Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis

Lamar, Richard T.; Talbot, Karen H.

doi: 10.1080/00103620903111251pmid: N/A

The colorimetric method and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) method of evaluating the humic acid content of five raw humate ores and three humate products were compared to the classical technique of extraction in a dilute base followed by precipitation of humic acid by extract acidification and ash removal by hydrochloric/hydrofluoric acid (HCl/HF) wash. Compared to the classical procedure, the colorimetric and CDFA methods overestimated the humic acid content of the eight samples by 120% and 52%, respectively. Therefore, these procedures do not produce a reliably accurate value for the humic acid contents of humates and products produced using materials extracted from them.

Hao, Z. P.; Christie, P.; Zheng, F.; Li, J. L.; Chen, Q.; Wang, J. G.; Li, X. L.

doi: 10.1080/00103620903111269pmid: N/A

Intensive greenhouse vegetable‐production systems commonly utilize excessive fertilizer inputs that are inconsistent with sustainable production and may affect soil quality. Soil samples were collected from 15 commercial greenhouses used for tomato production and from neighboring fields used for wheat cropping to determine the effects of intensive vegetable cultivation on soil microbial biomass and community structure. Soil total nitrogen (N) and organic‐matter contents were greater in the intensive greenhouse tomato soils than the open‐field wheat soils. Soil microbial carbon (C) contents were greater in the greenhouse soils, and soil microbial biomass N showed a similar trend but with high variation. The two cropping systems were not significantly different. Soil microbial biomass C was significantly correlated with both soil total N and soil organic matter, but the relationships among soil microbial biomass N, soil total N, and organic‐matter content were not significant. The Biolog substrate utilization potential of the soil microbial communities showed that greenhouse soils were significantly higher (by 14%) than wheat soils. Principal component (PC) analysis of soil microbial communities showed that the wheat sites were significantly correlated with PC1, whereas the greenhouse soils were variable. The results indicate that changes in soil microbiological properties may be useful indicators for the evaluation of soil degradation in intensive agricultural systems.

Srinivasarao, C.; Vittal, K. P. R.; Venkateswarlu, B.; Wani, S. P.; Sahrawat, K. L.; Marimuthu, S.; Kundu, Sumanta

doi: 10.1080/00103620903111277pmid: N/A

Soil carbon (C) pool plays a crucial role in the soil's quality, availability of plant nutrients, environmental functions, and global C cycle. Drylands generally have poor fertility and little organic matter and hence are candidates for C sequestration. Carbon storage in the soil profile not only improves fertility but also abates global warming. Several soils, production, and management factors influence C sequestration, and it is important to identify production and management factors that enhance C sequestrations in dryland soils. The objective of the present study was to examine C stocks at 21 sites under ongoing rainfed production systems and management regimes over the last 25 years on dominant soil types, covering a range of climatic conditions in India. Organic C stocks in the soil profiles across the country showed wide variations and followed the order Vertisols > Inceptisols > Alfisols > Aridisols. Inorganic C and total C stocks were larger in Vertisols than in other soil types. Soil organic C stocks decreased with depth in the profile, whereas inorganic C stocks increased with depth. Among the production systems, soybean‐, maize‐, and groundnut‐based systems showed greater organic C stocks than other production systems. However, the greatest contribution of organic C to total C stock was under upland rice system. Organic C stocks in the surface layer of the soils increased with rainfall (r  =  0.59*), whereas inorganic C stocks in soils were found in the regions with less than 550 mm annual rainfall. Cation exchange capacity had better correlation with organic C stocks than clay content in soils. Results suggest that Indian dryland soils are low in organic C but have potential to sequester. Further potential of tropical soils to sequester more C in soil could be harnessed by identifying appropriate production systems and management practices for sustainable development and improved livelihoods in the tropics.

Papadopoulos, F.; Prochaska, C.; Papadopoulos, A.; Eskridge, K.; Kalavrouziotis, I.

doi: 10.1080/00103620903111285pmid: N/A

Available (extractable by diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, DTPA) manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) micronutrient concentrations in acidic agricultural soils from western Greece and their relationships with physicochemical soil parameters were evaluated by sampling and analyzing 82 representative topsoil samples. Manganese concentration in the studied soil samples (on average 31.67 mg kg−1) was of both sufficient and high levels, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food of the United Kingdom (MAFF classification, in 15.9% and 79.3% of the soil samples, respectively). In contrast, 39% of the soil samples were classified as very low and 58.5% as low in respect to the available Zn concentration (on average 1.36 mg kg−1). Nevertheless, 9.8% of the studied soils contained less Zn than is commonly accepted as plant‐growth critical level. The dataset was treated using multivariate statistics to describe the relationships of the micronutrients in the studied soils and the factors that influence these relationships. Factor analysis identified soil acidity as the main factor affecting available Mn concentration and phosphate fertilizer application as the main contributor to plant‐available Zn concentration.

Alhammadi, Mohamed Salman; Edward, Glenn P.

doi: 10.1080/00103620903111293pmid: N/A

To successfully use salt water for crop production and start a breeding program, more information is needed about the response of salt‐tolerant plants to saline environments. The objective of this experiment was to test the growth of 12 cultivars of the United Arab Emirates date palm seeds at four sodium chloride (NaCl) levels. The experiment was a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Optimal growth was found at control and 3000 ppm of NaCl. Relative growth rate (RGR), biomass, and number of leaves (NL) decreased significantly by increasing salinity. Increased NaCl leads to significant decreases in potassium (K+), magnesium (Mg2+), and calcium (Ca2+) contents of plants. The Na/K ratios were lower in shoots than in roots. ‘Lulu,’ ‘Fard,’ ‘Khnaizi,’ ‘Nabtat Safi,’ and ‘Razez’ cultivars showed greater RGR and biomasses, whereas ‘Khnaizi,’ ‘Mesally,’ and ‘Safri’ had greater Na/K ratios than others in the control indicating greater Na+ discriminations from plant parts.

