Coconut Coir Research Articles

APLIKASI KOMPOS TITONIA DAN LIMBAH CAIR SABUT KELAPA MUDA DALAM MENINGKATKAN PERTUMBUHAN TANAMAN STEVIA (Stevia rebaudiana) SECARA BERKELANJUTAN

This research was conducted at the experimental farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Riau Islamic University, Pekanbaru during 5 months, starting from October 2019 to February 2020. The study used a Factorial Completely Randomized Design by using two factors. The first factor was titonia compost (T), consisting of 4 levels, namely 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 kg/plot and the second factor was young coconut coir liquid waste (S), consisting of 4 levels, namely 0, 100, 200, and 300 ml/plant so that 16 treatment combinations were obtained with 3 replications. Parameters observed were harvest age, plant height, number of branches, number of leaves, wet weight, and leaf weight. The data were analyzed using statistics and continued with the Honest Significant Difference Test (BNJ) at 5%. The results showed that the interaction of titania compost and young coconut coir wastewater affected harvest age, plant height, number of branches, wet weight, and dry weight with the best combination treatment of the application of titania compost was 1.5 kg/plot and the dose of young coconut coir wastewater was 200 ml/plant. The main effect of titania compost was significant on all observation parameters with the best treatment of titania compost at 1.5 kg/plot. The main effect of young coconut coir liquid waste was real on all observation parameters with the best treatment of 200 ml/plant.

Ulization of Coconut coir and Guava Leaves For The Natural Preservation of Palm Sugar

The Coconut coir contains active compounds that can inhibit bacterial activity, namely tannins. Guava leaves can inhibit microbial growth because they contain flavonoids, triterpenoids, saponins, tannins, and eugenol. The purpose of this study was to find out the use of coconut coir for the natural preservation of palm sap, to find out the use of guava leaves, and to find out the combination of using coconut coir and guava leaves for the natural preservation of palm sap. This research was carried out in June-July 2022 in Prestasi District, Langkat Regency, North Sumatra Province. This study used a randomized block design (RBD) method, with two factors, namely the addition of coconut fiber (K) and guava leaves (J), each consisting of 3 treatments, namely: K0 = 0gr; K1 = 80gr; K2 = 120gr; J0 = 0gr; J1 = 5gr; J2 = 10gr with 3 repetitions. The results showed that the use of 5 grams of coconut coir in preserving palm sap was beneficial in maintaining a pH value above 6 and lower sugar content of 13.6 °Brix. The use of guava leaves of as much as 120 grams is useful in reducing the water content in palm sap up to 84.00%. The use of a combination of coconut coir and guava leaves is beneficial in reducing the water content in palm sap, which is 82.00%.

Machine learning based crop growth management in greenhouse environment using hydroponics farming techniques

Today more than one billion out of 6.5 billion people in the world are affected by hunger. The significant growth in human population inevitably places considerable pressure on food supplies. In traditional farming, farmers require good quality soil, natural minerals and also the production relatively consumes more time. The hydroponics smart greenhouse method has been adopted as a result of technological advancements. Hydroponics is a technique of growing plants that does not require the use of soil, and the plants in hydroponics grows in a shorter duration and have higher yields. In normal hydroponics system, a portion of the greenhouse is used for harvesting and the parameters like temperature, and humidity can have an impact on plant growth, and the plants are not properly nourished. In this proposed system, in hydroponics for germination organic coconut coir medium is used rather than rock wool, because rock wool is not bio-degradable and composed of volcanic materials. In the proposed research of hydroponics, the system is automated on a wide scale covering the entire green house with different crops produced in different climatic conditions. The implementation is done on, stable greenhouse environment and plants are grown covering the entire greenhouse, under constant optimal conditions which is favorable to have maximum yield. The prediction of absolute crop growth rate of leafy vegetables is predicted using KNN algorithm under various conditions. The several forms of hydroponics for commercial crop growth has been compared and it has been concluded that NFT along with coconut coir medium is best suitable for hydroponics and it produces an accuracy of 93%. Macro average, a performance metric for F1 score produces 33% and weighted average, which represents the number of instances connected to different class labels, produces an accuracy of 93%.

Optimization of ultrasonication assisted alkaline delignification of coir pith using response surface methodology

Coconut coir pith constituting cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose is considered as a replenishing and extensively available biomass for the manufacture of value-added chemicals and biofuels. The processability of coir pith has been limited by hemicellulose and lignin content which imparts high recalcitrance to the biomass. The study aims at ultrasonication assisted alkaline treatment of coir pith to attain maximum percent delignification. The process parameters were screened using Plackett Burman Design and the significant parameters were optimized using Central Composite Design tool in Response Surface Methodology. About 70.79 % delignification was achieved when biomass was treated at 180.45 °C for 151.54 min in 3.82 % sodium hypochlorite solution. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy were employed to characterize the biomass. Water sorption and retention behavior of coir pith was also studied.

