Tillage, mineralization and leaching: phosphate

Phosphate is usually the limiting nutrient for the formation of algal blooms in freshwater bodies, so tillage practices must minimize phosphate losses by leaching and surface run-off from cultivated land. Mineral soils usually contain 30–70% of their phosphate in organic forms, and both organic and inorganic phosphate are found in the soil solution. Some organic phosphates, notably the inositol phosphates, are as strongly sorbed by soil as inorganic phosphates, and this decreases their susceptibility to mineralization. The strength with which both categories are sorbed lessens the risk of their being leached as solutes but makes it more likely that they will be carried from the soil on colloidal or particulate matter, and the greatest losses of phosphate from the soil usually occur by surface run-off and erosion. Recent studies at Rothamsted have, however, shown substantial concentrations of phosphate in drainage from plots that have long received more phosphate as fertilizer than is removed in crops. These losses probably occurred because preferential water flow carried the phosphate rapidly from the surface soil to the field drains. For lessening losses of phosphate by leaching and run-off, the prime requirement of tillage is that it should encourage flows of water through the soil that help it to retain phosphate. Primary and secondary tillage should ensure that the surface roughness and porosity of the top-soil encourage the flow of water into the soil matrix where it will move relatively slowly and allow phosphate to be sorbed, thereby avoiding problems from run-off and preferential flow. Inversion tillage can be useful for lessening the loss of phosphate by run-off and erosion. Secondary tillage could be used to decrease the size of the aggregates and increase the surface area for sorption. Although tillage will increase the mineralization of organic phosphate, pulses of mineralization are unlikely to be so rapid or to lead to such large losses as with nitrate. The strength with which phosphate is sorbed also lessens the problem. As with nitrate, the key to managing phosphate is basically good husbandry.     

Comparative Effect of Phosphorus Sources for Grain Amaranth Production

Abstract

Phosphorus (P) is expensive to the sub‐Saharan African resource‐poor farmers; therefore, there is a need for investigation of locally available alternative P sources to enhance farmers' productivity. Optimum P rate was determined during the early and late rains of 1999. Using the optimum P rate, influences of three P sources ogun rock phosphate (ORP), sokoto rock phosphate (SRP), single super phosphate (SSP) and a control were evaluated on amaranth varieties in 2000 at the vegetable research plots of the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Ibadan, Nigeria. In 1999, three grain amaranth varieties (NH84/452, NH84/445, and NH84/493) were combined factorially with four P rates: 0, 30, 60, and 90 kgP/ha. Application of P significantly increased plant height, number of branches, leaf dry weight, and grain yield (GY) per plant. Significant increase in GY was in the order NH/493>NH/445>NH/452. Optimum P rates across varieties for leaf dry‐matter yield was established at 51.8 kgP/ha and for grain yield production was 48.4 kgP/ha. The experiment in the following year, 2000, was a RCB design using the optimum P determined in 1999. Three P sources (ORP, SRP, SSP) and a control were factorially combined with the three amaranth varieties. In the 2000 experiment, grain yield was 21.3, 16.9, 16.0, and 7.8 g/plant, respectively, for SSP, SRP, ORP, and the control. Growth was ranked in the order SSP>ORP>SRP>control. It was concluded for fertilizer recommendation purposes that 50 kgP/ha is optimum for grain amaranth production and that amaranth productivity indices could be alternatively improved with indigenous P sources.     

Role of beneficial microbial gene pool in mitigating salt/nutrient stress of plants in saline soils through underground phytostimulating signalling molecules

Soil salinity diminishes soil health and reduces crop yield, which is becoming a major global concern. Salinity stress is one of the primary stresses, leading to several other secondary stresses that restrict plant growth and soil fertility. The major secondary stresses induced in plants under saline-alkaline conditions include osmotic stress, nutrient limitation, and ionic stress, all of which negatively impact overall plant growth. Under stressed conditions, certain beneficial soil microflora ...     