Wang, Zongming; Zhang, Bai; Song, Kaishan; Liu, Dianwei; Ren, Chunying; Zhang, Sumei; Hu, Liangjun; Yang, Haijun; Liu, Zhiming

doi: 10.1080/00103620903111301pmid: N/A

The current study addressed the spatial variation of soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), extractable phosphorus (EP), and extractable potassium (EK) in agricultural soils of a representative region, northeast China. Soil cation exchange capacity (CEC) and the effects of landscape attributes and land use were also investigated. The techniques used included conventional statistics, geostatistics, and geographic information systems (GIS). Our study demonstrated that EP had the greatest coefficient of variation (CV), and CEC had the least CV. The experimental semivariograms of the five soil chemical properties included in this study were all fitted with exponential models. The five soil variables all showed moderate spatial dependence. The SOM, EK, and CEC decreased with increasing altitude. Significant negative relationships were found between the slope gradient and EP, EK, and CEC. Relatively steeper slopes might result in greater soil erosion, which leads to a decline in soil nutrients. Soil types had significant impacts on all soil chemical properties, which reflect the effect of the parent soil material. In general, the mean values of soil variables for vegetable land were statistically greater than those for upland and paddy fields. After being divided into two parts along the Yinma River, soil samples of the western part have statistically greater SOM, EP, EK, and CEC values than those collected from the eastern part.

Nadian, H.; Hashemi, M.; Herbert, S. J.

doi: 10.1080/00103620903111319pmid: N/A

The effects of soil aggregate size and mycorrhizal colonization on phosphorus (P) accumulation and root growth of Berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) were studied. Root length and dry weight decreased with increasing aggregate diameter. Colonization of clover plants by arbuscular mycorrhizae (Glomus intraradices Schenck and Smith) improved root growth and P accumulation in all aggregate‐size classes. Although total root length of either mycorrhizal or nonmycorrhizal plants decreased with increasing aggregate diameter, the length of living external hyphae was not affected by aggregate size. Thus, colonized root length was improved by 20% as soil aggregate diameter increased. Total P accumulation per plant decreased with increasing aggregate size. However, total P accumulation per unit root length improved as the size of soil aggregate increased. In our study, mycorrhizal colonization improved total P accumulation and root growth in soil with large aggregates and compensated, in part, for the effect of soil strength.

Kashem, M. A.; Warman, P. R.

doi: 10.1080/00103620903111327pmid: N/A

A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of chromium compost (0, 10, 30, and 50%) on the growth and the concentrations of some trace elements in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and in the amended soils. Compost addition to the soil (up to 30%) increased dry matter yield (DMY); more than 30% decreased DMY slightly. The application of compost increased soil pH; nitric acid (HNO3)–extractable copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn); and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)–, Mehlich 3 (M3)–, and ammonium acetate (AAc)–extractable soil Cr and Zn. The addition of Cr compost to the soil increased tissue Cr and Zn but did not alter tissue cadmium (Cd), Cu, iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), and Pb. The Cr content in the lettuce tissue reached 5.6 mg kg−1 in the 50% compost (326 mg kg−1) treatment, which is less than the toxic level in plants. Our results imply that compost with high Cr could be used safely as a soil conditioner to agricultural crops.

Pill, Wallace G.; Goldberger, Brian C.

doi: 10.1080/00103620903111335pmid: N/A

Media were prepared with 0, 16.7, 33.3, 66.7, or 100% biosolids (sewage sludge)–woodchip co‐compost and complementary components of equal volumetric percentages of perlite and sphagnum peat moss, straight perlite, or straight peat moss that received either preplant fertilization or post‐transplant periodic solution fertilization. Shoot dry weight of ‘Beefsteak’ tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) at 6 weeks after transplanting was not increased by exceeding 33.3% co‐compost, and maximal growth resulted when the complementary components were equal peat moss and perlite or all peat moss. Preplant fertilization or solution fertilization increased shoot dry weight in media containing 16.7 or 33.3% co‐compost irrespective of complementary components. Shoot dry weight in media containing 66.7% co‐compost was increased by preplant fertilization but not by solution fertilization. Using perlite as the complementary medium rather than equal perlite and peat moss or all peat moss decreased total pore space, reduced water retention, and increased air‐filled porosity at container capacity, which was associated with reduced shoot growth in media containing 16.7 or 33.3% co‐compost but greater growth in media containing 66.7% co‐compost.

Khorasgani, M. Naderi; Shariatmadari, H.; Atarodi, B.

doi: 10.1080/00103620903111343pmid: N/A

The objectives of this research were to determine inorganic phosphorus (P) fractions in calcareous soils of southern Khorasan and find their relationship with sorghum‐available P. Eighty soil samples were obtained and analyzed for some physical and chemical characteristics, among them 24 samples that varied in plant‐available P and soil properties were used for soil testing. From 24, 8 samples were selected for P fractionation as well. Five extraction procedures were used for soil testing. Results indicate that the extracted plant‐available P by the Olsen et al. (1954) and Paauw (1971) methods show the greatest correlation coefficients with plant P uptake and sorghum dry matter. The sequential inorganic P extraction analyzing indicated that the abundance of various inorganic fractions was in the order Ca10‐P > Al‐P > Ca8‐P > Ca2‐P > Oc‐P > Fe‐P. The results also indicate Olsen P correlates positively and significantly with Ca2‐P and Fe‐P fractions and positively but not significantly with the Al‐P fraction.