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Two field experiments were conducted at DARS Budgam, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir during 2016 and 2017 under rainfed conditions with the objective to study the growth and yield of popcorn at different sowing dates, plant spacing and nitrogen levels. Experiment was laid in split-split plot design assigning three Sowing Dates 19th Standard Metrological week (May 02-May 08) (D1), 21th Standard Metrological week (May 16-May 22) and 23nd Standard Metrological week (May 30-June 05). Two plant spacings where maintained viz: S1i.e 60cm X 20cm (83000 plants ha-1) and S2 i.e. 60cm X 15cm (104166 plants ha-1) along with three nitrogen levels viz: N1 =90 kg ha-1 N2 =120 kg ha-1 and N3=150 kg ha-1. The results revealed that grain and stover yield of maize increased significantly for maize sown in 21th standard meteorological week with concomitant increase in its yield attributes viz., cob length, cobs per plant, no. of grains per cob and 100-grain weight and growth characters like plant height, number of leaves per plant, leaf area index and dry matter accumulation which had longer vegetative phase than late planting dates for both the years. Among planting density, 60cm×20cm (S1) recorded significantly higher grain yield (3.48 and 3.73 ton ha-1) and stover yield (5.76 and 6.12 ton ha-1) for the year 2106 and 2017 respectively. Growth and yield attributing characters also recorded highest value with planting density 60cm×20cm (S1). Popping percentage recorded for plant spacing S1 (60cm×20cm) was statistically superior as compared with same of S2 (60cm×15cm). As far as Nitrogen levels are concerned, growth characters like plant height, total number of leaves per plant, dry matter accumulation increased significantly with 120kg/ha nitrogen. Also grain and stover yield showed significant and consistent improvement with increased dose of nitrogen (120 kg/ha). Yield attributing characters showed significant improvement with increasing the level at 150kg/ha. Also popping percentage and nutrient content of plant at anthesis and grain was significantly higher for 150kg/ha nitrogen whereas popping volume and nitrogen content in stover was statistically at par with respect to three nitrogen levels.

Two field trials were conducted during 2015/16 and 2016/17 winter seasons, at Agric. Res. Stat., Fac. Agric., Cairo Univ., Giza, Egypt, to study response yield and its attributes of chickpea to zinc (Zn), Boron (B) and molybdenum (Mo) in four combination at three growth stages; V3: vegetative stage (30 days after planting), R1: start of flowering (45 days after planting) and R6: pod initiation (60 days after planting). The treatments of micronutrients foliar application were T1 (application with tap water), T2 (Zn 0.5 g/l + B 0.5 g/l), T3 (Zn 0.5 g/l + Mo 0.5 g/l), T4 (B 0.5 g/l + Mo 0.5 g/l), T5( Zn 0.5 g/l + B 0.5 g/l + Mo 0.5 g/l). The T5 treatment (Zn + B + Mo) produced significantly the greatest seed yield feddan-1 (702 and 727 kg), stover yield feddan-1 (2275 and 2276 kg), harvest index (23.6 and 24.1%) respectively, in both seasons. The results indicated that the spraying time of microelements did not significantly effect on yield traits in 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons. The greatest productivity of seed (705 and 732 kg/ fed.) in 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons, respectively was recorded by combined application of zinc (0.5 g/l) + Boron (0.5 g/l) + molybdenum (0.5 g/l) as foliar spray at start of flowering stage compared with other tested treatments. Combined application of zinc, boron and molybdenum as foliar spray at 45 DAP significantly enhanced the crop yields and protein (%) in seed of chickpea.

The field experiment was conducted during the year 2016 and 2017 at village Jasaura district Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh. Grain yield was ranged from 43.85-70.32 q ha-1 and 40.50-73.92 q ha-1. Stover yield was ranged from 116.65-142.87 q ha-1 and 114.25-143.15 q ha-1. Biological yield was ranged from 178.00-230.57 q ha-1 and 171.82-233.57 q ha-1. The weight of 100 seeds was ranged from 20.88-28.40 gram and 20.75-29.78 gram. Shelling percentage was ranged from 71.15-80.22% and 70.20-80.44%. Harvest Index was ranged from 0.24-0.30% and 0.23-0.30%. Gross returns or output, net return and benefit cost ratio were ranged from Rs. 69766-107461, Rs. 3342-41037 and 0.05-0.62 and Rs. 67849-116647, Rs. (-) 1222-47576 and (-) 0.02-0.69. The highest and lowest growth and reduction on grain and stover yield was achieved from T1-(+) 4.87% to (+) 0.19% and T2-(-) 7.64% to (-) 2.06%. All the parameters were obtained from 2016 to 2017 year respectively.

With the construction of a dam and its irrigation canals in the irrigation area of Nangakara River, in Pekat district of Dompu regency in West Nusa Tenggara Province (NTB), Indonesia, it was necessary to carry out an irrigation water management test farm, for use as a basis for making recommendations and as a demonstration area for the farmers. This study aimed to examine the effect of two different irrigation techniques, between sprinkler (LSI) and surface (CSI) irrigation, and two fertilization packages, on yield of two hybrid maize varieties on dryland with sandy soils. The experiment was organized according to Split Split-Plot design with three blocks and three treatment factors, namely hybrid maize varieties (Bisi-2 and C-7) as main plot, irrigation techniques (LSI and CSI) as sub-plots, and fertilizer doses (F1= low level; F2= moderate level) as sub-sub-plots. The results indicated that there were no significant interaction effects among treatment factors, but there were significant effects of both irrigation techniques and levels of fertilizer doses on all observation variables, except for the weight of 1000 dry grains. In general, both the higher level of fertilizer doses (F2) and application of sprinkler irrigation (LSI) resulted in higher dry grain yield, water use efficiency (WUE), weights of harvested ears and harvested stover. However, the C-7 variety showed higher response to fertilizer doses especially under sprinkler irrigation. On average, grain yield was significantly higher under sprinkler (12.54 ton/ha) than surface irrigation (10.17 ton/ha), indicating the disadvantages of surface versus sprinkler irrigation. The harvested stover weight was higher on Bisi-2 (21.19 ton/ha) than on C-7 (13.98 ton/ha), but the dry grain yield tended to be higher on C-7 (12.0 t/ha) than on Bisi-2 (10.7 t/ha), indicating that C-7 was higher in the rate of assimilate partitioning into seeds than the Bisi-2 variety.

A field experiment entitled “Planting pattern and weed management in maize (Zea mays L.) + runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus L.) intercropping system” was conducted during the rabi season of 2016-17 at Agronomy Main Research Farm, Bhubaneswar. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with planting patterns in the main plot and weed management practices in the sub plot. ‘Shriram 9220’ maize hybrid and ‘Raikia local’ variety of runnerbean were used as test crops. The study revealed that P4- maize 100% + runner bean 100% in the same row recorded the minimum weed density and dry weight and maximum weed smothering efficiency. While, weed management practices, W3-Pendimethalin 1.0 kg/ha + 1 manual weeding also recorded the minimum weed density and dry weight and maximum weed control efficiency. Significantly higher nutrient of content in the maize grain and stover was recorded in maize 100% + runner bean 50% in separate rows among planting patterns and W3-pendimethalin 1.0 kg/ha + one manual weeding at 25 DAS among weed management practices. For runner bean, maize 100% + runner bean 100% in same row gave significantly higher pod and haulm nutrient content. However, the maximum uptake of N, P and K was in sole crops of runner bean and maize respectively due to its higher yield.

