Leaf and seed micronutrient accumulation in soybean cultivars in response to integrated organic and chemical fertilizers application

Bats and their vital ecosystem services: a global review

Bats play crucial ecosystem services as seed dispersers, pollinators, controllers of insects, and nutrient recyclers. However, there has not been a thorough global review evaluating these roles in bats across all biogeographical regions of the world. We reviewed the literature published during the last two decades and identified 283 relevant studies: 78 dealt with the control of potential insect pests by bats, 80 related to the suppression of other arthropods, 60 on the dispersal of native or endemic seeds, 11 dealt with the dispersal of seeds of introduced plants, 29 on the pollination of native or endemic plants, 1 study on pollination of introduced plants, and 24 on the use of guano as fertilizer. Our literature search showed that queries combining the terms "seed dispersal," "insectivorous bats," "nectarivorous bats," "use of guano," and "ecosystem services" returned 577 studies, but half were experimental in nature. We found that the evaluation of ecosystem services by bats has been mostly conducted in the Neotropical and Palearctic regions. To detect differences across relevant studies, and to explain trends in the study of ecosystem services provided by bats, we performed generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) fitted with a Poisson distribution to analyze potential differences among sampling methods. We identified 409 bat species that provide ecosystem services, 752 insect species consumed by bats and 549 plant species either dispersed or pollinated by bats. Our review summarizes the importance of conserving bat populations and the ecological services they provide, which is especially important during the current pandemic.

Impact of organic manure on fruit set, fruit retention, yield, and nutritional status in pomegranate (Punica granatum L. "Wonderful") under water and mineral fertilization deficits

This research was conducted on mature pomegranate (Punica granatum L. "Wonderful") trees growing at a site located in North Coast, Matrouh Governorate, Egypt. The aim was to investigate the impacts of different irrigation regimes in combination with different fertilizer regimes on the fruit set, fruit retention, yield, and nutritional status of the trees. The experimental factors were arranged in a split-plot design, with four replicates per treatment combination. The results indicated that all of the characteristics measured, including leaves nutritional status, percentages of fruit set, fruit drop, fruit retention, fruit cracking, fruit sunburn, and marketable fruit, and yield were significantly affected by the interaction between the irrigation treatment which denoted by percentages of reference evapotranspiration (ETo) and fertilizer regime. The application of 75% mineral fertilizer + 25% organic manure under deficit irrigation of 80% ETo increased the yield by an average of 18.23% over the 2 years compared with 100% mineral fertilization under full irrigation, while 50% mineral fertilizer + 50% organic matter under 80% ETo gave the maximum percentage of marketable fruit (86.23% and 86.84% in 2018 and 2019, respectively). The maximum water use efficiency was obtained with the 80% ETo treatment combined with 75% mineral fertilizer + 25% organic manure in both seasons with values of 9.69 and 10.06 kg/m³ applied water, respectively. These results demonstrate that under the field conditions at the experimental site, the fruit set and retention could be improved by applying a reduced amount of mineral fertilizer in combination with organic manure and less irrigation water.

Release of wood extractable elements in experimental spirit model: Health risk assessment of the wood species generated in Balkan cooperage

This work investigates the release of toxic elements from wood into the experimental spirit models and the safety risks for consumers. The spirit models were prepared as ethanolic extracts using the procedure which reproduces maturation of spirits. Investigation included staves of wood species commonly used in Balkan cooperage: mulberry, Myrobalan plum, black locust, wild cherry, and various oaks. Potassium was the most abundant element, except in the wild cherry extract where calcium was dominant, and the Myrobalan plum extract where phosphorus was the most abundant. The parameters for the health risk assessment, such as hazard index (HI) and hazard quotient (HQ) were calculated for potentially toxic elements and indicated that all wood extracts would be safe for human consumption. Owing to the proven abundance of phenolics in the investigated wood extracts, relations among elements and phenolics were also studied and conclusions were made based on the statistically significant correlations.

Distribution of elements in seeds of some wild and cultivated fruits. Nutrition and authenticity aspects

BACKGROUND

The compositional, functional, and nutritional properties of fruits are important for defining their quality. Fruit seeds should be better exploited as they are also considered to be a good source of bioactive components. Twenty macro, micro, and trace elements were identified and quantified in the seeds of 70 genuine wild and cultivated fruit species/cultivars by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Sophisticated chemometric techniques were also used to establish criteria for the classification of the analyzed samples.

RESULTS

Calcium and P were the most abundant elements, followed by K and Na. The content of microelements and trace elements differed among the different cultivars/genotypes. The content of Ba, Pb, and Sr was significantly higher in wild fruits, whereas Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni and Zn content was higher in cultivated fruits.

CONCLUSION

All of the statistical procedures that were used - Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U-test, and principal component analysis (PCA) - confirm a unique set of parameters that could be used as phytochemical biomarkers to differentiate fruit-seed samples belonging to different cultivars/genotypes according to their botanical origin. This kind of investigation may contribute to intercultivar/genetic discrimination and may enhance the possibilities of acquiring a valuable authenticity factor. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Phosphate Fertilization Efficiency Improvement with the Use of Organic Fertilizer and its Effect on Soybean Plants in Dry Land

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Efforts to increase domestic soybean production have been widely carried out by farmers, including the management of soil fertility, such as the use of inorganic fertilizers. However, the development of soybean is generally on marginal dry land, the use of inorganic fertilizers is often inefficient (especially phosphate fertilizers), because phosphorus is fixed by Al or Fe. This study aimed to improve the efficiency of phosphate fertilization by the use of organic fertilizers from the wild plant Calopogonium moconoides and their effect on increasing yields of soybean crops on dry land. This research was conducted on the dry land of Takalar Regency, south Sulawesi, Indonesia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This research was carried out in the dry land of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The experiments were arranged on the Split Plot Design. As the main plot was the dose of organic fertilizer from the wild plant Calopogonium consisting of three levels, namely 10, 15 and 20 t ha-1 as sub-plots were inorganic P fertilization consisting of three levels, namely 50, 100 and 150 kg SP36 ha-1. Each treatment was repeated three times so there were 27 experimental units.

RESULTS

The results showed that the application of organic fertilizer with a dose of 20 t ha-1 increased growth and increased yields shown by higher plants and significantly more pods and higher production per ha (2.15 t ha-1).

CONCLUSION

Increasing the dosage of organic fertilizer and increasing the dose of inorganic P fertilizer increased the availability of nutrient phosphorus.