COMPARATIVE EFFECTS OF MINERAL FERTILIZER, COMPOST AND COMPOST – MINERAL FERTILIZER ON BIOLOGICAL, CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOIL

The rapid decline of organic matter in the tropics makes it necessary to incorporate compost or compost – mineral fertilizer into the soil to improve the soil organic matter content and fertility. The experiment to investigate the effects of mineral and organic base fertilizer on soil organic matter, nutrient content, aggregate stability and the fungi isolates was conducted in Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Nigeria. Experimental design was a Randomized Complete Block Design with five treatments replicated thrice. The treatments were; control, Urea, NPK 15 15 15, Compost and Compost – mineral fertilizer. Compost and compost – mineral fertilizer rates was 10 and 4 tonnes / hectares (t ha-1) respectively. Maize was used as test crop. The soil at the experimental site was low in nutrients however, the application of compost and compost – mineral fertilizer significantly (p < 0.05) improved the organic matter content, soil nutrient status and aggregate stability compared to mineral fertilizer. The fungi isolates was higher in compost and compost – mineral fertilizer. The application of compost and compost – mineral fertilizer increased the soil pH to near neutral and reduces acidity. The application of compost – mineral fertilizer had multiple benefits in improving organic matter content, the chemical and physical and biological properties of the soil. In conclusion, compost – mineral fertilizer had significant improvement on the soil nutrients and aggregate stability compared to other treatments, therefore compost – mineral fertilizer can be effective in the sustainability of the soil fertility.