David M. A. Murphy, D. Roobroeck, David R. Lee, J. Thies
Soil degradation, a serious environmental problem in many developing countries, often necessitates the use of fertilizers to improve crop yields. However, smallholders usually do not have sufficient information about their soil nutrient levels to make profit-maximizing decisions about fertilizer usage. We conducted two-round experimental auctions to determine whether providing information and fertilizer recommendations from inexpensive soil testing kits to farmers in western Kenya affected their behavior and ability to optimize their input choices. We auctioned organic and inorganic agricultural inputs, dividing farmers into information treatments, and analyzed the data using double and triple difference estimations. We find that providing soil information has significant effects on farmers’ willingness to pay for inputs. We then use Monte Carlo simulations to show that there is potential for high net benefits to farmers from individualized soil tests. These results suggest that soil testing can be a cost-effective method to increase food security in the region.
{"title":"Underground Knowledge: Estimating the Impacts of Soil Information Transfers through Experimental Auctions","authors":"David M. A. Murphy, D. Roobroeck, David R. Lee, J. Thies","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3493308","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3493308","url":null,"abstract":"Soil degradation, a serious environmental problem in many developing countries, often necessitates the use of fertilizers to improve crop yields. However, smallholders usually do not have sufficient information about their soil nutrient levels to make profit-maximizing decisions about fertilizer usage. We conducted two-round experimental auctions to determine whether providing information and fertilizer recommendations from inexpensive soil testing kits to farmers in western Kenya affected their behavior and ability to optimize their input choices. We auctioned organic and inorganic agricultural inputs, dividing farmers into information treatments, and analyzed the data using double and triple difference estimations. We find that providing soil information has significant effects on farmers’ willingness to pay for inputs. We then use Monte Carlo simulations to show that there is potential for high net benefits to farmers from individualized soil tests. These results suggest that soil testing can be a cost-effective method to increase food security in the region.","PeriodicalId":159262,"journal":{"name":"EcoRN: Soil Ecology (Topic)","volume":" 24","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132012001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In the world, various types of soils are available and found. The soil may be majorly classified in two groups as cohesive soil and cohesionless soil. The classification of soil may be executed as per particle size distribution and consistency limits. The expansive soil having expansion and shrinkage properties which is major issue for geotechnical engineers. Due to swell and shrink properties, the expansive soils change their volume. The black cotton soil is good example of expansive soils. In other hand, million tons of waste material is producing by industries in a year. This is also major issue that “How to utilize industrial waste materials”. These materials are Kota stone slurry, fly ash, marble dust, brick dust, marble slurry etc. In this research paper, reviews are made on discussion and conclusions of experimental study of utilization of industrial waste material to stabilize black cotton soil (BCS). The BCS is stabilized by Kota stone slurry at 5% variation from 5% to 30%, pond ash (from Kota Thermal Power Station) at 10% variation from 10% to 50%, sugarcane bagasse ash at 2.5% variation from 2.5% to 12.5%. The Atterberg’s limit, proctor test, free swell index and CBR test were performed to study the behavior of soil. From test results, it is observed that California bearing value (CBR) is directly proportional to percentage of industrial waste materials.
