Organic Farming Soil Research Articles

Tetracycline and Sulfonamide Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Soils From Nebraska Organic Farming Operations.

There is widespread agreement that agricultural antibiotic resistance should be reduced, however, it is unclear from the available literature what an appropriate target for reduction would be. Organic farms provide a unique opportunity to disentangle questions of agricultural antibiotic drug use from questions of antibiotic resistance in the soil. In this study, soil was collected from 12 certified organic farms in Nebraska, evaluated for the presence of tetracycline and sulfonamide resistance genes (n = 15 targets), and correlated to soil physical, chemical, and biological parameters. Tetracycline and sulfonamide antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) were found in soils from all 12 farms, and 182 of the 196 soil samples (93%). The most frequently detected gene was tetG (55% of samples), followed by tet(Q) (49%), tet(S) (46%), tet(X) (30%), and tetA(P) (29%). Soil was collected from two depths. No differences in ARGs were observed based on soil depth. Positive correlations were noted between ARG presence and soil electrical conductivity, and concentrations of Ca, Na, and Mehlich-3 phosphorus. Data from this study point to possible relationships between selected soil properties and individual tetracycline resistance genes, including tet(O) which is a common target for environmental samples. We compared organic farm results to previously published data from prairie soils and found significant differences in detection frequency for 12 genes, eight of which were more commonly detected in prairie soils. Of interest, when tetracycline ARG results were sorted by gene mechanism, the efflux genes were generally present in higher frequency in the prairie soils, while the ribosomal protection and enzymatic genes were more frequently detected in organic farm soils, suggesting a possible ecological role for specific tetracycline resistance mechanisms. By comparing soil from organic farms with prairie soils, we can start to determine baseline effects of low-chemical input agricultural production practices on multiple measures of resistance.

Assessment of trace elements and its influence on physico-chemical and biological properties in coastal agroecosystem soil, Puducherry region

The concentration of trace elements Ba, Sr, V, Cr, Ni, Pb, Cu, Zn, As, Mn, and Co were assed in the surface soil of agricultural lands, Puducherry region. The ranking order of occurrence of the heavy metals in 10 farms soils was Ba > Sr > Mn > Cr > V > Zn > Ni > Cu > Pb > Co > As indicating that Ba concentration was high. Trace elements such as, Cu, Cr, V, Zn, Pb, Ni, Co, and As enrichment levels were high in current years. Most of the farming soil showed metals Ba and Sr were higher than maximum permissible limit. Organic farming (farm 3, 6, and 9) soils were containing higher amount of plant available nutrients, sol microbial population and β-glucosidase activity. Cr, Zn, Cu, Pb, Co, and As trace elements were stronger inhibitory effects on soil biological properties. The enrichment of these trace elements in agriculture soil samples conforms their higher input of trace element contaminated organic manures, synthetic fertilizer, and fungicides by the farmers.

Aerobic Soil Biodegradation of Bisphenol (BPA) Alternatives Bisphenol S and Bisphenol AF Compared to BPA.

Pressures to ban bisphenol A (BPA) has led to the use of alternate chemicals such as BPA analogues bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol AF (BPAF) in production of consumer products; however, information on their environmental fate is scarce. In this study, aerobic degradation of BPA, BPAF, and BPS at 100 μg/kg soil and 22 ± 2 °C was monitored for up to 180 days in a forest soil and an organic farm soil. At each sampling point, soils were extracted three times and analyzed by liquid chromatography high resolution mass or time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Based on compound mass recovered from soils compared to the mass applied, BPS had short half-lives of <1 day in both soils similar to BPA. BPAF was much more persistent with observed half-lives of 32.6 and 24.5 days in forest and farm soils, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first report on BPAF degradation. For all three compounds, half-lives were longer in the higher organic carbon (OC) forest soil which correlates well to sorption studies showing higher sorption with higher OC. Metabolites identified for all three bisphenols support degradation pathways that include meta-cleavage as well as ortho-cleavage, which has not been previously shown.

