Paper Details

Effect of P-enriched compost application on soil and plants

Tanveer Iqbal, Ghulam Jilani, Muhammad Rasheed, M. Tariq Siddique

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12692/ijb/5.4.133-140

Int. J. Biosci. 5(4), 133-140. August, 2014. (PDF)

Abstract:

A study was undertaken to prepare P-enriched compost (PEC) using two rates of rock phosphate (RP), viz. 5 and 10 % of MSW (w/w), and two strains of phosphorus solublizing bacteria (PSB) viz. Klebsiella pneumonia and Burkholderia cenocepacia. Composting material samples were collected biweekly from each treatment, and analyzed for micronutrients (Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn) and total and soluble P. Compost involving 10 % RP with both strains of PSB had the highest content of total and soluble P (2 % and 120 mg kg-1 respectively ), therefore it was selected for use in further experiments. Different combinations of PEC and P-fertilizer were tested for growing maize under greenhouse conditions. Treatments were: control, half and full dose of P fertilizer, enriched compost for supplying 50, 100, 150 and 200 % of recommended P rate, and mixture of PEC for 75 % P with 25 % P from fertilizer. Soil samples were drawn after crop harvest, while plant samples were obtained at crop maturity. Mixture treatment involving PEC and P-fertilizer (75:25) performed better than other treatments. This combination gave higher dry matter yield (31.5 g pot-1) optimum micronutrients (Fe 53.5, Mn 12.7, Cu 5.5, Zn 8.4 mg kg-1) in soil. It was concluded that enriched compost (75%) along with reduced application (25 %) of P fertilizer could be very helpful in meeting P deficiency in soil.