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This review article shows a holistic approach regarding integrated farming system (IFS) for livelihood security and sustainable development of small and marginal households in India. Integrated farming systems are being developed for location specific because enormous problems are being aroused in the agriculture and allied sectors such as declined factor productivity, profitability, unscientific management of farm resources, decreases in crops and livestock productivity due to climate change, changes in food habits of the people, deprived soil health, low inputs use efficiencies, declined in crop diversification and biodiversity, increased cost of production, utilization of high energy inputs, produces low energy outputs and other problems are also coexisted in current farming system. The integrated farming system includes different components like crops, livestock, poultry, beekeeping, fisheries, mushroom, kitchen garden, boundary plantation and others to cultivate in an integrated way for efficient utilization of limited farm resources. Moreover, imperative need to resolve these ablaze issues with the help of development of location-specific integrated farming system modules/models. IFS is a tool of sustainable strategies for the meeting of assorted agrarian anxieties along with ensured food and nutritional security and conserved ecosystem services. The standardized and upscale IFS models increased the productivity and profitability of the farmers more than mono-cropping and single-farm enterprises. The conducted studies emphases about enhance soil quality indicators, recycling and saving plant nutrients by around 55.6% through proper management of farm-based waste and byproducts. A total of 265.18 kg nitrogen, 48.91 kg phosphorus and 269.48 kg potassium can be saved through recycled farm-based waste or byproducts of a 1.5 ha model which comprises nine components. In conclusion, IFS modules/models are emission-negative or low GHG emitters, paving the way for promoting of climate-friendly farming in India. IFS emerges as a holistic approach to increase climate-resilient, greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced, it is a potential for sustainable agriculture development requiring continued research, policy support and innovative strategies for widespread adoption. As regards to livelihood security, the IFS approach has adapted to meet the home-grown family needs of cereals, pulses, oils, fruits, milk, meat, eggs and vegetables. The future direction for research includes vertical farming, climate-smart farming systems and improving the quality and sustainability of the farming systems, especially for underprivileged farm householders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Appropriate complementary feeding plays a crucial role in the enhancement of child survival; and promotes healthy growth and development. Evidence has shown that appropriate complementary feeding is effective in preventing malnutrition and child mortality. Thus, the main objective of this study is to assess the prevalence of appropriate complementary feeding practice and associated factors among mothers of children aged 6–23 months. Methodology: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from August to December 2018. A total of 259 mothers who had children aged 6–23 months were selected randomly from the 714 eligible mothers. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data from the respondents. The data were collected in a tablet phone-based questionnaire using the Open Data Kit mobile application by face-to-face interview. Data analysis was done in SPSS version 21. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify the factor associated with appropriate complementary feeding practice. Result: The prevalence of appropriate complementary feeding practice was 25%. Mother and father with formal education (AOR 6.1, CI: 1.7–22.4 and AOR 5.6 CI: 1.5–21.2 respectively), counseling on IYCF (AOR 4.2, CI: 1.5–12.3), having kitchen garden (AOR 2.4, CI: 1.1–5.2) and food secured family (AOR 3.0, CI: 1.0–8.9) had higher odds of appropriate complementary feeding practice. Conclusion: This study revealed that a significant proportion of mothers had inappropriate complementary feeding practice for their children aged 6–23 months. This study highlights the need for behavior change communication and promotion of kitchen garden to address the associated factors and promote appropriate complementary feeding practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Gardening at the Margins: Convivial Labor, Community, and Resistance" by Gabriel R. Valle explores the practice of growing ancestral food in home gardens in California's Santa Clara Valley. Valle's research focuses on the practices of home gardeners and their efforts to protect against vulnerability, improve health and wellbeing, and strengthen ties to their neighborhood and community. The book highlights the importance of convivial labor, which is labor outside of the capitalist system that produces value for those who practice it. Valle also examines the historical and structural factors that have alienated people from the land and the food it can produce, particularly for low-income wage earners and immigrants. Overall, "Gardening at the Margins" offers a critical and community-engaged account of home gardens in the Santa Clara Valley, emphasizing the potential for gardening, cooking, and eating as emancipatory acts. [Extracted from the article]

A review summarizing the data, both original and literature, on the development of the urban environment by smaller mammals is presented, the common hamster serving as an example. Initially, having predominantly inhabited the forested steppe zone, this species first essentially became a hemi-agrophile and, along with the development of agriculture, it occupied the margins of fields, this providing it with good food supply throughout the year. Changes in farming culture (fragmentary fields replaced with vast areas of arable land occupied by monocultures and the use of poisons and fertilizers) led to a shift in the ecological optimum of the species to areas occupied by gardens, kitchen gardens, and urban ecosystems. This has provoked changes in the genetic structure of populations, a greater (compared to suburbs) diversity of alleles of the main histocompatibility complex responsible for the resistance to pathogens, a reduced hibernation period up to its complete abandonment, and a decreased aggressiveness to conspecifics which allows for more burrows to be arranged in a limited space and the general storage to be consumed. Using food wastes as additional food resources has appeared possible, and this may have led to changes in the digestive and other systems. All this has allowed the common hamster to exist successfully