Bio-organic Fertilizer Research Articles

Heavy Metal Accumulation in Soil and Water in Pilot Scale Rice Field Treated with Sewage Sludge

Widespread use of chemical fertilizers in agricultural activities poses a high risk of multi-micro metal contamination in soils and potentially causes health issues through consumption of contaminated foods. Bio-organic fertilizers from sewage sludge have been regarded as a suitable substitute for chemical fertilizer for rice farming. In this study, we investigated accumulation of heavy metals (Cu and Zn) in soil, water and rice plant in three pilot-scale rice paddy fields treated with different fertilization schemes. The control field was treated with conventional chemical fertilizers while the soil of two treatment fields was mixed with biological sewage sludge obtained from a local wastewater treatment system in Vietnam at different ratios (1% and 3%). Initial results showed that heavy metals accumulated in the soil, water, and rice plant at varying levels and most of the Cu and Zn contents found in soils, water and rice products exceeded permissible Vietnamese standards (QCVN 03: 2008) and US EPA 503. Notably, the rice field whose soil was treated with sludge at 3% ratio showed a significantly lower accumulation of heavy metals in soil, water and in rice plant. However, treatment of sludge at this level seemed to cause higher heavy metal retention in soil after one harvest. Semi-quantitative risk analysis revealed that the risk of metal contamination in soil and water of the control field ranged from medium (RQ index between 0.1 and 1) to high risk (RQ index higher than 1) and that fertilization methods would also affect the level of risk to the environment.

Formulation and efficacy testing of bio-organic fertilizer produced through solid-state fermentation of agro-waste by Burkholderia cenocepacia

Bio-organic fertilizers (BIOs), prepared from inoculating plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) into agro-industrial wastes, are gaining more attention due to their tremendous positive effects on soil health. This study was conducted to prepare and evaluate the effect of bio-organic fertilizers on maize. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria were isolated from rhizospheric soil of farmer's field near Islamabad, Pakistan and were screened for plant growth promotion characters and one strain Burkholderia cenocepacia was selected based on PGPR's characteristics. In-vitro characterization, the whole genome sequence analysis, RAST and antiSMASH analysis were performed. The number of coding sequences was 7157 with the number of subsystems 382. The GC contents included 66.96%. The sequence was submitted to NCBI with BioProject submission number PRJNA730996. Inoculum of selected bacterial strain Burkholderia cenocepacia was used for carrying solid-state fermentation of organic wastes. Four different agro-industrial wastes with a good amount of crude protein were selected: black gram husks (BGH) (15–22% Crude protein CP), rice bran (RB) (10–15% CP), peanut shell (PS) (6–7% CP), and dry leaves (DL) (as conventional fertilizers for comparison) were collected, dried, ground and sieved. Different parameters like pH, moisture content, particle size, temperature etc. were optimized. Inductively coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) analysis of bio-organic fertilizers was performed. In general, concentration of nitrogen was higher in the first three biofertilizers i.e. BGH, RB and PS as compared to DL. Germination and glasshouse experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of four different BIOs on maize growth. The results showed that agro-industrial wastes inoculated with PGPR (BIOs) significantly enhanced (ϸ 0.05) germination percentage (100%) as compared to control (80%), whereas germination index, promptness index and seedling vigour index showed 32%, 34% and 21% increase respectively as compared to control. In the pot experiment, chlorophyll content increased by 28%, relative water content by 39.28%, protein by 3% and amino acid increased by 20.73% as compared to control. It was concluded that there is a positive effect of BIOs on germination parameters and the growth of maize. Thus, these BIOs can be recommended to farmers for the production of maize.

Reduction of Herbicidal Toxicoses on Plants Using Berkana and Izabion Organomineral Fertilizers

Today herbicidal treatments become an obligatory component of agrotechnical activities required for plant cultivation. At the same time, being biologically active compounds, herbicides may negatively influence on plants during crop rotation. In this study the experimental data confirmed the negative effect of a metribuzin-based herbicide applied on potato towards the next crops (cucumber and lentil). Treatment of these crops with amino acid-based bioorganic fertilizers (Berkana and Izabion) in a seedling stage reduced the manifestations of the negative aftereffect of the herbicidal stress on the tested plants.

