Green Matter Research Articles

Biomassa e extração de nutrientes por plantas de cobertura

RESUMO Com o objetivo de avaliar a biomassa e a extração de nutrientes por plantas de cobertura no Agreste de Alagoas, implantou-se um experimento no campo experimental da Universidade Federal de Alagoas - Campus Arapiraca. O delineamento experimental adotado foi em blocos casualizados, com oito tratamentos e quatro repetições. Os tratamentos foram: Crotalaria juncea, Crotalaria spectabilis, Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp., Cajanus cajan, Canavalia ensiforme, Dolichos lablab, Mucuna aterrima e a vegetação espontânea local (testemunha). A matéria verde foi avaliada em uma área de 1 m2 no florescimento de cada espécie sendo, em seguida, a biomassa secada em estufa a 65 ºC até atingir massa constante para obter a matéria seca, em que foram extraídos os teores de macro e micronutrientes. As leguminosas apresentaram potencial para uso como adubo verde na região Agreste de Alagoas, além de teores de N superiores aos da vegetação espontânea não sendo diferentes entre si no acúmulo de P, K, Ca, Mg, S, B, Mn e Zn. A vegetação espontânea foi semelhante às leguminosas na produção de matéria seca. Dentre os tratamentos o Cajanus cajan arbóreo apresentou maior produção de matéria seca e acúmulo de N na parte aérea.

Breeding oats for fodder productivity

The gene pool of oats at the Vavilov All-Russian Plant Industry Research Institute(VIR) collection and Northeast Zonal Agricultural Research Institute (NIISKhSV) is studied. The relation between green, grain, and dry matter yield, on the one hand, and leaf area, plant height, temperature, and precipitation during growth, on the other, is shown. New parent material and promising oat lines and varieties with high fodder productivity are created.

The Effect of a Protein-Xanthophyll Concentrate from Alfalfa (Phytobiotic) on Animal Production - A Current Review

The Effect of a Protein-Xanthophyll Concentrate from Alfalfa (Phytobiotic) on Animal Production - A Current ReviewOne of the supplements that can replace antibiotic growth promoters is a protein xanthophyll extract from the leaves of alfalfa. Green matter of alfalfa contains 17-22% of total protein, rich in non-essential (exogenous) amino acids, saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and organic acids. The crude fibre content in green matter of alfalfa is relatively high (about 23.0-30.0% dry weight). However, protein-xanthophyll extract (EFL) contains about 1-2% of crude fibre. Like the whole plants of alfalfa, the protein-xanthophyll extract contains secondary metabolites such as plant phytoestrogens (isoflavones and coumestrol) and antinutritional components (phytates, L-canavanine and saponins). Protein-xanthophyll concentrate (PX) as a natural feed supplement has a positive effect on animal organisms. When supplemented to animals, this extract enhanced production results, increased feed efficiency, and improved the quality of meat, milk and eggs. Also, PX reduced methane emissions and soil pollution with nitrogen compounds when used in animal nutrition. The aim of this review was to gather the current literature describing the effects of using protein-xanthophyll extract in animal nutrition.

The expanding universe of bile acid physiology: Delving into the mysteries of dark (green) matter

The expanding universe of bile acid physiology: Delving into the mysteries of dark (green) matter

Evaluation of the development and yielding potential of Chenopodium quinoa Willd. under the climatic conditions of Europe. Part one: accomodation of Chenopodium quinoa (Willd.) to different conditions

Based on the evaluation of selected varieties of <i>Chenopodium quinoa</i>, their requirements were identified; it was shown which varieties demonstrated the best effects in what conditions. It was found that the best varieties for Europe's conditions were E-DK-4-PQCIP and RU-5-PQCIP. E-DK-4-PQCIP variety showed the best effects under the conditions of cluster II which included e.g. Bydgoszcz (Poland) and cluster IV which included Southern European countries (Greece and Italy), while the best effects found in RU-5-PQCIP variety were identified in cluster I which included Sweden. E-DK-4-PQCIP variety in cluster II showed a very high yield of green matter and a mean seed yield, and in cluster IV - a very high seed yield and a high yield of green matter.