in urbanized environments, despite the reduction of life expectancy due to a large number of stressors (parasitic load, pollution, etc.). Not all of the above traits are assumed to have been formed in the process of synurbization. Many previously acquired adaptations could have turned out to be effective along with the development of urban areas. Obviously, the way the common hamster has developed from a noncommensal species to an agrophile and a synurbist is not unique, as many other mammalian and bird species have passed or are passing through it at present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Darwin's observations of different kinds of climbing plants include numerous references to the tactility of plants. Darwin's insights into the sensory responses of plants were based on his research on grass seedlings, climbers, and carnivorous plants. Notably, visitors were invited to focus not only on their own sensorial experiences but on those of the insects and plants that Darwin observed. [Extracted from the article]

The benefits of community-based, grassroots food practices, such as community gardens or kitchens, are widely acknowledged. However, they have also been shown to support neoliberal and exclusionary dynamics. This paper examines this contradiction on the ground by unpacking the processes and mechanisms through which these initiatives reproduce, reinforce or challenge social inequities and injustices in the city. It suggests the concept of community food space to look at the articulation of practices and intentions within these groups, and highlight emancipatory practices situated around food rather than simply about food. The paper draws upon an ongoing militant ethnography into community food spaces in Berlin, Germany. Exploring the complex and diverse landscape of Berlin food activism, it illuminates the ways in which food may be used to perpetuate unjust social configurations or, on the contrary, to advance social justice at both local and structural levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home gardens have been a part of local and global food systems since humans first began domesticating crops and have endured the test of time. They are commonly referred to as kitchen gardens, backyard gardens, garden patches, and garden beds and often have a local or cultural context. Home gardens vary from location to location in terms of organization, structure, size, and composition and are generally influenced by household resources and attributes, socioeconomic aspects, and cultural factors. International organizations and national, regional, and local governments, non-governmental organizations, and grassroots groups have been adopting and utilizing home gardening to reduce hunger and food insecurity and mitigate food risks from various crises and disasters. Drawing on case studies from various regions of the world, this article highlights experiences with home gardening through case studies and their impacts on targeted communities in various areas of the world. The case studies show that low resource use, adaptability to diverse conditions and situations, and resilience are key factors contributing to the widespread adoption of home gardens. Furthermore, they have been a particularly useful development strategy in crisis and post-crisis situations and in improving marginalized and vulnerable communities' food and nutritional security. This review article summarizes the important contributions of home gardening projects from various countries and identifies major constraints and opportunities. It concludes with recommendations to policy-makers, researchers, development practitioners and other relevant stakeholders to address those challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Vulnerability to malnutrition is very high with low-income women and their children in rural Balochistan with contributing factors including lack of awareness about proper nutrition, low literacy, scarcity of vegetables and fruit, and low purchasing power of households. The Food and Agriculture Organization's kitchen garden program provides resources to improve nutrition and health knowledge and promote healthy eating practices. The objective of this study was to assess nutrition and health awareness, knowledge, attitudes, behavioural intentions/behaviours (AKAB) of women who attended the kitchen garden program and trainings. Materials and methods: A community based cross-sectional survey (N = 209) using a two-stage cluster sampling method was used to select households with survey participants being mothers with children under five years of age. A pretested questionnaire was administered via face-to-face surveys by trained enumerators in two districts of Balochistan province of Pakistan. Nutrition and health AKAB were constructed indices. Chi-square tests compared statistical differences in AKAB by women attending against a control group who did not-attend kitchen garden interventions. Binary logistic regression analyses were performed to assess kitchen garden program outcomes against key AKAB indicators, while adjusting for covariates. Results: Significant differences (p<0.001) were identified between intervention and control groups with women attending kitchen garden being more aware of the components of kitchen garden (65.8% vs 36.8%), and more knowledgeable about causes of illnesses caused by poor nutrition including, iron deficiency anemia, pregnancy, and unborn child health complications, compared to women not attending kitchen gardens program. Logistic regression analysis identified women attending kitchen gardens also had higher odds of being more knowledgeable (OR = 1.59, 95%CI 1.27–1.99, p<0.001), having improved attitudes (OR = 4.86, 95%CI 2.77–8.53, p <0.001), and behavioural intentions/behaviours (OR = 1.98, 95%CI 1.26–3.12, p = 0.003) towards improved nutrition and health. Conclusions: Substantial opportunities exist for achieving improved nutrition and health outcomes with vulnerable groups in Balochistan, through greater participation in kitchen gardens behavioural change programs and interventions. As part of scaling-up efforts, academically rigorous project evaluations should be institutionalized for continuous improvement of nutrition programs to address micronutrient deficiencies in rural communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meeting food and nutritional security needs for a growing population is a global sustainability challenge due to the heavy reliance on a few cultivated crops for dietary requirements across the world. To ensure local food security, it is imperative to diversify dietary options with locally available, neglected, and underutilized crops (NUCs) with nutritional and biocultural significance. In this context, the present study aims to explore the role of NUCs for nutritional, ethnomedicinal, and agricultural