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May 2024 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-24-5032
M. Akinseye FolorunsoCorresponding author
Experiments were conducted to evaluate the response of different sorghum varieties to micro-dosing fertilization strategies on yield and yield traits, as well as the impact on nitrogen fertilizer and water use efficiency (NUE and WUE). In addition, the benefit-cost ratio of sorghum cultivation under different fertilization strategies in the Sudan savanna zone of Nigeria was analyzed. The experiment included eight fertilizer micro-application strategies as well as two control and three sorghum varieties. Our results showed that most agronomic indicators differed significantly between years, varieties, and fertilization strategies. However, the application of 100g hill-1 poultry manure plus 3g NPK hill-1 resulted in the highest average grain yield > 2000 kg ha-1 at both study sites (BUK and Minjibir). This means that the grain yield is 86% and 132% higher than the average grain yield with zero fertilization. There were extremely significant differences between NUE and WUE fertilization strategies and varieties at the two sites. At BUK and Minjibir, NPK applied with 3 g of hill-1 had the highest NUE with an average of 37.6 and 40 kg grain/kg N. Application of 100 g of poultry manure plus 3g of NPK hill-1 resulted in the highest average WUE of 6.1 and 5.6 kg grain/mm for BUK and Minjibir, respectively. BUK (3.2) and Minjibir (3.6) had the highest net income and benefit-to-cost ratios when applying 3 grams of NPK per hill. The adoption of micro-dosing fertilization strategies by smallholder farmers provides a good opportunity to prevent long-term soil fertility limitations and thereby increase sorghum productivity and farmer incomes by recommending multiple-choice fertilization strategies for improved sorghum varieties.
Apr 2023 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-23-4500
A.Madam HarounCorresponding author
This investigation was carried out at the Demonstration Farm of the College of Agriculture- University of Bahri during 2018/2019 winter season to evaluate growth (morphological) and growth analysis (physiological) components in some sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L) genotypes under different nitrogen levels to know how well sugar beet plant performs during the growing season, Thus, to provide information to assist producers in identifying and introducing superior genotype and good management of nitrogen application in AlKadro area. The experiment was laid out in split plot design. The genotypes used were namely, Blaladi. Strube Sudan 01/14, Strube Sudan 02/14, Strube Sudan 04/14, Strube Sudan 05/14 and Strube Sudan 06/14, and the nitrogen levels were viz, 0, 80 and 120 kg urea per ha; applied twice (at the sowing and then 4 weeks after sowing). The evaluated components were; leaf number/plant, leaf area index (LAI), root length, root diameter, fresh and dry weight of foliage/plant, fresh and dry weight of root/plant; all determined at 5 terms. While Crop Growth Rates (CGR), Relative Growth Rate (RGR) and Net Assimilation Rate (NAR); determined at different periods of growth (intervals). The analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that at 4 weeks after sowing (WAS): leaf number (14.33- 17.03) , root length (19.05 – 21.75 cm), root diameter ( 7.93- 8.40 cm) foliage fresh ( 186.93 – 292.06 g) and dry ( 69.00 – 94.10 g) weight per plant, root fresh (72.66 – 108.88 g) and dry weight ( 12.54 – 22.08 g) per plant differed significantly (P≤ 0.05); at 7 and 10 WAS leaf number (22.39 -35.73 and 26.91 – 38.47, respectively), LAI ( 3.725 -5.645) , fresh and dry root weight per plant ( 586.78 – 913.81an 189.06 – 326.43 g, respectively) differed significantly; at 13 WAS: dry foliage weight ( 69.00 – 94.10 g), LAI ( 2.603 – 4.744), root diameter (10.09 – 11.92 cm) differed significantly; at 16 WAS only dry foliage (44.34 – 73.48 g) weight reflected significance. All other cases reflected insignificant differences among the evaluated genotypes. Moreover, all the studied components reflected insignificant differences among the nitrogen fertilizer levels and likewise genotype x nitrogen interaction (G x N) at the 5 sampled terms. Nevertheless, CGR, RGR and NAR displayed insignificant effect on the studied components in the evaluated periods.
