Plant Fertilization, Animal and Human Nutrition - Science topic

The best way it determine plant available nutrients in the soil is using a soil test that has been calibrated for plant response or uptake for the specific crop(s) of interest. There are a number of tests in the literature. Moreover, plant growth and development largely depend on the combination and concentration of mineral nutrients available in the soil. Symptoms of nutrient deficiency may include stunted growth, death of plant tissue, or yellowing of the leaves caused by a reduced production of chlorophyll, a pigment needed for photosynthesis. The application of soil science research to the rapid chemical analyses to assess the available nutrient status of a soil. Nutrient availability in soil is influenced by many, often interrelated, factors. These include the parental rock material, particle size, humus and water content, pH, aeration, temperature, root surface area, the rhizoflora, and mycorrhizal development.

A very good explanation and cautions for those who are dealing with plant nutrients including myself. Yes, chlorine is the most ignored micro-nutrient!

My dear friend, the method you have mentioned is the best way to evaluate the production of auxin, but sometimes with a few changes in the method, a good result can be achieved, for example, changing the ratio of the reagent (Salkowski) to the sample (supernatant) and also adding or not adding ortho-phosphoric acid to the mix.

The incubation is also better in the dark.

Wishing you success with you dear friend

Most if not all States require various permits to mine river sand, gravel, etc. Contact the appropriate state environmental, water and mining agency for a listing or an inspector knowledgeable about ongoing activities. It is not unusual to have to pay a premium for some types of river sand. Supplies of sand can be costly to transport distances, so best to find one locally. You might also contract local concrete companies concerning various sources of sand.

thank you.. will check

Calcium thiosulfate is a source of S and Ca 10 and 6% respectively. Potassium thiosulfate is a source of Potassium and Sulfur. Crops like Brassicas have a high sulfur requirement. In saline soils the use of calcium sulfate is important in substituting calcium for saturated sodium conditions. These materials may have some ability to acidify a alkaline condition which can have value. As a potassium source the most cost effective option is usually potassium chloride. For a source of sulfur and calcium sulfate would be preferred to calcium thiosulfate except where there is need to acidify the soil the thiosulfates might have utility. I believe they are more costly that other materials mentioned. All these materials should be applied based on soil analysis and the indication of deficiencies and their remediation. Besides the soil test the tissue analysis can fine tune the crop needs and responses.

Dear Elaheh, this seems to be physiological stress, but for your personal satisfactions, you can culture some small pieces on selective medium and isolate total DNA and perform RCA. but i am sure this is not viral or bacterial infection.

Thank you both so much!

From the P point of view, application of ammonium phosphates would be a better choice for crops on alkaline soils. Ammonium is a cation which on nitrification should make the soil acidic in the microsite. Thus, the P is more available. However, on acidic soils, P availability will be a big issue as it will get reverted to the highly insoluble forms such as the Al- and Fe- P forms. Application of the ammonium phosphates will not be a good option for acidic soils. On such soils, application along with organic matter may be a good management strategy to prevent occlusion of P onto Al- and Fe- oxides. 

1 You can incubate the wheat seeds a few hours with a solution of Rhizoctonia Cerealis and then sow.

2 You can sow seeds in plots and in 3-4 days for example (when the plant has grown) you can irrigate with Rhizoctonia Cerealis solution (previously grown in liquid medium). Be careful if you make slits because the roots of wheat are thin and I imagine you'll want to reproduce natural conditions pathogen colonization.

Here a comment from the "Neubauer" Country: its useful only if you check different soils just always under the same experimental protocol. The data itself have no ownstanding meaning! Ist a nice "mini-pot" experimental control we still use from time to time!

Place the McDougall's solution, after the addition of the 4% CaCl2 solution,

into the 390C water bath and bubble in CO2 gas until the pH of the

McDougall's solution reads 6.8 to 7.0.

Evidence for plant uptake of N rich organic molecules via root system:

Marsden et al. (2015) Plant acquisition and metabolism of the synthetic nitrification inhibitor dicyandiamide and naturally-occurring guanidine from agricultural soils. Plant and Soil. Volume 395, Issue 1, pp 201–214

Pathways of dicyandiamide uptake in pasture plants: a laboratory study. Biology and Fertility of Soils · (February 2016)

I appreciate the  detailed and good comments of Dr.Hepperly. The Ministry of agriculture fixes certain criteria under Fertilizer Quality Control Order which the fertilizer industry and fertilizer marketing agencies need to follow. FAO has also established similar quality standards for common fertilizers. In case of potassic fertilizers(all other fertilizers) for quality assessment apart from nutrient cations and anions,the  fertilizers contain moisture,certain impurities like Na and Cl.The nutrient K is expressed as K2O and the particle size of fertilizer is also important.The standard purity criteria for K2SO4 according to FAO is :moisture percent by weight,Max.1.5,potassium content as K2O percent by weight,min. 50,Total chloride as Cl percent by weight,max 2.5, sodium as NaCl percent by weight,max.2.0 and sulphur as S percent by weight ,min 17.5 .FCO also has similar criteria.The following references give provide the quality standards fixed for different fertilizer materials.

Anonymous.2006 Fertiliser control Order.Published by FAI ,New Delhi.One can get information on similar line from

Hi ¡

In my experience, in the case of trees have a gaussian curve, starting first fruits between three or seven years old (depending of the species plus environmental conditions), and then a curve by year, which  means that in first years of production you can get not the best fruits (may be too small or just a few or do not get ripe); and talking about the year even in best years of production, in the middle of gaussian curve of the  whole life of the plant, you can get the best production of flowers and fruits in the middle of the gaussian curve of the whole production period in the year. Of course considering that the disponibility of water is not a problem for the plant.

Dear Gaurav,

Hoagland's nutrient solution

Rana Munns  

Contributors :Rana Munns   Gary Clark  

Protocols that receive sufficient votes and a high star rating will be considered for Gold Leaf Status by the PrometheusWiki Editorial Board.

 Overview

This protocol describes how to make up standard nutrient solution using the original recipe of Hoagland and Arnon No2, with modifications for using it in solution culture rather than sand culture.

Background

Growing plants under defined nutrient availability has been useful for nutrient studies and for screening for a variety or nutrient deficiencies and toxicities. The original solutions of Hoagland and Arnon were for sand culture, which need to be modified for solution culture for P.

Materials/Equipment

2 L plastic beaker

2 L volumetric flask

Magnetic stirrer

Electronic balance which measures to 4 decimal places.

Funnel

1 L Schott bottle

Units, terms, definitions

All concentrations are given in mM (mmol L-1or mol m-3)

Procedure

Make up stock solutions A (containing K, Ca and NO3), B (containing Mg, NH4and PO4), C (all micronutrients) and D (FeCl3). These cannot be mixed at the high concentrations of the stock solutions.

To view the whole protocol, please use the following link:

Rafik

Dear Chavez,

Amount of nutrients needed in the soil to sustain normal plant health, Top dressing is the application of a product in an even manner to the surface of the soil or turf, in golf that means applying sand to make the surface smoother, to fill in holes from aeration, and to promote upward growth in golf greens.

1.      The condition of the leaf surface, in particular the waxy cuticle. The cuticle is only partially permeable to water and dissolved nutrients and, as a result, it can limit nutrient uptake.

2.      The length of time the nutrient remains dissolved in the solution on the leaf's surface.

3.      Diffusion, the movement of elements from a high concentration to a low concentration. For diffusion to occur, the nutrient must dissolve, and

4.       The type of formulation. Water-soluble formulations generally work better for foliar applications as they are more easily absorbed when compared to insoluble solutions.

It refers to spreading fertilizers uniformly all over the field.