This study evaluated the effect of upgrading the quality of maize stover (MS) on milk nutritive value. The study involved feeding MS improved using urea (U), chopped groundnut stover (cGS), chopped soybean stover (cSS), mineralized groundnut stover solution (mGS) and mineralized soybean stover solution (mSS) to lactating dairy cows. The feeding trial involved twelve (12) dairy cows in their second parity. Effect of supplementation with MS improved with U, cGS, cSS, mGS and mSS on milk quality was evaluated following on-station feeding trials. The study involved 22factorial experiments within a Completely Randomised Design (CRD). Milk samples were analysed for protein, lactose, fat and solid not fat (SNF). Mean milk protein levels ranged from 3.52mg/ml to 3,73mg/ml (s.e=0.03) for milk from cows fed on MS improved using cGS and mGS respectively. Protein and Lactose were observed to be the least variable (3.64g/ml ±0.12, and 5.24g ±0.24 respectively). Average milk fat content was highest (4.78%, se=0.52) in milk from cows fed on UET treated MS and lowest (3.43%, se=0.52) in milk from cows fed on gGS protein based MS. Within legume type milk fat was higher(4.75%±1.99) in milk from cows fed on MS blended with mGS than that in milk from cows fed on MS improved with cGS (3.43%±1.99). Similar result was observed in milk fat from cows fed on MS improved with the use of soybean. Lactose in milk from cows fed on UET treated MS was highest (5.51g, se=0.061) and lowest (5.10g, se=0.061) in milk from cows fed on MS blended with cGS. Milk from cows fed on MS improved with mGS was higher (9.61p/cwt, se=0.14) in SNF and lowest (8.88p/cwt, se=0.14) in milk from cows fed on MS with cGS. The milk density values ranged from 32.65sg, se=0.53 for milk from cows fed on UET treated MS to 30.42sg, se=0.053 for milk from cows fed on MS blended with cGS. Milk components were higher when cows were fed on MS improved using mineralized legume stover solutions.&nbsp

Estimates of crop nitrogen (N) uptake and offtake are critical in estimating N balances, N use efficiencies and potential losses to the environment. Calculation of crop N uptake and offtake requires estimates of crop product yield (e.g. grain or beans) and crop residue yield (e.g. straw or stover) and the N concentration of both components. Yields of crop products are often reasonably well known, but those of crop residues are not. While the harvest index (HI) can be used to interpolate the quantity of crop residue from available data on crop product yields, harvest indices are known to vary across locations, as do N concentrations of residues and crop products. The increasing availability of crop data and advanced statistical and machine learning methods present us with an opportunity to move towards more locally relevant estimates of crop harvest index and N concentrations using more readily available data. This dataset includes maize field experiment data. It is a culmination of summary statistic data collected from the literature as well as raw data requested from various researchers and organisations from around the world. These data will enable more locally relevant estimates of crop nutrient offtake, nutrient balances and nutrient use efficiency at national, regional or global levels, as part of strategies towards more sustainable nutrient management.

Plants (both lower plants belonging to cyanobacteria and algae and higher plants belonging to angiosperms and gymnosperms) supplement various industries such as agroforestry, food, and municipal waste and can themselves be served as feedstock for various types of renewable biofuels, as well as function as an inexpensive manufacturing platform to provide a multiplicity of items. Although all plants may operate as a potential staple for producing energy and chemicals, some essential characteristics such as short life cycle, higher growth rate, ability to grow under various stress conditions, and above all, no competition exhibited with food crops for space are especially expected from plants designated as energy plants (crops). Also, plants with higher oil (oleaginous) and hydrocarbon (petroplants) contents are considered energy plants. Certain food crops that are grown for use in biofuel production (e.g., sugarcane in Brazil and corn in the United States) or certain other crops that produce large volumes of residues (e.g., wheat and rice straw, sugarcane bagasse, maize stover and cobs, and sorghum stalks) are considered as food as well as energy crops (plants). Although these natural energy plants are important feedstock for various types of biofuels, they have certain inherent constraints that have so far thwarted their large-scale application and the consequent commercialization of biofuel technology. Some important constraints are the recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass and the low contents of oil and hydrocarbons in oleaginous and petroplants, respectively. These have prompted the application of genetic approaches to remove these constraints and tailor these plants (designer plants) in such a way that facilitates the rapid commercialization of plant-based biorefinery technologies.

Attempts to determine phenotypic predictors to identify high quality maize grain for different uses are noteworthy. This study aimed to assess the relationships among maize grain quality and some phenotypic characteristics of dent maize cultivars in response to various irrigation regimes (6-day and 12-day intervals), planting dates (20 June and 21 July), and nitrogen rates (0 and 184 kg ha−1), in a two-year experiment. Principal component analysis suggested that grain yield, hundred-grain weight and stem biomass were highly correlated with starch, oil and most fatty acid concentration variables. Grains per ear was the only variable correlated with amylose, protein and amino acids. Using regression tree analysis, stover yield (R2 = 0.47, P˂0.01), stem biomass at flowering (R2 = 0.74, P˂0.001), and year (R2 = 0.74, P˂0.001), were the most important variables predicting starch, oil and protein concentrations of maize grain, respectively. Data from 2019, a warmer and drier year, and high nitrogen rate were associated with higher protein and amino acids. There was a negative relationship between protein and plant height (R2 = 0.44; P˂0.001). The relationships determined in this study can give an insight to breeders and farmers for specialized farming and selecting specific quality characteristics through phenotypic predictors.

This study investigated the offset effect between green manure (GM) application and plastic film mulching (PFM) on soil organic carbon (SOC) stock change during maize cultivation. Within PFM and no-mulching treatments, three different fertilization sub-treatments were applied: (a) chemical fertilizer, (b) barley and (c) hairy vetch. The SOC balance were evaluated by analyzing the net ecosystem carbon budget (NECB). The results showed that the NECB value was negative during maize cultivation regardless of mulching or fertilization condition, indicated SOC loss. The PFM increased maize yield (P

[THE IMPACT OF PALM OIL SLUDGE RESIDUES AND DOLOMITE RESIDUES ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF PEANUT (Arachis hypogaea L.) IN ULTISOL]. This study aims to determine the best interaction between palm oil sludge (POS) residues and dolomite residues, determine the best POS residue, and determine the best dolomite residue in the growth and yield of peanut plants. This research was conducted from March 2018 to June 2018, the design used was a Complete Randomized Block Design (RCBD) with two factors. The first factor is POS residue with 3 levels, 0, 10, and 20 tons/ha. The second factor is dolomite residue with 4 levels, namely 0, 2, 4, and 6 tons/ha. The results showed that the best treatment combination was obtained from oil POS residue of 10 tons/ha and dolomite residue of 2 tons/ha which produced the highest total root nodule weights of 0.2417 g. POS residue of 20 tons/ha gives the highest yield on the growth component, which is an average plant height of 16.72 cm. POS residue of 10 tons/ha gave the highest yield on the growth component, namely dry stover weight of an average of 9.57 g, as well as the yield component of 45.20 total pods, 32.84 pods, total pod weight 43.47 g, and the weight of pith pods weighing 36.60 g. The highest total dry pod weight was 2.71 tons/ha. Dolomite residue gave a higher yield on all growth variables and observed results, with the highest total dry pod weight being 2.68 tons/ha.

