Artificial Manures Research Articles

Production Determinants of the Pearl Millet Cropping System in Uganda and Implications to Productivity

<p>Pearl millet is an important crop for people living in semi-arid areas in Uganda but not much is known about its production environment. A survey was conducted in eastern and northern regions of Uganda to characterise the pearl millet cropping system and to identify the most important production determinants. Using questionnaires, data was collected from 160 households through face-to-face interviews with the respondents. Results showed that pearl millet was mainly grown for food and source of income. The production environment was low input as farmers planted unimproved genotypes, used no artificial chemicals or manure, and had minimal access to financial credit and agricultural trainings or extension services. Planting was done in the second rains with no optimal use of important resources like family labour and seed due to seed broadcasting. Farmers desired genotypes with traits such as; stay green, being tall, high tillering, high yield, early maturity and being ergot resistant. The most important constraints were ergot and rust diseases susceptibility, low yield, low tillering, late maturity, sterile panicles, rodents, moulds/rotting and insect pests; while lack of market, low prices and price fluctuation were the important market constraints. Results further showed that farmers lacked knowledge about the common diseases like rust and ergot. The area planted, spouse age and years of pearl millet cultivation were the important factors enhancing production while age of household head, amount of seed planted and distance to the market negatively affected grain yield.</p>

Anaerobic Digestion: an Energy and Environemental

Methanisation makes it possible to cleanse the organic load since the fermentable matters that they contain are transformed into biogas. The treatment by anaerobic digestion of an effluent of breeding makes it possible to reduce its polluting load appreciably and thus also the risks of pollution when thrown in natural environment. Moreover, the biomethanisation, stabilizes the effluent by eliminating the harmful sanitary effects (pathogenic germs) and locative (nauseous odours) which constitutes an undeniable advantage. In the same way for purification stations mud and the household refuse, anaerobic digestion is mainly a technique which combines the advantage of the energy production to that of stabilization and also of artificial manure. Thus, let us use methanisation in order to degrade pollution, the odours and wastes. The application of methanisation allows the production of biogas from organic waste which remains an energy source that is not exploited in Algeria[1].

Pilot-Scale Evaluation of Select Nitrate Removal Technologies

Due to the extensive application of artificial nitrogen-based fertilizers and animal manure on land, many water agencies face problems of increasing concentrations of nitrate in groundwater. The contamination of groundwater by nitrate may pose a significant public health problem. The threat of methemoglobinemia is well documented and reflected in the US drinking water standard of 10 mg/L as nitrate-nitrogen. Approximately 45% of Saskatchewan's population use groundwater for drinking purposes, out of which, approximately 23% (230,000) are rural residents. The water used is made available from over 48,000 privately owned wells in regions where there is an extensive application of chemical fertilizers. Biological denitrification, ion exchange, and reverse osmosis (RO) processes were selected for a field study. Field studies were conducted on these processes. The sulfur/limestone autotrophic denitrification (SLAD) process was selected to achieve biological removal of nitrate from groundwater. The feasibility of the system was evaluated under anaerobic conditions. An ion exchange study was conducted using Ionac A554 which is a strong anion exchange resin. In the case of groundwater containing low sulfate concentrations, A554 offered high nitrate removal. However, the disposal of regenerant brine can be a problem. A reverse osmosis unit with Filmtec membrane elements (FT30-Element Family) was used in the study on nitrate removal. The unit effluent average nitrate concentration was less than the maximum allowable concentration.

Avaliação do nível de ruído causado por diferentes conjuntos mecanizados

O presente estudo busca avaliar e comparar os níveis de ruído durante uma operação agrícola, desde a fase de aragem do terreno, até a colheita, para que, assim, em situação real de trabalho no campo, sejam feitas as devidas análises dos riscos a que estão sujeitos os operadores de máquinas, durante todo o manejo de uma cultura. Para realização dos ensaios, foram utilizados: trator (73cv), arado e grade de discos, aplicador de calcáreo, pulverizador e colhedora, onde foram feitos testes com o trator, tracionando cada um dos implementos, em velocidade e operações diferentes, com o motor mantido na rotação de 1700 rpm. Para a colhedora, foram utilizadas, também, velocidades de avanço diferentes, avaliando-se o nível de ruído à esquerda e à direita do operador. Em relação às médias dos níveis de ruído, os valores se encontraram muito elevados, ultrapassando os limites estipulados, gerando grande desconforto ao operador. A colhedora apresentou maior desconforto ao operador, não apresentando diferença significativa entre a mesma, parada ou em movimento. Mesmo estando o trator e/ou colhedora parados, os mesmos apresentaram níveis de ruído bem superior, ao mínimo estipulado apresentando assim, risco não só a quem opera, como também a quem está próximo dos mesmos.