Suitable for crops with dense stand, the plant roots permeate the whole volume of the soil, large doses of fertilizers are applied and insoluble phosphatic fertilizers such as rock phosphate are used.

It refers to the placement of fertilizers in soil at a specific place with or without reference to the position of the seed.

Placement of fertilizers is normally recommended when the quantity of fertilizers to apply is small, development of the root system is poor, soil have a low level of fertility and to apply phosphatic and potassic fertilizer.

 

Band placement refer to Hill placement, It is practiced for the application of fertilizers in orchards. In this method, fertilizers are placed close to the plant in bands on one or both sides of the plant. The length and depth of the band varies with the nature of the crop and Row placement When the crops like sugarcane, potato, maize, cereals etc., are sown close together in rows, the fertilizer is applied in continuous bands on one or both sides of the row, which is known as row placement.

  Pellet Application

It refers to the placement of nitrogenous fertilizer in the form of pellets 2.5 to 5 cm deep between the rows of the paddy crop.

The fertilizer is mixed with the soil in the ratio of 1:10 and made small pellets of convenient size to deposit in the mud of paddy fields.

Regards,

Prem Baboo

 

Does the labile organic carbon play key role in microbial biomass ,enzyme activity, carbon turn over,nutrient release and ultimately the biological fertility(health) of soil?

Absolutely it is critically important!

The criteria for soil microbial life is the presence of food and habitat.

The reason that the rhizosphere, the zone around the root is teaming with life is because the exudation of the substances sloughed off the root stimulate the growth of the population.

Outside the root zone in the bulk soil the lack of ready food and habitat create something akin to biological desert compared to the root zone itself. When we look at something like biochar it creates enormous living spaces due to honeycombed three dimensional structure.

Labile organic matter is not so much the residence that the more inert biochar represents but inside the food source. Our microbes and ourselves need spaces conditions and food for our prospering.

When people assay the positive nature of their farming practices labile organic matter fraction resources before the measureable increases in the stabilized organic fractions. With time the increase of labile organic matter results in increase humus fractions and the values are highly correlated.

Bottomline set goals for transforming our farming system.

Take consideration on base lining and monitoring how our field practices are affecting the labile fractions which when continue over time with provide foundation for long term soil improvement.

In conjunction the direct measurement of mineralizable Nitrogen and the assay of mycorrhizal fungi can be give fuller picture of soil in regeneration.

I agree with you that advanced techologies can definately facilitate point application of fertilizer, and surely there are many machines or devinces avaliable in the Chinese market. The point is that most of fields in China is not big enough and impossible for large-scale mechanized farming due to theirs individual properites. Small farmers can not afford the relative higher cost of mechanization, since the income from farming essentially is not as much as that from other careers.

My opinion is that: we should adjust our entire agricultural constructure and encourage large-scale farming  such as agricultural cooperatives... This  will be surely an promise way to achieve high fertilization technology due to advantages in the use of labor saving devices and more straightforwar operation. When you walk around some villages or towns nearby the Taihu lake, you can see many of large-scale farming like agricultural cooperatives now. This is very gratifying!

Dr.Paul,I intentionally made the question broad based to give scope to several participants across the globe , to know diverse crops/cropping systems, and availability of a range materials and to what extent they can be recycled with out  putting them to alternative uses.There are some K rich plant  materials and by products which are being used/marketed .I request the participants to suggest all possible materials for a wide range of situations for efficient recycling.

I understand the document by referred by D.W. Israel will surely help solve the problem of Mr. Das,

Michal,

 According to the chemical analysis results you have provided, One liter of ‘digested slurry + maize silage’ mixture has 2.27 g NH4-N [(56.8/100) x 4.00 g Total N/L] compared with 1.68 g NH4-N [(76.4/100) x 2.2 g/L] in One liter of ‘raw pig slurry.  That means a unit volume of digested slurry mixture has more ‘readily plant available N’ than a similar volume of ‘raw pig slurry’. Therefore, considering NH4-N alone, digested slurry+maize silage mixture has a higher fertilizer value than the raw pig slurry.

