Effects of Combined Application Organic Fertilizer and Chemical Fertilizer on Agronomic Characters，Yield and Quality of Artemisiae Argyi Folium / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To explore the effect of different proportions of organic fertilizer and chemical fertilizer on the agronomic traits， yield and quality of Artemisiae Argyi Folium in Qichun county， and provide a theoretical basis for scientific fertilization of its planting. Method:Field plot experiment was carried out to set up 5 treatment methods with different proportions of organic fertilizers and chemical fertilizers［OM₀ （no combined application of biological organic fertilizer）， OM₁₇ （combined application of 17% biological organic fertilizer）， OM₃₃ （combined application of 33% biological organic fertilizer）， OM₆₇ （combined application of 67% biological organic fertilizer）， OM₁₀₀ （combined application of 100% biological organic fertilizer）］. The effects of different treatment methods on the agronomic characters， leaf yield， output rate of moxa， volatile oil content， flavonoid and phenolic acid contents and mineral element contents of Artemisiae Argyi Folium in Qichun county were determined. Result:With the increase of the proportion of organic fertilizer in application， the seedling number per unit area， plant height， stem diameter， leaf number， leaf width， leaf length， height of dead leaves and leaf yield of Artemisiae Argyi Folium were increased at first and then decreased. Among them， the yield of Artemisiae Argyi Folium in OM₃₃ treatment was 61.37% higher than that in OM₀ treatment. With the increase of the proportion of organic fertilizer， the output rate of moxa of Artemisiae Argyi Folium showed continuously increasing trend， contents of volatile oil and volatile components （eucalyptol， <italic>α</italic>-thujone， borneol， camphor and caryophyllene oxide） increased at first and then decreased， while the contents of <italic>α</italic>-caryophyllene and <italic>β</italic>-syringene decreased gradually， the contents of phenolic acids （neochlorogenic acid， chlorogenic acid， isochlorogenic acid B， A and C） increased at first and then decreased， while the contents of flavonoids （jaceosidin and eupatilin） increased continuously， and the contents of mineral elements （Ca， Cu and Zn） continued to increase， but the content of K decreased significantly at the high proportion of organic fertilizer. After treated with principal component analysis （PCA）， it was found that OM₁₇ treatment had the highest quality， while OM₁₀₀ and OM₀ treatment had low quality. Conclusion:Based on comprehensive analysis of agronomic traits， yield and quality indexes of Artemisiae Argyi Folium in Qichun county， it is suggested that 17%-33% proportion of organic fertilizer should be used in its production， in order to improve the quality and efficiency of Artemisiae Argyi Folium industry in Qichun county.

The effect of chicken manure tea and vermicompost on some quantitative and qualitative parameters of seedling and mature greenhouse cucumber

Nowadays, to produce healthy foods, application of compost and other organic fertilizers has received more attentionas a suitable alternative for utilization of chemical fertilizers. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of chickenmanure tea and vermicompost application on some quantitative and qualitative traits in seedling and mature greenhousecucumber (Cucumis sativus cv. Extreme), in a research greenhouse in Iran’s Tehran Province. The experiment was factorialin a randomized completely block design with four replications. Treatments were control (without any fertilizer), controlwith chemical fertilizer (20-20-20), vermicompost in two levels (20 and 30%), and chicken manure tea (25, 50, and 75%).Results showed that increasing the amount of chicken manure tea (up to 50%) significantly increased shoot length, stemdiameter, true leaf length and width, shoot fresh and dry weights, and chlorophyll content, days until flowering, yield(40, 65, and 90 days after culturing), marketable fruit ratio to second degree fruit, and total fruit weight of cucumber. Byenhancement in content of chicken manure tea (75%) all traits showed the same result as treatment with chemical fertiliz

Spatial distribution of low birth weight and association with chemical fertilizer application in rural areas of Shanxi province / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective@#To explore the spatial distribution of low birth weight (LBW) and the potential environmental risk factors and provide the evidence for the prevention and intervention of LBW.@*Methods@#Data were from a surveillance system for newly born population and adverse pregnancy outcome between 2007 and 2012 in Pingding county, Shanxi province. The data from 313 villages were analyzed. Spatial hierarchical Bayesian model was used to adjust the risk of LBW at village level, Moran’s I and Getis-Ord Gi* were used to analyze the difference in distribution of LBW risk area. Spatial negative binomial model was used to evaluate the association between the risk of LBW and chemical fertilizer application.@*Results@#A total of 18 749 new births were recorded between 2007 and 2012, including 911 LBW cases, the total incidence of LBW was 4.86%. The result of the spatial hierarchical Bayesian model showed that high-risk area of LBW was in the southeast of Pingding and low-risk area was in the middle west of Pingding. The result of Moran’s I showed that there was a clustering pattern of LBW risk, and Getis-Ord Gi* found a high risk (hot spot) area in the south area. Moreover, the findings of association analysis showed that the risk of LBW increased with the increased chemical fertilizer application at village level.@*Conclusions@#There were area specific differences in the risk of LBW, and dose-response relationship between chemical fertilizer application and the risk of LBW. Our findings suggest that maternal exposure to chemical fertilizer during pregnancy might be a potential risk factor for LBW in rural area.

