Search Results (4)

Microbial degradation is an effective, eco-friendly and sustainable approach for management of the rice residue. After harvesting a rice crop, removal of stubble from the ground is a challenging task, that forces the farmers to burn the residue in-situ. Therefore, accelerated degradation using an eco-friendly alternative is a necessity. White rot fungi are the most explored group of microbes for accelerated degradation of lignin but they are very slow in growth. The present investigation focuses on degradation of rice stubble using a fungal consortium constructed with highly sporulating ascomycetes fungi, namely, Aspergillus terreus, Aspergillus fumigatus and Alternaria spp. All three species were successful at colonizing the rice stubble. Periodical HPLC analysis of rice stubble alkali extracts revealed that incubation with ligninolytic consortium released various lignin degradation products such as vanillin, vanillic acid, coniferyl alcohol, syringic acid and ferulic acid. The efficiency of the consortium was further studied at different dosages on paddy straw. Maximum lignin degradation was observed when the consortium was applied at 15% volume by weight of rice stubble. Maximum activity of different lignolytic enzymes such as lignin peroxidase, laccase and total phenols was also found with the same treatment. FTIR analysis also supported the observed results. Hence, the presently developed consortium for degrading rice stubble was found to be effective in both laboratory and field conditions. The developed consortium or its oxidative enzymes can be used alone or combined with other commercial cellulolytic consortia to manage the accumulating rice stubble effectively. Full article

High-yielding agriculture in an intensive rice–wheat rotation system leads to plenty of residues left in the field after harvest, which is detrimental to seeding operation, seed germination, and early plant growth. Some residue thus needs to be incorporated into the soil. Providing the relationship between tillage operations and residue incorporation and establishing a mathematical model play important roles in residue management and the design of tillage machinery. In order to obtain detailed data on the interaction between residue incorporation and tillage operations, a multifunctional field-testing bench with precise parameter control was developed to assess residue incorporation characteristics of rotary tillage, and we investigated the effects of straw length, stubble height and rotary speed on residue incorporation. Three experimental factors affecting residue incorporation performance were studied, i.e., six lengths of straw (30–150 mm), four heights of stubble (50–200 mm), and three rotary speeds (240–320 rpm). Chopped straw and stubble with certain sizes were prepared for the test, and we measured the burying rate and distribution uniformity of residue after rotary tillage. The results indicated that straw length, stubble height, and rotary speed all impact residue incorporation quality. The burying rate and distribution uniformity of residue decreased with the increase in straw length and stubble height; a lower rotary speed parameter buried less residue and distributed it with worse uniformity than a higher one. It is suggested that farmers determine the straw length and stubble height at the stage of harvest according to the required burying rate and distribution uniformity of residue. Full article

The adoption of rice straw and stubble management approaches can be affected by various factors. To understand the psychological factors influencing Thai farmers’ adoption of rice straw and stubble management approaches, three integrated behavioral theories were employed: the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) and the Health Belief Model (HBM). Then, a practical communication framework was synthesized and proposed to promote rice straw utilization for social-ecological benefits to achieve more sustainable agricultural production. Through a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews with 240 local farmers, a statistical analysis was performed employing cross-tab, stepwise multiple linear regression, one-way ANOVA and descriptive content analysis using QDA lite miner software. The key results clearly showed that perceived pro-environmental personal norms, perceived cues to rice straw utilization, perceived behavioral control, perceived severity of rice straw burning, perceived ascription of responsibility, and the perceived benefits of rice straw utilization were significantly negatively influenced by burning, and that there was a significantly negative difference to non-burning approaches. Meanwhile, cost savings as perceived benefits of the current option of burning showed a significantly positive difference when compared with incorporation and free-duck grazing options. In communication strategies to promote rice straw utilization for achieving sustainable agriculture, key messages should highlight the clear steps of rice straw utilization, as well as the costs and benefits of each option in terms of economic, health, environmental and social perspectives. Moreover, messages designed to promote action knowledge and self-efficacy at the group level, to promote perceived responsibility via self-awareness and self-commitment, and convenient channels of communication to the farmers can help to achieve more effective non-burning rice straw and stubble management. Full article

Managing rice crop stubble is one of the major challenges witnessed in the agricultural sector. This work attempts to investigate the physical, mechanical, and liquid absorption properties of rice straw (RS)-reinforced polymer composite for assessing its suitability to use as an ayurvedic treatment table. This material is expected to be an alternative for wooden-based ayurvedic treatment tables. The results showed that the addition of rice straw particles (RS_p) up to 60% volume in epoxy reduced the density of the composite material by 46.20% and the hardness by 15.69%. The maximum tensile and flexural strength of the RS_p composite was 17.53 MPa and 43.23 MPa, respectively. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed deposits of silica in the form of phytoliths in various size and shapes on the outer surface of RS. The study also revealed that the water absorption rate (WA) was less than 7.8% for the test samples with 45% volume of RS_p. Interestingly the test samples showed greater resistance to the absorption of Kottakal Dhanvantaram Thailam (<2%). In addition, the developed samples showed resistance towards bacterial and fungal growth under the exposure of treatment oils and water. Full article