Complementary Application of NPK 15.15.15 Fertilizer with Different Source of Ash Materials on the Soil Properties, Nutritional Composition and Yield Performance of Ipomoea batatas

The research trial was to evaluate the complimentary effects of NPK 15.15.15 with different source of ash materials on the soil chemical properties,proximate content,growth and yield of sweet potato.The field trial was arranged using randomized complete block design(RCBD)with five(5)different treatments:NPK at 400 kg/ha,NPK at 200 kg/ha+dried mango leave ash,NPK at 200 kg/ha+rice husk dust,NPK at 200 kg/ha+wood ash,and control(no fertilization)replicated three times.The composites of soil sample of the field were collected between 0-20 cm depth,analyzed for pre-cropping soil properties,and after treatments during harvest to determine the changes in soil chemical properties due to soil amendments.The results indicated significant difference(p<0.05)among the treatments on all the parameters measured.The results showed that mineral content,dry matter,crude ash,starch,sugar,fats,crude protein and dietary fiber content were significantly improved in amended soil with ash materials when compared with sole NPK fertilization.The best performance on the growth and yield of sweet potato was significantly recorded from the plot amended with the integration of NPK plus rice husk dust of 18 t/ha while the control was the least.There were significant increases of soil organic carbon when treated with inorganic fertilizers and other ash material sources.The highest value of total nitrogen(0.17 g/kg)and lowest organic carbon(1.16 g/kg)was significantly recorded in the sole application of inorganic fertilizer whereas the highest increase in pH(5.7)and organic carbon(1.85 g/kg)were significantly recorded in the integration of NPK plus rice husk ash.It showed that sweet potato can perform optimally when there is integration of synthetic fertilizer amended with ash materials.

Effects of Combined Application of Water Retaining Agents and Organic Materials on Water Holding Characteristics of Yellow Brown Soils in Hilly Areas

[Objective] The aim was to reduce fertilizer and water losses caused by surface runoffs in rainy season and provide scientific references for soil moisture in arid season. [Method] The application proportion of complex water-holding organic materials was determined by multi-factor mixture experiment and the curve changes of soil moisture characters were tested to analyze water-holding capacity and water availability of soils. [Result] The initial moisture content of soil with different mixture proportions improved in varying degrees. For example, when water-retention agents reached 0.4% and 0.6% of soil weight, soil moisture contents were 69.0% and70.5%, respectively, which showed significant differences with the control（S0.0）. Soil dehydration terms in different treatments all extended, prolonging in the range of4.6-14 d. [Conclusion] The applications of water-retention agent and organic material would improve water-holding capacity of hills and low mountains, and initial moisture content and dehydration cycle tend to be volatile upon mixture proportion. Therefore,it is necessary to adjust soil fertility, crop species, and irrigation to meet crop demands on fertilizer and water.

Mechanical properties of anti-seepage grouting materials for heavy metal contaminated soil

Cement-based composite grouting materials were used to construct grouting cutoff wall for heavy metal contaminated soil in non-ferrous metal mining areas. Cement, fly ash, and slag as principal ingredients were mixed with water glass in different ways to produce three composite grouting materials. In order to investigate the effect of water glass mixing ratio, Baume degree, fly ash and slag contents on the mechanical properties of the composite grouting materials, particularly their gel time and compressive strength, the beaker-to-beaker method of gel time test and unconfined compressive strength test were conducted. In addition, the phase composition and microstructure of the composite grouting materials were analyzed by the X-ray diffraction（XRD） and scanning electron microscope（SEM） techniques. The test results show that their gel time increases when water glass mixing ratio and Baume degree increase. The gel time increases dramatically when fly ash is added, but decreases slightly if fly ash is partly replaced by slag. When the mixing ratio of water glass is below 20%, their compressive strength increases with the increases of the ratio; when the ratio is above 20%, it significantly decreases. The compressive strength also tends to increase as Baume degree increases, and improves if fly ash and slag are added.

