Precision agriculture has been developed in order to achieve more productive, more profitable and environmentally sound agriculture by adjusting the input level in the site-specific manner. Therefore, the delineation of management zone in spatially variable farmland was thought to be crucial for a site-specific management of crops. Recent introduction of ICT (Information and Communication Technology)

The conversion between the two different systems, ISSS and FAO/USDA, of particle size distribution and soil texture classification is useful to characterize soil physical properties and usage of each published. The objective of this study is to test some functions that have been published for conversion from ISSS to FAO/USDA system for Japanese paddy soils and to select the best method. We tested the

Chitin, which is the polymer of N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) linked by β1,4 glycoside bonds, has been reported as a soil amendment to mitigate plant soil diseases, increasing the population of chitin-degrading bacteria, and chitinolytic enzymatic activity in the soil. In some chitin-degrading bacteria, whose chitinolytic systems have been intensively studied, the chitin degradation product N,Nʹ-diacetylchitobiose

The fertilizer absorption characteristics of strawberries are not clear, although appropriate fertilization is definitely necessary to ensure produce quality and quantity. This study aimed to determine the amounts of macro- and micronutrients absorbed during cultivation of strawberries and their biodistribution and utilization in the plant body. We cultivated Japanese strawberries ‘Benihoppe’ and ‘Kirapika’

Alternative saturation and reduction are frequent in the Ultisols on aged alluvial terraces in Taiwan, which forms various redoximorphic features (RMFs) that depend on a seasonally high water table and geographic positions. The abundance and distribution of RMFs in the soil profile are criteria for the classification categories of Plinthite in Soil Taxonomy. Thus, we proposed an empirical relationship

The soil map of Madagascar has not been substantially updated since the 1960s. The number of reported soil profiles that meet the criteria of the Reference Pedon Description – the highest level of data reliability used to ascertain FAO soil unit classification – is also limited for a country-scale soil map. Therefore, we conducted a soil survey in the east coast and the central highlands, the most

Following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident of 2011, the potential for radiocesium transfer from contaminated soils, such as Andosols, to agricultural crops became a significant concern. Andosols account for up to 70％ of paddy soils in the northern and northwest areas of Tochigi Prefecture, where the radiocesium concentration is 1000 Bq kg−1 or greater in the soil of some fields. The

(2020). Abstracts of Nippon Dojo-Hiryogaku Zasshi 91-02. Soil Science and Plant Nutrition: Vol. 66, No. 3, pp. 527-529.

To clarify the factors affecting 137Cs transfer from soil to brown rice in comparison with 133Cs transfer and also to determine the key parameters of the solid-liquid partition coefficient (K d), concentration factor from soil solution to brown rice (CF), and transfer factor from soil to brown rice (TF), we analyzed the results of our previous paper in which a rice pot-culture experiment under different

Soil microorganisms play important roles in crop growth and nutrient cycling. This study investigated the influence of the temporal changes in soil fatty acids (FAs) mainly derived from microorganisms by the incorporation of different green manures on the subsequent crop yield of winter wheat. Plants (Sesbania rostrata or Sorghum bicolor) as green manure were cultivated as the preceding crop, followed

Iron (Fe) is an essential element for most organisms since it is involved in various biological reactions. Fe deficiency is a major constraint for plant growth and leads to low crop yields and poor nutritional quality. Fe uptake and translocation in plants require the coordinated expression of multiple genes, which is regulated by various transcription factors (TFs), especially members of the basic

Photosynthetic activity is expected to be maintained during leaf senescence if the amount of Rubisco is maintained. As the mRNA level of the Rubisco gene decreases rapidly just before the stage of full expansion, its overexpression after full expansion would be effective. We previously found that the mRNA level of the Rubisco activase gene (RCA) is maintained during leaf senescence. In the present

There are limited studies on the mineralogy of tidal flats in Japan even though the composition would affect the functions of water purification and organic matter preservation. This study investigated the mineralogy of major Japanese tidal flats and clarified factors affecting the mineralogy. Sediment samples were collected at 46 sites from 21 tidal flats throughout Japan. Primary minerals in the

Arctic wetlands are significant sources of atmospheric methane and the observed accelerated climate changes in the arctic could cause a change in methane dynamics. Methane oxidation would be the key process to control methane emission from wetlands. In this study, we determined the potential methane oxidation rate of the wetland soils of a taiga–tundra transition zone in northeastern Siberia. Peat

Plant growth regulators(PGR)-assisted phytoremediation is a technique which could improve the efficiency of heavy metal accumulation in hyperaccumulator plants. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of PGR combination with nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) on Cd extraction and distribution in Cd hyperaccumulator. To achieve this objective, a pot experiment was carried out to investigate the effects

Most peatlands in Indonesia border mineral upland, yet research reporting the effects of the presence of mineral upland on the distribution of mineral nutrients are limited. We collected multiple samples in surface layers from a peatland located between the Siak River and a mineral upland in Riau Province, Indonesia and measured electrical conductivity, pH, and exchangeable Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, and Na+

