The title 'Phosphorus in Agriculture: 100 % Zero' is synonymous for make-or-break. And it stands up to the promise. This book sends an important message as it delivers background information, intrinsic hypotheses, validation approaches and legal frameworks, all for balanced phosphorus fertilization in agriculture. This implies firstly that the phosphorus requirement of crop is fully satisfied by applying exclusively fertilizers which contain the nutrient in completely available form. Secondly, environmental demands through eutrophication and hazardous contaminants must not be compromised. The book identifies equally knowledge gaps and deficits in the transformation and implementation of research into practice. Bottom line is that research delivers the tools for a sustainable phosphorus management while legal frameworks are insufficient.

This book elucidates the importance of long-term experiments in revealing evidence of soil fertility decline in Africa. An evaluation of experiences from on-going long-term experiments is given in broad detail. The first chapter explains the paradigm shift in soil fertility management then provides justification for long-term experiments before illuminating experiences from long-term experiments in East, West and Southern Africa. The second, sixth, eighth and ninth chapters give an in-depth account of crop management practices and soil fertility interventions in long-term trials within specific agro-ecological zones in West Africa. The rest of the chapters (chapter three, four, five and seven) address crop management, tillage practices and, organic and inorganic fertilizer applications in the context of long-term experiments in specific agro-ecological zones in East Africa.

The Composting Handbook provides a single guide to the science, principles and best practices of composting for large-scale composting operations facing a variety of opportunities and challenges converting raw organic materials into a useful and marketable product. Composting is a well-established and increasingly important method to recycle and add value to organic by-products. Many, if not most, of the materials composting treats are discarded materials that would otherwise place a burden on communities, industries, farms and the environment. Composting converts these materials into a valuable material, compost, that regenerates soils improving soils for plant growth and environmental conservation. The Composting Handbook expands on previously available resources by incorporating new information, new subjects and new practices, drawing its content from current scientific principles, research, engineering and industry experience. In both depth and breadth, it covers the knowledge that a compost producer needs to succeed. Topics include the composting process, methods of composting, equipment, site requirements, environmental issues and impacts, business knowledge, safety, and the qualities, uses and markets for the compost products. The Composting Handbook is an invaluable reference for composting facility managers and operators, prospective managers and operators, regulators, policy makers, environmental advocates, educators, waste generators and managers and generally people interested in composting as a business or a solution. It is also appropriate as a textbook for college courses and a supplemental text for training courses about composting or organic waste management.

The last two decades have seen rapid advances in the technology used to produce pot plants. Glasshouses designed and orientated to give maximum light transmission, fully automatic heating and ventilating systems, carbon dioxide enrichment of the atmosphere, controlled photoperiods using automatic blackouts and incandescent lamps which enable plants such as chrysanthemum to be flowered at any time of the year, mist propagation techniques, chemical growth regulators which control the height of plants, automatic watering and feeding systems, etc.: these are only some of the developments which have transformed pot plant culture. There have also been many changes in the composts and systems used to grow the plants. Mineral soils, which formed the basis of the John Innes Composts, are now either too expensive or too difficult to obtain in suitable quality and sufficient quantity. Consequently the grower has been forced to seek other materials such as peat, perlite, vermiculite, plastic foam, shredded bark, etc. New types of fertilisers, new methods of heat sterilisation and new chemical sterilising agents are also being used.

This book elucidates the importance of long-term experiments in revealing evidence of soil fertility decline in Africa. An evaluation of experiences from on-going long-term experiments is given in broad detail. The first chapter explains the paradigm shift in soil fertility management then provides justification for long-term experiments before illuminating experiences from long-term experiments in East, West and Southern Africa. The second, sixth, eighth and ninth chapters give an in-depth account of crop management practices and soil fertility interventions in long-term trials within specific agro-ecological zones in West Africa. The rest of the chapters (chapter three, four, five and seven) address crop management, tillage practices and, organic and inorganic fertilizer applications in the context of long-term experiments in specific agro-ecological zones in East Africa.

