1,642 research outputs found
Aquaponics: A Promising Tool for Environmentally Friendly Farming
No full textNowadays, agriculture must face a new challenge: produce more food with fewer natural resources. To achieve this goal, scientists are testing a technique called aquaponics. Aquaponics was introduced many years ago by ancient Chinese and Mexican populations. In aquaponics, fish and plants are farmed together. How is this possible? Bacteria change the fish poop into nutrients useful for the plants. The plants take up these nutrients and clean the water, which can then be reused to farm the fish, and the cycle restarts! Aquaponics allows farmers to obtain two products at once, and to recycle the same water many times. Almost no wastewater is released into the environment! Aquaponics systems can have different sizes and do not need soil. They can be installed in both outdoor and indoor environments. Big aquaponic systems are used for commercial purposes, while small aquaponic systems can be used for urban farming—growing food within cities
Staley, Roberta
No full textcurrentAcademic Biography
BA (University of Calgary)
Diploma Journalism (Grant MacEwan)
MA Liberal Studies (Simon Fraser University)
Roberta Staley is an author, a magazine editor and writer, and a documentary filmmaker who has reported from such places as Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea, Kenya, El Salvador, Haiti, Colombia, Cambodia, South Africa, Israel, and New Zealand. She currently edits Enterprise magazine, and is a contributor to BC Business, the South China Morning Post Magazine, Ms. Magazine, Trek, the Canadian Chemical News, Corporate Knights, and Sculpture, among others. She is also a columnist for Just for Canadian Doctors/Dentists magazines. Roberta has published her first book, titled Voice of rebellion : how Mozhdah Jamalzadah brought hope to Afghanistan. It is a biography of Afghan-Canadian human rights activist Mozhdah Jamalzadah
Data on seed germination using LED versus fluorescent light under growth chamber conditions
No full textThe present investigation attempted to assess the influence of two light sources, LED versus fluorescent light, on seed germination of nine aromatic species belonging to the genus Artemisia, Atriplex, Chenopodium, Salicornia, Sanguisorba, Portulaca and Rosmarinus. Pre-germination test was carried out in petri dishes, evidencing the need to overcome seed dormancy through cold stratification in Salicornia europaea. Thereafter, seeds were germinated in small trays with peat moss substrate in two growth chambers illuminated with either LED or fluorescent light featuring similar photosynthetic photon flux density. Germination lasted 20 days, during which time five indexes of germination performance (germination percentage, speed of germination, germination energy, germination rate index, and mean daily germination) were evaluated. At the end, shoot length and seedling fresh weight were assessed as early growth traits. Data are made available to allow critical evaluation of experimental outcome
Valutazione ex post del recupero e riuso ai fini irrigui di acque reflue della depurazione civile alla scala reale
No full textDuring the first four years’ operation of the first Emilia-Romagna tertiary treatment plant of
urban wastewater (Mancasale, Reggio Emilia), the volumes of recovered wastewater increased
from 3.5 million in 2016 up to almost 6 million cubic meters in 2018 and 2019. The average
hourly flow rates fluctuated between 1,200-1,400 m3/hour. The results of the chemical-physical
and biological analysis confirmed the correct plan functioning, although the levels of sodium,
ammoniacal nitrogen and mineral oils showed a greater degree of risk. The farmers were generally
satisfied with the actual management of the irrigation service including the recovery of the
treated wastewater. Almost all of them did not observe changes in the availability and quality of
the irrigation water and perceived advantages rather than risks linked to wastewater recovery for
irrigation, proving to be favourable to the spread of this good practic
Effects of soil and water salinity in a sorghum pot experiment
No full textSalinity is associated with reduced water availability because of the drop in soil water potential. Under salt stress, sorghum can lower leaf water potential to maintain water uptake and cell hydration, resulting in osmotic adjustment (Yang et al., 1990; Weimberg et al., 1984). The objective of this investigation was to determine the effects on sorghum growth and leaf water status at varying levels of soil and water salinit
Physiological Adaptation to Water Salinity in Six Wild Halophytes Suitable for Mediterranean Agriculture
