1,721,098 research outputs found
Soil–Plant Interaction: Effects on Plant Growth and Soil Biodiversity. Editorial
No full textSoil is a non-renewable resource essential to human life [...
Organic Fertilization of Fruit Trees as an Alternative to Mineral Fertilizers: Effect on Plant Growth, Yield and Fruit Quality
No full textSoil is an essential non-renewable resource for plant growth and yield; it
undergoes rapid degradation rates in intensive agricultural areas but it has extremely
slow formation and regeneration processes. Consequently, soils from agroecosystems are severely depleted of their nutrients and organic matter pools. The excessive
use of mineral fertilizers to supply tree with macro- (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S) and micronutrients (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, B) may raise a concern since they may contain potentially toxic elements, are often expensive and can have a negative impact on the
environment. Furthermore, the production of urban and industrial organic wastes is
increasing worldwide and environmental friendly strategies for their disposal, for
example, compost production, have been developed. Consequently, the necessity to
reconcile economic and ecological issues has led to the increase of the use of recycled waste organic fertilizers that can synchronize plant need with nutrient release
and, at the same time, improve soil fertility.
The enhancement of soil organic matter provides storage of nutrients and water,
stimulates soil biological activity and improves C sequestration. Several authors
reported benefcial effects of organic matter on orchard soil quality and tree
performance.
In the present chapter, we will discuss the use of organic matter as an alternative
to mineral fertilizers evaluating the effect on plant growth, nutritional status and
yield performances
Mineralization dynamics of different commercial organic fertilizers from agro-industry organic waste recycling: an incubation experiment
Full text linkThe mineralization process of different commercial organic fertilizers was investigated in controlled laboratory conditions. The soil was mixed with the following organic fertilizers: Emos CAP®, Organ CAP®, Sic Stal® and urea (as a control) at the rate of 300 mg N/kg dry soil. Emos CAP® is made of cattle and poultry manure, meat, bone meal and dried blood, Organ CAP® is a product made of leather and skins, while Sic Stal® contains cow and horse manure. During the incubation the concentration of NO3–-N, NH4+-N, microbial biomass and carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and ammonia emissions were determined. All fertilizers showed a peak of NH4+-N after 7 days from the beginning of the test. The decomposition of Sic Stal® caused a rapid rise of CO2 production associated to the growth of microbial biomass while Emos CAP® promoted a release of N2O in the first 16 days. In conclusion, all the commercial organic fertilizers tested can be considered fertilizers with a fast release of N, among them Emos CAP® and Sic Stal® allow a rapid N supply to plants while Organ CAP® could be used when the N request of plants is not immediate
Data on bearing walnut orchard soil and plant nutritional status in response to different amendments supply
No full textThis dataset contains data from a bearing walnut orchard fertilized with mineral and organic amendments and compared to non-fertilized control. The data refers to plant growth and nutritional status as well as on soil fertility over a period of two year
Evaluation of nutrients removed and recycled in a commercial peach orchard over a 14-years-production cycle
Full text linkUnderstanding nutrient dynamics within a peach orchard is fundamental to the development
of accurate nutrient management practices. The present study investigated the nutrient uptake and redistribution in a 14-years-old commercial orchard in the Po valley. At the end of the experiment, trees were
harvested, biomass and organ nutrient concentration were determined. Skeleton and roots accounted for
the highest plant biomass, followed by fruits at harvest, pruned wood and abscised leaves; thinned fruits
were less than 1 kg tree-1. The difference between the amounts of nutrients in leaves sampled in summer
and in autumn (at abscission) was used to estimate the fraction of nutrients remobilized during the vegetative season inside the tree. The decrease of N, P, S, Cu, Mn and Zn concentration in abscised, compared to summer-sampled leaves was the result of the translocation of nutrients into fruits and storage
organs. Nutrient circulation in a commercial nectarine orchard was calculated by determination of the
fractions of each nutrient recycled (sum of nutrients in abscised leaves, thinned fruits and pruned wood)
and remobilized (sum of nutrients in fruits at harvest, roots and skeleton). In our experimental conditions, on average, nectarine Stark RedGold showed an annual request of (in kg ha-1) 100, 17, 73, 129,
16, and 6 of N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S, respectively. More than half of these quantities were recycled in the
orchard and returned back to the soil; consequently, if the nutrient use efficiency is maximized, the fertilization of nectarine requires only small amount of external inputs
Migliorare lo stato nutrizionale delle piante con la gestione del suolo
No full textNell’ambito di un progetto finanziato dalla Regione Emilia-Romagna e coordinato da Apofruit Italia, è stato valutato l’effetto di alcune pratiche agronomiche biologiche consolidate
Effect of agro-industry by-products on soil fertility, tree performances and fruit quality in pear (Pyrus communis L.)
Full text linkOrganic materials from agro-industry processes can be used in agriculture as a way to recycle materials that still maintain a high fertilizing value. The aim of the experiment was to evaluate the value of soil applied apple juice by-product as fertilizer for pear trees. A 3-year experiment was carried out in a mature pear orchard (cv Abbé Fétel grafted onto quince MC) in the Po valley (Italy), where the following treatments were compared: 1) unfertilized control; 2) mineral N fertilization (60 kg N ha−1 year−1 split in two spring applications); 3) apple juice by-product (1.3 t ha−1 year−1, equal to 60 kg N ha−1), fully supplied at petal drop; 4) apple juice by-product, at twice the rate of the previous treatment. Apple juice by-product soil decomposition accounted for 12% in the first 6 months. At the end of the 24-month-assay, the decomposition accounted for 24% on total dry weight that makes 28% of initial C and 36% of initial N. Soil nitrate-N concentration was increased by the mineral N fertilizer, while the application of apple juice by-product increased microbial carbon. Tree growth, yield and fruit quality were not affected by treatments, while mineral N fertilization raised leaf and fruit N concentration. In conclusion, in our conditions the use of apple juice by-product did not show negative effects on tree performances and fruit quality, with some advantages related to the recycling of organic wastes in agriculture
Data on organic carbon and nitrogen in soil physical fractions after 14 years of compost supply
No full textThe data contained in this dataset are related to the distribution and level of stabilization of organic C and total N in physical fractions after a 14-years-period of compost application to a peach orchard. Data refer to different type of fertilization (no fertilization, mineral and compost). Soil was sampled from the row at four depths and physically fractionated in macroaggregates, microaggregates and silt and clay. In all fraction organic C, total N, delta13C, and delta15N were analyzed
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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