scholarly journals Smart fertilizers: what should we mean and where should we go?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgia Raimondi ◽  
Carmelo Maucieri ◽  
Arianna Toffanin ◽  
Giancarlo Renella ◽  
Maurizio Borin
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Nutrient Release ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
World Population ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Growth Responses ◽  
Synthesis Design ◽  
Herbaceous Crops ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change ◽  
Innovative Fertilizers

Highlights- A smart fertilizer allows to control the rate, timing and duration of nutrients release.- Nanofertilizers are powder or liquid formulations which involve the synthesis, design and use of materials at the nanoscale level.- Composite fertilizers are formulations containing nutrients mixed or coated with one or more materials that exploit synergy among materials.- Bioformulations are fertilizers containing active or dormant microorganisms capable to trigger physiological growth responses in plants.- Limited information is available for smart fertilizers on herbaceous crops in open field conditions.   Abstract The current agricultural system faces several challenges, the most important being the ability to feed the increasing world population and mitigate climate change. In this context, the improvement of fertilizers’ agronomic efficiency while reducing their cost and environmental impact is one of the biggest tasks. Available literature shows that many efforts have been made to develop innovative fertilizers defined as "smart fertilizers", for which, different interpretations and definitions have been used. This paper aims to define, classify, and describe the new frontier of the so-called smart fertilizers with a particular focus on field-scale studies on herbaceous species. Most of the analyzed papers associate the "smart" concept to the controlled and/or slow release of nutrients, using both terms as synonymous. Some others broadened the concept, including the controlled release of nutrients to reduce the environmental impact. Based on our critical analysis of the available literature, we conclude that a fertilizer can be considered "smart" whenapplied to the soil, it allows control over the rate, timing, and duration of nutrients release. Our new definition is: ‘Smart fertilizer is any single or composed (sub)nanomaterial, multi-component, and/or bioformulation containing one or more nutrients that, through physical, chemical, and/or biological processes, can adapt the timing of nutrient release to the plant nutrient demand, enhancing the agronomic yields and reducing the environmental impact at sustainable costs when compared to conventional fertilizers’.

scholarly journals Climate Smart Agriculture: A New Approach for Sustainable Intensification

2020 ◽  
pp. 138-147
Author(s):  
Gayatri Sahu ◽  
Pragyan Paramita Rout ◽  
Suchismita Mohapatra ◽  
Sai Parasar Das ◽  
Poonam Preeti Pradhan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Sustainable Intensification ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
World Population ◽  
Resource Degradation ◽  
Security Challenge ◽  
Smart Agriculture

World population is increasing day by day and at the same time agriculture is threatened due to natural resource degradation and climate change. A growing global population and changing diets are driving up the demand for food. The food security challenge will only become more difficult, as the world will need to produce about 70 percent more food by 2050 to feed an estimated 9 billion people. Production stability, agricultural productivity, income and food security is negatively affected by changing climate. Therefore, agriculture must change according to present situation for meeting the need of food security and also withstanding under changing climatic situation. Agriculture is a prominent source as well as a sink of greenhouse gases (GHGs). So, there is a need to modify agricultural practices in a sustainable way to overcome these problems. Developing climate smart agriculture is thus crucial to achieving future food security and climate change goals. It helps the agricultural system to resist damage and recover quickly by adaptation and mitigation strategies. Sustainable Intensification is an essential means of adapting to climate change, also resulting in lower emissions per unit of output. With its emphasis on improving risk management, information flows and local institutions to support adaptive capacity, CSA provides the foundations for incentivizing and enabling intensification. Since climate smart agriculture is defined along three pillars (productivity increases, building resilience and adapting, and GHG emission reduction), key concepts such as productivity, resilience, vulnerability and carbon sequestration provide indicators for future empirical measurements of the climate smart agriculture concept.

scholarly journals Evaluation of a partially de-oiled microalgae product in nursery pig diets1

