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Microgreens are nutrient-dense foods rich in mineral nutrients and health-benefiting phytochemicals. They are a popular specialty crop with a rapidly increasing industry in the United States (U.S.A.) and worldwide. However, there is a lack of research-based recommendations regarding the feasibility of using hydroponic fiber mats in the production of herbal microgreens and their effects on yield, quality, and nutritional composition. This study assessed shoot development, yield, visual quality, and mineral composition of five herbal microgreen species, including basil, chives, dill, leek, and parsley when grown with four types of hydroponic fiber mats (BioStrate, hemp, jute, and MicroMat) and affected by a single post-emergent fertigation in two experiments. The five microgreens varied in yield, quality, mineral nutrient composition, and their response to substrate type. Chives microgreens produced the highest fresh and dry shoot weights among species when grown with BioStrate, jute, and MicroMat in both experiments. The four substrate types resulted in similar fresh and dry shoot weights in leek and parsley microgreens in both experiments. However, BioStrate and MicroMat increased fresh and dry shoot weights in chives in December compared with hemp or jute mats. Jute resulted in higher fresh and dry shoot weights in basil in both experiments compared with MicroMat. The fiber mats altered mineral nutrient concentrations in tested microgreen species. Hemp mats increased potassium concentrations in basil and dill, while jute mats produced the highest Fe concentrations in the two species and the highest Mn concentration in basil in both experiments. A single post-emergent fertigation increased shoot height and increased concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, iron, zinc, manganese, and boron in one or both experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of wearable devices has promoted new ways of integrating these devices, one of which is through the development of smart textiles. Smart textiles must possess the mechanical and electrical properties necessary for their functionality. This study explores the impact of polymer-felt microstructure variations on their morphology, electrical, and mechanical properties. The application of thermal treatment, along with an electric field, leads to a substantial structural reorganization of the molecular chains within pristine felt. This results in a system of nanofibrils coated with MWCNT-PEDOT, characterized by highly ordered counterions that facilitate the flow of charge carriers. Both temperature and an electric field induce reversible microstructural changes in pristine felt and irreversible changes in coated felt samples. Furthermore, electropolymerization of PEDOT significantly enhances electrical conductivity, with PEDOT:BTFMSI-coated fabric exhibiting the highest conductivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although mulching is a widely used agronomic practice, its effects on the rhizosphere remain poorly understood. Here, we employed amplicon and transcriptomic sequencing to investigate variations in a grapevine rhizosphere system under mulch treatment (rice straw + felt + plastic film). Analyzing 16S and intergenic spacer (ITS) rRNA sequences indicated that the Shannon and Simpson indices of the bacterial and fungal communities increased markedly under mulch treatment. The bacterial and fungal compositions varied significantly between the control and mulch treatments. Mulching enriched for potentially beneficial microbes that confer disease resistance to plants or participate in nitrogen metabolism (Kaistobacter, Ammoniphilus, Lysobacter, Ammoniphilus, Alicyclobacillus, Aquicella, Nitrospira, Chaetomium, and Microascus), whereas more potentially pathogenic microbes (Fusarium and Gibberella) were detected in the control. Moreover, certain bacteria and fungi exhibited different correlations with the root transcriptome functions of the MEBlue module. The complexity of the bacterial and fungal co-occurrence networks increased with higher node numbers, positive and negative links after mulching. Following mulching, the rhizosphere showed elevated pH, organic matter, and catalase activities, and decreased sucrase and cellulase and β-glucosidase activities. Our results provide comprehensive data showing how a grapevine rhizosphere system responded to mulching treatment and shed important insight into mulching practices for fruit trees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lignocellulosic fibers extracted from plants are considered an interesting raw material for environmentally friendly products with multiple applications. This work investigated the feasibility of using hemp- and flax-based materials in the form of felts as biosorbents for the removal of metals present in aqueous solutions. Biosorption of Al, Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni and Zn from a single solution by the two lignocellulosic-based felts was examined using a batch mode. The parameters studied were initial metal concentration, adsorbent dosage, contact time, and pH. In controlled conditions, the results showed that: (i) the flax-based felt had higher biosorption capacities with respect to the metals studied than the hemp-based felt; (ii) the highest removal efficiency was always obtained for Cu ions, and the following order of Cu > Cd > Zn > Ni > Co > Al > Mn was found for both examined biosorbents; (iii) the process was rapid and 10 min were sufficient to attain the equilibrium; (iv) the efficiency improved with the increase of the adsorbent dosage; and (v) the biosorption capacities were independent of pH between 4 and 6. Based on the obtained results, it can be considered that plant-based felts are new, efficient materials for metal removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]