Soil supplementation with Si, B and Zn and their synergetic effects in reducing severity of wheat blast (Magnaporthe oryzae Triticum)

Wheat blast (Magnaporthe oryzae Triticum) in Bangladesh and South America is recognized as one major limiting factor of wheat production. Its control using chemical pesticides raises concerns about food safety and pesticide resistance, which have dictated the need for alternative blast management approach, nutrient supplementation could be an ecofriendly alternative. Experiments were carried out under confined net house condition for two consecutive cropping seasons. Single doses of the nutrients (Si, B and Zn) were incorporated during soil preparation. Plants of the wheat blast susceptible variety BARI Gom-26 were inoculated with spores (1 x 107 spores ml-1) of Magnaporthe oryzae Triticum at blast vulnerable pre-heading stage of 52 days age. Typical wheat blast symptoms of spike bleaching from top to downward appeared on sight 14 days after inoculation i.e., 66 days age of the crop. Incidence and severity of blast bleaching of spike were scored for four times starting from 68 days age @ three day’s interval. None of the nutrients could stop the incidence of blast on wheat; however, some nutrients reduced the blast incidence significantly. Solo application of Si, B and Zn or combination of two caused significant reduction of spike bleaching. With the mixed application of Si, B and Zn, > 47% reduction of wheat blast severity was obtained. The results revealed that the soil application of silicon, zinc and boron had a synergistic effect on the intensity of blast disease of wheat. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 11(2): 76-84, Dec 2021

Moisture in New Zealand Bathrooms - Analysing Moisture Events

<p>A literature review was carried out on the impact of moisture in New Zealand homes as well as the role ventilation and occupant behaviour play in controlling this. Bathrooms in residential homes were identified as being especially vulnerable. NZS4303:1990, clause G4 Ventilation of the New Zealand Building Code, and clause E3 of the New Zealand Building Code were summarised to provide context for how New Zealand buildings are designed. Measurements taken in houses throughout New Zealand by BRANZ as part of the House Condition Survey were made available for analysis. This included measurements of relative humidity and temperature. Data from one Dunedin house was thoroughly explored. This involved three objectives. The first step focused on identifying periods of rapid change in the amount of moisture introduced to the indoor environment, measured in absolute humidity. These periods were named 'moisture events'. The second objective was to visually communicate the changes in temperature and absolute humidity taking place on individual days, highlighting moisture events. The third objective was to analyse the identified moisture events, finding the key areas to focus on for the full analysis as well as areas that could be explored in further research. This process was then applied to all remaining houses. Moisture events were grouped into four categories: increases, decreases, episodes, and combinations. Episodes were the focus of the analysis, representing moisture being actively introduced to the indoor environment and then removed. These categories were further filtered, identifying the moisture events were most likely to have had a large impact on the indoor environment. Days were broken into four hour periods, with the filtered moisture events taking place in each period recorded. These were used to identify patterns in moisture events for each house. If a certain pattern of moisture events frequently took place, then days containing that pattern were described as a 'typical day' for that house. The mean and median absolute humidity at the start, peak, and end of the unfiltered episodes from each house were then calculated. The mean and median episode length was also calculated. The results were compared to the Household Energy End-use Project (HEEP) and to the typical days for each house. The results were grouped according to factors such as the number of bathrooms in the house, the floor area, the house location, and the event length. The number of bathrooms present in the house was found to have a large impact on the size and frequency of moisture events. As expected, larger bathrooms recorded lower increases in absolute humidity from the start to the peak of episodes. Rooms with a greater volume would require more moisture to reach the same number of grams of water per cubic metre. However, the smallest bathrooms also recorded low increases in absolute humidity.</p>