Long and short term effects of solarization on soil microbiome and agricultural production

Soil solarization, a method of chemical-free pest treatment, is a practical and cost-effective way to treat organic farming soil. This method uses polyethylene sheets to capture solar irradiation that heats the soil. Together with heat generated during composting of fresh organic matter, this method can effectively treat many soil-borne pathogens. In this study we examined the effects of solarization with the addition of compost at three maturation levels, on soil microbial community structure and function along with plant performance. Similar hydrolytic activity among the treatments (as measured by FDA hydrolysis) was measured in the first year of solarization. High level of activity was obtained in soil amended with immature compost at the beginning of the second year, suggesting residual (carry-over) effects of previous-year treatments. Amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA encoding genes was used to study soil bacterial community structure. Diversity and richness of bacterial communities were found to be negatively affected by solarization in all treatments. Interestingly, bacterial communities of solarized soils clustered together, regardless of compost amended and type, separated from the cluster of communities from non-solarized soils of all amendments. Specifically, long and short terms negative effects of solarization on the relative abundance of Alphaproteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria were noticed. In contrast, solarization positively affected Bacilli and Gammaproteobacteria abundance in both long and short term. Furthermore, solarization had long and short term positive effects on productivity of eggplant and wheat plants. This study is the first to describe in high details the combined effects of solarization and amendment of composts of different maturation levels.

Effects on Application Time of Mixed Expeller Cake fertilizer in Organic Farming Soil and Rice Yield

Effects on Application Time of Mixed Expeller Cake fertilizer in Organic Farming Soil and Rice Yield

농법과 계절에 따른 탈질세균의 군집 구조와 탈질율 비교

농법에 따른 토양성분과 <TEX>$N_2O$</TEX> 발생량, 탈질세균 수, 탈질세균의 군집 구조와 T-RFLP 패턴을 계절별로 조사하였다. 토양성분 분석결과 총 탄소량과 총 유기탄소량은 유기농법에서 각각 1.57%, 1.28%, 무농약 농법은 1.52%, 1.24%, 관행농법은 1.40%, 0.95%로 친환경농법에서 유기 탄소량이 비교적 높게 나타났다. <TEX>$N_2O$</TEX> 발생량은 5월과 11월 토양이 높았지만 속도는 8월 토양이 빨랐다. 탈질세균 수는 유기농토양은 평균 <TEX>$1.32{\times}10^4MPN/g$</TEX>,무농약 토양은 평균 <TEX>$1.17{\times}10^4MPN/g$</TEX>, 관행농 토양은 평균 <TEX>$6.29{\times}10^3MPN/g$</TEX>으로 친환경농법 토양이 관행농법 토양에 비해 탈질세균 수가 많은 것을 확인하였다. 계통수 분석 결과, 전체 10개 Cluster 중 유기농법 토양이 6개의 Cluster에 분포되어 친환경 농법 토양이 다양한 군집을 갖는 것을 확인하였다. T-RFLP 패턴의 PCA profile 분석 결과, 유기농법은 넓은 분포를, 관행농법은 좁은 범위의 분포를 나타내고, 무농약농법은 유기농법과 관행농법의 중간에 분포하는 것으로 확인되었다. 따라서 계절과 농법에 따라 탈질세균의 분포와 군집구조가 달라지는 것을 확인하였다. We studied soil composition, <TEX>$N_2O$</TEX> production, a number of denitrifying bacteria, community structure and T-RFLP patterns of denitrifying bacteria dependent on agricultural methods with the change of seasons. Analyses of the soil chemical composition revealed that total carbon and total organic carbon contents were 1.57% and 1.28% in the organic farming soil, 1.52% and 1.24% in the emptiness farming soil, and 1.40% and 0.95% in traditional farming soil, respectively. So, the amount of organic carbon was relatively high in the environment friendly farming soils than traditional farming soils. In case of <TEX>$N_2O$</TEX> production, the amount of <TEX>$N_2O$</TEX> production was high in May and November soils, but the rate of <TEX>$N_2O$</TEX> production was fast in August soil. The average number of denitrifying bacteria were <TEX>$1.32{\times}10^4MPN{\cdot}g^{-1}$</TEX> in the organic farming soil, <TEX>$1.17{\times}10^4MPN{\cdot}g^{-1}$</TEX> in the emptiness farming soil, and <TEX>$6.29{\times}10^3MPN{\cdot}g^{-1}$</TEX> in the traditional farming soil. It was confirmed that the environment friendly farming soil have a larger number of denitrifying bacteria than the traditional farming soil. As a result of the phylogenetic analyses, it was confirmed that six clusters were included in organic farming soil among total 10 clusters. And the result of PCA profile distribution of T-RFLP pattern on agricultural methods, the range of distribution showed wide in the organic farming method, relatively narrow in the conventional farming method, and middle in the emptiness farming method. Therefore, we could concluded that the distribution and the community structure of denitrifying bacteria were changed according to the agricultural methods and seasons.

