Current Issue : July - September Volume : 2018 Issue Number : 3 Articles : 5 Articles
The potential of the globe artichoke biodiversity in the Mediterranean area is enormous\nbut at risk of genetic erosion because only a limited number of varieties are vegetatively propagated\nand grown. In Apulia (southern Italy), the Regional Government launched specific actions to rescue\nand preserve biodiversity of woody and vegetable crops in the framework of the Rural Development\nProgram. Many globe artichoke ecotypes have remained neglected and unnoticed for a long time\nand have been progressively eroded by several causes, which include a poor phytosanitary status.\nSanitation of such ecotypes from infections of vascular fungi and viruses may be a solution for their\nex situ conservation and multiplication in nursery plants in conformity to the current EU Directives\n93/61/CEE and 93/62/CEE that enforce nursery productions of virus-free and true-to-type certified\nstocks. Five Apulian ecotypes, Bianco di Taranto, Francesina, Locale di Mola, Verde di Putignano\nand Violetto di Putignano, were sanitized from artichoke Italian latent virus (AILV), artichoke latent\nvirus (ArLV) and tomato infectious chlorosis virus (TICV) by meristem-tip culture and in vitro\nthermotherapy through a limited number of subcultures to reduce the risk of ââ?¬Å?pastel variantsââ?¬Â\ninduction of and loss of earliness. A total of 25 virus-free primary sources were obtained and\nconserved ex situ in a nursery....
Water transports organic matter through soils, where mineral-organic associations form to\nretain dissolved organic matter (ââ?¬Å?DOMââ?¬Â), influencing terrestrial carbon cycling, nutrient availability\nfor plant growth, and other soil organic matter functions. We combined Fourier transform ion\ncyclotron resonance mass spectrometry with novel data analysis techniques to examine the role of\nsorptive fractionation in the associations between Fe(III)-montmorillonite and DOM from composted\nbiosolids (ââ?¬Å?anthropogenic DOMââ?¬Â). To examine the influence of DOM composition on sorption and\nsorptive fractionation, we used resin-based separation to produce DOM subsamples with different\nmolecular compositions and chemical properties. A large proportion (45 to 64%) of the initial carbon\nin every DOM solution sorbed to the Fe(III)-montmorillonite. However, when the compositions of the\ninitial solutions were compared to the sorbed organic matter, the computed changes in composition\nwere lower (10 to 32%). In fact, non-selective sorption was more important than selective sorption in\nevery sample, except for the hydrophilic neutral (HiN) fraction, where high nitrogen content and\nacidic conditions appeared to enhance sorptive fractionation. The results from this study demonstrate\nthat the importance of sorptive fractionation varies with DOM composition and other factors, and that\nnon-selective sorption can contribute substantially to the formation of mineral-organic associations....
The study was conducted during 2015/2016 in two districts of Afar Regional State which were purposively selected based on\ntheir experiences on date palm production and locations relative to Awash River. Objectives of the study were evaluating the\nexisting production practices and constraints of date palm production to generate baseline information for further researches and\nextension. A total of 117 household heads were interviewed using structured and semistructured questionnaires. Key informant\ninterviews, focus group discussions, and direct observations of date palm plantations have been also conducted. The study was\ndesigned to address date palm production along the value chain. The majority of household heads were male, married, and\nilliterate. About 94.19% of household heads allocated less than one hectare of land for date palm production and had 21ââ?¬â??40 years\n(77.8%) of experience. Seeds (90.6%) were dominantly used for propagation, which are not appropriate for date palm production.\nLocal varieties with low yielding potential were cultivated using flooding irrigation (76.9%). Date palm production was practiced\ntraditionally and constrained with high incidence of insect pests. Capacity building training sessions and researches on proper\nagronomic, management, and postharvest handling practices are recommended to improve the production of date palm in the\nregion....
This paper presents the characterization and optimization of biosensors based on graphite-epoxy which incorporates the\nenzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE). By means of advanced electrochemical techniques, such as electrochemical impedance\nspectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV), the characterization and optimization of graphite-epoxy-AChE biosensors\nhave been performed. In order to obtain sensitive electrodes, the optimal composition of the transducer material (graphiteepoxy-\nenzyme ratio) was studied.The optimization of the conductive particles distribution inside the biomaterial has allowed an\nimprovement of the electrochemical properties. Optimal composition guarantees improving electrochemical properties required,\nsuch as high electron-transfer rate, high signal-to-noise ratio, and suitable sensitivity. The optimal biocomposite composition\nrange was obtained between 16% and 17% of graphite and 0.12% of AChE. The biosensors were applied to the analysis of\ndifferent pesticides, organophosphorus and carbamates, using indirectmeasurements based on enzymatic inhibition process. These\noptimized biosensors present detection limit one order of magnitude lower compared to the standard composition (nonoptimized)\nand allow achieving concentrations lower than the established ones by the pesticides regulation. Finally, spiked tap water samples\nwith pesticides were analyzed with the optimized biosensors...
Quantifications of annual soil respiration in switchgrass systems are limited to the\ngrowing season or coarse-scale temporal sampling. This study evaluates daily and seasonal soil\nCO2 respiration in switchgrass croplands. Hourly measurements during a 12-month period were\ntaken for soil CO2 flux, soil temperature, and soil moisture. Although both soil temperature and\nmoisture were positively correlated with soil CO2 flux rates, soil temperature was the primary\ndriver of soil respiration. During winter, lower soil temperatures corresponded with significant\ndecreases in average daily CO2 flux rates, however, CO2 pulses associated with precipitation events\nincreased flux rates up to three times the seasonal daily average. Soil temperature influenced both\ndaily and seasonal flux patterns where the highest flux rates, up to 31.0 kg CO2 haâË?â??1 hâË?â??1, were\nobserved during the warmest hours of the day (13:00 to 15:00) and during the warmest season\n(Summer). Summer and Spring emissions combined accounted for 80.1% of annual flux, indicating\nthat exclusion of non-growing season time periods may result in an underestimation of total annual\nCO2 efflux. Our results indicate that inclusion of the non-growing season and a fine-resolution\ntemporal sampling approach provides more accurate quantifications of total annual CO2 emissions\nin switchgrass croplands....
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