scholarly journals Enhancing maize (Zea mays l.) growth and nutrient uptake via application of water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes [Mart.] Solms) compost and inorganic nutrients

2019 ◽  
pp. 27-34
Author(s):  
Atere C.T ◽  
olayinka A.

A soil culture experiment was conducted in the screenhouse to assess the growth response of maize to water hyacinth compost application rates and their residual effects. Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes [Mart.] Solms) compost, namely, 2.5 t ha-1(W1) and 5.0 t ha-1 (W2) with and without fortification with fertilizer, F [N (25 kg ha-1 as urea) and P (26 kg ha-1 as SSP)] were mixed with portions of 5 kg soil and used to grow maize. At eight weeks after planting in each of two con- secutive cropping, plant heights, biomass dry weight and their nutrient contents were determined. Soil was also sampled from each pot for chemical analyses. Compared with the control, available P and exchangeable K were increased (p<0.05) by W2F (27%) and W2 (43%), respectively. Similarly, W2F and W2 increased SOM by 86 and 107% (p<0.05), respectively, while W2F, W2 and W1F increased exchangeable Ca between 8 and 10% (p<0.05). Treatments W2F, W2 and W1F increased plant heights by 35–40% while W2 and W2F increased the dry matter yield by 72 and 75% (p<0.05), respectively. Further, sole compost or its organo-mineral form increased the tissue contents of N (98–141%), and K and Mg (103–280%). The tissue content of Ca was also increased (p<0.05) by W2F. Residual effects of the soil amendments were also significant on most tested soil and plant parameters. It was concluded that soil nutrient status, maize agronomic and nutrient uptake parameters were improved by the application of water hyacinth compost with and without inorganic N and P. The rate of 5.0 t ha-1 of the sole compost and its organo-mineral form proved superior in enhancing maize growth and soil nutrient status.

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang-Seob Shin ◽  
Md. Sharif ◽  
Hwa-Yong Lee

Revegetation with fast-growing N-fixing leguminous plants can be an alternate for reclamation of degraded coal mining areas. Selection of appropriate plant species is an important factor in deciding the success in the remediation of mine spoil. Thus, this study was carried out in greenhouse conditions to evaluate the effect of two N-fixing leguminous plant seedlings, soybean (Glycine max) and shrub lespedeza (Lespedeza bicolor), on the available N and other soil nutrients (P, K, Ca, and Mg) of the experimental coal mine soil. Four treatments, including T0—non-fertilized non-inoculation (control), T1—fertilization, T2—bacterial inoculation, and T3—combination of fertilization and bacterial inoculation with three replications were applied to both plants. Concentration of NH4+-N and NO3−-N increased significantly in the soil at different treatments for both soybean and shrub lespedeza, as compared to control, but apart from control no significant difference was observed between other treatments of increased NH4+-N for soybean and increased NO3−-N for shrub lespedeza. The highest number of nodules and dry weight of nodule per plant (g) was recorded 5.73 and 1.8, respectively in soybean, and 7.77 and 2.76, respectively, in shrub lespedeza with bacteria-inoculated treatment (T2), whereas fertilized treatment (T1) produced the lowest number of nodule and dry weight of nodule in both plants. Increasing of available P and K was significantly high when NPK fertilizer was applied to the plants but decreased at other treatments. Therefore, it can be concluded that soybean and shrub lespedeza have a significant role in changing soil nutrient status in coal mining soil through fertilizer application and biological N fixation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Anil Shahane ◽  
Yashbir Singh Shivay ◽  
Radha Prasanna ◽  
Dinesh Kumar

AbstractNutrient uptake by the rice–wheat cropping system (RWCS) is an important indicator of soil fertility and plant nutrient status. The hypothesis of this investigation was that the rate and sources of nutrient application can differentially influence nutrient removal and soil nutrient status in different crop establishment techniques (CETs). Cropping system yield was on par in all the CETs evaluated, however, there were significant changes in soil nutrient availability and microbiological aspects. The system nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and zinc (Zn) uptake in aerobic rice system followed by zero tillage wheat (ARS-ZTW) was 15.7–17.6 kg ha−1, 0.7–0.9 kg ha−1, 7–9.8 kg ha−1 and 13.5–23.1 g ha−1 and higher than other CETs. The formulations of Anabaena sp. (CR1) + Providencia sp. (PR3) consortium (MC1) and Anabaena–Pseudomonas biofilm (MC2) recorded significantly higher values of soil chlorophyll and microbial biomass carbon and positively affected cropping system nutrient uptake and soil nutrient balance, illustrating the beneficial effect of microbial inoculation through increased supply of biologically fixed N and solubilised P. Zinc fertilization (5 kg Zn ha−1 through ZnSO4·7H2O as soil application) increased soil DTPA-extractable Zn by 4.025–4.836 g ha–1, with enhancement to the tune of 20–24% after two cropping cycles of RWCS. Our investigation recommends the need for change in the present CETs to ARS–ZTW, along with the use of microbial inoculation as a means of significantly enhancing cropping system nutrient uptake and soil nutrient status improvement.


Author(s):  
Anju B. Raj ◽  
Sheeja K. Raj ◽  
K. Prathapan ◽  
N.V. Radhakrishnan

Background: Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] is the most widely cultivated pulse crop of Kerala. Deficiencies of micronutrients viz., Zn and B are a common problem in cowpea. Foliar nutrition is very effective to correct the micronutrient deficiencies in pulses but it is too laborious. Seed pelleting and priming are two simple cost-effective methods to overcome the micronutrient deficiencies. The present study aimed to study the effect of seed invigouration with zinc sulphate and borax and to evaluate its effect along with Trichoderma viride on nutrient uptake and soil nutrient status of grain cowpea.Methods: The experiment was conducted at Coconut Research Station, Balaramapuram, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The experiment was conducted in RBD with 8 seed invigouration treatments and a control during Rabi 2018.Result: Seed invigouration treatments had significant effect on nutrient uptake and nutrient availability. Seeds primed in ZnSO4 0.05 per cent for 4h recorded the highest NPK uptake by crop, the highest soil organic carbon content, available N and Zn status. Zinc uptake by crop and available soil K status were recorded the highest in seed primed in ZnSO4 0.05 per cent for 4h + Trichoderma viride seed treatment 10 g kg-1 seed. Boron uptake by crop and available soil B and P status were recorded the highest in seeds pelleted with borax 100 mg kg-1 seed. Hence it can be concluded that seed primed in ZnSO4 with 0.05 per cent for 4 h improved the Zn availability and uptake and seed pelleting with borax 100 mg kg-1 improved the B availability and uptake of grain cowpea.


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