Combined effect of gallic acid and zinc ferrite nanoparticles on wheat growth and yield under salinity stress.

Salinity stress significantly impacts crops, disrupting their water balance and nutrient uptake, reducing growth, yield, and overall plant health. High salinity in soil can adversely affect plants by disrupting their water balance. Excessive salt levels can lead to dehydration, hinder nutrient absorption, and damage plant cells, ultimately impairing growth and reducing crop yields. Gallic acid (GA) and zinc ferrite (ZnFNP) can effectively overcome this problem. GA can promote root growth, boost photosynthesis, and help plants absorb nutrients efficiently. However, their combined application as an amendment against drought still needs scientific justification. Zinc ferrite nanoparticles possess many beneficial properties for soil remediation and medical applications. That's why the current study used a combination of GA and ZnFNP as amendments to wheat. There were 4 treatments, i.e., 0, 10 µM GA, 15 µM GA, and 20 µM GA, without and with 5 µM ZnFNP applied in 4 replications following a completely randomized design. Results exhibited that 20 µM GA + 5 µM ZnFNP caused significant improvement in wheat shoot length (28.62%), shoot fresh weight (16.52%), shoot dry weight (11.38%), root length (3.64%), root fresh weight (14.72%), and root dry weight (9.71%) in contrast to the control. Significant enrichment in wheat chlorophyll a (19.76%), chlorophyll b (25.16%), total chlorophyll (21.35%), photosynthetic rate (12.72%), transpiration rate (10.09%), and stomatal conductance (15.25%) over the control validate the potential of 20 µM GA + 5 µM ZnFNP. Furthermore, improvement in N, P, and K concentration in grain and shoot verified the effective functioning of 20 µM GA + 5 µM ZnFNP compared to control. In conclusion, 20 µM GA + 5 µM ZnFNP can potentially improve the growth, chlorophyll contents and gas exchange attributes of wheat cultivated in salinity stress. More investigations are suggested to declare 20 µM GA + 5 µM ZnFNP as the best amendment for alleviating salinity stress in different cereal crops.

Corrigendum: Optimizing window size and directional parameters of GLCM texture features for estimating rice AGB based on UAVs multispectral imagery.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1284235.].

Different ratios of raw material triggered composting maturity associated with bacterial community co-occurrence patterns.

Exploring the ecological function of potential core bacteria for high-efficiency composting can provide a fundamental understanding of the role of composting bacterial communities. Mushroom residue and kitchen garbage at different ratios (N1: 1/1, N2: 1/2) of dry weight were tested to investigate the key ecological role of the core bacteria responsible for producing mature compost. N1 had a peak temperature of 75.0 °C which was higher than N2 (68.3 °C). Other key composting parameters (carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N) and germination index (GI)) also indicated that N1 achieved higher compost maturity. Rice seedlings experiments also further validated this conclusion. Putative key bacterial taxa (Thermobifida, Luteimonasd, Bacillus, etc.) were positively associated with the GI, indicating a substantial contribution to composting maturity. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed the ecological function of potentially beneficial core bacteria promoted cooperation among the bacterial community. The putative core bacteria in N1 may affect composting efficiency. Our findings reveal the mechanism of potential core bacteria throughout the compost maturity phases.

Insight into the evolution characteristics on molecular weight of compost dissolved organic matters using high-performance size exclusion chromatography combined with a two-dimensional correlation analysis.

The information on molecular weight (MW) characteristics of DOM and relevant evolution behaviors during composting are limited. In this study, DOM extracted from co-composting of chicken manure and rice husks were comprehensively analyzed by using high-performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) combined with a two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D COS) to explore the evolution characteristics of MW of compost DOM. The HPSEC detected at UV of 254 nm and at fluorescence (FL) Ex/Em wavelengths (315/410, 270/455 nm) all showed a gradual increase in both weight-average and number-average MW for DOM, suggesting that the large MW fractions were continuously generated and polymerized during composting. The 2D COS applied on HPSEC-UV and -FL further identified the key active MW chromophoric (i.e., 0.5, 7.2. 9.5, 26.3, 30.7, and 83.9 kDa) and fluorophoric (i.e., 0.55 and 3.5 kDa) molecules that mainly participated in the transformation processes of compost DOM. Moreover, these active MW species were preferentially formed by the order of small to large molecules. A hetero-2D COS analysis disclosed the change sequence in the order of 0.5 and 7.2 kDa chromophores → 3.5 kDa fluorophores, and the 0.55 and 3.5 kDa fluorophores → 26.3 and 83.9 kDa chromophores.

Optimizing window size and directional parameters of GLCM texture features for estimating rice AGB based on UAVs multispectral imagery.

