Asian Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition

A laboratory experiment was conducted in Soil Science Division of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) during 2010-11 aimed to determine the effects of different industrial effluents on some soil chemical properties under long-term industrial wastewater irrigated rice field. Effluents irrigation created some differences in soil pH, electrical conductivity and organic carbon. The pH in all soil depth was higher with wastewater irrigated rice field. Irrigation with wastewater increased in all the effluents irrigated rice fields; the electrical conductivity (EC) was remarkable higher with  all soil depth than the control field. In all the rice fields soil (Control + effluents irrigated fields), the organic carbon content (%) started to decrease sharply with the increase in soil depth. Organic carbon content was slightly higher with wastewater irrigated rice soils. Exchangeable cations (Ca, Mg, K and Na), trace elements (Zn, Fe, Mn and Cu) and heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cr and Ni) were increased through irrigation with wastewater in rice–rice cropping pattern.

The sustainable improvement of plant nutrition can provide sufficient food for all and can keep the environment clean. In that point of view, the present study aims to provide to farmers some contextualized and efficient fertilizers. In the present work, 161 plants of Talinum fruticosum L. and 161 plants of Ocimum gratissimum L. were regularly treated with a mixture of human urine and water from cooked beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) in a 1:1 ratio during three months. 161 of each of these plants were used as control. The experimental design was a randomized complete block in 4 replicates. The size of the studied parts of the targeted plants was highly enhanced in three months in response to the use of the mixture. The leaves of Ocimum gratissimum L. treated shew an average of 22 cm of length and 7.7 cm of width while those of the control shew an average length of 8 cm and 4.8 cm of width. Concerning the leaves of Talinum fruticosum L. treated, they measured 10.1 cm of length and 4 cm of width in average and those of the control 4.1 cm of length and 2 cm of width in average. Peasants could thus save a lot of money by using their excreta and some of their sewages as fertilizers to promote the sustainable development of their ecosystems. Further lab analysis on water from cooked beans alone and on the mixture made of human urine and water from cooked beans could ease in the future the acquirement of new knowledge about them. The consequence of that improvement will simply be the capitalization of those fluids as source of easily absorbable nutrients for plants nutrition.

Soybean seeds are the source of vegetable protein-based that most consumed in Indonesia, but apparently the production is unable to compensate the rate of increase in community needs. This study aims to determine the effect of Rock Phosphate (RP), zeolite and quail manure to enhance potassium (K) uptake and yield of soybean in Alfisols. A field experiment was conducted in June-October with a single factor Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) consisting of 9 treatments and 3 blocks (replicates). The dosage of RP, zeolite and quail manure used was 0 t ha^-1, 2.5 t ha^-1and 5 t ha^-1. The results showed that zeolite 5 t ha^-1 + quail manure 2.5 t ha^-1 tended to increase K uptake. The combination of RP 2.5 t ha^-1+ quail manure 5 t ha^-1 significantly increases the number of filled pods and seed weight per plot. RP 5 t ha^-1 + zeolite 5 t ha^-1+ quail manure 5 t ha^-1 also affects the number of filled pods and seed weight per plot. The treatment zeolite 2.5 t ha^-1+ quail manure 2.5 t ha^-1also affects the number of filled pods.

This study was carried out to assess the soil fertility status for maize (Zea mays) production in soils of sixteen villages of Moshi Rural, Kilimanjaro region in February 2019. Sixteen field soil samples were collected through random sampling approach. A total of sixteen soil parameters including soil reaction (pH), Organic carbon (OC), nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Sulfur (S) Exchangeable bases (Calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), and  potassium (K), Extractable micronutrients (Manganese (Mn), aluminum (Al), Zinc (Zn), Iron (Fe) and Boron (B) was tested in the soil laboratory in Agricultural Research Institute Mlingano Tanzania.

The soil analysis results indicated that, the studied soils were strongly acidic (5.0-5.9) indicating the need for liming to raise up the soil pH. The concentration of total nitrogen in Moshi Rural maize growing farms was very low to low (0.01 to 0.1%). The concentration of phosphorus ranges from 1-3 mg/l with an average of 2.742 suggesting that all studied areas should be considered for P supplementation. Exchangeable Na in the studied soils varies from 0.01 to 0.1 cmol (+) kg^-1 with the average of 0.0154. This value suggests that exchangeable Na in the studied soils is very low with the implication that the studied soils are not salt affected. Micronutrients were seen as not a problem in the studied soils.

The studied soils generally are poor in soil fertility. Total nitrogen levels are very low, phosphorus is very low to medium and exchangeable bases and extractable micronutrients and equally very low to medium. Application of farm yard manure available in the locality, in combination with Diammonium phosphate or NPK is recommended at the average rate of 50 Kg per acre during planting and CAN, MOP and NPK during top-dress.

The acquisition of knowledge on soils tells how to use them sustainably. So, the organization of soils along the sides of interfluves in the western highlands of Cameroon was put into relief in order to understand their genesis, organization, and evolution. Field work and lab analysis helped to reach the focuses. These soils are thin, highly differentiated, with many local specificities. Their organization and their thickness vary from up to downhill. Vertically, they include: An isalteritic horizon; a yellow vague polyhedral horizon; a red distinct polyhedral horizon; a discontinuous breastplate with two facies; a porous vague crumby dark reddish brown horizon; and a strongly dark grey, porous, thixotropic and crumby superficial horizon. The pedon/alterite ratio is about 2/1, and the hardened level/alterite ratio is 1/4. The alteritic level represents about 1/3 of the whole soil profile. Microscopically, these soils lack plasmic separations. Plasmas are respectively isotic in the dark reddish brown and strongly dark grey horizons, clayey asepic in the yellow and red polyhedral horizons, cristic in the isalteritic horizon, cristic and locally isotic in the discontinuous breastplate. Gibbsite, halloysite, kaolinite and allophane are the main minerals; goethite, quartz, hematite and rutile are also present. Geochemically, aluminum is the main chemical component in the deepest horizons, while in those at the top of the soil profile, silicon and aluminum has quite similar concentrations. Others specificities include their low bulk density (0.6 to 0.9 gcm^-3), the abundance of clayey particles at the bottom of the soil profile, sand and silt at its summit. Ferrallitic and andosolic characteristics coexist in the studied soils. This ambivalence makes them to be simply «andic ferallitic, desaturated, humic and strongly rejuvenated soils».