This study aimed to analyse the bioaccumulation of heavy metal ions in plants of spontaneous flora. An urban area was established from which soil samples were taken and analyses were performed on the ...content of heavy metal ions. The soil samples were collected from Iasi’s urban area to determine the heavy metal concentrations, obtain maps of sensitive land, and determine the content of heavy metals in spontaneous flora and transfer these into an aqueous extract. The investigation of heavy metal ion levels in certain plants revealed the following: (i) all plants from the Brassicaceae accumulate heavy metals, and B. juncea has a great ability to accumulate and transfer Cu, Cr(VI), Cd, Ni, Pb, and Zn towards the shoots; (ii) heavy metals (Fe, Cu, Cr, Mn, Zn) were present in variable concentrations, with mint and nettle being notable for their increased level of iron and thyme, and rattle for its zinc levels; (iii) toxic metals (Pb, Cd, Ni) are present in low concentrations in plants as well as in infusions, except for in primula and plantain, which do not have high levels of Pb and Cd. The results showed that values exceeded the maximum recommended values in areas with industrial pollution. Taking into account the potential for the bioaccumulation of heavy metal ions by plants from spontaneous flora and their use as medicinal plants, it is recommended, based on the studies conducted, to harvest and use plants from soils that do not contain heavy metal ions.
Boron (B) and zinc (Zn) are essential micronutrients of plant nutrition programs in orchards for securing the crop quality and yield. Although orchard supplementation with B and Zn is a common ...practice to overcome deficiencies or maintain their optimal levels, the efficiency of combined B and Zn spraying in relation to European hazelnut (
Corylus avellana
L.) phenological stage has not been investigated so far. Leaf and kernel mineral and functional traits were studied in cultivar Tonda di Giffoni after B and Zn spraying in four phenological stages. During the 2016/2017 season, 9-year-old trees were sprayed with B (0, 800, and 1,600 mg L
−1
) and Zn (0, 400, and 800 mg L
−1
) under three treatments: B
0
+Zn
0
, B
800
+Zn
400
, and B
1600
+Zn
800
implemented in three spring application programs scheduled from October to December (P1: four times, P2: early two times, and P3: late two times). B and Zn treatments in P1 and P3 led to higher Zn concentration both in leaves and in kernels compared with non-sprayed trees. Stabilized nut production increased 2.5-fold under B
800
+Zn
400
in all three programs. Kernel/nut ratio improved in both B+Zn treatments in P1 and P3, while the percentage of blank nuts was reduced compared with B
0
+Zn
0
. Increased radical scavenging activity in B+Zn-treated kernels and leaves was not attributed to the accumulation of phenolics in P3 compared with B
0
+Zn
0
, whereas B and Zn spraying reduced the level of lipid peroxidation in both studied organs. According to the results, combined B and Zn should be sprayed at the end of spring (P3) on hazelnut plantations in temperate areas such as Southern Chile, whereas early applications (P2) showed an irregularity in nut production and functional traits in nuts. Moderate and partialized rates of B and Zn and the time of implementation contribute to improving the quantitative and qualitative features crucial for future sustainable hazelnut production.
Contemporary knowledge on climate change has given rise to a group of advocates who suggest global veganism as an adaptive means of mitigating the threat of climate change. Livestock farming is ...accused of contributing massively to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Some studies suggest that eliminating meat from the diet (i.e., moving to a vegan diet) can reduce GHG emissions globally, while other studies suggest that livestock farming may make a smaller contribution to GHG emissions compared to previous estimates. A paradigm shift in agricultural production is expected to have direct impacts on natural resources, biodiversity, and economies. However, crop-only production and an exclusively vegan diet may lead to the loss of important plant and animal genetic materials, increase pressure on land and water resources, and exacerbate problems with agricultural crop residues. This “all in one basket” approach may affect the global meat trade, change the dynamics of some economies, and threaten food security in the event of pest and disease pandemics. This review found that crop-based ideology would make a huge contribution to reducing GHG emissions, while the integrity of land and water resources could be threatened in the future. Agricultural policies need to develop appropriate instruments to ensure food security, consumer preferences, and environmental protection and to provide a fair income for farmers worldwide. Global stakeholders in the agri-food sector, from policy makers to farmers, need to be engaged in a coherent policy to reduce the C footprint in our diets, protecting the (agri)environment and securing incomes.
