Economic effects of digestate and compost soil amendments on farmers’ income in Burkina Faso: A mathematical programming approach

Soil cracks can enhance water recharge through preferential flow during the rainy season and enhanced evaporation loss during the post-rainy season. Despite their significance, a limited information is available on the management of surface cracks in Vertisols. The frequency, size, and rate of development of cracks greatly affect the movement of soil water and nutrient and exchange of gases in the soil profile and also influence plant growth processes in Vertisols. To find out the suitable soil amendments and land use for reducing the rate of crack formation in medium-deep black soils of the region, a 4-year field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of different soil amendments and land uses on surface cracks, soil properties and crop yields on Vertisols under semiarid conditions. Field experiment consisted of three different land uses [i.e., agriculture [intercropping of sorghum (Sorghum biocolor L.) + pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.) at 1:1 ratio], grassland (dhaman grass—Cenchrus ciliaris L.), fallow land (no cultivation fallow)] as main plots with four different soil amendments [i.e., S0—control, S1—fly ash @ 10 Mg ha−1, S2—crop residue (wheat straw) @ 5 Mg ha−1, S3—gypsum (100% of gypsum requirement), S4—FYM @ 5 Mg ha−1] as subplots. The data showed that application of soil amendments had a beneficial effect on soil properties such soil pH, available nutrients, labile C and total organic carbon and stocks. In the 0–15-cm layer, SOC stocks varied from 15.17 to 20.04; 16.13–20.67; 14.25–19.58 Mg ha−1 for agriculture, grassland and fallow land, respectively. The labile C and total organic carbon contents were in the order of grassland > agriculture > fallow land. Further, soil under grassland system recorded the higher mean weight diameter than that under crop and fallow land. Among different soil amendments applied, wheat straw and FYM had a significant effect (P agriculture (− 7 to − 18%) > fallow land (− 2 to − 23%). Wheat straw application registered the lowest crack volume followed by that under FYM, fly ash and gypsum, regardless of the land use systems. Crop and grass biomass yields were significantly (P < 0.05) affected by the application of soil amendments. Application soil amendments not only reduced crack volume but also favorably influenced soil properties and crop yields in Vertisols.

In this study, the U-type assembly line balancing problem (UALBP) with assignment restrictions (AR-UALBP) is considered. Linked and incompatible distance and station restrictions are taken into account. New mathematical programming (MP) and constraint programming (CP) models are proposed. The objective function of the models is minimizing the cycle time for a given number of workstations. In addition to this objective, line efficiency and CPU time are also considered as other performance measurements. Numerical experiments on some problems from the literature are performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed models. The results are compared with the results of the CP model of the straight ALBP with assignment restrictions and also the results from MP and CP models are compared with each other. The numerical results indicate that the proposed CP and MP models are more effective in obtaining better and optimal results when solving the AR-UALBP.

The objective of this study was to characterize the effects of organic soil amendment (compost) on bacterial populations associated with petroleum hydrocarbon (PH) degradation and nitrous oxide (N2O) dynamics via pot experiments. Soil was artificially contaminated with diesel oil at total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) concentration of 30,000 mg·kg-soil−1 and compost was mixed with the contaminated soil at a 1:9 ratio (w/w). Maize seedlings were planted in each pot and a total of ten pots with two treatments (compost-amended and unamended) were prepared. The pot experiment was conducted for 85 days. The compost-amended soil had a significantly higher TPH removal efficiency (51.1%) than unamended soil (21.4%). Additionally, the relative abundance of the alkB gene, which is associated with PH degradation, was higher in the compost-amended soil than in the unamended soil. Similarly, cnorB and nosZ (which are associated with nitric oxide (NO) and N2O reduction, respectively) were also highly upregulated in the compost-amended soil. Moreover, the compost-amended soil exhibited higher richness and evenness indices, indicating that bacterial diversity was higher in the amended soil than in the unamended soil. Therefore, our findings may contribute to the development of strategies to enhance remediation efficiency and greenhouse gas mitigation during the rhizoremediation of diesel-contaminated soils.

