Addition of Pumice Affects Physical Properties of Soil Used for Container Grown Plants

Aeration of horticultural media is oft en reported to be a problem. The air filled porosity is generally considered as the quality determining factor for media and is generally determining the shape of the moisture characteristic curve. The objective of this study was to determine affects of different size and rate of pumice mixed with soil on the pore size distribution and bulk density of a mixture medium. Pumice of different size (100 μm diameter) were 98.2 % and 70.3 %, and the decreases in bulk density were 24.8 % and 21.0 % for soil I and II, respectively. While the mesopores (100-30 μm diameter), which are important for water conductivity, decreased significantly with pumice application in soil I, no significant changes were obtained for soil II. The amount of water held at 0.01 MPa – 0.10 MPa decreased significantly with 30 % or more pumice application in both soils. The amount of water held at 0.10 MPa or greater suctions decreased with pumice application. Significant changes in physical properties of soil-pumice mixture media were obtained for different sizes of pumice application

EFFECT OF PUMICE AMENDMENT ON PHYSICAL SOIL PROPERTIES AND STRAWBERRY PLANT GROWTH

We report the results of a research carried out in Turkey in 2004 to determine the effectiveness of different levels of pumice amendments to soil using strawberry plants. Two grades (2-4 mm and 4-8 mm) of pumice were added to soil and three amendment levels (15%, 30% and 45% by volume) were applied. Finally 6 different growing media types were formulated. The amount of moisture retained at different tensions and distribution of pore size of these growing media were determined. Some plant properties such as the number of leaves, leaf area, fresh and dry root weight, most developed root length and increasing fresh weight of day-notr strawberry plants cv. Fern grown on these media were determined. The best plant growth was observed on media including 4-8 mm pumice grade and 45% pumice amendment ratio with soil

The Effect of Biochar Amendment on Physiological and Biochemical Properties and Nutrient Content of Lettuce in Saline Water Irrigation Conditions

Salinity often increases osmotic stress, reducing plant water uptake and inhibiting the absorption of nutrients and minerals. This imbalance situation causes physiological, biochemical disorders, and nutrient deficiencies in plants. In this study, the effects of biochar application on the physiological properties, nutrient contents and antioxidant enzyme activities of lettuce were investigated under saline irrigation water conditions. For this purpose, four different biochar doses and different irrigation water salinity levels were applied to the lettuce plant. In the study, biochar application under salt stress conditions decreased the Na, Fe, Zn content and antioxidant enzyme activity of the plant. Leaf relative water content, chlorophyll content (SPAD) and some nutrients (Ca, K, Mg, P, Cu and Mn) also increased. Therefore, biochar applied under salt irrigated water conditions offers good potential to reduce the severity of plant exposure to salinity stress. In addition, the biochar amendment helped the plant uptake of nutrients

Moguća povezanost gestacijskog dijabetesa s upalom

The aim of this study was to investigate whether gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with inflammation by comparing serum levels of human chitinase-3-like protein 1 (YKL-40), neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR). This case control study included 29 pregnant women with GDM and 29 pregnant women with normal glucose tolerance matched for age (±2 years) and pre-pregnancy body mass index (±2 kg/m2). The YKL-40/CHI3L1 levels were measured, and NLR and PLR investigated. There were no statistically significant differences in maternal age, gestational age, gravidity and parity. Higher YKL-40 levels were recorded in pregnant women with GDM compared to control subjects (203 (65-300) ng/mL vs. 159.2 (14-290) ng/mL, p=0.007). NLR and PLR were significantly higher in GDM compared with control group. In conclusion, GDM is associated with high levels of YKL-40, NLR and PLR, which indicate inflammatory status.Cilj ovoga istraživanja bio je procijeniti je li gestacijski dijabetes melitus (GDM) udružen s upalom i to usporedbom serumskih razina humanog hitinazi-3-sličnog proteina 1 (YKL-40) te omjera neutrofila/limfocita (NLR) i omjera trombocita/limfocita (PLR). U ovo istraživanje parova bilo je uključeno 29 trudnica s GDM i 29 trudnica s normalnom tolerancijom glukoze. Dob (± 2 godine) i indeks tjelesne mase prije trudnoće bili su podjednaki u obje skupine. Mjerene su razine humanog hitinazi-3-sličnog proteina 1 (YKL-40/CHI3L1) te ispitani omjeri NLR i PLR. Nije bilo statistički značajnih razlika u dobi, gestacijskoj dobi i gravidnosti. Zabilježene su više razine YKL-40 u trudnica s GDM u usporedbi s kontrolnim trudnicama (203 (65-300) ng/mL prema 159,2 (14-290) ng/mL, p=0,007). NLR i PLR bili su značajno viši u skupini s GDM nego u kontrolnoj skupini. U zaključku, GDM je udružen s visokim razinama YKL-40, NLR i PLR koji ukazuju na upalno stanje

