Fertilizer Consumption Research Articles

When pesticide reduction objectives meet business as usual: Possible impacts on the crop sector in Latvia

The European Union (EU) has set forth ambitious political objectives aimed at mitigating the adverse impacts of agriculture on climate, environment, and human health. Among the measures which are expected to help reach the goals, an important objective is significant reduction of pesticide usage, as outlined in the EU’s ”From Farm to Fork” strategy. This study seeks to assess the potential financial implications of the reduction of pesticide use, focusing on the major crops cultivated in Latvia. Scenario simulations have been conducted to examine the consequences of pesticide usage intensity on profitability, yields, and consumption of fertilisers. The evaluation encompasses winter and spring wheat, along with winter rapeseed, which account for 80% of the total pesticide usage in Latvia. It is assumed that farmers continue to produce the same crops, using their current level of knowledge and adjusting production technology to the reduced pesticides application rates. The analysis leads to the conclusion that in order to attain a reduction in pesticide use by 61% from the 2021 level (or 53% from the 2015–2017 level), the application rate of pesticides needs to be limited to 0.78 kg ha −1 of active substance for conventionally produced winter and spring wheat as well as winter rapeseed, and in addition to that the area used for these crops should be reduced by 33% (replaced with organic production). However, if the market prices of crops, the amount of public support and production costs do not change, the financial implications for the agricultural sector could be severe — yearly farm profit in the analysed sector could decrease by 41% or by EUR 130 mln.

A dynamic linkage between greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and agricultural productivity: evidence from Ethiopia

The consequences of greenhouse gas emissions are a global problem and are felt most clearly in poor countries. Every sector in Ethiopia is affected by greenhouse gas emissions, but the productivity of the agricultural sector is particularly at risk. Although climate change is a long-term phenomenon, no in-depth macro-level studies have been conducted to guide discussion in this area. Therefore, the study fills this gap and carefully examines these impacts over time from 2019 to 2022 using the Vector Auto Regressive Model. Our results show that a 1% increase in fertilizer consumption, agricultural land, nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, rural population, and area devoted to grain production results in a 0.28, 2.09, 15.92, 5.33, and 1.31 percent increase in agricultural yield in the long-run, respectively. A negative relationship was found between agricultural employment, agricultural methane emissions (CH4), carbon dioxide emissions (CO2), and agricultural productivity with a significance level of 5%. This means that under a black box condition, a one percent increase in agricultural employment, CH4, and CO2emissions in the country in the long run will lead to a decrease in agricultural productivity by 5.82, 17.11, and 2.75 percent respectively, as we also found that all regressors except technology adoption had an elastic relationship with agricultural productivity. The short-term error correction estimates show that the coefficient of the “speed of adjustment” term for the expected productivity equation is both statistically significant and negative. The value of the coefficient term of −0.744 shows that an adjustment of 74.4% is made each year to converge the long-run equilibrium level. Therefore, Ethiopia needs to take measures that keep the economy away from sectors that produce a lot of carbon. These must be coordinated at a global level to achieve social change towards a fair and environmentally sustainable future and to increase agricultural productivity.

Design, fabrication and evaluation of a robot for plant nutrient monitoring in greenhouse (case study: Iron nutrient in spinach)