Development and evaluation of a low-cost evaporative cooling system for agricultural product storage

Agricultural products are highly perishable and, hence, we need to preserve these products after harvest. India is an agricultural country and, thus, the post-harvest storage of perishable agricultural products is important to reduce the gap between the demand and supply. Cold storage technologies have been developed and are used in India; however, these technologies are not popular in rural and remote areas due to the higher initial cost and the electrical energy requirement. Therefore, a number of low-cost technologies have been developed and, among these technologies, the evaporative cooling technology is gaining in popularity due to its simple design and lower initial cost. In this work, we have developed and tested a solar photovoltaic (PV) powered evaporative cooling system and used coconut coir as the cooling medium and compared the results with celdex pad. From this work, we observed that this system is an economical and efficient in reducing the temperature and increasing the relative humidity for the storage of agricultural products.

The Effect of Propagation Substrate on Pythium Root Rot Severity and the Efficacy of Biopesticides

Modern greenhouse crop production utilizes soilless substrates that range from inorganic substrates (Oasis foam and rockwool) to blends of organic substrates (sphagnum peat moss, coconut fiber, bark mulch, wood chips, and wood products). Additionally, greenhouse growers utilize beneficial microorganisms in the form of commercial biopesticides to reduce disease. Few research studies have examined the effect of propagation substrate on the efficacy of commercial biopesticides under greenhouse production conditions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of propagation substrates on commercially available microbial biopesticides (Rootshield WP, Cease, and Regalia) applied during propagation and at transplant for management of Pythium root rot. In this study, cucumber and calibrachoa were used as model crops. Over both cropping systems, plants propagated in Oasis foam had lower root rot compared with plants propagated in coconut coir. Across all biopesticide treatments, cucumber plants propagated in Oasis foam had 52% less root rot compared with plants propagated in coconut coir. In both infested and noninfested calibrachoa plants, plants propagated in Oasis foam had 45 to 67% less disease, and plants propagated in peat had 25 to 40% less disease compared with plants propagated in coconut coir. There was no effect of biopesticide on Pythium root rot severity, except for a reduction seen in calibrachoa plants propagated in coconut coir and treated with Rootshield WP. This research suggests that propagation substrate is important for root disease management.

Adsorptive removal of crystal violet dye from aqueous solution onto coconut coir

The untreated and sodium chlorite-treated coconut coir was implemented to remove crystal violet (CV) dye from an aqueous solution by batch adsorption experiments. The adsorption capacity, equilibrium time, and adsorption kinetics of CV on both adsorbents were regulated by the pH of the dye solution. High pH favors the comparative adsorption capacity for both adsorbents. In contrast, the untreated coconut coir (UT-CC) shows higher adsorption efficiency (9.61 mg g-1) than sodium chlorite-treated coconut coir (SCT-CC) at low pH. At lower pH (2.00), the equilibrium was established within 60 min by both adsorbents. However, the quick attainment of the equilibrium (30 min) was observed using both the adsorbents at higher pH (8.00). The isotherm data for both the adsorbents was found to have better agreement with the Freundlich than the Langmuir model at pH 8.00. The kinetic data was well-fitted with Ho?s pseudo-second-order model. Both adsorbents were characterized by FTIR and SEM to get evidence for the proposed adsorption mechanism. Density functional theory (DFT) also supports this result which illustrates the adsorption of CV on lignin of CC with the adsorption energy -51.16 kJ/mol at the B3LYP/6-31(d,p) level of theory.

Growth and production response of three cucumber varieties to liquid organic fertilizer of coconut coir

Cucumber production has decreased in recent years. Several ways to increase cucumber productivity are the application of organic fertilizers and using appropriate varieties. Coconut coir is one of the wastes from the rest of the coconut fruit that has the potential to be utilized because it is easily obtained in large quantities and is easy to process as liquid organic fertilizer. The aim of the research was to study the responses of growth and yield of three cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) varieties in utilizing liquid organic fertilizer of Coconut Coir. This research was conducted in the experimental garden of the Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Teuku Umar, West Aceh Regency from December 2021 to January 2022. This research was conducted in a factorial randomized block design with 2 treatment factors. The first factor consists of 3 types of cucumber variety were Mercy, Hercules and Harmony. The second factor was 3 levels of coconut coir liquid organic fertilizer: 0 (control), 75 ml, and 100 ml. The results showed that cucumber variety showed a significant effect on stem diameter at 28 days, plant height at 14 and 28 days after planting and fruit length. The treatment of coconut coir liquid organic fertilizer showed a significant effect on the fruit weight of cucumber. Based on the study, each of the best variety to the growth and production of cucumber plant was found in the Harmony variety, and the best dose treatment was 100ml of liquid organic fertilizer of coconut coir. There was no interaction between the three varieties with the dosed treatment of liquid organic fertilizer of coconut coir.

