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This study evaluated the impact of soil modifiers on seed germination and soil quality. Mixtures of paper mill sludge (PMS) with camellia oilseed cake (CO) and peat moss (P), as well as with oilseed cake of toothache tree (TO) and peat moss (P), showed promising results as biostimulants for seed germination. The addition of PMS increased the germination index, indicating its beneficial effects on seed performance. The pH levels remained optimal, and the electrical conductivity values stayed within acceptable ranges, suggesting minimal hindrance to plant growth. The cation exchange capacity increased with PMS, enhancing nutrient availability. Composted mixtures exhibited increased phosphorus levels, contributing to soil fertility. While the organic matter content decreased after composting, the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio remained balanced. The bulk density increased after composting, potentially improving soil drainage. Overall, the TO-containing mixture demonstrated superior growth rates compared to the P. These findings support the use of PMS-based soil modifiers for enhancing seed germination and improving soil quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the impact of soil modifiers on seed germination and soil quality. Mixtures of paper mill sludge (PMS) with camellia oilseed cake (CO) and peat moss (P), as well as with oilseed cake of toothache tree (TO) and peat moss (P), showed promising results as biostimulants for seed germination. The addition of PMS increased the germination index, indicating its beneficial effects on seed performance. The pH levels remained optimal, and the electrical conductivity values stayed within acceptable ranges, suggesting minimal hindrance to plant growth. The cation exchange capacity increased with PMS, enhancing nutrient availability. Composted mixtures exhibited increased phosphorus levels, contributing to soil fertility. While the organic matter content decreased after composting, the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio remained balanced. The bulk density increased after composting, potentially improving soil drainage. Overall, the TO-containing mixture demonstrated superior growth rates compared to the P. These findings support the use of PMS-based soil modifiers for enhancing seed germination and improving soil quality.

Background and Objectives: Soil erosion is a kind of land degradation that is one of the world's environmental issues. One of the most common causes of land degradation is soil erosion. Various additives and amendments are being employed in order to safeguard the country's water and land. As a result, understanding diverse soil additives and their roles in the conservation of soil and water resources, as well as complete watershed management, is critical. As a result, the purpose of this study was to provide comprehensive information on the background and recent studies on the use of organic, inorganic, and biological soil additives, as well as to evaluate various effects and determine their performance and application in erosion control and soil and water conservation. Materials and Methods: All studies and research on the application of amendments in soil and water conservation in different conditions on various components of soil erosion and conservation in Iran were documented in databases and extracted from journal articles, conferences, executive reports, and related research, and theses and dissertations were investigated. The relevant 75 documents were then chronologically evaluated, analyzed, and summarized in order to assess the usage of various amendments in many areas, including the kind of amendments, the scope of use, the experimental setting, and the research variables. The necessary conclusions were ultimately drawn qualitatively. Results: The use of soil stabilizers and amendments such as organic, inorganic, and biological elements to enhance the erodibility threshold and prevent soil water erosion has been widely documented based on the findings of this study. According to research findings, the performance of amendments varied depending on the kind, manner of application, scale, and soil type. In addition, the findings on the usage of amendments revealed that various additions are used and work well in soil and water conservation. However, adopting any of the customary changes has been noted as a considerable difficulty due to economic, environmental, health, administrative, functional, and technical restrictions. The use of biologically and ecologically friendly alternatives to boost the efficiency of the conditions for balancing and stabilizing the soil environment has been stressed due to the aforementioned constraints for the use of amendments. Conclusion: Because of the widespread use of amendments, the feasibility of using environmentally friendly amendments, and emphasizing waste management in the primary industry through additional studies and research, there is a need for proper and appropriate measures that are naturally environmentally friendly in the long term. Nevertheless, additional research on the application of various amendments resulting from the direct or modified use of significant industrial wastes with respect to various aspects of environmental, economic, ecological, and even aesthetic and at different scales is necessary to summarize and develop appropriate executive instructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Abstract: Earlier hypothesis on the factors and processes of natural degradation in Vertisols and also their evaluation for crops on the basis of only hydraulic properties was developed on limited soils by the Division of Soil Resource Studies (DSRS) of the National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS & LUP), Nagpur, India. In order to validate the above similar soils occurring in major states of the Peninsular India and also to document the extent of modification by gypsum and Ca-zeolites therein, the present study on twenty-six benchmark Vertisols representing a climosequence from sub-humid moist to arid dry climate was undertaken. The results of the present study validates the hypothesis that formation of pedogenic calcium carbonate (PC) at the expense of non-pedogenic calcium carbonate (NPC) is the prime chemical reaction for the natural chemical degradation realized in terms of impairment of hydraulic properties of soils mediated through the development of subsoil sodicity. Presence of gypsum and Ca-zeolites, on the other hand, prevented the rise of pH, decrease in Ca/Mg ratio of exchange sites and improved the hydraulic properties amidst an exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) >15. The improvement in saturated hydraulic conductivity (sHC) (>10mm h−1) of zeolitic sodic soils does commensurate fairly well with the performance of rainy season crops. Thus characterization of sodic soils in terms of sHC <10mm h−1 (weighted mean in 0–100cm depth of soil) instead of any ESP or sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) emerges as a robust criterion that stands for a universal acceptance for the better use and management of such naturally degraded soils, not only in the Indian semi-arid tropics, but also in similar climatic and geologic areas elsewhere. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]