Soil Conditioning News
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CoolPlanetBiofuels Gets Series B Funding from Google Ventures
Imagine a world where fuel doesn't have to be pumped, dug out or extracted from the ground, and can be locally sourced. CoolPlanetBiofuels, located in Camarillo, Calif., is developing an innovative solution to address the energy problem and has received funding from Google Ventures to accelerate the development of its technology. CoolPlanetBiofuel's technology converts low-grade biomass — ...
By Cool Planet
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GE Energy Financial Services Joins North Bridge Venture Partners in Investment in CoolPlanetBiofuels
CAMARILLO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of GE (NYSE: GE), has joined an $8 million funding round for CoolPlanetBioFuels, a start-up company developing a technology that converts low-grade biomass into high-grade fuel and carbon that can be sequestered. This venture capital investment was led by North Bridge Venture Partners, ...
By Cool Planet
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International soil conference opens in Brisbane
“It’s underfoot but often forgotten yet our soil resources are crucial to our very existence,” says the Chief of CSIRO Land and Water, Dr Neil McKenzie. “Any gardener or farmer knows that soil is an astonishing material. It’s the natural reactor in the landscape that forms the basis for our supply of food, clean water and biodiversity.” Australia is a net ...
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Increasing the shelf-life of cassava
Crop scientists have identified several genetic mechanisms to improving the shelf-life of cassava roots. Long an unsolvable problem, the research has the potential to benefit the poorest of the poor, widening and strengthening the markets for cassava, reducing marketing costs, and losses along the marketing or value addition process. The research team, led by Hernán Ceballos at the ...
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Countrystyle Group acquires TJ Composting
Waste management and recycling firm Countrystyle Group has significantly expanded its composting services after acquiring TJ Composting. Countrystyle Group will take over TJ Composting’s four operational sites in Hampshire, Sussex, Kent and Essex, which all use open windrow composting technologies. A keen supporter of composting, Countrystyle Group already owns two in-vessel composting ...
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Boost for biofertiliser
Biofertiliser produced through anaerobic digestion could be about to receive a boost following the introduction of new quality assurance measures designed to verify that the product is “fit for purpose”. Biofertiliser is the nutrient-rich fertiliser which is produced when bio-degradable waste is treated via AD. BSI PAS 110 is a voluntary national quality specification for biofertiliser, ...
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Phosphorus-rich soils support larger invertebrates
In a recent study, researchers have defined the relationship between soil conditions and nutrients with the health of soil ecosystems. The results suggest that organic grassland, rich in phosphorus, is supportive of large populations of bigger invertebrates. All living things are made up of chemical elements in certain proportions and the availability of these elements in the environment can ...
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Understanding why rye works as a cover crop
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists may soon find a way to enhance the weed-killing capabilities of a cereal grain that enriches the soil when used as a winter cover crop. Rye is often grown in winter and killed in the spring, so the dead stalks can be flattened over soybean and vegetable fields to block sunlight and prevent spring weeds from getting the light they need to germinate. ...
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Reinforcement of soil by plant roots
Landslides have devastating impacts across the globe resulting in the loss of life and the destruction of billions of dollars in infrastructure. Soil erosion from wind and water threatens food production, pollutes the environment, and can make living in major cities such as Beijing almost unbearable during dust storms. Just like the great dust bowl of the 1930s, many instances of soil erosion and ...
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New limits on pesticide uses will protect salmon, says EPA
EPA has announced plans to place additional limitations on the use of three organophosphate pesticides — chlorpyrifos, diazinon and malathion — to protect endangered and threatened salmon and steelhead in California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Anticipated changes to product labels include the addition of pesticide buffer zones; application limitations based on wind speed, soil moisture and ...
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Strong focus on soils at Cummins GRDC Update
Probing soil moisture and building soil carbon will be key topics explored at the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) Update at Cummins on August 11. GRDC Southern Regional Panel chair David Shannon said growers on the lower Eyre Peninsula often dealt with ‘difficult’ soils and were keen for information to assist them in managing their soils. “The lower Eyre Peninsula is a very ...
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A genome may reduce your carbon footprint
With the costs of genome sequencing rapidly decreasing, and with the infrastructure now developed for almost anyone with access to a computer to cheaply store, access, and analyze sequence information, emphasis is increasingly being placed on ways to apply genome data to real world problems, including reducing dependency on fossil fuel. For the efficient production of bioenergy, this may be ...
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Scotland raises awareness about compost
The Scottish Government is urging people to help reduce waste during Compost Awareness Week by taking up composting as a greener way of disposing of their garden and kitchen waste. The week runs from 3 May to 9 May and aims to encourage more people to take up home composting by purchasing discounted compost bins through the Waste Aware Scotland Compost at Home campaign. Environment Minister ...
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Poor soil quality may reduce farmland bird population
Researchers have investigated the relationship between soil quality and the decline of yellow wagtail birds on arable farmland in the UK. The results suggest that reduced soil penetrability in particular affects the numbers and distribution of the species. Modern, intensive-farming methods can lead to changes in habitats with a loss in biodiversity, including farmland bird species. Degradation ...
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Soil carbon storage is not always influenced by tillage practices
The practice of no-till has increased considerably during the past 20 yr. Soils under no-till usually host a more abundant and diverse biota and are less prone to erosion, water loss, and structural breakdown than tilled soils. Their organic matter content is also often increased and consequently, no-till is proposed as a measure to mitigate the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide ...
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New soil map for African farmers
Responding to sub-Saharan Africa's soil health crisis, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) announced this week an ambitious new effort to produce the first-ever, detailed digital soil map for all 42 countries of the region. This project combines the latest soil science and technology with remote satellite imagery and on-the-ground efforts to analyze thousands of soil samples ...
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Signs of recovery in polluted Czech forests
Pollution has had a significant impact on European forests, where it disrupts many natural processes. Forests in Central Europe are among the most severely affected by pollution worldwide. New research1 from the Czech Republic suggests that attempts to cut sulfur-based pollution (such as acid rain) could also be important in a longer-term reduction of nitrate output from forest watersheds as ...
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British composting firm signs gasification deal
A Bedfordshire-based composting company has signed a deal to set up a 1.5MW gasification plant on its site. Growing Beds Recycling Services Ltd, a specialist in manufacturing soil conditioners for agriculture and recycling low grade wood waste, has struck a deal with renewable energy company Purepower to construct one of the UK's first such plants. When fully operational, it is set to convert ...
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LI-COR Introduces New Multiplexer for Automated Soil CO2 Studies
Lincoln, Nebraska: LI-COR Biosciences now offers an automated solution for assessing spatial as well as temporal variability in CO2 flux. The new LI-8150 Multiplexer expands the capabilities of the company’s LI-8100 Automated Soil CO2 Flux System by allowing up to 16 chambers to be controlled by a single LI-8100 Analyzer Control Unit. The LI-8100 is an economical and lightweight system for ...
By LI-COR
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Rugged and Field Ready – The New Field Scout TDR Series
Plainfield, IL – When precision irrigation decisions count, the AE50 award-winning Field Scout TDR Series offers growers the tools to eliminate the guesswork. Based on proven time-domain measurement technology, these portable units accurately measure soil moisture across the full range of soil moisture conditions. Now with an additional mode for use in high clay soils. The Field Scout TDR ...
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