Volume 13 (2021): Issue 1 (December 2021)

This study was conducted to assess the growth performance of Amaranthus cruentus on spent-engine-oil- (SEO) contaminated soil bioremediated with bacterial inoculants and processed biostimulants: compost, sole cocoa pod husk (CPH), and sole cow dung (CD). SEO with 5%, 10%, and 15% densities was artificially contaminated with sterilized soil. Subsequently, biostimulants and bacterial inoculants, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus, were applied. The treatments were replicated three times, adopting a completely randomized design. After the biodegradation assay that lasted for 70 days, Amaranthus cruentus seeds were sown, while its growth parameters, plant height, number of leaves, and stem girth were monitored for 6 weeks after sowing (WAS). The results generated indicate that the applied biostimulants and bacterial inoculants accomplished significant (P < 0.05) reclamation of the SEO-contaminated soil as the test plant recorded substantial growth compared with the controls that recorded no growth. At 2 WAS, compost influenced the highest plant heights (6.5, 7.4, and 7.5 cm) compared with other biostimulants at 5%, 10%, and 15% SEO contamination levels respectively. At 4 WAS, all biostimulants produced the same number of leaves (5.0) at 5% SEO contamination level, the compost recorded the highest number of leaves (6.0) at 10% SEO contamination level, while all biostimulants produced the same number of leaves (4.0) at 15% SEO contamination level. The study showed that the combination of biostimulants and bacterial inoculants significantly reclaimed SEO contaminated soil. Therefore, reclamation of petroleum-impacted environments with the combination of biostimulation and bioaugmentation is recommended.

Climate change is one of the leading challenges of this century with an impending threat to wipe out more vital butterfly species than ever before. Climate shift has the potential to affect their life cycles, flight times, essential bio-interactions, and ultimately survival. As the first such study in India, this case study highlights the inferential discussion on the importance of butterflies in maintaining the earth’s fragile ecological balance and consequently the impact of climate change upon them with inadvertent implications. Due to the shifting climate, a number of butterfly species are now migrating to newer places in their search for comfortable temperature and availability of food, as the reduction/loss/change of habitat lowers the diversity of microclimates and availability of food plants for larvae and adult butterflies. Consequently, the butterflies become even more vulnerable to natural perturbations and susceptible to predators and local extinctions.

Ticks can be a major concern for humans and animals alike through the transmission of various viral and bacterial diseases. Ticks have also developed tolerance to several active compounds due to intensive insecticide treatments. The excess use of insecticides against ticks worldwide is mostly environmental contamination rather than effective control. Thus, information about the useful chemicals is essential. Dermacentor marginatus and Dermacentor reticulatus individuals were tested, being collected in Transylvania, near the city of Târgu-Mureş, Romania. The experiment was performed under laboratory conditions in two replicates, using a total of 420 ticks and 19 insecticides. The best results were achieved with alpha-cypermethrin and pyrethrin.

The restoration of historic gardens in Hungary puts an increasing responsibility on the shoulders of management. The use of what might be termed as “traditional horticultural approach” significantly increases the needs and costs of garden maintenance. But if we do not fulfil this task, heritage value can be lost and the former restoration efforts can become futile. Today’s challenge is to find a balance between these two issues. This study aims to develop the scientific foundations for practical solutions.

Adequate knowledge of soil processes is key to ensuring sustainability. Towards a better understanding of some thermal and hydrological processes that take place in the soil as a result of the growth period of maize and cowpea, a concurrent research was carried out in two different locations with soil textural variation (sandy clay loam and clay loam) at the Federal University of Technology, Akure. The treatment consisted of bare soil plot, cowpea plot, and maize plot arranged in a randomized complete block design in three replicates. The same weed management practice was carried out on all treatment plots throughout the duration of the study. Data were collected at 4 weeks after planting (WAP), 8 WAP, and 12 WAP, during which the dry bulk density, mass wetness, volumetric infiltration rate, saturated hydraulic conductivity, sorptivity, soil temperature, total energy emitted, wavelength of maximal radiation intensity, and energy flux were determined. The results showed that growing maize and cowpea had no significant influence (P > 0.05) on the soil properties measured in the SCL soil. However, significant difference was noticed in the CL soil at 8 WAP; the crops grown prevented the formation of excess soil seal and crust when compared to the bare soil plot. This study shows that soil textural property greatly influences hydrological and thermal processes in the soil during the maize and cowpea growth period.

