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Assignment 7: Revised Wikipedia Assignment, on December 14th, 2015

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Crotalaria juncea has many practical applications in the modern world. First, it is a source of natural fibre. It is used for cordage, fishing nets, ropes, and more. It is particularly beneficial because of its resistance to root-knot nematodes and is also a soil improving crop via nitrogen fixation. The Sunnhemp Research Station of Uttar Pradesh further researched Crotalaria juncea’s genotypic impact on fibre yield. Four different genotypes of Crotalaria juncea were observed for three years to determine which genotype would yield in a high fibre yield. Important data that was collected across the plant genotypes include height (cm), basal diameter (mm), green biomass weight (q/ha), fibre weight (q/ha), and stick weight (q/ha). Out of the four genotypes, namely SUIN-029, SUIN-080, SUIN-037, and SUIN-043, SUIN-029 was superior in resulting in a high fibre yield. This genotype can even be used as a template for future breeding.

Another practical application of Crotalaria juncea includes fuel. Crotalaria juncea holds a relatively high fuel value. In fact, a process optimization method for the extraction of oil from Crotalaria juncea is being researched in order to utilize the fuel value in Crotalaria juncea. The current method of oil extraction is known as the soxhlet based extraction which has an oil yield of 13% in four hours at 37 degrees Celsius. However, a novel three-phase partitioning based extraction shows an oil yield of 37% in two hours at 37 degrees Celsius. Furthermore, the optimization factors that were identified include ammonium sulphate and butanol, pH, and temperature, and these factors impact the oil yield. Furthermore, Crotalaria juncea has applications in the agricultural field since it impacts common food production. Crotalaria juncea is identified as a plant that is an important summer cover crop in southeastern United States. The allelopathic effects of Crotalaria juncea on weeds, vegetable crops, and cover crops were observed via greenhouse and growth chamber experiments. Crotalaria juncea, reduced both the germination and seedlings of various crop species (bell pepper, tomato, onion, and others). The allelochemical activity in Crotalaria juncea was in the leaves and remained active for 16 days after harvest. Furthermore, Crotalaria juncea’s allelochemical effect may have practical applications for weed management. Similarly, Crotalaria juncea can be used to improve nutrient patterns in agricultural plants. For instance, soil fertility in Paraiba, Brazil is generally low. To rectify this, animal manure is often used to supply agricultural crops with nutrients. However, researchers in Brazil hypothesized that planting and incorporating Crotalaria juncea with animal manure could enhance the nutrient mineralization pattern for agricultural crops. Field and greenhouse experiments were used to test this hypothesis. After measuring the amounts of Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium in the soils, it was discovered that Crotalaria juncea along with only half the usual dose of goat manure produced the best results. This is because soils that consisted of this composition avoided immobilization of nitrogen while increasing the levels of phosphorous and potassium within the soil. In other words, Crotalaria juncea was able to improve the overall nutrient mineralization pattern for agricultural crops.

Additionally, other research also observed Crotalaria juncea’s potential in being used as an organic compost. Researchers in Brazil looked into the best composition of organic compost using various combinations of Crotalaria juncea and Napier grass. The objective was to find the mixture between Crotalaria juncea and Napier grass that would yield the highest vegetable seedling production. More specifically, the vegetable seedling production of lettuce, beetroot, and tomatoes was measured by observing the shoot height, fresh mass production in shoots and dry matter, and leaf number. The various compounds that were observed include, 100% Crotalaria juncea, 66% Crotalaria juncea with 33% Napier, 33% Crotalaria juncea with 66% Napier, 100% of Napier, 33% Crotalaria juncea with 66% Napier where 5% of the mass is cattle manure, Crotalaria juncea 33% with 66% Napier which includes 100 liters of 5% dilute Agrobio (biofertilizer), and finally, 100% Napier which also includes 100 liters of 5% dilute Abrobio. The compost with 66% Crotalaria juncea and 33% Naier grass was superior to other combinations since this particular combination yielded the greatest production of lettuce, beet, and tomato seedlings.