Tuesday, November 13, 2018 by Janine Acero
http://www.realsciencenews.com/2018-11-13-organic-fertilizer-can-increase-crop-yield-plants-in-rotation.html
A study published in the journal Biological Agriculture & Horticulture assessed soil nitrogen oxidation through field incubation, and analyzed the rate of nitrogen release by commercial fertilizers compared with farmyard manure compost.
For the study, a three-year organic crop rotation was set up in a field with sandy loam, with a cover crop of rye and vetch for green manure. In the first year, the researchers planted potato and lettuce, followed by Swiss chard and turnips in the second year, and Portuguese cabbage and carrots in the third year.
Nitrogen (N) mineralization was assessed by field incubation in response to green manure (GM); GM with 20 and 40 t/ha (tonne per hectare) farmyard manure (FYM) compost (C20 and C40); and GM with 1 and 2 t/ha of commercial organic fertilizer (CF1 and CF2).
The second season crops lettuce, turnip, and carrot treated with C40 produced higher yields compared with all other treatments. Most of the commercial fertilizer was mineralized or oxidized during the previous crop.
Swiss chard, grown in 54 days, produced higher yield with CF2 treatment compared with C40. Continuous compost and GM application increased N availability and compost mineralized N recovery during longer growing season for potatoes (124 days), and short growing season for cabbage (56 days).
These findings indicate that the fast nitrogen release of commercial fertilizers increased the yield of the first crop of the year, but the slowly released nitrogen of farmyard manure compost increased the yield of both crops of the year, plus a lower risk of soil nitrogen loss.
Plants thrive in nutrient-rich soil, and nitrogen is an important component in growing plants. Here are some of the best natural fertilizers with high nitrogen content:
Did you know that fish emulsion is another nitrogen-rich organic fertilizer? Learn more about different kinds of organic fertilizers and their effects on crop yields at GreenLivingNews.com.
Sources include: