Posts Tagged fertilizer
The Benefits Of Agricultural Biotechnology
Agricultural biotechnology is any technique in which living organisms, or parts of organisms are altered to make or modify agricultural products, to improve crops, or develop microbes for specific uses in agricultural processes. Simply put, when the tools of biotechnology are applied to agriculture, it is termed as “agricultural biotechnology”. Genetic engineering is also a part of agricultural biotechnology in today’s world. It is now possible to carry out genetic manipulation and transformation on almost all plant species, including all the world’s major crops.
Plant transformation is one of the tools involved in agricultural biotechnology, in which genes are inserted into the genetic structure or genome of plants. The two most common methods of plant transformation are Agrobacterium Transformation – methods that use the naturally occurring bacterium; and Biolistic Transformation – involving the use of mechanical means. Using any of these methods the preferred gene is inserted into a plant genome and traditional breeding method followed to transfer the new trait into different varieties of crops.
Production of food crops has become much cheaper and convenient with the introduction of agricultural biotechnology. Specific herbicide tolerant crops have been engineered which makes weed control manageable and more efficient. Pest control has also become more reliable and effective, eliminating the need for synthetic pesticides as crops resistant to certain diseases and insect pests have also been engineered. Phytoremediation is the process in which plants detoxify pollutants in the soil, or absorb and accumulate polluting substances out of the soil. Several crops have now been genetically engineered for this purpose for safe harvest and disposal, and improvement of soil quality.
According to the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture)’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), in reference to a section specific to the major biotechnology derived field crops, out of the whole crop plantings in the United States in 2004, biotechnology plantings accounted for about 46 percent for corn, 76 percent for cotton, and 85 percent for soybeans.
Modern agricultural biotechnology has now become a very well-developed science. The use of synthetic pesticides that may be harmful to man, and pollute groundwater and the environment, has been significantly lessened with the introduction of genetically engineered insect-resistant cotton. Herbicide-tolerant soybeans and corn have also enabled the use of reduced-risk herbicides that break down more quickly in soil. These are nontoxic to plants or animals, and herbicide-tolerant crops help preserve topsoil from erosion since they thrive better in no-till or reduced tillage agriculture systems. Papayas resistant to the ringspot virus were also developed through genetic engineering, which saved the U.S. papaya industry.
Agricultural biotechnology may also be helpful in improving and enhancing the nutritious quality of certain crops. For example, enhancing the levels of beta-carotene in canola, soybean, and corn improves oil compositions, and reduces vitamin A deficiencies in rice. There are also researches going on in the field of biotechnology to produce crops that will not be affected by harsh climates or environments and that will require less water, fertilizer, labor etc. This would greatly reduce the demands and pressures on land and wildlife.
Tags: agricultur, agricultural, agricultural biotechnology, agricultural product, agricultural products, agriculture, biotech, biotechnology, crops, department of agriculture, fertilizer, food crops, genetic engineering, genetically engineered, herbicide, herbicides, insect, living organisms, organisms, pesticide, pesticides, pests, plants, species, the environmentRelated posts
Using Crushed Limestone in Agriculture
Let us talk about organic fertilizers. They have been used by farmers for too many years; however, not a lot of people get to realize their negative effects on the soil. When they are overused, they can be extremely dangerous to plants and even in microorganisms that tend to add more nourishment. Fortunately, a new method of agriculture is being introduced, and it is with the use of crushed limestone. What’s more, agricultural lime seems to hold more benefits than organic fertilizers.
The Benefits of Crushed Limestone
An agricultural lime is commonly called pellet. From a huge stone, it has been pulverized to resemble more like a powder. For those who do not know yet the many possible benefits of crushed limestone, it is time for you to get a very good idea of its many blessings:
- Their size makes it easier to use by farmers. Crushed limestone is very convenient to spread into the soul, and you can even mix it together with some dust. Moreover, the pellets, when combined with water, become so fine that their minerals are easily absorbed by plants.
- You can use it anywhere. Just when you thought that an agricultural lime is only useful when you have such huge hectares of agricultural products, think again. It can still be perfect even if you are only maintaining a plant box. If you want to make sure that you can minimize the use of fertilizers right into your own garden and food crops, you better make sure that you can get hold of this limestone.