Evaluation of the development and yielding potential of Chenopodium quinoa Willd. under the climatic conditions of Europe. Part Two: Yielding potential of Chenopodium quinoa under different conditions

The evaluation of <i>Chenopodium quinoa</i> cultivation effects in Poland has been compared with European research results. It was found that the conditions in Europe are favorable to <i>Chenopodium quinoa</i> cultivation. Poland has the mean length of the vegetation period. The maximum value of this trait was found in Sweden. The conditions in Bydgoszcz (Poland) are very favorable to the cultivation for green matter and favorable as far as the seed yield is concerned. The most favorable seed yield was recorded in Greece.

Diet differentiation between European arvicoline and murine rodents

Small European muroid rodents are generally divided into species which feed on seeds and/or invertebrates and species which feed on green plant material; however, there is considerable plasticity in feeding behavior among species. Here, we analyze diets of 14 low-latitude rodent species from Western Europe based on published studies. The 77 studies were submitted to principal component analysis in order to compare diet plasticity within and between the 14 species. We observed variations in food composition of arvicoline and murine rodents which are associated with differences in morphology and habitat use. Most arvicoline rodents eat mainly green matter of the herbaceous layers of open habitats whereas most murine species are able to use a greater diversity of high energetic plant tissues from denser habitats, where they can exploit the different vegetation layers. Despite its phylogenetic position among arvicoline rodents, the bank vole (Myodes glareolus) shows morpho-physiological and ecological traits which tend to be more similar to murine species. These intermediate evolutionary characters seem consistent with the fact that bank voles are able to exploit a wide spectrum of trophic resources from low energetic lignified tissues to high calorific invertebrate prey. This results in a very diverse diet, which is intermediate between true herbivorous arvicolines and typical seed- and invertebrate eating murine species. More investigations on genetic affiliation and ecological driving forces will help understand this intermediate position of bank vole diet, and further investigations among other arvicoline species will help determine if bank voles and other Myodes species are unique.

Effect of different levels of water deficit on rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) crop

Effects of different levels of water deficit applied during rapeseed crop development were assessed in a trial with metallic pots in greenhouse at the Department of Agricultural Engineering of Kassel University, Witzenhausen, Germany. A randomized block design was used with one cultivar (Ability Summer Rape) and three levels of water deficit (0, 30, and 60% of evapotranspiration) in three treatments and 20 replicates. Irrigation management was carried out through daily water balance, where ET = I - D; ET: evapotranspiration; I: irrigation; and D: drainage. The following evaluations were carried out weekly: stem diameter (mm); plant height (cm); number of leaves; number of branches and number of pods. At the end of the experiment, assessed total green matter (g plant-1), total dry matter (g plant-1), grain yield (g plant-1), grain protein content (%) and grain oil content (%) were also assessed. Data were submitted to variance analysis and the effect of the treatments was assessed by regression analysis. Results showed significant differences between the treatments in all analysed variables except for plant height and grain protein content, by test F at 5% probability. Factor of response ky, indicator of crop sensitivity to water deficit, was lower than one for all assessed variables. Grain yield showed the highest sensitivity to water deficit.

Adubação orgânica na linha de semeadura no desenvolvimento e produtividade do milho