Moisture in New Zealand Bathrooms - Analysing Moisture Events

<p>A literature review was carried out on the impact of moisture in New Zealand homes as well as the role ventilation and occupant behaviour play in controlling this. Bathrooms in residential homes were identified as being especially vulnerable. NZS4303:1990, clause G4 Ventilation of the New Zealand Building Code, and clause E3 of the New Zealand Building Code were summarised to provide context for how New Zealand buildings are designed. Measurements taken in houses throughout New Zealand by BRANZ as part of the House Condition Survey were made available for analysis. This included measurements of relative humidity and temperature. Data from one Dunedin house was thoroughly explored. This involved three objectives. The first step focused on identifying periods of rapid change in the amount of moisture introduced to the indoor environment, measured in absolute humidity. These periods were named 'moisture events'. The second objective was to visually communicate the changes in temperature and absolute humidity taking place on individual days, highlighting moisture events. The third objective was to analyse the identified moisture events, finding the key areas to focus on for the full analysis as well as areas that could be explored in further research. This process was then applied to all remaining houses. Moisture events were grouped into four categories: increases, decreases, episodes, and combinations. Episodes were the focus of the analysis, representing moisture being actively introduced to the indoor environment and then removed. These categories were further filtered, identifying the moisture events were most likely to have had a large impact on the indoor environment. Days were broken into four hour periods, with the filtered moisture events taking place in each period recorded. These were used to identify patterns in moisture events for each house. If a certain pattern of moisture events frequently took place, then days containing that pattern were described as a 'typical day' for that house. The mean and median absolute humidity at the start, peak, and end of the unfiltered episodes from each house were then calculated. The mean and median episode length was also calculated. The results were compared to the Household Energy End-use Project (HEEP) and to the typical days for each house. The results were grouped according to factors such as the number of bathrooms in the house, the floor area, the house location, and the event length. The number of bathrooms present in the house was found to have a large impact on the size and frequency of moisture events. As expected, larger bathrooms recorded lower increases in absolute humidity from the start to the peak of episodes. Rooms with a greater volume would require more moisture to reach the same number of grams of water per cubic metre. However, the smallest bathrooms also recorded low increases in absolute humidity.</p>

Exploring the Use of Mould Estimation Software in New Zealand Residential Houses

<p>Regularly being exposed to the types of mould spores that can grow in houses has been shown to lead to adverse health effects such as respiratory diseases, and the exacerbation of asthma. While susceptible groups such as children, the elderly, and atopic persons are more susceptible to these effects, adverse health effects from mould spores have been shown to affect non-topic populations. The 2015 Building Research Association of New Zealand House Condition Survey found that 46% of owner-occupied properties, and 54% of rented properties in a representative sample of the New Zealand housing stock have some form of mould in them. This means that a large portion of the population could be at risk of suffering from the adverse health effects associated with mould growth in houses. Increased air-tightness in new houses could also be at risk of being under-ventilated, potentially exacerbating this mould issue. It is unknown whether the current New Zealand Building Code, at the time of writing, provides sufficient ventilation requirements to prevent new houses from being under-ventilated. It also does not consider existing houses, which is where most of the mould in the HCS was found. This study explored whether data from the House Condition Survey and WuFi-Bio could be used to test mould mitigation strategies in New Zealand residential bathrooms. This was done by modelling a subset of houses from the House Condition Survey in WuFi-Pro, estimating the risk of mould in them with WuFi-Bio, and comparing this to the observations from the House Condition Survey. Parameters in the models were then changed to reflect the impact that strategies would have on the humidity and temperature in the bathrooms. The aim of this was to develop a hierarchy of recommendations that could help home occupiers and designers determine the most appropriate methods they could use to prevent mould from growing in their homes/designs. However, the results did not align with the observations from the House Condition Survey, and testing the validity of the models by exploring the impact of assumptions showed they had no significant impact. The cause of this misalignment could not be determined, however a lack of internal condition time-series data and information about how observed mould from the House Condition Survey were identified of areas of uncertainty and prevented further exploration. The exploration that was conducted revealed the importance of having enough data to understand the conditions that lead to any observed mould if an existing bathroom is being assessed using WuFi-Bio. It was concluded that attempting to assess a large number of houses with little data using WuFi-Bio was impractical. A controlled experimental study aimed at understanding a few houses in-depth would be a more appropriate method to test mould mitigation strategies, and help address the mould issue in New Zealand houses.</p>

