Enhancing Maize Grain Yield in Acid Soils of Western Kenya Using Aluminium Tolerant Germplasm

Maize （Zea mays L.） is one of the world＇s most important cereals and is a staple food for many people in developing countries. However, in acid soils （pH 〈 5.5）, its productivity is limited by aluminium （AI） toxicity, besides other factors. The objectives of this study were to： develop AI tolerant maize inbred lines for a maize breeding program in Kenya, develop single cross hybrids （SCHs） from some of the tolerant inbred lines and determine AI tolerance levels of the SCHs. One hundred and seventy five inbreds and 49 SCHs were developed and screened in nutrient culture containing 0 or 222μM using Relative Net Root Growth （RNRG）, hematoxylin staining （HS） and under AI saturated field conditions （44%-45.6%） at Sega and Chepkoilel. Seedling root growth was inhibited in 95% of the inbreds. F hybrids obtained from inbreds varying in A1 tolerance, exhibited tolerance equal to or greater than that of the more tolerant parent indicating a positive transgressive inheritance to AI toxicity. Fifty eight percent of the F SCHs were heterotic for tolerance to AI toxicity. AI tolerance estimated by RNRG was well correlated to that of HS （r2 = 0.88, P 〈 0.005） but minimally correlated with the field estimates （r2 = 0.24-0.35）, implying that RNRG can predict field selection under AI toxic soils by between 24% and 35%. Plant breeders should therefore employ both approaches in selecting cultivars under AI stress. This study has developed and identified A1 tolerant inbreds and SCHs for use in the acid soils of Kenya and similar regions.

Genetic improvement of legume roots for adaption to acid soils

Acid soils occupy approximately 50% of potentially arable lands.Improving crop productivity in acid soils,therefore,will be crucial for ensuring food security and agricultural sustainability.High soil acidity often coexists with phosphorus(P) deficiency and aluminum(Al) toxicity,a combination that severely impedes crop growth and yield across wide areas.As roots explore soil for the nutrients and water required for plant growth and development,they also sense and respond to below-ground stresses.Within the terrestrial context of widespread P deficiency and Al toxicity pressures,plants,particularly roots,have evolved a variety of mechanisms for adapting to these stresses.As legumes,soybean(Glycine max) plants may acquire nitrogen(N) through symbiotic nitrogen fixation(SNF),an adaptation that can be useful for mitigating excessive N fertilizer use,either directly as leguminous crop participants in rotation and intercropping systems,or secondarily as green manure cover crops.In this review,we investigate legumes,especially soybean,for recent advances in our understanding of root-based mechanisms linked with root architecture modification,exudation and symbiosis,together with associated genetic and molecular strategies in adaptation to individual and/or interacting P and Al conditions in acid soils.We propose that breeding legume cultivars with superior nutrient efficiency and/or Al tolerance traits through genetic selection might become a potentially powerful strategy for producing crop varieties capable of maintaining or improving yields in more stressful soil conditions subjected to increasingly challenging environmental conditions.

Chemical Species of Aluminum Ions in Acid Soils *1

Soil samples collected from several acid soils in Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces of the southern China were employed to characterize the chemical species of aluminum ions in the soils. The proportion of monomeric inorganic Al to total Al in soil solution was in the range of 19% to 70%, that of monomeric organic Al (Al OM) to total Al ranged from 7.7% to 69%, and that of the acid soluble Al to total Al was generally smaller and was lower than 20% in most of the acid soils studied. The Al OM concentration in soil solution was positively correlated with the content of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and also affected by the concentration of Al 3+ . The complexes of aluminum with fluoride (Al F) were the predominant forms of inorganic Al, and the proportion of Al F complexes to total inorganic Al increased with pH. Under strongly acid condition, Al 3+ was also a major form of inorganic Al, and the proportion of Al 3+ to total inorganic Al decreased with increasing pH. The proportions of Al OH and Al SO 4 complexes to total inorganic Al were small and were not larger than 10% in the most acid soils. The concentration of inorganic Al in solution depended largely on pH and the concentration of total F in soil solution. The concentrations of Al OM, Al 3+ ,Al F and Al OH complexes in topsoil were higher than those in subsoil and decreased with the increase in soil depth. The chemical species of aluminum ions were influenced by pH. The concentrations of Al OM, Al 3+ , Al F complexes and Al OH complexes decreased with the increase in pH.

