Agricultural Management Techniques Research Articles

Evaluation of stakeholder knowledge and practices of water use management strategy: Observations from a questionnaire survey in Southern India

Freshwater resources remain unequally distributed in time and space around the world. Water resource frameworks should be designed, planned, and overseen in order to fully meet current and future social and economic objectives. The difficulties grow as the system gets bigger and more complex, with varying spatial distribution of water and insufficient resources, making water re-distribution more difficult. The current study fills such gaps by evaluating several factors influencing conjunctive management. In the current study, an effort has been made to compile the best data on water use, agricultural practises, socioeconomic status, and so on through field surveys in order to comprehend the reality on the ground. Additionally, investigations are being conducted into the causes and barriers that are most likely to have slowed the implementation of conjunctive use of available water resources. Two comprehensive socioeconomic surveys were conducted using the quantitative research methodology in a river basin in Southern India, and the results clearly show that stakeholders are unaware of the most effective agricultural water management techniques and the rationale behind modern irrigation systems. Over ninety-five percent of the total respondents were farmers, with only five percent having basic knowledge of watershed development and conjunctive use water management. The identified gaps and the inference made in the study are in the context of conjunctive water management of agricultural water. The current work may provide useful information on the baseline scenarios for upcoming agricultural water management plans, as well as a useful tool for achieving significant milestones in the agricultural sector. Furthermore, the prepared questionnaire and the data gathered for the study may also be helpful to decision-makers.

Carbon Sequestration in Agricultural Soil: Technique and their Efficiency

Developing technologies to slow the rate of increase in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) from annual emissions, such as energy, process industries, land-use change, and soil cultivation, is a major challenge of the twenty-first century. Severe ecological and economic disruptions result from the erratic changes in climate systems caused by the skyrocketing amounts of atmospheric CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). Through the process of carbon sequestration, net greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced, hence mitigating climate change. Both biotic and abiotic variables can contribute to the long-term sequestration of carbon, or carbon stabilisation. The compilation of past and present methods for sequestering soil organic carbon is crucial, considering the need of measuring and tracking soil carbon at the point, field, regional, and ecosystem levels. This study attempts to provide an overview of the literature about the function of various agricultural management techniques for sequestering carbon and the ways in which they help to stabilize atmospheric carbon.

Monitoring the Spatial Distribution of Cover Crops and Tillage Practices Using Machine Learning and Environmental Drivers across Eastern South Dakota

The adoption of conservation agriculture methods, such as conservation tillage and cover cropping, is a viable alternative to conventional farming practices for improving soil health and reducing soil carbon losses. Despite their significance in mitigating climate change, there are very few studies that have assessed the overall spatial distribution of cover crops and tillage practices based on the farm’s pedoclimatic and topographic characteristics. Hence, the primary objective of this study was to use multiple satellite-derived indices and environmental drivers to infer the level of tillage intensity and identify the presence of cover crops in eastern South Dakota (SD). We used a machine learning classifier trained with in situ field samples and environmental drivers acquired from different remote sensing datasets for 2022 and 2023 to map the conservation agriculture practices. Our classification accuracies (>80%) indicate that the employed satellite spectral indices and environmental variables could successfully detect the presence of cover crops and the tillage intensity in the study region. Our analysis revealed that 4% of the corn (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max) fields in eastern SD had a cover crop during either the fall of 2022 or the spring of 2023. We also found that environmental factors, specifically seasonal precipitation, growing degree days, and surface texture, significantly impacted the use of conservation practices. The methods developed through this research may provide a viable means for tracking and documenting farmers’ agricultural management techniques. Our study contributes to developing a measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) solution that could help used to monitor various climate-smart agricultural practices.

A Review on Precision Agriculture: An Evolution and Prospect for the Future

A farm management system that uses information and technology to identify, analyze, and control the temporal and spatial variability within a field is known as precision farming or precision agriculture. Its goals are to maximize productivity and profitability, preserve the land resource, and minimize production costs. The public's growing environmental consciousness is forcing us to alter agricultural management techniques in order to maintain economic profitability while preserving natural resources like water, air, and soil quality. The application of inputs (such as chemical pesticides and fertilizers) in accordance with the proper amount, timing, and location. "Site-Specific Management" is the term used to describe this kind of management. With over a third of the world's food now requiring irrigation for production, the productivity increase in the global food supply has depended more and more on the expansion of irrigation schemes in recent decades. The overall economic viability of traditional agricultural systems is being challenged by market-based global competition in agricultural products, which calls for the creation of new, flexible production systems.

