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Pulses low yield in the arid and semiarid climates are imbalanced use of chemical fertilizers and no use of organic matter (animal and crop residues incorporation). The hypothesis was tested that integrated use of potassium (K) and animal manures could increase mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) productivity and profitability in the semiarid climate of Peshawar. A field experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of organic matter (composted animal manures) (5, 10, and 15 t ha−1) and potassium (30, 45, and 60 kg ha−1) under irrigated (three irrigations, no water stress) and dryland or limited irrigated (one irrigation, water stresses before flowering and after pod formation) condition on mungbean (cv. Ramazan 92). The experiment was carried out in the summer of 2017 at Agronomy Research Farm, the results revealed that crop under no water stress had delayed phenological development (took more days to flowering, pod formation, and physiological maturity), better growth by producing taller plants with a more number of leaves, nodules, and pods plant−1, seeds pod−1, heavy 1000-grains weight, higher biological and grain yields than water stress condition. The experiment also confirmed that the combination of the highest rate of K and organic matter had improved the vegetative growth and development, and significantly increased yield and yield contributing parameters under both water stress and no stress conditions. It was concluded that mungbean yield and yield components increased with combined application of 60 kg K ha−1 + 15 t OM ha−1 under full irrigated (no water stress) and limited irrigated (water stress) conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in world population especially in developing countries, where soil fertility and health are decreasing continuously, leading to soil degradation and desertification. Water scarcity in developing countries mostly under semiarid climates is one of the major problems that decrease crop growth and yield leading to food security problems. Integrated foliar nutrients management system could improve crop growth, yield and yield components of crops under arid and semiarid climates. There is lack of research to study the impact of integrated foliar nutrients management in field crops. Therefore, two field experiments were designed (2010–11 & 2012–13) with an objective to investigate the impact of integrated foliar nutrients management on wheat productivity under the semiarid condition. In experiment one, foliar spray of sole boron (B), sole zinc (Zn) and their combination (Zn + B) was applied at various growth stages (tillering, booting and anthesis) under irrigated vs. dryland wheat. It was concluded that integrated foliar application of Zn + B in one single split (0.2% each) or two equal splits (0.1% + 0.1% each) at booting stage increased yield and yield components of wheat. In experiment two, foliar macro nutrients [phosphorus (P) and potassium (K)] and micronutrients [boron (B) and zinc (Zn)] alone and in various combinations at boot and pre-anthesis stages was investigated. The results revealed that integrated use of foliar micronutrients (Zn+B) produced the highest spikes m−2, grains spike−1 and heavy seeds (grains). On the other hand, integrated use of foliar macro nutrients along with boron (P + K + B) produced longer spikes, more spikelets spike−1 and higher grain yield. Earlier foliar nutrients spray at boot stage increased wheat productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The p-n junction (Ni/Zn)O and its reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites ((Ni/Zn)O@rGO) has been synthesized through the hydrothermal method and used for effective electrochemical determination analgesic drug acetaminophen (AAP). In addition, the XRD characteristic peak and Raman modes confirm the formation of a p-n junction (Ni/Zn)O@rGO nanocomposites. The morphology of the as-prepared nanocomposites exposes nano-sized spherical particles that were well decorated on the rGO sheets, which results in a larger surface area. Further, the incorporation rGO and (Ni/Zn)O induced the catalytic properties and electrochemical performance. The electrochemical characterization of AAP was investigated at ((Ni/Zn)O@rGO/GCE) glass carbon electrode and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) were adopted for the quantitative analysis of AAP. As a result, the prepared nanocomposite possessed great sensitivity, selectivity and stability. Further, the prepared sensor shows the wider linear range of 0.009-0.096 μM and 0.096-413 μM with a very low detection limit of 2.2 nM. Moreover, the practical applicability of the prepared sensor was tested in the pharmaceutical and human urine samples. Also, the developed method would widen the application of nanocomposites materials in the fabrications of more novel electrochemical sensing platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We described a nanocomposite material that consists of gold nanorods self-assembled on functionalized multiwalled-carbon nanotubes (Au NRs@f-MWCNTs). It was deposited on a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) which then is well suited for sensitive and selective determination of dopamine. Au NRs are prepared by silver ion-assisted seed-mediated method and the Au NRs@f-MWCNTs was prepared by self-assembly of Au NRs on f-MWCNTs. The composite was characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Raman, UV-visible, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The electrochemical analyses were carried out using inexpensive SPCE to modify nanocomposite and visualized signals by cyclic voltammetry and amperometric instrument. The electrode displays excellent electrocatalytic ability to catalyze the redox reaction of dopamine. The modified SPCE, best operated at a working potential as low as 0.12 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), responds linearly to dopamine in the 3.5 nM to 1550 μM concentration range. The detection limit is 5.0 × 10-10 (±0.82) M, and the sensitivity is 4.04 (±0.58) μA.μM-1.cm-2. The limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method was 16.6 × 10-10 (±1.2) M. The sensor has good selectivity, appreciable stability, and reproducibility. It was applied to the determination of dopamine in (spiked) human serum and rat brain samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we systematically reported the capability of T. harzianum RY44 for decolorization of Mordant orange-1. The fungi strains were isolated from the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia tropical rain forest. For initial screening, the decolorization was conducted using 50 strains of the fungi for 20 days incubation time and the best performance was selected. Then, the decolorization capability and fungal biomass were evaluated using different dye concentrations, namely, 0, 50, 75 and 100 ppm. Effects of the carbon sources (fructose, glucose, and galactose), nitrogen sources (ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate and yeast extract), surfactant (tween 80), aromatic compounds (benzoic acid, catechol and salicylic acid), and pH on the decolorization efficiency were examined. This study has found that the employed carbon sources, nitrogen sources, and aromatic compounds strongly enhance the decolorization efficiency. In addition, increasing the surfactant volume and pH generally decreased the decolorization efficiencies from 19.5 to 9.0% and 81.7 to 60.5%, respectively. In the mechanism philosophy, the present work has found that Mordant orange-1 were initially degraded by T. harzianum RY44 to benzoic acid and finally transformed into salicylic acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimentation was carried out in Sahiwal, Sargodha, Pakistan to evaluate the contamination level in wheat variety (Millat-2011), irrigated with different treatments of household waste water in a Completely Randomized Design with three repetitions. There were five treatments viz. T1 (100% ground water), T2 (25% wastewater, 75% groundwater), T3 (50% wastewater, 50% ground water), T4 (75% wastewater, 25% ground water), T5 (100% wastewater). Analyzed parameters were heavy metal concentration in wheat and soil, metal correlation between food crop and soil, pollution load index, bioconcentration factor, health risk index, daily-intake of metals, and enrichment factor. Current results showed that concentration of heavy metals and metalloids in soil and grains increased due to supply of waste water. Cr, Cd, Ni, Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn showed significantly positive correlation while Co showed positive but non-significant correlation in all treatment groups. Mn showed highest bio-concentration factor and enrichment factor values while Cd showed highest health risk index, daily metal intake and pollution load index values. Level of metal toxicity in humans could increase due to irrigation of food crops with untreated waste water. Hence application of waste water must be avoided or its proper treatment before application to agricultural fields must be done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dietary intake of contaminated crops with heavy metals causes serious human health risks. The current study focused on the atomic absorption analysis of Zn, Cu, Co, Pb, Mn, Fe, Cd, and Cr in the wheat grains and soil using pot experiment conducted in Sargodha, Pakistan. Results showed that the Zn concentration in wheat grains increased with continuous wastewater utilization. Except cadmium, mean concentration of other heavy metals was within permissible limits in the soil. A significant and positive correlation was also observed for Cu, Pb, and Cr between soil and crop. The application of wastewater for longer period of time caused enrichment factor