Importance of Vermicompost in Tomato Plant Cultivation and Improvement of Some Soil Properties

Abstract

Vermicompost is a material whose popularity is rapidly growing. However, information about the usage amount and mineralization in the soil, and the state of the emergence of plant nutrients is quite limited. In this study, it was aimed to determine the effects of different vermicompost doses at different incubation periods on the soil properties and nutrient concentrations of the tomato plant. For this purpose, increased doses of vermicompost (0, 20, 40, and 60 t ha⁻¹) were mixed into the soil, and effects of them on soil properties at different incubation periods (0, 15, 30, 45, 60 and 90 days) were determined. At the end of the incubation period, the tomato plant was grown. At the end of the cultivation phase, the residual effect of vermicompost on soil properties were determined. Vermicompost doses and the increase in incubation period increased the amount of soil organic matter. With the direct and residual effects of increased vermicompost doses, the total concentration of N, av-P, ex-K, ex-Ca, ex-Mg and av-Zn in the soil increased. Prolongation of the incubation period caused fluctuation of nutrient concentrations. Increased vermicompost doses positively affected the N, P, and K concentrations of the tomato plant, and negatively affected the Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, and Mn concentrations of it. As a result, it was found that vermicompost improved the chemical properties of the highly calcareous Mediterranean region soils, but it was not sufficient for adequate and balanced feeding in plant production, and it must necessarily be supplemented by chemical feeding.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Erbil Demir, Nil Ozen and Ezgi Kilic for their contributions in the laboratory section of this work.

Author Contributions

Sahriye Sönmez: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Supervision, Resources, Validation, Writing – review & editing. Filiz Öktüren Asri: Formal analysis, Investigation, Statistical analysis, Visualization, Software, Writing-original draft, Writing –review & editing.

Disclosure Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit of Akdeniz University. Project Number: FBA-2016-1799.