Under Long -Term Field Experiment The Effects of Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers Application on Maize Growth and Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration

Abstract

A long-term field experiment was established in 1996 at Çukurova University Research and Application Farm, Adana, Turkey. The design of experiment was The Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with 5 different fertilizer treatments: control (no fertilizer), Mineral fertilizer (NPK), Animal manure (25-ton ha-1), Compost (25-ton ha-1) and Compost + Mycorrhiza (10-ton ha-1). Maize seeds were sown and harvested in 2022. At harvest, soil samples (at 0-15 and 15-30 cm depths) and plant samples were taken from each plot. Soil and plant total carbon and N concentrations were determined by a CN elemental analyzer. The soil organic carbon (OC) was estimated as the difference between total and inorganic C. Results show that carbon concentration in the grain, shoot, and root samples of maize plants were higher in fertilized plots than in control treatments. Compost and animal manure treated soil had higher OC concentrations at both sampling depths. The highest values of soil OC at 0-15 cm depth were obtained in animal manure applied plots.Generally, organic fertilizer application increased soil OC % concentrations and contributed to the soil carbon budget. The PCA analysis also revealed that a majority of the plant and soil parameters clustered more closely with organic fertilizers compared to the control and mineral counterparts.