Alleviation of Soil Acidity and Aluminium Phytotoxicityin Acid Soils by Using Alkaline-Stabilized Biosolids

A pot experiment was catried out to study alleviation of soil acidity and Al toxicity by applying analkaline-stabilised sewage sludge product (biosolids) to an acid clay sandy loam (pH 5.7) and a strongly acidsandy loam (pH 4.5). Barley (Hondeum vulgare L. cv. Forrester) was used as a test crop and was grownin the sewage sludge-amended (33.5 t sludge DM ha-1) and unamended soils. The results showed that thealka1ine biosloids increased soil pH from 5.7 to 6.9 for the clay sandy loam and from 4.5 to 6.0 for the sandyloam. The sludge product decreased KCl-extractable Al from 0.1 to 0.0 cmol kg-1 for the former soil andfrom 4.0 to 0.1 cmol kg-1 for the latter soil. As a result, barley plants grew much better and grain yieldincreased greatly in the amended treatments compared with the unamended controls. These observationsindicate that alkaline-stabilised biosolids can be used as a liming material for remedying Al phytotoxicity instrongly acid soils by increasing soil pH and lowering Al bioavailability.

Decreased Soil Nitrification Rate with Addition of Biochar to Acid Soils

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of mixed biochar on the nitrification rate in acidic soils. A15 N tracer experiment with(15 NH4)2 SO4 was conducted to determine the nitrification rates of 4 acidic agricultural soils with p H 4.03-6.02 in Yunnan Province, Southern China. The accumulation of15 N-NO3-and nitrification rates decreased with the addition of biochar at the end of incubation, suggesting that biochar could be a nitrification inhibitor in acidic fertilized soil. Nitrification rates in soil with p H 4.03 were evidently lower than those in soil with p H 4.81-6.02 with or without biochar. Decreased nitrification rates were detected in the acidic soils with biochar. Soil p H controlled nitrification more than biochar in certain strongly acidic soils.

Genotypic Differences of Forage Crop Tolerance to Acid Soils

Twenty eight species of forage crops were planted on acid soils derived from Quaternary red clay (pH 4.16)and red sandstone (pH 4.55) to study genotypic differences of the forage crops in tolerance to acid soils as affected by liming, phosporus and potassium fertilizer application. Eight forage species, Lolium multiflorum L., Brachiaria decumbens, Digitaria sumtisii, Melinis minutiflora, Paspalum dilatatum, Paspalum wettsteinii,Sataria viridis Beanv and Shcep’s Festuca, were highly tolerant to acid soils, and grew relatively well in the tested soils without lime application, whereas most of the other 20 tested forage species such as Lolium perenne L., Meadow Festuca and Trifolium pratense L. were intolerant to acid soils, showing retarded growth when the soil pH was below 5.5 and significant increase in dry matter yields by phosphrus fertilizer application at soil pH 6.0. Results showed that large differences in tolerance to acid soils existed among the forage species,and tolerance of the forage species to acid soils might be closely associated with their tolerance to Al and P efficiency.

Relationship of Soil Qualities to Maize Growth Under Increasing Phosphorus Supply in Acid Soils of Southern Cameroon

