33 research outputs found
Micronutrients (B, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, and Zn) content in made tea (Camellia sinensis L.) and tea infusion with health prospect: a critical review
No full textTea (Camellia sinensis L.) is a perennial acidophilic crop, and known to be a nonalcoholic stimulating beverage that is most widely consumed after water. The aim of this review paper is to provide a detailed documentation of selected micronutrient contents, viz. boron (B), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), and zinc (Zn) in made tea and tea infusion. Available data from the literature were used to calculate human health aspect associated with the consumption of tea infusion. A wide range of micronutrients reported in both made tea and tea infusion could be the major sources of micronutrients for human. The content of B, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, and Zn in made tea are ranged from 3.04 to 58.44 μg g−1, below detectable limit (BDL) to 122.4 μg g−1, BDL to 602 μg g−1, 0.275 to 13,040 μg g−1, 0.004 to 15,866 μg g−1, 0.04 to 570.80 μg g−1 and 0.01 to 1120 μg g−1, respectively. Only 3.2 μg L−1 to 7.25 mg L−1, 0.01 μg L−1 to 7 mg L−1, 3.80 μg L−1 to 6.13 mg L−1, 135.59 μg L−1 −11.05 mg L−1, 0.05 μg L−1 to 1980.34 mg L−1, 0.012 to 3.78 μg L−1, and 1.12 μg L−1 to 2.32 μg L−1 of B, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, and Zn, respectively, are found in tea infusion which are lower than the prescribed limit of micronutrients in drinking water by World Health Organization. Furthermore, micronutrient contents in tea infusion depend on infusion procedure as well as on the instrument used for analysis. The proportion of micronutrients found in different tea types are 1.0–88.9% for B, 10–60% for Co, 2.0–97.8% for Cu, 67.8–89.9% for Fe, 71.0–87.4% for Mn, 13.3–34% for Mo, and 34.9–83% for Zn. From the results, it can also be concluded that consumption of three cups of tea infusion per day does not have any adverse effect on human health with respect to the referred micronutrients rather got beneficial effects to human
Effect of seaweed extract and bradirhizobium inoculation on growth, nodulation and yield attributes of Cowpea (Vigna Unguiculata L Walp) under tunnel house and field conditions
No full textA 3-factorial agronomic experiment was carried out under field and tunnel house conditions to investigate the effect of seaweed extract and Bradyrhizobium inoculation on cowpea growth and performance. In both trials, treatment factors consisted of two cowpea varieties and three Seaweed extract levels (0:00, 1:500 and 1:100 v/v; extract to water ratio) applied at a rate of 2 L ha-1 with and without Bradyrizobium inoculation. Results showed that all measured growth and yield parameters were increased following increase in Seaweed extract concentration while seed inoculation proved superior to uninoculated treatments. Application of the extract resulted in approximately 10-20% increase in cowpea leaf chlorophyll content, 43-88% improvement in nodulation and 9.5 -29.9% grain yield increases. Similarly, cowpea seed inoculation resulted in 37-42% increase in leaf chlorophyll content over 200% increase in nodulation and up to 40% grain yield increases when compared to the uninoculated treatment. A synergistic effect of the application of seaweed extract in the presence of Bradyrhizobium inoculation was recorded in both the field and tunnel house experiments with significant effect on cowpea leaf chlorophyll content and nodulation. Such synergy promoted nodulation, better crop performance and increased grain yield
Comparative assessment of copper, iron, and zinc contents in selected Indian (Assam) and South African (Thohoyandou) Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) samples and their infusion: a quest for health risks to consumer
No full textThe current study aims to assess the infusion pattern of three important micronutrients namely copper (Cu), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn) contents from black tea samples produced in Assam (India) and Thohoyandou (South Africa). Average daily intakes and hazardous quotient were reported for these micronutrients. Total content for Cu, Fe, and Zn varied from 2.25 to 48.82 mg kg−1, 14.75 to 148.18 mg kg−1, and 28.48 to 106.68 mg kg−1, respectively. The average contents of each of the three micronutrients were higher in tea leaves samples collected from South Africa than those from India while the contents in tea infusions in Indian samples were higher than in South African tea samples. Results of this study revealed that the consumption of 600 mL tea infusion produced from 24 g of made tea per day may be beneficial to human in terms of these micronutrients content. Application of nonparametric tests revealed that most of the data sets do not satisfy the normality assumptions. Hence, the use of both parametric and nonparametric statistical analysis that subsequently revealed significant differences in elemental contents among Indian and South African tea