The regulation of nutrients intake in plant life is a critical factor in preserving the quality of crops, enhancing yield rates, and minimizing the fertilizer consumption. Consequently, this research presents the design of an intelligent robot for real-time monitoring of plant nutrients within greenhouse environments. The robot’s ability to detect and address iron deficiency in spinach plants was evaluated. To achieve this, the robot, equipped with a camera, captured visible imaging from surface of spinach plants including both the control group and the group subjected to iron deficiency stress. Statistical analysis of the data was performed at the probability level of 5 %, and genetic algorithm (GA) was utilized to select the most suitable features (G, Area, Energy, Entropy, R and L), from 41 extracted image parameters, including color, morphological, and texture features. An artificial neural network (ANN) was then employed to detect iron deficiency in plants, resulting in an accuracy of 96 %. Subsequently, the Gaussian kernel function of support vector regression (SVR) algorithm was used to predict spinach iron content, yielding the highest determination coefficient (R2 = 0.94) and the lowest values of mean absolute percentage error (MAPE = 5.92), root mean square error (RMSE = 0.43) and standard regression error (SRE = 2.66). The designed robot detected iron-deficient plants with precision, sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 86 %, 82 %, 84 % and 83 %, respectively. The robot then took the necessary control actions to supply the deficiency of this nutrient by foliar spraying of more than 89 % of the crop area.

Humic acid application on soil stability indices and enzyme activity at different bell pepper water requirements

Use of organic materials helps in reducing the consumption of chemical fertilizers, contributing to the sustainability of agricultural ecosystems. Humic acid can improve soil structure, especially in soils with low clay content, aiding in water retention and enhancing water absorption by plants. This characteristic has led to the attention of humic acid application in drought stress, particularly in arid soil regions. The present study aimed to investigate the simultaneous effects of humic acid and plant water requirements on the physical and biological properties of soil under bell pepper cultivation. The factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized block design with three levels of humic acid: 0 (HA0), 2 (HA2), and 4 (HA4) g/Kg of soil and four levels of plant water requirements: 60 (L60), 80 (L80), 100 (L100), and 120 % (L120), with four replications under greenhouse conditions. Bell pepper seedlings were transferred to 10 Kg pots after applying humic acid treatments and after the establishing of seedlings, plant water requirement treatments were applied for 80 days. During this period, plants were maintained at a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius during the day, 18 degrees Celsius at night, and a relative humidity of 75%, with a carbon dioxide concentration of 80 milligrams per liter. The results of this study showed that treatments L80HA4, L100HA4, and L120HA4 had the most significant impact on improving soil physical properties, such as normal stability index, total soil stability index, mean weight diameter of soil particles, soil particle stability, geometric mean diameter of soil particles, and reduction in soil particle destruction percentage. The highest values of wet and dry weight diameter of soil particles were observed in treatment L100HA4, which were 42.92%, 74%, and 67.01% higher, respectively, compared to the control (L60HA0). In contrast, the highest percentage of soil particle destruction was observed in treatment L60HA0, showing a 32.90% increase compared to treatment L100HA4. Furthermore, the best performance of bell pepper yield was observed in treatments L80HA4, L100H4, and L120HA4, although the differences between treatments were not statistically significant. The application of humic acid, in addition to improving bell pepper yield, increased water use efficiency and reduced water use. The lowest yield (3283 Kg/ha) and the lowest water consumption (3584 cubic meters/ha) were observed in treatments L60HA0 and L60HA4, respectively. Additionally, the results showed that the highest water use efficiency observed in L80HA4 treatment (7.45 Kg/m³), while the lowest was in L60HA0 treatment (0.80 Kg/m³). Moreover, humic acid significantly influenced the activity of soil enzymes, including soil phosphatase and urease. With more application of humic acid, soil moisture retention, microbial biomass carbon, urease, phosphatases activities increased. However, in treatments with full water requirements and 20 percent more than plant water requirements, enzyme activities decreased.

Typology of Tomato Cropping Systems and Determinants of Preharvest Losses in Western Cameroon.

