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Diatomaceous earth (DE) has the potential to decrease pest damage to plants both indirectly by being a source of silica if applied as a soil amendment and directly as a physical barrier if applied to foliage. For applicability in Louisiana sugarcane, DE would need to be effective at controlling the sugarcane borer (SCB), the primary economic pest, while not harming natural enemies like the red imported fire ant (RIFA) that provide biological control. We examined DE formulated for agricultural use by evaluating its potential as a sugarcane soil amendment and a foliar treatment. We determined impacts of a DE soil amendment on SCB damage and yield in a field test then evaluated if the amendment negatively impacted RIFA survival in a laboratory assay. Using potted plants, we assessed efficacy of DE foliar applications against SCB followed by a visual assessment of product longevity in the field. We found that the DE soil amendment did not alter SCB damage or yield but neither did it impact RIFA survival. Unlike the soil amendment, foliar application in a rain-free environment decreased SCB damage to stalks. However, the product did not last long on leaves or stalks under typical Louisiana field conditions. Given that the most used insecticide in sugarcane only requires 1-2 applications per year and does not disrupt biological control while DE would require many costly applications due to plant growth rates and precipitation levels, we suspect that DE is not currently a good fit for use with Louisiana sugarcane production.

期刊论文 2024-10-01 ISSN: 0022-8567

In sugarcane cultivation, agricultural mechanization causes soil compaction, with a consequent decrease in the yield and longevity of the sugarcane fields. Mechanized harvesting operations can promote soil compaction during the first plant cycle. The aim of this study was to identify the critical mechanized harvesting operation for soil compaction through the analysis of the field soil mechanical resistance to penetration, modelling the spatial distribution and quantifying the effects on the yield of the subsequent crop cycle. The study was conducted in an area covered by Latossolo Vermelho in the Brazilian Cerrado, and the experiment used a randomized block design with seven plots and three replicates. The plots were constructed based on the operating conditions of the following machinery: a track harvester; a tractor and three-axis trailer set; a combination of the track harvester, tractor and three-axis trailer; and maintenance, fire and convoy trucks. In addition, manual harvesting was evaluated as a reference for the soil structure and production potential. The pressures exerted on the soil by the machinery were estimated using Tyres-Tracks and Soil Compaction (TASC), and the impacts of the traffic were evaluated in two evaluation regions: the traffic lane and the planting row. The soil resistance to penetration (SRP) was measured with an automatic penetrometer. The measurements were recorded perpendicular to the traffic lane every 0.08 m at a horizontal distance of 1.52 m up to a depth of 0.50 m, with the water content in the soil profile close to the field capacity. Maps of the spatial variabilities in the SRP in the traffic lane and in the planting row were estimated via ordinary kriging and indicator kriging, respectively. The dissipation of the stresses exerted at the soil-wheel interface was confirmed by the spatial variability maps; these maps showed the high predictive capacity of the TASC tool. The fire truck generated the largest increase in the soil compaction in the traffic lane. Based on the analysis of the percentage of the affected soil profile area, the tractor and trailer dissipated the load to the restrictive values of the SRP both at depth and near the planting row. Consequently, a reduction in soil volume was observed but was not the physical limiting factor for crop development, and greater yield losses occurred in the subsequent cycle. For this reason, transportation operations (the tractor and trailer set) were considered the critical sugarcane harvesting operations; moreover, due to the combination of the track harvester, tractor and three-axis trailer, 60% of the impacted area exhibited mechanical resistance to penetration exceeding 2.5 MPa and likely restricting the root development. In addition, support truck traffic could damage the soil structure. Thus, the machine traffic in sugarcane areas could exacerbate productivity losses caused by the soil compaction.

期刊论文 2024-08-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2024.116979 ISSN: 0016-7061

The sugarcane industry has been suffering from unstable productivity on commercial fields. The major factors causing this problem are mechanized harvesting damage to cane clumps in the field and the slow process of releasing and adopting new sugarcane cultivars. By utilizing new micropropagation processes involving the extraction of apical meristem from new cultivars and biofactory methods for multiplying the material, it is possible to produce an extraordinary number of sugarcane seedlings to provide nurseries rapidly with new cultivars for planting on commercial fields. The goal of this study was to evaluate several irrigation strategies (IS) to determine the best one for supplying the biofactory sugarcane seedlings water requirements, under conditions of different volumes of substrate (VS): 56, 73, 93 and 125 cm3. The irrigation management experiment comprised eight IS based on different periods of accumulated reference evapotranspiration (ETo). We found that the irrigation application must occur at intervals below 30 mm of accumulated ETo. IS1 (maintenance of soil moisture at field capacity) results in a larger number of tillers, longer extension of the primary stalks, and enhanced dry matter (DM) yield independent of VS. The VS factor accounted for statistical differences in sugarcane survival rate and morphological characteristics, but only for low initial soil moisture conditions. The intermediate VS of 73 cm3 was the best option for plants to thrive in the field; larger VS (93 and 125 cm3) produced young plants with many leaves, which transpire a lot in the field, increasing the chances of early death under water stress after planting; the smaller VS (56 cm3) resulted in young plants with small root systems and minimal water reservoirs, resulting in lower survival under drought conditions.

期刊论文 2024-01-01 DOI: 10.36253/ijam-2447 ISSN: 2038-5625

The present work investigated the biodegradable polymer composite through the injection molding method. The matrix material of polylactic acid (PLA) and reinforcement particulates of novel Saccharum spontaneum (SS) were incorporated into the polymer matrix in the range of 5 % to 25 %. In addition to this study, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) were used to examine the structural and morphological analyses of a green polymer composite. Mechanical characteristics such as tensile strength, compressive strength, flexural strength, and shore D hardness have been studied. The soil degradation test and water absorption study were conducted as per the standards. The results showed that compared to pure PLA composite, the 25 wt. % SS-filled PLA composites showed better mechanical properties of tensile, flexural, compressive, and Shore D hardness at 87.41 MPa, 86.20 MPa, 86.4 MPa, and 91.4 SHN, respectively. Thus, the developed novel composite has a potential impact on low-speed applications. The excellent biodegradation property was confirmed with the help of a soil degradation test and water absorption study.

期刊论文 2024-01-01 DOI: 10.30955/gnj.05648 ISSN: 1790-7632
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