Aboveground biomass (AGB) is a crucial physiological parameter for monitoring crop growth, assessing nutrient status, and predicting yield. Texture features (TFs) derived from remote sensing images have been proven to be crucial for estimating crops AGB, which can effectively address the issue of low accuracy in AGB estimation solely based on spectral information. TFs exhibit sensitivity to the size of the moving window and directional parameters, resulting in a substantial impact on AGB estimation. However, few studies systematically assessed the effects of moving window and directional parameters for TFs extraction on rice AGB estimation. To this end, this study used Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to acquire multispectral imagery during crucial growth stages of rice and evaluated the performance of TFs derived with different grey level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) parameters by random forest (RF) regression model. Meanwhile, we analyzed the importance of TFs under the optimal parameter settings. The results indicated that: (1) the appropriate window size for extracting TFs varies with the growth stages of rice plant, wherein a small-scale window demonstrates advantages during the early growth stages, while the opposite holds during the later growth stages; (2) TFs derived from 45° direction represent the optimal choice for estimating rice AGB. During the four crucial growth stages, this selection improved performance in AGB estimation with R2 = 0.76 to 0.83 and rRMSE = 13.62% to 21.33%. Furthermore, the estimation accuracy for the entire growth season is R2 =0.84 and rRMSE =21.07%. However, there is no consensus regarding the selection of the worst TFs computation direction; (3) Correlation (Cor), Mean, and Homogeneity (Hom) from the first principal component image reflecting internal information of rice plant and Contrast (Con), Dissimilarity (Dis), and Second Moment (SM) from the second principal component image expressing edge texture are more important to estimate rice AGB among the whole growth stages; and (4) Considering the optimal parameters, the accuracy of texture-based AGB estimation slightly outperforms the estimation accuracy based on spectral reflectance alone. In summary, the present study can help researchers confident use of GLCM-based TFs to enhance the estimation accuracy of physiological and biochemical parameters of crops.

Determining the Effects of Compost Substitution on Carbon Sequestration, Greenhouse Gas Emission, Soil Microbial Community Changes, and Crop Yield in a Wheat Field.

Compost produced by straw and livestock and poultry manure under the action of micro-organisms is one of the main forms of organic alternative fertilizers at present. The present study explored the effects of compost substitution on soil greenhouse gas emissions, soil microbial community changes, and wheat yield to determine the best substitution ratio for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and soil microbial community changes and increasing wheat yield. Using the single-factor randomized block trial design, four treatments were employed, the characteristics of greenhouse gas emission, yield and yield components, and the changes of soil microbial community under different compost substitution ratio in the whole wheat growing season were determined by static box-gas chromatography. During the wheat season, both CO2 and N2O emissions were reduced, whereas CH4 emission was increased. That all treatments reduced the Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Greenhouse gas emission intensity (GHGI) in wheat season compared with T0. Compost substitution can alleviate the global warming potential to some extent. Under the condition of compost substitution, the wheat yield under T2 and T3 increased significantly compared with that under the control; however, the spike number and 1000-grain weight did not differ significantly among the treatments. When compost replacement was 30%, the yield was the highest. Under different ratios of compost substitution, the microbial communities mainly comprised Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Patescibacteria, Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Gemmatimonadetes, and Verrucomicrobia. The soil microbial community structure differed mainly due to the difference in the compost substitution ratio and was clustered into different groups. In conclusion, to achieve high wheat yield and low greenhouse gas emissions, compost replacement of 30% is the most reasonable means for soil improvement and fertilization.

Low Loading and High Activity of Platinum Oxide Nanoclusters Formed by Defect Engineering of a Metal-Organic Framework for Formaldehyde Degradation.

A distinct platinum oxide nanocluster (PtOx ) was developed, consisting of only Pt-O bond by a defect-engineered Al metal-organic framework (MOF) (BIT-72) with superior formaldehyde (HCHO) degradation activity and stability. With only 0.015 wt % Pt loading, PtOx @BIT-72-DE could degrade HCHO with 100 % conversion continuously for at least 200 h under HCHO concentration of 25 ppm and gas hourly space velocity of 60000 mL g-1 h-1 at room temperature. Furthermore, its specific rate (446 mmolHCHO gPt -1 h-1 ) was higher than for traditional Pt-based catalysts and single-atom Pt catalysts. Moreover, the cost of PtOx @BIT-72-DE was lowered to 0.0769 $ g-1 , which could significantly facilitate its commercial application. This study demonstrates the promising potential of MOFs in the design of HCHO degradation catalysts.

Metal-Organic Framework Membranes Encapsulating Gold Nanoparticles for Direct Plasmonic Photocatalytic Nitrogen Fixation.

Photocatalytic nitrogen fixation reaction can harvest the solar energy to convert the abundant but inert N2 into NH3. Here, utilizing metal-organic framework (MOF) membranes as the ideal assembly of nanoreactors to disperse and confine gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), we realize the direct plasmonic photocatalytic nitrogen fixation under ambient conditions. Upon visible irradiation, the hot electrons generated on the AuNPs can be directly injected into the N2 molecules adsorbed on Au surfaces. Such N2 molecules can be additionally activated by the strong but evanescently localized surface plasmon resonance field, resulting in a supralinear intensity dependence of the ammonia evolution rate with much higher apparent quantum efficiency and lower apparent activation energy under stronger irradiation. Moreover, the gas-permeable Au@MOF membranes, consisting of numerous interconnected nanoreactors, can ensure the dispersity and stability of AuNPs, further facilitate the mass transfer of N2 molecules and (hydrated) protons, and boost the plasmonic photocatalytic reactions at the designed gas-membrane-solution interface. As a result, an ammonia evolution rate of 18.9 mmol gAu-1 h-1 was achieved under visible light (>400 nm, 100 mW cm-2) with an apparent quantum efficiency of 1.54% at 520 nm.