relevance in two districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh, i.e., Mirzapur and Sonebhadra. Extensive field surveys were conducted in the study sites, and a total of 445 local respondents were interviewed based on structured questionnaires for calculating ethnobotanical indices, i.e., relative frequency of citation (RFC), frequency of citation (FC), use report (UR), and cultural importance index (CI) of NUCs. The study identified 116 NUCs belonging to 55 families and 103 genera. All reported NUCs had medicinal value; 55 were edible and used as food; and 41 had agricultural significance. Leaves were the most commonly used plant parts for medicinal purposes, followed by roots and stems, whereas flowers were the least commonly used parts. NUCs were used by the locals for their medicinal properties to treat various ailments, such as skin and eye problems, headaches, and liver problems. They were administered as decoction, paste, vapor inhalation, fruit juice, and poultice. The RFC, FC, UR, and CI values of the NUCs were in the range of 12 to 365, 0.03 to 0.82, 12 to 394, and 0.03 to 0.89, respectively. Fruits were the most commonly consumed part, followed by leaves, tubers, pods, and aerial bulbs, whereas the mode of consumption was stir-fry, soup, vegetables, salad, or in raw form. NUCs were bestowed with essential macro- and micronutrients and were found in the range of Ca (3.79–1147.3), K (2.6–1600.3), Mg (0.8–468.0), Na (0.4–270.8), P (1.15–305), Fe (0.1–327.6), Zn (0.1–84.6), Cu (0.047–33.3), Mn (0.1–62.3) mg/100 g, and vitamins like ascorbic acid (0.04–1561.1), thiamine (0.041–2.4), and β-Carotene (0.2–93.6) mg/100 g. These NUCs were cultivated in different settings, such as kitchen gardens, backyard gardens, border crops, and sometimes agricultural fields. The current study reveals the rich diversity and varied use of these NUCs with respect to their ethnomedicinal, nutritional, and agricultural relevance. Sustainable utilization with large-scale cultivation of promising NUCs can lead to local food security and the subsequent attainment of the associated UN Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A research was conducted in the Veneto region (NE-Italy) inside kitchen gardens and potato fields of outer pre-Alps, and in asparagus fields on the low Po plain near the Adriatic coast, in late summer-autumn after harvesting. Original vegetation-plot records were compared with historic and recent materials from Italy, especially N-Italy, and with comparable associations from Central and South-Eastern Europe, to ensure a consistent syntaxonomical frame of this highly dynamic vegetation. At the same time it was possible to shed light on the actual occurrence of past coenoses, cited by Italian authors for the Po plain. The analysis not only confirmed the occurrence of Echinochloo-Setarietum pumilae in north-eastern Italian territories, but also showed that it was more extensive than previously thought. It also confirmed the persistence of Panico-Polygonetum persicariae. The historical presence of Veronico-Lamietum hybridi occurring in pre-Alps and Dolomites needs confirmation. Further regional-scale investigations of summer crop weed vegetation appear necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diversified diet is the key to combat micronutrient deficiency in India. Kitchen garden is a sustainable approach to provide diversified diet in rural area. Aims and Objectives: The objectives of this study were to assess the utilization and perception of kitchen garden use among the households in rural area. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study carried out among women in the age group 18-65 years in Nagamangala was asked about the details on awareness and utilization of kitchen garden. Results: One-third of the study subjects were in the age group 30-40 years. About 18.2% of them were involved in some form of agriculture related work. Around 64% of the households had space available for kitchen garden. About 54% households had kitchen garden and 95% of the subjects used their kitchen garden products for self-use. Conclusion: Having kitchen garden contributes to household food security by providing direct access to food that can be easily harvested, prepared, and consumed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Between 2018 and 2022, we surveyed small mammals at 23 sites in Lithuania—meadows, commercial orchards and berry farms, kitchen gardens, homesteads and farms—with the aim to assess the proportion of shrews in the community and their diet using stable isotope analysis. We found that in these natural, agricultural, and commensal habitats, common (Sorex araneus) and pygmy (Sorex minutus) shrews were under-represented—having a proportion of 3.1%, less than a half that of the long-term average in the country. The diet of these two species was similar in both agricultural and commensal habitats. On farms and in orchards with intensive farming, there were no catches of shrews. Contamination by plant protection products and a lack of invertebrates, which are the main food of shrews, may be factors limiting their numbers in the agriculturally managed habitats. Two species of water shrews, Neomys fodiens and Neomys anomalus, were found for the first time in homesteads, including in outbuildings, and their diet requires further investigation. Shrews are a less studied group of small mammals than rodents. Between 2018 and 2022, we surveyed 23 sites in Lithuania, including natural and anthropogenic habitats, with the aim to assess the proportion of Soricidae in small mammal communities and their diet based on stable isotope analysis. The average representation of Soricidae was 3.1%, about half the long-term average in other habitats in the country. The highest proportions were in meadows and farmsteads, at 4.9% and 5.0% respectively. Shrews were not trapped on farms or in young orchards, and their relative abundance was very low in intensively managed orchards (0.006 individuals per 100 trap days). Neomys fodiens and N. anomalus were unexpectedly found in homesteads, including in outbuildings. Sorex araneus and S. minutus had similar diets. The trophic carbon/nitrogen discrimination factor between invertebrates and shrew hair was 2.74‰/3.98‰ for S. araneus, 1.90‰/3.78‰ for S. minutus in the orchards. The diet of N. fodiens and N. anomalus at the homesteads requires further investigation. We propose that the under-abundance of shrews may be due to contamination by plant protection products and a lack of invertebrates under intensive agricultural practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article illustrates how Mexican farmworkers in Wisconsin dairies negotiate forces of capitalist oppression through the production, preparation, sharing, and consumption of food. Engaging Anna Tsing's "pericapitalism," I argue