Objective To effectively use corn stover resources as animal feed, we explored the chemical composition and in vitro digestibility of corn stover during field exposure and the fermentation characteristics of silage prepared with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and cellulase. Methods Corn ears including the cobs and shucks were harvested at the ripe stage. The corn stover was exposed in the field under natural weather conditions. Silages were prepared after 0, 2, 4, 7, 15, 30, and 60 d of exposure. Corn stover was chopped into approximately 1 to 2 cm lengths and then packed into 5 liter plastic silos. The ensiling density was 550.1±20.0 g/L of fresh matter, and the silos were kept at room temperature (10°C to 25°C). Silage treatments were designed as follows: without additives (control), with LAB, with cellulase, and with LAB+ cellulase. After 45 d of fermentation, the silos were opened for chemical composition, fermentation quality and in vitro digestion analyses. Results After harvest, corn stover contained 78.19% moisture, 9.01% crude protein (CP) and 64.54% neutral detergent fiber (NDF) on a dry matter (DM) basis. During field exposure, the DM, NDF, and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents of corn stover increased, whereas the CP and water-soluble carbohydrate contents and in vitro digestibility of the DM and CP decreased (p

The use of right amount of fertilizer based on crop requirement has a significant importance for sustainable crop production. Study was undertaken to investigate the effects of NPSZnB blended fertilizer for maize yield production at Laelay Adiyabo and Medebay Zana districts. Seven treatments were used for the field experiment. Treatments were without fertilizer, blanket recommended NP (64 kg N ha-1+69 kg P2O5 ha-1) and five treatments of blended fertilizer rates (150, 200, 250, 300, and 350 kg NPSZnB ha-1). Treatments were laid out in RCBD design with three replications. The results revealed that among fertilizers rates significantly (P ≤ 0.05) affected almost all the maize traits tested except tasseling, silking and maturity in Laelay Adiyabo district. However, in Medebay Zana district except tasseling, silking and maturity, plant height and thousand seeds weight, the rest parameters of above ground biomass yield, stover yield grain yield and harvest index were found significantly (P

Two field experiments were conducted during two consecutive summer seasons of 2014 and 2015 in an administrative field at Diarb Negm District, Sharkia Governorate, under Agronomy Department supervision, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Egypt. The aim of this study was to investigate the response of two yellow maize hybrids (Single Cross 176 and Three-way Cross 352) to three plant densities (20000, 24000 and 30000 plants/fad.), and nitrogen-farmyard combination fertilizer levels (60, 80 and100 kg N/fad., without addition of farmyard manure (FYM) and 60 kg N/fad.+20 m3 FYM/fad., 80 kg N/fad.+ 20 m3 FYM/fad., and 100 kg N/fad.+20 m3 FYM/ fad.) under clay soils conditions. The obtained results could be summarized as follows: The tried three maize plant densities had different effects on plant height (cm), ear diameter and length (cm), number of rows/ear, number of kernels/row, 100-kernel weight, kernel weight/ear, and biological yield (ton/fad.) during both seasons and their combined analysis, but the differences among the tried three maize plant densities on aforementioned traits did not reach the level of significance. Results of the first season and the combined analysis detected significant differences among the tried plant densities on ear yield/fad. Where, ear yield/fad., and grain yield/fad., in the first season and combined analysis, harvest index and grain: stover ratio in the two seasons and their combined analysis were significantly increased due to increasing maize density from 20000 or 24000 and up to 30000 plants/fad. Maize SC 173 cultivar appeared to produced taller plants, longer ears and larger number of kernels/row than TWC 352 cultivar. The later produced larger ear diameter, number of rows/ear, 100-kernel weight, kernel weight/ear, ear yield/fad., grain and biological yields/fad., than SC 173 one. No significant differences between two maize cultivars regarding harvest index and grain: stover ratio was observed. The first and the second increments in nitrogen levels up to 100 kg N/fad., with or without addition of farmyard manure was accompanied by a significant increase in ear diameter (cm), ear length (cm), number of rows/ear, number of kernels/row, 100-kernel weight (g), kernel weight/ear (g), ear yield/fad., grain and biological yields (ton/fad.) but harvest index and grain: stover ratio were reduced during both seasons and their combined analysis. These results finally recommend sowing maize cultivar TWC 352 with dense planting of 30000 plants/fad., and raising nitrogen level up to 80 kg N/fad., with addition of farmyard manure to maximize grain yield/fad., under the experimental site and other likely environmental condition.

Tillage and stover harvest are common management practices in maize-based cropping systems around the globe. However, frequent soil disturbance and biomass export are likely to have negative long-term impacts on soil biological activity and a range of associated soil properties, and thus, there is great concern surrounding the sustainability of these practices. To address this issue, we examined soil macrofauna communities and a suite of soil chemical and physical properties in a recently established experiment (2.5 yrs. old) in Akron, Colorado. No-tillage and residue retention practices were included in a full factorial randomized block design with the following treatments: no-till + residue retention (NT/R); no-till + residue harvest (NT/RH); conventional tillage + residue retention (CT/R); and conventional tillage + residue harvest (CT/RH). In year three of the experiment, soil health parameters were assessed including: soil macrofauna diversity and abundance, aggregate stability, potential infiltration, and chemical fertility measures. The combined practice of residue retention with no-tillage (NT/R) resulted in greater macrofauna abundance, including a five-fold increase in earthworm abundance and biomass. Greater earthworm populations were associated with an increase in aggregate stability and a trend towards greater water infiltration under NT/R. While univariate tests did not reveal significant treatment differences in arthropod taxa, multivariate analyses indicated clear treatment effects on macrofauna communities, with tillage generally separating communities more than residue management. Soil chemical parameters indicated relatively less dramatic differences between treatments, but with some notable impacts of both residue retention and tillage on soil C and N dynamics. Findings from our study, among the first to examine whole soil macrofauna communities in the semi-arid Great Plains, suggest that no-till and residue retention practices offer promise for improving soil biological activity and soil structural properties of soil, especially when these two practices are employed in combination.

Currently, coal is the most widely used feedstock for electricity generation, including South Africa with a 77% dependence. However, coal-fired power stations also result in adverse environmental impacts, including air, water and soil pollution. The conversion of biomass, such as maize cobs and other agricultural residues, to electricity, could play a vital role in reducing the dependency on coal power in South Africa as well as reducing these environmental impacts. However, there are very few environmental impact studies in the country to address the production or preparation phase of energy feedstocks for electricity production. This study used life-cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with the production of maize and wheat, and the extraction of residue (maize cobs, maize stover or wheat stalks) for producing electricity through gasification and compared these to coal-fired electricity production. The results showed that the main areas of concern for electricity production from biomass were from gasification and transport, contributing roughly 47% each to fossil fuel depletion, just over 46% each towards climate change, 44% and 40% towards particulate matter formation, and 32.8% and 33.2% towards land occupation, respectively. The impacts associated with wheat stalks and maize stover production were higher than those of the maize cobs system. Agricultural land occupation results for the production of 1 ​kg of maize cobs, maize stover and wheat straw were 4.83 ​× ​10−7, 4.76 ​× ​10−7 and 2.38 ​× ​10−6 ​m2, respectively, in one year, with similar trends for the other impact categories as well. The most significant impacts of using coal-fired methods of electricity generation were fossil fuel depletion, ozone depletion, natural land transformation, urban land occupation and climate change, with these burdens being over 90% higher than from the gasification of maize cobs. To improve the environmental performance of the biomass energy sector, improvements in agricultural practices should be implemented, including further research on fertilization, water use, agricultural practices, land transformation, biomass conversion technologies, and transportation.

Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) is an important winter oilseed crop in India. It acts as a promising species for the extraction of Zn and Fe under nutrient-deficit conditions. Therefore, this study planned to determine the impact of nutritional supplementation (Zn, Fe and urea) on the productivity and nutritional quality of Indian mustard. In the experiment, different combinations of recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) with 0.5% FeSO4·7H2O, 0.5% ZnSO4·7H2O and 1% urea at 45 and 60 days after sowing (DAS) were applied to Indian mustard. Foliar application of micronutrients along with urea enhanced the productivity and quality of the crop. Among different treatments, the foliar application of 0.5% FeSO4·7H2O + 0.5% ZnSO4·7H2O + 1% urea (FZU) at 45 and 60 DAS resulted in the maximum increase in grain (27.8%) and stover (34.47%) yield, which was statistically at par with the treatment 0.5% FeSO4·7H2O + 0.5% ZnSO4·7H2O at 45 and 60 DAS (FZ). A similar trend was observed for Zn concentration in grain and stover, as well as Fe concentration in stover. However, the Fe concentration in grain was at maximum with treatment FZU, and the results were significantly higher compared with the treatment FZ. Treatment FZU also resulted in a maximum increase in Zn and Fe uptake in grain (54.7% and 34.3%, respectively) and stover (110.5% and 46.1%, respectively), which was statistically at par with treatment FZ. Physiological efficiencies of Zn (11,838.33) and Fe (3575.887) were highest when only urea was applied along with RDF, whereas the apparent recovery efficiency of Zn and Fe was highest in treatment FZU. Overall, it is concluded that combined foliar application of, 0.5% FeSO4·7H2O + 0.5% ZnSO4·7H2O + 1% urea at 45 and 60 DAS along with RDF was found to be most effective to enhance yield, concentration and uptake of Zn and Fe in Indian mustard.

Deteriorating soil fertility, low unreliable rainfall and soil moisture stress has resulted to low crop yields among farmers of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), necessitating a search for more sustainable production practices. Zai technology has the ability to promote soil moisture retention and enhances soil fertility. A four-seasons field experiment was conducted to assess the impact of Zai technology combined with cattle manure and inorganic fertilizer on selected soil properties and sorghum yields in Kabati, Kitui County. The experiment was set up in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with eight treatments replicated thrice with sorghum Gadam as the test crop. Soil sampling was done at the beginning of the first season and at the end of the fourth season at a dept of 0–15 cm across each plot for laboratory analyses. From the results, the increase in electrical conductivity was significant at p < 0.05 in all the treatments after four cropping seasons. Total organic carbon significantly increased in Zai with cattle manure (p = 0.045), conventional with no input (p = 0.038) and conventional with cattle manure (p = 0.045). Available phosphorous significantly (p < 0.05) increased in treatments under Zai technology while total nitrogen significantly (p < 0.05) reduced after the four cropping seasons. There was a significant (p < 0.05) interactive effect of the tested factors on soil pH, electrical conductivity, total nitrogen, and available phosphorous at the end of the experiment. Moreover, there was significant (p < 0.05) interactive effects on grain yields (SR18 and SR19 seasons) and stover yields (SR18, LR19, and SR19 seasons), with higher yields being recorded in treatments under Zai technology. This study demonstrates the importance of Zai technology in increasing crop yield by trapping water and enhancing its retention and infiltration into the soil for uptake by plants. This study concluded that positive impacts on important soil properties and crop yield could be realized when Zai technology is utilized alongside either sole inorganics or a combination of organic and inorganic amendments and this could be used as a strategy to improve crop production in eastern Kenya and other similar areas.

To achieve the nutritional target of human food, boron (B) has been described as an essential mineral in determining seed and theoretical oil yield of Sesamum indicum L. The research to increase its cultivation is garnering attention due to its high oil content, quality and its utilization for various purposes, which include human nutrition as well as its use in the food industry. For this, a two-year field experiment was performed at PAU, Punjab, India to determine the effect of different concentrations of foliar-applied B (20, 30 and 40 mg L−1) and different growth stages of crop, i.e., we measured the effects on agroeconomic indicators and certain quality parameters of sesame using different concentrations of B applied at the flowering and capsule formation stages as compared to using water spray and untreated plants. Water spray did not significantly affect the studied parameters. However, B application significantly increased the yield, uptake, antioxidant activity (AOA) and theoretical oil content (TOC) compared to those of untreated plants. The maximum increase in seed yield (26.75%), B seed and stover uptake (64.08% and 69.25%, respectively) as well as highest AOA (69.41%) and benefit to cost ratio (B:C ratio 2.63) was recorded when B was applied at 30 mg L−1 at the flowering and capsule formation stages. However, the maximum sesame yield and B uptake were recorded when B was applied at a rate of 30 mg L−1. A significant increase in TOC was also recorded with a B application rate of 30 mg L−1. For efficiency indices, the higher values of boron agronomic efficiency (BAE) and boron crop recovery efficiency (BCRE) were recorded when B was applied at 20 mg L−1 (5.25 and 30.56, respectively) and 30 mg L−1 (4.96 and 26.11, respectively) at the flowering and capsule formation stages. In conclusion, application of B @ 30 mg L−1 at the flowering and capsule formation stages seemed a viable technique to enhance yield, B uptake and economic returns of sesame.

The main objective of the study was to develop technology for improving utilization of abundant quantities of under- utilized crop residues and leguminous plants during the dry season to mitigate effects of dry season on milk yield. The study was set up to test practical ways of upgrading low quality roughage and their effect on milk yield. A 22 factorial experiment within a Completely Randomised Design (CRD) was used. The study involved improving the quality of maize stover using urea fertilizer (UF), chopped groundnut (cGS) and soybean (cSS) stover, mineralized groundnut (mGS) and mineralized soybean (mSS) solution as sources of nitrogen. Research findings revealed superiority of UET over both groundnut and soybean stover in improving the quality of maize stover. Across legume types, groundnut stover had a higher positive effect on improving the quality of maize stover in terms of milk yield. Within legume stover type mGS showed superior milk yield values than cGS. The reverse was true for soybean stover. The study indicated the effect of improving maize stover with cSS on milk yield was higher than that of mSS in improving the quality of maize stover. It was generally observed that the use of mineralization of legume stover in improving the quality of maize stover is more effective than chopping. Pooled result of effect of mineralised groundnut and soybean stover on milk yield was significantly (p0.05) for both processing methods.

Mycelium-based bio-composites materials have been invented and widely applied to different areas including the construction industry, manufacturing industry, agriculture, and biomedical. As the vegetative part of a fungus, mycelium has the unique capability to utilize agricultural crop waste (e.g., sugarcane bagasse, rice husks, cotton stalks, straw and stover) as substrates for the growth of its network, which integrates the wastes from pieces to continuous composites without energy input nor generating extra waste. Their low-cost and environmentally friendly features attract interest in its research and commercialization. For example, mycelium-based foam and sandwich composites have been actively developed for construction structures. It can be used as synthetic planar materials (e.g., plastic films and sheets), larger low-density objects (e.g., synthetic foams and plastics), and semi-structural materials (e.g., paneling, flooring, furniture, decking). It is shown that the material function of these composites can be further tuned by controlling the species of fungus, the growing conditions, and the post-growth processing method to meet a specific mechanical requirement in applications (e.g., structural support, acoustic and thermal insulation). Moreover, mycelium can be used to produce chitin and chitosan, which have been applied to clinical trials for wound healing, showing the potential for biomedical applications. Given the strong potential and multiple advantages of such a material, we are interested in studying them in-depth and review the current progress of their related study in this review paper.

