Recent Advances in Chemical Sensors for Soil Analysis: A Review

The continuously rising interest in chemical sensors’ applications in environmental monitoring, for soil analysis in particular, is owed to the sufficient sensitivity and selectivity of these analytical devices, their low costs, their simple measurement setups, and the possibility to perform online and in-field analyses with them. In this review the recent advances in chemical sensors for soil analysis are summarized. The working principles of chemical sensors involved in soil analysis; their benefits and drawbacks; and select applications of both the single selective sensors and multisensor systems for assessments of main plant nutrition components, pollutants, and other important soil parameters (pH, moisture content, salinity, exhaled gases, etc.) of the past two decades with a focus on the last 5 years (from 2017 to 2021) are overviewed.

Assessment of the Transfer of Trace Metals to Spontaneous Plants on Abandoned Pyrrhotite Mine: Potential Application for Phytostabilization of Phosphate Wastes

The abandoned Kettara pyrrhotite mine (Marrakech region, Morocco) is a real source of acid mine drainage (AMD) and heavy metal pollution from previous mining operations—which has spread, particularly because of wind erosion. A store-and-release cover system made of phosphate wastes was built on the site for preventing AMD. To ensure the integrity of this cover and its durability, it is desirable to revegetate it (phytostabilization) with plants adapted to the edaphoclimatic conditions of the region. In this paper, a study was carried out on the spontaneous vegetation around the phosphate cover in order to consider the selection of plants to promote the stabilization of the Kettara mine tailings pond. Nine species of native plants with their rhizospheric soils growing in agricultural soils and tailings from the Kettara mine were collected, and metals (As, Cd, Co, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Cr) were analyzed. The soil analysis showed that the tailings contained high concentrations of Cu (177.64 mg/kg) and Pb (116.80 mg/kg) and that the agricultural soil contained high concentrations of As (25.07 mg/kg) and Cu (251.96 mg/kg) exceeding the toxicity level (Cu > 100 mg/kg, Pb > 100 mg/kg, As > 20 mg/kg). The plant analysis showed low trace metal accumulation in Scolymus hispanicus, Festuca ovina, Cleome brachycarpa, Carlina involucrata and Peganum harmala. These species had a bioconcentration factor (BCF) greater than 1 and a translocation factor (TF) less than 1, demonstrating a high tolerance to trace metals. Therefore, they are good candidates for use in the phytoremediation of the Kettara mine tailings. These species could also potentially be used for the phytostabilization of the phosphate waste cover of the Kettara mine, thus completing the rehabilitation process of this area.

Penyuluhan Kesuburan Tanah, Pupuk Organik serta Hama dan Penyakit Tanaman bagi Kelompok Tani Baranuri

<p><em><strong>Counseling of Soil Fertility, Organic Fertilizers, Pests and Plant Diseases for Baranuri Farmers Group</strong>. </em>The Baranuri Farmers Group (KT. Baranuri) is one of the providers of vegetables for the people of Ende City. The results of interviews with farmers obtained several problems, namely, there is no data on soil fertility and lack of understanding of soil fertility, organic fertilizers, pests and plant diseases. The solution given is to analyze soil pH and organic-C to be used as a reference for soil fertility conditions as well as counseling about soil fertility, organic fertilizers, pests and plant diseases. This service activity aims to provide information on soil fertility, increase farmers' knowledge regarding soil fertility, organic fertilizers and plant pests and diseases. The counseling method used is a group approach. Purposive soil sampling, samples were taken diagonally. The organic-C content was analyzed in the laboratory by Walkley and Black method, while soil pH was measured directly on the field using 4 in 1 Soil Survey Instrument and then matching with the criteria of assessment of soil analysis results by the Indonesian Soil Research Institute. The results obtained were the soil pH was 4-5 (very acidic-acidic) and soil organic C was 2.03-2.37% (moderate). The extension activities were succeeded in increasing public knowledge from 46.7% to 86.7% (an increase of 85.7%). The recommendation from this activity is to create a demonstration field to apply an organic fertilizer that can be observed directly by farmer groups.</p>

Penilaian Status Kesuburan Tanah Desa Tijayan Kecamatan Manisrenggo Kabupaten Klaten

