Eucalyptus obliqua, the most widespread timber tree in Tasmania, is a pioneer after fire which can eliminate the organic layer of forest soil, exposing the underlying mineral soil. We compared seedling growth, mycorrhiza formation, and mineral nutrient limitation in organic layer vs. mineral soil. We grew E. obliqua seedlings separately in pots of organic layer and mineral soil in a glasshouse....

In agro-ecosystems, fertilization practices are crucial for sustaining crop productivity. Here, based on a 50-year long-term experiment, we studied the influence of fertilization practices (inorganic and/or organic) and nitrogen (N) application rates on (i) soil physicochemical properties, (ii) microbial and earthworm communities and (iii) crop production. Our results showed that soil organic c...

Kiwifruit requires a high quantity of nutrients that must be supplied through fertilization to obtain an optimum yield on a sustainable basis. This research was conducted to evaluate different fertilization methods including broadcast application (as control), deep placement of the fertilizer and fertigation, alone or in combination with foliar application and their effects on the yield, leaf m...

Soil management is fundamental to all agricultural systems and fertilization practices have contributed substantially to the impressive increases in food production. Despite the pivotal role of soil microorganisms in agro-ecosystems, we still have a limited understanding of the complex response of the soil microbiota to organic and mineral fertilization in the very long-term. Here, we report th...

Since potassium is essential for plant nutrition, should this element be deficient in sewage sludge used for plant fertilization supplementary mineral potassium fertilization is necessary. The aim of the present study has been to evaluate the effect of fertilization with organic materials on maize yield, its potassium concentrations and the content of bioavailable forms of potassium in soil of ...

The main objective of this study was to compare the performance of two liquid organic fertilizers, an animal and a plant-based fertilizer, with mineral fertilization on citrus trees. The source of the fertilizer (mineral or organic) had significant effect in the nutritional status of the organic and conventionally managed mandarins. Nutrient uptake, vegetative growth, carbohydrate synthesis and...

The aim of this paper is to review the current knowledge on the uptake of mineral nutrients from foliar fertilization. Despite many studies carried out on mineral nutrient absorption by leaf tissues, many aspects of foliar fertilization are still unknown. At present, it is believed that such fertilization of plants is a valuable complement to the application of nutrients to the soil. Foliar fer...

Fertilizer amendments can impact weed populations in a variety of ways. This study evaluated the effects of 12 year-long applications of different fertilization systems on size and composition of the weed seed bank in a conventionally managed maize monoculture field. Fertilization systems included all factorial combinations of two dairy cattle slurry rates, three vegetable, fruit and garden was...

Dioxins can enter the food chain at any stage, including crop fertilization. Therefore, we developed a simple method for estimating the introduction of dioxins in the food chain according to various fertilization practices. Using dioxin's contamination data taken from the literature, we estimated that fertilization accounts for approximately 20% of the dioxin inputs on agricultural soils at cou...

A field experiment was carried out at the Didactic and Experimental Farm in Swadzim near Poznań in 2004-07. Two maize cultivars were studied, six nitrogen doses and magnesium doses. The effects of the mentioned factors exerted on the utilization of nitrogen from the applied mineral fertilizer and on the nitrogen harvest index were studied. The impact of nitrogen fertilization on the mineral int...