Fertilisation

The effects of wood-ash fertilisation on tree stands, soil characteristics and ground vegetation were studied on a drained pine mire in Finland (64°51′N, 26°04′E, 62 m a.s.l.). The original site type was a treeless, mesotrophic Sphagnum papillosum fen. The site was drained in 1933 and the wood-ash fertilisation experiment was started in 1947. The treatments were: (i) unfertilised, (ii) wood-ash 8 t ha−1, and (iii) wood-ash 16 t ha−1.Drainage and ash application had radical and long-lasting consequences on the biological activity on the site and the vegetation compartments studied. The understorey vegetation had been profoundly affected by the ash with almost complete transformation of the species and other life forms. Even 50 years after the ash treatment the changes in vegetation/site type and the tree stand were clearly visible. On the unfertilised plot, the biomass of ground vegetation consisted mostly of mosses and dwarf shrubs, but on the ash-treated plots it consisted mostly of herbs and grasses typical of upland forests.Ash treatment had promoted stem volume growth of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) substantially and for a long time. The total wood production on the ash plots during 1947–1994 was 13 and 17 times over that of the control plot. Unfertilised pine trees suffered from P and K deficiency throughout the study period. The concentrations of some plant nutrients (P, K) decreased during the past years on Ash8. No nutrient shortage afflicting the tree stand was observed on Ash16 during the study period.Ash application has also led to increased concentration of nutrients in the peat. A sizeable proportion of the mineral nutrients applied were still in the 0–20 cm peat layer. On the ash-treated plots the amount of soil nitrogen (0–20 cm) was 18 and 29 times and the amount of soil phosphorus 9 and 13 times over the amount bound by the tree stand and the ground vegetation (Ash8 and Ash16, respectively). The stock of potassium was generally small in the surface peat—only 60–90% of the amount of potassium bound in the tree stand and the ground vegetation.It was concluded that wood-ash had powerfully influenced the biological processes in surface peat. The decomposition of cellulose was significantly accelerated by both ash treatments. Ash fertilisation also increased the emissions of CO2. The intensified decomposition rate in the litter, vegetation and peat explained to a large extent the accelerated growth of the Scots pine stands studied.

This study aims to shed light on past farming practices in Northern France (Île-de-France and Champagne) by integrating archaeobotanical, archaeozoological and stable isotope data on crops and animal bone remains. Cultivation strategies were investigated through the analysis of stable nitrogen isotope composition (δ 15 N) of archaeological crop seeds, in order to interpret soil fertility conditions and the use of manure. As a summary, the δ 15 N of charred cereal grains suggest a wide range of soil fertility conditions and a variety of strategies of cultivation depending on the cereal species. In some cases, soil fertility was enhanced through manuring. Moreover, results from bone collagen analysis suggest different patterns of foddering; in some cases caprines have been fed by-products from the amended agriculture in return. Résumé Cette étude vise à obtenir des informations sur les pratiques agricoles passées dans le Nord de la France (Île-de-France et Champagne), en intégrant les données archéobotaniques, archéozoologiques et les compositions isoto-piques de céréales et d'ossements animaux. L'analyse de la composition isotopique en azote (δ 15 N) de graines de céréales archéologiques est analysée, afin de comprendre les pratiques culturales et d'interpréter les conditions de fertilité des sols et l'utilisation du fumier. En résumé, le δ 15 N de céréales carbonisées suggère un large éventail de conditions de fertilité des sols et une variété de stratégies culturales selon les espèces cultivées. Dans certains cas, la fertilité des sols a été améliorée grâce à la fumure. De plus, les résultats de l'analyse de collagène osseux suggèrent différents modes d'affouragement; dans certains cas, les caprinés ont été nourris en retour avec les sous-produits de l'agriculture.

