Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients in growing a barley crop. Excess nitrogen leaching through soil is also a major contributor to groundwater pollution. Many factors and calculations are needed in balancing environmental concerns from excess nitrogen, with the need for enough nitrogen to reach the crop’s highest potential yield. There has been extensive research done to find the correct nitrogen application levels by universities and private organizations. Even with all this research there are still human decisions and differing professional and lab opinions that make this decision complex.
Nitrogen is the foundation for the growth of a crop of barley that will produce a sufficient yield. Applying fertilizer to the crop requires careful and necessary steps that will help determine the amount needed. Therefore step one, when determining nitrogen needs for the next growing year, it is important to find out how much nitrogen is left in the soil from the previous growing year. This process requires a soil sample test, which will give test results showing what type of nutrients are still left in the soil. “Step two, nitrogen is mineralized from the soil and made available for plant growth during the next growing season. The problem is there is no test for this so, in Southern Idaho, farmers use an estimation of around forty-five pounds acre” (Robertson and Stark). Step three, when following crops like sugar beets, potatoes, and onions, which have rapid residue decomposition, farmers do not have to use extra recommendations, for nitrogen, to break down those previous crop’s residue. However, if they have a crop that produces mature grain residue, which has low tissue nitrogen levels, farmers have to appl...
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...ptions in trying to figure the exact amount. Even though these problems cause confusion in the scientific studies, farmers still found other options to apply the acceptable amount of nitrogen needed for that crop to grow.
Works Cited
“Barley Nutrition.” www.agric.wa.gov.an. March 2007. Web. 4 December 2013.
Mahler, Robert and Stephen Guy. “Spring Barley.” www.cals.uidaho.edu/edcomm. July 2007.
Web. 22 November 2013.
Mahler, Robert. “Idaho Fertilizer of Spring Barley Guide.” www.cals.uidaho.edu. Web.
August 2007. 5 December 2013.
Robertson, Larry and Jeffery Stark. “Idaho Spring Barley Production Guide.” University of
Idaho. www.cals.idaho.edu/edcomm/. Web. August 2013. 3 December 2013.
Windes, Juliet, Kelly Olsen, and Don Obert. “Barley Production Guidelines.” University of
Idaho. Barley.idaho.gov. Web. December 2013. 2 December 2013.
Currently, the United State’s Gulf of Mexico experiences an annual, seasonal “dead zone” as a result of hypoxia. Hypoxia is a low level of dissolved oxygen (<2mg/L) in an area of water. Hypoxia is typically temporary and seasonal, but the low oxygen levels can be devastating to aquatic organisms. Hypoxia occurs in many oceanic waters worldwide, but there is a growing area of concern in our Gulf of Mexico coast. Hypoxia is largely caused by nitrogen fertilizer application for agriculture, with heavy concentrations coming from the Midwestern US. Nitrogen mobilizes as nitrate, and is transported via surface water runoff. The runoff enters tile-drain supported ditches, enters streams and joins the Mississippi river, eventually reaching the gulf. Nitrate mobilization is a problem for human health, and ag. runoff is also often attributed to the contamination of surface and well-water sources in rural areas. High levels of nitrates restrict the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen. This can harm humans, and is the major cause of infant methemoglobinemia, or “blue baby syndrome”. The safe drinking level standard is 10mg/L.
It is shown that the black color or the strain STM 5480 is more efficient in nitrogen fixing than the white color or STM 5472 strain in the singe-inoculation assay. It is also seen that the biomass...
A number of factors can affect the NSC content including the type of plant (grass hays, legume hays, oat hay) maturity of plant (young plants tend to be higher), the environmental conditions (stressed grasses have higher amounts of NSC), the season (spring has largest content of NSC) and time of day (afternoon). The factors mentioned above as well as the curing process will affect the NSC content of forage. The longer hay has being dried the lower the NSC, soaking hay can also remove a large amount of the NSC content.
For years farmers have been adding natural fertilizers to their crops. It is a big risk though. Over fertilizing is very dangerous. It puts high concentrations of salt into the soil. It can also affect the water resources nearby. Nitrogen, Phosphate, and Potassium are the basics of fertilizer. If a certain nutrient is short in supply the fertilizer might not work as well. Calcium, iron, manganese are also nutrients that might be needed. So don’t just trust the fertilizer bag that says it has all the nutrients, test it out. (Miller and Levine 717)
Take, for example, that livestock agriculture and the plant-based agriculture specifically used for feeding that livestock utilizes 30 percent of land on Earth. With crops in high demand to feed the many animals that are slaughtered or otherwise used by humans, it's been found that the soil has lost a great deal of its nutritional value and has eroded to the point that, in the United States, nearly 33 percent of topsoil is diminished.