Effect of land use and management practices on microbial biomass and enzyme activities in subtropical top-and sub-soils

Land-use change, especially from forest to intensive agriculture, is negatively impacting soil quality and sustainability. Soil biological activities are sensitive indicators of such land-use impacts. We tested two hypotheses: i) land use and management practices affect microbial properties (microbial biomass and enzyme activities) in topsoil (0–20cm), but have no effects in subsoil (20–100cm); and ii) microbial properties in topsoil are highest in forest, followed by organic farming and then conventional farming.Total organic C and N contents as well as microbial biomass were significantly higher in the organic farming topsoil compared with conventional farming and forest. Except xylanase and acid phosphatase, enzyme activities (β-glucosidase, cellobiohydrolas, chitinase, sulfatase, leucine aminopeptidase and tyrosine aminopeptidase) were also higher in organic farming soil. Crop residues and rhizodeposits support higher microbial biomass, leading to enhanced enzyme activities in organic farming soil. Incorporation of rice stubble and limitation of available phosphorus explain the higher xylanase and acid phosphatase activities, respectively, in conventional farming soil. Litter removal leads to a deficiency of labile C and N, resulting in lower enzyme activities in forest soil. Total C and N contents were higher in subsoil under organic farming. Although there was no effect of land use on microbial biomass in subsoil, activities of most enzymes were higher under organic farming.Overall, our results indicate that land-use change significantly alters microbial properties in topsoil, with modest effects in subsoil. Microbial properties should be considered in environmental risk assessments and models as indicators of ecosystem disturbance caused by land-use and management practices.

Evaluation of Environmental Hazards Resulted from Human Activities and Natural Radioactivity in Tuban Delta in Yemen

The knowledge of environmental hazards resulted from natural radioactivity and human activities is very important for monitoring of environmental contamination. In this study, the environmental hazards due to the natural radioactivity and human activities in Tuban delta in Yemen were discussed and evaluated using gamma ray spectroscopy. Thirty soil samples were collected from the study area. The results showed that the mean activity concentrations of 238U series (226Ra), 232Th, and 40K were 16.83 ± 2.3, 24.76 ± 2.3, 646.48 ± 13 Bq kg-1 and 15.22 ± 1.5, 21.99 ± 2.1, 472.58 ± 10 Bq kg-1 for farm soil samples treated with organic and urea fertilizer and farm soil samples treated with urea fertilizer, respectively. The corresponding values were 19.53 ± 1.5, 24.46 ± 3, and 500.76 ± 17 Bq kg-1 for uncultivated soil samples. The activity concentrations of 137Cs showed a significant value in some uncultivated soil samples. Also, physical and chemical properties of some soil samples were discussed and evaluated. A Radiological parameter, an absorbed dose rate in air, and an annual effective dose were calculated and evaluated. The results were compared with those of literature.

유기농 토양의 화학적 특성 및 미생물상 연구

유기농 토양의 화학적 특성 및 미생물상 연구

Functional diversity and dominant populations of bacteria in banana plantation soils as influenced by long-term organic and conventional farming

A three-year field study (2012–2014) of functional diversity and dominant populations of bacteria in banana plantation soils after long-term organic and conventional farming was conducted. The pH and water content were significantly higher in 17-year and 7-year organic farming soils than that in 39-year conventional farming soils, while organic matter content and viable numbers of four bacterial groups were also slightly higher. Both organic farming soils harbored diverse functional potential and metabolic activity of fast-growing heterotrophs, as can be seen from higher substrate richness, average well color development value and diversity index. Distinct carbon source utilization patterns between organic and conventional farming soils were demonstrated through principal component analysis. A limited number of heterotrophs were isolated during 2012–2013 sampling period to obtain culturable populations, and 16S rDNA sequence analyses assigned them mainly to the phylum Firmicutes. As for 2014-collected samples more diverse uncultured phyla were revealed by clone library-based method, and members belonging to the phylum Proteobacteria were more prevalent in banana plantation soils. The predominance of copiotrophic members affiliated with β-proteobacteria and fewer clones belonging to oligotrophic Acidobacteria and α-Proteobacteria especially in 7-year organic farming soils may contribute to higher functional diversity of fast-growing heterotrophs. The present study addressed functional diversity and dominant populations of bacteria in banana plantation soils and provided insight into the influences caused by long-term organic and conventional farming.

Associations between soil bacterial community structure and nutrient cycling functions in long-term organic farm soils following cover crop and organic fertilizer amendment

Agricultural management practices can produce changes in soil microbial populations whose functions are crucial to crop production and may be detectable using high-throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA. To apply sequencing-derived bacterial community structure data to on-farm decision-making will require a better understanding of the complex associations between soil microbial community structure and soil function. Here 16S rRNA sequencing was used to profile soil bacterial communities following application of cover crops and organic fertilizer treatments in certified organic field cropping systems. Amendment treatments were hairy vetch (Vicia villosa), winter rye (Secale cereale), oilseed radish (Raphanus sativus), buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), beef manure, pelleted poultry manure, Sustane® 8-2-4, and a no-amendment control. Enzyme activities, net N mineralization, soil respiration, and soil physicochemical properties including nutrient levels, organic matter (OM) and pH were measured. Relationships between these functional and physicochemical parameters and soil bacterial community structure were assessed using multivariate methods including redundancy analysis, discriminant analysis, and Bayesian inference. Several cover crops and fertilizers affected soil functions including N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase and β-glucosidase activity. Effects, however, were not consistent across locations and sampling timepoints. Correlations were observed among functional parameters and relative abundances of individual bacterial families and phyla. Bayesian analysis inferred no directional relationships between functional activities, bacterial families, and physicochemical parameters. Soil functional profiles were more strongly predicted by location than by treatment, and differences were largely explained by soil physicochemical parameters. Composition of soil bacterial communities was predictive of soil functional profiles. Differences in soil function were better explained using both soil physicochemical test values and bacterial community structure data than using soil tests alone. Pursuing a better understanding of bacterial community composition and how it is affected by farming practices is a promising avenue for increasing our ability to predict the impact of management practices on important soil functions.

Effects of long-term use of different farming systems on some physical, chemical and microbiological parameters of soil quality

AbstractThe aim of this study was to compare the effects of different farming systems (organic, integrated, conventional and monoculture) on some soil properties as: bulk density, contents of readily-dispersible clay, organic matter and particulate organic matter, and enzymatic activity measured in terms of the intensity of fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis. Soil under permanent grass was used as a control. The study was conducted on the 20 years lasting field experiment. Samples of Haplic Luvisol soil were collected twice a year on fields under winter wheat from the layers of 0-5, 5-10, 15-20, and 30-35 cm. Within arable soils the soil under organic farming contained the greatest amount of organic matter, which influenced strongly the readily-dispersible clay content, especially in the layer of 5-20 cm. The readily-dispersible clay content in soil under organic farming was 3 times lower, as compared to the conventional and monoculture farming. The highest contents of particulate organic matter 6.2 and 3.5 mg g−1air dry soil, on average were measured in the 0-5 cm layer of control soil and soil under organic farming, respectively. Also, soil under organic farming and control soil from the depth of 0-5 cm showed 2-2.5 times greater activity of microorganisms in fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis than soil under conventional and monoculture farming. Increase of concentration of organic matter in soil under organic farming decreased soil bulk density. Statistical analysis showed significant correlations between studied parameters of soil quality and confirmed their effectiveness as indicators of disturbances in soil environment.

