Agricultural phosphorus (P) use is intricately linked to food security and water quality. Globalization of agricultural systems and changing diets clearly alter these relationships, yet their specific influence on non-renewable P reserves is less certain. We assessed P fertilizer used for production of food crops, livestock and biofuels in the US agricultural system, explicitly comparing the do...

A field experiment was conducted on Chickpea-Mungbean-T.Aman cropping pattern at Pulses Research Sub-Station, Madaripur under Low Ganges River Floodplain Soils (AEZ-12) during 2007-08 and 2008-09 to find out the suitable fertilizer doses for this pattern. Four treatments were set up for each crop. For chickpea and mungbean, the treatments were T1=Recommended fertilizer dose as per FRG, 2005 BAR...

Repeated fertilizer applications to cultivated soils may alter the composition and activities of microbial communities in terrestrial agro-ecosystems. In this study, we investigated the effects of different long term fertilization practices (control (CK), three levels of mineral fertilizer (N1P1K1, N2P2K2, and N3P3K3), and organic manure (OM)) on soil environmental variables and microbial commu...

Intensified use of agricultural inputs, particularly fertilizer, is a possible route to improved agricultural productivity. Field trials of these technologies show substantial increases in yields, but typically are done on highly monitored experimental plots rather than by farmers themselves. Returns to a certain technology might be quite different on real-world farms than on experimental farms...

The abundance of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), in organically grown potato did not change significantly in response to increasing rates of dehydrated poultry manure. However, peaks of abundance of larvae were shifted forward in time in response to the high rate of organic fertilizer. Tests using excised foliage showed that the shift was not caused by differential ...

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of fertilizer application on heterotrophic soil respiration (Rh) in soil respiration (Rs) components in red pine stands. Two types of fertilizer (N3P4K1 = 113:150:37 kg·ha−1·year−1; P4K1 = 150:37 kg·ha−1·year−1) were applied manually on the forest floor for two years. Rs and Rh rates were monitored from April 2011 to March 2013. Mean Rs and Rh ra...

I develop a two-period stochastic dynamic programming model to explain the interaction between fertilizer use and off-farm labor supply. I use a well-known sample of farmers in the semi-arid tropics of India to test the model. I find that fertilizer use responds strongly to wages in the village labor market and that irrigation raises fertilizer use, while larger farmers use less fertilizer than...

The integrated soil fertility management paradigm, currently advocated in Sub-Saharan Africa for rehabilitating its soils, recognizes the possible interactive benefits of combining organic residues with mineral fertilizer inputs on agroecosystem functioning. Residue quality may be a controlling factor for any beneficial interactions. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of ...

The excessive increase of jellyfish swarms could threaten the fishers and the marine food chain. The aim of research was to evaluate the potential benefit of the jellyfish as a fertilizer for different trees. The greenhouse experiment was conducted at Kutan, Chuncheon, South Korea using two tree species. Jellyfish was applied to soil before planting at different application rates (1.6, 2.7, 5.5...

The impact of a urea-formaldehyde (UF) fertilizer on bacterial diversity in onion bulbs and main roots of sugar beet were examined using a 16S rRNA gene clone library. The UF fertilizer markedly increased bacterial diversity in both plants. The results of principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) revealed that nearly 30% of the variance observed in bacterial diversity in both the onion and sugar be...