Fertilization influence on biomass yield and nutrient uptake of sweet corn in potentially hardsetting soil under no tillage

Ronley C Canatoy,Nonilona P Daquiado

doi:10.1186/s42269-021-00526-w

Ronley C Canatoy, Nonilona P Daquiado

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s42269-021-00526-w

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Abstract

BackgroundHardsetting soils are considered problem soils due to its behavior of becoming hard and unbearable to cultivate not until rewetted. Few investigations were conducted in this kind of problem soil; hence, information about biomass yield and nutrient uptake is still elusive. This study investigated the impact of potentially hardsetting soil on the biomass yield and nutrient uptake of sweet corn under no-tillage cultivation system with varying fertilization treatments.ResultsThe application of full NPK + 1 Mg ha−1 VC increased stover and grain yield by 26–106% and 11–135%, respectively. Approximately 64% and 112% of sweet corn stover and grain yield increased when treated with full NPK. Highly significant quadratic relationship (P < 0.001) was revealed between total biomass yield and nutrient uptake of sweet corn, implying that 98–99% of the variation in total biomass could be elucidated by its nutrient uptake. Further, this indicated the suitability of nutrient uptake function that could be used as an estimate in the progression of total biomass accumulation. The application of full NPK showed statistically significant (P < 0.001) nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency across treatments. The soil in the experimental area was a potentially hardsetting soil due to its rapid soil strength development at least 4 days from wetting. This implies that with continued use, proper soil management must be implemented like reduced tillage and organic matter application to facilitate structure formation and binding of soil particles by labile fraction in organic matter.ConclusionApplication of organic amendment in combination with inorganic fertilizer could be a sustainable production strategy on sweet corn production system in potentially hardsetting soil under no tillage through enhanced nutrient uptake and biomass accumulation.

Highlights

Hardsetting soils are considered problem soils due to its behavior of becoming hard and unbearable to cultivate not until rewetted
This study further investigated the impact of potentially hardsetting soil on the biomass yield and nutrient uptake of sweet corn in a no-tillage cultivation system under varying fertilization
This means that 1 Mega gram (Mg) ha−1 VC can increase stover yield by 1.3 Mg ha−1 provided with the same level of inorganic fertilizer application; increase was not significant

Summary

Introduction

Hardsetting soils are considered problem soils due to its behavior of becoming hard and unbearable to cultivate not until rewetted. This study investigated the impact of potentially hardsetting soil on the biomass yield and nutrient uptake of sweet corn under no-tillage cultivation system with varying fertilization treatments. The soil in the experimental area was a potentially hardsetting soil due to its rapid soil strength development at least 4 days from wetting This implies that with continued use, proper soil management must be implemented like reduced tillage and organic matter application to facilitate structure formation and binding of soil particles by labile fraction in organic matter. Hardsetting is a phenomenon that happens in numerous soils globally including arid tropical, semiarid, and Mediterranean areas (Mullins 1999) It is considered an inherent behavior of soil that is characterized by the development of high mechanical strength as it dries and disintegrates substantial strengths when wetted When organic amendment is added, carbon (C) and other essential nutrients like nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) are supplied, which are highly essential for growing crops to complete its life cycle (Diacono and Montemurro 2010)

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