Efeitos de farinha de osso e hidrogel nos teores foliares de cajueiro anão

ABSTRACT In semi-arid regions, where seasonal drought or irregular rainfall distribution are common occurrences, agricultural management techniques or strategies, such as the use of bone meal and/or hydrogel, can mitigate adverse conditions and ensure crop production. This study aimed to evaluate the efects of bone meal doses (0, 250, 500, 750 and 1,000 g pit−1), in association or not with hydrogel (0 and 5 g pit−1, respectively), on the leaf nutrient content of the dwarf cashew cultivar BRS 226. The leaf nutrient contents were evaluated during two growing seasons. For being a good source of macronutrients, the bone meal increased the levels of N, P, Ca, K and Mg in the dwarf cashew leaves. The leaf contents of the micronutrients Zn, Fe and Mn decreased with increasing bone meal doses. The nutrient accumulation in the leaves of the dwarf cashew planted in pits with bone meal and hydrogel has the following order: N > K > Ca > Mg > P > Mn > Fe > Zn > Cu. The application of bone meal at levels close to 600 g pit−1, mainly with the use of hydrogel, is a viable fertilizer alternative for dwarf cashew.

Assimilating the Responsible Factors for the Technical Efficiency of Organic Brown Sugar Production: Stochastic Frontier Approach

The demand for organic brown sugar has shown significant growth in recent years, presenting an opportunity to enhance production by strategically leveraging existing expertise among stakeholders. The objective of this study was to assess the viability of producing brown sugar, with a particular focus on the technical efficiency of marginal cane farmers. This study investigates the technical efficiency of sugarcane farmers who are concurrently engaged in the production of organic brown sugar within a specific region in Bangladesh. The data collection process involved the use of purposive sampling, which resulted in the collection of 163 farm data sets from September to December 2021. Subsequently, a stochastic frontier production function was carefully employed to estimate the technical efficiency of the selected brown sugar producers. The findings of the current study demonstrate that less than half of the respondents (47.24%) were involved in activities linked to maintain a high efficiency level that was greater than 91 percent. It was discovered that a range of technical efficiency scores, which varied from 49.94 to 98.38 percent, with a mean value of 84.5%. There exists a significant potential for enhancing crop productivity by up to 15.5% with the implementation of improved agricultural management techniques like substantial experience, education, and training which tends to exhibit enhanced the efficiency of the production.

Animal manure digestate fertilization effect on the soil microbial activity and crop productivity in the northern part of temperate climate conditions-Lithuania

Microbial communities make up a significant portion of the soil, and their activity is crucial to the soil's ability to function. In this study, we aim to evaluate the influence of animal waste-based digestate as N source on soil microbial activity and crop productivity over a three-year period in a crop rotation system. Two experimental field trials using the same design were performed in the year 2018–2020 and 2019–2021, respectively. Four different fertilization treatments, namely Synthetic Nitrogen, Chicken manure digestate, Cow manure digestate, and Pig manure digestate split fertilized (90 kg ha−1 N and 80 kg ha−1 N), and unfertilized treatment (control) were studied while growing different annual crops (spring wheat, triticale, and barley). There was a more significant positive effect on the soil microbial biomass carbon noticeably observed after the first year of digestate application, with an increase of 20.2–75% when compared to the unamended soil. Soil dehydrogenase activity was a less sensitive indicator for the effect of fertilization on soil biochemical activity, but the average data from both experiments showed an increase in fertilized soils from 6.6 to 8.5% in fertilized soils. The soil moisture did not significantly influence the microbial biomass and the enzymatic activity. However, crop productivity consistently rose each successive year, a positive effect of digestate use. We deduced that the long-term application of animal manure digestate under natural conditions coupled with other variable factors such as seasonal conditions and agricultural management techniques significantly influenced the microbial biomass contents – a critical component of the biological state of the soil. Our findings will help identify how and what could make soil microbial communities and crop productivity vulnerable to seasonal changes in relation to the consistent application of animal manure digestate to agricultural soils and the agricultural techniques employed.

The Global Dilemma of Soil Legacy Phosphorus and Its Improvement Strategies under Recent Changes in Agro-Ecosystem Sustainability.

