Effects of chicken manure substitution for mineral nitrogen fertilizer on crop yield and soil fertility in a reduced nitrogen input regime of North-Central China

Co-application of sheep manure and commercial organic fertilizer enhances plant productivity and soil quality in alpine mining areas

Background and aims

The addition of organic fertilizers and sheep slat manure have important effects on soil quality in alpine mining areas, but how they affect soil physicochemical properties and microorganisms is not yet known.

Methods

The current study employed field-controlled experiments and high-throughput sequencing technology to investigate differences in soil physicochemical properties, microbial community structures, and diversity under four treatments: no fertilization (CK), 100% sheep manure (SM), a combination of 50% sheep manure and 50% commercial organic fertilizer (MF), and 100% commercial organic fertilizer (OF).

Results

Aboveground biomass increased by 191.93, 253.22, and 133.32% under SM, MF and OF treatments, respectively, when compared to CK treatment. The MF treatment resulted in significantly higher soil total nitrogen, total phosphorus, organic matter, and available nitrogen content compared to other treatments. Soil total nitrogen content, total phosphorus content, organic matter, available nitrogen content and available phosphorus content were 211, 120, 380, 557, and 271% higher, respectively, under the MF treatment than the CK treatment. Different nutrient additions significantly influenced soil microbial community composition. The SM and MF treatments notably increased soil bacterial and fungal community Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) indices and Chao 1 indices, while nutrient addition had no meaningful effect on the Simpson indices for microbial communities. There was a highly significant positive correlation between aboveground biomass and observed soil nutrient content.

Conclusion

The combined application of sheep manure and commercial organic fertilizer is more conducive to improving soil quality and enhancing plant productivity in alpine mining areas.

Influence of organic fertilization on growth and yield of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) in Kabete and Mbooni areas, Kenya

Strawberries are a valuable crop in Kenya with the potential for significant economic contributions. However, strawberry production in the country has been facing considerable challenges, impacting its economic potential. This study examined the influence of organic manure on strawberry growth and characteristics in Kabete and Mbooni areas in Kenya. The study used a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Treatments included livestock manure (well composted mixture of chicken, goat, and cow manure), bokashi manure, and a control, coded as LivManure, BokManure and Control, respectively. Growth parameters including leaf area, number of white flowers and number of runners, as well as yield parameters such as the number and weight of strawberries were assessed from the 3rd to 10th week after transplanting, during the short rain season of 2021. Using R statistical software, linear models were fitted to datasets from both study sites and analyzed using one-way ANOVA, followed by post-hoc tests for multiple comparisons. The rigorous analysis of the Kabete and Mbooni datasets provided insightful revelations about the influence of different treatments on strawberry characteristics, and geographical disparities between the two regions. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) outcomes unveiled significant treatment effects in both sites, with F(2,69) = 62.57, p < 0.001 for Kabete and F(2,69) = 49.02, p < 0.001 for Mbooni, highlighting distinct influences of treatments on log values within each group. Post hoc analyses, including Tukey tests and bootstrap comparisons robustly validated the significant differences among the three treatments in each site, supported by p-values <0.001. Effect sizes were also employed to reinforce the findings, and planned contrasts were set to gain more power in the analysis of variance. Comparison between Kabete and Mbooni indicated a significant difference of 9.78 units, with Mbooni area exhibiting significantly higher strawberry characteristics compared to Kabete. The results showed that LivManure treatment had the highest mean in both sites, followed by BokManure and Control treatments, respectively. These findings have important implications for agriculture, and highlight the potential benefits of using LivManure treatment to improve strawberry characteristics in similar agroclimatic settings. These observations can be attributed to the beneficial effects of livestock manure on soil health, which include buffering of the soil reaction, provision of essential plant nutrients and enhancement of soil faunal activities. Balanced use of livestock manure is recommended to enhance soil macro and micronutrients, and soil reaction for improved growth and yield of strawberry.

Effect of different fertilization strategies on the yield, quality of Euryales Semen and soil microbial community

Introduction

Euryales Semen, a medicinal herb widely utilized in Asia, faces a critical constraint in its production, primarily attributed to fertilizer utilization. Understanding the impact of different fertilization schemes on Euryales Semen (ES) planting and exploring the supporting mechanism are crucial for achieving high yield and sustainable development of the ES planting industry.

Methods

In this study, a field plot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of four different fertilization treatments on the yield and quality of ES using morphological characteristics and metabolomic changes. These treatments included a control group and three groups with different organic fertilizer to chemical fertilizer ratios (3:7, 5:5, and 7:3). The results of this study revealed the mechanisms underlying the effect of the different treatments on the yield and quality of Euryales Semen. These insights were achieved through analyses of soil physicochemical properties, soil enzyme activity, and soil microbial structure.

Results

We found that the quality and yield of ES were the best at a ratio of organic fertilizer to chemical fertilizer of 7:3. The optimality of this treatment was reflected in the yield, soil available nitrogen, soil available phosphorus, and soil enzyme activity of ES. This ratio also increased soil microbial diversity, resulting in an increase and decrease in Proteobacteria and Firmicutes abundances, respectively. In addition, linear discriminant analysis showed that Chloroflexi, Gammaproteobacteria, and Hypocreales-incertae-sedis were significantly enriched in the ratio of organic fertilizer to chemical fertilizer of 7:3. Variance partitioning analysis showed that the soil properties, enzyme activities, and their interactions cumulatively can explain 90.80% of the differences in Euryales Semen yield and metabolome. In general, blending organic and chemical fertilizers at a 7:3 ratio can enhance soil fertility, boost Euryales Semen yield and quality, and bring forth conditions that are agriculturally beneficial to microbial (bacteria and fungi) dynamics.

Discussion

This study initially revealed the scientific connotation of the effects of different fertilization patterns on the planting of Euryales Semen and laid a theoretical foundation for the study of green planting patterns of Euryales Semen with high quality and yield.