Management of nitrogen (N) fertilizer is a critical factor that can improve maize (Zea mays L.) production. On the other hand, high volatilization losses of N also pollute the air.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCadmium (Cd) is a toxic heavy metal that significantly threatens plants and the environment. Its toxicity in plants can result in various adverse effects, including reduced growth, altered metabolism, and cell damage. Cadmium can also interfere with nutrient uptake, particularly zinc (Zn), leading to Zn deficiency and further exacerbating Cd toxicity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFToxicity induced by heavy metals is a major concern in agriculture as it decreases crops' growth and yield and leads to the deterioration of food quality. Recently, activated carbon has been identified as a possible solution. It can potentially improve crop nutrition and immobilize heavy metals in soil.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs macronutrients, management of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) is prime in importance when wheat is cultivated. Both have a significant impact on the improvement of growth and yield attributes. In addition, S and N also play an imperative role in the enhancement of seed protein contents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPoor soil organic matter is one of the major causes of the deterioration of soil health. Most soils fertility is also decreased when enough organic carbon is not present in the soil. Maize is most susceptible to this poor soil fertility status.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBoron (B) deficiency is a widespread problem in alkaline soils which affects yield and quality of potato but is often ignored by the growers. That's why, we compared the impact of different methods of boron application (foliar spray, fertigation and soil dressing) along with control on boron use efficiency (BUE), quality and yield of potato in alkaline soils. Boron (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA field study was conducted on the reuse of wastewater from Mardan city to evaluate its risk of contaminating soil and wheat grains at different NPK levels. Three irrigation sources i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA field experiment was conducted during the Rabi season 2017-2018 (October-March) at the University of Agriculture, Peshawar research farm to examine the influence of different nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) levels on two different oat varieties: Australian and Ukrainian. The treatments included control and three levels of nitrogen and phosphorus at 30, 60, and 90 kg ha. The treatments were arranged in randomized complete block design (RCBD) and replicated three times.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSoil with heavy metals contamination, mainly lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and chromium (Cr) is a progressively worldwide alarming environmental problem. Recently, biochar has been used as a soil amendment to remediate contaminated soils, but little work has been done to compare with other organic amendments like compost. We investigated biochar and compost's comparative effect on Pb, Cd, and Cr immobilization in soil, photosynthesis, and growth of maize plants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, we explored the role of biochar (BC) and/or urease inhibitor (UI) in mitigating ammonia (NH) and nitrous oxide (NO) discharge from urea fertilized wheat cultivated fields in Pakistan (34.01°N, 71.71°E).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChemosphere
December 2021
Bacillus subtilis and saponin were tested for the uptake of heavy metals (HMs) by Symphytum officinale grown in a smelter-contaminated soil in completely randomized design. Soil pH and electrical conductivity increased by 0.11 unit (T3) and 754 mS cm (T2), respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Sci Pollut Res Int
December 2021
Mercury (Hg) bioaccumulation in fish poses severe threats to the food safety and human health. This study was conducted to assess Hg bioaccumulation in fish (n = 24) and scalp hair (n = 77) of the fishing communities at up- and downstream of the river Swat, Pakistan. The mean Hg concentration in upstream fish Salmo trutta fario (Brown trout) and Schizothorax plagiostomus (Swati fish) species was 34.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of present work was to evaluate the effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO NPs) on rice's growth (Oryza sativa L.) and nutrient availability under different soil textures. Greenhouse experiment was carried out with three soil textures (sandy loam, silt loam and silty clay loam) and two concentrations of TiO NPs (500, 750 mg kg).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFManagement of inorganic fertilizer is very important to obtain maximum crop yield and improved nutrient use efficiency in cereal crops. Fixation of phosphatic fertilizers in alkaline soils due to calcareousness is one of the major hurdles. It induces phosphorus nutritional stress that can decrease the yield of maize and wheat.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlobal warming promotes soil calcification and salinization processes. As a result, soil phosphorus (P) is becoming deficient in arid and semiarid areas throughout the world. In this pot study, we evaluated the potential of phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) for enhancing the growth and P uptake in maize under varying levels of lime (4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) reduce the negative effects of soil calcification on soil phosphorus (P) nutrition. In this incubation study, we explored the ability of PSB (control and inoculated) to release P from different P sources [single super phosphate (SSP), rock phosphate (RP), poultry manure (PM) and farm yard manure (FYM)] with various soil lime contents (4.78, 10, 15 and 20%) in alkaline soil.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFApplication of raw and treated wastewater for irrigation is an extensive practice for agricultural production in arid and semiarid regions. Raw textile wastewater has been used for cultivation in urban and peri-urban areas in Pakistan without any systematic consideration to soil quality. We conducted a laboratory incubation study to investigate the effects of low C/N ratio raw textile wastewater on soil nitrogen (N) contents, labile carbon (C) as water-soluble C (WSC) contents, and activities of urease and dehydrogenase enzymes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present study was conducted to determine the effect of wood ash application on different parameters of Brassica napus L. including seed germination, seedling growth, fresh and dry biomass, water content in seedlings, photosynthetic pigments, soluble sugars, total protein and cell viability. In addition, the effect of wood ash on soil microflora and accumulation of trace elements in seedlings were determined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLong-term spatial and temporal variations in nitrate-N concentrations along the River Derwent have been examined using Environment Agency data to investigate the relative importance of impacts of atmospheric N deposition, land use, and changes in management. Where moorland and rough grazing dominate upstream of Forge Valley and Malton, over the 20 years since 1988 mean nitrate-N concentrations were initially increasing significantly, but are now levelling off, with peaks at ca. 4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe physico-chemical absorption characteristics of ammonium-N for 10 soils from 5 profiles in York, UK, show its high potential mobility in N deposition-impacted, unfertilized, permanent grassland soils. Substantial proportions of ammonium-N inputs were retained in the solution phase, indicating that ammonium translocation plays an important role in the N cycling in, and losses from, such soils. This conclusion was further supported by measuring the ammonium-N leaching from intact plant/soil microcosms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough soil scientists and most environmental scientists are acutely aware of the interactions between the cycling of carbon and nitrogen, for conceptual convenience when portraying the nitrogen cycle in text books the N cycle tends to be considered in isolation from its interactions with the cycling of other elements and water, usually as a snap shot at the current time; the origins of dinitrogen are rarely considered, for example. The authors suggest that Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis provides a useful and stimulating framework for consideration of the terrestrial nitrogen cycle. If it is used, it suggests that urbanization and management of sewage, and intensive animal rearing are probably bigger global issues than nitrogen deposition from fossil fuel combustion, and that plant evolution may be driven by the requirement of locally sustainable and near optimal soil mineral N supply dynamics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChanges in the dynamics of inorganic N species transformations with depth have been investigated for seven soil profiles from a nitrogen-impacted ancient grassland on a nature reserve outside York in the UK, using incubation experiments. In five of the profiles, both ammonification and nitrification are occurring below the rooting zone, probably partly in response to the low C:N ratio in the soils. This contributes to elevated nitrate concentrations found in an adjacent stream.
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