No abstract

Regulation of using pesticides and agrochemicals application in agriculture is one of the important problem now, as also the problem of storage of mineral fertilizers and their improper using, which have negative influence on the chemical and the food security of the country. This paper discusses the features and benefits of monodisperse aerosols of pesticides in plant protection after a long-term research. A new line of development of science, engineering, industrial and innovative technologies - the author’s project “Monodisperse Anthropogenic Aerosols” is proposed. The measures for its implementation are presented.

In the review traditional characteristics of the soil quality are discussed. Soil health (SH) along with its soil quality and fertility, is considered as the most important, functional characteristic of any soil ecosystem (SE). The consistent patterns and results of the study of structure and functions of the microbial community (MC) of the soil ecosystem were generalized to substantiate the quantitative parameters of soil health. The author's developments for definitions of soil and soil health are given. The prospects of using the parameters of SH for diagnostics at recovery and biological rehabilitation of technogenically disturbed soils are proposed.

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Rainwater harvesting in Palestine is a principal water resource that had been adopted since ancient times. However, the system had not been subjected to a thorough assessment. This paper aims at assessing the feasibility of rainwater harvesting for domestic water supply in Palestinian rural areas with special emphasis on socio-cultural and financial aspects as well as harvested water quality. Different methods were used to collect necessary data from a case study village, including literature review, observations, questionnaires and water quality measurement of freshly fallen and harvested rainwater samples. Moreover, domestic water demand and water supply from such a system were compared, and economic feasibility of applying this system was checked. The results revealed that harvested rainwater is a viable resource that can contribute considerably to minimizing water shortage.