Abstract
This experiment was conducted to study the effect of different fertilizing and farming systems in annual medic (Medicago scutellata ‘Robinson’) on soil organic matter and nutrients status. Fertilizing systems consisted of control (no fertilizer), chemical fertilizer, biological fertilizer and integrated fertilizers (different combinations of chemical and biological fertilizing systems). The farming systems included irrigated and dry-farming systems. The experiment was conducted in two experimental sites with diverse climatic and soil conditions in Kermanshah province, Iran, during 2009 growing season. The highest amount of soil organic matter of 1.28 % was observed in integrated fertilizing system of nitrogen-fixing bacteria + phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria. Most of the nitrogen applied through chemical fertilizers was leached out of the plant access, however, application of integrated fertilizer resulted in increasing the concentration of nitrogen in soil because of its slow release and efficient utilization by plants. According to the results of this study it was concluded that the integrated fertilizing system was more successful in dry farming compared to other fertilizing systems.
Highlights
Sustainability in agricultural production systems is one of the main management goals
The highest (1.22 %) and lowest (0.99 %) soil organic matter percentage was observed in T6 and control treatments, respectively (Table 9)
The soil organic matter content was significantly increased in T6 fertilizing system indicating that biological fertilizer treatment compared to other fertilizing treatments, provided with better plant growth and higher biomass and organic matter (OM) in the soil
Summary
Sustainability in agricultural production systems is one of the main management goals. The application of chemical fertilizers has been the best way to increase crop production towards meeting the global demands of food production (Shahoo et al, 2013) Their adverse impacts on soil are not effectively compatible with the goals of the sustainable management of agro-ecosystems (Banerjee et al, 2011 and Garai et al, 2014, Mondal et al, 2015). It is well known that biofertilizers affect the nutrients uptake by plants in normal and harsh environments (Mal et al, 2013; Hariprasad and Niranjana, 2009; Kim et al 2009) Employing biological fertilizers, such as symbiotic fungi coexisting with plant roots, phosphate solubilizing micro-organisms and vermicompost in agriculture, increase the population and activity of beneficial soil micro-organisms, and improve the growth and yield of crops (Mondal et al, 2015)
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