A large array of soil properties influences plant growth response to phosphorus(P) fertilizer input in acid soils. We carried out a pot experiment using three contrasted acid soils from southern Cameroon with the following main objectives:i) to assess the main soil causal factors of different maize(Zea mays L.) growth response to applied P and ii) to statistically model soil quality variation across soil types as well as their relationships to dry matter production. The soils used are classified as Typic Kandiudox(TKO) ,Rhodic Kandiudult(RKU) ,and Typic Kandiudult(TKU) . Analysis of variance,regression,and principal component analyses were used for data analysis and interpretation. Shoot dry matter yield(DMY) was significantly affected by soil type and P rate with no significant interaction. Predicted maximum attainable DMY was lowest in the TKO(26.2 g pot-1) as compared to 35.6 and 36.7 g pot-1 for the RKU and TKU,respectively. Properties that positively influenced DMY were the levels of inorganic NaHCO3-extractable P,individual basic cations(Ca,Mg,and K) ,and pH. Their effects contrasted with those of exchangeable Al and C/N ratio,which significantly depressed DMY. Principal component analysis yielded similar results,identifying 4 orthogonal components,which accounted for 84.7% of the total system variance(TSV) . Principal component 1 was identified as soil nutrient deficiency explaining 35.9% of TSV. This soil quality varied significantly among the studied soils,emerging as the only soil quality which significantly(P < 0.05) correlated with maize growth. The 2nd,3rd,and 4th components were identified as soil organic matter contents,texture,and HCl-extractable P,respectively.

Effect of Electrolyte on the Dissolution of Aluminum from Acid Soils and the Distribution of Aluminum Forms inSoil Solution

KCl, CaCl2, NH4Cl, NaCl, K2SO4 and KF solutions were used for studying the effects of canons and anions on the dissolution of aluminum and the distribution of aluminum forms respectively. Power of exchanging and releasing aluminum of four kinds of canons was in the decreasing order Ca2+ >K+ >NH+4 >Na+.The dissolution of aluminum increased with the canon concentration. The adsorption affinity of various soils for aluminum was different. The aluminum in the soil with a stronger adsorption affinity was difficult to be exchanged and released by canons. The Al-F complexes were main species of inorganic aluminum at a low concentration of canons, while Al3+ became major species of inorganic aluminum at a high concentration of canons. The results on the effect of anions indicated that the concentrations of total aluminum, three kinds of inorganic aluminum (Al3+, Al-F and Al-OH complexes) and organic aluminum complexes (Al-OM)when SO2-4 was added into soil suspension were lower than those when Cl- was added. The dissolution of aluminum from soils and the distribution of aluminum forms in solution were edicted by the adsorption of Fon the soil. For soils with strong affinty for F- , the concentrations of the three inorganic aluminum species in soil solution after addition of F- were lower than those after addition of Cl-; but for soils with weak affinity for F- , the concentrations of Al3+ and Al-OM were lower and the concentrations of Al-F complexes and total inorganic aluminum after addition of F- were higher than those after addition of Cl-. The increase of F- concentration in soil solution accelerated the dissolution of aluminum from soils.

Agronomic Potential of Partially Acidnlated Rock Phos－phates in Acid Soils of Subtropical China

A glasshouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the agronomic potential of four partially acidulatedrock phosphates (PARP) in three representative soils sampled from subtropical China. The PARPs weremanufactured by attacking a moderately reactive phosphate rock either with sulfuric acid alone or withcombination of sulfuric and phosphoric acids at 30 or 60 percent of acidulation. Shoot dry weight and Paccumulation of six successive cuttings of ryegrass were used to compare the agronomic potential of thesefertilizers with that of the raw rock phosphate (RP) and monocalcium phosphate (MCP). Results indicatedthat the effectiveness of various phosphates was determined both by the solubility of the phosphates andby the acidity and P-fixing capacity of the soils. The higher the watersoluble P contained, the better theeffectiveness of the fertilizer was. Although plant P accumulation of PARP treatments was constantly lowerthan that of MCP treatment, some PARPs could still get a dry matter production similar to that of MCPtreatment. PARP SP60, which was acidulated with a mixture of sulfuric acid and phosphoric acid at 60percent of acidulation and contained the highest soluble P, was as effective as MCP in terms of dry matterproduction on all the soils. 560 and C1, which were both acidulated with sulfuric acid with the formerat 60 percent of acidulation and the latter at 30 percent but with a further addition of monoarninoniumphosphate, were more than 80 percent as effective as MCP. Raw RP also showed a reasonable effectivenesswhich increased with soil acidity. It was suggested from the study that some of these PARPs could beexpected to have a comparable field performance as soluble P fertilizers in the acid soil regions.

