High tunnels, or unheated plastic greenhouses, are becoming increasingly popular among organic vegetable growers across the United States. However, the intensive production typical of these systems presents soil health challenges, including salinization due to high fertilizer or compost inputs coupled with lack of rainfall to leach salts. Legume cover crops may improve soil health in high tunnels by reducing the need for external inputs, while adding organic matter. We tested the soil health effects of a winter hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) cover crop used to replace fertilizer N in an organic tomato cropping system in high tunnels. Studies were replicated across three sites differing in climate and soil type (Kansas, Kentucky, and Minne

  To enlighten the extent of crude oil pollution effects on some anatomical characteristics of olive plant (Olea europaea ). Two years - old seedlings were chosen to grow under 5 levels of pollution (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0, liter/ plant). The experiment has been conducted in the experimental field of Natural History Research Center and Museum, University of Baghdad. It was designed as CRD experiment. Testing wood specimens were prepared after 2.5 years of growth. Fiber length, width, wall thickness, and wood specific gravity were measured. Results showed that olive plants could not resist the highest level ( 3 liters / plant ) of pollution .Fiber length was the most  affected property by treatment. All fiber dimensions wer

Unsaturated soil can raise many geotechnical problems upon wetting and drying resulting in swelling upon wetting and collapsing (shrinkage) in drying and changing in the soil shear strength. The classical principles of saturated soil are often not suitable in explaining these phenomena. In this study, expansive  soil (bentonite and sand) were tested in different water contents and dry unit weight chosen from the compaction curve to examine the effect of water content change on soil properties (swelling pressure, expansion index, shear strength (soil cohesion) and soil suction by the filter paper method). The physical properties of these soils were studied by conducting series of tests in laboratory. Fitting methods

The article discusses the spatial analysis of the chemical soil properties that is a key component of the agriculture ecosystem based on satellite images. The main objective of the present study is to measure the chemical soil properties (total dissolved salts (TDS), Electrical conductivity (EC), PH, and) and the ​spatial variability. On 13 November 2020 (wet season), a total of 12 soil samples were collected in the field through random sampling in the Sanam mountain-Al Zubair region south of Basra province, to contain its soil samples components of minerals and precious elements such as silica and sulfur. From experimental results, the soil sample in the sixth position has the highest concentration of TDS values, reached (5798.4

Soil stabilization with liquid asphalt is considered as a sustainable step towards roadway construction on problematic subgrade soil, there are no requirements to import good quality materials or to implement energy consumption, but to mix the readily available soil with liquid asphalt through the cold mix technique. In this work, collapsible soil obtained from Nasiriya was mixed with asphalt emulsion, lime, and combinations of lime and asphalt emulsion (combined stabilization) and tested in the laboratory for California bearing ratio in dry and soaked conditions. Field trial sections have been prepared with the same combinations and subjected to plate bearing test. The influence of combined stabilization on the structural properties in ter

 In this research, we studied the effect of (β-rays) on the optical properties of pure  (PMMA) films prepared by using casting technique, and the optical properties for these  films was studied before and after irradiation  by recording the Absorption and Transmission spectra  for a range of wavelength range (190-1100) nm. and then the absorption and Transmission and the reflectivity, extinction coefficient, refractive index, and real and imaginary parts of dielectric constant was studied

Sustainable vegetative management plays a significant role in improving soil quality in degraded agricultural landscapes by enhancing soil microbial biomass. This study investigated the effects of grass buffers (GBs), biomass crops (BCs), grass waterways (GWWs), and agroforestry buffers (ABs) on soil microbial biomass and soil organic C (SOC) compared with continuous corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation (row crop [RC]) on claypan soils. The RC, AB, GB, GWW, and BC treatments were established in 1991, 1997, 1997, 1997, and 2012, respectively, and are located at Greenley Memorial Research Center in Missouri. Soil samples were collected in May 2018 from the 0‐ to