Can Organic Amendments Improve Soil Physical Characteristics and Increase Maize Performances in Contrasting Soil Water Regimes?

Abstract

Organic amendments are believed to help increase the soil carbon storage and therefore improve soil quality, which may be important in the context of climate change. However, the added value of organic amendments for farmers must be clearly demonstrated in order to convince them of the utility of their use. The aims of this study were: (i) to investigate the impact on maize of compost and vermicompost combined with two levels (negligible and significant) of plant water stress; and (ii) to determine how the organic amendments affected the soil’s physical properties and maize productivity. Water stress levels were imposed by controlling the matric potential of soil columns in which cultivated soil characteristics was mimicked (10 cm topsoil with organic amendments, above a 50 cm subsoil without any inputs containing the majority of the roots). Plant and soil characteristics were monitored daily for 70 days. Our results show that the use of organic amendments is profitable for farmers as: (i) maize performances were increased in both moisture regimes; and (ii) the improvement was particularly striking in terms of yield. No additional benefits were measured when using vermicompost instead of compost. The data suggest that the improvement in plant characteristics did not result from increased water storage in the soils with organic amendments, but rather from better access to the water, resulting in faster root development in the macroporosity of the amended soils.

Influence of compost Amendments on the germination and Growth performance of Zea mays L.

“…Nigussie et al (2021) reported tallest height of maize from application of 10 t/ha of compost along with application of 138kgN/ha. Height of maize increased by 18-23% in the compost treatments in both wet and dry treatments and shoot biomass was doubled compared to unamended soil (Sisouvanh et al, 2021). Maximum increase of 16% was recorded over recommended application of N, P and K fertilizers in height of wheat by the application of 500 kg/ha of compost (Ibrahim et al, 2008).…”

Quality Assessment of Composts from different Organic sources

“…Its use depends on its quality. It is also necessary to analyze the parameters for stability and maturity of the product obtained by composting before applying it to the field [2]. The main objective of compost quality is related to the nutrients present in compost that plants need for their growth.…”

“…Inthefirst phase, the microorganisms degrade the organic matter and in the second phase, the organic matter converts into a stable humic substance. This stable humic substance is useful as organic fertilizer or soil amendment [2]. For composting different types of biodegradable waste could be used.…”

Spatial molecular heterogeneity of POM during decomposition at different soil depths resolved by VNIR hyperspectral imaging

“…The addition of organic residues into soil, either by direct return of crop residues or from exogenous sources, is a common practice in agricultural management aiming to enhance SOM quantity (Maillard & Angers, 2014;Sisouvanh et al, 2021). SOM also controls other important soil parameters such as soil structural development or activity of (micro)organisms (Bai et al, 2018;Pascault et al, 2013).…”