The urea fertilizer, also popularly called forty six zero zero (46-0-0), is a simple or straight (single-element) fertilizer that supplies the major essential element nitrogen in ammonic form (NH4+).
The positively charged ammonium ion (NH4+) is nonvolatile and is one of the two forms of nitrogen that can be absorbed by plants, the other being nitrate (NO3–).
The plant leaves are the lateral outgrowth of the stem which develops from the meristematic tissues of buds.
They are the part of the plant shoot which serves as the chief food-producing organ in most vascular plants.
To perform this function more efficiently, they are arranged on the stem and oriented to allow maximum absorption of sunlight.
It is also via leaves that loss of water from the plant body primarily occurs through the process of stomatal transpiration and guttation.
C4 plants are those which photosynthesize following the mechanism called C4 Photosynthesis.
They are found only in the angiosperms with about 8,000 members in 17 families (see list below), equivalent to about 3% of all land plants.
Combined, the grasses (family Poaceae or Gramineae) and sedges (family Cyperaceae) comprise roughly 79% of the total number of C4 species (Simpson 2010).
This how-to guide in growing durian reviews the cultural practices from plant propagation and land preparation to harvesting.
Cash crop farming is for profit.
Also called commercial farming and cash cropping, it is a farming venture in which cash crops are grown.
Cash crops are those which are produced for the purpose of generating cash or money.
The products are therefore intended to be marketed for a profit.
Individual farmers just naturally grow cash crops as a livelihood and to generate cash for the family’s needs.
An extra profit is needed to fund the next cropping activities.
The farming methods employed differ from farmer to farmer and from country to country.
In developing countries, many traditional farmers continue to adopt their customary practices.
But in highly industrialized countries, intensive cultivation and mechanized farming are common.
This is so with large plantations operated by multinational companies and by individuals having sufficient capital.
Intensifying indoor urban farming through the establishment of vertical farms (or high-rise farms) in urban centers is the likely solution to the swelling human population.
The argument in favor of this technology in relation to food security is convincing, plus it has plenty more benefits too.
According to the United Nations Population Division (2009), the world population will increase from about 6.9 billion in 2010 to 9.2 billion in 2050, or an addition 2.3 billion more people to feed.
The percentage of the urban population will likewise increase from 50.46% in 2010 to 68.70% in 2050.
It is expected that the world population will continue to increase.
Currently, the rate of growth per year is about 80 million.
This is a major concern because the land area of the Earth is limited only to about 13 billion hectares.
In 2008, the total agricultural area in the world was about 4.88 billion hectares (FAOSTAT, 2010).
The plant stem is a component of the shoot system, the portion of the plant body of the angiosperms having a phototropic response.
Besides the stem, the plant shoot also consists of the leaves and the reproductive organs.
The stem has been described as a “central axis” to which all other parts are attached.
In most plants, the stems are conspicuous aboveground, but in some species, they are hidden below the ground.
Based on various criteria, there are other more classifications of the stem.
The first stem that develops from a seed arises from the epicotyl, an embryonic shoot within the seed.
Staple crops are plants grown for their parts which are used as a staple food.
The staple food is one that is regularly consumed in large quantities to form the basis of a traditional diet and which serves as a major source of energy and nutrients.
Staples may be grouped into the starchy type and protein-rich type.
The starchy type consists of cereal crops, root and tuber crops, fruit crops, and palms.
The pulses belong to the protein-rich group.
Many traditional diets in developing countries consist of both starchy and legume staples to obtain a more nourishing food.
There are three basic parts of a seed in the angiosperms:
(a) an embryo,
(b) food storage or nutritive tissue,
and (c) seed covering.
C3 plants are those which fix and reduce inorganic CO2 into organic compounds using only the C3 pathway in photosynthesis while C4 and CAM plants employ both C3 and C4 cycles.
In other words, the first classification refers to those plants having C3 photosynthesis, C4 plants employ the C4 photosynthesis, and CAM plants the CAM photosynthesis.
Plants utilizing only the C3 cycle are most common in the Plant kingdom. They comprise about 85% of all plant species (Moore et al. 2003).
In contrast, only about 3% are C4 plants while about 8% were identified as CAM plants as of 2010 (Simpson 2010).