产ACC脱氨酶植物根际促生菌的筛选及其对修复植物高羊茅生长的影响

以1-氨基环丙烷-1-羧酸(ACC)为唯一氮源,从石油污染的土壤中分离得到一株具有ACC脱氨酶活性的菌株D5A.该菌在以ACC为唯一氮源条件下,其ACC脱氨酶比活力为0.084 U/mg.另外,D5A还具有产生吲哚乙酸(IAA)、耐盐以及溶磷的特性.在液体培养条件下该菌株产IAA高达112 mg/L,在90 g/kg盐含量的培养基中仍能够正常生长且具有较强的溶解矿物磷能力.同时该菌对酸碱具有良好的适应性,在初始pH4～10的LB培养基中生长良好.种子发芽试验表明在3 g/kg和6 g/kg浓度NaC1的逆境条件下,该菌株能显著提高高羊茅种子的发芽率和芽长.最后,通过对其进行生理生化特性和16S rDNA序列分析,该菌株初步鉴定为克雷伯氏菌(Klebsiellasp.).     

Effect of Catch Cropping on Phosphorus Bioavailability in Comparison to Organic and Inorganic Fertilization

ABSTRACT

Phosphorus (P) is a limited resource and its efficient use is a main task in sustainable agriculture. In a 3-year field experiment the effects of catch cropping [oil radish (Raphanus sativus), buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), serradella (Ornithopus sativus), ryegrass (Lolium westerwoldicum), and phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia)] of organic fertilization (cattle manure and biowaste compost) and of inorganic fertilization (Triple-Superphosphate) on plant and soil parameters were investigated on a P-poor loamy sand in Northeast Germany. The catch crops were sown in September and remained on the plots until next spring. Then the main crops oilseed rape (Brassica napus), spring barley (Hordeum vulgare), or spring wheat (Triticum aestivum) were cultivated. The yield and P uptake of the main crops were determined. Furthermore, in the soil the organic matter content, pH, phosphorus (P) in soil solution (Psol), double-lactate and oxalate P content, P sorption capacity, and degree of P saturation were measured. All applied forms of fertilizer affected the P contents in soil and the yields and P uptakes of main crops. For green fertilization especially phacelia was found to contribute to the P supply of the main crops, since it increased the P uptake as well as the P contents in soil significantly. The cultivation of ryegrass led to a reduction of the P availability in soil. For example, in average of the three years the Psol content was 0.35 mg L^{? 1}when phacelia was cultivated and 0.22 mg L^{? 1} when ryegrass was cultivated. The cultivation of phacelia had a comparable effect on soil and plant parameters as the organic and mineral fertilization. An improved P availability and P utilization by catch cropping can reduce the need for external P input which may help to save the limited P resources worldwide.     

Modeling soil metabolic processes using isotopologue pairs of position-specific C-labeled glucose and pyruvate

Most organic carbon (C) in soils eventually turns into CO₂ after passing through microbial metabolic pathways, while providing cells with energy and biosynthetic precursors. Therefore, detailed insight into these metabolic processes may help elucidate mechanisms of soil C cycling processes. Here, we describe a modeling approach to quantify the C flux through metabolic pathways by adding 1-¹³C and 2,3-¹³C pyruvate and 1-¹³C and U-¹³C glucose as metabolic tracers to intact soil microbial communities. The model calculates, assuming steady-state conditions and glucose as the only substrate, the reaction rates through glycolysis, Krebs cycle, pentose phosphate pathway, anaplerotic activity through pyruvate carboxylase, and various biosynthesis reactions. The model assumes a known and constant microbial proportional precursor demand, estimated from literature data. The model is parameterized with experimentally determined ratios of ¹³CO₂ production from pyruvate and glucose isotopologue pairs. Model sensitivity analysis shows that metabolic flux patterns are especially responsive to changes in experimentally determined ¹³CO₂ ratios from pyruvate and glucose. Calculated fluxes are far less sensitive to assumptions concerning microbial chemical and community composition. The calculated metabolic flux pattern for a young volcanic soil indicates significant pentose phosphate pathway activity in excess of pentose precursor demand and significant anaplerotic activity. These C flux patterns can be used to calculate C use efficiency, energy production and consumption for growth and maintenance purposes, substrate consumption, nitrogen demand, oxygen consumption, and microbial C isotope composition. The metabolic labeling and modeling methods may improve our ability to study the biochemistry and ecophysiology of intact and undisturbed soil microbial communities.     

