Soil sodicity is a major ecological problem in the western Songnen Plain of Northeast China and rice cultivation is the main approach used to mitigate saline-sodic soils. However, rice cultivation ...alone may not be the most effective practice. This study aimed to investigate the combined effects of annual tillage and rice cultivation with either phosphogypsum or farmyard manure on soil salinity, mineral status, and concentration of heavy metals in saline-sodic paddy fields. Treatments were: 1) untreated (no amendments), untilled, and uncultivated (no rice) saline-sodic native grasslands (UG); 2) untreated, tilled, rice-cultivated paddy fields (PFU); 3) tilled, rice-cultivated, amended paddy fields with phosphogypsum (PFPG); and 4) tilled, rice-cultivated, amended paddy fields with farmyard manure (PFFM). The effectiveness of these treatments on soil improvement was evaluated after a 10-year field experiment. Compared to the UG control, the 0–20 cm topsoil layer of PFU, PFPG, and PFFM had respective decreases in Na+ concentrations of 42.9%, 61.5%, and 60.9%; in CO32- + HCO3- concentrations of 18.9%, 63.2%, and 57.9%; in Cl- concentration of 64.6%, 75.7%, and 79.9%; in pH units of 0.57, 1.05, and 1.30; in soil electrical conductivity (EC1:5) of 18.3%, 49.1%, and 48.3%; and in exchange sodium percentage (ESP) of 47.2%, 66.9%, and 72.5%. Also, the 0–20 cm topsoil layer of PFPG and PFFM had its concentrations of soil organic matter (SOM), available nitrogen (AN), and available phosphorus (AP) significantly (P < 0.05) increased compared to the UG control. However, the concentrations of five heavy metals (As, Pb, Cd, Cr, and Hg) were kept within a safe range in saline-sodic paddy fields amended with phosphogypsum or farmyard manure and were far below the environmental quality standard held for Chinese soils. Therefore, phosphogypsum and farmyard manure significantly decreased soil salinity and sodicity while increased soil fertility and SOM. Because these amendments are locally available and affordable to farmers, their use is deemed suitable for large-scale soil reclamation and the mitigation of salinity and sodicity in soils destined for rice cultivation in Northeast China.
•High soil pH and salinity significantly inhibited soil fertility improvement.•Tillage and rice crop alone did not significantly reduce soil salinity and sodicity.•Phosphogypsum and farmyard manure significantly improved soil chemical characteristics.•Phosphogypsum or farmyard manure did not increase soil heavy metals.•Tillage and both amendments are feasible resources for saline-sodic soil improvement.
Soils in semi-dry areas lack sufficient nutrients for crops, so their yield depends on fertilizers and planting methods. This study aimed to investigate how the fatty acids in safflower oil change ...with the use of fertilizers and planting methods. Five fertilizers F1: control; F2: 10 t ha-1 of farmyard manure; F3: 20 t ha-1 of farmyard manure; F4: NPK (130:60:45 kg ha-1); F5: nano-Fe and nano-Zn and four planting patterns (P1: 40-cm furrow planting; P2: 60-cm furrow planting; P3: 40-cm ridge planting; P4: 60-cm ridge planting) were tested. A biplot analysis explained 73 % of the variability, with the first and second principal components accounting for 54 and 19 %, respectively. The polygon-view was divided into five sections, with F3-P4 being the best for oil and protein contents, stearic (18:0), oleic (18:1), linoleic (18:2), linolenic (18:3) and lauric (12:0) acids, and iodine value. The vector-view showed a positive association among iodine value, oil content and linoleic, oleic, linolenic, stearic and lauric acids, as well as between myristic acid (14:0) and protein content, and between saponification and peroxide values. The best treatments were F4-P4, F4-P3 and F5-P4. Therefore, using NPK chemical fertilizer or nano-Fe and nano-Zn, combined with planting on a ridge with a 40 or 60-cm interrow distance, can be beneficial for producing high-quality safflower oil.