The combined use of chemical fertilizers and organic materials have been recommended as alternative management, enabling the maintenance of high yields and stability. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of levels of manure applied in the row, with and without nitrogen application, in maize development and yield. The experiment was installed in Gurupi - TO, on March 6, 2009. The experimental design was randomized blocks in factorial scheme 8x2, where were used seven levels of manure (0.0; 10.0; 20.0; 30.0; 40.0; 50.0 and 60.0 t ha-1) and one treatment with chemical fertilizer and the second factor were two levels of nitrogen after planting. Were evaluating plants height weekly, from 15 to 57 days after emergency. Was evaluated final plant height, green matter and grain yield. Highest levels of manure led to significant increases in the evaluated characteristics. Nitrogen fertilization after planting promoted increase in grown rate, green mass and final plant height, even with the addition of organic manure. The manure application of 50 t ha-1 without of nitrogen after planting showed equivalent productivity to chemical fertilizer, however, with application of nitrogen after planting in the equivalent manure level was 45.4 t ha-1. When not applied nitrogen after planting, the chemical fertilizer produced grains and green mass equivalent to the highest manure levels, but application of nitrogen after planting in highest manure levels provided yield higher than chemical fertilizer.

Forestry's contribution to livestock feed in Uttarakhand, India: a quantitative assessment of volume and economic value

Livestock sector forms an important livelihood activity for farmers, through supporting agriculture and supplementing income in India. The lack of availability of sufficient feed is one of the major limiting factors for better productivity of livestock. The feed are of two types as roughages (high in crude fibrous material) available at public forest, farm lands, etc. and concentrates (high in nutrients and mixture of oil, coarse grain, and cereals). The general degradation of forest reduces the fodder availability, severely. Therefore, improving forest condition may provide pathways for sustainability of both, livestock and forest. This may be addressed through sustainable forest management, which requires scientific inputs and may be shifting of some demand of locals to other resources. This requires huge amount from government. Presently, livestock sector is part of the Agriculture and Allied Activities sector in the accounting system of India, and therefore, all related shares and expenditure is part of the component. This results into under allocation for the actual shares of forestry contribution to livestock, in the Forestry and Logging sector. This occurs primarily, due to the lack of scientific information on the share and value of fodder from forest. This study has been undertaken to estimate the share and economic value of forests derived livestock feed. Primary data has been collected as per pretested questionnaire from 316 randomly selected households engaged in livestock rearing from 66 villages distributed across the Uttarakhand, India. Information pertaining to the fodder to livestock from all sources and socio-economic attributes were collected from each household to understand the feed consumption behavior of livestock. The feed sources were classified in forests, other than forests and market. The shares and economic value of livestock feed derived from different sources has been estimated for all livestock. The prices of various feeds were either collected directly from market or estimated through non market valuation techniques based on two scenarios (contingent valuation and ratio of dry and green matter basis of 0.40). The average proportion of feed quantity consumed by livestock was 58% from forests, 39% from other than forests and 3% from markets for hilly region. It was 97% from other than forests and 3% from markets for plain region. For hilly region, the proportion of economic value varies from 40– 41% for forest; 40– 41% for agriculture and 18– 20% from market. The total value of forest fodder was Rs 4811 millions in scenario 1 and Rs 5209 millions in scenario 2 for the Uttarakhand. The study concludes and recommends that these proportions may be utilized to allocate the appropriate share of livestock feed into Forestry and Logging sector, which may results into the realistic share of the sector.

ASPECTOS AGRONÔMICOS E PRODUTIVOS DOS HÍBRIDOS DE GIRASSOL (Helianthus annus L.) HELIO 251 E HELIO 360

This study had as objective to quantify achenes, leaves, stem and capitulum production and participation, as well as green and dry matter production of two sunflower hybrids for silage production. Two sunflower hybrids, Helio 251 (H251) and Helio 360 (H360), were used and implanted under oat stubble. The counting of twelve points with five linear meters/hectare of each hybrid was carried out to evaluate hybrid production and five samples were taken to evaluate plant composition. A complete randomized experimental design was used and the averages were analyzed by Tukey test. H251 hybrid presented higher plants per linear meter and per hectare (3.99 vs. 3.12 plants/m; 49,953.95 vs. 38,342.10 plants/ha, for H251 and H360, respectively). H360 capitulum were heavier than the ones from H251, when expressed in green (303.79 g/plant) or dry (56.88 g/plant) matter basis, consequently, it showed heavier achenes (151.09 and 100.12 g/plant, respectively, for green and dry matter). H360 presented higher stem weight, when expressed in green (120.95 vs. 61.27 g/plant) or dry (48.58 vs. 29.01 g/plant) matter basis. The higher weights of capitulum, achene and stem presented by H360 resulted in heavier plants and superiority on dry matter production per hectare. KEYWORDS: achenes, capitulum; dry matter; green matter; leaves; stem.

