The industrial production and use of nitrogenous fertilizer involves significant environmental and economic costs. Strategies to reduce fertilizer dependency are required to address the world's increasing demand for sustainable food, fibers, and biofuels. Biological nitrogen fixation, a process unique to diazatrophic bacteria, is catalyzed by the nitrogenase complex, and reconstituting this fun...

This research demonstrated the feasibility of converting source-separated human urine into a solid fertilizer by means of continuous absorption and solar thermal evaporation using dried water hyacinth as adsorbent. In a preliminary experiment, the dried petioles of water hyacinth (DWH) absorbed urine in a mean rate of 18.78 ml·g within 7 d, retrieving about 3.46% urine dissolved solids (UDS). I...

The lead (Pb)/zinc (Zn) tailings contained high concentrations of heavy metals (total Pb, Zn, Cu and Cd concentrations 4164, 4377, 35 and 32 mg kg(-1), respectively), and low contents of major nutrient elements (N, P, and K) and organic matter. A field trial was conducted to compare growth performance, metal accumulation of Vetiver (Vetiveria zizanioides) and two legume species (Sesbania rostra...

Fertilizer N applied at ever-increasing rates sometimes accumulates in the soil. The practice of fertilizing grain straw with N to stimulate decomposition is questionable, but decomposition of straw immobilizes N that must be compensated for in fertilizing the succeeding crop. Too much N decreases the sucrose content of sugarbeets and decreases sucrose recovery. Experiments were conducted to de...

Information on the contribution of various soil nitrogen (N) sources to plant N uptake is often needed for the implementation of sustainable or site-specific management practices in agriculture. Considering the limitations of traditional methods in meeting these needs, this study investigated the potential of leaf δ15N as an early indicator of nutrient deficiency in cotton. The spatial and temp...

Fertilizer application is essential in the improvement of soil quality and crop yield; it was therefore necessary to investigate effects integrated inorganic organic base fertilizer on chemical physical properties. This experiment conducted at Ambrose Alli University Teaching Research Farm, Ekpoma, Nigeria. The laid out a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with seven treatments, replicated...

A n n u a l W h e a t N e w s l e t t e r V o l. 5 4. The 4-year average for the different fertilizer backgrounds indicated that the least total grain damage by cereal bug larvae was in the block with organic-mineral fertilizer, 5.6 %. Damage in the blocks without fertilizer and with only organic fertilizer was 5.9 and 6.0 %, respectively. Total damage was 4.2–4.9 % in seed with a score of 2, w...