Recycling of organic matter through mulch in relation to chemical and microbiological properties of soil and crop yields

Summary Field experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of organic mulching on the nutrient status, microbiological properties and the yield of maize and green gram crops. Soil organic carbon and humin and humus carbon of the fallow and the cropped soils were augmented by mulching. More of nitrogen, available phosphorus and ammoniacal and nitrate nitrogen were found in mulched soils. Soil reaction was not affected by mulching. Mulched treatments maintained more of soil moisture and soil temperature lowered during summer and rainy seasons. Population of bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes and Azotobacter were augmented in mulched treatments at all the stages of sampling. Mulching significantly increased the grain and straw yield of both the crops. The nitrogen uptake by grain was higher in mulched than in the unmulched treatments.     

长期施用有机物料下黑土氮素有效性及其与作物产量的关系

利用长期定位施肥试验,于2011年采样研究长期施用不同有机物料(秸秆、有机肥)对东北黑土氮素有效性的影响,并分析氮供应与作物生物量及产量的关系.结果表明:化肥配施有机肥、化肥配施低量秸秆均可显著提高黑土农田土壤无机氮和硝态氮含量,进而提高作物产量;尽管化肥配施高量秸秆提高了土壤氮矿化速率,但可能由于硝态氮淋溶或者其他形式的氮素损失或转化,与化肥配施低量秸秆处理相比,化肥配施高量秸秆下土壤无机氮量并没有增加.可见,适量施用有机物料对提高土壤氮素有效性、提高作物产量及保护环境具有重要意义.     

Enhancing crop growth, nutrients availability, economics and beneficial rhizosphere microflora through organic and biofertilizers

Field experiment was conducted on fodder maize to explore the potential of integrated use of chemical, organic and biofertilizers for improving maize growth, beneficial microflora in the rhizosphere and the economic returns. The treatments were designed to make comparison of NPK fertilizer with different combinations of half dose of NP with organic and biofertilizers viz. biological potassium fertilizer (BPF), Biopower, effective microorganisms (EM) and green force compost (GFC). Data reflected maximum crop growth in terms of plant height, leaf area and fresh biomass with the treatment of full NPK; and it was followed by BPF+full NP. The highest uptake of NPK nutrients by crop was recorded as: N under half NP+Biopower; P in BPF+full NP; and K from full NPK. The rhizosphere microflora enumeration revealed that Biopower+EM applied along with half dose of GFC soil conditioner (SC) or NP fertilizer gave the highest count of N-fixing bacteria (Azotobacter, Azospirillum, Azoarcus andZoogloea). Regarding the P-solubilizing bacteria,Bacillus was having maximum population with Biopower+BPF+half NP, andPseudomonas under Biopower+EM+half NP treatment. It was concluded that integration of half dose of NP fertilizer with Biopower+BPF / EM can give similar crop yield as with full rate of NP fertilizer; and through reduced use of fertilizers the production cost is minimized and the net return maximized. However, the integration of half dose of NP fertilizer with biofertilizers and compost did not give maize fodder growth and yield comparable to that from full dose of NPK fertilizers.     

The limits of crop productivity: validating theoretical estimates and determining the factors that limit crop yields in optimal environments

Plant scientists have sought to maximize the yield of food crops since the beginning of agriculture. There are numerous reports of record food and biomass yields (per unit area) in all major crop plants, but many of the record yield reports are in error because they exceed the maximal theoretical rates of the component processes. In this article, we review the component processes that govern yield limits and describe how each process can be individually measured. This procedure has helped us validate theoretical estimates and determine what factors limit yields in optimal environments.     

Effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculation of rice seedlings at the nursery stage upon performance in the paddy field and greenhouse

We examined the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculation at the nursery stage on the growth and nutrient acquisition of wetland rice (t Oryza sativa L.) under field and pot conditions. Seedlings were grown on -ray sterilized paddy soil in two types of nurseries, namely dry nursery and wet nursery, with or without arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation which was a mixture of indigenous AMF (t Glomus spp.) spores collected from the paddy field. Five-to-six week old seedlings were transplanted to the unsterilized soil under field and pot, respectively. Mycorrhizal seedlings had higher shoot biomass under both nursery conditions 5 weeks after sowing. Mycorrhizal colonization and sporulation were 2 to 3 times higher in the dry nursery than the wet nursery at the transplanting stage. Mycorrhizal colonization of plants inoculated in the nursery remained higher than those not inoculated under both field and pot conditions. Sporulation after transplanting to field conditions was about 10 times higher than in the pot. Inoculated plants produced higher biomass at maturity under field conditions, and the grain yield was 14-21% higher than those not inoculated. Conversely, grain yield and shoot biomass were not significantly influenced by AMF colonization under pot conditions. For plants originating from the dry nursery, N, P, Zn and Cu concentrations of field-grown plants at harvest were significantly increased by preinoculation with AMF over those left uninoculated. We conclude that the AMF inoculation at the nursery stage under both dry and wet conditions increased growth, grain yield and nutrient acquisition of wetland rice under field conditions.     

