Compost and humic acid amendments are a practicable solution to rehabilitate weak arid soil for higher winter field pea production

Abstract

Arid soils are often weak, low in fertility, and lack essential plant nutrients. Organic amendments might be a feasible solution to counter the detrimental impact and rehabilitate weak arid soil for the growth of legumes. The study aimed to investigate how organic amendments of compost and humic acid may affect winter field pea productivity in arid soil. Over 2 years of field experiments, a range of treatments were applied, including different amounts of compost and humic acid. The results showed higher microbial carbon (C), and nitrogen (N) biomass, root length, shoot length, grains pod−1, and grain yield of pea, gained from the collective application of 8 Mg ha−1 compost and 15 kg ha−1 humic acid compared to all other treatments. Organic amendments increased soil microbial C density by 67.0 to 83.0% and N biomass by 46.0 to 88.0% compared with the control. The combined application of compost and humic acid increased soil microbial N biomass by 57.0 to 60.0% compared to the sole applications of compost-only and humic acid-only. It was concluded that organic amendments of 8 Mg ha−1 compost and 15 kg ha−1 humic acid in arid soil modulated microbial density, resulting in improved winter field pea productivity. This study suggests organic amendments of compost and humic acid might be a practicable solution to rehabilitate weak arid soil to grow legumes.

Effects of composts obtained from hazelnut wastes on the cultivation of pepper (Capsicum annuum) seedlings

“…It is stated that compost amendments could increase the microbial biomass of the soil 49 . Muhammad et al 50 have found that while the microbial biomass of soil treated with compost or humic substances was evaluated between 150 and 320 µg C/g, the control soil was 60 µg C/g. Nair and Ngouajio 51 have also reported that soil with treated composts had higher microbial biomass than soil without any treatment.…”