This book reviews the wealth of research on optimising bio-based approaches to improve soil health, looking particularly at the differing types of soil amendments and how they can contribute to improving different elements of soil health, including soil organic matter content and soil nutrient availability. The book also considers how these approaches translate to improvements in crop growth and yield.
Improvements in plant nutrition and fertilisation are central to any transition to a more sustainable agriculture. In addition to ways of improving nutrient use efficiency, a key area to investigate further is the transition from relying primarily on inorganic fertilisers to a greater use of organic sources of nutrition.
Optimising bio-based fertilisation for a more sustainable agriculture provides a comprehensive overview of the recent research undertaken in this area, focussing primarily on the role of differing types of soil amendments and their contribution to improvements in soil organic matter content, nutrient availability, crop growth and yields. The book also reviews recent advances in biostimulants, such as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, and considers optimising their use to promote crop health and nutrient use efficiency.
- Highlights the significant importance of supporting farmers in their transition from relying on inorganic fertilisers to utilising more organic sources of nutrition
- Considers the role of biostimulants in promoting crop nutrient use efficiency and overall crop health
- Reviews the potential contribution of particular soil amendments to soil organic matter content, nutrient availability and nutrient cycling
Part 1 Advances in soil amendments
1.Optimising crop residues as soil amendments: Marcelo Galdos, Agreena, UK;
2.Optimising cover crops for soil health: Rob Myers, University of Missouri,
USA;
3.The use of vermicompost and biochar as soil amendments: Parveen Rupani,
Cranfield University, UK;
4.The potential of organo-mineral fertilisers: Ruben Sakrabani, Cranfield
University, UK;
5.Optimising use of anaerobic digestate as a soil amendment: Christina van
Midden, Agri Food & Biosciences Institute (AFBI), UK;
6.Optimising poultry litter for soil improvement: Xiuping Jiang, Clemson
University, USA;
7.Optimising on-farm management and use of slurry to minimise its
environmental impact: Lisa Norton, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, UK;
8.Optimising use of frass as a soil amendment: David Houben, UniLaSalle,
France;
Part 2 Advances in biostimulants
9.Optimising use of biostimulants: using plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria
(PGPR) to promote crop nutrient use efficiency and other properties: S.
Pereira, Universidade Catolica Portuguesa, Portugal;
10.Understanding and promoting existing communities of plant growth-promoting
rhizobacteria (PGPR) in agricultural soils: Zakaria M. Solaiman, University
of Western Australia, Australia;
11.Optimising functionality of phosphate-solubilising microorganisms (PSM) in
promoting crop nutrient use efficiency and health: Nelly Raymond, University
of Copenhagen, Denmark;
12.Understanding and optimising the role of cyanobacteria in promoting crop
health and nutrient use efficiency: Nouriddine Bouaicha, University of
Paris-Saclay, France;
13.Understanding and optimising the use of amino acid-based biostimulants in
promoting crop nutrient use efficiency and health: Wenli Sun, Chinese Academy
of Agricultural Sciences, China;
14.Understanding and optimising the use of inorganic salts as biostimulants
in promoting crop nutrient use efficiency and health: John Havlin, North
Carolina State University, USA;
15.Understanding and optimising the use of algae in promoting crop nutrient
use efficiency and health: Domenico Ronga, University of Salerno, Italy;
Dr Ruben Sakrabani is Professor of Soil Chemistry in the Centre for Soil, Agrifood and Biosciences at Cranfield University, UK. He has an international reputation particularly for his research on the nutrient dynamics, resource use efficiency and reliability of organic soil amendments such as compost, manure, slurry sludge, biochar and digestates. Professor Sakrabani is an Associate Editor of Soil Use and Management. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) responsible for research funding in environmental science.