Surveillance of different recombination defects in mouse spermatocytes yields distinct responses despite elimination at an identical developmental stage

Fundamentally different recombination defects cause apoptosis of mouse spermatocytes at the same stage in development, stage IV of the seminiferous epithelium cycle, equivalent to mid-pachynema in normal males. To understand the cellular response(s) that triggers apoptosis, we examined markers of spermatocyte development in mice with different recombination defects. In Spo11(-)(/)(-) mutants, which lack the double-strand breaks (DSBs) that initiate recombination, spermatocytes express markers of early to mid-pachynema, forming chromatin domains that contain sex body-associated proteins but that rarely encompass the sex chromosomes. Dmc1(-)(/)(-) spermatocytes, impaired in DSB repair, appear to arrest at or about late zygonema. Epistasis analysis reveals that this earlier arrest is a response to unrepaired DSBs, and cytological analysis implicates the BRCT-containing checkpoint protein TOPBP1. Atm(-)(/)(-) spermatocytes show similarities to Dmc1(-)(/)(-) spermatocytes, suggesting that ATM promotes meiotic DSB repair. Msh5(-)(/)(-) mutants display a set of characteristics distinct from these other mutants. Thus, despite equivalent stages of spermatocyte elimination, different recombination-defective mutants manifest distinct responses, providing insight into surveillance mechanisms in male meiosis.     

Fragment quality and sediment organic loading regulate the survival of an invasive,clonal seaweed

Although propagule pressure is recognized as an important determinant of invasion dynamics, the role of propagule quality (i.e. the physical condition of a propagule) has received little attention. In particular, how the performance of vegetative propagules differing in quality varies across heterogeneous landscapes is yet to be explored. Caulerpa cylindracea is a clonal, invasive seaweed, widely distributed in the Mediterranean. By means of a laboratory experiment, we investigated how variation in the quality of seaweed fragments (intact vs. frond-removal vs. rhizoid-removal) influenced their survival on control versus sediments enriched with detritus from the native seagrass, Posidonia oceanica. The survival of seaweed fragments was low on non-enriched sediments, irrespective of their characteristics. On enriched sediments, survival was high in control and rhizoid-removal fragments, but low in frond-removal fragments. Our study shows that both fragment quality and sediment characteristics influence the survival of C. cylindracea propagules and, hence, long-term spreading dynamics of this seaweed. More generally, it brings novel evidence showing that the effects of propagule quality on invasion success are context-dependent.     

Predicting the impact of changing CO(2) on crop yields: some thoughts on food

Recent breakthroughs in CO(2) fumigation methods using free-air CO(2) enrichment (FACE) technology have prompted comparisons between FACE experiments and enclosure studies with respect to quantification of the effects of projected atmospheric CO(2) concentrations on crop yields. On the basis of one such comparison, it was argued that model projections of future food supply (some of which are based on older enclosure data) may have significantly overestimated the positive effect of elevated CO(2) concentration on crop yields and, by extension, food security. However, in the comparison, no effort was made to differentiate enclosure study methodologies with respect to maintaining projected CO(2) concentration or to consider other climatic changes (e.g. warming) that could impact crop yields. In this review, we demonstrate that relative yield stimulations in response to future CO(2) concentrations obtained using a number of enclosure methodologies are quantitatively consistent with FACE results for three crops of global importance: rice (Oryza sativa), soybean (Glycine max) and wheat (Triticum aestivum). We suggest, that instead of focusing on methodological disparities per se, improved projections of future food supply could be achieved by better characterization of the biotic/abiotic uncertainties associated with projected changes in CO(2) and climate and incorporation of these uncertainties into current crop models.     

2008年浒苔大暴发末期黄海小型底栖动物现存量及空间分布

在2008年夏季浒苔暴发末期,对黄海33个站位(其中冷水团中22个,浒苔暴发区域9个)进行了小型底栖动物现存量、分布及沉积环境研究.结果表明:在浒苔灾害严重的南黄海区域,沉积物中的粉砂-粘土含量较往年(2007年)有明显增加;沉积物中叶绿素a和脱镁叶绿素a含量在大多区域较2007年变化不大,但在苏南至长江口近岸海域的含量有明显降低.所获的16个小型底栖动物类群的垂直分布及各类群对现存量的贡献较往年未见明显差异.小型底栖动物平均丰度为(1375±793)ind·10 cm-2,生物量为(1203±707)μg·10cm-2.黄海小型底栖动物总体现存量较2007年低约1/3,并在浒苔暴发区域下降尤为明显,而南黄海冷水团海域则略有上升,由此导致南黄海的小型底栖动物现存量分布呈现从中央冷水区向外围减小的反常现象;相较于此,在浒苔灾害影响较小的北黄海则呈从冷水区向外围增加的趋势.统计分析显示,浒苔暴发区域的小型底栖动物丰度与盐度呈正相关,与叶绿素a含量不相关.浒苔的暴发对近岸的小型底栖生物现存量产生了明显的抑制,但导致小型底栖动物现存量降低的主要因素并非缘于饵料匮乏,而更可能是浒苔暴发后的沉积与降解过程产生的影响所致.     