Preharvest losses, which are often neglected, limit the availability of fresh tomato fruit to varying degrees in tomato-based cropping systems in Cameroon. Increasing tomato yields requires identifying, understanding, and controlling the factors responsible for preharvest losses in the identified cropping systems. Field surveys were conducted in three production areas of western Cameroon (Foumbot, Bansoa, and Dschang) to characterize cropping systems and growers, quantify production losses, and identify causal factors associated with losses and proffer solutions. One hundred and ninety-six growers were interviewed in 13 villages, using purposive sampling to select zones and simple random sampling to select growers. Factor analysis for mixed data (FAMD) and canonical discriminant analysis, combined with multinomial logistic regression, were used to analyze the collected data. The FAMD results indicated that 72% of the farm variability was expressed through technical route, preharvest losses, and technical mastery. The tomato-based cropping systems were classified into three types: (1) a pure cultivation system that consumes excessive synthetic fertilizers and results in significant losses; (2) a pure cultivation system that consumes high amounts of synthetic fertilizers and moderate amounts of organic fertilizers with moderate losses; and (3) a cultivation system that involves moderate synthetic fertilizer consumption, extremely low organic amendment, and low losses. Preharvest losses can be significantly affected by the unregulated use of synthetic fertilizers. The study's implications are many, affecting agricultural practices, policy, economic stability, and food security in Cameroon. A more sustainable and productive tomato industry can be achieved by addressing preharvest losses through informed strategies. To address this issue, it is crucial to establish fertilization protocols that consider the soil's fertility status and the tomato's essential macro- and micronutrient requirements.

The influence of a complex of amino acids of plant origin with microelements on the yield and quality of apple trees

The article is devoted to the study of the influence of a complex of amino acids of plant origin with microelements on the yield and quality of the Lobo apple tree in 2019-2020. In our studies, we studied the effect of a complex of amino acids of plant origin with microelements in three doses of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 l/ha on the main factors of plant development to obtain a high-quality yield. We have found that during the growing seasons 2019–2020. When assessing the effect of two-time foliar feeding of apple trees of the Lobo variety with amino acids of plant origin + microelements, a positive effect of the fertilizer was found, most manifested at a fertilizer consumption of 1.5 l/ha and a working solution of 800 l/ha. Thus, the use of an agrochemical contributed to the development of generative productivity of plants: an increase in yield in 2019 by 13.9%, by 14.5% in 2020, the average weight of one fruit - by 12.1% in 2019, by 16.4% in 2020, fruit set - in 2019 by 0.4%, in 2020 by 0.6%, as well as in improving the biochemical parameters of the fruit. The vitamin C content in 2019 in this variant was 11.8%, in 2020 – 10.4%.

Sustainable agriculture in Indonesia: assessing the impact of fertiliser consumption on crop production and CO<SUB align="right">2 emissions

Sustainable agriculture in Indonesia: assessing the impact of fertiliser consumption on crop production and CO<SUB align="right">2 emissions

Assessing the Effects of Whey Hydrogel on Nutrient Stability in Soil and Yield of Leucosinapis alba and Hordeum vulgare

Agriculture and related crop production are highly dependent on climate and economic factors, and agricultural intensification is associated with a dramatic increase in the consumption of fertilizers. A significant amount of the elements from the most commonly used fertilizers is degraded and lost due to climatic and environmental factors. The soil application of novel whey-based hydrogel represents an innovative approach toward efficient fertilizing and soil water balance that resonates with the concepts of sustainable agriculture and circular economy of waste products. Results of previous research show the positive effect of whey-based hydrogel on water retention after the various levels of hydrogel have been applied into artificial soil. With a view to verifying the effect of the whey hydrogel on soil quality and related crop cultivation in real conditions, the pot experiment compared two different doses of whey hydrogel with control soil, with the conventional NPK treatment of soil and with a mixing strategy combining the conventional NPK treatment with hydrogel application. The controlled pot experiment was conducted with haplic Cambisol, with white mustard (Leucosinapis alba) and spring barley (Hordeum vulgare) as the testing crops. Soil pH, organic carbon (C), total nitrogen (N), available forms of the essential macronutrients (P, K, Ca, and Mg), and the cation exchange capacity (CEC) were determined in Cambisol samples before and after the experiment. The crop yields of barley and mustard were compared among the various treatments of experimental soils. Results demonstrated that the amendment of whey-based hydrogel increased the bioavailable nutrients’ concentrations, which persisted even after the harvest. The nutritional quick boost after the whey-based (co)-application significantly increased the experimental crop yield.