Farm system management affects community structure of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are considered to play a pivotal role in organic farming systems as they are known to enhance plant phosphorus (P) uptake from soils low in plant-available P. However, the structure and therefore function of AMF communities may be altered depending on environment and management conditions. Polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) were used to explore AMF community structure in soils from perennial forages (Medicago sativa—Phleum pratense) on three pairs of long-term (>20yr) organic and conventional dairy farm soils in Ontario, Canada. There were no significant differences in DGGE band numbers (indicative of species richness) among organic and conventionally managed soils. Analysis of Similarity revealed significant differences in AMF community composition with both farming system management and farm pair location having significant effects (R=0.71 and 0.91, respectively, P<0.0001 for both). Real-time qPCR indicated greater abundance of Funneliformis mosseae under conventional management (P=0.036), while organic management tended to support greater abundance of Claroideoglomus claroideum (P=0.067). Such a compositional shift in AMF communities could have consequences for the growth and P-use efficiency of their host. The results of this study highlight that the structure of AMF community assemblages are co-determined by both local environmental conditions and farming system management, and importantly, demonstrate for the first time differences between organic and conventional management in dairy farm soils from mixed perennial forages.

논과 밭 토양의 황산염 환원세균 군집 구조 비교

The goal of this study was to identify relationships between the composition of sulfate reducing bacterial assemblages and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) patterns in rice paddy and dry farming soils. Samples of organic farming soils, conventional farming soils, and dry field farming soils were collected in August and November. Analyses of the soil chemical composition revealed similar total nitrogen, total carbon and total inorganic phosphorus levels; however, the moisture content and total carbon were higher than in the other soils in both August and November, respectively. Sulfate reducing bacteria utilizing lactic acid were more widely distributed than those that used acetic acid, and the number of sulfate reducing bacteria in organic farming soil was most abundant. Phylogenetic analysis based on 181 clones revealed that most showed low similarity with cultured sulfate reducing bacteria, but more than 90% similarity with an uncultured sulfate reducing bacteria isolated from the environment. T-RFLP analysis revealed that fragments of 91, 357, 395, and 474 bp were most common, and the community structure of sulfate reducing bacteria changed seasonally.

Predominant populations of indigenous soybean-nodulating Bradyrhizobium japonicum strains obtained from organic farming systems in Minnesota.

Bradyrhizobium from organic fields in Minnesota were isolated and genotyped to assess diversity of soybean-bradyrhizobia in organic farming systems that can be used to improve soybean productivity. Soil samples were collected from 25 organic fields in Minnesota during May to July 2012. Soybean (cv. Lambert) was used as a host to trap indigenous bradyrhizobia in each sample. Genetic diversity of Bradyrhizobium strains (n=733) was determined using the horizontal, fluorophore-enhanced, repetitive extragenic palindromic-PCR (HFERP) DNA fingerprinting technique and the soybean-bradyrhizobia were classified into 79 different genotypes. Of these, 15 dominant genotypes were found and were highly similar (>92% fingerprint similarity) to serotypes USDA 127 (40.4%), USDA 4 (31.8%) and USDA 123 (15.5%), which were the three main populations of soybean-bradyrhizobia in organic fields. Bradyrhizobium japonicum serogroup USDA 4 strains were found to make up a previously unrecognized, predominant rhizobial population in the organic farming soils examined. The relative abundance of strain USDA 4 was negatively correlated with that of USDA 127 and this relationship may be influenced by the levels of NO3 -N and other soil edaphic factors. The local community of bradyrhizobia can be affected by applying inoculant bacteria to organic fields. Based on these results, soybean production in organic farms may be improved by displacing strains similar to USDA 4 with those better at nitrogen fixation and competitive ability than indigenous strains.

