Enhanced crop health, which is crucial for sustainable agriculture, is facilitated by a unique endophyte or endophytic community that is frequently linked to a variety of crops. Plant growth-promoting (PGP) characteristics of endophytes can directly or indirectly boost crop growth. Endophytic fungi have been proven to create a high percentage of new compounds, making them a particularly potential source of physiologically active chemicals. In this study, we have isolated two endophytic isolates, i.e., Paecilomyces sp. (Isolate AT1) and Aspergillus flavus (Isolate AT3), from different host plants, namely Melaleuca citrine and Carica papaya. These endophytes have shown significant plant growth-promoting potential toward different assays such as IAA production, phosphate solubilization, amylase production, cellulose-degrading assay, and ammonia production. These endophytic fungi also exhibit visible antimicrobial action towards selected crop pathogenic fungi (Aspergillus sp. and Penicillium sp.). Additionally, these fungal strains are reported for the first time from these plants, as we have found no reports in the literature. The research aims to explore the growth-promoting efficacy of endophytic fungi to boost plant growth.

Environmental policy plays a major role in integrating environmental protection goals into economic policy areas. Environmental deterioration will proceed rapidly until this intersection is successfully achieved. The paper uses European Green Deal as a reference for fostering sustainable development goals through competition laws. This paper discusses sustainability in the context of the competition laws of various jurisdictions such as the European Union (EU), the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), and India. While highlighting conflicts around the intersection of competition law and environmental policies, this paper also provides their solution for making competition law environment-friendly. It suggests implementing such laws to promote sustainability and progress toward climate neutrality.

Polypropylene (PP) and other plastic wastes are found to accumulate in the environment, creating significant ecological issues. They are determined to be considered non-biodegradable, It has been established that once it enters the environment, it stays there permanently. The present investigation aims to biodegrade PP without physical treatment and exposing it to UV light and sunlight exposed to potential fungi isolated from the soil of solid waste dumping site based on 18SrRNA analysis and the isolated strains were identified as 98.54% similar to Cladosporium sp. The fungal strain was submitted with Gene Bank accession number ON024632 and registered as a Cladosporium halotolerans strain SUK PRAKASH. The degradation was performed for 8 months of incubation in the aqueous medium. The biodegradation of polypropylene FTIR spectroscopy was performed to further examine the sheets, and the results indicated that perhaps the bonds between the sheets were weakening and breaking. The biodegraded samples of without treated PP sheets, UV-exposed PP sheets, and sunlight-exposed PP sheets exhibit weight loss of 4.2%, 6.1%, and 8.6% respectively.

In view of the environmental problems generated by the large-scale production of fly ash, increasing attention is now being paid to the recycling of fly ash as a good source of nutrients. To reduce the cost of fly ash disposal and best utilization, it aimed to convert the fly ash into valuable vermicompost. Stated throughout the experiment, we opted for a soil sample and fly ash and pressed with different concentrations (control, 20%, 50%, 80% and 100%). Subsequently, all the mixtures were vermicomposted for 60 days by adding 100 Earthworms (Eisenia foetida) in each pile. The X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy measured the composition of the metal in fly ash as well as the nutritional content in the soil. This is followed by examining the morphological characteristics and cytogenetic study of Ricinus communis L. The present study indicated that E. foetida mitigates the toxicity of fly ash and is hence used as valuable vermicompost.

Climate change is a widely debated topic in the 21st century, with various perspectives and opinions on its causes and potential remedies. Climate change risks have perplexed authorities and made protecting human life and health difficult. The elements that cause climate change, such as the combustion of fossil fuels, air pollutants, short-lived climatic pollutants, etc., have affected both the climate and human health. The Paris Agreement established several commitment periods that each nation was obligated to follow in accordance with their own individual capacities. This will assist in achieving greater human health and environmental benefits. To develop a robust climate change framework, WHO and other UN organizations have moved up to resolve these challenges. From the first international conference in 1988 to the current Conference of Parties, it has been concluded that “humanity is conducting an unintended, uncontrolled, globally pervasive experiment, the ultimate consequences of which could be second only to a global nuclear war.” The recent Katowice Agreement and the climate change package that was put in place demonstrate the seriousness required to resolve the issues of finance, loss and damage, and differentiation mechanisms, which were thoroughly discussed. The paper will focus on the existing legal solutions for providing climate justice to nations. The study will also look at the effectiveness of COP24 in executing adaptation and mitigation plans and adhering to the Paris Agreement in both text and spirit.

