Organic Fertilizer Research Articles

Effect of Artificial Humic Acids Derived from Municipal Sludge on Plant Growth, Soil Fertility, and Dissolved Organic Matter

Due to its high nutrient utilization efficiency, liquid organic fertilizer has become a research hotspot in the field of agricultural planting. Artificial humic acids, which are near-nature products, can be deemed as a green liquid organic fertilizer, but few studies have been reported, which has limited their further application. In this study, artificial humic acids were derived from municipal sludge, and their effect on rice growth, soil fertility, and dissolved organic matter was investigated using multi-chamber root box experiments. The shoot and root biomass of rice can be significantly enhanced by artificial humic acids, and the heavy metal concentration in rice was within safe limits. Artificial humic acids can limit the decrease in soil pH, especially in the far-rhizosphere zone, and improve the distribution of nutrients in the rhizosphere, near-rhizosphere, and far-rhizosphere zones. The use of artificial humic acids led to a significant decrease in soil electrical conductivity. The dissolved organic carbon content in the root zone was significantly increased, and the fluorescence intensity of dissolved organic matter in the rhizosphere was significantly increased. The proportion of specific components of dissolved organic matter was just slightly changed in the rhizosphere and near-rhizosphere zones. Artificial humic acids promoted the humification of dissolved organic matter in the near-rhizosphere and far-rhizosphere zones. The findings indicate that the environmental impact of artificial humic acids is significantly different from conventional chemical fertilizers, and they show huge potential in the agriculture field.

Farmer Assessment of the Effectiveness of Empowerment Strategies to Increase Farming Profits

Farmer empowerment is crucial for agricultural development, yet its effectiveness often depends on how well strategies align with farmers' needs. This research aims to determine the effectiveness of the farmer empowerment strategies according to the farmer assessment. The research employs a qualitative multi-case study approach, utilizing in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with farmer group chairmen and members. The study reveals varying levels of effectiveness across seven government-implemented empowerment strategies. These three strategies comprised developing agricultural product marketing systems, consolidating agricultural land, and providing access to science and technology were unfamiliar to participants. The organic fertilizer training strategy was deemed effective in improving competence and profits. Extension services were considered effective in enhancing competence, profits, and productivity. However, institutional strengthening strategies were seen as ineffective in developing farmer groups into cooperatives. Financing facilities through People's Business Credit (PBC).

Implementasi Pertanian Berkelanjutan melalui Pembuatan Pupuk Organik Cair di Karot, Kabupaten Manggarai

Excessive use of synthetic fertilizers causes a decrease in soil fertility, which can reduce crop production. Making liquid organic fertilizer (POC) from vegetable and fruit waste can reduce the use of synthetic fertilizers and support sustainable agriculture. The Golo Curu Permai farmer group has never implemented sustainable agriculture. This activity aims to reduce synthetic fertilizers' use to support sustainable agriculture and increase the knowledge and skills of farmer groups in producing liquid organic fertilizers independently. This activity was carried out at the Golo Curu Permai farmer group in Karot Village, Langke Rembong District, Manggarai Regency, with a total of 15 participants and through activity methods in the form of coordination and field surveys, extension, training or demonstration and evaluation. Evaluation is carried out by analyzing the initial test results before training (pre-test) and after training (post-test). The results of this activity show that the knowledge and skills of farmer groups after participating in training in making POC from organic waste increased by 30% from 50% to 85%.

Analysis of Physicochemical Properties, Enzyme Activity, Microbial Diversity in Rhizosphere Soil of Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) Under Organic and Chemical Fertilizers, Irrigation Conditions

