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Full-Text Articles in Soil Science
Organic Amendments Alter Soil Hydrology And Belowground Microbiome Of Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum), Taylor Readyhough
Organic Amendments Alter Soil Hydrology And Belowground Microbiome Of Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum), Taylor Readyhough
Graduate College Dissertations and Theses
Manure-derived organic amendments are a cost-effective tool that provide many potential benefits to plant and soil health. For example, amendment applications may increase soil fertility, improve soil structure, stimulate microbial activity, and suppress plant pathogens. Yet, responses to these applications may have unintended consequences. Inherent variability in the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of these materials can result in inconsistent outcomes observed after their application. These differences are manifested in plant growth, soil physiochemical properties, and soil microbial community composition. Popular manure-derived organic amendments include dairy manure compost and poultry manure pellets. Dairy manure is an abundant resource on many …
Agriculture In The Classroom Farm Day Lesson Plan, Tessa Nicole Thompson
Agriculture In The Classroom Farm Day Lesson Plan, Tessa Nicole Thompson
Agricultural Education and Communication
Nontraditional educational programs have been proclaimed desirable by many teachers, and proven effective through data collection and feedback (Coombs and Ahmed, 1974). Of the more popular unconventional educational programs, outside learning activities are commonly implemented as they are not only advantageous to students, but to teachers as well (Cengelci, 2013; Knoblock, 2008). Though nontraditional, much thought must be put into creating lesson plans for these educational programs.
El Dorado County’s Agriculture in the Classroom program utilizes nontraditional outdoor learning activities to conduct “Farm Day.” This lesson plan, created for Farm Day, is to teach third graders the importance of composting …
Compost Land Management And Soil Carbon Sequestration, Kylene A. Hohman
Compost Land Management And Soil Carbon Sequestration, Kylene A. Hohman
Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019
Extensive fossil fuel burning has released carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Under proper ecological conditions plants convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into stable soil organic matter, a natural and efficient means of mitigating climate change. In the symbiotic relationship between mycorrhizae and plants, mycorrhizae provide plants with essential nutrients in exchange for carbon sugars leaked from the plants. Mycorrhizae convert carbon sugars to an exudate called glomalin, a protein that assists in developing soil aggregates composed of sand, silt, and clay. These aggregates, called humus, store carbon for hundreds of years under healthy ecological conditions. Compost prompts soil microbes to aerobically …
Biological Indicators Of Compost-Mediated Disease Suppression Against The Soilborne Plant Pathogen Rhizoctonia Solani, Lynn Fang
Graduate College Dissertations and Theses
Compost can suppress soilborne plant pathogens that cause significant damage on globally important food crops. However, reports of plant pathogen suppression are inconsistent likely because there are no established standards for feedstock material, application rate, and maturity age upon application. Excellent results can be achieved in greenhouse trials, but field applications are much less reliable. Disease suppression occurs through the activity of biocontrol organisms (direct antagonism), and general microbial competition. Biocontrol species are hypothesized to colonize the pile during the curing phase, but single species may not be as important as microbial consortia. Substrate composition during maturation may give rise …