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agriculture has been to convert them to organic fertilizers, in this manner helping to reuse nutrients for plants. In addition, the application of organic fertilizers has been shown to improve the health and structure of agricultural soils. Rambutan
., LIUB , X ., ZHANGA , D ., LI , L ., LI , W . & SHENG , L . 2019 . Effects of long-term application of organic fertilizer on improving organic matter content and retarding acidity in red soil from China . Soil & Tillage Research . 195
Abstract
Fe and Zn were determined in various parts of maize (Zea mays) in dependence on quantity of organic substrate EKOFERT as organic fertilizer in soil, using radionuclide X-ray fluorescence analysis. The increase of quantity of organic substrate EKOFERT in soil causes a decrease of heavy metal concentrations in certain parts of the plant.
Agricultural goods obtained and produced in Hungary have played an important role in the markets of Western Europe. By utilizing the ecological potentials of the Carpathian Basin, local inhabitants are in the position to produce considerable food surpluses in addition to meeting their own demands. With agricultural production becoming more and more intensive in Hungary, the application of mineral fertilizers also started to increase slowly from the 1960’s. From the mid-1970’s a uniform sampling, soil testing and fertilization extension system was created together with its own institutional and laboratory testing network. The intensive use of mineral fertilizers in Hungary lasted from the mid-1970’s to the last quarter of the 1980’s, during which an average amount of 230 kg·ha -1 NPK fertilizer was applied. In this period the so-called “build-up” fertilization was applied in conformity with the improvement of all other elements involved in the production technology, which was also clearly expressed in the agro-political objectives of those days aiming to obtain higher yields. At that time the nutrient supply and nutrient base of soils in Hungary increased clearly, so the production technology could no longer limit higher yields. In 1990 agriculture changed fundamentally and radically in Hungary, and the same was valid for nutrient supplies as well. At the beginning of the 1990’s there was a sudden decrease in the level of mineral fertilizer application (to below 40 kg NPK active ingredients·ha -1 ), followed by a slow increase, which has reached the level of almost 70 kg·ha -1 by today. In the meantime the animal stock in Hungary has decreased and consequently the amount of manure has also fallen. All in all, the nutrient balance of Hungarian soils has always been negative since 1989. Due to the changes in its structure and ownership over the past twenty years or so, it has become very difficult to obtain reliable information about Hungarian agriculture. The Soil Resources Management General Partnership (in Hungarian: Talajerőgazdálkodás Kkt.) conducts extension work based on soil sampling and has a continuous flow of data on over thirty thousand hectares, beginning at the end of the 1970’s. Based on the analyses of these data it can be stated that the extra amount of nutrients over balance, applied during the period of replenishment (until the change in regimes) has been „removed” from the soil over the past fifteen years, consequently the Hungarian nutrient balance has become negative again. This kind of fertilization practice cannot be sustained in Hungary, as the maintenance of the production potential of Hungarian soils is far from being resolved at the moment; it poses risks to and questions sustainability, as well as it may cause a very serious competitive disadvantage to the country.
Phytoremediation is an approach designed to extract excessive heavy metals from contaminated soils through plant uptake. Cadmium (Cd) is among the elements most toxic to living organisms. Health hazards associated with the lethal intake of Cd include renal (kidney) damage, anaemia, hypertension and liver damage. A greenhouse experiment was carried out with Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) grown on artificially spiked soil (100 μg Cd g−1) with EDTA (2 mmol kg−1 in 5 split doses), FYM, vermicompost (VC) and microbial inoculants (MI) such as Azotobacter sp. and Pseudomonas sp. The growth of Brassica juncea L. was better in soil amended with FYM or VC as compared to unamended Cd-polluted soil. Growth was slightly suppressed in EDTA-treated soil, whereas it was better after treatment with MI. The application of FYM and VC increased the dry matter yield of Indian mustard either alone or in combination with microbial inoculants, while that of EDTA caused a significant decrease in the biomass of Indian mustard. The application of microbial inoculants increased the dry matter yield of both the roots and shoots, but not significantly, because MI shows greater sensitivity towards cadmium. The maximum cadmium concentration was observed in the EDTA +MI treatment, but Cd uptake was maximum in the VC + MI treatment. The Cd concentration in the shoots increased by 120% in CdEDTA over the Cd100 treatment, followed by CdVC (65%) and CdFYM (42%) in the absence of microbial inoculants. The corresponding values in the presence of MI were 107, 51 and 37%, respectively. A similar trend was also observed in the roots in the order CdEDTA+M > CdVC+M > CdFYM+M>Cd100+M.MI caused an increase in Cd content of 5.5% in the roots and 4.1% in the shoots in the CdEDTA+M treatment compared with the CdEDTA treatment. FYM, VC and EDTA also increased Cd uptake significantly both in the shoots and roots with and without microbial inoculants.The results indicated that Vermicompost in combination with microbial inoculants is the best treatment for the phytoremediation of Cd-contaminated soil by Indian mustard, as revealed by the Cd uptake values in the shoots: CdVC+M (2265.7 μg/pot) followed by CdEDTA+M (2251.2 μg/pot), CdFYM+M (1485.7 μg/pot) and Cd100+M (993.1 μg/pot).