During the kharif 2016 season, a field experiment was undertaken on farmers' fields in Sankumari village of Nabarangpur district of Odisha's Eastern Ghat High Land (EGHL) zone to analyse the impact of boron application on maize yield and economics. Maize has been grown in various seasons and places, with crop durations ranging from

Efficient measurement of harvested corn silage from forage harvesters can be a critical tool for a farmer. Suboptimal fragmentation of kernels can affect milk yield from dairy cows when the silage is used as fodder and oversized stover particles can promote mould yielding bacteria during storage due to resulting air pockets. As a forage harvester can harvest hundreds of tonnes per hour, an efficient and robust system for measuring quality in the field is required, however, current methods require manual errorsome separation steps or for samples to be sent to an off-site laboratory. Therefore, we propose to adopt Faster R-CNN with an Inceptionv2 backbone to detect kernel fragments and oversized particles in images of corn silage taken directly after harvesting without the need for separating particles. We explore strategies of data sampling for specialist models, transfer learning from differing domains and tuning the anchors in the Region Proposal Network to accommodate for changes in object shapes and sizes. Our approach leads to significant improvements in average precision for kernel fragmentation and stover overlengths of up to 45.2% compared to a naive model development approach, despite the challenging cluttered scenes. Additionally, our models are able to predict quality for network predictions with the Corn Silage Processing Score (CSPS) for kernel fragmentation and a measure we introduce for chopped stover named Overlength Processing Score (OVPS). For both scores we obtain a strong correlation against physically measured samples with an r2 of 0.66 for CSPS, 0.79 and 0.95 for OVPS at two verbal theoretical lengths of cut.

Finger millet is an important drought-tolerant and grain-nutrient dense food crop grown in semi-arid regions in Asia and Africa. The forage is used as a source of dry roughage for feeding livestock. In this study, the finger millet diversity panel (310 accessions and four controls) representing the global collection of the finger millet germplasm conserved at the ICRISAT gene bank was assessed for forage quality and diversity in the years 2018 and 2019. Results of the study suggested that finger millet can generate stover yield ranging from 2890 to 10,779 kg ha−1. Finger millet forage contained 6.47% to 8.15% of crude protein, &gt, 90% of dry matter content, 11.47% to 14.17% of ash content, 62.36% to 67.73% of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), 33.07% to 38.37% of acid detergent fiber (ADF), 3.95% to 4.80% of acid detergent lignin (ADL), 6.18% to 6.89% of metabolizable energy (ME) and 45.21% to 49.09% of in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) with the grain yield of 810 to 3698 kg ha−1 at maturity stage. The per se performance between the races, regions, and biological status has been performed and differed significantly for important traits. The 314 accessions were grouped into five clusters based on the performance for food-feed traits. Except for crude protein, there was a positive relationship between forage quality-positive traits and grain yield, indicating that agronomic and forage quality traits could be improved simultaneously. The top 10 performing accessions for important forage quality traits and accessions with multiple forage quality traits were identified. This study provides a detailed understanding of the variability that exists in forage quality traits in crop residues and their association with agronomic traits in the finger millet germplasm. The identified top-performing accessions would be the key genetic resources for developing dual-purpose cultivars and the information from this study will be useful for future finger millet food-feed trait improvement.

Rapid treatment processing for corn stover and black liquor is of the utmost importance with the boom in China’s agriculture sector. Aerobic fermentation composting via microbial/black liquor inoculation is superior to traditional composting with enhanced compost maturity and accelerated organic matter degradation. This research aimed to investigate the feasibility of black liquor addition and the effect of microbial/black liquor inoculation on the chemical composition and physiochemical and biological parameters for compost quality assessment. Results indicated that both the microbial/black liquor and the black liquor inoculation improved the heating rate. After composting for 18 days, the C contents and H contents were decreased to 44.29 ± 0.19% and 5.98 ± 0.05%, while the O contents and N contents were increased to 45.25 ± 0.15% and 3.48 ± 0.01%, which is consistent with the results of elemental analysis. This result indicated that black liquor and microbial inoculations accelerated the formation of nitrogen structures and recalcitrant nitrogenous oxygenated compounds. The FTIR analysis of four treatments confirmed that the microbial/black liquor inoculation could promote lignocellulose degradation and lignin degradation in subsequent composting. 16S rRNA sequencing revealed Deinooccola, Gemmatimonadota, and Chloroflexi as the predominant bacteria. The study suggested corm stover/black liquor composting as a promising technique for rapid and enhanced quality compost production.

This study deals with the impact of calcination, alkalinity, and curing time parameters on the hydrothermal synthesis of zeolite A. The zeolite A sample, produced from corncob-stalk-and-leaves (corn stover) ash was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that calcination, alkalinity, and curing time have significant effects on the crystallization and the morphology of zeolite A. In addition, these parameters also impacted the cation exchange capacity. Furthermore, the synthesized zeolite A was obtained using a calcination temperature of 500 °C within two hours of airflow, which is much lower than the temperatures previously reported in the literature for an agricultural waste and other waste materials. A fusion ratio of corn stover ash:NaOH of 1.0:1.5 and a curing time of nine hours were achieved. This is a major result as this curing time is much lower than those featured in other studies, which can reach up to twenty-four hours. In this paper, cubic crystal with rounded edge of zeolite A, having a cation exchange capacity of 2.439 meq Na+/g of synthesized anhydrous zeolite A, was obtained, which can be a good candidate for ion-exchange separation.

A field experiment was conducted during the kharif season of 2016 at Post Graduate farm, College of Agriculture, Kolhapur. The experiment was laid out in Randomized block design consisted of seven treatments viz., T1: absolute control, T2: Urea +SSP+MOP, T3: 18:46:0 (DAP), T4: 20:20:0, T5: 10:26:26, T6: 1919:19, T7: 15:15:15 which were replicated by three times. The result revealed that among the different NP complex fertilizers DAP recorded higher no. of tillers, plant height, thousand grains weight, chlorophyll content, grain and stover yield and B:C ratio. There was no significant difference in available N, P, and K content after harvest of crop in soil indicating no residual effect of different nitrogenous complex fertilizers.

The field experiment was conducted during Zaid season, 2020 at Crop Research Farm (CRF), Department of Agronomy, SHUATS, Prayagraj (UP) On sandy loam soil to investigate the Effect of Spacing and Plant Growth Regulators on Yield and Economic of Zaid Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.). The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with nine treatments replicated thrice with the different spacing (30cm x 10cm and 45cm x 10cm) and different levels of NAA (10 ppm & 20 ppm), GA3 (10 ppm & 20 ppm), IAA (10 ppm & 20 ppm) and salicylic acid (10 ppm & 20 ppm) as foliar spray. Study revealed that Spacing 45cm x 10cm + GA3 10 ppm foliar spray at 30 and 45 DAS was recorded significantly higher Seed yield (8.27 q/ha), Stover yield (27.84 q/ha) as compared to all the treatment combinations. The economic analysis clearly indicates that higher B:C ratio (2.10) recorded with treatment of spacing 45cm x 10cm + GA3 10 ppm foliar spray at 30 and 45 DAS as compared to all treatment combinations.

