The amounts of livestock manure produced in Malta surpasses the application rate as stipulated by... more The amounts of livestock manure produced in Malta surpasses the application rate as stipulated by the Nitrates Directive with the consequence of having an accumulation on farms. In such cases, manure becomes a liability instead of a benefit, incurring significant risk in creating environmental pollution. Pyrolysis of manure is an interesting alternative to land application, as it has the ability to render organic nitrogen into inert nitrogen gas and reduces manure biomass volumes. This technology utilises high temperature, thereby destroying any potential pathogens that may be present in the manure, has the potential of extracting useful energy and generates potentially high value products, e.g. biochar. The functions and application of biochar when used as a soil amendment to improve soil physical, chemical and biological properties depend on its structural and physicochemical properties. Such understanding is crucial for its sustainable use and application. Manure feedstock origin...
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is has recently lost relevance especially when utilised to study specie... more Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is has recently lost relevance especially when utilised to study species that are characterised with a history of several migrations. Nonetheless, mtDNA can still represents a useful additional tool in the study of molecular genetic diversity. The reason for the adoption of mtDNA is that it is easy to amplify because it appears in multiple copies in the cells and the mitochondrial gene content is strongly conserved across generations. Thousands of published studies have reached conclusions about population history, patterns of gene flow, genetic structure, and species limits, on the basis of mtDNA sequence variation. MtDNA has been used to study phylo-geographic structure of avian species, and to identify the number of maternal lineages and their geographic origins. Most studies of chicken mtDNA rely on sequences of partial control region but recent researches used the complete mtDNA genome to reconstruct the history of animal domestication. The first genet...
Environmental stressors have, over generations, influenced the morphology, anatomy, behaviour, ph... more Environmental stressors have, over generations, influenced the morphology, anatomy, behaviour, physiology, and genetic structure of small ruminants. The widespread dispersal of small ruminants over vast geographical areas occurred along with human migration, thereby promoting the adaptative process to different environmental conditions mainly through natural selection. Ongoing global warming prompted scientific efforts to deepen the knowledge and understanding of adaptation traits in small ruminants. Compared to other ruminants, sheep and goats seem to have a better adaptation ability to environmental stressors, as evident by their presence across different geographic areas on a global level. Adaptation to a specific environment leads to variations in precise genomic regions, allowing for the identification and selection of animals with a high capacity of adaptation to environmental stressors. Rapid development in sequencing technologies, together with bioinformatics tools, make it ...
The aim of this work is to evaluate the potential production of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) fr... more The aim of this work is to evaluate the potential production of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) from livestock wastes that are commonly found on Mediterranean islands, by using the island of Malta as a case study. Organic wastes in the form of livestock manure and slurry, as well as other by-products originating from the food transformation industry in the making of alcoholic beverages and the processing of olives, tomatoes and other streams, if mixed in such a way to achieve a correct C/N ratio, can be subjected to anaerobic co- digestion for the production of biogas and digestate. Biogas can be further transformed into biomethane, a fuel that can be used to power surface transportation and agricultural machines, producing heat through burners, or co-generating electric and thermal energy through Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants. Moreover, the digestate, if treated and transformed into a dry form, can be applied to soils as biofertiliser. Anaerobic co-digestion process can be co...
In the last one hundred years, Maltese agriculture genetic resources were dispersed throughout th... more In the last one hundred years, Maltese agriculture genetic resources were dispersed throughout the Mediterranean basin. The introduction of modern varieties of livestock and plants has led to the complete disregard of all local populations in favour of these imported new exotic hybrids. The end result is that our local genotypes have already been lost or are in danger of becoming extinct. Most are well suited for extensive production systems and also well suited for integration into organic or free range type of production. Projects focusing on the rehabilitation of Mediterranean Woodlands and the use of Treated Sewage Effluent were also discussed.
The amounts of livestock manure produced in Malta surpasses the application rate as stipulated by... more The amounts of livestock manure produced in Malta surpasses the application rate as stipulated by the Nitrates Directive with the consequence of having an accumulation on farms. In such cases, manure becomes a liability instead of a benefit, incurring significant risk in creating environmental pollution. Pyrolysis of manure is an interesting alternative to land application, as it has the ability to render organic nitrogen into inert nitrogen gas and reduces manure biomass volumes. This technology utilises high temperature, thereby destroying any potential pathogens that may be present in the manure, has the potential of extracting useful energy and generates potentially high value products, e.g. biochar. The functions and application of biochar when used as a soil amendment to improve soil physical, chemical and biological properties depend on its structural and physicochemical properties. Such understanding is crucial for its sustainable use and application. Manure feedstock origin...
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is has recently lost relevance especially when utilised to study specie... more Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is has recently lost relevance especially when utilised to study species that are characterised with a history of several migrations. Nonetheless, mtDNA can still represents a useful additional tool in the study of molecular genetic diversity. The reason for the adoption of mtDNA is that it is easy to amplify because it appears in multiple copies in the cells and the mitochondrial gene content is strongly conserved across generations. Thousands of published studies have reached conclusions about population history, patterns of gene flow, genetic structure, and species limits, on the basis of mtDNA sequence variation. MtDNA has been used to study phylo-geographic structure of avian species, and to identify the number of maternal lineages and their geographic origins. Most studies of chicken mtDNA rely on sequences of partial control region but recent researches used the complete mtDNA genome to reconstruct the history of animal domestication. The first genet...
Environmental stressors have, over generations, influenced the morphology, anatomy, behaviour, ph... more Environmental stressors have, over generations, influenced the morphology, anatomy, behaviour, physiology, and genetic structure of small ruminants. The widespread dispersal of small ruminants over vast geographical areas occurred along with human migration, thereby promoting the adaptative process to different environmental conditions mainly through natural selection. Ongoing global warming prompted scientific efforts to deepen the knowledge and understanding of adaptation traits in small ruminants. Compared to other ruminants, sheep and goats seem to have a better adaptation ability to environmental stressors, as evident by their presence across different geographic areas on a global level. Adaptation to a specific environment leads to variations in precise genomic regions, allowing for the identification and selection of animals with a high capacity of adaptation to environmental stressors. Rapid development in sequencing technologies, together with bioinformatics tools, make it ...
The aim of this work is to evaluate the potential production of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) fr... more The aim of this work is to evaluate the potential production of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) from livestock wastes that are commonly found on Mediterranean islands, by using the island of Malta as a case study. Organic wastes in the form of livestock manure and slurry, as well as other by-products originating from the food transformation industry in the making of alcoholic beverages and the processing of olives, tomatoes and other streams, if mixed in such a way to achieve a correct C/N ratio, can be subjected to anaerobic co- digestion for the production of biogas and digestate. Biogas can be further transformed into biomethane, a fuel that can be used to power surface transportation and agricultural machines, producing heat through burners, or co-generating electric and thermal energy through Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants. Moreover, the digestate, if treated and transformed into a dry form, can be applied to soils as biofertiliser. Anaerobic co-digestion process can be co...
In the last one hundred years, Maltese agriculture genetic resources were dispersed throughout th... more In the last one hundred years, Maltese agriculture genetic resources were dispersed throughout the Mediterranean basin. The introduction of modern varieties of livestock and plants has led to the complete disregard of all local populations in favour of these imported new exotic hybrids. The end result is that our local genotypes have already been lost or are in danger of becoming extinct. Most are well suited for extensive production systems and also well suited for integration into organic or free range type of production. Projects focusing on the rehabilitation of Mediterranean Woodlands and the use of Treated Sewage Effluent were also discussed.
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