Earticle

Poplar trees from the Salicaceae family over the years have been utilized for various reasons which include prevention of deforestation as well as phytoremediation. This study aims to determine the optimal pre-treatment and soil conditions required for propagation of poplar cuttings for increased initial adaptability and survival rate. Five poplar clones (Hanan, 110, 107, DN-34, 52-225) were selected for IBA, soil composition treatments on propagation. IBA pre-treatment of cuttings were utilized 0, 10, and 100 mg l-1 concentrations. Soil compositions were amended with TKS-2+perlite 2:1 (v:v) and sandy clay loam mixed with artificial soil. According to the greenhouse results 10 mg l-1 of IBA showed a significant increase in plant height whereas 100 mg l-1 inhibited plant growth except in clone 110. Soil composition severely affected root growth and hence overall growth of the clones. Sandy clay loam soil had poor to stunted growth compared to TKS-2+perlite.

Diospyros mespiliformis is a highly valued and threatened tree species within the Sahelo-Sudanian zone of Africa, but its seed germination requirements under cultivation are not well researched. In a first experiment which aimed at determining germination response of seeds to dehydration, fresh seeds were dried at room temperature for 26 days during which their moisture content, their germinability, and their viability were monitored at two-day intervals. In the second experiment, 14 pre-germination treatments were tested for their effect on the germination of dried seeds. Results showed that fresh seeds had 52.7% moisture and achieved 97.7% germination. As seeds were dried, percentage germination gradually decreased with decreasing moisture content and reached 0% when moisture content had dropped to 18%. Meanwhile, seed viability remained at 100% over drying duration. Seeds that were not germinated after air dry also recorded 100% viability. The most effective treatment for inducing germination of dried seeds was scarification using 98% sulfuric acid for 30 min which resulted in 96.6% germination. This study reports for the first time in D. mespiliformis seeds a desiccation-induced dormancy which can be efficiently alleviated by acid scarification. This study provides useful information that will contribute to efficient management of D. mespiliformis seed resources for propagation.

As the importance of biological resources increases, the conservation technology is becoming important for rarities. This study was conducted to establish an efficient cryopreservation conditions for the Deutzia paniculata, endangered plant species, by using both cryopreservation methods of vitrification and encapsulation. As a result, the sucrose pretreatment seed viability showed up to 30.7% in the treatments. The cryoprotectant treatment improved the viability of the seeds, and was found to be excellent in the vitrification method using PVS3. The vitrification method had over 10% higher germination rate than the seeds preserved by encapsulation. In addition, the germination rate showed a significant difference according to the cryopreservation treatment time, and the germination rate of seeds decreased very much as the long time became longer. Plants germinated from preserved seed in liquid nitrogen showed poor growth compared to untreated, and good growth in PVS3 120 minutes. In addition, the growth of germinated plants by liquid nitrogen treatment time was better in the vitrification method. These results are expected to be useful for long-term preservation of D. paniculata, endangered plants.

The study was conducted to observe the effects of compost of faecal sludge (FSC) and food waste (FWC) on seed germination and initial growth performance of Acacia auriculiformis and Swietenia mahagoni seedlings at the nursery of Chittagong University, Bangladesh. Before sowing the seeds, different combinations of FSC and FWC were incorporated with nutrient-deficient natural forest soils. Seed germination and growth parameters of seedlings were recorded after two, three and four month of seed sowing. We observed that seed germination (%) and seedlings growth parameters varied significantly (p＜0.05) in the soil added with FSC and FWC in comparison to control. The highest germination was observed 88.89% for A. auriculiformis in combination of soil and FSC at 3:1 and 92.59% for S. mahagoni where soil combined with FWC at 4:1. The seedling biomass and other growth parameters of A. auriculiformis and S. mahagoni was also observed with combinations of soil with FSC 3:1 and soil with FWC 4:1. Therefore, the study revealed that the compost of both FS and FW can be a good soil conditioner for the initial growth of forest seedlings and the proven combinations can help to grow quality seedlings in the nursery.

