Effects of De‐oiled Two‐Phase Olive Mill Waste on Mediterranean Soils and the Wheat Crop

Abstract

Semiarid Mediterranean soils under intensive continuous cultivation have a net deficit of C, and addition of organic wastes is becoming a common practice as a disposal strategy and an interesting solution to redress this deficiency. A 2‐yr greenhouse study using wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was conducted to evaluate the potential use of the final solid waste of the new technology of olive‐oil extraction (de‐oiled two‐phase olive mill waste, DTPOMW) as a soil conditioner and amendment agent. Two representative Mediterranean agricultural soils, a Typic Haploxeralf (TH) and a degraded Lithic Xerorthent (LX) were used. Treatments included five DTPOMW rates ranging from 0 to 40 Mg ha−1 combined with mineral fertilizer. Significant direct and residual increases in organic C, total N, available K, cation exchange capacity, and aggregate stability were observed in both soils; however, available P decreased significantly. In the first year of the experiment, an application of 40 Mg DTPOMW ha−1 had a depressive effect on grain yield and on the N and P content in the wheat grain for the LX soil, while in the TH soil there was a positive effect on yield at the same loading rate. There was an increased residual fertilization and amendment effect of DTPOMW for both soils during the second experimental year, and the grain yields increased by 23 and 202% when 40 Mg DTPOMW ha−1 was applied to the TH and LX soils, respectively. For both soils, the best fits to grain yield vs. DTPOMW rates were with a quadratic regression (R2 = 0.977, P < 0.001 for TH; R2 = 0.983, P < 0.001 for LX). Raw DTPOMW may be a potentially valuable soil amendment agent and source of organic matter, N, and K because it maintains a positive, beneficial effect on wheat grain yield and soil properties for 24 mo following application.