Woolgrass Research Articles

Drying and dehydration of native ornamental plants of Arunachal Pradesh and its value addition

Wild and underutilized plant species particularly ornamental flowers and foliage can be converted into value added products using drying and dehydration technique. The present studies have been carried out to explore the potential of wild ornamental plants of Arunachal Pradesh for the purpose of dry flower making. The plant parts have been collected from different places viz. Pasighat, Bodak, Renging, Menchuka, Bomdilla, Tenga Valley, Yingkiong, etc. A total of fourteen (14) potential plant species had been identified for drying and dehydration without any loss in quality and appearance. The species identified includes Pteridium aquilinum (Eagle Fern/Western Bracken Fern), Lycopodium clavatum (Stag’s Horn Clubmoss/Ground pine), Nicandra phylasoides (Apple of Peru), Scirpus cyperinus (Wool grass), Barleria cristata (Phillipine violet), Cortaderia selloana (Pampas grass), Anaphilis busua (Tall pearly everlasting), Miscanthus spp. (Silver grass), lichens, Phragmites spp. (common reed grass), Davallia bullata (Rabbit foot fern), Tillandsia spp. (Spanish moss), Elsholtzia cristata (Crested late summer mint) and Setaria parviflora (Bristly foxtail). Maximum number of genera belongs to the family of Poaceae followed by Cyperaceae. Seed heads of Cortaderia selloana, Miscanthus spp., Phragmites spp., Erioscirpus comosus, Scirpus cyperinus, Setaria parviflora; leaves of Pteridium aquilinum, Lycopodium clavatum, Davallia bullata; fruits of Nicandra phylasoides, Elsholtzia cristata; flower of Anaphilis busua; dried calyx of Barleria cristata and stem of Tillandsia spp. had also been used for drying and value addition. A cottage industry based on floral craft can become a new area for self-employment of rural youth’s and women through this creative occupation. The quest for searching new materials which can be utilized as dried flowers never ends and in fact is the demand of the hour.

Assessment of Phytoremediation Potential of IndigenousFlora around the Steel Industries in Nigeria Ajaokuta SteelCompany Limited, Ajaokuta, Kogi State, Nigeria

In recent years, with the development of the global industrialization, the content of heavy metals in the soil caused by industrial activities has gradually increased, resulting in environmental deterioration. There is a need to provide viable option that is economical, environmental friendly and sustainable for clean-up of environmental contamination such as phytoremediation. Series of studies conducted in the past on heavy metals content in soil around Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL) without considering the remediation technologies of such contents. This study primarily assessed the phytoremedial potential of indigenous flora around Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited Ajaokuta, Kogi State, Nigeria. To achieve this, top and sub soil samples along with control were collected around the vicinity of ASCL for heavy metals analysis. Four different indigenous plants (Imperata cylindrica (Spear grass or cotton wool grass), Sida acuta (Wire weed), Helianthus annuus (Sunflower) and Chromoleana odarata (Siam weed) grown within the vicinity of the ASCL were randomly collected for heavy metals analysis. The samples were digested and analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) (Perkin Elmer® Analyst 100 model). The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS 20 for descriptive and inferential statistics. The metal transfer factors were also determined. The results obtained revealed that the potential of remediating Lead by C. odarata was high compared to other plant species which uptake 10.33 mg/kg, 20.11 mg/kg, and 25.32 mg/kg in the leaves, stem and root respectively. The bioaccumulation level of Lead in C. odarata and H. annus were recorded to be 0.91 mg/kg and 0.71 mg/kg respectively which indicated highest bioaccumulation factor. Unlike the bioaccumulation factors, the translocation factors were high in all the heavy metals investigated. The study revealed that C. odarata, I. cylindrica and S. acuta are good accumulators of heavy metals and they should therefore be encouraged to be cultivated. The plant species may be regarded as hyperaccumulators, which is characterized by their ability to accumulate high quantities of metals in their tissues.

Effect of the proportion of roughage fed as rolled and baled hay on repressing wool-biting behavior in housed sheep.

Wool-biting behavior in housed sheep is a serious animal welfare problem and is difficult to control. Since we have found that sheep fed on rolled hay performed less post-feeding wool-biting than those fed on baled hay, here we mixed these two kinds of hay in four different proportions (0%, 33%, 67% and 100% of rolled hay) to test the effect of rolled hay on repressing wool-biting behavior. We also measured the pulling force needed to remove a piece of rolled hay, baled hay, wool and fresh grass. Wool-biting occurred most frequently in the treatment containing 0% rolled hay; however, there was no significant difference between the other three treatments. The pulling force needed to remove a piece of baled hay was significantly weaker than that for the other three objects; no other significant differences in pulling force were found. Our results suggest that the wool-biting behavior of sheep was due to feeding frustration, which arises when they lack the appropriate oral stimulation from performing their normal foraging movement; this then redirects to the wool on their pen-mates. Feeding sheep rolled hay, even in low quantities, can provide them with appropriate oral stimulation and was effective in repressing wool-biting behavior.

