Frictional resistance of geotextiles

The pullout resistance of geotextiles was examined using pullout tests. A suitable wooden box with large (2 ft x 2 ft x 4 ft) dimensions was used to avoid the effect of boundary and to simulate field conditions. Two types of failure patterns were observed. For shallow embedment (\u3c3 ft), geotextile produced a movement of the surrounding mass of sand in the shape of an inverted cone due to interlocking friction between geotextile and sand particles. The cone angle decreases with increase in depth of embedment. For embedment equal to or greater than 3 ft., no sand cone developed and the failure occurred along the interface of geotextile and sand. For 1 ft. surcharge, the increase in the pullout resistance due to combined horizontal and vertical embedment was about 30 %

Assessment of soil carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation potential under conservation agriculture (CA) practices in the Eastern Gangetic Plains

Conservation agriculture (CA) cropping is based on the principles of minimum soil disturbance, permanent soil cover with crop residue retention and crop rotations with diverse crops. The CA cropping performs well in improving soil health, increasing yield and increasing crop profit in the intensive rice-based, triple–cropping systems on the Eastern Gangetic Plain (EGP), but its effects on the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the dynamics of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in the soil has not been studied properly. Two experiments lasting 5 years have examined soil C, N and life cycle GHG emissions in the EGP plains’ intensive rice (Oryza sativa L.)–based cropping soils of Bangladesh. The present study employed a streamlined life cycle assessment (LCA) approach to assess implications of GHGs from CA cropping in comparison with conventional cropping. Minimum disturbance of soil and increased residue retention were assessed at both long-term studies involving rice-based triple cropping systems at Durgapur and Godagari in the EGP since 2010. Component crops of the rice-based systems (lentil (Lens culinaris Medik), mustard (Brassica campestris L.), chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), jute (Corchorus olitorius L.), early wet season rice & mustard) were established by strip planting (SP) and bed planting (BP), or following 3-4 tillage operations by 2-wheel tractor followed by hand-broadcast seeding and fertilizing (CT). All practices were compared with the conventional low residue retention or increased retention. In case of irrigated and rainfed rice, non-puddled (NP) transplanting were adopted in SP and BP; while soil puddling was used for CT. The life cycle GHG t-1 crop or rice equivalent yield (REY) were assessed under four practices of cropping a) traditional crop establishment practices (CT) with farmers’ practice of residue return (LR), b) CT with return of increased residues (HR); c) strip planting (SP for upland crop)/ transplanting on non-puddled soils (NP for rice) with LR or; d) SP/NP with HR. The cropping systems studied in the long-term trials were mustard-irrigated rice-monsoon rice at Alipur and wheat-jute-monsoon rice at Digram sites. The SP/NP of soils with HR sequestered carbon in soils after five years of cropping at both the locations, relative to current practices of cropping by farmers (CTLR). The increased soil C was associated with reduced CO2eq emissions (13 to 59 % lower than those under CT and BP with LR and HR, respectively, relative to SOC), reduced water soluble carbon (WSC, by 15-23 mg kg-1, relative to CT with LR and HR) contents in soils and increased potentially mineralizable C (PMC) and lower decay rate constant (e.g. 50 % in rice soils). Similarly, at each location (0–10 cm soil depth), SP, including NP, together with HR increased total