Fertilizer Control Research Articles

The Concurrent Application of Phosphogypsum and Modified Biochar as Soil Amendments Influence Sandy Soil Quality and Wheat Productivity.

Sandy soil covers a significant portion of Egypt's total land area, representing a crucial agricultural resource for future food security and economic growth. This research adopts the hypothesis of maximizing the utilization of secondary products for soil improvement to reduce ecosystem pollution. The study focuses on assessing the impact of combining phosphogypsum and modified biochar as environmentally friendly soil amendments on loamy sand soil quality parameters such as soil organic carbon, cation exchange capacity, nutrient levels, and wheat yield. The treatments were T1: the recommended NPK fertilizer (control); T2: 2.5 kg phosphogypsum m-2 soil; T3: 2.5 kg rice straw biochar m-2 soil; T4: 2.5 kg cotton stalk biochar m-2 soil; T5: 2.5 kg rice-straw-modified biochar m-2 soil; T6: 2.5 kg cotton-stalk-modified biochar m-2 soil; and T7 to T10: mixed phosphogypsum and biochar treatments. The results revealed that the combined use of phosphogypsum and modified cotton stalk biochar (T10) significantly enhanced soil organic carbon (SOC) by 73.66% and 99.46% in both seasons, the soil available N both seasons by 130.12 and 161.45%, the available P by 89.49% and 102.02%, and the available K by 39.84 and 70.45% when compared to the control treatment. Additionally, this treatment led to the highest grain yield of wheat (2.72 and 2.92 Mg ha-1), along with a significant increase in straw yield (52.69% and 59.32%) compared to the control treatment. Overall, the findings suggest that the combined use of phosphogypsum and modified biochar, particularly cotton-stalk biochar, holds promise for improving loamy sand-soil quality and wheat productivity.

Potassium Management for Corn Growth, Yield and Sweetness under Sabah Sandy Soil

A study was conducted to determine the effect of potassium (K) with organic fertilizers on the growth, yield and sweetness of reddish waxy corn. The treatments were: (T1) standard fertilizer rate of 60 kg ha-1 K2O without organic fertilizer (control); (T2) 30 kg ha-1 K with organic fertilizer; (T3) 90 kg ha-1 K with organic fertilizer and (T4) 120 kg ha-1 K with organic fertilizer. Organic fertilizer used was 1.5 t ha-1 Bokashi and 20 t ha-1 chicken manure biochar (CMB). The planted corn received 120 kg ha-1 N and 60 kg ha-1 P2O5. The experimental design was Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with six replications. Stem girth, number of leaves, the height of the first cob, fresh weight of the first cob, 100 grains weight, cob girth, cob length and sweetness (Brix scale, %) data were analyzed using ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) at 5% significant levels. The Least Significant Different (LSD) was used to compare the means for significantly different results. Significant differences in growth were obtained at (p<0.05) in waxy corn for the number of leaves, the height of the first cob, length of cob, and girth between the control and all treatments. However, there is no significant difference for the sweetness of waxy corn for all treatments. Mean total for growth parameters; the number of leaves, stem girth and height of the first cob from soil surfaces and mean total for yield parameters; cob girth, length of cob, fresh weight of cob, 100 grains weight and the number of kernels was significantly higher for all treatments of T2, T3 and T4 compared to control the treatment of T1. The study showed no significant difference in the sweetness of waxy corn with increasing potassium application, resulting in increased total soluble content. Similar studies for a different rate of organic fertilizers and soil analysis can be done to ascertain further the effects on growth, yield, and sweetness parameters of reddish waxy corn with selected soil properties.

Effects of different nutrient inputs in organic parsley cultivation

ABSTRACT Parsley (Petroselinum crispum Mill.) can play a key role in healthy nutrition for people. This study evaluated the effects of different fertilisers on parsley grown in organic greenhouse conditions in the Samsun province of Turkey. Three organic fertilisers (liquids based on compost, nettles and wood ash) were tested and compared with chemical fertiliser and a control with no fertiliser. The results showed that application of wood ash solution significantly increased EC and concentrations of P and K in the soil, compared with the no fertiliser control. The nettle extract and the compost solution had the most prominent effects on concentrations of nutrients in the parsley leaf tissue. The highest total yields were obtained in the treatments with nettle extract (8.95 kg m−2) and wood ash solution (8.71 kg m−2), which were similar to the yield in the treatment with chemical fertiliser (8.48 kg m−2). The present results suggested that nettle extract and wood ash solution provided effective fertilisers to achieve high yields and quality in organic parsley cultivation. Further studies were recommended to test combinations of nettle extract and wood ash solutions in different proportions for edible leafy species.