Effects of Reduced Nitrogen with Bio-Organic Fertilizer on Soil Properties, Yield and Quality of Non-Heading Chinese Cabbage

Fertilizer is extremely essential to increasing the yield of vegetables. However, excessively using fertilizers has had a negative impact on the yield and quality of vegetables as well as soil environment in recent years. Non-heading Chinese cabbage ‘yellow rose’ was applied to determine the influence of organic manure and inorganic fertilizer on the character of rhizosphere soil, the growth and quality of plants. There were five treatments: conventional fertilization (NF), a total nitrogen reduction of 20% (NF20), a total nitrogen reduction of 30% (NF30), a total nitrogen reduction of 20% with 100 kg·667 m−2 bio-organic fertilizer (BNF20) and a total nitrogen reduction of 30% with 200 kg·667 m−2 bio-organic fertilizer (BNF30). The results show that the content of nitrate nitrogen, organic matter in rhizosphere soil treated by BNF20 and BNF30, was significantly enhanced compared with NF. The yield, Vc and soluble protein of plants treated by BNF20 and BNF30 increased by 30.11%, 17.26%, 5.66% and 15.90%, 16.02%, 5.37%, respectively, compared with NF. On the contrary, the nitrate content significantly decreased in plants of BNF20 and BNF30 by 47.87% and 40.98% compared with NF. The significantly positive correlation was observed between nitrate nitrogen content in rhizosphere soil and the yield (p < 0.05). In conclusion, reduced nitrogen with bio-organic fertilizer can improve the yield and quality of ‘yellow rose’ cabbage by improving the quality of rhizosphere soil.

The succession of GH6 cellulase-producing microbial communities and temporal profile of GH6 gene abundance during vermicomposting of maize stover and cow dung

Vermicomposting eco-friendly converts lignocellulosic wastes into bio-organic fertilizer. Cellulose is the most abundant carbohydrate in lignocellulose. Glycoside hydrolase family 6 (GH6) plays a key role in the early step of cellulose degradation, which is essential for stabilizing lignocellulose. This study intends to quantify the abundance of GH6 gene and to clarify the succession of GH6 cellulase-producing microbial communities during vermicomposting. 100% of maize stover (A) and maize stover and cow dung at 60:40 ratio (B) were used. The results showed that different native genera were observed in the starting materials. Cellulomonas and Cellulosimicrobium were dominant genera harboring GH6 gene. The peak relative abundance of Cellulomonas was 76% and 30% in B and A during vermicomposting phase, and the corresponding values of Cellulosimicrobium was 36% and 37%. Earthworms increased the abundance of GH6 gene, which reached 1.51E + 09 from 3.46E + 08 copies/g in B. The results partially interpreted promoting effect of earthworms.

Mitigation of soil acidification in orchards: A case study to alleviate early defoliation in pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) trees

Long-term application of chemical fertilizers has aggravated red soil acidification and caused severe early defoliation in pear-growing region of southern China. To investigate the effects of BIO and HA on the growth and activity of fine roots, and in turn the effect on leaf nutrient status and early defoliation of pear trees, we conducted a 2-year pot experiment (2018–2019) using 1-year-old pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) seedlings in a pear orchard in southern China. Four fertilization treatments were included: chemical fertilizer as control (CF), CF with humic acid (CF-HA), BIO, and BIO mixed with HA (BIO-HA). Results showed that BIO and BIO-HA treatments significantly decreased the early defoliation rate of pear trees about 18%–27% compared with CF and CF-HA treatments. For the growth status of the aboveground, the relative growth rate of pear trees treated by BIO and BIO-HA was 1.2 times higher than the CF treatment at 180 days after budding, and it was accompanied by an increase of leaf thickness, microelements content (e.g. calcium, manganese, iron and zinc), and a decrease of leaf temperature. Compared with CF treatment, BIO or BIO-HA significantly improved soil pH value by 0.9–1.1 units, and increased soil exchangeable calcium content by 50%–83%. BIO and BIO-HA treatments also significantly increased total lateral root number, length and root activity, which were negatively correlated with the early defoliation rate by the network analysis. Furthermore, structural equation model showed that root traits were the core factor to alleviate the early defoliation rate, which was directly or indirectly driven by the application of bioorganic fertilizer. In conclusion, BIO or BIO combined with HA can alleviate the early defoliation rate of pear trees by mitigating soil acidification to stimulate the lateral root growth and activity, and in turn increase leaf micronutrients content and aboveground growth. Our study shows that measuring root traits are at the core of plant responses to soil nutrient status and pH.