Dec 2022 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-22-4300
E. E. Elshukry ElsadigCorresponding author
Agriculture Research Corporation, Horticultural Crops Research Center-Shambat
Two off-season experiments were conducted during 2015/16 and 2017/18 at Shambat Research Station Farm, Khartoum, Sudan, to investigate the effects of large (2-3 cm) and small (1-2 cm) sets size of onion variety Baftaim (S) and two chemical fertilizer (Urea 240 kg/ha) and NPK(15:15:15) (120 kg/ha) in addition to organic fertilizer (Elkhaseeb 20 tons/ha) and their combinations (Urea+ Elkhaseeb and NPK+Elkhaseeb) on off-season production. The experimental units were in split plot design, with set size and fertilizers as main and sub plots, respectively, with three replications. The yield was evaluated as bulb weight and yield/ha, whereas, the quality was evaluated as marketable and percentage of double and bolted bulbs, TSS and dry matter. The results reflected no significant differences in bulb weight due to set size, fertilizer type and their interactions, however, the heaviest bulbs were obtained by Elkhaseeb + urea and its interaction with the large set size in both seasons. The small set size gave the highest yield, organic fertilizer (Elkhaseeb) alone or in combination with urea gave the highest yield, whereas, the lowest one was obtained with the combination of organic fertilizer with N P K. The bulb quality was also affected by set size and fertilizer type as the highest marketable yield was obtained by small set size and fertilizer combination (organic + urea) or urea alone. No significant effects on TSS and dry matter percentage due to set size, fertilizer type and their interactions were noticed. The highest marketable yield, TSS and dry matter were obtained by Elkhaseeb (organic fertilizer) with mineral fertilizers (urea or NPK) with the small set size rather than organic or mineral fertilizer alone. It could be concluded and recommended that onion set size of about 1-2cm diameter with an organic - mineral fertilizer combination could improve off-season onion yield and quality. However, further studies are required to find the proper fertilizers dose.
Dec 2021 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-21-4018
Gupta RajCorresponding author
Centre for Advancement of Sustainable Agriculture, National Agriculture Science Centre Complex, New Delhi, 110012, India
In India, loss of fertility through soil erosion is primarily a summer monsoons mediated phenomenon. Reversing the land degradation processes contribute to water availability, soil fertility maintenance, adapting to climate change and overall food security. Whereas kharif (monsoon/rainy season crop) foodgrain production largely depends on summer monsoons, the rabi season (post-rainy season/winter crop) rainfall is too little to exert a direct influence. In spite of larger acreage under kharif foodgrain crops, total fertiliser consumption during kharif and rabi seasons is comparable. Negative rainfall anomalies (deficit) adversely affected total fertiliser consumption and their use efficiency. Despite significant differences in fertiliser application rates, the response to applied fertiliser nutrients is almost similar in the two seasons. This implies that nutrient use efficiency (NUE) has a ‘manageable’ and an ‘unmanageable’ component wherein 4R practices are difficult to implement under unfavourable kharif weather conditions. Partial factor productivity of fertilizer nutrients (PFPF) has continuously declined over decades mainly because of depletion of soil organic carbon, imbalanced use of nutrients and inability to maintain soil moisture supplies. These observations plus yield-gap analysis permitted us to conclude that past trends of declining NUE can only be reversed through a shift either in sustainable land management practices or enhancing the genetic yield potential/ biomass of crop cultivars or by combining both and making kharif crop planting independent of monsoons rains through direct dry seeding.
Aug 2021 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-21-3880
Haroun Mohamed Adam AbubakerCorresponding author
Department of Crop Science, College of Agriculture, University of Bahri- Sudan.
Sugar beet is one of the sugar crops which widely grown in different regions of the world due to its advantages over Sugarcane. Several studies were conducted in Sudan to assess its adaptation and economic value. However, the aim of this experiment was to study the effect of application of compost and different levels of phosphorus fertilizer and their combination on Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) growth attributes, yield and yield components. The study was conducted during the winter season 2018 –2019 at the farm of the College of Agriculture, University of Bahri, Alkadaro-Khartoum State, Sudan. The experiment was arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications and six treatments, namely the Compost (5t./ha.), Phosphorous (P2O5) (88kg./ha.), P2O5 (176 kg./ha.), Compost (5t./ha.)+P2O5 (88kg./ha.), Compost (5t./ha.)+ P2O5 (176Kg./ha.) and the Control (C) respectively. All cultural practices were carried out timely according to the recommendations of the Agricultural Research Centre in Sudan. Then the data pertaining the following agronomic traits were recorded, the leaf number; leaf dry weight (g), leaf area index (LAI) (cm), root diameter (RD) (cm) and root fresh weight (RFW) (g). The results of statistical analysis revealed the application of compost in combination with phosphorus displayed significant increase at 5% level for the leaf number (22.75), leaf area index (5.23), leaf dry weight(36.78), root diameter(69.67) and root fresh weight (422.68), followed by the application of compost alone compared to the control and other treatments. The study concludes that the combination of compost and mineral fertilizer (P2O5) proved to increase all Sugar beet growth and yield parameters.
Aug 2021 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-21-3883
Haroun Mohamed Adam AbubakerCorresponding author
Department of Crop Science, College of Agriculture, University of Bahri- Sudan.
