ISHS Acta Horticulturae 726: IV International Symposium on Pistachios and Almonds
THE EFFECTS OF VERMICOMPOSTS PRODUCED FROM VARIOUS ORGANIC SOLID WASTES ON GROWTH OF PISTACHIO SEEDLINGS |
| Authors: | A. Golchin, M. Nadi, V. Mozaffari |
| Keywords: | potting media, solid wastes, pistachio growth. |
| Abstract:
Vermicomposting and composting are efficient methods for converting solid waste into products. Incorporation of vermicomposts and composts into potting and container media is a potential use for these materials and a suitable alternative for peat and other organic substrates. In a greenhouse trial the effects of eight vermicomposts produced from four different organic wastes, including pistachio solid wastes (PW), cotton residues (CR), date solid wastes (DW) and animal manure (AM) were studied on the growth of pistachio seedlings. Each vermicompost had an iron-enriched counterpart produced by adding iron sulfate to organic wastes at the rate of 20% w during vermicomposting. The mixing proportions of vermicomposts with soil were 0, 10 and 20% of mixture weight and pistachio seedlings were grown in 1.5 kg pots for five months. After growing period, plant height, shoot dry weight, root dry weight, leaf area index, chlorophyll content of the leaves and photosynthesis rate in different treatments were measured. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) of data and comparison of means by Duncan’s multiple range test showed that the best means were in treatments with 10% of vermicompost. All growth factors measured, except root dry weight, were better in treatments with vermicompost than in the controls (without vermicompost). Pistachio growth in mixtures containing iron-enriched vermicomposted date waste was better than that of the other mixtures. However, the quality of the vermicomposted date waste with respect to plant growth requirements was poor without enrichment with iron. | |
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