soil cultivation News
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Cultivation affects pesticide–soil interactions
Pesticides are often used to enhance crop production by killing unwanted animals or plants. Unfortunately, they can also negatively impact humans and environmental health. The degree of impact, in part, depends on the fate and behavior of pesticides in the environment. The latter is governed by complex interactions of pesticides with soil components. One such important interaction is sorption ...
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Integrated weed management can reduce need for herbicides
The use of herbicides on crops causes environmental concerns. A new French study assesses the performance of cropping systems to manage weeds and finds that these techniques could control arable weeds in the long-term and reduce reliance on herbicides. In Europe, herbicides provide the conventional means of managing weeds on farmland. Although effective, herbicides are expensive and can build up ...
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First 4th Generation T Series Reach Customers
Coinciding with the launch of the new T-series in November 2014, the factory in Suolahti, Finland, began mass production of the newly developed and extensively tested tractor range. Across Europe, including in Germany, the first machines are already working on farmland and with contractors. We were present at one of the handovers, and talked to the new owners. A white T174e Direct with front ...
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NNFCC joins 15 other partners in the newly launched horizon2020-funded beonnat project
BeonNAT is a project that aims to develop innovative products from underutilised plant biomass as feedstock for the bio-based industry. The fed biomass will be derived from shrubs, trees and other woody species. The scope of the project ranges from the cultivation and harvesting of selected species, to the extraction and purification of oils and vegetable extracts, paper manufacturing, biochar ...
By NNFCC Ltd.
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IAgrE Fellow & CEnv Jane Rickson Honoured
Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE) Fellow and Chartered Environmentalist Professor Jane Rickson wins a 2021 Top 50 Women in Engineering Award. IAgrE Fellow Jane Rickson, Professor of Soil Erosion and Conservation at Cranfield Soil and Agrifood Institute, Cranfield University, has been honoured with a Top 50 Women in Engineering Award from the Women’s Engineering Society. The ...
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Is microalgae the sustainable food of the future?
The aquatic ecosystem could give our food chain a helping hand. The demand for food is rising and more sustainable production systems are needed. That’s why Europe is opening up to the algae sector. Humans have been eating macroalgae for a long time, but attention is now turning to their smaller cousins, microalgae, for their nutritional potential. In Pataias, Portugal, the company ...
By Necton SA
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Intensive grassland farming could have deep effects: sequestering significantly less soil carbon
Huge amounts of soil carbon have been discovered up to 1 metre below grassland in a recent UK study. Yet most carbon inventories do not assess soil deeper than 30 cm. Furthermore, this research suggests that intensive management of grassland, involving high rates of fertiliser use and livestock grazing, may deplete carbon at these depths. Globally, soil contains more carbon than all the ...
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Leading New Zealand greenhouse operator chooses Hanovia UV to disinfect cultivation water
Hanovia UV technology has been selected by NZ Hothouse, a leading New Zealand provider of fresh produce, to disinfect the water used for soil-less plant cultivation in its glasshouses. Located near Auckland, NZ Hothouse has almost 20 hectares of glasshouses on two sites growing tomatoes, capsicums and cucumbers for distribution both nationally and internationally. The source of the ...
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Baker’s yeast wastewater has limited effect on groundwater when used for irrigation
Untreated wastewater from the baker’s yeast industry can be used to irrigate crops without negatively affecting the chemical quality of the groundwater beneath, recently published research concludes. Although the wastewater increased concentrations of some groundwater contaminants in an area with a high water table, these levels would not pose a risk to human health even if this water was ...
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Intercropping `boosts maize yields by 50 per cent`
Growing leguminous trees on maize farms — a form of agroforestry — can boost and stabilise maize yields, a 12-year study in Malawi and Zambia has found. The researchers behind the study, from the Kenya-based World Agroforestry Centre and the University of Pretoria, South Africa, say this is the first analysis of long-term crop yield trends in cereal-legume agroforestry systems in ...
By SciDev.Net
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Agricultural Bacteria: Blowing in the Wind
It was all too evident during the Dust Bowl what a disastrous impact wind can have on dry, unprotected topsoil. Now a new study has uncovered a less obvious, but still troubling, effect of wind: Not only can it carry away soil particles, but also the beneficial microbes that help build soil, detoxify contaminants, and recycle nutrients. Using a powerful DNA sequencing technique, called ...
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Building capacity for and with sustainable palm oil growers
With the UNFCCC COP21 going on in Paris, on the other side of the world in Bogor, Indonesia, Wetlands International and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) are taking action to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by co-organising a workshop on for palm oil growers on "How to implement RSPO's Principles and Criteria in relation to peat". The workshop took place on 1st and 2nd December. ...
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Alterra and partners to demonstrate the use of brackish water for potato cultivation in Egypt
A consortium led by Alterra has recently started a project called “Salt TOlerant Potatoes improve water and food security - STOP”. Together with our partners we will extend and test the existing Dacom soil moisture monitoring system with a new salinity sensor. Use of this advisory system will prevent both crop drought and salinity stress, while minimizing water losses. It will enable ...
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From the ground up: local knowledge informing agri-environmental policy
Agricultural land use presents a number of environmental challenges, which the European Commission is committed to addressing through a range of agri-environmental policies. A new study points to the importance of aligning agri-environmental policies with farmers’ needs and operations. Using the case of land clearing in Finland, the research underlines the importance of incorporating input ...
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Desert plantations could help capture carbon
Planting trees in coastal deserts could capture carbon dioxide, reduce harsh desert temperatures, boost rainfall, revitalise soils and produce cheap biofuels, say scientists. Large-scale plantations of the hardy jatropha tree, Jatropha curcas, could help sequester carbon dioxide through a process known as 'carbon farming', according to a study based on data gathered in Mexico and Oman that was ...
By SciDev.Net
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ASA, CSSA, and SSSA Present 2012 Scholarships and Fellowships
The American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) announce the following 2012 Scholarships and Fellowships. These awards will be formally presented during their Annual Meetings, Oct. 21-24, 2012 in Cincinnati, OH. American Society of Agronomy Scholarships: The Hank Beachell Future Leader Scholarship, funded through the ...
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