Application of rock phosphate enriched composts increases nodulation, growth and yield of chickpea

Abstract

Purpose Phosphorus (P) deficiency in agricultural land is one of the main factors which reduce the crop production and yield. To increase the crop growth, the availability of P using the rock phosphate (RP) can be enhanced using organic waste with the addition of phosphate solubilizing microorganisms (PSMs). Moreover, the combination along with time and dose application of RP and compost can also affect the P-availability through mineralization and/immobilization. Methods To investigate the effect of different combinations of RP and compost (0:100, 25:75, 50:50, 75:25 and 100:0) and time of application (30, 15, 7, 3 and 0 days before sowing), each was conducted in two consecutive pot experiments while, the rate of application (100-1000 kg ha −1) was investigated under field conditions, in comparison to control (recommended P fertilizer). Results Rock phosphate enriched compost (RP-EC) with a combination ratio of 50:50; RP and compost applied before 7 days of sowing in pot experiments resulted in the maximum nodulation, growth and productivity of chickpea. Under field conditions, the maximum increase of 35.3% in no. nodules plant −1 , 26.7% in dry wt. of nodules plant −1 and 20.8% in grain yield (t ha −1) compared to control was obtained by RP-EC @ 1000 kg ha −1. The same treatment indicated an increase of 12.9 and 4.3% in P contents in straw and grains, respectively, compared to control. However, most results were non-significant when RP-EC applied at the rate of 1000 kg ha −1. Conclusion Application of RP-EC, with the ratio of 50:50 (RP:Compost) and application rate of 800 kg ha −1 before 7 days of sowing, exhibited maximum growth and development, and can be highly recommended for optimum production of chickpea.

Production and Implication of Bio-Activated Organic Fertilizer Enriched with Zinc-Solubilizing Bacteria to Boost up Maize (Zea mays L.) Production and Biofortification under Two Cropping Seasons

“…Additionally, improved root growth, which enhanced the overall plant growth owing to the well-acquisition of water and nutrients from the soil have also resulted in better growth and yield of the plants. The better maize root growth might be due to inoculation with Zn solubilizing rhizobacterial strain AZ6 because this strain also harbors plant growth-promoting traits that play a role in better root growth [28,[55][56][57]. The application of ZnO alone did not mark the maize growth and yield owing to its insoluble and non-available source of Zn.…”

“…The presence of orange peel in different BOZ formulations might also have resulted in improved Zn contents in shoots and grains of Zn as organic matter has been documented not only to improve biological properties of soil but also to provide suitable nutrients and micro-environment to proliferate the existence of the applied bacteria [32,51,58,[70][71][72]. For instance, organic amendments application increases the biological characteristics of soil including the microbial biomass and the microbial enzymatic activities resulting in an increase in the microbial activity [31,32,56,57,70]. Hence, in the presence of the organic material, the strain AZ6 could have survived and made better complexes with ZnO for a longer time resulting in a slow but higher release of Zn [23].…”

Rock Phosphate, Zeolite and Quail Manure to Enhance Potassium Uptake and Yield of Soybean on Alfisols

“…Quail manure has a N content of 1.32%, P 4.54%, K 1.51%, and C-org 17.56% with C / N 13.31 [14]. RP is slow realese phosphate source, and manure contains organic acids that can increase the solubility of RP [15]. Zeolite with CEC 128.6 me / 100 g meet the Indonesian National Standar of zeolite quality requirements.…”

Enhancing Phosphorus Solubility From Rock Phosphate Integrated With Farmyard Manure in P-Deficient Soil

“…At the same time RP is principally tri-calcium phosphate with nonsoluble P [21]. The augment in P mobility found through mixing of rock phosphate with organic additives was also investigated by [22]. Thus RP is being documented as another source of P for restoration P-deficient soils [23,24], and to face the problem of increasing cost of P fertilizers.…”