Phosphorus (P) is one of the six key elements in plant nutrition and effectively plays a vital role in all major metabolic activities. It is an essential nutrient for plants linked to human food production. Although abundantly present in both organic and inorganic forms in soil, more than 40% of cultivated soils are commonly deficient in P concentration. Then, the P inadequacy is a challenge to a sustainable farming system to improve the food production for an increasing population. It is expected that the whole world population will rise to 9 billion by 2050 and, therefore, it is necessary at the same time for agricultural strategies broadly to expand food production up to 80% to 90% by handling the global dilemma which has affected the environment by climatic changes. Furthermore, the phosphate rock annually produced about 5 million metric tons of phosphate fertilizers per year. About 9.5 Mt of phosphorus enters human food through crops and animals such as milk, egg, meat, and fish and is then utilized, and 3.5 Mt P is physically consumed by the human population. Various new techniques and current agricultural practices are said to be improving P-deficient environments, which might help meet the food requirements of an increasing population. However, 4.4% and 3.4% of the dry biomass of wheat and chickpea, respectively, were increased under intercropping practices, which was higher than that in the monocropping system. A wide range of studies showed that green manure crops, especially legumes, improve the soil-available P content of the soil. It is noted that inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi could decrease the recommended phosphate fertilizer rate nearly 80%. Agricultural management techniques to improve soil legacy P use by crops include maintaining soil pH by liming, crop rotation, intercropping, planting cover crops, and the consumption of modern fertilizers, in addition to the use of more efficient crop varieties and inoculation with P-solubilizing microorganisms. Therefore, exploring the residual phosphorus in the soil is imperative to reduce the demand for industrial fertilizers while promoting long-term sustainability on a global scale.

Soil CO2 in organic and no-till agroecosystems

Increased carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in soil profiles could increase carbon sequestration via improved residence times of soil organic carbon (SOC), greater nutrient availability and plant growth, and via other pathways, but the effect of agricultural management techniques on soil CO2 is poorly understood. We used nondispersive infrared (NDIR) CO2 sensors to measure gas-phase CO2 concentrations in 1.50 m soil profiles in paired no-till (NT) and organic (ORG) agricultural systems in the Palouse region of eastern Washington State, USA, to investigate the effect of management on soil CO2. CO2 concentrations were significantly greater in ORG than in NT. The CO2 efflux into the atmosphere estimated using Fick's first law was generally greater in ORG due to both greater diffusivity and stronger concentration gradients observed in ORG. Results demonstrate that organic agriculture may facilitate greater soil CO2 concentrations and production rates. Further research is needed to quantify and understand the role of increased CO2 in soil carbon cycling in agroecosystems.

Fungal biomass and microbial necromass facilitate soil carbon sequestration and aggregate stability under different soil tillage intensities

The aim of global carbon (C) neutrality brings soils and their potential for C storage into the spotlight. Improved agricultural management techniques such as minimum or no-tillage are thought to foster soil C sequestration. However, the underlying mechanisms are still not well understood. In this study, we investigated the inter-relations of soil organic C (SOC), fungal biomass, microbial necromass biomarkers, and aggregate stability in rhizosphere and bulk soil after thirteen years of reduced tillage intensities (reduced, minimum, and no-tillage). Overall, rhizosphere and bulk soil were indifferent in their response to reduced tillage. Reducing tillage intensity increased SOC and nitrogen stocks and dissolved organic C contents in the following order: minimum > no-tillage > reduced > conventional. Aggregate stability showed the strongest increase under no-tillage. Interestingly, ergosterol contents were highest under reduced and minimum tillage followed by no-tillage. The amino sugars muramic acid, galactosamine, and glucosamine – proxies for soil microbial-derived necromass – showed similar increases under all three tillage reduction systems. Structural equation modelling revealed that increased dissolved organic C contents under reduced tillage intensity facilitated SOC sequestration and aggregate stability through enhanced fungal biomass to necromass turnover. Thus, reducing soil tillage intensity is a valuable tool to facilitate microbial growth and hence to increase SOC sequestration in agricultural soils.

