Current Issue : July-September Volume : 2025 Issue Number : 3 Articles : 5 Articles
Kernel breakage and fungi-induced hot spots can easily lead to potential safety hazards in maize storage. The objective of this study was to focus on the formation and development of hot spots in maize bulk with two different broken kernels contents (BKCs), i.e., 4.26% (BKC4.26) and 6.14% (BKC6.14), and a moisture content of 16.3% under the same storage conditions. A multifunctional simulation system was developed to simulate the heat and moisture transfer process in stored grain bulk, and a new method was proposed to evaluate the effect of local hot spots on the storage safety of maize bulk with different BKCs. The results showed that there are differences in fungal respiration rates in the maize bulk with two different BKCs, and the temperature impact range caused by hot spots under the same storage conditions was different. The maximum temperature caused by fungal growth in BKC4.26 and BKC6.14 was 37.47 ◦C and 38.81 ◦C, and the proportion of high-temperature areas caused was 64.2% and 62.3%. The relative humidity at local hot spots continued to decrease, reaching 64.8% and 71.7% when stored for 1800 h in BKC4.26 and BKC6.14. The CO2 concentration at hot spots in BKC6.14 was higher than that of BKC4.26, while the O2 concentration was lower than BKC4.26. Dry matter loss (DML) at the hot spots in BKC6.14 was higher than that in BKC4.26. A nonlinear model was developed to predict temperature changes of fungi-induced hot spots in maize bulk considering the storage time, temperature, relative humidity, and CO2 concentration at the hot spots, and the model fit the experimental data reasonably well....
Protected crops are intensive production systems characterized by high vegetation density, high temperatures, and high moisture, making them favorable environments for the development of pests and diseases. Consequently, these systems often require several interventions with agrochemicals to maintain profitable yields and high produce quality. However, the application of plant protection products (PPPs) in such systems is not efficient and poses environmental concerns. This study aims at analysing spray behaviour, particularly in terms of foliar deposition and losses to the ground according to spraying equipment and foliage height, focusing on a specifically designed and developed system for agrochemical application in protected crops, and comparing it with a commonly used spraying system, namely, the cannon sprayer. Such a system consists in a fixed net of tubing and anti-drip nozzles positioned at the top of the greenhouse’s apex, connected to a pneumatic sprayer ‘Special Serre 2000’ outside the greenhouse. Findings revealed a significant effect of the spraying system (Kruskal–Wallis χ2 = 12.239, df = 1, and p-value = 0.0004681) on normalized foliar deposition, with higher values obtained using the fixed spraying system. In addition, a simulation of the spatial distribution based on the principle of inverse distance weighting (IDW) was performed for qualitative spray assessment, confirming the heterogeneity of foliar deposition over the greenhouse with both of the used equipment. In addition, losses to the ground were affected by both spraying equipment and captor position....
Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a serious fungal disease of wheat and other small cereal grains, significantly reducing grain yield and producing mycotoxins that affect food safety. There is a need for disease detection technologies to determine the right time to apply fungicides, as FHB infection begins before visible symptoms appear. Using multispectral remote sensing by an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), wheat plants were observed under field conditions infested with FHB and simultaneously protected with fungicides sprayed with four different types of nozzles, as well as corresponding control plots infested with FHB only. The results showed that the levels of deoxynivalenol (DON) differed significantly between the five treatments, indicating that the control had the highest DON concentration as no fungicide treatment was applied. This study revealed that the assessment of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) after FHB infection could be useful for predicting DON accumulation in wheat, as a significant negative correlation between DON and NDVI values was measured 24 days after anthesis. The decreasing NDVI values at the end of the growth cycle were expected due to senescence and yellowing of the wheat spikes and leaves. Therefore, significant differences in the NDVI were observed between three measurement points on the 13th, 24th, and 45th day after anthesis. Additionally, the green normalized difference vegetation index (GNDVI) and normalized difference red-edge index (NDRE) were in significant positive correlation with the NDVI at 24th day after anthesis. The use of appropriate measurement points for the vegetation indices can offer the decisive advantage of enabling the evaluation of very large breeding trials or farmers’ fields where the timing of fungicide application is particularly important....
Wheat production can be reduced due to competition from weeds, with farmers relying almost exclusively on chemical solutions. However, there are alternative farming practices available. Therefore, in a field trial in Greece, we assessed the efficacy of false and stale seedbed against important broadleaf weed species and their impact on grain yield parameters. Our study determined that false seedbed resulted in a decrease in the density and biomass of broadleaf weed species like catchweed bedstraw (Galium aparine L.) up to 75% and 69% compared with the untreated control (normal seedbed preparation), respectively. The efficacy of false seedbed was higher when combined with post-emergence chemical control. Stale seedbed also resulted in adequate weed control, with a biomass reduction of up to 81%, and grain yield increased by 30% compared with the normal seedbed preparation without any herbicide use. Our results highlight the differences in the response between the weed species and also emphasize the potential of adding an alternative farming practice (like false and stale seedbed) as part of an integrated farming strategy for a sustainable and agroecological crop and weed management. In order to validate the trends observed in this case study, further field-to-field or year-to-year replication is required....
Soil organic carbon (SOC) is composed of carbon components with different stabilities, which is affected by wetland degradation. Understanding the impact of wetland degradation on SOC dynamics provides a basis for the sustainable utilization of wetlands. Here, soils were collected from different degraded areas of the Bayinbuluk alpine wetland—including one non-degraded (ND), one slightly degraded (SD), and one heavily degraded region (HD)—and the effects of degradation on SOC and its components were measured using the sulfuric acid oxidation method (a modified Walkley–Blak method) with different concentrations. The results showed the following: (1) At 0–100 cm of soil, the average total SOC in the ND area was 93.45 g/kg, while that in the SD and HD areas was decreased by 48.7% and 82.0%, respectively. (2) Under ND, SD, and HD, the contents of the very labile OC component (F1) were 29%, 28% and 14%, respectively; those of the labile OC component (F2) were 8%, 8% and 8%, respectively; those of the less labile OC component (F3) were 6%, 7% and 15%, respectively; and those of the recalcitrant OC component (F4) were 57%, 57% and 63%, respectively. (3) There are significant correlations between organic carbon (OC) and its components (p < 0.01), and the proportions of F2, F3, and F4 in SOC are 31%, 7%, 4%, and 58%, respectively. Meanwhile, F4 is the main component in three areas, and the proportion of unstable organic carbon components increases with the aggravation of degradation. Therefore, wetland degradation affects the SOC content and its components, as well as reducing the SOC stability....
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