No description available.

No description available.

Peat moss is a major component of many plant growing substrates but is quickly becoming a limited resource. To reduce the reliance on peat moss a number of composted products, including pine mulch, manure, yard waste and aged bark - in combination with peat moss and/or coconut coir, were mixed in various combinations as growing substrates for greenhouse potted Gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii) production. Four new substrates were developed and compared to a commercial mix, BM6 in greenhouse production trials. Experiments were conducted to (1) compare the plant growth and quality of potted Gerbera in the newly developed substrates to BM6, (2) determine whether a pre-charge fertilizer was needed for the newly developed substrates, (3) determine appropriate rates of a pre-charge fertilizer for the newly developed substrates, and (4) determine the nitrogen drawdown index over the time of production and determine if there is a relationship between the NDI values and the nitrogen availability measured by pour through values. Two of the newly developed peat reduced substrates were successful in producing acceptable quality potted Gerbera. One of the substrates contained a low percentage of peat moss and the other contained coir fines. Fertilizer pre-charge rates, and some nutrient and irrigation management protocols were recommended for these two substrates.

The chemical properties of twelve Zambian soils, sampled from different agro-ecological zones, were studied especially for total and available micronutrient contents. Total contents ranged from 25.1 to 73.2, 5.2 to 116.5, 151 to 1297 μg g^-1 and 1.5 to 12.7% for Zn, Cu, Mn and Fe respectively. Available (DTPA-extractable) Zn and Cu, (hot-water-soluble) B and (ammonium oxalate-extractable) Mo contents were mostly low and for B and Mo often below the minimum critical limit for plant growth. This was especially the case for the highly leached soils of the high rainfall areas. Total Cu content of the soils was highly correlated with the extractable amounts. A selection of extractants was compared for B, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn. The amounts extracted by the different extractants for each element were highly correlated with each other in most cases, especially for the 8 Cu extractants. Hydrochloric acid (0.1M)-extractable Cu had the lowest correlation coefficients with other extractable Cu contents; ranging from 0.609 to 0.758. Ammonium bicarbonate-DTPA-extractable Cu had the highest correlation with total soil contents. Magnesium chloride (1.0M) gave the lowest correlations among the extractants for Zn. The extractants evaluated for Fe and Mn correlated well with each other. In a pot experiment on one soil (Misamfu) and one wheat variety (Whydah), zinc application increased dry matter yield and plant concentration and uptake of both Zn and Cu. Copper application increased the concentration and uptake of Cu and Zn. Liming increased total dry matter and the uptake of both Zn and Cu. It decreased the residual DTPA-extractable Zn and Cu in soils and the shoot concentration of these nutrients. In another pot experiment, B application to two varieties (Aldan and Whydah) at the rate of 1.0 μg g^-1 increased grain yield for Aldan, but suppressed dry matter yield for both. The growth of wheat seedlings on agar was investigated to screen varieties for aluminium tolerance. Despite the problem of root establishment, there were differences between varieties in plant height and CO2 respiration rate.

I grew up in the suburbs, and perhaps I am embarrassed to admit it. But there is no use denying it. It???s written all over my face. Even though I have been away for nearly a decade, the residue of that past life still lingers. I am civilized, programmed to perform in a manner that best suits society at this present time. I move in unison with the other bodies around me, abiding by the unwritten suburban rules of conduct to avoid any confrontation, as our daily routines follow our individual agendas. Suburbia follows me wherever I go. It is the only kind of person I know how to be. For fear of breaking any rules I retaliate only in my dreams. I hate this life. I was Growing Up Absurd, like all the young boys, and all the young men social critic, Paul Goodman, describes in his book of the same title; a dilemma preventing these young boys from growing into real men with honor, purpose, without a real understanding of the society in which he is living, but rather, is conditioned to participate in a way that best suites his society. In Walden, Henry David Thoreau states, ???The greater part of what my neighbors call good I believe in my soul to be bad, and if I repent of anything, it is very likely to be my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well???? What demon indeed. The suburb, an invention of postwar culture that articulated a generation???s need for security, peace, and privacy after a time of great tragedy, embodied a marketable product based on an illusion, the Dream Life, an artificial empire that has suppressed the imaginative possibilities for human existence. As an instrument to understand my own dissatisfaction with the suburbs, this thesis investigates the Psychogeography of this suburban landscape. It is as much a reflection of my own struggle to cope with such a lifestyle as it is an account of how the behavior of a suburban population can be conditioned to submit to the authority of their immediate built environment.

Typescript. / Bibliography: leaves [223]-228. / xiv, 228 l graphs, tables

Thesis (M.S. - Soils, Water and Engineering)--University of Arizona. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S. - Agricultural Economics)--University of Arizona. / Bibliography: leaves 121-126.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Economics, 1994? / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-133).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Duke University, 1963. / Without thesis note. Map on lining-papers. Bibliography: p. 201-223.