Flooding soil with biogas slurry suppresses root-knot nematodes and alters soil nematode communities.

Root-knot nematodes (RKNs) pose a serious threat to crop production. Flooding soil with biogas slurry, combined with soil heating before crop planting, has the potential for RKN disease suppression. However, the actual effect of this method has not been verified under field conditions. Here, we present the results of a two-year field experiment in a greenhouse demonstrating the control effect on RKN disease and plant growth using this method, as well as its influence on the soil nematode community. Four treatments were set: untreated control (CK), local control method for RKN (CC), soil flooded with 70 % biogas slurry (BS70), and soil flooded with undiluted biogas slurry (BS100). In the first year, all three RKN control treatments significantly reduced the root-knot index (p < 0.05). In the next year, only BS70 and BS100 still presented significantly suppressed effects (p < 0.05), and it was more obvious under BS70 with a relative control effect of 74.6 %. In the first year, BS70 and BS100 significantly inhibited the plant height of watermelon (p < 0.05). In the next year, however, all three RKN control treatments promoted the growth of watermelon, and their stem diameter was significantly greater than that of CK. The application of biogas slurry (BS70 and BS100) significantly increased nematode richness and the Shannon index in the second year (p < 0.05). However, the structure index showed no significant difference among treatments (p > 0.05), indicating that biogas slurry application did not increase the soil food web complex. Principal component analysis showed that the application of biogas slurry changed the nematode community, especially under BS70, which presented a more lasting influence. The high-level input of biogas slurry also caused soil NH4+-N and heavy-metal and arsenic accumulation in the first year, but these soil-pollution risks disappeared in the second year.

Hydrochar reduces oxytetracycline in soil and Chinese cabbage by altering soil properties, shifting microbial community structure and promoting microbial metabolism.

The efficient remediation of antibiotic-contaminated soil is critical for agroecosystem and human health. Using the cost-effective and feedstock-independent hydrochar with rich oxygen-containing functional groups as a soil remediation material has become a hot concern nowadays. However, the feasibility and effectiveness of hydrochar amendment in antibiotic-contaminated soil still remain unknown. Therefore, this study investigated the remediation effect and potential mechanisms of different hydrochars from cow manure (H-CM), corn stalk (H-CS) and Myriophyllum aquaticum (H-MA) at two levels (0.5% and 1.0%) in oxytetracycline (OTC)-contaminated soil using a pot experiment. Results showed that compared with CK, OTC content in the soils amended with H-CM and H-MA was decreased by 14.02-15.43% and 9.23-24.98%, respectively, whereas it was increased by 37.03-42.64% in the soils amended with H-CS. Additionally, all hydrochar amendments effectively reduced the OTC uptake in root and shoot of Chinese cabbage by 10.41-57.99% and 31.92-65.99%, respectively. The response of soil microbial community to hydrochar amendment heavily depended on feedstock type rather than hydrochar level. The soil microbial metabolism (e.g., carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism) was enhanced by hydrochar amendment. The redundancy analysis suggested that TCA cycle was positively related to the abundances of OTC-degrading bacteria (Proteobacteria, Arthrobacter and Sphingomonas) in all hydrochar-amended soils. The hydrochar amendment accelerated the soil OTC removal and reduced plant uptake in soil-Chinese cabbage system by altering soil properties, enhancing OTC-degrading bacteria and promoting microbial metabolism. These findings demonstrated that the cost-effective and sustainable hydrochar was a promising remediation material for antibiotic-contaminated soil.

Mitigating Greenhouse Gas and Ammonia Emissions from Beef Cattle Feedlot Production: A System Meta-Analysis.