Use of Bagasse as a Feed Input to Semi‐Intensive Shrimp Growout Ponds

AbstractEfforts to reduce the cost of growout feeds for aquaculture have traditionally focused on the use of agricultural wastes as direct or indirect nutritional supplements to support semi‐intensive production levels. The merits of a low cost, sugar cane bagasse‐based feed for semi‐intensive production of Penaeus vannarnei were evaluated. Shrimp averaging 0.24 g each were stocked into 200 m2 earthen ponds at 20/m2 and cultured for a 12 week period. Two bagasse‐based feed treatments, a manure‐based treatment and a no‐feed input control, were compared in replicate ponds. One bagasse treatment (artificial manure) was designed to mimic manure and stimulate autotrophic and heterotrophic growth. The other bagasse treatment (bagasse alone plus inorganics) was designed to stimulate primarily autotrophic growth. Both bagasse treatments produced average growth rates of 0.78 g/wk, which were significantly greater than that of the manure treatment (0.57 g/wk). Lack of difference between the two bagasse treatments suggests that additional supplements used in making artificial manure probably were unnecessary to the nutrition of the shrimp. At harvest, bottom organics in the bagasse‐fed ponds were at least twice as great as manure‐fed ponds, and may have contributed to the lower survival associated with these treatments.

The influence of some pesticides, artificial manures and detergents on the chromosome aberrations in fish

The influence of some pesticides, artificial manures and detergents on the chromosome aberrations in fish

X-ray determination of brushite (CaHPO4 · 2H2O) suspended in the water of the Neckar River, west Germany

The results reported in the present paper are a by-product of a detailed study of the heavy metals (Zn, Pb, Cu, Cd, Co, Ni, Cr, Fe, Mn) carried by the Upper Neckar River, Germany. The purpose was to determine the pollution by industrial waste of the river waters (Abadian 1976). In order to elucidate the various mechanisms of heavy-metal transport in the river, the clay of the bottom sediments and that carried in suspension was analysed for the metals at a number of locations and subjected to X-ray diffraction for the determination of the clay minerals present. The bottom sediments consist of kaolinite, illite, random interstratification (of mica and expandable layers) and quartz. In some samples chlorite and calcite were detected as well. The mineral content of the suspended load was collected by pressure filtration on porous ceramic plates. The clay minerals determined by subjecting the plates plus filtered residue to X-ray diffraction were the same as in the sediments. In addition to the clay-mineral reflections, three of the samples obtained from suspension (locations 2, 3, and 5 in the map, Fig. 1) showed the strongest diffraction line of the mineral brushite, CaHPO4·2H2O, at 7.6 A. In one sample (location 2) three more lines of brushite were observed. The occurrence of brushite in the Neckar may be taken as a mineralogical indicator of the pollution of the river, because the following materials may be possible sources of the phosphate: artificial fertilizers, liquid manure, water softeners, detergents, and industrial waste waters.

Factors Affecting Parasitism of the Face Fly by Aphaereta pallipes in Laboratory Studies123

The biology of Aphaereta pallipes (Say), a braconid parasite of the face fly, Musca autumnalis De Geer, was studied with particular emphasis on ovipositional habits and factors affecting oviposition in the laboratory. Larval hosts were found to migrate into successively deeper layers of an artificial manure pile as time progressed. This habit influences contact with hymenopterous parasites. The parasites oviposited in all 3 instars of face fly larvae but showed a definite preference for the 1st and 2nd instars. Ovipositing females were evidently unable to place eggs normally in the haemocoel of older larvae, for the number of eggs found just under the cuticle of the host increased as the host age during exposure increased. Parasites developing to the adult stage were fewer in larval attacked in the 3rd instar than those attacked in the 1st and 2nd instars. A greater number of eggs of the parasite were found in larval hosts when Sphaeridium scarabadcoides (L.) beetles were present.

SUSCEPTIBILITY OF PERENNIAL RYEGRASS TO BLIND SEED DISEASE (GLOEOTINIA TEMULENTA)

A series of six trials with eight strains of perennial ryegrass at two levels of manuring has now been completed. Results indicate that a moderate application of artificial manures gives a high degree of control over Gloeotinia temulenta infection. The degree of infection may be influenced by climatic conditions. Each strain has a definite inherent susceptibility or resistance to the disease. The most resistant strains are the commercial strains Irish Commercial and Devon Eaver; S24 is the most susceptible, followed by New Zealand Certified Mother Seed.

