Characterization of Compost Based on Crop Residues: Changes in Some Chemical and Physical Properties of the Soil after Applying the Compost as Organic Amendment

Abstract

The objectives of the present study were to make a physical, physicochemical, and biological characterization of compost obtained from crop residues of horticultural plants grown in greenhouses and to assess the physical and chemical responses of a soil tested after the applications of this organic amendment. The compost showed a high percentage of inorganic material because the source of this compost includes not only crop residues but also soil; for this reason, it had high coarseness index (CI), electrical conductivity (EC), and pH. The application of the organic amendment to a soil with reduced bulk density (BD) increased the percentage of particles with large diameters, as well as increased the nutritional status and organic matter (OM). However, nitrogen and potassium levels in soil were low. Compost addition provoked an increase in soil EC, which restricts its use to salt-tolerant plants.

Keywords:

• Bulk density
• greenhouse
• organic matter
• soil EC
• soil pH

Notes

Council Directive 75/448/CEE. 15 July 1975. Brussels, Belgium: European Union.