Growth and mineral nutrient analysis of teak (Tectona grandis) grown on acidic soils in south China

Teak （Tectona grandis L.f.） is widely planted in the world due to its high market demand, economic, ecological and social value. Its plantations have mostly been established and expanded into sites that are acidic to severely acidic in southern China. But, there are no available and specific evidence-based nutrient management techniques. To better recognize and understand the relationship between teak tree growth and nutrient content in the foliage and soil and establish nutrient norms are critical to optimally manage these young plantations. We studied the foliar nutrient and soil chemistry in 19 representative teak plantations aged 5-8 years. Regression analysis indicated that the mean annual increment of teak volume was linearly and positively correlated with foliar N, Ca, Fe and B concentrations, with soil base saturation percentage, available P and Zn concentrations, and negatively correlated with soil Al concentration. Only if the Ca and Mg contents in soil were enhanced, could the increase in soil base saturation percentage benefit teak growth. A revised classification of low-and high-yielding stands was established by using a sorting method of principal components over 6 foliar macro and 8 micro elements in a Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System （DRIS）. Specific DRIS norms for teak plantations in acid soils were derived. The nutrient balance of N, P, K Ca, Mg, Zn, B with Fe or A1, Ca with Mg, and Fe with AI provided a key to promote the growth of teak in acid soils. Meanwhile, soil Zn was also found as a primary trace element that affected teak growth in this study.

Amendment of Acid Soils with Crop Residues and Biochars

The liming potential of some crop residues and their biochars on an acid Ultisol was investigated using incubation experiments. Rice hulls showed greater liming potential than rice hull biochar, while soybean and pea straws had less liming potential than their biochars. Due to their higher alkalinity, biochars from legume materials increased soil pH much compared to biochars from non-legume materials. The alkalinity of biochars was a key factor affecting their liming potential, and the greater alkalinity of biochars led to greater reductions in soil acidity. The incorporation of biochars decreased soil exchangeable acidity and increased soil exchangeable base cations and base saturation, thus improving soil fertility.

Nutrient Limiting Factors in Acidic Vegetable Soils

Nutrient limiting factors in acidic soils from vegetable fields of the Chongqing suburbs of China were assessed by employing the systematic approach developed by Agro Services International (ASI) including soil testing, nutrient adsorption study, and pot and field experiments to verify the results of soil testing, with a conventional soil test (CST) used for comparison. The ASI method found the moderately acidic soil (W01) to be N and P deficient; the strongly acidic soil (W04) to be N, K and S deficient; and the slightly acidic soil (W09) to be N, K, S, Cu, Mn, and Zn deficient. The CST method showed that W01 had P, B and Cu deficiencies; W04 had N, P and S deficiencies; and W09 had N, P, S, B, Cu, and Zn deficiencies. There were differences between the two methods. Among the two indicator plants selected, the response of sorghum on the three representative acidic soils was more closely related to the ASI results than that of sweet pepper.

Soil Quality Assessment of Acid Sulfate Paddy Soils with Different Productivities in Guangdong Province,China

Land conversion is considered an effective measure to ensure national food security in China, but little information is available on the quality of low productivity soils, in particular those in acid sulfate soil regions. In our study, acid sulfate paddy soils were divided into soils with high, medium and low levels based on local rice productivity, and 60 soil samples were collected for analysis. Twenty soil variables including physical, chemical and biochemical properties were determined. Those variables that were significantly different between the high, medium and low productivity soils were selected for principal component analysis, and microbial biomass carbon （MBC）, total nitrogen （TN）, available silicon （ASi）, pH and available zinc （AZn） were retained in the minimum data set （MDS）. After scoring the MDS variables, they were integrated to calculate a soil quality index （SQI）, and the high, medium and low productivity paddy soils received mean SQI scores of 0.95, 0.83 and 0.60, respectively. Low productivity paddy soils showed worse soil quality, and a large discrepancy was observed between the low and high productivity paddy soils. Lower MBC, TN, ASi, pH and available K （AK） were considered as the primary limiting factors. Additionally, all the soil samples collected were rich in available P and AZn, but deficient in AK and ASi. The results suggest that soil AK and ASi deficiencies were the main limiting factors for all the studied acid sulfate paddy soil regions. The application of K and Si on a national basis and other sustainable management approaches are suggested to improve rice productivity, especially for low productivity paddy soils. Our results indicated that there is a large potential for increasing productivity and producing more cereals in acid sulfate paddy soil regions.

