10 pp. / Phosphorus is the primary fertilizer nutrient needed by alfalfa in Arizona. The objective of this study is to determine the effect of P fertilizer rate on alfalfa yield and soil test P. A phosphorus fertilizer rate study was conducted with alfalfa in Buckeye, AZ where 11-52-0 was applied at 0, 200, 400, and 800 lb fertilizer/acre in February, 2014 after the first cutting. Alfalfa hay yield was increased by phosphorus fertilizer application up to the cutting on July 30, but not thereafter. No differences in yield were found among the fertilizer rates of 200,400, and 800 lb 11-52-0/acre. Soil test phosphorus increased directly proportional to fertilizer rate, but eventually decreased close to deficient levels 3-5 months after fertilizer application. It is not known if additional fertilizer applications throughout the season would increase yield. Fertilizer rates higher than 200 lb 11-52-0/acre were not beneficial under the conditions of this study.

No description available.

Sąvartynų filtrato susidarymas yra aktuali aplinkosauginė problema. Būtinumas vertinti aplinkai keliamą pavojų dėl kietųjų atliekų išmetimo į sąvartynus kyla todėl, kad daugelyje šalių atliekama tik cheminė kietųjų atliekų analizė. Tačiau pastaraisiais metais tapo aišku, kad vien tik cheminiai tyrimai neleidžia tiksliai įvertinti globalinio toksinio efekto, kuris galimai atsiranda dėl chemikalų nutekėjimo iš sąvartynų į dirvožemį bei paviršinius ir gruntinius vandenis. Lietuvoje vandens kokybė yra nustatoma naudojant 54 parametrus, iš kurių nei vienas nėra toksikologinis tyrimas (Lietuvos Aplinkos Ministerija, 1996). Sąvartyno filtrate randami sunkieji metalai, organinės ir neorganinės medžiagos bei daugelis kitų medžiagų, kurios gali daryti neigiamą poveikį augalijai ir gyvūnijai. Šiame darbe buvo atliktas Lapių sąvartyno filtrato kokybės tyrimas, nustatant cheminę kokybę, bei toksiškumą vertinant verpečių Burachionus caliciflorus mirtingumo (Rotoxkit FTM ), dafnijų Daphnia magna judrumo slopinimo (Daphtoxkit FTM Magna), infuzorijų Tetrahymena themophila augimo slopinimo (Protoxkit FTM), krevečių Thamnocephalus platyurus mirtingumo (Thamnotoxkit FTM) testais. Atlikus tyrimus nustatyta, kad Lapių sąvartyno pH=8,2, NH4+ - 128 mg/l, NO-2 - 4,8 mg/l , NO-3 – 32 mg/l , PO4-3 – 1,6. Pats jautriausias iš testinių organizmų buvo vėžiagyvis Daphnia magna. Atsižvelgiant į ryšį tarp išmatuotų toksinių efektų ir cheminio poveikio, koreliacija tarp nustatytų cheminių medžiagų ir... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The waste disposal sites present a global problem. The assessment of the hazard to the environment resulting from the disposal of solid wastes in landfills is many countries, still performed exclusively by chemical analysis of the solid wastes. During recent years, however, it has become generally accepted that chemical data by themselves do allow to evaluate the global toxic effect which may result from the leaching out of the chemicals from the leaching out of the chemicals from landfills. Water quality Lithuania is judged by a total of 54 parameters, non of which is a toxicological examination. Leachates from active and closed municipal solid waste landfills can be a major source of contamination to groundwater and surface waters. The impact of the leachate on the plant's micro flora and micro fauna is very high and governed by several factors, such as high load of organic matter, heavy metals, high content of nitrogen and mass flux of transported contaminants. A biotests battery consisting of 4 Toxkit microbiotests (Rotoxkit FTM Daphtoxkit FTM Magna Protoxkit FTM Thamnotoxkit FTM ) was used for the assessment of the Lapių landfill leachate toxicity. The physical and chemical characteristics of landfill leachates were: pH=8,2, NH4+ - 128 mg/l, NO-2 - 4,8 mg/l , NO-3 – 32 mg/l , PO4-3 – 1,6. In this study the most sensitive organism to a wide rangr of toxicants, was Daphnia magna. With regard to the relationships between measured toxic effects and chemical causes, the... [to full text]

Triticum aestivum is of major importance both nutritionally and economically globally. Traditional breeding mechanisms have been unsuccessful at keeping pace with the increasing demand for better yielding and more resilient wheat varieties. The introduction of foreign genes into systems has provided a new tool for crop improvement, but has been difficult to apply to elite wheat varieties mainly as result of their recalcitrance to prerequisite tissue culture. Investigations here demonstrate that modification of the ammonium nitrate content in direct somatic embryogenesis induction medium can increase the number of primary embryos produced by over two fold in the elite hard red wheat cultivar Superb. The number of primary embryos which were capable of transitioning into shoot development also increased by two fold. Biolistic transformation efficiency was also improved when targeted scutellar tissue was exposed to elevated ammonium nitrate levels. / x, 81 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm.

Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is an important species in the expansion of aquaculture, which supplements strained natural fish stocks worldwide. Although nitrogen accumulation in aquaculture has been documented as hazardous, recent studies have highlighted its potential to positively affect fish growth. The current study investigates the growth and oxygen consumption of juvenile Nile tilapia exposed to high (sub-lethal) and low levels of total water ammonia (TAmm). The first series of experiments aimed to determine the effects of high TAmm toxicity on indicators of metabolic rate and whole-body growth. Results of non-acclimation exposures to ammonia suggest that high levels of TAmm (1000, 2000 and 4000 μM) negatively affect oxygen consumption and ventilation rates, with reduced respiratory efficiency at 4000 μM. This effect on oxygen consumption was not present after a 48hr acclimation period to TAmm concentrations. Tilapia grown under the TAmm treatment conditions had significantly reduced weight and length after 84 days at concentrations of 2000 and 4000 μM. The second series of experiments investigated metabolic rate and growth under conditions of low-level TAmm (75, 150, 300, 600, 1200 and 2400 μM) to determine potential positive effects on growth. The results of these experiments indicated that oxygen consumption was reduced in non-acclimated fish at concentrations of 75, 150 and 300 μM, which were therefore examined in subsequent growth experiments. This oxygen consumption reduction was not present after 48hrs of ammonia acclimation. Tilapia grown at low TAmm (≤300 μM) did not exhibit significant differences in weight, length, condition factor or specific growth rate within the 56-day experiment. This study demonstrates that high levels of TAmm significantly impair tilapia whole-body growth. Furthermore, low levels of TAmm (≤300 μM) do not appear to affect growth. In both series, an initial reduction in metabolic rate was noted in non-acclimated fish, but was not present after 48hr TAmm acclimation. While fish “recovered” from initial effects of high TAmm on oxygen consumption and ventilation, significant negative effects on growth were noted. This study suggests that tilapia adapt to the initial effects of TAmm through a process that, at high levels, is energetically costly and compromises growth. / Thesis (Master, Biology) -- Queen's University, 2009-08-04 11:33:48.94

Phosphorous fertilizer has an efficiency of about 10 percent, and this efficiency must be improved, in order to avoid excessive loss of a non-renewable resource. Ammonium lignosulphonate (ALS), a by-product of the pulp and paper industry, is expected to improve efficiency of fertilizer phosphate (P) for corn (Zea mays L.) production. Field experiments were conducted to investigate effects of added ALS and P on soil organic matter and P fractions, as well as corn yields and nutrient uptake in a Ste. Rosalie clay soil and an Ormstown silty clay loam soil in 1990 and 1991. Incubation studies showed that added ALS increased organic matter but added P as diammonium phosphate (DAP) decreased organic matter in the fertilizer band location in both soils. Applied ALS with P increased Mehlich-III (M$ sb3$P) extractable P and bicarbonate extractable P in the fertilizer band location in both soils during early incubation periods. Soil Ca-P was decreased with increased ALS. However, soil Al-P and Fe-P compounds were increased with increased ALS. Applied P increased corn shoot P concentration at the six leaf stage, and increased grain yields, total dry matter (TDM) and N and P uptake in both soils. Applied ALS at up to 608 kg ha$ sp{-1}$ with P increased corn shoot P concentration at the six leaf stage in the Ste. Rosalie soil in 1991. Applied ALS at up to 304 kg ha$ sp{-1}$ with P increased grain yield, N and P uptake. However, applied ALS without P decreased stover N concentration. Thus, ALS may improve efficiency of fertilizer P for corn production depending on soil and application methods.

No description available.

