history soil fertility
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Welcome to Soil Fertility
and Plant Nutrition
AGRN 378
Did the ancient
Egyptians know
anything about soil
fertility?
Ancient Egyptian murals
show lots of agricultural
practices - tillage, planting,
irrigation and harvesting but
no fertilization
http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~anthro/courses/306/Nile%20Delta.jpg http://lexicorient.com/e.o/atlas/maps/nile.gif
Why did
Greek
historian
Herodotus
write
Egypt is
truly a gift
of the Nile?
4-5 million
people during
the New
Kingdom
Most of Egypt
is desert !
Nile
High Aswan Dam
constructed
beginning in 1960
6 T
RIL
LIO
N C
FT
1.2
TRILLION
CFT
Ho
ove
r
Dam
Hig
h A
sw
an
Dam
Each year ~ 120 million tons of sediment accumulates
behind the dam containing ~ 10,000 tons of biologically
available P and N !
Shrimp harvest along Egyptian Coast
Mediterranean fisheries collapsed after the
construction of the High Aswan Dam
Nixon, 2003. Replacing the Nile: Are Anthropogenic Nutrients Providing the Fertility Once Brought to the
Mediterranean by a Great River? Ambio. Volume 32, Issue 1 (February 2003)
So…why are
the fisheries
recovering?
Shrimp harvest along Egyptian Coast
Nixon, 2003. Replacing the Nile: Are Anthropogenic Nutrients Providing the Fertility Once Brought to the
Mediterranean by a Great River? Ambio. Volume 32, Issue 1 (February 2003)
So…why are the fisheries recovering?
SEWAGE from Cairo
Aquatic ecosystems
in the Mediterranean
are nutrient limited
unlike the Gulf of
Mexico
Roman art also reveals a
lot about their agriculture.
In addition to Saturn and Ceres (Roman
god and goddess of Agriculture), the
Romans had a god of manure named
Stercutius who was worshiped by old
women and children.
Stercutius
A number of Roman authors (e.g., Cato, Columella, Pliny the Elder)
wrote detailed textbooks on agriculture that described the use of
animal manures, green manures and crop rotations to improve soil
productivity. These books were considered important sources of
information about agriculture for over a thousand years.
Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79) classified animal
manures with respect to their advantages
and disadvantages of most animal manures
and recommended the use of green
manures. "It is universally agreed by all
writers that there is nothing more beneficial
than to turn up a crop of lupines, before they
have podded, either with the plough or the
fork, or else to cut them and bury them in
heaps at the roots of trees and vines."
Blue lupines
The earliest records of soil improvement using green
manures are from the Chou dynasty (~1000 BC) in
China. Later (500 BC), Tsi gave the following advice:
“Green manures are planted in the 5th or 6th month,
and plowed under in the 7th or 8th month... Their
fertilizing value is as good as silkworm excrement and
well-rotted farm manure"
China has had more than 50 million people for more than 2000
years and currently has more than 300 million farmers!
“ We desired to learn how it is
possible, after twenty and
perhaps thirty or even forty
centuries, for their soils to be
made to produce sufficiently for
the maintenance of such dense
populations.. “
FH King, 1911
Fertilizing with night soil
http://library.thinkquest.org/C006206F/images/images/pint5.jpg
Chinampas Agriculture
in Central America
http://www.icarito.cl/vgn/images/portal/FOTO042005/221466640lamina-chinampas.jpg
http://kyapa.tripod.com/agengineering/drainage-lowland/veracruzbuildingchinampas.jpg
Building Chinampas
http://kyapa.tripod.com/agengineering/drainage-lowland/camell-colombia.jpg
Chinampas in the Momposina lowland region of Columbia
In 1240, Roman agricultural literature was summarized by Crescentius.
http://www.abbeville.com/Products/InteriorImages/0896599191Interiors.htm
Bernard Palissy (1510-1589)
Ceramicist and hydraulic
engineer
Far ahead of his time, Palissy
wrote: ”Manure is carried to the
field for the purpose of restoring
to the latter a part of what had
been removed... Proceeding
thus you will restore to the soil
the same substances that have
been removed by previous
crops and which following crops
will regain to their advantage."
