This research aims to formulate and characterize the alginate-starch micro beads as a slow release urea fertilizer, using CaCl2 extrusion technique. experiment also investigates effect of alginate starch composition on color, swelling ratio, biodegradability, entrapment efficiency release. The result study showed that turned darker in color diameter its wet dry ranges between 3.18-3.40 mm 1.12-...

A new controlled release fertilizer was developed by coating urea particles with bio-based polyurethane. Coating materials were synthesized from liquefied wheat straw, isocyanate, and castor oil. The effects of liquefied solvents, mass ratio of liquid to solid, size of wheat straw, and reaction time during liquefaction process on the nitrogen release rate of polyurethane-coated urea (PCU) were ...

Long-term impacts of alternative citrus nitrogen and water management practices implemented at grower cooperator sites on the Central Florida Ridge were modeled using the nitrogen component of the Leaching Estimation and Chemistry Model (LEACHN). A bromide tracer test was conducted at one representative cooperator site to parameterize and validate the model. Following validation, 50-year simula...

1 At local spatial scales, species richness tends to fall as productivity rises. Most explanations have focused on increased extinction, but, instead, we test experimentally whether increased soil fertility reduces recruitment. Specifically, we test whether variation in recruitment is due to source limitation, germination limitation or establishment limitation, and how litter accumulation and s...

A research project was conducted to evaluate the impact of alternative citrus nitrogen and water management practices on groundwater nitrate concentrations beneath the vulnerable sandy soils in the ridge citrus region of Central Florida. Fifteen months of baseline data indicated that groundwater nitrate-nitrogen concentrations were above the Environmental Protection Agency’s Maximum Contaminant...