The effect of winery solid waste compost application on maize growth, biomass yield, and nutrient content under greenhouse conditions
No full textA greenhouse study was conducted to assess the fertilizer value and determine the optimum application rate of five winery solid waste (WSW) composts containing varied filter material (FM) mixed proportions with grape marc and pruning canes using maize. The composts comprised of 4, 10, 20, 30, and 40% FM (w/w) designated C4FM, C10FM, C20FM, C30FM, and C40FM, respectively. Application rates of 5, 10, 20, 40, and 80 t ha?1 were used; while unamended control and inorganic NPK fertilizer treatments were included as references. The results showed that application of composts with 20% FM or more at 80 t ha?1 significantly increased the dry matter yield more than NPK fertilizer but full potential was not reached due to inadequate nitrogen supply. Maize shoot K content from compost treatments exceeded the critical nutrient level while the shoot Zn content from compost treatments with 20% FM or less also exceeded the critical level. The results revealed that these composts could serve as potential good sources of K and Zn for maize production, particularly, in sandy soils where these nutrients are often reported to be deficient. Quantitative estimate of the optimum rate of the composts for dry matter production ranged from 75 to 307 t ha?1
Growth and yield attributes of soybean (<i>Glycine max</i> L) in response to cassava peel compost and inorganic fertilizer
No full textField experiments were conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm, Ladoke, Akintola University of Technology in Nigeria for the evaluation of soybean performance on the soil amended separately or in combination with cassava peel compost (CPC) and inorganic fertilizer applied. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Soybean growth parameters and yield were examined. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance and significant means compared using New Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at 5% probability level. Soybean growth parameters and crop physiological indices were significantly influenced by applied treatments. Combined application of NPK and CPC performed better than sole inorganic fertilizer application. The stem height and girth, number of leaves per plant and leaf area (46.08 cm2) were all significantly (P<0.05) influenced by the treatments. The highest leaf area was obtained with 50 kg NPK/ha+3.5 t/ha CPC, while the least (22.04 cm2) was observed from control. The physiological indices of soybean were significantly influenced by applied treatments. Application of 100 kg NPK/ha+2.5 t/ha CPC gave highest net assimilation rate. It was concluded that combined application of 100 kg NPK/ha+2.5 t/ha CPC was sufficient for optimum growth and yield of soybean based on the condition of the soil used in the Southern guinea Savannah of Nigeria
Co-composting of cow dung, municipal solid waste, roadside pond sediment and tannery sludge: role of human hair
No full textIn general, farmers from developing countries often use several feeding mixtures based on materials available in their vicinity resulting in a final poor-quality compost product. Human hair as a composting feed could impact on the nutrient status in prepared compost. In this study, the effect of different amount of human hair to tannery sludge, roadside pond sediment, municipal solid waste and cow dung was investigated during 70-day composting cycle. Human hair addition increased N, P and K from 1.36 to 22.85, 53.06 to 189.80 and 4.13 to 39.26%, respectively, over control. Total metal and arsenic contaminations were significantly higher than in control but lower than the Indian permissible limit. Highest amount of human hair in composting feed indicated that the germination index for tea seed (Camellia sinensis L.) was less than 80% reflecting the possible remaining phytotoxic substances. Redundancy analysis revealed that there was a significance influence of the physico-chemical variables on bacterial community
