Obtención de materiales nanocompuestos semiconductorsemiconductor para producción de hidrógeno por fotocatálisis heterogénea

Obtaining semiconductor-semiconductor nanocomposite materials for hydrogen production by heterogeneous photocatalysis

Yilmair Rodríguez Santillán (2023, [Tesis de maestría])

La producción de hidrógeno mediante fotocatálisis heterogénea a través del fotorreformado de metanol ha surgido como una estrategia para abordar los desafíos energéticos y ambientales actuales. Este proceso combina la conversión de una mezcla metanol/agua, con la eficiencia de la fotocatálisis para generar hidrógeno limpio y renovable. Uno de los factores más importantes en el proceso de la fotocatálisis heterogénea, es la capacidad que presenta un semiconductor para absorber luz con energía dentro del rango del espectro visible. El g-C3N4 es uno de los materiales más estudiados recientemente para la producción de hidrógeno, ya que presenta una banda prohibida de 2.7 eV, aparte de una alta estabilidad química y térmica, así como un bajo costo de producción. Sin embargo, el g-C3N4 tiene limitaciones en su eficiencia debido a la rápida recombinación del par electrón/hueco (e- /h+), lo que reduce la tasa de producción de H2. Para superar esta limitación se suelen hacer modificaciones por medio de dopantes o formando uniones con otros semiconductores, como las que se hicieron en este trabajo. El nanocompuesto que se utilizó para la producción de H2 mediante el fotorreformado de metanol es el Pt/MnCo2S4/B-g-C3N4 que consiste en una estructura formada por nitruro de carbono grafítico dopado con boro (B-g-C3N4), sulfuro de manganeso-cobalto (MnCo2S4) y platino (Pt). El B-g-C3N4 actúa como el fotocatalizador clave en la reacción de producción de H2 ya que cuenta con una estructura de banda electrónica adecuada que le permite absorber luz solar y generar pares (e-/h+) para activar la reacción. El MnCo2S4 se empleó para favorecer la separación y migración de los portadores de carga. El papel del Pt fue el de acelerar la reacción de reducción para la formación de la molécula de H2. La serie de fotocatalizadores de Pt/MnCo2S4/B-g-C3N4 que fueron sintetizados, demostraron una alta estabilidad y actividad fotocatalítica en la producción de hidrógeno a partir del fotorreformado de metanol/agua, tanto en condiciones con luz UV como en condiciones con luz visible, permitiendo alcanzar una producción de 947.9 μmol g-1 h-1 y 716.4 μmol g-1 h- respectivamente.

Hydrogen production through heterogeneous photocatalysis via methanol photoreforming has emerged as a strategy to address current energy and environmental challenges. This process combines the conversion of a methanol/water mixture with the efficiency of photocatalyst to generate clean and renewable hydrogen. One of the most crucial factors in the heterogeneous photocatalysis process is the semiconductor's ability to absorb light within the visible spectrum energy range. Recently, g-C3N4 has been extensively studied for hydrogen production due to its 2.7 eV bandgap, high chemical and thermal stability, and low production cost. However, g-C3N4 has limitations in its efficiency due to the rapid recombination of electron/hole pairs (e-/h+), which reduces the H2 production rate. To overcome this limitation, modifications are often made through dopants or forming junctions with other semiconductors, as is done in this study. The nanocomposite used for hydrogen production via methanol photoreforming is Pt/MnCo2S4/B-g-C3N4, which consists of a structure composed of borondoped graphitic carbon nitride (B-g-C3N4), manganese-cobalt sulfide (MnCo2S4) and platinum (Pt). B-gC3N4 acts as the critical photocatalyst in the H2 production reaction. It possesses an appropriate electronic band structure that absorbs solar light and generates electron-hole pairs (e-/h+) to activate the reaction. MnCo2S4 was used to promote the separation and migration of charge carriers. The role of Pt is to accelerate the reduction reaction to form H2 molecules. The series of synthesized Pt/MnCo2S4/B-g-C3N4 photocatalysts demonstrated high stability and photocatalytic activity in hydrogen production via methanol/water photoreforming, both under UV and visible light conditions, achieving a production rate of 947.9 μmol g-1 h-1 and 716.4 μmol g-1 h-1, respectively.