Effect of different mineral acids on coconut coir for recovery of reducing Sugar: Process optimization using response surface Methodology (RSM)

Acid pretreatment is one of the most widely used fractionation processes for lignocellulosic biomass. In this study, effect of mineral acids (SA, HA, and NA) on recovery of reducing sugar from coconut coir was studied. The independent variables such as reaction time (X 1 , min) and concentration of acid (X 2 , % w/w) were optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) for maximum yield of reducing sugar. In this study, 10% w/v of coir was pretreated under various conditions of X 1 and X 2 by maintaining a constant temperature (121 o C). A maximum reducing sugar yield greater than 55% was observed for acid pretreatment.

Decontamination of silver ions from aqueous solution using coconut coir

Decontamination of silver ions from aqueous solution using coconut coir

Effect of biochar as a hydroponic substrate on growth, colour and nutritional content of red lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.)

Hydroponic is a technique of growing plants in a soilless medium by using a sponge, rock wool, hydroton, coconut coir, and perlite as an alternative for crop production systems. Recently, biochar has been reported to be a potential substrate for hydroponic cultivation techniques due to its physicochemical properties which can help increase vegetable production. A greenhouse study was conducted to investigate the effect of biochar as hydroponic substrate on the growth, colour and nutritional content of red lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). This study utilized the nutrient film technique (NFT) hydroponic system and was conducted using a randomized complete block design with five treatments, including T1 (hydroton only), T2 (perlite only), T3 (palm kernel biochar), T4 (palm kernel biochar + hydroton), and T5 (palm kernel biochar + perlite). Data analysis revealed the treatment, which consists of both palm kernel biochar and hydroton (T4) resulted in a significant increase in plant growth and yielded the highest plant height (19.86 cm), leaf width (14.16 cm), plant fresh weight (68.19 g), and dry weight (8.29 g). The leaves nutrient content (N, P, K, Mg, Ca) of red lettuce grown in palm kernel biochar and hydroton (T4) substrates suggested the presence of optimal growth conditions for ensuring optimum yield with high quality. The application of palm kernel biochar and hydroton (T4) as substrate also showed a higher lightness value (L* = 66.67). Besides, the methanolic leaf extracts from the red lettuce grown in palm kernel biochar and hydroton (T4) showed the highest bioactive metabolite content. In addition, the application of palm kernel biochar (T3) as a hydroponic substrate decreased the algal density in the nutrient solution. In conclusion, the combination of palm kernel biochar and hydroton as a substrate was observed to be the best in enhancing the growth performance, colour, and nutritional content of red lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), and it is therefore recommended to be used as the growth substrate in the NFT system.

Evaluation of a Proprietary Plant Extract to Suppress Bacterial Canker and Improve Yield in Hydroponic Tomatoes

Bacterial canker of tomato, caused by the systemic bacterial phytopathogen Clavibacter michiganensis, can result in significant economic losses in hydroponic tomato production systems. Lacking effective bactericides, the disease is managed primarily by clean seed procedures, sanitation, and quarantine. Plant extracts have been shown to display antimicrobial activity and/or induce plant resistance to disease. We tested the efficacy of AOMMA-Agro, an Organic Materials Review Institute-listed proprietary blend of plant extracts, in suppressing bacterial canker and improving yield and shelf life in hydroponic tomato trials over 2 years. Experiments were conducted in a greenhouse with ‘Campari’ tomatoes transplanted into coconut coir blocks and grown under hydroponic conditions. Plants were trellised, pruned, and harvested according to commercial standards. AOMMA-Agro was applied weekly or biweekly as a foliar spray and inoculated with C. michiganensis. Plants treated with water and inoculated or not inoculated served as controls. Disease severity was relatively low in both years; however, disease progress was significantly lower for plants inoculated and treated biweekly, but not weekly, with AOMMA-Agro than for nontreated, noninoculated plants in one of two trials. Similar results were observed for C. michiganensis incidence determined using qPCR. Marketable yield was 29 and 44% higher from inoculated plants treated biweekly with AOMMA-Agro than from nontreated, noninoculated plants in the two experiments. These results support the use of AOMMA-Agro as a potential option for bacterial canker management and yield enhancement in hydroponic tomato greenhouse production systems.