Sweet corn production and soil chemical properties under different management practices in dryland conditions of South Africa
No full textA field trial involving sweet corn was carried out at the University of Limpopo experimental farm over two-summer production seasons. The trial was conducted to assess the productivity of sweet corn under different management practices. Treatments consisted of cowpea varieties (Pan 311 and Red caloona), cropping systems (sole and intercropping) and cowpea-leaf pruning regimes (pruning and un-pruned). All treatment combinations were laid out in a randomized complete block design with four replicates. Growth and yield data were collected from sweet corn during the course of the trial. During 2005/06 planting season, sweet corn intercropped with Red caloona gave higher grain yield of 770 kg ha-1 than Pan 311 intercropped plots. Similarly during 2006/07 planting season, sweet corn under Red caloona intercrop also had higher grain yield of 944 kg ha-1 than under Pan 311 intercrop while sole sweet corn plots had higher grain yield of 1115 kg ha-1 than intercropped plots. The cowpea variety (Red caloona) should be considered as the suitable variety for intercropping with sweet corn, when ears and grain yield of sweet corn are desired. Sweet corn and cowpea have great ability to reduce the amount of fertilizer N and K in the soil after their harvest
Soil types, water and heat stress affect seed qualities of three maize varieties grown under variable conditions
No full textPhD (Agriculture with Agronom), North-West University, Mahikeng CampusFood security in Sub-Saharan Africa is threatened by the increasing incidence of extreme weather events like heat waves and drought. These stressors reduce the yield of maize (Zea mays L.), which is the most important staple food and the highest single source of calories in Sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, improving maize yield under a stress environment will contribute towards promoting food security in the region. The aim of this research was to study the response of maize plants grown with different soil amendments to heat stress and combined water and heat stresses, as well as the effects of the stress on maize seed qualities and progeny. Two repeated greenhouse and a repeated field trials were performed.
The first greenhouse experiment was a 2 × 3 × 3 × 2 factorial in a completely randomized design with four replications. The factors were: environment, heat-stress (HS) and non-heat-stress (NHS); maize variety: WE3128, WE5323, and ZM1523; soil amendment: poultry manure (PM), mineral fertilizer (MF), and complementary (50:50) application of poultry manure/mineral fertilizer; and soil type: sandy clay loam (SCL) and loamy sand (LS). The following growth, phenological and yield attributes were measured: plant height (PH), leaf area (LA), leaf chlorophyll content (LCC), number of leaves (NoL), plant stem diameter (SD), number of days to tassel appearances (DT), number of days silk appearances (DS), tassel silk interval (TSI), stover dry weight in grams (SDWt), dry biomass yield (DBY), harvest index (HI), cob number per plant (NoC) cob length (CL), cob width (CW), cob weight (CWt), grain weight (GWt), shelling percentage (SP), number of grains (GN) and 100-seed weight (SWt). The seeds were analysed for macro and micro mineral concentrations using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The second greenhouse experiment involved a 3 × 3 × 2 × 3 factorial in a completely randomized design with four replications. Three water stress levels; non-water stress (NS), moderate water stress (MS), and terminal water stress (TS), three soil amendments (PM, MF and MPM), two soil types (SCL and LS), and three drought–tolerant maize varieties were combined to create 54 treatment interactions with four replications. The 54 treatment interactions were grown in a HS environment. The same data were collected in the two greenhouse experiments. Data from ninteen morphological attributes from the two experiments were analysed using Pearson's correlation coefficient, principal component analysis, and path coefficient analysis to assess these attributes’ contributions to GWt under NHS, HS, and combined heat and moderate water stress (HWS) conditions. To determine if the parental growth conditions influenced progeny performance, seeds from the first greenhouse experiments were evaluated in the field for two summer planting seasons. A randomised complete block design experiment with three replications was used to grow the
progenies. The progenies were examined for nineteen morphological and yield-related attributes.