The application of chemical fertilizers and organic fertilizers, as well as irrigation, is an important agricultural practice that can increase crop yields and affect soil biogeochemical cycles. This study conducted coconut field experiments to investigate the effects of conventional fertilization (NCF), optimized fertilization (MCF), conventional fertilization + organic fertilizer (NOF), optimized fertilization + organic fertilizer (MOF), conventional fertilization + organic fertilizer + irrigation (NOFW), and optimized fertilization + organic fertilizer + irrigation (MOFW) treatments on soil physicochemical properties, soil enzyme activity, bacterial and fungal community structure and diversity, and compared the controls (CK, non-fertilizer and non-irrigation). The results showed that MOFW significantly increased soil electrical conductivity (EC), organic matter (OM), alkaline nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), available potassium (AK), available calcium (ACa), and available magnesium (AMg) levels. At the same time, it also significantly enhanced the activities of soil catalase (CE), polyphenol oxidase (POE), sucrase (SE), urease (UE), acid protease (APE), and acid phosphatase (APPE) (p < 0.05). The PCA analysis of soil microorganisms in the coconut rhizosphere soil showed indicated significant changes in bacteria and fungi community structure under fertilization treatments. The fertilization application leaded to an increase in the relative abundance and diversity of bacteria, but a decrease in fungi. Acidobacteriota, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacterota were the dominant bacterial phyla, and Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Rozellomycota, and Mortierellomycota were the significant fungal phyla. Compared with CK, MOFW significantly increased the abundance of Acidobacteriota, Proteobacteria, Basidiomycota, and Mortierellomycota. Redundancy analysis (CCA) and Mantel test further revealed that pH, EC, OM, and AP were the main soil fertility factors driving changes in microbial communities. CE, SE, UE, APE, APPE were significantly correlated with microbial communities. Compared with NOFW, MOFW has a lower proportion of N, P, and K fertilizers in its fertilizer composition. The results indicated that MOFW can better improve the nutrient and enzyme status of the soil, which is a promising method for maintaining the balance of soil microorganisms in coconut orchards, and accordingly, reducing chemical fertilizers within a certain range can not only ensure consistency with conventional fertilizers, but also effectively improve soil conditions.

PENDEKATAN TEKNIK KOMUNIKASI DALAM PENYULUHAN PENGGUNAAN PUPUK ORGANIK BAGI PETANI SAYURAN KANGKUNG DI KELURAHAN MATABUBU KECAMATAN POASIA KOTA KENDARI

This study aims to determine and analyze the communication techniques of extension workers in counseling the use of organic fertilizers for farmers, and to know the knowledge of farmers in the use of organic fertilizers in Matabubu Village, Poasia District, Kendari City.This research was conducted in July 2023. The population in the study will be informants, because kale farmers in Matabubu Village amounted to 7 people, as well as 1 extension agent in charge of Matabubu Village. Data collection techniques consist of observation, in-depth interviews, documentation and literature. The focus of the research includes: extension communication techniques (informative communication, persuasive communication and instructive communication), farmers' knowledge during related extension (source/content of organic fertilizer, benefits of organic fertilizer, how to make organic fertilizer and use of organic fertilizer). The analysis used in this research is qualitative descriptive analysis. The results showed that the communication techniques used consisted of informative, persuasive and instructive communication techniques that had been implemented by extension workers. As well as, farmers' knowledge in the use of organic fertilizer for kale vegetables in general have known, but the process of making organic fertilizer, farmers do not know

Pemberdayaan Masyarakat di Bidang Pertanian melalui Pembuatan Pupuk Organik

Organic fertilizer is defined as fertilizer that is partly or wholly derived from plants and/or animals that has gone through an engineering process, can be in solid or liquid form which is used to supply organic material to improve the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil. The aim of this activity is to empower the community through making organic fertilizer in the agricultural sector. The activity steps include: 1) Preparation stage. The preparation stage is very important as a form of more mature planning to achieve better things. This preparation stage includes observations and interviews with partners and the community, checking the implementation location, in this case I used Sumbek Hamlet, Wajageseng Village, Kopang District, Central Lombok Regency, establishing collaboration with youth and the entire community, preparing tools and materials for the main program which includes everything needed in this training; and 2) Program implementation stage. The program implementation stages are described as follows: the process of collecting cow dung which is processed into fertilizer, the process of mixing cow dung with straw, and the fermentation process for up to ± 30 days to make it into soil to be used as fertilizer. The results achieved in this training activity were the acquisition of knowledge by the community and youth about how to make organic fertilizer using existing materials. The community is able to minimize expenditure on purchasing fertilizer and reduce the use of chemical fertilizers. Through this activity, the public also understands more about the negative impacts caused by the use of chemical or inorganic fertilizers if used over a long period of time. This community empowerment can also support various village activities in organizing training in the agricultural sector, because the community is able to create their own fertilizer from materials that are easily obtained.

