Effects of composts and vermicomposts obtained from forced aerated and mechanically turned composting method on growth, mineral nutrition and nutrient uptake of wheat

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the efficiencies of composts and vermicomposts obtained from two different composting methods on the growth, mineral nutrition and nutrient uptake of wheat. Composts and vermicomposts were applied to plastic pots under greenhouse condition with the application doses of 0, 5, 10, 20, and 40 t ha⁻¹. The pot-experiment lasted three months. The results showed that plant dry weight increased with the increase in doses when compared to the control groups where no composts and vermicomposts were applied. However, no differences were found among the doses from 5 to 40 t ha⁻¹ of composts and vermicomposts. Although application doses did not affect significantly on the most of the plant nutrient concentrations, Fe concentration in plant decreased with the increase in application doses. Additionally, no significant differences among the composts and vermicomposts on plant nutrient concentrations except for Mg were detected. Comparing to the control dose (0 t ha⁻¹), nutrient uptakes by plant from the soil significantly increased with the increase of application doses, but no significant differences were determined amongst the doses of 5 and 40 t ha⁻¹, generally. The effect of production methods on the most of investigated parameters including plant dry weight was similar.

Keywords:

• Composted materials
• forced aeration
• mechanically turned windrow
• wheat growth
• nutrient uptake

Additional information

Funding

The authors thank the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) for supporting the research project KAMAG-111G055/111G149 under which this work was financed.