N by 9 and 32 % relative to BPHR and CTHR and by 62 % relative to the current practice (CTLR), respectively. The increased total N in soil resulted from the increased potentially mineralisable N (PMN) with its low decay rate in soil under all crops with SPHR, relative to other tillage and residue retention practices. The total mineralisation of N in soils under SPHR was statistically equal to (in wheat and jute cropping) or was lower (in mustard and rice cropping) than those under CT with HR. However, soils under SP with residue retention practices had synchronized release of N with crop demand, while CT with LR or HR had increased mineralization during 0–45 days of crop establishment. Conservation agriculture involving SP, and NP of rice, together with HR, has altered the C and N cycling. The alterations were occurred by slowing the early mineralisation of N, reducing the level of mineral N available to plants in the early growing season (low N requirement) but increasing soil total N and plant N uptake by enhancing the synchrony between crop demand and available N supply. In case of C cycling, SP/BP with HR at both the locations modified the C cycle by slowing the in-season turnover of C and by increasing the levels of total organic C in the soil. For all crops in the mustard-irrigated rice-monsoon rice cropping system, SP/NP with LR and HR were the best actual life cycle GHG mitigation option. With the considerable accumulation of SOC (3.8 - 4.2 t CO2eq ha-1) in SP/NP at 0 10 cm soil depth after 5 years in comparison with CT, the life cycle GHG savings with the best mitigation practice (SP/NP with LR) for 1 t of rice-equivalent yield were 46 % relative to CT with LR. Production of 1 t of REY in the rice–based system caused 0.73, 0.74, 0.98 and 1.12 t of CO2eq LCA GHG emission (actual). Production of 1 t of irrigated rice in the EGP after accounting for C sequestered in soils accounted for 0.91, 0.95, 1.25 and 1.41 t CO2eq for NPLR, NPHR, CTLR and CTHR, respectively, whereas the LCA GHGs for the production of 1 t of monsoon rice were 1.10, 1.21, 1.4 and 1.65 t, respectively. For each unit RE mustard production, NPLR, NPHR, CTLR and CTHR were responsible for 0.09, 0.18, 0.31 and 0.29 t CO2eq, respectively. Overall, methane (CH4) released during the on-farm stage of the LCA represented the dominant contributor to LCA GHG in the cropping system. The GHG emitted by machinery usage at on-farm stage (irrigated rice), CO2 emission from soil respiration (monsoon rice), and GHG related to inputs manufacture (REY of mustard) were secondary sources in that order of magnitude. The NPLR and NPHR were the most effective GHG mitigation options when sequestered C was taken into account in footprints of component crops of rice-based rice-upland cropping system. The NPLR and NPHR practices avoided 51 % and 35 % of the actual LCA footprints compared with CTHR and current farmers’ practice, respectively. By not including soil C sequestration in the carbon footprint equation, the life cycle GHG estimates were over-estimated by 9 to 26 %. When soil C sequestration estimated by subtracting C losses from net primary production (NPP) was accounted for in the LCA GHG, the largest decrease in LCA GHG by 20 % was recorded in NPHR but LCA GHG increased by 12 % in CTLR. Overall, the NPLR and NPHR were the most effective GHG mitigation options in production of crops of mustard-irrigated rice-monsoon rice system but NPHR offered yield benefit and its higher CH4 emission was offset by the extra soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. The emerging CA approaches being developed for the EGP involving strip planting or NP have the potential to mitigate GWP of intensive rice-based triple cropping systems but further study is needed for a more diverse range of rice-dominant and rice-based triple cropping systems