Despite the existing several Sugar manufacturing companies in Sudan, there is an acute shortage in sugar supply, therefore the government imports Sugar to bridge the gap. One of the strategies to be followed is the introduction of Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) crop, mainly for sugar production. This crop has several advantages over Sugarcane such as short duration, less water requirement, in addition to other uses like animal feed. Therefore it became necessary to have good understanding of agricultural operations, cultural practices and adaptation. However, the main objective of this study was to assess the effect of Nitrogen fertilizer and plant spacing on vegetative growth of Sugar beet. This study was conducted at the farm of the College of Agriculture, University of Bahri, Alkadro, Khartoum State-Sudan; during the season 2016/2017. The experiment was arranged in Split plot in Randomized Complete Block Design with six treatments and four replications. Two plant spacing (15 and 20 cm.) were used as main plot, referred as (S1, S2) along with three levels of Nitrogen fertilizer (40, 80 and 120 kg/ha.), as subplot; referred as (N1, N2 and N3) and the control (0). Data regarding leaf number, leaf area index (LAI), leaf dry weight (g) (LDW), root diameter (mm.) and root fresh weight were recorded and statistically analyzed. The results showed S2 (20 cm) increased all the studied plant characters, namely the leaf number (29.139), leaf area index by (7.54), leaf dry weight (g) to (89.870), root diameter (mm) (94,992), root fresh weight (g) (695.80) compared to S1(1015 cm). On the other hand; the application of N3 (120 kg/ha.) increased the lead number (30.956), leaf Area Index (8.841), Leaf dry weight (102.47), root diameter (97.955) and root fresh weight (851.77) compared to S2 and S1 as presented in (table 4, table 5 and table 6).
Apr 2021 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-21-3782
Masoero GiorgioCorresponding author
Accademia di Agricoltura di Torino, Via A. Doria 10, 10123 Torino (Italy).
A systematic use of biofertilizers can improve both the quality of a farming system and the parameters of milk. Some issues related to biofertilization experiments on six farms in the Po Valley (NW Italy) involved in the production of milk from dairy cattle fed maize silage or grazed on hay produced from permanent meadows are reported in this paper. Biofertilized maize was found to lower the live stem pH by about 2.3%, and NIR spectroscopy foreshadowing major changes in the composition. Overall, the plant silage was improved in quantity (+10%) but also in quality, as shown by the delayed maturity stage of the leaves (crop maturity index -4%), the lower indigestible NDF content (-7%), and the higher digestible carbohydrates and protein in the whole plants. Such favorable feeding conditions, together with the improved palatability of the feed ration, boosted the nutrient values of the protein (+4.6%) and fat contents (+5.7%) in the milk. Moreover, the functional properties of the milk were ameliorated, as testified by the higher levels of vitamin A (+27%) and vitamin E (+25%) and the reduced levels of saturated fatty acids (-6%), especially myristic (-18%) and stearic (-32%) acids, while the unsaturated acids increased by 15%. As far as economy aspects are concerned, the biofertilization of maize for silage has led to consistent rewards pertaining to the marginal price of the milk, which in turn has led to a value chain increase of about 9%, because of the fields cultivation, but mainly of the cow transformation in milk quality issues. On another farm, intensive maize was substituted with permanent biofertilized meadows, over a greening path, and a + 17% value chain increase was obtained that already derived mainly from the best price for milk quality parameters. Such an evolutionary leap toward a new vision of sustainable agriculture for the environment and for animals, in which a better quality of products, animal welfare and company budget are combined with soil biofertilization, can be considered a bonanza.
Feb 2020 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-20-3185
Masoero GiorgioCorresponding author
Accademia di Agricoltura di Torino, Via A. Doria 10, 10123 Torino (Italy).
Four strains of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) biofertilizer fungi, combined with two potato cultivars, were in-field tested in a four-replicate arrangement in a factorial experiment. As far as general combinability is concerned, cv. Agria was more responsive to different inocula (yield +5.56%, P 0.02) and to two strains in particular (+8%). On the other hand, the results with Innovator, a cultivar that yields 33% less than Agria, showed a significant reduction in the number of tubers for three AM strains, thus proving a clear genetic Biofertilizer * Cultivar interaction. The study of hay litter-bags has shown a high NIR spectral fingerprint for the Cultivar factor (81%), while the Inoculation factor showed a higher spectral fingerprint in Agria (76%) than in Innovator (65%). The Substrate Induced Respiration predicted from the NIR-SCiO spectra of the litter-bags was significantly increased after inoculation (+6.3%, P 0.04), but appeared lower for Agria (-5.4%) vs. Innovator (P 0.05), with a non-significant interaction. The obtained results show that the adaptation of the AM strains to the genetics of potato cultivars is a first step toward reducing chemical inputs, with consequent benefits for the environment, but without an excessive reduction in yield. The litter-bag technique can therefore be recommended for a simplified monitoring of the complicated plant-mycorrhizosphere relationship.
