In this experiment, 0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 ml of each oil dissolved in 1 ml of 95 % ethanol was added to 1 kg of soil containing 370 P. penetrans per kg, and incorporated by shaking. After 10 days at 22 ± 3 C, a four-week-old tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill cv. Bonny Best) seedling was planted in each of six 5-cm-diam plastic pots containing 100 g of treated or untreated infested soi...

abstract soil microbiological criteria are a complex reflection of interactive metabolic processes that may not be evaluated only by measuring a single parameter but rather it requires the simultaneous determination of more parameters and combining them. the objective of this research was to study enzyme activities: microbial biomass carbon ratios in salinized and none-saline soils in the prese...

Successful afforestation has been practiced in South Africa for more than a century. Recently, however, problems with afforestation of pines have occurred in the northeastern part of the Eastern Cape Province. Rapid mortality of Pinus patula and P. elliottii have occurred when small container seedlings were planted on old-agricultural soils. Death would often occur within 5 months of planting. ...

The entomogenous nematode Steinernema feltiae was encapsulated in an alginate matrix containing a tomato seed. When these capsules were placed on 0.8% agar for 7 days, the seed germinated and ca. 20% of the nematodes escaped from the capsules, whereas only 0.1% escaped from capsules without seeds. When capsules containing nematodes and a seed were planted into sterilized or nonsterilized soil, ...

We used a next-generation, Illumina-based sequencing approach to characterize the bacterial community development of apple rhizosphere soil in a replant site (RePlant) and a new planting site (NewPlant) in Beijing. Dwarfing apple nurseries of 'Fuji'/SH6/Pingyitiancha trees were planted in the spring of 2013. Before planting, soil from the apple rhizosphere of the replant site (ReSoil) and from ...

A comparison was made between the dissipation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil freshly spiked with pure PAHs, soil spiked with a coal tar mixture and a contaminated soil from a former coking works where the PAHs had been present for more than a century. The potential of five selected plant species for phytoremediation was investigated. The levels of all 7 PAHs in chemically am...

Results from an innovative approach to improve remediation in the rhizosphere by encouraging healthy plant growth and thus enhancing microbial activity are reported. The effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Am) on remediation efficacy of wheat, mungbean and eggplant grown in soil spiked with polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) was assessed in a pot experiment. The results of this study showed th...

A laboratory bioassay was investigated for screening insecticides for preventing stand losses by the wireworm Melanotus communis (Gyllenhal) to germinating plant cane. For liquid materials, single-eye billets were dipped into different concentrations of a candidate insecticide and then planted in plastic containers of organic soil; wireworms were then introduced, airtight lids were placed onto ...

There were no signi®cant differences in the percent mortality and weight of earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris) after 40 days in soil planted with Bt (NK4640Bt) or non-Bt corn or after 45 days in soil amended with biomass of Bt or non-Bt corn. The toxin was present in the guts and casts of earthworms in soil planted with Bt corn or amended with biomass of Bt corn, but it was cleared within 2±3 da...

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a primary and widely cultivated forage crop in China. As a perennial leguminous grass, continuous planted alfalfa may influence carbon and nitrogen sequestration in soils. We evaluated the effect of alfalfa, planted for different lengths of time, and temperature and precipitation on soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents, and estimated soil SO...