Assessing soil quality under agricultural production provides valuable information about the soil's condition and overall health. The study evaluated soil quality across different land uses (cassava, pasture, and maize) using multiple soil quality indices at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria. Profiles pits were dug at each land use type and described according to WRB guidelines. Soil quality was assessed using physical, chemical, geochemical and ecological (potential ecological risk coefficient and index) indicators. Soil pH (5.60-6.68), OC (0.63-3.03%), TN (0.02-026%), and Av. P (0.76-8.75 mg/kg) showed a decreasing trend with increasing soil depth. Bulk density (1.17-1.42 g/cm3) and Fe (17.50–65.63%wt) increased with depth, while other metals fluctuated across depths and land uses. Soil quality ranged from low to moderate, with low Av. P and K being the most common limiting factors. Geochemical indicators revealed minor to moderate enrichment for most metals, with Pb (13.884) showing moderate enrichment. Contamination factors indicated low to moderate contamination for most metals, except Pb (5.647), which showed significant contamination. The geoaccumulation index classified most metals as practically uncontaminated, with Ni (0.860) and Pb (1.913) indicating slight to moderate contamination. Ecological risk assessment suggested low potential ecological risk for most metals, but a moderate risk for Pb (28.235). The study concludes that combining different indicators provides a comprehensive evaluation of soil quality, highlighting the impact of agricultural practices on soil health. Regular monitoring and sustainable soil management are recommended to maintain soil quality and mitigate risks associated with heavy metal accumulation in agricultural soils.
Waste cooking oil is an abundant food-related residue that can be valorized into useful products within circular economy strategies. This study aimed to prepare five soap formulations from waste edible oil-derived raw materials and to evaluate their physicochemical properties and antioxidant activity in order to identify the most balanced formulation. The waste oil was purified and used for soap production by alkaline saponification. The obtained formulations were assessed in terms of moisture content, foam height, pH, total fatty substances, total alkali content, and DPPH radical scavenging activity. The moisture content ranged from 8.78% to 20.53%, with the lowest value observed for F3 and the highest for F5. Foam height varied from 9.63 to 24.67 cm, and the highest foaming performance was recorded for F3. The pH values ranged from 7.03 to 10.21, indicating clear differences in alkalinity among the formulations. Total fatty substances ranged from 66.11% to 83.91%, with F4 showing the highest value, while total alkali content ranged from 0.19% to 1.10% and remained below the cited limit in all samples. Antioxidant activity was weak for all formulations, although F4 showed the lowest IC₅₀ value and therefore the strongest activity among the soap samples. The integrated evaluation indicated that F3 had the most balanced physicochemical profile, whereas F4 showed the most favorable antioxidant performance. These findings confirm that waste edible oil can serve as a promising raw material for soap production, although formulation optimization remains essential.
Salinity is one of the most threatening stress for cotton. Cotton is considered a moderately salt-tolerant crop with a salt tolerance limit of 7.7 dS m-1. Stress is always deleterious for cotton growth, yield, and quality of cotton. The degree of sensitivity to salt stress varies in a dependent position with growth stage and type of salt. Cotton reacts to salinity, and its ability to cope with it and the management methods might prove useful in helping to find ways to enhance the production of cotton under saline environments. Several of the studies have demonstrated that the germination, seedling phases and emergence are much more sensitive to salinity stress in a comparative perspective from other later phases. Flowering occurs later, and fewer fruiting sites, fruit drop, and smaller boll size ultimately influence seed cotton yield; its partitioning is the major aspect of cotton modulation under salt stress. This study shows that high level of salts in the soil affect the metabolic activities of the cotton plants mostly through osmotic stress, nutritional imbalance and toxicity from the salts’ ions; sodium and chloride. The metabolic disorders may suddenly bring down cotton growth and lint yield, most especially in moderate to highly saline soil. In this review, we study different of agronomic practices such as mulching and furrow seeding, plant density management, increasing soil moisture and temp, water management, utilization of root associated microorganism, drip irrigation, crop rotation, biochar, seed priming, flat-sowing technique, ridge planting technique mitigating soil salinity, reducing salinity effects on cotton and improving plant growth of the cotton plant. Cotton genetic studies on salt tolerance indicated that most biochemical, physiological, agronomic, and fiber traits are genetically regulated and have significant QTL effects. But with biochemical and molecular biology tools available now, it has become possible to look at the intricacies of salt tolerance at the transcript level. This review highlighted integrated agronomic strategies for alleviating salinity stress and enhancing cotton yield.
Industrial effluent–derived heavy metal contamination poses serious ecological and human health risks due to persistence, toxicity, and bioaccumulation in soil–plant–water systems. This study assessed the distribution, bioaccumulation, and ecological risk of selected heavy metals in Cannabis sativa, soil and water from an industrial area of Mirpur, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Cannabis sativa and soil samples were collected from three locations at increasing distances from the industrial zone, while water samples were obtained from steel, textile, pharmaceutical, and combined industrial effluents. After acid digestion, concentrations of zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), tin (Sn), and silver (Ag) were measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometry and compared with WHO permissible limits. Soil-to-plant transfer and water contamination patterns were evaluated to infer ecological and bioaccumulation risk. Results revealed elevated metal levels across all matrices. In C. sativa, mean concentrations of Zn (3.62 ppm), Mn (3.48 ppm), Cu (2.44 ppm), Co (2.33 ppm), Ni (1.23 ppm), Cd (2.16 ppm), Sn (1.21 ppm), and Ag (1.54 ppm) exceeded WHO limits. Soil concentrations were higher, e.g., Zn (13.09 ppm), Mn (16.34 ppm), Co (10.45 ppm), Ni (3.90 ppm), Cd (3.13 ppm). Water samples exhibited the highest concentrations in mixed effluents: Co (8.67 ppm), Ni (13.22 ppm), Mn (9.73 ppm), Zn (11.23 ppm), Cu (3.99 ppm), Cd (6.23 ppm), Ag (1.12 ppm), and Sn (2.02 ppm). Cadmium, cobalt, and zinc showed higher bioaccumulation potential in plants. Overall, contamination and bioaccumulation indices indicate moderate to high ecological risk, highlighting the need for continuous monitoring and stricter regulation of industrial effluent discharge in Mirpur AJK.
Inappropriate use by agriculture and industry has led to contamination by glyphosate (GPH), which is toxic to human health, life and the environment. GPH is eliminated by the adsorption process of organoclay composites. To synthesize organoclays, the cationic surfactants hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDAB) and trimethyloctadecylammonium bromide (TOAB) were combined with bentonite clay materials. The structural properties of the materials were studied by FTIR, XRD, SEM-EDX, BET surface and pHpzc. The batch process was carried out with the following parameters: pH, contact time, temperature, initial concentration and comparative doses of bentonite and the two composite materials. However, the X-ray diffraction patterns of the surfactant-modified TOAB- Bent and HDBA-Bent composites revealed an increase in basal spacing. The sorption capacity of GPH in TOAB-Bent and HDBA-Bent increased with the loading level of TOAB or HDAB, while the sorption efficiency of GPH was produced by the hydrophobic phases formed by surfactants, with hydrophobic partitioning being the critical process. Therefore, the addition of bentonite and surfactants can significantly improve glyphosate removal from aqueous solutions.