The Effect of Some Biological Fungicides and Liquid Organic Fertilizers on Sigatoka Disease on ‘Mas’ Banana Plants (Musa acuminata Colla)

Banana (Musa acuminata Colla) is a tropical fruit with great economic potential and export prospects. According to the Directorate General of Horticulture, Ministry of Agriculture, banana production from 2009 to 2014 fluctuated due to attacks by Plant Destruction Organisms (PDO), particularly Sigatoka disease caused by the fungus Mycosphaerella musciola. This study investigated biological agents like Trichoderma sp. and Gliocladium sp., along with liquid organic fertilizers, to control the disease without synthetic fungicides.The research, conducted at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang, used a split-plot design with two factors: biological pesticides (Tricogreen, Natural Glio, Trico-G) and liquid organic fertilizers (rabbit urine POC, shrimp shell MOL, banana hump MOL). The experiment had nine treatment combinations with three plant samples each. Results showed that biological pesticides significantly reduced Sigatoka disease intensity, with the J3P3 treatment (Trico-G and Banana Hump MOL) achieving the lowest infection rate of 29.55%, reducing disease intensity by 70.45%. Liquid organic fertilizers also improved plant growth, increasing leaf number and leaf area. This indicates that biological agents and organic fertilizers effectively manage Sigatoka disease and promote healthy banana plant growth.

Residual Effects of Pig Slurry Fertilization in a Mediterranean Rainfed Cereal System

An increase in nitrogen (N) use efficiency (NUE) in agriculture is a requirement for sustainable development. The reduction in nitrogen inputs might benefit from the residual N of former organic fertilization procedures. A 10 year experiment was established in a rainfed Mediterranean system (barley–wheat rotation). The objective of this experiment was to quantify the N residual effects of a single pig slurry (PS) application at sowing (20, 40, and 80 m3 ha−1) and up to three years later. The mineral N equivalence method was used to compare the grain yield (GY) and the whole-plant N uptake (WPNU) between the slurry fertilized plots (slurries applied in previous years) and annual mineral N fertilized ones (30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 kg N ha−1). From the total N applied with PS, a fraction of, ca., 21% accounted for the residual equivalent mineral N for a total period of three years after the PS application. For the 20 m3 ha−1 rate, the relative residual N based on the GY and WPNU equaled to 89–90% of the applied organic N, respectively. This rate also allowed for an increase in NUE values to above 33%. In semiarid areas, the introduction of residual N when scheduling fertilization is important to reduce N inputs and to increase NUE.

Biochar Organic Fertilizer Combined with Indigenous Microorganisms Enhances the Growth of Landscape Grass Cultivated in a Substrate Mixed with Iron Tailings and Mining Topsoil

Iron tailings from the mining process occupy vast land areas and pose a significant ecological risk. In order to reuse iron tailings resources and carry out in situ ecological restoration of a mine, in this study, a medium of mixed iron tailings and mining topsoil (m:m = 3:1) was used to plant landscape grasses, including Lolium perenne L. (L. perenne), Pennisetum alopecuroides (L.) Spreng. (P. alopecuroides), Melilotus officinalis (L.) Lam. (M. officinalis), and Medicago sativa L. (M. sativa). Biochar and chicken manure were used as biochar organic fertilizers and indigenous microorganisms were isolated from the rhizosphere soil of tested grasses. They were applied to enhance landscape grass growth by regulating rhizosphere microbial communities and nutrient conditions. The results showed that the biochar organic fertilizers significantly promoted the growth of the four landscape grasses, notably P. alopecuroides, increasing plant height, root length, root weight, and leaf fresh weight by 169%, 60%, 211%, and 388%, respectively. Additionally, L. perenne exhibited the greatest height increase (10%) following the application of bacterial solutions. Moreover, indigenous bacterial solutions enhanced chlorophyll content and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity, with P. alopecuroides showing the highest chlorophyll increase of 58% and M. sativa exhibiting a 30.58% rise in PAL activity. The biochar organic fertilizer also significantly elevated soluble protein content in P. alopecuroides and M. sativa by 195% and 152%, respectively. It also effectively enhanced peroxidase (POD) activity in Poaceae grasses by 120% to 160%. After adding indigenous microorganisms, the rhizosphere soil of the landscape grass showed the highest Shannon–Wiener diversity index, reaching 3.561. The rhizosphere soil of M. officinalis had the highest microbial richness, with a value of 39. Additionally, the addition of indigenous microorganisms increased the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium content of the four plants by 8–19%, 6–14%, and 8–18%, respectively. This study offers a new approach for managing mining waste and ecological restoration in mining areas.