Green Hydrolysis as an Emerging Technology to Turn Wool Waste into Organic Nitrogen Fertilizer

Management of waste wool is a problem related to sheep farming and butchery in Europe. Since the primary role of European flock is meat production, sheep are crossbreds not graded for fine wool production. Their wool is very coarse and contains a lot of kemps (dead fibres), so that it is practically unserviceable for textile uses, and represents a by-product which is mostly disposed off. Green hydrolysis using superheated water is an emerging technology to turn waste wool into amendment-fertilizers for the management of grasslands and other cultivation purposes. In this way wool keratin (the wool protein) is degraded into simpler compounds, tailoring the release speed of nutrients to plants. Wool, when added to the soil, increases the yield of grass grown, absorbs and retains moisture very effectively and reduces run off of contaminants such as pesticides. Moreover, the closed-loop cycle grass–wool–grass is an efficient form of recycling, because the wool-grass step is solar powered and grazing sheep increases soil carbon sequestration on grasslands and fertilisation, if not over-used, can enhance the carbon sequestration rate. Economical results of using hydrolysed wool as a fertilizer are expected from the increase of the management yield and the extension of the pasture lands that may contribute to employment and profit of sheep farming, increase European sheep population, and reduce European dependency of imported meat which is forecast to rise in the next years.

Harvestable Nitrogen Accumulation for Five Storm Water Wetland Plant Species: Trigger for Storm Water Control Measure Maintenance?

As the use of constructed storm water wetlands to treat storm water runoff becomes more frequent, strategies for maintaining or increasing their pollutant removal over time must be examined. One potential strategy is plant harvesting at the water surface to remove nutrients that would otherwise be deposited back into the wetland during senescence. This technical note presents a first look at this strategy from a storm water management perspective. Vegetation was harvested from two storm water wetlands located in Smithfield and Pactolus, North Carolina, to evaluate the ability of five wetland plant species to sequester nitrogen. Biomass samples were collected from the following species of emergent vegetation: Pontederia cordata (Pickerelweed), Saururus cernuus (Lizard Tail), Scirpus cyperinus (Wool Grass), Sagittaria latifolia (Arrowhead), and Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani (Softstem Bulrush). Samples were collected immediately prior to senescence in September and October 2007 and analyzed for nitrogen content on a percent of biomass basis. At the Pactolus wetland the Pontederia cordata, Scirpus cyperinus, and Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani biomass retained significantly (p<0.05) more nitrogen than Sagittaria latifolia and Saururus cernuus. At the Smithfield wetland, Pontederia cordata and Sagittaria latifolia biomass retained significantly more nitrogen than Scirpus cyperinus and Saururus cernuus. Wetland maturity appears to have a direct relationship to harvestable nitrogen, which could explain why the relative amount of nitrogen sequestered in Scirpus cyperinus and Sagittaria latifolia varied between the two wetlands. A positive relationship existed between the density of harvested biomass and nitrogen removal for two species. To estimate the relative amount of harvestable nitrogen, a model for estimating total nitrogen loading in Coastal Plain watersheds in North Carolina was used to compare estimated inflow nitrogen mass to that which could theoretically be harvested. The harvestable N mass was greater than 20% of inflow nitrogen on an annual basis. Storm water wetland plant harvesting as a maintenance activity has potential to supplement wetland nitrogen removal.

Kinetics of Manganese Uptake by Wetland Plants

The aim of this study was to assess the kinetics of Mn removal by broad-leaved cattail, soft stem bulrush, soft rush and wool grass plants from contaminated wastewater under laboratory conditions. The approach used was based on a first order kinetic model which depended on the initial heavy metal concentration in the wastewater and allowed for the evaluation of the specific metal uptake rate and the maximum specific content of the metal in each plant species. The results showed that the model is capable of predicting the experimental data with relatively high confidence (R2 = 0.88). The specific Mn uptake rate and the maximum amount of Mn that can accumulate in each plant species were affected by the initial Mn concentration in the wastewater and the plant species. As the initial concentration of Mn in the water increased, the specific Mn uptake rate of each species decreased showing signs of toxicity. Broad-leaved cattail displayed the highest specific Mn uptake rates followed by soft stem bulrush, soft rush and wool grass. The maximum amount of Mn that accumulated in each species also increased as the initial Mn concentration in the wastewater increased. Broad-leaved cattail and soft stem bulrush plants would accumulate the highest amount of Mn in their tissues followed by soft rush and wool grass.