Rendimento forrageiro da rebrota do sorgo em sistema de produção consorciado com soja

The intercropping system of forage plants aims to increase the yield and quality of the product by making the use of the available sources more efficient. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of sorghum sowing dates, soybean cultivars and cutting systems on forage production from the regrowth of an intercropping system using sorghum and soybean crops. The experiment was carried out at the University of Lavras in a typical distroferric latosol, in two crop years (2006/2007 and 2007/2008). The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with a 5x3x3+5 factorial scheme, corresponding to five sorghum sowing dates (10/30; 11/15; 11/30; 12/15 and 12/30), using the hybrid “Volumax”, three soybean cultivars (Monsoy 8400, Conquista and Luziânia) and three cutting systems (1 - cut at ground level; 2- 15 cm above ground; 3- 30 cm above ground). Additional treatments were composed by the monoculture of sorghum, in which the five sowing dates were analyzed. In the sorghum regrowth, the sowing dates and cutting systems significantly increased the green matter and crude protein levels. Cutting system 3 provided the highest green matter (5,516 kg ha-1), dry matter (2,395 kg ha-1), and crude protein yields (173 kg ha-1). The intercropping system provides the highest dry matter and crude protein yields.

Produção de pimenta tabasco com aplicação de CO2, utilizando-se irrigação por gotejamento

Application of CO2 through water reduces the soil solution pH, causing variations in nutrient mobility and consequent effects on the absorption. The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of carbon dioxide rates supplied by drip irrigation in the production of Capsicum frutescens L. crop. A randomized block design with four treatments and eight replications was used. The treatments were four rates of CO2: 0 (T1), 451.95 (T2); 677.93 (T3) and 903.92 (T4) kg ha-1. The fruits were counted and weighed; the length and the diameter were obtained from an average of 20 fruits per plant, randomly taken, from each treatment in the plot. The quadratic effect (p < 0.01) occurred for CO2 on the yield and there was quadratic effect (p < 0.05) of the rates on the number of fruits. There were no effects of CO2 rates on the green matter, dry matter and fruit length and diameter. The T2 treatment provided greater yield and higher number of fruits per plant with an increase of 16 and 26%, respectively in relation to T1 (without CO2). CO2 application favored the increase in the yield because of the greater number of fruits per plant in the Tabasco pepper crop.

Seleção de genótipos de Brachiaria Ruziziensis quanto à tolerância ao alumínio em solução nutritiva: I: Resposta a diferentes concentrações de alumínio e valores de ph em solução nutritiva

The selection of aluminum tolerance tropical forage grass abundant in acid soil is an important step in a plant breeding program that aims to identify more productive Brachiaria ruziziensis genotypes with higher adaptability under stress conditions. It were developed studies aiming to evaluate the more adequated pH value by five genotypes of Brachiaria ruziziensis, congo signal grass, and the effect as crescent aluminum concentrations upon plant growth. pH values were: 4.5 ± 0,1 (in the first week), 4.5 ± 0,1 (in the beginning of the second week to the end of the experiment) and a control treatment without pH control and the aluminum concentrations were: 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 mg/L of Al. The following variables were evaluated. Dry matter yield of the aerial part and roots (MSPA and MSR), the increasing of aerial part (IPA) and roots (IR), expressed by the difference between the final and initial weight dry matter, rations between dry (MS) and green (MV) matter weight of the aerial part (MS/MV – PA) and root (MS/MV - R) as well as the numbers of tillers. Theincreasing aluminum concentration in nutrient solution had no effect in the increasing of the roots (IR) and dry root matter weight (MSR), the rations between dry (MS) and green (MV) root matter weight (MS/MV - R) and the numbers of tillers, affecting the other characteristics. The absence of pH control in the nutrient solution provided the smallest values for the characteristics, increasing of the roots (IR) and ration between dry (MS) and green (MV) matter weight of the aerial part (MS/MV – PA), while the other evaluated characteristics presented the largest values, when had no pH control and adjustment in the nutrient solution.