Seed storability of malapari (Pongamia pinnata Merril)

Seed storage is carried out to secure the seed stock obtained from the harvest until they are planted. The appropriate techniques were used to maintain the seed viability during storage. The objective of the research is to evaluate the viability of malapari (Pongamia pinnata) seeds after being treated. The seeds are stored in a room in sealed plastic with no media, sealed plastic + coconut coir powder media, sealed plastic + husk charcoal. The other containers were calico fabric with no media, calico fabric + coconut coir powder media, and calico fabric + husk charcoal. The finding showed that the best storage was storing the seed in a plastic container plus husk charcoal media, and within five weeks, it can maintain the seed moisture content of 62.92%, germination percentage of 93.33%, and germination speed of 7.55% KN/et mal. The seed can also be stored in a plastic container without media at a moisture content of 60.69%, and a germination percentage of 91.00%.

Protocolo de cultivo à base de pó de coco modula a concentração de compostos bioativos e a atividade antioxidante em mudas de Passiflora alata Curtis

ABSTRACT The use of coconut coir dust is a low-cost cultivation practice. Thus, this study aimed to determine the effect of coconut coir dust proportion on foliar secondary metabolite biosynthesis and growth of Passiflora alata Curtis (sweet passion fruit). This Passiflora species possess pharmaceutical relevance and the use of organic-based substrates may promote the production of bioactive compounds in the phytomass. An experiment in a greenhouse was set up with three proportions of coir dust mixed with a commercial substrate for seedlings (CSS) (peat-based) (S1= 1:1:1, CSS: sand: coconut coir dust; S2= 1.5:1.5:1, CSS: sand: coconut coir dust and S3= 1:1, sand: CSS) in seven replicates. After 68 days, growth parameters were measured (height, leaf area, number of leaves, stem diameter, and dry matter), and the harvested leaves were used to prepare ethanolic extracts. The total antioxidant activity and production of phenolics, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, and saponins were assessed. Unexpectedly, the coir dust supply did not favor the growth and production of secondary metabolites, as the best results were observed in plants grown in S3. Moreover, S3 is efficient in optimizing the growth, metabolite content, and antioxidant capacity of P. alata foliar extracts dispensing coir dust supplementation in the substrate. Therefore, adding coir to CSS is not recommended to enhance the production of secondary metabolites and the growth of P. alata seedlings.

Sustainable electricity from gravity-driven nanofluidic flow of water through modified bio-channels of coir fibers

Generation of sustainable electricity from the nanofluidic flow of water through modified biochannels of coconut coir fibres.

The Case Study of Isothermal Adsorption of Phenol, O-cresol on Natural Charcoal’s and Applications

Abstract: This Activated carbon (AC) was synthesized using inexpensive Coconut shell and Coconut coir’s by a simple and efficient method. The adsorption experiments were well incorporated on the AC surface by the reactions of Aromatic chemical (o-cresol and phenol) at low temperatures. The complete formation and distribution nanoparticles on the surface of AC have been analysed and explained by different analytical techniques such as TG-DTA, NTA, UV-VISIBLE, DRS, FTIR, XRD. Further, the adsorption property was investigated through adsorption kinetics, adsorption isotherms, and thermodynamics parameters. The maximum adsorption capacity (Q max) of adsorbent was displayed at Coconut shell charcoal rather than coconut coir’s charcoal for both aromatic compounds. The application of the Coconut shell charcoal and coconut coir’s have made to adsorption study of Mithi river and Industrial water inlet collected from industry. The importance and role of the AC were examined by a comparative adsorption study of the previous work done. The adsorption studies confirmed that adsorption of adsorbates takes place via the formation of hydrogen bonding, π-π interactions and metal coordination between adsorbent and pollutants. Overall results suggested that AC-Coconut shell and Coconut coir’s is a prominent adsorbent for efficient removal of pollutant from polluted water.