But the limits of farming too were quickly discovered. If the earth were to produce food naturally, there would only be enough to feed about ten million individuals. With the earth's population now exceeding five billion we can see how this could pose a problem. Because of this overwhelming gap between how much the earth can produce and how much is actually needed, many agricultural advancements have been made that allow us to produce much more.
...t too expensive for the farmers. The second step is that broader awareness is required. According to Sarah Alexander, “different farmers trust different sources, such as vendors, crop consultants, and university extension services.” Farmers are going to need to be open minded to new things, in order to feed the human race. The last step is farmers need the right incentives. Farmers want to know about the good that they are doing. Farmer’s want to know how they are saving the environment, and how they are producing more food, and feeding more people than they were before.
Our first solution is New Delhi, India. India's wheat and rice production can be increased by over 60 percent, sugarcane production by 41 per cent and cotton production by 73 per cent. The best part of this solution is that we don’t have to cut down trees or forests or we don’t even have to increase farm area! Basically, in over 157 countries, including India farms are not producing their capacities. Most importantly, in India, a study found that in wheat, the current yield was 2.49 tonnes per hectare (tph) while it could go up to 3.98 tph if proper fertilizer and water is provided. Similarly, rice yield could increase from 2.88 tph to 4...
Barley is a very important grain in the world today. It is very versatile in every way. It has been well adapted through its evolution. It has a very mysterious and much debated beginning. Now however, barely has become well known and so have its many uses. Barley, which is of the genus Hordeum, is a cereal that belongs to the grass family Poaceae. Barley has many different varieties. The most common is Hordeum vulgare, which is a six-rowed type of barley that has a spike notched on opposite sides with three spikelets on each notch. At each notch there is a flower or floret that later develops into a kernel. Hordeum distichum is a two-rowed type of barley that has central florets producing kernels and it has lateral florets that are sterile. Lastly there is Hordeum irregulare which has fertile central florets and different arrangements of sterile and fertile lateral florets. This is the least cultivated species of the three main forms (2).
Farmers apply nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, manure, and potassium in the form of fertilizers to produce a better product for the consumers. When these sources exceed the plants needs or if these nutrients are applied before a heavy rain then the opportunity for these excess to wash into aquatic ecosystems exists.
The global population in the year 2050 is expected to be nine billion and the agricultural demand is expected to double. With the current population already over seven billion people, there are hunger issues all around the world (“New” par. 1). How are we going to deal with food shortages in the future? With less land to work with, strains on the soils, and the lack of water, it is getting harder for the farmers of the world to support our growing population. These complications are making it harder for farmers to produce quality, affordable food. To help the crops grow better, farmers use fertilizers and chemical sprays to enhance growth and control the weeds. Farming in the United States is a relevant business because it supplies people with food, provides people with jobs maintaining the used equipment with the new equipment being much more expensive, and it provides research for more efficient ways on how to feed the world.
Soil is the most important non-renewable resource on any farm. Healthy soil is key to a good
“If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise not too little not too much, we would have food the safest way of health” (Barasi.E.M, 2003). This essay is going to discuss on the important of six essential nutrients in human body. According to PosnerB.M (1998), he define essential nutrients as a nutrients that the body cannot synthesize on its own-or not to an adequate amount and must be provided by the died. Oxford dictionary (2009), also define essential nutrients as are those nutrients that are required by the body and cannot be synthesise in the adequate amount to meet requirement, so must be provided by the diet. Essential nutrients are those found to be essential to human life and optimal function, Williams.M. H (2006).There are six main type of nutrients used to maintain body health. They are carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals and water. They must be in balance for the body to function properly.
For instance, ammonium nitrate used as ammonium nitrate fertilizer”. The philosophy of agriculture
Plant nutrition is area of plant biology that is of the utmost importance for the proliferation of plants. Without proper nutrition, plants would simply cease to exist unless drastic alterations were made. There are certain elements that are required for the plant to grow and reproduce; these elements are known as essential elements. There are three requirements of an essential element: the element must be required for the completion of the plant’s life cycle, the element must not be replaceable by another element in whole, and finally the element must be direction involved in the metabolism of the plant. Chemical compounds that are involved in proper nutrition have been designated as nutrients, and further classified as macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients are needed for growth, metabolism, and many other functions, but are designated as “macro” because they are required in larger amounts. Macronutrients include carbohydrates, proteins, and fat molecules. Micronutrients have a much wider function that depends on the exact micronutrient. Micronutrients are designated as so because they are needed in much smaller amounts when compared to macronutrients. Examples of micronutrients include vitamins and minerals.