Maize/Peanut Intercropping Affects Legume Nodulation in Semi-Arid Conditions

Maize/peanut intercropping is practiced widely to increase land productivity and considered a sustainable way for using and saving resources through peanut’s complementary N source via biological N2 fixation. Our study aims to understand how maize/peanut intercropping affects the nodulation of peanuts under water-limiting conditions and different nitrogen inputs. A two-year micro-plot experiment in 2015–2016 and a two-year field experiment in 2017–2018 were conducted to quantify nodulation in maize/peanut intercropping and sole peanut cropping under four N fertilization rates (N-free, low, medium, and high N) in rain-fed water-limited conditions. In the micro-plot experiment, intercropped peanuts increased nodule biomass compared to sole peanuts. The nodule number of intercropped peanuts was 51.6% (p = 0.001) higher than that of sole cropped peanuts, while nodule weights did not differ at high N fertilization rates and were lower in the no-N fertilization control. However, the results were different in the field experiment. Both the nodule number and single weight of the sole cropped peanut were 48.7% (p = 0.020) and 58.9% (p = 0.014) higher than that of the intercropped peanut. The ratio of the nodule weight to aboveground dry matter at the beginning peg in the dry year of 2017 was lower in intercropping than sole cropping, especially at low N fertilization rates. The potential increase in nodulation found in a well-controlled micro-plot environment might be limited by strong water and light competitions in field conditions. The results could contribute to the understanding of interspecific interactions in cereal/legume intercropping.

Changes in the pattern of cultivated species and loss of sustainability in central Veracruz, Mexico

The economic, social, and technological conditions in agriculture have changed due to public policies implemented by the Mexican government. These changes have forced producers to make decisions to adapt to a complex agricultural reality. The objective of this research is to analyze the changes in cropping patterns over four decades and their impact on sustainability in a local context. A survey and in-depth interviews were conducted among producers in agricultural and rainfed areas in central Veracruz, Mexico. The findings suggest that the promotion and subsequent reduction of public spending in favor of agricul-tural production resulted in the gradual introduction and exclusion of crops, as well as the fundamental management practices underlying them, such as fertilization, weed, disease, and pest control. This led to a loss of sustainability as it promoted monoculture, the use of agrochemicals, and the commercialization of crops. This not only simplified the crop pattern but also affected the family's diet, created conditions for increased pest and disease presence, and degraded soil life and agrobiodiversity, including medicinal and foodplants subject to harvesting. These findings should be taken into account when defining medium and long-term strategies.

Microbial consortium with multifunctional attributes for the plant growth of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.).

In the past few decades, the pressure of higher food production to satisfy the demand of ever rising population has inevitably increased the use synthetic agrochemicals which have deterioration effects. Biostimulants containing beneficial microbes (single inoculants and microbial consortium) were found as an ideal substitute of synthetic chemical fertilizers. In recent years, microbial consortium is known as a better bioinoculant in comparison to single inoculant bioformulation because of multifarious plant growth-promoting advantages. Looking at the advantageous effect of consortium, in present investigation, different bacteria were isolated from rhizospheric soil and plant samples collected from the Himalayan mountains on the green slopes of the Shivaliks, Himachal Pradesh. The isolated bacteria were screened for nitrogen (N) fixation, phosphorus (P)solubilization and potassium (K) solubilization plant growth promotingattributes, and efficient strains were identified through 16S rRNA gene sequencingand BLASTn analysis. The bacteria showing a positive effect in NPK uptake were developed as bacterial consortium for the growth promotion of eggplant crop. A total of 188 rhizospheric and endophytic bacteria were sorted out, among which 13 were exhibiting nitrogenase activity, whereas 43 and 31 were exhibiting P and K solubilization traits, respectively. The selected three efficient and potential bacterial strains were identified using 16S rRNA gene sequencing as Enterobacter ludwigii EU-BEN-22 (N-fixer; 35.68 ± 00.9 nmol C2H4 per mg protein per h), Micrococcus indicus EU-BRP-6 (P-solubilizer; 201 ± 0.004 mg/L), and Pseudomonas gessardii EU-BRK-55 (K-solubilizer; 51.3 ± 1.7 mg/mL), and they were used to develop a bacterial consortium. The bacterial consortium evaluation on eggplant resulted in the improvement of growth (root/shoot length and biomass) and physiological parameters (chlorophyll, carotenoids, total soluble sugar, and phenolic content) of the plants with respect to single culture inoculation, chemical fertilizer, and untreated control. A bacterial consortium having potential to promote plant growth could be used as bioinoculant for horticulture crops growing in hilly regions.

