Soil quality recovery and crop yield enhancement by combined application of compost and wood to vegetables grown under plastic tunnels

Bonanomi, Giuliano; D’Ascoli, R.; Scotti, Riccardo; Gaglione, Salvatore A.; Cáceres, Marcelo; Sultana, Shahin; Scelza, Rosalia; Rao, María A.; Zoina, A.

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2014.03.029

Cited by 74 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…The increasing food demand due to the rapid growth of human population encourages the overuse of agricultural lands and forces farmers to adopt intensive cropping systems, such as the monoculture. Very often, these practices lead to soil sickness which causes the decline of soil fertility through the development of soil‐borne diseases, the depletion of nutrients, and the loss of soil organic matter …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of a 2‐Year Application of Different Residual Biomasses on Soil Properties and Potato Yield

Abdeldaym

Traversa

Cocozza

et al. 2018

CLEAN Soil Air Water

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The increasing food demand encourages the overuse of agricultural lands and natural resources that often is not economic, social, and environmentally sustainable. This overuse can lead to the soil sickness, which causes the decline of the soil fertility through the development of soil‐borne diseases, the depletion of nutrients, and the loss of soil organic matter. Addition of residual biomasses is a good agricultural practice for improving soil properties and enhancing crop production, in the framework of a sustainable development. The study is performed in a 2 years field experiment using olive pomace residues (OPR), composts from municipal solid wastes (CMW), spent mushroom compost (SMC), and livestock manures based compost (BRX) for the fertilization of the potato crop. The aim of the study is to test the impact of different biomasses available in Apulia region, Italy, on soil fertility and potato growth. The application of BRX shows the highest potato yield in both seasons while OPR, CMW, and SMC significantly increases soil total nitrogen and organic carbon compared to BRX and un‐amended plots (CON). All treatments, except SMC, reduce the soil exchangeable K content, therefore, the application of BRX, OPR, and CMW should include the use of K based fertilizer to balance the high crop demand of K. Finally, SMC appears the best compromise for managing soil fertility and obtaining high potato yield.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of a 2‐Year Application of Different Residual Biomasses on Soil Properties and Potato Yield

Abdeldaym

Traversa

Cocozza

et al. 2018

CLEAN Soil Air Water

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“…However, the analysis of soil C balance after one year from sorghum burial in soil put in evidence negative results excepted for cv BMR 333 at Eboli site. It has to be kept in mind that, as reported in Pagano et al (2008) and Bonanomi et al (2014), in the first year of compost organic amendment soil microbial community can increase SOC mineralisation or reduce it depending on the level of N availability in soil and its chemical recalcitrance. Differently from compost, a cover crop supplies fresh biomass that can be mineralised quickly depending on the composition of its tissues.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conversely, organic matter with C/N ratio above the threshold value of 30-35 accumulates N, due to the growth of decomposing microbes that scavenge this element from the surrounding soil, thus impairing plant growth (Bonanomi et al, 2014). But in our case, C/N ratio of different cultivars ranged from 20 to 25 with high amount of total N absorbed and this evidence is consistent with the mineralisation observed except for cv BMR 333, the only one to show a positive C balance in Eboli trial.…”

Section: Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction of sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] green manure in rotations of head salads and baby leaf crops under greenhouse

