2 0.90), Chl. a+b and x+c (r2=0.71), SPAD and Chl. a (r2=0.90), SPAD and Chl. b (r2=0.94) and SPAD and Chl. a+b (r2=0.93) indicates a uniform enhancement in chlorophyll pigments; SPAD value, qP, EPSII, and growth and yield parameters. This elucidates that the application of nano ZnO at 100 mg L-1 promotes corn biochemical health and photosynthesis, irrespective of the application method. These findings have a great propounding for improving plant growth through nano ZnO bio-fortification in acidic Spodosols.

Integration of International Students With Education Processes Through Information Systems

In the globalizing world, students can cross the boundaries and benefit from the education systems from other cultures. Management of the international students' acceptance processes are given under the responsibility of higher education institutions within the bounds of criteria determined by the Higher Education Council in Turkey. Therefore, selection process shows differences in each institution and the management of the process becomes difficult because of the increase in applications. Consequently, it has been an inevitable need to use digitalization and information systems to conduct this process correctly. In this chapter, digital transformation and integration in educational activities through the international student application process is discussed. This chapter involves different application methods used in universities and some enhanced processes. This chapter is to be a guide for effectively conducting the process of international student applications in universities using information technologies and how to perform integration with educational practices.

Developing Green Tourism-Based Model of Information Technology Utilization in Tourism Villages

The purpose of this study is to develop a model for the use of information technology in Tourism Villages by mapping the use of information technology on all aspects of tourism villages based on the concept of green tourism that focuses on environmental preservation and community welfare. The method used in this research is an information research framework consisting of stages of literature review and environmental aspects, analysis, construct identification, model development, model evaluation, and model application methods. The results of the research are in the form of a model for the use of information technology in green tourism-based tourism villages along with the method of applying the model. This model consists of two connected constructs, namely the use of information technology and green tourism. The implementation of this model in tourist villages is explained in the method of applying the model which contains a mapping of information technology needs and implementation steps based on the classification of tourist villages, namely pioneering, developing, advanced and independent. This model can be used as a reference for tourism village managers in utilizing information technology according to their needs.

Application methods of biostimulants affect the production and postharvest conservation of yellow melon

Worldwide, Brazil holds the fifth position in melon fruits exportation, further expanding its products to provide for the growing demand. This expansion is the result of the development and application of new technologies, including the management of the use of biostimulants. However, for melon crops, the information in the literature on the use of biostimulants remains limited to the effects of different doses on fruit quality at the time of harvest. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the influence of different methods of pre-harvest application of two biostimulants on the production and postharvest conservation of fruits of yellow melon cv. Iracema. The treatments consisted of a combination of three factors: two plant biostimulants (Crop Set® and Spray Dunger®), two application methods of the products (fertigation and spraying), and five times of postharvest storage (0, 14, 21, 28 and 35 days). An additional control treatment corresponded to plants without biostimulant application. The fruits were evaluated for production and physicochemical attributes: average mass, yield, flesh firmness, titratable acidity, soluble solids content, SSC/TA ratio, pH, total soluble sugars, and weight loss. Fertigation is the recommended application method of biostimulants for yellow melon due to its effect on the increase of average mass, yield, flesh firmness, soluble solids content, and total soluble sugars of the fruits in relation to the spraying method.