by Pui-nin Lee. / Thesis submitted in: August 1997. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 141-148). / Abstract also in Chinese. / List of Abbreviations --- p.I / List of Tables --- p.II / List of Figures --- p.III / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Sugar cane --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Mushroom: Pleurotus pulmonarius --- p.5 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Fruiting bodies --- p.5 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Life cycle of the mushroom --- p.6 / Chapter 1.2.3 --- Cultivation --- p.7 / Chapter 1.2.4 --- Nutrition --- p.8 / Chapter 1.2.5 --- Cardiovascular and Renal effects --- p.9 / Chapter 1.2.6 --- Dietary fiber --- p.10 / Chapter 1.2.6.1 --- Physical properties of dietary fiber --- p.10 / Chapter 1.2.6.2 --- Physiological actions --- p.11 / Chapter 1.3 --- Food colorants --- p.13 / Chapter 1.4 --- Quality of food products --- p.14 / Chapter 1.4.1 --- Toxicity studies --- p.15 / Chapter 1.4.2 --- Stability --- p.16 / Chapter 1.4.3 --- Sensory evaluation --- p.18 / Chapter 1.5 --- Secondary metabolism --- p.20 / Chapter 1.6 --- Monascus --- p.24 / Chapter 1.6.1 --- Monascus products --- p.25 / Chapter 1.6.2 --- Monascus products as a functional food --- p.27 / Chapter 1.6.3 --- Monascus pigments --- p.27 / Chapter 1.6.4 --- Factors affect Monascus pigment production --- p.31 / Chapter 1.7 --- Purposes of study --- p.37 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Materials and Methods --- p.38 / Chapter 2.1 --- Micro-organisms --- p.38 / Chapter 2.2 --- Maintenance of culture --- p.38 / Chapter 2.3 --- Waste Culture medium for production of pigments --- p.38 / Chapter 2.4 --- Chemical analysis of sugar cane residue broth (SCRB) --- p.39 / Chapter 2.5 --- Preparation of inoculum --- p.40 / Chapter 2.6 --- Batch culture for pigment production --- p.41 / Chapter 2.7 --- Fermentor culture for pigment production --- p.44 / Chapter 2.8 --- Cultivation of oyster mushroom --- p.46 / Chapter 2.9 --- Purification and characterization of Monascus pigments --- p.49 / Chapter 2.9.1 --- Extracellular pigments --- p.49 / Chapter 2.9.2 --- Intracellular pigments --- p.50 / Chapter 2.10 --- Toxicity test --- p.56 / Chapter 2.11 --- Sensory evaluation --- p.61 / Chapter 2.12 --- Statistical analysis --- p.62 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Results --- p.62 / Chapter 3.1 --- Extracellular pigment of screening test --- p.63 / Chapter 3.2 --- Batch culture for pigment production by Monascus purpureus --- p.69 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Consumption of glucose --- p.69 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Consumption of sucrose --- p.59 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Biomass production --- p.69 / Chapter 3.2.4 --- Residual protein content --- p.73 / Chapter 3.2.5 --- pH value of the fermented medium --- p.73 / Chapter 3.2.6 --- Production of crude extracellular pigments --- p.73 / Chapter 3.2.7 --- Production of crude intracellualr pigments --- p.75 / Chapter 3.2.8 --- Total crude pigment yield --- p.75 / Chapter 3.3 --- Fermentor --- p.77 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- "Pigmentation of control group, treatment A and B" --- p.77 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- Nutrition of the biomass from control group and treatment B of fermentor products --- p.80 / Chapter 3.4 --- Production of oyster mushroom --- p.80 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Biological efficiency of mushroom --- p.80 / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Amino acid profile and total amino acid content of the fruitbidies --- p.87 / Chapter 3.4.3 --- Total dietary fiber content --- p.87 / Chapter 3.4.4 --- "The contents