Challenges and Prospects of Poultry Industry in Bangladesh

Poultry industry is one of the most promising sectors for Bangladesh. This industry can provide various opportunities to increase GDP growth rate plus equitable distribution through arranging food security as well as ensuring self -employment, creating purchasing power and reducing poverty at a large scale. About 44 per cent of daily human intake of animal protein comes from livestock products. The poultry industry has been supplying quality protein to the people of Bangladesh at the lowest price in the world. The study outlined major concerns focusing on the entire problems. The followings points have been finally consider as comprehensive issues; lack of quality chicks, high price of feed, marketing problem, insufficient bank loan, lack of quality vaccine, the vaccine price is very high and bird flu. It is observed that to import poultry related products huge amount of valuable foreign exchange will be spent. We have proposed for providing subsidy to the local industry and protect safeguard to the local entrepreneurs of the poultry industry. Keywords: Poultry, Problem, Prospect, Dropping, Banglades

Study of Hybrid Photovoltaic Thermal (PV/T) Solar System with Modification of Thin Metallic Sheet in the Air Channel.

The increase of the temperature of PV module gradually decreases the electricity production. To eliminate this problem thermal collector is incorporated with the PV module to allow PV cooling. It has been found that PV cooling increases the electricity production and allows the extra heat to be absorbed by the coolant extracting thermal output. This system is called hybrid PV/T system where water and air can be used as the heat extraction medium. Use of Thin Flat Metallic Sheet (TFMS) in the air channel in PV/T system increase the temperature of the air considerably which has found in several experiments. The comparative performance of PV/T system using four types of shape for thin metallic sheet including flat sheet was investigated. The performance was investigated at Islamic University of Technology in Bangladesh by using an experimental hybrid PV/T system at outdoor .The experiment shows that efficiency of the PV/T system varies significantly with the variation of the shape of the metallic sheet in the air channel. The used shape was flat, saw tooth backward, saw tooth forward and trapezoidal. By the experimental results it is found that the efficiency of the flat metallic sheet is the lowest among the four. Saw tooth backward and saw tooth forward shows the same efficiency and trapezoidal metallic sheet is lower than that

Effect of variety and spacing on the yield performance of maize (Zea mays L.) in old Brahmaputra floodplain area of Bangladesh

The experiments were conducted at the Agronomy Field Laboratory, Agricultural University, Mymensingh in Bangladesh during December 2015 to April 2016 to investigate the effect of variety and plant spacing on yield attributes and yield of maize. The experiment comprised of five varieties viz., Khoi bhutta, BARI hybrid maize 7, BARI hybrid maize 9, C-1921, P-3396 and five plants spacing viz., 75 cm × 20 cm, 75 cm × 25 cm, 75 cm × 30 cm, 75 cm × 35 cm and 75 cm × 40 cm. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications.  Results revealed that variety and plant spacing had significant effect on the studied crop characters and yield. The highest plant height, highest number of leaves plant-1, longest cob, maximum diameter of cob, highest number of kernel cob-1, the highest 1000-grain weight, maximum grain yield and stover yield were observed in BARI hybrid maize 7. On the other hand, the shortest plant, lowest number of cob, diameter of cob, lowest number of grains cob-1, 1000-grain weight, grain yield and stover yield were observed in Khoi bhutta. The longest plant, highest cob, maximum diameter of cob, highest number of kernel cob-1 the highest 1000-grain weight, maximum grain yield and stover yield was observed in the spacing of 75 cm × 25 cm. In contrast, the spacing of 75 cm × 30 cm produced the lowest values of the above mentioned plant parameters and also showed the lowest grain yield. In regard to interaction effect of variety and spacing, the highest plant height (232.67 cm), maximum number of cob plant-1 (1.73), maximum diameter of cob (4.60 cm), highest number of kernel cob-1 (34), maximum stover yield (12.38 t ha-1) were observed at the spacing of 75 cm × 25 cm with BARI hybrid maize 7 and resulting in the highest grain yield (9.04 t ha-1). The lowest values of the above parameters were recorded in the narrowest plant spacing of 75 cm × 35 cm with Khoi bhutta. Based on the experimental results, it may be concluded that maize (cv. BARI hybrid maize 7) can be cultivated with a spacing of 75 cm × 25 cm for appreciable grain yield

Coordination and Three-Stage Supply Chain Optimization of Agricultural Products in Bangladesh Under Uncertainties

Abstract- In this study presents three stage supply chain network (SCN) coordination and profit optimization of agricultural products considering several uncertainties. Most of the agricultural products are in general cost expensive with high risk in probability due to its fluctuating prices. To developed a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model and analyze the situation of insufficient production capacity for the producer as the reason for shortages. In this study to investigated supply chain network (SCN) are two distinct freelance supply organizations. SCN management has the difficulties for the disconnected and freelance economic people. Further, fast technological changes and high fight build SCN a lot of complicated. The problem of locating distribution centers (DCs) is one among the foremost necessary problems in design of SCN. The models are applied to a real case of optimization the profit before and after coordination and also to analyze the sensitivity under demand and cost uncertainty. The MILP models consider the facilities are coordinated by mutually sharing information with each other among producer, retailer and distributor. The formulated MILP model is solved by using a mathematical programming language (AMPL) and results obtained by appropriate solver MINOS. Numerical example with the sensitivity of various parameters has been deployed to validate the models. Results show that after coordination, the individual profits could be increased without any extra investment

Biofilm Formation, Production of Matrix Compounds and Biosorption of Copper, Nickel and Lead by Different Bacterial Strains

