manures

Bio-based fertilizers (BBFs) recovered from animal manure are promising products to optimise resources recovery and generate high agricultural yields. However, their fertilization value may be limited and it is necessary to enrich BBFs with microbial consortia to enhance their fertilization value. Three specific microbial consortia were developed according to the characteristics of three different BBFs […]

Biochars are cost effective, carbonaceous amendments that can immobilize potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in soils. Application of silicon (Si) has been shown to mitigate the effect of soil PTEs on plants. Studies on the interaction effects of Si and biochars in PTE-contaminated soils are limited. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the […]

Just like a chef is only as good as their ingredients, a gardener requires half-decent soil to conjure horticultural magic Expand Mulching with pine bark: organic mulches support soil health. Photograph: iStock Fionnuala Fallon’s face Fionnuala Fallon Sat Nov 11 2023 – 05:00 In much the same way that most great meals are made using […]

Last autumn, I carefully cultivated a heap of seeds within a new garden bed, only to hack these fledgling plants down to the ground just a few weeks later – and deliberately let them all rot away. It’s called “green manure” and it’s an easy way to build excellent soil for your veggies or fruit […]

AbstractCrop rotation is an important agricultural practice for homeostatic crop cultivation. Here, we applied high-throughput sequencing of ribosomal RNA gene amplicons to investigate soil biota in two fields of central Japan with different histories of maize–cabbage rotation. We identified 3086 eukaryotic and 17,069 prokaryotic sequence variants (SVs) from soil samples from two fields rotating two […]

Farmers looking to improve soil organic matter, reduce nutrient losses and increase carbon capture may soon be able to produce their own biochar on farm. Biochar is the lightweight, carbon-rich end product of pyrolysis – heating organic material to temperatures of 300-700C in an oxygen-limited environment. The black, charcoal-like residue contains 75-80% pure carbon and […]

I am bored of rain. Fed up with cloudy days. Sick of the grey drip-drip-drip of this cool, showery, sun-starved, stormy summer, and the monotony of a weather forecast that only predicts more of the same. But even so, I’m forced to admit that the silver lining to what’s been a very sodden growing season […]

Abstract Currently, the conversion of biomass to produce high-valued biofuels such as biodiesel and bio-jet fuel has attached booming interests, when used for partial replacement of petroleum fuels in different ratios is a promising solution due to the problem of depleting petroleum reserves and environmental purposes. Non-edible Jatropha oil can be transformed to biofuel when […]

‘No question’ a big trend is growing your own vegetables, nursery owner Perry Grobe says CBC News · Posted: May 20, 2023 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: May 20 Person using trowel to lift orange marigold plant out of pot. Other flowers are seen in pots in background. The May long weekend is often […]