May 2019 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-19-2780
Masoero GiorgioCorresponding author
Accademia di Agricoltura di Torino, Italy
The inoculation of soil with a bio-fertilizer (BF), with arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi, characterizes a Symbiotic (S) agriculture mode, aimed at promoting the yield and health of crops through modifications in the rhizosphere as well as in the plant phenotype. The main objective of this study was to reduce the incidence of Olive Quick Decline Syndrome (OQDS, involving Xylella fastidiosasubsp.pauca) that afflicts the olive groves in Apulia (Italy). Non-inoculated control (C) plants were compared with Symbiotic (S) plants inoculated with 20 kg ha-1 of Micosat F ®, through a 15 cm deep scarification, in the groves of seven farms covering an area of 27 ha. In addition to a visual observation of 484 plants, to obtain a gradation of the disease severity, some objective rapid type methods were utilized to survey the plants and soil , namely leaf pH, NIR tomoscopy of the leaves, hay-litter-bag probes coupled with NIR spectroscopy and the prediction of soil induced respiration. The fingerprinting of the S and C types of leaves and litter-bags was ascertained by means of the use of a random forest algorithm in the classification matrices. The results on the symptoms appeared variable: they were significantly mitigated in two groves out of six, but they were aggravated in one. All the rapid measurements became essentials in a “holistic” model which was able to explain over 95% of the average mitigation / null / aggravation response to BF inoculation. The holistic model gathers differential and compositional analyses of the leaf (pH, crude protein, water) and of the soil (respiration), but depends mainly on the fingerprinting of the C and S leaves and litter-bags. Two keys were identified for a successful inoculation: a high degree of variability of the soil conditions permitting hospitality for the BF with enhancement of the microbial activity in the S soil (lowering the fingerprint of the control litter-bags) and homogeneity of the leaves (with increases in the fingerprint of the S leaves treated with BF). In short, the inoculation of diseased plants with one BF consortium is far from being the ultimate remedy to mitigate OQDS in all situations. Further studies are needed, at a field level, to clarify the soil hosting capacity and to define the mycorrhizal and / or endophytic * plant * pathogen interactions, even using rapid methods.
Sep 2018 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-18-2239
Haroun M.Adam AbubakerCorresponding author
Department of Crop Science, College of Agriculture, University of Bahri-Sudan.
The main objective of this study was to investigate the effects of 4 levels of Nitrogen (N) fertilizer (0, 25, 50 and 75 Kg N/fed) on some attributes of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L). This study was conducted in the farm of College of Agriculture, University of Bahri-Sudan; during the period 2014-2015. Where the soil is classified as saline with pH ranging from 7.5 -7.8. A randomized completely block designed (RCBD); with 3 replications and four (4) treatments was adopted. All recommended cultural practices were carried out timely. Data; pertaining some plant attributes were collected and analyzed. The result showed that the application of 75KgN/fed has increased both; the average number of leaves as well as the plant height compared to other levels of Nitrogen fertilizer including the control (Figure 1, Figure 2). For the average number of tillers concern, there is non -significant difference between all Nitrogen levels and average number of tillers (Figure 3). The study concluded that the Nitrogen fertilizer has variable effects on the studied agronomic characters, and the application of 75kgN/fed is the optimal level of fertilizer for improving the agronomic traits of Sorghum under Alkadaro conditions.
May 2018 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-18-2084
Masoero GiorgioCorresponding author
Accademia di Agricoltura di Torino, Torino, Italy
The biofertilization of cropsusing microbial biota in the soil (MBS) is a modern practice that is used to sustain fertility. MBS agents can promote the yield and health of crops, by luxuriating in the shoot as well as in the root systems. Farmers devoted to systematic MBS fertilization are creating a “Symbiotic” (S) form of agriculture, which offers a greater advantage of resilience than Conventional (C) or organic farming. Since MBS is involved in organic matter degradation, hay-litter-bag probes can be used to reflect a global functionality of the active soil, in the short-medium term. It is here shown that the NIRS hay-litter-bag technique, intended not as mass decay but as a quality evolution of the hay probes, can be modelled as a valid footprint of S vs. C soils. A patented MBS was used in eight experiments in which litter-bags from an S treated thesis were compared with equivalent litter-bags from a non-inoculated C thesis. The chemical signature of the S vs. C in the litter-bag composition was a percentage decrease of sugars and fibres. A smart NIRS device was used to discriminate the origin of the S vs. C litter-bags and a sensitivity of 71% (P<0.0001) was obtained. External validations on 37 S farms showed that three NIRS models discriminated the true positive S spectra, with a sensitivity of 90% as single and 98% as compound probabilities The NIRS radiation of the hay-litter-bags confirmed the results of the S vs. C agriculture soil footprint. Moreover, the SCIO-NIR devices also made it possible to connect the S farms in a smart network.
