Isolation and Characterisation of Bacterial Metabolites as Potential Wood Preservatives

The durability of wood has traditionally relied on the use of heavy metals and toxic compounds to deter wood degrading fungi. Conventional wood preservatives such as Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) have been widely used to control wood degrade for many decades, however public pressure over perceived environmental and health risks have led to recent restrictions for use in some countries. This issue has focused the need for research towards environmentally friendly (benign) wood preservatives including compounds such as plant extractives and microbial metabolites. Previously chilli waste has been shown to have moderate antifungal activity against common wood sapstain fungi. Furthermore, Lactobacillus sp. isolated from chilli showed synergistic activity with chilli against these fungi. The intention of this study was to further develop this work, by isolating and identifying the range of bacteria from chilli waste, screening for antifungal activity against wood decay fungi then investigating any possible synergy between the isolates and chilli waste. Initially a quick screening 96-well optical density assay was optimised which allowed the screening of lactic acid bacterial metabolites against wood decay fungi. This technique proved to be comparable to a commonly used growth rate method and has potential as a standard initial screening method in the laboratory. Seven isolates from chilli juice had an antifungal effect on the wood decay fungus Oligoporus placenta and were identified using 16S rRNA phylogenetic techniques as Lactobacillus brevis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides (three isolates), L. mesenteroides subsp. cremoris, L. pseudomesenteroides and Gluconobacter oxydans. Cell-free supernatants of these isolates were used to treat wood blocks which were then exposed to wood decay fungi. L. brevis metabolites showed the greatest inhibition of wood decay and were identified as lactic and acetic acids by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) amongst other techniques. The media in which the bacteria were grown also had an antifungal effect on wood decay fungi most likely due to its hygroscopicity increasing wood moisture content to a point inhibitory to decay fungi. Synergy between the bacterial metabolites and chilli juice was examined using the optical density assay and it was discovered that two bacteria showed complete inhibition of decay fungi when grown in chilli juice. However, when subjected to a wood assay, both L. brevis and L. mesenteroides subsp. cremoris did not give satisfactory control of decay fungi suggesting the main mechanism of fungal inhibition was due to increased moisture content of wood induced by the specific media initially used in this study. Further research should determine whether the isolated bacteria can be induced to increase metabolite production and if this would improve antifungal activity. Ultimately these bacterial metabolites and chilli combined or alone, may not be suitable for long term protection against wood decay, but may provide a solution to other fungal degradation issues

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

The Economic Aspects of Chilli Production in Central Java

This study analyses the economic aspects of chilli in Central Java where chilli is massively and intensively cultivated. Data for this study is compiled during 2009-2011 in three chilli producing districts: Brebes, Magelang and Rembang. Analyses is conducted using qualitative and quantitative approaches. The results indicate that many important findings related to economic aspects of chilli. There are various ranges of economic aspects across regions. The main findings is that chilli provided positive net returns, has relatively high economic risk and intensive use of chemicals. The policies related to improvement of chilli cultivation need to be formulated based on local specific constraints

Popularization of organic chilli cultivation in the Eastern Ghat high land zone of Odisha, India

The present study was conducted in the Koraput district of Odisha in India during 2012-13 and 2013-14 under National Horticulture Mission for popularization of organic chilli cultivation through frontline demonstrations.The green chilli yield of hybrid Guntur Hope varied from 5.0 t/ha to 6.67 t/ha in different FLD organic plots, where as it varied from 5.75 t/ha to 6.83t/ha in inorganic plots (Farmers Practice). The average yield in organic plots was 6.29 t/ha in comparison with average yield 6.52 t/ha of inorganic plots in farmers practice. The average cost of cultivation per ha of chilli on FLD plots was Rs.46, 100/- as against Rs. 43,400/- on inorganic plots (Farmers Practice). The cost of chilli cultivation in organic farming was comparatively higher than the conventional practice because of use of bio inputs in the field. However, the averages net return of Organic chilli in different FLD plots was Rs. 58,167/- in contrast to Rs. 43,107/- in inorganic chilli. The organic farming recorded higher net return than that of the Farmers Practice. The B:C ratio was found to be 1: 2.28 in Organic chilli and 1: 2.00 in Inorganic chilli. Organic chilli growers were highly satisfied with their organic production and economic return. Chilli farmers were advised to switch over to organic farming which can give high return and minimize environmental degradation

Migration for Hard Work: A Reluctant Livelihood Strategy for Poor Households in West Bengal, India

projects to promote poverty reduction globally. DFID provided funds for this study as part of that goal but the views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) alone

The Indonesian Verbal Suffix –Nya; Nominalization or Subordination?

