Author
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Martens, Dean |
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Submitted to: Pesticide Outlook
Publication Type: Review Article Publication Acceptance Date: 9/9/1997 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: The biological availability of nitrogen (N), phosphorus, and potassium are of considerable importance to soil fertility and crop production. Of these plant nutrients, N stands out as the most susceptible to microbial transformations. This element is the key building block of protein molecules upon which all life is based, and thus it is an indispensable component of the protoplasm of plants, animals, and microorganisms. In the United States in 1992, agricultural pesticides were applied to 85 million ha for weed control (86% of the wheat ha, 97% of the rice ha, 96% of the maize ha, 88% of the cotton ha, 97% of the soybean ha), 30 million ha for insect control (5% of the wheat ha, 11% of the rice ha, 29% of the maize ha, 65% of the cotton ha) and 6 million ha for disease control (2% of the wheat ha, 21% of the rice ha, 7% of the cotton ha). The extensive involvement of pesticides in modern agriculture emphasizes the importance that their use does not interfere in the microbial transformations of N. The involvement of major use pesticides for the major crop species in the process of N2 fixation, ammonification, nitrification, and denitrification will be discussed in each N pathway. |
