The relative-intensity method of x-ray fluorescence analysis and its application to soils and rocks

The relative-intensity X-ray fluorescence method of analysis of rock and soil samples has been investigated and compared with the net-intensity method. Strong, coherently scattered radiation originating from the X-ray tube is shown to be preferable to background radiation as an internal standard, and scattered radiation measured at one wavelength can usefully be applied in the determination of several elements. When the concentrations of an element in two soil samples of different composition (for example concretions and the soil adjacent to them) are compared, the ratio of the relative intensities may be different from the ratio of net intensities by a factor of about two. The concentrations of manganese in thirteen standard rock samples determined by the relative-intensity method are within or very close to the ranges of values reported previously.     

THE EFFECT OF CUTTING HEIGHT AND NITROGEN LEVEL ON THE YIELD, IN VITRO DIGESTIBILITY AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF ITALIAN RYEGRASS SWARDS

Three cutting heights, 2±5, 7±6 and 12±7 cm (1, 2±5 and 5 in.) and three levels of fertilizer N, 168, 280 and 392 kg N/ha (150, 250 and 350 Ib N/ac) were imposed on a sward of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) cv. Irish. Lowering the cutting height and increasing the level of applied N increased the yield of herhage DM. Increasing the level of applied N had a greater effect on the chemical composition of the herbage than altering the cutting height     

INVESTIGATIONS ON THE DRYING OF HERBAGE AT TEMPERATURES UP TO 50°C*

Experiments to determine the exposed layer drying rate of cut leaves and stems of a tetraploid (Sabel) and diploid (S23) ryegrass are described. Drying was achieved by passing air through the crop; the changes in weight were monitored continuously. Airflow was fixed throughout the experiments at 37·5 ft/min (0·190 m/s) and the temperatures were controlled in the range 25°C to 50°C. Comparisons were also made of the drying rates at different stages of maturity. Drying curves were determined and moisture content was shown to decay exponentially with time, the relationship approximating closely to a two term exponential.     

The redox characteristics of four peat profiles

In several previous observations on peat soils, redox potentials appeared to vary with season and depth. To clarify this variation, a systematic study was made over 1 yr at four peat sites, including wet and dry areas at high and low altitude in northern England.The coefficients of linear regressions of redox potential on seasonal temperatures became progressively more negative with increasing depth at all four sites. These observations support an hypothesis that increased aeration accompanying increased temperature played a role at the surface, but was of less importance in the deeper layers, where the reducing conditions that result from microbial activity were dominant.By using orthogonal polynomials, it was possible to demonstrate the existence of redox minima in the profiles at all sites. There were rather more minima present using this method at the lowland sites that at the upland ones where trends of redox with depth were otherwise linear or non-significant. Although the mean redox potentials over whole profiles were lower in the wetter sites than the drier, the mean depths of the redox minima were similar. These mean depths were poorly defined however having standard deviations of 30–50 per cent of the means calculated from the year's observations.Finally, it was shown that although the potentials were measured 60 s after closing the circuit, very similar conclusions would have been reached if the readings had been taken after 10 s.     

The abundance of Trichoderma propagules and the distribution of species in forest soils

Propagules of Trichoderma generally formed less than 3 per cent of the total fungal propagules in a variety of forest soils in the southeastern U.S. and Washington State. The largest populations were found in the F and H organic horizons of the forest floor or under conditions of excessive moisture. T. viride Pers. ex S.F. Gray and T. polysporum (Link ex Pers.) Rifai were largely restricted to cool temperate regions; whereas, T. harzianum Rifai was characteristic of warm climates. T. koningii Oud. and T. hamatum (Bon.) Bain, were the most widely distributed species aggregates and were found in all the climatic regions investigated. Under conditions of excessive moisture, strains of T. hamatum and T. pseudokoningii Rifai were the dominant forms.