and health risk index to be increased considerably suggesting that proper management is required for treating domestic wastewater to prevent potential health risks via dietary intake of crops contaminated with heavy metals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the rice–wheat cropping system (RWS), the continuous cropping of rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) deplete soil fertility, and reduce crop growth and total rice biomass. In RWS, both phosphorus (P) and zinc (Zn) deficiencies are considered important nutritional constraints for reducing rice crop growth rates (CGR) and total biomass/biological yield (BY). The objective of this experiment was to investigate the impact of phosphorus (0, 40, 80, 120 kg P ha−1) and zinc rates (0, 5, 10, 15 kg Zn ha−1) on CGR and BY of three rice genotypes [fine (Bamati-385) versus coarse (Fakhre-e-Malakand and Pukhraj)] in Northwestern Pakistan during summer 2011 (Y1) and 2012 (Y2). The results revealed that higher CGR at various growth stages and total BY was obtained with the integrated use of higher phosphorus (80 and 120 kg P ha−1) and zinc rates (10 and 15 kg Zn ha−1). The lower CGR and BY were recorded when P and Zn were not applied (control) or when P and Zn were applied alone. In the case of rice genotypes, the highest CGR and BY were recorded for the hybrid rice (Pukhraj) than the other two genotypes. The CGR was increased to the highest level at the heading stage as compared to tillering and physiological maturity. The increase in CGR had a positive impact on the total BY of rice cultivars. The increase in BY had a positive relationship with grain yield and grower's income. It was concluded from the study that the combined application of higher P and Zn rates to the coarse rice genotypes (Fakhre-e-Malakand and Pukhraj) could increase CGR, total BY, crop productivity and profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous cropping of rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) deplete soil fertility and reduce crop productivity as well as zinc (Zn) concentrations in rice grains and straw. Low Zn concentrations in rice grains have a negative impact on human health, while low Zn concertation in rice straw creates a nutritional problem for animals. The current high yielding rice varieties and hybrids remove large quantities of Zn from the soils, lowering the residual concentrations of soil Zn for the subsequent crop (e.g., wheat). Field experiments were conducted on farmers field in Malakand with the objective to evaluate the impact of various combinations of phosphorus (0, 40, 80, and 120 kg ha−1) and Zn levels (0, 5, 10, and 15 kg ha−1) on biofortification of Zn in grains and straw of rice genotypes [fine (Bamati-385) vs. coarse (Fakhre-e-Malakand and Pukhraj)]. The results revealed that Zn biofortification in rice genotypes increased with the integrated use of both nutrients (P + Zn) when applied at higher rates (80 and 120 kg P ha−1, and 10 and 15 kg Zn ha−1, respectively). The biofortification of Zn in both grains and straw was higher in the coarse than fine rice genotypes (Pukhraj > Fakhre-e-Malakand > Basmati-385). It was concluded from this study that the application of higher P and Zn levels increased Zn contents in rice parts (grains and straw) under the rice-wheat system. We also concluded from this study that Zn concentrations in rice grains and straw are influenced by plant genetic factors and Zn management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous cropping of rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) deplete soil fertility, reduced crop productivity, and grower's income. Phosphorus (P) and zinc (Zn) deficiencies are considered important nutritional constraints under rice-wheat cropping system. One strategy to increase crop productivity and grower's income under the rice-wheat system is the balanced application of P and Zn fertilizers. The objective of this research was to evaluate the impact of sole and various combinations of P (0, 40, 80, and 120 kg ha−1) and Zn levels (0, 5, 10, and 15 kg ha−1) on productivity (grain yield and yield components) and profitability (net returns) of different rice genotypes (cultivars) (fine (cv.Bamati-385) vs. coarse (cv. Fakhre-e-Malakand and cv. Pukhraj)) and their residual effect on the income of the succeeding wheat crop (cv. Siran-2010). The results revealed that both rice and wheat productivity and profitability was higher with the combined application of both nutrients at higher rates (80 and 120 kg P ha−1 and 10 and 15 kg Zn ha−1). The highest productivity and profitability was obtained with the cultivation of hybrid rice "Pukhraj" (Pukhraj > Fakhre-e-Malakand > Basmati-385). It was concluded from this study that application of higher P and Zn levels and growing of hybrid rice increased productivity and profitability under the rice-wheat cropping system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]