Adsorption of fluoride on waste carbon slurry was investigated. Waste carbon slurry was obtained from fuel oil based generators of a fertilizer industry. The work involves batch experiments to investigate the effects of contact time, pH, temperature and adsorbent dose on the extent of adsorption by carbon slurry. The contact time and pH for maximum fluoride uptake were found 1 h and 7.58, respectively. Maximum adsorption capacity (4.861 mg g−1) of fluoride on carbon slurry was observed at 15.00 mg L−1 initial fluoride concentration using 1.0 g L−1 adsorbent dose. Among four applied models, the experimental isotherm data were found to follow Langmuir equation more closely. Thermodynamically, adsorption was found endothermic with values 7.348 kJ mol−1, −25.410 kJ mol−1 and 0.109 kJ mol−1 K−1 for enthalpy, free energy and entropy, respectively showing the feasibility of adsorption process. From kinetic analysis, the adsorption was found to follow second-order mechanism with rate constant 49.637 g mg−1 min−1. The rate-controlling step of the adsorption was found pore diffusion controlled. In order to investigate the potential of this adsorbent on industrial scale, column and desorption experiments were carried out. The breakthrough capacity of column was calculated 4.155 mg g−1 with at a flow rate of 1.5 mL min−1. The proposed adsorbent has been used to remove fluoride from groundwater and wastewater. Desorption has been achieved under alkaline conditions (pH 11.6) from exhausted carbon slurry. The performance of carbon slurry was compared with many other reported adsorbent for fluoride removal and it was observed that proposed adsorbent is effective in terms of performance and cost especially.

Extremely high organic load and the toxic nature of olive mill wastewater (OMW) prevent their direct discharge into domestic wastewater treatment systems. In addition to the various treatment schemes designed for such wastewater, controlled land spreading of untreated OMW has been suggested as an alternative mean of disposal. A field study was conducted between October 2004 and September 2005 to assess possible effects of OMW on soil microbial activity and potential phytotoxicity. The experiment was carried out in an organic orchard located on a Vertisol-type soil (Jezre’el Valley, Israel) and included two application levels of OMW (36 and 72 m3 ha−1). Total microbial counts, and to less extent the hydrolytic activity and soil respiration were increased following the high OMW application level. A bench-scale lab experiment showed that the rate of OMW mineralization was mainly dependent on the general status of soil activity and was not related to previous acclimatization of the soil microflora to OMW. Soil phytotoxicity (% germination and root elongation) was assessed in soil extracts of samples collected before and after each OMW application, using germinating cress (Lepidium sativum L.) seeds. We found direct short-term effect of OMW application on soil phytotoxicity. However, the soil was partly or completely recovered between successive applications. No further phytotoxicity was observed in treated soils as compared with control soil, 3 months after OMW application. Such short-term phytotoxicity was not in correlation with measured EC and total polyphenols in the soil extracts. Overall, the results of this study further support a safe controlled OMW spreading on lands that are not associated with sensitive aquifers.

Solid waste management is one of the challenging problems worldwide and it is becoming more complex by the increase in population and subsequently the waste generated. In Malaysia, among industrial solid waste palm oil mill waste (POMW) contributes the highest share. Wastes from the oil palm mill includes palm oil mill effluent (POME), decanter cake, empty fruit bunches, seed shells and the fibre from mesocarp. Generally most of the waste generated is either disposed of via open dumping or used as fertilizers as such or as animal feed. Land application of POMW and POME is very common practice as it contains numbers of plant nutrients. Direct application of POMW into agricultural soil can result in a number of problems such as water pollution, leaching etc. To deal with these problems, vermicomposting of palm oil mill waste may be a sustainable waste management option.There are number of researches going on management of biomass residues from palm oil mill, but very few works are going on vermicomposting of these agro-industrial waste. Vermicomposting of POMW can be a good practice as it will also be helpful in recycling the useful plant nutrients and it is better than that of composting process. Present review deals with the various aspects of vermicomposting of POMW and its importance. Review also put forward the effect of potential application of vermicompost on plant growth. On the whole it looks for the possibility of vermicomposting of waste from palm oil mill as a sustainable waste management alternative.