No full textOwing to the high interspecific biodiversity, halophytes have been regarded as a tool for understanding salt tolerance mechanisms in plants in view of their adaptation to climate change. The present study addressed the physiological response to salinity of six halophyte species common in the Mediterranean area: Artemisia absinthium, Artemisia vulgaris, Atriplex halimus, Chenopodium album, Salsola komarovii, and Sanguisorba minor. A 161-day pot experiment was conducted, watering the plants with solutions at increasing NaCl concentration (control, 100, 200, 300 and 600 mM). Fresh weight (FW), leaf stomatal conductance (GS), relative water content (RWC) and water potential (WP) were measured. A principal component analysis (PCA) was used to describe the relationships involving the variables that accounted for data variance. A. halimus was shown to be the species most resilient to salinity, being able to maintain FW up to 300 mM, and RWC and WP up to 600 mM; it was followed by C. album. Compared to them, A. vulgaris and S. komarovii showed intermediate performances, achieving the highest FW (A. vulgaris) and GS (S. komarovii) under salinity. Lastly, S. minor and A. absinthium exhibited the most severe effects with a steep drop in GS and RWC. Lower WP values appeared to be associated with best halophyte performances under the highest salinity levels, i.e., 300 and 600 mM NaCl
Balanced NPK Nutrition Improves Forage Productivity and Quality of Pearl Millet Grown in Semi‐arid Regions of Pakistan
No full textPearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is an important crop in Pakistan, cultivated as fodder and grain crop in areas suffering harsh weather conditions. The high nutritional value of pearl millet grain and fodder makes it an essential component in human and livestock diets. The main aim of this study was to optimize Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium (NPK) levels for the best growth, forage yield, and nutritional properties of pearl millet in the semi-arid region of Pakistan. A feld trial was conducted during the years 2019 and 2020, combining two pearl millet genotypes (synthetic variety Sargodha-2011 and hybrid Pioneer-86M86) with four doses of NPK application: control (no NPK application), NPK 30–15-15, 60–30-30 and 120–60-60 kg ha−1. Synthetic variety Sargodha-2011 exhibited higher plant height, leaf area, stem diameter, and dry biomass yield than hybrid Pioneer-86M86. The intermediate NPK application (60–30-30 kg ha−1) attained maximum leaf area, stem diameter, and dry biomass yield compared to control plots. The NPK levels showed a variable behavior for dry matter partitioning. Forage quality traits, namely crude protein, acid detergent fber, lignin, and ash content, peaked in the combination of Sargodha-2011 with intermediate NPK application (60–30-30 kg ha−1). It was manifested that a synthetic
variety with a wider genetic variability than a hybrid, in association with an intermediate NPK supply, may achieve the best results regarding forage yield and quality under dry climate as in Punjab, Pakistan. This avoids profigate use of costly crop inputs such as high doses of chemical fertilizers and hybrid seeds to beneft economic and environmental sustainability
Smart water and soil-salinity management in agro-wetlands
No full textSoil salinization is becoming worldwide one of the most serious land degradation issues. Seawater intrusion in upper aquifers is responsible for the largest proportion of salt-affected agricultural lands in coastal areas. In this study, the impact of different irrigation strategies on the salinity of a maize cultivated field located in the coastal plain of Ravenna, Italy, was simulated with the FAO AquaCrop model. Model calibration was supported by comparison with remote-sensed and field collected crop data. Ten irrigation scenarios were tested by varying the irrigation season length, the soil moisture threshold for irrigation (TI), and the irrigation depth (ID), in presence or absence of flooded pipe drains (FD) to create a fresh-water lens preventing salt rising from brackish groundwater.
FD show to be more effective in countering soil salinization than strategies exclusively based on supplying enough water to obtain salt leaching (SL). The best result, in terms of both fodder maize yield and salinization control, is achieved with the combination: FD immediately after sowing, irrigation inhibited in May, TI set at 50% of soil readily available water (RAW), and ID modulated to exceed field capacity and obtain SL. The worse strategy is revealed to be the non-FD scenario, coupled with no irrigation in May and August, TI ranging between 65 and 80% of soil RAW depletion, and ID set at 50 mm. Even if water-conservative, this approach results in high soil salinization and leads to significant yield decrease
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