Impact evaluation of some crops integrated pest management systems on microorganisms and soil arthropods

The paper presents the results of experiments aimed at determining the ecologicalfunctionality of pests management model in order to stimulate the biological control agents in sunflower, barley and peas crops. The environmental quality and bio-monitoring of the experimental parcels by identifying communities of soil microorganisms and arthropod populations was performed. For microbiological characterization of experimental fields, representative samples of soil were collected and analyzed. The main groups of microorganisms isolated from samples analyzed are entomogenic microorganisms belonging to the following genera: Aspergillus, Bacillus, Penicillium, Beauveria, Alternaria, Trichotecium, Trichoderma and Fusarium. Entomological methods of observation and sampling of biological material were used to studied the arthropod populations

ANTIMICOTIC ACTIVITY OF OCIMUM BASILICUM ESSENTIAL OIL AGAINST STORED FUNGI

The use of indigenous products as an alternative for the biocontrol of mycotoxigenic fungi has become a key factor due to the negative impact of synthetic fungicides towards environment and human health. They are widely used in medicine for these purposes. Essential oils (EOs) have been long recognized for their antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties. Worldwide, at the scientific community level there have been discovered a series of plant bioactive eco-friendly principles, and were performed a multitude of researches regarding the potential of essentials oils and mixture of organic volatile compounds, as alternative insecticides and antimicrobial fumigants for a sustainable agricultural production. EOs and their components show promising activities against many pathogens and spoilage microorganisms when tested in vitro. Among promising alternative methods to control food spoilage much attention is being paid to the use of essential oils (EOs), and lately also to their activity in vapor phase. Ocimum basilicum, commonly known as basil, is an aromatic annual herb and an important economic crop. The paper presents a study regarding the activity of basil volatile essential oil towards the growth and development of stored pathogenic fungi

Local analysis of airflow distribution in open concept passive houses

This paper presents the analysis of local air currents distribution near the inlet and outlet openings in a living room of study a pre-certified passive house located in Cluj-Napoca by CFD numerical simulation. The simulation domain is represented by an open space concept, comprising the living room and the kitchen, situated at the ground floor of the building. The used heat recovery ventilation system controls both the supply of fresh air through the inlet grilles, located on the floor of the living room and the extraction of exhaust air through outlet grilles with circular cross section positioned on the other side, in the kitchen’s ceiling. An area of interest has been selected to define the simulation domain. Numerical modeling has been carried out by means of a commercial software based on the finite element method to simulate a series of interconnected phenomena encountered in the analysed application. The dry air was chosen as working agent for the field of simulation/calculation. Its thermo-physical properties were selected from the program database. No slip limit conditions have been imposed for all the delimiting surfaces of the computational field. Inlet and outlet grilles were considered open borders for circulated air volume flow in three distinct analysed cases. For the simulation of the flow of the working fluid through the computational domain, the following simplifying assumptions were considered: stationary regime, incompressible fluid, constant temperature, isothermal jet, adiabatic system, without internal heat sources, without taking into account the mass forces. The discretization of the simulation domain was divided into an optimal number of finite variable elements, with a greater density near the border areas. The results of air currents distribution in the vicinity of grid areas, for inlet fresh air and outlet exhaust air, was done by analyzing the current lines, the velocity vectors and the velocity contours

Bioactive Compounds Extraction Using a Hybrid Ultrasound and High-Pressure Technology for Sustainable Farming Systems

In the context of agricultural soil degradation caused by the extensive use of chemical amendments, ecological alternatives with minimal detrimental impact on ecosystems are gaining popularity. Recent advancements in processing technologies have improved the quality and extraction efficiency of bioactive compounds, particularly when multiple conventional or innovative techniques are being used to potentially overcome the most common limitations. This paper proposes the development and testing of a hybrid technology design that employs two extraction techniques, namely ultrasound and high pressure, that can be used either separately or in tandem. An initial assessment of the prototype potential for isolating the desired compounds was made, by testing three various working regimens for the processing of a mixture of onion, pea, and soybean. By incorporating the bioactive compounds produced during the experimental phase in the seedling transplantation holes, we were able to test the potential of stimulating the development rate of vegetables and reducing the attack of pests. The extracts obtained using the hybrid technology showed positive results when used to reduce pest attacks (decreasing average attack frequency by 7%), however had negative effects when used to promote biostimulation, when acted as an inhibitor. The hybrid extraction approach improved the mass transfer into solvent by 14% when compared to high-pressure processing and by 7% when compared to sonication