Better Crops with Plant Food

The American Potash Institute, Washington, D. C., compiles data on deliveries of potash for agricultural use by the principal American producers, and on imports of potash. Data are issued quarterly and annually. Tables of prices of farm commodities and fertilizer materials from published sources together with index figures on prices are published in the Institute s magazine. Better Crops with Plant Food (9),... 

Better Crops with Plant Food, American Potash Institute, Washington, D.C., irregular. 

Better Crops with Plant Food, monthly. 

McMurtrey, J.E. Jr Deficiencies of secondary and micronutrient elements in plants Better Crops with Plant Food 36 (1952) 19-26, 42-48. 

Meanwhile, new questions have been raised. Is there indeed a relation between soil health, plant health and human health as expected in organic agriculture Is the quality of genetically modified and hybrid varieties less coherent , and if so, is this a health concern Do food crops with increased levels of vitamins or phenols enhance health What do coherence and ripeness mean in terms of taste and consumer health These questions are very topical, but they are based on vague notions of food quality. A new conceptual framework for these topical questions is needed, as well as better-defined concepts to operationalise these questions. 

As they became more familiar with the plant, the Chinese discovered it was dioecious. Male plants were then clearly distinguished from females by name (hsi for the male, chu for the female). The Chinese also recognized that the male plants produced a better fiber than the female, whereas the female produced the better seeds. (Although hemp seed was a major grain crop in ancient China until the sixth century A.D., it was not as important a food grain as rice or mullet.)... 

In addition to a better quality of life we are able to increase the world s supply of food. Scientists have developed fertilizers, insecticides, and herbicides that enable us to grow stronger and healthier plants and to prevent diseases and pests in crops. The major breakthrough in the use of fertilizers from chemical processes occurred with the development of the Haber process for ammonia production in 1910 ... 

Deficiencies of soils to supply the essential elements are more obvious in plants than in animals. The nitrogen content of most soils is low enough that plants benefit from added N. In many soils, plants, especially food crops, also grow better with added P, K, and S. Because the response differs among plant species, fertilization can change the distribution of plant species. Since we usually define the untouched plant community as the ideal state, species changes are considered detrimental. 

Despite concerns about Cd, Hg, and Cr in soils, the soil is still a far safer medium for the disposal of pollutant wastes than any other part of the environment. Soils are better able to oxidize (the oxidized state is generally the least toxic state), to retain pollutants safely, and to remove them from the food web, than air or water. For example, the increase in toxic metal concentration in plants is about one-half to one-tenth of the corresponding concentration increase in soils. Assuming a total dry matter crop production of 10 000 kg ha ] and a soil bulk density of 1.3, adding the high amount of 130 kg ha-1 of a heavy metal in wastes to the surface meter of soil (a mass of 1 300 000 kg ha-1 m-1) increases the element s concentration in the first crop by about 1 mg kg-1 or 10 g ha-1, and that concentration and amount decreases with time. The amount in the harvested portion of the plant is much less than that in the total plant. 

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