that farmworkers create spaces within and beside capitalism that enable strategies of care, relationships of solidarity, and the remaking of worlds. These practices facilitate not just farmworkers' survival within exploitative systems but also their ability to flourish. Critically examining the notions of agency, victimhood, oppression, and resistance that dominate narratives of Mexican migrant labor, this article draws from feminist ethnography to illuminate the various ways that farmworkers in Wisconsin dairies negotiate relationships to food, gardening, and cooking in order to create durable and livable worlds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes factors influencing the adoption of kitchen gardens and food and nutrition security implications of kitchen gardens on farming households. For this, the Per Capita Kilocalorie Intake (PKCI) and Food Consumption Score (FCS) were applied as food and nutrition security indicators. This paper is based on cross-sectional data that include a sample of 825 households from two districts in Tanzania. Endogenous Switching Regression is employed to determine factors influencing the adoption of a kitchen garden and its impact on food and nutrition security of the involved farming households. The results of the analysis indicate that the adoption of a kitchen garden increased with the family size (adult equivalent), credit use, access to information, districts (location), and the usage of other water sources for agriculture in addition to rainfed. It decreased with total land size and TLU. While the adoption of a kitchen garden significantly increased adopters' FCS by 1.45 or 2.96% and non-adopters' FCS by 1.26 or 2.69%. In contrast, the adoption of a kitchen garden significantly reduced non-adopters' PKCI by 101.18 or 3.92% but it does not have significant impact for adopters. Therefore, policymakers and development organizations should further promote and scale-up the kitchen garden intervention in order to use it as a tool to enhance the household's food and nutrition security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's era, vegetables are considered a very important part of many foods. Even though every individual can harvest their vegetables in the home kitchen garden, in vegetable crops, Tomatoes are the most popular and can be used normally in every kind of food item. Tomato plants get affected by various diseases during their growing season, like many other crops. Normally, in tomato plants, 40–60% may be damaged due to leaf diseases in the field if the cultivators do not focus on control measures. In tomato production, these diseases can bring a great loss. Therefore, a proper mechanism is needed for the detection of these problems. Different techniques were proposed by researchers for detecting these plant diseases and these mechanisms are vector machines, artificial neural networks, and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models. In earlier times, a technique was used for detecting diseases called the benchmark feature extraction technique. In this area of study for detecting tomato plant diseases, another model was proposed, which was known as the real-time faster region convolutional neural network (RTF-RCNN) model, using both images and real-time video streaming. For the RTF-RCNN, we used different parameters like precision, accuracy, and recall while comparing them with the Alex net and CNN models. Hence the final result shows that the accuracy of the proposed RTF-RCNN is 97.42%, which is higher than the rate of the Alex net and CNN models, which were respectively 96.32% and 92.21%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work we have characterized and compared chitin sourced from exoskeleton of Tenebrio molitor larvae fed with polystyrene or plastic kitchen wrap combined with bran in the ratio 1: 1 with chitin sourced from larvae exoskeleton fed only with bran. Analysis of the frass by ATR-FTIR showed very similar spectra and confirmed degradation of the plastic feed components, while ATR-FTIR analysis of the exoskeleton verified the absence of any plastic residue. Deproteinization followed by demineralization produced 6.78–5.29 % chitin, showing that plastic (polystyrene or plastic kitchen wrap) in the larvae diet resulted in heavier insect exoskeleton, but yielded slightly less chitin, with the lowest value obtained for plastic kitchen wrap in the insect diet. The deacetylation degree of 98.17–98.61 % was determined from measured ATR-FTIR spectra. XRD analysis confirmed the presence of α-chitin with a crystallinity index of 66.5–62 % and crystallite size 4–5 nm. Thermogravimetric analysis showed similar degradation curves for all chitin samples, with two degradation steps. These results show that chitin sourced from exoskeleton of T. molitor larvae fed with plastic (polystyrene or plastic kitchen wrap) and contributing to significant biodegradation of major polluting materials can be a feasible and alternative source of chitin, further promoting a bio-circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leafy vegetables cultivated in kitchen gardens and suburban areas often accumulate excessive amounts of heavy metals and pose a threat to human health. For this reason, plenty of studies have focused on low accumulation variety screening. However, identifying specific leafy vegetable varieties according to the foliar uptake of air pollution remains to be explored (despite foliar uptake being an important pathway for heavy-metal accumulation). Therefore, in this study, the lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) contents, leaf morphology, and particle matter contents were analyzed in a micro-area experiment using 20 common vegetables. The results show that the Pb content in leaves ranged from 0.70 to 3.86 mg kg−1, and the Cd content ranged from 0.21 to 0.99 mg kg−1. Atmospheric particles were clearly scattered on the leaf surface, and the particles were smaller than the stomata. Considering the Pb and Cd contents in the leaves and roots, stomata width-to-length ratio, leaf area size, enrichment factor, and translocation factor, Yidianhongxiancai, Qingxiancai, Baiyuanyexiancai, Nanjingjiangengbai and Sijixiaobaicai were recommended for planting in kitchen gardens and suburban areas as they have low accumulation characteristics. Identifying the influencing factors in the accumulation of heavy metals in vegetables through foliar uptake is important to help plant physiologists/environmentalists/policy makers to select suitable varieties for planting in air-polluted areas and thus reduce their threat to human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a strong belief among environmental and sustainability educators and researchers that meaningful education can benefit from participatory approaches. Participation in decision-making, community cooperation, and