PELATIHAN PEMANFAATAN LIMBAH PERTANIAN SEBAGAI PUPUK ORGANIK DI KELURAHAN KALAMPANGAN KECAMATAN SEBANGAU KOTA PALANGKA RAYA

Kalampangan Village is known as a transmigration area that has advanced in the agricultural sector, especially vegetable crops and is the largest supplier of vegetables in Palangka Raya City. One effort to increase peat soil fertility is through fertilization. So far, fertilization has mostly used inorganic fertilizers. Excessive inorganic fertilizer can disrupt soil health, besides being expensive and sometimes rare on the market. Farmers now cannot clear land by burning it, so that the resulting weeds pile up around the land. At harvest time, a lot of harvest waste is not utilized optimally. So far, it has only been buried in the ground fresh as green manure and animal feed. One effort to overcome the problem of accumulated weeds and crop residue is to make organic fertilizer (compost). Compost contains nutrients that plants need and is able to repair soil structure damaged by too much inorganic fertilizer. The objectives of the activity are: 1) Utilizing agricultural waste as organic fertilizer; 2). Providing skills in making quality organic fertilizer. The method used is counseling and training in making organic fertilizer. The extension and training activities were attended by 10 members of the farmer group. Training on making compost was carried out using broadleaf weeds and sweet corn harvest waste. Composting is carried out for 3 weeks to 1 month. The characteristics of compost that is ready to use are blackish brown color, crumb structure, coolness and compost aroma. The compost produced is of sufficient quality with the nutrient content N, P and K meeting organic fertilizer quality standards. Farmers are very enthusiastic about making compost and hope that later it can be applied in growing vegetables in Kalampangan Village.

Variety of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) Growth and Yield in Response to Various Organic Fertilizers in Makurdi, Nigeria

This study was conducted in 2023 at the nursery of the Teaching and Research farm of the Department of Crop production of Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria. The experimental treatments were two (2) varieties of lettuce (ice berg and Butter head) and three (3) organic manure sources (Poultry dropping, cow dung, goat manure) and a control. An experiment was set up as a 2 x 4 factorial design using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Data were collected from the following parameters, plant height, plant diameter, number of leaves, leaf area index (LAI), crop growth rate (CGR), roof weight, and fresh weight. All the study parameters of lettuce were significantly (P<0.05) different, on both organic manure, and variety. The iceberg variety surpassed the butter head variety, with statistically significant (P<0.05) differences observed in several parameters: plant height (20.32 cm), number of leaves (23.85), leaf area index (15.19 cm³), сrop growth rate (1.54 g m³ per day), chlorophyll content (23.32 mg/g), fresh weight (83.86 g), root weight (20.23 g), and yield (3.19 t/ha) Similarty, poutry droppings obtained significantly (P<0.05) better results in terms of plant height (21.73 cm), number of leaves (23 92), leaf area Index (16.75 cm²), crop growth rate (3.70 g m³ per day), chlorophyll content (25.73 mg/g), fresh weight (632.02 g), root weight (22.13 g) and yield (3.75 t/ha) as compared to other organic manure sources such as cow dung, goat manure and control. In addition, a significant difference (P<0.05) was observed in the interaction between lettuce varieties selection and organic fertilizers at various levels, particularly with the high level of iceberg x poultry manure

Effects of Time based Different Integrated Organic and Mineral Fertilizer Rate Application on Improved Coffee Cultivar Yield in South Ethiopia

