Two-year study of biochar: Achieving excellent capability of potassium supply via alter clay mineral composition and potassium-dissolving bacteria activity.

At present, there has been renewed interest in biochar research, but most of them were focused on the short-term effects of biochar and the information of long-term application of biochar is still lacking. In addition, the nutrient mechanism of biochar has rarely been the subject of research. This research explored the effect of potassium (K) nutrient and the response of bacterial communities to biochar in yellow-brown soil based on two-year experiment.

Isolation of urease-producing bacteria and their effects on reducing Cd and Pb accumulation in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.).

Excess Cd and Pb in agricultural soils enter the food chain and adversely affect all organisms. Therefore, it is important to find an eco-friendly way to reduce heavy metal accumulation in vegetables. We used urea agar plates to isolate urease-producing bacteria from the rhizosphere soil of lettuce in Cd- and Pb-contaminated farmland and investigated their ability to produce urease and immobilize heavy metals.

Deep placement of controlled-release urea effectively enhanced nitrogen use efficiency and fresh ear yield of sweet corn in fluvo-aquic soil.

Application of controlled-release urea (CRU) improves crop yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) compared with conventional urea. However, the effectiveness of CRU differs with fertilization placement. A two site-year field experiment was carried out in fluvo-aquic soil in central China to study the effects of two N sources (CRU and urea) and three fertilization placements (band application between two corn rows at 0, 5, and 15 cm soil depths) on fresh ear yield and NUE of sweet corn.

Soil Nematode Abundances were Increased by an Incremental Nutrient Input in a Paddy-upland Rotation System.

To study the effect of fertilization on soil nematode communities in a paddy-upland rotation system, an ongoing thirty-three years long-term fertilizer experiment is conducted which includes seven treatments; an unfertilized treatment (control), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) fertilizer treatments (N, NP, NPK) and organic manure (M) combined with chemical fertilizer treatments (MN, MNP, and MNPK). The soil nematode community structure and crop yields were determined in 2012 and 2013. Overall total nematode abundance was increased by an incremental nutrient input both in the rice and wheat fields.

Silicon Priming Regulates Morpho-Physiological Growth and Oxidative Metabolism in Maize under Drought Stress.

Seed priming with silicon (Si) is an efficient and easy method to regulate plant tolerance against different abiotic stresses. A pot experiment was conducted to examine the Si-mediated changes in oxidative defense and some vital physio-biochemical parameters of maize under a limited water supply. For this purpose, two maize varieties (Pearl and Malka) with different Si priming treatments (0, 4 mM, 6 mM) were grown under a control and 60% field capacity for three weeks.

Mitigation of NO emissions from urine treated acidic soils by liming.

Nitrous oxide (NO) is a devastating greenhouse gas mainly released from soils to the atmosphere. Pasture soils, particularly acidic in nature, are large contributors of atmospheric NO through deposition of urine-N. Devising strategies for reducing NO emissions in acidic soils are the utmost need of the time.

[Improvement effects of quicklime and calcium magnesium phosphate fertilizer on acidified soil cultivating Codonopsis tangshen.].

To solve the problem of soil acidification in the cultivation of Codonopsis tangshen, laboratory experiments were carried out to investigate C. tangshen seed germination, seedling growth and soil exchangeable acid, microbial community structure after applying quicklime (QL) and calcium magnesium phosphate fertilizer (CMP). The results showed that QL and CMP treatments significantly improved the survival rate of C.

[Ammonia volatilization and nitrogen use efficiency in the field of fresh edible maize as affec-ted by different band fertilization depths of controlled-release urea].

A field experiment was conducted to examine the effects of controlled-release urea (CRU) application on ammonia (NH) volatilization, nitrogen (N) use efficiency and fresh ear yield of fresh edible maize. The treatments included one control (CK: no N fertilizer application) and four different band fertilization depths (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 cm). Results showed that NH volatilization from non-fertilization band and planting band mainly occurred in the first two weeks after the fertilization, which lasted for almost a month in the fertilization band.

Molecular cloning and characterization of a methyl parathion hydrolase from an organophosphorus-degrading bacterium, Serratia marcescens MEW06.

An organophosphorus-degrading bacterium MEW06, which exhibited excellent biodegradation capabilities towards 50 mg/L of methyl parathion (MP), paraoxon and dimethoate, was isolated from Sand Lake (Wuhan, China) and identified as Serratia marcescens subsp. marcescens based on physiological-biochemical characteristics and a 16S rDNA sequence-based phylogenetic tree. MEW06 genome contains a 31.

Changes in soil microbial community composition and organic carbon fractions in an integrated rice-crayfish farming system in subtropical China.

Integrated rice-crayfish farming system is a highly efficient artificial ecosystem in which the rice (Oryza sativa) variety 'Jianzhen 2' is cultivated in waterlogged paddy fields along with crayfish (Procambarus clarkii). We investigated soil carbon fractions and microbial community structure by phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) analysis in a 10-year field experiment using an integrated rice-crayfish (CR) model and a rice monoculture (MR) model at soil depths of 0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, 20-30 cm, and 30-40 cm. Compared with the MR model, the CR model had significantly more total organic carbon, particulate organic carbon, and dissolved organic carbon contents in all of the layers examined and microbial biomass carbon content in the 20-40 cm layer.

The polygalacturonase-inhibiting protein 4 (OsPGIP4), a potential component of the qBlsr5a locus, confers resistance to bacterial leaf streak in rice.

OsPGIP4 overexpression enhances resistance to bacterial leaf streak in rice. Polygalacturonase-inhibiting proteins are thought to play important roles in the innate immunity of rice against fungi. Here, we show that the chromosomal location of OsPGIP4 coincides with the major bacterial leaf streak resistance quantitative trait locus qBlsr5a on the short arm of chromosome 5.

Straw mulching reduces the harmful effects of extreme hydrological and temperature conditions in citrus orchards.

Extreme weather conditions with negative impacts can strongly affect agricultural production. In the Danjiangkou reservoir area, citrus yields were greatly influenced by cold weather conditions and drought stress in 2011. Soil straw mulching (SM) practices have a major effect on soil water and thermal regimes.