hidrógeno, fotocatálisis, fotorreformado, metanol, nanocompuesto hydrogen, photocatalyst, photoreforming, methanol, nanocomposite INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS TECNOLÓGICAS TECNOLOGÍA DE MATERIALES PROPIEDADES DE LOS MATERIALES PROPIEDADES DE LOS MATERIALES

Climate-smart agricultural practices influence the fungal communities and soil properties under major agri-food systems

madhu choudhary ML JAT Parbodh Chander Sharma (2022, [Artículo])

Fungal communities in agricultural soils are assumed to be affected by climate, weather, and anthropogenic activities, and magnitude of their effect depends on the agricultural activities. Therefore, a study was conducted to investigate the impact of the portfolio of management practices on fungal communities and soil physical–chemical properties. The study comprised different climate-smart agriculture (CSA)-based management scenarios (Sc) established on the principles of conservation agriculture (CA), namely, ScI is conventional tillage-based rice–wheat rotation, ScII is partial CA-based rice–wheat–mungbean, ScIII is partial CSA-based rice–wheat–mungbean, ScIV is partial CSA-based maize–wheat–mungbean, and ScV and ScVI are CSA-based scenarios and similar to ScIII and ScIV, respectively, except for fertigation method. All the scenarios were flood irrigated except the ScV and ScVI where water and nitrogen were given through subsurface drip irrigation. Soils of these scenarios were collected from 0 to 15 cm depth and analyzed by Illumina paired-end sequencing of Internal Transcribed Spacer regions (ITS1 and ITS2) for the study of fungal community composition. Analysis of 5 million processed sequences showed a higher Shannon diversity index of 1.47 times and a Simpson index of 1.12 times in maize-based CSA scenarios (ScIV and ScVI) compared with rice-based CSA scenarios (ScIII and ScV). Seven phyla were present in all the scenarios, where Ascomycota was the most abundant phyla and it was followed by Basidiomycota and Zygomycota. Ascomycota was found more abundant in rice-based CSA scenarios as compared to maize-based CSA scenarios. Soil organic carbon and nitrogen were found to be 1.62 and 1.25 times higher in CSA scenarios compared with other scenarios. Bulk density was found highest in farmers' practice (Sc1); however, mean weight diameter and water-stable aggregates were found lowest in ScI. Soil physical, chemical, and biological properties were found better under CSA-based practices, which also increased the wheat grain yield by 12.5% and system yield by 18.8%. These results indicate that bundling/layering of smart agricultural practices over farmers' practices has tremendous effects on soil properties, and hence play an important role in sustaining soil quality/health.

Agriculture Management Fungal Community Diversity Indices Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA AGRICULTURE TILLAGE CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE SOIL ORGANIC CARBON

Diversifying with grain legumes amplifies carbon in management-sensitive soil organic carbon pools on smallholder farms

Regis Chikowo Sieglinde Snapp (2023, [Artículo])

Crop diversification with grain legumes has been advocated as a means to increase agroecological resilience, diversify livelihoods, boost household nutrition, and enhance soil health and fertility in cereal-based cropping systems in sub-Saharan Africa and around the world. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a primary indicator of soil health and there is limited data regarding SOC pools and grain legume diversification on smallholder farms where soils are often marginal. In Malawi, a range of legume diversification options are under investigation, including rotations and a doubled-up legume rotation (DLR) system in which two compatible legumes are intercropped and then rotated with a cereal. The impact of the DLR system on SOC has not yet been determined, and there is a lack of evidence regarding SOC status over a gradient of simple to complex grain legume diversified systems. We address this knowledge gap by evaluating these systems in comparison to continuous sole maize (Zea mays L.) at three on-farm trial sites in central Malawi. After six years of trial establishment, we measured SOC in bulk soils and aggregate fractions and in faster cycling SOC pools that respond more rapidly to management practices, including water extractable organic carbon (WEOC), particulate organic matter carbon (POM-C), potentially mineralizable carbon (C), and macroaggregate C. Cropping treatment differences were not seen in bulk SOC or total N, but they were apparent in SOC pools with a shorter turnover time. The DLR system of intercropped pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) and groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) rotated with maize had higher WEOC, POM-C, potentially mineralizable C, macroaggregate and microaggregate C values than continuous maize. Of the single legume rotations, the pigeonpea-maize rotation had more mineralizable C and microaggregate C compared to continuous maize, while the groundnut-maize rotation had similar C values to the maize system. Overall, this study shows the potential for crop rotations diversified with grain legumes to enhance C in management sensitive SOC pools, and it is one of the first reports to show this effect on smallholder farm sites.