Agricultural eco-efficiency and water footprint- A case study of fifteen crops in the Chupaca province of Peru

The water footprint is an indicator of the impact of water use from its formation to its final destination. Agricultural eco-efficiency measures the efficient use of resources or materials available for crop production. Water's economic productivity analyses a product's efficient value as per its water supply and commercial value. The present research aimed to determine and relate the water footprint, economic productivity of water and agricultural eco-efficiency of 15 crops in the province of Chupaca - Peru. Georeferencing material was used for the delimitation of agricultural species, CROPWAT 8.0, CLIMWAT8.0, ArcGis 10.5 software, mathematical equations for the water footprint, agricultural eco-efficiency (Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)) and economic productivity of water. The Total water footprint (TWF) of the fifteen crops was 1718237.01 m3/ton, likewise the BlueWF > GreenWF > GreyWF. In their economic outputs, gross value of production (GVP) > agricultural production (Ag-p) > economic rent agricultural (ERA) was verified. In environmental costs, water consumption that meets the needs of crops (Wc-Ag) > consumption of phytosanitary products (C-fly) > fertilizer consumption (C-fe) was determined. The average Agricultural eco-efficiency (Ag-Eec) and Economic water productivity (Ewp) were 89.8% and 0.046 PEN/m3 respectively. Statistical analysis between Ewp and Ag-Eec was rho = 0.18, t-test = 0.66 < 2.16 (α = 0.05; bilateral), and the correlation indicated that both activities are independent. The environmental costs and economic outputs of agricultural eco-efficiency did not influence the economic value of water.

What Affects Crop Production in Pakistan: The Role of Agriculture Employment, Machinery and Fertilizer Consumption

Labor abundant or under developing economies normally rely on their agriculture sector. The performance of agriculture sector depends on the production of cropping, livestock, fishery, and forestry sectors. The contribution of both cropping and livestock sectors in the agriculture production is almost 96.42 percent while the cropping sector contributes almost 33.85 percent during the fiscal year 20-2021 [Pakistan Economic Survey, 2020-2021]. The focus of this study is to investigate the factors which may influence the performance of crop production in Pakistan. For this purpose, bounds testing approach for the sample period from 1976 to 2022 is considered. The empirical results reveal that employment in agriculture sector, agriculture machinery, fertilizer consumption and urban population significantly boost the pace of crop production while the role of raw material imports is witnessed to be insignificant. The above reported results proposes that utilization of latest agriculture machinery, advanced fertilizers and high employability in agriculture sector may be encouraged to uplift the share of cropping sector in agriculture production in Pakistan.

Projecting global fertilizer consumption under shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP) scenarios using an approach of ensemble machine learning

Comprehensively projecting global fertilizer consumption is essential for providing critical datasets in related fields such as earth system simulation, the fertilizer industry, and agricultural sciences. However, since previous studies have not fully considered the socioeconomic factors affecting fertilizer consumption, huge uncertainties may remain in fertilizer consumption projections. Here, an approach ensembled six machine learning algorithms was proposed in this study to predict global fertilizer consumption from 2020 to 2100 by considering the impact of socioeconomic factors under shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP) scenarios. It indicates that the proposed approach provides a rational and reliable framework for fertilizer consumption prediction that stably outperforms the single algorithms with relatively high accuracy (Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency of 0.93, Kling-Gupta efficiency of 0.89, and mean absolute percentage error of 10.97 %). We found that global N and P fertilizer consumption may decrease from 2020 to 2100, while K fertilizer may buck the trend. N fertilizer consumption showed a declining trend of −1 %, −17.13 %, and −3.43 % under the SSP1, SSP2, and SSP3 scenarios in 2100, respectively. For P fertilizer, those were −0.68 %, −9.68 %, and −2.03 %. In contrast, global K fertilizer consumption may increase by 18.03 %, 9.18 %, and 6.74 %, respectively. On average, N, P, and K fertilizer consumption is highest in China, and the lowest is in Kazakhstan. However, the hotspots of N fertilizer consumption may shift from China to Latin America and the Caribbean. This study highlighted the ensemble machine learning approach could potentially be a robust method for predicting future fertilizer consumption. Our prediction product will not only contribute to a better understanding of global fertilizer consumption trends and dynamics but also provide flexible and accurate key data/parameters for related research. The Projected Global Fertilizers Consumption Datasets are available at doi:https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8195593 (Gao et al., 2023).