Polymer-coated urea applied at one-time mechanical topdressing increases nitrogen use efficiency and rice yield in the cold area

Context The application of slow and controlled release fertilisers can reduce nitrogen loss, but the research is still scarce in the cold rice region of China. Aims The study was conducted to screen slow-release or controlled-release fertilisers which can meet the nitrogen demand of rice and reduce NH3 volatilisation in different pH soils. Methods This experiment includes four fertilisation treatments: no fertiliser (control), urea, urea with N-(n-butyl) thiophosphorictriamide (NBPT), and polymer-coated urea (PCU). The amounts of urea-N, pH, ammonium-N (NH4+-N) in the surface water, and NH3 volatilisation were determined. Thereafter, to evaluate the effects of one-time mechanical topdressing of PCU mixed with compound fertilisers along with farmers’ fertilisation practice (FFP), field experiments carried out in wide soil pH differences were conducted. Key results Cumulative NH3 volatilisation was reduced in the NBPT treatment compared with the urea treatment. There was no significant difference between urea-N, NH4+-N, and pH in the surface water under PCU and control. NH3 volatilisation of PCU is negligible and significantly prolongs the soil nitrogen storage time. In the subsequent experiment, PCU blend increased yield, dry matter, nitrogen uptake, and the partial factor productivity of applied nitrogen (PFPN) compared to FFP. Conclusions PCU treatment slows down urea release and reduces ammonia volatilisation from paddy fields. In turn, it reduces ammonia-nitrogen levels and pH in surface water and further slows down the rate of ammonia volatilisation. Implications Application of PCU as a one-time mechanical topdressing fertiliser in rice fields in cold regions saves nitrogen fertiliser, increases crop yields, and reduces labour.

Inorganic carbon accumulation in saline soils via modification effects of organic amendments on dissolved ions and enzymes activities

Organic amendments are effective in promoting salt leaching, improving availability of nutrients and increasing crop yield in saline soils. However, the effects of the combined application of organic amendments on soil inorganic carbon (SIC) content and its driving mechanisms are unknown. We examined how changes in soil biochemical properties including moisture content, pH value, dissolved ions, soil organic C (SOC), dissolved organic C (DOC), microbial biomass C (MBC), and activities of C- and N-related enzyme due to applying (i) only mineral fertilizers (control; Ctrl) or mineral fertilization in combination with (ii) manure (M); (iii) biofertilizer plus manure (B+M); and (iv) humic acid plus manure (HA+M) modify SIC pool over three years. Organic amendments increased the content of Ca2+ and HCO3– ions, but significantly decreased Na+, Cl−, and SO42− at 0–60 cm soil layers compared to Ctrl. Furthermore, the activities of β-glucosidase (BG), Xylanase (BX), Cellobiosidase (CE), and β-1,4-N-Acetyl-glucosaminidase (NAG) increased at 0–40 cm soil. Partial least squares path model manifested that organic amendment directly accumulated SIC content by increasing Ca2+ content and the activities of BX and NAG. Additionally, the decrease of Cl− contents under organic amendments favored the increase of MBC and SOC content, which further increased SIC content. Generally, the effects of HA+M were greater than other fertilization managements, which increased the stocks of SIC and total C at 0–60 cm soils by 27 Mg ha−1 and 47 Mg ha−1, respectively. Furthermore, the effect of organic amendments on SIC content is more pronounced below the first 20 cm. Thus, the application of organic amendments is recommended as an appropriate measure to not only improve soil condition for plant growth and SOC accumulation but also to store C as SIC at deeper depths.

