This study focuses on the environmentally friendly utilization of coal combustion residue, fly ash (FA) containing significant amounts of heavy metals. Knowledge about the potential use of FA as a component of growth media for plants is fragmentary. Preliminary experiments tested the possibility to grow cereal crops on media composed exclusively of FA. The analysis of seven different FA from lignite and semi-bituminous coal from North Dakota and Montana sources using inductively coupled plasma emission spectrophotometry showed high concentrations of heavy metals in coal (up to, in mg/kg): As:65, Cd:3.9, Co:38, Cr:77, Li:109, Mn:1547, Pb:106, Ni:41, V:306. Seedlings of rye, wheat, oats, barley, triticale, and regreen (hybrid between wheat and ryegrass) were planted in Petri dishes (10 cm in diameter) in growth media containing FA from lignite coal, FA from semi-bituminous coal, bottom ash, and Fargo clay soil as the control. Each treatment was performed in 3 replications, and each experiment was repeated 3 times. Germination rates, plant growth analysis, and dry matter yield were determined 2-3 weeks after planting. Germination rates and dry matter yield of oats, winterwheat and regreen were greater (10-20% above controls) in media composed of coal ash, but rye, barley, and wheat seedlings were affected by FA in media. These results show the potential for the utilization of FA as a growth media for cereal crops. Therefore, these plants might be used as green cover preventing wind erosion over the coal ash piles. However, this issue requires additional in depth investigation, including a thorough chemical analysis of plant material.
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Pesticide use in Bangladesh is disproportionately high in vegetable farming compared to other crops like cereals, pulses, and cash crops. This study delves into the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding pesticide use among vegetable farmers, focusing on the impact of a digital aggregation service implemented by Digital Green. Based on interviews with 120 vegetable farmers in the LOOP aggregation scheme and 120 non-LOOP vegetable farmers this study indicates that the farmers using the aggregation service have a moderately higher level of food safety knowledge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Plant Physiol
January 2025
Department of Life Science and Environmental Biochemistry, and Life and Industry Convergence Research Institute, Pusan National University, Miryang, 50463, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:
Pollen tubes are crucial for angiosperm plants, as they deliver sperm gametes for the essential process of double fertilization. Understanding the molecular mechanisms behind pollen tube germination and growth is critical; however, these processes remain partially elucidated in monocot cereal crops. Rapid Alkalinization Factor (RALF), a small peptide of about 5 kDa, binds to the CrRLK1L receptor and plays a role in various plant physiological processes, including reproduction and tip growth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFood Chem
January 2025
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genomics and Molecular Breeding / Zhongshan Biological Breeding Laboratory / Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics of the Ministry of Education, Agricultural College of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China; Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Modern Production Technology of Grain Crops, Agricultural College of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China. Electronic address:
The fortification of aleurone cells represents a promising avenue for enhancing the nutritional quality of cereal. This study investigated dorsal aleurone thickness (DAT) in a rice diversity panel comprising 180 varieties, revealing that DAT of the Geng subspecies is typically greater than that of the Xian subspecies. The minerals and primary metabolites accumulated in the brown grains of ten rice varieties exhibiting distinct DAT were subjected to analysis using spectrometry-based technologies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Snow mold caused by different psychrophilic phytopathogenic fungi is a devastating disease of winter cereals. The variability of the snow mold pathocomplex (the quantitative composition of snow mold fungi) has not been evaluated across different crops or different agrocenoses, and no microbial taxa have been predicted at the whole-microbiome level as potential effective snow mold control agents. Our study aimed to assess the variability of the snow mold pathocomplex in different winter cereal crops (rye, wheat, and triticale) in different agrocenoses following the peak disease progression and to arrange a hierarchical list of microbial taxa predicted to be the main candidates to prevent or, conversely, stimulate the development of snow mold pathogens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Biol
January 2025
Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, SJTU-University of Adelaide Joint Centre for Agriculture and Health, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China. Electronic address:
Enhancing drought resistance through the manipulation of root system architecture (RSA) in crops represents a crucial strategy for addressing food insecurity challenges. Abscisic acid (ABA) plays important roles in drought tolerance; yet, its molecular mechanisms in regulating RSA, especially in cereal crops, remain unclear. In this study, we report a new mechanism whereby ABA mediates local auxin biosynthesis to regulate root gravitropic response, thereby controlling the alteration of RSA in response to drought in cereal crops.
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