Ecotoxicological Assessment of Seaweed-Based Crop Biostimulant on Earthworm Eudrilus eugeniae Kinb

Aqueous extracts from green seaweeds Chaetomorpha antennina and Ulva flexuosa (SWE) had considerable impacts on the growth and development of tomato plants; it was evident that SWE could be widely applied as agricultural biostimulants as one among a promising strategy of sustainable agriculture. With a higher probability of SWE to replace synthetic agrochemicals, we describe a procedure here to perform an ecotoxicological assessment of liquid SWE on the earthworm, Eudrilus eugeniae Kinb with respect to their growth, survivability, and reproduction.

Efficacy of periodic cold plasma treatment in a paddy to produce white-core grains in brewer's rice cultivar Yamadanishiki

We investigated the effect of cold plasma application on the yield and grain quality of rice (Oryza sativa L.), focusing on the brewer's rice cultivar, Yamadanishiki. Two treatment methods were examined in a paddy; direct plasma irradiation of seedlings and indirect treatment with plasma-activated Ringer's lactate solution (PAL) during the vegetative growth phase. Periodic direct irradiation for 30 s increased whole plant weight and grain yield. Treatment with PAL promoted some growth of panicles relatively and partially suppressed the growth of culms and leaves. Both treatments affected the grain quality; an increase of the ratio of white-core grains to total number of grains, which is suited for producing Japanese sake rice, as well as a decrease of the ratio of immature grains. The results showed that the effective production of rice grains for sake production can be improved by the application of cold plasma treatment of rice seedlings in a paddy.HighlightRice plants of brewer's rice cultivar in a paddy were treated with cold plasma, by the direct irradiation of plants and the immersed of plants in plasma-activated Ringer's lactate (PAL).Direct plasma irradiation promoted plant weight, grain ripening, and increased yield.PAL treatment affected the growth of main stem, and promoted the growth of panicles relatively.Both treatments improved the producing white-core grains, in addition to promotion of grain ripening.Cold plasma treatment can be applied to produce stable and high-quality food in various agriculture and food industries, which can achieve the sustainable developmental goals (SDGs).

A wastewater bacterium Bacillus sp. KUJM2 acts as an agent for remediation of potentially toxic elements and promoter of plant (Lens culinaris) growth

This study investigated the role of an allochthonous Gram-positive wastewater bacterium (Bacillus sp. KUJM2) selected through rigorous screening, for the removal of potentially toxic elements (PTEs; As, Cd, Cu, Ni) and promotion of plant growth under PTE-stress conditions. The dried biomass of the bacterial strain removed PTEs (5 mg L^-1) from water by 90.17-94.75 and 60.4-81.41%, whereas live cells removed 87.15-91.69 and 57.5-78.8%, respectively, under single-PTE and co-contaminated conditions. When subjected to a single PTE, the bacterial production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) reached the maxima with Cu (67.66%) and Ni (64.33%), but Cd showed an inhibitory effect beyond 5 mg L^-1 level. The multiple-PTE treatment induced IAA production only up to 5 mg L^-1 beyond which inhibition ensued. Enhanced germination rate, germination index and seed production of lentil plant (Lens culinaris) under the bacterial inoculation indicated the plant growth promotion potential of the microbial strain. Lentil plants, as a result of bacterial inoculation, responded with higher shoot length (7.1-27.61%), shoot dry weight (18.22-36.3%) and seed production (19.23-29.17%) under PTE-stress conditions. The PTE uptake in lentil shoots decreased by 67.02-79.85% and 65.94-78.08%, respectively, under single- and multiple-PTE contaminated conditions. Similarly, PTE uptake was reduced in seeds up to 72.82-86.62% and 68.68-85.94%, respectively. The bacteria-mediated inhibition of PTE translocation in lentil plant was confirmed from the translocation factor of the respective PTEs. Thus, the selected bacterium (Bacillus sp. KUJM2) offered considerable potential as a PTE remediating agent, plant growth promoter and regulator of PTE translocation curtailing environmental and human health risks.