In-Depth Assessment of Key Factors Affecting Coffee Production in Tanzania

Coffee has been among the traditional cash crops and one of the main contributors to foreign earnings in Tanzania. Consequently, earnings from its exports have remained low due to various production challenges which in turn affects export growth. These challenges have never been properly and intensively recognized for better decision-making. Therefore, this study was set to provide an in-depth assessment and understanding of key factors affecting coffee production in Tanzania.The study used simple random sampling to collect information from 364 respondents in four highly coffee-growing districts in Ruvuma, Mbeya, and Songwe regions. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected through structured questionnaires from small-scale farmers. Data were then analyzed by using a statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Excel. From the findings, poor agronomic practices such as inadequate application of fertilizer, poor pesticides and disease control, and aged low-yield coffee trees were found to be the main factors that strongly explain the relationship with low coffee production output due to their significant results. Furthermore, using regression the other variables found to significantly affect coffee production output level were limited access to finance and inadequate extension services. Based on the findings, sustainability of the coffee sector development, intensive government intervention is needed by putting more priority on training farmers best agronomic practices in the right way. This way, small farmers can be aware of the importance of the application of required agronomic practices as a key factor in the scale-up of productivity and production output. The Bank of Tanzania can also efficiently address the challenge of small-scale farmers in obtaining soft loans at a reasonable cost from financial institutions by creating an enabling environment. This should include the provision of a special loan facility to commercial banks connected with conditions to beneficial banks to lend to farmers at an indicative rate that can be affordable to small-scale coffee growers. These findings will inform policymakers and coffee stakeholders in the coffee value chain on the best actions and decision-making to enhance the sector's performance.

Influenced Quality of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and Abate the Environmental Pollution by Soil Applied with Foliar Fertilization of NPK Fertilizer in Saline Soil

A field experiment to assess different levels and methods of NPK fertilizer application on wheat crop was conducted on loamy sand soil at Instructional farm, College of Agriculture, Bikaner during rabi season of 2019-2020. The trial was laid out in split plot design and replicated three times. A total of 20 treatment combinations comprises A. Main plot : four RDF levels prior to sowing viz., F0 = Absolute control, F1= 50% RDF, F2= 75 % RDF and F2= 100 % RDF and B. Sub plot : five foliar fertilization levels of soluble NPK (1%) namely S0= no fertilization (control), S1= two spray (At 45and 60 DAS), S2= three foliar spray (At 45, 60 and 75 DAS), S3= four foliar spray (At 45, 60, 75 and 90 DAS). Basal application of 100% RDF with three foliar spray of soluble NPK (19:19:19) at 45, 60 and 75 DAS gave significantly higher average grain and straw yield and N, P, K content and uptake in grain and straw than other treatments, including control.

Influence of Shading, GA3 and NPK fertilizer on the growth and development of Myrtle Myrtus communis plants.

This study was conducted during the period between 23th September 2021 to 1st July 2022, in the nursery of Duhok University, Kurdistan region, Iraq. Aiming to evaluate effect of the Shade (0 and 50) %, Gibberellic acid (0, 250, and 500) mg.l-1 and three levels of NPK fertilizer control (0, 0, 0), low (150, 100, 75), and high (300,200,150) mg.l-1 on the growth and development for Myrtle (Myrtus communis) plants. This experiment was performed by use randomized complete block design (RCBD). The best results include the following: 50% shade significantly increased the plant height (36.21) cm, leaf area (4.41) cm2, total chlorophyll (57.41) spad, vegetative dry weight (14.62) gm, plant growth index (9230) cm3 and number of premier tricussate shoots (14.37) branch/plant compared with 0%. spray with 500 mg.l-1 GA3 significantly increased plant height (35.58) cm, number of branches, leaf area (2.84) cm2, total chlorophyll (57.28) spad, dry weight (13.67) gm, plant growth index (8098) cm3, number of premier tricussate shoots (14.37) branch/plant. Also used NPK fertilizer caused significantly increase in all these traits, the best interaction treatment among the three factors include 50% shade with 500 mg.l-1 GA3 and (300,200,150) mg.l-1 NPK that gave the highest significant values for the plant height (43.53) cm, leaf area (4.53) cm2, total chlorophyll (64.57) spad, vegetative dry weight (20.27) gm, plant growth index (15580) cm3 and number of premier tricussate shoots (20.67) branch/plant compared with control (0 shade, 0 GA3, (0,0, 0) mg.l-1) .

