Soil fertilizer management is important to adjust the soil fertility by supplying fertilizers at optimum level to achieve maximum yield at minimum environmental risks. Precision agriculture demands to develop better cost and time efficient methodologies for analysis of soil properties. Besides conventional techniques, sometimes spectroscopy is more accurate, fast, non-destructive and inexpensiv...

As one of soil dynamics properties, soil moisture content is an important factor of soil fertility which counts for much to crop growth situation and scientific irrigation management. A design plan of regional spatial variation of soil moisture measurement was introduced. Its main job includes the use of differential GPS technology for each sampling points in farmland, collecting data of high-p...

objective: soil salinity is one of the major worldwide environmental constraints affecting agricultural production in arid and semiarid regions. lack of proper management of water and soil resources lead to increase soil salinity and reduce soil fertility. on the other hand, it seems simple and cheap method of measuring soil salinity is necessary. the aim of this study was to determine the rela...

In this paper, we analyze the factors that influence the productivity of maize among smallholder farmers, given that unfavourable output and input market conditions throughout the 1990s have compelled smallholder farmers into unsustainable agricultural intensification. We use farm-household survey data in order to compare the productivity of smallholder maize production under integrated (ISFM) ...

As part of a major effort to address soil fertility decline in West Africa, an integrated soil fertility management project promoted two technology packages: a combined application of inorganic fertilizer and manure (BNMS-manure) and a soybean/maize rotation practice (BNMS-rotation) in the northern Guinea savanna (NGS) of Nigeria. This study used a tobit regression model to examine factors that...

Objective: To highlight the need and the potential for an integrated understanding of three key soil-based drivers of plant community structure and dynamics – soil fertility, soil heterogeneity, and microbes. Location: European and North American grasslands. Methods: Review and discussion of conceptual models and empirical literature, including examples of observational and manipulative studies...

The use of organic matter such as animal manures, human waste, food wastes, yard wastes, sewage sludges and composts has long been recognized in agriculture as beneficial for plant growth and yield and the maintenance of soil fertility. The new approaches to the use of organic amendments in farming have proven to be effective means of improving soil structure, enhancing soil fertility and incre...

We investigated the effects of organic and conventional pest and fertility management on weed cover and the seed bank community in an organic rotation. The study was conducted during the 4th and 5th years of an organic rotation on part of a long term organic-conventional comparison trial. Results showed that although crop type (potato vs. cabbage) in a single year significantly affected wee...