The suffix ‑nya is one of the most frequent and polysemic suffixes in Indonesian. It can provide definite determination and topicalization. The “Verb‑nya“, which often appears in a topicalized subject Noun Phrase (NP), is generally labelled as a deverbal noun. Nevertheless, many syntactic constraints set it apart from Indonesian deverbal nouns. “Verb‑nya“ must be complemented by a NP, which can easily be reconstructed as a former subject: a sentence is topicalized and thus becomes a noun clause, generally the subject of the main clause Verb Phrase (VP). I argue that “Verb‑nya“ is a subordinate noun clause, almost always conveying causality. This causal noun clause, an innovation in formal written Indonesian (especially in the media), seems to fill a “gap“: the impossibility of beginning a sentence with a subordinating morpheme (‘that', ‘because')

Design development of a unit operation for chilli paste process

The traditional method of chilli paste processes essentially consists of two main unit operations, namely blending of raw ingredients and cooking of liquefied chilli paste, accompanied by manual stirring. The transferring of blended food for cooking adds clean-up work and tends to waste time and energy. Substantive continuous stirring during the cooking process is essential, but time and labour consuming. In this study, a process design of a chilli paste machine has been developed with the aim to combine the process of blending and agitated cooking in a single appliance. A new design of machine called Chilli Paste Machine has been successfully built with the intention to overcome the issues present in making chilli paste. It comprises a set of blades that enable blending or stirring of chilli paste during blending and cooking processes respectively. A heating plate is installed for heating the chilli paste. The whole operation is controlled by a Programmable-Logic-Controller (PLC) Unit which allows automated control of the desired temperature parameters. The prototype machine was tested to ensure the performances of the machine design are met. A ready-to-serve batch of chilli paste was successfully produced using this newly designed machine

Contract farming and its implications for input-supply, linkages between markets and farmers in Karnataka

This study is focused on the economic analysis of contract farming with a comparison of income, access to technology and credit of contract and non-contract farmers. The advantages of contract farming for smallholders have also been evaluated. In contract farming, quality inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and plant protection chemicals are provided to the farmers at their farm gate, coupled with the technical advice on production aspects. This not only reduces the working capital needs of farmers but also substantially reduces their transaction cost per unit of output. Borrowing of crop loans has been found 33 per cent higher by non-contract farmers than contract farmers, as the former have to buy material inputs. The net returns have been found higher for contract than non-contract farmers. Within contract farming, net returns have been recorded higher under domestic than foreign contracts for both baby corn and chilli. In the case of non-contract farmers, the net returns (Rs 3,035) have been found less than one-third of domestic contract farmers (Rs 10,610) and slightly more than one-third of foreign contract farmers (Rs 8,050). In the case of chilli also, the net returns realized per acre have been recorded maximum under domestic contract farmers, followed by foreign contract farmers and non-contract farmers. The returns per rupee invested have been noted higher in farming of baby corn in all the three categories than those of chilli farming. The constraints identified in the study include delay in payment and delivery of inputs, delay in lifting the produce, access to seeds, manupulation of grades by the buyers, and high cost of inputs in contract farming. Factors inducing farmers into contract are: low initial investment, better price for the produce, access to market, technical support on package of practices, access to inputs and easy transportation facilities.Farm Management,

Pengaruh Temperatur Dan Lama Penyimpanan Terhadap Karakteristik Fisiko-kimia Pasta Cabai (Capsicum Annuum)

- This research aimed to study the effect of storage temperatures and durations on the physico-chemical characteristics of chilli (Capsicum annuum) puree.The storage was done by using laminated aluminium foil at the storage temperature 5, 28 and 45oC for 10 weeks of storage. The characteristics observed during storage were pH, water activity and Capsaicinoid content of chilli puree. Based on the results, it can be concluded that different storage temperatures gave significant effect on water activity and Capsaicinoid content of chilli puree, storage duration gave significant effect on pH, water activity and Capsaicinoid content of chilli puree. The combination of storage temperatures and durations gave significant effect on the pH and water activity but not on the Capsaicinoid content of chilli puree