Coffee Production plays a significant role in Ethiopian economy, even though the productivity at farm level is among the lowest as compared to other coffee producing country. Soil degradation is one of the most challenging problems in coffee growing areas of Ethiopia. Declining of soil fertility is a fundamental problem to agricultural growth and a major reason for slow growth of food production. Therefore, this activity was designed to determine optimum application time of integrated organic and inorganic fertilizers under coffee growing areas and to assess the effects of temporal application effects of integrated organic and inorganic fertilizers on coffee yield and yield stability performance of coffee cultivar. The experiment was conducted with RCBD design with four replication and ten treatments settled from integrated organic and inorganic inputs at Awada Agricultural research sub-center starting from 2013-2023 for the last 10 consecutive years. The result demonstrated that, application of 200kgha-1N, 77kgha-1P and 12.5tonha-1 integrated nutrient application at each cropping season resulted statically significant higher yield result as compared to the other nutrient applications. The plot treated with the recommended NP + recommended decomposed coffee husk application per year (200kgha-1N, 77kgha-1P and 12.5ton ha-1) indicated over all yield advantage over the other plots by 22.07% or 345kg/ha of clean coffee yield over the recommended (200kgha-1N, 77kgha-1P) applied alone per year and 33.39% or 522kg/ha of clean coffee yield over the plots treated with recommended decomposed coffee husk (12.5ton ha-1) alone application per each cropping season.

Factors Affecting Food Security of Expropriated Peri-Urban Households in Ethiopia: The Case of the East Gojjam Administrative Zone

Food insecurity in peri-urban areas is exacerbated by high living costs, limited access to healthy food, and economic inequality. Despite its growing prevalence due to factors like land loss from urban expansion, food insecurity has received limited attention. In Ethiopia, drastic urbanization creates competition for land between agriculture and urban development, which is becoming extreme in peri-urban areas., This study aims to assess the impact of urban expansion on food security among expropriated peri-urban households in Ethiopia. Using a calorie intake-based food security line, we categorize respondents as food-secure or -insecure. The research analyzed data from 350 expropriated peri-urban households through a structured questionnaire, employing descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression. About 67% of the respondents were classified as food-insecure. The binary logit model identified several significant determinants of food security, including compensation amount and type, household head demographics, agricultural land rent participation, irrigation and credit access, off-farm income, and organic fertilizer use. To address food insecurity among expropriated households, policymakers must prioritize these factors. Government attention and policy consideration are crucial to ensure the well-being of these vulnerable populations.

Optimization of Amaranthus production under irrigation and poultry manure application using grey relational analysis

This study was carried out to optimize Amaranthus production under varying irrigation levels and poultry manure applications using Grey Relational Analysis. The experimental design was split-plot, where irrigation treatment was the main plot, while poultry manure was the subplot treatment. The irrigation levels are FIT50, FIT75, FIT100 and FIT135 which correspond to 50% Full irrigation, 75% full irrigation, 100% full irrigation and 135% full irrigation treatments, in combination with the poultry manure application rates M0t/ha, M5t/ha, M10t/ha and M20t/ha. Sixteen experimental treatments were arranged in a 4 x 4 factorial experimental design and replicated 3 times. Sprinkler irrigation system was adopted for the study. Results showed that there was corresponding increase in the response of Amaranthus growth characteristics and yield to the combination of irrigation and poultry manure treatments. The Crop Water-use efficiency initially showed a linear corresponding increase to an average value of 473kg/ha/mm but later exhibits a diminishing return beyond FIT100 irrigation. While production cost showed continual increase to average value of $377/ha as the inputs treatment level also increased to FIT135 irrigation combined with the poultry manure M20t/ha. Grey Relational Grades (GRG) calculated were 0.854, 0.790, 0.787, 0.765, 0.740, 0.629, 0.621, 0.620, 0.546, 0.543, 0.515, 0.475, 0.458, 0.443, 0.417 and 0.403 respectively. Amaranthus cultivated under FIT100_M20t/ha treatment matched with the highest GRG value 0.854, making FIT100_M20t/ha treatment the optimum. Analysis of variance for the GRG showed that irrigation and poultry manure are highly significant input variables for Amaranthus production. The findings from this study guide farmers on the optimal combination of water and organic fertilizer to maximize Amaranthus yield and minimize resource waste, thereby enhancing sustainability in crop production.

