This study was carried out to determine a fertilization rate for productivity and nutritive value improvement of silage corn, using two kinds of composts, and to examine the potential possibility of utilization as an organic fertilizer. The experiment was

Clogging of the filter media which is brought by physical, chemical, and biological factors tend to reduce the lifespan of filters and remains a challenge. In this study, a laboratory column test method was used to investigate the evolution of physical and biological clogging in a non-vegetated filter media system with layers of sand, gravel, and woodchip. Blank column tests using either sand or gravel were conducted and investigated. Several column setups with varying arrangements and particle sizes of sand and gravel were also prepared to identify the best filter media combination that is least susceptible to clogging without compromising the treatment capacity. Artificial stormwater runoff was introduced in the system at a specific hydraulic loading rate (HLR) and influent characteristics. The degree of clogging was quantified by monitoring the variations in the hydraulic head at different levels of the columns. Water samples were also collected, tested, and analyzed at the end of each test run in order to measure the treatment efficiency of the filter. The insights and results of this study can justify the physical and biological clogging formation in filter media and therefore be used to suggest some filter media particle size modifications that can help to improve the sediment removal and treatment performance. Moreover, it can also aid to reduce the maintenance frequency and costs of a stormwater filter system.

Three-year-old seedlings of susceptible Pinus densiflora and resistant Pinus x rigitaeda were each inoculated with the pinewood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, to compare disease development. Needle dehydration was evident on seedlings of P. densiflora by 20 days after inoculation, 10 days earlier than this symptom was observed on P. × rigitaeda. Xylem drying was more frequent in seedlings of P. densiflora than in that of P. × rigitaeda between 20 and 60 days after inoculation. No significant differences were found between P. densiflora and P. × rigitaeda for stem water content or for stem and leaf relative water content in current-year branches after nematode inoculation, but the average number of B. xylophilus recovered from stems differed significantly between the two groups. The number of B. xylophilus recovered from stems was negatively correlated with the stem water content and with stem and leaf relative water content. By the time the experiment was terminated at 60 days after inoculation, all 3 of the last group of P. densiflora seedlings had died, but 2 of the 3 remaining P. × rigitaeda hybrid seedlings were still alive. Additional studies are needed to further explore the specific mechanisms preventing nematode multiplication in the seedlings of resistant P. × rigitaeda.