Jul 2022 DOI 10.14302/issn.2691-6622.ijar-22-4221
Tadesse TeferaCorresponding author
National Agricultural Biotechnology Research Center, Holotta, Ethiopia
Cyanobacteria are considered as one of the important group of organisms having significant ecological, industrial, and biotechnological importance. Cyanobacteria have gained a lot of atten ion in recent years because of their potential applications in biotechnology. This review presents an overview of uses of cyanobacteria in industry agriculture, environment pharmaceutical and medicinal roles and to provide future prospects of the field of cyanobacteria biotechnology. Nowadays cyanobacteria have gained attention researchers because of their various potential applications such as food and feed pharmaceutical industries in medicine, in bioremediation, soil conditioning, as biopolymers, bio adhesives, bioenergy and biofertilizers. Due to presence of wide spectrum of bioactive compounds cyanobacteria has possesses antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer activities. Several strains of cyanobacteria are also rich in food supplements. Further nitrogen fixing and soil conditioning capacity of cyanobacteria attracted researchers. Recent studies have also shown that cyanobacteria have capability to degrade environmental pollutants and are also being used as a promising source of alternative energy. Cyanobacteria has also its limitations through bloom production it influnces on the nutrient availability and usage of phytoplankton plants. This review is an effort to forward the valuable information about the qualities of cyanobacteria and their potential role in solving the agricultural and environmental problems for the future welfare of the planet.Thus more efforts should be made in search of more potential strains of cyanobacteria to ensure maximum production of the desired products.
Apr 2022 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-22-4114
Md. Iqbal FarukCorresponding author
An experiment was conducted in the field of Plant Pathology Division, BARI, Joydebpur to evaluate the efficacy of available plant nutrient for the development of purple blotch disease and tip-burn of onion. Eight different treatments viz. Potassium (MP fertilizer), Phosphorus (TSP fertilizer), Boron (Boron fertilizer), Zinc (ZnSO4 fertilizer), Calcium (CaSO4 fertilizer), Copper (CuSO4), Silicon (silica gel) and Manganese (MnSO4 fertilizer) were tested against purple blotch disease and tip-burn of garlic. The present study revealed that soil and foliar application of plant nutrients viz. Potassium, Phosphorus, Boron, Zinc, Calcium, Copper, Silicon and Manganese gave appreciable reduction of purple blotch disease and tip-burn incidence and increased plant growth parameters such as shoot and root growth as well as yield of garlic. Among the nutrients Potassium, Phosphorus, Silicon, Zinc and Calcium were performed better for reducing purple blotch disease severity, tip-burn disease incidence and increasing plant growth as well as yield of garlic. Application of Boron and Manganese also performed better than control. So, soil and foliar application plant nutrients Potassium, Phosphorus, Silicon, Zinc, Boron and Manganese may be recommended for tip-burn and purple blotch disease management and for garlic production in Bangladesh.
Oct 2021 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-21-3872
Hassan Dahab MohamedCorresponding author
Department of Agric Eng. – College of Agriculture- University of Khartoum.
Sugar cane production requires a number of operations to be carried out in the field through number of implements and machines. Therefore, time consuming and required large amount of energy. A combined field cultivator was designed in Kenana agricultural implements factory (KAIF) to carry out at one time multi operations (cultivation, furrow-reforming and Fertilizer placement). This is to increase field productivity, reduce farm power and lower operation time and cost. The combined implement was evaluated in Kenana cultivation fields and compared with three individual implements, rigid tine cultivator, furrow-reformer and fertilizer applicator. The measured parameters were drawbar pull, power requirements, field capacity, fuel consumption and total time in the field. The results showed highly significant differences at 1% level between the different implements for the field capacity, fuel consumption and significant differences at 5% for the drawbar pull. A power requirement in (kW) for the combined cultivator was 77% of those individual implements. Total time per feddan to accomplish the required operations by the combined cultivator was 57% of that required by the individual implements. Fuel consumption was reduced to 57% when combined implement was used compared to that consumed by individual implements. It was concluded that the combined cultivator was effective in increasing field productivity and reducing power and cost of operation.
Dec 2020 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-20-3642
H. M. Adam AbubakerCorresponding author
Department of Crop Science, College of Agriculture, University of Bahri, Khartoum North, Sudan
Today; there is an increasing demand for fertilizers due to the intensive and extensive agricultural activity to meet the ever increasing demand for food and fiber by the rapid world population expansion. This study is mainly concern with the Bat Guano which is usually collected from the Caves. This experiment was conducted at the Farm of the College of Agriculture, University of Bahri, Alkadaro, Khartoum North-Sudan during the period from July to November, 2017 with the objective to investigate the efficacy of Bat Guano and Nitrogen fertilizer on growth and yield of Serena and Opera (Helianthusannus, L.) Hybrid Sunflower cultivars. The study was based on split-plot experiment in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four (4) replications. Data pertaining Plant Height (cm), Leaf Number (LN), Leaf Area (LA), Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Seed Weight (SW) were studied. The said data were analyzed using Statistic 8- software. The results reflected significant increase in plant height (F= 6.05, P < 0.0001, leaf number (F=2.37, P<0.0388), leaf area (F= 7.44, P<0.001), leaf area index (F= 6.53, P < 0.0001) and seed weight of both Sunflower cultivars respectively due to application of Guano and Nitrogen fertilizer compared to the control. It also reflected non-significant difference between all studied traits as application of either Guano or Nitrogen fertilizer. Moreover, all studied characters of the two cultivars have similarly responded to the application of the two types of fertilizers. Further studies are recommended to assess the benefits from the use of Bat Guano as a fertilizer.
