MARKETING BOARDS, FERTILIZER SUBSIDIES, PRICES, & SMALLHOLDER BEHAVIOR: MODELING & POLICY IMPLICATIONS FOR ZAMBIA By Nicole Marie Mason Grain marketing boards (GMBs), strategic grain reserves (SGRs), and fertilizer subsidies have experienced a renaissance in eastern and southern Africa over the last decade. Relatively little is known about how the re-emergence of GMBs/SGRs as major players in m...

Nitrogen (N) export from soils to streams and groundwater under the intensifying cropping schemes of the Pampas is modest compared to intensively cultivated basins of Europe and North America; however, a slow N enrichment of water resources has been suggested. We (1) analyzed the fate of fertilizer N and (2) evaluated the contribution of fertilizer and soil organic matter (SOM) to N leaching un...

Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from a maize field in the North China Plain (Wangdu County, Hebei Province, China) were investigated using static chambers during two consecutive maize growing seasons in the 2008 and 2009. The N2O pulse emissions occurred with duration of about 10 days after basal and additional fertilizer applications in the both years. The average N20 fluxes from the CK (control...

Cakchiquel farmers in Patzún, Guatemala stated that pest populations have increased in corn crops since they abandoned organic fertilization and adopted synthetic fertilizers. Given the dearth of scientific information about the effects of fertilization practices on pests, a controlled experiment was performed to elucidate these interactions. Pests, their natural enemies, and nutritional status...

Human urine was used as a fertilizer in cabbage cultivation and compared with industrial fertilizer and nonfertilizer treatments. Urine achieved equal fertilizer value to industrial fertilizer when both were used at a dose of 180 kg N/ha. Growth, biomass, and levels of chloride were slightly higher in urine-fertilized cabbage than with industrial-fertilized cabbage but clearly differed from non...

The organic source of nutrients would be a promising practice for Valeriana jatamansi cultivation which maintains its curative value. A set experiments was conducted at Hill Zone West Bengal, Kalimpong two consecutive cycles to standardize nutrient management in V. optimum growth and economic yield. Different sources such as farm yard manure (FYM), bio-fertilizer (BF), vermicompost (VC) were ap...

Potassium (K) is essential for soil, plant and human nutrition. In calcareous soils, high Ca levels suppress the K uptake by crops therefore, growing in these soils often require above normal of fertilization satisfactory growth. Therefore, a long-term experiment was started soil (medium available K) replicated thrice randomized block design with rice-based cropping system nine treatments [T1- ...

A comparative study on the effect of chemical fertilizers and bio-fertilizers was done on growth and biochemical parameters in cucumber plant (Cucumis sativus L.). An experiment was conducted in randomized completely blocks design (RCBD) with four replicates. The treatment were (T1= control, T2= bio-fertilizer, T3= chemical and T4= combination treatment (biofertilizer and 1⁄2 chemical)) at Agri...

While the current food security is fulfilled in China, the substantial nitrogen fertilizer use has caused many far-reaching environmental problems. Therefore, reforming the fertilizer management is the key toward sustainable agriculture for 1.3 billion people. The present study is intended to test the applicability of a nitrogen fertilizer management approach for corn production developed in U....