Response of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) to coffee waste application on a humid tropical sandy soil

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to study the effect of coffee waste (CW) application on growth and mineral nutrition of Italian ryegrass in a tropical Arenosol. Dry CW was applied at three rates (5, 10, 20 t/ha) and thoroughly mixed with topsoil (0–25 cm), placed in pots and seeded with Italia...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Soil use and management 2013-03, Vol.29 (1), p.22-29
Main Authors: Kasongo, R. K., Verdoodt, A., Kanyankogote, P., Baert, G., Van Ranst, E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions
Air pollution
Al toxicity
Arenosol
Biological and medical sciences
Coffee
Coffee waste
Drying
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General agronomy. Plant production
Magnesium
sandy soil
Sandy soils
Soil (material)
soil fertility
Soil science
Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility
Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility. Fertilization. Amendments
Uptakes
Wastes
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Summary:A greenhouse experiment was conducted to study the effect of coffee waste (CW) application on growth and mineral nutrition of Italian ryegrass in a tropical Arenosol. Dry CW was applied at three rates (5, 10, 20 t/ha) and thoroughly mixed with topsoil (0–25 cm), placed in pots and seeded with Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) according to a completely randomized design with six replicates. The application of CW greatly stimulated uptake of Ca, Mg, K, N and P, resulting in a significantly increased dry matter (DM) production over three consecutive cropping cycles. DM increases of at least 52, 87 and 81% compared with the unamended controls were obtained for the first, second and third cuts, respectively. Soil analysis after cultivation found that all CW‐amended soils still contained available macronutrients (Ca, Mg, K, N), which could produce residual effects in subsequent crops. Furthermore, CW application increased soil pH owing to its liming effect. This brought about an increase in cation exchange capacity with substantial reduction in phytotoxic Al and a decrease in availability of a number of metals (Cu, Zn, Mn and Fe) and significantly reduced their uptake by ryegrass. The study reveals a high potential of CW to improve the fertility of sandy soils in the humid tropics.
ISSN:0266-0032
1475-2743
DOI:10.1111/sum.12006