Critical values of alternative organic amendments on kiwi seedling growth

• Published in: Soil science and plant nutrition (Tokyo) 2018-11, Vol.64 (6), p.774-781
• Main Authors: Khan, Noorullah, Hamid, Farrukh Siyar, Khan, Muhammad Abbas, Ahmad, Sarfraz, Sumreen, Sonia, Ahmed, Imtiaz, Ahmad, Fayaz, Islam, Shamsul, Shah, Basharat Husain
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal wastes; Bulk density; Compost; Composting; Composts; correlation; Electrical conductivity; Electrical resistivity; first-order lateral roots; Leaves; Organic carbon; Organic matter; Organic nitrogen; Peat; peat moss; Physicochemical properties; Plant growth; Porosity; root system; root system soil electrical conductivity; Seedlings; Silt; Soil amendment; Soil porosity; Soil properties
• ISSN: 0038-0768; 1747-0765
• DOI: 10.1080/00380768.2018.1517586

The present research was conducted to explore the impact of alternative organic amendments on physicochemical properties of soil and their critical value for kiwi seedlings growth. The experiment was laid out in completely randomized design with 3 replications and 20 seedlings per replication. The highest pH (8.0) was recorded in T3 (compost + silt) and the highest electrical conductivity (EC) of 5.91 dS/m, organic matter (24.11%), organic carbon (13.99%), organic nitrogen (1.51%) were recorded in T8 (compost + peat moss (PM) + leaf manure) and the highest soil porosity (SP) (45.95%) and lowest bulk density (0.67) were recorded in T4 (PM + garden soil (GS)). EC higher than 1.99 and SP (45.95%) were found critical and adversely affected seedling survival. The highest plant height (103 and 93 cm), number of leaves (23 and 20), number of first-order lateral roots (NFLRM) (9 and 8.5), whole seedling fresh mass (75 and 72 g), fresh root mass (FRM) (35 and 35 g), shoot fresh mass (46 and 40 g), root collar diameter (RCD) (13 and 12 mm), and shoot diameter (10 and 9 mm) were recorded in T5 (compost + GS) and T7 (compost + PM + GS). Strong and positive correlations were observed among NFLRP, RFM, and RCD (R 2  = 0.89 and 0.96) and all the above-ground seedling traits (R 2  = 0.86-0.98). It is concluded that compost is a good soil amendment for producing good quality graftable kiwi seedlings and evaluation of seedling root system architecture could be used to predict the potential and success of seedlings in the field.