An Outlook on Harnessing Technological Innovative Competence in Sustainably Transforming African Agriculture.

Agricultural value chains worldwide provide essential support to livelihoods, ecosystem services, and the growing bioeconomy. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic slowed down or reversed decades of agricultural growth and exposed the vulnerabilities of farmers and the food insecure in Africa, thus reiterating the need to build resilience, agility, and adaptability for a sustainable agriculture. Existing social, political, environmental, and economic challenges demonstrate that a path to faster sustainable growth is increased productivity through improved input quality, of which technical inputs are a part.

Evaluation of sampling frequency impact on the accuracy of water quality status as determined considering different water quality monitoring objectives.

Water quality sampling is a key element in tracking water quality monitoring objectives. However, frequencies adapted by different agencies might not be sufficient to provide an accurate indication of water quality status. In this study, data from low- and high-resolution water quality datasets were analyzed to determine the extent to which monitoring objectives could be achieved with different sampling frequencies, with a view to providing recommendations and best practices for water quality monitoring frequency in places with limited resources with which to implement a high-frequency monitoring plan.

Strain-Specific Biostimulant Effects of and Green Microalgae on .

Microalgae have been identified to produce a plethora of bioactive compounds exerting growth stimulating effects on plants. The objective of this study was to investigate the plant-growth-promoting effects of three selected strains of eukaryotic green microalgae. The biostimulatory effects of two species (MACC-360 and MACC-38) and a strain (cc124) were investigated in a model plant grown under controlled greenhouse conditions.

Development of phosphorus sorption capacity-based environmental indices for tile-drained systems.

The persistent environmental relevance of phosphorus (P) and P sorption capacity (PSC) on P loss to surface waters has led to proposals for its inclusion in soil fertility and environmental management programs. As fertility and environmental management decisions are made on a routine basis, the use of laborious P sorption isotherms to quantify PSC is not feasible. Alternatively, pedotransfer functions (pedoTFs) estimate PSC from routinely assessed soil chemical properties.

Salinity Stress Responses and Adaptation Mechanisms in Eukaryotic Green Microalgae.

High salinity is a challenging environmental stress for organisms to overcome. Unicellular photosynthetic microalgae are especially vulnerable as they have to grapple not only with ionic imbalance and osmotic stress but also with the generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) interfering with photosynthesis. This review attempts to compare and contrast mechanisms that algae, particularly the eukaryotic microalgae, exhibit in order to immediately respond to harsh conditions caused by high salinity.

Assessment of hydrology and nutrient losses in a changing climate in a subsurface-drained watershed.

Studies assessing the impact of subsurface drains on hydrology and nutrient yield in a changing climate are limited, specifically for Western Lake Erie Basin. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of changing climate on hydro-climatology and nutrient loadings in agricultural subsurface-drained areas on a watershed in northeastern Indiana. The study was conducted using a hydrologic model - the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) - under two different greenhouse gas emission scenarios (RCP 4.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of green infrastructure on hydrology and water quality in a combined sewer overflow community.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of green infrastructure (GI) practices on improving site hydrology and water quality and their associated cost could provide valuable information for decision makers when creating development/re-development strategies. In this study, a watershed scale rainfall-runoff model (the Long-Term Hydrologic Impact Analysis - Low Impact Development model, the L-THIA-LID 2.1 model) was enhanced to improve its simulation of urban water management practices including GI practices.

Evaluation of constraints to water quality improvements in the Western Lake Erie Basin.

Severe environmental and health impacts have been experienced in the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB) because of eutrophication and associated proliferation of harmful algae blooms. Efforts to improve water quality within the WLEB have been on-going for several decades. However, water quality improvements in the basin have not been realized as anticipated.

Evaluation of bioenergy crop growth and the impacts of bioenergy crops on streamflow, tile drain flow and nutrient losses in an extensively tile-drained watershed using SWAT.

Large quantities of biofuel production are expected from bioenergy crops at a national scale to meet US biofuel goals. It is important to study biomass production of bioenergy crops and the impacts of these crops on water quantity and quality to identify environment-friendly and productive biofeedstock systems. SWAT2012 with a new tile drainage routine and improved perennial grass and tree growth simulation was used to model long-term annual biomass yields, streamflow, tile flow, sediment load, and nutrient losses under various bioenergy scenarios in an extensively agricultural watershed in the Midwestern US.

A review on effectiveness of best management practices in improving hydrology and water quality: Needs and opportunities.

Best management practices (BMPs) have been widely used to address hydrology and water quality issues in both agricultural and urban areas. Increasing numbers of BMPs have been studied in research projects and implemented in watershed management projects, but a gap remains in quantifying their effectiveness through time. In this paper, we review the current knowledge about BMP efficiencies, which indicates that most empirical studies have focused on short-term efficiencies, while few have explored long-term efficiencies.

Effects of cadmium-resistant fungi Aspergillus aculeatus on metabolic profiles of bermudagrass [Cynodondactylon (L.)Pers.] under Cd stress.

Plants' tolerance to heavy metal stress may be induced by the exploitation of microbes. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of cadmium (Cd)-resistant fungus, Aspergillus aculeatus, on tolerance to Cd and alteration of metabolites in bermudagrass under Cd stress, and identify the predominant metabolites associated with Cd tolerance. Two genotypes of bermudagrass with contrasting Cd tolerance (Cd-sensitive 'WB92' and Cd-tolerant 'WB242') were exposed to 0, 50, 150 and 250 mg kg Cd for 21 days.

Photosynthesis, antioxidant system and gene expression of bermudagrass in response to low temperature and salt stress.

There is widespread distribution of salinized lands in northern China. Harnessing such land is essential to environmental health. Bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.

Comparative photosynthetic and metabolic analyses reveal mechanism of improved cold stress tolerance in bermudagrass by exogenous melatonin.

Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) has been reported to participate in plant development and abiotic stress responses. The main objective of this study was to investigate the role of melatonin in the cold-sensitive (S) and the cold-tolerant (T) bermudagrass genotypes' response to cold stress. The genotypes were treated with 100 μM melatonin and exposed to 4 °C temperature for 3 days.

Assessing fecal coliform fate and transport in a coastal watershed using HSPF.

There is increasing concern regarding spread and proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms in watersheds and their impacts on water quality. In agricultural and rural watersheds fecal coliform occurrence, an indicator of pathogenic contamination, is often thought to be a result of land applications of animal waste. This study used the Hydrologic Simulation Program Fortran (HSPF) along with the Bacterial Indicator Tool to model fecal coliform transport in a coastal watershed with a view to identifying contaminant sources and key contributing areas.