نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
عنوان مقاله English
نویسندگان English
The aim of this study was to determine the efficiency of a Leonardite-based slow-release organic-mineral fertilizer for corn nutrition in comparison with common fertilizers in two experiments, with a completely randomized block design. The first experiment included corn fertilizer requirement plus (B=0, T1=300, T2=500, and T3=800 kg/ha) of slow-release fertilizer. The second experiment included 500 kg/ha of slow-release fertilizer plus (B+=0, R1=50, R2=75, and R3=100) percent of corn NPK requirement, in 4 replications and a total of 32 plots in the field. The results showed that the efficiency of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the second experiment was higher than their efficiency in the first experiment. The higher efficiency of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium when using slow-release fertilizer, led to increase the end- season yield. The use of slow-release fertilizer, in addition to increasing the efficiency of NPK and yield, also caused a significant decrease in pH, which probably helped improve the availability of trace nutrients. The efficiency of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the mid season of both experiments, when the plant is not fully established, was very low, but in the end season, the efficiency of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium increased sharply. Overall, the highest efficiency of nitrogen (N=66.68%) was obtained in the R3, phosphorus (P=85.19%) in the B+, and potassium in the R3 (K=8.87%) treatments of the second experiment. As a general conclusion, it can be stated that the tested slow-release fertilizer can be used as a complete or auxiliary fertilizer in corn nutrition with appropriate yield.
کلیدواژهها English
The goal of the research was to evaluate the effectiveness of a slow-release organic-mineral fertilizer in order to provide recommendations for farmers. Additionally, the study aimed to identify the fertilizer's limitations and its relative advantages compared to standard fertilizers commonly used. The performance of the slow-release organic-mineral fertilizer was tested in a field environment. The research comprised two independent statistical experiments, each designed to assess the fertilizer's effectiveness in the field in 4 replications and a total of 32 plots.
The first experiment utilized a completely randomized block design to assess the effects of various fertilizers on forage corn plants. In this experiment, the required amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers were applied alongside 0, 300, 500, and 800 kg/ha of slow-release organic-mineral fertilizer. This setup included four replications, resulting in a total of 16 plots. The second experiment focused on the application of 500 kg/ha of slow-release organic-mineral fertilizer, combined with 100%, 75%, 50%, and 0% of the recommended amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers for the forage corn plants. This experiment also comprised four replications, leading to a total of 32 plots.
The results of the plant parameter measurements taken at the mid-term and end of two experiments indicated significant differences (p=95%) in plant height, fresh weight, and yield (fresh weight) between the two experiments. However, the average plant height did not differ significantly between the experiments. The notable differences in plant fresh weight, dry weight, and crop yield (measured in T/ha) at the end of the growth period were primarily attributed to the varying types and amounts of fertilizers used. An interesting observation at the mid-term stage was that in the first experiment, increasing the amount of slow-release organic-mineral fertilizer from 300 kg/ha (T1) to 500 kg/ha (T2) and 800 kg/ha (T3) led to a decrease in yield, with the highest yield coming from the control treatment (B), which had no slow-release organic-mineral fertilizer. Conversely, in the second experiment, reducing the amount of conventional fertilizers from 100% (R1) to 75% (R2) and then to 50% (R3) resulted in increased yields. However, the control treatment (B+), which contained only the slow-release organic-mineral fertilizer, experienced a sharp drop, resulting in the lowest yield. Thus, during the intermediate stage, the conventional fertilizer treatment (B) yielded the best results, while the slow-release organic-mineral fertilizer treatment (B+) yielded the least. In the end-of-period results, treatments containing the slow-release organic-mineral fertilizer, combined with 100% (R1) and 50% (R3) of conventional fertilizers, showed the highest yields. Notably, the control treatment of slow-release organic-mineral fertilizer (B+) experienced a significant increase compared to the intermediate stage, surpassing the yield of the conventional fertilizer treatment (B). Based on the end-of-period results, it can be concluded that using slow-release organic-mineral fertilizer as a supplement to conventional fertilizers was very effective, leading to an increase in crop yield by 45% to 49% in treatments R3 and R1 compared to conventional fertilizers. Additionally, using slow-release organic-mineral fertilizer alone resulted in an approximate 8% yield increase compared to conventional fertilizers.
The use of slow-release fertilizer, in addition to increasing the efficiency of NPK and yield, also caused a significant decrease in pH, which probably helped improve the availability of trace nutrients. The efficiency of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the mid season of both experiments, when the plant is not fully established, was very low, but in the end season, the efficiency of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium increased sharply. Overall, the highest efficiency of nitrogen (N=66.68%) was obtained in the R3, phosphorus (P=85.19%) in the B+, and potassium in the R3 (K=8.87%) treatments of the second experiment. As a general conclusion, it can be stated that the tested slow-release fertilizer can be used as a complete or auxiliary fertilizer in corn nutrition with appropriate yield.
The study was funded by the University of Tehran, Country Iran, and Grant No. 99332826.
“Conceptualization, Dr. Ahmad Heidari and Dr. Mir Seyed Hoseini; methodology, Dr. Ahmad Heidari and Dr. Mir Seyed Hoseini; software, Dr. Ahmad Heidari; validation, Dr. Ahmad Heidari, and Dr. Mir Seyed Hoseini; formal analysis, Dr. Aida Bakhshi; investigation, Ahmad Heidari; resources, Ahmad Heidari; data curation, Dr. Aida Bakhshi; writing—original draft preparation, Ahmad Heidari; writing—review and editing, Ahmad Heidari; visualization, Ahmad Heidari; supervision, Ahmad Heidari; project administration, Ahmad Heidari; funding acquisition, Ahmad Heidari. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.”
No artificial intelligence tools were used in the article writing process.
Data available on request from the authors.
The authors would like to thank anonymous referees for their constructive comments. The authors would like to thank anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions in manuscript revision.
The authors avoided data fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism, and any form of misconduct.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
