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This paper presents the results of a zoning study involving the metropolitan city of Naples, for the purpose of identifying the areas within which to perform a comparable search by applying the synthetic-comparative market value procedure of appraisal. Moreover, an analysis was carried out of the values of agricultural land reported by two official sources, i.e. average land values (VFM) and average agricultural values (VAM), and by an unofficial source, i.e. the values of the Observatory of Agricultural Values (VAO). The results show that for some area/crop quality combinations, the values recorded can provide a significant indication of the agricultural value to be estimated. Vice versa, for estimating the agricultural value of land cultivated with the most profitable crops, the official values showed to be unreliable, meaning that the appraisal requires an accurate field survey. As for the differences between the different homogeneous areas, VAO prove to be more reliable, while VAM are the least significant values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The goal of this research was to evaluate the influence of the incorporation of Sugarcane Filter Cake (SFC) as an amendment material (AM) on the process of biowaste (BW) composting and the quality of the final product. Methods: In this study the effect (in terms of stability, maturity and agricultural value) of SFC incorporation on four mixture proportions BW: SFC (100:00--control; 90:10; 80:20 and 70:30) was evaluated on a pilot scale. Results: The results show that overall, the incorporation of SFC enabled thermophilic temperatures to be achieved in a shorter time than the control treatment and improved the stability conditions (oxygen consumption <1.0 mgO2/gVSh), germination index (GI >80%: mature product) and quality product index (FI >3.5: high soil fertilization potential). The mixing ratio 80:20, showed the best product quality (highest total N content: 2.32%, TP: 1.42%, CEC: 65.5 meq/100 g), lower electrical conductivity (EC) value (0.38 dS/m) and total and fecal coliforms (15.3 and 4.0 NMP/g respectively), complying with technical standards (Colombian and Chilean) for organic products used as fertilizers and amendments or soil conditioners. In addition to demonstrating the best results of GI and FI (123.40% and 4.67 respectively). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of plants obtained by in vitro culture could contribute to satisfy the demand of products derived from this plant in the agricultural sector. However, the response of plants in the field is not well known. The objective of this work was to perform an analysis of the growth indicators that characterize the response in the field of Eucalyptus grandis micropropagated plants in comparison with plants derived from seeds. In a field study over four years, the height and diameter of micropropagated plants from nodal segments and botanical seeds were measured. A sample of plants corresponding to 10% of the total of the two plantations was evaluated. The plants produced by biotechnological methods have a growth dynamics in height and diameter of the stem superior to the plants propagated by seeds. Therefore, it reach their agricultural value in a shorter period of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the 1920’s, Illinois River levees became increasingly difficult for private landowners and the state to maintain as commodity prices fell and flood levels increased. However, the 1928 U.S. Flood Control act shifted a substantial portion of the burden of flood mitigation from local landowners to the federal government, preventing the dissolution of levee districts. While these levee systems have facilitated floodplain agricultural production and development for the last century, disconnecting the river from its floodplain has led to concerns about the negative impacts of levees on the physical and biological systems of the Illinois River Valley. Recent studies have emphasized approaches that would result in setting back or removing levees in order to naturalize portions of large river-floodplain systems, including the Illinois. The costs and benefits of such projects along the Illinois have shown potential restoration benefits may outweigh potential costs, but these studies have not demonstrated the specific levee districts which have the highest reconnection potential from an economic standpoint. This study uses geospatial methods to fill this gap by assessing the National Commodity Crops Productivity Index (NCCPI) soil values and agricultural production and profit values for corn and soybeans in 32 individual levee districts along a 235-km segment of the Lower Illinois River. In general, soil productivity index values were lower for Illinois River levee districts compared to the county averages in which the districts are located. Over the five-year study period from 2010 to 2014, the total agricultural profits in the levee districts ranged from $18–61 million. Several levee districts have relatively low per hectare agricultural values when compared to the value of wetland benefits, indicating these protected floodplain areas may be more suitable for reconnection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intensive breeding of beef cattle in Juncosa de les Garrigues (Catalonia, Spain) leads to the production of a large volume of manure that needs appropriate management. Land application in the area at agronomic rates is not enough to ensure good management practices, making necessary extended on-farm storage and the export of part of the production to long distances. In this context, the implementation of a collective treatment based on composting could help in enhancing the handling of manure. We assessed a full-scale composting process based on turned windrows (W), and involving treatment of beef cattle manure (CM) alone (two typologies were considered according to carbon-to-nitrogen ratios of ~25 (CM1, W1) and ~14 (CM2, W2)), or mixed with bulking agent (CM2/BA, W3) and dewatered digested sewage sludge (CM2/BA/DDSS, W4). Composting significantly improved the transportability of nutrients (final volumes were 40–54% of the initial volume). Temperature >55°C was reached in all the treatments but following different time patterns. Under the applied conditions of turning and rewetting, 14 weeks of processing did not ensure the production of stable, and mature, compost. Thus, only compost from W1 attained the maximum degree of stability as well as concentration of ammonium–N < 0.01% (with ammonium–N/nitrate–N ratio of 0.2) and low phytotoxicity. However, high pH, salinity, and heavy metal contents (Cu and Zn) may limit its final use. Addition of BA was advised to be kept to minimum, whereas use of DDSS as a co-substrate was not recommended in agreement to the higher loss of N and levels of heavy metals in the final compost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation was conducted to evaluate the main introduced field and vegetable crop seeds in Saudi Arabia concerning purity, germination, germination vigor and agricultural value. Two cv. were studied from alfalfa, barley, millet, cucumber, pepper and three cv. from tomato. The pure seed percentages were 97.21%, 99.10%, 96.14%, 98.25%, 95.81% and 82.14% for alfalfa Australian-S, alfalfa Cuf 101, barley Gesto, barley Giza-2000, millet Indian and millet African cv., respectively. Purity for vegetable cv. were 98.05%, 96.60%, 98.16%, 96.09%, 98.34%, 99.00% and 98.80%, for cucumber Green Long, cucumber Beit Alfa, pepper California Wonder, pepper Hot Arohein, tomato Super-Strain-B, tomatoes Five Stars and tomato Mormande cv., respectively. Normal seedlings under standard conditions and saline irrigation water stress were 96.67% and 68.94% for alfalfa Australian- S cv. respectively and 94.20% and 60.66% for barley Gesto cv., respectively, while in vegetable crops cucumber Green Long had 86.88% and 42.61%, respectively, pepper Hot Arahein produced 73.64% and 56.67%, respectively and tomato Five Star had 78.68% and 42.17% for normal seedlings (%) under standard conditions and salt stress condition, respectively. Alfalfa Cuf 101 had the highest seed agricultural value (94.38%) and millet African cv. had the lowest agricultural value (62.98%) within the field crop cultivars. In vegetable crops cv., cucumber Beit Alfa cv. had the highest value (87.07%), while pepper Hot Arohein had the lowest agricultural value (70.76%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]