Soil properties of agricultural area in karst terrain of Parakan, Pangandaran, West Java, Indonesia

a clayed soil characterized by reddish in colour, thick solum and neutral acidity. Farmers in Parakan area, Parigi District of Pangandaran, usually cultivate cash crops in terra rossa. Nowadays, farmers have no information about the properties of the soil, which is an important factor to maintain and increase plant productivity. The objective of this descriptive quantitative study was to verify the soil characteristic included physicochemical and microbiological properties in a selected agricultural field of Parakan. The soil samples were taken from three different areas covered with different vegetation. The study showed that terra rossa in the karst area is a non-saline soil with neutral acidity and low electrical conductivity. The texture of all soils were clay contained >50% clay particle. The soils were low in organic carbon, total nitrogen and available phosphor; but high in total phosphor and potassium, as well as cation exchange capacity. The population of soil microbes include total and fungal bacteria, as well as nitrogen-fixing Azotobacter and phosphate solubilizing bacteria, were average. In order to increase the organic carbon level; and the availability of phosphor and nitrogen, organic matter amendment is needed.

Effect of seed treatment by low-frequency electromagnetic field on soybean productivity

The development of science and technology introduces new approaches in plant breeding and various methods to increase plant productivity. One of the latest methods is the implementation of an environmentally friendly technique of using a pulsed low-frequency electromagnetic field (PEMP). The paper presents the results of the influence of the electromagnetic stimulation of soybean seeds on grain weight per plant, weight of 1,000 grains and grain yield in different agroecological conditions. In the three-year research, in the period from 2013 to 2015, the soybean variety Valjevka was used, grown with different amounts of fertilizers (control - without fertilization, 750 kg/ha and 1300 kg/ha). Before sowing, the seed was subjected to PEMP stimulation in variants: control - without stimulation and alternating magnetic field stimulation (PEMP) with induction of 30 mT and exposure time of 15 minutes. The average grain weight per plant during seed stimulation was 11.53% (12.09) higher than without PEMP (10.84). The weight of 1,000 grains with PEMP was 155.99 g, which was 2.06% higher than the weight of 1,000 grains of the variant without PEMP (152.83 g). The average soybean grain yield for all three years of research with seed stimulation was 4.85% higher (3,481.25 kg/ha) than without PEMP (3,320.14 kg/ha). Stimulation of seeds with PEMP has economic justification given the growth of soybean prices on the world stock market. The results show that the PEMP treatment of soybean seeds can significantly affect soybean grain yield and counteract side effects such as drought and lack of fertilizers.

INFLUENCE OF MINERAL NUTRITION ON HONEY PRODUCTIVITY OF ECHINOPS SPHAEROCEPHALUS

Echinops sphaerocephalus – многолетнее растение семейства астровых, может применяться в качестве нектароносного, лекарственного, противоэрозионного и декоративного растения. Регулирование минерального питания способствует повышению продуктивности растений. Внесение минеральных удобрений является одним из действенных способов увеличения продуктивности растений. Цель исследований – изучить влияние разных норм минеральных удобрений на медовую продуктивность мордовника шароголового в интересах пчеловодства. Медовую продуктивность определяли по содержанию сахаров в нектаре цветков методом смывания и последующим анализом по Гагендорн-Иенсена. Содержание сахаров пересчитывали на гектар и умножали на коэффициент 1,25. Математическую обработку результатов проводили методом дисперсионного анализа с использованием компьютерной программы Excel 2010. Одним из показателей развития растительного сообщества является густота стояния растений. Влияние минеральных удобрений должно быть направлено на формирование как можно большего числа генеративных побегов. Мордовник шароголовый начинает их формировать на второй год жизни. Исследования показывают, что данный показатель в этот период в десятки раз меньше по сравнению с третьим годом жизни. На третий-четвертый годы жизни (2017-2018 гг.) количество генеративных побегов наибольшее по сравнению с другими годами наблюдений. Ежегодная подкормка азотными удобрениями приводит к существенному возрастанию этого показателя. Мордовник шароголовый отзывчив на внесение азотных удобрений. Наблюдается прямая положительная корреляция между количеством цветков на единице площади и медовой продуктивностью посевов: коэффициент корреляции 0,993, коэффициент детерминации 0,988. Главные выводы: наилучшие показатели получены при внесении N30P80K80 в год посева и N90 в ежегодную подкормку весной. По количеству генеративных побегов этот вариант превосходит контроль на 88,9%, а по количеству цветков и медовой продуктивности – в 3 раза. В то же время в первые три года возможно внесение N60 и только на четвертый год необходимо увеличить дозу до N90. Echinops sphaerocephalus is a perennial plant of the Asteraceae family. It can be used as a nectaric, medicinal, anti-erosion and decorative plant. The regulation of mineral nutrition helps to increase the productivity of plants. Applying mineral fertilizers is one of the most effective ways to increase plant productivity. The purpose of the research is to study the effect of different norms of mineral fertilizers on the honey productivity of the Echinops sphaerocephalus in the interests of beekeeping. Honey productivity was determined by the sugar content in the nectar of flowers by the method of rinsing and subsequent analysis Hagedorn of St. Petersburg. The sugar content was recalculated per hectare and multiplied by a coefficient of 1.25. Mathematical processing of the results was performed using the method of variance analysis using the Excel 2010 computer program. One of the indicators of the development of the plant community is the density of standing plants. The influence of mineral fertilizers should be directed to the formation of as many generative shoots as possible. Echinops cue ball begins to form in the second year of life. Research shows that this indicator in this period is ten times less than in the third year of life. In the third and fourth years of life (2017-2018), the number of generative shoots is the highest compared to other years of observation. Annual fertilizing with nitrogen fertilizers leads to a significant increase in this indicator. Echinops sphaerocephalus is responsive to the application of nitrogen fertilizers. There is a direct positive correlation between the number of flowers per unit area and the honey productivity of crops, the correlation coefficient is 0.993, the determination coefficient is 0.988. Main conclusions: the best results were obtained when adding N30P80K80 in the year of sowing and N90 in the annual feeding in the spring. By the number of generative shoots, this variant exceeds the control by 88.9 %, and by the number of flowers and honey productivity – by 3 times. At the same time, N60 can be added in the first three years, and only in the fourth year it is necessary to increase the dose to N90.

