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oil quality deterioration and soil fertility depletion are the two major ecological problems throughout the world (Harden, 2001; Lal, 2001), but they are
especially serious in the heavily populated, underdeveloped, and ecologically
Laboratory Incubation
Thirty grams of finely ground soil already stored in the
refrigerator at 4C was weighed and transferred into plastic pots
of about 100 mL capacity. The initial moisture content of soil
was 15% (w/w) that was increased by adding distilled water
to achieve a final resulting water-filled pore space (WFPS) of
approximately 58%. This moisture was maintained throughout the incubation period. Water-filled pore space (WFPS) was
calculated as follows: WFPS = (soil gravimetric water content
bulk density)/[1 (bulk density/particle density)] (Sistani et
al., 2008).
There were eight treatments: (i) mineral N fertilizer
diammonium phosphate, that is, DAP [(NH4)2HPO4], (ii)
WA, (iii) compost, (iv) WA+compost, (v) DAP+WA, (vi)
DAP+compost, (vii) DAP+WA+compost, (viii) a control;
seven sampling times i.e., 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 d and three
replications. A total of 168 experimental units were used at the
start of the experiment. Phosphorus and K were incorporated
into all jars (including control) at the rate of 90 mg P2O5 kg1
in the form of single superphosphate and 60 mg K2O kg1as
potassium sulfate, respectively. Both P and K at this rate are
recommended for sorghum under arid conditions of Pakistan.
All the amendments except the control were applied on N
content basis. In the treatments receiving DAP and compost
alone, N was added at the rate of 200 mg N kg1(100:0 ratio,
w/w). The ratio was 50:50 in the combined treatments of
DAP+WA, DAP+compost while the proportion of N in
DAP+WA+compost was 50:25:25. In the treatment receiving
only WA, WA was applied equivalent to 6.4% of dry soil as
reported earlier (Odlare and Pell, 2009). After the addition of
these amendments, all the jars were weighed and arranged in the
incubator according to a completely randomized design. The
jars were covered with parafilm having three to four small holes
on the top to allow O2 exchange. Soil samples were incubated
under controlled conditions at 22C. Soil moisture was checked/
adjusted every 2 d by weighing the glass jars and adding the
required amount of distilled water when the loss was >0.05 g.
During this process care was taken not to disturb the soil either
through stirring or shaking.
Porosity, %
Particle size distribution
Sand, g kg1
Silt, g kg1
Clay, g kg1
Texture class
pH
CEC, cmolc kg1
Organic matter, g kg1
Organic C, g kg1
Total N, g kg1
C/N ratio
Total mineral N, mg kg1
Total organic N, mg kg1
P, mg kg1
K, mg kg1
Fe, mg kg1
Mn, mg kg1
Cu, mg kg1
Zn, mg kg1
Cd, mg kg1
Cr, mg kg1
1.20
2.48
48.3
241
394
365
7.5
7.3
10.4
6.03
0.60
10:1
8.7
591.0
3.4
88.0
15.7
17.0
1.02
1.16
0.056
0.054
Wood ash
Compost
Clay loam
10.4
8.7
27.3
335.2
15.8
194.9
0.56
9.7
28:1
20:1
4634
10,239
6318
2,960
1985
3,641
417.0
470.0
49.8
79.5
141.2
216.1
3.5
2.0
48.0
13.0
560
Soil
Bulk density, Mg m3
Particle density, Mg m3
Statistical Analysis
The data obtained from pots was analyzed statistically
according to the RCB design, while laboratory data was analyzed
according to the completely randomized design (CRD). The
M-STAT C software was used to analyze all the data. To show
significant variations among means for selected subsets of data
LSD value was used. Individual treatments were compared for
mean at 5% probability level (Steel and Torrie, 1980).
Changes in Ammonium-Nitrogen
Fig. 1. Total mineral N (NH4+N + NO3N) at successive incubation periods of a soil (015 cm)
amended with wood ash, compost, and diammonium phosphate (DAP) [(NH4)2HPO4] applied
alone or in different combinations over a 50-d period under controlled laboratory conditions.
mineral N pool indicating that nitrification was not a ratelimited process in the net mineralization of organic N or N from
DAP or combined treatments. The declining trend of NH4+N
with incubation periods reported here was similar as reported
earlier (Cordovil et al., 2005; Azeez and Van Averbeke, 2010).
Accumulation of Nitrate-Nitrogen
In contrast to the NH4+N, the concentration of NO3N
was significantly increased as the incubation period progressed
(Fig. 2). In the soil to which WA, compost, and WA+compost
was applied, the maximum NO3N was 41.0, 70.5, and 41.5
mg kg1, respectively, compared to 15.4 mg kg1 in the control.