Assessment of the Agronomic Value of Organic Fertilizer Made of Composted Sludge

Assessment of the Agronomic Value of Organic Fertilizer Made of Composted Sludge

Reinforcing Nitrogen Nutrition Through Partial Substitution with Organic Nitrogen Enhances the Properties of Natural Rubber

The partial substitution of chemical fertilizer with organic fertilizer is a crucial practice for enhancing crop production and quality, although its impact on natural rubber has rarely been explored. In this study, a two-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of different nitrogen application rates and varying proportions of organic nitrogen substitution on dry rubber yield, nitrogen nutrition, and natural rubber properties. Regarding nitrogen application, the control treatment received no nitrogen amendment, while the low-nitrogen treatment was amended with 138 g·tree−1·year−1 of nitrogen. The medium-nitrogen treatment received 276 g·tree−1·year−1 of nitrogen, and the high-nitrogen treatment received 552 g·tree−1·year−1 of nitrogen. In addition, the low-organic-nitrogen substitution treatment and medium-organic-nitrogen substitution treatment were amended with 276 g·tree−1·year−1 of nitrogen each. The results demonstrated that the 50% organic nitrogen substitution treatment resulted in the highest dry rubber yield across all sampling periods, ranging from 46.43 to 94.65 g·tree−1. Additionally, this treatment exhibited superior soil total nitrogen (1067.69 mg·kg−1), available nitrogen (84.06 mg·kg−1), and nitrogen content in roots (1.08%), leaves (3.25%), fresh rubber latex (0.27%), and raw natural rubber (0.44%) compared with other treatments. In terms of the physical properties of natural rubber, the 50% organic nitrogen substitution treatment resulted in advantages in the weight-average molecular weight (1.57 × 106 g·mol−1), number-average molecular weight (0.36 × 106 g·mol−1), plasticity retention index (97.35%), Wallace plasticity (40.25), and Mooney viscosity (81.40). For mechanical properties, natural rubber from the substitution treatment exhibited higher tensile strength (19.84 MPa), greater elongation at break (834.75%), and increased tear strength (31.07 N·mm−1). Overall, the substitution of 50% chemical nitrogen fertilizer with organic nitrogen fertilizer improved nitrogen nutrition in rubber trees by introducing organic nitrogen input, resulting in remarkable enhancements in natural rubber properties. Therefore, the incorporation of organic fertilizer as a substitution for 50% of chemical fertilizer is demonstrated as an effective strategy for improving both the yield and properties of natural rubber.

Pengolahan dan Pemanfaatan Sampah Rumah Tangga di Lingkungan Desa Tanjung Baru Kecamatan Indralaya Utara Kabupaten Ogan Ilir

The waste problem in Tanjung Baru Village is not a disaster if waste management is managed properly. Good waste management must of course have good environmental management wisdom as well. Environmental wisdom can be seen from how humans treat; objects, plants, animals, and anything around them. This is what is then called ecological intelligence, namely how a person's understanding and knowledge are in understanding their environmental ecosystem, so that they can care about the environment they live in. Therefore, the village asked the PKM team of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Sriwijaya University to provide some kind of guidance to the people of Tanjung Baru Village in utilizing household waste. The low level of public understanding regarding the utilization of household waste causes household waste to be simply thrown away. Household waste processing that has not received the touch of processing technology. This can be seen from the absence of households that process household waste into useful processed products. Efforts to transfer information on household waste processing and utilization technology through this PkM activity have resulted in increasing the motivation and attraction of the community to carry out an environmental care movement by processing and utilizing the household waste produced. The people of Tanjung Baru Village have started to select organic and non-organic waste. Organic waste such as vegetables and leaves are processed into organic fertilizer, while leftover food is given to pets such as chickens and ducks. For non-organic waste, it is collected and sold to collectors of used goods and some are reused for home decorations, for example plastic bottles used as a medium for planting vegetables.

