AbstractSoil health has long been recognized as important. There are many proven practices known to build and maintain soil health, but there are other practices that are suspect. Measuring soil health is happening, but it is an immature science. Will we find that the existing soil health tests are meaningful? Will new methods be developed? What will the collective efforts of those implementing the aforementioned practices be upon yields? Crop quality? Carbon sequestration equilibrium? Soil and environment sustainability? And, of vital importance, what is the financial sustainability for growers and society? Earn 1 CEU in Soil & Water Management by reading the article and taking the quiz at https://web.sciencesocieties.org/Learning‐Center/Courses.

Abstract With increasing global interest in microbial methods for agriculture, the commercialization of biofertilizers in Sri Lanka is of general interest. The use of a biofilm-biofertilizer (BFBF) commercialized in Sri Lanka is claimed to reduce chemical fertilizer (CF) usage by ~ 50% while boosting harvest by 20–30%. Many countries have explored the potential of biofilm biofertilizers, but have so far found mixed results. Here we review the BFBF commercialized in Sri Lanka and approved for national use. We show in detail that the improved yields claimed for this BFBF fall within the uncertainties (error bars) of the harvest. Theoretical models that produce a seemingly reduced CF scenario with an “increase” in harvests, although this is in fact not so, are presented. While BFBF usage seems to improve soil quality in some instances, the currently available BFBF promoted in Sri Lanka appears to have negligible impact on crop yields. We also briefly consider the potentially negative effects of large-scale adoption of microbial methods. The manner whereby a poorly-tested but product of biotechnology gained government and institutional acceptance is of global relevance in the rush to adopt new climate-mitigating technologies.

Organic acid digesters are reactors of growing interest for municipal nutrient recovery technologies, but the industry standard BioWin modeling software does not accurately predict their performance. A BioWin configuration using default parameters will over-predict volatile fatty acid production in an acid digester, yielding an unrealistically low pH. We have characterized the effects of parameters for local pH inhibition thresholds, growth and decay kinetics, and hydraulic residence times to successfully facilitate more accurate modeling of acid phase digestion reactors in BioWin. These changes show improvements in a range of treatment train models without affecting accuracy in other reactors. Results were calibrated against a municipal acid phase digester to accurately predict pH, VFA concentration, and gas production. In particular, an acid digester with a measured suspension pH of 5.14 was predicted by BioWin using default parameters to exist at pH 4.35 with highly sensitive biogas methane content, but our parameter changes were able to correct the predicted suspension pH and VFA concentrations over a range of values. We also demonstrate that several intuitive or traditional parameters a BioWin user may attempt, such as growth and fermentation kinetics, do not yield meaningful results. Refinements incorporated into BioWin should allow future operators to easily model acid digesters for their specific treatment trains or allow users to predict changes while testing new wastewater treatment technologies.

Crops & SoilsEarly View Certification CCAs Take Farm Bill Priorities to Congress First published: 21 April 2023 https://doi.org/10.1002/crso.20273Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article. Early ViewOnline Version of Record before inclusion in an issue RelatedInformation