As a root crop known for its substantial nitrogen requirements, carrot responds well to both organic and inorganic fertilizers that supply different amounts of nitrogen. This study aimed to assess ...the efficacy of various proportions of farmyard manure (FYM) and recommended dosages of chemical fertilizers (RDF) in carrot production to address the issues posed by their sole use. A Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) was used to plan the field study, which consisted of five treatments and five replications with different nitrogen rates and sources, viz., T1 (100% FYM), T2 (25% RDF+75% FYM), T3 (50% RDF+50% FYM), T4 (75% RDF+25% FYM), and T5 (100% RDF) during December 2019 to April 2020 in the tropical region of Sindhuli, Nepal. Among the treatments, T3 exhibited the earliest germination (7.60 DAS) and the most desirable plant height (42.61 cm), root length (20.41 cm), root diameter (3.01 cm), fresh root weight plant-1 (96.04 g), total root dry matter content (15.01%), root biomass plant-1 (55.44 g), and total biomass plant-1 (85.33 g) at harvest. However, T5 resulted in the highest leaf count plant-1 (8.6) and fresh foliage weight plant-1 (42.96 g) at harvest. Similarly, T3 was significantly higher for quality parameters, such as cortex diameter (1.36 cm), pH (6.72), TSS (12.48 0Brix), TA (0.22 g liter-1), and organoleptic score (7.60). Although there were minimal root disorders in T3 (17%), T1 also had insignificant cases of cracking (8%) and postharvest weight loss (1.63%). Thus, reducing nitrogen input from the recommended dose and adding FYM improves carrot yield, quality, and shelf life. Furthermore, this guarantees higher economic returns with a B:C ratio of 1.65. Despite these positive results, the efficacy of the tested nutrient combinations needs to be analyzed on a larger scale, as well as in different ecological regions.
Summary
The overuse of veterinary antibiotics in animal production and the subsequent land applications of manures contribute to the elevated antibiotic resistance in the soil environment. To ...minimize the risk of antibiotic resistance, it is important to understand the fate of antibiotics and the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) from animal production systems to soil. In this paper, we review recent studies on veterinary antibiotic use, the concentrations of antibiotics and the abundance and diversity of AGRs in animal manures and in soil that receives manures or manure composts. The mechanisms of ARG dissemination in the environment are also discussed. Although we focus on China where around 3 billion tons of animal manures are produced and more than 84 000 tons of antibiotics are consumed annually in animal production industries, the problem is worldwide. Approximately 58% of the veterinary antibiotics consumed are excreted into the environment, more than half of which end up in the soil. The abundance of ARGs in manures can reach up to 10−1 of the 16S rRNA genes. Applications of manures or manure composts can enrich soil ARGs in at least three ways: (i) by the direct introduction of manure‐derived ARGs, (ii) by elevating the intrinsic soil ARGs and (iii) by imposing a selection of ARGs with the antibiotics in the manures. We also discuss the need for more stringent regulations on the use of veterinary antibiotics and future research directions on the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and resistance management.
Highlights
Soil is a natural reservoir of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs).
Manure applications introduce antibiotics and enrich soil ARGs through different mechanisms.
Horizontal gene transfer plays an important role in the spread of ARGs from manures.
More stringent regulations are needed to reduce the spread of ARG from animal sources.
The effects of long-term various organic fertilisers application on ecosystem respiration components and net carbon budget have rarely been investigated in a hillslope agricultural ecosystem. Hence, ...we measured the rates of plant autotrophic (Ra) and soil heterotrophic respiration (Rh) from 2011 to 2012 with five treatments: no fertiliser (CK); mineral fertiliser (MF); MF combined with swine manure (MFS); MF combined with crop straw (MFC), and swine manure (SM). Our results confirm that Ra was found to be more temperature-moisture sensitive than Rh, whereas Rh was more temperature sensitive than Ra. Soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) is a major factor influencing the temperature sensitivity coefficient of Rh (Q10), thereby application of organic fertilisers combined with mineral fertilisers (MFS and MFC) significantly increased annual by 19.3% and 17.2% compared with MF treatment. Annual carbon emissions via Rh and Ra under MFS, MFC and SM treatments were increased by 24.6, 28.5, 48.8% and 6.6, 10.6, 1.8%, respectively compared with MF treatment (4.6 and 23.2 t C/ha/year). Net primary production (NPP) under MFS, MFC and SM treatments were increased by 5.4, 6.01, and 15.6% relative to MF treatment (13.6 t C/ha/year), respectively, and the corresponding net ecosystem carbon budget (NECB) increased by 121.2, 172.8, and 342.4%. Our findings establish that long-term organic fertilisers application increase plant autotrophic, heterotrophic respiration and net ecosystem carbon budget, which can increase the carbon sink function. Overall, crop straw combined with mineral fertiliser is a feasible agronomy practice to increase carbon sink function, reduce soil erosion and maintain crop yield.