JB van Helmont (1577-1644)
Dutch physician and Chemist
What is the
“principle of
vegetation”?
JB van Helmont (1577-1644)
Dutch physician and Chemist
What is the
“principle of
vegetation”?
What do
plants
eat?
Van Helmont’s
pot experiment
5 lbs
of
plant
200 lbs
of soil
only water
was added
169 lbs
of plant
199 lbs,
14oz of soil
T=0 T= 5 yrs
Van Helmont also performed
experiments that involved combusting
charcoal and reported that 62 lbs of
charcoal produced 1 lb of ash.
He wrote that the other 61 lbs consisted
of the "spirit of the wood," which he
called "gas".
Philosophical Transactions Volume 21 (1699 !)
John Woodward discovered
that the growth of spearmint
cuttings was positively
related to the amount of
dissolved solids in water
How many of you have heard of the band “Jethro Tull”?
Jethro Tull, 1731
Jethro Tull invented the grain drill and many
complementary technologies that resulted in
large increases in grain yields during the
18th century.
George Washington took
great pains to inform himself
about any subject in which
he was interested.
He corresponded with Arthur
Young, Britain’s leading
agriculturalist in the post-
Revolutionary period and
ordered the latest British
books about new agricultural
practices.
Among Washington’s papers
are detailed notes taken as
he studied Jethro Tull’s
Horse Hoeing Husbandry.
“All sorts of dung and
compost contain some
matter, which, when mixt with
the soil, ferments therein; and
by such ferment dissolves,
crumbles, and divides the
earth very much; This is the
chief, and almost only use of
dung...
The value of dung is not to
nourish, but to dissolve, i.e.,
divide the terrestrial matter,
which affords nourishment to
the mouths of vegetable
roots.”
Jethro Tull, 1731
Tull’s theory of
plant nutrition
This article starts with a brief review of
theories about plant nutrition and the
importance of humus prior to the mid- 19th
century. It then shows how the “Humus
Theory” developed by Thaer allowed him to
establish a quantitative system of evaluating
cropping system sustainability.
Similar to animals, plants must feed upon
organic substances that are similar to
them in composition.
Soil organic matter aka humus, is the
chief nutrient for plants and the primary
source of soil fertility.
Roots absorb humus and transform it
into plant substance, by combining it
with water.
The
humus
theory
In the early 1800s, Swiss chemist and plant physiologist
Nicolas-Théodore De Saussure rejected most of the
principle of vegetation concepts of his predecessors
and arrived at many ground breaking conclusions:
1) soil, not air, supplies plants with N
2) roots are active and selective absorbers of water and salts
3) plants only absorb CO2 and release O2 when exposed to
sunlight
4) All plant tissues including seeds and roots consume O2 and
give off CO2
but did not fully reject the humus theory
Answers to the reading questions
should be submitted using WO
before the start of Friday’s class
Reading questions
1) The article includes an interesting quote from Jethro Tull:
“The chief art of the husbandman is to feed the plants to best advantage; but,
how shall he do that, unless he knows what is their food?”
Identify the contrasting views about plant nutrition contained in the article. Be
sure to mention the proponents of each view.
2) Discuss de Saussure’s relationship with his father. Has anyone in your life
helped to spark or encourage your interest in the Agricultural Sciences?
Explain.
3) De Saussure made many impressive discoveries about plant respiration and
nutrition. Briefly discuss 3 discoveries that you think were particularly
interesting.
4a) Calculate how much a typical corn seed weighs in grams (1 lb = 454 g).
Hint: look up the weight of a bushel of corn and # of seeds in a bushel of corn.
4b) Estimate the total weight of a mature corn plant in grams.