Optimized NPK fertilizer recommendations based on topsoil available nutrient criteria for wheat in drylands of China

The optimized management of crop fertilization is very important for improving crop yield and reducing the consumption of chemical fertilizers. Critical nutrient values can be used for evaluating the nutritional status of a crop, and they reflect the nutrient concentrations above which the plant is sufficiently supplied for achieving the maximum potential yield. Based on on-farm surveys of 504 farmers and 60 field experimental sites in the drylands of China, we proposed a recommended fertilization method to determine nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) fertilizer input rates for wheat production, and then validated the method by a field experiment at 66 different sites in northern China. The results showed that wheat grain yield varied from 1.1 to 9.2 t ha−1, averaging 4.6 t ha−1, and it had a quadratic relationship with the topsoil (0−20 cm) nitrate N and soil available P contents at harvest. However, yield was not correlated with the inputs of N, P, and K fertilizers. Based on the relationship (exponential decay model) between 95–105% of the relative yield and topsoil nitrate N, available P, and available K contents at wheat harvest from 60 field experiments, the topsoil critical nutrient values were determined as 34.6, 15.6, and 150 mg kg−1 for soil nitrate N, available P, and available K, respectively. Then, based on five groups of relative yield (>125%, 115–125%, 105–115%, 95–105%, and <95%) and the model, the five groups of topsoil critical nutrient levels and fertilization coefficients (Fc) were determined. Finally, we proposed a new method for calculating the recommended fertilizer input rate as: Fr=Gy×Nr×Fc, where Fr is the recommended fertilizer (N/P/K) input rate; Gy is the potential grain yield; Nr is the N(NrN), P(NrP), and K(NrK) nutrient requirements for wheat to produce 1,000 kg of grain; and Fc is a coefficient for N(Nc)/P(Pc)/K(Kc) fertilizer. A 2-year validated experiment confirmed that the new method reduced N fertilizer input by 17.5% (38.5 kg N ha−1) and P fertilizer input by 43.5% (57.5 kg P2O5 ha−1) in northern China and did not reduce the wheat yield. This outcome can significantly increase the farmers’ benefits (by 7.58%, or 139 US$ ha−1). Therefore, this new recommended fertilization method can be used as a tool to guide N, P, and K fertilizer application rates for dryland wheat production.

Estimating the Sustainable Efficiency and Economic Efficiency of Vegetable Crop Growers in Baghdad Governorate

The research aims to measure the sustainability value and efficiency of sustainable for vegetable crops in the Baghdad governorate. Additionally, it aims to assess the economic efficiency for the agricultural season of 2022-2023. The research sample includes 182 farmers from the studied province, analyzed using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method. The explanatory variables for sustainability value include factors such as cultivated area, working hours, capital excluding land rent, household consumption of vegetable crops, fuel, and nitrogen fertilizer. The dependent variable is agricultural production value. The variables for sustainable efficiency encompass cultivated area, seed quantity, fertilizer quantity, pesticide quantity, number of workers, and irrigation frequency. The results indicate that there is a sustainable value for the utilized resources, reaching approximately 1.6. Moreover, the sustainability efficiency reaches about (1.2). This implies that despite resource wastage, farmers have positive and satisfactory productivity. However, the average economic efficiency is around 70.81%, revealing that vegetable crop farmers in Baghdad’s province have not achieved full economic efficiency of 100%. There is a notable variation in achieving these levels, necessitating changes in the utilization of production inputs to enhance productivity. The research recommends that farmers should redistribute resources to minimize waste, aiming to reach the optimal combination that maximizes profits while minimizing costs. This could be achieved by seeking guidance from experienced farmers and experts or by providing training on modern technology usage and mechanization of production resources. Furthermore, the research suggests the importance of conducting further studies on cost-return variation and resource utilization to evaluate sustainability.

