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The summer of 2023 was the hottest summer in the Northern Hemisphere since the height of the Roman Empire, a new study finds.

Farmers in a time crunch have a new, speedier option for analyzing the texture and organic matter content of the soil on their fields.

Gerson Drescher, assistant professor of soil fertility for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, led a study to create prediction models for these key soil health indicators based on standard tests already being used to analyze soil samples.

“We want to provide people with the maximal amount of information that they can get from samples they are already submitting without the additional cost and time of analysis,” Drescher said.

The newly developed prediction model can help add information about the soil’s properties, which can guide fertilization, irrigation, and herbicide decisions, Drescher added. Standard soil testing evaluates plant-available nutrient content and soil pH. However, these properties are also affected by soil texture and organic matter in the soil, which require additional expensive and time-consuming tests.

Read more at: University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture

Soil samples at the Marianna Soil Test Lab are prepared for testing. (Photo Credit: U of A System Division of Agriculture)

Silver has long been used to thwart the spread of illness and in recent years silver nanoparticles have been incorporated into products ranging from sanitizers, odor-resistant clothes and washing machines to makeup, food packaging and sports equipment.

Exactly 16 years after Hurricane Katrina made landfall in southern Louisiana, another major hurricane blew into the state. 

Today’s rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide increase is 10 times faster than at any other point in the past 50,000 years, researchers have found through a detailed chemical analysis of ancient Antarctic ice.