Decades of agricultural use of fertilizer and manure has resulted in nitrogen being the most common groundwater contaminant. Of the known processes for nitrogen attenuation, both denitrification and anammox produce a complete transformation of nitrogen species to dinitrogen gas (N2); however, denitrification is typically also associated with the release of N2O and CO2, both greenhouse gases. Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox), which has been recently discovered to be more prevalent in groundwater environments than previously thought, simultaneously removes NH4+ and nitrate (NO3-), does not require dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and does not produce greenhouse gas by-products. This study evaluates the natural occurrence of anammox in a manure lagoon plume, as well as the feasibility of enhancing anammox activity by mixing NH4+ rich groundwaters and NO3- rich groundwaters together. Fifteen experiments were undertaken with NH4+-N concentrations ranging between 5-100 mg/L, and a NO3--N ranging from 5-88 mg/L. These experiments suggest a nitrogen removal rate (based on NH4 + removal in anaerobic conditions) from anammox generally in the range of 0.1-0.2 mg/L/day. Based on an absence of dissolved oxygen (DO), and concomitant loss of NO3--N with associated 15N-NO3- enrichment (2.1-8.7‰ ) in 11 experiments, it is considered unlikely that nitrification was the cause of the NH4+ loss observed in these experiments. Concurrent 15NNH4+ enrichment of 4.1-11.5‰ was observed in these 11 experiments. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) DNA analyses were used to show the presence of anammox bacteria and to demonstrate temporal population increases during the experiments (up to 16.3% anammox in total bacteria population) in the three experiments analyzed. Although anammoxrelated N removal rates were modest in these trials, such rates could be significant with respect to the multi-year residence times associated with most groundwater flow systems.

Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1974. / Bibliography: leaves 160-167. / xiv, 167 leaves ill

It is recognised that the environment to which the fetus is exposed in utero, after implantation, can program longer term health outcomes and alter the possibility of disease onset later in life. It is becoming evident that the environment, to which the pre-implantation embryo is exposed, can also affect the ability of the embryo to form a viable pregnancy as well as altering fetal growth. Despite this understanding, little is known about the mechanism by which the environment can ‘program’ the pre-implantation embryo. Using model stress systems, either ammonium or DMO in the culture medium, this thesis addressed the hypothesis that suboptimal environmental conditions may alter mitochondrial homeostasis and function and/or epigenetic parameters and these are the possible mechanisms responsible for the altered fetal outcomes seen. While common measures of embryo quality such as on time blastocyst development were not affected by either stress, more in-depth investigations found several striking differences. Exposure to DMO significantly decreased blastocyst cell number and allocation to the inner cell mass and trophectoderm, as well as increased blastocyst apoptosis. After exposure to DMO, blastocysts were transferred to pseudopregnant recipients, and both the ability of the embryos to implant and develop into a fetus was impaired as well as fetal weights and crown rump length were significantly reduced indicative of altered growth. Similar results have also been demonstrated after pre-implantation embryos are exposed to ammonium in vitro. Exposure to ammonium during pre-implantation embryo development also altered placental gene expression and function, indicating a possible mechanism of the observed reduced fetal growth parameters. Interestingly, the pre-implantation embryo appears to be the most vulnerable to an environmental stress during the pre-compaction stage, in particular the zygote to 2-cell transition, as exposure to either stress during this stage alone shows similar perturbations to if the stress was present for the entire pre-implantation developmental period. At this early stage of embryo development, mitochondria are the sole energy generators and are therefore critical for embryo function. This study determined that either ammonium or DMO stress exposure, during the first cleavage division, significantly perturbed mitochondrial distribution, membrane potential and ATP/ADP levels. Removal of the stress did not allow these effects to be completely reversed, implicating mitochondrial perturbations as a possible mechanism behind altered embryo programming. During pre-implantation embryo development there are also significant epigenetic changes which are vital for re-programming the embryonic genome. Both in vitro stresses significantly altered DNA de-methylation at the 2-cell stage and reduced blastocyst gene expression levels of DNA methyltransferases (Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b), which are responsible for de novo methylation. Together these data highlight the importance of pre-implantation embryo development as a critical period of growth in which the presence of environmental stress can have an impact on metabolic homeostasis and critical epigenetic events that may be responsible for the downstream effects seen on fetal growth. These results are not only important for assisted reproductive therapy, where the presence of an in vitro laboratory stress can potentially alter embryo programming, but are also important for in vivo embryo development where the health and wellbeing of the mother can also potentially influence the in utero environment and thus the long-term health outcomes of her child. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1522143 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Paediatrics and Reproductive Health, 2010