Analysis of critical barriers in the sustainable supply chain of MSMEs: a case of Makhana (Foxnut) industry

PurposeSustainability is a very important factor to be considered in the supply chain (SC) of any industry. Agricultural industry needs to be addressed even more importantly with the tools of sustainability as it concerns the life of millions. This paper explores the critical barriers (CBs) in the sustainable supply chains (SSCs) of makhana industry located in the northern part of India and seeks to design a model for the researchers and the managers who want to work in this industry.Design/methodology/approachInitially, the CBs were identified with the help of an extensive literature review of sustainability in SCs for agri-industry and discussion with makhana industry experts (consisting of managers and senior managers) and academicians (consisting of professors and research scholars). The study uses the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique, namely interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and fuzzy ISM to develop the model. The study finally validates the model using Matrice d'impacts croisés multiplication appliquée á un classment (MICMAC) analysis.FindingsThe obtained results indicate that, in the SSC of makhana industry, the role of “Lack of adoption of organic agricultural management techniques” (CB2), “Lack of modern techniques (CB4)”, “Multiple intermediaries” (CB5), “Weak socio-economic conditions” (CB7) and “Lack of proper knowledge” (CB1) are very significant. These barriers are needed to be addressed first as they have the highest driving power and other barriers are directly driven by these CBs.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper has included seven experts, and the interrelationship between CBs has been developed on the basis of their knowledge and discussion, so the results may be a little bias. Moreover, the paper has obtained the results using the ISM and fuzzy ISM by considering ten CBs; the researchers can explore this research by including more CBs and validate the results using other MCDM techniques like fuzzy-decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL), fuzzy-Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and Best Worst Method (BWM).Originality/valueThis study is unique as per industry point of view and may help the researchers and managers to explore the field of makhana.

Staging Eden; Staging Power: Landscaping the Royal Garden of the Kingdom of Haiti

A uniquely successful slave revolt enabled King Henry (Christophe) I to lead an engagement with native plants, animals including humans, built structures, and landscaped gardens in The Kingdom of Haiti, a tropical country liberated from colonial rule. The new ruler’s political and economic exigencies and hopes had points of both collaboration and contention with the expectations of the new citizens. He would make full use of both local traditional knowledge and the latest for-profit agricultural management techniques. The engagement resulted in general prosperity, especially for the new proprietors of the largest landholdings. He set aside a portion of royal property that preserved the original flora and fauna, but most of the kingdom maintained the former plantations. There were schools and medical clinics for everyone. Yet the peasants worked even harder than they had as slaves and held little political power. Beyond the Royal Garden and the preserved forest, exploitation of the tropical ecosystem continued and even increased.

Immune Responses Are Differentially Regulated by Root, Stem, Leaf, and Flower Extracts of Female and Male CBD Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Plants

Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) has many applications, including the production of textiles, agricultural extracts, nutritional products, and botanicals enriched with cannabinoids and full-spectrum terpenes naturally present in the plant. In this study, the dynamics of distribution and accumulation of 10 main cannabinoids in hemp were quantified. Hemp bioactive compounds were evaluated for anti-inflammatory activity in lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. While all tissues of hemp showed moderate anti-inflammatory properties, female flowers demonstrated the highest activity. CBD showed the strongest anti-inflammatory activity with suppression of nitric oxide production at 2 μg/mL and the reduced expressions of the pro-inflammatory genes COX-2, IL-6, and TNF-α at as low as 2 ng/mL. The topical hemp inflorescences (1–50 μg/mL) and CBD alone (20–200 ng/mL) also improved mitochondrial respiration. These data contribute to the future development of agricultural and plant management techniques to produce hemp with specific metabolite profiles to selectively support immune health.

Evapotranspiration components and water use efficiency from desert to alpine ecosystems in drylands