Multivariate MOF-Templated Pomegranate-Like Ni/C as Efficient Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution and Urea Oxidation.

The production of hydrogen through electrolysis is considered as a feasible strategy to quench the world's clean-energy thirst. Compared with water electrolysis, urea electrolysis presents a more promising prospect in the way that it could carry out sewage treatment as well as energy-efficient hydrogen production at the same time. Herein, highly porous pomegranate-like Ni/C was synthesized from multivariate metal-organic frameworks and exhibits excellent hydrogen evolution activity with an unprecedented low overpotential of 40 mV at the current density of 10 mA cm-2 in 1 M KOH, ranking among the best earth-abundant electrocatalysts deposited on glassy carbon electrodes reported to date. In addition, it also displays superb anodic urea oxidation activity with an onset potential of 1.33 V vs RHE. Furthermore, a two-electrode urea electrolyzer with Ni/C as both the cathode and anode electrocatalyst was fabricated and generates 52 times more hydrogen than the water electrolyzer under the same conditions.

Fe/Ni Metal-Organic Frameworks and Their Binder-Free Thin Films for Efficient Oxygen Evolution with Low Overpotential.

Multivariate metal-organic frameworks with active Fe/Ni building blocks that are spatially arranged in an open structure are synthesized and explored for oxygen evolution reaction. The heterogeneity and porosity of this system prove to show synergy effect and give low onset overpotential at 170 mV. These MOFs are further fabricated into thin films over nickel foam by controlled electrochemical deposition to improve the surface conductivity and the overall stability. The Fe/Ni metal-organic framework film exhibits outstanding electrocatalytic activity with low overpotential of 270 mV at 10 mA cm(-2), small Tafel slope, high Faradaic efficiency, high turnover frequency, and great stability.

Flexible Solid-State Supercapacitor Based on a Metal-Organic Framework Interwoven by Electrochemically-Deposited PANI.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have received increasing attention as promising electrode materials in supercapacitors (SCs). Yet poor conductivity in most MOFs largely thwarts their capacitance and/or rate performance. In this work, an effective strategy was developed to reduce the bulk electric resistance of MOFs by interweaving MOF crystals with polyaniline (PANI) chains that are electrochemically deposited on MOFs. Specifically we synthesized cobalt-based MOF crystals (ZIF-67) onto carbon cloth (CC) and further electrically deposited PANI to give a flexible conductive porous electrode (noted as PANI-ZIF-67-CC) without altering the underlying structure of the MOF. Electrochemical studies showed that the PANI-ZIF-67-CC exhibits an extraordinary areal capacitance of 2146 mF cm(-2) at 10 mV s(-1). A symmetric flexible solid-state supercapacitor was also assembled and tested. This strategy may shed light on designing new MOF-based supercapacitors and other electrochemical devices.

[China's crop residues resources evaluation].

The availability of crop residues in China is reviewed in this article. The definition of crop residues is clarified as the total byproducts of field production and processing industry thereafter, and methodology for evaluating crop residues is discussed. Based on literature, the progress on the crop residue assessment is addressed. The annual field crops residues in China from 1991 to 1999 were estimated between 6.0-6.8 hundred million tons, while the data for the process residues were not available. From 2000 to 2007, the annual crop residues were estimated between 5.9-7.3 hundred million tons, while the processing residues at the range of 0.9-1.1 hundred million tons. The reasons for the significant variations are due to the disagreement on crop residue definition, different, even inaccurate residue to grain ratio data used in the estimations, and the lacking of clear understanding on the statistical analysis and grain outputs related to the crop residue evaluation. With the complete statistic analysis method, the author's group evaluated the residues in 2006 and 2007 to be 7.4 hundred million tones in total, including 6.5 hundred million tons for field crop residues and 0.9 hundred million tons for process residues. Moreover, the geographic distribution of the field crop residues was analyzed based on the harvest indices (HI) tested within the near five years.

[The effects of nitrogenous fertilizer on carbon metabolism characteristics of Glehnia littoralis].

The effects of different nitrogenous fertilizer on carbon metabolism in Glehnia littoralis were studied under the field condition. The results showed that the Sucrose Phosphat Synthase (SPS) activities and the content of soluble sugar in leaves showed the pattern of single peak curve during the growth period, and both highest level were similary appeared in the middle stage. The suitable rate of nitrogenous fertilizer can improve the SPS activities, the content of soluble sugar, the root Sucrose Synthase (SS) activities, and also kept low level of leaves soluble sugar in harvest. So it can be supply sufficient for assimilation of polysaccharide in the root as well as to increase the yield.