In 2017, the Japanese Society of Pedology (the Fifth Committee for Soil Classification and Nomenclature) established the Japanese soil classification system. In the classification system, all the soils derived from volcanic ejecta (volcanic ash, pumice, scoria, etc.) are classified into the Great Group of Andosols, excluding Man-made and Organic soils, although some volcanic soils were classified into

The WRB (World Reference Base for Soil Resources) 2014 adopted ‘effective base saturation (EBS),’ which is the ratio of exchangeable bases (Ca + Mg + K + Na) to effective CEC (Ca + Mg + K + Na + Al), instead of base saturation (BS), the ratio of exchangeable bases to the cation exchange capacity, as the criterion for the addition of qualifiers concerning the condition of exchangeable bases. An EBS

Grape is intolerant of aluminum. This intolerance leads to severe aluminum poisoning when the plants are cultivated in acidic soil, resulting in a decline in their yield and quality. To reduce and prevent the dangers of aluminum toxicity to grape, a method of identifying tolerance to aluminum was discussed, and genotypes tolerant to aluminum were screened. Twenty-six grape germplasm resources from

As the secondary nutrients in soils, exchangeable base cations can form cationic bridges with clay particles and organic matters to promote the formation of soil aggregates, and to protect soil organic carbon (Corg) and nutrients from loss. To have a comprehensive understanding toward the dynamics of soil exchangeable base cations in the tea planting process, it requires to evaluate these cations’

Conservation Agriculture approach could be strategic for Soil Quality (SQ) conservation under the Mediterranean conditions of Southern Europe’s environments. In this study, we reported the results obtained during a 2-year field experiment (split-plot design) of a 7-year experiment started in 2010–2011, combining two tillage practices (Conventional Tillage (CT) and Zero Tillage (ZT)) with two crop sequences

New calibration method of the capacitance and frequency domain reflectometry (ECH2O EC-5) for soil water monitoring was developed by introducing the slope-intercept relationship derived from the relationship between the RAW data recorded by the Em50 datalogger and the thermogravimetrically measured volumetric water content of soil. Numerous soil samples taken from paddy–upland rotational fields in

Andosols (or Andisols) are the typical soils developed from volcanoclastic materials. They possess several distinctive properties that are rarely found in other groups of soils. These properties are largely due to the dominance of short-range ordered minerals (allophane, imogolite, and ferrihydrite) and/or mineral–humus complexes (Al/Fe–humus complexes). In this review, I survey the diversity of volcanic

Understanding how plants use of various nitrogen (N) sources is important for improving plant N use efficiency in organic farming systems. This study investigated the effects of farming management practices (organic and conventional) on pakchoi short-term uptake of glycine (Gly), nitrate (NO3 −) and ammonium (NH4 +) under two N level conditions. Results showed that plant N uptake rates and N contributions

Soil fertility in many parts of the north‒western Himalayan region (NWHR) has declined owing to accelerated nutrient mining under existing crop regime. Therefore, this study aimed to assess effect of the predominant horticulture‒based land uses on soil fertility and health in mid and high hills of NWHR. Soil samples (0‒20 cm) were collected, analyzed for different soil chemical attributes (pH, electrical

The stability of black soil carbon in the deep layers of Japanese volcanic ash soil (i.e., buried A horizons) is often explained by its unique chemical (molecular structure) and physical (associated with short-range-order minerals) recalcitrance. However, the stability of black soil C in buried A horizons may be changed by labile C supply for soil microbes. Here, we hypothesized that the mineralization

There are many nitrogen (N) pools in soil, so their availability and different status can give information about bulk soil response to N deposition. However, the different size of N pools in forest soils and the relationship between them have not been well studied under N deposition when considering the role of litter. Here soil in an N-deposition experiment carried out for 5 years in a broad-leaved

The thermal-activated serpentine prepared by heating natural serpentine at different temperatures was used to immobilize cadmium (Cd) in simulated contaminated soils. The results showed that the increasing soil pH induced by adding serpentine was primarily responsible for reducing the content of TCLP-Cd (toxicity characteristic leaching procedure-Cd) in soil. Furthermore, adding thermal-activated serpentine

Cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) are toxic trace elements which are not essential for plants but can be easily taken up by roots and accumulated in various organs, and cause irreversible damages to plants. A pot experiment was carried out to investigate the individual and combined effects of Cd (0, 10, 20 mg kg−1) and Pb (0, 500, 1000 mg kg−1) level in a calcareous soil on the status of mineral nutrients

ABSTRACT Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is an important nitrogen source for both N2-fixers and their neighboring plants in natural and managed ecosystems. Biological N fixation can vary considerably depending on soil conditions, yet there is a lack of knowledge on the impact of varying soils on the contribution of N from N2-fixers in mixed swards. In this study, the amount and proportion of BNF