Bacterial biofilms play a key role in metal biosorption from wastewater. Recently, Enterobacter asburiae ENSD102, Enterobacter ludwigii ENSH201, Vitreoscilla sp. ENSG301, Acinetobacter lwoffii ENSG302, and Bacillus thuringiensis ENSW401 were shown to form air–liquid (AL) and solid–air–liquid (SAL) biofilms in a static condition at 28 and 37°C, respectively. However, how environmental and nutritional conditions affect biofilm formation; production of curli and cellulose; and biosorption of copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), and lead (Pb) by these bacteria have not been studied yet. In this study, E. asburiae ENSD102, E. ludwigii ENSH201, and B. thuringiensis ENSW401 developed the SAL biofilms at pH 8, while E. asburiae ENSD102 and Vitreoscilla sp. ENSG301 constructed the SAL biofilms at pH 4. However, all these strains produced AL biofilms at pH 7. In high osmolarity and ½-strength media, all these bacteria built fragile AL biofilms, while none of these strains generated the biofilms in anaerobic conditions. Congo red binding results showed that both environmental cues and bacterial strains played a vital role in curli and cellulose production. Calcofluor binding and spectrophotometric results revealed that all these bacterial strains produced significantly lesser amounts of cellulose at 37°C, pH 8, and in high osmotic conditions as compared to the regular media, at 28°C, and pH 7. Metal biosorption was drastically reduced in these bacteria at 37°C than at 28°C. Only Vitreoscilla sp. ENSG301 and B. thuringiensis ENSW401 completely removed (100%) Cu and Ni at an initial concentration of 12.5 mg l–1, while all these bacteria totally removed (100%) Pb at concentrations of 12.5 and 25 mg l–1 at pH 7 and 28°C. At an initial concentration of 100 mg l–1, the removal of Cu (92.5 to 97.8%) and Pb (89.3 to 98.3%) was the highest at pH 6, while it was higher (84.7 to 93.9%) for Ni at pH 7. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results showed metal-unloaded biomass biofilms contained amino, hydroxyl, carboxyl, carbonyl, and phosphate groups. The peak positions of these groups were shifted responding to Cu, Ni, and Pb, suggesting biosorption of metals. Thus, these bacterial strains could be utilized to remove Cu, Ni, and Pb from aquatic environment

Cultivation and Product Development Study of Commercially Important Seaweeds in South-Eastern Coast of Bangladesh

Seaweeds are predominantly macroscopic, multicellular, and photosynthetic marine algae that grow primarily in the ocean’s rocky littoral zone. About 154 seaweed species are found in our coastal area, of which 34 belong to green (Chlorophyta), 38 brown (Phaeophyta), and 82 red (Rhodophyta). Among them, 26 species are considered economically important based on their availability, abundance, and use. Seaweeds are mainly available in St. Martin Island, Shaporir dip, Inani, Bakkhali, Kutubdia, Patowartek, Pecherdwip, Teknaf, Shaplapur, and Moheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar region of Bangladesh. They are generally found on our Cox’s Bazar coast from October to April, but the highest abundance occurs from January to March. However, in the case of mangrove forests, seaweeds are available throughout the year. Additionally, seven species are considered commercially cultivable species. Their culture techniques were developed in the long-line and net methods at different Cox’s Bazar region sites. St. Martin Island had the highest biomass yield production of seaweed due to its favorable water quality parameters. Several value-added seaweed products were developed from dried seaweed powder. Industries based on seaweed can potentially contribute to the socioeconomic upliftment of the coastal inhabitants in Cox’s Bazar

Diversity of macrobenthos in the mangrove forest of Kuala Sibuti, Miri, Sarawak

The diversity of mangrove macrobenthos assemblages at mangrove forest of Kuala Sibuti, Miri, Sarawak was investigated for northeast monsoon and inter monsoon season. The aim of this study was to determine the diversity and composition of macrobenthos in the Kuala Sibuti mangrove forest. Sampling was carried out at 3 different locations during each monsoon. In macrobenthos assemblages, bivalves (49%) was the most diverse and abundant followed by gastropods (23%), polychaetes (17%) and crustaceans (10%). A total of 25 species of macrobenthos have been recorded during the study period. Studies found that sediment texture plays an important role in the ecology of benthic invertebrates. Polychaete was found be influenced by the percentage of soil texture, while temperature and pH have had little influence on the macrobenthos assemblages in this mangrove forest ecosystem