Effects of Fertilizer Application Patterns on Foxtail Millet Root Morphological Construction and Yield Formation during the Reproductive Stage in the Loess Plateau of China

With crop yields continually increasing, chemical fertilizer consumption in China is increasing in parallel. The excessive use of synthetic fertilizer can lead to soil compaction, acidification, and degeneration, which can all be mitigated through additional organic manure application. The combined application of organic manure and inorganic fertilizer plays crucial roles in the root morphology and yield formation of dryland crops. In this study, foxtail millet (Chang Sheng 07) was used as the experimental material and sown in a dry farming area with five different fertilizing patterns, which were composed of chemical N, P, organic manure, and microbial manure. These patterns included a single application of 45 kg·ha−1 of nitrogen fertilizer as the control (N45), the combined application of 60 kg·ha−1 of nitrogen fertilizer with 30 kg·ha−1 of phosphorus fertilizer (N60P30), the combined application of 90 kg·ha−1 of nitrogen fertilizer with 45 kg·ha−1 of phosphorus fertilizer (N90P45), 60 kg·ha−1 of nitrogen fertilizer and 40 kg·ha−1 of phosphorus fertilizer with 2000 kg·ha−1 of organic manure (N60P40-O), and 60 kg·ha−1 of nitrogen fertilizer and 40 kg·ha−1 of phosphorus fertilizer with 5 kg·ha−1 of microbial manure (N60P40-M). Each treatment was performed with four repeats. The results show that (1) the different fertilization patterns had significant effects on the morphological construction of foxtail millet roots, and the root length (RL) with N60P40–O underwent a significant increase of 88.23% and 61.59% in the two stages, respectively, (2) as confirmed by the correlation analysis, the root surface area (RSA) was positively correlated with the RL and root volume (RV), (3) the yields with N90P45 and N60P30 exhibited a significant increase of 54.43% and 59.86%, and those with N60P40–O and N60P40–M stably increased by 13.12–24.11% compared to those with N45, and (4) the water use efficiency (WUE) of foxtail millet under the N60P30 and N90P45 patterns significantly increased by 33.40–62.39%, while that under the N60P40–O and N60P40–M patterns increased by 12.89–29.20%. In summary, the application of additional organic matter and microbial manure promoted the morphological construction of foxtail millet roots, led to better stability in grain production, and is an ecofriendly option in terms of sustainable land use.

Estimation of Background Radiation from A Soil Sample from A Barley Farm Area and Malt Factory in East Arsi, Ethiopia