In the current context of rapid climate change, water scarcity and soil poverty are becoming increasingly alarming, leading to growing losses of 30-50% of global agricultural production. It is imperative to find environmentally-friendly approaches for improving plant tolerance to drastic conditions, particularly in arid and semi-arid Mediterranean regions. Biostimulants based on symbiotic microbes are emerging as effective strategies for improving tolerance and agricultural productivity. This study aims to evaluate the effects of single and double inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (My) and plant growth-promoting bacteria (Ba) on the growth, physiological and biochemical traits of maize crop grown in compost (Co) amended soil under two irrigation regimes: well-watered (WW: 100% of crop evapotranspiration [ETc]) and drought-stressed (DS: 50% ETc) using drip irrigation system. Reducing irrigation to 50% reduced shoot dry weight (SDW), root dry weight (RDW), 1,000-grains weight (TGW) and grain yield (Y). However, Ba alone increased SDW by 63%, while CoMyBa improved RDW, TGW and Y by 197, 43 and 175%, respectively compared with the control under DS conditions. Dual inoculation boosted root colonization intensity, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), total chlorophyll and leaf area of maize seedlings in compost-amended soil, compared to the controls. The application of Ba significantly reduced hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde by 46%, in maize seedlings grown in compost-amended soil, compared to the controls under DS. Our results indicated that My and Ba significantly boost the ability of maize to tolerate drought by improving water supply and physiology and stimulating the accumulation of organic and inorganic osmolytes, as well as improving the properties of soils such as cation exchange capacity particularly amended by Co. The dual inoculations were the most effective and represent an environmentally-friendly and relatively inexpensive approach to optimizing agricultural production and soil restoration programs in Mediterranean regions.

Purpose – It has become increasingly critical to design and maintain flexible and rapid assembly systems due to unpredictable and varying market conditions. The first stage of developing such systems is to restructure the existing assembly system. After designing the manufacturing system, efforts should be made for capacity adjustments to meet the demand in terms of allocating tasks to workers. Walking-worker assembly systems can be regarded as an effective method to achieve flexibility and agility via rabbit chase (RC) approach in which workers follow each other around the assembly cell or line and perform each task in sequence. In this paper, a novel mathematical programming approach is developed with the aim of integrating RC in assembly processes. Therefore, this study is thought to add value to industrial assembly systems in terms of effectively raising engineering control for task allocation activities. Design/methodology/approach – Two consecutive mathematical models are developed, since such a hierarchical approach provides computational convenience for the problem. The initial mathematical programming model determines the number of workers in each RC loop for each segment. In addition, the number of stations and the distribution of station times in the segments is essential. Therefore, the succeeding mathematical programming model generates stations in each segment and provides convenience for the workflow in RC loops. The output of mathematical programming models are the parameters of simulation model for performance assessment. Findings – The effectiveness of the proposed approach was validated by an application in a real-life chair production system. The application resulted in performance improvements for labour requirement (12.5 per cent) and production lead time (9.6 per cent) when compared to a classical assembly system design (CASD) where one stationary worker exists in each station. In addition, it is worth to note that RC leads to a reduced number of workers for a considerable number (39.4 per cent) of test problems. What is more, input as well as output factors have been determined via discriminant analysis and their impacts to the utilization of RC were analyzed for different levels. Practical implications – This study is thought to add value to the industry in terms of effectively providing convenience during production planning and task allocation in assembly lines and cells. Originality/value – To the best knowledge of the author, optimization models for RC considering a real industrial application have not yet been developed. In this context, this paper presents an approach which models RC by the use of mathematical programming in manual assembly processes to address this research gap. The contribution of the paper to the relevant literature is the development of hierarchical mixed integer linear programming models to solve RC problem for the first time.

