In Malaysia, pineapple has been identified as a high-value non-seasonal tropic fruit, which is one of the top five fruits that shows a promising potential in the local and export markets. The variety of pineapple chosen in this study was MD2 hybrid. This variety is promoted for industrial cultivation by Malaysian Pineapple Industry Board (MPIB) because of its uniqueness as in uniformity and consistency for the size and ripeness compared to other varieties. Statistically, 90% of the pineapples in Malaysia are cultivated on peat soil while another 10% are cultivated on mineral soil. Highly weathered mineral soil lead to unfertile soil which inhibit crop growth. Thus, a field experiment was conducted to compare early growth performance of pineapple crop cultivated on mineral soil and peat soil. Based on t-test, growth performance including plant height, leaves length and leaves number showed no significant difference (p>0.05) except for leaf width. The leaf width of pineapple grown on mineral soil was significantly wider than cultivated on peat soil with significant difference of p = 0.015. The chemical analysis showed peat soil was significantly more acidic compared to mineral soil. Mineral soil was significantly higher in nutrients compared to peat soil especially the calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg). Meanwhile, peat soil was significantly higher in phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) content compared to mineral soil. From this study, it is found that with additional fertilizer, pineapple can be grown on mineral soil since the properties of soil can support the growth.
World is facing an increase of environmental concerns recently regarding on natural and synthetic fibers problems. Producing synthetic fibers may cost highly and create a few financial issues on the production matter. Moreover, synthetic fiber products have several disadvantages such as they are non-biodegradable. Some of them may cause health related problems and expose a significant risk. Researchers aimed to find the replacement for synthetic fibers with less cost production and renewable sources which lead to development of biomaterials-based composites production. Luffa is an eco-friendly crop, has been added as the new fibrous fruit with short harvest period. This study have applied a few practices using direct seeding and transplanting methods for low cost luffa production that aim for composites production. On the other hand, this study showed that transplanting (TP) method is better than direct seeding (DS) method based on the growth performance. TP method showed highest average of plant height (cm) and average total dry weight (g) of luffa fruits with 74.42±0.68 and 91.08±2.26 respectively whereas lower growth yield performance showed by DS method. Other parameters observed are the number of leaves and number of fruits which is a competent sources to the current composites sources, synthetic fibers. Hence, the results showed that luffa has the potential as a low cost and short harvest duration production plant.
Ballet African violets (Saintpaulia ionantha Wend. cvs. Ulli and Lisa) were grown in a peat-vermiculite-perlite mix using capillary mat subirrigation in the summer and winter. Rates of 0.9, 1.8, 2.7, and 3.6 kg of Osmocote 14-14-14 (14N-6.1P-11.6K) per m3 of growing medium were either top-dressed, incorporated, or placed in the bottom of the pot. In the summer, maximum dry weight of ‘Lisa’ was produced at the 3.6 kg/m3 rate and for ‘Ulli’ at the 2.7 kg/m3 rate (over all fertilizer placement methods). In winter, the 2.7 kg/m3 rate produced greatest dry weight in both cultivars. Placement method was significant for ‘Lisa’ dry weight and plant quality in summer, with top-dressing or incorporation generally being better than bottom-of-pot placement. Placement method was not significant for ‘Ulli’ in summer or winter for dry weight or quality.
The main source of cadmium (Cd) accumulates in humans is through the food chain processes when the living things uptake Cd from the soils. In this paper, spent mushroom waste (SMW) was used as an approach to reduce the Cd contamination in the growth medium. Thus, different percentages of SMW were mixed on Cd-polluted soil (20000 ppm per soil volume 1000 cm3) as growth medium: T0 (0%), T1 (5%), T2 (10%), T3 (15%), and T4 (20%) of SMW and these treatments were arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) along with three replications. The growth mediums were planted with Brazilian spinach to measure the uptake of Cd. There is no significance among the treatments for the availability of Cd in the soil after 51 days of planting and increasing the percentage of SMW was significantly reduce the amount of Cd uptake by the plant. The application of the SMW also resulted in a positive effect on the plant growth performance as there is a significant difference between the treated and untreated soil with SMW. However, the high percentage of SMW shows a reduction of growth parameters. This research establishes the potential of SMW in reducing the Cd in soil and subsequently reducing the risk of Cd reaching humans.
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