Cultivation and analysis of anthocyanins containing-, blue potatoes

Anthocyanins, as secondary plant substance in different agricultural crops such as potatoes and cereals have positive effects on health due to their antioxidant capacity. Therefore food industry, nutritional medicine and consumers have an increasing interest in these crops. The objectives of the interdisciplinary research project (AGIP) starting in march 2006 are ascertainment and assessment of the impact of different agricultural production processes and production intensities. Furthermore, the impact of different ways of food preparation concerning anthocyanin content and antioxidative capacity in selected cultivated plants will be tested. Main focus will be on potatoes due to the fact that potatoes as a staple food are consumed in large quantities. Therefore potatoes can be an important quantitative source for anthocyanins

Cultivation and analysis of anthocyanin containing types of potatoes in organic farming regarding cultivability and additional health benefits

In a two year research project a representative spectrum of blue potato varieties were cultivated and tested in detail regarding disease infestation, yield potential and the influence of production systems (organic). Cultivation recommendations for blue potatoes could be deduced from this. Furthermore the varying anthocyanin content as well as the antioxidant capacity of the varieties used was analysed. Varieties with a particularly high content will undergo further tests to show the influence of the manner of preparation (boiling, steaming, frying) and determine their use for the processing industry. The combination of ecologically produced potatoes with „additional health benefits“ arouses the customers interest. The cultivation of high yield blue types can be an alternative to the cultivation of yellow fleshed high yield varieties in organic operating companies

Bildanalytische Farberkennung zur Geschwindigkeitsregulierung beim Jäteflieger im ökologischen Möhrenanbau

Weed control in organic carrot production is time and cost intensive. There are several practicable techniques available for inter-row weed control, but the most sensitive area - ted by manual weeding. Weed regulation is usually done in uniform operations for one field, but weeds appear in a huge spatial variability, reflecting heterogeneous soil and climate conditions. Following the idea of precision farming, we developed a concept for camera-based weed detection, which displays the density as recommendation for velocity adaptation for the driver. The system was tested against the usual weeding with one constant velocity in a field trial with randomized plots. By using the new technology it was possible to increase the area performance by higher average velocities without reducing the weeding quality compared to the usual system. The next step of this low-cost component approach would be a complete implementation into the tractor system with the possibility of automatically velocity regulations

Kartoffeln mit Zusatznutzen – Antioxidative Kapazität und Erträge ausgewählter blau- und rotfleischiger Kartoffelsorten im ökologischen und integrierten Landbau

In a three year research project a representative spectrum of coloured potato varieties were cultivated and tested in detail regarding yield potential and the influence of production systems (organic/integrated). The varying anthocyanin content as well as the antioxidant capacity of the types used were analysed to determine their potential health benefits. Types with a particularly high content undergo further tests to show the influence of the manner of preparation (boiling, steaming, frying) and determine their use for the processing industry. The cultivation of high yield blue types can be an alternative to the cultivation of yellow fleshed high yield types in organic or integrated operating farm companies

Bestimmung der N-Fixierung unterschiedlicher Wintererbsengenotypen im Vergleich zu einer Sommererbse in Rein- und Gemengesaat

In organic farming the cultivation of leguminous crops is one of the most important sources of nitrogen (N). However, regarding the amount of N fixed, there are hardly any published data for winter peas. Therefore, the N fixation of five regular leafed winter peas types and one semi-leafless spring pea cultivar in single and mixed cropping (with winter rye spring cereals respectively) was measured in four successive growing seasons (2003/04 – 2006/07) at the experimental farm of the University of Kassel and in two consecutive vegetation periods (2005/06 - 2006/07) at the experimental farm of the University of Applied Science in Osnabrueck. The amount of N fixed was calculated according to the extended difference method at the beginning of flowering and at grain harvest. N fixation was usually higher for winter peas than for spring pea. At the beginning of flowering the amount of N fixed in pure stands was with a mean value of 92 kg ha-1 for winter peas and 29 kg ha-1 for the spring pea higher than in mixture with a mean value of 42 and 15 kg ha-1 respectively. At grain harvest the amount of N fixed for the spring pea in pure stands was higher than in mixtures with a mean of 65 and 33 kg ha-1 respectively. On the other hand the N fixation for winter peas was usually comparable in pure and mixed stands with a mean of 100 and 86 kg ha-1 respectively. This was a consequence of the higher pea grain yield in mixture than in pure stands and of a reduced biomass (leaves) loss in mixtures. Therefore, regular leaf winter peas can contribute to the N supply of the crop rotation better than spring peas