of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen" --- p.91 / Chapter 3.4.5 --- Sensory evaluation of the mushroom --- p.91 / Chapter 3.5 --- Toxicity --- p.91 / Chapter 3.5.1 --- Acute toxicity --- p.91 / Chapter 3.5.1.1 --- Body weight --- p.95 / Chapter 3.5.1.2 --- Food consumption --- p.95 / Chapter 3.5.2 --- Subacute toxicity --- p.99 / Chapter 3.5.2.1 --- Food consumption --- p.99 / Chapter 3.5.2.2 --- Body weight --- p.99 / Chapter 3.5.2.3 --- The organ weight to body weight ratios --- p.99 / Chapter 3.5.2.4 --- The glutamate-pyruvate transaminase (GPT) and glutamate- oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) level in blood serum --- p.103 / Chapter 3.6 --- Analysis of Monascus pigments from fermentor system by HPLC and spectrophotometry --- p.108 / Chapter 3.6.1 --- Extracellular pigment from control group --- p.108 / Chapter 3.6.2 --- Extracellular pigment from the group supplemented with 1 % MSG --- p.108 / Chapter 3.6.3 --- Intracellular pigment --- p.111 / Chapter 3.6.3.1 --- Standard of intracellular pigments (conventional pigments) --- p.111 / Chapter 3.6.4 --- Intracellular pigments extracted from SCRB group --- p.111 / Chapter 3.6.5 --- Intracellular pigment extracted from SCRB with 1 % MSG --- p.115 / Chapter 3.7 --- Qualitative and quantitative of the extracellular and intracellular pigments --- p.118 / Chapter 3.8 --- Detection of citrinin by HPLC --- p.123 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Discussion --- p.128 / Chapter 4.1 --- Screening test --- p.128 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- Batch culture system --- p.128 / Chapter 4.2 --- Toxicity test of crude extracellular pigment --- p.129 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Acute toxicity --- p.129 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Subacute toxicity test --- p.130 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Organ to body weight ratios and cytotoxicity --- p.131 / Chapter 4.3 --- The two new water soluble pigment --- p.132 / Chapter 4.4 --- Extraction and purification of Monascus pigments from fermentor system --- p.133 / Chapter 4.4.1 --- Qualitative and quantitative of the intracellular and extracellular pigments --- p.133 / Chapter 4.5 --- Nephrotoxic-citrinin --- p.134 / Chapter 4.6 --- Oyster mushroom cultivation --- p.135 / Chapter 4.6.1 --- Fruiting yield (biological efficiency) --- p.136 / Chapter 4.6.2 --- Amino acid content --- p.136 / Chapter 4.6.3 --- Total dietary fiber content --- p.137 / Conclusion --- p.139 / References --- p.141 / Appendix

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Agriculture management including tillage and crop residues impact the functioning of soil microbiota. Soil microbiota cycle nutrients, with greenhouse gases being a byproduct within the cycle. The main objectives of this thesis were to 1) assess tillage and corn residue impact on N-cycling soil microorganisms and N2O emissions in situ (Chapter 3); and 2) evaluate N-cycling soil microorganisms in situ relative to N2O flux during a spring thaw cycle (Chapter 4). In situ sampling addresses how changing field conditions influence soil bacterial processes. Results indicated tillage and removal of corn residue declined soil microbial abundance and increased N2O emissions. These responses were dependent on local environmental conditions; moisture, carbon and nitrogen availability. The spring thaw study highlighted N-cycling microorganisms were present and active over the spring thaw event, and delayed nosZ denitrifier activity was related to the timing of significant N2O emission events, suggesting new evidence of de novo denitrification. / Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Adelaide, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 259-291).