et al. 2017

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This paper deals with the introduction in tunnel-greenhouses of sweet sorghum cultivated in short, summer cycle as green manure with the aim to amend soils with biomass grown on farm. This practice has been spreading in tunnels of Sele river Valley (Salerno, Italy) where baby leaf crops are cultivated in numerous cycles (up to 5-7) per year. Three sorghum varieties for forage or biomass (Goliath, BMR 201, and BMR 333) were cultivated in two farms at Eboli and San Marzano sul Sarno with the aim of studying their responses in term of fresh and dry aboveground biomass yielded, carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) content of the biomass incorporated in soil, and C balance in amended soils after one year of ordinary cash crop sequences. No differences, with regard to all the parameters measured, were pointed out among the tested varieties in each site. The sorghum cycle lasted 45 days at Eboli, yielding on average 98 and 13 t ha -1 of fresh and dry biomass, respectively; soil biomass incorporation supplied on average 5.8 t ha -1 of organic C and 273 kg ha -1 of total N. In the farm of San Marzano, sorghum cycle lasted 68 days, yielding 116 and 18 t ha -1 of fresh and dry biomass, respectively; soil biomass incorporation supplied on average 8 t ha -1 of organic C and 372 kg ha -1 of total N. After one year, the plots amended with sorghum biomass showed a soil organic carbon (SOC) concentration not different from the starting point, while SOC decreased in fallow plots. At Eboli, initial SOC content was 12.3 g kg -1 , but one year later it resulted 12.3, 12.8, 12.2 and 11.3 g kg -1 in BMR 201, BMR 333, Goliath and control plots, respectively. At San Marzano, initial SOC content was 11.4 g kg -1 , but one year later it resulted 11, 12, 10.7 and 10.5 g kg -1 in BMR 201, BMR 333, Goliath and control plots, respectively. The annual C balance put in evidence that the green manure with sorghum biomass caused SOC losses higher than those detected in fallow plots. This let us suppose a prime effect in boosting the soil microbial C mineralisation. Only cv BMR 333 in the Eboli trial pointed out a positive SOC change of 1.8 t ha -1 . Further studies are requested to better understand the real efficacy of sorghum cover crop in soil amendment under tunnels devoted to intensive vegetable crop sequence.

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“…Composts supply nutrients and organic matter; improve soil physical, chemical, and biological properties; promote higher yields of agricultural crops; reduce the need for fertilizers and pesticides (Zhang et al 2006); bring beneficial microorganisms and sustain their life in the soil (De Bertoldi et al 1996;Plaza et al 2006;Senesi 1989). In particular, the addition of compost represents an optimum solution in the case of intensive farming systems, in which the decline of soil organic carbon is a major reason of soil fertility losses (Bonanomi et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-Term Effects of Different Organic Amendments on Soil Properties and Organic Broccoli Growth and Yield

Hewidy

Traversa

Kheder

et al. 2015

Compost Science & Utilization

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different organic fertility sources on organic broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) growth and yield, and on soil properties. The fertilization was designed to supply the crop with about 100 kg ha ¡1 of N using two amendments: a municipal solid wastes-based compost (CC), and a manure based compost (CB). The former was used alone (T1), in combination with its own water extract (CT) in fertigation (T2), and in combination to CT applied in fertigation and as foliar spray (T3). Other treatments resulted from the application of (i) CC and CB (T4); (ii) CB alone (T5); and (iii) the exhausted compost (EX) resulting from the extraction of CT (T6). Unamended plots were used as control (T7). Selected soil properties were determined at the beginning and at the end of the trial in order to estimate the effects of the various treatments on these parameters. The best yields were obtained with T4 and T5 (16.95 and 18.46 t ha ¡1 , respectively). The application of CC alone (T1) showed slightly better growing parameters in comparison to its application in combination to CT (T2 and T3), even though the yields were not significantly different from each other. T6 showed the lowest yield of broccoli (7.03 t ha ¡1 ) among the treatments, superior only to the unfertilized control (5.38 t ha ¡1 , T7). The different fertilizations showed a general soil enrichment of available phosphorous and organic matter, even if the latter could be only transitory. Finally, the high production costs and the low yields obtained apparently dissuade the use of compost tea and exhausted compost for the fertilization of broccoli crop.

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Soil quality recovery and crop yield enhancement by combined application of compost and wood to vegetables grown under plastic tunnels

Cited by 74 publications

References 34 publications

Effects of a 2‐Year Application of Different Residual Biomasses on Soil Properties and Potato Yield

Effects of a 2‐Year Application of Different Residual Biomasses on Soil Properties and Potato Yield

Introduction of sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] green manure in rotations of head salads and baby leaf crops under greenhouse

Short-Term Effects of Different Organic Amendments on Soil Properties and Organic Broccoli Growth and Yield

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