Beef cattle production systems are the largest contributors of greenhouse gas (GHG) and ammonia (NH3) emissions in the livestock industry. Here, we present the first meta-analysis and integrated assessment of gaseous emissions and mitigation potentials for a typical beef cattle feedlot system, including methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and NH3 losses from enteric fermentation and manure management based on data from 104 studies. A total of 14 integrated emission factors (EF) and the mitigation efficiencies (ME) of 17 available options were provided. The estimated GHG and NH3 emissions from the baseline feedlot system were 2786 ± 108 kg carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-eq) per animal unit (AU) per year and 49.1 ± 1.5 kg NH3 AU-1 year-1, respectively. Enteric CH4 fermentation and manure on the feedlot contributed 67.5% and 80.8% of the total system GHG and NH3 emissions, respectively. The highest ME values were found for lipid additives for enteric CH4 fermentation and urease inhibitor additives (UI) for NH3 emissions from manure on the feedlot, being -14.9% ( p < 0.05) and -59.5% ( p < 0.001), respectively. The recommended mitigation combinations of a low-crude-protein (CP) diet and a UI additive for manure on the feedlot could reduce the GHG of the system by 4.9% and NH3 by 50.9%. The results of this study have important implications for developing sustainable beef cattle feedlot systems from the viewpoint of GHG and NH3 mitigation.

[Effects of superphosphate addition on NH3 and greenhouse gas emissions during vegetable waste composting].

To study the effects of superphosphate (SP) on the NH, and greenhouse gas emissions, vegetable waste composting was performed for 27 days using 6 different treatments. In addition to the controls, five vegetable waste mixtures (0.77 m3 each) were treated with different amounts of the SP additive, namely, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25%. The ammonia volatilization loss and greenhouse gas emissions were measured during composting. Results indicated that the SP additive significantly decreased the ammonia volatilization and greenhouse gas emissions during vegetable waste composting. The additive reduced the total NH3 emission by 4.0% to 16.7%. The total greenhouse gas emissions (CO2-eq) of all treatments with SP additives were decreased by 10.2% to 20.8%, as compared with the controls. The NH3 emission during vegetable waste composting had the highest contribution to the greenhouse effect caused by the four different gases. The amount of NH3 (CO2-eq) from each treatment ranged from 59.90 kg . t-1 to 81.58 kg . t-1; NH3(CO2-eq) accounted for 69% to 77% of the total emissions from the four gases. Therefore, SP is a cost-effective phosphorus-based fertilizer that can be used as an additive during vegetable waste composting to reduce the NH3 and greenhouse gas emissions as well as to improve the value of compost as a fertilizer.

[Nitrogen status diagnosis by using digital photography analysis for organic fertilized maize].

It need a relative long term for the maize nitrogen status diagnosis with a destroyed samples taking. In the present research, a pot experiment with different organic fertilizer and different fertilizer amount input was conducted to study the possibility of using digital photography analysis technology to monitor the N status of organic fertilized maize at 10 leaves unfold stage. The results showed that the greenness intensity (GI) and redness intensity (RI) from maize canopy image had significant inverse linear correlations with the conventional N diagnosis parameters of SPAD readings, upland biomass and upland N uptake. However the blueness intensity (BI) had no significant correlations with those maize N indexes. The correlation coefficient values (r) were from 0.40 to 0.45 for GI, and from 0.45 to 0.53 for RI. To sum totally, the visible digital image color analysis method can be used for the organic fertilized maize N diagnosis at 10 leaves unfold stage. The redness intensity was a relatively better index than others for the organic fertilized maize N status diagnosis in this experimental condition.

[Nitrogen status diagnosis of summer maize by using visible spectral analysis technology].

In the present paper, a field experiment with different N rates was conducted to study the possibility of using the visible spectrum of crop canopy to diagnose N status for the summer maize. Visible spectrum parameters were compared with the leaf SPAD readings, total N concentration and vein nitrate concentration. Field measurement data showed that the greenness intensity, blueness intensity, normalized redness intensity, normalized greenness intensity and normalized blueness intensity of the maize canopy have significant relationships with leaf SPAD readings, total N concentration and vein nitrate concentration (under a low N input condition, with vein nitrate concentration < 2 000 mg x L(-1)) at summer maize 10 leaves unfold stage. The greenness intensity, blueness intensity, normalized greenness intensity and normalized blueness intensity have significant relationship with the vein nitrate concentration under a low N input condition (vein nitrate concentration < 2 000 mg x L(-1)). But when the maize vein nitrate concentration is above 2 000 mg x L(-1), there is no spectral parameter showing significant relationship with the vein nitrate concentration. The visible spectrum parameters reached a plateau with the vein nitrate concentration increasing. To sum up, the normalized greenness intensity (NGI) and normalized blueness intensity (NBI) have higher r values (0.45-0.66) than other parameters.