Remote Sensing Extraction of Crown Planar Area and Plant Number of Papayas Using UAV Images with Very High Spatial Resolution

The efficient management of commercial orchards strongly requires accurate information on plant growing status for the implementation of necessary farming activities such as irrigation, fertilization, and pest control. Crown planar area and plant number are two very important parameters directly relating to fruit growth conditions and the final productivity of an orchard. In this study, in order to propose a novel and effective method to extract the crown planar area and number of mature and young papayas based on visible light images obtained from a DJ Phantom 4 RTK, we compared different vegetation indices (NGRDI, RGBVI, and VDVI), filter types (high- and low-pass filters), and filter convolution kernel sizes (3–51 pixels). Then, Otsu’s method was used to segment the crown planar area of the papayas, and the mean–standard deviation threshold (MSDT) method was used to identify the number of plants. Finally, the extraction accuracy of the crown planar area and number of mature and young papayas was validated. The results show that VDVI had the highest capability to separate the papayas from other ground objects. The best filter convolution kernel size was 23 pixels for the low-pass filter extraction of crown planar areas in mature and young plants. As to the plant number identification, segmentation could be set to the threshold with the highest F-score, i.e., the deviation coefficient n = 0 for single young papaya plants, n = 1 for single mature ones, and n = 1.4 for crown-connecting mature ones. Verification indicated that the average accuracy of crown planar area extraction was 93.71% for both young and mature papaya orchards and 95.54% for extracting the number of papaya plants. This set of methods can provide a reference for information extraction regarding papaya and other fruit trees with a similar crown morphology.

Application Scenarios of Digital Twins for Smart Crop Farming through Cloud–Fog–Edge Infrastructure

In the last decade, digital twin (DT) technology has received considerable attention across various domains, such as manufacturing, smart healthcare, and smart cities. The digital twin represents a digital representation of a physical entity, object, system, or process. Although it is relatively new in the agricultural domain, it has gained increasing attention recently. Recent reviews of DTs show that this technology has the potential to revolutionise agriculture management and activities. It can also provide numerous benefits to all agricultural stakeholders, including farmers, agronomists, researchers, and others, in terms of making decisions on various agricultural processes. In smart crop farming, DTs help simulate various farming tasks like irrigation, fertilisation, nutrient management, and pest control, as well as access real-time data and guide farmers through ‘what-if’ scenarios. By utilising the latest technologies, such as cloud–fog–edge computing, multi-agent systems, and the semantic web, farmers can access real-time data and analytics. This enables them to make accurate decisions about optimising their processes and improving efficiency. This paper presents a proposed architectural framework for DTs, exploring various potential application scenarios that integrate this architecture. It also analyses the benefits and challenges of implementing this technology in agricultural environments. Additionally, we investigate how cloud–fog–edge computing contributes to developing decentralised, real-time systems essential for effective management and monitoring in agriculture.