The Role of Organic Manures and Inorganic Fertilisers in Soil Fertility

In old-time agriculture the only method of increasing soil fertility and crop yields was by stirring the soil with manual labour, to produce a pulverised condition of the soil. It was observed by experience that a similar increase in crop yield could be obtained by the application of cattle dung. Cattle manure was the earliest ingredient known to increase the productive capacity of soil. Subsequently other plant and animal materials were known to have a similar property. During the earlier period when the science of plant nutrition had not developed so much as now, the function of manures was considered to be merely supplying humus, which could be taken up by the plants directly for their growth. This humus theory of plant nutrition held the field for a long time and retarded the progress, in the fields of both plant physiology and agriculture. It was by the work of Liebig in Germany, his contemporaries Boussingault in France and Lawes in England, that the humus theory of plant nutrition was replaced by the "mineral" theory. These epoch-making discoveries laid the foundation of agricultural science in general and agricultural chemistry in particular. Liebig stated that plants could take up nutrients in mineral and soluble form. Insoluble substances should be converted into a soluble form to be assimilable by plants. An artificial manure known as Liebig's patent manure was prepared by him and put in the market. This manure failed, because it contained only alkalies (potassium) phosphates and sulphates There was no nitrogen in it, because Liebig considered that it was not needed, as he thought that plants could assimilate nitrogen in the form of ammonia from the atmosphere through the leaves. Lawes, on testing the recommendations of Liebig found them to be erroneous. The mineral theory was in turn criticised by others. There was nothing wrong with the theory, but there were two pitfalls: i. e., (i) omission of nitrogen and (ii) conversion of soluble potash and phosphorus compounds into an insoluble state by fusion with lime to prevent them from being leached out with drainage water.

The ecology of Erysiphe graminis DC.

Summary A strain of Erysiphe graminis which attacks oats in the west of Scotland has been mainly used in the present investigation. Conidia germinate much better in a saturated atmosphere than they do in water. Germination is low at 90 % r.h. and apparently does not take place at lower values of r.h. Spores of Cladosporium herbarum which accompany those of Erysiphe graminis will grow and fruit in water and at humidities down to 76 %, but not lower. Climatic correlations suggest that the severity of the disease in the field is related to the degree of saturation of the atmosphere. Regional and field studies support this view. Severity of the disease appears to owe much more to the inorganic nutrition than to the gross composition of the host. Practical control of the disease in the west of Scotland lies in the avoidance of excess nitrogen and potassium in the soil, the correction of any deficiency of phosphate, and the avoidance of heavy and frequent application of artificial manures.

Utilization of Plant Residues for the Production of Artificial Manures1

Utilization of Plant Residues for the Production of Artificial Manures¹

Artificial Manures

Artificial Manures

Artificial Manures

Artificial Manures

The influence of fallowing on the yield of Wheat or barley on very exhausted Land

The influence of two years of bare fallow on the fertility of light land exhausted by continuous cropping with wheat or barley for fifty years has been very great, the immediate result being an increase in the crop of wheat by 50% and of barley by 140% over the average yield of the unmanured plots for the ten years before the fallow was taken. A repetition of the fallow after a further period of five years of continuous cropping without manure gave a very similar result.Whatever had been the treatment of the land during the fifty years before the fallowing, the yield produced as a result of the bare fallow fell off very rapidly in the succeeding years, when no further manuring was given. In fact, after the first two or, at most, three years the crop, of grain went much lower than it had been before any fallowing had taken place. This falling off in yield was almost equally felt on plots which had been treated with artificial manures during the preceding fifty years as on those which had been unmanured throughout.

PREPARATION OF SYNTHETIC COMPOSTS FOR MUSHROOM CULTURE

Horse manure and its straw bedding is the standard medium in commercial mushroom culture today. Since horse manure has become scarce and increasingly costly in our automobile age, attempts have been made to find substitutes during the past twelve years. In order to produce an economical and competitive manure'' or it is necessary to use other wastes, especially industrial and agricultural byproducts. The method of preparing synthetic composts described in this paper has been tested over a period of five years ; several thousand tons have been prepared, and the yield has been as good as or better than that from horse manure composts. The history of manures'' began in 1923 when Richards and Hutchinson (5) patented a method for preparing fertilizers'' from straw and inorganic nitrogen. In a later patent (6) phosphates also were included. The gist of their method is that 3.6 lb. of nitrogen, preferably in a soluble form, should be added to 500 lb. of straw ; larger quantities of nitrogen produced a high alkalinity which checked the decomposition of the straw and caused a loss of nitrogen. In 1930, Lambert (3) and Hein (2) attempted to use this method for preparing a compost for mushroom culture. The yield of mushrooms they obtained from such composts was less than one-half of the yield from horse manure composts. Their investigation demonstrated that normal mushrooms could be produced from an artificial manure even though the yield was unsatisfactory. Later Waksman and Reneger (15) prepared synthetic composts by adding alfalfa and ammonium phosphate to straw. Their aim in this use of alfalfa was to facilitate the decomposition of the straw by adding to it a i i green material ' ' with a high moisture content. The yield of this compost was 70 per cent, of that of a manure compost. They also prepared composts of tobacco stems and straw; the yields of these were variable. Recently Sinden (7) prepared synthetic composts consisting of wheat straw, urea, and wheat. Urea was selected as a source of nitrogen in preference to other compounds because it left no inorganic residue. The wheat was added to help retain the heating capacity of the compost. The best yields he obtained with such composts were about two-thirds of the yields with manure composts, per square foot of bed surface. This brief review of the attempts to prepare synthetic composts for mushroom culture shows that only nitrogen has been considered significant, so 1 This paper is a contribution of the-L. F. Lambert Eesearch Laboratory, Coatesville, Pennsylvania.