Comprehensive Risk Assessment of Applying Biogas Slurry in Peanut Cultivation.

Biogas slurry, a byproduct of biogas plants, is considered a high-quality bio-organic fertilizer. Despite providing nutrients to crops, biogas slurry may contain a high concentration of heavy metals, leading to food safety problems and endangering human health if such metals are absorbed by plants. Therefore, biogas slurry should undergo systematic risk assessment prior to direct use on farmland to ensure its safety for soils and crops. In this study, the risk of applying biogas slurry in peanut cultivation was comprehensively evaluated. Based on nitrogen contents, different concentrations of biogas slurry were applied in peanut cultivation. The results achieved herein showed that the application of biogas slurry as a nutrient supplier in peanut cultivation would significantly affect the physical and chemical properties of soil and characteristics of the plant and the quality of peanuts. Although the heavy metal content of biogas slurry was within the permitted range, it had potential risks to human health and the environment. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that biogas slurry was the primary source of heavy metals in soil. After the application of biogas slurry, the contents of As and Hg in the soil increased significantly, which were 11.12 and 26.67 times higher than those in the control soil. The contents of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, and As in peanut kernel samples under different levels of biogas slurry application were all lower than the maximum permissible limit set by the Standardization Administration of China. In contrast, the content of Hg in peanut kernels was higher than the maximum permissible limit value of 0.02 mg/kg. Peanut had a higher enrichment capacity of Cd and Zn and a higher migration capacity of Pb. The health risk assessment showed that the long-term consumption of peanuts grown with a high dosage of biogas slurry would be harmful to the health of children aged 2–6 years with a large consumption level.

Introduction to the Field Practice and Application Analysis of “Century Tianwang Bio-Organic Fertilizer” in the Past 20 Years

Ensuring food security, increasing farmers’ income and improving people’s living standards are the focus of attention of all countries in the world today. “Centrey Tianwang” biological organic fertilizer has been upgraded to multi-functional biological organic fertilizer innovation, accepted as a new invention patent. “Centrey Tianwang” multifunctional biological organic fertilizer is a long-term natural biological organic fertilizer with high concentration. It is a new kind of slow-release fertilizer, with both quick and long-term effects. It can both fully meet the nutrient requirements of the crop, and maintain water and fertilizer, improve soil and prevent disease. It can not only control agriculture pollution, improve the crop quality and promote the yield of various crops, but also have special effects on the improvement of saline-alkali land, restoration of polluted cultivated land and degradation of agricultural residues. It is a kind of slow-release, long-acting bio-organic fertilizer that does not need any other fertilizer to be used with field crops and does not need topdressing during the whole growing period of crops. “Centrey Tianwang” multi-functional bio-organic fertilizer collects the essences of various medicinal plants, natural minerals, nano organic compounds and aerospace microbial agents, through special process, refined and processed, non-toxic, harmless, without side effects.

Productivity and quality of banana in response to chemical fertilizer reduction with bio-organic fertilizer: Insight into soil properties and microbial ecology

Understanding the responses of ecosystem functions and services (e.g., fruit productivity, carbon sequestration, and nutrient cycling) to fertilization practices and exploring the underpinning mechanisms are essential to achieve sustainable development in the banana industry. Here, a field plot experiment was conducted to explore the effects of partially substituting chemical fertilizers with different application rates of bio-organic fertilizer (BIO) and organic fertilizer (OF) in banana (Musa acuminata L. cv. ‘Baodao’) production. Accordingly, 7.65 t ha–1 of BIO and OF was used for a field demonstration experiment to verify prior experimental results and explore the shifts in soil microbial ecology. The results showed that the greatest banana productivity was achieved at 81.6 t ha–1 following BIO application. The reducing sugar contents, vitamin C contents, and sugar-to-acidity ratios of banana fruit following BIO application were higher than those of the control with chemical fertilizers alone, and a similar trend was observed for soil pH values, organic matter contents, available nutrients contents, and cation exchange capacity. BIO was superior to OF in improving soil microbial biomass, but their effects on the number of cultivable microbial populations were opposite. The application of BIO increased Chloroflexi and Basidiomycota abundances, while decreasing Acidobacteria and Ascomycota abundances. Acidothermus, Bradyrhizobium, Bryobacter, Mortierella, and Moesziomyces were enriched following BIO application. Linear discriminant analysis effect size identified 20 differentially abundant taxa between treatments. Variation partitioning analysis revealed that soil properties, fertilizer type, and their interaction accounted for 93.0% of the variation in banana productivity and quality. Banana productivity and quality as well as the majority of soil properties varied significantly with fertilizer application rate. Bacterial functional genes associated with carbohydrate metabolism, lipid metabolism, and biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites were upregulated by BIO application. Overall, appropriate application of BIO combined with chemical fertilizers improved soil properties and reshaped bacterial and fungal ecology, thus improving banana productivity and quality. Our results indicated that partial substitution of chemical fertilizers with BIO is a promising fertilization practice for banana production in acid soil ecosystems.

