Mocis frugalis (Fabricius, 1775), the sugarcane looper, was collected in Byeonsanbando National Park in South Korea for the first time. This species is known as a major crop pest, especially to sugarcane at tropical and subtropical regions. Due to climate change and the subtropicalization of the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, some tropical and subtropical crops are cultivated in Korea, including sugarcane. Besides, Oryza sativa L. and Zea mays L., which of main crops in Korea, are known as host plants of M. frugalis in the Oriental region. Even if unclear of domestic settlement, precision monitoring will be necessary.

Sugarcane bagasse has been used as a substrate for the development of microporous nano-activated carbons for the treatment and elimination of dissolved materials from aquatic environment. The activated carbon was produced using chemical activation in one-step method with zinc chloride ( ZnCl2) as the activating agent at a carbonization temperatures range from 500 to 900 °C. The effects of temperature and time of carbonization on the activated carbon product properties were thoroughly studied. The activated carbons that resulted were characterized using the N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method (BET), pore property analysis, micropore (MP) surface area, t-plot surface area, TGA, FTIR, SEM, TEM, and EDX analyses. The prepared activated carbon’s point of zero charge, Boehm titration process, iodine removal percentage, and methylene blue number were also investigated. The prepared activated carbon’s maximum surface area was achieved using a 2/1 impregnation ratio (dried sugarcane bagasse/ZnCl2) at 600 °C temperature of carbonization and 60 min residence time. 1402.2 m2/ g, 0.6214 and 1.41 cm3/ g, respectively, were the largest surface area, total pore volume, and micropore volume. As the activation temperature increased, the total pore volume increased and the BET study measured a pore diameter of 0.7 nm and a mean pore diameter of 1.77 nm.

Sugarcane is one of the most efficient photosynthesizer in the plant kingdom, able to convert as much as 2% of incident solar energy into biomass. A large amount of lignocellulosic biomass such as leaf litter residues and bagasse are generated during the sugarcane harvest or after the sugar refining process, respectively. Therefore, lignocellulosic biomass from leaf and processing residues will likely become a valuable feedstock for biofuel production. However, higher temperatures and/or acid concentrations result in dehydration of xylose to furfural, and glucose to hydroxymethyl furfural, which act as inhibitors of the fermentation process. New pretreatment protocols are being developed that require the application of xylanases and other enzymes for maximal yields of xylose. Our objectives target the improvement of fermentable sugar yields from hemicellulosic sugarcane residues and enhancing the biosafety of the transgenic plants. We evaluated two transgenic approaches: lignin modification by RNAi suppression of the lignin biosynthetic gene COMT and in planta production of a hyperthermostable xylanase. More than 200 transgenic sugarcane plants were generated and lines with suppression or expression of the target genes were selected. RNAi suppression of COMT resulted in reduced lignin content and altered lignin composition. In planta produced xylanase Xyl10B converted the majority of sugarcane xylan to fermentable xylobiose. Performance and conversion efficiency of transgenic plants grown in replicated field plots under USDA-Aphis notification 11-040-120 will also be presented.

지구 온난화, 오존층의 파괴, 기상이변 등 환경문제와 더불어 환경호르몬은 생체의 발육과 성장 및 각종 기능에 중대한 영향을 미치기 때문에 최근에 심각한 문제가 되고 있다. 환경호르몬은 플라스틱과 각종 산업폐기물로 인하여 발생되기 때문에 가정에서 버려지는 쓰레기를 줄이고 이러한 환경문제의 주범이 되는 소재의 대체 소재 개발이 절실히 필요하다고 볼 수 있다. 동일한 기능을 가진 상품이라면 환경오염 부하가 적은 상품, 예를 들면, 에너지효율이 높거나 폐기물 발생이 적은 소재를 선택하는 것이 최선의 방법이다. 일상생활에서 사용되는 석유기반 플라스틱이 분해되는데 필요한 기간은 최소 450년이 걸리며 원재료 가공부터 생산과 판매까지 환경오염을 일으키고 플라스틱의 원재료인 석유는 계속 고갈되고 있으므로 새로운 대체 원재료를 개발할 필요가 있다고 판단하며 본 연구에서는 대체소재 중 식물성 옥수수 소재 PLA보다 우수한 사탕수수 기반 레진으로 이루어진 Bio-PET에 대한 연구를 하고자 한다. 환경 보호 측면이나 기술적 편리성을 가진 Bio-PET는 불필요한 조정 없이 기존 PET의 완벽한 대체 원료가 되며 사탕수수라는 친환경 소재의 장점을 지니고 있고 바이오 에탄올로 만들어져 기존 PET와 같은 투명감과 기능성을 가지고 있기에 내열성, 내구성, 성형성면에서 기존 플라스틱보다 품질이 높기 때문에 차세대 친환경 소재로 사용이 적합하다. 향후에는 이 소재를 이용한 환경 조형물이나 인테리어 벽면 소재로도 응용할 필요가 있다고 판단되며 Bio-PET의 지속적인 연구를 통해 친환경 상품의 대표적 소재로의 역할을 찾고자 한다.

A field study was conducted to develop an economically suitable combination of organic and inorganic fertilizers for sugarcane cultivation in sandy acidic soil of a commercial sugarcane farm under Old Himalayan Piedmont Plain of Bangladesh. Results revealed that the treatment T4 which received 75~% of Recommended fertilizers (N 120, P 35, K 100, S 25, Zn 2 kg ha-1 ) + 10 Mg ha-1 Rice mill ash + Mg ha-1 press mud significantly produced higher sugarcane yield (72.34 Mg ha-1 ) among all the treatments except T5 having 100~% of Recommended fertilizers + 10 Mg ha-1 Rice mill ash + 10 Mg ha-1 press mud, which was identical. T4 also gave the highest net economic benefit at Bangladesh Taka 15,920.47 per hectare from the added nutrient management. Thus, the integrated use with organic and inorganic fertilizer is highly essential for sustainable production of sugarcane in commercial farm of the region in Bangladesh, where it has been grown year after year.

A field study was conducted to investigate and ascertain the effects of boron and molybdenum with recommended N P K S Zn fertilizers (RFD) for sustained sugarcane yield in the sandy acidic soil in Old Himalayan Piedmont Plain of Bangladesh. Results revealed that the treatment T7 having recommended fertilizers of N 120, P 35, K 100, S 25 and Zn 2kg ha-1 + B 2kg ha-1 + Mo 2 kg ha-1 produced significantly higher number of millable cane (126.96~times103~;ha-1) except in T9 with RFD + B 2 kg ha-1 + Mo 4kg ha-1 , and higher cane yield (92.83 Mg ha-1 ) among all except in T3 with RFD + B2 kg ha-1 , T5 with RFD + Mo 2kg ha-1 and T9 where the effects were statistically identical. The increase in cane yield by T7 was 164.6~% over control. The treatment T7 having RFD + B 2kg ha-1 + Mo 2kg ha-1 further gave the highest additional net economic benefit of Taka 16, 500.00 for added Band Mo at 2kg ha-1 among all the treatments in the study.