Crop production systems which utilize the biomass produced by rye (<i>Secale cereale</i> ) to suppress weed growth and conserve soil moisture have been developed at Virginia Tech. The success of alternative, reduced-input crop production systems has encouraged research into the potential for breaking the traffic-tillage cycle associated with conventional tillage crop production systems. The fragile residues encountered in agricultural crop production, whether incorporated into the soil or distributed on the soil surface, provide minimal protection against compaction by wheeled vehicles. The potential of an intact cover crop to reduce machine-induced effects on soil properties that affect primary crop growth was the subject of this study. A randomized complete block experiment was conducted at the Whitethorne Farm in Montgomery County, Virginia. One set of plots was arranged on a terrace adjacent to the New River in a fine, mixed, mesic, Aquic Argiudolls. Another set of plots was arranged on an upland site, a river terrace tread, in a fine-loamy, mixed, mesic, Typic Hapludults. Three rye cover crop treatments were examined. In one, a live cover crop was completely undisturbed prior to tracking by a wheel-type tractor. In another, the cover crop was chemically desiccated, and in the third treatment, all above-ground biomass was removed from plots prior to machine traffic. The treatments permitted investigation of the effects of crop condition on machine-induced soil compaction and the contribution of root reinforcement to the alteration of soil response to machine traffic. A fall-tilled fallow treatment served as an experimental control. Three levels of traffic were investigated: one pass, three passes, and five passes. Undisturbed soil core samples were analyzed to determine machine-induced effects on dry bulk density, pore size distribution, and saturated hydraulic conductivity. The treatments affected soil response to machine traffic. The cover crop treatments altered the soil-plant microenvironment, affecting soil parameters that influence compactibility. Soil compaction was attenuated by the reinforcing effect of a network of undisturbed roots within the soil. There was no convincing evidence that above-ground biomass contributed directly to the reduction of machine-induced compaction effects. Soil response to machine traffic was limited to the uppermost 15 cm of the soil profile. / Ph. D.

Experiments were conducted to study the chemical changes and microanatomical characteristics associated with maturity, rate and extent of DM digestion, behavior and extent of tissue digestion and mode of microbial attack during simulated ruminal digestion. Barley and millet plants were collected at four different stages of development: vegetative, boot, heading and mature. Berseem was harvested at three different stages of development: vegetative, bud and full bloom. For the first three stages of grasses and legumes, the plants were separated into three botanical fractions: leaf blades (leaflets), leaf sheaths (petioles) and stems. Grasses were harvested at mature stage and barley seeds were separated by thresher and millet seed by hand cutting the head. Straws were chopped in a hammer mill through a 2.5 cm screen and treated: 1) no added water (control), 40% added water, 2) alone or with 3) urea, 4) NH₄OH and 5) H₂O₂ at pH 11.5. Grasses showed higher (P<.05) cell wall constituents, xylose, p-coumaric and ferulic acid and lower (P<.05) IVDMD values for stems and leaf sheaths than leaf blades. Legume showed higher (P<.05) values for cell wall constituents and xylose for stems, compared to petioles and leaflets. At advanced maturity, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed increased lignification and decreased tissue digestion for leaf sheaths and stems, compared to leaf blades. Lignification was higher in millet leaf sheaths than barley leaf sheaths. Within berseem plant parts, petioles showed better digestion than leaflets and stems. The contents of ADF, cellulose and lignin were increased (P<.05) and hemicellulose was decreased (P<.05) in alkaline H₂O₂-treated straws, compared to untreated, NH₃- and urea-treated straw. Total phenolic acids were decreased (P<.05) in treated, compared to untreated straw. In vitro DM digestibility was increased (P<.05) for all chemical treatments, with larger (P<.05) increase for NH₃ treatment than alkaline H₂O₂ treatment. / Ph. D.

