Organic amendments have been widely used for management of plant-parasitic nematodes. Relatively rapid declines in nematode population levels may occur when decomposing materials release toxic compounds, while longer-term effects might include increases in nematode antagonists. Improved crop nutrition and plant growth following amendment use may lead to tolerance of plant-parasitic nematodes. R...

Soil amendments have been proposed as a means to speed the development of plant and soil processes that contribute to water quality, habitat, and biodiversity functions in restored wetlands. However, because natural wetlands often act as significant methane sources, it remains unknown if amendments will also stimulate emissions of this greenhouse gas from restored wetlands. In this study, we in...

The study investigated the effects of organic amendments: pineapple pulp (PP) and agar hydrolyzate (AH), on micropropagation and Pb bioaccumulation and tolerance in a woody shrub Daphne jasminea cultured in vitro. The amendments were analyzed for their content of carbohydrates, phenolic acids, and phytohormones and added at a dose of 10 mL L-1 to the medium containing 1.0 mM lead nitrate. Micro...

Phytophthora root rot of avocado, a soilborne disease caused by Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands, continues to be devastating to the cultivation of avocados despite more than 70 years of research on control methods. Phytophthora root rot has been estimated to be present in two-thirds of the avocado groves in California, causing losses of almost 30% of the total value of the crop (5). P. cinnamomi m...

In agro-ecosystems, fertilization practices are crucial for sustaining crop productivity. Here, based on a 50-year long-term experiment, we studied the influence of fertilization practices (inorganic and/or organic) and nitrogen (N) application rates on (i) soil physicochemical properties, (ii) microbial and earthworm communities and (iii) crop production. Our results showed that soil organic c...

Biochar is nowadays largely used as a soil amendment and is commercialized worldwide. However, in temperate agro-ecosystems the beneficial effect of biochar on crop productivity is limited, with several studies reporting negative crop responses. In this work, we studied the effect of 10 biochar and 9 not pyrogenic organic amendments (NPOA), using pure and in all possible combinations on lettuce...

The impacts of two organic soil amendments on nematode abundance, community structure and soil characteristics were studied in field grown tomatoes. We hypothesized that as the raw (labile form) and composted (non-labile form) manures differ in their chemical composition and effect on microbial activity. Also they will have different effects on soil properties and directly and indirectly affect...

This paper reviews general approaches for applying activated carbon (AC) amendments as an in situ sediment treatment remedy. In situ sediment treatment involves targeted placement of amendments using installation options that fall into two general approaches: 1) directly applying a thin layer of amendments (which potentially incorporates weighting or binding materials) to surface sediment, with...