Influence of Organic Granular Fertilizer, Chemical and Granular Organic Fertilizer with Hormone Mixed Formula (Ho), and Chemical Fertilizer to the Yield and Starch Content of Cassava

Objective: The purpose of this study was to the influence of fertilizers and the use rate of fertilizer for soil improvement on the yields, and starch content of cassava. Method: The experiment design was in RCBD with 9 treatments, which were as follows; T1 (Control), T2 (ORG 50 kilograms/rai.), T3 (ORG 100 kilograms/rai.), T4 (HO-1 50 kilograms/rai.), T5 (HO-1 100 kilograms/rai.), T6 (HO-2 50 kilograms/rai.), T7 (HO-2 100 kilograms/rai.), T8 (CHEM 50 kilograms/rai.), and T9 (CHEM 100 kilograms/rai.) The experiment plots were located at Pasao, Muang District, Uttaradit Province, from June 2017 – June 2018. by using the DMRT method at 95% confidence. Results and Conclusions: The result showed that yield components, the use of HO-2 fertilizer 100 kilograms/rai. The formula of yield quality for cassava. It has the mean number of tubers per plant 17.00 tuber/ plant, number of root length 47.75 cm., and the cassava tuber circumference 25.25 cm. significantly different at 95%. While the components of average weight/tuber 0.67 kilograms/tuber and yield weight/tree 10.55 kilograms/plant were the highest among other treatments. But there was no statistical difference at 95%. However, when considering the highest average yield per rai, It was found that using HO-2 fertilizer 100 kg/rai gave a higher yield than other treatments (5,110 kilograms/rai). The rate of 100 kilograms/rai resulted in a higher percentage of cassava starch content than other methods (30.50%), which was statistically significantly different at 95%, better than using chemical fertilizers, organic granular fertilizers, and without fertilizers (Control). In terms of cost and profit, It was found that using 100 kg/rai of HO-2 fertilizer resulted in the highest profit from product sales per rai of 10,458 baht/rai, which was higher than using chemical fertilizers and organic granular fertilizer. Moreover, HO fertilizer was a choice to manage soil and fertilizer that affects the cassava product quality in Uttaradit Province. Research implications: The hormone mixed formula (HO) fertilizer 100 kilograms/rai had certain impact on the improvement on chemical properties and the soil physical appearance than not putting the fertilizer, that the HO-2 100 kilograms per rai was suitable for increasing the productivity and percentage of starch content of cassava. Originality/value: This study evaluates fertilizer types and application rates on cassava yield and starch content in Uttaradit Province, Thailand. Using a randomized complete block design, it provides insights into soil fertility and productivity improvement. The study also assesses profitability, offering practical insights for farmers.

Novel nano-fertilizers derived from drinking water industry waste for sustained release of macronutrients: performance, kinetics and sorption mechanisms

Nanotechnology has emerged as a promising approach for the controlled release of nutrients, particularly phosphorus and potassium. These essential plant nutrients are often applied in excess, leading to environmental pollution and loss of efficiency in crop production. Innovative economic and highly efficient fertilizers are urgently needed to achieve the targeted crop production worldwide in the presence of limited land and water resources. Therefore, in this study, novel, eco-friendly, cost-effective and enhanced efficiency nano-enabled fertilizers, NEF (nWTF1and nWTF2) were synthesized by impregnation of nanostructured water treatment residuals (nWTR) with (KH2PO4 + MgO) at 1:1 and 3:1 (w/w) ratios respectively using a planetary ball mill. The nWTR, nWTF1 and nWTF2 were extensively characterized. The water retention behavior and the sustained release of nutrients from the fabricated nano-enabled fertilizers (nWTF1 and nWTF2) in distilled water and sandy soil were investigated and monitored over time. The water retention capacity of the soil treated with nWTF2 after 26 days was 9.3 times higher than that of soil treated with conventional fertilizer. In addition, the nWTF2 exhibited lower release rates of P, K and Mg nutrients for longer release periods in comparison with the conventional fertilizers. This is a significant advantage over traditional fertilizers, which release nutrients quickly and can lead to leaching and nutrient loss. The main interaction mechanisms of PO4–K–Mg ions with nWTR surface were suggested. The results of the kinetics study revealed that power function was the best suitable model to describe the kinetics of P, K and Mg release data from NEF in water and soil. The produced NEF were applied to Zea maize plants and compared to commercial chemical fertilizer control plants. The obtained results revealed that the nano-enabled fertilizers (nWTF1 and nWTF2) significantly promoted growth, and P content compared with the commercial chemical fertilizer treated plants. The present work demonstrated the power of nano enabled fertilizers as efficient and sustained release nano-fertilizers for sustainable agriculture and pollution free environment.