Active Food Packaging Based on Coconut Coir Pulp with the Addition of Antimicrobial Oleoresin Substance from Ginger Dregs

The development of food packaging innovations is ongoing, from materials to varied shapes and designs. Paper packaging is one of the various types of packaging that are widely used as an alternative to plastic packaging. However, the high use of paper can damage the environment, such as deforestation and reduction of green land. Alternative raw materials for making paper need to be studied further, and the addition of active ingredients will be an added value compared to ordinary paper packaging. This narrative review will examine the potential of active food packaging from coconut fiber and the addition of ginger pulp oleoresin. Coconut coir is waste from coconut production that is underutilized, while 25% of one coconut is produced from waste in the form of coconut coir. Coconut coir can replace wood's cellulose fibers to manufacture biodegradable, environmentally friendly paper. Ginger flesh contains oleoresin as an antimicrobial agent. Oleoresin is a mixture of essential oils and resins obtained by extraction. Adding these antimicrobial substances will produce active packaging that effectively handles and prevents contamination and microbial growth in food. Therefore, paper made from coconut coir pulp with the addition of oleoresin has the potential to be developed into active food packaging as an effort to conserve the environment and utilize waste.

Wood Fiber-Based Growing Media for Strawberry Cultivation: Effects of Incorporation of Peat and Compost

Cultivation of strawberries in greenhouses and polytunnels is increasing, and new sustainable growing media are needed to replace peat and coconut coir. This study investigated the effect of wood fiber and compost as growing media on hydroponically cultivated strawberries. Two experiments were conducted, where the everbearing cultivar ‘Murano’ was grown in mixtures of wood fiber and compost (Experiment 1) and the seasonal flowering cultivar ‘Malling Centenary’ was grown in mixtures of wood fiber and peat (Experiment 2). Additionally, in Experiment 2, the effect of adding start fertilizer was assessed. The yield potential of ‘Murano’ plants was maintained in all substrates compared to the coconut coir control. However, a mixture of 75% wood fiber and 25% compost produced the highest yield, suggesting that mixtures of nutritious materials with wood fiber may improve plant performance. The chemical composition of the berries was not affected by the substrate composition; however, berries from plants grown in the best performing blend had a lower firmness than those grown in coconut coir. ‘Malling Centenary’ plants produced higher yields in substrates enriched with start fertilizer. Generally, the productivity of ‘Malling Centenary’ plants was maintained in blends containing up to 75% of wood fiber mixture even without start fertilizer.

The effect of blade density variation to cocopeat mass that produce by Poltesa cocopeat machine

Cocopeat machines that have been developed today, were carried out with variations in the speed of rotation, blade length, blade shape, and treatment of objects (coconut coir immersion). There has been no development of a cocopeat machine that focuses on variations of blade density. It is suspected that the blade density affects to the difference of cocopeat mass produced. This study was a true experiment. The dependent variable was cocopeat mass. The independent variables were blade density, consisting of σ1 (84/210π), σ2 (42/210π) and σ3 (21/210π). For each variation of the independent variable was conducted 10 experiments. The study sample was 30 pieces of coconut coir. The mass of each coconut coir was 50 grams. The engine's spin speed, length and blade shape, are the same for all samples. The data was analyzed using the t test at a significance level of 5%. The average mass values of cocopeat were σ1 ( = 16.5430; S1 = 1.9674), σ2 ( = 12.2650; S2 = 1.8341) and σ3 (μ3 = 10.0988; SD = 1.8943). The t test showed that the difference in the average value of cocopeat mass between groups were to12 = 5,030; to23 = 2,598; and to13 = 7,462. If t-table value for ν = 18 was 2,101, so . Ho was rejected and H1 accepted, so there was a difference of cocopeate mass that produced by poltesa cocopeat machine, which is effected by variations of blade density.

Effects of Different Potting Media on the Growth of Commercial Cacti

- This research aims to study the appropriate growing media for the growth of cacti that can reduce production costs and promote cacti’s growth. The research used four genera of cacti, i.e., Gymnocalycium, Astrophytum, Mammillaria, and Echinopsis, which were famous in the commercial market in Thailand. The experimental design was completely randomized designs (CRD) with four different growing media and three replications; T1) fermented rain tree leaves (FRTL): perlite: vermiculite: pumice: vermicompost as a control, T2) FRTL: rice husk: coconut coir: charcoal: vermicompost, T3) FRTL: rice husk ash: coconut husks chips: expanded clay: vermicompost and T4) rice husk ash: vermicompost. The plant was cultivated the plastic pot 2-inches and collected the growth for six months. The result showed that Mammillaria was planted in Treatment 3 gave the greatest stem diameter and the number of roots. A similar increase in stem diameter of Echinopsis and Gymnocalycium had the newest areoles. While planted in T4, as a result, the genus Astrophytum has increased in stem diameter, the number of new areoles, and the number of roots. In the Gymnocalycium also found an increase in stem diameter. Therefore, the use of cacti growing media in T3 as an appropriate for the growth of cacti. Furthermore, it can reduce the production cost of growing media about 0.72 baht per pot (33%) when compared with the commercial media (T1) in a 2-inches plastic pot.