The soil-dwelling larvae of several Scarabaeidae species (white grubs), like the cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha) and the garden chafer (Phyllopertha horticola), are serious pests in European cultivated grassland, reducing grass yield and destroying the turf by root-feeding. Nevertheless, the factors responsible for the development of large grub populations and the associated damage risk are ...

The chemical polemics in the reported literature on shilajit are resolved. This study shows that humification of latex and resin-bearing plants is responsible for the major organic mass (80-85%) of shilajit. The low mol. w t . chemical markers (&lo%) , viz. aucuparins, oxygenated dibenzo-K -pyrones and triterpenic acids of the tirucallane type (free and conjugated), occurring in the core struct...

A technique to determine which nutrients limit bacterial growth in soil was developed. The method was based on measuring the thymidine incorporation rate of bacteria after the addition of C, N, and P in different combinations to soil samples. First, the thymidine incorporation method was tested in two different soils: an agricultural soil and a forest humus soil. Carbon (as glucose) was found t...

humic substances (hS) constitute a large part of organic matter found in aquatic environment. the hS strongly interact with both inorganic and organic pollutants. Occurrence of the hS in groundwater accounts for many problems with treatment procedures. these natural components cause an increased intensity of water colour, affect its taste and odour, hinder removal of iron, manganese and other m...

We organized a crowdsourcing experiment in the form of a snapshot sampling campaign to assess the spatial distribution of nitrogen solutes, namely, nitrate, ammonium and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), in German surface waters. In particular, we investigated (i) whether crowdsourcing is a reasonable sampling method in hydrology and (ii) what the effects of population density, soil humus conte...

wheat crop, considering its high planting area and consumption at national scale, demand a regular yield increase. humic acid, as an organic acid obtained from humus and organic sources without any environmental destructive effects, improves wheat yield particularly in variable environment conditions. in order to evaluate the effects of different levels of humic acid on shoot and wheat yield, a...