Global Research in Environment and Sustainability

Evaluation of Ethiopian Bread Wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.) Genotypes Against Leaf Rust (Puccinia Triticina)

2024-06-13T18:13:40+01:00

Leaf rust caused by Puccinia triticina is a serious threat to wheat production in Ethiopia. A study was carried out to detect physiological races of the pathogen from the East Shewa zone and identify leaf rust resistance genes in Ethiopian bread wheat genotypes and cultivars at the Debrezeit Research Center, a hot spot for leaf rust. In a field experiment, 91 bread wheat genotypes along with nine susceptible checks (Alidoro, Dandaa, Digelu, Enkoy, Hidase, Kingberd, Kubsa, Ogolcho, and Wane) were evaluated against leaf rust at Debere Zeit during the 2021/22 main season. Final Rust Severity (FRS), Area Under Disease Progress Curve (AUDPC), and Coefficient of Infection (CI) were used to measure leaf rust resistance in the test materials. Analysis for all disease parameters, including correlation analysis, was carried out using SAS software. There were highly significant differences (P<0.01) for all disease parameters among the test genotypes. Of the tested genotypes, 51 exhibited low rAUDPC, CI, and FRS with the MR infection type. These genotypes had FRS ranging from 31 to 50%, CI values ranging from 21 to 40, and rAUDPC between 31 and 70% and were regarded as moderately slow rusting resistance genotypes. They showed moderate resistance to adult plant resistance in field conditions. Therefore, these genotypes can be used as a source of resistance in wheat leaf rust resistance breeding. Moreover, additional bread wheat genotypes should be evaluated in the next study for prevailing leaf rust races both at seedling and adult plant resistance.

Classic Dietiology or Holistic Nutritional Approach: What Type of Nutrition are We Working Towards?

2024-08-13T21:29:32+01:00

In order to describe the negative aspects produced by the industrialized production of food that we present in this article, I have coined a definition that summarizes all the negative contents of the current diet: "PESTIFOOD", which is the portmanteau of the words PESTICIDE and FOOD. After a brief premise on the importance that healthy food has for the survival of living things, I critically describe the intensive production of food and the negative impact it has had on the emergence of numerous metabolic pathologies. So that due to the lack of nutritional value of the foods that industrial production provides us, we must record the growing development of new pathologies linked mainly to junk food and Pestifood. In the current state of degradation of food resources, not even the adoption of fortified foods or supplements can solve the root problem, represented by the use of chemical substances to improve production and extend the expiry date of foods. The only solution to the food problem for the future will be that of eco-sustainable choices, to recover the value of food as "our true medicine" - Hippocrates.

Development Issues and Carbon Stock of Street Trees in the City of Brazzaville

2024-08-14T21:40:06+01:00

The issue of street trees in urban planning is being addressed in Brazzaville, Congo. The aim is to improve urban space, in particular resilience for the well-being of city dwellers, by making the most of trees. As little attention has been paid to spatiotemporal research into the place of avenue trees in urban planning, the study targets ecosystem services rendered to society, once the paving of communication arteries is effective. The methodology is based on the inventory and enumeration of arborescent woody plants d^1.30 ≥ 10 cm, present in 32 arteries, meeting precise criteria. Notwithstanding the measurement of d^1.30 and tree height, the data collected includes the distance between trees and roadways, the area reserved for the plant and an assessment of the damage caused. The inventory lists 1,866 woody plants grouped into 41 species, 30 genera and 15 families. The allochthonous-dominated flora cohort includes several senescent individuals. Urban resilience and well-being are underpinned by above-ground biomass (81.68 t/ha/year) and sequestered carbon (40.84 t/ha/year). The carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestered would be 386.69 tones. In terms of infrastructure destruction, Terminalia mantaly and Terminalia catappa come out on top.

Melanin, The Perfect Candidate to Be the Dark Matter

2024-08-15T18:21:57+01:00

Everything scientists can observe in the universe, from people to planets, is made of matter. Matter is defined as any substance that has mass and occupies space. But there’s more to the universe than the matter we can see. Dark matter and dark energy are mysterious substances that affect and shape the cosmos, and scientists are still trying to figure them out. Invisible dark matter makes up most of the universe (96 %) – but we can only detect it from its gravitational effects. Galaxies in our universe seem to be achieving an impossible feat. They are rotating with such speed that the gravity generated by their observable matter could not possibly hold them together; they should have torn themselves apart long ago. The same is true of galaxies in clusters, which leads scientists to believe that something we cannot see is at work. They think something we have yet to detect directly is giving these galaxies extra mass, generating the extra gravity they need to stay intact. This strange and unknown matter was called “dark matter” since it is not visible. The melanin of living beings and the dark matter of the universe share the same physical/chemical characteristics, including the unsuspected ability to transform the power of light into chemical energy, by dissociating water molecules, as in plants.