Phosphorus (P) is an essential plant nutrient that may limit plant growth and agricultural productivity if not available for crop plant uptake in sufficient quantities at the time required. Many Australian soils are deficient in available P, despite a long history of P fertilizer application, and this is due to fertilizer P rapidly becoming unavailable largely through biochemical fixation. The resulting low P fertilizer efficiency, coupled with rapidly rising cost of fertilizers, has increased interest in biological cycling of P from sources such as crop residues. However, to date, much of the Australian research has focussed on soils with relatively high organic matter content (> 2%) and relatively heavy texture i.e. medium to high clay content. Furthermore, although there is information on pasture residue decomposition and P release for sandy soils with low organic matter in Australia, a recent shift to continuous cropping systems means that information for a range of crop residues is required but is not currently available. Therefore the aims of the work described in this thesis were to (i) increase the efficiency of P use when crop residue P are applied to crops and (ii) determine the effect of crop residue biochemical quality on decomposition rates, soil P dynamics and plant P uptake in light textured sandy soils with low organic matter which are typical of a large proportion of the southern Australian wheat growing area. A further aim was to investigate the effects of combined additions of plant residue and P fertilizer on P cycling in these soils, a scenario highly relevant to farming systems. A series of soil incubation and plant growth experiments were undertaken to characterize P dynamics in soil following addition of a wide range of crop residues (total 15) collected from agricultural sites throughout South Australia. The residues, differing in age and biochemical quality, were young shoots of canola, lupin, pea, lucerne and lentil; mature shoot residues of canola, lupin, pea and wheat and mature root residues of wheat, canola and lupin. The concentration of total and water soluble P, C, and N in the residues was measured using standard wet chemical analyses and the carbon chemistry was determined by NMR spectroscopy. Decomposition of crop residues was continuously monitored over a period of up to 140 days by measuring soil respiration. Available P and microbial biomass P and C were also assessed at different times during the incubations. The total P in residues ranged from 0.16% to 0.32% and 0.05% to 0.08% in young and mature shoots, respectively. Water-soluble P was related to residue total P and ranged from 29% to 81% and 13% to 29% of total P in young and mature shoots, respectively. The C: P ratio ranged from 133: 1 to 253: 1 and 504: 1 to 858: 1 in young and mature shoots, respectively. Phosphorus availability and microbial P uptake differed between soils amended with crop residues and soluble P fertilizer as triple super phosphate (TSP). Soil respiration rates were significantly higher in soils amended with crop residues than in the soils amended with TSP or the unamended control in the first 58 days of incubation. In an experiment in which residues and TSP were added at a rate of 10 mg P kg⁻¹, available P was greater for TSP than residue-amended soil, whereas microbial P showed the opposite trend. Respiration rate and microbial P were positively correlated with C addition rate, which was highest in mature wheat residue because it had the lowest P concentration. In order to assess when P released from the residues is available for plants, wheat was grown over three consecutive crop periods with each period lasting for 4 weeks. Young residues with high content of water soluble P, C, N and amide and low lignin and phenolic content decomposed faster than mature residues. The C type and amount added with residues controlled the dynamics of P availability. Surprisingly, canola mature root increased available P and plant growth as much as young shoot residues while root residues of wheat and lupin resulted in P immobilization and low plant growth. Compared to canola young shoot, canola mature root has a higher total P concentration and a lower C: P ratio. Plant P uptake was positively correlated with residue total and water-soluble P content and negatively correlated with residue C: P and C: N ratio and amount of C added with the residues. In another experiment where residue was added at 2.5 g C kg⁻¹ soil and compared with TSP (4 and 10 mg P kg⁻¹ soil), available P and plant P uptake decreased in the following order: TSP-10P > canola root ≥ young shoot ≥ TSP-4P > control > mature shoot. Microbial P was greater with residue addition than with TSP and in the control. Residues with low total P and high C: P ratio resulted in P immobilisation in the microbial biomass. Therefore, residues with high total P and low C: P ratio can be an important source of P for plants. Net P immobilisation of mature wheat residues (0.07% P) was significantly