Weathering and soils formation on different parent materials in Golestan Province,Northern Iran

Geochemical, mineralogical, and micromorphologieal characteristics of soils and their relevant parent rocks including loess, ignimbrite, sandstone and limestone were investigated to identify the soil-parent material uniformity and the weathering degree of soils in Golestan Province, northern Iran. Highly developed Caleixerolls and moderately developed Haploxerepts were formed on loess and limestone, respectively. In contrast, the soils formed on ignimbrite and sandstone were non- developed Entisols. Illite was the dominant clay mineral found in ignimbrite and sandstone in both the A horizon and parent material. In loess derived soils however, smectite was dominant especially in the Bt horizon compared to its parent material indicating partly to its pedogenic formation. In limestone, illite and vermiculite were dominant both in the A and C horizons. Ti/Zr ratio proved that the studied soils were closely related to their underlying parent materials geochemically. Chemical index of alteration （CIA）, micromorphological index of soil development （MISECA）, smectite/illite＋chlorite ratio and magnetic susceptibility were applied to investigate the degree of soil development. Results showed that the most and the least developed soils were those formed on loess deposits and limestone,respectively. Application of the different geochemical and pedogenetic approaches was proved to be useful in identifying the relevance of soils to their underlying parent materials and also their degree of development.

Preliminary Study on Relationship Between Soil Parent Materials and Tea Quality

Six tea plantations with different soil-forming parent materials, the same tea variety and tea age and similar landforms and management were selected to conduct a systematic study on the relationship between soil properties and tea quality. The results showed that the quality of tea grown on the soils derived from granites, arenaceous shales, argillaceous sandstones, was superior; those on the soils derived from limestones,dolomites, Quaternary red clays, were inferior. Further study showed that sandy soils were beneficial to improving amino acid content of tea, and clayey soils made it decrease; high content of bases might decrease the contents of tea polypenols, caffeine, water extracts, but promote the content of amino acids; available phosphorous was significantly positively correlated with water extracts, but significantly negatively correlated with carbine; slowly available potassium was positively correlated with amino acid content. Soil parent materials should be regarded as an important factor in evaluating the adaptability of tea to soils.

Application of Mulching Materials of Rainfall Harvesting System for Improving Soil Water and Corn Growth in Northwest of China

The ridge and furrow rainfall harvesting（RFRH） system is used for dryland crop production in northwest of China.To determine the effects of RFRH using different mulching materials on corn growth and water use efficiency（WUE）,a field experiment was conducted during 2008-2010 at the Heyang Dryland Experimental Station,China.Four treatments were used in the study.Furrows received uncovered mulching in all RFRH treatments whereas ridges were mulched with plastic film（PF）,biodegradable film（BF） or liquid film（LF）.A conventional flat field without mulching was used as the control（CK）.The results indicated that the average soil water storage at depths of 0-200 cm were 8.2 and 7.3%,respectively higher with PF and BF than with CK.However,LF improved soil water storage during the early growth stage of the crop.Compared with CK,the corn yields with PF and BF were increased by 20.4 and 19.4%,respectively,and WUE with each treatment increased by 23.3 and 21.7%,respectively.There were no significant differences in corn yield or WUE with the PF and BF treatments.The net income was the highest with PF,followed by BF,and the 3-yr average net incomes with these treatments were increased by 2 559 and 2 430 CNY ha-1,respectively,compared with CK.BF and PF had similar effects in enhancing the soil water content,crop yield and net income.Therefore,it can be concluded that biodegradable film may be a sustainable ecological alternative to plastic film for use in the RFRH system in northwest of China.

Dynamic Changes of Tobacco-growing Soil Nutrients and Enzymes After Application of Amelioration Materials

[Objectives]This study was conducted to clarify the improvement effects of different soil amelioration materials such as lime,green manure and bio-organic fertilizer on acidic tobacco-planting soil.[Methods]The dynamic changes of soil pH,soil nutrients and enzyme activity were studied by applying lime,lime+green fertilizer,and lime+green fertilizer+biological organic fertilizer.[Results]①After the application of amelioration materials,the soil pH and available phosphorus content of tobacco-growing soil showed a stepwise change of first increasing and then decreasing,and became stable at 60 d after tobacco transplanting;the soil organic matter,alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen and available potassium content showed a gradual change trend of"high-low-high";and the soil invertase and urease activity showed a gradual change trend of"low-high-low".②To 90 d after tobacco transplanting,the application of amelioration materials increased soil pH by 1.29-1.62 units,and increased organic matter content by 15.21%-20.86%,alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen content by 6.83%-18.17%,available phosphorus content by 54.15%-217.85%,rapidly available potassium content by 11.42%-30.86%,soil invertase activity by 70.09%-18.93%,and soil urease activity by 64.07%-130.47%.③The combination of lime+green manure+alkaline microbial organic fertilizer had the best effect on the improvement of acidic tobacco-growing soil,and the effect of lime+green manure+acid microbial organic fertilizer on acidic soil was the second.[Conclusions]When applying lime,green fertilizer and alkaline bio-organic fertilizer should be applied to achieve sustainable improvement of strongly acidic soil.