Impact of Different Harvesting Intervals on Growth, Forage Yield and Quality of Three Pearl Millet (Pennisetum americanum L.) Cultivars

Very recently, harvesting interval (HI) has been observed to have a huge impact on growth, yield and quality of crops such as pearl millet. Keeping in view the importance of HI a field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of different HI (45, 60 and 75 days after sowing) on growth, forage yield and quality of pearl millet cultivars (786, AF-POP and MB-87) at the Agronomic Research Area, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan. The growth, yield and quality parameters differed significantly among millet cultivars. Results revealed that HI has a substantial effect on both forge yield and quality of pearl millet as the delay in harvest significantly enhanced the forage yield and yield parameters while the quality parameters i.e. crude protein and ash contents were decreased with delay in the harvest of crop. However, maximum values for both green forage and dry matter yields, plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves per plant and leaf area per plant were noted when crop was harvested 75 days after sowing. The cultivar 786 produced higher yield of better quality than other cultivars when harvested 75 days after sowing due to greater plant height, stem diameter, no of leaves and leaf area per plant. It has also higher crude protein (8.15%), ash contents (9.87%) and lower crude fibre contents. It can be concluded from the data that higher yields of pearl millet can be obtained under Faisalabad conditions by using the cultivar 786 and harvesting is suggested 75 days after sowing.

Effect of soil-compost proportion on the abiotic and biotic parameters of soilplant system

The environmental awareness, coming to the front in the 21st century, motivates us to supply the plant nutrient demand (in point of the plant, the environment and the human health) with natural materials.Composting is known since the beginning of civilization. We came to know more the processes of composting as a result of last decades’ research, but numerous unexplained questions remained up to this day. The good compost is dark gray or brown, and it should not create an odor. It has aggregate structure, and it’s pH is neutral. Compost is soil-like (Fehér, 2001), nutrient-rich material, which contains valuable nutrients extracted from soil, so if we recycle this, we can decrease the chemical fertilizer and other (example: mineral energy) expenses.The reason of that we chose the more accurate cognition of compost utilization is to do more effective the site-specific nutrient supply. This increases the average yield and the quality of yield. Besides we can decrease the harmful effects, which endanger the plant, the environment, and the human body.During the compost utilization experiment we blended the acid sandy soil with compost in 4 different volumetric proportions (5 treatments) than we set the pots randomized. The advantage of this method is that we can provide equal conditions for plants so we can measure the effect of treatments correctly. Our experimental plant was ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), that grows rapidly, tolerates the glasshouse conditions, and indicates the effect of treatments well. After the harvest of ryegrass we measured the fresh and dry weight of harvested leaves and the total C-, N-, S-content of the dry matter and of the soil, we examined the pH and the salt concentration of soil as well. Our aim was to study and evaluate the relations between the compost-soil proportion and the nutrient content of soil and plant. In our previous experiments we confirmed (based on variance analyses) that the compost has a beneficial effect on soil and increases the nutrient content of the soil (Szabó, 2009). But it’s important to appoint that the compound of compost is seasonally change: in winter the selective gathered municipal solid waste contains salt that were applied for non-skidding of roads, but salt has a negative effect to the plant. We proved that in our experiment the 25/75% compost/soil proportion was ideal for the plant. This content of compost effected 6 times higher green matter weight compared to the 100% sandy soil.