Averaged over incubation periods, NO3N concentration
of WA, compost, and WA+compost was 21.3, 26.6, and
22.2 mg kg1, respectively compared to 6.0 mg kg1 in the
control. A significant increase in nitrification rate following
the addition of WA has already been reported in an incubation
study (Odlare and Pell, 2009). The authors explained that WA
increased soil pH that may increase populations of nitrifying
bacteria by enzyme production and growth and consequently
increase nitrification. However, several authors reported WA
as a significant source of P, K, Mg, Ca, and lime (Merino et al.,
2006; Bougnom and Insam, 2009; Bougnom et al., 2009) and
found that application of WA stimulated microbial activity
(Fritze et al., 2000; Perkimki and Fritze, 2002). Therefore, the
increase in nitrification due to WA in the present study may also
Soil Science Society of America Journal
Fig. 2. Changes in NH4+N and accumulation of NO3N at successive incubation periods of a soil (015 cm) amended with wood ash, compost, and
diammonium phosphate (DAP) [(NH4)2HPO4] applied alone or in different combinations over a 50-d period under controlled laboratory conditions.
Changes in Soil pH
Fig. 3. Recovery of added N (%) and gain in NO3N (%) (calculated from the values found at the end
at Day 50) at successive incubation periods of a soil (015 cm) amended with wood ash, compost, and
diammonium phosphate (DAP) [(NH4)2HPO4] applied alone or in different combinations over a 50-d
period under controlled laboratory conditions. Vertical lines on each bar represent the LSD (P 0.05)
for percent recovery of added N to total mineral nitrogen (TMN) and percent added N converted into
NO3N across different N treatments. Comp represents compost.
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Table 3. Effect of organicinorganic by-products, that is, wood ash, compost, and a mineral N fertilizer, that is, diammonium
phosphate (DAP) applied alone or in different combinations on the growth and N accumulation of sorghum grown in pots under
glasshouse conditions.
Treatments
Shoot dry
weight
Root dry
weight
Chlorophyll
content
Shoot N
N uptake
cm
g plant1
mg g1
%
mg plant1
Control
29.6e
12.3d
2.43e
0.34c
1.04d
0.13d
3.03d
0.69e
7e
DAP
48.1bc
19.8ab
7.35b
0.92ab
2.32bc
0.36bc
7.91a
1.34bc
31c
Wood ash (WA)
35.0d
13.8cd
3.11e
0.35c
1.11d
0.15d
4.94c
1.16d
13d
Compost
45.8c
18.7b
6.60bc
1.18a
1.99c
0.40bc
6.46ab
1.43bc
28c
WA+compost (50:50)
51.5b
18.9b
5.08d
0.70bc
2.11c
0.28c
5.95bc
1.29cd
27c
DAP+WA (50:50)
46.9c
14.7c
5.86d
0.72abc
1.88c
0.24c
6.04b
1.40bc
26c
DAP+compost (50:50)
51.6b
18.6b
8.22ab
0.90ab
2.85ab
0.83a
7.93a
1.56b
44b
DAP+WA+compost (50:25:25)
59.4a
20.5a
10.01a
1.12ab
3.05a
0.49b
6.21b
1.88a
57a
LSD (P 0.05)
4.45
1.69
1.85
0.45
0.47
0.20
1.49
0.16
5.11
The least significant difference (LSD P 0.05) at the end of each column is given showing significant difference among different treatments for
each parameter.
supplement value for poor and degraded soils. Our results showed
that WA addition has some benefits in terms of raising the soil
pH, stimulating N mineralization potential and plant N uptake,
therefore proper use of WA either with organic amendments
or with mineral N fertilizer may be an important management
strategy for sustainable agriculture production systems in
subhumid, rainfed soils low in organic matter. Considering
its chemical composition (as reported in the literature), WA
constitutes an excellent source of major and minor nutrient
elements and is therefore of interest in correcting certain nutrient
deficiencies in soils. Similarly, the release of mineral N from soil
was increased by threefold following the addition of compost.
Our results showed that compost applied alone or as a mixture
with 1/2 DAP or 1/2 DAP+WA appears to be an effective N
amendment approach since it provides an amount of available
N equivalent to or higher than that recorded for full DAP,
therefore allowing a reduction by half of the typical mineral
fertilizer (if applied) and also cutting fertilization cost. Results
also indicated that the highest mineral N from WA, compost,
1/2 DAP+compost was recorded in the later part of incubation
that can be associated with minimum N losses and maximum
availability to crop. Application of these organic-inorganic byproducts to sorghum showed some promising results. Effect
of integrated use of WA, compost, and mineral N (1/2DAP)
on plant growth promotion, N contents, and N uptake was
equivalent to or higher than full DAP treatment showing the
fertilizer value of both WA and compost when combined with
mineral N. This study is a step forward toward the use of easily
available, less expensive, and environmental friendly nutrient
resources for sustainable agriculture production systems in the
HKH region.
CONCLUSIONS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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