Articles
Effect of organic amendments on soil fertility and quality of organic zucchini under greenhouse condition
Article number
1286_10
Pages
61 – 72
Language
English
Abstract
The aim of this experiment is to evaluate the effect of organic amendments on the soil physico-chemical parameters and the agronomic performances of organic zucchini according to five different treatments.
Two commercial composts (A and B) were applied as a regular organic amendment and two other treatments with the same composts but enriched with Trichoderma harzianum (stain T22) along with a control (no amendment) were tested.
Various soil parameters were monitored: pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic matter (OM), phosphorus, total nitrogen and exchangeable bases.
Results revealed significant differences in soil fertility parameters after organic amendments and between treatments.
Soil amended with compost A contains significantly higher values of OM and phosphorus than other treatments.
The analysis of OM present in cultivated soils has shown the same evolution during the development cycle with an increase after amendment followed by a decrease toward the end of the cycle.
Moreover, the content of OM of the amended soils are significantly higher than values of the control plots.
Exchangeable calcium is more abundant in the soil than potassium and sodium due to the nature of the soil and for its vital role in the stability of the clay humic complex (CHC). Treatment with enriched compost A presented significantly higher available nitrogen in the soil than the other treatments especially at the end of the cropping cycle.
Compost B resulted in the highest yield with 68.58 t ha‑1 followed by compost A with 55.02 t ha‑1. Compost enrichment has no effect on organic zucchini yield, thus compost A has been revealed the best treatment for soil fertility improvement and compost B for better yield production of organic zucchini in sandy soil under greenhouse conditions.
Two commercial composts (A and B) were applied as a regular organic amendment and two other treatments with the same composts but enriched with Trichoderma harzianum (stain T22) along with a control (no amendment) were tested.
Various soil parameters were monitored: pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic matter (OM), phosphorus, total nitrogen and exchangeable bases.
Results revealed significant differences in soil fertility parameters after organic amendments and between treatments.
Soil amended with compost A contains significantly higher values of OM and phosphorus than other treatments.
The analysis of OM present in cultivated soils has shown the same evolution during the development cycle with an increase after amendment followed by a decrease toward the end of the cycle.
Moreover, the content of OM of the amended soils are significantly higher than values of the control plots.
Exchangeable calcium is more abundant in the soil than potassium and sodium due to the nature of the soil and for its vital role in the stability of the clay humic complex (CHC). Treatment with enriched compost A presented significantly higher available nitrogen in the soil than the other treatments especially at the end of the cropping cycle.
Compost B resulted in the highest yield with 68.58 t ha‑1 followed by compost A with 55.02 t ha‑1. Compost enrichment has no effect on organic zucchini yield, thus compost A has been revealed the best treatment for soil fertility improvement and compost B for better yield production of organic zucchini in sandy soil under greenhouse conditions.
Authors
H. Ramli, K. Azim, S. Daoud, M.C. Harouni
Keywords
organic amendment, microbial enrichment, compost, soil fertility, zucchini
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