Crop Diversification Water Extractable Organic Carbon CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA DIVERSIFICATION LEGUMES PARTICULATE ORGANIC MATTER SOIL ORGANIC CARBON

Satellite imagery for high-throughput phenotyping in breeding plots

Francisco Pinto Mainassara Zaman-Allah Matthew Paul Reynolds Urs Schulthess (2023, [Artículo])

Optimized Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA HIGH-THROUGHPUT PHENOTYPING SATELLITES WHEAT MAIZE BREEDING NORMALIZED DIFFERENCE VEGETATION INDEX

Soil moisture content and maize grain yield under conventional and conservation agriculture practices - results of short term field tests in liselo, Namibia

Christian Thierfelder (2023, [Artículo])

This article focuses on the results from trials developed to monitor the short-term effects of conventionally tilled systems versus CA on soil quality and crop productivity under conditions of the major cropping systems in central, north-central and north-eastern regions of Namibia. Conventional tillage (CT), Minimum tillage (MT), Minimum tillage, mulch (MT-M), Minimum tillage, rotation (MT-R) and Minimum tillage, mulch and rotation (MT-MR) were the primary treatments tested. Significant differences (p≤0.000) among the treatments were observed in the 0-60 cm soil profiles where MT-M plots had the highest soil moisture content (39.8 mm, Standard Error of Mean 0.2815) over the study period. A significant difference (p=0.0206) in grain yield was observed in the second season with CT plots yielding the highest grain yield (3852.3 kg ha-1, standard error of mean 240.35). Results suggest that CA has the potential to increase water conservation and contribute to reduction of the risk of crop failure. Climate change driven degradation under conventional tillage necessitate alternative sustainable tillage methods. Conservation tillage methods and conservation agricultural practices that minimize soil disturbance while maintaining soil cover need to be adopted more locally as viable alternatives to conventional tillage.

Grain Yield Soil Moisture Content CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE CONVENTIONAL TILLAGE GRAIN YIELDS SOIL WATER CONTENT MAIZE

Changes in soil organic carbon pools after 15 years of Conservation Agriculture in rice (Oryza sativa)-wheat (Triticum aestivum) cropping system of eastern Indo-Gangetic plains

C.M. Parihar Mahesh Gathala ML JAT (2023, [Artículo])

The present study was carried out at Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Samastipur, Bihar during 2021-2023 to focus on examining alterations in SOC pools resulting from conservation agriculture (CA) practices in R-W system in the eastern IGP, following the collection of soil samples from a long-term trial that was initiated in rainy (kharif) season 2006. The trial included eight combinations, namely: conventional tilled rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (CTR-CTW); CT rice and zero till wheat (CTR-ZTW); direct seeded rice (DSR) and wheat on permanent raised beds (PBDSR-PBW); ZTDSR and CT Wheat (ZTDSR-CTW); ZTDSR and ZT wheat without residue (ZTDSR-ZTW-R); ZTDSR-ZT wheat with residue (ZTDSR-ZTW +R); unpuddled transplanted riceZTW (UpTR-ZTW) and ZTDSR-sesbania brown manure-ZTW (ZTDSR-S-ZTW). Results revealed that implementing zero tillage (ZT) combined with residue retention in rice and wheat cultivation led to enhanced levels of soil organic carbon (SOC) across all four fractions, namely very labile (CVL), labile (CL), less labile (CLL), and non-labile (CNL), in comparison to the continuous and rotational tillage practices. The tillage and residue management options significantly affected the lability index (LI) and C pool index (CPI), with zero-tillage and residue retention leading to lower LI and higher CPI values. The management practices significantly affected the C management index (CMI), with zero-tillage and residue retention showing the highest CMI values. Findings showed the potential of CA practices for enhancing soil C quality as well as C sequestration in soil of the Eastern IGP of India.

