Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Soil Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Menoufia University, Shebin Elkom, Egypt
2
Soils, Water and Environment Research Institute, ARC, Giza, Egypt
Abstract
Two field experiments were conducted during the two successive growing winter seasons in a private farm at Abu El-Matamir, El-Beheira Governorate Egypt, on wheat plant, to study the effect of three types of composts prepared from three plant residues, i.e., maize (CMR), tomato (CTR) and vine (CVR) on chemical properties of sandy calcareous soil (i.e., pH, EC, OM, CEC, CaCO3 and available of some macro- and micronutrients) and its productivity of wheat yield and its components. These composts were analyzed for their chemical composition and content of available macro- and micronutrient. Each compost was added at rates of 0, 5, 10 and 20 ton fed-1.
The prepared composts had wide variations in their chemical composition. For example, CTR had a highest content of organic matter, total nitrogen and available macro- and micronutrients, while the lowest values were found in CMR. Soil pH, EC and CaCO3 were decreased as a result of compost applications, while soil CEC, OM and available macro- (N, P, K, S, Ca and Mg) and micronutrients (Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu) were increased. The high relative changes of the determined soil chemical properties and its content of available nutrients were found in the soil treated with CTR followed by those resulted from CVR treatments. Increasing application rates of the used composts were associated with an increase of both straw and grain yields of wheat and their relative changes (%), where the highest yield was found with the treatment of CTR followed by that of CVR. Also, CTR gave the highest value of agronomical efficiency of wheat plants compared with the other two composts. Finally, the application of CTR (20 ton fed.-1) was superior in greatly improving soil chemical properties of the studied soil and reflected on wheat productivity and nutrients uptake.
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