The Impact of Using Different Types of Compost on the Growth and Yield of Corn

Anita Zapałowska () and Wacław Jarecki
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Anita Zapałowska: Department of Agriculture and Waste Management, Collegium of Natural Sciences, University of Rzeszów, St. Ćwiklinskiej 1a, 35-601 Rzeszów, Poland
Wacław Jarecki: Department of Crop Production, Collegium of Natural Sciences, University of Rzeszów, St. Zelwerowicza 4, 35-601 Rzeszów, Poland

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 2, 1-18

Abstract: The cultivation of corn holds immense importance as a foundational global grain crop, catering to human sustenance and serving as vital animal feed. Moreover, corn plays a substantial role in biofuel production. Additionally, cultivating corn can have a positive effect on crop rotation by improving soil quality and reducing erosion. In a pot trial using six distinct compost variations derived from different organic wastes as fertilizers for GS210 corn, specific indices, such as Fv/Fm (0.80, 0.80, 0.81), Fv/F0 (4.07, 3.99, 4.03), PI (4.62, 4.22, 5.21), and RC/ABS (1.71, 1.68, 2.01), exhibited the highest values. Interestingly, mineral fertilization with NPK displayed significant benefits on various growth parameters like plant height (188.9 cm), cob length (17.50 cm), grains per cob (324.0), and thousand-grain weight (MTZ) (285.2). The difference in the cob grain count between NPK mineral fertilization and the control reached 168.5 grains, which was statistically confirmed. Furthermore, the grain’s protein content notably increased with mineral fertilization (9.5) compared to the control (8.5). While organic fertilizers showed lower outcomes (9.1–9.3) than NPK mineral fertilization, they generally outperformed the control (8.5). This prompts the need for future studies to assess the effectiveness of individual organic fertilizers in combination with mineral nitrogen fertilization.

Keywords: Zea mays; organic fertilization; mineral fertilization; physiological measurements; plant growth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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