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Co-application of biochar and microbial inoculants increases soil phosphorus and potassium fertility and improves soil health and tomato growth
No full textPurpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of application of biochar and microbial inoculants on the bioavailability of phosphorus and potassium, tomato growth, and the bacterial community in greenhouse soil.
Materials and methods: The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse with tomato mono-cropped for 21 years at Yongqing County of Hebei Province from November 2018 to June 2019. The treatments included conventional fertilization control (CF), 2 t/ha of biochar application (B, manufactured from apricot shell), 75 L/ha of microbial inoculants application (M, containing effective strains of Bacillus megaterium and Paenibacillus mucilaginosus), the mixture of microbial inoculants and biochar application (BM).
Results: The results showed that the application of 75 L/ha microbial inoculants in greenhouse tomato could increase the yields of tomato by 23.41%, vitamin C (Vc) and soluble sugar concentrations by 14.41% and 13.62%, respectively. The microbial inoculants combined with 2 t/ha biochar enhanced the effects of microbial inoculants on the growth promotion of tomatoes. The application of microbial inoculants combined with biochar increased the P and K accumulation in tomato plants by 28.72–57.14% and 19.53–29.03%, respectively, during the whole growing stage. Moreover, the application of microbial inoculants significantly increased the relative abundance of Bacillus, Paenibacillus, and Flavobacterium and decreased the relative abundance of Acidobacterium.
Conclusions: The application of microbial inoculants improved the bioavailability of phosphorus and potassium and tomato growth by altering the composition of soil bacterial community. These results show the potential of co-application of biochar and microbial inoculants as a potential tool to sustain longer-term production of monoculture vegetable systems in greenhouses
Soil arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities differentially affect growth and nutrient uptake by grapevine rootstocks
No full textArbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) deliver potentially significant services in sustainable agricultural ecosystems, yet we still lack evidence showing how AMF abundance and/or community composition can benefit crops. In this study, we manipulated AMF communities in grapevine rootstock and measured plant growth and physiological responses. Glasshouse experiments were set up to determine the interaction between rootstock variety and different AMF communities, using AMF communities originating under their own (i.e., “home”) soil and other rootstocks’ (i.e., “away”) soil. The results revealed that specific AMF communities had differential effects on grapevine rootstock growth and nutrient uptake. It was demonstrated that a rootstock generally performed better in the presence of its own AMF community. This study also showed that AMF spore diversity and the relative abundance of certain species is an important factor as, when present in equal abundance, competition between species was indicated to occur, resulting in a reduction in the positive growth outcomes. Moreover, there was a significant difference between the communities with some AMF communities increasing plant growth and nutrient uptake compared with others. The outcomes also demonstrated that some AMF communities indirectly influenced the chlorophyll content in grapevine leaves through the increase of specific nutrients such as K, Mn, and Zn. The findings also indicated that some AMF species may deliver particular benefits to grapevine plants. This work has provided an improved understanding of community level AMF-grapevine interaction and delivered an increased knowledge of the ecosystem services they provide which will benefit the wine growers and the viticulture industry
Ngā motu ā tōna wā - Future Islands
No full textNgā motu ā tōna wā - Future Islands (a project based on indigenous practices involving the use of waste/midden to elevate ground levels above wet ground, as a means of developing island landscapes for ongoing use as sea levels rise. It uses Ōtautahi's residential red zone as the setting, as the earthquakes caused the land to subside, creating a proxy for sea level rise)
Do soil cadmium concentrations decline after phosphate fertiliser application is stopped: A comparison of long-term pasture trials in New Zealand?
No full textDecreasing soil cadmium (Cd) is one method of removing Cd from the food chain. Phosphorus (P) fertilisers are a major source of Cd inputs into soil. Stopping P fertiliser should theoretically decrease Cd inputs and soil Cd accumulation, but there are few field data to show if this occurs. We examined three long-term grazed pasture trials in New Zealand (Ballantrae, Winchmore and Whatawhata) where P fertiliser had been applied (from 10 to 100 kg P ha¯¹ yr¯¹) for up to six years and then stopped for 10 to 26 years. Stopping P fertiliser applications reduced soil Cd concentrations at Winchmore and Whatawhata where P had been applied at ≥34 kg P ha¯¹ yr¯¹. No reductions occurred below this rate nor at Ballantrae where only 10 years post P-application data were available. Decreases were ascribed to moderate rainfall (1630 mm at Whatawhata and 740 mm rainfall plus 770 mm irrigation at Winchmore) that enhanced Cd leaching and may have been aided at Winchmore by a decrease in soil pH over time (0.4 units). However, because stopping P fertiliser inputs may quickly impair pasture production, additional strategies may be required to decrease soil Cd quickly
Capturing more value from primary industry
No full textCaroline Saunders, professor at Lincoln University and director of Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit, speaks at E Tipu 2022: The Boma Agri Summit on capturing more value from New Zealand’s primary industry — measured for both economic and virtuous gain. "Nothing should leave New Zealand at a commodity price." "By targeting consumers who share our values, we can get win-wins: higher prices for our produce that reward social, cultural and environmental standards." Caroline Saunders has long been engaged in research relating to the economics of agriculture, with a particular focus on sustainable, social, environmental and cultural wellbeing. She is the professor of Trade and Environmental Economics and director of the Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit at Lincoln University. Her research spans a wide range of private and public bodies, industries and sector groups, both within Aotearoa and abroad — including the EU commission, Fonterra, Beef and Lamb, and more. She is a Crown appointee on the board of Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research and a member of the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee. In 2020, Caroline was appointed to the board of Wool Research Organisation of New Zealand
Women’s Empowerment in Migration Index (WEMI): Do we need another index for women empowerment?