Impact of Different Land use Management on Soil Enzyme Activities and Bacterial Genetic Finger Prints of North-Western Himalayas

Land uses has significant impact on soil biological properties that incessantly intimates the soil quality change and are assessed by soil microbial and biochemical indicators, as they are highly sensitive to change in environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of land use on soil enzyme activities and gene diversity in selected location of Northwestern Himalayas, India. Nine different land use system of similar soil type at depth 0-15cm were analyzed for soil enzymes (Dehydrogenase, Acid Phosphatase, Alkaline Phosphatase, Nitrate Reductase, Arylsulphatase, and Phytase) and genetic fingerprints (Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA) analysis. The land use systems investigated are Oak (Quercus incana), Deodar (Cedrus deodara), Pine (Pinus roxburghii) trees, Apple orchids and crop based systems in uplands and valleys. All the soil enzymes were significantly higher in forest ecosystem followed by organic farm and conventional maize-wheat farm soil. The principal component analysis (PCA) of nine different land use systems based on soil enzymes shows significant variation in data and all the long-term agricultural lands were segregated together. However maize-wheat and organic farm are group together in the PCA plot. Hierarchical clustering by wards method of soil enzymes clusters the deodar forest soil, oak forest soil and organic farming in one cluster and segregates remaining land use system in another. RAPD analysis showed high polymorphism between samples and similarity indexing using unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic averages resulted in four clusters. Land use showed significantly negative impact on soil enzymes and genetic fingerprints in long-term agricultural lands as compared to natural forest ecosystem and organic farming as reveal by RAPD assisted marker.

Organic amendments as ecosystem engineers: Microbial, biochemical and genomic evidence of soil health improvement in a tropical arid zone field site

The ability of organic biodynamic fertilizers to improve soil quality was evaluated in arid loamy sand soils in farmers’ fields in Rajasthan, India in cowpea cropping and citrus orchards. Water holding capacity, organic carbon and ammoniacal nitrogen improved significantly in organic farming. Microbial community was evaluated using both a culture dependent and independent approach. Actinomycetes increased significantly in organic cropping and orchard by 92 and 100%, respectively, compared to conventional management. Bacterial populations increased significantly on nutritionally diverse media in organic farm soils over conventional, both copiotrophs (+52–119%) as well as oligotrophs (+25–79%). The arbuscular mycorrhizal protein, glomalin increased by 56–82% in organic farms. Nitrogen fixers, ammonifiers, nitrifiers and sulfur oxidizers did not show significant differences. There was a consistent increase in soil enzymatic activities in organic farms—acid phosphatase (1.5× in cropping; 3× in orchard), flourescein diacetate hydrolysis (1.8×; 3.3×), dehydrogenase (2.4×; 3.5×) and β-glucosidase (2.2×; 6.3×). Quantification of 16S rDNA abundances in soil using qPCR showed a clear 1.8 fold increase in both organic cropping and organic orchard soils. The abundance of amoA gene decreased by 22 and 11 folds in organic cropping and orchards. The culture independent analysis of eubacterial 16S rRNA gene showed that organically cropped farms and orchards had more diverse bacterial community compared to the conventional. The distribution of bacterial species observed in organic cropping is more even. Representation of Proteobacteria among the eubacterial species was 20% lesser in organic as compared to conventional cropping whereas Actinobacteria were higher by 10% in organic cropping. Overall, the results demonstrated unequivocally that organic amendments improved the biological quality through an alteration of the microbial community structure and function. We conclude that organic manures may thus be appropriately included in the group of ‘Ecosystem Engineers’ that selectively modify the environment and make soil ecosystems more sustainable.

A methodological approach for deriving regional crop rotations as basis for the assessment of the impact of agricultural strategies using soil erosion as example

Regarding increasing pressures by global societal and climate change, the assessment of the impact of land use and land management practices on land degradation and the related decrease in sustainable provision of ecosystem services gains increasing interest. Existing approaches to assess agricultural practices focus on the assessment of single crops or statistical data because spatially explicit information on practically applied crop rotations is mostly not available. This provokes considerable uncertainties in crop production models as regional specifics have to be neglected or cannot be considered in an appropriate way.In a case study in Saxony, we developed an approach to (i) derive representative regional crop rotations by combining different data sources and expert knowledge. This includes the integration of innovative crop sequences related to bio-energy production or organic farming and different soil tillage, soil management and soil protection techniques.Furthermore, (ii) we developed a regionalization approach for transferring crop rotations and related soil management strategies on the basis of statistical data and spatially explicit data taken from so called field blocks. These field blocks are the smallest spatial entity for which agricultural practices must be reported to apply for agricultural funding within the frame of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) program. The information was finally integrated into the spatial decision support tool GISCAME to assess and visualize in spatially explicit manner the impact of alternative agricultural land use strategies on soil erosion risk and ecosystem services provision. Objective of this paper is to present the approach how to create spatially explicit information on agricultural management practices for a study area around Dresden, the capital of the German Federal State Saxony.