A field experiment was conducted in kharif-2019 at Agronomy Farm, Rajarshee Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj College of Agriculture, Kolhapur. An experiments was laid out in randomized block design with three replications and seven treatments comprising five levels of zeolite (60, 80, 100, 120 and 140 kg ha-1). Application of zeolite significantly increases chlorophyll content of paddy leaves. The highest chlorophyll content (0.84 mg kg-1 and 0.96 mg kg-1) values were recorded with application of zeolite @ 140 kg ha-1 (T7) at maximum tillering and panicle initiation stage of paddy crop and it was significantly superior over rest of the treatments except T5 (GRDF + Zeolite @ 100 kg ha-1) and T6 (GRDF + Zeolite @ 120 kg ha-1). The significantly highest values of growth parameters and yield attributing characters viz. plant height (95.67 cm), number of tillers plant-1 (24.33), number of panicles (23.33) and 1000 grain weight (26.11 g) were recorded with application of zeolite @ 140 kg ha-1 (T7) but it was at par with the treatment T5 (GRDF + Zeolite @ 100 kg ha-1) and T6 (GRDF + Zeolite @ 120 kg ha-1). There was no significant effect of application of zeolite on number of grains panicle-1. The grain and stover yields of paddy increased significantly due to zeolite application. The application of zeolite @ 140 kg ha-1 (T7) showed significantly the highest grain yield (42.94 q ha-1) and stover yield (59.20 q ha-1) but it was at par with treatment T5 (GRDF + Zeolite @ 100 kg ha-1) and T6 (GRDF + Zeolite @ 120 kg ha-1) indicating response of zeolite application upto 100 kg ha-1 (T5). The results of the present investigation indicated that the application of zeolite @ 100 kg ha-1 along with GRDF was found effective in increasing chlorophyll content, growth attributing characters and yield.

This study was performed at Agriculture research farm of Shri Guru Ram Rai University, Dehradun, (U.K), India. In order to investigate the effect of soluble nutrients with varying concentration of liquid manure on growth parameters, various yields and yield attributes of mustard crop, field experiment was carried out during summer season (2019-20) at Research Block of S.G.R.R. University, Dehradun Uttarakhand. The layout of experimental field was laid randomized block design (RBD) with 7 treatments and 3 replications. Consisting of T1 (Control), T2 RDF (NPK 12:32:16), T3 (Vermiwash) @5%, T4 (cow urine) @5%, T5 (vermiwash @5% +cow urine @ 5%), T6 (N: P: K (19:19:19) Soluble @ 2%+cow urine @ 5%)), T7 (N: P: K (19:19:19) Soluble @ 2% +vermiwash @5%). All treatments were applied two times at 20 days interval. The results indicated that among all the treatments, T7 (N: P: K (19:19:19) Soluble @ 3% +vermiwash @5%), overall was found best for farmer point of view with respect to plant height (113.3 cm), number of seeds/siliqua (18.3), test weight (1000 –seed weight) (4.36gm), seed yield (1515.9 kg/ ha), and stover yield (1851.81 kg/ ha) at harvest and net return (51407.5 rs/ha), gross return (70787.5), B:C ratio (2.65). Based on present investigation, it can be concluded that the combination of both soluble fertilizer with liquid manure are applied that improved yield and yield attributes of mustard crop under present agro-climatic conditions.

A field experiment was conducted at Langthabal Makha Leikai, Imphal West, Manipur, India during the rabi season of 2018-2019 to study the response of different rapeseed and mustard varieties on growth and yield under zero tillage conditions. The results indicated that the adoption of zero tillage had significant response on growth, yield and yield attributes on different rapeseed and mustard varieties. The variety NRCHB-101 gave the maximum seed yield (930.20 kg/ha) and stover yield (1804.45 kg/ha) while for harvest index, the variety TS-38 was found highest (34.41%). The variety NRCHB-101 recorded the maximum net return (₹23,237/ha) and benefit cost ratio (1.99) among the rapeseed and mustard varieties. From this research output, it can be concluded the variety NRCHB-101 may be used on commercial scale by the farmers in terms of productivity and profitability making mustard cultivation viable.

A field experiment was conducted at College of Horticulture, Mudigere, Chikamagalur district, Karnataka to investigate the effect of granulated lime and bio-inoculants on the productivity of French beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) under the hilly zone of Karnataka during late rabi season 2019-20. The experiment was laid out in RCBD with nine treatments replicated thrice. The treatments consisted of granulated lime at three levels (100, 75 and 50 % LR) and agriculture lime at 100 % LR, with and without bio-inoculants. RDF and FYM were common to all treatments. The liming materials were applied based on SMP (Shoemaker, Mclean and Pratt) buffer method. The results revealed that significantly higher plant height (51.1 cm), number of branches (6.88 plant-1), number of leaves (26.42 plant-1), chlorophyll content (49.64 SPAD) and dry matter accumulation (19.34 g plant-1), pod number (21.43 plant-1), pod length (15.67 cm), pod weight (177.17 g plant-1), green pod yield (12.93 t ha-1) and stover yield (2.93 t ha-1) over control.

A rise in global temperature will reduce maize yield, particularly in Africa, where maize is a staple food. Therefore, improving maize yield under heat stress will promote food security in the region. The objective of this study was to assess the influence of heat stress on the grain yield of drought-tolerant maize varieties under varied growth conditions. The experimental design used was a 2 × 3 × 3 × 2 factorial fitted into a completely randomized design with four replications. The factors were heat stress, maize variety, soil amendment, and soil type. The results showed a better yield from sandy clay loam over loamy sand soil. Varieties WE5323 and ZM1523 amended with poultry manure gave the best yield under the non-heat and heat-stressed environments, respectively. Heat stress reduced the cob weight, grain weight, grain number, and stover dry weight by 64, 73, 69, and 23%, respectively. Grain number, grain weight, and cob weight were the most informative yield attributes in this study and should be considered in a maize selection program. The ranking for the maize varieties was WE5323 &gt, ZM1523 &gt, WE3128. Drought-tolerant maize varieties can be useful in heat stress mitigation. This information is useful for the simulation of maize yields for heat stress-prone areas in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The purpose of this research is to analyze the amount and value of soybean commodity yield losses, and recommend strategic efforts and actions that should be taken to reduce yield losses. The study was conducted in Puter Village, Kembangbahu Subdistrict, Lamongan Regency in March 2020. Researchers used 15 respondents who could represent the population of soybean farmers in Puter Village as many as 122 farmers, for each stage of soybean yield loss calculation. The analysis used is the calculation of the estimated amount and value of yield loss. The results of this study indicate that the cumulative loss of soybean commodity in Puter Village is 13.13% which occurs in the stages of harvesting, drying of stover, gathering, threshing and drying of soybean seeds. Loss of storage results cannot be calculated because farmers in Puter Village sell their soybean directly after drying. The cause of this loss in soybean yields is caused by improper handling of crops and postharvest both the method and technology used. DOI : https://doi.org/10.33005/adv.v10i1.2616

