Micro–N pool dilution was used to quantify rates of gross N mineralization, consumption, and nitrification in bulk soil and in soil within 2 mm of root sections of Avena barbata (slender wild oats), an annual grass common to California oak woodland-savannas. Rates of gross N mineralization in rhizosphere soil (9.2 mg N kgd) were about ten times higher than in bulk soil (1.0 mg N kgd). Total bac...

Aspergillus flavus, the most important cause of aflatoxin contamination, has two major morphotypes commonly termed ‘S’ and ‘L’ strains. Strain S isolates, on average, produce more aflatoxins than the strain L isolates. The S strain has been implicated as the primary causal agent of several contamination events in both North America and Africa. Strain S incidence and A. flavus propagules were qu...

BACKGROUND In the U.S., tomatoes have become the most implicated vehicle for produce-associated Salmonellosis with 12 outbreaks since 1998. Although unconfirmed, trace backs suggest pre-harvest contamination with Salmonella enterica. Routes of tomato crop contamination by S. enterica in the absence of direct artificial inoculation have not been investigated. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Thi...

In this study, we have introduced a biological dust control technique utilizing a naturally occurring soil microorganism, Sporosarcina pasteurii, which is capable of inducing calcium carbonate precipitation in the environment. To evaluate the dust suppressive potential of this microbial calcite, S. pasteurii was suspended in medium and applied to locally available sand. The treated soil samples...

A field study was conducted to assess the agronomical performance of eggplant (Solanum melongena cv. Pusa Purple Long Hybrid-F1) grown in sewage sludge amended soil in rainy and summer seasons during two consecutive years 2012 and 2013. The results showed that sewage sludge significantly (P < 0.05/P < 0.01) increased the Organic Carbon (OC), sodium (Na + ), potassium (K + ), calcium (Ca 2+ ), m...

A metal-accumulating willow was grown under greenhouse conditions on a Zn/Cd-polluted soil to investigate the effects of sulfur (S(0)) application on metal solubility and plant uptake. Soil porewater samples were analyzed 8 times during 61 days of growth, while DGT-measured metal flux and O2 were chemically mapped at selected times. Sulfur oxidation resulted in soil acidification and related mo...

Winter soil respiration is a very important component of the annual soil carbon flux in some ecosystems. We hypothesized that, with all other factors being equal, shorter winter SR result in reduced contribution to annual soil C flux. In this study, the contribution of winter soil respiration to annual soil respiration was measured for three sites (grassland: dominated by Artemisia sacrorum, Bo...

BACKGROUND Human waste is used as an agricultural fertilizer in China and elsewhere. Because the eggs of many helminth species can survive in environmental media, reuse of untreated or partially treated human waste, commonly called night soil, may promote transmission of human helminthiases. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We conducted an open cohort study in 36 villages to evaluate the associ...

Emissions of nitric oxide (NO) were measured during the summer of 1995 from 4 crops, located at three different sites throughout North Carolina. These sites were chosen to represent major physiographic regions of the Southeast US, in an effort to compare fluxes from different agriculturally managed soils. Emission rates were determined using a dynamic flow-through chamber system. In order to un...