The first greenhouse experiment results showed better growth and yield from SCL soil over LS soil. WE5323 and ZM1523 amended with PM produced the highest yields in the NHS and HS environments, respectively. Heat stress exerted a depressive effect on maize growth and yield attributes. HS reduced the LCC, LA, PH, SD, DBY, HI, CWt, GWt, GN, and SDWt by 35, 36, 35, 41, 59, 78, 64, 73, 69, and 23%, respectively. GN, GWt, and CWt were the most informative yield attributes.
The second greenhouse experiment results demonstrated a depressive effect of water stress on the maize LA, LCC, SD, DBY, and HI due to the increasing severity of water stress, with the HI dipping by 30.3 and 92.9% in MS and TS plants, respectively. TS reduced CWt, GWt, GN, and SWt by 96, 97, 97, and 63%, respectively. The GGEbiplot explained 96.6% of the yield variation in the treatment interactions. While GN had the most discriminatory power among the maize attributes studied, CWt was the most representative attribute. The maize varieties were ranked WE5323 ≥ ZM1523 > WE3128 in terms of average performance and stability. The NS treatments together with three MS treatments performed better than the population mean following the ranking of the treatment interactions. Under HS and MS conditions, the PM amendment performed well for varieties WE5323 and ZM1523, while the MF amendment performed best for variety WE3128. Compared to the inorganic amendment, the organic amendment had a greater ameliorative capacity for grain yield under combined heat and water stress conditions.
Under NHS, HS, and HWS, the correlation results revealed that eight traits consistently produced a significant and positive relationship with GWt. The principal component analysis explained 59.37% of the variation under NHS, 55.12% for HS, and 57.14% under HWS. The path coefficient analyses revealed that in the NHS, HS, and HWS conditions, five traits consistently had a positive direct effect on the GWt. Given the magnitude of the positive direct effects, increasing DBY, HI, and GN in the NHS; increasing GN, HI, and CW in the HS; and increasing HI, DS, LCC, and GN in the HWS will improve GWt. Under various abiotic stress conditions, maize phenotypic expression varied.
Except for the main effect of maize variety on grain yield, the results showed significant main and interaction effects of the three factors on grain yield, grain macro, and trace minerals (Mo, Mn, Fe, Zn). The highest grain Zn was obtained with the MF amendment, while the highest grain Fe and yield were obtained from the MPM amendment. When compared to the NHS environment, the HS environment reduced grain yield while increasing grain Fe and Zn
concentrations. WE5323 had the highest concentrations of macro minerals, followed by ZM1523 and WE3128. The correlation result revealed that a proportional relationship between Fe/Zn and grain yield tends to decrease the grain Fe/Zn concentrations.
The first and second principal component axes explained 69.51% of the variation in the progenies’ yield attributes. The most informative attributes were GWt and CWt. The GWt and CWt of the progenies were unaffected by the parental heat stress conditions or maize variety, but the progenies' CWt and GN were significantly influenced by the parental soil amendment. Clusters II and III contained the best-performing treatment interactions for each maize variety. WE3128 and ZM1523 had their highest yields from PM amendments in the NHS environment, while WE5323 produced its highest yield from the MPM amendment in the HS environment. The findings from this study revealed that soil type, water and heat stress affected maize seed qualities when grown under varied conditions.Doctora
Effect of composted Phalaborwa ground phosphate rock on performance of grain sorghum grown on variable soil conditions
No full textMSc (Crop Sciences), North-West University, Mafikeng CampusGrain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench), is a cereal crop that is indigenous to Africa. The desire to reduce the negative impact of industrial wastes on the environment through the use of inorganic fertilisers and promote harmony between nature and the earth inhabitants calls for identification of viable and cheaper alternative non-hazardous fertiliser source for maintaining soil fertility and increasing crop yields on farmlands. This can also help farmers to manage on-farm wastes as wealth resources. It also minimizes the waste removal costs and serves as way of increasing income. This study assessed soil phosphorus (P) and other soil nutrients availability when using cheaper and