Manganese Uptake By Facultative and Obligate Wetland Plants Under Laboratory Conditions

The effect of initial concentrations of manganese on the overall removal efficiency of Mn by wool grass, soft rush, broad leaved cattail and soft stem bulrush plants was investigated under laboratory conditions. The translocation of Mn in the roots, stems, leaves and flowers of each plant species was determined and the fraction of Mn removed by precipitation was calculated. The overall manganese removal efficiencies of the system during the first period were 97.66, 94.09, 98.51 and 98.44 %, 90.94, 95.47, 96.83 and 85.51 % and 92.65, 75.55, 97.56 and 75.55 % which decreased to 82.22, 89.94, 95.26 and 95.85 %, 87.78, 91.85, 90.49 and 84.16 % and 38.88, 61.61, 31.54 and 71.64 % by the end (after 72 days) of the experiment for soft stem bulrush, wool grass, soft rush and cattail in the compartments receiving tolerance concentration, landfill leachate and the control, respectively. The removal of manganese was a function of the initial Mn concentration and the higher the initial concentration the higher the removal efficiency. The results showed the addition of manganese (from wastewater) to the soil by precipitation at average rates of 2.17 and 17.19 mg/kg/day, 2.11 and 15.75 mg/kg/day, 1.71 and 15.86 mg/kg/day and 1.17 and 15.29 mg/kg/day for soft stem bulrush, wool grass, soft rush and cattail in the compartments receiving landfill leachate and tolerance concentration, respectively. The leaves of wool grass, soft rush and cattail accumulated significantly greater concentrations of manganese than the roots with translocation factors > 1 indicating high translocation of Mn from root to shoot for the control, landfill leachate and tolerance concentration, respectively.

Kinetics of Iron Uptake by Wetland Plants

The aim of this study was to assess the kinetics of Fe removal by broad-leaved cattail, soft stem bulrush, soft rush and wool grass plants from contaminated wastewater under laboratory conditions. The approach used was based on a first order kinetic model which allowed for the evaluation of the specific metal uptake rate and the maximum accumulation of the metal in each plant species. The results showed that the model is capable of predicting the experimental data with relatively high confidence (R2 = 0.98). The specific Fe uptake rate and the maximum amount of Fe that can accumulate in each plant species were affected by the initial Fe concentration in the wastewater and the plant species. As the initial concentration of Fe in the water increased, the specific Fe uptake rate of each species decreased with the exception of broad-leaved cattail. Soft stem bulrush displayed the highest specific Fe uptake rates followed by soft rush, cattail and wool grass. The maximum amount of Fe that accumulated in each species also increased as the initial Fe concentration in the wastewater increased. The results showed that soft stem bulrush plants would accumulate the highest amount of Fe in their tissues followed by broad-leaved cattail, wool grass and soft rush.

TIME-DOMAIN SIMULATION OF ACOUSTIC SOURCES OVER AN IMPEDANCE PLANE

An implicit high-order compact unconditionally stable finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is proposed here for numerical solution of point sources over an impedance plane. In this method, the linearized Euler equations are split into three directional sets and twelve simple wave components, or six when equivalent sources are adopted with no mean flow. Each component is solved using a fourth-order Padé approximant in space and second-order trapezoidal integration in time. The concept of reflection coefficient is used and algebraically modeled to develop time-domain impedance-equivalent boundary conditions. Comparisons with established methods for reflections of harmonic or impulsive sources demonstrate the applicability of this method for general impedance value, source type, or their arbitrary distributions. Examples of using typical wool felt and grass ground impedances are given to illustrate its practicality and effectiveness. This method provides a means through which time-domain theories and procedures for in-situ characterization of impedance surfaces can be developed.

Woolgrass: A Plant Profile

Woolgrass: A Plant Profile

Importance of phosphorus and nitrogen in the nutrition of grass seedlings growing in mulga soil

A pot experiment was conducted to compare the Importance of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers to seedling growth of four grasses on mulga soil. Two native species, Monachather paradoxa (mulga oats) and Digitaria ammophila (silky umbrella grass), and two exotic ones, Anthephora pubescens (wool grass) and Cenchrus ciliaris cv. Biloela (buffel grass), were tested. Digitaria and the two exotic grasses reacted similarly to applied phosphorus while Cenchrus utilized soil nitrogen more readily than the others. Phosphorus produced marked growth responses, increased the nitrogen and phosphorus contents of the plants, reduced the time between emergence and tillering and reduced root/shoot ratios. Nitrogen fertilizer produced no significant responses and actually retarded very early seedling growth. There were no nitrogen x phosphorus interactions.