Carbon Management Index Soil Organic Carbon Fractions CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE SOIL ORGANIC CARBON ZERO TILLAGE

Advancing the science and practice of ecological nutrient management for smallholder farmers

Sieglinde Snapp (2022, [Artículo])

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA AGROECOLOGY DEGRADATION NUTRIENT CYCLES NUTRIENT USE EFFICIENCY SOIL ORGANIC MATTER SMALLHOLDERS

Nepal Seed And Fertilizer Project

Dyutiman Choudhary (2021, [Objeto de congreso])

CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA SEED SEED INDUSTRY PRIVATE SECTOR MAIZE RICE INTEGRATED SOIL FERTILITY MANAGEMENT COVID-19

Discovery of genomic regions associated with grain yield and agronomic traits in Bi-parental populations of maize (Zea mays. L) under optimum and low nitrogen conditions

Noel Ndlovu Vijay Chaikam Berhanu Tadesse Ertiro Biswanath Das Yoseph Beyene Charles Spillane Prasanna Boddupalli Manje Gowda (2023, [Artículo])

Grain Yield Low Soil Nitrogen CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA GRAIN NITROGEN SOIL CHEMICOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES MAIZE QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCI

The banana MaWRKY18, MaWRKY45, MaWRKY60 and MaWRKY70 genes encode functional transcription factors and display differential expression in response to defense phytohormones

SERGIO GARCIA LAYNES VIRGINIA AURORA HERRERA VALENCIA Lilia Guadalupe Tamayo Torres VERONICA LIMONES BRIONES FELIPE ALONSO BARREDO POOL FRAY MARTIN BAAS ESPINOLA Angel Alpuche-Solis CARLOS ALBERTO PUCH HAU SANTY PERAZA ECHEVERRIA (2022, [Artículo])

WRKY transcription factors (TFs) play key roles in plant defense responses through phytohormone signaling pathways. However, their functions in tropical fruit crops, especially in banana, remain largely unknown. Several WRKY genes from the model plants rice (OsWRKY45) and Arabidopsis (AtWRKY18, AtWRKY60, AtWRKY70) have shown to be attractive TFs for engineering disease resistance. In this study, we isolated four banana cDNAs (MaWRKY18, MaWRKY45, MaWRKY60, and MaWRKY70) with homology to these rice and Arabidopsis WRKY genes. The MaWRKY cDNAs were isolated from the wild banana Musa acuminata ssp. malaccensis, which is resistant to several diseases of this crop and is a progenitor of most banana cultivars. The deduced amino acid sequences of the four MaWRKY cDNAs revealed the presence of the conserved WRKY domain of ~60 amino acids and a zinc-finger motif at the N-terminus. Based on the number of WRKY repeats and the structure of the zinc-finger motif, MaWRKY18 and MaWRKY60 belong to group II of WRKY TFs, while MaWRKY45 and MaWRKY70 are members of group III. Their corresponding proteins were located in the nuclei of onion epidermal cells and were shown to be functional TFs in yeast cells. Moreover, expression analyses revealed that the majority of these MaWRKY genes were upregulated by salicylic acid (SA) or methyl jasmonate (MeJA) phytohormones, although the expression levels were relatively higher with MeJA treatment. The fact that most of these banana WRKY genes were upregulated by SA or MeJA, which are involved in systemic acquired resistance (SAR) or induced systemic resistance (ISR), respectively, make them interesting candidates for bioengineering broad-spectrum resistance in this crop. © 2022 by the authors.

BANANA TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR WRKY DEFENSE PHYTOHORMONES SALICYLIC ACID METHYL JASMONATE SAR ISR BROAD-SPECTRUM RESISTANCE BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA GENÉTICA GENÉTICA MOLECULAR DE PLANTAS GENÉTICA MOLECULAR DE PLANTAS