Influences of vermicomposts on field strawberries: Part 2. Effects on soil microbiological and chemical properties

• DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2005.04.016
• Publication Date: 2005-06-25T11:39:08Z
• Authors: N.Q. Arancon; C.A. Edwards; P. Bierman
• Keywords: Waste Products; 2. Zero hunger; Nitrates; Agriculture; 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences; 15. Life on land; Fragaria; Phosphates; Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; Soil; 0401 agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; Biomass; Oxidoreductases; Soil Microbiology

The effects of applications of food waste and paper waste vermicomposts on some soil chemical and biological properties were evaluated in field plots planted with strawberries. Six-week old strawberries (Fragaria ananasa, var. Chandler) were transplanted into 4.5 m(2) raised beds under a plastic tunnel structure measuring 9.14 x 14.6 x 3.6 m. Vermicompost were applied at rates of 5 or 10 t ha(-1) supplemented with inorganic fertilizers to balance fertilizer recommendations for strawberries of 85-155-125 kg NPK ha(-1). Effects of vermicomposts on strawberry growth and yields have been reported previously [Arancon, N.Q., Edwards C.A., Bierman P., Welch, C., Metzger, J.D., 2004. The influence of vermicompost applications to strawberries: Part 1. Effects on growth and yield. Bioresource Technology 93:145-153]. Total extractable N, NH(4)-N, NO(3)-N and orthophosphates did not differ significantly between treatments, except on the last sampling date (harvest date) in which significantly greater amounts of NH(4)-N, NO(3)-N and orthophosphates (P <or= 0.05) were recorded in vermicompost-treated soils than in the controls. Two major results of vermicompost applications to soils were increases in dehydrogenase activity and microbial biomass-N which were not dose-dependent. Increased dehydrogenase activity and microbial biomass-N was correlated positively with the increased amounts of NH(4)-N, NO(3)-N and orthophosphates in the vermicompost-treated plots than in the controls. Increases in microbial populations and activities are key factors influencing rates of nutrient cycling, production of plant growth-regulating materials, and the build-up of plant resistance or tolerance to crop pathogen and nematode attacks.