By the year 2050, the world's population is expected to reach nine billion. To feed and sustain this projected population, world food production must increase by at least 50 percent on much of the same land that we farm today. To meet this staggering challenge, scientists must develop the technology required to achieve an "evergreen" revolution--one that increases crop productivity without degrading natural resources. With 30 percent new material, the updated and revised third edition of Growth and Mineral Nutrition of Field Crops covers all aspects of crop growth and mineral nutrition that contribute to sustainable, high-yield agriculture. Bringing together international scientific knowledge of crop production and the impacts of agriculture on the environment, this book: * Includes two new chapters on remediation of heavy-metal contaminated soils and cover crops * Covers theoretical and practical aspects of mineral nutrition of field crops * Provides recommendations for judicious use of fertilizers, which will reduce cost of crop production and enhance high crop yields without risking environmental pollution * Provides growth patterns for annual crops and forages * Includes a handful of color pictures of nutrient deficiencies for easy diagnostic purposes To make the book as practical as possible, each chapter is supported by experimental results and extensive references. A large number of figures and tables are also included to save readers time when researching. The overall emphasis of this reference is on the soil's ability to sustain high crop yields and a healthy human population.

Put Theory into Practice

Scarcity of natural resources, higher costs, higher demand, and concerns about environmental pollution ? under these circumstances, improving food supply worldwide with adequate quantity and quality is fundamental. Based on the author's more than forty years of experience, The Use of Nutrients in Crop Plants builds a bridge between theoretical aspects of mineral nutrition and practical applicability of basic principles of fertilization and use efficiency of essential plant nutrients.

Provides Authoritative and Practical Information

The book explores how to maximize essential nutrients uptake and use efficiency by food crops and how to improve productivity without degrading the environment. It covers nutrients and their cycle in soil-plant systems, functions, and deficiency symptoms. The author includes management strategies that can lead to a reduction in the cost of crop production and environmental degradation. He emphasizes field conditions, crop production, and soil chemistry. Comprehensive coverage of essential nutrients and experimental results are accompanied by tables and figures of updated experimental data that make practical information easily accessible.

A Valuable Tool for Improving Crop Yield

Agricultural science is very dynamic in nature and fertilizer practices change with time due to the release of new cultivars and changing production practices in sustainable crop production systems. The Use of Nutrients in Crop Plants provides in-depth scientific information that is applicable through many methods of crop production. It is a valuable tool for improving crop yields at lower cost and less stress on the environment.

This book is the self-contained fourth volume of a seven-volume comprehensive series on nitrogen fixation. The outstanding aspect of this book is the integration of basic and applied work on biological nitrogen fixation in the fields of agriculture, forestry, and ecology in general. Nowadays, the concept of sustainability, which originated in agriculture and land use, is reaching many other areas of society and industry. Sustainability has a major part to play in the global challenge of continued development of regions, countries, and continents all around the World and biological nitrogen fixation has a key role in this process. This volume begins with chapters specifically addressing crops of major global importance, such as soybeans, rice, and sugar cane. It continues with a second important focus, agroforestry, and describes the use and promise of both legume trees with their rhizobial symbionts and other nitrogen-fixing trees with their actinorhizal colonization. An over-arching theme of all chapters is the interaction of the plants and trees with microbes and this theme allows other aspects of soil microbiology, such as interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and the impact of soil-stress factors on biological nitrogen fixation, to be addressed. Furthermore, a link to basic science occurs through the inclusion of chapters describing the biogeochemically important nitrogen cycle and its key relationships among nitrogen fixation, nitrification, and denitrification. The volume then provides an up-to-date view of the production of microbial inocula, especially those for legume crops. No other available work provides the up-to-date and in-depth coverage of this volume, whichis intended to serve as an indispensable reference work for academic, government, and industrial scientists working in the applied areas of agronomy, plant breeding, plant nutrition, ecology, and forestry as well as those in the basic science areas of plant physiology, soil microbiology, and related environmental disciplines. This volume will be an invaluable tool for students entering this challenging area of research and will provide science administrators with ready access to vital relevant information.

