Applications of Microbes in Soil Health Maintenance for Agricultural Applications

Agricultural activities face several challenges due to the intensive increase in population growth and environmental issues. It has been established that biochar can be assigned a useful role in agriculture. Its agronomic application has therefore received increasing attention recently. The literature shows different applications, e.g., biochar serves as a soil ameliorant to optimize soil structure and composition, and it increases the availability of nutrients and the water retention capacity in the soil. If the biochar is buried in the soil, it decomposes very slowly and thus serves as a long-term store of carbon. Limiting the availability of pesticides and heavy metals increases soil health. Biochar addition also affects soil microbiology and enzyme activity and contributes to the improvement of plant growth and crop production. Biochar can be used as a compost additive and animal feed and simultaneously provides a contribution to minimizing greenhouse gas emissions. Several parameters, including biochar origin, pyrolysis temperature, soil type when biochar is used as soil amendment, and application rate, control biochar’s efficiency in different agricultural applications. Thus, special care should be given when using a specific biochar for a specific application to prevent any negative effects on the agricultural environment.

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Nanotechnological Approaches in Sustainable Agriculture and Plant Disease Management

Organic Agriculture ◽

10.5772/intechopen.92463 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Siddhartha Das ◽

Sudeepta Pattanayak

Keyword(s):

Disease Management ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Insect Pest ◽

Soil Health ◽

Fundamental Aspect ◽

High Price ◽

Maximum Effect ◽

Biotic Stresses ◽

Agricultural Applications ◽

Plant Disease Management

Every year approximately 30–50% of crops suffer with different kinds of biotic stresses. Rapidly growing agrochemical industries and their diverse products make the environment more toxic and simultaneously hazardous for plant heath and soil health. Such types of agrochemicals are toxic, hazardous, carcinogenic, non-eco-friendly. Therefore, this is the ideal time to think about some more effective alternatives against those problems. Nanotechnological approaches bring the alternatives in the form of decreasing toxicity, improving shelf-life, increasing solubility for poorly water-soluble agrochemicals, minimum use with maximum effect, slow leaching efficiency with long-term effect with coupling of eco-friendly naturalistic way. The way of nanoparticle application in agriculture, specifically disease management, is unique, where it can be used singly or by coupling with fungicidal, herbicidal, insecticidal, RNA-interference molecules. Though it has such a positive impact, very few products will be commercially available in our market due to high price of particular products and well-established long field trial efficacy detection among insect, pest-pathogen, and environment. Application of nanomolecules in other progressive fields has been emerging, whereas advancement in agricultural applications needs to be boosted up through skilled knowledge transfer and basic understanding of its fundamental aspect.

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Organic farming as the basis for the long-term health of the soil ecosystem

Acta agriculturae Serbica ◽

10.5937/aaser2152131s ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (52) ◽

pp. 131-135

Author(s):

Aleksandr Semenov ◽

Dragutin Đukić ◽

Leka Mandić ◽

Vesna Đurović ◽

Alexey Glinushkin

Keyword(s):

Organic Farming ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Soil Health ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Soil Ecosystem ◽

Health Maintenance ◽

Soil Ecosystems ◽

Harmful Organisms ◽

Knowledge Intensive ◽

Definition Of

This study compares and discusses two farming systems that differ in content - organic and conventional (intensive) systems. In this regard, a modern definition of soil content is proposed, with the "soil ecosystem" concept used as the modern alternative to the traditional representation of what the soil is. Some features of the functioning of soil ecosystems in the two different farming systems, conventional and organic, are examined. The inner essence and the external performance of these two alternative land-use systems are revealed. The importance of the development of organic agriculture is emphasized by the documents of international organizations (IFOAM). The tasks that need to be addressed during the transition to a knowledge-intensive system of production of environmentally friendly agricultural products under organic farming conditions are briefly listed. The focus is on those aspects that are important in the transition from intensive to organic farming. The need to introduce a new characteristic of soil ecosystems - soil health - is discussed. A modern definition of "soil health" is given. The positive impact of organic farming and its technologies on soil health is discussed. The list of actions for the continuous maintenance and reproduction of soil health is presented. Much attention is paid to soil health maintenance, remediation and rehabilitation. The problems of protecting plants and crops from harmful organisms in organic farming are discussed. The phenomenon "oligotrophication of agro ecosystems" as an unconventional way of healing and maintaining the health of soil ecosystems is considered and discussed. The thesis about the necessity to consider soil quality and fertility as components of the new characteristic - "soil health" - is proposed.

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