A field experiment to study the influence of fertigation of N, P and K fertilizers on biometric characters of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) was conducted at the Department of Spices and Plantation Crops, Horticultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore during January 2010 to December 2011. The experiment was laid out with thirteen treatments replicated t...

Unprecedented agricultural intensification and increased crop yield will be necessary to feed the burgeoning world population, whose global food demand is projected to double in the next 50 years. Although grain production has doubled in the past four decades, largely because of the widespread use of synthetic nitrogenous fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation promoted by the "Green Revolution...

One of the methods of disposal of sewage sludge, which is based on its fertilizing properties, is its use in nature, e.g. in farming (if all the permissible standards are met). However, the sludge used for soil fertilization might also contain heavy metals which cause soil contamination and are accumulated in plants. The effect of application of organic fertilizers on soil reaction and other pr...

Chicken litter or chicken litter-based organic fertilizers are usually recycled into the soil to improve the structure and fertility of agricultural land. As an important source of nutrients for crop production, chicken litter may also contain a variety of human pathogens that can threaten humans who consume the contaminated food or water. Composting can inactivate pathogens while creating a so...

Nanomaterials are used in practically every aspect of modern life, including agriculture. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe2O3 NPs) as a fertilizer to replace traditional Fe fertilizers, which have various shortcomings. The effects of the Fe2O3 NPs and a chelated-Fe fertilizer (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid-Fe; EDTA-Fe) fertilizer on the g...

This study assesses the effect of long-term (59 years) application of organic and inorganic fertilizers on soil organic matter and enzyme activity. Total organic C, total organic N, hot water soluble C, microbial biomass C and dehydrogenase activity were evaluated in soil from the long-term field experiment in Prague-Ruzyně (Orthic Luvisol, clay loam). Total organic C and N increased significan...

A prerequisite to use organic fertilizers in a sustainable way is to quantify the amount of phosphorus and potassium available for plants that could be taken up by a crop. The objective of this study was to evaluate direct and subsequent influence of organic fertilizers addition (poultry manure and two types of composts) on the changes of bioavailability of phosphorus and potassium in soil and ...

A study was undertaken to know the combined effects of fertigation and consortium of bio-fertilizers on photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll content, yield attributing characters and yield of banana cv Robusta (AAA) at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore in the year 2010. From the results, it was observed that the treatment of 100% recommended dose of fertilizers through fertigati...

A comparative study on the effect of chemical fertilizers and bio-fertilizers was done on growth and biochemical parameters in cucumber plant (Cucumis sativus). 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 Agr...

Nitrous oxide (N2O) from nitrogen fertilizers applied to sugarcane has high environmental impact on ethanol production. This study aimed to determine the main microbial processes responsible for the N2O emissions from soil fertilized with different N sources, to identify options to mitigate N2O emissions, and to determine the impacts of the N sources on the soil microbiome. In a field experimen...