Analytical Methods for Environmental Risk Assessment of Acid Sulfate Soils: A Review

Assessment of acid sulfate soil risk is an important step for acid sulfate soil management and its reliability depends very much on the suitability and accuracy of various analytical methods for estimating sulfide-derived potential acidity, actual acidity and acid-neutralizing capacity in acid sulfate soils. This paper critically reviews various analytical methods that are currently used for determination of the above parameters, as well as their implications for environmental risk assessment of acid sulfate soi1s.

Characteristics of Phosphorus in Some Eastern Australian Acid Sulfate Soils

Forty-five acid sulfatc topsoil samples (depth < 0.5 m) from 15 soil coreswere collected from 11 locations along the New South Wales coast, Australia. There was an overalltrend for the concentration of the HCl-extractable P to increase along with increasing amounts oforganic C and the HCl-extractable trivalent metals in the topsoils of some less-disturbed acidsulfate soils (pH < 4.5). This suggests that inorganic P in these soils probably accumulated viabiological cycling and was retained by complexation with trivalent metals or their oxides andhydroxides. While there was no clear correlation between pH and the water-extractable P, theconcentration of the water-extractable P tended to increase with increasing amounts of theHCl-extractable P. This disagrees with some established models which suggest that the concentrationof solution P in acid soils is independent of total P and decreases with increasing acidity. Thehigh concentration of sulfate present in acid sulfate soils appeared to affect the chemical behaviorof P in these soil systems. Comparison was made between a less disturbed wetland acid sulfate soiland a more intensively disturbed sugarcane acid sulfate soil. The results show that reclamation ofwetland acid sulfate soils for sugarcane production caused a significant decrease in theHCl-extractable P in the topsoil layer as a result of the reduced bio-cycling of phosphorusfollowing sugarcane farming. Simulation experiment shows that addition of hydrated lime had noeffects on the immobilization of retained P in an acid sulfate soil sample within a pH range3.5～4.6. When the pH was raised to above 4.6, soluble P in the soil extracts had a tendency toincrease with increasing pH until the 15th extraction (pH 5.13). This, in combination with the poorpH-soluble P relationship observed from the less-disturbed acid sulfate soils, suggests that solubleP was not clearly pH-dependent in acid sulfate soils with pH < 4.5.

Iron Monosulfide Distribution in Three Coastal Floodplain Acid Sulfate Soils, Eastern Australia

The distribution of iron monosulfide (quantified as acid volatile sulfur: SAV) was compared with geo- chemical properties that are known to affect its formation and accumulation in three coastal Holocene acid sulfate soils (ASS) at Tuckean Swamp, McLeods Creek and Bungawalbyn Swamp respectively. These properties included PH, reactive iron (FeR), pore-water sulfate (SO:42-) and organic carbon (OC). Iron monosulfide was concentrated at the oxic/anoxic boundary. The Tuckean Swamp and McLeods Creek sites are Holocene sediments, whereas the Bungawalbyn Swamp is a Holocene peat. The concentration of SAV averaged 0.2 g kg-l in a 0.5 m thick soil layer at the Tuckean Swamp, but was an order of magnitude lower in the oxic/anoxic transition layers at McLeods Creek and Bungawalbyn Swamp. The SAV mineral greigite (Fe3S4) was identified in the Tuckean Swamp by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy with quantitative energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX). Very small concentrations of greigite were also observed in the McLeods Creek, based on crystal morphology and elemental composition. The concentration of SAV was a small fraction of the total reduced sulfur, representing at most 3% of the Pyrite sulfur. However, the presence of this highly reactive sulfide mineral, distributed within pores where oxygen diffusion is most rapid, has important implications to the potential rate of acid production from these sediments.