A cost-effective enhancement of leafy vegetable yield and health-promoting quality may be achieved by combining moderate stress conditions with the application of bioactive compounds. The aim of this work is to study how salt stress and triacontanol interact with each other in modulating vegetative growth, photosynthetic light use efficiency, carbon dioxide uptake, and chlorophyll and carotenoid pigment content of spinach plants grown under controlled conditions. Besides stimulating metabolic processes related to growth and photosynthetic production, treatments with 1 μM triacontanol once in three days significantly compensate for the deleterious effects of salt stress induced with 250 mM NaCl.

An analysis of the biochemical composition of African walnut seeds collected from two different geographical areas, Nigeria and Cameroon, was used to conduct the primary assessment of varietal differences and evolutionary status of Plukenetia conophora. The experiment was conducted at the Laboratory of Department of Biochemistry and Technology, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria. The experimental design was completely randomized design with five replications. Significant difference (P > 0.05) was not observed with the proximate properties of the seeds of the two lines except for carbohydrate. However, higher values in protein (28.32%), crude fat (5.67%), ash (4.33%), and moisture (38.44%) content were obtained for the line from Nigeria, while the line from Cameroon had higher values for carbohydrate (20.87%) and crude fibre (9.32%). With regard to mineral composition, significant difference (P < 0.05) was observed in some mineral elements such as manganese, sodium, and chromium. Anti-nutritional composition such as proximate properties did not show any significant difference between the two lines. However, the line from Nigeria had higher values of phytate (6.27%) and oxalate (0.11%), while a higher content of tannin (0.36%) and saponin (0.27%) was obtained for the line from Cameroon. Evidently, the result obtained was not substantial to establish varietal differences between the two lines; nevertheless, it showed some level of evolutionary changes in the crop over the years.

The plastic tunnel can ensure a positive effect on the yield and quality of vegetables. In our experiment, we evaluated the following types and varieties of lettuce – heading type (‘Great Lakes 659’, ‘King of May’), non-heading type (‘Lollo Rossa’, ‘Lollo Bionda’), and cos type (‘Romaine lettuce’). The highest head weight was detected in ‘Great Lakes 659’ (373.97 g plant⁻¹) and ‘Romaine lettuce’ (266.79 g plant⁻¹) under an unheated plastic tunnel in springtime. Higher nitrate content (565.0 mg kg⁻¹) was measured for ‘cos lettuce’, while lower values (425.50 mg kg⁻¹) were measured for ‘Lollo Bionda’. Among the varieties, one of the highest dry matter content was also measured for ‘Great Lakes 659’ (8.52%). According to our results for lettuce production, ‘Great Lakes 659’ was detected as having a higher yield and dry matter content and a lower nitrate accumulation.

The medium from which seedlings are transplanted influences seedling growth and survival on the field. The objective of the experiment was to compare how growing media affect the growth and survival of cocoa seedlings under field conditions. The seedlings were raised in both soil and soilless media and were transplanted on the field in June, when they were six months old. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with three different growing media: 1. top soil, 2. sawdust + poultry manure + rice husk biochar (70%:25%:5%), and 3. sawdust + poultry manure + municipal solid waste compost (50%:35%:15%). The cocoa seedlings were transplanted at a spacing of 3 m × 3 m at 12 plants per plot and each plot size measured 45 m × 45 m. Data were collected on plant height, leaf number, stem girth, leaf chlorophyll content, percentage of plants that shed their leaves, and percentage of survival. Results indicated that seedling survival at the onset and end of the dry season was significantly (P < 0.05) higher for seedlings transplanted from soilless media compared to those from the top soil treatment. Irrigation will be necessary to maintain high seedling survival when seedlings are transplanted from the top soil for a well-established plantation.

While urban green infrastructure has a great importance with regard to the urban climate, human welfare and well-being due to the positive impact of ecosystem services, it also offers opportunities to practice democracy. The quality of a green infrastructure development process depends on the quality of the partnership between the many stakeholders. Municipalities have a permanent task and a role to play in building partnerships. Landscape architects often go beyond their engineering tasks to give priority to their professional vocations in public involvement processes. In our research, we examine the roles and responsibilities of these main stakeholder groups.

During the study, the characteristics of flower heads and seed yield of marigold (Calendula officinalis L.) plants harvested at different stages of seed maturity (achenes from different types of heads – primary, secondary, and tertiary ramifications) were measured. The number of total flower heads (inflorescences), heads with mature seeds, and the diameter of heads with mature seeds and weight of seeds of the above mentioned fractions per plant were calculated. The results show that there are significant differences among treatments regarding several parameters. The plants were harvested when 90% of the heads formed on the primary ramifications and 75% of the heads formed on the secondary ramifications, having mature seeds superior to plants with 50% of the secondary heads with mature seeds.