Agricultural Bio-Stimulant Activity of Fish Protein Hydrolysate from Common Silver Belly (Gerres subfasciatus)

Taking into account of using the fish industry wastes and for expanding the incentive to a few under used fish species, protein hydrolysates from fish proteins are being set up by a few specialists everywhere throughout the world. Fish Protein Hydrolysates (FPH) are breakdown results of enzymatic transformation of fish proteins into smaller units like peptides, which typically contain 2-20 amino acids. Their worth has been expanded by utilizing them as fluid bio compost, feed supplement and bioorganic fertilizer. From the research carried out at our laboratory, Dry fish silver belly with both microbe and enzyme acquired from cultural broth of lactobacillus species, catalyst papain demonstrated positive upgrade of development and advancement of plants tested. In view of the yield of FPH concentrates from both microbial and enzymatic hydrolysis, the pace of seedling life list in Urad dhal, green gram and okra got higher in 0.1-0.5% convergence of dry fish hydrolysate from lactobacillus treated than in the control variation. With respect to the seeds of urad dhal, green gram and okra, the germination rate and seedling energy list from treated seeds surpassed control by 19.11-128.71%. The positive effect of dry fish protein hydrolysate by microbial procedure on germination rate, seedling life record rate in 3 kinds of seeds is the reason for the improvement of protein hydrolysate item for application in crop creation utilizing dry fish squanders. The Seedling grown in 0.5% concentration of fish hydrolysates showed significant increase in seedling vigour index of Urad dhal (13.29 ± 0.12 %), Green gram (14.1 ± 0.17%) and Okra (5.39 ± 0.43 %) was recorded through one way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). By HPLC determination amino acid results determined that protein hydrolysates process can be stopped on 7th day (643.56ppm) whereas @ 10th day amino acid decreased (326.24ppm). Results suggest that probiotic assumes a superior job in dry fish protein hydrolysates than compounds when contrasted and yield and prudent astute.

Response of Mango Trees to Mineral, Bio-Organic Fertilizers and Growth Stimulants

This investigation was carried out at privet farm, Ismailia Governorate during 2019 and 2020 seasons. The effect of mineral (NPK) soil application either alone or in combination with organic (compost), some soil bio-stimulants (Phosphorein, Nitrobein and Potasein) and foliar spray with potassium silicate at (5 ml/liter) and bento cide at 10 g/liter as growth stimulants were investigated through studying their effect on fruiting aspectsandfruit characteristics of mango trees. Results showed that, all investigated NPK soil application in mineral form, organic (compost) fertilizers, bio-fertilizers and some foliar nutrients (Bento cide and potassium silicate) resulted in significant effect, however, the fertilization with NPK in mineral form at 50% level + organic (compost) fertilizer at 50% level coupled with either bento cide at 10 g/liter or potassium silicate at 5 ml/liter were the most effective treatments for increasing fruiting aspects and fruit characteristics of mango trees Sedika cv.

Jeevamrut and Panchagavya’s Consequences on Growth, Quality and Productivity of Organically Grown Crops: A Review

Organic farming and organically produced food products are gaining popularity very rapidly in India and world. To trounce the reliance on chemical fertilizers for crop production liquid organic bio-fertilizers and manures are very excellent and cheap sources on the earth because of easy availability and good source of nutrients. Among these Jeevamrut, Beejamrut and panchagavya are the one of the best, which contains almost essential plant nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese etc.), enzymes (acid phosphatise, alkaline phosphatise, dehydrogenase etc.) and microbes (bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, free living nitrogen fixers and phosphorus solubilising organisms), which directly enhances plant metabolism resulting better growth and development. Jeevamrut is well thought-out to be a brilliant source of natural carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and lot of other micro nutrients required for the crops and popularly used as means of organic farming. Panchagavya was used in conventional Hindu rituals which is prepared by mixing five ingredients viz., cow dung, urine, milk, curd and ghee. Jeevamrut and Panchagavya have potential to play the role of promoting growth and provide immunity in plant system. In this manuscript various effects of applications of Jeevamrut and Panchagavya on crops grown in organic farming and their consequences will be discussed.

