Plant Nutrients News
-
J. R. Simplot Company increases production of controlled release fertilizer coating
The J. R. Simplot Company has increased the availability of its controlled release fertilizer coating GAL-XEONE™ in conjunction with newly expanded operations in Florida. All polymer coated products contained within the BEST and APEX product lines will be converted to GAL-XEONE coating in the next several months. Simplot first introduced GAL-XEONE polymer coating capabilities in 2013, and ...
-
Integrating animal and crop production can reduce nutrient leaching from agricultural fields
Nutrient leaching, the movement of plant nutrients from soil to water, can have negative effects on aquatic ecosystems due to eutrophication, which reduces the oxygen available in water, causing species and habitat loss. Ecological Recycling Agriculture (ERA), which is based on ecological principles and integrates crop production and animal husbandry, may limit this effect. This study ...
-
High-nature-value grasslands can be maintained by alternating between mowing and grazing
Scientists recommend policies that alternate between mowing and grazing to manage Europe’s high-nature-value grasslands. This comes after a new seven-year study found that a high plant-species diversity helps grasslands to maintain productivity and to resist depletion of phosphorus caused by livestock grazing and depletion of potassium caused by mowing. Grasslands with high levels of ...
-
Penton Agriculture bolsters its eLearning, agriculture leader now offers interactive accredited continuing education
Penton Agriculture today announced it has bolstered its eLearning with a new interactive platform www.pentonag.com. Farmers will now find all Penton Agriculture online continuing education on a new site that is fast, modern and easy to navigate across all mobile devices as well as the desktop. Photo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150707/232532 “Our first online continuing ...
By Informa PLC
-
Liquid corn, fish fertilizers `good options` for organic blackberry production
Managing soil nutrients in organic production systems presents multiple challenges for fruit growers. The availability and release rate of nitrogen from organic fertilizers, ease of application, and cost are among the important factors that influence choices in organic production. The authors of a new study say that there has been limited information available about the influence of fertilizer ...
-
Plant strategies for optimising nitrate intake
The less nitrogen there is in the soil, the better plants are at using it. Researchers from INRA, CNRS and CIRAD, in cooperation with Czech colleagues, have recently shed light on the crucial role of a protein that enables plants to not only assess their environment but also activate the proper adaptive response based on the conditions. This research, published in the 2 March 2015 issue of Nature ...
-
Fertilizer Use to Surpass 200 Million Tonnes in 2018
Global fertilizer use is likely to rise above 200.5 million tonnes in 2018, 25 percent higher than recorded in 2008. World fertilizer consumption will grow by 1.8 percent a year through 2018, according to FAO's new report "World fertilizer trends and outlook to 2018." At the same time "the global capacity of fertilizer products, intermediates and raw materials will increase further," the report ...
-
Soil biodiversity reduces nitrogen pollution and improves crops’ nutrient uptake
Increased soil biodiversity can reduce nitrogen pollution, improve nutrient uptake by plants and even increase crop yields, new research suggests. The two-year study found that levels of nitrogen leaching from soil with an abundant soil life were nearly 25% lower than for soil with a reduced level of soil life. Practices which enhance soil biodiversity such as reduced tilling, crop rotation and ...
-
Organic mulch lets insect pollinators do their job
As interest in organic agricultural and horticultural practices continues to grow, so does the need to identify alternative weed control practices. Mulching, a common practice used to control weeds and reduce the need for tillage, can also reduce insect pollinators' exposure to harmful pesticides; however, finding the right mulch materials that allow pollinators to flourish can be challenging. ...
-
Maryland, Michigan Farmers Keep Soil, Environment Healthy
As farming practices increasingly attract interest from the general public, two farmers are ensuring they meet public approval. They use proven management practices that focus on improving soil quality and maintaining a quality natural environment. In fact, getting the right nutrients to where they belong and in the right amounts when they’re needed enables them to improve yields while ...