Phosphorus characterization and plant availability in soil profiles after long-term urban waste application

Using a soil bioassay technique, seedling growth and incidence of disease of wild mustard (Brassica kaber) and sweet corn (Zea mays) were assessed in soil from field plots that received either of two treatments: incorporated red clover (Trifolium pratense) residue plus application of compost (`amended soil'), or application of ammonium nitrate fertilizer (`unamended soil'). Soils were analyzed for percent moisture, dissolved organic carbon, conductivity, phenolics, and nutrient content. A trend toward greater incidence of Pythium spp. infection of wild mustard seedlings grown in amended soil was observed during the first 40 days after incorporation (DAI) of red clover and compost, with significant differences (α = 0.05) at two out of four sampling dates in 1997, and four out of four sampling dates in 1998. Incidence of Pythium infection was 10–70% greater in the amended soil treatment during that period. Asymptomatic wild mustard seedlings grown in amended soil were also on average 2.5 cm shorter (α = 0.05) at 5 DAI than those grown in unamended soil in one year out of two. Concentration of phenolic compounds in soil solution was weakly correlated with decreased shoot and root growth (r = 0.50, 0.28, respectively) and increased incidence of disease (r = 0.48) in wild mustard seedlings in one year out of two. Dissolved organic carbon concentration was weakly correlated with increased disease in wild mustard seedlings in both years (r = 0.51, 0.33, respectively). Growth of corn seedlings did not differ between the two soil treatments, suggesting that red clover green manure and compost may selectively reduce density and competitive ability of wild mustard in the field. Bioassay results corresponded well with emergence and shoot weight results from a related field study, indicating that this technique may be useful for screening potential soil treatments prior to field studies.

Phytoremediation is a remediation method which uses plants to remove, contain or detoxify environmental contaminants. Phytoremediation has successfully been applied for the removal of fresh hydrocarbon contamination, but removal of aged hydrocarbons has proven more difficult. Biodegradation of hydrocarbons in the subsurface can be enhanced by the presence of plant roots, i.e. the rhizosphere effect. Phytostabilization reduces heavy metal availability via immobilization in the rhizosphere. Soils contaminated by both hydrocarbons and heavy metals are abundant and may be difficult to treat. Heavy metal toxicity can inhibit the activity of hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms and decrease the metabolic diversity of soil bacteria. In this experiment, weathered hydrocarbon- and heavy metal- contaminated soil was treated using phytoremediation in a 39- month field study in attempts to achieve both hydrocarbon removal and heavy metal stabilization. Materials and Methods: A combination of hydrocarbon degradation and heavy metal stabilization was evaluated in a field-scale phytoremediation study of weathered contaminants. Soil had been contaminated over several years with hydrocarbons (11400±4300 mg kg dry soil)-1 and heavy metals from bus maintenance activities and was geologically characterized as till. Concentrations of soil copper, lead and zinc were 170±50 mgkg-1, 1100±1500 mg kg-1 and 390±340 mg kg-1, respectively. The effect of contaminants, plant species and soil amendment (NPK fertilizer or biowaste compost) on metabolic activity of soil microbiota was determined. Phytostabilization performance was investigated by analyses of metal concentrations in plants, soil and site leachate as well as acute toxicity to Vibrio fischeri and Enchtraeus albidus. Results: Over 39 months hydrocarbon concentrations did not decrease significantly (P=0.05) in non-amended soil, although 30% of initial hydrocarbon concentrations were removed by the last four months of study. In soil amended with NPK fertilizer and municipal biowaste compost, 65 % and 60 % of hydrocarbons were removed, respectively. The soil contained metabolically diverse bacteria, measured as carbon source utilization and extracellular enzymatic activities. Compost addition resulted in a slight increase in enzymatic activities. Diesel fuel utilization potential in Biolog MT2 plates inoculated with a soil suspension was enhanced by both compost and NPK compared to non-amended soil. Soil toxicity to V. fischeri and E. albidus was low. The leachate was not toxic to V. fischeri. Pine (Pinus sylvestris), poplar (Populus deltoides x Wettsteinii), grasses and clover (Trifolium repens) survived to varying degrees in the contaminated soil. All plants suffered from phytotoxicity symptoms and some trees died during the study period. Plants formed a dense cover over the compost-amended soil, whereas non-amended soil had areas devoid of vegetation throughout the study. Vegetation coverage in the NPK-amended quarter was about 50 % after the first four months of study, but increased gradually to 100 %. Heavy metals did not accumulate in plant tissue. Discussion: Removal of hydrocarbons from weathered unfertilized hydrocarbon-contaminated soil was not statistically significant despite the presence of a viable hydrocarbon-degrading microbial community. This effect is attributed to soil heterogeneity and low bioavailability of hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbon concentrations were not reduced to the desired level, i.e., 1500 mg hydrocarbons (kg of dry soil)-1, in any treatment. . The presence of clay minerals and organic matter within the compost may have limited heavy metal transfer to leachate and plant tissue. Conclusions: Weathered hydrocarbons were partly decomposed in soil fertilized with NPK fertilizer or biowaste compost, but not from unfertilized soil. The active hydrocarbon-degrading microbiota and low toxicity of soil to V. fischeri and E. albidus indicates low availability of contaminants to microorganisms. Despite high heavy metal concentrations, the soil contained metabolically diverse bacteria, measured as carbon source utilization and extracellular enzymatic activities. Heavy metals did not accumulate in test plants. Pine and poplar suffered from phytotoxicity symptoms in the soil and could not enhance hydrocarbon removal in compost-amended soil. Compost addition combined with a grass and legume crop is suggested for stabilization of combined hydrocarbon- and metal-contaminated soil. Recommendations and Perspectives: Both compost and NPK fertilizers can be used to enhance phytoremediation of soil contaminated with weathered hydrocarbons in the presence of heavy metals; however, compost addition is recommended since it enables greater vegetative coverage. This in turn may decrease heavy metal mobility. Phytoremediation can be used for remediation of soil contaminated with weathered hydrocarbons in the presence of heavy metals. However, phytoremediation of weathered contaminants requires extended periods of time; thus, other remediation methods should be considered in the event of soil contamination posing an immediate public health and/or environmental threat.