EFFECT OF PUMICE AMENDMENT ON PHYSICAL SOIL PROPERTIES AND STRAWBERRY PLANT GROWTH

We report the results of a research carried out in Turkey in 2004 to determine the effectiveness of different levels of pumice amendments to soil using strawberry plants. Two grades (2-4 mm and 4-8 mm) of pumice were added to soil and three amendment levels (15%, 30% and 45% by volume) were applied. Finally 6 different growing media types were formulated. The amount of moisture retained at different tensions and distribution of pore size of these growing media were determined. Some plant properties such as the number of leaves, leaf area, fresh and dry root weight, most developed root length and increasing fresh weight of day-notr strawberry plants cv. Fern grown on these media were determined. The best plant growth was observed on media including 4-8 mm pumice grade and 45% pumice amendment ratio with soil

Principles of Irrigation Management for Vegetables

Vegetables have a very high percentage of water content. Some of the vegetables, such as cucumber, tomato, lettuce, zucchini, and celery contain over ninety-five percent of water. As a result of the high-water content in the cells, they are extremely vulnerable plants to water stress and drought conditions. Their yield and quality are affected rapidly when subjected to drought. Therefore, irrigation is essential to the production of most vegetables in order to have an adequate yield with high quality. However, over-irrigating can inhibit germination and root development, decrease the vegetable quality and post-harvest life of the crop. Determination of suitable irrigation systems and scheduling to apply proper amount of water at the correct time is crucial for achieving the optimum benefits from irrigation. This determination requires understanding of the water demand of the vegetable, soil characteristics, and climate factors. All these factors have major impact for the success and sustainability of any vegetable irrigation. This section contains fundamentals of water requirements on different vegetables and summarizes important issues related to soil, water, and vegetable growth relations together with irrigation management concept by evaluating the challenging issues on the selection of proper irrigation system, suitable irrigation timing, and other parameters to increase vegetable yield in an irrigated agriculture

Pre-sowing soil carbon dioxide emissions of the following year from the silage maize field irrigated with different levels of wastewater in conventional and direct sowing practices

While knowing CO2 emissions during the seasonal period are important, determining residual effect before sowing in the following year can be an available practice in improving wastewater irrigation strategies. Therefore, this study investigated CO2 emission from the silage maize field plots irrigated with wastewater at different levels under conventional and direct sowing in the pre-sowing period after two experimental years by comparing freshwater with full irrigation, and correlated with H2O emission and, soil moisture and temperatures. The results showed that irrigation with wastewater and conventional tillage in the previous two years resulted in higher CO2 emissions in the following period also, and 27 and 11% higher emissions were determined in irrigation with wastewater at 100 and 67% levels than full freshwater irrigation. In irrigation with wastewater at 100% level and direct sowing, soil moisture was found higher, while reduced H2O emission and the soil temperatures at 5 and 10 cm depths. Considering moisture conservation effect of direct sowing, it could be concluded that to reduce on the residual CO2 emission effect of irrigation with wastewater from previous years, deficit irrigation in direct sowing can be recommended practice. HIGHLIGHTS In previous years, the effect of irrigation with wastewater increasing CO2 emission continues in the pre-sowing period of the following year.; Direct sowing reduces CO2 emissions and preserves soil moisture by reducing H2O emissions compared to conventional tillage.; Deficit irrigation with wastewater reduces CO2 emissions.; Irrigation with wastewater and direct sowing reduce the soil temperature.