Plant Productions

Feasibility and capacity assessment of nano-organo-silica production from rice husk and its characterization

Reza Ebrahimi Gaskarei; Fatemeh nickkhoo shaldehi

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 10 December 2024

https://doi.org/10.22055/ppd.2024.47929.2205

Abstract

Background and purpose: Gilan and Mazandaran produce about 84% of the country's rice. Gilan province has 1805 active rice mills that convert about 700,000 tons of paddy produced ... Read More Background and purpose: Gilan and Mazandaran produce about 84% of the country's rice. Gilan province has 1805 active rice mills that convert about 700,000 tons of paddy produced from 230,000 hectares of paddy fields into white rice every year. In this process, about 20% of the dry weight of paddy, i.e. 140,000 tons of the outer husk of rice remains as waste in the rice milling factories -about 20% of the dry weight of this husk is silica, so from a theoretical point of view, it is possibil to extract 28,000 tons silica from this waste.In the north of the country, the inner husk of rice paddy (soft husk) is used as livestock and poultry feed, but the outer husk of rice paddy (rough husk) contains 70% lignocellulose and 20% amorphous silica and has no nutritional value in livestock and poultry feed. For every ton of rice paddy, 0.2 ton of the outer shell of paddy is left in the rice mills factories. The outer shell of rice husk is the waste of rice mills and about twenty percent of its dry weight is silica in the form of SiO2, which can be extracted and returned to the production cycle espetially in paddy soils. In other words, the annual waste of rice mills can be used to extract silica. The necessity of this research is related to the insufficiency of silicon in the soil of some rice paddy fields in the north of Iran, returning silicon to the rice field and solving the problem of rice milling factory waste. The production of this element from organic waste is a demand-oriented, innovative and technological idea in line with sustainable agriculture. Due to the high price of imported silicon fertilizer and currency and vice versa, the cheap and annual availability of the outer shell of husk, as well as the many uses of silicon in agriculture, industry, medicine and pharmaceuticals, the production of granulated nano-organosilica from this waste with economic and environmental aspects is one of the goals of this applied research. Materials and methods: This research was done in the soil chemistry laboratory in University of Guilan. First, the outer shell of rice husk was obtained as a waste of rice mills from a rice mill factory in rural district of Jiredeh, Shaft city in Guilan and after boiling with hydrochloric acid, it was heated in an electric furnace at a temperature of 700 degrees Celsius so that amorphous nanosilica remains. From the interaction of amorphous nanosilica with potassium nitrate, semi-crystalline nanosilica was obtained. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analyzes were used to identify amorphous nanosilica and semi-crystalline nanosilica. In addition, the production capacity of the outer shell of rice husk from the waste of rice mills in active mills was randomly estimated using a questionnaire. Result: Firstly it has been approved that the silica particles produced from rice husk are nanoparticles secondly the results showed that about 100 grams of nano-organosilica can be produced from every 1000 grams of outer shell of rice husk. Based on this result; the amount of silica that can be produced from rice husk in the country is estimated to be about 90 thousand tons. Conclusion: In line with sustainable agriculture, by extracting silica from the waste of rice mills, the soil silica needed of the rice fields in the north of the country can be supplied.

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A study on the effects of chemical and biological fertilizers on the essential oil content of sage (Salvia officinalis L.)

