Effect of Nettle (Urtica dioca L.) density on fiber yield and quality in a natural ecosystem under East Mediterranean conditions

Nettle (Urtica dioica L.), a new industrial crop, has been cultivated since the 12th century for its fibers. This study was conducted to specify the optimal density of plants in order to move from wild harvest to nettle cultivation. For the present study, sampling was performed in 21 different fields throughout Greece, during October 2018. The effect of nine different plant densities on several agronomic (plants height, leaf area and dry matter) and fiber quality (straw length, fiber percentage, yield, extension at break, strength, length, diameter) characteristics was determined. The higher fiber yield occurred at the lower density (4 plants m2), while the higher fiber diameter observed at the highest density (12 plants m2). Comparisons were performed at the 5% level of significance (p ≤ 0.05). According to our results, there have been negative correlations between plant density and certain agronomic and quality characteristics such as plant height and fiber length, hence the optimal density is about seven plants per m2

WEARABLE ELECTRONICS IN THE NEXT YEARS

The term ‘Wearable Technologies’, ‘Wearable Electronics’, or ‘Smart Garments’, is associated to those clothing and soft or hard accessories which integrate electronic components, or which are made of smart textiles. Smart textiles research represents a new model for generating creative and novel solutions for integrating electronics into unusual environments and will result in new discoveries that push the boundaries of science forward. Last few years there are several hundreds or maybe thousands of research teams that works and develop such materials and products. But the key driver of the success of the wearable electronics is the acceptance from the end user. It is estimates that only for the next three years the sales in the wearable will be almost multiply by ten times. The flexible wearable computer industry's patent applications arrived at 429 in the second quarter of 2014, up 27.7% year on year, and witnessed a record high in the report's tracking period starting from the first quarter of 2012. The market has already in the shelf commercial products as wristbands (Fitness/well-being/sports devices), smart jewels, smart watches, mobile health devices, tech clothing, and augmented reality glasses. The recently developed enabling technologies eliminates the barriers and help the scientists and developers to launch new types of "wearable". The life style of a large share of population, the low cost of 3D printing for rapid prototyping locally, the large available platforms, the lower cost of sensors and components give a an impetus for large scale of products. In the same time the direct ordering channels to manufacturers of components facilitates the small producers and the scientists for prototype development. In this article we identify key challenges for the success of the wearable and we provide an outlook over the field and a prediction for the near future