Influence of Boron on Sunflower Yield and Nutritional Status

Sunflower has been mentioned in the literature as a plant that requires large amounts of boron (B) to achieve a successful crop. This study aimed at evaluating the influence of sunflower fertilization with boron on the soil nutrient concentration, index leaf, seed yield, fatty acids’ composition of sunflower oil, and oil content. Cultivar M734 was selected for boron fertilization at 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 kg ha^?1 rates. The maximum economic return was obtained with 3.13 kg ha^?1. Neither oil content nor fatty acid composition was affected by boron. With proper irrigation, the M734 cultivar was able to absorb boron in the 0 ? 40-cm layer, ultimately producing about 3000 kg ha^?1 of seeds in soils with only 0.30 mg kg^?1 of boron. Based on these results, it is suggested that the boron fertilization program be expanded to include the soil strata at 0?20 cm and 20?40 cm.     

Magnesium-fortified phosphate fertilizers improve nutrient uptake and plant growth without reducing phosphorus availability

Magnesium (Mg) deficiency can significantly limit crop yield and quality. Separate application of straight Mg fertilizer is unattractive because of additional labor costs. Meanwhile, bulk blending Mg with other macronutrient fertilizers is also a suboptimal solution because bulk blended fertilizers often yield poor nutrient distributions. One rapid and economical alternative to alleviating Mg deficiency is to co-granulate macronutrient fertilizers with Mg. However, few commercial products have implemented this approach. One of the barriers hindering the production of Mg-fortified phosphorus (P) fertilizers is the assumption that precipitation of P with Mg will reduce P solubility. In this study, four Mg compounds, anhydrous magnesium sulfate (MgSO₄), magnesium oxide (MgO), anhydrous magnesium chloride (MgCl₂), and dolomite (CaMg(CO₃)₂), were co-granulated with mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP), and their granule strength, Mg and P availabilities, and agronomic effectiveness were evaluated. Results showed that there were no significant differences in P solubility between Mg-fortified MAP and MAP treatments. X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated that the Mg species after co-granulation were boussingaultite (Mg(NH₄)₂(SO₄)₂·6H₂O), schertelite (Mg(NH₄)₂H₂(PO₄)₂·4H₂O), magnesium hydrogen phosphate (Mg(H₂PO₄)₂), and dolomite (CaMg(CO₃)₂). A pot experiment using an acidic soil demonstrated an average 9.6-fold increase in shoot Mg uptake, 3.0-fold increase in shoot P uptake, and 3.2-fold increase in soybean shoot dry matter in Mg-fortified MAP treatments, compared to those in MAP treatment. The current study provides a simple, effective, and low-cost approach for the addition of Mg to macronutrient fertilizers, to minimize Mg deficiency.     

基于介电特征频率的大量元素水溶肥种类快速辨识装置研制

为实现对大量元素水溶肥种类的快速准确辨识,根据水溶肥的介电特性设计了一个传感器,并在此基础上采用特征频率法,研制了一种大量元素水溶肥快速辨识装置,主要由±5V稳压电路、单片机控制电路、激励信号发生电路、传感器、真有效值转换电路和LCD显示模块组成。以市面上常见的尿素、普钙、硫酸钾、磷酸氢二铵、磷酸二氢钾和硝酸钾6种大量元素水溶肥作为试验对象,在1 kHz~10 MHz激励信号频率范围内研究了其频率响应特性,得出了9个用于辨识6种大量元素水溶肥的激励信号特征频率,即30、40、50、600、700、800 kHz和3、4、5 MHz。根据各种水溶肥分别在9个特征频率处的响应模式,设计了对6种大量元素水溶肥的辨识策略。该装置的辨识性能采用234组不同类型和浓度的待测水溶肥进行验证试验,结果表明:该装置的辨识准确率为98.3%,完成1次辨识的平均时间为14.3s,最长不超过19.5 s,表明该装置具有良好的快速性和准确性,满足实际应用要求。     

Relative role of soil nutrients vs. carbon availability on soil carbon mineralization in grassland receiving long-term N addition

High nitrogen (N) input often induces soil carbon (C) limitation, eutrophication of macronutrients, deficiency of base cations, and accumulation of toxic micronutrients. These changes are perceived to be critical factors in regulating soil C mineralization. Previous studies primarily focused on the individual effects of C, macronutrients, exchangeable base cations, and micronutrients on soil C mineralization. However, the relative importance of those factors in regulating soil C mineralization, especially in N-enriched ecosystems, remains unclear. To disentangle the relative contributions of aforementioned factors, lime and/or glucose were added to soils that were collected from a field experiment with historical N addition (6 years) at seven rates (0–50 g N m⁻² year⁻¹) in a grassland ecosystem. Lime and glucose were added to improve the soil C and key nutrient conditions. The responses of soil C mineralization rate to changes in soil C and macronutrients (N and P), exchangeable base cations (K⁺, Na⁺ and Mg²⁺), and micronutrients (Fe²⁺, Mn²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺) were examined. We found that lime addition decreased soil micronutrients, while glucose addition improved the soil available P and exchangeable base cations, especially at high historical N addition rates. The soil C mineralization was weakly associated with changes in soil nutrients, including the availability of N, P, exchangeable base cations, and micronutrients, which were conventionally and previously considered as the vital drivers of soil C mineralization. However, soil C mineralization strongly increased with glucose-induced enhancement of C availability and the subsequent enhancement of microbial biomass under increasing N addition rates. Based on the Structural Equation Model, the standardized total effects of C, macronutrients (N and P), base cations and micronutrients on soil C mineralization were 0.86, − 0.29, 0.15 and − 0.08, respectively. Findings from this study demonstrated that the N-induced significant changes in soil nutrients (e.g., eutrophication of N and P, base cations deficiency and accumulation of toxic macronutrients) mediated soil C mineralization, with C availability being the most critical driver for C mineralization in N-enriched soil. This study provides insight into the mechanistic understanding of the relationship between N input and terrestrial C cycling.