Abstract
Sandy soils in the coconut triangle often impose limitations such aspoor nutrient retention and moisture availability on the growth of the coconutpalm. The physical properties of such soils has to be improved for increasingcoconut production. Incorporation of coir dust into soils, which isan organic waste of coconut fibre industry is one of the options. A series oflaboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate the capability of coirdust of different age to retain water and nutrient and to investigate the suitablemixing ratio of coir dust and soil to ameliorate the moisture status andpore size distribution of the sandy soils. Soil physical characters of coir dust/sand mixtures such as pore size distribution, capillary rise, water retentionand reduction pattern of different ratio of coir dust and soil were determined.Chemical characteristics of coir dust were also determined to study its environmentalsustainability. Chemical characteristics showed that coir dusts arepoor in nutritional value but high in nutrient retention capacity and it is highlyresistant to environmental biodegradation. The available water capacity measuredin coir dust aged from 0 to 20 years indicated that the quantity of availablewater increased from 122.7% in fresh to 222.4% in 20 years old material (g/g). The increase in available water showed a linear trend with a age ofcoir dust (r=0.913; P
Highlights
Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) is one of the major plantation crops in Sri Lanka which covers attout 416,000 ha (CDA, 1991) and is cultivated on different types of soils with diverse moisture regimes (Somasiri et al, 1994; Vidhana Arachchi 1996)
Chemical characteristics showed that coir dusts are poor in nutritional value but high in nutrient retention capacity and it is highly resistant to environmental biodegradation
The results suggest that the optimum rate of coir dust incorpora tion into sandy soil is 21,000 kg coir dust/ha (6.3% or 1:15 Coir dust (CD)/sand; vol/vol) and the use of old coir dust up to 20 years is more beneficial for amelioration of soil physical and chemical characteristics when compared to fresh coir dust
Summary
Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) is one of the major plantation crops in Sri Lanka which covers attout 416,000 ha (CDA, 1991) and is cultivated on different types of soils with diverse moisture regimes (Somasiri et al, 1994; Vidhana Arachchi 1996). The water retention and nutrient status of the surface layer (up to 20 cm depth from the surface) of these sandy soils are poorer than that of sub soil layers (>20 cm) which results in growth retardation of coconut seedlings (Vidhana Arachchi, 1996). The coir dust is not used in large quantities as a mulch or incorporation into soil as it could act as a breeding ground for black beetle due to its slow decomposition (Santhirasegaram, 1965). This situation leads to collection of huge heaps of coir dust of different ages near fibre mills causing environmental pollution (Van Holm, 1993). Objectives of this study were to (1) evaluate the capability of coir dust to retain water and nutrient with its age and (11) investigate the suitable ratio of soils to coir dust for improving the pore size distribution and mois ture status of coconut growing sandy soils
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