Maternal provisioning of embryos in Gambusia (Poeciliidae) entails both production of large, yolky eggs and mother-to-embryo transfer of nutrients, the latter of which is readily quantified using injection of radiolabeled nutrients. We assayed patterns of nutrient transfer in broods of 26 Gambusia geiseri and 23 Gambusia affinis females, using injection of tritiated leucine. We examined maternal and embryo characteristics affecting the instantaneous rate of transfer and characterized the pattern of transfer to individual embryos within broods. Maternal (female size and condition) and brood characteristics (mean embryo size, developmental stage, brood size) did not predict the mean level of nutrient transfer to embryos in a brood for either species. Within broods, individual provisioning of embryos was not related to developmental stage, but was related to embryo mass in G. affinis with nutrient transfer higher to larger embryos. In addition, overall within-brood variation in nutrient transfer, measured as coefficient of variation in embryo radioactivity, was higher in G. affinis than in G. geiseri.

Ammonium nitrate (AN) is an inorganic crystalline compound used as a solid propellant oxidizer and as a nitrogenous fertilizer. The practical use of AN as solid propellant oxidizer is restricted due to the near room temperature polymorphic phase transition and hygroscopicity. A good deal of effort has been expended for last many years to stabilize the polymorphic transitions of AN, so as to minimize the storage difficulties of AN based fertilizers and to achieve more environmentally benign propellant systems. Also, particles with aspect ratio nearer to one are a vital requirement in fertilizer and propellant industries. In the present study AN is crystallized in presence of trace amount of potassium ferrocyanide (K4Fe(CN)6) crystal habit modifier and kept for different time intervals. And the effect of K4Fe(CN)6 on the habit and phase modification of AN was studied. Phase modified ammonium nitrate (PMAN) with a particle aspect ratio nearer to one was obtained by this method and the reasons for this modifications are discussed. The morphology changes were studied by SEM, the phase modifications were studied by DSC and the structural properties were studied by powder XRD.

Buffalo calves have a high mortality rate (~80%) in commercial dairies and testis cryopreservation can provide a feasible option for the preservation of germplasm from immature males that die before attaining sexual maturity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate combinations of 10 or 20% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) with 0, 20 or 80% fetal bovine serum (FBS) for cryopreservation of immature buffalo testicular tissues, subjected to uncontrolled slow freezing. Tissues cryopreserved in 20% DMSO with 20% FBS (D20S20) showed total, tubular and interstitial cell viability, number of early apoptotic and DNA-damaged cells, surviving germ and proliferating cells and expression of testicular cell-specific proteins (POU class 5 homeobox (POU5F1), vimentin (VIM) and actin ?2 (ACTA2)) similar to that of fresh cultured control (FCC; P>0.05). Expression of cytochrome P450, family 11, subfamily A (CYP11A1) protein and testosterone assay showed that only tissues cryopreserved in D20S20 had Le...

Reforestation of degraded tropical sites is often hampered by soils of high acidity, high aluminum saturation, and low fertility. To evaluate the possibility of cultivating Acacia species on such soils, a study was conducted at Waiawa, HI, to test growth under conditions of (1) high acidity (primarily aluminum) and nutrient stress, and (2) no acidity stress and high nutrient availability. Twelve Acacia species, including the important native Hawaiian species Acacia koa, were established on a Ustic Kanhaplohumult soil. The experimental design was a split plot with two fertility treatments as the main plots and the 12 Acacia species as subplots. The treatments were: low fertility (F0; 143 kg ha−1 14-14-14 plus micronutrients) and high fertility (F1; 8 Mg ha−1 lime, 143 kg ha−1 14-14-14 plus micronutrients, 200 kg P ha−1, and 77 kg K ha−1). Acacia angustissima, Acacia aulacocarpa, Acacia auriculiformis, Acacia cincinnata, Acacia crassicarpa, Acacia implexa, Acacia koa, and Acacia mangi...