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In Kenya, potato production is done mainly by smallholder farmers as a key food and cash crop. About 83% of the country’s crop production is mainly in highland areas with an altitude of between 1,200 and 3,000 m above sea level. The country’s average potato yield ranges from 8 to 15 t ha−1, 2 to 3 times below the achievable yield of 40 t ha−1. The production is mainly limited by unavailability of certified seeds, increased pests, diseases, decreased soil fertility and erratic rainfall. The current work reviews the current status of potato production in Kenya with emphasis on its importance, ecological requirements and constraints.

Water deficit stress and poor soil fertility in arid and semi-arid regions are the most important factors limiting the growth and yield of cotton plants. A factorial experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design in a research farm in the Ardabil (Moghan), Iran, in the 2019-2020 crop year with three replications. Experimental treatments included moisture levels at three levels (40, 60, and 80% of field capacity) and fertilizer application at four levels (vermicompost, cattle manure, chemical fertilizers (urea and triple superphosphate), and control). The results showed that the content of photosynthetic pigments decreased significantly with delay in irrigation. At the same time, the highest amounts of proline, malondialdehyde, and hydrogen peroxide were observed in irrigation conditions of 40% moisture of field capacity. Application of organic and chemical fertilizers compared to the control showed a significant effect on increasing the chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoids. The relative water content, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and oil percentage increased by 32, 24, 23, and 26% in optimal irrigation conditions and 28, 21, 15, and 20% in moderate stress conditions and 23, 16, 14, and 19, respectively, in severe stress conditions due to vermicompost application compared to treatment without fertilizer. Due to vermicompost application in irrigation conditions, maximum grain yield (2558.33 kg ha-1), fiber yield (1117.04 kg ha-1), oil yield (651.81 kg ha-1), and oil percentage (25.48%) were obtained, with 80% of field capacity obtained. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that in conditions of low irrigation, the application of organic fertilizers is more effective in improving the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of cotton. It is better to increase the yield of agricultural products from vermicompost and cattle manure instead of chemical fertilizers, to be used to reduce environmental pollution and their production costs to achieve a sustainable agricultural.

Cellulose is a unique organic molecule abundantly available in nature and can be a great source of useful synthetic nonmaterial for its potential applications as fillers in biodegradable nanocomposite used in automotives, packing and agriculture applications. In the present study, an attempt have been made to develop nanocellulose from the waste fibers that produced in the form of short length from jute spinning industry during several mechanical processes popularly known as “caddies”. Sulphuric acid have been found be effective at a concentration of 60% for breakdown of cellulose long chain. Mechanical ultra-sonication in wet milling process yielded the optimum nanoform from alphacellulose. The extraction efficiency of alphacellulose from jute caddies is around 50% while the yield of nano cellulose is around 30%. The findings may mitigate problems of use of wood materials as a source of nanocellulose and find some alterantive source like jute stick and jute caddies. The process conversion to nanomaterials has wide implications in economic context and can minimize the long term industrial hazards through development of a valuable bio-resource.

A field trial was conducted on the lateritic sandy loam soils of Kharagpur, West Bengal, India, during 2017-2020 to access the efficacy of different drip irrigation levels with and without plastic mulch on growth and yield of cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.). Three levels of irrigation water applied through the drip, ring basin irrigation method combined with plastic mulch experimented with three replications on cashew plants. Reference evapotranspiration was estimated using the FAO-56 Penman-Monteith approach. The cashew crop water requirement was calculated using reference evapotranspiration data and crop co-efficient for different crop growth stages. The irrigation water was applied at 60%, 80%, and 100% of the crop water requirement. Irrigation intervals were at 2 and 5 days respectively in drip and ring basin irrigation treatments. The water requirement of the Cashew crop varies between 15.4 L (1.2 mm) per day per plant in the winter season and 39.1 L (3.1 mm) per day per plant in the summer season for 100% water requirement treatment at the peak growth stage. Among the different irrigation levels tested, application of 100 % volume of water through drip irrigation with plastic mulch at (VDM) recorded maximum height (4.22 m), girth (56.55 cm), canopy (4.95 m), number of Primary branches (3.67), secondary branches (13.67) and yield (1.23 t ha-1) comparing to all other treatments.

Basic information on the physical properties of flowers is of great importance and helpful to engineers towards efficient process and machine development. Some of the physical properties of jasmine (Jasminum multiforum. L) have been studied to provide data needed in designing jasmine processing machinery. These Properties include the length of corolla (mm), the diameter of corolla (mm), the weight of 1000 flowers (g), flower projected area (cm2), stalk thickness (mm), the strength of stalk (kgf), bulk density (g/cm3), moisture content (%), color values such as L*, a* and b*. The average range of these properties for jasmine is in the range of 32.16 to 36.11 mm for the length of corolla, 6.05 to 6.49 mm for the diameter of the corolla, 134.19 to 177.11 g for weight of 1000 flowers, 6.8 to 8.5 cm2 for flower projected area and 1.30 to 1.54 for bulk density (g/cm3). The strength of the stalk falls in the range of 1.38 to 1.98 kgf. Moisture content is in the range of 72 to 74.3, and color values fall in the range of 67.62 to 73.69 for L*, -0.95 to -2.11 for a*, and 11.90 to 16.15 for b*.

Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) is an agricultural crop with a high sucrose content in the root. Its specific properties make it an essential crop for the sugar processing industry—the response of sugar beet cv. ‘Sonja’ to different rates of animal manure and foliar application of micronutrients was explored. Animal manure was applied at six rates, whereas micronutrients (Fe, Zn, B, and Mn) were foliar applied at five levels and no micronutrients (control). The evaluated traits included gross sugar percentage, Na, K, and N contents of tubers, alkalinity, sugar extraction coefficient, root yield, pure sugar percentage, and molasses. The results showed that the maximum gross sugar of 18.59% and pure sugar of 16.22% were obtained in plots treated with 40 t ha-1 manure that was subjected to the foliar application of B. Also, foliar application of micronutrients (Mn, Zn, and B) under 40 t ha-1 manure by reducing the amount of Na and amino-N content of the sugar beet roots improved the quantitative and qualitative characteristics. The application of manure enhanced root yield, white sugar yield, and sugar yield by 31, 35, and 38%, respectively, compared to the no-manure treatment. The highest root yield of 63.96 t ha-1, white sugar yield of 11.24 t ha-1 and sugar yield of 9.28 t ha-1 was obtained from Mn application. The results revealed that the foliar application of micronutrients accompanied by animal manure application could maintain soil fertility and improve the quantitative and qualitative traits of sugar beet.

Textile sector provides livelihood from landless labourer, marginal farmers, retailers, small vendors to big industrialist. Share of GDP from textile sector in Indian economy is around 5.14 per cent in 2021. As the demand for eco-friendly, sustainable, anti-microbial clothes and fabric increases, textile industries tend to produce more diversified products with varying properties. More the produce, more will be the resource utilization and in turn residue generation will also increase simultaneously. Textile industries are supposed to generate huge voluminous toxic effluent generated during dry and wet process of yarn or fabric treatment. These effluents consists of carcinogenic dyes and chemicals which not only a threat to living beings but also to the environment. A holistic, novel and scientific methods towards effluent treatment is the need of the hour to tackle this alarming residue. This review is a collective effort towards effluent treatment methods used worldwide till date and different rules and regulation followed by the government towards its discharge.

The human population in the world will reach about 9 billion by the year 2050, so food security is one of the pivotal themes of the new millennium which is the most urgent challenge for the agricultural sector. Food production relies on the availability of resources, such as land, freshwater, fossil energy and nutrients. Due to problems such as pests and diseases in soil, lack of suitable soils or great variations in soil types and shortage of fresh water for irrigation, using soilless culture systems for vegetable production are increasing in the world. In a country like India, due to rapid urbanization, adoption of soilless culture is gaining momentum for improving the yield and quality of the produce. Various reasons persist for the continued growth of soilless production as part of agriculture. Hydroponic is a method of growing plants without soil using water, other soilless media, and nutrient solutions. Several characteristics are considered in selecting materials for soilless growth media such as good draining, high water holding capacity, high ionic exchange capacity and their devoid of weeds, pests, and pathogens. The material used in the media should also be inexpensive, accessible, and preferably organic to be better recycled in nature. Natural Fibre Crop Based Plant Growth Media are lighter in weight, biodegradable, eco-friendly, sustainable and cheaper compared to currently available material like Zeolite, Perlite, Rockwool etc. This review explores the prospects of natural fibre based substrate and their waste by-products like coir, wool waste, pineapple leaf fibre waste, banana pseudostem fibre waste, wood fibre etc., in a holistic manner. More involvement of substrate producers and end-users in educational and planning efforts could improve the quality of growing media by introducing added-value characteristics. This review attempted to provide an overview of hydroponic systems, soilless culture, their types, various popular substrate used and prospects of inexpensive, locally available natural fibre crop based growth media or substrate for soilless crop production systems.

The growing global population and climate change demand more food to be produced in an environment in which the quality of natural resources is declining and our environment is increasingly variable as well. Due to its influence on soil properties, soil tillage is regarded as one of the fundamental agrotechnical operations in agriculture. It is essential to apply tillage practices that avoid soil degradation, maintain crop yield, and ensure ecosystem stability. The practice of conservation agriculture, which practices agriculture in a way that minimizes damage to the environment, is being advocated on a large scale throughout the world. Conservation agriculture is primarily focused on soil health, plant growth, and environmental protection. The purpose of this paper is to review the work done on conservation agriculture to evaluate its impact on the soil, the crop, and the environment. Research reports have shown that conservation tillage offers several advantages over conventional tillage with regard to soil physical, chemical and biological properties. The largest contribution of CA to reducing emissions from farming activities is made by the reduction of tillage operations.