Monday, September 8, 2008
fertilizer
Genetically Modified Crops can help control Erosion and Pollution around the World
Author: Alisa Baumer
Genetically Modified Crops can help control Erosion and Pollution around the World
21st May 2006
Author: Alisa Baumer
When the first genetically modified crops were introduced ten years ago, the technology was seen as a new advancement that could help struggling farmers improve their crop yields and ultimately, reduce hunger in developing nations around the world.
Over the next several years, new and innovative advancements in agricultural biotechnology occurred and numerous studies and reports were published by leading scientific and research organizations touting the safety and benefits of these crops.
Now, another benefit of biotechnology is being touted: controlling erosion and pollution around the world.
Since 1996, farmers planting GM crops have been able to reduce and, in several cases, completely stopped plowing or tilling the soil to eliminate weeds and prepare fields for planting.
Using this technique, known as conservation tillage, farmers leave stubble or plant residue on the soil`s surface, rather than plowing or disking it into the soil.
The new crops are planted directly into the stubble, and genetically modified herbicide-tolerant plants make it possible for farmers and growers to control weeds in the crop by applying an herbicide rather than plowing.
The benefits of conservation tillage include less erosion.
In Brazil, according to Almir Rebelo, a grower advisor and president of the Brazilian grower organization Friends of the Earth, the problem with erosion was very damaging to the environment to the extent that, in order for growers to produce one ton of grain, 10 tons of soil per hectare were lost per year.
This problem was eliminated through conservation tillage.
Conservation tillage has also decreased the number of times a tractor drives across a field, resulting in fuel savings and a reduction in greenhouse gases.
In the United Kingdom, the technology has helped deliver important savings.
According to Graham Brookes, an agricultural economist and director of UK-based PG Economics, 10 billion kilograms less carbon dioxide were released into the atmosphere in 2004.
"That`s equivalent to taking 20 percent of the cars in the United Kingdom off the road for a year," Brookes said.
In the United States, farmers have increased their no-till crop acres by 35 percent since 1996 when the first genetically modified crops were first planted.
By using conservation tillage, farmers no longer have to plow their fields to control weeds, when previously they would have to plow several times during a planting season, using more diesel fuel and thereby putting the soil at risk for more erosion.
By keeping the plant residue on their fields, according to the article, farmers have a new opportunity to see wildlife emerge once again in their landscapes.
The impact of conservation tillage has also been significant to farmers in developing nations.
According to the article, farmers in these countries no longer have to burn the residue in their harvest and now can let it decompose in their fields to become fertilizer.
It`s great that farmers and growers around the world are adopting conservation tillage in their planting.
Clearly, there are so many benefits that the technique can bring just by using genetically modified crops.
I believe that more farmers and growers should take advantage of using conservation tillage when planting their crops.
It can certainly help environment, which would calm the hypothetical fears of environmental advocates and, in the end, help the future of the world.
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_55281_26.html
In fact, it would be difficult to chemically distinguish betweenurea of biological origin and that produced synthetically. Organic chemist Justus von Liebig demonstrated that plants need mineral elements such as nitrogen and phosphorous in order to grow. Nitrogen is unlimited, but nitrogenfertilizers are presently made using fossil fuels such as natural gas. Twoyearold Devon Shackleford was drowned in an Arizona swimming pool.However, certain bacteria in the soil decompose organic material, making its elements available for use by plants. Carbon based, or inorganic containing simple, inorganic chemicals. When plants are nitrogen deficient, they are marked by reduced growth and yellowing of leaves. They can also be tailored to suit the type of crop that is being grown. The use of manure and composts as fertilizers is probably almost as old as agriculture. Some of the characteristics that are tested include pH, appearance, density, and melting point. Much is washed into surrounding bodies of water or filters into the groundwater. After the war the output of these factories became available to produce fertilizers. Ancient farmers knew that the first yields on a plot of land were much better than those of subsequent years. Post a question or answer questions about fertilizer .These represent only one type of fertilizer, and other single nutrient types are also made. As the drum rotates, pieces of the solid fertilizer take on small spherical shapes. First used by ancient farmers, fertilizer technology developed significantly as the chemical needs of growing plants were discovered. Effect of nitrogen fertilizer and host plant variety on fecundity and early instar survival of Nilaparvatalugens Stl immediate response. We provide a ton of content to help you get the most out of your visit . Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the XSAg. This caused them to move to new, uncultivated areas, which again showed the same pattern of reduced yields over time.Controlled release fertilizersare also referred to as sustained release or timed release. Grain contains between 1 and 2 nitrogenallowing for leaching, one can reasonably assume 30kg crop requires 1 kg nitrogen. Primarily his work succeeded in setting outquestions for agricultural science to address over the next 50 years. The Egyptians are known to have added ashes from burned weeds to soil.