Abstract
Due to the environmental issues that conventional fertilization is causing, biostimulants are proposed as environmentally friendly alternative for crop nutrition in agriculture. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of new Micro Carbon Technology (MCT®) fertilizers with biostimulant activity based on humic acids biologically digested from leonardite on pepper plant growth in three different soils with different textures. The assays were performed under controlled conditions in a growth chamber and in commercial greenhouses in Spain. The effects on soil were analyzed after the addition of the fertilizers by microbial respiration and enzymatic activities (hydrolase, dehydrogenase and urease). For the plant assays, biometric parameters (fresh weight and fruit hardness) and foliar analysis (chlorophyll indices and nutrients) were evaluated. Under controlled conditions, the use of these biostimulants resulted in a greater soil microbial activity in a 24 h interval with increased soil enzymatic activity. In plants, a positive correlation was found between fertilizers with biostimulant activity and Dualex indices of leaves and content of macronutrients Ca and Mg. In commercial greenhouses, the fertilizers with biostimulant activity strongly depended on the soil texture. In conclusion, these products have real potential to replace conventional fertilizers in commercial production fields.
Highlights
Conventional farming often results in the reduced biological fertility of soils, decreasing their capacity to support healthy crop growth [1]
The main objective of this work is to evaluate the effectiveness of Micro Carbon Technology (MCT® ) fertilizers with biostimulant activity based on digested leonardite (MCT® )
The high concentration values of some nutrients in the soil could be related to possible overfertilization with continued addition of K and P, resulting in them being retained in the soils
Summary
Conventional farming often results in the reduced biological fertility of soils, decreasing their capacity to support healthy crop growth [1]. It causes serious environmental problems such as waterway pollution, mineral depletion, soil acidification and agrobiodiversity reduction [2]. The use of natural preparations in agriculture that are not harmful to the environment is important in connection with the progressive processes of soil degradation and atmospheric pollution, which are closely related with global warming [4]. The use of organic fertilizers and biostimulants to increase productivity has been shown to be an alternative to reduce the agricultural pressure on the environment [6]
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