Volume 2 consists of 11 chapters in which the distribution, land-use and management of red and lateritic soils of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, The Philippines, Vietnam, Kenya, Argentina and Bulgaria are described. There is some overlap with information on the Indian soils presented in volume 1, but the soil information on the other countries is stimulating reading. The internaŽ . tional...

The use of organic matter such as animal manures, human waste, food wastes, yard wastes, sewage sludges and composts has long been recognized in agriculture as beneficial for plant growth and yield and the maintenance of soil fertility. The new approaches to the use of organic amendments in farming have proven to be effective means of improving soil structure, enhancing soil fertility and incre...

Soil fertility is one of many factors which influence farmers’ choices regarding agricultural production, fertilisation and soil and water conservation. Before we can study the effects however, we need to measure soil fertility. We use the QUEFTS model (QUantitative Evaluation of the Fertility of Tropical Soils Janssen et al., 1990), which predicts crop yields from chemical soil characteristics...

Climate is one of the most important factors determining variation in forest structure, but whether soils have independent effects is less clear. We evaluate how climate and soil independently affect forest structure, using 89 200 stems ≥ 10 cm dbh from 220 1-ha permanent plots distributed along environmental gradients in lowland Bolivia. Fifteen forest structural variables, related to vertical...

BACKGROUND Zinc is an essential micronutrient used in the form of zinc sulfate in fertilizers in the agriculture production system. Nitrogen-fixing microorganisms are also of considerable value in promoting soil fertility. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to investigate the degree of sensitivity to varying concentrations of zinc, in the form of ZnSO4, in different strains of Azotobacter chroococcu...

General knowledge of the small, invisible, or hidden organisms that make soil one of the most biodiverse habitats on Earth is thought to be scarce, despite their importance in food systems and agricultural production. We provide the first worldwide review of high-quality research that reports on farmers’ knowledge of soil organisms in agriculture. The depth of farmers’ knowledge varied; some fa...

This session will focus on an Integrative approach to fertility and preconception care. Women having challenges getting pregnant often rely on integrative therapies to support them through conventional fertility management. A saying in TCM about fertility is that we must " cultivate the soil before planting the seed. " We will discuss the reproductive cycle as viewed through the lens of TCM and...

Biochar (BC) addition to soil is a proposed strategy to enhance soil fertility and crop productivity. However, there is limited knowledge regarding responses of soil respiration and C-cycle enzyme activities to BC and nitrogen (N) additions in a calcareous soil. A 56-day incubation experiment was conducted to investigate the combined effects of BC addition rates (0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0% by ma...