Eurasian Soil Science - The application of agricultural wastes to the soil does not only improve soil fertility but also helps in the recycling of agricultural waste resources. However, the effects... 相似文献
Crops grow poorly in saline-sodic soils, and the productivity of these soils can be dramatically improved with proper amendments. Current research mainly focuses on either organic or inorganic soil amendments, whereas few studies address options of combining organic and inorganic amendments. The objective of this study was to develop new organic and inorganic soil amendments which can lower the soil pH, replace sodium, and improve soil structure.
Materials and methods
Polyhalite (PL), microporous potassium-silicon-calcium mineral fertilizer (MF), furfural residue (FR), and fulvic acid (FA) were mixed with four different ratios to produce organic and inorganic soil amendments: PLFR, PLFA, MFFR, and MFFA. And their optimum mixing ratios were determined by comparing the potassium, calcium concentrations, and pH of filtrate after dissolution. Then, a leaching experiment was conducted by packing mixtures (mass ratio of soil to amendment = 219:1, equivalent to 13 t/hm2) of the saline-sodic soil with each one of these amendments plus two contrasts, gypsum (GP), and no amendment (CK). And the remediation effect was compared by pH, EC, ESP, texture, organic recombination degree of clay, saturated hydraulic conductivity, water-stable aggregates fraction, and enzyme (urease, alkaline phosphatase, and catalase) activities of soil.
Results and discussion
After four times leaching experiment, soil treated with PLFR had lower pH and 25.86% lower exchangeable sodium than untreated soils. The water-stable small macroaggregate fractions and saturated hydraulic conductivity of the MFFR-treated soils were significantly increased by 133% and 31%, respectively. Also, the total soil and heavy fraction organic carbons of the soils treated with MFFR in addition to its alkaline phosphatase activity were all significantly higher than the other treatments.
Conclusions
The results revealed that MFFR has more potential as a soil amendment to improve soil structure and quality and thus help in the development and use of saline-sodic lands for agriculture.
Water stress, with its negative consequences on plant growth and survival, can be mitigated by Azospirillum brasilense inoculation. In tomato, A. brasilense delays wilting caused by a vascular pathogen, Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis, by yet unknown mechanisms. We studied morphological, anatomical and physiological changes induced by A. brasilense in tomato that relate to water stress tolerance, which could explain the deferral in symptom expression. For this purpose, tomato seeds were treated or not with A. brasilense BNM65, and 5 weeks later plants were challenged with C. michiganensis subsp. michiganensis or mock inoculated with water. There was a large growth promotion associated to Azospirillum: treated plants had higher total biomass and leaf area. In relation to water stress tolerance, Azospirillum treated plants had larger xylem vessel area, higher stem specific hydraulic conductivity, thicker stems, and lower shoot/root dry matter and specific leaf area. These changes were opposite to those induced by C. michiganensis subsp. michiganensis. We conclude that A. brasilense favoured a better adjustment of plant-water relations by several mechanisms, and thus, transitorily alleviated symptoms expression of a vascular disease. 相似文献
Weeds and grain feeding birds are the two main biological causes of yield losses in irrigated rice in Africa. To quantify the single and combined effect of these biological constraints on rice yields, and to investigate whether weeds attract birds and thereby contribute to increased bird damage, a three-year factorial experiment was set-up in the Senegal River Valley. We tested two management factors (bird and weed management), each with two levels (‘complete’ and ‘absent’), and one crop cycle factor also with two levels (Sahel 202, a medium-cycle and Sahel 108, a short-cycle rice cultivar). Season-long competition from weeds resulted in high but predictable yield losses ranging from 50% to 75%, with lower yield losses for the medium-cycle cultivar Sahel 202 in two of the three seasons. Due to the nature of the pest, season-long exposure to birds resulted in less predictable yield losses ranging from 13% to as high as 94%, with high seasonal variation. In two seasons, much lower bird-inflicted yield losses were observed in the short-cycle cultivar Sahel 108, whereas in one season the medium-cycle cultivar Sahel 202 was much less damaged. When rice was exposed to both weeds and birds, the relative yield losses ranged from 80 to 99%. The yield reducing effect of weeds and birds was never additive. Bird visits to a weedy crop were more frequent compared to a weed-free crop at least in the early rice grain filling stages. This attraction of birds by weeds resulted in an additional yield loss in five of the six cases, ranging from 2 to 62%. Bird-inflicted yield losses in irrigated rice may be reduced by keeping the crop, as much as possible, free from weeds. 相似文献