{"title":"A Review of Stabilization of Black Cotton Soil by Industrial Waste Materials","authors":"M. Upadhyay, A. Daiya, Jitendra Khatti","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3462219","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3462219","url":null,"abstract":"In the world, various types of soils are available and found. The soil may be majorly classified in two groups as cohesive soil and cohesionless soil. The classification of soil may be executed as per particle size distribution and consistency limits. The expansive soil having expansion and shrinkage properties which is major issue for geotechnical engineers. Due to swell and shrink properties, the expansive soils change their volume. The black cotton soil is good example of expansive soils. In other hand, million tons of waste material is producing by industries in a year. This is also major issue that “How to utilize industrial waste materials”. These materials are Kota stone slurry, fly ash, marble dust, brick dust, marble slurry etc. In this research paper, reviews are made on discussion and conclusions of experimental study of utilization of industrial waste material to stabilize black cotton soil (BCS). The BCS is stabilized by Kota stone slurry at 5% variation from 5% to 30%, pond ash (from Kota Thermal Power Station) at 10% variation from 10% to 50%, sugarcane bagasse ash at 2.5% variation from 2.5% to 12.5%. The Atterberg’s limit, proctor test, free swell index and CBR test were performed to study the behavior of soil. From test results, it is observed that California bearing value (CBR) is directly proportional to percentage of industrial waste materials.","PeriodicalId":159262,"journal":{"name":"EcoRN: Soil Ecology (Topic)","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114471258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The soil may be classified as cohesive soil and non – cohesive soil. Cohesive soils are black cotton soil or fine soils and non – cohesive soils are sand or coarse soils. The cohesive soils are having property of expansive or shrunk. The black cotton soil is serious problem for geotechnical engineers and it is required to be treated before the construction of superstructures. Grouting and stabilization etc. methods are available for treatment of black cotton soil or expansive soils. In this research paper, review is made on comparative study of stabilization of black cotton soil by natural and artificial fibre. Natural fibres are those which is obtained from nature i.e. coconut fibre, jute fibre, sisal fibre etc. and artificial fibres are those which is manmade i.e. nylon fibre, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate etc. Many researchers performed experiments on stabilization of black cotton soil by natural fibre, artificial fibres and combination of different admixture with fibres. The study of liquid limit, plastic limit, standard proctor test and California bearing ratio test is also done for different types of fibre and conclusions are mapped. From study the statement is made that artificial fibre may decompose gradually compare to natural fibres.
{"title":"A Review on Comparative Study of Stabilization of Black Cotton Soil by Natural and Artificial Fibre","authors":"M. Upadhyay, A. Daiya, Jitendra Khatti","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3462225","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3462225","url":null,"abstract":"The soil may be classified as cohesive soil and non – cohesive soil. Cohesive soils are black cotton soil or fine soils and non – cohesive soils are sand or coarse soils. The cohesive soils are having property of expansive or shrunk. The black cotton soil is serious problem for geotechnical engineers and it is required to be treated before the construction of superstructures. Grouting and stabilization etc. methods are available for treatment of black cotton soil or expansive soils. In this research paper, review is made on comparative study of stabilization of black cotton soil by natural and artificial fibre. Natural fibres are those which is obtained from nature i.e. coconut fibre, jute fibre, sisal fibre etc. and artificial fibres are those which is manmade i.e. nylon fibre, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate etc. Many researchers performed experiments on stabilization of black cotton soil by natural fibre, artificial fibres and combination of different admixture with fibres. The study of liquid limit, plastic limit, standard proctor test and California bearing ratio test is also done for different types of fibre and conclusions are mapped. From study the statement is made that artificial fibre may decompose gradually compare to natural fibres.","PeriodicalId":159262,"journal":{"name":"EcoRN: Soil Ecology (Topic)","volume":"31 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126880487","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
H. Michelson, Anna Fairbairn, A. Maertens, Brenna Ellison, Victor A. Manyong
Fertilizer use remains below recommended rates in most of Sub-Saharan Africa, contributing to poor crop yields and poverty. Farmers voice suspicion that available fertilizer is often adulterated, but these concerns are not backed by reliable evidence. In fact, an insight from industry but absent from academic literature is that profitable fertilizer adulteration is difficult. We surveyed all fertilizer sellers in Morogoro Region, Tanzania and tested 633 samples of their fertilizer. We also conducted a willingness-to-pay assessment with farmers. We find that fertilizers meet nutrient standards but that belief of rampant product adulteration persists among farmers. We find evidence of a quality inference problem in the market: 25% of fertilizer has deteriorated in observable ways and farmers rely on these observable attributes to (incorrectly) assess unobservable nutrient quality. We show that this misperception likely reduces technology adoption beyond the effect of nutrient quality being unobservable.
