The role of photodegradation, an abiotic process, has been largely overlooked during straw decomposition in mesic ecosystems. We investigated the mass loss and chemical structures of straw decomposition in response to elevated UV-B radiation with or without soil contact over a 12-month litterbag experiment. Wheat and maize straw samples with and without soil contact were exposed to three radiat...

Seaweed has attracted considerable attention as a potential biofuel feedstock. The pyrolytic and kinetic characteristics of maize straw and the seaweed Ulva pertusa were studied and compared using heating rates of 10, 30 and 50°C min(-1) under an inert atmosphere. The activation energy, and pre-exponential factors were calculated by the Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO), Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) and...

Demand for food security and the current global warming situation make high and strict demands on the North China Plain for both food production and the inhibition of agricultural carbon emissions. To explore the most effective way to decrease soil CO2 emissions and maintain high grain yield, studies were conducted during the 2012 and 2013 summer maize growing seasons to assess the effects of w...

Herbicides play an important role in the production of crops, but their residues may cause numerous human/environmental problems. Dissipation kinetics of pendimethalin and residues in soil, maize straw and cobs in winter maize under field conditions were studied by gas chromatograph-electron capture detector (GC-ECD). Dissipation followed the first order kinetics and accounted by a biphasic pat...

In the present study, cultural and nutritional conditions for enhanced production of xylanase by a local soil isolate of Trichoderma viride, using various lignocellulosic substrates in submerged culture fermentation have been optimized. Of the lignocellulosics used, maize straw was the best inducer followed by jowar straw for xylanase production. The highest activity achieved was between 14 to ...

According to EU legislation pigs must have access to rooting material, and the aim of the study was to quantify growing pigs’ preferences among six different rooting materials. The relative attractiveness of six rooting materials was assessed in an operant conditioning set-up using concurrent schedules of reinforcement. Twelve pigs were tested with all six combinations of the reference material...

the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of addition of pulses in crop sequences, crop residue management, and application of fertilizer n on soil nitrogen content, soil organic carbon, nutrient uptake, and its consequences for wheat yields. the field experiments were carried out from 2009 to 2012 in the sub-humid and sub-tropical zone of northern india. the treatments were (i...

Global crop yields are limited by water and nutrient availability. Soil mulching (with plastic or straw) reduces evaporation, modifies soil temperature and thereby affects crop yields. Reported effects of mulching are sometimes contradictory, likely due to differences in climatic conditions, soil characteristics, crop species, and also water and nitrogen (N) input levels. Here we report on a me...

Use of vermiwash extracted from vermicomposts of different combination of animal agro and kitchen wastes, is one of the effective liquid biofertilizer for growth and productivity of crops. The present study assesses that it has caused significant effect on the growth and productivity of paddy (Oryza sativa), maize (Zea mays) and millet (Penisetum typhoides) crops. The 10mg/m2 of vermiwash buffa...

The aim of the study was to assess the cellulolytic activity of a strain of Trichoderma viride in the presence of three lignocellulosic substrates, i.e. wheat, barley, and maize straw, in different temperatures (25 °C, 30 °C and 35 °C). Research related to the biosynthesis of enzymes was conducted using the deep method, whereas enzyme activity was assessed on solid media with added carboxymethy...