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro E Urriola ◽  
Joey A Mielke ◽  
Qingqing Mao ◽  
Yuan-Tai Hung ◽  
John F Kurtz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Block Design ◽  
Control Diet ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Growth Responses ◽  
Liver Sample ◽  
Nursery Pigs ◽  
Feeding Programs ◽  
Nursery Pig ◽  
Quadratic Effects ◽  
Dietary Treatments

Abstract Although microalgae can be used as a source of energy and macronutrients in pig diets, there is limited information on the use of partially de-oiled microalgae coproducts in swine feeding programs. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of a partially de-oiled microalgae extract (MAE) in nursery pig diets on growth performance and health status. A total of 300 pigs (initial BW = 6.3 ± 2.1 kg) were used in a 42-d experiment. Treatments included a standard corn-soybean meal control diet, and diets containing 1, 5, 10, or 20% MAE replacing primarily corn. The ME content of MAE was calculated from the chemical composition, and diets were formulated to meet or exceed nutrient requirements for nursery pigs. Pigs were stratified by weaning BW into 12 blocks in a randomized complete block design, with sex distributed evenly among blocks. Pens of pigs (5 pigs/pen) were assigned randomly within block to one of five dietary treatments. Pig BW and feed disappearance were recorded weekly. On day 42, 30 pigs were harvested and sections of the jejunum and ileum were collected for gut morphology analysis, and a liver sample was collected for metabolomic analysis using liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy. Data were analyzed by ANOVA with diet as treatment effect, and contrasts were used to test linear or quadratic effects of dietary MAE inclusion level. Overall, pigs fed 1% and 5% MAE had the greatest (quadratic P < 0.05) ADG, resulting from greater (quadratic P < 0.05) ADFI. There was a tendency for a greater number of pigs requiring injectable treatments (P = 0.16) and a greater mortality (P = 0.14) in pigs fed the control diet than pigs in any of the diets with the MAE. Final BW increased (P < 0.05) for pigs fed 1% and 5% MAE diets. The improvements in ADG were not explained by differences in mucosa height or goblet cell count among dietary treatments. Pigs fed diets containing 1% or 5% MAE had relatively less concentration (P < 0.05) of ammonia in the liver and had changes in metabolites associated with the urea cycle. In conclusion, feeding MAE resulted in increased growth responses and may have beneficial health effects when fed to nursery pigs.

Profiling alternative food system supporters: The personal and social basis of local and organic food support

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly Bean ◽  
Jeff S. Sharp
Keyword(s):  
Food System ◽  
Organic Food ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Local Foods ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Organic Foods ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Social Basis ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Using Data

AbstractConsumers appear increasingly interested in how to engage in consumptive practices that lead to a more sustainable food and agricultural system. In this paper, we examine two possible consumptive pathways for achieving sustainability: the purchase of organic foods and/or the purchase of local foods. While there is some debate regarding the integrity and sustainability of organic versus locally produced foods, there is limited information examining the similarities or differences among consumers variably interested in one or the other attribute. Using data from a statewide survey of Ohio, USA, respondents and members of a food cooperative and an environmental and social responsibility organization, a typology is proposed and comparisons are made among different types of local and organic food consumers regarding their attitudes about food, agriculture and the environment. While a large proportion of the survey respondents expressed little or only modest interest in either local or organic foods, distinct groups of respondents interested in primarily the local attribute, primarily the organic attribute, and both attributes are identified. The results reveal similarities and differences across types with the profiles of each type of consumer contributing to a more nuanced view of supporters of these foods that can assist in production decisions, as well as purchasing and marketing decisions among retailers.

