Strawberry bacterial angular leaf spot (ALS) disease, caused by Xanthomonas fragariae has become increasingly problematic in the strawberry agro-industry. ALS causes small angular water-soaked lesions to develop on the abaxial leaf surface. Studies reported optimum temperature conditions for X. fragariae are 20°C and the pathogen suffers mortality above 32°C. However, at the nursery stage, dise...

Legumes are widely used in many cropping systems because they share their nitrogen fixation products and phosphorus mobilization activities with their neighbors. In the current study, however, we showed that co-cultivation with legumes increased cadmium (Cd) contamination in the adjacent crops. Both field and mesocosm experiments indicated that legumes increased Cd levels in edible parts and sh...

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident released large amounts of radioactive substances into the environment and contaminated the soil of Tohoku and Kanto districts in Japan. Removal of radioactive material from the environment is an urgent problem, and soil purification using plants is being considered. In this study, we investigated the ability of 12 seed plant species and a cyano...

Monsanto’s Bt-cotton NC 33B, planted in northern China for more than one decade, effectively controls cotton bollworms; however the understanding of its potential effects on soil microorganisms is limited. The dynamics of eubacterial, fungal and actinomycetes population sizes in rhizosphere soil of the Bt cotton were analysed by realtime PCR (qPCR) at the different growth stages under field con...

Berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum) is one of the main fodder crops of Punjab, India. But due to the heavy metal contamination of agricultural soils by anthropogenic activities, there is rise in metal bioaccumulation in crops like Berseem. In addition to human influence, heavy metal contents in soil are highly dependent on soil characteristics also. Therefore a study was conducted in areas having ...

Conversions of Mollisols from prairie to cropland and subsequent changes in crop production practices in the Midwestern USA have resulted in changes in soil organic matter. Few studies have used archived samples, long-term resampling of soils to a depth of 1 m, and space for time studies to document these changes. We resampled soils by depth (0-100 cm) in fields at 19 locations in central Illin...

The long-term ecological response to recurrent deforestation associated with shifting cultivation remains poorly investigated, especially in the dry tropics. We present a study of phosphorus (P) dynamics in the southern Yucatán, highlighting the possibility of abrupt shifts in biogeochemical cycling resulting from positive feedbacks between vegetation and its limiting resources. After three cul...

Land use changes in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) of south Florida may alter microbial activity and organic matter decomposition and ultimately influence the fate of P in soil. The objectives of this study were to determine effects of long-term cultivation and fertilization on microbial activity and P dynamics for contrasting land uses in the EAA. Soils (0-15 cm) under pasture for 100 ...

Background: In Himalayas, particularly Jammu and Kashmir, where 85% of people depend on agriculture and allied sectors, 70% of agriculture is rain-fed. While the Himalayas, highly seismic, contribute highest in sediment transported to the world oceans, surface soil is under threat due to erosion, and Rajouri district in western Himalayas is no exception. Various factors, especially land use pat...