Exploring the Use of Mould Estimation Software in New Zealand Residential Houses

<p>Regularly being exposed to the types of mould spores that can grow in houses has been shown to lead to adverse health effects such as respiratory diseases, and the exacerbation of asthma. While susceptible groups such as children, the elderly, and atopic persons are more susceptible to these effects, adverse health effects from mould spores have been shown to affect non-topic populations. The 2015 Building Research Association of New Zealand House Condition Survey found that 46% of owner-occupied properties, and 54% of rented properties in a representative sample of the New Zealand housing stock have some form of mould in them. This means that a large portion of the population could be at risk of suffering from the adverse health effects associated with mould growth in houses. Increased air-tightness in new houses could also be at risk of being under-ventilated, potentially exacerbating this mould issue. It is unknown whether the current New Zealand Building Code, at the time of writing, provides sufficient ventilation requirements to prevent new houses from being under-ventilated. It also does not consider existing houses, which is where most of the mould in the HCS was found. This study explored whether data from the House Condition Survey and WuFi-Bio could be used to test mould mitigation strategies in New Zealand residential bathrooms. This was done by modelling a subset of houses from the House Condition Survey in WuFi-Pro, estimating the risk of mould in them with WuFi-Bio, and comparing this to the observations from the House Condition Survey. Parameters in the models were then changed to reflect the impact that strategies would have on the humidity and temperature in the bathrooms. The aim of this was to develop a hierarchy of recommendations that could help home occupiers and designers determine the most appropriate methods they could use to prevent mould from growing in their homes/designs. However, the results did not align with the observations from the House Condition Survey, and testing the validity of the models by exploring the impact of assumptions showed they had no significant impact. The cause of this misalignment could not be determined, however a lack of internal condition time-series data and information about how observed mould from the House Condition Survey were identified of areas of uncertainty and prevented further exploration. The exploration that was conducted revealed the importance of having enough data to understand the conditions that lead to any observed mould if an existing bathroom is being assessed using WuFi-Bio. It was concluded that attempting to assess a large number of houses with little data using WuFi-Bio was impractical. A controlled experimental study aimed at understanding a few houses in-depth would be a more appropriate method to test mould mitigation strategies, and help address the mould issue in New Zealand houses.</p>

Potentials of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Enhancing Nodulation of Bradyrhizobium daqingense and Yield in Soybean

Background: The ferments of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are used since decades in agricultural practice to control diseases, to promote plant growth and also to improve soils. However the functional roles of LAB in phytomicrobiome need to be discovered, which would result in understanding of the symbiotic relationship between LAB and plants and that could be exploited to improve agricultural production. Methods: In this study, the scientific investigation was carried out for pot culture evaluation of six efficient LAB isolates from soybean rhizosphere, on nodulation and yield of soybean in green house condition, which were proven positive for IAA and GA production and PGPR traits. Result: Among the eight different treatment combination with Bradyrhizobium daqingense the treatment which received consortium of all six LAB isolates had significant impact on plant growth characters viz. plant height, root length, number of branches and chlorophyll content at 30 and 60 DAS. The LAB consortia also showed significantly high nodule number (47.67), nodule dry weight (117 mg plant-1) and leg haemoglobin content (6.27 mg g-1 fresh nodule) at 30 DAS. The yield and yield related traits was also highest in consortium treated plants. The property of plant to produce more nodules and healthy root growth can be attributed to IAA producing ability of inoculated LAB isolates.

