Abstract
To achieve higher yields and maximum plant growth, excessive amounts of inorganic fertilisers are often applied to soils, affecting human and animal health and leading to the degradation of environmental resources. The use of organic fertilisers is proposed as an alternative to mineral fertilisation. One of the more frequently used organic fertilisers is vermicompost, which contains nutrients for plants in readily available forms and is characterised by the slow release of macronutrients and microelements into the soil environment. In a two-year field study, an attempt was made to use vermicompost produced from the waste mass of littoral plants as a soil amendment in the cultivation of garlic (Allium sativum). The experiment was conducted on raised beds with three treatments which were substitution of 10%, 25% and 50% vermicompost (V10, V25 and V50, respectively) to a heavy clay soil (SL), that with no addition acted as a control. Results showed that the 50% vermicompost addition had the most beneficial effect on selected (from a practical point of view) plant traits (e.g., diameter and mean bulb weight, mean number of cloves per bulb and mean clove weight, and mean yield), as well as on the content of macronutrients and microelements in garlic cloves. Lowest values of the analysed traits for A. sativum were found in the SL control group. No significant differences were found for the analysed parameters in the aboveground parts of plants in all the applied substrates.
Highlights
Crop production strategy should be based on increasing soil productivity without compromising environmental quality and maintaining a balanced system of soil-plantenvironment linkages [1]
Our results showed that climatic conditions from both growth periods (2018/2019 and 2019/2020) (Figure 1) did not significantly affect the selected traits of A. sativum (Table 2)
The present study was conducted to verify whether the quantitative addition of vermicompost, produced from the waste mass of littoral plants, to mineral soil classified as heavy clay, would affect selected garlic traits and the content of macronutrients and microelements in their storage organs
Summary
Crop production strategy should be based on increasing soil productivity without compromising environmental quality and maintaining a balanced system of soil-plantenvironment linkages [1]. As reported by Stewart et al [2] and Dauda et al [3], excessive amounts of inorganic fertilisers are applied to soils to achieve higher yield and maximum plant growth value. When applied in their pure form without the addition of organic components, these fertilisers can adversely affect human and animal health and lead to the degradation of environmental resources [4]. To improve plant growth conditions and optimise the use of the often small, cultivated area, local farmers and gardeners often adopt raised bed crop production systems [7]. Raised beds are constructed above the ground surface, in the form of a frame made of various materials and filled with a growing substrate [8]
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