Preanalytical processing of archaeological mammal enamel apatite carbonates for stable isotope investigations: a comparative analysis of the effect of acid treatment on samples from Northwest Australia

Stable isotopic analysis of palaeontological and archaeological biogenic apatite carbonates from herbivorous mammalian species represents an important tool for worldwide palaeoecological research. Tooth enamel carbonates are more resistant to taphonomic processes than bone or dentine carbonates but are not invulnerable to diagenesis. As such, they require careful preanalytical processing that considers depositional environment and age. An established part of this process includes a weak acid treatment to remove soluble exogenous carbonates; however, published treatment times for isotopic studies of archaeological tooth enamel are variable and range from 15\ua0min to over 8\ua0hr. This study tests three different pretreatment protocols on modern and Pleistocene age archaeological kangaroo teeth (dating from contemporary to 46,000 bp) to assess the effect of acid treatment time on isotopic integrity. The results indicate that treatment time is a critical parameter for producing consistency across results and shorter pretreatments of 4\ua0hr or less are preferable for removing diagenetic carbonates while minimising alteration of the biological signal

Impacts of elevated dissolved CO2 on a shallow groundwater system: reactive transport modeling of a controlled-release field test

One of the risks that CO2 geological sequestration imposes on the environment is the impact of potential CO2/brine leakage on shallow groundwater. The reliability of reactive transport models predicting the response of groundwater to CO2 leakage depends on a thorough understanding of the relevant chemical processes and key parameters affecting dissolved CO2 transport and reaction. Such understanding can be provided by targeted field tests integrated with reactive transport modeling. A controlled-release field experiment was conducted in Mississippi to study the CO2-induced geochemical changes in a shallow sandy aquifer at about 50 m depth. The field test involved a dipole system in which the groundwater was pumped from one well, saturated with CO2 at the pressure corresponding to the hydraulic pressure of the aquifer, and then re-injected into the same aquifer using a second well. Groundwater samples were collected for chemical analyses from four monitoring wells before, during and after the dissolved CO2 was injected. In this paper, we present reactive transport models used to interpret the observed changes in metal concentrations in these groundwater samples. A reasonable agreement between simulated and measured concentrations indicates that the chemical response in the aquifer can be interpreted using a conceptual model that encompasses two main features: (a) a fast-reacting but limited pool of reactive minerals that responds quickly to changes in pH and causes a pulse-like concentration change, and (b) a slow-reacting but essentially unlimited mineral pool that yields rising metal concentrations upon decreased groundwater velocities after pumping and injection stopped. During the injection, calcite dissolution and Ca-driven cation exchange reactions contribute to a sharp pulse in concentrations of Ca, Ba, Mg, Mn, K, Li, Na and Sr, whereas desorption reactions control a similar increase in Fe concentrations. After the injection and pumping stops and the groundwater flow rate decreases, the dissolution of relatively slow reacting minerals such as plagioclase drives the rising concentrations of alkali and alkaline earth metals observed at later stages of the test, whereas the dissolution of amorphous iron sulfide causes slowly increasing Fe concentrations

A Langmuir Probe Diagnostic for Use in Inhomogeneous, Time-Varying Plasmas Produced by High-Energy Laser Ablation

Langmuir probes (LP) are used extensively to characterize plasma environments produced by radio frequency, pulsed plasma thrusters, and laser ablation. We discuss here the development of a LP diagnostic to examine high-density, high-temperature inhomogeneous plasmas such as those that can be created at the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics OMEGA facility. We have configured our diagnostic to examine the velocity of the plasma expanding from the target. We observe velocities of approximately 16-17 cm/{micro}s, with individual LP currents displaying complex structures, perhaps due to the multiple atomic species and ionization states that exist

Looking for leakage or monitoring for public assurance?

Monitoring is a regulatory requirement for all carbon dioxide capture and geological storage (CCS) projects to verify containment of injected carbon dioxide (CO2) within a licensed geological storage complex. Carbon markets require CO2 storage to be verified. The public wants assurances CCS projects will not cause any harm to themselves, the environment or other natural resources. In the unlikely event that CO2 leaks from a storage complex, and into groundwater, to the surface, atmosphere or ocean, then monitoring methods will be required to locate, assess and quantify the leak, and to inform the community about the risks and impacts on health, safety and the environment. This paper considers strategies to improve the efficiency of monitoring the large surface area overlying onshore storage complexes. We provide a synthesis of findings from monitoring for CO2 leakage at geological storage sites both natural and engineered, and from monitoring controlled releases of CO2 at four shallow release facilities – ZERT (USA), Ginninderra (Australia), Ressacada (Brazil) and CO2 field lab (Norway)