- It contains calcium. Calcium is not only excellent for human beings, but this mineral is also highly needed by the soil, though indirectly. When there is no calcium, the pH level of the soil will decrease, which will then not be ideal for your crops. A crushed lime contains high level of calcium, which can help in increasing the pH level of the soil. It will also prevent the development of surface crusting and soil erosion, as well as improve the retention of water for the plants. Moreover, this limestone can make any kind of soil more suitable for planting, and the plants will be more tolerable to extremely hot or wet conditions.
- It can reduce the level of toxicity in the soil. This limestone can minimize the level of aluminum, iron, and manganese in the soil. These trace minerals can have negative impact to the soil and to the crops. For example, iron and manganese can bring down the pH level of the soil. Aluminum, on the other hand, can hinder the complete and effective development of the plants and the roots.
There are a lot of sources you have for crushed limestone, but not all of them are trustworthy. You have to make sure that you can make the proper research before you decide to buy something from them, such as agricultural lime. You do not want to damage your crops with substandard materials.
Tags: agricultur, agricultural, agricultural lime, agricultural product, agricultural products, agriculture, calcium, crops, crushed limestone, fertilizer, fertilizers, food crops, garden, limestone, organic, organic fertilizer, organic fertilizers, organisms, plants, soil erosionRelated posts
World Agriculture Must Become More Sustainable
Sustainable agriculture is an issue that many environmental scientists started pondering in recent years. The reason it is so vital is because food is something that people need for physical survival on this planet and agriculture directly deals with how to produce it. Nevertheless, there is a misconception that sustainable agriculture deals only with how to feed the expanding population today and how to produce enough food to meet the dietary demands at present. The difference here lies in the core objective of this branch of environmental science. It is a much broader concept which is concerned with meeting the demand for food in the future. It is a fact that some geographic regions that used to have fertile soil have become deserts due to inefficient agricultural practices that are common in the world today. Therefore, the fact of food overproduction at present will not seem so exciting if the future generations starve to death not having enough supplies to feed the ever-growing population. ‘
Therefore, sustainable agriculture is concerned with developing an efficient environment-friendly food production system that would eliminate a waste of limited natural resources and prevent land from losing fertility while producing adequate yields year after year. It is still important to produce enough food today but it is imperative that substantial agriculture factor in deterioration in fertility and depletion of natural resources, particularly soil and water. So far we have 3 areas that substantial agriculture is concerned with: meeting the demand for food today, ensuring that the future generations will be able to produce enough food given the ever-present deterioration of soil and water, and taking control of soil and water condition.
It is imperative to make agriculture more sustainable if we want to preserve this planet and eliminate the possibility of the global famine in the future. Creating a sustainable agriculture system is actually much more difficult than developing the concept of it in theory. It presents a real dilemma simply because numerous intertwining macro and microeconomic factors influence the level of quality and form of a product produced by the system. Therefore we have to factor in the complex economic and political environment while theorizing about sustainable agriculture systems. As a result, farmers are forced to produce products that people are willing to buy and that are safe to eat, compete with other producers, and act within political and legal boundaries. By the same token, sustainable agriculture creates a framework that farmers must act within, in other words a set of rules to comply with. This simply emphasizes that agriculture is a difficult business to stay in and to make it more sustainable is to complicate it even further.
Nevertheless the level of difficulty involved must not deter us from this task because the potential results will definitely outweigh the problems that farmers might be facing today. Every year the total area of agricultural land gradually decreases because land is being eaten up by rapid development. At this point in time the US can produce more food than it needs and this can probably go on for several decades but if no radical measures are taken the aggregate supply of food in the global economy will dwindle. One of the potential solutions to this problem would be government support in the form of lower taxes for farmers. This would help people stay in business longer and concentrate more on environmental problems. In order to make the agriculture more sustainable farmers should utilize natural resources more efficiently. Some advanced cropping techniques must be employed to maintain soil fertility at a certain acceptable level and prevent it from deterioration. They also need to control the amount of fertilizers used in the process thus producing safe to eat and healthy products. Currently, the situation is far from perfect but it is headed in the right direction with the government starting to acknowledge the importance of this issue and providing support to farmers.
Tags: agricultur, agricultural, agriculture, business, fertilizer, fertilizers, health, healthy, scientists, sustainable, sustainable agricultureRelated posts