Assume the following: corn population = 30,000 plants/ac, yield = 200 bu/ac,
weight of grain = weight of stover = weight of roots
4c) Calculate how much the corn seed’s weight multiplied during a full season of
growth.
SHOW YOUR WORK!!!!
1/100 of an oz
grain
+
cob
+
stalk
+
leaves
+
roots
_____
> 1 lb
How is this possible??
“ The conclusion should have
been reached long ago that
humus is not such an important
substance as we have been led to
believe, and that the current
doctrine of humus is exceedingly
full of contradictions.”
Carl Sprengel 1838
Rejection of the humus theory
Justus von Liebig
was a pioneering German
chemist who wrote and lectured
extensively about the mineral
nutrition of plants. As the first
professor to use the laboratory
method of teaching chemistry,
he is regarded as one of the
greatest chemistry educators of
all time.
He was held in such high
esteem that few dared to
question his pronouncements
about mineral nutrition.
Justus von Liebig (1803 -1873)
Justus von Liebig (1803 -1873)
Law of
the
Minimum
Liebig did not actually introduce the
Law of the Minimum but deserves
credit for popularizing the concept
Liebig
recommended
a “check book”
approach to
fertilization
What is liberated and what is left behind
when plant biomass is burned ?
Metal oxides
(K, Ca, Mg, P, Fe…)
Non-metal oxides
(C, N, H and S)
Liebig believed
that the ash
generated when
a crop is burned
contained the
optimal blend of
nutrients for
fertilizing the
crop
Liebig wrote: ‘Agricultural crops receive quite sufficient
nitrogen from the atmosphere ...’
Some of Liebig’s theories were not
supported by experimental evidence but
few were willing to publicly question them.
Sir John Lawes, a British contemporary of Liebig was bold
enough to declare: ‘There can not be a more
erroneous opinion than this.’
http://nolimits.nmw.ac.uk/IEN/rotham.jpg
Rothamsted
Experiment
Station
Lawes and Gilbert founded the first agricultural
experiment station
Sir John Lawes Sir Henry Gilbert
• Started in 1843
• Continuous wheat
for more than 160 years
• The oldest agricultural field
experiment in the world.
Broadbalk
experiment
J.B. LAWE'S PATENT MANURES, composed
of Super Phosphate of Lime, Phosphate of Ammonia, Silicate of Potass, &c., are now
for sale at his Factory, Deptford-creek, London,
price 4s. 6d. per bushel.These substances can
be had seperately; the Super Phosphate of Lime alone is recommended for fixing the
Ammonia of Dung-heaps, Cesspools, Gas
Liquor, &c. Price 4s. 6d. per bushel
From : The Gardeners Chronic le
July 1, 1843 page 442
JB Lawes opened one of the first
fertilizer factories in Europe and
needed to convince farmers that they
should use his fertilizers
Broadbalk demonstrated the value
of N and P fertilizer and that
manure was not necessary to
produce high crop yields
the plots receiving both manure and
fertilizer often produced the
highest yields
however
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
1850 1875 1900 1925 1950 1975 2000
Wh
ea
t g
rain
yie
ld (
t/h
a)
Unmanured, continuous wheat
Continuous wheat:
FYM PK+144 kg N
1st wheat in rotation:
FYM+96 kg N Best NPK
Introduction of: liming fungicides
fallowing herbicides
Broadbalk grain yields, selected treatments
Why have the
yields been
leveling off?
The Broadbalk archive
currently contains over
200,000 bottles of hay, grain
and soil
Why do they keep
all these old samples ?
The Broadbalk archive
currently contains over
200,000 bottles of hay, grain
and soil
Why do they keep
all these old samples ?
Old samples provide answers
to new questions !
Morrow Plots - started in 1876 at the U of Illinois
- oldest agronomic experiment in the US
Cyril Hopkins (right), head of the U of Illinois Department of Agronomy, and James H.Pettit (left),
assistant in Soil Analysis at the Ag Experiment Station, collect soil samples from the Morrow Plots
" ... it is not the land itself that
constitutes the farmer's wealth, but it is
in the constituents of the soil, which
serve for the nutrition of plants, that
this wealth truly consists."
