Organic fertilizer regimens consisting of combinations of composts (yard waste, swine manure, or spent mushroom substrate) and liquid fertilizers (fish- or plant-based) were evaluated against conventional hydroponic fertilizers in two experiments with greenhouse tomatoes grown in peat-based substrate. Crop yield and fruit quality were evaluated and several assays of substrate microbial activity and community profiles (fluorescein diacetate analysis and EcoLog, values, nematode counts) were conducted. Crops grown in 20% to 40% compost (yard waste or yard waste plus swine manure) plus a continuously applied liquid source of organic potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulphate (SO4) could not be sustained more than 1 month before nutrient deficiencies became visible. Supplementation with a nitrogen (N)- and phosphorus (P)-containing plant-based liquid fertilizer at the point when plant deficiencies became apparent subsequently produced yields ≈80% that of the hydroponic control. In a second experiment, the proportion of mushroom or yard waste compost was increased to 50% of the mix, and liquid delivery of K, Ca, Mg and SO4 plus either plant-based or fish-based N- and P-containing liquid feeds was started at the date of transplanting. In this case, organic yields equal to that of the hydroponic control (8.5 kg/plant) were observed in some treatments. The most productive organic treatment was the mushroom compost supplemented with a low concentration of the plant-based liquid fertilizer. In general, organic tomatoes had a lower postharvest decay index (better shelf life) than did the hydroponic controls, possibly as an indirect consequence of overall reduced yield in those treatments. High concentrations of both organic liquid feeds resulted in lower yields as a result of treatment-induced fusarium crown and root rot. In contrast to some previous studies, those treatments showing fusarium crown and root rot also had the highest gross microbial activity. Measures of gross microbial activity and numbers of microbivorous nematodes were higher (average of 37% and 6.7 times, respectively) in compost/organic feed treatments than in the hydroponic control. Community physiological profiles of the bacterial populations, on the other hand, did not differ between organic and hydroponic treatments. Nematode populations were significantly correlated with gross microbial activity in the organic treatments.

In the process of recycling spent lithium-ion batteries, citric acid is only used as a chelating agent to resynthesize new cathode materials by a sol-gel process or as a precipitant to separate Mn ions and Li ions.

The effect of Maillard reaction browning factors on the color enhancement of membrane clarification non-centrifugal cane sugar (M-NCS) in storage was explored. During storage, the color of M-NCS gradually browned and blackened. pH, the contents of glucose, fructose, protein, total amino acids and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) decreased significantly. Meanwhile, the moisture content, relative percentages of volatile Maillard reaction products (MRPs) and the content of 3-deoxyglucosone (3-DG) increased during storage. The sucrose content remained stable. Correlation analysis shows all browning factors were significantly correlated with color. Multivariate data analysis results demonstrated that the compound effects of volatile MRPs, 3-DG, pH, glucose and total amino acids led to the color change of stored M-NCS. The order of effect on the color change of stored M-NCS was volatile MRPs > 3-DG > pH > glucose > total amino acids.

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Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is an economically important vegetable crop in subtropics and tropics. In March 2021, a serious disease on eggplant seedlings about 20 days after transplanting was found in Rong'an County (25°28′ N; 109°53′ E), Guangxi, China, with an incidence of diseased plants of 35%. The initial symptom was water-soaked spots on the leaves, followed by irregular black-brown spots that gradually expanded outward, causing leaf necrosis and defoliation. Even parts of eggplant seedlings died after lesions extended to the stem and the surface of the diseased tissues was covered with white to blue mold. Four diseased eggplants were randomly collected from different fields. Small pieces of the symptomatic tissues were surface sterilized and incubated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 28°C for 4 days. A total of 12 strains with similar morphological characteristics were isolated, and four representative strains (FW-01 to FW-04) were characterized. The colony was initially white, changing to yellow-green after 7 days. Phialides were lageniform or ampulliform, 2.9 to 9.75 μm × 1.36 to 4.3 μm (n=50). Conidia were green, ellipsoidal to oblong, smooth, 2.1 to 3.3 μm × 1.6 to 2.33 μm (n=50). Chlamydospores were not observed on PDA. These morphological characteristics are consistent with the description of the genus Trichoderma (Samuels et al. 2012). To confirm the identification, from mycelia of the four isolates and DNA was extracted using the Fungal Genomic DNA Extraction Kit (Bioer Technology [Hangzhou] Co., Ltd.). Three gene regions (ITS, tef1 and rpb2) were amplified (Sadfi-Zouaoui et al. 2009; Atanasova et al. 2010) and sequenced (GenBank Accessions: OL677389 to OL677392 for ITS, OL743178 to OL743181 for tef1 and OL743182 to OL743185 for rpb2). ITS sequences shared 100% identity with sequences of T. reesei (MW514156) and T. parareesei (HM466668), and tef1 and rpb2 sequences showed more than 99% similarity with sequences of T. parareesei (KM263190 and HM182962). The phylogenetic tree of the concatenated sequences showed that four isolates were clustered with T. parareesei. Therefore, the isolates were identified as T. parareesei. To satisfy Koch's postulates, the pathogenicity of four strains was tested on healthy eggplant seedlings planted in a sterile potting mix. Eggplants at four leaves stage were inoculated using conidial suspensions (with a concentration of 1 × 106 conidia/ml), with two leaves of each eggplant inoculated with each isolate and the test repeated three times. The control eggplants leaves were inoculated with sterile water. All plants were placed in a greenhouse at 22 ± 3°C and 85% relative humidity, with a photoperiod of 12 h. The water-soaked spots appeared 48 h after inoculation. All inoculated leaves showed symptoms 3 days post-inoculation. The diseased leaves became brittle and abcissed, while the control leaves remained symptomless. Only T. parareesei was successfully re-isolated from the lesions. Atanasova et al. (2010) found that T. parareesei inhibited the growth of Lepidium sativum seedlings under in vitro conditions (Atanasova et al. 2010). To our knowledge, this is the first report of T. parareesei causing eggplant seedling blight in China. The pathogen can cause substantial economic losses in eggplant production. Therefore, the identification of the pathogen is of great significance for the diagnosis and control of the disease. The results of this study deepen the understanding of the pathogenicity of Trichoderma.

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