{"title":"Misperceived Quality: Fertilizer in Tanzania","authors":"H. Michelson, Anna Fairbairn, A. Maertens, Brenna Ellison, Victor A. Manyong","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3259554","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3259554","url":null,"abstract":"Fertilizer use remains below recommended rates in most of Sub-Saharan Africa, contributing to poor crop yields and poverty. Farmers voice suspicion that available fertilizer is often adulterated, but these concerns are not backed by reliable evidence. In fact, an insight from industry but absent from academic literature is that profitable fertilizer adulteration is difficult. We surveyed all fertilizer sellers in Morogoro Region, Tanzania and tested 633 samples of their fertilizer. We also conducted a willingness-to-pay assessment with farmers. We find that fertilizers meet nutrient standards but that belief of rampant product adulteration persists among farmers. We find evidence of a quality inference problem in the market: 25% of fertilizer has deteriorated in observable ways and farmers rely on these observable attributes to (incorrectly) assess unobservable nutrient quality. We show that this misperception likely reduces technology adoption beyond the effect of nutrient quality being unobservable.","PeriodicalId":159262,"journal":{"name":"EcoRN: Soil Ecology (Topic)","volume":"82 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128609982","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Asemoloye, O. Olowe, H. Zaffar, O. Oshibanjo, S. Jonathan
Bioremediation (the use of living organism, part or their products) has been reported to be an environmental friendly and cheap remediation method which is applicable in large and small scale but, the major problem facing this mechanism is the establishment of a particular biological entity in a heavily polluted soil. The soil supplementation/amendment during bioremediation was suggested to alleviate such difficulty, compost supplements role in bioremediation is majorly ‘biostimulatory’ a term used to explain the addition of nutrients for effective and active biological activities. Compost supplements have been a commonly used practice in agricultural practices for ages for enhancement of soil fertility and productivity but it is now known that this practice also enriches the microbial population in soil which promotes soil remediation as they act upon the organic waste to release its nutrients. This practice as well have been reported to enhance biological degradation, mineralization or extraction of a pollutant for clean-up/remediation of a polluted soil. Today, bioremediation mechanism which combines action of two or more organisms have been gaining more interests, application of soil amendments in such setting may serve as fuel to run the system feeding both entities the nutrients, creates environment conducive for their survival and enhances tolerance as well as responses. In this chapter, we gave accounts of biostimulatory and bioaugmentation mechanisms brought about by soil amendment using composts, we considered different examples and their impacts on soil bioremediation mechanisms.
{"title":"Organic Compost as Catalyst or Mediator for Speedy and Cost Effective Bioremediation","authors":"M. Asemoloye, O. Olowe, H. Zaffar, O. Oshibanjo, S. Jonathan","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3071988","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3071988","url":null,"abstract":"Bioremediation (the use of living organism, part or their products) has been reported to be an environmental friendly and cheap remediation method which is applicable in large and small scale but, the major problem facing this mechanism is the establishment of a particular biological entity in a heavily polluted soil. The soil supplementation/amendment during bioremediation was suggested to alleviate such difficulty, compost supplements role in bioremediation is majorly ‘biostimulatory’ a term used to explain the addition of nutrients for effective and active biological activities. Compost supplements have been a commonly used practice in agricultural practices for ages for enhancement of soil fertility and productivity but it is now known that this practice also enriches the microbial population in soil which promotes soil remediation as they act upon the organic waste to release its nutrients. This practice as well have been reported to enhance biological degradation, mineralization or extraction of a pollutant for clean-up/remediation of a polluted soil. Today, bioremediation mechanism which combines action of two or more organisms have been gaining more interests, application of soil amendments in such setting may serve as fuel to run the system feeding both entities the nutrients, creates environment conducive for their survival and enhances tolerance as well as responses. In this chapter, we gave accounts of biostimulatory and bioaugmentation mechanisms brought about by soil amendment using composts, we considered different examples and their impacts on soil bioremediation mechanisms.","PeriodicalId":159262,"journal":{"name":"EcoRN: Soil Ecology (Topic)","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115151762","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：