Jun 2020 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-20-3388
H. M. Adam AbubakerCorresponding author
Department of Crop Science, College of Agriculture, University of Bahri, Khartoum North, Sudan
A field experiment was conducted during 2017/2018 to assess the effects of Argel (Solenostemmaargel, Del. Hayne) and Nitrogen fertilizer on the performance of two Sunflower Hybrid cultivars, with the objectives to exploit an easy, economic, and accessible organic fertilizer, the Argel in the phase of the continuous increasing prices of chemical fertilizers.. This experiment was laid out on spilt-split-plot experiment in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications. Observations were taken on some agronomic traits (Plant height (m), Leaf area (LA), leaf Number (NL), Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Mean Seed Weight). The results revealed that the application of Argel and Nitrogen fertilizer have significantly increased the leaf Area (F= 7.22, P < 0.001), Plant Height (F=2.68, P < 0.2001), Leaf Number (F= 3.90, P < 0.0024), Leaf Area Index (F= 3.83, P < 0.0026) and Mean Seed Weight of both Serena and Opera cultivars respectively compared to the control. However, the different treatments of Argel and Nitrogen reflected variable degree of increase for the studied parameters. The study concludes that Argel is very promising, therefore a further study with different levels of Argel including other plant parameters is recommended.
May 2020 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-20-3363
Masoero GiorgioCorresponding author
Accademia di Agricoltura di Torino, Via A. Doria 10, 10123 Torino (Italy).
Rapid analyses methods for the assessment of soil microbiota are lacking. In a commercial farm tomato plants were subjected to different fertilization strategies: 1. mineral Control (C); 2. Organic amendment (O); 3. Organic amendment + Micosat F © biofertilizer (OM). A first rapid method (Litterbag-NIRS) concerned hay litterbags coupled with a smart SCiOTM device. A second method (Foliar-NIRS) used the same device on the leaves. The plants showed positive responses to the amendment and biofertilization in the yield: C 60.5.1 t ha-1vs. 70.8 in O (+17%) and 74.2 in OM (+23% from C and + 5% (P 0.08) from O). The use of Litterbag-NIRS fingerprinting, completed with litterbags phenotyping and elaborated with a multivariate support vector machine classifier provided a similar knowledge to that obtained from microbial and chemical analyses of the soil. The reason for this response is that the analyses were embedded in the Litterbag-NIRS at medium-high precision. A polydromic function was hypothesized in order to disentangle the activities of different soil microbial populations from each other. The organic amendment delayed the functionality of the rapid r-strategist microbial populations, but at the same time activated slow k-strategists to intake the walls of the hay inside the litterbags. In this sense, the Litterbag-NIRS test can provide an effective “swamp” of the microbial fertility of the soil. Briefly, the Litterbag-NIRS coupled with Foliar-NIRS accounted for 95% of the average yield results, and both are therefore recommended for a rational assessment of microbial soil fertility.
Mar 2020 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-20-3260
Masoero GiorgioCorresponding author
Accademia di Agricoltura di Torino, Via A. Doria 10, 10123 Torino (Italy).
The management of the inoculation of a plant’s roots, by means of biofertilizers (BF) containing arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, is aimed at inducing modifications of the quality of the seeds. It is here shown that a seed-soil treatment can be elicited in the fingerprints of a symbiotic treatment using Near Infra Red (NIR)-SCiO NIR-SCiO spectra collections of single kernels: overall, a sensitivity of 73% and a specificity of 73% have been achieved, thus suggesting that it may be possible to assign the symbiotic origin of corn from just twenty kernels, provided that the dataset is adequately representative of the cultivar and AM. A global correlation study has shown a positive general trend (R2 0.45) of quality vs. quantity, in the sense that an increase in yield corresponded to an increase in the spectral differences between the symbiotic spectra and the control ones, but the inverse was also true, as a result of the parasitic behaviour of the BF treatments. The efficacy of the symbiosis can be back predicted from the NIR spectra; in fact, around 90% of the positive yield outcome results were discriminated from the negative ones. A reduction in the foliar pH (R2 0.37) and an increase in the foliar protein (R2 0.43) were observed as immediate phenotypic signs of a productive symbiosis. The commercial raw composition of the kernels appeared to only be affected slightly by the BF treatments; thus, till now uncharted secondary compounds of the maize kernels are involved, as supported by animal performances.