Biochemical Toxicology - Heavy Metals and Nanomaterials provides an overview of biochemical contamination, nanomaterials and toxic metals, and measurement techniques. It explains and clarifies ...important studies and compares and develops new and groundbreaking measurement techniques in the fields of organic and inorganic pollution and nanoscience. It is highly recommended for professionals and readers interested in the environment and human health.
Via national lockdowns, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the production and distribution of foodstuffs worldwide, including rice (Oryza sativa L.) production, affecting the prices in India’s ...agroecosystems and markets. The present study was performed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 national lockdown on rice prices in India, and to develop statistical machine learning models to forecast price changes under similar crisis scenarios. To estimate the rice prices under COVID-19, the general time series models, such as the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model, the artificial neural network (ANN) model, and the extreme learning machine (ELM) model, were applied. The results obtained using the ARIMA intervention model revealed that during the COVID-19 lockdown in India, rice prices increased by INR 0.92/kg. In addition, the ELM intervention model was faster, with less computation time, and provided better results vs other models because it detects the nonlinear pattern in time series data, along with the intervention variable, which was considered an exogenous variable. The use of forecasting models can be a useful tool in supporting decision makers, especially under unpredictable crises. The study results are of great importance for the national agri-food sector, as they can bolster authorities and policymakers in planning and designing more sustainable interventions in the food market during (inter)national crisis situations.
Food security is an essential issue for human survival and civilization. Whenever food–water security is in doubt, the community is negatively affected. Globally, Jordan is the second most ...water-stressed country, located in an arid, politically divided and migratory active Middle East region that lacks the access to valuable natural resources such as fertile soils. Jordan receives about 78 m3/person/year from renewable resources, which represents 1% of the world water share. Jordan’s Water Minister declared that a 50 million m3 lack of drinking water is to be faced next year; this shortage is added to the lack of irrigation water, which yields food insecurity and food price fluctuations that wear out the consumer. The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of the impact of agricultural cropping patterns and water security by analyzing the most relevant national databases. The study results will contribute to the development of national policy in order to strategize the aid programs and adaptation measures for more sustainable planning in the Jordanian agri-food sector.
Foliar calcium (Ca) treatment exhibits strong potential for enhancing yield and quality in some fruit crops. This study aimed to assess the impact of foliar application of Ca-organomineral (Ca-OM) ...suspension on total soluble solids (TSS) and Ca dynamics in leaves and berries across five red currant cultivars during the vegetation and storage. A randomized block design with two treatments: (1) Control (without Ca-OM treatment) and (2) foliar Ca-OM treatment, with three repetitions, was applied on five different red currant cultivars. Although foliar Ca-OM treatments did not impact Ca or TSS in leaves, they positively influenced Ca and TSS in fruits, displaying significant variability among cultivars. In addition, Ca-OM treatment increased berry density, reduced abscission, and inhibited the development of diseases, extending storage periods for “Lvovyanka,” “Vika,” and “Gazel” cultivars by three to seven days compared to the Ca-OM untreated control. Ca-OM treatment in the early stages of the ontogenesis of currants provided a high percentage of Ca intake in berries. At the stage of complete maturation, the Ca content in berries decreased and depended on the ripening period of the cultivars. Before harvesting, Ca-OM increased the strength of berries (Fc) and reduced the shedding of berries in the clusters (Fs). At the vegetation stage, Ca-OM increased TSS in berries, and the content of TSS depended on the genotype and weather conditions. The Ca-OM treatment and low temperatures contributed to preserving berry density, reducing the shedding of berries and PLW, and restraining the development of diseases during storage. In addition, the high content of TSS and Ca in berries against the background of a slow rate of decrease in berry density in the Ca-OM variants ensured an extension of the shelf life of “Lvovyanka,” “Vika,” and “Gazel” by three to seven days compared to the control untreated with Ca-OM. Clustering analyses identified these cultivars as similar in terms of TSS and calcium content in fruits, emphasizing their common traits. The study underscores the potential of foliar Ca treatment to enhance berry quality during growth and storage, significantly improve storage duration, and fortify resistance against adverse factors, presenting promising opportunities for elevating yield and quality in specific red currant cultivars.