Impact of Climate Change on Cereal Production in Burkina Faso Tégawendé Juliette NANA Abstract With the increase of greenhouse effect gas emissions, caused by human activities, climate change impacts on environment and economic activities, especially agriculture in developing countries, remain currently an international concern. In Burkina Faso, the share of the agriculture sector to the real GDP is the largest historically and represented 44% in 2016. Furthermore, this sector remains heavily dependent on climatic conditions. With regard importance to these facts, the objective of the present study is to analyze the vulnerability of the agricultural sector, mainly the production of maize, millet, sorghum and rice in Burkina Faso to the effects of climate change. To test the hypothesis whether "climate variables, such as rainfall and temperature have a positive impact on cereal production," a linear model was estimated by the stepwise method on panel data. The results show that increased precipitation would result in an increased production of maize, millet and sorghum and decreased that of rice. While an increase in temperature contributes to a decrease of the latter. Thus, the impact of climate change on agriculture is real in Burkina Faso and the adoption of effective adaptation and mitigation is of great importance. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jaes.v8n1a2

Classification models, whether generated by statistical techniques or mathematical programming (MP) discriminant analysis methods, are often simplified by ad hoc formation of dichotomous categorical variables from the original variables with, for example, a dichotomous variable taking value 1 if the original variable is above a threshold level and 0 otherwise. In this paper an MP discriminant analysis method is developed for forming dichotomous categorical variables in problems with discriminant functions that are monotone in the original variables. For each of the original variables from which dichotomous variables may be formed, a set of possible threshold levels for dichotomous variable formation is defined. An MP model is then used to determine both the threshold level for forming each dichotomous variable and the associated discriminant function coefficient. The proposed MP approach is applied to a published problem and a number of simulated problem sets. It is shown that the discriminant functions in dichotomous categorical variables generated by this new MP approach can in some cases outperform the functions generated by standard MP discriminant analysis models using the original variables. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2004.