Dec 2019 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-19-3116
Masoero GiorgioCorresponding author
Accademia di Agricoltura di Torino, Italy
Foliar pH is a specific multifaceted parameter that is sensitive to a deficit in soil water and to temperature variations. It also represents a tool that can be used to rapidly phenotype the symbiosis induced in several crops by bio-fertilizers containing Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi. Yearly decreases in foliar pH, which dropped from 3.73 in 2015 to 3.15 in 2017 and then stabilized at around 3.13, have been observed in an experimental vineyard near Torino (Italy) in six grapevine cultivars. In this paper, these curious, original results have been paired with the average sunspots of the 24th sun cycle, proximal to its endpoint. The paired values were highly correlated (r 0.95 P< 0.01), with close parabolic patterns. A lowering in foliar pH has been correlated with a modification of the leaf composition, as characterized by the higher hydration and reinforced wall. An increase in the circulating acidity of the plants has been hypothesized to interfere in a diminution in the general predisposition to block parasite attacks. From this perspective, the retrieval of several historic outbreaks and the long-term systematic monitoring of mud and Erwinia amylovora frequencies have suggested that the hypothesis that links the solar minima with dysfunctions of the plant-pest relationships cannot always be rejected. Cosmic influences pertaining to UV variations are poorly understood in plant physiopathology. Foliar pH appears to be a rapid and simple tool to unveil high-level mechanisms. It is this simple parameter that physiologists and geneticists, but also agronomists, are asked to consider.
Nov 2019 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-19-3089
Masoero GiorgioCorresponding author
Accademia di Agricoltura di Torino, Italy
The agronomic management of symbiotic (S) inoculations, by means of bio-fertilizers (BF), is aimed at inducing modifications of the plant rhizosphere and thereafter of the phenotype and yield of the crop. It is here shown that the yield response of maize to a symbiotic treatment may be correlated to six easy-to-calculate indicator variables on the basis of the raw foliar pH, NIR-Spectroscopy of leaves, and the NIRS of hay litter-bags from soils. It has been confirmed, in a set of thirteen pairwise comparisons of Symbiotic (S) soil inoculated by BF vs. Control (non-inoculated soil; C), that the inoculation on average acidified the leaves by -3.7% pH units (P<0.0001). The responses in yield ranged from +25.2% to -9.2% (av.ge +3.5%; P = 0.03), but with average null responses in two centers and a significant response (+11%) in a third center. NIR-Tomoscopy scans (No. 574) were also performed on the leaves, and in addition, hay-litter-bags that had previously been buried in fields were dug up after two months, and 431 NIR- scans were acquired. The effect-size on the yield was expressed as the logarithm of the response ratio, i.e. the mean of the inoculated Symbiotic treatment divided by the mean of the non-inoculated Control for each pairwise comparison. A multiple regression model was developed to predict the symbiotic response to the treatment using six independent variables, including the squared litter-bag fingerprints, and an R2adj. level of 0.78 (P=0.01) was reached, with a standard error of ±4%. Validation in one external maize field, with a positive response to bio-fertilizers, demonstrates the juxtaposition of the estimated and accomplished yield. In a second experiment, with 40 pairwise comparisons, the two tested maize varieties did not respond to five types of bio-fertilizer, and the negative results were predicted at 84% (P 0.0012). The soil biota is a key factor for the application of appropriate microbial inoculants in the field, but the genotype/genotype interactions between the microbial strain (s) and the crop cultivar (s) require prior screening to obtain the desired results.
Mar 2019 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-19-2691
Masoero GiorgioCorresponding author
Accademia di Agricoltura di Torino, Italy
In precision agriculture (PA) fertilizing, based on soil testing, production maps and crop nitrogen (N) demand, is the key to maximizing yields and tempering fertilizer costs. A trend study has considered the output / input relationships performed on a farm that has progressively adapted to PA procedures over two decades. The evolutions of the variability parameters of yield, comprising the repeatability coefficient of repeated plots, the vegetative vigour (NDRE) at the panicle initiation (pi) stage, and the nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUE) were monitored and compared by means of mixed linear models over a six-year period, after the variable nitrogen (N) fertilization rate (VNFR) had been enlarged to the whole 230 ha of one farm. At pi key fertilization stage, a corrective dose was applied by tacking the correlation between Npi and the measured NDRE in strong negative mode. The evolution of the yield, for the 2012-2017 interval, based on 1165 ha-1 parcel-data, showed a significant yearly increase of 2.3% more than the regional trend (+0.5%). The variability parameters of the yield, that is, the standard deviation (+7.3%), range (+7.1%), coefficient of variation (+5.4%) and maximum (+2.1%) were enhanced over the years, but the minimum remained stable. The repeatability of the parcel yield generally appeared low (r = +0.31), but it tended to increase by 8.3% year-1 (P = 0.018). At the same time, the vegetational vigour also showed significant increases of the NDRE means (+3.0%) as well as of the maximum (+0.8%), but also large oscillations in the standard deviation and in the coefficient of variation. No significant regression of the NDRE on the coefficient of variation of the yield was established. The favorable increase in yield was found to be independent of the distributed N-total. A strong negative correlation (imposed) between N-pi and NDRE (-0.90) and a negative correlation with production were observed for a sample field (but in the area of maximum production). It is recommended that a partial correlation between Yield and N-tot should be considered in the I /O features for a parity of NDRE, which apparently decreases the negativity of the relationship. In short: with the same total input of N, the PA increased the yield, but also its variability – and it did not reduce the variability as predicted by the theory - by strengthening the repeatability. This is an evidence that in many of the parcels with minimum yield the limiting factors cannot be referred to the N availability.
