Effects of combined application of organic amendments and fertilizers on crop yield and soil organic matter: An integrated analysis of long-term experiments

Abstract

A comprehensive synthesis of 32 long-term experiments in China is performed by comparing yields and SOM contents and their time by nutrient management responses (TNMR) to determine whether and to what extent combined application of organics amendments and fertilizers (organics+fertilizers) can increase productivity and soil organic matter (SOM) content and enhance the sustainability of diverse cropping systems. TNMR is defined as percentage changes over time in yields and SOM contents in external nutrient input treatments relative to initial and control plots and represents the net effects of nutrient management strategies on yields and SOM contents. Organics+fertilizers significantly increased yields over three crops (wheat, maize and rice) on average by 29% relative to sole organics and 8% to fertilizer only. Higher TNMR values in yields were found with organics+fertilizers in the sequence wheat (53%) > maize (40%) > rice (8%). Significant and positive time trends in TNMR of organics+fertilizers in wheat and maize yield may imply enhanced sustainability of cropping systems. Addition of organics (alone or combined with fertilizers) increased SOM contents and their TNMR over fertilizers applied alone. However, benefits varied between organics and organics+fertilizers by land use type. The latter led to higher SOM contents than (for dry land) and similar to the former (for dry-flooded and flooded systems). 2.3 and 1.4 times higher TNMR of organics+fertilizers in SOM content in dry land than dry-flooded and flooded systems implies that dry land was more responsive in SOM content increase upon adoption of organics+fertilizers than the latter. Overall, despite variation in the quantitative magnitude in crop or land use type, compared with application of 3 organics or fertilizers only, a combination of both represents the most effective way to produce more food, build up SOM and enhance sustainability, especially in dry land cropping systems.

Drip irrigation with organic fertilizer application improved soil quality and fruit yield

“…Among all the nutrients, soil organic carbon (SOC) is an important indicator, which provides plant nutrients, increases soil aggregation and also plays an important role in soil water conservation and soil biological activity (Rajan, Natarajan, Kumar, Badrinath, & Gowda, 2010;Wiesmeier et al, 2019). The SOC content can be directly affected by mineral fertilizer (Poeplau & Don, 2015;Wei et al, 2016), with some studies claiming that the long-term use of mineral fertilizers leads to a slower decrease in SOC compared with control plots (Wei et al, 2016). Mineral fertilizer also may augment SOC by promoting plant growth and thereby increasing the amount of plant residue and may lead to enhanced loss of SOC by accelerating its rate of oxidation or residue decay and indigenous organic material (Ladha, Reddy, Padre, & van Kessel, 2011).…”

Do organic inputs matter – a meta-analysis of additional yield effects for arable crops in Europe

“…Although previous research has found a positive effect of either organic inputs or SOM on crop yields (Monreal et al 1997;Wei et al 2016), Oelofse et al (2015) argue that in these studies the effect of nutrients is seldom separated from other effects. In fact, Wei et al (2016) also mention this as the largest limitation of their study.…”

“…A recent meta-analysis of 32 long-term experiments in China compared the combined use of organic inputs and fertilizers with either only organic inputs or only fertilizers (Wei et al 2016). The average yield increase of combining organics and fertilizers on wheat, maize and rice was found to be 8 % compared to using only fertilizers.…”

MÉTODO DELPHI EN ESTUDIOS DE PROSPECTIVA TECNOLÓGICA: Una aproximación para calcular el número de expertos y aplicación del coeficiente de competencia experta “K”

“…Los requerimientos de las plantas de acelga durante el ciclo de cultivo son elevados en nitrógeno y potasio según [14], debido a que la acelga tienealto contenido nutricional en hierro, calcio, potasio, zinc, magnesio, sodio y fosforo. Los tratamientos 3 y 4 que contienen 33 y 50% de B. de oro tienen altos contenidos de estos nutrientes, lo cual ayudo al mejor desarrollo de las plantaslas cuales fueron capaces de aprovechar los abonos orgánicos en función de su rendimiento.…”