Tijayan Village is located in Manisrenggo District, Klaten Regency, which has an area of agricultural land in the form of rice fields which is 105.80 ha of 155.3 ha of the village area. The extent of agricultural land in Tijayan Village needs to be maintained to increase agricultural products ranging from rice, secondary crops, and horticulture commodities. The researcher found a lack of information about soil maintenance in Tijayan Village. Therefore, the researcher conducted this research to determine and study the soil fertility and soil management efforts based on the limiting factors of fertility in Tijayan Village. In addition, soil fertility assessment is based on a desk study, detailed survey, soil analysis, making fertility distribution maps, and descriptive analysis. Determination of soil fertility status based on Soil Research Guidelines published by Soil Research Center, Bogor Indonesia, with parameters of cation exchange capacity, base saturation, total phosphorus, total potassium, and C- organic. Map made by using the ArcGIS 10.4 application. The fertility of Tijayan Village is categorized as low soil fertility class. The limiting factors for soil fertility are soil cation exchange capacity 3.47 me/ 100 g until 12.33 me/100g, total potassium &lt; 10 mg/100g, and C- organic 1.213% - 2.286% . Consequently, management needs to be done by adding organic matter to the soil, fertilizing organically or inorganically, and the principle of healthy plant cultivation for rice fields.

Landslide Susceptibility Mapping and Their Rainfall Thresholds Model in Tinalah Watershed, Kulon Progo District, Yogyakarta Special Region, Indonesia

Landslide often occurred in Tinalah watershed, Kulon Progo District, every year. The frequency of landslide events is increasing after high rainfall intensity. Some factors control landslides such as slope gradient, land use, geological structure, slope hydrology, and geological condition. This research has an objective to develop the susceptibility map of Tinalah watershed and to identify the rainfall threshold to trigger a landslide. The development of the susceptibility map using frequency ratio method with four parameters including slope, type of rock, land use, and lineament density. The landslide data were collected during the field survey and from regional disaster management authority (BPBD) Kulon Progo. Rainfall data were collected from BMKG and GSMap. Soil analysis also was conducted to develop a numerical model to verify the rainfall threshold value. The result shows a high susceptibility of the landslide area is dominated in Tinalah watershed. The rainfall threshold for the low susceptibility of the landslide zone is I=490.14 D-1.404with 5-7 days antecedent rain. The rainfall threshold for medium susceptibility map is I=164.32D-0,689 3-7 days antecedent rain. Moreover, the rainfall threshold for the high susceptibility of the landslide zone is 111.62 D-0.779, with 2-7 days antecedent rain.

Effect of the Biofertilizer (Azolla pinnata) in Combination with Inorganic Fertilizers on Growth and Yield of Rice

This study was conducted at Malaysia Agriculture Research and Development Institute (MARDI), Seberang Perai, Penang (Malaysia), that aims to examine the impacts of the application of Azolla pinnata on the growth and performance of rice of the MR 297 variety. The experiment consisted of five treatments: PK + Azolla (T1); NP + Azolla (T2); NK + Azolla (T3); NPK-Control (T4), and Azolla only (T5). Each treatment had four replicates. The experimental design used was a complete randomized block design (RCBD), and all data collected were analyzed using one-way ANOVA with a statistically significant 0.05% test. For the average soil analysis between the beginning and end, all soil analyses showed decreased soil properties except total N and organic carbon. There is a significant effect on the tiller, panicles, yields, plant height, and SPAD value in crop growth performance. There was no significant effect observed on N and P among plant nutrients. In contrast, there was a significant treatment effect on K. This study concluded that the soil treated with NK + Azolla showed a comparable result with soil treated with inorganic fertilizer only for the total yield.

Influence of Nitrogen Nutrition on Fatty Acids in Oilseed Rape (Brassica napus L.)

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of nitrogen nutrition on the content of fatty acids and selected qualitative parameters (nitrogenous substances, ash, crude fiber) in winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.). The experiment was carried out at the Vígľaš—Pstruša Research and Breeding Station in 2008–2009 and 2009–2010 by complete block design with four repetitions. Nitrogen fertilization was applied at four levels, plus an untreated control (after agrochemical soil analysis) by DAN 27 (Dolomite Ammonium Nitrate): 100, 120, 140, and 160 kg/ha N. Application date was in BBCH scale phase 59–60. The fatty acid contents (MUFA—monosaturated fatty acids; PUFA—polyunsaturated fatty acids) were determined by gas chromatography in the extracted fat, which is determined by extraction method. Within the result evaluation, statistically significant increases in the contents of linoleic and linolenic acids were recorded in all variants treated by nitrogen fertilizer, which is positive in terms of the use of rapeseed oil for food and energy purposes. The statistically significant decrease of oleic acid after the application of nitrogen fertilizers is negative for industry use of rapeseed oil.