Foundation and Sub-Floor Bracing Analysis: the Cost Benefit of Upgrading

<p>The poor performance of residential foundations in past earthquakes, prompted a practical investigation to quantify the adequacy of Wellington timber dwellings’ foundations, including the sub-floor bracing, sub-floor fixings and general condition of the foundation. The adequacy of a sample of 80 dwellings’ foundations was assessed against the current “Light Timber Framed Construction Standard” NZS3604:1999. The NZS3604 standard was introduced in 1978 and has been subsequently tested by many New Zealand earthquakes, most significantly being the Edgecumbe earthquake in 1987. The observed damage to dwellings built to the then current NZS3604:1984, showed only negligible damage due to foundation inadequacies and as a result, the standard required only minor amendments. The most current 1999 edition of NZS3604 is therefore considered to have seismically appropriate detailing and provisions to withstand design earthquakes; so for the purposes of this study, NZS3604:1999 is assumed to be the residential benchmark for seismic adequacy. The results from the study suggest that 39% of the sample had inadequate sub-floor bracing. Overall, 16% of the sample relied solely on the strength of ordinary piles, while 11% relied entirely on large concrete anchors. 76% of dwellings had some form of fixing deficiency, ranging from degradation to incorrect or non-existent fixings. The overall condition of the sample dwellings was compared with the House Condition Survey 2005. The results of this study showed that inadequacies identified in the House Condition Survey 2005, were also prevalent in the majority of sampled dwellings in the study, including non compliance with minimum height and sub-floor ventilation requirements. However, the House Condition Survey produced by BRANZ does not assess any rented accommodations and so the condition results may be underestimated. The study sample, however includes a proportion of rented dwellings, but may still be unrepresentative of the actual average dwelling, in terms of condition and range. After identifying the common deficiencies both in the sample and also from similar studies, remedial measures were costed and applied to different foundation types based on the required strength and suitability to the existing foundation system. The remedies, to upgrade bracing, fixings and the general condition, including labour, ranged between $15 per m² and $60 per m². These costs were then projected to all Wellington City foundations, which totalled over $250 Million. It was assumed that each dwelling should be remedied to comply with the standards in NZS3604:1999 and the remedies were applied based on the average condition of the sample. To understand the anticipated losses and therefore benefits of upgrading, the estimated damage cost to residential dwellings was calculated using an Earthquake Loss Modeller, which was supplied by the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences. The cost was calculated by assuming an earthquake of Magnitude 7.5, at a depth of 7.5km centred on the Wellington fault line, around Kaiwharawhara. In order to formulate a cost saving, or economic benefit from upgrading foundations, the cost of specific damage and collapse to residential dwellings was calculated to be $2.1 Billion, assuming no remedial measures had been applied. The Mean Damage Ratio for each foundation type was then modified, based on similar earthquake damage projections based on the same Wellington earthquake scenario. Dwellings that had either significant configuration issues or were located in an area likely to experience higher earthquake shaking, were still anticipated to collapse despite applying sub-floor remedies. The cost of damage to dwellings following remedial measures was calculated at just over $1.1 Billion. Therefore, the total savings were anticipated to be around $950 Million. These results were considered as a ratio of cost over benefit which is used to understand whether the associated economic benefit is greater than the anticipated cost of remedy. The cost / benefit ratio for dwellings likely to collapse is less than 10% , while extensively damaged dwellings have a higher cost / benefit ratio of around 25%. The highest benefit was seen in Piled dwellings, where savings upwards of $500 Million were projected. The economic saving due to the application of remedial measures has the potential to reduce pressure on the public sector including emergency management systems, hospitals and organisations involved with evacuations and erection of temporary shelters. In addition, there will also be a saving for both the public and private insurers, which will facilitate the quicker reconstruction of the postearthquake society to pre-earthquake levels. For the results of this study to be beneficial to New Zealanders, the information must be disseminated and implemented using proactive initiatives. These must be targeted at the homeowner in an easily understandable format, which is focussed on better performance and savings, rather than on the worst case scenario which has been shown to increase ambivalence and fatalistic mindsets within society.</p>