locally available P-rich organic-based fertiliser sources for increased grain sorghum yields. Compost preparations, greenhouse and field trials were conducted at the North-West University experimental farm in Mahikeng. The P-enriched compost produced contained adequate levels of nutrients including P, which was 68.37 g/kg but with high level of Cd that was above the threshold level of 39 mg/kg it may pose serious threats for agricultural soils. The most common threats caused by Cd are stunting and chlorosis in plants. Evaluation of growth, yield, nutrient and nutritional contents of grain sorghum were carried out under greenhouse and field conditions following application of variable rates of the P-enrich composts. Two greenhouse trials consisted of factorial arrangements. The first greenhouse trial consisted of two soil textural classes (loam and a sandy loam) and seven compost rates (i.e. unamended control, 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, 160 t/ha) and inorganic NPK rate as a positive control while the second trial consisted of two soil types (Hutton and Coega) and seven compost tea rates. The compost tea rates included unamended control, 250 ml fortnightly, 250 ml weekly, 250 ml bi-weekly, 500 ml fortnightly, 500 ml weekly and 500 ml bi-weekly. In addition, a laboratory incubation study on phosphorus release from the P-enriched co-composted manures was conducted to quantify and compare P availability from co-composted GPR in two soils with variable textural characteristics. Results from the first greenhouse trial revealed that all measured sorghum growth parameters performed better under loam soil than the sandy loam. Higher compost application rates promoted early flowering first observed in the 80 t/ha rate at 49 days. However, biomass accumulation in the inorganic NPK fertilizer rate was higher (53.63 g) than any of the P-rich compost rates. However, the 27.48% grain protein content obtained at 40 t/ha P-rich compost treatment was significantly higher. Similarly, the 0.65% grain P content obtained from the 10 t/ha compost rate was the highest suggesting possible optimum compost rates. On the other hand, results of the compost tea trial revealed that compost tea application had beneficial effects on growth and yield of sorghum grain with the 500 ml bi-weekly application rate producing better growth than any other rates in both soils. However, the obtained highest grain yield of 16.93 g/ panicle was from the 250 ml weekly treatment in the Hutton soil. Higher P-use efficiency (PUE) values of 4.66 and 4.23, respectively for grain and biomass obtained from Coega soil compared to the -0.44 (grain) and -0.208 (biomass) in the Hutton soil. Compost tea application can be a useful fertilizer source for sorghum
Results of the field trials revealed that 5 and 10 t/ha treatments gave the highest yields at 5490.1 and 5301.6 kg/ha, respectively. The highest total N (2.05%), crude protein (12.90%) and P (0.46%) contents from grain samples obtained from the 80 t/ha treatment. In addition, the 80 t/ha gave the lowest bulk density across all the treatments and resulted in the highest porosity. Although the 80 t/ha compost rate resulted in increased sorghum grain P uptake, reduced bulk density and favourably improved soil total porosity, the potential risks of exchangeable cation (EC) build-up following short and long term application of such rate makes it undesirable. Finally, the results of the laboratory incubation study revealed that P released over the 49-day period showed similar trends in both soils during the first 2 weeks and the third to the sixth weeks. However, the different P trend in loam soil decreased from the third week to the fifth week and the sandy loam soil showed a continuous increase in P from the first to the fourth week but decreased steadily starting from the fifth week. The final measured mineralized P in sandy loam (561.67 mg/kg) and loam (475.05 mg/kg) soils showed a P increase as a result of P-rich compost from the initial P values of 80 mg/kg (sandy loam) and 75 mg/kg (loam). However, there was non-significance effect on the cumulative P as affected by soil texture but the interaction between soil texture and compost rates had significance effect on cumulative P. The 10% compost tea rate containing 1574 mg/kg cumulative P in the sandy loam soil was non-significant while similar 10% rate containing 1236 mg/kg cumulative P in the loam soil was significant. The compost rate and soil texture played important role on compost mineralization. The findings in this study suggest the potential for possible improvement of soil P availability in sorghum fields using cheaper and locally available P-rich organic-based fertiliser source for increased sorghum yields.Master