Recycling of livestock manure to agricultural land may reduce the use of synthetic fertilizer and thereby enhance the sustainability of food production. However, the effects of substitution of ...fertilizer by manure on crop yield, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), and emissions of ammonia (NH3), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) as function of soil and manure properties, experimental duration and application strategies have not been quantified systematically and convincingly yet. Here, we present a meta‐analysis of these effects using results of 143 published studies in China. Results indicate that the partial substitution of synthetic fertilizers by manure significantly increased the yield by 6.6% and 3.3% for upland crop and paddy rice, respectively, but full substitution significantly decreased yields (by 9.6% and 4.1%). The response of crop yields to manure substitution varied with soil pH and experimental durations, with relatively large positive responses in acidic soils and long‐term experiments. NUE increased significantly at a moderate ratio (<40%) of substitution. NH3 emissions were significantly lower with full substitution (62%–77%), but not with partial substitution. Emissions of CH4 from paddy rice significantly increased with substitution ratio (SR), and varied by application rates and manure types, but N2O emissions decreased. The SR did not significantly influence N2O emissions from upland soils, and a relative scarcity of data on certain manure characteristic was found to hamper identification of the mechanisms. We derived overall mean N2O emission factors (EF) of 0.56% and 0.17%, as well as NH3 EFs of 11.1% and 6.5% for the manure N applied to upland and paddy soils, respectively. Our study shows that partial substitution of fertilizer by manure can increase crop yields, and decrease emissions of NH3 and N2O, but depending on site‐specific conditions. Manure addition to paddy rice soils is recommended only if abatement strategies for CH4 emissions are also implemented.
Agronomic and environmental performances of substituting chemical fertilizer by animal manure were systematically quantified by the meta‐analysis of field experiments across the main crop production regions of China. Partially substituting fertilizer by manure significantly increased crop yields, but full substitution decreased yields. The response of crop to manure substitution varied largely among soil pH, manure types and experimental duration. Ammonia emissions can be reduced, but methane emissions from paddy fields were significantly stimulated due to substitution of fertilizer by manure. The proper site‐specific methods of manure application are suggested to sustain food security with lower environmental costs.
In this research was carried out to determine the effects of farmyard manure and green manure applications on some physical soil properties in an organic vegetable cultivation field. The effects of ...control (C), farmyard manure (FYM) (35 t ha-1) and green manure (GM) applications on some soil physical properties (Soil water characteristics (0.001, 0.1, 0.33, 1, 5, 10 and 15 bar), available water capacity, porosity and bulk density) were investigated for soil depths of 0-10 and 10-20 cm and for two years. In the study at all tension values, the highest volumetric soil water content was obtained for FYM application and the lowest volumetric soil water content for C application. The highest total porosity with macro and micro porosity were found in the FYM application and the lowest total porosity with macro and micro porosity were found in the application C. The available water capacity was the highest in the GM application and the lowest in the C application. In addition, the highest bulk density was found in C application and the lowest bulk density was found in FYM application. These results showed that the effects of different organic material applications on soil physical properties are important.
Bu araştırma, organik sebze yetiştiriciliği yapılan bir arazide çiftlik gübresi ve yeşil gübre uygulamalarının bazı fiziksel toprak özellikleri üzerine etkilerini belirlemek üzere yürütülmüştür. Kontrol (K), çiftlik gübresi (ÇG) (35 ton/ha) ve yeşil gübre (YG) uygulamalarının 0-10 ve 10-20 cm toprak derinlikleri için bazı toprak fiziksel özellikleri (Toprak su karakteristikleri (0.001, 0.1, 0.33, 1, 5, 10 ve 15 bar), yarayışlı su kapasitesi, gözeneklilik ve hacim ağırlığı) üzerine etkileri 2 yıl süresince araştırılmıştır. Araştırmada tüm tansiyon değerlerindeki, en yüksek hacimsel toprak su içeriği ÇG uygulamasında, en düşük hacimsel toprak su içeriği ise K uygulamasında elde edilmiştir. En yüksek toplam gözeneklilik ile makro ve mikro gözenek hacmi ÇG uygulamasında, en düşük toplam gözeneklilik ile makro ve mikro gözenek hacmi ise K uygulamasında bulunmuştur. Yarayışlı su kapasitesi ise en yüksek YG uygulamasında en düşük ise K uygulamasında elde edilmiştir. Ayrıca en yüksek hacim ağırlığı K uygulamasında, en düşük hacim ağırlığı ise ÇG uygulamasında bulunmuştur. Bu sonuçlar, farklı organik materyal uygulamalarının toprak fiziksel özellikleri üzerine etkilerinin önemli olduğunu göstermiştir.
