http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/15413 Sun, 26 Apr 2026 17:20:22 GMT 2026-04-26T17:20:22Z http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/16376 Evaluation of alternative nursery potting mixtures for betel (piper betle l.) Dinelka, S.A.N.; Dissanayaka, D.M.P.V.; Premathilake, U.G.A.T.; Weerasuriya, G.P.A.N. Betel (Piper betle L.) is a woody climber with cultural and economic significance. Precise potting mixture is a prerequisite to produce quality nursery plants. Exploring alternative potting mixtures is crucial in addressing limitations associated with traditional potting mixtures. This research aimed to evaluate the different alternative potting mixtures for nursery production of betel. The research was conducted at Betel Research Station, Department of Export Agriculture, at Narammala. Seven potting mixtures were prepared using different ratios of topsoil, coir dust, sand, cattle manure, compost, goat manure, Partially Burnt Paddy Husk (PBPH) and poultry manure. Department of Export Agriculture (DEA) recommended potting mixture (Topsoil: Sand: Coir dust: Cattle manure 1:1:1:1) was used as the control (T1). This experiment was laid out in a Complete Randomized Design and each treatment consisted 15 nursery pots. “Ratadalu” stem cuttings were used as planting materials. Analysis was done on the EC, pH, and N, P, and K content of the nutrients in potting mixes. Growth parameters; number of leaves, shoot length and diameter were recorded weekly. Survival rate, shoot and root weight, root volume measured at 9th week. Except, T8 (Topsoil: PBPH: Poultry manure 1:3:1) potting mixture, other alternative nursery potting mixtures showed similar performances to control (T1) for most of the tested parameters. Out of alternative mixtures, T2 potting mixture exhibited more similar performances to the DEA recommended potting mixture. Therefore, T2 (Topsoil: Sand: Coir dust: Compost 1:1:1:1) can be suggested as the best alternative potting mixture for nursery production of betel. Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/16376 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/16374 The effect of hydrogen peroxide treatment on functional properties of paddy husk biochar and its application for wastewater treatment Arunmugan, M.; Rupasinghe, C.P.; Manoharan, T.; Kannan, N. Paddy husk is one of the biomass raw materials and byproducts of the rice production and processing industry. It is very much abundant in Sri Lanka, which is readily available as an energy source. Paddy husk contains silica as a special characteristic component. Application of paddy husk is novel in Sri Lanka. Though it has perceived implications, the process may impose limitations in its application. Appropriate knowledge of the functional properties of paddy husk is required for applying them in thermochemical conversion processes like pyrolysis. The ultimate objective of this study is to identify the effectiveness of wastewater treatment using biochar, derived from H2O2-treated paddy husk. The changes in functional properties: moisture content, proximate analysis, true density, bulk density, and porosity of paddy husks, before and after H2O2 treatment were evaluated in this study. Two main variables: concentration of H2O2 and treatment temperature, were considered. The H2O2 treatment method was investigated to remove the lignin distributed in the lignocellulosic matrix of paddy husk. The results obtained from this experimental study showed that there was a significant difference in the functional properties of the paddy husk after H2O2 treatment. The biosorbent adsorption process is the finest treatment method, for the removal of methylene blue dye. The use of H2O2-treated paddy husk bio sorbent as an alternative cost-effective adsorbent in the removal of methylene blue has been extensively studied and compiled. Biochar as a firm carbonaceous material shows reasonable potential to oversee wastewater contaminants, due to induced pore spaces that are responsible for the removal of contaminants. Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/16374 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/16368 Ms productivity and profitability analysis of cauliflower as sole and intercropping with red amaranth and radish leafy vegetable Monshi, M.H.; Mouri, M.H.; Mim, M.R.; Hossain, S.; Alom, J.; Hossain, M.S. By using natural resources and agricultural inputs more effectively, intercropping is a desirable technique to boost crop output and economic return. The present study was conducted to figure out the most lucrative crop mix for an intercropping system of cauliflower with red amaranth and radish leafy vegetable. A randomized complete block design with three replications was used to set up the experiment. Treatments included nine different cropping systems, including sole cauliflower, sole red amaranth, sole radish leafy vegetable, cauliflower red amaranth intercropping (1:1), cauliflower-leafy radish intercropping (1:1), cauliflower-red amaranth-leafy radish intercropping (1:1:1), cauliflower-red amaranth-leafy radish intercropping (2:1:1), cauliflower-red amaranth-leafy radish intercropping (1:2:1) and cauliflower-red amaranth-leafy radish intercropping (1:1:2) Productivity parameters of three intercrops (cauliflower-red amaranth-leafy radish) were collected and measured based on their yield and yield contributing traits in different stages of their growth upto the final harvest. And equivalent yield and land ratio along with benefit cost ratio were analyzed to check their profitability. Result illustrated that cauliflower, red amaranth and leafy radish produced the highest yield of 25.4, 13.5 and 18.6 tha-1 , respectively when cultivated as a sole crop. However, when all of the three vegetables were grown as intercropping in different cropping system, cauliflower with red amaranth and leafy radish (1:1:1) produced the highest yield (33.2 tha-1 ) followed by cauliflower-red amaranth-radish intercropping (1:2:1) and cauliflower-red amaranth-radish intercropping (2:1:1) with the yield of 30.0 t ha-1 and 29.8 tha-1 . After assessing the productivity and economic return, cauliflower with red amaranth and leafy radish (1:1:1) obtained the highest gross return (997102 Tk ha-1 ) and net return (512102 Tk ha-1 ) using the highest land equivalent ratio (2.0) followed by 900900 Tk ha-1 and 435900 Tk ha-1 , respectively in the cropping system cauliflower-red amaranth-radish intercropping (1:2:1). The present study concluded that intercropping leafy vegetables (red amaranth and leafy rad Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/16368 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/16361 Investigation of factors affecting the rapid detection of agarwood formation in aquilaria crassna by near-infrared spectroscopy Herath, H.M.W.A.I.; Jinendra, B.M.S. Agarwood is a highly valued fragrant resin produced inside a few tree species belonging to the family Thymalaeaceae as a self-defense response to plant stress. The amount of resin developed inside the tree cannot be estimated by outside inspection. Consequently, harvesting trees before they reach their potential yield is a severe drawback to the agarwood industry. Therefore, developing effective techniques for detecting agarwood resin status inside the tree species has become a critically important task for the agarwood industry to increase productivity. The present study evaluates the factors affecting Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) models when predicting agarwood formation inside A. crassna trunks using NIR spectroscopy. The research used 110 wood specimens obtained from well-grown agarwood trees in a commercial plantation in Nawimana GS Division, Matara District, Sri Lanka. NIR meter FQA-NIR Gun (588-1100nm) with a custom-made probe was used to acquire NIR reflectance spectra without outside light interference. SIMCA models were built to identify the agar resin-developed wood log areas from the normal wood areas in the tree trunk. SIMCA prediction models were built to investigate three influencing factors, namely present or absent outside tree bark, surface roughness and wood thickness agarwood prediction. Better prediction results were obtained from the bark-removed samples (at the accuracy rates of 97%) to the bark present (85%), smooth wood surfaces (98%) to the rough surface (90%) and 2mm thickness (98%) to the other thickness. The most effective wavelength for the separation of agarwood present and absent samples was located at 978 nm of NIR. The study has demonstrated the potential possibility of using NIR spectroscopy to identify the agarwood formation in A. crassna in non-destructive and rapid mode. Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.lib.ruh.ac.lk/handle/iruor/16361 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z