Optimization of Urea Super Granule Boost up for the Efficiency of N and Improved the Potato Quality, Growth and Yield

Potato is the third most important food crop after wheat and rice in Bangladesh. To determine the suitable nitrogen source by observing the growth performance with a view to increasing the yield of potato, a research work was carried out at the Research Farm, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka during the period from November 2018 to March, 2019. The experiment consisted of eight treatments. The experiment was laid out with Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Experimental results showed that nitrogen sources had significant effect on plant height, number of effective stem hill-1, wt. of tuber (g hill-1), yield of tubers (kg plot-1), yield of tubers (t ha-1), tuber fleshy dry matter content, specific gravity, grading of tubers (% by number). Potato production increased significantly due to the application of Urea Super Granule (USG). The highest production was observed in T3 treatment. The application of T3 treatment showed the highest wt. of tuber hill-1 (57.53g hill-1), highest tuber yield (25.77 kg plot-1), highest tuber yield (29.45 t ha-1) than any other sources of nitrogen treatments. The mean apparent recovery of Nitrogen by tested variety BARI Alu 7 (Diamant) was obtained with the application of USG in other treatment (except control) but the nitrogen use efficiency was highest in T3 treatment. Findings revealed that application of USG showed the superiority over other sources of nitrogen to produce highest tuber yield of potato and for all cases lowest results were found in T1 treatment receiving no fertilizer (control).

Suitable organic fertilizer substitution ration stabilizes rainfed maize yields and reduces gaseous nitrogen loss in the Loess Plateau, China

The application of organic fertilizers has become an increasingly popular substitution in maize production to reduce gaseous nitrogen (N) loss and soil degradation caused by inorganic fertilizers. Organic fertilizer plays a key role in improving soil quality and stabilizing maize yields, but studies that refine different substitution rates remain poorly documented. A field study was carried out in 2021 and 2022 based on a long-term trial initiated in 2016. The experiment included five organic fertilizer N substitution rates with equal input of 200 kg N ha–1: 0% organic fertilizer (T1, 100% inorganic fertilizer), 50.0% organic+50.0% inorganic fertilizer (T2), 37.5% organic+62.5% inorganic fertilizer (T3), 25.0% organic+75.0% inorganic fertilizer (T4), 12.5% organic+87.5% inorganic fertilizer (T5), and no fertilizer control (T6). The average result of two years showed that T3 and T1 had the highest grain yield and biomass, respectively, and there was no significant difference between T1 and T3. Compared with T1, 12.5, 25.0, 37.5, and 50.0% substitution rates (T5, T4, T3, and T2) significantly reduced total nitrogen loss (NH3、N2O) by 8.3, 16.1, 18.7, and 27.0%, respectively. Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) was higher in T5, T3, and T1, and there was no significant difference among them. The organic fertilizer substitution directly reduced NH3 volatilization and N2O emission from farmland by lowering ammonium nitrogen and alkali-dissolved N content and by increasing soil moisture. These substitution treatments reduced N2O emissions indirectly by regulating the abundance of AOB and nirK-harboring genes by promoting soil moisture. The 37.5% of organic fertilizer substitution reduces NH3 volatilization and N2O emission from farmland by decreasing ammonium nitrogen and alkali-dissolved N content and increasing moisture which negatively regulate the abundance of AOB and nirK-harboring genes to reduce N2O emissions indirectly in rainfed maize fields on the Loess Plateau of China.