The effect of different soil amendment (potassium polyacrylate; polyacrylamide;potassium humate; potassium polyacrylate+ potassium humate; polyacrylamide+ potassium humate) on soil physical and chemical properties in oat field was studied. The results showed that different soil amendments increase significantly the soil organic matter, available N, available P and available K content by 8.24%-30.22%, 7.60%-19.29%, 5.15%-29.45% and 27.86%-68.86% respectively. Soil water content at 0-60 cm depth is higher with soil amendment. But soil amendment has no effect on the soil water content at 60-100 cm soil depth. At the same time, soil amendments reduce the soil bulk density at 0-10 cm,10-20 cm, 20-40 cm and 40-60 cm depths, and they produce no obvious effect on soil bulk density at 60-100 cm depth. The proportion of &gt; 0.25 mm soil aggregate at 0-10 cm,10-20 cm and 20-40 cm depth is increased significantly by applying soil amendment. Among five aggregate sizes (&gt; 2 mm; 2-1 mm; 1-0.5 mm; 0.5-0.25 mm; 2 mm and 2-1 mm soil aggregates are the most. In conclusion, the mixing use of two kinds of soil amendments(potassium polyacrylate+ potassium humate and polyacrylamide+ potassium humate) is more effective for improving soil physical and chemical properties.

Background: The aim of the current study was to forecast the area, production, and productivity of millet in India up to 2023. And also examining the growth patterns and instability of millet crop cultivation in India. The main objective of this study is to provide policymakers with data on millet cultivation in India up to 2030. This information will help them to make decisions about future food distribution, import and export regulations, pricing schemes, and administrative procedures related to the marketing and storage of nutri-cereals. Methods: For the present research study, annual time series data from 1970-71 to 2022-23 on area, production, and productivity of millet in India (Agriculture Statistics at a Glance 2022) [1] were used in the analysis. The study used the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) and the Caddy Della Valle instability index to find out the growth patterns and instability of millet crop cultivation in India, respectively. In order to forecast future values of millet production, Box-Jenkins ARIMA model was employed. Results: Decadal analysis of millet cultivation in India reveals a consistent decline in cultivation area and production of sorghum in the years 2011-2023 with -4.811 and -2.997, respectively, and productivity in 2001-2010 was 3.052. The productivity trends of Bajra, Ragi, and small millets in 2011-2023 are 1.99, -0.67, and 3.72, respectively. Caddy-Della Valle Instability Index results show that, compared to rice and wheat, millets such as sorghum, bajra, ragi and small millets show more variability in area, production, and yield. The sorghum area's forecast values demonstrated a declining pattern, from 3535.02 thousand hectares in 2022-2023 to 2416.12 thousand hectares in 2029-2030. Similarly, in 2029-2030, sorghum production dropped from 3814.34 thousand tons to 3259.34 thousand tons. From 2022-2023 to 2029-2030, productivity increases from 1149.24 kg/ha to 1308.64 kg/ha. Similar forecasts have been made for the area under cultivation, production, and productivity of finger millet, small millets, and pearl millet up to 2030. Thus, high-yielding varieties, timely application of inputs, and governmental measures like policy support, the public distribution system, subsidization, and awareness-raising through propaganda and demonstration can all help to increase the output of these nutri-cereals.

On the design of environmentally benign refrigerant mixtures: a mathematical programming approach

Effects of intercropping and soil amendment with urea and calcium oxide on the incidence of bacterial wilt of tomato and survival of soil‐borne <i>Pseudomonas solanacearum</i> in Taiwan

The widespread environmental contamination of chlorpyrifos (CP) has raised human health concerns and necessitated cost-effective methods for its remediation. The current study evaluated the degradation behavior of CP in compost and biochar amended and unamended (original and sterilized) soils in an incubation trial. Two levels of CP (100 and 200 mg kg−1), compost and biochar (0.50%) were applied, and soil was collected at different time intervals. At the higher CP level (200 mg kg−1), CP a showed lower degradation rate (ƙ = 0.0102 mg kg−1 d−1) compared with a low CP level (ƙ = 0.0173 mg kg−1 d−1). The half-lives of CP were 40 and 68 days for CP at 100 and 200 mg kg−1 in original soil, respectively, and increased to 94 and 141 days in sterilized soils. CP degradation was accelerated in compost amended soils, while suppressed in biochar amended soils. Lower half lives of 20 and 37 days were observed with compost application at CP 100 and 200 mg kg−1 doses, respectively. The activities of soil enzymes were considerably affected by the CP contamination and significantly recovered in compost and biochar amended soils. In conclusion, the application of organic amendments especially compost is an important strategy for the remediation of CP contaminated soil.