In woody plants, pioneer roots are the main roots used to expand the root system horizontally and vertically whereas fibrous 'feeder' roots are chiefly used in the absorption of water and nutrients. Because of their different roles, we expected newly emerged pioneer and fibrous roots to respond differently to restrictions in soil moisture. We hypothesized that fibrous roots would exhibit greate...

A process flowsheet was developed in ChemCad 6.4 to study the effect of feed moisture contents on the pre-esterification of waste oils. Waste oils were modelled as a mixture of triolein (90%), oleic acid (5%) and water (5%). The process mainly consisted of feed drying, pre-esterification reaction and methanol recovery. The results showed that the process energy requirements would be minimized w...

* Linkages between plant growth rate and root responses to soil moisture heterogeneity were investigated. * Root dynamics were studied using genetically identical shoots (Vitis vinifera cv. Merlot) with genetically distinct root systems that promote higher (HSV) and lower (LSV) shoot growth rates (1103P and 101-14 Mgt, respectively). Three quantities of irrigation replenished different amounts ...

Drought and shortages of soil water are becoming extremely severe due to global climate change. A better understanding of the relationship between vegetation type and soil-moisture conditions is crucial for conserving soil water in forests and for maintaining a favorable hydrological balance in semiarid areas, such as the Saihanwula National Nature Reserve in Inner Mongolia, China. We investiga...

Codling moth (Cydia pomonella [L.]), navel orangeworm (Amyelois transitella [Walker]), and Indianmeal moth (Plodia interpunctella [Hübner]) are common insect pests in walnuts (Juglans regia [L.]). Currently, exported in-shell walnuts are disinfested using methyl bromide fumigation. Restrictions on methyl bromide use have increased interest in developing alternative postharvest treatments. Radio...

Twenty six 3.8 kg blocks were made on each of 3 different days. A block was analyzed prior to brine salting. Blocks (5) were placed into each of 5 different saturated brines at 12, 15, 18, 21, and 24◦C. One block was removed from each brine tank after 1, 4, 8, 16, and 24 d, weighed, sampled, and analyzed for salt and moisture. Weight loss (net of moisture loss and salt uptake), salt uptake, and...

To prevent indoor fungal growth, understanding the moisture relations of fungi is a key element. Indoor moisture is quantified by the relative humidity (RH). RH controls the water activity of the indoor materials that fungi grow on, a well-studied parameter known to limit fungal growth. RH, however, also controls the amount of water present in these materials, the moisture content. The signific...

The compressive properties of premium quality cocoa beans from Ghana considering the effect of moisture content in the moisture range of 7% to 22 % (w.b) were studied. The results of the study demonstrated that the displacement at maximum load or the deformation and the crushing energy had more positive linear function with moisture content and increased significantly from 0.80 mm to 1.87 mm an...

The objective of this study was to determine whether reconstituting field-dried and early-harvested sorghum grain affected the fermentation characteristics and feed value of the ensiled grain when fed to feedlot heifers. In Trial 1, sorghum grain was harvested at 14% moisture, rolled, and reconstituted to 25, 30, or 35% moisture, then ensiled in laboratory-scale silos. Lactic acid concentration...