Could Acid Sulfate Soils Be a Potential Environmental Threat to Estuarine Ecosystems on the South China Coast?

Acid sulfate soils (ASS) contain considerable amounts of reduced sulfur compounds (mainly pyrite) which produce sulfuric acid upon their oxidation. ASS-derived environmental degradation widely occurs in the coastal lowlands around the world, especially in the tropical and subtropical areas. The presence of ASS in the South China has been recognized but their distribution may be largely underestimated because the soil survey data concerning ASS are based on unreliable methods and techniques. ASS in the South China have been traditionally used for rice cultivation and this practice has been proved sustainable if appropriate improvement measures are adopted. Recently, the rapid economic growth in the region has resulted in intensified coastal development which frequently involves activities that may disturb ASS. Construction of roads, foundations and aquaculture ponds may cause the exposure of ASS to air and bring about severe environmental acidification. There is currently insufficient awareness of the problems among the researchers, policy-makers and land managers in the South China. More atteation must be paid to the possible ASSderived environmental degradation in order to ensure a sustainable development of the coastal lowlands in the South China region.

Characteristics of Some Heavy Metals in Acid Sulfate Topsoils, Eastern Australia

Forty-five acid sulfate topsoil samples (depth < 0.5 m) from 15 soil cores at 11 locations along the New South Wales coast, Australia, were selected to investigate the chemical behavior of Zn, Mn, Cr, Co and Pb in these soils. The amount of HCI-extractable Mn was much smaller than the mean value of the total Mn documented for other soils. This may be attributed to enhanced mobilization of Mn from the soils under the extremely acidic and seasonally flooded conditions encountered in the investigated soils. The pH-dependency of soluble Zn and Mn was strongly affected by the availability of acid reactive Zn and Mn compounds. There were fairly good relationships between soluble Zn and acid reactive Zn compounds, and between soluble Mn and acid reactive Mn compounds. Soluble Zn and soluble Mn concentrations were important controls on exchangeable Zn and Mn concentrations, respectively. In contrast to the suggestion by other authors that adsorption of Co was closely associated with Mn oxides present in soils, the exchangeable Co in the investigated acid sulfate soils was not clearly related to the abundance of Mn minerals. In addition to the fact that there are few Mn minerals present in the soils, this might also be because the availability of canon exchange sites on the crystal surfaces of Mn oxides was reduced under extremely acidic conditions.

Acid Sulfate Soils in Australia: Characteristics,Problemsand Management

Acid soils(ASS) are widely distributed in Australia. This has only been recognized recentlywhen intensive research on ASS has been done in this country. This paper reviews aspects concerning a)the distribution and acid potential, b) controls on acidic status, and c) problems and management of ASSin Australia It is believed that the Australian experience may be useful for other countries where potentialproblems from ASS exist but insrfficient attention was paid to them.

Acidity Regimes of Soils Under Different Vegetations in the Changbai Mountains Region

The acidity regimes of representative soils on the north slope of the Changbai Mountains were examined through determinations of PH and pCa of the soil paste as well as in-site determinations. For soils under broad-leaf forest or broad-leaf-Korean pine forest, the pH decreased from the litter to lower layers gradually until it did not change or decreased further slightly. For soils under coniferous forest or Ermans birch forest,there was a minimum in pH at a depth of 3～6 cm where the content of humus was high. The pCa increased gradually from the soil surface downward to a constant value. The lime potential (pH-0.5pCa) showed a similar trend as the PH in its distribution. For a given soil, the measured pH value of the thick paste, ranging from 4.5 to 5.5, was lower by about 0.5 units than the value determined by the conventional method with a water to soil ratio of 5:1. The PH determined in site was even lower. It was found that there was a fairly close relationship between soil acidity and the type of vegetation. The pH showed a trend of decreasing from soils under broad-leaf forest through broad-leaf-conifer mixed forest and coniferous forest to Ermans birch forest, and the pCa showed an opposite trend in variation.