In the Ganga river system, unplanned land use land cover (LULC) changes have serious threat to the environment. Protective measures are essential at local, regional, and global scales to save human life and the environment. In the present work, the land use and land cover (LULC) changes have been studied from 2002 to 2021 in a basin area between river Gandak and river Burhi Gandak in India. For the analysis, Landsat 5, 7, and 8 satellite data have been used to analyze the changes in vegetation, urban land, open land, water body, and wet soil in the last two decades. The result shows that from 2002 to 2021 the agricultural area and open land have decreased by 16.12% (158,676 ha) and 11.85% (116794.8 ha), respectively. The urban and the waterlogged area have increased by 24.32% (240,070 ha) and 4.75% (46937.3 ha), respectively. The environmental protection measures, namely conjunctive use, multiple cropping practices, land reclamation, and decentralized urban development to reduce floating population, have been studied and recommended in the study region for better land use/land cover.

Cassava peel is a waste product from cassava starch or modified cassava flour (mocaf) production. It is currently not utilized optimally. Cassava peel is a lignocellulosic material that can be used as a source of cellulose. Acetylation of cassava peel cellulose was successfully done using acetic anhydride with glacial acetic acid and sulfuric acid as catalysts. The content of acetyl is 49.54%, and the degree of substitution (DS) is 3.69. The percentage of acetyl of more than 43% and the DS of 3.69 show that the cellulose acetate obtained is categorized as cellulose triacetate. The CA–PEG membrane has a pore range of 1- 4 μm depending on the molecular weight of PEG. The coefficients of rejection of the CA-PEG membrane range from 95.99% to 98.88%. The CA-PEG membrane is effective as a microfiltration membrane.

In this study, a comprehensive comparison of two different chemical pretreatments of wheat straw (WS) and rice straw (RS) was made. The pretreatment was performed using piranha solution and p-toluenesulfonic acid (PTSA) to dissolve the biomass’s complex lignin and hemicellulose matrix to enhance its methane production. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopes (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, were used to analyze the characteristics of untreated and pretreated feedstock. WS and RS treated with piranha solution showed maximum methane yield (1234 mL and 1196 mL, respectively). The piranha pretreatment increased the methane yield of wheat straw by 2.37 folds and rice straws by 2.31 folds. The maximum VFA concentration was observed in WS on the 14th day in the piranha-treated sample, 1553.33 ± 2.8 mg.L-1, while in RS on the 21st day in the untreated sample, 676 ± 5.77 mg.L-1. SEM analysis of piranha-treated WS indicated a reduction in recalcitrant structure. Deformation of C-O, C=C, C-C-O, and C-H bonds in cellulose, hemicellulosic, and lignin as a result of chemical pretreatment in WS and RS was also indicated by FTIR analysis. The modified Gompertz model (MGM) and logistic function model (LFM) appropriately defined the degradation process and explained cumulative biogas’ kinetic. Pretreatment with piranha solution reduces the complexity of WS and RS, thus increasing methane production by reducing the retention time.

Spatial data technology using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is one of the aerial imaging technologies used to produce detailed data. However, its utilization for mapping, especially disaster mapping needs an in-depth study. The research site is located within 00-”00’29°51’31°00” N and 12327’5°-123”00’3°” E that covers an area of 2,531 Ha, which consists of 1,745 Ha land and 786 Ha water areas. Administratively, the research site is in South Leato Village of Dumbo Raya sub-district of Gorontalo city with a total area of 41,9 Ha. This study is aimed at assessing the landslide by creating a landslide zonation map and finding out the landslide potential area by using the UAV. This research employs field surveys by using drones and Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis. It is found that the parameters that influence landslides are lithology, rainfall, slope inclination, lineament density, and land use. The landslide vulnerability analysis reveals three levels of vulnerability in this site; low, medium, and high vulnerability, in which, 19 Ha is classified as low vulnerability area, 9.5 Ha is classified as medium vulnerable, and 13.5 Ha is classified as highly vulnerable area.

Using granular form application in the pisciponic system, this study investigates the effects of supplementation in the pisciponic system on plant growth performance. This study was conducted at the Aquaculture Experimental Station in Puchong, Selangor. The experiment was set up in a greenhouse with a plastic liner at the bottom. The coated fertilizers were immersed in 500 mL of distilled water in the beakers. The immersion times were analyzed for each 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, 60, 66, and 72 hours. Insoluble solids and water were then filtered using filter paper and dried in the oven, followed by the drying process to obtain a constant weight before being put in the desiccators. During the release test, the distilled water was taken at every 48-hour interval, and the concentration of nutrients was determined from the atomic absorption spectrometer. The findings indicate that the weights of release fertilizers, specifically Zn and Fe, significantly decreased over time. At the lowest concentration, the coated zinc and iron weights decreased as time increased. Referring to the curve results, the Zn fertilizer started drastically decreasing its weight at hour 24, which decreased approximately to 0.002 for every subsequent hour. Meanwhile, Fe fertilizer decreased drastically at hour 66, where the weight dropped from 0.10467 to 0.039. However, the final weights for both fertilizers at hour 72 were about the same.