This important volume provides new research on the design and application of ecologically safe formulations for protecting cultivated crops against pathogen-causing diseases and weeds-that also provide nitrogen fertilizers at the same time. The authors make a significant contribution to the development and agricultural use of environmentally safe and biodegradable new-generation pesticides with targeted and controlled release of active ingredients. They discuss the problems associated with the use and accumulation of xenobiotics in the biosphere and present highlights of modern trends in the design of new-generation formulations. The authors present their original research results on the properties of herbicides, fungicides, and nitrogen fertilizers deposited in a degradable polymer base and the effectiveness of the use of these formulations in laboratory ecosystems with higher plants infected with fusariosis and weeds. The research provided here provides a new direction for the use of degradable polymers, essential for the creation of ecologically safe agricultural technologies and reducing uncontrolled accumulation and spread of xenobiotics in the biosphere.

Organic fertilizers are an essential source for plant nutrients and a soil conditioner in agriculture. This book explains how to use such organic fertilizers as compost, green sand, mulch, bone meal, and green manure to keep soil healthy with some real examples extending the concepts in organic fertilizers that may stimulate new research ideas and trends in the relevant fields. This book will be of use and interest to consultants, researchers, libraries, and entrepreneurs, manufacturers of bio-fertilizer and for those who wants to endeavor in to this field.

Phosphorus is an essential plant nutrient, but global population growth has dramatically reduced the availability of phosphorus fertilizer resources. Despite this scarcity, there remain numerous problems associated with the excessive and inappropriate use of phosphorus leading to non-point source pollution and eutrophication of natural waters. Identifying appropriate systems for managing soil phosphorus and reducing the risks of eutrophication are needed to minimize the environmental risks. This book focuses on the availability and recycling of phosphorus; regulatory and policy issues of sustainable phosphorus use; and water quality management in agroecosystems pertaining to phosphorus. Sections are dedicated to global phosphorus reserves; cycling and pathways of phosphorus; phosphorus in agriculture; human dimensions and policy intervention; and research and development priorities. Phosphorus is a finite but crucial resource and is an essential element to all life. Sub-optimal availability and nutrient imbalance in the root zone can adversely impact plant growth, and the quality of food and feed grown on these soils. However, the proven reserves of phosphorus can hardly be adequate for a few centuries only. Yet, its misuse and mismanagement has caused severe problems of eutrophication of water and pollution of the environment. Thus, judicious management of soil phosphorus is essential. This volume is specifically devoted to availability and recycling of phosphorus, regulatory/policy issues of sustainable use of phosphorus, and management in agroecosystems in the context of maximizing the use efficiency and minimizing the environmental risks of water quality.

The efficient use of phosphorus (P) is essential to many agricultural and environmental issues. This bulletin reviews, analyses and synthesizes information on the efficient use of soil and fertilizer P. It presents information on the plant availability of soil and fertilizer P, with an emphasis on soil plant interactions. The focus is on the changing concepts of the behaviour of both soil and fertilizer P and on the need to define and assess their recovery and, thus, P-use efficiency more appropriately.

Written by research pioneers and leading scientists in the area of agricultural systems, Quantifying and Understanding Plant Nitrogen Uptake for Systems Modeling comprehensively covers plant N uptake in agricultural system models, especially for building soil-plant system models.

The text illustrates how to minimize the transportation of nitrogen fertilizers in crop production to surface and ground waters, as even moderate errors in uptake estimations lead to a dramatic increase in the amount of nitrogen leached into groundwater. It also highlights the knowledge gaps preventing correct simulation of this process and explains what to look for when using a system model and interpreting simulation results.

Applies to a Variety of Crops, Including Oilseed, Wheat, Potatoes, and Maize

Addressing quantification and synthesis in the context of system modeling, this text introduces cutting-edge and original information regarding N uptake not previously offered by other research texts in the field. This, in turn, benefits scientists, professors, system modelers, and model users in interpreting modeling results for enhancing nitrogen management and developing decision support tools.

This volume documents, with complex, detailed models, plant N uptake based on absorption kinetics of transporters across the root cell membranes, mass flow, and diffusion to the root surface of single or composite roots. It also provides simpler models used in N uptake simulations at the field and watershed scales.

Discusses All Areas of the Complex Process

In addition to the important processes of nitrogen translocation, remobilization, and grain protein formation, the book documents variousphilosophies, mechanisms, and scales in simulating plant N uptake in agricultural system models, while providing an extensive review of the uptake of dissolved organic nitrogen by plants in ecosystems.

Nitrogen is an essential element for plant growth and development and a key agricultural input-but in excess it can lead to a host of problems for human and ecological health. Across the globe, distribution of fertilizer nitrogen is very uneven, with some areas subject to nitrogen pollution and others suffering from reduced soil fertility, diminished crop production, and other consequences of inadequate supply.
Agriculture and the Nitrogen Cycle provides a global assessment of the role of nitrogen fertilizer in the nitrogen cycle. The focus of the book is regional, emphasizing the need to maintain food and fiber production while minimizing environmental impacts where fertilizer is abundant, and the need to enhance fertilizer utilization in systems where nitrogen is limited. The book is derived from a workshop held by the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) in Kampala, Uganda, that brought together the world's leading scientists to examine and discuss the nitrogen cycle and related problems. It contains an overview chapter that summarizes the group's findings, four chapters on cross-cutting issues, and thirteen background chapters.
The book offers a unique synthesis and provides an up-to-date, broad perspective on the issues of nitrogen fertilizer in food production and the interaction of nitrogen and the environment.