Summary
Israeli scientists measured amounts of nitrate in soil beneath crops that are grown with manure mixed with soil, and in soil below crops fertilized with liquid synthetic fertilizer. When roots of plants can't reach the nitrogen in the soil, it won't get absorbed into the root. Instead, it will get runoff from the soil into water ways. This increase in contamination is theorized to be a result of the compost with nitrogen in it being applied to early, before the plant is developed enough to absorb it. This study shows how neither system really works better than the other in stopping them from polluting. Also, neither of these systems are perfect.
Relevance
Nitrogen is one of the key minerals that was talked about in the plant unit. All plants need some portion of nitrogen to survive. There is an abundance of nitrogen in the air as a gas. But as learned in this chapter, plants need to absorb it through there roots.
http://news.discovery.com/earth/plants/organic-farms-can-pollute-too-140221.htm
In the long run, is manure or fertilizer better for the plant and the environment? Or are they the same? Why?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean by they can't reach the nitrogen? Can the roots not physically touch the nitrogen? If so, why not put the fertilizer more towards the roots then?
ReplyDelete