Impact of Headworks of River Chenab on Surrounding Vegetation and Phytodiversity Analysis

This study focused on the impact assessment of the wild flora and environmental gradients encompassed by the River Chenab headworks using quantitative ecological indices. Quadrats of 1 × 1, 5 × 5 and 10 × 10 m2 sizes were used for vegetation. Considering environmental data, grazing and anthropogenic effects, soil analysis based on different physical and chemical properties was studied. The relationship between different sites and their surroundings was analyzed by Canonical and Detrended Correspondence Analysis. Similarity indices were revealed through the use of a heat map and dendrogram. As many as 130 plant species, 60 families, comprising 104 species of dicots, 17 monocots, 7 pteridophytes and 2 species of bryophytes were recorded. Different soil properties including organic matter, soil moisture and soil pH affect the vegetation on different sites. Anthropogenic activities such as construction, fishing and animal grazing were the main threats for vegetation that need to be restricted strategically to conserve surrounding vegetation.

Constraints Encountered by Wheat Producers in Adoption of Wheat Production Technology in Faizabad District of Uttar Pradesh, India

Wheat is a major staple food crop; it is one of the major sources of protein in the least developed countries and middle-income countries and in terms of caloric and dietary intake. The present study was conducted to identify the constraints in the adoption of wheat production technology in the Masaudha and Sohawal community developments blocks of Faizabad district. Data were collected with the help of personal interview methods and a pre-trial interview schedule. One hundred and twenty respondents were selected from twelve villages that were selected at random. Findings showed that 52.5% of the wheat-growers were of middle age (36–50 years) and 53.33% were literate, while 22.5% of the respondents had received education up to the primary level. Agriculture was the main occupation of most of the respondents and the income level of the respondents was also low, while farmers met the respondents occasionally to increase their income and to learn new skills. So the results showed that the constraints were responsible for the low adoption of wheat production techniques, however, some of them were the most significant such as lack of seed technology, lack of knowledge about seed treatment, lack of knowledge about soil analysis technology, plant protection and Lack of knowledge about irrigation technology Lack of knowledge about advanced types of equipment, etc. This trend means that more educational effort needs to be made by the extension agency by way of improving knowledge, adopting new wheat farming techniques, and accelerating the pace of production.

Soil fertility mapping and agronomic advice at the regional scale using private sector data.

Surveys of soil fertility and quality provide essential information, at multiple scales, for policy and management decisions on agricultural and environmental questions. Such surveys are expensive, and national-scale agricultural or geochemical surveys are conducted infrequently by public sector organisations. Where resources are scarce, the costs of management, sample collection, analysis, and data management can be prohibitive. This is likely to create a particular barrier to understanding how soil fertility may influence crop production in contexts where small-scale production is prevalent. Private sector soil laboratories conduct soil fertility analyses on thousands of samples annually: samples are often collected in a systematic way by experienced technical staff. The simple step of collecting location coordinates can greatly extend the utility of the data, beyond the immediate value to the farmer and without an added burden on them. Here we use a dataset of soil organic matter (SOM), plant-available phosphorus (P) and exchangeable potassium (K), from c. 27,000 georeferenced sample points collected in 2014-2017 in Pakistan by Fauji Fertilizer Company (FFC). Geostatistical methods are used to model the spatial variation of these soil properties and predict their values at unsampled locations. The geostatistical model allows the probability that soil properties fall below recommended thresholds for wheat production, and these probabilities are displayed as maps using "calibrated phrases" for probability ranges in the legend. The resulting maps provide a comprehensive overview of key agronomic data across ~194,000 km2 of cropland, realised as a direct consequence of sample location data collection being implemented by FFC. There is spatial structure in the SOM and K data, but not in the P data. These maps can be used to educate agronomists and farmers about typical soil fertility conditions in their region, and where soil analysis is a priority. They can also support more strategic planning of fertiliser needs in Pakistan where widespread nutrient deficiencies are found. This research demonstrates the potential for this approach to be used in many wider geographic contexts where there are few data from one-off survey activities. Additional benefits address concerns about data privacy have thus far limited their integration into a spatially disaggregated output that could benefit wider society.