The Effect of Azolla Compost and Organic Pottasium Fertilizer Dosages on Pottasium Availability and Yield of Peanut on Alfisol

Title : The Effect of Azolla Compost and Organic Pottasium Fertilizer Dosages on Pottasium Availability and Yield of Peanut on Alfisol. Production of groundnut can not meet the national demand right now. One of the reason is the degradation in soil fertility, such as potassium deficiency and low of soil organic matter content. Plants that has potassium-deficiency can not utilize water and nutrients from the soil efficiently. In organic farming system, soil exchangeable-potassium and organic matter content can be increase by the application of plant ash as organic potassium and azolla compost. The research conducted to determine the proper dose of azolla compost and organic potassium to increase exchangeable-potassium and yield of groundnut on Alfisol soil at Jumantono, Karanganyar District, Central Java, Indonesia. The experiment was arranged in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with single treatment factor of azolla compost and organic pottasium combination (P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7, P8) as well as manure and NPK fertilizer treatments. The Variables using in this experiment are K exchanged, CEC, Organic Matter, Total N, pH, plant height, fresh weight and dry stover, fresh weight, dry and number of pods, weight and number of seeds. Data were analyzed by F test and DMRT at 5% level. The land use media as much as 5 kg per polybag with 3 number plants per poybag, and in the second week we used to thinning the plants. Everyday we also doing watering and weeding. The observation were made every week until phase of generatif The results showed the application of azolla compost and organic potassium can increase exchangeable-potassium and yield of groundnut in Alfisol soil. The highest exchangeable-pottasium (0.53me%) taken from the treatment of P7. Moreover the application of azolla compost and organic potassium increased CEC, soil organic matter content, total-N soil as well as shoot fresh and dry weight of peanut.

The Effect of Azolla Compost and Organic Pottasium Fertilizer Dosages on Pottasium Availability and Yield of Peanut on Alfisol

Title : The Effect of Azolla Compost and Organic Pottasium Fertilizer Dosages on Pottasium Availability and Yield of Peanut on Alfisol. Production of groundnut can not meet the national demand right now. One of the reason is the degradation in soil fertility, such as potassium deficiency and low of soil organic matter content. Plants that has potassium-deficiency can not utilize water and nutrients from the soil efficiently. In organic farming system, soil exchangeable-potassium and organic matter content can be increase by the application of plant ash as organic potassium and azolla compost. The research conducted to determine the proper dose of azolla compost and organic potassium to increase exchangeable-potassium and yield of groundnut on Alfisol soil at Jumantono, Karanganyar District, Central Java, Indonesia. The experiment was arranged in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with single treatment factor of azolla compost and organic pottasium combination (P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7, P8) as well as manure and NPK fertilizer treatments. The Variables using in this experiment are K exchanged, CEC, Organic Matter, Total N, pH, plant height, fresh weight and dry stover, fresh weight, dry and number of pods, weight and number of seeds. Data were analyzed by F test and DMRT at 5% level. The land use media as much as 5 kg per polybag with 3 number plants per poybag, and in the second week we used to thinning the plants. Everyday we also doing watering and weeding. The observation were made every week until phase of generatif The results showed the application of azolla compost and organic potassium can increase exchangeable-potassium and yield of groundnut in Alfisol soil. The highest exchangeable-pottasium (0.53me%) taken from the treatment of P7. Moreover the application of azolla compost and organic potassium increased CEC, soil organic matter content, total-N soil as well as shoot fresh and dry weight of peanut.