Manuring successive crops of rice with ammonium sulphate and super phosphate

In the Tanjore delta which has nearly a million acres unuer irrigated rice, the rice growers are in the habit of applying ammonium sulphate to their rice crop without the addition of any organic matter. This was particularly so during the post war boom period of 1919-1929, when paddy was selling at Rs 3 to Rs. 3-12-0 a kalam of 64 lb. Later on there were complaints that the yields of rice crop declined in fields that received ammonium sulphate. Invariably such statements were made by persons who applied a bag (80 lb.) of ammonium sulphate to one crop and stopped applying it to the following crop. It might be that the reduction in yield was the result of discontinuance of manuring. There was also no experimental evidence to declare that continued application of an artificial manure like ammonium sulphate really brought down the yield of rice. With a view to find out the effect of continued applications of ammonium. sulphate on the rice crop, the following experiment was designed and con- ducted at the Agricultural Research Station, Aduturai in the Tanjore district for a period of five years from 1935-36 to 1940-41.

Land Settlement

A LECTURE, held under the Bossom Gift by the Chadwick Trustees, was given on November 10 by Miss Jocelyn F. Adburgham on “Land Settlement-Its Sanitary and Architectural Aspects and After-War Possibilities”. The land being the platform on which any country's development, civilization and prosperity is supported, it is vital for the well-being of man that it should not be neglected or extravagantly exploited. That it will not tolerate a policy of taking without giving is patent from the realization of such facts as that the deserts of Libya were once the granaries of Rome ; the hills of the Dalmatian coastal zone, now rugged and bleached, were once clothed with forests that were famous; and that in present times, California's fruit growing area has had to absorb some 70,000 refugees seeking resettlement from America's Middle West. Mass cultivation, factory farming, continual cropping, unscientific afforestation, squandering of water supplies, artificial manures and commercial progress can be held responsible for much. The remedy for abuse of the land and resulting degradation of the population is to be found in land settlement. This, too, provides an answer to the problem of extending cultivable areas in under-developed territory and in regions blighted by war.

The Rothamsted Field Experiments on the Growth of Wheat

IT is perhaps fortunate that the approaching centenary of the Broadbalk experiment at Rothamsted has stimulated the publication of a detailed report on wheat studies carried out there, at a time when interest is growing rapidly in the question of the relative merits of farmyard and artificial manures. The Broadbalk experiment in particular has continued over a period sufficiently long to detect any progressive deterioration in the crop, resulting from the continuous use of artificial fertilizers. The present report1 is of particular interest, since it includes not only the continuous wheat experiments themselves, but also a comparison with a variety of rotation experiments and with ordinary farming methods at a variety of stations.

On the value of various chemical substances as a means of destroying infective larvae of horse Sclerostomes in the field

From time to time attempts have been made to control the spread of sclerostome larvae by treating the manure before use on the pastures or by mechanical means such as ploughing the land to bury the larvae. Various chemicals have been used, including artificial manures and animal waste products. Lucker (1936) buried larvae at varying depths in soils of different quality and measured the percentage that appeared on the surface during periods up to six weeks. Clay soils were almost a complete barrier to vertical migration whereas sandy soils and coarse sand permitted migration, during a period of 3–8 weeks, of appreciable numbers when buried 1–6 inches. He suggests from this evidence that ploughing the land would bury the larvae and therefore reduce the number of infective larvae available to the stock. It would seem to the writer, however, that there is a fallacy in this argument. Ploughing the land would turn the soil over but, even if a plough press were used, many fissures would be left which might form an easier channel for migration to the surface. Infective larvae readily accomplish horizontal migration and the possibility of lateral migration along the overturned turf and up the fissures must not be overlooked. The action of frost and the presence of roots in the overturned sod would possibly be other factors in encouraging vertical migration, not to mention the subsequent preparation of the land required before seeding down again for permanent pasture.