The 14th International Nitrogen Fixation Congress was held in Beijing, China from October 27th through November 1st, 2004. This volume constitutes the proceedings of the Congress and represents a compilation of the presentations by scientists from more than 30 countries around the World who came to Beijing to discuss the progress made since the last Congress and to exchange ideas and information. This year marked the 30th anniversary of the first Congress held in Pullman, Washington, USA, in 1974. Since then, this series of Congresses has met five times in North America (three in the United States and once each in Canada and Mexico), once in South America (Brazil), four times in Western Europe (once each in Spain, The Netherlands, Germany and France), once in Eastern Europe (Russia), and once in Australia; and now for the first time in Asia. China was a most appropriate choice because China is a big country with the largest population in the World, about 1. 3 billion people, which is about 22% of the World's population. It is traditionally an agricultural country, even though China has only 7% of the available farming land. This situation explains why agriculture and its productivity are major issues for the Chinese people, its government and the scientists in the field.

In the 1980s and 1990s, green manure/cover crop (GMCC) systems became a popular agricultural technology in research and development efforts for smallholder tropical and subtropical farmers. However, few syntheses of these experiences have been conducted. This volume of case studies contributes to bridging this gap by reviewing field-level experiences with these systems. Twelve case studies are included. Eleven of them describe experiences from Latin America (4 cases), Africa (6 cases) and Asia (1 case) and the twelfth case reports on the development of a GMCC systems database. Two concluding chapters, `Learning from the Case Studies' and `Future Perspectives', build upon the cases. The systems described are diverse. Some systems have been spontaneously adopted by farmers, while others have been introduced to the farmers through diffusion efforts. Some of the cases reviewed describe small, localized efforts while others report on large-scale, well-known ones, such as the combination of GMCCs and conservation tillage in Santa Catarina, Brazil, the maize-Mucuna system in northern Honduras, and the improved fallow systems in Eastern Zambia. Most experiences include both development and research aspects and to the extent possible the cases integrate these two. Discussion of the strengths and shortcomings of the systems and efforts is frank, and the goal is to learn from these experiences to benefit future efforts. It is expected that both researchers and development practitioners and students of tropical farming systems and soil management will find this volume of case studies useful.

This volume follows up a seminal meeting, presenting reports on progress made with recommendations made there. The text reports on the development of pilot projects and on the organization of an international organization. All this will serve as the foundation for future efforts to develop the common utilisation of cash crop halophytes.

Incorporating contributions from microbiologists, molecular biologists, plant breeders and soil scientists this volume reports the results and recommendations of an FAO/IAEA meeting of twelve experts on biological nitrogen fixation. This volume will be invaluable to scientists working on nitrogen fixation, soil microbiology, agronomy and crop production as well as farm advisers and extension specialists.
Maximising the Use of Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Agriculture is unique in that it:

-reviews the latest thinking on various aspects of biological nitrogen fixation technology and applications;
-reviews the possibilities in enhancing nitrogen fixation in various cropping systems;
-shows ways how biological nitrogen fixation can be used to enhance crop production;
-considers the applicability of these technologies to small farmers in developing countries.

Composting is increasingly used as a recycling technology for organic wastes. Knowledge on the composition and activities of compost microbial communities has so far been based on traditional methods. New molecular and physiological tools now offer new insights into the "black box" of decaying material. An unforeseen diversity of microorganisms are involved in composting, opening up an enormous potential for future process and product improvements. In this book, the views of scientists, engineers and end-users on compost production, process optimisation, standardisation and product application are presented.

This book is a comprehensive and updated review of fundamental studies on inhibition of soil urease activity and of applied studies on improving efficiency of urea fertilizers by inhibition of soil urease activity. The general literature on these topics covers 65 years and the patent literature comprises a period of nearly 40 years. The potential of food production to meet the growing needs related to population increase is largely conditioned by the efficiency of agricultural fertilizers. Urea has gradually become the most important nitrogen fertilizer in world agriculture. However, its efficiency is in general reduced due to excessive activity of a soil enzyme, urease. One way to increase efficiency of urea fertilizers is the inhibition of soil urease activity. In the last four decades, multilateral investigations have been carried out in a series of countries to identify and test unpolluting and inexpensive chemical compounds to be used as inhibitors of soil urease activity. These investigations are reviewed, including those described in the patent literature.

