POTATO PRODUCTION BY ORGANIC FARMING 1. ROLE OF ORGANIC FERTILIZER AND WHEY ON SOIL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND MICROORGANISM NUMBER

H. AI. Sahaf, F.; S. Atee, Alaa

	POTATO PRODUCTION BY ORGANIC FARMING 1. ROLE OF ORGANIC FERTILIZER AND WHEY ON SOIL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES AND MICROORGANISM NUMBER
The Iraqi Journal of Agricultural Science
Article 1, Volume 38, Issue 4, 2007, Pages 36-51
Authors
F. H. AI. Sahaf; Alaa S. Atee
Abstract
A field experiment was carried out at the College of Agric. Abu - Ghraib in silt clay loam (in spring season) and silt clay soil (in autumn season) in 2006 to examine the effect of cow manure (0,10 and 20% WAV), poultry residues 0 , 10% and 20% and mixing whey with irrigation water at 0 , 10% and 20% in randomized complete block design with three replicates on soil physical properties and soil microorganism numbers. The control treatment represented the application of chemical fertilizer as recommended (1000 kg/ha of NPK 27:27:0). Soil samples to 30 cm deep were collected at periods of 30 , 60 and 90 days after tuber planting . Results showed that application of organic fertilizer at 20% regardless its source with the use of 20% whey increased soil viscosity 5.00 , 4.87 , 3.98 and 3.76 m. poise and mean weight diameters 7.98 , 7.49 , 5.23 and 4.14 mm for cow manure and poultry residues for two seasons , 90 days after planting, respectively . Soil aggregates greater than 5 cm in diameter were also increased from 98.08 and 95.52% for control treatment to 100% for other treatments. Organic fertilizer and whey application increased numbers of bacteria, fungi and actinomyces . A new mechanism for soil aggregation resulted from organic matter and whey application was suggested.

Statistics Article View: 129 PDF Download: 1