International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology

Environmental monitoring of Archips podana (fruit tree tortrix moth) in Bramley apple orchards in Northern Ireland

A. G. S. Cuthbertson and 2A. K. Murchie

Apple is host to many species of tortricid moths. Archips podana is an economically important species in the Bramley's Seedling apple orchards of Northern Ireland. Chemical pesticides are routinely applied to control moth populations. Pheromone trapping has shown that the moths are not concentrated in any particular habitat. Moth damage to fruit is generally negligible. The need for careful judgement to be applied before deciding on the application of chemical pesticides to control moth populations is discussed.

Effects of aeration rate and detention time on thermophilic aerobic digestion of mixed sludge and its dewaterability

H. Movahedian Attar, *B. Bina and Kh. Moeinian

Thermophilic aerobic digestion (TAD) is a possible alternative for rapid sludge degradation and producing Class A biosolids. Aeration rate and detention time are two of the important parameters in TAD processes due to rapidly growing thermophilic bacteria population, limited solubility of oxygen at high temperatures and the need to prevent cooling of TAD process. Also the current knowledge and understanding of dewatering TAD biosolids are limited and incompelet.The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of various aeration rates and detention time on some characteristics of mixed sewage sludge. Four glass-cylindrical digesters with 7 liters of sludge in each, placed in a water bath and were operated at 55 ºC with the aeration rates of 2.14, 3.00, 3.86 and 4.71 volume of air per volume of sludge per hours. It was found the increase in aeration rate decreased the required detention time in order to meet the Class A sludge regulations to reduce vector attraction. The values of Oxidation-Reduction Potential (ORP) were changed from negative values to positiv ones and the values of pH were increased from around neutral to slightly basic, but this increases were occured at different detention times. TAD affected dewaterability of mixed sewage sludge and produced biosolids with higher specific resistance to filtration (lower dewaterability) than undigested sludge. Thermophically digested sludge has a good setteling behavior and air drying on sand bed.

Growth and ionic relations of fodderbeet and seabeet under saline environments

1B. H. Niazi, 2*M. Athar, 1M. Salim and 3J. Rozema

Growth and ionic relations of fodderbeet (Beta vulgaris) and seabeet (B.maritima) were studied in a greenhouse experiment using garden soil salinized with 200 mM NaCl. Both the species tolerated salinity level of 200 mM NaCl, but seabeet performed better than fodderbeet. Fresh weight of shoot increased significantly (P< 0.01) under higher salt concentration in both the species. Fodderbeet accumulated more biomass under saline conditions than seabeet. Salt treated plants accumulated significantly higher Na+ and Cl- content in shoot compared to untreated control plants. Chloride (Cl-) of seabeet root was significantly higher than shoot; however, chloride content of shoot was significantly lower in fodderbeet. The concentration of these ions was comparatively higher in seabeet root than fodderbeet in the later growth period. Potassium K+ content was low and revealed antagonistic effect with that of Na+ content. Calcium (Ca+2) ions were not significantly absorbed by shoot of both species. A significant effect of treatment by the root has been observed in both species. Magnesium (Mg+2) content of shoot were increased with the time. Seabeet has absorbed more Mg+2 than fodderbeet. The fodderbeet showed a significant salt tolerance during five week growth period. Seabeet is comparatively more salt tolerant. Domesticated cultivars of fodderbeet like Majoral have considerable adaptability in the inland salt affected areas of Pakistan.

Isolation and production of biosurfactant from Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from Iranian southern wells oil

1*H. Rashedi, 1E. Jamshidi, 2M. Mazaheri Assadi and 1B. Bonakdarpour

In this study one hundred and fifty two bacterial strains were isolated from oil contaminated. Hemolysis was used as a criterion for the primary isolation of biosurfactant producing-bacteria. Fifty five strains had haemolytic activity, among them twelve strains were good biosurfactant producers by measuring surface tension and emulsification activity. Two microorganisms showed the highest biosurfactant production when grown on paraffin and glycerol as sole carbon source. As a result of biosurfactant synthesis the surface tension of the medium were reduced from 73 mN/m to values below 32 mN/m. A rhamnolipid producing bacterium, P.aeruginosa isolate from oil wells in the southern of Iran. Isolated strain was identified by morphological, biochemical, physiological. The identified Pseudomonas aeruginosa confirmed by Persian type culture collection. Glycolipid production by isolated bacterium using different carbon (gasolin, paraffin oil, glycerol, whey) and nitrogen sources (NaNO₃, (NH₄)₂SO₄ and CH₄N₂O) was studied. Biosurfactant production was quantified by surface tension reduction, critical micelle dilution (CMD), emulsification capacity (EC), and ThinLayerChromatogeraphy. The best result were obtained when using glycerol as a C/N ratio of 55/1 and use of sodium nitrate as nitrogen source resulted in higher production of the rhamnolipid, expressed by rhamnose (4.2 g/l) and by the yield in relation to biomass (Yp/x = 0.65 g/g). Additionally, physical-chemical characteristics of the spent broth with and without cells were studied, providing a low critical micelle concentration of 19 mg/l and surface tension was reduced to 20 mN/m (%).

Comparative efficacy of brown, green and red seaweeds in the control of root infecting fungi and okra

1V. Sultana, 2S. Ehteshamul-Haque, 3J. Ara and 4M. Athar

The effect of soil amendment by brown, green and red seaweeds was studied in controlling the root rot infecting fungi of okra seedlings in the greenhouse. The soil amendment with seaweeds Stokeyia indica, Padina pavonia (brown), Solieria robusta (red), at 1% w/w reduced Macrophomina phaseolina, Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium solani infection on okra roots. Codium iyengarii (green) at 0.5 % w/w was effective against F. solani, while at 1% w/w was found phytotoxic. S.robusta showed better control of F. solani infection when used with Pseudomonas aeruginosa than either used alone. S. robusta produced better plant height and fresh weight of shoot than P. aeruginosa. Results of the present study suggest that the use of brown seaweeds S. indica and P. pavonia alone and S. robusta alone or in combination with P. aeruginosa have great potential to control root-infecting fungi of okra with enhancement of plant growth. These seaweeds alone or in combination with P. aeruginosa may be utilized as biological control of root infecting fungi of okra.

Providing interoperability for air quality in-situ sensors observations using GML technology

1*A. A. Alesheikh, 1A. K. Oskouei, 2F. Atabi and 1H. Helali

Geographic information provides the basis for many types of decisions ranging from simple path finding, to the sustainable management of environmental conditions. Producing such information is a time consuming and costly endeavor. Data sharing on the web is an avenue to increase the efficiency of the practices. This paper scientifically examines the new emerging technologies namely, internet, geographic markup language (GML), and observation and measurement models, to construct an interoperable repository for air quality sensors measurements. The paper also elaborates on the design and implementation of a web-based air quality information system (AQIS) for the city of Tehran. In-situ sensors measure ozone (O₃), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and particulate matters (PM) in polluted metropolitans. Providing real-time air quality information can improve the decisions of the pertinent environmental organizations. Using GML for encoding sensors observations makes it possible to build an interoperable repository that is independent of platforms and vendors. Providing query possibilities based on monitoring stations, sensor names (pollutants), date and time intervals, and spatial query on the AQIS interfaces are the major functions of this system. Although standardized, it was concluded that the use of GML as data format increases the size of GML document. In addition, the developed system provides no map based results for the clients. Therefore, it is required to be improved by adding more GIS functions.

Induced mutation and in vitro techniques as a method to induce salt tolerance in Basmati rice (Oryza sativa L.)

1*M. Y. Saleem, 2Z. Mukhtar, 1A. A. Cheema and 1B. M. Atta

Embryogenic callus of indica rice (Oryza sativa L.) cv. Basmati 370 induced on MS medium containing 9.05 M 2, 4-D was irradiated at 50 Gy of gamma rays of 60Co for creating genetic variability against salinity. Irradiated and non-irradiated calluses were screened in vitro through three consecutive proliferation phases at 4.0, 6.0, 8.0 and 10.0 d/Sm electrical conductivity of NaCl. Growth value and number of adapted mutagenized callus was more than that of non-mutagenized callus. Salinity levels beyond 6 d/Sm and 8 d/Sm were lethal to growth and adaptation of non-irradiated and irradiated callus respectively. NaCl adapted irradiated callus showed 2.0%-4.75% regeneration frequency on MS regeneration medium containing 5.37 M NAA and 9.29 M Kinetin. Non-mutagenized salt adapted callus did not show any regeneration. From gamma ray mutagenized cultures, 2 putative lines (M₂ generation) with moderate salt tolerance were obtained at seedling stage. The results suggest that in vitro technique in connection with gamma rays may be used as a versatile approach to improve the level of salt tolerance in Basmati rice for saline environment.

Length-weight relationship of sucker head, Garra Gotyla Gotyla (Gray, 1830) in different rivers of Nepal and the influence of monsoon

1*B. R. Jha, 2H. Waidbacher, 1S. Sharma, 2M. Straif

Size structure data particularly that of length and weight is very important fisheries management tool, which is also applied to assess the health, habitat and integrity of the rivers. Nepal is tremendously rich in both fisheries and water resource and thus, this analysis is very important. However, this kind of analysis is not common in fisheries studies and hence the size structure information of all the fish in Nepal is wanting. This study simply tries to open the door for such studies with the study of the sucker head Garra gotyla gotyla, a very common fish in Nepal. The field observation was done in nine rivers of the country in all the seasons of the 2003 by using electrofishing gear. The length-weight relationship was found to vary both spatially and temporally among rivers and seasons respectively indicating different conditions in different rivers. The length weight relationship also showed some interesting facts about the seasonal cycle of the species indicating the period of growth and stress in different rivers. The monsoon event was found to be highly influential in this relationship.

Influence of water stress and exogenous glycinebetaine on sunflower achene weight and oil percentage

1N. Iqbal, 2*M. Y. Ashraf and 2M. Ashraf

The study was carried out to assess whether exogenously applied glycinebtaine has any role in reducing the adverse effects of water stress on sunflower achene yield and oil contents. Two sunflower lines, Gulshan-98 and Suncross were subjected to water stress at the vegetative and reproductive stages of plant growth. Three levels of glycinebtaine (0, 50 and 100 mM) were applied before sowing (seed treatment) and at the time of initiation of stress at the vegetative and reproductive stages. A marked adverse effect of water stress on 100-achene weight and achene oil contents were observed in both sunflower lines. Exogenous supply of glycinebtaine was not effective in alleviating the adverse effects of water stress on achene oil percentage. Foliar spray of glycinebtaine, however, significantly reduced the negative effects of water stress on achene weight. Seed treatment with either level of glycinebtaine was not effective in increasing the 100- achene weight and achene oil percentage under both normally irrigated and water stress conditions. The sunflower line, Suncross produced higher oil yield than that of Gulshan-98.

The efficacy of permethrin-treated military uniforms as a personal protection against Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae) and its environmental consequences

Naturally, there are different species of Culex mosquitoes in Iran. Culex pipiens complex is widespread in many parts of the country, specially in urban areas. In spite of this fact that Cx. pipiens species is the vector of some orboviruses and filariasis in many countries of the World, it does not have an important role in transmission of diseases in Iran. This species can easily reproduce in urban areas, due to the infection of surface waters and presence of sewage canals. The importance of Cx.pipiens for mankind is in fact, its biting and nuisance, specially at sleeping time. In this study, six types of current military uniforms of Iran's army were treated by permethrin (0.125 mg. permethrin [AI]/cm2) and examined against the biting of natural population of Cx.pipiens in urban areas in Tehran. Eight volunteer were selected for this study. Six of them put on the treated uniforms and the other two of them wore the untreated uniforms. All the subjects participated in the night biting test for eight active nights July 2004. There was no significant difference in the protection of different treated uniforms against mosquitoes biting. The average number of biting among who wore untreated uniforms (control) was 2.14 mosquito biting/min/person (128.2/hr), While it was 0.23 (13.8/hr) for who wore treated uniforms. The percent protection of treated uniforms, in comparison with untreated ones, was about 89%. The protection percent of treated uniforms for different species of mosquitoes, in comparison with untreated ones, was calculated through determining the species of captured mosquitoes, separately from case and control subjects. The results of species identification among captured mosquitoes of a field study showed that about 95% of them are of Cx.pipiens species, and protection of treated uniforms against them, was estimated 87%. Moreover, as an accompaning environmental consequence a significant reduction in mosquito's density was seen.

Genotype and environment interaction effect on yield of cotton under naturally salt stress condition

*Y. Ali, Z. Aslam and F. Hussain

Thirteen genotypes of cotton developed through hybridization and mutation breeding techniques were evaluated during two consecutives years 2002-03-04 on eight locations covering most of the area of Punjab province including Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh and Jhang. The eight sets of experiments were conducted in the naturally highly saline sodic soils, EC ranges from 7.8-36.1 d/Sm, pH=8.1-8.8, SAR=10.1-40.5, Saturation percentage 31.3-40.8 and texture Sandy Clay loam and Clay loam. The seed yield data was collected at maturity and stability parameters were computed to know genotypic environment interaction and varietals performance. The combined analysis of variance showed highly significant variance in case of varieties, locations and varieties x environment (Lin) also showed highly significant differences. It means that genotypes exhibited different behavior in different locations/environments which is due to their different genetic make up. The behavior may be cross over (in which significant change in ranking order occurs from one environment to another) or cross over nature (in which case the ranking of genotypes remains constant across environments and the interaction is significant because of change in the magnitude of response) depending upon the ranking order of genotypes performance under different environments. In our study only S-12 behavior was of almost non cross over nature, while others had cross over type of interaction. Based on over all seed yield cotton variety NIAB-999 and CIM-707 produced highest seed yield cotton (3.2 t/ha, 3.17t/ha). The lowest seed yield cotton was noted in S-12 (1.86 t/ha). All the three parameters of stability i.e. overall mean seed yield cotton, regression coefficient and standard deviation to regression provided clear evidence that variety NIAB-999 and CIM-707 produced maximum stable yield compared to S-12.

Transition stages from a traditional city to an industrial city (Social and cultural environment of Tehran)

*M. Navabakhsh

Some of Iran's cities, especially Tehran that is the capital city of Iran, have faced sudden changes of industrialization due to political, economic, and ecological considerations. There is no doubt that it is not possible to conduct a thorough investigation of the cultural structures of these cities by theoretical models, and they shall be evaluated in comparative and combinational terms. Because of the consideration mentioned above, different ethnicities and groups from different cultural backgrounds have been attracted to these cities, and subcultures are highly influential in socialization, acculturation, solidarity, and integration of the individuals in the society. Although one of the problems of the industrial cities all over the world, including Tehran, is migration (from towns and villages), inflexible solutions and approaches to the migration problem are not logical. In addition, recourse to the weakness of the villages and attractions of the capital can not solve the problem (as shown by the author's experience). Therefore, it seems that creating occupational opportunities in villages and towns is one of the practical and useful ways for the survival of small towns and reduction of the migration to big cities, including Tehran.

Long term scenarios and options for sustainable energy systems and for climate protection: A short overview

*P. Hennicke

Within one decade a fundamental choice will have to be made: Should the energy system follow the historical trends of risky and unsustainable energy use patterns? Or should it take the course towards sustainable development and climate protection, giving top priority to energy efficiency and to a broad mix of renewable energies? Both roads are technically feasible. 'Back-casting'-scenarios could help to answer the question, what technological options are available for climate protection and how societal goals can be achieved in a cost-effective way. Lessons learned from world energy scenarios and possible implementation options will be discussed. A case study of the German Parliament´s Enquete Commission on Sustainable Energy Systems will be taken as illustration. The analysis shows that sustainable energy systems can be financed and that economic growth can be decoupled from absolute levels of non-renewable energy consumption by stepping up energy productivity.