A unit volume of digested slurry mixture has more organic N [(33.2/100) x 4.0 g/L = 1.33 g/L organic N] than a similar volume of raw pig slurry [(13.2/100) x 2.2 g/L = 0.29 g/L organic N].  These organic N will be mineralized once the slurry is applied to soil.  How soon they will be mineralized may depend on the C:N ratio and soil conditions.  You have not provided the Carbon content in the two types of slurry.  Based on the 3.93% dry matter in the digested slurry mixture and assuming approximately 50% C content in the dry matter, C content in your digested slurry would be about 19.6 g/L.  That means, an estimated C:N ratio of about 5.  Therefore, you can expect a net mineralization, when this digested slurry mixture applied to soil.

In summary, considering both NH4-N and organic N, your digested slurry mixture has more fertilizer value than raw pig slurry.

Remember, fertilizer value of organic manure will also depend on the method of application.  If you just surface apply digested slurry, a considerable loss of N will occur by Ammonia volatilization and the theoretical fertilizer value we just calculated will be lower due to ammonia loss.  This type of organic manure should be incorporated to soil soon after application, in order to realize its full potential fertilizer value.  They also need to be applied close to crop planting to avoid N losses.

There is a full paper in my RG profile related to N availability of raw pig slurry as affected by soil type and timing of application that may be useful.

With regard to an efficient soil fertilization strategy to mitigate the fixation of zinc by high phosphate content in the soil, I would recommend the use of zinc chelates. Unfortunately, only Zn-EDTA chelate is fairly resistant to high P in the soil in comparison with other or cheaper chelating agents. It is an expensive product. As far as the use of fertigation by drip lines is utilized (mainly for high value crops) the use of chelate per ha can be definitely reduced to an economically acceptable minimum. Obviously, this soil application strategy will not significantly affect the problem of the Zn-bioavailability due to the binding of Zn by seed phytic acid.

Microbts mixture with organic n nitrogenous fertilizers are benificial in agriculture. many studies r there n r in use widly.in aquaculture microbes as probiotics in feed mixture able to enhance fish growth. Microbes as probiotic in fish feed r species specific i.e.feed having lectobacilus or other may be good for indian carps but maynot suit to chinese grass carp. each fish species has different gut flora which depend to species food habit,feeding pattern,n rearing environment. In my knowledge no company has  specific microbe  mixture suitable for aquaculture especially 4 cyprinidae fishes. Comercial microbe mixture available in market r not benificial in fish culture. I have investigated Tor putitora species 4 microbes in its gut and suitable probiotic in feed 4 it.

read my review , it would be helpful :https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262188361_A_Review_of_Optical_Methods_for_Assessing_Nitrogen_Contents_During_Rice_Growth

Dr.Kalaivanan, I am not a horticulture specialist but as an agricultural student and scientist I have come across more literature supporting better use of foliar feeding  in orchard crops like citrus ,apple, grapes etc.,As I understand foliar  analysis and foliar feeding are common in horticulture .Your IIHR,Bangalore has developed micronutrient mixtures for  important fruit crops and they are very popular with farmers.It is an age old practice in citrus crop and we may come across lot of references  from California and Florida states in USA.However my literature review is not so recent.Soil testing and application of nutrients especially micronutrients  is not easy in tree crops but continuous application  of manures and recommended rates of fertilizers may benefit the tree crops also.However you may have to clarify me that how long  it takes soil applied nutrients to reach active roots in soil in orchard or tree crops.