The aim of this work is to estimate the background radiation of a soil sample from the barley farm area and Malt factory in East Arsi, Ethiopia. The technique of gamma-ray spectrometry with a high-purity germanium (HPGe) gamma-ray detector and a PC-based MCA was used. The activity concentration levels due to 40K, 137Cs, 238U, and 232Th were measured within the study area at a depth of 30 cm. The soils of the study region are used as construction material by many farmers. The measured specific activity of those radionuclides was compared with the data reported worldwide. The specific activity of radionuclides was estimated in both study locations. The specific activity 238U of soil samples ranged from 41.0 Bq kg-1 to 30.7 Bq kg-1 in the barley farm, with a mean value of 37.7 Bq kg-1, and for malt ranged from 23.8 Bq kg-1 to 40.6 Bq kg-1, with a mean value of 32.5 Bq kg-1. The specific activity of 232Th in soil samples ranged from 89.9 Bq kg-1 to 156.0 Bq kg-1, with a mean value of 118.6 Bq kg-1, whereas for the Malt factory ranged from 121.0 Bq kg-1 to 128.0 Bq kg-1, with a mean value of 123.7 Bq kg-1. In barley soil samples, the specific activity of 40K ranged from 401.0 Bq kg-1 to 530.0 Bq kg-1 with a mean value at the Malt plant ranged from 518 Bq kg-1 to 598.0 Bq kg-1, with a mean value of 553.6 Bq kg-1. Similarly, the specific activity of 137Cs was determined in both the barley farm and the malt Factory. In barley farm soil samples, it ranged from 3.3 ±0.6 Bq kg-1 to 5.34±0.6 Bq kg-1, and with a mean value of 4.3 Bq kg-1 whereas, in the Malt factory it varied from 3.1 ±0.7 Bq kg-1 to 5.3 ±0.7 Bq kg-1, and with a mean value of 4.5 Bq kg-1. The absorbed dose rate within the barley farm ranged from 24.6 ±2.9 nGyh-1 to 34.1 ±2.9 nGy h-1, and with a mean value of 30.6 nGyh-1, whereas, in the Malt factory, it varied from 31.3 ±1.3 nGy h-1 to 35.5 ±1.3 nGyh-1, and with a mean value of 33.5 nGy h-1. The annual effective radiation dose for BSS and MFSS was calculated to be 37.6 mSv y-1and 41.1mSv y-1. This study revealed that this region lies within a medium radiation background when compared with the world's average. The marginal value of dose is higher within the Malt factory area because of fertilizer consumption for cultivation. Since these estimated background and radiological impact factors are below the recommended values, it seems that there is no potential radiological health hazard related to the soils from both BSS and MFSS in Arsi Asella, Oromia, Ethiopia.

Soil health card relationship with the fertilizer consumption in Telangana

Soil health card relationship with the fertilizer consumption in Telangana

Waste sulfur from biogas desulphurization: a supplement of Brassica napus L. nutrition

The content of sulfur in soils has been declining. Possible option to supply sulfur into the soil can be utilization of waste sulfur from biogas production. Two pot experiments with identical treatments were established to examine the effect of waste sulfur from biogas plant applied solely and in mixture with other nutrients on the growth and yield of oilseed rape. The included treatments were control, waste elemental sulfur (S), S + boron (B), S + B + humic substances (HS), S + B + HS + ammonium sulfate (AS), S + B + HS + ammonium nitrate (AN). The results from the first experiment showed significant increase in N-tester values and aboveground biomass after the treatments with S enhanced with both mineral fertilizers compared to any other treatments. The content of N and S in plants was also higher after these treatments. This was confirmed by second experiment. The seed yield was highest after the same treatments. The result from both experiments proved, that reutilization of waste S can be an interesting option. The application of sole waste S is a viable possibility. However, the mixture of sulfur with AS and AN is a more optimal alternative. Such combination could lead to better N use efficiency due to the co-application of N and S and also presents an interesting compromise to an overall lower consumption of mineral fertilizers (especially N) while adding more sulfur to the soil, especially in mixture with AS. This treatment resulted in the highest seed yield and production of oil in comparison with any other treatment.

Environmental implications of phosphate-based fertilizer industrial waste and its management practices.