The book is addressed to a broad audience, including experts and students in agronomy, forestry, plant physiology, soil science (especially soil biology and biochemistry), and other environmental sciences, as well as in organic and inorganic chemistry.

Emphasis in agricultural production has shifted from mere quantity to quality products. Practical experience and scientific investigations have shown that, of the various culture measures, balanced fertilization above all exerts a considerable influence on the quality of agricultural products. Simply adding more of what the crop has already absorbed to capacity is unproductive, expensive, wasteful and damaging to the environment. Therefore, balanced crop nutrition increases crop quality, safeguards natural resources and brings benefit to the farmer. Otherwise rapid population growth and severe urbanization will exhaust our natural resources.

Nitrogen Economy in Tropical Soils presents an authoritative and comprehensive state-of-the-art review on soil/plant nitrogen inter-relationships, with special reference to tropical soils and crops in aerobic and anaerobic environments. Use of isotopically labelled nitrogen in experimentation, especially in tropical environments, and recently developed analytical techniques for soil and plant materials are presented. An important aspect is the emphasis placed on the impact of the tropical environment on nitrogen transformations in the soil environment. This book should be an excellent source of information for senior undergraduate and graduate students with interest in soil/plant nitrogen inter-relationships, and for all levels of research workers in these fields.

Food production remains the highest agricultural priority, subject to the constraint that it be done in harmony with nature, or at least with minimum environmental pollution. The amount of fertilizer applied can be controlled using modern application techniques, including soil and crop management, guaranteeing higher economic profit and lower environmental cost. It is in such a context that the present book addresses the efficient and rational use of mineral and organic fertilizers while preserving environmental quality. The book discusses the impact on surface and groundwaters, soils and crops, and experience of nitrate leaching, denitrification, ammonia volatilization, heavy metal pollution, agricultural and urban waste management, and international and national legislation. Audience: Agronomists, environmentalists, soil and food chemists, ecologists, policy makers, and managers in the fertilizer industry concerned with the trend of public opinion.

The soil is the medium through which pollutants originating from human activities, both in agriculture and industry, move from the land surfaces to groundwater. Polluting substances are subject to complex physical, chemical and biological transformations during their movement through the soil. Their displacement depends on the transport properties of the water-air-soil system and on the molecular properties of the pollutants. Prediction of soil pollution and restoration of polluted soils requires an under standing of the processes controlling the fate of pollutants in the soil medium and of the dynamics of the contaminants in the un saturated zone. Our book was conceived. as a basic overview of the processes governing the behavior of pollutants as affected by soil constituents and environmental factors. It was written for the use of specialists working on soil and unsaturated zone pollution and restoration, as well as for graduate students starting research in this field. Since many specialists working on soil restoration lack a back ground in soil science or a knowledge of the properties of soil pollutants, we have included this information which forms the first part of the book. In the second part, we discuss the partitioning of pollutants between the aqueous, solid and gaseous phase of the soil medium. The retention, transformation and transport of pollutants in the soils form the third section."

Rhizosphere biology is approaching a century of investigations wherein growth-promoting rhizomicroorganisms (PGPR) have attracted special attention for their ability to enhance productivity, profitability and sustainability at a time when food security and rural livelihood are a key priority. Bio-inputs - either directly in the form of microbes or their by-products - are gaining tremendous momentum and harnessing the potential of agriculturally important microorganisms could help in providing low-cost and environmentally safe technologies to farmers.One approach to such biologically-based strategies is the use of naturally occurring products such as PGPR. Advances in PGPR Research explores recent developments and global issues in biopesticide research, presented via extended case studies and up-to-date coverage of: * Low input biofertilizers and biofungicides used for sustainable agriculture. * Molecular techniques to enhance efficacy of microbial inputs. * Intellectual property issues in PGPR research. Written by an international team of experts, this book considers new concepts and global issues in biopesticide research and evaluates the implications for sustainable productivity. It is an invaluable resource for researchers in applied agricultural biotechnology, microbiology and soil science, and also for industry personnel in these areas.