in our country this plant is not belong to red list of plants and our farmer cultivate it to produce seed( bird seed and some edible use) they often plant it in narrow rows as a marginal cultivation in tomato, cucumber and other farms without any especial protocol

may be serum iron

Your actual question does not have a simple answer.  First, urea fertilizer does not directly cause soil damage unless grossly over applied.  As others have pointed out, the use of urea alone for fertilization purposes will of course contribute to withdrawal and a decline of available P, K and other essential nutrients over time if they are not also applied on a regular basis.  On a relatively small scale, organic fertilizers may help prevent this, but it is important to remember that the term "organic" simply means the material is primarily carbon based, and it does not imply any particular nutrient content.  For instance, blood meal is a good organic source of N, but not high in P or K.  Bone meal is considered to be a good organic source (which I disagree with, since it is mostly mineral matter) of Ca and P, having little to no N.  Other organic "fertilizers," such as animal manures, may have decent levels of N and P, but lack sufficient K levels to serve as a useful long term fertilizer material.  The real key, in any fertilization program, is to monitor the existing available nutrient supply in a soil, matching that with the nutrient needs of the crop being grown, while applying any that are in short supply, whether from organic or inorganic sources.  Yes, there are benefits to improving  organic matter levels in soils through the use of green manure crops and other organic materials, but all come with a cost.  Green manure crops need nutrients (fertilization) too and some organic fertilizers also pose environmental hazards.  There are no magical solutions and no "one-size fits all" solutions to meeting crop nutrient demands.  Being smart, keeping an open mind, and using good science are the best bets, my friend.

It would probably involve them being unsuited to catching and eating animals.  Plants dont run away.  Also the mouth parts of predatory and non predatory animals differ.  Much the same reason you dont see cattle (in the wild) eating other animals 

TQ Mr Lincoln/Eswari

True, You are right on the point of growing fruits to eat them....

That bananas, papaya, passion, durian, chia, flex seeds etc are encourage to be consumed with its different nutritional values

What if we have excess of over-ripe or diseases fruits + seeds.

If we compost them separately what will the NPK+micro nutrients etc be different from normal leaves etc composting to give the plant the "right" growing up fertilizer

If you do comes across any test data or report on fruit+vegetable composting, do let me know to oxbridge@singnet.com.sg

Cheers

There are many ways by which you can analyze the cold modulated proteins. The first and most important step is to extract the proteins from the non acclimated and cold acclimated Pinus seedlings. After extraction, the proteins could be resolved on SDS-PAGE or two dimensional gel electrophoresis to analyze the cold responsive proteins which can be eluted from gel and can be identified by LC-MS/MS. In addition, if you want to go for high-throughput analysis of cold modulated proteins, go for gel free analysis. iTRAQ would be a best option in this case.

Condensed tannins may be beneficial to ruminant animals as they apparently protect protein from ruminal degradation and therefore providing a source of by protein. This is most useful if the protein being prtotected is of high biological value. On the other hand hydrolysable tannins have been found to be beneficial to pigs as they have been shown to improve feed efficiency due to their inhibition of caecal bacteria activity which in turn reduces gas production. HTs also have antioxidant properties. What is needed is to find the optimal inclusion rates of these tannins to take advantage of their beneficial effects in different animal species.

Here is the reference paper for your question

The generally accepted fertilizer is farmyard manure (FYM) for agriculture in most saline areas. The joint application of FYM and chemical fertilizer is recommended when the cost/benefit is considered. The timing of topdressing fertilizer is important to reduce the effect of salt stress on crop growth. Fertilization is suggested after the rainfall or irrigation and high-frequency fertilization is also encouraged with little amount of fertilizer every time. In my opition, the most efficient method to reduce salt stress is to inhibit the capillary rise of soil salinity, namely minimizing the evaporation rather than transpiration. Thus, many measures such as plastic film, straw mulching, isolation layer in the plowing layer are preferable, and drip irrigation is also suggested.

Total plant nitrogen analysis by near infra-red spectroscopy is a quicker and efficient method compared to Dumas method of estimation and it is inexpensive. An attached research papaer on Total plant nitrogen analysis by near infra-red spectroscopy is enclosed for ready reference