The Study of Starch Seeds Durian (Durio Zibethinus) Effect as the Filler Material on Tensile Strength and Biodegradation of Polymers Polystyrene (PS)

The study of starch seeds durian (Durio zibethinus) effect as the filler material on tensile strength and biodegradation of polymers polystyrene (PS) has been done. In this study, the sample was made with 5 variations of Polystyrene:Starch:glycerol as follows:(95:0:5; 90:5:5; 85:10:5; 80:15:5 and 75:20:5) %. The samples were made using the hotpress machine and the ASTM D368 standard. The mechanical properties (tensile strength) were tested using a tensile tester. The testing for functional groups were using FT-IR. The surface morphology was obtained by AFM and biodegradation through burial the samples for 40 days (time of observation 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 weeks). As the results showed that the tensile strength values are influenced by variations in the composition of composite materials. The optimum tensile strength values were obtained on samples of PS-2 (90% of PS: 5% of Starch: 5% of glycerol) with a tensile strength value of 0.55 kgf / mm². Based on the analysis of functional groups, it was found that there is no chemical reaction, which is characterized by the emergence of new functional groups on the composite sample. The surface morphology observation showed that the variation does not affect the relative composition of the surface morphology of the samples. Biodegradation test results showed that the samples of PS-4 and PS-5 began degraded after burial for 4 weeks

Soil And Water Management Alternatives For Increased Productivity On SAT Alfisols

Alfisols are agriculturally important soils throughout much of the semi-arid tropics (SAT) in spite of serious physical and chemical limitations. They are the t h i r d most important soil order in the world, covering 13.1% of the world area (Buringh, 1982) and a r e the most abundant s o i l s i n t h e SAT, cover nearly 16% of the tropics and 33% of the SAT region

Gully control in SAT watersheds. Global Theme on Agroecosystems Report no. 15

Gully erosion is geographically a widespread problem. It is common in the semi-arid region, characterized by denuded landscape and flash floods. An estimated 4 million ha land in India and 29 million ha of land in Africa are affected by severe gully erosion. Gully erosion is more difficult and expensive to control than other types of soil erosion. A full understanding of erosion processes at various stages of gully development is essential to achieve gully stabilization. Without proper understanding often the measures taken for controlling gully were found unnecessary or ineffective. This report provides the basic knowledge of gully formation and its causes. The classification of gullies and the basic principles of its control are explained. Drawing primarily the experiences from the several on-farm watershed projects implemented by ICRISAT, the report provides the practical approach for gully control in the context of overall watershed development and management. The basic considerations and the design details of various gully control structures, viz, loose rock dam, double-row post-brush dam, double-row post-stone dam, single-row post-stone dam, stone wall dam, masonry check-dam, earthen check-dam and gabion structures are covered in detail. The key hydrological data, ie, runoff volume and peak runoffrate measured at the watershed scale along with design peak runoff rate for the various locations in India are given. These data will greatly assist the watershed implementing agencies in the selection, design, construction and maintenance of gully control structures

Gully Control in SAT Watersheds

Gully erosion is geographically a widespread problem. It is common in the semi-arid region, characterized by denuded landscape and flash floods. An estimated 4 million ha of land in India and 29 million ha of land in Africa are affected by severe gully erosion. Gully erosion is more difficult and expensive to control than other types of soil erosion. A full understanding of erosion processes at various stages of gully development is essential to achieve gully stabilization. Without proper understanding often the measures taken for controlling gully were found unnecessary or ineffective. This report provides the basic knowledge of gully formation and its causes. The classification of gullies and the basic principles of its control are explained. Drawing primarily the experiences from the several on-farm watershed projects implemented by ICRISAT, the report provides the practical approach for gully control in the context of overall watershed development and management. The basic considerations and the design details of various gully control structures, viz., loose rock dam, double-row post-brush dam, double-row post-stone dam, single-row post-stone dam, stone wall dam, masonry check-dam, earthen check-dam and gabion structures are covered in detail. The key hydrological data, i.e., runoff volume and peak runoff rate measured at the watershed scale along with design peak runoff rate for the various locations in India are given. These data will greatly assist the watershed implementing agencies in the selection, design, construction and maintenance of gully control structure

New Tools for Monitoring and Modeling Hydrological Processes in Small Agricultural Watersheds

Integrated watershed management is regarded as the most appropriatestrategy to rehabilitate fragile ecosystems and improve the livelihoods ofpeople living in rain-fed areas. The rural people living in such areas areunder constant threat of low yields, unemployment and consequentlypoor living conditions. Effective watershed management can substantiallyreduce risks, make water for drinking and cultivation available in anequitable manner, increase farm productivity and raise income through..........

Long-term effects of management systems on crop yield and soil physical properties of semi-arid tropics of Vertisols

Long-term experiments can be used to assess management induced changes in soil properties and sustainability of the management system in terms of the productivity. Such data are scanty, especially in the semi-arid tropics (SAT) region. A long-term experiment established in 1976 at ICRISAT in India on Vertisols with two management treatments; improved management (IM), comprising semi-permanent broadbed and furrow (BBF) landform with minimum tillage and improved cropping practices; and traditional management (TM) system comprising keeping the land fallow during the rainy season and sowing on flat landform during post-rainy season with traditional cropping practices, was sampled after 24 and 34 years for soil physical and hydrological properties. Results showed that both in short-and long-term the management systems had profound effect on crop yields. Also in the long-term IM and TM management systems had significant effect on several soil physical and hydrological properties. Throughout the soil profile IM systems had significantly lower bulk density, significantly higher porosity, substantially lower penetration resistance both at 5 cm (1 and 8 MPa) and 15 cm depths (8 and 15 MPa), significantly higher infiltration and sorptivity and significantly larger mean weight diameter of 4.3 mm compared to 2.8 mm for soils under TM. However, management systems had no significant effect on moisture holding capacities both at 0.033 and 1.5 MPa. Significant differences between the improved and traditional systems were observed in the size and pattern of soil surface cracks. Over the long-term, the improved management systems has very favorable effects on soil physical and hydrological properties and on the soil surface cracking and its patterns, thereby contributing to higher productivit

A Runoff Model for Small Watersheds in the Semi-Arid Tropics

A modified Soil Conservation Service (SCS) runoff model and a soil moisture accounting procedure were used to simulate runoff for small watersheds. The validity of the model and the moisture accounting procedure were tested using hydrological data collected from small Vertisol watersheds at ICRISAT Center in India. The agreement between measured and simulated daily, monthly, and annual runoff was good. The root mean square error values between the measured and simulated annual, monthly, and daily runoff from a Vertisol watershed were 5.2, 3.1, and 1.6 mm, respectively. The modified model and the moisture accounting procedure simulated quite accurately runoff for high, low as well as normal rainfall years in the semi-arid environment