Since 1989 and until the summer of 2012 all soil testing laboratories in Iowa and the USA dried soil samples at 35 to 40 oC (95 to 104 oF) before soil analysis for potassium (K), phosphorus (P), and other nutrients. Since last fall, however, a laboratory that began operations in Iowa is using testing procedures that involve no soil sample drying, and another laboratory is offering moist soil te...

Soil microbial community characterization is increasingly being used to determine the responses of soils to stress and disturbances and to assess ecosystem sustainability. However, there is little experimental evidence to indicate that predictable patterns in microbial community structure or composition occur during secondary succession or ecosystem restoration. This study utilized a chronosequ...

In this study, effects of continuous cropping on soil properties, enzyme activities, and relative abundance, community composition and diversity of fungal taxa were investigated. Rhizosphere soil from field continuously cropped for one-year, three-year and five-year by Coptis chinensis Franch. was collected and analyzed. Illumina high-throughput sequencing analysis showed that continuous croppi...

The quantification of soil water balance components was conducted in a sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) field differently managed, as well as a qualitative analysis of the methodologies used for their estimation. The study was conducted in randomized block experiment with four replicates and three treatments: bare soil, mulched soil using trash left on the soil surface after harvest, and so...

\ Abstract: India is an agriculture country; where in about 70% of the population depends on agriculture. also Indian agriculture occupies an eminent position in global cultivation of rice, wheat, sugarcane, pulses and vegetables. Soil testing provides the basic information for the farmer to decide, the suitable crop, content of minerals in the soil, extent of fertilizer to be used, etc. The cu...

Soil has the potential to be valuable forensic evidence linking a person or item to a crime scene; however, there is no established soil individualization technique. In this study, the utility of soil bacterial profiling via next-generation sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was examined for associating soils with their place of origin. Soil samples were collected from ten diverse and nine similar...

Owing to the difference of soil water in the farm, a system of variable rate irrigation was developed with Visual C++ and MapObjects that can save water as well as can improve economy benefit. Soil water content can be forecasted by using the forecast model of soil water, according to the real soil water content of different sampling sites in this system. Irrigation or not can be decided by com...

This paper describes the findings of selenium measurement in three types of soil (semigley, pseudogley and hypogley) and in wheat grain cultivated in these types of soil in the vicinity of Koprivnica using hydrid atomic absorption spectrometry. The results showed relatively low selenium levels in all three types of soil (145-333 micrograms Se/kg dry weight) as well as the wheat grain (22-62 mic...

Pollution of inhabited geographic landscapes is often a public health concern. Ascertaining the degree and scope of such pollution is a difficult task and frequently involves analysis of soil samples. This article describes ways to statistically analyze the geographic distribution of soil samples to better understand polluted landscapes, in part to determine whether more samples are needed; spe...

Understanding the mechanisms underlying negative plant-soil feedbacks remains a critical challenge in plant ecology. If closely related species are more similar, then phylogeny could be used as a predictor for plant species interactions, simplifying our understanding of how plant-soil feedbacks structure plant communities, underlie invasive species dynamics, or reduce agricultural productivity....