No full textEvidence on the number of migrant women affected by forced labour and human trafficking is scant. In this presentation, we describe a conceptual framework and key elements of a Women’s Empowerment in Migration Index (WEMI) that aims to reflect the multiple dimensions of agency of female migrants. We believe that WEMI will be integral to monitoring progress towards SDG 8.7 on eradicating forced labour, modern slavery, and human trafficking. Following development, the study aims to analyze two hypotheses: (i) access to information facilitated by social networks increases migrant women’s collective and intrinsic agency; (ii) higher women’s empowerment contributes to better psychological wellbeing and life satisfaction for migrant women. The WEMI is currently being tested in Bangladesh, in districts with high international out-migration of women to West Asian countries, including the garment sector in Jordan and as domestic care workers in Lebanon
From backyards to the backcountry: Exploring outdoor recreation coping strategies and experiences during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
No full textThis paper explores the impacts that the New Zealand government's lockdown measures to contain the COVID-19 virus during 2020 had on the activity and experiences of outdoor recreationists in New Zealand. Concepts related to coping strategies such as rationalisation, displacement and substitution, have been used frequently to explain the behavioural changes and processes involved in outdoor recreation when disruptions arise such as crowding and recreational conflict. However, such concepts have rarely been applied to rapid on-set disruptors such as pandemics. This paper adopts coping strategy theory to help document the strategies adopted by outdoor recreationists in response to the national lockdown in 2020. Based on a qualitative analysis of twenty interviews with outdoor recreationists in New Zealand, various coping mechanisms such as temporal, activity, and spatial displacement are identified. These include increased appreciation for outdoor settings, discovery of local activities and microadventures, and increased walking activity across the restricted, reaction and reset periods. Outdoor recreation coping strategies may contribute to increased resilience to disruptive and rapid on-set events and enhance understanding of how recreationists respond and adapt to disruption. This research presents a unique insight of coping strategies adopted in response to the national lockdown that may have implications for participation and management of outdoor recreation in New Zealand in the coming years. This paper also offers a new perspective on the behaviourist tradition in the field of outdoor recreation which may be fruitful for future research examining rapid on-set disruptions and crises
Special issue on being outdoors part 3. Outdoor leisure: Other and othering
No full textThis is part three of the special issue ‘Being Outdoors: Challenging and celebrating diverse outdoor leisure embodiments and experiences’. The focus of this part is on Other and Othering. In many ways ‘other’ is a horrible label, it is amorphous, devoid of meaning as a direct consequence of its all-embracing-ness. In this way, ‘other’ can be seen as a derogatory label, one that robs individuals of their meaning, identity and value. Following this, the process of ‘othering’ is a disempowering one that ignores the importance of understanding diversity. In other words, ‘other’ is not only a discriminatory label, but it can also be seen as a discriminatory process (Harmer and Lumsden 2019), one that has been referred to as discursive discrimination (Boréus 2006). Within this context, ‘other’ and ‘othering’ has been utilized in a negative sense to identify those labelled as being different from, lesser than, those in power, the societal gatekeepers and enforcers of sociocultural norms and values (Roberts and Schiavenato 2017; Jensen 2011). Within this special issue the process of ‘othering’ has been referred to as exclusionary (Canales 2000). In this way, to be ‘othered’ is to be identified as being different from the norm, from those in power who are socially acceptable (Rothmann and Simmonds 2015). This negativity imbued in the ‘other’ is associated with Nietzsche’s (1967, 157) view that the herd instinct speaks. It wants to be master: hence its ‘thou shalt!’ – it will allow value to the individual only from the point of view of the whole, for the sake of the whole, it hates those who detach themselves – it turns the hatred of all individuals against them
Identification of the KAP27-1 gene in sheep and its effect on wool traits
No full textThe keratin-associated proteins (KAPs) are structural components of wool and hair fibres, with over 90 genes that encode these proteins having been identified in mammalian species. A KAP gene called KRTAP27-1 was recently identified in goats, but the gene has not been reported in the closely related ruminant species sheep. In this study, we used a polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis to find ovine KRTAP27-1 and investigate nucleotide sequence variation in the gene. Our analysis revealed four sequence variants (named A to D) in 399 New Zealand Merino × Southdown-cross sheep. Within these sequence variants there were five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the coding region, including two non-synonymous SNPs. Six genotypes (AA, AB, AC, BB, BC and BD) of KRTAP27-1 were detected, and for the three genotypes with a frequency of over 5.0%, sheep of genotypes AB and BB produced wool of higher mean staple length (MSL) and higher greasy fleece weight (GFW) than sheep of genotype AA. These results suggest that variation in ovine KRTAP27-1 may be affecting wool growth and thus production
Developing a future protocol for measuring spider biodiversity in pastures in New Zealand
No full textArthropods are often ignored or under-sampled in biodiversity and conservation assessments because of their large diversity, small size and lack of taxonomic guides. Rapid biodiversity assessment programmes have been established to assess these groups accurately. A COBRA (Conservation Oriented Biodiversity Rapid Assessment) protocol consists of an intense sampling of a habitat using the optimal combination of sampling methods. We set a basis for future protocols of measuring spider biodiversity in exotic pastures in New Zealand. Overall, 28 spider species were collected. There was variation in species discovery for each collection method, i.e. pitfall traps (86.6% of total species found), ground hand collection (95.4%), suction sampling (85.7%), and sweeping (25%). The various collection methods were complementary in species that were found. Of the four sampling methods used pitfall traps and ground hand collection were far more efficient at collecting spider species in pastures per sample. These findings are relevant for the future development of these protocols and ultimately, these tools will be used for assessing and monitoring biodiversity on farms and the impacts of farming methods