interaction, development of team communication, solidarity and real action resulting in real outcomes, are the qualities that should characterize the participation children experience from a project. However, there is a strong criticism that many projects are characterized by a kind of 'pseudo-participation' that limits children's opportunities for personal growth and learning. In this paper we explore how participation is constituted from the perspective of children, as well as if children's participation creates opportunities for the expression of ownership, locus of control ans self-efficacy, motivation for action and collective efficacy. Ninety-five, nine to eleven-year-old students from six elementary schools that were involved in schools' kitchen garden projects were interviewed for the purpose of this study. We concluded that successful projects are characterized by a structured design that forecasts and arranges how children participate in the decision-making process, how they participate in all the necessary tasks required for cultivating a garden, and how the teachers facilitate the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In general, composting is done both to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste, which would otherwise be sent to storage, and to obtain a material that can be used in agriculture. In this paper is studied the degree of compostability for 4 proposed recipes that contain biodegradable materials such as: garden waste and kitchen waste. By measuring the temperature of the mixture of organic materials, introduced in thermos vessels and aerated during 7 days, conclusions can be drawn about the degree of compostability of each sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article researches the history of the Secret Garden and Leicester Frith House, which is based at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester. The Secret Garden aims to restore a Victorian original walled kitchen garden to provide a therapeutic environment for both patients and staff of the hospital. It has never been more important have outdoor space. The Coronavirus Pandemic has highlighted how being outdoors allows communities of people to relax, recharge, recover and have space to think. This article expresses the Secret Garden Project's wider aim of serving the local community with an area to unwind, learn and develop skills. Divided into two sections, the article begins by considering the medical history, exploring how the building developments reflect this type of history at the Frith. The second section focusses on the health benefits of having a garden environment within a hospital setting. Overall, this article will support the project by heightening the importance of the garden through both its history and its health benefits, helping contribute to the restoration and future developments of the garden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large amount of kitchen and garden wastes is ever increasing, with the rapid development of urbanization in China. Kitchen waste is characterized by rich free fat content, high water and salt content. The inappropriate pore structure and organic composition can inhibit the organic degradation during aerobic composting, thereby leading to nitrogen loss in the form of ammonia volatilization. Garden waste is rich in cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and high-carbon substances, particularly hard to be degraded directly. Alternatively, a co-composting of kitchen and garden wastes can improve the physicochemical characters to make the mixed materials more suitable for composting. Therefore, the current work aims to investigate the co-composting feasibility of kitchen and garden wastes. The ratios of kitchen and garden wastes were set as 4∶1 (N1), 3∶1 (N2), and 2∶1 (N3) (dry weight basis, w/w). A 28-day experiment was conducted in the self-developed closed system of aerobic composting. The total material weight, the moisture content, and the aeration rate of composting mixtures were 2.5kg, 75%, and 0.2L/kg DM/min, respectively. Some indexes were recorded during the process, including the fermentation temperature, pH, C/N, germination index (GI), NH3 and cumulative emissions, total N, organic N, ammonium N, and nitrate nitrogen. The specific rule was revealed to the nitrogen transformation and ammonia volatilization loss. The results showed that the temperature increased faster than other treatments, when the ratio of kitchen and garden waste was 2∶1 (N3), indicating the highest fermentation temperature (63.4℃). Meanwhile, the GI in N3 treatment exceeded 80% on the 21st day, meaning that the fermentation was significantly accelerated. The GI values of three treatments at the end of the process were 75.77%, 81.54%, and 84.50%, respectively. The products in the N2 and N3 treatment reached the standard of complete decomposing (>80%), while, those in the N1 only met the standard of basic decomposing (>60%). Therefore, a strong recommendation was given that the proportion of kitchen waste should not be higher than 80% of materials in the process of waste co-composting. The total nitrogen content decreased in the N1 and N2 treatment, whereas, it increased in the N3 fermentation. A high pH of products was obtained, due mainly to the fact that part of organic nitrogen was converted into ammonium nitrogen. The total nitrogen loss in N3 was the lowest at the end of composting, especially lower than that in the N1 and N2 by 30.30% and 12.96%, respectively. The nitrogen transformation demonstrated that the high fraction of garden waste reduced the NH3 emission and the loss of ionic nitrogen, thereby promoting the conversion of ammonium nitrogen to organic nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen, indicating a higher nitrogen content in compost products. An optimal ratio of kitchen waste to garden waste was 2∶1, indicating the treatment is feasible. The co-fermentation of kitchen and garden wastes can greatly contribute to the reduction of nitrogen loss. The finding can provide potential theoretical support to the co-composting for kitchen and garden wastes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Mature compost promoted pyruvate metabolism, TCA cycle and terminal phosphorylation. • Mature compost addition accelerated bacterial chemotactic motility for foraging. • Improved chemotactic motility and metabolisms strengthened composting initiation. • Addition of mature compost enhanced ARGs removal and pathogen inactivation. • Bacteria regulated TCA cycle and NAD+/NADH to limit excessive temperature increase. This study aims to reveal the underlying mechanisms of mature compost addition for improving organic waste composting. Composting experiments and metagenomic analysis were conducted to elucidate the role of mature compost addition to regulate microbial