Organic Amendment and Mulching Enhanced the Growth and Fruit Quality of Squash Plants (Cucurbita pepo L.) Grown on Silty Loam Soils

Abstract

Adoption of suitable organic fertilizers and soil mulching are useful tools to enhance soil quality, which will inevitably lead to improved growth and yield of crops. Little is known about the soil organic amendments and Azolla (Azolla pinnata) under soil organic mulching on the growth and yield of squash plant (Cucurbita pepo L.). A comparative study mainly focused on the impacts of organic fertilizer treatments on soil fertility and squash growth under wheat straw mulch was conducted on wooden boxes filled with silty loam soil. Wheat straw, as an organic mulch, and five organic-fertilization treatments were added to the soil. Wheat straw with a size of <2 cm was added to the soil surface with a 2 cm thickness. The fertilization treatments were: control (CO), chemical fertilizer (CF), compost (CT), vermicompost (VC), and dry Azolla (DA). Wheat straw mulch had positive effects on the soil properties, growth, and yield. The maximum fruit yield was obtained from the soil fertilized with DA under wheat straw mulch, while the lowest one was found in the control without mulching. Azolla and organic fertilizers showed a remarkable superiority over the mineral fertilization in increasing the soil fertility as well as the growth and quality of squash fruits; this superiority increased under the wheat straw mulching system. The application of recommended mineral fertilization (CF), compost (CT), vermicompost (VC), and dry Azolla (DA) under wheat straw mulch increased the soil available-N by 2, 20, 12, and 29%, respectively, above the control (CO), while these organic fertilizers without mulching increased the soil available-N by 11, 32, 26, and 48%, respectively. The production of vegetable crops such as squash plants requires the addition of organic fertilizers and mulching to increase yield and quality of fruits.

Growth, Yield, Quality, and Phytochemical Behavior of Three Cultivars of Quinoa in Response to Moringa and Azolla Extracts under Organic Farming Conditions

“…Additionally, Sharifi et al [64] stated that Azolla compost enhanced the chlorophyll content of safflower leaves. Dry Azolla significantly maximized leaf pigments, improved fruit characters, and increased nutrient content in squash fruits [36].…”

“…An enhancement was observed in the growth and outputs of quinoa cultivars following foliar application with AE or MLE. Azolla filiculoides has been widely used in agriculture for improving plant growth [34][35][36] and motivating plant tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress [38,63,64]. Azolla fixes biological N and minimizes fertilizer leaching [65].…”

“…These results are compatible with Ripley et al [32], who illustrated that an improvement was detected in wheat plants subjected to Azolla filiculoides application. The addition of dry Azolla significantly improved the growth and yield of squash [36] and increased eggplant fruit yield [35]. Total chlorophyll in quinoa leaves increased after AE foliar spray.…”

“…Wheat and beet yields increased following Azolla treatments [32,33]. Azolla application caused an increase in olive output [34], eggplant yield [35], and squash fruits [36]. Urea required for rice and maize production decreased by 25% and 30% after Azolla supplementation [37,38].…”

Vegetative growth of Biduri (Calotropis Gigantea) on mycorrhiza and azolla application

“…In addition, mycorrhizal symbiosis is highly dependent on environmental factors, such as soil properties, nutrient availability, or agricultural management practices [13]. Mycorrhizal in its development requires several stages before entering into the process of infection into the roots plant [15,17,18],). Therefore, mycorrhizal symbiosis is not always beneficial, as the effect can be positive, negative, or neutral to the host plant.…”