1492 and the loss of amazonian crop genetic resources. ii. crop Biogeography at contact

Fifty seven percent of the 138 cultivated plant species present in Amazonia at contact probably originated in the Amazon Basin and another 27% originated in lowland northern South America. The relationship between probable indigenous human population density and resultant agricultural intensification and crop diversity is used to propose the existence of a mosaic of crop genetic resource concentrations in Amazonia at contact, including two centers of diversity, four outlying minor centers, and five regions of diversity. This methodology is extrapolated to present a synthesis of South American crop genetic biogeography at contact.     

Application of 15N natural abundance technique for evaluating biological nitrogen fixation in oil palm ecotypes at nursery stage in pot experiments and at mature plantation sites

A range of different species of diazotrophic bacteria has been found in tissues and the rhizosphere of oil palm plants, suggesting a potential to benefit from biological nitrogen fixation (BNF). A few studies have confirmed that plantlets at nursery stage can benefit significantly from BNF after inoculation with Azospirillum spp. but no data are available regarding the benefit from naturally-occurring diazotrophic bacteria in oil palm. The results described here were derived from two pot trials laid out under controlled conditions with plantlets from two important regions for palm oil production in Brazil, as well as from different field sites of mature oil palm plantations. The ¹⁵N natural abundance technique was employed to estimate plant dependence on BNF (%Ndfa) by the different ecotypes grown in soil and previously characterized as hosting diazotrophic bacteria. From both pot trials it was possible to identify some ecotypes of high potential for N₂-fixation that reached in some cases approximately 50%Ndfa. However, the accuracy of measurement still needs to be improved using more suitable reference plants for pot experiments. Values of δ ¹⁵N signals from oil palm and reference plants in the field were inconclusive concerning any benefit from BNF to oil palm, owing to apparently high temporal and spatial variability of δ ¹⁵N of the plant-available N in the heterogeneous soil matrix for the different palm and reference plant tested.     

Practical recommendations for supporting agricultural decisions through life cycle assessment based on two alternative views of crop production: the example of organic conversion

Purpose

Earlier studies on agricultural life cycle assessment recommend that practitioners use two functional units—product weight and land area—because agriculture entails commodity production and land use. However, there are still ambiguities in this approach from the perspective of decision support. The purpose of this paper is to provide recommendations to support farming conversion decisions on the basis of a framework constructed on two alternative views of agricultural production. Organic conversion of arable farming is selected as a case study.

Methods

Four types of conversion were constructed on the basis of land-oriented expression, in which inputs into and outputs from land were depicted, and product-oriented expression, in which inputs into and outputs from products were depicted. Then, the frequencies for each type were counted using LCI databases and data from journal papers.

Results

The results can be summarized as follows: (1) trade-off conversion, in which improvements in environmental impacts per area unit are involved in decrease of yield per area unit, is common. (2) Conversion tended to be efficient; that is, environmental impacts per product unit tended to improve. (3) Within trade-off conversion, the conversion tended to be efficient. (4) When conversion was efficient, there were trade-offs.

Conclusions

Since the results for one expression were not always derivable from the results for another expression, the recommendation of this study is to use the two expressions complementarily, knowing that win–win conversion is rare. In addition, there is a general recommendation to use decision criteria rather than trying to make decisions on the basis of multiple functional units because comparisons based on the two functional units are not on the same level.     

The cycling of organic nitrogen through the atmosphere

Atmospheric organic nitrogen (ON) appears to be a ubiquitous but poorly understood component of the atmospheric nitrogen deposition flux. Here, we focus on the ON components that dominate deposition and do not consider reactive atmospheric gases containing ON such as peroxyacyl nitrates that are important in atmospheric nitrogen transport, but are probably not particularly important in deposition. We first review the approaches to the analysis and characterization of atmospheric ON. We then briefly summarize the available data on the concentrations of ON in both aerosols and rainwater from around the world, and the limited information available on its chemical characterization. This evidence clearly shows that atmospheric aerosol and rainwater ON is a complex mixture of material from multiple sources. This synthesis of available information is then used to try and identify some of the important sources of this material, in particular, if it is of predominantly natural or anthropogenic origin. Finally, we suggest that the flux of ON is about 25 per cent of the total nitrogen deposition flux.     

