Data/hora: 12/06/2024 06:30:57

Biblioteca(s): | Embrapa Florestas.
Data corrente: | 25/09/2008
Data da última atualização: | 25/09/2008
Autoria: | LAZCANO, C.; REVILLA, P.; MALVAR, R. A.; ORDÁS, B.; GÓMEZ-BRANDÓN, M.; MONROY, F.; DOMÍNGUEZ, J.
Título: | Nutritional and non-nutritional effects of vermicompost on the growth and yield, of sweet maize (Zea mays L.): role of plant genotype and effects on soil properties.
Ano de publicação: | 2008
Fonte/Imprenta: | In: INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM ON SOIL ZOOLOGY, 15; INTERNATIONAL COLLOQUIUM ON APTERYGOTA, 12., 2008, Curitiba. Biodiversity, conservation and sustainabele management of soil animal: abstracts. Colombo: Embrapa Florestas. Editors: George Gardner Brown; Klaus Dieter Sautter; Renato Marques; Amarildo Pasini. 1 CD-ROM.
Idioma: | Inglês

Conteúdo:

Vermicompost has shown to improve germination and enhance growth in some plant species
at low doses because it contains plant growth promoting substances produced by
microorganisms. Nevertheless, published data show a certain inconsistency, and it is speculated
that plant growth promotion might depend on many other factors, like plant genotype. The objective
of this study was to evaluate the nutritional and non nutritional effects of rabbit manure
vermicompost on the growth, nutrition (N, P, K leaf content) and yield (fruit production, fruit quality)
of four maize varieties in a field assay. The effects of the vermicompost were compared to the
effects of rabbit manure and mineral fertilization. The changes exerted by these treatments on
soil biological properties (enzyme activities, soil respiration, microbial biomass, bacterial and
fungal growth) were also evaluated. The doses of the fertilizers were adjusted to a normal NPK
mineral fertilization for an expected final grain production of 4 Tm/Ha and the nutrient content
was balanced among the treatments. An extra dose, for an expected grain production of 6 Tm/
Ha, was included to separate the nutritional and non-nutritional effects on plant growth and yield.
Experimental units consisted of 10 m2 plots with the combination of variety x type of fertilizer x
dose. Twenty-six seeds were planted in each plot and plots were distributed following a
randomized design. The type of fertilizer used did not influence the germination, early growth,
flowering and final growth of the maize plants. Since these parameters were under strong genetic
control, they were only influenced by the doses of fertilizer. Neither did the type of fertilizer affect
the final yield (tons of grain per hectare) of the plants. No effects were observed, either, in the
quality of the marketable cobs due to the type of fertilizer, and the parameters analyzed proved
to be influenced primarily by plant genotype and secondarily by the dose of fertilizer. Both
vermicompost and manure modified some of the soil parameters, increasing the availability of
an essential plant nutrient like PO4 through the enhancement of the activity of the enzyme alkaline
phosphatase. Protease activity was also enhanced in the organic treatments, where there was
significantly higher fungal biomass and bacterial growth.
The maize plants reacted to the quantity of nutrients supplied but not to their quality, and the
changes exerted by the organic fertilizers in soil biological properties were not enough to produce
a significant increase in plant growth and yield. Nevertheless, both the manure and the
vermicompost performed similarly to the mineral fertilizer even at the extra dose, and therefore,
the use of this type of organic fertilizers is well worth considering in the context of more
environmentally-friendly practices in agriculture.

Categoria do assunto: | --
Registro original: | Embrapa Florestas (CNPF)
Exemplares: | CNPF - (43726-1) - UPE - PL - -- - CD0305 -  -  - DIS