The volume of solid waste produced in the world is increasing annually, and disposing of such wastes is a growing problem. Fly ash (FA) is a form of solid waste that is derived from the combustion of coal. Research has shown that fly ash may be disposed of by using it to amend agricultural soils. This review addresses the feasibility of amending agricultural field soils with fly ash for the pur...

Our increasing dependence on a small number of agricultural crops, such as corn, is leading to reductions in agricultural biodiversity. Reductions in the number of crops in rotation or the replacement of rotations by monocultures are responsible for this loss of biodiversity. The belowground implications of simplifying agricultural plant communities remain unresolved; however, agroecosystem sus...

Soil health refers to the biological, chemical, and physical features of soil that are essential to long-term, sustainable agricultural productivity with minimal environmental impact. Thus, soil health provides an overall picture of soil functionality. Although it cannot be measured directly, soil health can be inferred by measuring specific soil properties (e.g. organic matter content) and by ...

1Département des sciences animales, Faculté des sciences de l’agriculture et de l’alimentation, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada G1K 7P4; 2Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Soils and Crops Research and Development Centre, Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada G1V 2J3 (e-mail: [email protected]); and 3Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Dairy and Swine Research and Development Centre, Lennoxvi...

Abstract The phenylurea herbicides are an important group of pesticides used extensively for pre- or post-emergence weed control in cotton, fruit and cereal crops worldwide. The detection of phenylurea herbicides and their metabolites in surface and ground waters has raised the awareness of the important role played by agricultural soils in determining water quality. The degradation of phenylur...

The monitoring of soil quality should be a control tool used to reduce the adverse health effects arising from exposure to toxic chemicals in soil through cultivated crop absorption. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the monitoring and control system of soil quality in Poland, in terms of consumer safety, for agricultural plants cultivated in areas with known serious cad...

The acreage planted in corn and soybean crops is vast, and these crops contribute substantially to the world economy. The agricultural practices employed for farming these crops have major effects on ecosystem health at a worldwide scale. The microbial communities living in agricultural soils significantly contribute to nutrient uptake and cycling and can have both positive and negative impacts...

Rainfall in Mediterranean climates may affect soil microbial processes and communities differently in agricultural vs. grassland soils. We explored the hypothesis that land use intensification decreases the resistance of microbial community composition and activity to perturbation. Soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) dynamics and microbial responses to a simulated Spring rainfall were measured in ...

The successful establishment of agricultural crops depends on sowing quality, machinery performance, soil type and conditions, among other factors. This study evaluates the operational quality of mechanized peanut sowing in three soil types (sand, silt, and clay) with variable moisture contents. The experiment was conducted in three locations in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The track-samplin...