Soil fertilizers

Possible negative environmental effects of fertilizer use are the subject of iatensive evaluation and much discussion. The foUowiag negative effects of fertilizer usage have been variously suggested (113) a deterioration of food quaUty the destmction of natural soil fertility the promotion of gastroiatestiaal cancer the pollution of ground and surface water and contributions toward the destmction of the ozone layer ia the stratosphere. 

G. W. SdJSSSm.gioA, paper presented at the Southern Soil Fertility Conference, Memphis, Term., Oct. 15—18,1991. 

Agricultural Advisory Council on Soil Structure and Soil Fertility, HMSO, London, 1970. 

Trees and soils of forests act as sources of NH3 and oxides of nitrogen. Ammonia is formed in the soil by several types of bacteria and fungi. The volatilization of ammonia and its subsequent release to the atmosphere are dependent on temperature and the pH of the soil. Fertilizers are used as a tool in forest management. The volatilization of applied fertilizers may become a source of ammonia to the atmosphere, especially from the use of urea. 

Gum Arabic (GA) or Acacia gum is an edible biopolymer obtained as exudates of mature trees of Acacia Senegal and Acacia seyal which grow principally in the African region of Sahe in Sudan. The exudate is a non-viscous liquid, rich in soluble fibers, and its emanation from the stems and branches usually occurs under stress conditions such as drought, poor soil fertility, and injury (Williams Phillips, 2000). 

Improving Winter Cereals under Temperature and Soil Fertility Stresses, Proceedings of Cordoba Symposium, 1987 (in press). 

H. Ferris, R. C. Venette, and S. S. Lau, Dynamics of nematode communities in tomatoes grown in conventional and organic farming. sy.stems, and their impact on soil fertility. Appl. Soil Ecol. 3 161 (1996). 

Barley is an important crop, with the best quality grains sold for malting and the remainder used for feeding all classes of stock, especially pigs, dairy cows and intensively fed beef. Barley straw can be used for bedding and as a maintenance ration. Barley is a shallow-rooted crop which grows well on chalk and limestone soils, with a preferred pH of 6.5. Its place in the rotation can be when soil fertility is low, which means that it can follow a previous cereal crop such as wheat. 

Of equal importance to the public health are hazards of acute or chronic poisoning of farm animals and poultry insecticide residues in fruit, vegetables, meat, or dairy products phytotoxicity reduction of soil fertility and disturbance of the balance of nature through selective destruction of wildlife. These latter hazards are largely the responsibilities of agriculturalists and conservationists but are mentioned here for completeness. 

Elimination of Demand for the Slashing and Burning of Forests through Maintenance of Soil Fertility (e.g., through crop rotation, irrigation). 

Lead may also interact detrimentally with aquatic life. Once lead deposits in soil, it sticks to soil particles and is only displaced by rain water, ending up in water sources where it affects the aquatic life. Some plants accumulate Pb from both contaminated soils and water sources or more specifically water in the rhizosphere. Besides, contaminated soils are liable to remain polluted with lead this will affect soil fertility.3,4 The fact that large changes in the lead content of soil are required to produce changes in the aerial parts of the plants as compared to changes in aerial lead concentration is closely reflected in the leaf lead concentration. Accumulation of Pb in grasses remains a potential hazard to livestock.3... 

Norman R, Slaton N, Roberts T. Soil fertility. In Hardke JT, editor. Arkansas Rice Production Handbook. Little Rock University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service MP192 2013. pp. 69-102. 

The transfer of trace elements in phosphate rocks to P fertilizers is dependent upon the manufacturing processes. Triple superphosphate fertilizer contains 60-70% of the Cd present in phosphate rocks (Wakefield, 1980). The transfer coefficients may be similar for most other elements and heavy metals even though there are little data on the transfer of other elements from phosphate rocks to P fertilizers. In general, based on some long-term (> 50 years) soil fertility experiments in the U.S., annual Cd rates from the application of phosphate fertilizers are estimated to range from 0.3 to 1.2 g per ha. The addition of Cd to soils as a contaminant from P fertilizers... 

Brendecke J.W., Axelson R.D., Pepper I.L. Soil microbial activity as an indicator of soil fertility long-term effects of municipal sewage sludge on an arid soil. Soil Bio Biochem 1993 25 751-758. 

Mortvedt J.J., Cadmium levels in soils and plants from some long-term soil fertility experiments in the United States of America. J Environ Qual 1987 16 137-142. 

Kumar K, Gupta SC, Baidoo SK, Chander Y, Rosen CJ (2005) Antibiotic uptake by plants from soil fertilized with animal manure. J Environ Qual 34 2082-2085... 

For confirmatory assay, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is becoming more frequently used in the analysis of OTC owing to its high sensitivity and ability. Electrospray ionization (ESI) [55-57] and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) [41] methods combined with tandem mass spectrometry are favored because of their higher sensitivity and better reproducibility. Hamscher et al. [58] developed a method for the determination of persistent TC residues in soil fertilized with manure by HPLC tandem mass spectrometry, MS-MS, and confirmation by MS-MS-MS. Zhu et al. [59] developed an LC-tandem mass spectrometry for the analysis of common tetracyclines in water. The detection limit for oxytetracycline was 0.21 pg/L. Lykkeberg et al. [60] used LC-MS/MS for determination of oxytetracycline and its impurities EOTC, TC, ETC, ADOTC, oc-AOTC, and /i-AOTC. 

Mader P, Fliessbach A, Dubois D, Gunst L, Fried P and Niggli U (2002). Soil fertility and biodiversity in organic farming . Science, 296,1694—1697. 

Livestock husbandry is not explicitly addressed in the historical concepts of organic farming. Livestock provided manure and was therefore an important link in the crop and soil fertility chain. Livestock played a major role on its own only in biodynamic farming, especially cattle whose organs are described as important catalysts of processes and transmitters of cosmic energies (Steiner, 1929). Nonetheless, even the pioneers of biodynamic farming did not consider livestock husbandry from an ethical or animal welfare point of view. 

---