Associations between maternal exposure to chemical fertilizers during pregnancy and the risk of offspring's low birth weights / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective To explore the association between the consumption of chemical fertilizers and the risk of low birth weight (LBW),to provide references for prevention programs on LBW and to improve the birth outcomes.Methods Stratified multivariate logistic regression method was used in this study involving 153 preterm LBW infants,179 term LBW infants and 204 normal control infants that were randomly selected from the birth monitoring data between October 2007 and September 2012 in Pingding county,Shanxi province.Associations between the risk of LBW and maternal exposure to chemical fertilizers during pregnancy were identified.A normal control group was set up to compare results between preterm and term LBW groups.Results Totally,18 749infants were born between 2007 and 2012,with the total incidence rates of LBW as 48.5‰,preterm LBW as 19.4‰,and term LBW as 29.1‰.Concerning the case control study on preterm LBW,after adjustment for confounding factors,the risk of preterm LBW appeared 2.51 (95％CI:1.05-5.99) times higher in villages with annual consumption of chemical fertilizer ≥ 100 tons than those villages that using chemical fertilizer less than 50 tons.No significant statistical associations were found between the amounts of household chemical fertilizer consumption and the risks of preterm LBW.Regarding the case control study on term LBW,after adjustment for confounding factors,in villages with ≥ 100tons annual consumption of chemical fertilizers,the risk of term LBW was 4.03 (95％CI:1.63-9.92)times of the risk in villages where the annal use of chemical fertilizers was less than 50 tons.There was no significant association between household consumption of chemical fertilizers and the risk of term LBW.Conclusions Maternal exposure to chemical fertilizers during pregnancy was associated with the risk of LBW.Our findings suggested that the amount of chemical fertilizer consumption in rural areas seemed also associated with the risks of other adverse pregnancy outcomes.Women should avoid the chance of exposure to chemical fertilizers during pregnancy and the consumption of chemical fertilizers should be carefully managed.

Associations between maternal exposure to chemical fertilizers during pregnancy and the risk of offspring's low birth weights / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective To explore the association between the consumption of chemical fertilizers and the risk of low birth weight (LBW),to provide references for prevention programs on LBW and to improve the birth outcomes.Methods Stratified multivariate logistic regression method was used in this study involving 153 preterm LBW infants,179 term LBW infants and 204 normal control infants that were randomly selected from the birth monitoring data between October 2007 and September 2012 in Pingding county,Shanxi province.Associations between the risk of LBW and maternal exposure to chemical fertilizers during pregnancy were identified.A normal control group was set up to compare results between preterm and term LBW groups.Results Totally,18 749infants were born between 2007 and 2012,with the total incidence rates of LBW as 48.5‰,preterm LBW as 19.4‰,and term LBW as 29.1‰.Concerning the case control study on preterm LBW,after adjustment for confounding factors,the risk of preterm LBW appeared 2.51 (95％CI:1.05-5.99) times higher in villages with annual consumption of chemical fertilizer ≥ 100 tons than those villages that using chemical fertilizer less than 50 tons.No significant statistical associations were found between the amounts of household chemical fertilizer consumption and the risks of preterm LBW.Regarding the case control study on term LBW,after adjustment for confounding factors,in villages with ≥ 100tons annual consumption of chemical fertilizers,the risk of term LBW was 4.03 (95％CI:1.63-9.92)times of the risk in villages where the annal use of chemical fertilizers was less than 50 tons.There was no significant association between household consumption of chemical fertilizers and the risk of term LBW.Conclusions Maternal exposure to chemical fertilizers during pregnancy was associated with the risk of LBW.Our findings suggested that the amount of chemical fertilizer consumption in rural areas seemed also associated with the risks of other adverse pregnancy outcomes.Women should avoid the chance of exposure to chemical fertilizers during pregnancy and the consumption of chemical fertilizers should be carefully managed.

