The Effect of MSW Compost and Fertilizer on Extractable Soil Elements, Tuber Yield, and Elemental Concentrations in the Plant Tissue of Potato

Abstract

Municipal solid waste (MSW) compost is readily available in eastern Canada and may be a good source of fertility. A 3-year experiment evaluated the effects of MSW compost and fertilizer on soil fertility, elemental composition and yield of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) grown in a sandy loam soil. Three rates of compost (MSW1, MSW2, and MSW3), one rate of fertilizer (NPK), and one mixture of 1/2 MSW1 compost and 1/2 NPK fertilizer were applied annually to plots in a three-crop rotation; each year the MSW1 rate attempted to match the rate of P applied in the NPK treatment. Mehlich-3 extracts were evaluated for 11 elements at two soil depths (0-15 and 15-30 cm). Potato shoots and roots or whole plants were assessed for 16 elements. Treatments had no consistent significant influence on marketable tuber yields although the NPK treatment produced mathematically the highest yields. After 3 years, treatments had influenced soil concentrations of K, Ca, S, Cu, Zn, and Na in Mehlich-3 extracts at the 0-15 cm depth, but only the concentration of Na at the 15-30 cm depth. The concentration of Mg in the plant tissue was consistently highest in plants fertilized with NPK; this treatment also produced higher Mn concentrations in the last 2 years. Shoot Cu concentrations were highest in the MSW3 plots. The compost did not increase heavy metal concentrations in shoot, root or whole-plant tissue and would be safe to use at agronomic rates of application.

The Benefits of Crop Rotation Including Cereals and Green Manures on Potato Yield and Nitrogen Nutrition and Soil Properties

“…Potato N use efficiency varied from 193 to 258 kg yield kg (Table 11). This finding is consistent with other studies that reported enhanced potato apparent N recovery when combining GMs or other organic amendments such as manures or composts with mineral N fertilizer [56,64].…”

“…Contrast analysis showed that higher N uptake occurred when potato succeeded summer GMs than cereals or fall GMs. Earlier studies showed that slow release of N from green manure residues are better synchronized with plant N uptake than inorganic N fertilizer [9,12,64], and could result in increasing N uptake efficiency. Therefore, discrepancies between preceding crops in this study may reflect poorer or better synchrony between N supply from residue decomposition with active potato N uptake.…”

The effect of municipal solid waste compost, peat, perlite and vermicompost on tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum L.) growth and yield in a hydroponic system

“…cicla L.) and basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), Zhelzaskov and found that MSWC applied at 200, 400, or 600 kg/l increased the concentration of Cu and Zn in soil, but uptake by plants was not observed. Marketable yield of potato was as high as regular NPK fertilizer, only in the second and third years after the application of MSWC (Warman et al 2011). In this study, the effect of choice of substrate on changes in the physicochemical properties of the hydroponic medium was not assessed.…”

Biological response of using municipal solid waste compost in agriculture as fertilizer supplement

“…Table 1 shows different studies on agricultural utilization of MSWM. Warman et al (2011) studied comparative response of MSWC and IF on potatoes grown in a 3-year rotation including winter squash and sweet corn at Nova Scotia, Canada. The doses were NPK 130-63-68 (1996);130-65-59 (1997) and 130-75-68 kg ha -1 (1998); NK 130-0-59 kg ha -1 (1997); MSWC were applied at three rates (MSW1, MSW2 and MSW3) 21.7, 43.4, 65.1 Mg ha -1 (1996);11.3, 22.6, 33.9 Mg ha -1 (1997);8.9, 17.8, 26.7 Mg ha -1 (1998); and MIX = 0.5 MSW1 ?…”