Critical evaluation of the performance of rhamnolipids as surfactants for (phyto)extraction of Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn from copper smelter-affected soil.

Rhamnolipids are biosurfactants produced by bacteria belonging to the Pseudomonas genus. They are discussed to complex heavy metal cations stronger than cations of Fe, Ca, Mg. It is therefore suggested to employ rhamnolipids in phytoextraction where their addition to soil should result in preferential complexation of heavy metals that can be taken up by plants, thus enabling rapid and ecological clean-up of contaminated soil.

Impact of Crop Sequence and Fertilization on Potato Yield in a Long-Term Study.

The research was conducted during the years 2007-2013, on the base of a long-term study established in 1958, at the Experimental Station Brody (52°26' N; 16°18' E), belonging to the Poznań University of Life Sciences. Varieties of potatoes resistant to cyst nematodes were grown in a seven-course crop rotation (potato-spring barley-alfalfa-alfalfa-spring oilseed rape-winter wheat-winter rye) and in continuous monoculture. The presented study from the years 2007-2013 covers the next 8th rotation of the 7-field crop rotation (since 1958).

Hermetia illucens frass improves the physiological state of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) and its nutritional value under drought.

To counterbalance the growing human population and its increasing demands from the ecosystem, and the impacts on it, new strategies are needed. Use of organic fertilizers boosted the agricultural production, but further increased the ecological burden posed by this indispensable activity. One possible solution to this conundrum is the development and application of more environmentally neutral biofertilizers.