High tunnels, or unheated plastic greenhouses, are becoming increasingly popular among organic vegetable growers across the United States. However, the intensive production typical of these systems presents soil health challenges, including salinization due to high fertilizer or compost inputs coupled with lack of rainfall to leach salts. Legume cover crops may improve soil health in high tunnels by reducing the need for external inputs, while adding organic matter. We tested the soil health effects of a winter hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) cover crop used to replace fertilizer N in an organic tomato cropping system in high tunnels. Studies were replicated across three sites differing in climate and soil type (Kansas, Kentucky, and Minnesota) over three years. We measured vetch cover crop effects on a suite of soil health indicators, including potentially mineralizable nitrogen (PMN), permanganate oxidizable carbon, and microbial biomass. Preliminary results suggest that vetch effects on PMN were highly variable. Soil mineral N, meanwhile, was often lower in the vetch treatment than in a fertilized control, both in spring and in fall. While further work on vetch effects on crop yields is needed, our results suggest that even legume cover crops such as vetch have the potential to reduce nitrate leaching.
A freshwater bivalve plays a crucial function in aquatic habitats as the filtered water and burrowing mussels mix the sediment, thus increasing oxygen content and making the ecosystem healthier. The aim of the study is to see how chlorpyrifos affects biochemical markers in freshwater mussel Unio tigridis. About 180 individuals per taxon and water samples were collected from the Qandil water resource on the Greater Zab River, Erbil Province, Iraq. Once arrived at the lab, the individuals were kept in aquaria with river water and an air-conditioned room Temperature: 25±2 and Light: 12h/12h and acclimatized to laboratory conditions for seven days in aged tap water. The mussel's identification molecularly and the DNA sequence of t
... Show MoreObjective: to identify the effect of the Instruction program on the knowledge of pregnant women who suffering anemia.
Methodology: A quasi-experimental design was carried out with the application of pre- post test for the study and the control group. Purposive sample, consists of (60) pregnant women diagnosed with anemia attending four health care centers in Baquba city.
Result: The findings indicate that the level of hemoglobin is increasing post instructional program among women in the study group, in which (46.7%) of women are reveal a level of (8.1-9) g/dl that is less than normal pre instructional program and the level is increased to normal level post instructional
... Show MoreThe x-ray fluorescence (XRF) of Znpc molecule with (flow of Ar) and Znpc molecule with (grow in N2) showed two peaks at (8.5and 9.5 Kv) referring to orbital transition ) K?-shell & K?-shell) respectively. The study of x-ray diffraction (XRD) where it was observed good growth of the crystal structure as a needle by the sublimation technique with a ?-phase of (monoclinic structure ) . Using Bragg equation the value of the interdistance of the crystalline plane (d-value) were calculated. We noticed good similarity with like once in the American Standards for Testing Material (ASTM) .Powder Diffraction File (PDF) Program was used to ensure the information obtained from (ASTM) . The output of (PDF) was compared with celn program, where the val
... Show MoreDry gas is considered one of the most environmentally friendly sources of energy. As a result, developing an efficient strategy for storing this gas has become essential. In this work, MOF-199 was synthesized and characterized in order to investigate the MOF-199 in dry gas adsorption using a built-in volumetric system (methane, ethane, and propane from Basrah gas company). The MOF-199 (metal organic framework) was synthesized using the solvothermal method at 373K for 24h, and then it was characterized. The dry gas adsorption on MOF-199 was studied under various conditions (adsorbent dosage, contact time, temperature, and pressure). The isothermal adsorption of the dry gas had been studied on MOF-199 using two types of mo
... Show MoreA field trial was conducted in Experimental Station of The Field Crops Department – College Of Agriculture In Abu Ghraib, University of Baghdad to assess the effect of sulphur applications and the time after application on pH and EC of soil sample solutions ,and on the growth and yield of rape seed (Brassica napus L.)A split plot design was used with four replications , The main plot included four sulphur applications levels (0,2000,3000,4000Kg S/ha) the sub plot were the time after application (0,1,2,and 3 moths) .Sulphur application significantly decreased soil pH value ,although that decrease reached minimum parameter after two months from application date .Rather increment of sulphur application level significantly raised soil EC val
... Show MoreUnsaturated soil can raise many geotechnical problems upon wetting and drying resulting in swelling upon wetting and collapsing (shrinkage) in drying and changing in the soil shear strength. The classical principles of saturated soil are often not suitable in explaining these phenomena. In this study, expansive soil (bentonite and sand) were tested in different water contents and dry unit weight chosen from the compaction curve to examine the effect of water content change on soil properties (swelling pressure, expansion index, shear strength (soil cohesion) and soil suction by the filter paper method). The physical properties of these soils were studied by conducting series of tests in laboratory. Fitting methods
... Show MoreExperimental tests were conducted to study the behavior of skirted foundations rested on dry medium sandy soil subjected to vertical and inclined loads. To achieve this goal, a small-scale physical model was designed and performed which contained an aluminum circular footing (100 mm) in diameter and (10 mm) in thickness and skirts with different heights, local medium poorly graded dry sand is placed in a steel soil container (2 mm) thick with internal dimensions (1000 mm x 1000 mm in cross section and 800 mm in height). The main objective of this study was to evaluate the response of skirt attached to the foundation at different skirt (L/D) ratios (0.0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5) and is subjected to point load at different angles of inclinat
... Show MoreSoil water retention curves (SWRCs) are crucial for characterizing soil moisture dynamics and are particularly relevant in the context of irrigation management. A study was carried out to obtain the SWRC, inflection point, S index, pore size distribution curve, macro porosity, and air capacity from samples submitted to saturation and re-saturation processes. Five different-texture disturbed soil samples Sandy Loam, Loam, Sandy Clay Loam, Silt Loam, and Clay were collected. After obtaining SWRC, each air-dried soil samples were submitted to particle size distribution and clay dispersed in water analyses to verify the soil lost clay. The experimental design was completely randomized with three replications using two processes of SWRC (saturat
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