Measurements were made of the nitrate concentration and bacterial contamination of groundwater samples taken from both dug wells and bores in the commune of Hop Thinh', in the administrative district of Vinh Phuc, Vietnam. A significant number (18%) of samples had nitrate concentrations in excess of the WHO Guideline value for drinking water of 50 mg L(-1), with a higher proportion in the dug w...

The multiple cropping is the main agricultural production pattern, including double cropping of rice in south China and double cropping of wheat and corn in north China. Household investigation, typical farmland survey and county statistics inspection were performed to analyze the status and countermeasure of nitrate pollution in China. The result showed that the nitrate rate of underground wat...

Leaf extracts of cultivated cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L. var. altilis DC) are an important source of phenols. Soilless culture represents an important and alternative tool to traditional agriculture, since it allows a precise control of plant nutrition and the maximization of yield and quality of the product. Reducing N supply, while keeping quantity as high as possible is desirable for envir...

NRT2.7 is a seed-specific high-affinity nitrate transporter controlling nitrate content in Arabidopsis mature seeds. The objective of this work was to analyse further the consequences of the nrt2.7 mutation for the seed metabolism. This work describes a new phenotype for the nrt2.7-2 mutant allele in the Wassilewskija accession, which exhibited a distinctive pale-brown seed coat that is usually...

Selected in-®eld physical, chemical and biological indicators were measured for the rapid assessment of soil quality changes in a Sorrento silty clay loam as a result of compost and ammonium nitrate application to a broccoli ®eld (San Benito County, CA). Plots were laid out in a randomized complete block design with four replications of 0, 22 and 44 Mg haÿ1 compost treatments which were split t...

Tadpoles inhabit generally well oxygenated rivers and streams, nevertheless they were found in areas with limited oxygen availability inside the rivers. To assess this feature, I examined factors that influence centrolenid tadpole behaviour using Cochranella granulosa. The tadpoles were reared in well-oxygenated and hypoxic environments and their development, survivorship and growth were compar...

The present study explored the joint effects of Cu and Se pollution mechanisms on soil enzymes to provide references for the phytoremediation of contaminated areas and agricultural environmental protection. Pot experiments and laboratory analyses were carried out to study the individual and combined influences of Cu and Se on soil enzyme activities. The activities of four soil enzymes (urease, ...

The effect of Mo on nitrate reductase and nitrogenase activities as well as the growth and mineral nutrition of wheat inoculated with Azospirillum brasilense in greenhouse pot experiments under drought stress conditions was evaluated. Plant dry weight and total N-yield appeared to be drastically affected by the severe drought stress. This inhibition was associated with a decline in nitrate redu...