Understanding how to manage N inputs to identify the practices that maximize N recovery has been an organizing principle of agronomic research. Because growth in N fertilizer inputs is expected to ...continue in an ongoing effort to boost crop production over coming decades, understanding how to efficiently manage recovery of fertilizer N will be important going forward. Yet synthesis of published data that has traced the fate of 15N‐labeled fertilizer shows that less than half of the N taken up by crops is derived from current‐year N fertilizer. The source of the majority of N in crops is something other than current‐year fertilizer and the sources are not really known. This is true for maize (only 41% of N in crops was from current‐year N fertilizer), rice (32%), and small grains (37%). Recovery of organic fertilizer N (manure, green manure, compost, etc.) in crops is low (27%), though N recovery in subsequent years (10%) was greater than that for mineral fertilizers. Thus, while research on efficiency of N fertilizer use through improved rate, type, location, and timing is important, this research fails to directly address management of the majority of the N supplied to crops. It seems likely that the majority of non‐fertilizer N found in crops comes from turnover of soil and crop residue N. We encourage the research community to revisit the mental model that fertilizer is a replacement for N supply from turnover of soil organic N (SON) and consider a model in which N fertilizer augments ongoing SON turnover and makes an important longer term contribution to SON maintenance and turnover. Research focused on the efficient recovery of N current‐year fertilizer inputs neglects this potential role for building soil N and managing soil N turnover, which seems likely to be the most important source of crop N.
We synthesized 15N fertilizer studies and integrated these with other N budget data to better understand the source of the N found in cereal crops. Most crop N comes from a source other than current year's fertilizer. We believe that research focused on the efficient recovery of N current‐year fertilizer inputs neglects the role for building soil N and managing soil N turnover, which seems likely to be the most important source of crop N.
Present study was carried out during rainy (kharif) seasons of 2021 and 2022 at Rice Research Station, Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Kaul, Haryana to explore the merits of ...organic farming compared to inorganic farming for sustainable agriculture. The experiment consisting of 7 treatments in paddy (Oryza sativa L.) crop conducted in randomized block design (RBD) with 5 replications. Organic treatments include application of different nitrogenous sources, viz. farmyard manure; green manure (Sesbania); vermicompost and mustard cake on equivalent nitrogen basis and inorganic sources include urea fertilizer. The results revealed that the application of urea as an inorganic nitrogen source resulted in higher status of available nitrogen (171.4 kg/ha), phosphorus (25.56 kg/ha), and potassium (319.2 kg/ha) in soil as compared to other treatments. Similarly, the uptake of NPK by paddy grains was highest in the treatment with 100% nitrogen through urea (43.77 kg/ha, 16.33 kg/ha, and 17.69 kg/ ha, NPK, respectively), being at par with other organic treatments during both the seasons. While higher uptake of NPK (42.5 kg/ha, 19.78 kg/ha, 100.31 kg/ha, respectively) by paddy straw was recorded in treatment where 100% N through inorganic urea was applied. Organic farming system (increase ranged from 22.5 to 29.9%) performed similar to conventional farming (31.2% increased) in terms of yield over absolute control plot. Notably, treatments receiving 150% nitrogen through farmyard manure and 100% nitrogen through urea exhibited higher benefit-to-cost (B:C) ratios of 2.78 and 2.73, respectively. Therefore, organic farming emerges as an environmentally sustainable alternative to conventional practices, contributing to soil health and ensuring a consistent paddy crop yield.
•Overall, biochar had minor impacts on organic matter speciation after optimized aerobic composting.•13C NMR does not reveal biochar-induced changes in compost bulk C speciation.•Just FT-IR suggests ...that compost feedstock decomposition decreased in the presence of biochar.•Sewage sludge biochar reduced concentrations of dissolved organic carbon in compost.•Higher total organic carbon content can be widely explained by the added biochar-C.
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Biochar, a material defined as charred organic matter applied in agriculture, is suggested as a beneficial additive and bulking agent in composting. Biochar addition to the composting feedstock was shown to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient leaching during the composting process, and to result in a fertilizer and plant growth medium that is superior to non-amended composts. However, the impact of biochar on the quality and carbon speciation of the organic matter in bulk compost has so far not been the focus of systematic analyses, although these parameters are key to determine the long-term stability and carbon sequestration potential of biochar-amended composts in soil. In this study, we used different spectroscopic techniques to compare the organic carbon speciation of manure compost amended with three different biochars. A non-biochar-amended compost served as control. Based on Fourier-transformed infrared (FTIR) and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy we did not observe any differences in carbon speciation of the bulk compost independent of biochar type, despite a change in the FTIR absorbance ratio 2925cm−1/1034cm−1, that is suggested as an indicator for compost maturity. Specific UV absorbance (SUVA) and emission-excitation matrixes (EEM) revealed minor differences in the extractable carbon fractions, which only accounted for ~2–3% of total organic carbon. Increased total organic carbon content of biochar-amended composts was only due to the addition of biochar-C and not enhanced preservation of compost feedstock-C. Our results suggest that biochars do not alter the carbon speciation in compost organic matter under conditions optimized for aerobic decomposition of compost feedstock. Considering the effects of biochar on compost nutrient retention, mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration, biochar addition during aerobic composting of manure might be an attractive strategy to produce a sustainable, slow release fertilizer.
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