metabolisms and physiological behaviors for composting amelioration. Mature compost with or without inactivation pretreatment was added to the composting of kitchen and garden wastes at 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% (by wet weight) for comparison. Results show that mature compost promoted pyruvate metabolism, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation to produce heat and energy to accelerate temperature increase for composting initiation and biological contaminant removal (>78%) for pasteurization. Energy requirement drives bacterial chemotactic motility towards nutrient-rich regions to sustain organic biodegradation. Nevertheless, when NADH formation exceeded NAD+ regeneration in oxidative phosphorylation, TCA cycle was restrained to limit continuous temperature increase and recover high intracellular NAD+/NADH ratio to secure stable oxidation reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, conservation efforts have moved millions of people out of protected areas since the 1970s, yet quantitative studies on post-resettlement well-being remain a challenge due to poor documentation. Since 2008, the Indian forest department records demographic and financial details at the household level under standardized guidelines for resettlement. Here, we examine the food security of approximately 600 households' post-resettlement from Kanha National Park (KNP) in central India between 2009 and 2014. We compare food security of resettled households with host community households with a total of 3519 household surveys, conducted over three seasons within one year. We measure food security using food consumption scores (FCSs), coping strategies index (CSI) and household hunger scale (HHS). Food insecurity is widespread in the landscape, with over 80% of households reporting poor or borderline FCSs year-round. Additionally, we recorded food insecurity increases in monsoon for all households regardless of resettlement status. Results indicate that resettled households are comparable to their host community neighbors in FCS and all households use mild coping strategies to combat food insecurity. While widespread, food insecurity in the KNP landscape is not acute with very few (<10) reports of severe hunger (as measured by the HHS). Almost all foods are market bought (>90%) and sometimes supplemented by gathering locally prevalent greens or from kitchen gardens (forest dependency for food was negligible). Accruing assets and diversifying incomes from non-labor avenues would alleviate food insecurity for all households. The patterns of market dependence and food security associated with diversified stable incomes around protected areas is in contrast with many studies but is likely to occur in similar human-dominated landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Not much is known about the 17th-century Estonian and Livonian landscape architecture. Most of the information is based on the descriptions found in historical archival and literary sources and on some of the well-known engravings. According to these, a common idea of that era's landscape architecture is that it was humble in scale and design, and was similar to the practice of late-medieval times when there was no space or ambition to grow woody plants in small gardens of castles. But when diving into the Swedish manor plans dating back to the last decades of the 17th century, it can be noted that the layouts of manorial hearts are inherent to the spatial design of early baroque, which is characterized by a landscape that has strongly been redesigned and includes a decorative garden, kitchen garden and a park. This article focuses on the spatial composition of Estonian and Livonian manor parks of the second half of the 17th century and observes the role of trees and their use in these landscapes. This article is based on the results of a study about the planning of baroque manor hearts Understanding the Role of 18th Century Estonian Manor Ensembles in Contemporary Planning and Conservation (Eesti 18. sajandi mõisaansamblid 21. sajandi maastikuplaneerimises: avastamine, mõistmine, tõlgendamine) which was carried out by the author of this article. The map analysis results deal with the spatial structure of manor ensembles and the observations made during the analysis. The article examines the possible ways of using woody plants in 17th-century Estonian manors while looking at the manor ensemble as an architectonic of early baroque. Based on the research results it can be said that by the last decades of the 17th century the wealthiest manors had already built manor hearts with a modest but a clearly baroque style layout which is characterized by a regular and symmetrical ensemble core, a garden axially connected to the main building and avenues heading into the landscape. This type of approach enables to broaden the common conception of the era's garden and park architecture in the manor hearts of Estonia and Livonia. Based on what is highlighted in the article it can be said that the tradition and practice of garden art that has shaped the image of Estonian landscape had already been developed by the end of the 17th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is apparent that the dimensions of health within and under the auspices of schooling are open to contributions by other providers that exist outside of school systems. We acknowledge schools often resort to outside providers for a number of reasons; for example, to broaden the curriculum experiences for children, or to compensate for the absence of expertise within a school. The central focus for this paper is to try to understand these phenomena with particular reference to the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden initiative. through the theoretical work of Basil Bernstein. Specifically, we were interested in the source of particular kinds of health knowledge for the purposes of acquisition by children, what journey does such knowledge travel to arrive in school classrooms and in the process, how and in what ways is it pedagogised under the conditions of outsourcing? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underutilized food plants (UFP) offer the opportunity to overcome issues that are currently facing sustainable food systems. The scarcity of data on them and the gaps found in the nutrition workforce are challenges that limit their approach. To addresses some of them, a community-based garden project was developed in an undergraduate program in nutrition at a federal university in northeastern Brazil. This paper aims to present the results obtained with this project in its first twelve months concerning the use of Garden-Based Learning (GBL). During 2018 eight plants were studied with the support of this method. The data gathered on UFP by students included: botanical family, vernacular names, origin, the biome of occurrence, food uses, and nutritional indicators. The use of GBL involved some strategies such as definition of theme, elaboration of a culmination product, and fostering the research of different kinds of knowledge. The GBL method mediated the educational process implied with concepts, practices, and attitudes. The plants studied have the potential to contribute with Food and Nutrition Security due some criteria such as adequacy to the biome of the study setting and variety of nutrients. Recognize native and adapted food plants resilient to the dry landscape is central to enhance environmental and human health. The resulting data served as a basis to promote sustainable diets with the surrounding community, from lectures to hands-on activities in the garden and kitchen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to evaluate the situation of Food Security of families with children of primary schools in the rural areas of the Vale do Paraíba Paulista. Methods: a cross-sectional and analytical study, in which it was applied a socioeconomic and demographic questionnaire, questions about the kitchen gardens and orchards plantation's in the houses, and Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale. The data was analyzed by descriptive statistic and the hypothesis tests followed a significance level of 5%. Results: the participants were 98 mothers of children from 4 months to 6 years old, living in the countryside. It was verified that 51% of the families were in Food Insecurity, predominating the light form. It was found association between Food Insecurity and the variables: educated mothers, monthly income of the families and the receiving of social benefit. Conclusion: a considerable number of children assessed who live in the countryside are in Food Insecurity situation; the associated factors relate to the social vulnerability of families. It is necessary to take actions that in fact will improve the access to food and living situation of these families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite different interventions to improve child nutrition conditions, chronic malnutrition is still a public health concern in Rwanda, with a high stunting prevalence of 38% among under 5-year-olds children. In Rwanda, only 18% of children aged 6-23 months are fed in accordance with the recommendations for infant and young child feeding practices. The aim of this study was to explore challenges to infant and young child feeding practices and the responses applied to overcome these challenges in Muhanga District, Southern province of Rwanda.Methods: Sixteen (16) focus group discussions were held with mothers, fathers, grandmothers, and community health workers from 4 rural sectors of Muhanga District. The discussions were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analyzed using qualitative data analysis software, Atlas.ti.Results: Two main themes emerged from the data. Firstly, there was a discourse on optimal infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices that reflects the knowledge and efforts to align with early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months, as well as initiation of complementary foods at 6 months recommendations. Secondly, challenging situations against optimal practices and coping responses applied were presented in a discourse on struggling with everyday reality. The challenging situations that emerged as impeding appropriate IYCF practices included perceived lack of breast milk, infant cues, women's heavy workload, partner relations and living in poverty. Family and social support from community health workers and health facility staff, financial support through casual labor, and mothers saving and lending groups, as well as kitchen gardens, were used to cope with challenges.Conclusion: Factors influencing IYCF practices are multifaceted. Hence, intervention strategies to improve child nutrition should acknowledge the socially embedded nature of IYCF and address economic and social environmental constraints and opportunities, in addition and above knowledge only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home gardening has many socio-economic benefits for small farmers. Home gardening also called kitchen or homestead gardening. Home gardening study is necessary not only due to its social, food security and economic contribution, but its consideration's negligence in development agendas. Home gardening data provide complete agricultural input in a nation's domestic treasure. Therefore, the current study was carried out with the objective to assess small farmers' involvement in home gardening at district Tank, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa- Pakistan. Three hundred and twenty (320) small farmers were selected randomly on the basis of their involvement in home gardening via a pre-tested close ended interview schedule. Data were analyzed by SPSS. Results showed least small farmers involvement in home gardening might be due to lesser awareness and water scarcity. Small farmers' involvement in home gardening was significantly associated to nursery preparation, water management and manure composting training needs. Trainings for small farmers and women were recommended to create awareness for home gardening and water management at the garden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The efficiency of two mechanical pre-treatment systems for biowaste were compared. • Up to 99% of the plastics input could be removed. • Small plastic and inert particles were still found in the pre-treated biowaste. • Unpacking machine showed better impurities removal efficiency than piston press. The treatment of source-separated biowaste is still a challenge due to its high proportion of impurities. Biowaste bins are intended exclusively for the collection of biodegradable matter, such as food, kitchen and garden waste. However, plastics, metals, glass and textiles are also found in biowaste bins. If not properly removed, these impurities cause problems to the treatment facility and depreciate the quality of the final product, when the biowaste is converted to compost. There is ongoing discussion whether the existing treatment systems are able to remove impurities, especially plastics, from biowaste thoroughly enough to ensure that the produced compost complies with state regulations. In this work, two wet mechanical pre-treatment systems were tested for their efficiency to remove impurities. The first system consisted of a screw mill, a star screen, and a food unpacking machine (process I). The second system consisted of a shredder, followed by a piston press with 12 mm pore size (process II). Both processes produced a dry output, which contained the concentrated impurities, and a wet output, which could be used as substrate for anaerobic digestion. Results showed