Principles of integrated agricultural systems: Introduction to processes and definition

2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (04) ◽  
pp. 265-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Hendrickson ◽  
J.D. Hanson ◽  
Donald L. Tanaka ◽  
Gretchen Sassenrath
Keyword(s):  
Production Systems ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
World Population ◽  
Agricultural Systems ◽  
Hierarchical Systems ◽  
Management Philosophy ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Systems Framework ◽  
Integrated Agricultural Systems

AbstractAgriculture has been very successful in addressing the food and fiber needs of today's world population. However, there are increasing concerns about the economic, environmental and social costs of this success. Integrated agricultural systems may provide a means to address these concerns while increasing sustainability. This paper reviews the potential for and challenges to integrated agricultural systems, evaluates different agricultural systems in a hierarchical systems framework, and provides definitions and examples for each of the systems. This paper also describes the concept of dynamic-integrated agricultural systems and calls for the development of principles to use in developing and researching integrated agricultural systems. The concepts in this paper have arisen from the first in a series of planned workshops to organize common principles, criteria and indicators across physiographic regions in integrated agricultural systems. Integrated agricultural systems have multiple enterprises that interact in space and time, resulting in a synergistic resource transfer among enterprises. Dynamic-integrated agricultural systems have multiple enterprises managed in a dynamic manner. The key difference between dynamic-integrated agricultural systems and integrated agricultural systems is in management philosophy. In an integrated agricultural system, management decisions, such as type and amount of commodities to produce, are predetermined. In a dynamic-integrated system, decisions are made at the most opportune time using the best available knowledge. We developed a hierarchical scheme for agricultural systems ranging from basic agricultural production systems, which are the simplest system with no resource flow between enterprises, to dynamic-integrated agricultural systems. As agricultural systems move up in the hierarchy, their complexity, amount of management needed, and sustainability also increases. A key aspect of sustainability is the ability to adapt to future challenges. We argue that sustainable systems need built-in flexibility to achieve this goal.

scholarly journals Aquaculture in Brazil and worldwide: overview and perspectives

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 098-107
Author(s):  
Eduardo Soares Calixto ◽  
Danilo Ferreira Borges Santos ◽  
Denise Lange ◽  
Melina Santos Galdiano ◽  
Inayat Ur Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Oreochromis Niloticus ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
World Population ◽  
Environmental Aspects ◽  
The World ◽  
Cultivation Process ◽  
Productive Method

Aquaculture is the cultivation of aquatic organisms through a controlled cultivation process. Currently, half the fish consumed by the world population is produced by aquaculture activity. This review, and informed data, trends, and the general panorama of aquaculture in Brazil and worldwide, as well as the scenario of the tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) production, in order to provide specific directions for future investments and researches. Globally, fish aquaculture productivity is approximately 110 million tons in 2016, with China being the country with the highest productivity (49 million tons). Brazil occupies the 13th place with about 700 thousand tons of aquaculture fish, where tilapia is one of the most cultivated. Furthermore, the ration production for aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the country (930 thousand tons of ration represents 1.33% concerning the total feed produced to cultivation of the animals – data of 2016), with emphasis on the biofloc system, which represents a productive method with better cost-benefit and low environmental impact. In general, aquaculture trends are the real progress of this activity, but so that social, economic, and environmental aspects are interconnected and progressing concomitantly.

Human Overpopulation and Food Security

2017 ◽  
pp. 12-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rishikesh Singh ◽  
Pratap Srivastava ◽  
Pardeep Singh ◽  
Shweta Upadhyay ◽  
Akhilesh Singh Raghubanshi
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Developing Nations ◽  
World Population ◽  
The Core ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
Environmental Damages ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Core Areas

World population is rapidly growing and expected to reach in between 8.5 to 12 billion by 2100. More than 75% of the population is expected to inhabit in the African and Asian countries having most of the developing nations. The overpopulation leads to a state of food insecurity that induced the evolution of resource-exhaustive agriculture causing irreparable environmental damages. Now the challenge is to feed more with less environmental damages. Adoption of technologically-sound, traditional knowledge inclusive, socio-economically sensible recommended agricultural practices can be the basis for achieving future dietary demands. However, before wider recommendation, their environmental impact assessment at various sustainability issues is necessitated for a holistic understanding of the future agriculture. The challenges of overpopulation and food security can only be managed by identifying the core areas of research and development under different agricultural sectors. The present chapter will provide a brief dimension on some of these key issues.