The possibilities of the elimination of continuous cropping negative implications on the grain yield and microbial soil diversity were investigated. A stationary field experiment was established on Luvi-Haplic Chernozem. Statistically higher grain yield was found in the variant with mineral fertilization and straw and organic fertiliser Veget® incorporation (5.58 t.ha−1) compared with the variant with mineral fertilization only (4.87 t.ha−1) and with the variant with mineral fertilization and straw incorporation (4.90 t.ha−1). Statistically higher straw yield was found in the variant with mineral fertilization and straw and organic fertiliser Veget® incorporation (6.21 t.ha−1) compared with the variant with mineral fertilization only (4.41 t.ha−1). By cultivar Ebi, the grain yield was significantly higher in comparison to the cultivar Petrana. The lowest metabolic diversity of microbial communities and their respiration activity was found out in the variant with mineral fertilizer. On the other hand, the increase of functional diversity of microorganisms, their respiration activity and the number of cultivable bacteria was found in the variant with mineral fertilization and straw incorporation as well as in the variant with mineral fertilization and straw and organic fertiliser Veget® incorporation.
Beke D., Kismányoky T., Schmidt R., Szakál P. [2006] Yield and soil condition studies in organic fertilisation experiments. Cereal Res. Commun. Vol. 34 no. 1. pp. 119
The long-term effect of organic and inorganic fertilizers on nutrient build-up and their relationship with microbial properties in a rice-wheat cropping sequence were studied in surface (0–15 cm) and subsurface (15–30 cm) soil samples. This experiment has been in progress since 1990 in the Department of Agronomy, CSK, Palampur with twelve treatments involving combinations of organic and inorganic fertilizers. In these treatment combinations, 25 and 50% of the recommended nitrogen levels were supplemented with organic sources, i.e. FYM (farm yard manure), green manure and wheat straw. The buildup of organic matter, and the total and available pools of nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur were determined in surface (0–15 cm) and subsurface (15–30 cm) soil samples. The substitution of 25 and 50% nitrogen through organic fertilizers proved to be better than inorganic fertilizers alone. Amongst the organic sources, the substitution of FYM resulted in higher organic carbon, total and available nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur than green manure or wheat straw. The substitution of 50% nitrogen through organic fertilizer was more effective than the substitution of 25% nitrogen. The relationships between the total and available pools of nutrients and the total microbial count, biomass carbon, microbial respiration, and the dehydrogenase and phosphatase enzymes were studied. The total pool of nutrients showed a high, positive, significant relationship with all these parameters.
Nutrient management practices that concurrently improve soil properties and yield are essential for sustaining barley production. This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of balanced nitrogen fertilizer application involving farmyard manure (FYM) and residue management. The experiment had a factorial arrangement of five levels of mineral N and two organic fertilizer sources. The five levels of N fertilizer were applied in three replicates in combination with each of the two organic sources and a control (without organic source). Average plant height (PH), grain yield (GY), and straw yield (SY) were significantly (P <0.05) influenced by the main effect of N application and organic source; however their interaction was insignificant. The highest grain yield (103%) was obtained with 120 kg N compared to the control. The grain yield increased by 23.4% and 44% with FYM and residue, respectively, against the untreated control.
