 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Madison WI (SPX) Nov 19, 2010 There is considerable amount of uncertainty concerning the environmental impacts that animal hormones have on surface water. Higher concentrations of hormones in waterways have been found to cause physiological and sexual impairment in fish and other aquatic species. However, a study from the University of Delaware that examined estrogen concentrations runoff from agricultural fields fertilized with chicken manure found that it is as much about the application of the manure as it is about the measurement of the types of estrogen. The study was conducted on the experimental plots on the Coastal Plain agricultural soils in Middletown, DE. It measured and compared the amounts of both toxic, free forms of estrogen hormones and less toxic species found in runoff. Corn was planted as a cover crop and chicken manure was applied in either a pelletized form or a raw litter form. Reduced tillage and no tillage treatments were also employed. Samples of surface runoff were collected after 10 rain storms during the 2008 summer growing season from April through July. Sudarshan Dutta, the author of the study, found that the amounts of estrogen were lower in plots fertilized with pelletized manure and plots that received no-tillage treatments. Additionally, Dutta discovered the entire range of estrogen concentrations in the samples was significantly lower than those observed in other previous agricultural studies. Nevertheless, concentrations of the less toxic conjugate forms of estrogen were higher than the toxic, free forms. According to Dutta, prior studies did not usually measure the conjugate forms of estrogen, saying it is necessary to measure these forms. "The higher concentration of conjugate forms of estrogens underscores the need for reporting all forms of the hormones. This is especially critical considering that conjugate species can be converted to the toxic free forms under certain environmental conditions," he says.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links American Society of Agronomy Farming Today - Suppliers and Technology
Chips bags too noisy for US, but a hit in CanadaMontreal (AFP) Nov 17, 2010 Frito-Lay had hoped its launch of the first compostable chips bag would be a hit with environmentally-conscious consumers, but a backlash over the very noisy pouch forced its removal from US store shelves. Now, determined not to allow four years of research to develop the bags go to waste, it is trying a new marketing ploy to sell Canadian consumers on their merits. Displays in stores to ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook
