Effects of Integrated Use of Lime and Nitrogen Fertilizer Rate on Maize (Zea mays l.) Crop and Its Profitability on Nitisols, Ethiopia
Birtukan Amare Kebede,
Eyayu Molla Fetene,
Yihenew Gebreselassie Mengesha,
Habtamu Tadele Belay,
Tesfaye Bayu Zeleke
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 2, December 2021
Pages:
19-31
Received:
2 June 2021
Accepted:
9 July 2021
Published:
4 August 2021
Abstract: In the highlands of Ethiopia soil acidity is the limiting factor for crop production due to leaching effects of basic cations, nutrient loss by erosion, crop residue removal from farmland and other human induced factors. This study was carried out at Burie district to determine the effect of integrated use of lime and nitrogen fertilizer rate on yield and yield components of Maize in acidic nitisols. The treatments include lime (0 and 0.5 t ha-1) and nitrogen fertilizer (0, 100, 200, 300, and 400 kg ha-1). To fulfill the law of minimum, 200 kg ha-1 die ammonium phosphate (DAP) which is recommended rate of NPS (19% N, 38% P2O5 and 7% S) fertilizer was used uniformly to all plots at the time of planting. The maize variety BH-661 was used as a test crop. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with ten treatments replicated three times. Yield and yield components of maize were collected and analyzed. The analysis of variance result revealed that, interaction effect of lime and N fertilizer reduced the tasseling period (88 days in the application of 0.5 t ha-1 lime with 100 kg ha-1 N to 85 days in combined use of 0.5 t ha-1 lime with 400 kg ha-1 N) and silking period from 91 days to 88 days. Grain yield was highly and positively correlated with AGDB (r=0.996) and HI (r=0.987). Grain yield of maize in the study area was increased from 5,550 kg ha-1 to 6,410.20 kg ha -1 (adjusted yield). Yield increment was 13.42%. The average maize yield in the region was 3,780 kg ha-1 but in the study area the adjusted yield was 6,410.20 kg ha-1. As compared with regional maize yield it was increased by 40.3%. However, yield was highly and negatively correlated with DT (r=-0.957) and DS (r=-0.925). The maximum agronomic use efficiency of (3.76%) was from Treatment 10 (0.5 t ha-1 lime with 400 kg ha-1 N) than Treatment 7 (0.5 t ha-1 lime with 100 kg ha-1 N) of (3.16%). Based on the economic analysis, the net benefit value 47,701.04 Ethiopian Birr. Therefore, integrated application of 0.5 t ha-1 lime and 300 kg ha-1 Nitrogen fertilizer is economically reasonable and recommended to the farmers.
Abstract: In the highlands of Ethiopia soil acidity is the limiting factor for crop production due to leaching effects of basic cations, nutrient loss by erosion, crop residue removal from farmland and other human induced factors. This study was carried out at Burie district to determine the effect of integrated use of lime and nitrogen fertilizer rate on yi...
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Toward Bottom-up Optoelectronic Design of Increasing Fluorination Low Bandgap in PDTPQX-types Copolymers for Organic Photovoltaics Devices
Simplice Koudjina,
Affi Sopi Thomas,
René Sawadogo,
Nobel Kouakou N’Guessan,
Wilfried Gbèdodé Kanhounnon,
Gaston Assongba Kpotin,
Guy Yacolé Sylvain Atohoun
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 2, December 2021
Pages:
32-42
Received:
2 August 2021
Accepted:
13 August 2021
Published:
9 September 2021
Abstract: Organic photovoltaic performance has been investigated about the fluorination effects as one part on the optoelectronic properties. The quantum chemical accuracy of the optoelectronic and structural properties based on D-A (Donor-Acceptor) conjugated copolymers as PDTPQX-type (Poly-dithieno-pyrrol-Quinoxaline) has been tediously exposed. The Donor-Acceptor in the copolymers was in our case constitutes to the Donor part in the photovoltaic device, while the Acceptor starting is the PC60BM in the same device, which composed the photovoltaic solar cells. The choice of the Donor part in the copolymers was obtained by their HOMO-LUMO bandgap and UV-visible absorption. The bandgap of the Donor part must be higher than that of the Acceptor part for an untroubled charges transfer from the Donor to the Acceptor according to the photovoltaic principle. The substitution of fluorine atoms (0F, 1F, 2F) on the quinoxaline constituents is an effective way to low the HOMO and LUMO energy levels of the alternating copolymers. This fluorine effect has been explored on the optoelectronic properties such as the HOMO-LUMO band gap Egap energy, the fill factor FF, the open circuit voltage Voc, the electron transfer energy ΔEet, the excitation energy ΔEex, the absorption wave length λ and the oscillator strength OS. The equilibrium geometry at the ground state, the electronic structures as the frontier orbital isosurface have been obtained under the caster of the density functional theory (DFT) assist by the time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) with M05 as exchange-correlation functional to come with 6-311G(d,p) basis set. Calculations were performed both in vaccuum and Chlorobenzene (CB) solvent with IEFPCM quantum model. All this has been done with the aim to enhance the energy gap, the Voc values and the fill factor FF, which exposed the nanomorphology as the topology of the solar cells photoactive layers. The results of this study show that these promote compounds systems as in the fluorination order are excellent candidates to build photovoltaic device in aim to enhance the open-circuit voltage for donor-acceptor heterojunctions used in organic solar cells.
Abstract: Organic photovoltaic performance has been investigated about the fluorination effects as one part on the optoelectronic properties. The quantum chemical accuracy of the optoelectronic and structural properties based on D-A (Donor-Acceptor) conjugated copolymers as PDTPQX-type (Poly-dithieno-pyrrol-Quinoxaline) has been tediously exposed. The Donor-...
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Determination of Ethanol in Wine and Distilled Alcoholic Beverages Using a Smartphone as a Detector
Anita Martinovic Bevanda,
Anita Ivankovic,
Stanislava Talic,
Antonio Stipanovic,
Danijela Petrovic
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 2, December 2021
Pages:
43-47
Received:
30 September 2021
Accepted:
14 October 2021
Published:
28 October 2021
Abstract: This paper describes the application of a smartphone as a detector in the determination of ethanol in distilled beverages. Digital image analysis as an analytical tool is a reality nowadays, and the use of smartphones stands out due to its high accessibility and practicality. The aim is to determine ethanol in distilled beverages using two cheap and simple methods using a smartphone as a detector. Two methods were used, with phenanthroline (method A) and with potassium dichromate (method B) as a reagents and two detectors, spectrophotometer and smartphone. Linear dependence of signal was achieved in the concentration range: from 1.0 to 65.0% (v/v) for method A and from 7.0 to 50.0% (v/v) for method B. The concentration range that is linear with the signal is wide and allows sufficient sensitivity and thus gives the possibility to determine a variety of distilled beverages. Comparison of the obtained results shows that the smartphone and the proposed reagents can be used in routine analysis in quality control of used samples. The results obtained are comparable with the results obtained using a spectrophtometer or with nominal values. The method proved to be simple and inexpensive for the determination of ethanol, does not use expensive reagents neither laborious procedures to carry out the analysis.
Abstract: This paper describes the application of a smartphone as a detector in the determination of ethanol in distilled beverages. Digital image analysis as an analytical tool is a reality nowadays, and the use of smartphones stands out due to its high accessibility and practicality. The aim is to determine ethanol in distilled beverages using two cheap an...
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