reduced by combining wheat residue (C: P ratio 615: 1) with TSP leading to a C: P ratio of 155: 1 to 310: 1. Furthermore, the combination of wheat residue with TSP increased available P in residue and TSP-amended soils by 3.0 mg P kg⁻¹ soil, which was shown to be sufficient to support wheat growth in the early stages of development in the other experiments. Although water-soluble P fertilizers provide plants with immediately available P, a large proportion becomes unavailable over time. Addition of low C: P residues on the other hand, may not result in high amounts of immediately available P, but the P supply is more sustained due to P release from decomposing residues and turnover of microbial biomass P. Phosphorus immobilization after addition of residues which have high C: P ratio (615: 1) may be offset when residue is applied together with inorganic P fertilizer if the resulting C: P ratio is 300: 1 or less. Overall, this study has highlighted the potential role that crop residues, either alone or in combination with inorganic P, can play in increasing P availability in the light textured, low organic matter, P-limited soils typical of many southern Australian farming systems. The results provide important quantitative information on the potential of a wide range of crop residues to supply wheat with P, and how additions of inorganic P interact with residue decomposition and influence available P supply. This quantitative information will be valuable for the construction or validation of mechanistic models of residue decomposition relevant to low organc matter light textured soils in farming systems of southern Australia, and will ultimately assist in the development of economic management strategies for minimizing P fertilizer inputs and maximizing the benefits of biological cycling of P. / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2009

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1984 D93 / Master of Science

Darbo tikslas – ištirti žemės dirbimo ir sėjos mašinų darbo procesą įtakojančių rudeninių ir peržiemojusių žieminių kviečių, vasarinių miežių šiaudų nutraukimo ir nukirpimo jėgas. Taikant aplinką tausojančias žemės dirbimo technologijas sudėtingėja žemės dirbimas ir sėklų įterpimas. Žemės dirbimo mašinų darbą įtakoja šie pagrindiniai veiksniai: dirvos fizikinės-mechaninės savybės, klimatinės sąlygos, augalinės derliaus liekanos, jų rūšis ir savybės, dirvos reljefas, kitos technologinės operacijos ir mašinos. Vienas iš svarbiausių veiksnių yra augalinės derliaus liekanos dirvos paviršiuje. Jos trukdo žemės dirbimo ir ypač sėjos noragėlių darbui. Energetiniu požiūriu svarbiausia yra žemės dirbimo mašinų ir sėjamosios noragėlio horizontalioji pasipriešinimo jėga, kuri sudaro 80–90% visos žemės dirbimo mašinos ar sėjamosios pasipriešinimo jėgos. Ji priklauso nuo noragėlio konstrukcijos, augalinių derliaus liekanų savybių ir kt. Analizuojant noragėlių darbą, nustatyta, kad augalinės liekanos dirvos paviršiuje gali būti perpjautos, nukirptos arba nutrauktos. Klimatinės sąlygos bei augalų savybės įvairiose pasaulio šalyse yra labai skirtingos. Iki šiol nėra ištirta, kokios jėgos reikalingos žemės dirbimo ir sėjos mašinų darbo procesą įtakojančių rudeninių ir peržiemojusių žieminių kviečių, ir vasarinių miežių šiaudų nutraukimui, ir nukirpimui mūsų regiono klimatinėmis sąlygomis. Eksperimentiniais tyrimais nustatyta, kad rudeninio žieminio kviečio šiaudo nutraukimo jėga yra 68%... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The aim of the research - to investigate the cultivation of soil and work process of tillage machinery affecting the autumn and overwinter wheat, summer barley straw and the forces of cutting and tearing the straw. The environmentally friendly soil cultivation technologies were applied for the complex soil tillage and sowing. Soil physical-mechanical properties, climatic conditions, crop plant residues, their types and characteristics, soil texture, the other technological operations and machines affect the work process of sowing. One of the most important factors influencing the tillage is crop residues on the soil surface. They make the cultivation of soil and plowing with coulter process particularly difficult. From the energetic point of view the horizontal drag force of tillage machinery and sowing coulter are the most important factors, which comprise the 80-90% of the total resistance forces. It depends on the coulter design, kind of crop residues and other features. The analysis of the coulter work revealed that the crop residues can be cut, snipped or teared. The climatic conditions and plant characteristics differ greatly around the world. No thorough research has been carried out on forces required for cutting and tearing of the autumn and overwinter wheat and the straw of summer barley straw under the regional climatic conditions. The experimental studies have shown that the force required for tearing the straw of the autumn wheat is 68% higher than the force... [to full text]