Foundation and Sub-Floor Bracing Analysis: the Cost Benefit of Upgrading

<p>The poor performance of residential foundations in past earthquakes, prompted a practical investigation to quantify the adequacy of Wellington timber dwellings’ foundations, including the sub-floor bracing, sub-floor fixings and general condition of the foundation. The adequacy of a sample of 80 dwellings’ foundations was assessed against the current “Light Timber Framed Construction Standard” NZS3604:1999. The NZS3604 standard was introduced in 1978 and has been subsequently tested by many New Zealand earthquakes, most significantly being the Edgecumbe earthquake in 1987. The observed damage to dwellings built to the then current NZS3604:1984, showed only negligible damage due to foundation inadequacies and as a result, the standard required only minor amendments. The most current 1999 edition of NZS3604 is therefore considered to have seismically appropriate detailing and provisions to withstand design earthquakes; so for the purposes of this study, NZS3604:1999 is assumed to be the residential benchmark for seismic adequacy. The results from the study suggest that 39% of the sample had inadequate sub-floor bracing. Overall, 16% of the sample relied solely on the strength of ordinary piles, while 11% relied entirely on large concrete anchors. 76% of dwellings had some form of fixing deficiency, ranging from degradation to incorrect or non-existent fixings. The overall condition of the sample dwellings was compared with the House Condition Survey 2005. The results of this study showed that inadequacies identified in the House Condition Survey 2005, were also prevalent in the majority of sampled dwellings in the study, including non compliance with minimum height and sub-floor ventilation requirements. However, the House Condition Survey produced by BRANZ does not assess any rented accommodations and so the condition results may be underestimated. The study sample, however includes a proportion of rented dwellings, but may still be unrepresentative of the actual average dwelling, in terms of condition and range. After identifying the common deficiencies both in the sample and also from similar studies, remedial measures were costed and applied to different foundation types based on the required strength and suitability to the existing foundation system. The remedies, to upgrade bracing, fixings and the general condition, including labour, ranged between $15 per m² and $60 per m². These costs were then projected to all Wellington City foundations, which totalled over $250 Million. It was assumed that each dwelling should be remedied to comply with the standards in NZS3604:1999 and the remedies were applied based on the average condition of the sample. To understand the anticipated losses and therefore benefits of upgrading, the estimated damage cost to residential dwellings was calculated using an Earthquake Loss Modeller, which was supplied by the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences. The cost was calculated by assuming an earthquake of Magnitude 7.5, at a depth of 7.5km centred on the Wellington fault line, around Kaiwharawhara. In order to formulate a cost saving, or economic benefit from upgrading foundations, the cost of specific damage and collapse to residential dwellings was calculated to be $2.1 Billion, assuming no remedial measures had been applied. The Mean Damage Ratio for each foundation type was then modified, based on similar earthquake damage projections based on the same Wellington earthquake scenario. Dwellings that had either significant configuration issues or were located in an area likely to experience higher earthquake shaking, were still anticipated to collapse despite applying sub-floor remedies. The cost of damage to dwellings following remedial measures was calculated at just over $1.1 Billion. Therefore, the total savings were anticipated to be around $950 Million. These results were considered as a ratio of cost over benefit which is used to understand whether the associated economic benefit is greater than the anticipated cost of remedy. The cost / benefit ratio for dwellings likely to collapse is less than 10% , while extensively damaged dwellings have a higher cost / benefit ratio of around 25%. The highest benefit was seen in Piled dwellings, where savings upwards of $500 Million were projected. The economic saving due to the application of remedial measures has the potential to reduce pressure on the public sector including emergency management systems, hospitals and organisations involved with evacuations and erection of temporary shelters. In addition, there will also be a saving for both the public and private insurers, which will facilitate the quicker reconstruction of the postearthquake society to pre-earthquake levels. For the results of this study to be beneficial to New Zealanders, the information must be disseminated and implemented using proactive initiatives. These must be targeted at the homeowner in an easily understandable format, which is focussed on better performance and savings, rather than on the worst case scenario which has been shown to increase ambivalence and fatalistic mindsets within society.</p>