Determination of trace and rare-earth elements in Chinese soil and clay reference materials by ICP-MS

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS) has become a powerful tool for providing reliable analytical results in many laboratories around the word. In this study, the mixture of HF and HNO3 acids in high-temperature and high-pressure closed-vessel digestion technique were used to decompose some Chinese reference materials, and thirty seven elements were determined by ICP-MS. Most of the results for Chinese soil reference materials were found to be in reasonable agreement with the reference values, except Cs, Ta, Li, Ge, Zn, Nd, Tb and Ta whose values need to be revised. Their precisions were typically lower than 5% RSD. However, the Precisions of Chinese clay reference materials, especially for GBW03102 and GBW03102a, were significantly different with reference values, probably reflecting the existence of a coarser-grained fraction(>70 μm) in samples, and the formation of fluorides in Al-rich samples during sample decomposition by using the mixture of HF and HNO3 acids. Moreover, thirty-seven trace elements covering the mass range from Li to U in four Chinese clay reference materials were firstly provided with good precision and accuracy in this study.

Distribution and Elimination of Lead Species in Soils Related to GAP of Chinese Medicinal Materials of Ligusticum Chuanxiong Hort

In this paper, the sequential extraction procedure was used for the selection of fractions of lead in seven stages corresponding to lead exchangeable, lead bounded to carbonates, to manganese oxides, to organic matters, to amorphous iron, and lead associated to crystallized iron, and to residuals. The vertical distributions of lead species were carried out in the soils related to good agriculture progress (GAP) of Chinese medical materials of Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort in Dujiangyan city and Wenchuan Co...

Fractionation of Added Cadmium in Submerged Soils asAffected by Organic Materials

The effect of three organic materials (rice straw, Chinese milk vetch and pig manure) on the fractionationof cadmium added into two soils (a red soil and a fiuvo-aquic soil) was studied using submerged incubationexperiment. The organic materials increased soil solid organic carbon (SOC), pH value, the concentration ofactive Si in all the treatments and active Fe and Mn in some treatments. Accumulated SOC caused directlythe increase of Cd bound to solid organic matter and consequently the decrease of exchangeable Cd. Higheractive Si and pH, as well as lower Eh, were also responsible for the reduction of exchangeable Cd. Cd boundto Mn oxide was positively correlated with pH values and rose significatly after one-month incubation, butdecreased after three-month incubstion. Cd bound to amorphous Fe oxide increased with the incubationtime, but was not effected significantly by adding organic materials.

Review on the Mechanism and Effect of Organic Materials on Available Pb in Soil

Heavy metal pollution and remediation of soils have drawn much attention. More and more scholars tend to remediate soil heavy metals without affecting the normal agricultural production. By analyzing the mechanism of action of organic materials to remediate Pb pollution in soil,the effect of different organic materials on the passivation of available Pb in soil was summarized,and the prospect was proposed for the future application of organic materials,in order to provide reference for the remediation of Pb and other heavy metals by organic materials.

Remediation of Heavy Metals Polluted Soil Using Metal Insolubilizing Materials

Heavy metal ions, one kind of harmful substance, may exist in the soil irrelevant to artificial development, and soil contamination, due to soil and rock containing these naturally derived heavy metals, has recently become apparent. Thus, in an amendment that came into effect in 2010 of Japan, the scope of countermeasures and regulations for contaminated soil was amended to “contaminated soil derived from artificial development” and “naturally derived contaminated soil”. When naturally derived contaminated soil is encountered during the carrying out of construction work, countermeasures against this type of soil contamination are necessary. In this research, new metal-insolubilizing materials are developed in order to improve the insolubilization treatment which is one method for treating contaminated soil. Specifically, tests are conducted to clarify the insolubilization effect on heavy metals, and the insolubilization mechanism is chemically and mineralogically discussed.

