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Aufsatz
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Development of a hybrid mixed-mode solar dryer for product drying
(2023-02-28)
Sun drying in the open air is quite popular worldwide. However, the use of solar dryers to preserve various perishable agricultural products is a relatively new area of study, and the long-term effects of this method are not yet fully understood. The slow drying process in direct sunlight can contaminate the dried materials by soil and insects. To overcome these challenges, we devised a sun drying system that included a heating part, a drying area, a portable stand, fans, and a 50-W photovoltaic panel. An alternate ...
Aufsatz
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Does liming improve microbial carbon use efficiency after maize litter addition in a tropical acidic soil?
(2023-04-26)
Soil pH is one of the main drivers of soil microbial functions, including carbon use efficiency (CUE), the efficiency of microorganisms in converting substrate C into biomass, a key parameter for C sequestration. We evaluated liming effects after maize-litter addition on total CUE (including microbial residues), CUE of microbial biomass (CUEMB), and fungal biomass on an acidic Acrisol with a low C. We established a 6-week incubation experiment to compare limed and unlimed Acrisol treatments and a reference soil, a ...
Aufsatz
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Increased heat stress reduces future yields of three major crops in Pakistan’s Punjab region despite intensification of irrigation.
(2023-02-27)
Climate change and variability threaten the sustainability of future food production, especially in semi-arid regions where water resources are limited and irrigated agriculture is widespread. Increasing temperatures will exacerbate evaporative losses and increase plant water needs. In this regard, higher irrigation intensities have been posited as a solution to mitigate climate change impacts in these regions. Here, using the agrohydrological model SWAT and the biophysical crop model APSIM, we show that this mitigation ...
Aufsatz
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Biodynamic compost effects on soil parameters in a 27-year long-term field experiment
(2022-10-27)
Background
Soil samples were taken after 27 years from a long-term field experiment to study the effects of composted pure cattle farmyard manure (FYM) and two FYM treatments with biodynamic preparations on soil chemical and microbiological properties.
Methods
Soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen, basal respiration, fungal ergosterol, microbial biomass C (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) were analyzed in a 6-field crop rotation system, conducted as a randomized block design with six replicates. The multi-substrate-induced ...
Aufsatz
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The combined application of nitrogen and biochar reduced microbial carbon limitation in irrigated soils of West African urban horticulture
(2022-07-16)
Background:
Intensive wastewater irrigated urban horticulture in sub-Saharan West Africa receives high nutrient inputs, which lead to large gaseous and leaching losses. The addition of biochar to the usually sandy soils may reduce these losses and improve the habitat conditions for soil microorganisms. Two similar experiments focused on crop yields and nutrient balances have been carried out over a 2-year period in semi-arid Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and in sub-humid Tamale, Ghana, representing to some extent ...
Aufsatz
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Management Effect on the Weed Control Efficiency in Double Cropping Systems
(2023-02-04)
There are often negative side-effects associated with the traditional (silage) maize cropping system related to the unprotected soil surface. Reducing soil disturbance could enhance system sustainability. Yet, increased weed pressure and decreased nitrogen availability, particularly in organic agriculture, may limit the implementation of alternative management methods. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted at two distinct locations to evaluate the weed control efficiency of 18 organically managed silage maize ...
Aufsatz
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Effects of Sodium Salinity on Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Cultivation: A Review
(2023-01-17)
Sodium salinity negatively affects and reduces yields in international agricultural systems. This stress decreases crop growth and development, causing tissue death, flowering abortion, and senescence of the fertilized embryo, and negatively affects enzymatic activity, protein synthesis, among other processes. Rice is a cereal of great international demand for its nutritional properties and its productivity is affected by the presence of salts in agricultural surfaces. The objective of this article is to review the ...
Aufsatz
The ‘forma specialis’ issue in Fusarium: A case study in Fusarium solani f. sp. pisi
(2018-01-19)
The Fusarium solani species complex (FSSC) has been studied intensively but its association with legumes, particularly under European agro-climatic conditions, is still poorly understood. In the present study, we investigated phylogenetic relationships and aggressiveness of 79 isolates of the FSSC collected from pea, subterranean clover, white clover and winter vetch grown under diverse agro-climatic and soil conditions within Temperate and Mediterranean Europe. The isolates were characterized by sequencing tef1 and ...
Aufsatz
Roots of symptom-free leguminous cover crop and living mulch species harbor diverse Fusarium communities that show highly variable aggressiveness on pea (Pisum sativum)
(2018-02-14)
Leguminous cover crop and living mulch species show not only great potential for providing multiple beneficial services to agro-ecosystems, but may also present pathological risks for other crops in rotations through shared pathogens, especially those of the genus Fusarium. Disease severity on roots of subterranean clover, white clover, winter and summer vetch grown as cover crop and living mulch species across five European sites as well as the frequency, distribution and aggressiveness to pea of Fusarium spp. ...
Aufsatz
Heterogeneous Winter Wheat Populations Differ in Yield Stability Depending on their Genetic Background and Management System
(2019-11-05)
Twelve winter wheat composite cross populations (CCPs), based on three genetic backgrounds and maintained at the University of Kassel, Germany, under both organic and conventional management, were assessed for yield performance and stability in comparison to two commercial varieties over eight and 10 experimental years. A number of stability parameters were chosen in order to identify populations with either adaptation to specific environments or broad adaptation across environments. The genetic effects of the CCP ...