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Introduction: In China, alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) often grows in marginal land with poor soil fertility and suboptimal climate conditions. Alfalfa production cannot meet demands both in yield and quality. It is necessary to apply fertilizers to achieve high yields and produce high-quality alfalfa in China. However, there is no understanding on the impact of fertilizer application on alfalfa production and the possible optimal application rates across China. Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis to explore the contribution of fertilizer application to the yield and quality of alfalfa based on a dataset from 86 studies published between 2004 and 2022. Results and Discussion: The results showed that fertilizer application not only increased alfalfa yield by 19.2% but also improved alfalfa quality by increasing crude protein (CP) by 7.7% and decreasing acid detergent fibre by 2.9% and neutral detergent fibre by 1.8% overall compared to the non-fertilizer control levels. The combined nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) and combined NP fertilizer applications achieved the greatest yield and CP concentration increases of 27.0% and 13.5%, respectively. Considering both yield and quality, the optimal rate of fertilizer application ranged from 30 to 60 kg ha-1 for N, 120 to 150 kg ha-1 for P and less than 120 kg ha-1 for K. Metaanalysis further showed that the effect of fertilizer application on yield was greater in low soil organic matter (SOM) soils than in high SOM soils. In conclusion, fertilizer application is an effective strategy to improve the yield and quality of alfalfa in China, especially that grown in low SOM soils. This study is helpful for optimizing fertilization schedules of alfalfa in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Choosing varieties that are suitable for planting in different areas has become a key scientific issue. We used principal component analysis (PCA) to evaluate and select better varieties with relatively high potato tuber yield and quality in the Loess Plateau of China. We selected fifteen potato varieties that are mainly grown locally for the experiment. The potato variety significantly affected potato tuber yield, dry matter accumulation, starch content, protein content, reducing sugar, total soluble sugar, vitamin C, and browning intensity. The soil nitrate N content in 0-20 cm was 17.8% and 28.6% higher than that in 20-40 cm and 40-60 cm, respectively. Potato tuber yield was significantly correlated with the soil water, soil ammonium N, soil alkali-hydrolyzable N, and soil available phosphorus contents. The starch content of potato tubers was significantly correlated with soil pH value and soil electrical conductivity. The potato variety of Xiapoti had the relatively high potato tuber yield, dry mater accumulation, starch content, total soluble sugar, and protein content. Therefore, Xiapoti is recommended as an optimal potato variety in the Loess Plateau of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal pollution load in soil environment has been enhanced during last few decades due to increasing industrialization and wide application of metals in all sectors. Due to the persistent and hazardous nature of metals, it can accumulate in the living system and cause severe risks to the ecosystem. The abundance of metals in soils from 5 different land use systems (industrial, industrial highway, brick kiln production area, residential highways and botanical gardens) in the Indo-Gangetic Plain region of India was analysed for three consecutive years (2018-2020) to evaluate the effects of metal load on soil properties and ecosystem health. Soil enzymatic activities, moisture, porosity, total nitrogen, and organic carbon were least at the industrial area of Ramnagar site and highest at Botanical garden area of BHU. Geochemical indices were calculated to compare the background status of metals in the soil where Cd, Cu, Cr, Co, Ni, Mn and Zn were increased in recent times. Contamination, enrichment and potential ecological risk factors with respect to Cu and Cd contents in soil were significantly higher at industrial area of Ramnagar and highway near industrial area. Maximum lifetime non-cancer and cancer health hazards were observed for Cd and Ni, respectively. The study clearly indicates that Cd, Cu and Ni are capable of posing health risk and cause imbalance in ecological functioning of soil due to chronic exposure of the potential toxic metals generated through change in land uses in sub-urban areas of Indo-Gangetic Plain region., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)