Effect of chicken manure Biochar And Goat Manure Vermicompost on Maize (Zea Mays L.) performance and selected soil chemical properties

Ma, Siu Man (2016) Effect of chicken manure Biochar And Goat Manure Vermicompost on Maize (Zea Mays L.) performance and selected soil chemical properties. Universiti Malaysia Sabah. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of biochar and vermicompost on the performance of maize and on some selected soil chemical properties over two and a half months under a rain shelter at the Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture (FSA), Universiti Malaysia Sabah Sandakan campus. This pot experiment was using a complete randomized design (CRD) for 5 treatments with 6 replications resulting in 30 experimental units. The treatments were: (Tl) Control, (T2) full NPK, (T3) '/2 NPK + full chicken manure biochar, (T4) '/2 NPK + full goat dung vermicompost, (T5) '/2 NPK + V2 chicken manure biochar + V2 goat dung vermicompost, application based on the weight. The biochar and vermicompost were added to the soil in the pots one week before sowing, followed by the application of chemical fertilizers at the time of sowing the maize seeds. The variables measured were plant height, stem diameter, plant dry weight, number of days to flowering, cob fresh and dry weight, cob length, cob diameter, soil pHH20, pHKa, total organic matter, total organic C, total N and available P. All the data collected were analyzed using one-way ANOVA at 5% level of significance and Tukey's test was used for mean separation. The results showed significant differences in plant height, stem diameter, plant dry weight, number of days to flowering, cob fresh weight, cob dry weight, cob length, cob diameter, soil total organic matter, total organic carbon, and soil available P. Treatment T5 (combined application of chemical fertilizers, biochar and vermicompost) resulted in the highest growth; plant height, stem diameter and total plant dry weight, which increased by 40.51 %, 26.99 % and 138.01 %, respectively, compared to the control (T1) treatment. Treatment T5 also resulted in the shortest number of days to first flowering (,48 days). Treatment T5 showed the highest mean fresh cob weight (176.01 g), dry cob weight (51.74 g), cob length (16.75 cm) and cob diameter (44.09 mm). In the case of the selected soil chemical parameters, chemical properties of soil fertilized with T5 treatment showed significant improvements in total organic matter(5.41 %), total organic carbon (3.92 %), total N (0.236 %) and available P (1.271 mg kg-i), except for pHH20 and pHKa. Therefore, it can be concluded that treatment T5, which was the combined application of chemical fertilizers, biochar and vermicompost, was the best treatment for maize growth and yields and for better improvement of soil chemical properties.

Item Type: Academic Exercise
Keyword: Biochar and vermicompost , soil , maize seeds
Subjects: S Agriculture > SF Animal culture
Department: FACULTY > Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture
Depositing User: NORAINI LABUK -
Date Deposited: 02 Mar 2018 10:30
Last Modified: 02 Mar 2018 10:30
URI: https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/19058

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