-
A new innovative way to fertilize through leaves
Various nitrogen sources were tested in this study in order to fertilize pine leaves and oak leaves instead of using the traditional fertilization which is based on the nitrogen absorption through the root. After assessing the efficiency of leaf nitrogen uptake of the two studied species, the researcher team from Universidad de Alcalá and Politécnica de Madrid concluded that this ...
-
US Composting Council Announces the 2015 International Compost Awareness Week Poster Contest – Call for Entries for Poster Design
The US Composting Council (USCC) is seeking entries for the annual International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) poster contest, incorporating this year’s theme, Be Loyal to Your Soil– Compost! The contest runs September 1 through November 15, 2014 and is open to anyone who wishes to share their artistic interpretation of compost and its ties to soil health. The winning poster will ...
-
Microbial Discovery Group Completes Expansion
Microbial Discovery Group (MDG) LLC celebrated the expansion of their R&D and production facility with a ribbon cutting on August 5th. Microbial Discovery Group (MDG), founded in 2007 in their current location in Franklin, WI, needed to expand to meet demand for new opportunities for microbial-based products and solutions. MDG added a second laboratory and expanded the MDG facilities and ...
-
4R Research Fund Awards First Grants
The 4R Research Fund today announced it has awarded $273,500 in grants for five research proposals aimed at identifying the current state of knowledge and existing research gaps regarding fertilizer best management practices. The Fund, supported by the fertilizer industry and other stakeholders, is a science-based research initiative aimed at improving agricultural sustainability by expanding ...
-
Liquid Fertiliser tanks part of Scottish farmers fertiliser placement increase
Farming UK reports that Scottish farmers are moving back to fertiliser placement. Arable farmers across Scotland seem to be changing back to combination drilling due to better crop establishment, enhanced plant nutrition, improved fertiliser placement and reduced inputs. The fertiliser placement option is proving most relevant to farmers in the East of Scotland as it allows them to quickly sow ...
-
Nitrogen Management Studied in Greenhouse Pepper Production
As consumer demand for year-round fresh produce increases, vegetable and fruit producers are facing significant environmental and sustainability issues, and are being challenged to examine traditional production practices in order to improve product quality while limiting environmental impact. A recent focus on both the positive and negative effects of nitrogen applications has researchers across ...
-
Many Countries Reaching Diminishing Returns in Fertilizer Use
By Lester R. Brown When German chemist Justus von Liebig demonstrated in 1847 that the major nutrients that plants removed from the soil could be applied in mineral form, he set the stage for the development of the fertilizer industry and a huge jump in world food production a century later. Growth in food production during the nineteenth century came primarily from expanding cultivated area. It ...
-
Pest ants help to improve Indonesian cocoa yields
Native ants living in cacao trees in Indonesia that are often seen as pests in fact seem to boost their yields, a study suggests. Scientists from Germany, Indonesia and Sweden studying how ant communities affect cocoa yields in Sulawesi found that trees with abundant native ants (Dolichoderus sp.) produced the best yields. In contrast, the yields of cacao trees where ants were excluded were 27 ...
By SciDev.Net
-
Ammonia emissions detected upwind from an intensive poultry farm
High levels of ammonia were observed at a Natura 2000 site nearly three kilometres upwind from an intensive poultry farm in a recent study. While downwind effects of ammonia emissions are to be expected, this study suggests that ammonia emissions could be a significant source of nitrogen pollution even upwind from the source. Intensive livestock operations, such as poultry farms, are significant ...
-
Nitrogen fixation helps double some African farm yields
A large-scale research and development project has shown that giving farmers resources and advice on nitrogen fixation through legume plants can double yields and boost incomes in Africa. But not all farmers are benefiting from this practice due to a lack of access to inputs, such as fertilisers says Ken Giller, the leader of the N2Africa project, as a second phase to widen access to the ...
By SciDev.Net
Need help finding the right suppliers? Try XPRT Sourcing. Let the XPRTs do the work for you