The present investigation highlights and compares the direct and residual fertilizer values of maize (Zea mays L.) stover composted with Calliandra calothyrsus Meisn and Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) A. Gray-green manure on maize (Zea mays L.) and successive potato (Solanum tuberosum L.). Two field studies were installed with maize and successive potato crops in a completely randomized block design (CRBD) with three replicates. Statistical analyses were performed using R commander, version 4.0.2. Grain yields, root biomass, above ground biomass and calculated parameters (Root/Shoot ratio, Harvest Index and GinningRate) were evaluated for maize. Total potato yields were evaluated and categorized into small size tubers (SST < 35 mm) medium size tubers (MST: 35-65 mm) and big size tubers (BST > 65 mm). Treatments under evaluation were: T1=Control, T2=Farm (cow) manure alone, T3=Maize stover co-composted with Calliandra calothyrsus Meisn green manure; T4= Maize stover co-composted with Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) A. Gray green manure; T5= Farm (cow) manure+45-60-30; T6= Maize stover co-composted with Calliandra calothyrsus Meisn green manure+45-60-30; T7=Maize stover co-composted with Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) A. Gray green manure+45-60-30; and T8=Farm (cow) manure+FOMI Imbura+FOMI Totahaza. Obtained results indicated highest maize yields with FOMI organo-mineral fertilizers (2.7 T/ha) seconded by the recommended fertilizer practice T5 (2 T/ha). In the same line, highest R/S value (=0.38) was registered with the same FOMI treatment (T8), while the highest HI value (0.21) was observed with the maize stover co-composted with Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) A. Gray (T4). Highest potato total yields were observed with the maize stover compost enriched with Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) A. Gray and supplemented with mineral fertilizer (7.61 T/ha), followed by the same compost without mineral fertilizer addition (6.35 T/ha). We conclude our study with the following statements: i) the highest direct fertilizer value was observed with the FOMI treatment; ii) the residual fertilizer effects were more expressed with the maize stover co-composted with Tithonia diversifolia A. Gray green manure with or without mineral additive, followed by farm manure and maize stover enriched with Calliandra calothyrsus Meisn green manure. Consequently, we restate that the effects of compost-based organo-mineral fertilizers on crop yields should be definitely evaluated on a multiseasonal basis so as to fully capture their residual fertilizer potentials.

Xylose fermentation is an essential issue for lignocellulosic ethanol production, which is often inhibited by degradation products generated during biomass pretreatment. In this study, enzymatic hydrolysate of dilute acid pretreated corn stover was fermented using Zymomonas mobilis 8b. With the solid loading of corn stover increased from 5 to 24 wt.%, the xylose consumption volume decreased from 97.0 to 21.5%. The ethanol produced ranged from 7.8 to 28.6 g/L. In order to improve xylose consumption, corn slurry was integrated into the corn stover ethanol process. Integration strategies, glucoamylase dosage, and corn–corn stover mixing ratio were investigated. Results showed that introducing corn slurry into corn stover hydrolysate was an effective way to improve xylose fermentation as well as enhance ethanol titer. Specifically, when liquefied corn slurry was introduced into corn stover hydrolysate at the ratio of 1:1 and total solid loading of 24%, the xylose consumption volume exceeded 88% with the final ethanol titer reached 68.6 g/L. This study indicates that integration of the first- and the second-generation ethanol processes is beneficial to xylose fermentation.

Utilization of maize stover to the production of meat and milk and saving the grains for human consumption would be one strategy for the optimal usage of resources. Variance and tendency analyses were applied to find the optimal nitrogen (N) fertilization dose (0, 100, 145, 190, 240, and 290 kg/ha) for forage (F), stover (S), cob (C), and grain (G) yields, as well as the optimal grain-to-forage, cob-to-forage, and cob-to-stover ratios (G:F, C:F, and C:S, respectively). The study was performed in central Mexico (20.691389° N and −101.259722° W, 1740 m a.m.s.l., Cwa (Köppen), 699 mm annual precipitation, alluvial soils). N-190 and N-240 improved the individual yields and ratios the most. Linear and quadratic models for CDM, GDM, and G:F ratio had coefficients of determination (R2) of 0.20–0.46 (p &lt, 0.03). Cubic showed R2 = 0.30–0.72 (p &lt, 0.02), and the best models were for CDM, GDM, and the G:F, C:F, and C:S DM ratios (R2 = 0.60–0.72, p &lt, 0.0002). Neither SHB nor SDM negatively correlated with CDM or GDM (r = 0.23–0.48, 0.0001). Excess of N had negative effects on forage, stover, cobs, and grains yields, but optimal N fertilization increased the proportion of the G:F, C:F, and C:S ratios, as well as the SHB and SDM yields, without negative effects on grain production.

In some lower rainfall regions of the world (300–750 mm), common vetch (Vicia sativa L., hereafter referred to as vetch) has been shown to have yields competitive with alternate crops and provide high-quality hay for ruminant diets, but there are few studies of vetch performance as a livestock feed, or of vetch varietal differences in livestock feeding value. This study evaluated vetch varietal differences in hay nutritive value, ruminal fermentation properties, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen retention and animal performance in fattening lambs consuming a diet comprising 20% vetch. Fifty male Hu lambs with an initial BW of 17.7 ± 0.27 kg and 2–3 months of age were assigned randomly into five groups of 10 lambs, and each allocated one of five dietary treatments for 67 days (10 days of adaptation and a 57 day experimental period). All diets contained 30% maize stover, 50% concentrate, and with a different forage source (on an as-fed basis): 20% alfalfa hay (Control), 20% vetch 333A (C333A) hay, 20% vetch Lanjian No. 1 (CLJ1) hay, 20% vetch Lanjian No. 2 (CLJ2) hay, or 20% vetch Lanjian No. 3 (CLJ3) hay. Hay CLJ3 had greater contents of ash, CP, ether extract, in vitro organic matter digestibility and metabolizable energy, and lower cell wall contents (P 0.05). Compared to the Control diet, the CLJ2 and CLJ3 diets resulted in greater (P 0.05) from the Control diet. No differences (P > 0.05) were observed between dietary treatments with respect to average daily feed intake, ruminal pH, total volatile fatty acid contents and molar proportions of acetate, butyrate, valerate, isobutyrate, and isovalerate, or total tract apparent digestibility of DM, organic matter, and ADF. The feed efficiency of tested feeds ranked CLJ3 = CLJ2 > CLJ1 > Control with C333A intermediate between CLJ1 and Control. In summary, considering hay quality, nutrient digestibility and animal weight gain, performance as a ruminant feed of hays from recently released vetch cultivars Lanjian No. 2 and Lanjian No. 3 was superior to the older cultivar C333A and the alfalfa control.

Diversifying agronomic production systems by combining crops and livestock (i.e., Integrated Crop Livestock systems, ICL) may help mitigate the environmental impacts of intensive single-commodity production. In addition, harvesting row-crop residues and/or perennial biomass could increase the multi-functionality of ICL systems as a potential source for second-generation bioenergy feedstock. Here, we evaluated non-CO2 soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from both row-crop and perennial grass phases of a field-scale model ICL system established on marginally productive, poorly drained cropland in the western US Corn Belt. Soil emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) were measured during the 2017–2019 growing seasons under continuous corn (Zea mays L.) and perennial grass treatments consisting of a common pasture species, ‘Newell’ smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis L.), and two cultivars of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), ‘Liberty’ and ‘Shawnee.’ In the continuous corn system, we evaluated the impact of stover removal by mechanical baling vs. livestock grazing for systems with and without winter cover crop, triticale (x Triticosecale neoblaringhemii A. Camus, hexaploid AABBRR). In perennial grasslands, we evaluated the effect of livestock grazing vs. no grazing. We found that (1) soil N2O emissions are generally higher in continuous corn systems than perennial grasslands due to synthetic N fertilizer use, (2) winter cover crop use had no effect on total soil GHG emissions regardless of stover management treatment, (3) stover baling decreased total soil GHG emissions, though grazing stover significantly increased emissions in one year, (4) grazing perennial grasslands tended to increase GHG emissions in pastures selected for forage quality, but were highly variable from year to year, (5) ICL systems that incorporate perennial grasses will provide the most effective GHG mitigation outcomes.