A Comparative Investigation of the Biodegradation Behaviour of Linseed Oil-Based Cross-Linked Composites Filled with Industrial Waste Materials in Two Different Soils

The biodegradation of polymeric biocomposites formed from epoxidized linseed oil and various types of fillers(pine needles,pine bark,grain mill waste,rapeseed cake)and a control sample without filler was studied during 180 days of exposure to two types of forest soil:deciduous and coniferous.The weight loss,morphological,and structural changes of polymer composites were noticed after 180 days of the soil burial test.The greatest weight loss of all tested samples was observed in coniferous forest soil(41.8%–63.2%),while in deciduous forest soil,it ranged between 37.7%and 42.3%.The most significant changes in the intensities of the signals evaluated by attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy,as well as morphological changes determined by scanning electron microscopy,were assessed for polymer composite with rapeseed cake and specimen without filler in coniferous forest soil and are in a good agreement with weight loss results.Whereas significantly lower changes in weight loss,morphology,and structure of polymeric film with pine bark were noticed in both soils.It was suggested that fungi of Trichoderma,Penicillium,Talaromyces and Clonostachys genera are the possible soil microorganisms that degrade linseed oil-based cross-linked polymer composites.Moreover,the novel polymer composites have the potential to be an environmentally friendly alternative to petroleum-based mulching films.

THEORETICAL MODEL OF EFFECTIVE STRESS COEFFICIENT FOR ROCK/SOIL-LIKE POROUS MATERIALS

Physical mechanisms and influencing factors on the effective stress coefficient for rock/soil-like porous materials are investigated, based on which equivalent connectivity index is proposed. The equivalent connectivity index, relying on the meso-scale structure of porous material and the property of liquid, denotes the connectivity of pores in Representative Element Area （REA）. If the conductivity of the porous material is anisotropic, the equivalent connectivity index is a second order tensor. Based on the basic theories of continuous mechanics and tensor analysis, relationship between area porosity and volumetric porosity of porous materials is deduced. Then a generalized expression, describing the relation between effective stress coefficient tensor and equivalent connectivity tensor of pores, is proposed, and the expression can be applied to isotropic media and also to anisotropic materials. Furthermore, evolution of porosity and equivalent connectivity index of the pore are studied in the strain space, and the method to determine the corresponding functions in expressions above is proposed using genetic algorithm and genetic programming. Two applications show that the results obtained by the method in this paper perfectly agree with the test data. This paper provides an important theoretical support to the coupled hydro-mechanical research.

Organic Materials Could Improve the Phytoremediation Efficiency of Soil Potentially Hazardous Metal by Sedum alfredii Hance

Soil potentially hazardous metal(PHM)is continually attracting public attention worldwide,due to its highly toxic properties and potentially huge damage to human being through food chain.Phytoremediation is an effective and eco-friendly way in remediation technology.A pot experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of different organic materials(biogas residue(BR),mushroom residue(MR),and bamboo-shoot shell(BS))application on phytoremediation of two PHM-contaminated soils(Fuyang soil as‘heavily-polluted soil’and Wenzhou soil as‘moderately-polluted soil’,respectively)by Sedum alfrecdii Hance.The results indicated:1)for moderately-polluted soil,the 5%BR treatment had the strongest activation to Cu and Zn,for heavily-polluted soil,1%BS treatment had the highest activation effect for Cu,Zn,Pb and Cd.2)the above-ground biomass of Sedum alfredii Hance increased with the addition rate of organic materials.3)for Cd uptake of Sedum alfredii Hance in moderately-polluted soil,only 1%BS treatment had a better accumulation effect,compared to the control,for Zn element,MR treatments were weaker than the control,while other treatments were better than the control,of which 5%BR,1%BS and 5%BS accumulated more Zn element by 39.6%,32.6%and 23.8%,respectively;in heavily-polluted soil,the treatments of 5%BS,1%BR and 5%BR accumulated more Cd than the control by 12.9%,12.8%and 6.2%,respectively,the treatments with organic materials addition promoted Zn accumulation in shoots of Sedum alfredii Hance,and the best treatment was 5%BS.Therefore,an appropriate application rate of BS and BR could improve the remediation efficiency for Zn/Cd contaminated soils by Sedum alfredii Hance.

Oil Palm Soil Variability in West Malaysia as Affected by Its Parent Materials

The research aimed to analyze soil variability induced by parent materials for oil palm in West Malaysia. The research results can provide basic information on potential reserves of nutrients to improve soil productivity for oil palm. Soil samples were collected from two locations （granite soils and basalt soils）. The collected soil samples were completely analyzed in laboratory. The research results showed that based on mineral resistance to weathering （sand and silt mineral sizes）, mineral weathering of granite and basalt is divided into three categories, i.e., very slow weathered mineral （quartz and muscovite）, slowly weathered mineral （K-feldspar, Na and Ca-feldspar and biotite）, and easily weathered mineral （hornblende, augit, olivine, dolomite, calcite and gypsum） Losing mineral during weathering process from granite to clay is determined by containing mineral in rocks. Such minerals （CaO, Na：O, KzO, MgO and SiO2） loosed 100%, 95.0%, 83.5%, 74.7% and 52.5%, respectively, but Fe203 is disappeared only 14.4%. Soil properties characters of granite soil is more acid, has very low to low chemical soil fertility and is dominated by sand fraction, furthermore basalt soil is acid, has low to moderate chemical soil fertility and is dominated by clay fraction. Granite and basalt soils are able to produce FFB of oil palm （Fresh Fruit Bunches） 13-18 ton/ha in a year and 19-24 ton/ha in a year, respectively. The production difference of both soils is around 6.0 ton/ha in a year.