that, although 99% of the incoming plastics were efficiently removed in process I, the impurities concentration was still too high to meet the legal standards of plastics concentration in the final product, according to the German Federal Compost Quality Association (Bundesgütegemeinschaft Kompost e.V.). The removal efficiency of glass particles was low for both processes: at least 80% of the incoming particles were transferred to the wet output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on a qualitative investigation of Australian, grade 4 primary (elementary) school children's reflections on their learning in a year-long kitchen garden program. Focus group interviews, journal collection, and observations were conducted with three cohorts of students (age 9–11 years) to give insight into whether kitchen garden programs can assist with connecting children to nature and developing ecoliteracy. Findings suggested that frequent visits by the children to the garden assisted with building familiarity and ownership of the garden. This intimacy with the garden created the basis for perceptive observations on changes to the plants and animals in the garden, increased empathy with living creatures, and built interest in the natural environment. Some children also discovered complex interconnections and noted their actions could affect the health of the environment. Facilitated, reflective discussion enabled the primary aged students to explicate their increased engagement with and concern for nature. It is contended that, over time, immersion in transdisciplinary kitchen garden learning experiences can develop students' ecoliteracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The optimum ratios for anaerobic digestion were FW:KW=60:40 and FW:GW=80:20. • Co-digestion improved the biogas production and organic matter removal rate. • Co-digestion enriched dominant hydrolytic bacteria and hydrogenotrophic methanogen. • Co-digestion enriched crucial genes in hydrolysis, acidogenesis and methanogenesis. • Co-digestion enhanced cellulose and hemicellulose hydrolysis. Food waste (FW) single-substrate anaerobic digestion usually suffers from rapid acidification and inhibition of oil and salt. To overcome these problems and improve the process efficiency, supplementing other substrates has been used in FW anaerobic digestion. This study investigated the biogas production potential through co-digestion of FW with kitchen waste (KW) or garden waste (GW) in different ratios under thermophilic conditions. The results showed that the optimal ratios were FW:KW=60:40 and FW:GW=80:20 which biogas production improved 73.33% and 68.45% compared with single FW digestion, respectively. The organic matter removal rate of co-digestion was 84.46% for FW+KW group (R FK) and 65.64% for FW+GW group (R FG). Co-digestion increased the abundance of the dominant hydrolytic bacteria Defluviitoga and Hydrogenispora and hydrogenotrophic methanogen Methanoculleus. Furthermore, glycoside hydrolases (GHs), vital carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes), were improved by co-digestion. Co-digestion could also effectively promote the function of cellulase and hemicellulose. This strategy for utilizing different organic wastes together as co-substrate provides a new avenue for bioenergy production. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Many development interventions rely on last-mile agents for information delivery. • The ethnicities of beneficiaries or agents could affect intervention effectiveness. • We test this using a field experiment with women's groups in India. • Agents deliver information and elicit willingness to contribute to club good. • Ethnicity matters for information retention and individual contributions. Development programs often rely on locally hired agents for service delivery, especially for interventions promoting agricultural practices, health, and nutrition. These agents are key to reaching underserved communities, especially women, with information and services around recommended practices. However, where societies are socially stratified, differences in ethnic identities between agents and beneficiaries may impact the effectiveness of information and service delivery and the uptake of recommended behaviors. We explore the salience of shared ethnic identity between agents and beneficiaries in promoting collective action using a field experiment with women's self-help groups (SHGs) in India. We cross-randomize an information treatment and a group-agent shared ethnicity treatment at the SHG level. We measure impacts on individual group member information retention and willingness to contribute to a group-owned kitchen garden that could improve access to a diverse and nutritious diet. We find information retention is better when the group is matched with an agent lower in the ethnic hierarchy, but that agents higher in the hierarchy elicit greater individual contributions to the group-owned kitchen garden. We suggest some hypotheses for these seemingly contradictory results. Other characteristics like education, group cohesion and perceived agent ability also matter in changing knowledge and contribution. Our findings have important implications for effective program design and implementation, suggesting that implementers need to consider factors beyond the information content, target group and pedagogical mode of delivery for their strategies to be transformative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Composting of KW and GW can reduce N 2 O emissions caused by denitrification. • The abundance of denitrifying genes increased rapidly after the thermophilic phase. • The denitrifying bacteria communities changed at different composting stages. • Nos ZI-type microbes are dominant in promoting the reduction of N 2 O to N 2. N 2 O can be easily produced during the co-composting of kitchen waste (KW) and garden waste (GW). This study investigated the effects of the co-composting of KW and GW at different ratios (1:2, 1:1.5, 1:1, and 1.5:1) on the denitrifying activities, functional genes, and community composition of denitrifiers. The results showed that the denitrification activity of KW and GW at a 1:2 ratio was the lowest. The gene abundances of nir S, nir K, nos ZI, and nos ZII were high on days 12 and 28 under the four different ratios. Network analysis demonstrated that nos Z-type denitrifiers could construct a complex and reciprocal bacterial network to promote the reduction of N 2 O to N 2. Mantel test results revealed that nir S-, nir K-, nos ZI-, and nos ZII-type denitrifiers were significantly positively correlated with pH, C/N, and moisture content. These findings demonstrated that composting with appropriate proportions of KW and GW could reduce N 2 O emissions caused by denitrification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]