This study analyzed and compared the damage rate, natural parasitic rate, and the morphological characteristics of Thecodiplosis japonensis larvae, which inhabit forest areas as control areas to large urban areas in 2018 and 2019. This research was conducted to provide basic data for the management of Thecodiplosis japonensis, which harm pine needles, and the results were as follows. First, the gall formation rate of Thecodiplosis japonensis collected from urban areas was upper-crown 35.59% and 34.25%, mid-crown 25.57% and 27.95%, and lower-crown 25.34% and 26.61%; the gall formation rate of Thecodiplosis japonensis was in the order of upper-crown＞mid-crown＞lower-crown in 2018 and 2019, respectively. In the control areas, the gall formation rates of Thecodiplosis japonensis in mountain villages in 2018 and 2019 were upper-crown 17.72% and 21.78%, mid-crown 13.85% and 16.97%, and lower-crown 15.12% and 15.79%; thus, in the order of upper-crown＞lower-crown＞mid-crown. The number of larvae in the galls of needles damaged by Thecodiplosis japonensis was as follows: the average number of larvae in the pine trees of urban areas was 9 and 8 in the upper-crown, 7 and 8 in the mid-crown, and 6 and 7 in the lower-crown respectively. This shows that the number of larvae was fewer in the lower-crown than the upper-crown, and that the number of larvae was higher in 2018 than in 2019. For natural parasitic rate of Thecodiplosis japonensis, the gall formation rate and natural parasitic rate of Thecodiplosis japonensis were surveyed; the natural parasitic rate was 12.5% and 11.8% in urban areas while the rate was 21.7% and 20.9% in mountain villages in respectively in 2018 and 2019.

Fuel management can play enormous role in fire management in tropical dry forests. However, unlike the temperate forests, knowledge on implications of different fuel management methods in tropical forests is often inadequate. In this study, the implications of prescribed burning and hand thinning treatments on implementation cost, fuel loading and post-treatment fire behaviour were tested and compared in degraded forests and teak plantations in two forest reserves of different levels of dryness in Ghana. The study found that prescribed burning was less expensive (62.02 US Dollars ha-1) than hand thinning (95.37 US Dollars ha-1). The study also indicated that the two fuel management methods were able to reduce fuel loading in degraded forests and teak plantations. However, prescribed burning was more effective in reducing fuel loading than hand thinning. While the relative change of fuel reduction was 13% higher in prescribed burning than the hand thinning in degraded forest, it was 41% higher in prescribed burning than hand thinning in teak plantations. The fire behaviour of post-treatment experimental fire was also lower in prescribed burning than the hand thinning and control plots. Fuel management, therefore, has a great potential in fire management in degraded forests and teak plantations in Ghana.

Mushroom has economic, food and medicinal value to a large proportion of human populace. This study assessed the consumption pattern of mushroom species in Southwestern Nigeria. Non-probability sampling method was used to select 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) from 3 states and four communities were selected purposively from each LGAs. Snow-ball sampling approach was used in selecting 5 respondents from each community, making a total of 400 respondents. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, to compare the differences between the local (wild) and Exotic (cultivated) mushroom Species and to determine the rate at which mushroom substitute is consumed among the mushroom consumers. Logit regression was used to identify the factors influencing mushroom consumption in the study area. Thirty percent of the respondents were aged 41 to 50 years, with mean age of 49.76 years. About 82% had tertiary education, 17.3% earned above N200,000 monthly and 8.8% spent above N6000 monthly on mushroom. Logit regression showed that age (-3.21), household size (-2.17) and medicinal benefits (-2.17) had significant (p＜0.01) negative effects on mushroom consumption. Conclusively, mushroom has wide acceptance among the general populace, good for food and medicine; hence, awareness should be created through agricultural policy on the need for mushroom cultivation and consumption in Nigeria.

This study was carried out to find the effects of aromatherapy using natural fragrance on reducing stress and improving job satisfaction of transportation workers in the taxi industry. A total of 120 workers were divided into the experimental group and the control group according to the inhalation of the fragrance and tested for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, the difference of emotional change, stress analysis, and evaluation of job satisfaction according to aromatherapy were compared between the two groups. The result showed that the experimental group had a higher interest in scent products than the control group and that they wanted to encounter a lot of real scents, indicating that aromatherapy caused positive interest in general scent likability. In addition, the experimental group said that the inhalation of fragrance would refresh the feeling of the passengers in the vehicle and smoothly communicate with the passengers. Especially, it showed a significant difference between the two groups in terms of tension relief, pleasure and good mood by inhalation of fragrance, indicating the positive effect on job satisfaction.