Several concerns exist on the performance and health attributes of sheep fed on complete replacements of the traditional feed ingredients with dried distillers’ grain solubles (DDGS). The study intended to know the effect of DDGS on replacing the peanut cake (PNC) at 0%, 50%, 75%, and 100% in sheep fed Jowar stover-based diet. Replacing PNC with DDGS increased (P

The movement of solid material into and between unit operations within a biorefinery is a bottleneck in reaching design capacity, with formation of biomass slurries needed to introduce feedstock. Corn stover slurries have been achieved from dilute acid, pretreated materials resulting in slurry concentrations of up to about 150 g/L, above which flowability is compromised. We report a new strategy to liquefy corn stover at higher solids concentration (300 g/L) by initially cooking it with the enzyme mimetic maleic acid at 40 mM and 150 °C. This is followed by 6 h of enzymatic modification at 1 FPU (2.2 mg protein)/g solids, resulting in a yield stress of 171 Pa after 6 h and 58 Pa in 48 h compared to 6806 Pa for untreated stover. Mimetic treatment of corn stover pellets minimizes the inhibitory effect of xylo-oligomers on hydrolytic enzymes. This strategy allows for the delivery of solid lignocellulosic slurry into a pretreatment reactor by pumping, improving operability of a biorefinery.

Background Besides the use of maize grain as food and feed, maize stover can be a profitable by-product for cellulosic ethanol production, whereas the whole plant can be used for silage production. However, yield is reduced by pest damages, stem corn borers being one of the most important yield constraints. Overall, cell wall composition is key in determining the quality of maize biomass, as well as pest resistance. This study aims to evaluate the composition of the four cell wall fractions (cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and hydroxycinnamates) in diverse maize genotypes and to understand how this composition influences the resistance to pests, ethanol capacity and digestibility. Results The following results can be highlighted: (i) pests’ resistant materials may show cell walls with low p-coumaric acid and low hemicellulose content; (ii) inbred lines showing cell walls with high cellulose content and high diferulate cross-linking may present higher performance for ethanol production; (iii) and inbreds with enhanced digestibility may have cell walls poor in neutral detergent fibre and diferulates, combined with a lignin polymer composition richer in G subunits. Conclusions Results evidence that there is no maize cell wall ideotype among the tested for optimal performance for various uses, and maize plants should be specifically bred for each particular application.

Biochars are used for soil fertility improvement because they may contain certain elements that plants use as nutrients. However, few studies have demonstrated enhanced crop nutrient uptake. Our study examined nutrient uptake responses of corn (Zea Mays L.) grain and stover over 4 years (Y) after a Goldsboro sandy loam (fine-loamy, siliceous, sub-active, thermic Aquic Paleudults) received different designer biochars and a compost. The designer biochars were produced from lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) chip (PC), poultry litter (PL), blends with switchgrass (SG, Panicum virgatum), and a SG compost alone. Topsoil treated with 100% PL biochar and blended PC:PL biochar had significantly greater Mehlich 1 (M1) extractable P, K and Na contents compared to the control or other treatments. No significant differences were detected in annual grain nutrient concentrations. In the first corn stover harvest (Y1), significantly greater concentrations of P and K were taken up after treatment with 100% PL biochar, with PC:PL blend and with SG when compared to control. By the fourth corn stover harvest (Y4), nutrient uptake between treatments was not significantly different. Biochar impact on corn stover P, K and Na concentrations was time dependent, suggesting that repeated biochar applications may be needed.

Despite growing interest in humic products as crop amendments, very few field evaluations have considered environmental factors of humic product efficacy. We determined the spatial and temporal variability in the efficacy of a micronized humic product on maize (Zea mays L.) growth and grain yield in two rainfed fields supporting a maize−soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation in 2012–2014, and 2016 in central Iowa, U.S. Crop management in both fields otherwise followed conventional farmer practices. In two dry growing seasons, mechanized combine measurements of grain yield increased significantly (P < 0.10) with humic product application on an eroded hilltop soil, amounting for two application rates to 930 and 1,600 kg ha–1 (11 and 19% of the control grain yield) in 2012, the droughtiest season, and 700 kg ha–1 (7% of the control) for the higher application rate in the somewhat droughty 2013 season. On a fertile side slope soil in the 2012 field, though, only a faint numeric response occurred in 2012, while on a toe slope soil the sole significant increase was in 2012, 870 kg ha–1 (14% increase above the control) for one application rate. With favorable rainfall in 2014 and 2016, significant grain yield increases with product application were small in the upland soil of 2014 and absent in 2016. Yield components analysis on 1-m row lengths of hand-collected samples attributed these yield boosts primarily to increased ear length, especially of the shorter ears. Combine grain yields, yield components, and total leaf area all demonstrated numerically slightly greater values for humic product treatments compared to the control in the vast majority of comparisons across years and soil types, with better distinction in the upland transects. Statistical significance, though, was reached only in the droughtier settings. The humic product had no consistent effects on nutrient concentrations of the grain, stover, or young leaves. Grain quality parameters showed a slight shift from protein to carbohydrates in the droughtier settings. Fifteen soil properties showed no response to the humic product. This humic product demonstrated the capability to improve maize growth in rainfed conditions in a high-yielding region, and its efficacy varied predictably with environmental conditions. This finding provides one potential explanation for inconsistent reports elsewhere of crop responses to humic products.

A field experiment was conducted at Agronomy Research Farm of Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) during the Rabi season of 2012-13 “To Study the Effect of Organic Manures on Nutrient Uptake (Nitrogen, Phosphorus & Potassium) & Economics Of Mustard Crop. The experiment comprised of six treatments viz. one 100% fertilizer, one integrated (FYM+Fertilizer) and four 100% organic consisting various combinations of organic sources (FYM, Vermicompost, Neemcake, PSB, Azotobacter), tested in Randomized Block Design and replications three times. The basic information on the physico-chemical properties of the soil indicated that the soil of the experimental field was classified as silty loam which was low in organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus and medium in potassium. The crop recorded normal recommended cultural practices and plant protection measures. Results revealed that all the growth, nutrient uptake of nitrogen, phosphorus & potassium, yield attributes and quality increased significantly under the integrated treatment (FYM+FERETILIZER). The growth characters viz., plant height, leaf area index, dry matter accumulation and number of branches per plant and yield attributes like number of siliquae per plant, number of seed per siliqua, length of siliqua (cm), 1000 seed weight(g), biological yield, seed yield, stover yield(q ha-1), harvest index(%) and NPK uptake of mustard crop. On the basis of economics of different treatment, the maximum gross returns (Rs. 78598.00 per ha), net returns (Rs 59067.00 per ha) and Benefit:Cost ratio (3.02) was recorded under integrated treatment (FYM + fertilizer) for mustard crop.