Fertilisers, the much-needed boost to crops

In this article, the IFA Strategic Forum, which was held by the International Fertilizer Association (IFA), facilitated the exchange of ideas among key stakeholders in Africa to develop new partnerships. The event explored how the fertiliser industry and its partners can help in supporting farmers and strengthen food systems to unlock Africa's huge potential to sustainably feed itself and others amid climate change and COVID-19. Improving fertiliser access on the continent was one of the focuses of the forum, which looked ahead to the crucial second Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit planned for 2023. The Africa Fertilizer Map is the first-ever visualisation tool that contains the continent's fertiliser data provided by different associations - primarily AfricanFertilizer.org (AFO) and the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) - and inputs from others, the African Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI), International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), African Union (AUC), and Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). As an alternative, in Kenya, farmers are looking at an organic fertiliser Bokashi, which is restoring depleted soils. It is made by fermenting organic material to quickly create a nutrient-rich compost.

Trends in Ornamental Plant Production

Other factors important for the constant expansion of the floriculture industry include implementing new strategies for plant reproduction, regulating their growth and development, adapting production technologies to fit the idea of sustainable development, and optimizing supply chain management [4,5]. The environmental management technique called ‘life cycle assessment’ (LCA) is a tool defined in ISO standards and recommended in many EU documents. The authors point out that growing C. persicum in accordance with the principles of integrated pest management and using compost to significantly limit the consumption of mineral fertilizers brings about measurable benefits for the environment and human health. The long-term development of this industry, faced with the current energy crisis, post-pandemic challenges, and threats to global geopolitical stability, is highly uncertain. [...]to continue its constant development, it is necessary to adapt cultivation methods to actual conditions and take into account the energy transformation and biological, technical, and organizational advances.

Using the Halophyte Crithmum maritimum in Green Roofs for Sustainable Urban Horticulture: Effect of Substrate and Nutrient Content Analysis including Potentially Toxic Elements

The effect of substrate type and cultivation site in the urban fabric on growth, nutrient content and potentially toxic element (PTE) accumulation in tissues of the halophyte Crithmum maritimum was studied. Plantlets were cultivated for twelve months in containers with a green-roof infrastructure fitted and placed either on an urban second-floor roof or on ground level by the side of a moderate-traffic street. Two substrate types were used;one comprising grape marc compost, perlite and pumice (3:3:4, v/v) and one composed of grape marc compost, perlite, pumice and soil (3:3:2:2, v/v), with 10 cm depth. Plants grew well on both sites, although aboveground growth parameters and nutrient content in leaves were greater at street level. Both cultivation site and substrate type affected heavy-metal accumulation in plant tissues. Cu, Ni and Fe concentrations in leaves and Pb in roots were higher in street-level-grown plants compared to the roof-grown plants, and concentrations of Cu and Mn in leaves and Fe in both leaves and roots were lower in the soilless substrate compared to the soil-substrate, making the soilless type preferable in the interest of both safer produce for human consumption and lower construction weight in the case of green-roof cultivation.

Valorization of Quality of Vermicomposts and Composts Using Various Parameters

Due to the increasing biomass of biowaste it is necessary to manage it rationally. This work presents comparisons and valorization of vermicomposts (VCs) and composts (Cs) prepared from various biowastes generated in households and private gardens, in terms of their practical use. The tested VCs and Cs were subjected to chemical analyses to assess the amounts of macro- (N, P, K, S, Mg, Ca, Na) and micronutrients (Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, Ni), as well as contents of organic matter (OM), total organic carbon (TOC), humic compounds (HS) and labile and water extractable organic carbon (LC, WEOC). Moreover, humification indexes (HR, HI, DP) were determined. The amounts of macro- and micronutrients, OM, TOC, LC, WEOC were greater for vermicomposts. Regardless of these differences, both vermicomposts and composts were characterized by considerable amounts of organic matter ranging from 325 to 631 g·kg−1 and TOC amounting from 82 to 270 g·kg−1. Moreover, the tested organic fertilizers were characterized by high contents of N (7–21.5 g·kg−1), K (3.7–24.4 g·kg−1), Ca (12.2–44.0 g·kg−1), Fe (133.1–333.8 mg·kg−1) and Mn (71.5–113.8 mg·kg−1). The analyzed VCs and Cs did not exceed the permissible amounts of heavy metals (Cr, Pb) and contained a comparable amount and quality of humus compounds. The level of CHS ranged from 29.6 to 41 g·kg−1 for vermicomposts, and from 19.8 to 51.8 g·kg−1 for composts. The humification indexes indicate that VCs and Cs were well–matured despite different composting conditions. The HI values for VCs ranged from 8.3% to 10% and for Cs amounted from 12.2% to 16.8%. Similarly, the HR values were higher for composts (24.3–33%) in comparison to VCs (15.2–20.1%). Vermicomposting and composting of biowaste is economically and environmentally justified. Fertilizers obtained in the composting process are a valuable source of organic material and nutrients essential for plants and can be safely used in private gardens.