Presenting the state of the art of tissue culture and in vitro propagation of vegetable and tuber crops, medicinal and aromatic plants, fibre and oilseed crops, and grasses, this book complements the previous two volumes on High-Tech and Micropropagation, which concentrated on special techniques (Vol.17) and trees and bushes of commercial value (Vol.18). The specific plants covered here include asparagus, lettuce, horse radish, cucumber, potato, cassava, sweet potato, artichoke, yams, cardamom, fennel, celery, thyme, leek, mentha, turmeric, lavender, agave, yucca, cotton, jute, sunflower, ryegrass, zoysiagrass, and various species of "Aconitum," "Artemisia," "Camelia," "Centaurium," "Digitalis," "Dioscorea," "Glehnia," "Levisticum," "Parthenium," and "Pinella." The book is of use to advanced students, teachers and research workers in the field of pharmacy, horticulture, plant breeding and plant biotechnology in general, and also to individuals interested in industrial micropropagation.

The dependence of present farming on artificial input of "chemical fertilizers" has caused numerous ecological tribulations associated with global warming and soil contamination. Moreover, there is an essential requirement for realistic agricultural practices on a comprehensive level. Accordingly, biofertilizers including microbes have been recommended as feasible environmentally sound solutions for agricultural practices which not only are natural, and cost-effective but also preserve soil environs and important biota of agricultural land. In addition, it enhances the nutrient quantity of soils organically. Microbial biofertilizers promote plant growth by escalating proficient absorption of nutrients for the plants and by providing an excellent disease-fighting mechanism.Agriculture, the backbone of human sustenance, has been put under tremendous pressure by the ever-increasing human population. Although various modern agro-techniques boosted agricultural production, the excessive use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides have proven extremely detrimental to agriculture as well as to the environment in which it is carried out. Besides this some faulty agricultural practices like monoculture and defective irrigation, further complicate the scenario by eliminating biodiversity, increasing the efflux of nutrients into the water bodies, the formation of algal blooms, eutrophication, damaging the water quality and lowering fish stocks. Biofertilizers are the organic compounds applied to crops for their sustainable growth and the sustainability of the environment as the microbiota associated with biofertilizers interact with the soil, roots and seeds to enhance soil fertility. Application of biofertilizers results in the increased mineral and water uptake, root development, vegetative growth and nitrogen fixation besides liberating growth-promoting substances and minerals that help the maintenance of soil fertility. They further act as antagonists and play a pivotal role in neutralising soil-borne plant pathogens and thus, help in the bio-control of diseases. Application of biofertilizers instead of synthetic fertilizers could be a promising technique to raise agricultural productivity without degrading environmental quality. The present book focuses on the latest research approaches and updates from the microbiota and their applications in the agriculture industry. We believe this book addresses various challenges and shed lights on the possible future of the sustainable agricultural system.

On the occasion of its twenty-fifth anniversary, in 1985, the Netherlands Society for Grassland and Fodder Crops (NVWV) agreed to organize an International Symposium on a topic related to intensive grass and fodder production systems. The theme selected was "Animal manure on grassland and fodder crops: Fertilizer or waste?" This Symposium was organized under the auspices of the European Grassland Federation and held at the International Agricultural Centre in Wageningen from 31 August to 3 September 1987. The problems connected with the disposal of animal waste have received much attention in recent years, especially in regions with intensive animal of animal manure per hectare agricul husbandry. Whereas the production tural land increased strongly, the need for it decreased because of the introduction of cheap inorganic fertilizers which are easier to handle and have a more reliable effect on crop growth. As a consequence, many farmers dispose of animal manure as cheaply as possible, whilst avoiding damage to grassland and crops and paying little attention to effective use of the plants nutrients contained in the manure. Present practices of manure handling and application often lead to environmental problems. The rise in awareness of these problems renewed interest in possibilities to improve the utilization of nutrients from animal manure in crop production. Research on this topic has been stimulated in many countries during the last decade and the aim of this Symposium was to review and assess present-day knowledge."

