Conventional soil tests are commonly used to assess single characteristics. Thus, many different needed for a full fertility/soil quality assessment, which is laborious and expensive. New broad-spectrum offer the potential characteristics quickly, but often face challenges with calibration, validation, acceptance in practice. Here, we describe results of 20 year research program aimed at overco...

hairsine and rose (1991) developed a process-based soil erosion model which described the erosion transport of multiparticle sizes in sediment for rain-impacted flow in the absence of entrainment in overland flow. in order to test this model laboratory experiments were carried out in a detachment tray using simulated rainfall. three contrasting soil types were subjected to simulated rainfall at...

Synthetic pesticides are fairly well recognized as a cost-effective method of controlling pests, but these chemicals are toxic to other non-targeted and beneficial species. Pesticides are either directly applied to soil to control soil borne pests or deposited on soil as runoff from their foliar applications and these concentrations are highly enough to effect soil micro-organisms (Bezchlebova ...

In the Northeast, routine testing of soil samples invariably begins with a drying step and is followed by some form of pulverization. Analysis of dried, ground, sieved soils allows for more convenient sample handling and greater reproducibility of results in comparison with analysis of field-moist soil. Sample preparation steps, although often taken for granted, have frequently been shown to si...

Adequate amounts of soil phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are needed to support sustained corn and soybean production. These requirements have been recognized for a long time, and soil testing is a useful tool to estimate P and K fertilization needs. Obviously, fertilizer applications to low-testing soils increase grain yield and result in economic benefits for crop producers. Continued P and K...

The Newcastle Dilatometer (NDMT) developed by Akbar in 2001 has a distinctive feature that it loads the soil with a rigid piston in place of flexible membrane as in the Marchetti Dilatometer (MDMT). Based on the previous research works carried out using the NDMT in normally consolidated soils, it has been found that the material and dilatometer indices from the NDMT data can be used to classify...