Soil management

As a result of the experience drawn from several countries of the region, special emphasis has to be given to the practical approaches that have been successful in the past [17]. Success, viability and acceptance of marginal water use in agriculture depends on locally adapted water and soil management practices, with appropriate selection of cropping pattern and farming practices. 

W. Verstraete and J. P. Voets, Soil microbial and biochemical characteristics in relation to soil management and fertility. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 9 253 (1977). 

In soil, ectorhizosphere and the rhizoplane microbial populations develop that can vary in size, complexity, and activity. The interactions between the microbial populations in these environments and between the.se populations and plants can have important consequences for plant and soil health. An understanding of the microbial population is therefore central for soil management. 

Davies, B., Eagle, D. and Finney, B. (1997). Soil Management, Farming Press, Ipswich, UK. 

Goss MJ, Kay BD (2005) Soil aggregation. In Zobel RW, Wright SF (eds) Roots and soil management interactions between roots and the soil. ASA, CSSA, and SSSA, Madison WI, USA, pp 163-180... 

This has led to research into identification of labile pools of organic matter (which make up a relatively small proportion of the total pool) that are more sensitive to changes in soil management or environmental conditions than total soil organic matter content. Examples of such pools include C and N held in the microbial biomass and in particulate organic matter and in water-soluble, easily-extractable and potentially mineralizable fractions (Haynes 2005). 

The purpose of this paper is to review the significance of soil organic matter fractions, and the size and activity of the soil microbial community to the function of agricultural soils and investigate how land use and soil management affect these parameters. 

INOUE, H., TANAKA, A., Comparison of source and sink potentials between wild and cultivated potatoes, J. Sci. Soil Management Japan, 1978, 49, 321-327. 

CHC, Conservation Technology Information Center (1998). Available at http //www.ctic.purdue.edu Diaz-Zorita M, Duarte G, Grove J (2002) A review of no-till systems and soil management for sustainable crop production in the subhumid and semiarid Pampas of Argentina. Soil Tillage Res 65 1-18... 

Davies B, Eagle D, Finney B (1997) Soil management. Farmingl049 Press, Ipswich, MA DEFRA (Department for environment, food and rural affairs) (2002) Action plan to develop organic food and farming in England. DEFRA, UK, pp 1-10... 

Chellemi DO (2006) Effect of urban plant debris and soil management practices on plant parasitic nematodes Phytophthora blight and Pythium root rot of bell pepper. Crop Prot 25 1109-1116. doi 10.1016/j.cropro.2006.02.012... 

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