Recovery of phosphorus fertilizer in potato as affected by application strategy and soil type

Phosphorus (P) fertilizers are usually supplied prior to or at planting of potato even though most P is taken up 40 to 80 d after emergence. This may lead to inefficient P use as a result of P leaching or fixation in the soil. This study evaluates the effects of split P application at multiple times during the growth period according to the plant's need for P. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Ditta) was grown in pots in climate chambers, and radioactive ³²P isotope was used to distinguish between the fertilizer and soil‐derived P sources. Two soils were tested in combination with five application rates of P, and the plants were harvested at four dates. The results show that the recovery of P fertilizer can be significantly enhanced if the P supply is split. The result also showed that the proportion of soil‐derived P, accumulated in the plant, was significantly reduced both when more fertilizer P was applied to the soil and when P supply was split into several applications. The positive effects of multiple P applications on the P recovery were greatest in the soil with low P status and low buffer capacity.     

Population dynamics of earthworm communities in corn agroecosystems receiving organic or inorganic fertilizer amendments

 The dynamics of earthworm populations were investigated in continuously-cropped, conventional disk-tilled corn agroecosystems which had received annual long-term (6 years) amendments of either manure or inorganic fertilizer. Earthworm populations were sampled at approximately monthly intervals during the autumn of 1994 and spring and autumn of 1995 and 1996. The dominant earthworm species were Lumbricus terrestris L. and Aporrectodea tuberculata (Eisen), which comprised 50–60% and 8–13%, respectively, of the total annual earthworm biomass. Lumbricus rubellus (Hoffmeister) and Aporrectodea trapezoides (Dugés) were much less abundant and contributed a small fraction of total earthworm biomass. Earthworm numbers and biomass were significantly greater in manure-amended plots compared to inorganic fertilizer-treated plots during the majority of the study period. Seasonal fluctuations in earthworm numbers and biomass were attributed to changes in soil temperature and moisture, and cultivation. Unfavorable climatic conditions in the summer and autumn of 1995 caused earthworm abundance and biomass to decline significantly. Mature L. terrestris, L. rubellus and A. tuberculata were most abundant in May and June of 1995 and 1996, and cocoon production was greatest in June and July 1995 and June 1996. Recruitment of juveniles of Lumbricus spp. and Aporrectodea spp. into earthworm communities occurred primarily in the autumn. Long-term amendments of manure or inorganic fertilizer did not change the species composition of earthworm communities in these agroecosystems. The earthworm populations in both manure and inorganic fertilizer plots have declined significantly after 5 years of continuously-cropped corn. Received: 24 August 1997     

Microbial and enzyme activity in soils amended with a natural source of easily available carbon

The addition of sugar beet to soils as a source of C led to an increase in the availability of easily utilizable C (glucose), which in turn markedly increased numbers of soil bacteria and of the yeast Williopsis californica. Nitrification, P solubilization, urea hydrolysis (and the subsequent nitrification of liberated NH _inf4 ^sup+ ) were stimulated by this amendment. The stimulation of nitrification may have been a result of increased heterotrophic nitrification. In contrast, the concentration of sulphate in S^o-amended soils declined following amendment, presumably as the result of enhanced S immobilization. Activity of the enzymes amylase, aryl sulphatase, invertase, phosphatase, dehydrogenase, and urease were all stimulated by the sugar beet amendment. These results suggest that sugar beet amendment could be used to increase the rate of release of plant-available ions from fertilizers such as insoluble phosphates. Problems may arise, however, from a subsequent increase in nitrification and reduced sulphate availability.