Research Progress of Soil Factors Affecting the Quality of Chinese Medicinal Materials

The paper summarized the effects of soil on the quality of Chinese medicinal materials from the aspects of physical,chemical and biological properties of soil,in order to provide a reference for further research on the internal relationship between soil factors and the quality of Chinese medicinal materials,and to provide a theoretical basis for the cultivation and quality improvement of Chinese medicinal materials.

Effective Utilization of Concrete Sludge as Soil Improvement Materials

The amount of muddy soil generated from various kinds of construction sites is always problematic. It is very difficult to treat muddy soil because of its low strength and high water content. But, the reuse of muddy soil is necessary to reduce the total amount of industrial wastes. Surplus concrete is also in a similar situation. Coarse and fine aggregates are removed from surplus concrete as an intermediate treatment, however, concrete sludge still remains. The authors propose a reuse method that involves the muddy soil being mixed with concrete sludge as an improvement material. The possibility of the utilization of concrete sludge was investigated through laboratory experiments. As a result, it was found that the unconfined compressive strength of the improved soil mixed with concrete sludge increased as the curing proceeded.

Soil Improvement Using Waste Materials:A Review

With the industrialisation,industrial byproducts are produced in large quantities and create nuisance to natural habitats.The disposal of these wastes like fly ash,marble powder,construction and demolition(C&D)waste,brick powder,agricultural wastes etc.has become the potential threat to the ecosystem and need some real solutions.The direct disposal of such wastes into open land or water bodies causes circumambient pollution.One of the potential solutions is to utilise these wastes in the construction industry on large scale as subgrade rehab or additive to cement based materials.In the present study,the compaction and strength characteristics of stabilised soil have been studied by using various waste materials i.e.lime,cement,plastic waste,industrial waste,fibre,mushroom waste,wet olive pomace etc.and reviewed.The addition of additives improved the engineering properties of soil significantly.

Aggregate stability and associated C and N in a silty loam soil as affected by organic material inputs

To make recycling utilization of organic materials produced in various agricultural systems, five kinds of organic materials were applied in a field test, including crop straw （CS）, biogas residue （BR）, mushroom residue （MR）, wine residue （WR）, pig manure （PM）, with a mineral fertilizer （CF） and a no-fertilizer （CK） treatment as a control. Our objectives were： i） to quantify the effects of organic materials on soil C and N accumulation; ii） to evaluate the effects of organic materials on soil aggregate stability, along with the total organic carbon （TOC）, and N in different aggregate fractions; and iii） to assess the relationships among the organic material components, soil C and N, and C, N in aggregate fractions. The trial was conducted in Wuqiao County, Hebei Province, China. The organic materials were incorporated at an equal rate of C, and combined with a mineral fertilizer in amounts of 150 kg N ha^-1, 26 kg P ha^-1 and 124 kg K ha-1 respectively during each crop season of a wheat-maize rotation system. The inputted C quantity of each organic material treatment was equivalent to the total amount of C contained in the crop straw harvested in CS treatement in the previous season. TOC, N, water-stable aggregates, and aggregate-associated TOC and N were investigated. The results showed that organic material incorporation increased soil aggregation and stabilization. On average, the soil macroaggregate proportion increased by 14%, the microaggregate proportion increased by 3%, and mean-weight diameter （MWD） increased by 20%. TOC content followed the order of PM〉WR〉MR〉BR〉CS〉CK〉CF; N content followed the order WR〉PM〉MR〉BR〉CS〉CF〉CK. No significant correlation was found between TOC, N, and the quality of organic material. Soil silt and clay particles contained the largest part of TOC, whereas the small macroaggregate fraction was the most sensitive to organic materials. Our results indicate that PM and WR exerted better effects on soil C and N accumulation, followed by MR and BR, suggesting that organic materials from ex situ farmland could promote soil quality more as compared to straw returned in situ.