Improving the vermicompost quality by using horticultural and agronomic residues

Recycling of organic wastes through vermicompost production reduces the waste disposal into the environment and avoids the overusage of chemical fertilizers. The purpose of this study is to compare the quality of the raw materials in produced Vermicompost (spent mushroom compost, potato waste and pomegranatemeal + Sawdust, Choppered Corn) and their combination in a completely randomized design. After preparing vermicompost, the parameters, i.e., electrical conductivity, pH, organic carbon content, the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, organic carbon/nitrogen ratio are measured. the vermicompost production process leads to a significant reduction in C/N, EC and pH. The lowest C/N was related to the vermicompost which is obtained from treatment pomegranate meal + Sawdust + spent mashroom compost waste. The obtained Vermicomposts included higher amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassiumin compare to the raw materials. The highest nitrogen content was related to spent mashroom compost + potato waste treatment. As a result, the production of vermicompost from organic wastes leads to an increase in the nutritional value of the fertilizer and eventually the fertility of the soil. In conclusion, the chemical fertilizers can be replaced as well, with the produced organic bio-fertilizer with the lowest cost.Thus problems associated by the use of chemical fertilizers, which today are one of the greatest environmental problems in the world, can be solved.

Isolation and Characterization of Cellulase Producing Bacteria for the Purpose of Converting Spent Mushroom Edible Canna-Waste into Organic Fertilizer

Converting spent mushroom substrates into organic fertilizer helps to tackle the problem of pollution in edible canna starch processing villages and adds new value to the production chain of edible canna. To successfully turn the spent substrates into compost, there is certainly an indispensable role for cellulolytic microorganisms, in which Bacillus strains are always important. Several bacterial strains have been isolated from spent edible canna substrate after cultivation of monkey head mushroom in this study. Among isolated strains, the strain NDK5 has been selected exhibiting the highest cellulolytic activities with solubilization indexes of 6.14 and 18.3 mm for the ratio between the halo zone diameters and the colony diameters in the point cultivation method (SIratio) and the offset between the halo zone diameters and the agar hole diameters (SIoffset), respectively. The highest CMCase activity was 4.29 ± 0.071 U/ml. Morphological, physiological, biochemical, and 16S rRNA sequence analyses (100% homology with B. amyloliquefaciens sp. plantarum FZB42) were further carried out for the selected strain, leading to the identification of the strain as B. amyloliquefaciens sp. plantarum NDK5 strain. In addition, NDK5 was proved to have a capacity for synthesizing indole-3-acetic acid, a plant growth hormone, on an L-tryptophan-containing medium. Trial incubation of spent mushroom edible canna-substrate with the strain NDK5 showed increases in several quality criteria of the waste after 20 days of incubation, that meet the standard criteria for bio-organic fertilizer according to TCVN 7185:2002.

Biological technology of barley cultivation in zone 1 of Western Kazakhstan

Within the framework of increasing the export potential of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the most 4 priority areas for the development of agriculture have been identified, among them it is important to diversify crop production. In this regard, in the near future, the crop production industry will continue to work on diversification, replacing part of the wheat area with more demanded crops (fodder and oilseeds), which is also important for reducing the dependence of crop productivity on weather conditions. According to the morphological characteristics of the genetic horizons of the profile and the agrochemical parameters of the arable layer of the soil of the experimental plots, they are characteristic for dry steppe zone 1 of Western Kazakhstan. The area of the plots during the cultivation of barley is 50 m 2 , the repetition is threefold, the arrangement of the plots is systematic. In the experiments the zoned barley variety “Donetskaya 8” was used. Seeding rate was used asrecommended for the dry-steppe zone of WKO. In the system of biologized agriculture, microbiological preparations and bioorganic fertilizers recommended and available on the market were used for the study of pre-seeding treatment of seed material and spraying during the growing season of barley. As a result of the study, an agroecological and bioenergy assessment was carried out for barley of the harvest of 2020, cultivated in biologized raw material conveyors for the production of concentrated feed, used in the diversification of crop production.Pre-seeding treatment and the use of biological products and biofertilizers during the growing season promotes the activation of a number of growth, physiological and biochemical processes of plants, which leads to an increase in barley yield. With the combined use of the biological product Biodux, biofungicide Orgamica S and biofertilizers Organit N, Organit P (biologized technology), the maximum indicators of productivity and feed, energy-protein value of feed barley were obtained.

