Qi Hongyan

Comparison of soil microbial communities between high and low yield organically managed orchards

TM and phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) analysis were used to evaluate soil microbial communities for eight typical organic orchards in Beijing, China. These included high- and low-yield agricultural sites for four types of fruit orchards: pear, peach, apple and grape. The soil properties including soil organic matter (OM), soil pH, soil total nitrogen (TN), soil available phosphorus (AP), soil available K (AK), cation exchange capacity (CEC), soil bulk density, soil porosity, microbial biomass and microbial activities were investigated. There were significant higher microbial biomass and lower bulk density in the soils of high-yield orchards than that in low-yield orchards. Differences between the paired soils of high- and low-yield orchards were highly associated with the average well colour development and total PLFAs.

The Bioconversion of Sugar Beet Pulp into Microbial Protein with Aspergillus Tamarii by Solid State Fermentation

The studies on the bioconversion of SBP into microbial protein are of interest to a number of laboratories [1-4]. This technology has a potential economic value. SBP is a major by-product of sugar refineries, it consists mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin and lignin. There are 7X 105 tons SBP (dry matter) generated in China per year. Usually,a small amount is pelletized for export, but most were thrown aside occupying land and polluting the environment. On the other hand, protein feed in short supply is a problem with the development of China’s livestock husbandry. This situation led us to choose SBP for microbial protein production research to work for a substantial industrial application.