Jan 2019 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-18-2496
Raj GuptaCorresponding author
Nutrient depletion and imbalanced use of fertiliser nutrients, inappropriate tillage and rain- water management practices often result in land degradation. Declining soil health contributes to climate change through loss in soil productivity, biodiversity, soil carbon, and moisture and ecosystem services. In order to address declining soil health, government of India has launched a soil health card (SHC) scheme aimed at need base use of chemical fertilisers. The paper points out the short-comings in the SHC scheme. Balanced and need base use of chemical fertilizers can be helpful in environmental protection and restoring soil health. The paper identifies potential agronomic practices and production management systems that can reduce our dependence on synthetic nutrients. Integration of soil fertility management domains with computer based QUEFT crop model has the potential of making fertiliser recommendations more domain and crop specific and less cumbersome. For soil health assessment chemical indicators must be integrated with physical and biological properties of the soils which can be predicted through reflectance spectroscopy. For assessing soil health related issues across different agro-ecoregions, there is however an urgent need for building-up more robust soil reflectance libraries.
Oct 2018 DOI 10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-18-2397
Masoero GiorgioCorresponding author
Accademia di Agricoltura di Torino, Torino, Italy
The measurement of the in vivo raw pH of vegetative organs is a unusual way obtaining plant knowledge. The authenticity of the pH parameter of the leaf and its independence from soil pH has already been highlighted. In the present work we observe how and to what extent water-temperature mechanisms as well as bio-fertilizers inocula can affect the raw pH and how great the biodiversity is in plants. A trial with Arabidopsis thaliana in a phytotrone has shown that, in the dark, the raw pH did not change from +18 to +35 °C (b = -0.0027 N.S.), while in the light, the regression coefficients were significant and negative, and the acidification in the leaves progressed from high (-0.0097) to normal (-0.0127) and then to low (-0.0370) water level. We have confirmed that warming induces a decrease of raw petiole pH of -0.070 pH C°-1 in grapevine leaves. In accordance with water-temperature mechanisms, the raw pH in grapevines has been found to be significantly higher in well-watered plants (pH = 4.29) than in stressed ones (4.12), with a pH decay of -3.9%. On the other hand, an average reduction of 0.10 units of raw pH would signal an increase in water stress of about -0.59 Mpa. Among the phenomena that can influence the raw pH, we have outlined three biotic factors: i) acidification as a result of a symbiotic farming fertilization i.e through the use of mycorrhizal and microbial fertilizers, with an average decay of around -3%, as a probable signature of symbiosis; ii) an “acida plantarum natura” scenario over 49 species, ranging from pH 3.06 to 6.38 ; iii) a strong (R2= 0.9) inverse polynomial pseudo-relationship of the number of fungicide sprays on the raw pH in a set of 15 species. It is suggested that this simple new multifaceted parameter can deserve interest.
Aug 2018 DOI 10.14302/issn.2641-9467.jgrc-18-1936
M. H. MubarakCorresponding author
Four nitrogen forms and four biofertilizer were application as well as their interactions on growth analysis of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L). The important results could be summarized as follow. Urea treatment achieved maximum increase in Leaf Area Index were 69.71, 81.32 and 166.54 at 120, 140 and 160 day in the 1st season, respectively, The highest one was 160.6 in the 2nd also was ammonium nitrate application at 160 days. Urea treatment inclusion in seeds with ntrobin application resulted the highest values of leaf area index (LAI), crop growth rate (CGR) and leaf area duration (LAD) and in the 1st season. A slight increase was 0.03 g/week in this case was found due to urea treatments as compared with the others treatment at the period from Relative growth rate (RGR3) in the 1st season. Ammonium nitrate treatment achieved the maximum values from Crop Growth Rate was 39.16 g/day in (CGR1), 93.24 and 13.5 g/day in (CGR2) and (CGR3) from urea treatment at the 1st season. The highest net assimilation rate was 0.66 g/dm.week achieved by ntrobin as compared the others treatment whereas, the lowest one 0.11 g.dm /week with the phosphorine application. Ammonium sulphate treatment with (phosphorin + ntrobin) obtained the highest net assimilation rate (NAR) in the 1st season. The highest values from leaf area duration were 0.11, 0.19 and 0.15 dm2/week achieved with urea and ntrobin in the 1st season at (LAD2), (LAD3) and (LAD4). Ammonium nitrate treatment with phosphorin obtained the highest leaf area duration (LAD) in the 2nd season. Generally, it could be recommended that fertilizing sugar beet plants variety Ymer with nitrogen forms inoculated with biofertilizer (ntrobin 600gm/fed) increased the growth of sugar beet plants under sandy soil conditions.