Food security, one of the basic human rights, seems to be ever eluding the people of sub-Saharan Africa. With each occurrence of crop failure, agriculturalists around the world reawaken to the challenge of ensuring sta ble, adequate food production in the tropical African environments. The International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), with its mandate of alleviating food shortages through judicial use of fertilizers, formulated a program to study fertilizer use strategies for sub-Saharan Africa. With gener ous financial assistance from the International Fund for Agricultural Devel opment (IFAD), IFDC, in collaboration with the International Crop Re search Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IIT A), initiated a research project aimed at assessing means to remedy soil nutrient deficiencies that constrain food production in the humid, subhumid, and semiarid tropics of Africa. The results of this project were summarized during a workshop held in Togo, March 25-28, 1985; the proceedings of that meetings are found in this vol ume. The project established collaboration with numerous national programs that were responsible for much of the data collection. The data presented in Chapters 6 and 9 include much of this information. We wish to acknowledge the contribution of the individual scientists, J.T. Ambe, F. Ganry, M. Gaoh, M. Issaka, J. Kiazolu, J. Kikafunde-Twine, K. Kpomblekou, F. Lompo, H."

The mission of the International Fertilizer Development Center is to increase food production through the improvement of fertilizers and fertilizer practices for the developing countries with special emphasis on tropical and subtropical agriculture. The principal aim is to ensure that fertilizer technology is not a limiting factor to food production in those regions. Although the full extent to which deficiency of micronutrients hampers food production is yet un known, there is ample evidence that problem areas exist and more will be identified as crop production is intensified and marginal lands are exploited. Therefore, it seems fully appropriate at this time that IFDC, as an international organization, take a leadership role in developing micronutrient fertilizer technology appropriate for the tropics and subtropics. The gravity of micronutrient deficiency as a limiting factor to crop pro duction varies from crop to crop and from soil to soil. The effects may range from slight yield reductions to complete crop failure. While the economic impact of omitting micronutrients in seriously affected areas (e.g., Zn in Brazilian Cerrado) is convincing, it is difficult to estimate the yearly loss in crop production due to unsuspected micronutrient deficiency. Active soil and crop testing programs in regions with advanced agricultural systems are aimed at recognizing micronutrients as a limiting plant nutrient in time to allow corrective measures and prevent yield loss. Successful micronutrient monitoring systems are generally limited to developed economies or to developing economies producing export cash crops."

This Fertilizer Manual was prepared by the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) as a joint project with the United Nations Industrial Development Organi zation (UNIDO). It is designed to replace the UN Fertilizer Manual published in 1967 and intended to be a reference source on fertilizer production technology and economics and fertilizer industry planning for developing countries. The aim of the new manual is to describe in clear, simple language all major fertilizer processes, their requirements, advan tages and disadvantages and to show illustrative examples of economic evaluations. The manual is organized in five parts. Part I deals with the history of fertilizers, world outlook, the role of fertilizers in agriculture, and raw materials and includes a glossary of fertilizer-related terms. Part II covers the production and transportation of ammonia and all important nitrogen fertilizers-liquids and solids. Part III deals with the characteristics of phosphate rock, production of sulfuric and phosphoric acid, and all important phosphate fertilizers, including nitrophosphates and ammonium phosphates. Part IV deals with potash fertilizers-ore mining and refining and chemical manufac ture; compound fertilizers; secondary and micronutrients; controlled-release fertilizers; and physical properties of fertilizers. Part V includes chapters on planning a fertilizer industry, pollution control, the economics of production of major fertilizer products anJ intermediates, and problems facing the world fertilizer industry."