Soil biochemical properties and crop productivity following application of locally produced biochar at organic farms on Waldron Island,WA

Biochar (a carbon-rich product from pyrolysis of organic materials) additions to agricultural soils have been shown to often result in neutral to positive influences on soil properties and processes; however, the only a limited number of studies have been conducted on active organic farming systems and of those, none have used multivariate analytical methods to examine the influence of biochar on soil microbial activity, nutrient cycling, and crop performance. In this study, biochar produced from local timber harvest residues on Waldron Island, WA was applied in factorial combination with a poultry litter based fertilizer to replicated plots on six organic farms that were all growing Kabocha squash (Cucurbita maxima) in the summer of 2016. A series of soil physicochemical and biochemical properties were examined after 5 months of biochar application; squash samples were evaluated for productivity and nutrient uptake. Factorial multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed a significant influence of biochar on soil properties as well as a synergistic effect of biochar and poultry litter during a 5 month field trial. Principle component analysis (PCA) highlighted soil total C content, microbial biomass C, enzyme activities, bioavailable P, and phosphatase enzyme activity as the variables most influenced by biochar incorporation into surface mineral soil. Redundancy analysis (RDA) further indicated that better soil biochemical conditions, particularly soil enzyme activities and available P concentrations, were associated with higher crop productivity in biochar-treated plots. Overall, our study demonstrates that locally produced wood biochar, in addition to improving soil C storage, has the potential to significantly improve soil fertility and crop productivity in organic farming systems on sandy soils.     

Activation at the germinal vesicle stage of starfish oocytes produces parthenogenetic development through the failure of polar body extrusion

Starfish oocytes can be fertilized after germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) and artificial parthenogenesis can be induced by activating the oocytes after GVBD (post-GVBD activation). In the present study, parthenogenotes were obtained by the activation of immature oocytes with caffeine before treatment with 1-methyladenine (1-MeAde) to induce oocyte maturation. Most of the caffeine-treated eggs developed as tetraploids, as parthenogenotes produced by the post-GVBD activation. The parthenogenotes were derived only from eggs that failed to extrude polar bodies, mostly from eggs failing to extrude a second polar body. Eggs derived from immature oocytes activated by A23187, treated with 1-MeAde and post-treated with cytochalasin B failed to extrude polar bodies, and eventually developed into parthenogenetic embryos. These results indicate that the present parthenogenesis mechanism shares the same characteristics as that achieved by post-GVBD activation in the suppression of polar body formation as a key means for successful starfish parthenogenesis.     

Release and uptake of volatile inorganic and organic gases through the snowpack at Niwot Ridge,Colorado

Whole air drawn from four heights within the high elevation (3,340 m asl), deep, winter snowpack at Niwot Ridge, Colorado, were sampled into stainless steel canisters, and subsequently analyzed by gas chromatography for 51 volatile inorganic and organic gases. Two adjacent plots with similar snow cover were sampled, one over bare soil and a second one from within a snow-filled chamber where Tedlar/Teflon-film covered the ground and isolated it from the soil. This comparison allowed for studying effects from processes in the snowpack itself versus soil influences on the gas concentrations and fluxes within and through the snowpack. Samples were also collected from ambient air above the snow surface for comparison with the snowpack air. Analyzed gas species were found to exhibit three different kinds of behavior: (1) One group of gases, i.e., carbon dioxide (CO₂), chloroform (CHCl₃), dimethylsulfide (CH₃)₂S, carbondisulfide (CS₂), and dichlorobromomethane (CHBrCl₂), displayed higher concentrations inside the snow, indicating a formation of these species and release into the atmosphere. (2) A second group of compounds, including carbon monoxide (CO), carbonyl sulfide (COS), the hydrocarbons methane, ethane, ethyne, benzene, and the halogenated compounds methylchloride (CH₃Cl), methylbromide (CH₃Br), dibromomethane (CH₂Br₂), bromoform (CHBr₃), tetrachloromethane (CCl₄), CFC-11, CFC-12, HCFC-22, CFC-113, 1,2-dichloroethane, methylchloroform, HCFC-141b, and HCFC-142b, were found at lower concentrations in the snow, indicating that the snow and/or soil constitute a sink for these gases. (3) For 21 other gases absolute concentrations, respectively concentration gradients, were too low to unequivocally identify their uptake or release behavior. For gases listed in the first two groups, concentration gradients were incorporated into a snowpack gas diffusion model to derive preliminary estimates of fluxes at the snow-atmosphere interface. The snowpack gradient flux technique was found to offer a highly sensitive method for the study of these surface gas exchanges. Microbial activities below this deep, winter snowpack appear to be the driving mechanism behind these gas sources and sinks. Flux results were applied to a simple box model to assess the potential contribution of the snowpack uptake rates to atmospheric lifetimes of these species.