Assessing the productivity of grain cowpea under variable conditions using low-input agricultural production practices
No full textMSc (Crop Science), North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2019The adoption of low-input agricultural practices can play a vital role towards ensuring food security. Cowpea is an indigenous crop that is highly adaptive and has numerous benefits. However, its production in South Africa is still very low with smallholder farmers being the largest producers of the crop in the country. The study focused on efforts to maximise the production of cowpea, particularly for smallholder farmers using low-input agricultural practices, which could ensure sustainable production and enhance food security. The aim of
this study was to investigate the impact of low-input agricultural practices on the productivity of grain cowpea grown under tunnel house and dryland conditions. Phospho-compost prepared at the Molelwane experimental farm of North-West University using animal manure (cattle, sheep and poultry) and sawdust through co-composting with ground phosphate rock in heap was used for tunnel house and field trials. A repeated 2:x2x6 factorial trial was carried out under tunnel house conditions with one field trial conducted under dryland conditions (these were all done at Molelwane): The tunnel house trials treatment factors consisted of six phosphorus (P) fertilizer rates, two soil types and moisture regimes, replicated three times to obtain 72 pots for both trials. The P fertilizer treatments comprised of variable phospho-compost rates (0, 10, 20, 40 and 80 t/ha) with 30 kg P/ha rate applied as single super phosphate (SSP 10.5%) included as a standard positive control. The soils used in tunnel house trial 1 were from a smallholder farmer's field in Ventersdorp (Glenrosa) and the North-West University experimental farm (Hutton) while the soils for the second tunnel house trial comprised Coega and Hutton soil types collected from the North-West University, Mafikeng Campus. The different P fertilizer rates exerted significant (p:S0.05) influence on all cowpea growth parameters, with the exception of leaf length. Variation in soil types used in the tunnel house trials exerted significant (p:S0.05) effect on stem diameter and chlorophyll content. The highest seed yield (12.51 g/pot) and (8.50) number of pods per plant were recorded in the 40 t/ha phospho-compost rate. Cowpea plants grown under the Coega and Glenrosa soil types performed better than those grown under Hutton soil. Application of 30 kg P/ha resulted in the highest mean nodule count (34.3) under tunnel house l while moisture stress exerted a depressive effect on cowpea seed yield, number of pods and fodder weight. Results obtained revealed that moisture-deprived plants
flowered and formed pods quicker The field trial was carried out during 2017-2018 summer growing season, the trial also comprised six phosphorus (P) fertilizer rates and two tillage practices (minimum and conventional). The P fertilizer treatments under the field trial also consisted of variable phospho-compost rates (0, 10, 20, 40 and 80 t/ha) with 30 kg P/ha rate applied as single super phosphate (SSP 10.5%) included as a positive control. Rainfall was used as the main source of irrigation with supplementary irrigation used only when there was a need. Application of 40 and 80 t/ha phospho-compost rates significantly increased the residual Bray P content,
organic carbon and total N soil content after harvest. Seed germination and plant emergence was quicker under minimum tillage. Tillage and different fertilizer rates significantly influence all the measured cowpea growth parameters and yield attributes. The highest grain yield (488.06 kg/ha) and nodule count (15 .36) under field conditions were produced at 40 t/ha phospho-compost rate while minimum tillage gave higher grain yield (611.66 kg/ha) and nodule count (14.39) than conventional tillage. Application of phospho-compost resulted in
significant increase soil available P and cowpea plant tissue P content. The heavy metal content of cowpea grains from the different fertilizer rates and tillage practices did not differ significantly (p>0.05) with measured values generally within the threshold level required for human consumption albeit the high Al and Fe concentrations in soil suggesting phyto-toxicity, which may have resulted in low grain yield obtained.Master