Enhancing the fertility of soil and the yield of soybean in a dry climatic area of Vertisol South Lombok using combination of bioorganic-phosphate and inorganic fertilizers

Vertisol of South Lombok is the center of soybean production on Lombok Island which is productively vulnerable due to climate change. Erratic pattern of rainfall may threat the production of soybean in this dry climatic area which may be exaggerated by climate change. Therefore. it is needed efforts to maintain or even to increase the yield of soybean through adding both bioorganic and inorganic fertilizers. This study aimed to assess the effect of combination of bioorganic and inorganic fertilizer on enhancing the fertility of soil and the yield of soybean. This experiment used a randomized block design (RBD) with 4 treatments and 5 replications. The treatments were 50% of the recommended dosage of inorganic fertilizers plus 10 g per plant of bioorganic-phosphate (P1), 75% of the recommended dosage of inorganic fertilizers plus 10 g per plant of bioorganic-phosphate (P2), 100% of recommended dosage of inorganic fertilizers (P3), and control. Parameters observed consisted of soil pH, available-P. Exchangeable-K, organic-C, cation exchange capacity (CEC), base saturation (BS), and the yield of soybean. The results showed that the treatment of 75% of the recommended dosage of inorganic fertilizers plus 10 g per plant of bioorganic-phosphate (P2) increased the soil P-available from 10.71 on the control to 22.59 ppm on the P2 treatment, and resulted from the highest yield of soybean. Thus, this treatment is recommended if the combination of the fertilizers to be applied in the Vertisol South Lombok for adapting to climate change.

Агроэкологическое обоснование использования осадка сточных вод в качестве биоорганического удобрения при возделывании сельскохозяйственных культур

One of the solutions to the environmental problem of the environment is the utilization of accumulations of sewage sludge from urban treatment facilities is their use as an organic fertilizer for agricultural crops. We conducted a study on this issue on gray forest soil when cultivating a vico-oat mixture. During the study period, there was a positive dynamics in the mofo-physiological indicators of plants and agrochemical indicators of the soil.It is proposed to conduct additional research on the development and improvement of the use of this bio-organic fertilizer. Keywords: SEWAGE SLUDGE, BIO-ORGANIC FERTILIZER, SOWING VETCH, SOWING OATS, GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Economic efficiency of growing grain corn using new biofertilizers based on sewage sludge

The results of evaluation of economic efficiency of grain corn cultivation in the conditions of the Southern Steppe of Ukraine, in which biofertilizers on the basis of sewage sludge (SS) of biological treatment plants (BTP) «Southern» and «Northern» Odessa with the addition of vegetable fillers winter and sunflower seed husks) with the participation of phosphate-mobilizing bacteria Microbacterium barkeri LP-1 were used. The use of native SSs of both BTPs in comparison with the control increases the yield (by 0.7 t/ha or by 16.6% — BTP «Southern» and 1.0 t/ha or by 23.8% BTP «Northern») with an increase in costs per 1 hectare of sown area (3677 UAH or 40.4% — BTP «Southern» and 3703.2 UAH or 40.6% — BTP «Northern»). Under these conditions, the cost of 1 ton of product increases by UAH 500 UAH/t, which is 21.5% of BTP «Southern» and 351.4 UAH/t, which is 15.1% of BTP «North». In proportion to the growth of productivity, the amount of profit, which is UAH 853.4, also increased. UAH/ha or 3.8% of BTP «Southern» and 3001.3 UAH/ha, or 13.5% of BTP «North». As a result of additional costs associated with the use of organic fertilizers in the form of SSs, the level of profitability decreased by 26.0 percentage points. — BTP «Southern» and 19.2 percentage points. — BTP «North». Under the conditions of application of bioorganic fertilizer with straw in comparison with the absolute control, the grain yield of corn increases (by 1.5 t/ha or by 33.3% — BTP «Southern» and 2.2 t/ha or by 48.8% — BTP «Northern») with an increase in costs per 1 hectare of sown area (4221.7 UAH or 46.4% — BTP «Southern» and 4282.8 UAH or 47.0% — BTP «Northern»). In proportion to the increase in yield, the amount of profit, which amounts to UAH 6,034.6 / ha, also increased significantly. When applying bioorganic fertilizer with sunflower seed husk in comparison with absolute control, the grain yield of corn increases (by 1.5 t/ha or by 33.3% — BTP «Southern» and 2.3 t/ha or by 51.1 — BTP «Northern») with an increase in costs per 1 ha of sown area (4224.4 UAH or 46.4% — BTP «Southern» and 4294.2 UAH or 47.2% — BTP «Northern»). In proportion to the increase in yield, the amount of profit also increased significantly, amounting to UAH 6,032.0 / ha or 27.1% of BTP «Southern»and 11,760.3 UAH/ha, or 52.9% of BTP «Northern». Due to the outstripping growth of corn grain yield in comparison with the increase of costs when applying bioorganic fertilizer, the increase of indicators of economic efficiency of corn grain cultivation is achieved. The factors that underlie the increase in production efficiency — yield, profit and profitability.

Manipulating the soil microbiomes during a community recovery process with plant beneficial species for the suppression of Fusarium wilt of watermelon

Fusarium wilt is a devastating disease which impacts watermelon production. Soil fumigation using dazomet followed by biological organic fertilizer was applied to suppress the Fusarium wilt disease. We propose that fumigation suppresses the soil indigenous community, especially the soil-borne pathogens, while the utilization of bio-organic fertilizer facilitates the recovery of the soil microbiome to a beneficial, suppressive state through the introduction of plant growth-promoting microorganisms. Greenhouse experiment showed that applied biological organic fertilizer after dazomet fumigation effective restrain the disease incidence with a 93.6% disease control. Fumigation strongly decreased soil microbial diversity and altered relative taxa abundances, suggesting the possibility of niche release by the resident soil microbial community. Fumigation followed by bio-fertilizer transformed the soil microbial community composition and resulted in higher relative abundances of beneficial microbial groups such as Bacillus (8.5%) and Trichoderma (13.5%), coupled with lower Fusarium abundance compared to other treatments. Network analysis illustrated that soil fumigation decreased interactions within the soil microbial community with less nodes and links while bio-fertilizer addition promoted node interactions. In addition, bio-fertilizer addition after fumigation resulted in the beneficial species becoming the key network connectors. Collectively, fumigation appears to release the resident soil niche resulting in lower diversity while the beneficial microbes introduced by bio-fertilizer addition colonize these niches, leading to a more complex community with fewer pathogens that suppresses Fusarium wilt disease incidence.

Effect of co-application of Trichoderma spp. with organic composts on plant growth enhancement, soil enzymes and fungal community in soil.

The application of Trichoderma spp. has the potential to reduce not only mineral fertilizer use in agriculture but also improve soil health through increased soil biological activity. Trichoderma spp. have shown potential as bio-control agents and plant growth promoting ability, but little attention has been paid to the effect of Trichoderma spp. inoculation on nutrient availability and the soil microbiome. In this study, we evaluated the effect of Trichoderma spp. inoculation on nitrogen mineralization and quantified soil enzymatic activities along with plant growth promotion potential. The influence of Trichoderma spp. and organic amendments on the soil fungal community was also investigated. For this purpose, pots and incubation experiment was carried out, and seven treatments were set as follows; poultry compost (PC), poultry compost + RW309 (PCT), cattle compost (CC), cattle compost + RW309 (CCT), rapeseed oil cake (OC), inorganic fertilizer (N) and only soil (S) were set as control. We evaluated that Trichoderma sp. RW309 produced indole-3-acetic acid, which suggested that it could contribute to plant growth enhancement during early plant growth. Inoculation of RW309 with organic materials stimulated nitrogen mineralization and increased soil phosphatase activity. Furthermore, RW309 altered the fungal community in rhizosphere soil. However, cattle compost was a more suitable culture medium for RW309 than poultry compost in terms of nitrogen mineralization, soil enzyme activity, and growth of RW309. In conclusion, Trichoderma sp. RW309 could be considered for use as a bioorganic fertilizer in combination with organic compost to minimize the use of mineral fertilizers.