A hydrophilic macromolecular network is prepared by performing graft copolymerization of poly (sodium acrylate) chains onto salep and silica gel. The reaction parameters affecting the water absorbency of the superabsorbent composite were optimized using Taguchi method. FT-IR spectroscopy and Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) were used for confirming the s...

Environmental concerns associated with animal agriculture are of the utmost interest to producers and regulators alike. In December 2002 the United States Environmental Protection Agency is scheduled to release new regulations that will attempt to guide manure management practices for all production levels of animal agriculture. A proposed component of the new regulations is to require a compre...

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the most important food crop not only in Asia but also entire world. Over past several decades, conventional fertilizer application for rice has caused loss of nutrients, which could lead to a series environmental problems such as eutrophication and greenhouse effects. The emergence slow controlled-release fertilizers provides new option more efficient fertilization ri...

• Session 1: Objectives, outcomes, and trade-offs associated with alternative fertilizer promotion programmes. • Session 2: What determines the cost of fertilizer at the farm gate? Cost build-up analysis (Bumb, g p y (IFDC) • Session 3: Fertilizer profitability analysis (Rashid and Jayne, IFPRI/MSU) • Session 4: Experiences and lessons learned with alternative fertilizer promotion efforts (Mino...