Earthworms enhance the performance of organic amendments in improving rice growth and nutrition in poor ferralsols

Abstract

In the Highlands of Madagascar, providing organic amendments (OAs) is the main farmer fertilization practice in upland rainfed agrosystems dominated by nutrient-depleted Ferralsols. Therefore, enhancing the performance of OAs on plant functions is particularly important for improving both plant productivity and agrosystem sustainability. Earthworms are well-known ecosystem engineers involved in the decomposition of organic matter and play a critical role in nutrient turnover. Inoculating earthworms could be a promising approach to improve the fertilizer performance of OAs. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the interaction between earthworms and OAs of varying biochemical qualities on plant growth and nutrition. In this microcosm experiment, we assessed the effect of different types of OAs (i.e., unamended control, conventional farmyard manure, kraal manure, improved farmyard manure, compost, vermicompost, urban waste, taroka, poultry droppings, pig manure) and earthworm inoculation (with and without earthworms) on the growth and nutrition of rice. The endogeic species Pontoscolex corethrurus (Rhinodrilidae) was used in the experiment. After eight weeks of growth, the poultry droppings had the best fertilizer performance, followed by improved farmyard manure and pig manure in treatments without earthworms. The main driver of fertilizer performance appeared to be the quality of OAs. However, other mechanisms, such as an increase in soil pH, may also play a significant role. The inoculation of earthworms significantly enhanced the fertilizer performance of OAs but the magnitude of this enhancement depends on the OAs. Overall, OAs with low fertilizer performance showed a more pronounced response to earthworms. Additionally, earthworms improved the performance of high-quality OAs likely by enhancing the availability of P and Mg. Our findings emphasize the synergistic effects of earthworms and OAs of various qualities on plant growth and nutrition, offering valuable insights for improving fertilization practices in nutrient-poor Ferralsols of Madagascar.