Organic matrix based slow release fertilizer enhances plant growth, nitrate assimilation and seed yield of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.).

Field experiments were conducted to study the effect of organic matrix based slow release fertilizers (SRFs) on plant growth, nitrate assimilation and seed yield of Brassica juncea L. cv. pusa bold. The agro-waste materials like cow dung, clay soil, neem leaves and rice bran were mixed together in 2:2:1:1 ratio and used as organic matrix for the immobilization of chemical fertilizer nutrients with commercial grade saresh (Acacia gum, 15% solution) as binder. Different fertilizer treatments were organic matrix based slow release fertilizers, SRF-I (542.0 kg ha-1); SRF-II (736.5 kg ha-1) and chemical fertilizer combinations, boron (3 kg ha-1)+sulphur (15 kg ha-1)+nitrogen (80 kg ha-1) and boron (3 kg ha-1) + sulphur (15 kg ha-1)+nitrogen (80 kg ha-1)+phosphorus (15 kg ha-1)+potassium (100 kg ha-1). Organic matrix based SRF-II released ammonium up to 50-d in wet soil under laboratory conditions which showed maximum retention of the nutrients. A very significant increase in plant growth, nitrate assimilation and seed yield was recorded in organic matrix based SRF-II applied plants. The maximum percent increase in biomass production was observed with organic matrix based SRF-II (increase of 65.8% in root fresh weight, 38.0% in root dry weight, 45.9% in leaf fresh weight plant-1 and 27.5 % in leaf dry weight plant-1 in 60-d old plants). It also increased the acquisition and assimilation of nitrate from the plant’s rhizosphere which was evident by 45.6% increase in nitrate, 27.5% in nitrite and 11.7% in nitrate reductase activity (NRA) in leaves of 45-d old plants over control. The organic matrix based SRF-II significantly increased the seed yield by 28% in Indian mustard. Cost analysis revealed that this formulation is cost effective as it is based on agro waste materials.

Mistura de sementes de Brachiaria brizantha com fertilizante NPK / Mixture of Brachiaria brizantha seeds with NPK fertilizer

As informações são contraditórias quanto ao tempo em que as sementes de Brachiaria brizantha podem ficar misturadas ao fertilizante NPK sem diminuir o poder germinativo das sementes. Assim, objetivou-se estudar o efeito de tempos de contato do adubo granulado NPK 04-14-08, com sementes dessa forrageira, na qualidade fisiológica (germinação e vigor). Empregou-se o delineamento inteiramente casualizado, com quatro repetições. Foram realizadas análise de variância e comparação das médias pelo teste de Tukey, a 5 por cento. Também foram realizadas análises de regressão polinomial. Observou-se efeito significativo em todas as variáveis. Além disso, com o transcorrer do tempo de contato com o fertilizante, o teor de água e a condutividade elétrica das sementes aumentaram, enquanto observou-se diminuição da percentagem de germinação, da primeira contagem, da emergência e do índice de velocidade de emergência. Destaca-se que, para essas variáveis, o comportamento foi linear. Assim, é permitida a mistura das sementes com o fertilizante NPK, desde que a semeadura seja imediata, reduzindo-se os danos à qualidade fisiológica das sementes da forrageira (germinação e vigor). Na prática, recomenda-se fazer a mistura de sementes de B. brizantha com NPK somente da quantidade que poderá ser semeada até 12h após a mistura.

Information is contradictory as to the time Brachiaria brizantha seeds can remain mixed with the NPK fertilizer without causing poorly formed stands. Therefore, the objective of this research was to study the effect of contact times of NPK granular fertilizer (04-14-08 rate) with seeds of this forage on physiological quality (germination and vigor). A completely randomized design with four replicates was employed. An analysis of variance was conducted and the means were compared by Tukey test at 5 percent. Polynomial regression analyses were also performed, and equations were fitted. A significant effect was observed in all variables. The water content and electric conductivity of seeds increased as contact time with the fertilizer increased, while decreases were observed in germination percentage, first count, emergence, and emergence velocity index. A linear behavior was observed for the variables. Consequently, seeds can be mixed with NPK fertilizer as long as seeding is performed immediately afterwards, thus reducing damages to the physiological quality of the forage seeds (germination and vigor). In practice, it is recommended that B. brizantha seeds should be mixed with NPK at quantities that can be seeded within 12 hours from mixing, at most.