Impact of inoculant and foliar fertilization on root system parameters of pea (Pisum sativum l.)

In recent years, sustainable crop development has played a key role in current strategies to improve roots activity, which increase nutrients uptake in pulse crop. Our study presents the relationship between root system morphology, inoculant application with and without foliar fertilization and nitrogen accumulation in soil and plants. Two inoculants: Nitragina and IUNG, foliar fertilizer (Photrel), as well as two pea cultivars were studied in three years (2009–2011) period. The research has shown that bacterial inoculants have signifiant inflence on the selected parameters of pea root systems. Gel inoculant signifiantly increased mean root diameter (0.44 mm), compared to control (0.33 mm), whereas combination of Nitragina inoculant with micronutrient fertilization signifiantly increased root length density (1.05 cm·cm-3), compared to control (0.85 cm·cm-3). Additionally, the bacterial inoculant IUNG has signifiantly decreased the root length density in roots classes between 0.2–0.5 mm in the most humid year. The impact of inoculants on roots parameters was strongly related to weather conditions. In a dry year, a signifiant decrease of mean root diameter, specifi root length and increase of root dry mass were observed. Nitrogen accumulation in seeds signifiantly increased after gel inoculant application. A higher N content was proven in the fodder cultivar, but the edible cultivar was observed to accumulate more N in the seeds, which caused a Nitrogen Harvest index for this plant (80.0%)

Vertical distribution of the root system of linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) and legumes in pure and mixed sowing

Root competition for below-ground resources between edible plants may provide for long-term sustainability of agriculture systems. Intercropping can be more productive than a pure crop due to taking advantage of the morphological differences between species. In pure cropping, all biophysical interactions between plants occur through soil conditions. In intercropping, competition for water and nutrients is of major importance, but if the roots of one species occupy the zone just underneath the roots of the other crop, they can better use the resources of the root zone of the crop. The root system demonstrates a high degree of plasticity in its development in response to local heterogeneity of the soil profile and plant density. This study aimed at determining: (i) the morphological characteristics of the root systems of linseed, pea and vetch depending on the method of sowing; (ii) the root distribution in various soil types and at different soil profile depths (0–15 cm, 15–30 cm). Two three-year field experiments were conducted on two soil types in south Poland: soil A – Luvic Phaeozem (s1) and soil B – Eutric Cambisol (s2). These results show that linseed was more aggressive toward both legumes in mixture, but it produced lower yield compared to pure cropping. The environmental stress of plants in mixtures increased the relative weight of roots, which resulted in decreasing the root-shoot ratio (RSR)

Pyrolysis Improves the Effect of Straw Amendment on the Productivity of Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.)

The use of straw as a soil amendment is a well-known and recommended agronomy practice, but it can lead to negative effects on the soil and crop yield. It has been hypothesized that many problems related to the burying of straw can be overcome by pyrolyzing it. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of straw and its biochar on the biomass production of perennial ryegrass. A pot-based experiment was conducted with three factors: (i) the crop species used as feedstock, (ii) raw or pyrolyzed organic material, and (iii) the rate of organic amendments. The soil in the pots was amended with straw and biochar produced from Miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus) or winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). After soil amendment application, perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) seeds were sown. During two years of the experiment, the perennial ryegrass above-ground biomass production and root biomass and morphology parameters were determined. Straw and biochar resulted in higher perennial ryegrass above-ground biomass compared with that of the non-fertilized control. However, straw amendment resulted in lower plant yields of above-ground biomass than those of the biochar treatments or the mineral fertilizer control treatment. The feedstock type (Miscanthus or wheat) significantly affected the perennial ryegrass yield. No difference was observed among wheat and Miscanthus biochar, while among straws, Miscanthus resulted in lower perennial ryegrass productivity (the higher rate of straw and biochar as soil amendments resulted in relatively high perennial ryegrass productivity). The organic amendments resulted in relatively high root biomass and length. The root:shoot ratio was lower in the treatments in which biochar was used, whereas feedstock species and amendment rate were not statistically significant for any of the root biomass and morphometric parameters. The results suggest that the use of pyrolyzed straw can be a reliable strategy instead of straw, increasing ryegrass growth and productivity

The Key Role of Variety and Method of Sowing Selection in Pea Roots’ Parameters Development under Sustainable Practice

The selection of varieties is extremely important for decreasing fertilizer consumption. However, little attention is devoted to assessing the effectiveness of row spacing in tandem with types of varieties of pea on root development in the context of limited nutrition. As essential knowledge in this area is lacking, a study was conducted with two objectives using an ordinal regression model. (i): To determine whether qualitative variables (cultivar, fertilization, and row spacing) or quantitative variables (root parameters) affect the root dry mass density, and (ii): To assess the variation in root architecture of two pea cultivars (fodder vs. edible type) grown under different P supply levels (0, 45, and 90 kg P2O5) and row spacing (narrow—15 cm—and wide—30 cm). The ordinal regression model showed that row spacing and cultivar type are meaningful predictors of root dry mass density (RDMD). The root dry mass density increased at wider row spacing in the fodder pea cultivar. As root surface area density (RSAD) and SRL-specific root length (SRL) most accurately describe root mass, it was concluded that the cultivar type and row spacing are crucial factors for increasing root plasticity, which can improve soil utilization

Influence of synthetic fuel on nitrile rubbers used in aviation

This paper investigates the influence of alternative fuel on selected butadiene–acrylonitrile rubbers used as seals in engine and fuel supply systems of post-Soviet aircrafts. The conventional fuel Jet A-1, the synthetic blending component from hydrotreated esters and fatty acids (HEFA) and its blend were interacted with the sample nitrile rubbers. HEFA technology has been approved by ASTM D7655 for use in turbine aircraft engines. The effect was evaluated on the basis of changes in the nitrile rubbers volume, mass and hardness. It has been confirmed that the synthetic component containing no aromatic hydrocarbons has a different effect on nitrile rubber than the conventional fuel. When the nitrile rubbers were subjected to microscopic observations, the most frequently observed effect was washing out or dissolving of nitrile rubber surface fragments

Adjustment of limestone grinding in an electromagnetic mill for use in production of sorbents for flue gas desulphurization

The paper presents the study of the effectiveness of the grinding in an electromagnetic mill for limestone with the feed particle size up to 0.5 mm and 1 mm. The goal was to prepare material for specific particle size fractions of fine and coarse sorbents used for flue gas desulfurization. The work focused on optimizing the duration of the grinding and selecting grinding media properties to obtain the highest relative increase in the 50 μm and 50-100 μm particle size fraction in the grinding product. An important element for grinding control is the knowledge of the impact characteristics for main parameters and factors on the efficiency of the material comminution. The grinding results show its kinetics of grinding product yield. A model was also created that shows the relationship between grinding time and the process efficiency and can be used to optimize the process. The research allowed to determine the impact of changes in the parameters of the mill and the feed, which will allow to determine the controls for the system’s continuous operation. It is crucial to determine the efficiency of the mill. It depends on the degree of material fragmentation and the granularity of the feed subjected to the grinding. Both of these parameters are different for different raw materials. Determination of grinding kinetics models allowed to determine the dependence of function between the growth of the selected particle size fraction in the product and the residence time of material