Iris Publishers Agriculture Soil Science

Abstract Crude oil utilization has improved our living standard, but it has also threatened the aquatic and terrestrial environment with its harmful effects. It contains harmful substances such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) that can cause mutation and cancer. Soil contamination is of particular concern as it does not only effects human health but also vegetation growth and biological environment. Many remediation techniques have been devised but a quick, nature friendly and cost-effective method is required to remove and minimize the dangerous effects of crude oil. In this review, different remediation techniques to remove crude oil from the soil have been discussed, focusing on their current advancement. Chemical, physical and thermal methods used for the cleanup of soil have many demerits, so focus is shifted toward biological methods such as microbial remediation and phytoremediation. Recently microbes and plants are used together as rhizoremediation techni...

  Cottonseed Yield and its Quality as Affected by Mineral Nutrients and Plant Growth Retardants Authored by Zakaria M Sawan Abstract Stand establishment of cotton seedlings is one of the most critical stages in cotton production. Cotton-seed quality is affected, to a large extent, by the indeterminate growth habit of the cotton plant, which allows seed to set and develop across an extended period of time. Seed vigor and viability are important components influencing seedling establishment, crop growth, and productivity. Any factor that negatively affects seed vigor and viability during seed development will have adverse consequences on crop production. Plant nutrition using a balanced fertilization programmer with both macro- and micro-nutrients has become very important in the production of high-quality seed. Plant growth retardants (PGR,s) represent diverse chemistries and mode of action, and provide numerous possibilities for altering crop growth and development, provide farmers...

Abstract Seed quality is one of the most important factors for stand establishment in cotton (Gossypium Sp.), and the use of good quality seeds is therefore essential to obtain an optimum plant population. Conditions prevailing during seed formation can affect the quality of seed produced, and hence crop establishment in the next growing season. These conditions can affect the germination of the seeds and the ability of the seedlings to emerge from soil, these being the most critical stages during the life cycle of cotton plant. Field experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), foliar application of zinc (Zn) and calcium (Ca), the use of plant growth retardants (PGR’s) [eg., 1, 1-dimethyl piperidinium chloride (MC); 2-chloroethyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (CC); or succinic acid 2, 2-dimethyl hydrazide (SADH)], during square initiation and boll setting stage, on growth, seed yield, seed viability, and seedling vigor...

  W.F.P.’S Nobel Prize, The Pandemic, & Our Emerging Existential Food Crisis Authored by Scott M Lacy The way we make food shapes the world we live in. And if that’s the case, by reverse logic, our 21st century lives are a collective indictment of an unjust global food system. Historic levels of inequality, poverty, and hunger pervade our lived experience despite centuries of experiments in search of political, economic, and even scientific solutions to alleviate all this suffering on a macro-level. That is not to say that all of our previous experiments were mistakes, not by a long shot. In fact, our species has a remarkable history of adapting our food system to the dynamic and precarious balance between population growth and our lived environment, the planet. Specifically, the long arc of our Homo sapiens history reveals two existential food crises that may help us better understand our 21st century challenges to feeding the planet. Our species’ first existential food c...

  Morphological Properties and Nutrient Status of Different Waste Derived Slow Pyrolyzed Biochars Authored by Md Faruque Hossain Abstract Slow pyrolyzed (500±50 °C) ten different waste derived biochar viz. animal bone, corn stover, wood chips, sewage sludge, sugarcane bagasse, green coconut palms, nutshells, potato peels, water hyacinth and organic waste were analyzed to know their physicochemical properties and nutrient contents. Results provided the fact that water hyacinth biochar had the best nutrient status along with excellent physical properties like water holding capacity (509%) and CEC (300 cmolc kg-1) whilst potato peel biochar was the second best among all categories. The average particle size of wood chips biochar 0.82 μm2 was the largest along with the maximum pore depth. However, the region of this biochar occupied by remarkably small particles, which was 47.42%. The corn stover biochar, on the other hand, had the smallest average particle size (0.18 μm2) and the lo...

  W.F.P.’S Nobel Prize, The Pandemic, & Our Emerging Existential Food Crisis Authored by Scott M Lacy             Opinion The way we make food shapes the world we live in. And if that’s the case, by reverse logic, our 21st century lives are a collective indictment of an unjust global food system. Historic levels of inequality, poverty, and hunger pervade our lived experience despite centuries of experiments in search of political, economic, and even scientific solutions to alleviate all this suffering on a macro-level. That is not to say that all of our previous experiments were mistakes, not by a long shot. In fact, our species has a remarkable history of adapting our food system to the dynamic and precarious balance between population growth and our lived environment, the planet. Specifically, the long arc of our Homo sapiens history reveals two existential food crises that may help us better understand our 21st centu...