“The farmer should be as familiar with
the names of the ten essential elements
of plant food as he is with the names of
his ten nearest neighbors”
“In recent years, Whitney and Cameron have revived the theory of toxic
excreta from plant roots, in support of a more radical theory announced by
them, to the effect that soils do not wear out or become depleted by cultivation
or cropping.
While this theory is advanced with no adequate foundation and in direct
opposition to practical experience and to so many facts of mathematics,
chemistry, and geology, that it is in itself quite unworthy of further
consideration, the fact is that it has been promoted by Professor Whitney as
Chief of the United States Bureau of Soils, and by Doctor Cameron as the
chief chemist of the same Bureau; and, consequently, it cannot be ignored”
Soil Fertility and Permanent Agriculture – Cyril G. Hopkins, 1910
Legumes can fix their own N *if* they have the appropriate bacteria
Rhizobia bacteria first
isolated in mid 1880s
Morrow plots today – 3 of the 10 original plots remain
Impact of nutrients and rotation on SOM
http://www.cropsci.uiuc.edu/research/rdc/urbana/morrow.cfm
MLP = Manure, lime and phosphorus added
Long rotations with fertilization retained more OM but
all rotations (with and without fertilization) led to loss of OM
19th century farmers had limited
opportunities to purchase
nutrients. Some used guano
imported from South America.
Large yield responses were
reported for a wide range of
crops after applications of
guano.
Guano is a concentrated
source of N (~ 12 %) and P2O5
(~ 12 %), with much higher
analyses than most organic
fertilizers.
Guano was mined intensively off the west coast of S. America
during the mid-to late 1800s. During the peak years of guano
mining, Great Britain imported over 150,000 tons annually.
PERU
Mountain of guano
off the coast of Peru
Fritz Haber – a man with many faces
Laboratory apparatus
designed by Fritz
Haber for producing
NH3 from H2 and N2.
The catalytic process
took place in the large
cylinder on the left.
Founded in 1865, BASF is the world's largest chemical
company, ahead of Dow and DuPont, ~ 100,000 employees,
>80 billion in sales in 2007.
Karl Bosch worked for BASF and developed the technology
for upscaling Haber’s method of NH3 production.
Nitrates and ammonia made up 59 percent of BASF sales in
1919.
~ 130 gallons of diesel fuel per ton of NH3
~ 185 GDF/ton NH3
~ 300 GDF/ton NH3
Industrial N fixation is very energy intensive
Fig. 6.12 in Smil (2001)
Large
improvements
in energy
efficiency
were made
during the 20th
century.
> 700 GDF/ton NH3
GDF = gallon of diesel fuel
What happened ~ 7 years ago ?
Fertilizer application in the US since 1850
Total
N
K2O
P2O5
What
happened
during the
80s??
Farmers cut way back
on their fertilizer
purchases during the
“Farm Crisis”
lbs of
nutrient
applied
per
bushel
produced
What are the long term consequences of ratios > 1?
http://www.afa.com.eg/uploads/papers/2011/files/3_fixen_paper.pdf
Deficit spending is drawing down
soil test P levels in the Midwest
http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/04/30/business/20080430_FERTILIZER_GRAPHIC.html
What happened in 1989?
Worldwide Growth In Fertilizer Use
http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2005/Update48_data.htm
http://www.agecon.purdue.edu/topfarmer/newsletter/TFCW8_2008.pdf
Fertilizer prices began spiraling upward in 2007
Why??
World fertilizer prices collapsed in the fall of 2008
So
where
are
prices
today?
http://www.growthstockwire.com/images/charts/2009/feb/20090225_chart_a.gif
Why??
http://farmfutures.com/mdfm/Faress1/author/252/2012/8/WFertR082012.pdf
http://farmfutures.com/mdfm/Faress1/author/252/2012/8/WFertR082012.pdf
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