During the green revolution in the mid-twentieth century, the consumption of inorganic phosphorous and phosphate-based fertilizers (P-fertilizers) in the developing world skyrocketed, resulting in a proliferation of P-fertilizer industries. Phosphate-based fertilizer industries are ranked among the most environment-polluting industries. The worldwide phosphorus market, which was 68.5 million metric tons in 2020, is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.5% to 81 million metric tons by 2027. The release of untreated hazardous pollutants from these fertilizer industries into the soil, water, and atmosphere has resulted in severe environmental health issues. Excessive surface runoff of phosphorus from agricultural fields and its deposition in water promote the growth of algae and macrophytes and lower dissolved oxygen concentration through eutrophication, which is detrimental to aquatic life. Fluorides (F-) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) and/or heavy metals (potentially toxic elements, PTEs) are also detected in the emissions from these fertilizer industries. The main solid waste generated from the phospho-gypsum plant produced up to 5 tons of di-hydrogen phosphate (H2PO4), including PTEs and radioactive substances. Phosphates and fluorenes from these industries are usually disposed of as sludge in storage ponds or trash piles. Humans inhaling poisonous gases released from the P-fertilizer industries can develop hepatic failure, autoimmune diseases, pulmonary disorders, and other health problems. The objectives of this review are to provide guidelines for eliminating the bottleneck pollutions that occur from the phosphate-based fertilizer industries and explore the management practices for its green development.

Analysis of the Consequences of Agricultural Policies on the Cropping Pattern of Agricultural Products and Employment in Afghanistan

The discussion of employment and its complications in the world has attracted the attention of many politicians, government officials, and experts. Creating sustainable employment and revenue is the most important way to create economic and social welfare in all human societies. Thus, in developing countries, management policies to support producers’ revenue in the agricultural sector and increase employment in this area are considered as the main development goals for them. However, the current research used the positive mathematical programming (PMP) approach and then evaluated the economic consequences of changing the cropping pattern, especially evaluating the level of employment of the labor. Accordingly, the simulated scenarios include price variation of selected agricultural products (PMP1), Yield variation of selected agricultural products (PMP2), Change in the consumption of chemical fertilizers (PMP3), change in the consumption of pesticides (PMP4), change in the consumption of irrigation water (PMP5) and the combination of the mentioned scenarios (PMP6). The study Model was done by responding to 928 questionnaires from 16 districts in Nangarhar province, AFG. The investigators recorded and classified the data in Excel software and the analysis was done with the GAMS software. Finally, by applying the integrated model (PMP6), a suitable result is established between the policies and the amount of gross profit increases by 83 million Afghanis (1.06 percent), and the amount of employment decreases by only 391 thousand people (4.35 percent). Besides, in this model, the consumption of chemical fertilizers is 1.15%, the consumption of agricultural pesticides is 0.49%, and the consumption of irrigation water is 2.95% less than the current model of the province. According to the findings of this research, all the products under review have price elasticity lower than one.

Crop water footprints and their driving mechanisms show regional differences

Identifying crop water footprints and their driving mechanisms is of significant importance for regional water resources management and ecological sustainability. However, there is currently a lack of comparative studies on drivers of crop water footprint among multiple regional types. In this study, based on quantifying the crop water footprints in seven regions (North China, Northeast China, East China, Central China, South China, Southwest China, and Northwest China) in mainland China from 1996 to 2020, the path analysis method was used to reveal their driving mechanisms. The results showed that the average annual agricultural water footprint was 1448.2 Gm3, with blue water, green water, and grey water accounting for 10.1 %, 66.6 %, and 23.3 %, respectively. Fruits and cereals jointly contributed 80 % of the total water footprint. The crop water footprint in East China was significantly higher than in other regions, accounting for 29.3 % of the national water footprint. The average crop production water footprint was 1080.4 mm, with the highest values observed in East China and South China, and the lowest in Northeast China and Southwest China. Except for East China, the crop production water footprint in other regions showed an increasing trend over time. Irrigation area ratio had the greatest impact on crop production water footprint except for Northeast China, while chemical fertilizer consumption significantly influenced crop production water footprints in North, East, Central, Southwest and Northwest China. Additionally, per capita GDP, per capita net income and irrigation water use efficiency also had considerable effects on crop production water footprint in Northwest China. The research findings can provide a valuable reference for the development of strategies for the efficient and sustainable utilization of agricultural water resources in different regions.