scholarly journals The Environmental Impacts of the Grassland Agricultural System and the Cultivated Land Agricultural System: A Comparative Analysis in Eastern Gansu

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 10602
Author(s):  
Huilong Lin ◽  
Yanfei Pu ◽  
Xueni Ma ◽  
Yue Wang ◽  
Charles Nyandwi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Production Capacity ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Cultivated Land ◽  
Primary Energy Demand

“Introducing grass into fields”, the major approach to modern grassland agriculture, is the crucial direction of agricultural structure adjustment in the farming-pastoral zone of Northern China. However, there have been few studies on the environmental impacts of agricultural production in this pattern. We used the life cycle assessment (LCA) method for the first time from the perspective of the entire industry chain from agricultural material production to livestock marketing, which involves the combination of planting and breeding. A comparative analysis of the environmental impact processes of beef and pork, the main products of the two existing agricultural systems in Eastern Gansu, was conducted. The findings showed that based on the production capacity of the 1 ha land system, the comprehensive environmental impact benefit of the grassland agricultural system (GAS) in the farming-pastoral zone was 21.82%, higher than that of the cultivated land agricultural system (CLAS). On Primary energy demand (PED) and environmental acidification potential (AP), the GAS needs improvement because those values were 38.66% and 22.01% higher than those of the CLAS, respectively; on global warming potential (GWP), eutrophication potential (EP), and water use (WU), the GAS performed more environment-friendlily because those values were 25.00%, 68.37%, and 11.88% lower than those of the CLAS, respectively. This indicates that a change in land use will lead to a change in environmental impacts. Therefore, PED and AP should be focused on the progress of grassland agriculture modernization by “introducing grass into fields” and new agricultural technologies.

Human Overpopulation and Food Security

2019 ◽  
pp. 439-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rishikesh Singh ◽  
Pratap Srivastava ◽  
Pardeep Singh ◽  
Shweta Upadhyay ◽  
Akhilesh Singh Raghubanshi
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Developing Nations ◽  
World Population ◽  
The Core ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
Environmental Damages ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Core Areas

World population is rapidly growing and expected to reach in between 8.5 to 12 billion by 2100. More than 75% of the population is expected to inhabit in the African and Asian countries having most of the developing nations. The overpopulation leads to a state of food insecurity that induced the evolution of resource-exhaustive agriculture causing irreparable environmental damages. Now the challenge is to feed more with less environmental damages. Adoption of technologically-sound, traditional knowledge inclusive, socio-economically sensible recommended agricultural practices can be the basis for achieving future dietary demands. However, before wider recommendation, their environmental impact assessment at various sustainability issues is necessitated for a holistic understanding of the future agriculture. The challenges of overpopulation and food security can only be managed by identifying the core areas of research and development under different agricultural sectors. The present chapter will provide a brief dimension on some of these key issues.

scholarly journals End of Life Care Practices for Hindu Patients During COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 082585972110362
Author(s):  
Sonal Chandratre ◽  
Aamod Soman
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Medical Literature ◽  
World Population ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Limited Information ◽  
Risk Of Death ◽  
Care Practices

With coronavirus disease 2019, the risk of death has increased in the general population. In these unprecedented times and even otherwise, it is important for the health care professionals caring for Hindu patients to be aware of the end of life practices in Hinduism. There is limited information in the medical literature about traditions and practices followed in Hinduism which is observed by 15% of the world population. Hinduism is currently the third largest religion following Christianity and Islam. Based on Hindu beliefs about life, death, and reincarnation, we propose 10 end of life best practices for Hindu patients.

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