Response of Eggplant to Integrated Approaches for Sustainable Reclamation and Improvement of a Cheringa Hot Spot of Acid Sulfate Soil

The application of basic slag (BS20 and BS30: basic slag 20 and 30 t ha-1) and aggregate size (A20 and A30: aggregate sizes of soil less than 20 and 20-30 mm) and different techniques (Tech 1: pyrite at top, jarosite at middle, and top soil at the bottom of ridge; Tech 2: top soil at top, pyrite at middle, and jarosite layer at the bottom of ridge) exerted significant (p≤0.05) positive effects on the growth and yield of eggplants cultivated under field condition and the effects varied not only with the kinds and amounts of amending materials but also with the techniques applied. The soil showed a silty clay loam texture, initial pH value of 4.1, pyrite content of 55 g kg-1, base saturation of 47%, ECe value of 3.6 dS m-1, high exchangeable Fe3+ and Al3+ contents of 1.47 and 5.29 cmolc kg-1, respectively. The pH value of the average soil data obtained from all the treatments during fruit set (95 days after transplantation) of eggplants was found to be increased in pH by 1.2 units higher compared with the control (i.e. initial pH value). The contents of P, K, Ca and Mg in the average soil data during fruit set were found to be increased (IOC = increased over control) by 41 to 127% IOC, while the contents of Al3+, Fe3+, Na+, Cl- and SO4 2- in the soil were found to be decreased by 28 to 92% IOC. The different treatments on eggplants grown under the modified-plain-ridge-ditch techniques in the Cheringa acid sulfate soil significantly (0≤0.05) increased the fresh yield of eggplants, and the increment was more pronounced with Tech 2. The maximum yield of 17.8 t ha-1 of eggplant for Tech 1 and 20.1 t ha-1 for Tech 2 were recorded by the application of BS30 in the soils of smaller aggregates (A20) at the ridges of Tech 2, followed by the A30BS30 treatments in both the techniques. The lowest quantity of 1.7 t ha-1 yield was recorded by the control treatment. The eggplants grown in the ridges of both the techniques exhibited the best responses on N, P, K, Ca and Mg contents in eggplant tissues during fruit set. As expected, the lowest contents of these nutrients in the eggplants were recorded in the control treatment. Sulfur content of the eggplants grown in the control plots was 3.6 g kg-1 and was in the range of adequate S content (4 g kg-1). However, the S contents in the eggplants grown in different treatments were significantly (p≤0.01) lower compared with the adequate level. The effectiveness of the treatments for the reclamation of the soil in relation to the growth of eggplants was: Tech 2 > Tech 1, BS30 > BS20, and A20 > A30. The results suggest that the physicochemical properties of the soil, and the growth, yield and nutrition of eggplants were strikingly improved by the application of flash leaching followed by BS30 and A20 treatments in the ridges of Tech 2, and are regarded as the best reclamation measures for this acid sulfate soil

Exploring the interplay of mode of discourse and proficiency level in ESL writing performance

Recent theory in discourse and practice in rhetoric has suggested that writers require different skills and strategies when writing for different purposes, and in using different genres and modes (Kinneavy, 1972; Carrell and Connor, 1991) in writing. The importance of taking into account these various aspectual skills and forms of writing is recognised in teaching (e.g. Scarcella and Oxford, 1992), and in the assessment of writing (e.g. Odell and Cooper, 1980). For instance, Odell and Cooper argued that any claims about writing ability cannot be made until students’ performance on a variety of writing tasks has been examined. Thus, the issue of what writing task(s) are to be included in a test is crucial, since a task will be regarded as useless if it does not provide the basis for making generalisations regarding an individual’s writing ability. This paper presents the findings of a study on the effects of mode of discourse on L2 writing performance as well as the interplay between learner variable, namely, proficiency level and task variable, mode of discourse amongst Malaysian upper secondary ESL learners. The findings provide some evidence for the need to re-examine issues of reliability and validity in test practice of manipulating variables in the design of assessment tasks to evaluate ESL writing performance. Given the status and complexity of the writing skill, it stands to reason that studies into this area will continue to shed light onto how best the construct can be understood, taught and tested to give a fair chance for language learners to exhibit their true ability and be reliably reported on

Effects of Basic Slag, Aggregate Size and Groundwater Treatments on the Production of Chilli in Acid Sulfate Soils in a Simulation Study

A simulation study was conducted to evaluate the effects of basic slag (BS10 and BS20: basic slag 10 and 20 t ha-1), aggregate size (A20 and A30: aggregate sizes of soil, less than 20 and 20-30 mm) and groundwater depth (Gw0: no influence of groundwater and Gw50: groundwater beneath 50 cm of the soil surface) as physico-chemical amendments in two pre-leached (leached for a week through tap water to remove excessive acidity and salinity from the soil before transplantation) acid sulfate soils of Badarkhali (Salidic Sulfaquept) and Cheringa (Typic Sulfic Halaquept) series in relation to the production of Chilli (Capsicum annum L.). Maximum growth and yield of chilli were recorded by the treatment combining A30Gw50BS20 in both the Cheringa (green chilli weight: 4.82 t ha-1) and Badarkhali (4.51 t ha-1) soils. The application of basic slag (BS20) was found to be the most effective among the individual treatments, followed by the BS10 > A30 > Gw50 treatments. The application of BS20 increased the yield in combination with the Gw0 treatment by 40% for A20, while by 107% for A30 in the Badarkhali soil. On the other hand, in the case of Gw50, these increments were 49 and 141% for A20 and A30, respectively. The application of BS at the highest rate (BS20) to the Cheringa soil was more effective compared with the A20 and A30 treatments in the Badarkhali soil. The same rate of BS20 in combination with the Gw50 treatment increased the yield by 59 to 147% in the Cheringa soil compared with 49 to 141% in the Badarkhali soil. Almost similar and significant (p≤0.05) effects were observed for the other growth parameters of chilli cultivated in both soil series

Image Processing with Dipole-Coupled Nanomagnets: Noise Suppression and Edge Enhancement Detection

Hardware based image processing offers speed and convenience not found in software-centric approaches. Here, we show theoretically that a two-dimensional periodic array of dipole-coupled elliptical nanomagnets, delineated on a piezoelectric substrate, can act as a dynamical system for specific image processing functions. Each nanomagnet has two stable magnetization states that encode pixel color (black or white). An image containing black and white pixels is first converted to voltage states and then mapped into the magnetization states of a nanomagnet array with magneto-tunneling junctions (MTJs). The same MTJs are employed to read out the processed pixel colors later. Dipole interaction between the nanomagnets implements specific image processing tasks such as noise reduction and edge enhancement detection. These functions are triggered by applying a global strain to the nanomagnets with a voltage dropped across the piezoelectric substrate. An image containing an arbitrary number of black and white pixels can be processed in few nanoseconds with very low energy cost

Incoherent magnetization dynamics in strain mediated switching of magnetostrictive nanomagnets

Micromagnetic studies of the magnetization change in magnetostrictive nanomagnets subjected to stress are performed for nanomagnets of different sizes. The interplay between demagnetization, exchange and stress anisotropy energies is used to explain the rich physics of size-dependent magnetization dynamics induced by modulating stress anisotropy in planar nanomagnets. These studies have important implications for strain mediated ultralow energy magnetization change in nanomagnets and its application in energy-efficient nanomagnetic computing systems.Comment: main paper and supplemen