Search Results (5)

Sustainable agriculture aims to use biological resources to improve crop quality and productivity. This approach promotes alternatives, such as replacing synthetic pesticides with biological ones and substituting mineral fertilizers with organic fertilizers. Field trials were conducted using two different factors: fertilizer treatments (ammonium nitrate and pig manure digestate) and plant protection treatments (pesticides, Artemisia dubia Wall biomass mulch, and strips). After harvesting the winter wheat, the productivity and quality (weight of 1000 grains, protein, gluten, starch, sedimentation of grains) were evaluated. The two-year studies showed that pig manure digestate positively affected winter wheat grain quality. Mugwort biomass outperformed other plant protection options in three key grain quality indicators (protein, gluten, and sedimentation). Furthermore, in 2023, the highest grain yield of 5798 ± 125 kg ha⁻¹ was observed in the pesticides and pig manure digestate treatment. The quick impact and mode of action of vegetation pesticides were more easily felt over the two years of study, leading to the highest yield of wheat grains compared to other plant management measures. This study shows that mugwort biomass can positively influence wheat grain quality, a significant milestone in utilizing nonfood crops as alternatives for agricultural productivity. Full article

The Green Deal strategy has the very ambitious goal of transforming the European Union into the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. For the agricultural sector, one of the main challenges is to reduce the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Crop protection measures aim to maintain and ensure certain standards of yield and quality, which are generally achieved by the control of pests, diseases, and weeds. One of the possibilities to reduce the use of pesticides could be allelopathic plants, which are not only potential sources of allelochemicals but also renewable biomass sources. The aim of this study was to analyze the productivity of Artemisia dubia Wall and evaluate the allelopathic effects of biomass on crops and weeds. It was determined that the biomass productivity of A. dubia varied from 2 to 18 t ha⁻¹, depending on how many times it is cut during the growing season and the fertilizer rate. A. dubia has allelopathic properties, which were verified using an aqueous extract and can completely suppress the germination of Taraxacum officinale seeds. Young plants harvested in the middle of summer were characterized by the highest number of phenolic compounds. This shows the strong allelopathic effect of A. dubia biomass on other plants. Full article

With the increasing importance of energy crops, research on potential energy crops is carried out to identify plant species with high productivity and energy value. The field experiment with the new promising energy crop, Artemisia dubia (wormwood), was executed at the Vėžaičiai Branch of the LAMMC. The soil site was naturally acidic Retisol (pH 4.2–4.4). The species was investigated as an energy crop through the evaluation of its biomass productivity and some energetical qualities. According to the three investigation years, DM yield significantly varied depending on the growing season, cutting time and nitrogen rate. The highest average DM yield was observed in 2020—10.58 t ha⁻¹. On average, the DM yield varied from 6.49 t ha⁻¹ (first cutting) to 11.82 t ha⁻¹ (third cutting). The DM yield was positively correlated with stem height and the mass of one stem. Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) depended on the growing season, cutting time and nitrogen rate. Both N90 and N180 rates should be used for A. dubia fertilization. Energy growing analysis (including direct and indirect expenses) revealed that the highest share of energy expenses are due to indirect energy expenses (particularly nitrogen application). EUE (energy utilization efficiency) tends to decrease as a result of increasing nitrogen fertilization. Overall, A. dubia granules are characterized by a high calorific value. Full article

The present work aims to provide an insight on the chemical constituents of essential oils obtained from six aromatic plants of the Langtang National Park (LNP), Nepal. LNP harbors an enriched biodiversity of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs). The composition of essential oils obtained from Rhododendron anthopogon D. Don, Artemisia dubia Wall. ex Besser, Boenninghausenia albiflora (Hook.) Rchb. ex Meisn., Elsholtzia fruticosa (D. Don) Rehder, Juniperus recurva Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don and Rhododendron setosum D. Don, were analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The essential oils were extracted via the hydrodistillation method using the Clevenger apparatus. GC-MS analysis showed that E-caryophyllene, α-pinene, γ-terpinene, β-pinene and δ-cadinene in Rhododendron anthopogon; santolina-triene, β-cubebene and sabinene in Artemisia dubia; β-myrcene, β-cubebene, E-β-ocimene and bicyclogermacrene in Boenninghausenia albiflora; perillene, eucalyptol and β-pinene in Elsholtzia fruticosa; δ-3-carene, cadina-1(6),4-diene and δ-cadinene in Juniperus recurva; trans-sabinyl acetate, sabinene, α-elemol and germacrene D in Rhododendron setosum are the principal components. The major compounds in the essential oil were monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, representing almost 80% to 90% of the total constituents of the essential oil. In comparison to the previous studies, the results showed a significant difference in the qualitative composition of the essential oil. This is also the first report on the study of chemical constituents from the essential oil of R. setosum. Despite hosting a plethora of MAPs, only a limited number of studies have been carried out to identify their chemical and biological properties. Hence, further investigations on the MAPs of the Langtang region are highly essential to identify the major chemical constituents and explore their biological activities. Full article

In the world, as in Lithuania, there is a costant search for new crops suitable for energy conversion. The coarse-energy crops and their biomass studied for this paper were assessed in a comprehensive manner, i.e., not only their calorific value and ash content but also their ash melting properties and pollutants emitted during the thermochemical conversion. The calorific value of energy crops varies from 17.92 ± 0.32 to 18.50 ± 0.66 MJ kg⁻¹ and decreases in the following order: A. dubia > M. giganteus > C. sativa. Ash content varies from 1.51 ± 0.03 to 3.36 ± 0.23% and decreases in the following order: C. sativa > A. dubia > M. giganteus. The lowest primary ash deformation (648 ± 8 °C) was recorded for C. sativa. Taking into account the specificity of our research and the changes in biomass ash content due to mineral nitrogen fertilization, it has been found that that higher levels of nitrogen fertilizers in the combustion products reduce CO and increase the total CO₂ content of the combustion product. Significant changes in fertilization were usually 170 kg ha⁻¹ for A. dubia and 90 kg ha⁻¹ for M. giganteus. In summary, A. dubia, M. giganteus and C. sativa biomass should be used for thermochemical conversion. Full article