The drainage channel network in Vojvodina, northern part of the Republic of Serbia, in total length of around 20,000 km, transfers excessive （under）ground waters from around 2.15 million ha of ...lowlands. Channels are mostly in direct connection with the surrounding arable agricultural land and are exposed to different run-off, leaching and/or wind erosion processes. Close to urban areas, some channel sections serve as recipients of unrefined sewage and industrial waste waters. Water flows and velocities, as well as the transportable capacity of fluvial materials （sediments） are relatively low. This, in combination with other natural and anthropogenic impacts, contributes to sediment generation in the drainage channel network. Based on around 100 sediment samples from 46 channels, concentrations of primary nutrients （N, P and K） were elaborated in this study. Detected concentrations of macronutrients in the channel sediments （e.g. N 1-1.2%, P 100-265 and K 100-380 mg 100 g-l） exceeded their content in surrounding arable land by a few fold, Also, significantly higher nutrient concentrations （in average by 50%） were detected in downstream （vs. upstream） channel sections. An excessive presence of observed elements in channel sediments, due to interactive processes between water and sediment material, can adversely influence the water quality and life conditions for channel biota and caused other negative environ- mental impacts such as eutrophication. These results clearly confirm that the processes of nutrient accumulation in channel sediments are greater than those in the surrounding, mostly intensively arable land areas. The erosion of unprotected agricultural areas and sediment transport as the most important pollution pathways from the drainage basin to channel network may be essential factors responsible for detected condition of nutrient accumulation.
Human-induced salinization and trace element contamination are widespread and increasing rapidly, but their interactions and environmental consequences are poorly understood. Phytoaccumulation, as ...the crucial entry pathway for biotoxic Cd into the human foodstuffs, correlates positively with rhizosphere salinity. Hypothesising that organic matter decreases the bioavailable Cd
2+ pool and therefore restricts its phytoextraction, we assessed the effects of four salinity levels (0, 20, 40 and 60 mM NaCl) and three Cd levels (0.3, 5.5 and 10.4 mg kg
−
1
) in peat soil on mineral accumulation/distribution as well as vegetative growth and fruit yield parameters of muskmelon (
Cucumis melo L.) in a greenhouse. Salt stress reduced shoot biomass and fruit production, accompanied by increased Na and Cl and decreased K concentration in above-ground tissues. A 25- and 50-day exposure to salinity increased Cd accumulation in leaves up to 87% and 46%, respectively. Accumulation of Cd in the fruits was up to 43 times lower than in leaves and remained unaltered by salinity. Soil contamination by Cd enhanced its accumulation in muskmelon tissues by an order of magnitude compared with non-contaminated control. In the drainage solution, concentrations of Na and Cl slightly exceeded those in the irrigation solution, whereas Cd concentration in drainage solution was lower by 2–3 orders of magnitude than the total amount added. Chemical speciation and distribution modelling (NICA-Donnan) using Visual MINTEQ showed predominance of dissolved organic ligands in Cd chemisorption and complexation in all treatments; however, an increase in salt addition caused a decrease in organic Cd complexes from 99 to 71%, with free Cd
2+ increasing up to 6% and Cd-chlorocomplexes up to 23%. This work highlights the importance of soil organic reactive surfaces in reducing trace element bioavailability and phytoaccumulation. Chloride salinity increased Cd accumulation in leaves but not in fruit peel and pulp.
The demonstrations on improved rice production technology were organized in the Wanaparthy, Nagarkurnool, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, and Rangareddy districts of Telangana state of India. These ...demonstrations were organized under the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan of the Indian Institute of Rice Research during the wet season of 2021. The biofortified varieties assume great significance to achieve nutrition security. Hence, the zinc biofortified rice variety, DRR Dhan 48 was demonstrated on the 142 farmer fields and the economic impact of these demonstrations was assessed with the ‘difference in difference’ approach. The results revealed that the production of rice under demonstration plots was more profitable with a higher benefit-to-cost ratio (B:C; 1.9) compared to that of the control plots (1.4). The independent two-sample t-test revealed that the productivity at the control plots was not statistically different from that of the demonstrations plots (p = 0.112) before the project was implemented, however, with the intervention in the form of the demonstration of improved rice production technology, the productivity differed significantly (p = 0.000) for the control and the demonstration plots for the intervention year. The results of the difference in differences estimator revealed that there was a positive impact of demonstrations on the yield of the beneficiaries. The mean productivity of demonstration plots and control plots were 5.52 t/ha and 4.5 t/ha, respectively. The farmers had an additional yield advantage of 22.6% over the control plots. The results indicated that the adoption of an improved package of practices would enable harnessing higher productivity levels and bridging the yield gaps in similar agroecosystems. Also, the results suggest the practical significance of the popularization of biofortified rice varieties for food and nutritional security.
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