Impact of fertilisers on five turfgrass mixtures for football pitches under natural conditions

For 2 years (2019–2020), a field experiment to test the activities of different fertilisation schemes on the yield, colour and health status of five different grass mixtures for football pitches was conducted. Two grass mixtures were composed of different varieties of perennial ryegrass, one mixture was composed of varieties of perennial ryegrass and Kentucky bluegrass, one mixture consisted of the species Lolium perenne, Festuca rubra, Festuca arundinacea and Poa pratensis, and the seeds of only one variety of perennial ryegrass were sowed in one plot. Three different fertilisation schemes were included in the experiment. The first scheme (A) contained an inorganic fertiliser with added soil improvers, the second scheme (B) included an organic fertiliser with added soil improvers and the third scheme (C) was composed of an inorganic fertiliser. According to this study, the grass yield largely depends on the soil temperature, amount of precipitation and soil water content, and the occurrence of the fungus Laetisaria fuciformis is influenced by the fertilisation scheme, as the % infection with the fungus was highest when organic fertilisers with low % nitrogen was used. The selection of fertilisers is seen as an important factor for the turfgrass colour.

Impact of biochar amendment on soil nematode communities in a West African rain-fed rice cropland

Summary Nematode population and diversity in a West African rain-fed rice cropland amended with biochar (B), biochar plus inorganic fertiliser (B + NPK), inorganic fertiliser (NPK) and control (CK) without amendments were investigated in a 3-year field study. Results demonstrated that significant differences exist between treatments and years of study for total nematode population and nematode trophic groups. Total nematode density, nematode trophic group (bacterivore and plant-parasitic) density were increased and dominant in B + NPK compared with CK after 3 years. Relative abundance of nematode genera according to trophic group across treatments showed Hirschmanniella (23%) as the dominant plant parasites in NPK, and Heterocephalobus (27%), Aphelenchoides (22%) and Eudorylaimus (9%) as dominant bacterivores, fungivores and omnivores-predators, respectively, in B + NPK. Trophic group indicators showed that the fungivore plus bacterivore to plant-parasitic ratio (73%) was significantly increased by B + NPK treatment in comparison to CK. Conversely, treatments exerted no significant effect on the fungivore to bacterivore ratio (F/B) throughout the period of study, which implies less disturbance and adverse impact of biochar on nematode communities. Apart from treatments and environmental factors, changes in nematode trophic groups were strongly related to soil chemical properties, such as soil pH, total nitrogen and available phosphorus, which shows their influence on soil nematode community. Our result shows the positive effect of integrated addition of biochar and inorganic fertiliser in balancing nematode diversity and building a resilient soil ecosystem in a low input rain-fed rice cropping system.

Effects on nutrient availability in agricultural soils following the application of slurry amended with additives

In many farm systems, both inorganic and organic fertilisers, including manure and slurry, are applied to the soil to replenish nutrient offtake in agricultural products and additional nutrient losses to soil as well as surface water and groundwater. With respect to sole reliance on inorganic fertilisers, the use of manure/slurry as a nutrient resource offers important benefits, including the reuse and recycling of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) within farming systems as well as a reduction in the reliance on agricultural production on finite inorganic fertiliser reserves. There is increasing interest in the extent to which additives can enhance the nutrient value of slurry/manure. However, little is known about the impacts of these amended slurries/manures on the quantity and composition of N and P within agricultural and pasture soils. We report data from incubation experiments in which soils received a range of treatments, including the application of livestock slurry that had received a mixture of commercial additives. Our experiments were designed to understand how slurry that has received additives ultimately affects nutrient availability in organic, clay-loam and sandy-loam grassland soils. The addition of the additives to slurry resulted in a slight increase or no difference in total solids, pH, total N, ammonium-N, total P, total potassium, total magnesium and total sodium compared to the untreated counterpart. We considered the effects of our treatments on a range of agronomically important soil parameters, including Olsen-P, mineral-N, available-K, pH and organic matter content. This experiment aimed to understand the extent to which soil fertility could be enhanced through the application of slurries/manures that have received additives. The application of both amended and unamended slurry treatments on soil led to higher values of NH4-N, available-K, available Mg and pH than the addition of inorganic fertiliser. In addition, no substantial differences were observed between the treatment of the three soils with unamended and amended slurry.

Development of a manually operated organic and inorganic fertiliser applicator for smallholder farmers

This paper reports the design, fabrication and testing of a low-cost PVC-based manual fertiliser applicator (MFA) for the placement of granular and powdery fertilisers (organic and inorganic) at a required soil depth and plant spacing. The MFA consists of a spring-loaded trigger mechanism, a connecting tube and a knapsack plastic tank for the fertiliser storage, holding between 8.0–12.0 kg of fertiliser depending on the fertiliser's characteristics. The MFA was tested using four common fertilisers (NPK, SSP, Urea and organic manure) at different fertiliser moisture contents (3, 4, 5 and 6% w.b.). The results reveals that the MFA performed effectively in the fertiliser's discharges although it was significantly affected by the moisture content and fertiliser type. However, the MFA performed optimally when the moisture content was not above 4% (w.b.) giving optimal discharge values of 3.82, 3.45, 1.88 and 1.70 g per application for the NPK, SSP, urea, and pulverised organic fertilisers, respectively, at 4–7 cm application depths. Operators can, however, effectively determine the depth of placement and the number of applications during use based on agronomic recommendations.