Why and when can biosolids be used as a soil amendment for ecosystem reclamation and rehabilitation?

<p><span>Biosolids are a source of nutrient-rich organic material that can be used to improve degraded or disturbed soils. However, public perception of the use of biosolids on land is both positive and negative and can change over time and be different in different regions of the world. Research on the land application of biosolids has increased in the past 20 years, but there is little consensus on how the environment responds to biosolids applications. Here, I (1) present public perception research on the use of biosolids in land application in British Columbia, Canada, (2) present a review of the literature on the effects of biosolids in land application with a particular focus on plant community development, and (3) provide recommendations for the use of biosolids in land application depending on potential differences in ecosystem reclamation goals. In the public perception research, many citizens see the value in the use of biosolids as a sustainable fertilizer, especially in mine reclamation, but some have expressed concerns about pathogens in biosolids and their effect on humans and animals. The literature review revealed that biosolids increase plant productivity but have no effect on plant diversity. The research suggests that climatic conditions and seeding are influential in altering ecosystem and community level responses to biosolids application.</span></p>

Sunflower yields depending on the drug Pictor using

For three years, field research has been conducted in the industrial conditions to study the effectiveness of the fungicide preparation Pictor during sunflower cultivation. It has been established that spraying crops with this preparation helps to increase plant productivity and increase yield capacity of two hybrids of different maturity groups of the company “Limagrain” LG 56.63 and LG 56.54 by 5.6 and 5.7 kg/ha (+ 18.6 and 19.0% ) respectively. The use of Pictor preparation also has a positive effect on the oil content in the grown sunflower seeds. Key words: sunflower, fungicidal preparation Pictor, yield capacity, oil content of seeds.

Penggunaan Boron untuk Meningkatkan Pertumbuhan, Hasil, dan Kandungan Minyak Kacang Tanah

Ground nut (<em>Arachis hypogaea</em>) is a seasonal crop that have been cultured in many place as for interspace crop or as monoculture crop. Though the demand of ground nut is high, its yield productivity not optimal and still considerate as moderate. Therefore, a new treatment is needed. Boron is one of essensial nutrition for plant that rarely used when planting, although boron have many function including to increase plant productivity. This research is purposed to see about boron influence in the ground nut productivity and fat contain on it. The result of the research showed boron can increase the flowering time of ground nut. The result of ground nut productivity not shown any significant differences, but inclined to had increased productivity up to 20% than control in 5 mg B2O3 dosage and keep decreasing as the boron dosage increased. Boron also have real influence in increasing the ground nut seed quality with the increased of gound nut weight, and the calculation of fat contain in ground nut that also increased as the boron dosage increased.

In a plant's own sweet time: Sugar and circadian rhythms

Rotation of the Earth on its axis causes 24-h cycles in many features of the environment. Circadian rhythms generate a cellular measure of the time of day, providing a biological adaptation to daily changes in the environment. Plants need light to power photosynthesis in order to grow and reproduce, yet sunlight is only available for part of the 24-h day. It may therefore come as no surprise that circadian rhythms are extraordinarily important for plants. Experiments with the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana demonstrated that circadian rhythms increase plant productivity and photosynthesis1. Extension to other plant species is revealing how circadian rhythms are crucial for, and can be used to manipulate, agronomic traits of crops. Understanding and controlling the molecular bases for circadian regulation is therefore a crucial part of developing more productive crops for the next century.