Effect of Vermicompost Application on the Soil Microbial Community Structure and Fruit Quality in Melon (Cucumis melo)

Melon (Cucumas melon) is widely cultivated and popular because of its quality value and unique flavor. However, the continuous cropping of melons in greenhouses has various negative effects on the soil environment, melon growth, and quality. Recently, farmers have utilized organic fertilization, especially vermicompost, for melons to resist the harmful effects of continuous cropping. A field experiment was conducted to explore the effects of vermicompost on soil microbes and melon fruit quality via high throughput sequencing and chemical sequencing methods. The results showed that the application of vermicompost decreased (p < 0.05) soil pH and increased organic matter, available phosphorus, biomass, urease, catalase, peroxidase, and alkaline phosphatase. A total of 3447 bacterial and 718 fungal operational taxonomic units were identified in all soil samples. Application of vermicompost decreased (p < 0.05) the relative abundances of Acidobacteriota, Gemmatimonadota, Actinobacteriota, and unclassified and increased the relative abundance of Planctomycetota. Compared with the control soil, vermicompost application resulted in significantly higher bacterial Chao indices and a significantly lower Chao index under vermicompost of 60 t ha−1 based on farmers’ normal fertilizer and significantly lower diversity under vermicompost of 90 t ha−1. Otherwise, vermicompost application increased the photosynthetic rate and chlorophyll content of melon leaves and increased the total sugar, soluble solids, vitamin C, soluble protein, and organic acid contents of melon. The results of redundancy analysis indicated that Proteobacteria exhibited a positive correlation with soil ammonium nitrogen (AN) and pH, while showing a negative association with soil available phosphorus and organic matter. Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed that both total sugar content and central soluble solid content in melon had a significant positive correlation (p < 0.05) with Patescibacteria. This study demonstrates that the application of vermicompost alters the microbial community structure in melon cultivation, enhancing fruit quality; this not only promotes a healthier soil ecosystem but also contributes to sustainable and productive practices in melon farming.

EFFECT OF BIO-ORGANIC AND MINERAL FERTILIZATION, ON THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF CAULIFLOWER (Brassica oleraceae Var.botrytis)

A field experiment was carried out to study the effect of three factors, the first was biofertilization with four types (without addition, combination of A.brasilense + A. chroococcum combination of G.mosseae + T. harzianum, and combination of the two previous combinations), The second factor four types of organic fertilizer(without adding,vermicompost ,Orgevit, a combination of the two previous organic fertilizers),and the third factor mineral fertilizer with two levels (0% and 50%) of the fertilizer recommendation in addition to the full fertilizer recommendation treatment (second comparison).RCBD was used with three replications. The results showed that the triple interaction of the biofertilization treatments added with the organic fertilizer combination of organic fertilizer with 50% of the mineral fertilizer recommendation showed the highest averages for the characteristics of growth and the total yield, which gave79.740 Mg ha-1, and the content of leaves and the curd from N, P and K after harvest and the content of the soil of N, P and K after harvesting, which amounted to 70.81, 38.19, 370.44 mg kg soil-1,in comparison with the no addition treatment which gave the lowest averages .

Effects of Microbial Organic Fertilizer, Microbial Inoculant, and Quicklime on Soil Microbial Community Composition in Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Continuous Cropping System

The additions of microbial organic fertilizer (MOF), a microbial inoculant (MI), and quicklime (Q) are considered to be sustainable practices to restore land that has been damaged by continuous cropping of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). However, the combined effects of these three additives on pepper yield, soil chemical properties, and soil microbial communities were unclear. The experimental design consists of 13 treatment groups: the untreated soil (control); soil amended solely with three treatments for each of MOF (1875–5625 kg ha−1), MI (150–450 mL plant−1), and Q (1500–4500 kg ha−1); and soil amended with combinations of MOF, MI, and Q at three comparable concentrations. A significant increase in pepper fruit diameter, length, yield, and soil available nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium contents occurs upon exclusive and combined applications of MOF, MI, and Q. Pepper yield was greatest (29.89% more than control values) in the combined treatment with concentrations of 1875 kg ha−1 MOF, 150 mL plant−1 MI, and 1500 kg ha−1 Q. The application of Q increased soil pH and reduced soil–fungal richness. The application of MOF, MI, and Q increased the relative abundance of bacterial genera and the complexity of bacterial and fungal co-occurrence networks compared with control levels. The combined application of MOF, MI, and Q resulted in the greatest microbial network complexity. A Mantel test revealed the key role of soil available nitrogen content and bacterial diversity in the regulation of pepper growth and yield. We conclude that the combined application of MOF, MI, and Q improves soil nutrient availability and modifies soil microbial community composition, significantly promoting plant growth and pepper yield during continuous cultivation.