Heterogeneous welfare effects of farmer groups in smallholder irrigation schemes in South Africa

This paper analyses the heterogeneous effects of membership of a farmer group on access to water, use of inorganic fertiliser, household incomes, and farm asset holdings. A sample of 401 irrigators in South Africa was analysed using propensity score matching. The study found that group membership had a positive effect on all four outcomes. Group members had an extra four days of access to water in a month, and applied at least 130 kg/ha more inorganic fertiliser, than non-group members. Group members had a higher household income per capita and more assets than nongroup members. However, the result revealed a heterogeneous effect among group members, with the benefits varying according to members’ socio-economic characteristics as well as internal group dynamics. The government and private donors should continue to promote the formation and organisation of farmers into groups. The role of group membership in farming outcomes can be enhanced if smaller groups are promoted. It is also crucial that strategies for promoting trust, reciprocity and group commitment be implemented for better group outcomes

The effects of organic fertiliser, arginine, on the chemical composition of soil organic matter in a boreal forest

<p>There is a growing body of evidence that plants uptake a monumental amount of organic forms of nitrogen (N) like amino acids in addition to those in inorganic forms. An amino acid-based fertiliser has been shown to improve seedling development and commercialised. Boreal forests store a substantial amount of carbon (C) in the soil and this is widely known to be further enhanced by the addition of inorganic nitrogen fertiliser via hampered decomposition. However, very little is known about how amino acid-based fertiliser influences C/N cycling in the boreal soils. The organic forms of N supply not only nitrogen but also carbon. If the previously demonstrated suppression of SOM decomposition is owing to altered C:N ratios in substrates, the amino acid-based fertiliser may not have as pronounced effects on the soil as the inorganic fertiliser. </p><p> We have examined the impacts of the organic fertiliser (100 kg N and 130 kg C ha<sup>-1</sup> year<sup>-1</sup>)—arginine—on the chemical composition of soil organic matter in a boreal forest in comparison to non-fertilised, inorganic fertilised (ammonium-nitrate) and C-controlled inorganic fertilised (sucrose + ammonium-nitrate) conditions. The soil organic matter was characterised using two metrics: pyrolysis GC/MS and 13C solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), combined with enzymological and metagenomic analysis.</p><p>We will be presenting the results following 4-year of the fertiliser treatments. Preliminary results have shown that there is limited evidence that the fertiliser treatments alter soil C/N cycing in four years. Nevertheless, the chemical composition in SOM under the organic fertiliser condition was similar to that under C-controlled compared to inorganic fertiliser treatment. </p>

Conservation efficiency and nutritive value of silages made from grass-red clover and multi-species swards compared with grass monocultures

Binary grass-clover and multi-species swards can increase herbage yields or facilitate reduced inputs of inorganic fertiliser nitrogen (N) compared with perennial ryegrass monocultures. However, the efficiency of the ensilage process and the nutritive value of silage produced from multi-species swards has not been documented. Replicate samples from grass-red clover binary mixture and multi-species mixture swards were ensiled in laboratory silos to assess the ensilability, fermentation characteristics, conservation losses and silage nutritive value compared with grass monocultures produced using inorganic N fertiliser. The results suggest that assessment of the ensilability and subsequent ensilage characteristics of binary and multi-species mixtures should be based on direct sampling from such mixtures rather than being predicted from values obtained from monocultures of constituent species. Under favourable ensiling conditions, unwilted binary mixtures and multi-species mixtures are satisfactorily preserved as silage, comparable to a perennial ryegrass monoculture receiving inorganic N fertiliser. However, when ensiled under more challenging crop conditions the mixtures exhibited a greater requirement for their preservation to be aided, compared with the perennial ryegrass monoculture. Despite the application of inorganic N reducing the legume content of multi-species mixture swards, it had relatively little effect on herbage ensilability or silage preservation. For all species treatments, silage nutritive values were primarily dependent on the pre-ensiling values, although herbage digestibility values declined during ensilage where the ensilage process was inefficient. The current study suggests that in order to be satisfactorily preserved as silage, binary grass-clover and multi-species swards have a greater requirement for an adequate rapid field wilt and/or effective preservative application compared with perennial ryegrass produced using inorganic fertiliser N.

Agricultural fertiliser from brewery effluent – the recovery of nutrients from the biomass of activated sludge and high rate algal pond treatment systems

The disposal of waste biomass generated from biological wastewater treatment plants is a costly process and poses environmental threats to the receiving environment. This study aimed to determine the suitability of algae and waste activated sludge (WAS) produced from a brewery effluent treatment system as a fertiliser in agriculture. The change in soil characteristics and the growth of a crop fertilised with algae or WAS was compared with a conventional inorganic fertiliser. Swiss chard plants (Beta vulgaris) fertilised with anaerobically digested (AD) algae or WAS had a significantly higher mean biweekly yield (5.08 ± 0.73 kg/m2) when compared with the inorganic fertiliser control (3.45 ± 0.89 kg/m2; p < 0.0001). No difference was observed in the soil's physical fertility when algae or WAS were applied to the soil (p > 0.05). The nitrogen applied to the soil from algae and WAS biomass appeared to leach out of the soil less than the nitrogen supplied by inorganic fertilisers. The application of WAS or algae on soil increased the soil's sodium concentration and sodium absorption ratio from 774.80 ± 13.66 mg/kg to 952.17 ± 34.89 mg/kg and 2.91 ± 0.04 to 3.53 ± 0.13, respectively. Regulations on the application of algae or WAS on agricultural soils should be altered to consider the limit values for sodium.