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, and use but ends with the impact of that product at the end of its useful life through recycling or disposal. Most published LCAs have focused on carbon footprint, but the tool can be used to assess other environmental impacts such as water footprint
Increasing disposal problems with polyethylene (PL) mulch and greater availability of compost prompted an investigation into the effects of using compost as a mulch on horizontal raised bed surfaces with living mulches (LMs) on vertical surfaces. Wood chips (WC), sewage sludge-yard trimming (SY) compost, and municipal solid waste (MW) compost were applied at 224 t·ha-1 on bed surfaces. Sod strips of `Jade' (JD) or `Floratam' (FT) St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphrum secundatum Kuntze) or perennial peanut (Arachis glabrata Benth.) (PP) or seeds of a small, seed-propagated forage peanut (Arachis sp.) (SP) were established on the vertical sides of the raised beds before transplanting bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) into the beds. Phytophthora capsici reduced pepper plant stand in PL-mulched plots compared with organic mulch (OM) and LM. Despite the stand reduction, total pepper yields were highest in PL plots and, in the OM plots, decreased in the order SY > MW > WC. Early fruit yields and yield per plant were highest from plants in PL plots followed by SY. Among LMs, plants in SP plots produced highest early yields and FT produced the lowest. Plants in PL plots produced the largest fruit. When the same plots were seeded with winter (butternut) squash (Cucurbita pepo L.), plant stands were higher in MW than WC and SY. Squash yields were similar between PL and OM plots.
Saline agricultural drainage water may be used as a resource to grow high value horticultural crops and reduce the volume of drainage for eventual disposal. To explore reuse options the effects of salinity and timing of application were tested on selected leafy vegetables grown in 24 sand culture plots in Riverside, Calif. The leafy winter vegetables included `Ruby Red Chard' Swiss chard [Beta vulgaris L. var. flavescens (Lam.) Lam.], `Space' spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.), `Vitamin Green' salad greens [Brassica rapa L. (Narinosa Group)], `Red Giant' mustard greens [Brassica juncea L. (Czerniak)], pac choi [Brassica rapa L. (Chinensis Group)], `Winterbor' kale [Brassica oleracea L. (Acephala Group)], tatsoi [Brassica rapa L. (Narinosa Group)], `Salad King' curly endive (Cichorium endivia L.), and `Red Preco No. 1' radicchio (Cichorium intybus L.). All vegetables were planted at the same time and irrigated initially with tap water and nutrients. At 3 and 7 weeks after seeding (application times), six salinity treatments were initiated by adding salts to the irrigation water to represent the chemical compositions of drainage waters found typically in the San Joaquin Valley, Calif. The six salinity treatments had electrical conductivities of 3 (control), 7, 11, 15, 19, or 23 dS·m-1. A randomized complete block design was used with (6 salinities × 2 application times × 2 replications). Within each plot a 1.5-m row of each of the nine vegetables was grown as split plots. Salinity reduced fresh weight (FW) yields of all species. Salt stress applied at 3 weeks after seeding reduced FWs for seven of the nine vegetables compared to salination at 7 weeks. Analyses of salt tolerance curves, maximum yields, and the point of 50% yield reduction (C50) were conducted. Greens produced the highest biomass at 874 g/plant, but was the most affected by application time. Swiss chard and radicchio were not significantly affected by timing of salinity application, and Swiss chard was the most salt tolerant overall. Greens, kale, pac choi, and to a lesser extent, tatsoi, have potential as winter-grown, leafy vegetables in drainage water reuse systems.
during a 100-year assessment period, even when allowing for GHG emissions during takedown and disposal at end of life. The major contributor (71% to 76%) to the GWP during production of field-grown trees was shown to be equipment use or diesel and
acid and lower linoleic acid. Adoption of watermelon as a minor oil crop would improve farmers’ earnings while concurrently reducing the amount of solid waste resulting from the disposal of watermelon seeds ( Baboli and Kordi, 2010 ; El-Adawy and Taha
Abstract
Water suspensions from seeds, root and shoots of peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) influenced growth of peach, apple and bean seedlings when applied to soil of potted plants. Different levels of amygdalin were found in plant parts of peach and apple. Synthetic amygdalin applied to potted peach seedlings was not toxic. Certain nutrient elements were altered due to the soil treatment. Disposal of plant parts is suggested as a practical sanitation practice to possibly reduce peach tree decline on old soil.
Abstract
The effectiveness of polyethylene-coated paper mulches in altering soil environment was investigated. The increase in maximum daily soil temperatures under mulch compared to bare soil was approximately the same for a clear polyethylene laminated on black paper as the clear polyethylene alone. Minimum daily soil temperatures were higher under laminated paper mulch than under black polyethylene. Polyethylene coated paper was as effective as polyethylene in reducing soil moisture evaporation. Studies of bulk density indicated that soils under all mulches were less compacted than the bare soil. Nitrate N levels under mulches were also higher than in the bare soil. The disposal problem encountered with polyethylene mulches at the end of the growing season is eliminated by the use of polyethylene coated paper mulches because the very thin coating of polyethylene disintegrates during the growing season, and the residual paper decomposes in the soil after tilling.