Plant, Soil and Environment, 2023 (vol. 69), issue 7

Stem water potential, stomatal conductance and yield in irrigated apple treesOriginal Paper

Lenka Plavcová, Radek Jupa, Martin Mészáros, Klára Scháňková, Zuzana Kovalíková, Jan Náměstek

Plant Soil Environ., 2023, 69(7):303-313 | DOI: 10.17221/160/2023-PSE  

Plant-based indicators of water status, such as midday stem water potential (Ψ_stem) and leaf stomatal conductance (g_s), are used to optimise irrigation scheduling in horticultural crops because they integrate the effect of soil and climatic conditions and the internal physiological constraints. The use of these indicators relies on experimentally acquired thresholds that relate the value of the indicator to negative effects on yield. In five irrigation treatments, we monitored yield, fruit size and the courses of Ψ_stem and g_s throughout four consecutive growing seasons. We found that Ψ_stem...

Growth performance and yield of rice grown in three different types of soil collected from rice fields with coal fly ash applicationOriginal Paper

Bambang J. Priatmadi, Meldia Septiana, Akhmad R. Saidy

Plant Soil Environ., 2023, 69(7):314-323 | DOI: 10.17221/245/2022-PSE  

The improvement of rice production to meet food needs for the increasing population is a general problem faced in wetland development for agriculture. The use of industrial waste, such as coal fly ash (CFA), could effectively improve the soil properties of wetlands. In this study, CFA with an amount of 2% (weight/volume) or 240 g was added to 12 L of three different soils collected from the rice fields (peatland, swampland, and rainfed field) in a 15-L pot, and then incubated in the greenhouse for 15 days. The soil pH, concentrations of NH₄⁺-N, NO₃^–-N, exchangeable calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) and...

Effect of silicon dioxide application and potassium levels on morphophysiological properties and storable seed yield of hybrid super sweet maize (Zea mays L. 'Elika') under drought stressOriginal Paper

Seyed Gholam Reza Hosseini, Behzad Sani, Hamid Mozafari, Hamidreza Zabihi, Faezeh Rajabzadeh

Plant Soil Environ., 2023, 69(7):324-332 | DOI: 10.17221/302/2022-PSE  

In this experiment, we investigated the effects of drought combined with exogenous silicon (Si) and potassium application on super sweet corn growth and development. Drought stress caused decreases in the stem diameter, leaf area, cob length, cob diameter, 100 seed weight, seed number, cob yield, biologic yield, and relative water content (RWC), but proline content and catalase activity were higher under drought stress conditions. The results of a two-year experiment showed that potassium sulfate application and foliar application significantly increased RWC in drought stress conditions, and the highest increase was related to treatment with...

Influence of 11 years of crop residue management on rice productivity under varied nitrogen levels in the rice-wheat cropping systemOriginal Paper

Rajeev Kumar Gupta, Paramjit Kaur Sraw, Jasjeet Singh Kang, Jagroop Kaur, Anu Kalia, Vivek Sharma, Surjeet Singh Manhas, Nadhir Al-Ansari, Abed Alataway, Ahmed Z. Dewidar, Mohamed A. Mattar

Plant Soil Environ., 2023, 69(7):333-343 | DOI: 10.17221/68/2023-PSE  

The present study compares the six crop residue management techniques in main plots (since 2008) and three split nitrogen (N) levels, i.e., 75, 100 and 125 kg N/ha in subplots for rice crops for two years, i.e., 2019 and 2020, in sandy loam soil under field conditions. This experiment evaluated the long-term effect on rice productivity, soil organic carbon content and nutrient requirement in rice-wheat cropping system. The results revealed that different crop residue management practices and N levels significantly influenced rice growth, yield and yield attributes and improved nutrient uptake by grain and straw. Maximum grain yields of 20.8% and 17.8%...

Temporal variability drives soil chemical and biological dynamics more than grazing in a northern mixed-grass prairieOriginal Paper

Timm Gergeni, John Derek Scasta, Kristie Maczko, Steve Paisley, John Tanaka

Plant Soil Environ., 2023, 69(7):344-362 | DOI: 10.17221/54/2023-PSE  

Quantification of soil health dynamics relative to grazing can inform both agriculture and conservation. We conducted an experiment near Lingle, Wyoming, USA, on a semi-arid northern mixed-grass prairie from 2017–2019. Three grazing density treatments (NG – not grazed; MRG – moderate rotationally grazed a herd of 4 Angus heifers, and UHD – ultra-high density rotationally grazed a herd of 33 Angus cow-calf pairs) were replicated four times in a randomised complete block design across twelve – 0.405 ha paddocks. Soil sampling was conducted prior to grazing in June 2017, one-week post grazing in July 2019, and six weeks post...