Water use efficiency (WUE), the ratio of carbon gain to water loss, is an important physiological indicator in assessing the interactions between the carbon and water cycles. Quantifying the spatiotemporal patterns of WUE at both canopy and ecosystem levels across main dryland ecosystems along climate gradients is vital for water resource management in water-limited regions. However, the patterns of WUE among natural and managed ecosystems in drylands are not well understood. We partitioned the evapotranspiration (ET) components and calculated WUE at both canopy and ecosystem levels across dryland ecosystems in an arid region in Northwest China using observations from a regional flux observation network. Our results showed divergent variations of canopy and ecosystem WUE across the main ecosystems along climate gradients in arid regions. The ecosystem WUE and canopy WUE ranged from 0.7 to 1.8 gC Kg−1 H2O and from 0.8 to 2.4 gC Kg−1 H2O, respectively. Climatic gradients were the dominant factors controlling the spatial patterns of WUE across dryland ecosystems. Divergences were also observed between oasis and natural ecosystems because of different environmental conditions and management practices. Climatic regulation of the spatial WUE patterns was dominated by water variability rather than temperature. The higher canopy WUE for desert ecosystems indicated that these ecosystems were adapted to the water-limited environment. The discrepancies of both canopy and ecosystem WUE between croplands in arid and hyper-arid climate zones were caused by the differences in agricultural management techniques for these crops. Human activities (e.g., irrigation and agriculture management) altered the distribution of water resource and water use strategies, which further affected the magnitude and patterns of WUE in drylands. This study provides insights into the spatiotemporal patterns of ET components and both canopy and ecosystem WUE over dryland ecosystems and can inform regional water resources management in water-limited regions.

Effects of straw mulching practices on soil nematode communities under walnut plantation

Agricultural management techniques such as mulching with crop straw can impact soil properties and may in turn change the structure and function of the soil food web. We investigated different straw mulching types and straw mulching coverage levels on soil nematodes community structure in walnut orchards. We set up a randomized experimental design with three straw mulch types, and three straw mulch distance treatments in a walnut plantation. The results indicated that the number of soil nematodes after straw mulching was lower than that found in the control (CK). However, the metabolic and structure footprints of the omnivore-predator nematodes showed higher values as compared to CK. The abundances of plant parasite and omnivore-predator nematodes were negatively correlated with ammonium nitrogen (NH4+–N) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), whereas soil moisture content (SM) had a negative correlation with the abundance of total nematodes. High structure index (SI), maturity index (MI) and low enrichment index (EI) values revealed a structured soil food web, medium soil enrichment, and fungal decomposition channel under the mix straw mulching treatments. Soil nematodes should be used as an indicator of soil functional changes resulting from straw mulching.

Effects of synthetic fertilizer and farm compost on soil nematode community in long-term crop rotation plots: A morphological and metabarcoding approach.

Soil biodiversity plays a key regulation role in the ecosystem services that underpin regenerative sustainable agriculture. It can be impacted by agricultural management techniques, both positively (through measures such as compost application) and negatively (through, for example, application of synthetic nitrogen). As one of the most numerous members of the soil biota, nematodes are well established as indicators for the soil food web. However, compost application also includes the addition of nematodes present in compost and their subsequent survival in soil is unknown. Nematode communities within the compost applied to soil, and nematode communities in the soil of a multi-year rotational cropping field trial in Melle (Belgium) were studied using morphological and metabarcoding techniques. Compost (C) and nitrogen fertilizer (NF) treated plots were compared. Three replicate plots were investigated for each of the following treatments: C application only; C and NF application; NF only; no C and no NF (control). Plots were sampled six times between 2015–2017, before and after C or NF were added each spring and after crop harvest (except for 2017). NF treatment resulted in a significant decrease of fungal feeding and predatory nematodes, while herbivorous nematodes were positively affected. Remarkably, we did not find compost addition to exert any noticeable effects on the soil nematode community. The morphological and metabarcoding data resulted in different results of the nematode community composition. However, trends and patterns in the two data sets were congruent when observed with NMDS plots and using the nematode maturity index. Metabarcoding of individual compost nematode taxa demonstrated that nematodes originating from compost did not persist in soil.

Impact of soil application with humic acid and foliar spray of milagro bio-stimulant on vegetative growth and mineral nutrient uptake of Nonpareil almond young trees under Nubaria conditions