Produtividade, composição química e características agronômicas de diferentes forrageiras

Um experimento foi realizado com o objetivo de avaliar a produção e extração de nutrientes de diferentes forrageiras. Foram implantadas quatro culturas anuais: milho, sorgo-sudão, sorgo forrageiro e girassol em um delineamento experimental em blocos ao acaso, com quatro tratamentos (culturas) e cinco repetições. O girassol e o sorgo-sudão apresentaram as maiores produções de matéria verde, enquanto o milho e o sorgo forrageiro destacaram-se pela produção de matéria seca. Os maiores valores da fração fibrosa foram observados para o sorgo-sudão. A cultura de girassol extraiu a maior quantidade de cálcio, potássio e magnésio, enquanto o sorgo-sudão apresentou a maior extração de fósforo. A extração de nitrogênio e sódio não diferiu entre as culturas. O milho apresenta-se como melhor forragem para silagem por possuir maior proporção de espiga em relação ao restante da planta.

Green matters?

AbstractAlthough the environmental impact of nonprofit organizations is likely significant, those in the sector seem to have largely ignored this fact. We examine a model of environmental performance for corporations and consider its relevance to nonprofit organizations. Our analysis suggests that motivators of environmental performance in nonprofit organizations remain minor, and that countervailing barriers to green behavior by nonprofits remain more significant than those faced by businesses.

Correlações entre número de perfilhos, índice de tombamento, massa dos componentes morfológicos e valor nutritivo da forragem em pastos diferidos de capim-braquiária

Objetivou-se avaliar correlações entre características estruturais e valor nutritivo do pasto diferido de U. decumbens cv. Basilisk. O experimento foi realizado em esquema de parcelas subdivididas, segundo o delineamento em blocos casualizados, com duas repetições. Os tratamentos foram combinações dos períodos de diferimento da pastagem (73, 103, 131 e 163 dias) com os períodos de pastejo (1, 29, 57 e 85 dias). A massa de lâmina foliar verde correlacionou-se positivamente com os percentuais de proteína bruta (PB), fibra em detergente neutro potencialmente digestível (FDNpoD) e matéria seca potencialmente digestível (MSpoD), mas negativamente com os teores de fibra em detergente neutro (FDN) e FDN indigestível. As correlações para colmo morto foram inversas àquelas obtidas para lâmina verde. Para o perfilho vegetativo, as correlações foram positivas com PB e MSpoD e negativas com FDN e FDNi. Para o perfilho morto, constataram-se correlações positivas com os percentuais de FDN e FDNi da forragem, bem como associação negativa com os teores de PB, FDNpoD e MSpoD. O índice de tombamento correlacionou-se de forma negativa com o número de perfilhos vegetativos e de forma positiva com o número de perfilhos reprodutivos e mortos. O índice de tombamento também se correlacionou positivamente com os teores de FDN e FDNi e de forma negativa com os percentuais de PB e MSpoD. As características estruturais do pasto diferido estão associadas ao seu valor nutritivo. Ações de manejo que reduzam a massa de colmo morto e o número de perfilhos mortos e perfilhos reprodutivos contribuem para melhorar a estrutura e o valor nutritivo do pasto diferido.

Características vegetativas do coentro submetido a doses do polímero hidroabsorvente e lâminas de irrigação

Este trabalho teve o objetivo de avaliar o efeito de cinco doses do polímero hidroabsorvente hidratassolo®, 0, 4, 8, 12 e 16 dg kg-1 de solo seco, e duas lâminas de irrigação, 60 e 120% da evapotranspiração de referência, nas características vegetativas do coentro. Adotou-se um delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado em parcela sub-dividida no tempo, com quatro repetições. Nas duas épocas de plantio do coentro a eficiência do uso da água, o rendimento de matéria verde e seca e o número de plantas aumentaram linearmente com a elevação das doses do polímero quando se fixou a menor lâmina, exceto na predição da altura de plantas na primeira época de plantio conforme modelo quadrático. Com a aplicação da maior lâmina as estimativas das características avaliadas com interação significativa foram maximizadas com doses ideais na faixa de 6 a 11 dg kg-1, como também o emprego da dose máxima de 16 dg kg-1 proporcionou uma queda em relação à testemunha.