Influencia de la fertilización inorgánica sobre parametros productivos de dos variedades de camote

In order to determine the effect of inorganic fertilization treatments on the productive behavior of the sweetpotato varieties "INIAP-Toquecita" and "INIAP-Buena Vista", this research was carried out during the dry season (June–December 2022) at the Estación Experimental Portoviejo del Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias-INIAP, in the Colón parish, canton Portoviejo, province of Manabí, Ecuador. A randomized complete block design was used with three replications, and the following variables were analyzed: percent yield, total number of guides per plant, length of guides, mass of 100 guides, foliage yield, and number and yield of commercial roots. The inorganic fertilization treatments under study were: 1. N+P2O5+K2O+S+Mg+B; 2. N+P2O5+K2O+S+Mg+B+Zn+Mn+Fe; 3. 50 % more N+P2O5+K2O+S+Mg+B with respect to treatment 1; 4. N+P2O5+K2O; and 5. no fertilizers (control). It was evidenced that the inorganic fertilization treatments implemented on the variety "INIAP-Buena Vista" outperformed the results of the control, while treatments 1 and 2 of inorganic fertilization implemented on the variety "INIAP-Toquecita" outperformed the control. It was observed that the most favorable scenario for maximizing the yield of commercial tuberous roots in the variety "INIAP-Buena Vista" was treatment 3, which had 50 % more macro and micronutrients per hectare added to the soil with respect to treatment 1. The varieties evaluated did not show nutritional deficiencies during the production cycle (120 days).

Sugarcane exudates as nitrification inhibitors; improvement of soybean nitrogen recovery and yield by reducing soil nitrification and N2O emission using 15N tracing techniques

BNI (biological nitrification inhibition) derived from root exudates is typically used in rotation cropping systems to increase the crop nitrogen efficiency (NUE). Recently, the root exudates secreted by three sugarcane varieties in Thailand have been found to inhibit the nitrification and accumulation. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the sugarcane root exudate on (i) soil nitrification rate and N dynamics (soil mineral N and nitrous oxide (N2O) emission) and (ii) growth, yield, and 15N recovery by soybean under greenhouse conditions. The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block design (RCBD), with five treatments and four replications: (i) N fertilizer (Control); (ii) Control + Uthong 13 sugarcane root exudate (UT13); (iii) Control + Khon Kaen 3 sugarcane root exudate (KK3); (iv) Control + wild cane sugarcane root exudate (Spone) and (v) Control + dicyandiamide (DCD). 15N fertilizer was applied to a micro-plot for 15N recovery. Soybean was planted and fertilized at 75 kg ha−1 N as (NH4)2SO4. Soil samples were collected at 1, 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after N fertilization (DANF) for pH, potential nitrification rate (PNR), NH4+, NO3− and MBN measurement at 0–15 and 15–30 cm soil depths. A gas sample was collected by the soil chamber technique for an N2O emissions study on the soil sampling date. The soybean growth was monitored at 30 and 60 DAP (days after planting) for height, leaf area, leaf area index (LAI), SCMR and dry weight (DW). At soybean harvest, seed yield, yield components and N uptake were recorded. Our study revealed that the sugarcane root exudates significantly decreased PNR up to 14 DANF and increased NH4+ content in soil and reduced commutative N2O–N fluxes after 14 DANF, compared to N treatment (p < 005). The root exudate treatments not only increased growth (total DW and LAI at 60 DAP), yield (number of pods and seeds per plant) and N uptake (17–19%) but also 15N recovery in the total plant. This confirms the capacity of BNIs from sugarcane root exudates. In conclusion, sugarcane root exudates can effectively mitigate N2O emissions and enhance soybean N uptake under greenhouse conditions.

The influence of slope exposure on the yield characteristics of winter wheat and spring barley in the Oka River basin, Russia

&lt;p&gt;We studied the relationship of the yield of winter wheat and spring barley with slope exposure components in the west of the Oka River basin. The size of the study area was 250 km by 360 km. The yield characteristics included the maximal yield obtained when applying the optimal dose of fertilizers, the yield without applying fertilizers (control) and the maximal addition to yield, that is, their difference. The addition is shown to be most sensitive to climatic factors. For wheat, the addition increased on the warmer south-western slopes, and for barley—on the wetter north-eastern slopes. The high sensitivity of the addition for barley to moisture is shown using it comparison with climatic water deficit. To compare slopes by the energy of incident solar radiation, we used the slope insolation in energy units. Although the difference in energy between the south-west and north-east slopes was only 2.2%, wheat addition on these slopes varied by more than a factor of two. The reasons for this are discussed. The results obtained show that when choosing locations for crop areas, it is advisable to take into account the exposure of the slopes.&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;