BackgroundAt present, agricultural production management techniques focus on greater commitment to environmental sustainability. As such, this study was carried out during two successive seasons (2018 and 2019) to investigate the impact of two natural bio-stimulant substances: humic acid (H) and milagro (M) on vegetative growth and nutritional status of Nonpareil almond young trees grown in Experimental Research Station of National Research Centre, Nubaria, El Behera governorate, Egypt. Three-year-old uniform trees were treated at the beginning of growth season by soil application of humic acid (H) and foliar spray of milagro (M) bio-stimulant. There were ten treatments as follows: control (untreated seedlings),10 g humic acid plus 10 ml/l milagro, 20 g humic acid plus 10 ml/l milagro, 30 g humic acid plus 10 ml/l milagro,10 g humic acid plus 20 ml/l milagro, 20 g humic acid plus 20 ml/l milagro, 30 g humic acid plus 20 ml/l milagro, 10 g humic acid plus 30 ml/l milagro, 20 g humic acid plus 30 ml/l milagro, and 30 g humic acid plus 30 ml/l milagro.ResultsThe results showed that different treatments improved the vegetative growth of seedlings, stem length, diameter, number of branches and leaves, leaf area, leaf fresh and dry weight, and specific leaf dry weight as well as leaf chlorophylls and minerals content comparing with untreated young trees.ConclusionsSoil application of 30 g humic acid along with 30 ml/l milagro per young tree as foliar spray was the promising treatment as a new fertilization technique that is non-chemical, low-cost, and environmentally safe for improving growth and nutritional status of Nonpareil almond young trees under Nubaria conditions.

Mediterranean Long Shelf-Life Landraces: An Untapped Genetic Resource for Tomato Improvement.

The Mediterranean long shelf-life (LSL) tomatoes are a group of landraces with a fruit remaining sound up to 6–12 months after harvest. Most have been selected under semi-arid Mediterranean summer conditions with poor irrigation or rain-fed and thus, are drought tolerant. Besides the convergence in the latter traits, local selection criteria have been very variable, leading to a wide variation in fruit morphology and quality traits. The different soil characteristics and agricultural management techniques across the Mediterranean denote also a wide range of plant adaptive traits to different conditions. Despite the notorious traits for fruit quality and environment adaptation, the LSL landraces have been poorly exploited in tomato breeding programs, which rely basically on wild tomato species. In this review, we describe most of the information currently available for Mediterranean LSL landraces in order to highlight the importance of this genetic resource. We focus on the origin and diversity, the main selective traits, and the determinants of the extended fruit shelf-life and the drought tolerance. Altogether, the Mediterranean LSL landraces are a very valuable heritage to be revalued, since constitutes an alternative source to improve fruit quality and shelf-life in tomato, and to breed for more resilient cultivars under the predicted climate change conditions.

New Professional Farmers’ Training (NPFT): A multivariate analysis of farmers’ participation in lifelong learning in Shaanxi, China

With urbanisation, rural-urban migration has meant falling levels of rural labour, loss of agricultural land and lowered agricultural productivity, all of which have hindered the development of modern agriculture in China. It has become crucial to train the rural labour force to become modern professional farmers who are knowledgeable, skilled, and well-versed in the latest agricultural management techniques. To make this process a success, it has been key to understand the extent of their willingness to participate in training, as this significantly affects the quality of the training. This study aims to analyse what influences rural labourers’ willingness to attend new professional farmers’ training (NPFT) by selecting four factors, namely (1) individual characteristics; (2) economic capital; (3) educational opportunity; and (4) technological perception. After conducting a survey among samples of the local population in three counties of Shaanxi Province, the authors applied a binary logistic regression model to data from 543 completed questionnaires. The result showed that the willingness of agricultural labourers to participate in NPFT is impacted by factors including age, size of farm, total annual household income, and training experience. These findings suggest that the NPFT programme should be improved by paying more attention to the needs of agricultural labourers, increasing capital investment, establishing a diversified investment system, and mobilising the enthusiasm of rural labourers.

Effect of Application of Sulfuric and Humic Acid in the Mitigation of Root Asphyxiation Stress in Potted Avocado Plants

ABSTRACTAvocado crop is very sensitive to root asphyxiation. Among the agricultural management techniques, soil applications of humic and sulfuric acids became increasingly popular. In a trial with potted 'Hass' avocado trees grown on a silty-clay soil, different soil treatments were applied to determine their effects on tree physiology and soil characteristics: Control, deionized water; SA, H2SO4 application; HA, humic acid application; SA+HA, combination of both treatments. Treatments were applied during a 9-month period. SA reduced soil pH, rised electrical conductivity and reduced saturated soil hydraulic conductivity (Ks) in the upper layers of the potted soil. On the other hand, HA increased electrical conductivity and Ks compared with Control. None of the treatments improved CO2 assimilation, stomatal conductance, stem water potential, chlorophyll fluorescence, growth or nutrient content. Our findings suggest that a rapid and positive response to the application of acids is unlikely to be observed under conditions of restricted oxygen in the root zone.