Bohloul Abbaszadeh; Masoumeh Layegh haghighi; Razieh Azimi; Negar Valizadeh

Volume 47, Issue 3 , November 2024, , Pages 455-474

https://doi.org/10.22055/ppd.2024.47372.2188

Abstract

Introduction The use of medicinal plants and their products has been expanded significantly in various countries. Sage, scientifically known as Salvia officinalis, is a valuable medicinal ... Read More Introduction The use of medicinal plants and their products has been expanded significantly in various countries. Sage, scientifically known as Salvia officinalis, is a valuable medicinal plant belonging to the mint family. Sage leaves contain various types of flavonoids and phenolic compounds and possess important medicinal properties such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Additionally, sage leaves and flowering tops are used in food processing and perfumery. Some compounds present in sage essential oil, such as 1,8-cineole, borneol, camphor, and thujone, exhibit antimicrobial, antioxidant, memory-enhancing, anti-Alzheimer's, and anticancer properties. The application of biofertilizers not only plays a crucial role in increasing the yield of medicinal plants but also affects the quality of active compounds. One of the strategies in sustainable agricultural systems to enhance soil fertility is the minimal use of on-farm inputs, including biofertilizers, and their combined application with organic and chemical fertilizers. Furthermore, nutrient management is a vital factor in successful cultivation. Materials and methods A factorial experiment based on a randomized complete block design with three replications was conducted in the 2021-2022 growing season at the Research Farm of the Forest and Rangelands Research Institute of Iran to evaluate the effects of chemical and biological fertilizers on the percentage and composition of sage essential oil. Treatments included a control (no fertilizer), chemical fertilizers (150 kg/ha phosphorus from triple superphosphate and 300 kg/ha nitrogen from urea), and inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi (Funneliformis mosseae and Rhizophagus irregularis) and phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (Pseudomonas fluorescens strain 187). Results and Discussion Results showed that the application of chemical fertilizers significantly affected the yield and percentage of essential oil compounds including alpha-pinene, camphene, 1,8-cineole, alpha-thujone, and beta-thujone, as well as the total of hydrocarbon monoterpenes, oxygenated monoterpenes, and oxygenated sesquiterpenes. The yield of compounds such as alpha-pinene, 1,8-cineole, alpha-thujone, beta-thujone, and camphor was also significantly affected. The highest percentage of alpha-thujene (% 0.25) were obtained in the treatment with both urea and phosphate fertilizers. The highest percentage of linalool and camphor yield was obtained in the treatment with biofertilizers. The highest essential oil yield with averages of 97.57, 97.07, and 89.27 kg/ha belonged to the treatments N300P0 * Funneliformis mosseae + Rhizophagus irregularis+ Pseudomonas fluorescens strain 187, Pseudomonas fluorescens strain 187 * N0P150, and Funneliformis mosseae + Rhizophagus irregularis + Pseudomonas fluorescens strain 187* N0P150, respectively." Conclusion The results of this study indicated that sage, due to its abundant aerial biomass production, requires adequate fertilization to achieve high yields. However, the essential oil percentage of this plant was not affected by environmental factors such as fertilization and seemed to be more controlled by genetic factors. This finding can significantly contribute to the selection and introduction of cultivars with high essential oil percentages in the future. Furthermore, by combining chemical and biological fertilizers, it is possible to effectively influence the percentage and quantity of major essential oil compounds in sage and achieve the production of higher quality plants with a higher percentage of specific compounds.

The impact of conventional, sustainable, and organic farming systems on grain yield and energy use efficiency in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.), mung bean (Vigna radiate L.) and maize (Zea mays L.)

Aram Gorooei; Amir Aaynehband; Afraseyab Rahnama

Volume 47, Issue 2 , August 2024, , Pages 179-193

https://doi.org/10.22055/ppd.2020.32356.1871

Abstract

Background and objectiveConsidering the limited natural resources and the negative effects of inappropriate use of these resources on both human health and environment, addressing the ... Read More Background and objectiveConsidering the limited natural resources and the negative effects of inappropriate use of these resources on both human health and environment, addressing the patterns of energy consumption remains vital (Baran and Gokdogan, 2017; Ozkan et al, 2004). Materials and methodsThis study was conducted at the research farm of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz in the summer of 2018. Experimental design was split-plot based on randomized complete block design with three replications. Main plots consisted of agriculture production systems; intensive (all inputs e.g., fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides were chemical), sustainable (a combination of organic and intensive methods were used to manage this farming system), and organic (in this farming system, all inputs were organic and biological, no chemical fertilizers were applied. control of weeds was done mechanically). Sub plots consisted of three crops; corn (cereal), mung bean (legume) and sesame (oil seed). In this study, energy efficiency indices were calculated by measuring the energy equivalent of all inputs and outputs. ResultsResults showed that the highest and lowest grain yields for corn, mung bean and sesame were obtained in the intensive and organic systems, respectively. The lowest (1.18) and highest (3.69) energy use efficiencies were belonged to intensive sesame and organic corn, respectively. The highest amount of energy consumed (34396 MJha-1) was observed in intensive corn and the lowest with the value of 8247 MJ ha-1 was belonged to the organic mung bean. Additionally, intensive corn presented the highest (94045 MJ) output energy. On the other hand, organic mung bean showed the lowest value of the output energy (15279 MJ). Intensive corn and organic sesame had the highest and lowest amounts of net energy indices with the values of 59649 and 7032, respectively. Although corn yield in the organic system was nearly 30 percent lower than in the intensive system, energy consumption for organic corn was 50 percent lower than for intensive cornConclusionTo design an appropriate agroecosystem, it is necessary to consider a collection of agroecological indices e.g., energy use efficiency, net energy, energy utilization index, special energy, as well as crop production history and agricultural culture (human resource productivity index, agrochemical energy, greenhouse gas emission) to find a balance between both factors based on each region.

Allelopathic effects of walnut decomposed leaf extract on some physiological traits of wild oat (Avena fatua L.)

E. Ghojavand1; A. Danesh-Shahraki2; A. Tadayon

Volume 37, Issue 3 , December 2014, , Pages 13-21

Abstract

In order to evaluate the allelopathic effects of decomposed walnut leaf extract on some physiological traits of wild oat (Avena fatua L.) an experiment was conducted in Shahrekord University ... Read More

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Keywords = Sustainable agriculture

Feasibility and capacity assessment of nano-organo-silica production from rice husk and its characterization

Abstract

A study on the effects of chemical and biological fertilizers on the essential oil content of sage (Salvia officinalis L.)

Abstract

The impact of conventional, sustainable, and organic farming systems on grain yield and energy use efficiency in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.), mung bean (Vigna radiate L.) and maize (Zea mays L.)

Abstract

Allelopathic effects of walnut decomposed leaf extract on some physiological traits of wild oat (Avena fatua L.)

Abstract