Vermicompost and millicompost as a resource in sustainable agriculture in semiarid: decomposition, nutrient release, and microstructure under the action of nitrogen and organic-mineral fertilizers

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2024 May 1. doi: 10.1007/s11356-024-33446-z. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTWith the expansion of organic agriculture, research is needed to indicate economically and ecologically viable fertilizer options, especially in semiarid regions, with low soil organic matter and nitrogen content. In the Brazilian semiarid region, vermicomposts are widely used by farmers and are scientifically investigated; however, there is no information for millicompost, a new type of organic compound that has shown very promising results in other regions. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the decomposition rate, nutrient release, and microstructure evaluation of vermicomposts from different sources and of millicompost produced from plant residues, with the application of mineral nitrogen-urea and organo-mineral fertilizer in the Brazilian semiarid region. The experimental design was a randomized block in a 4 × 3 factorial scheme, with four replicates; four organic composts (millicompost, commercial vermicompost, vermicompost from bovine manure, vermicompost from goat manure); and three types of fertilization (without fertilizer, with mineral-urea and organo-mineral fertilizer). The organic composts were decomposed using litterbags at the soil surface. The variable's decomposition rate and the nutrient release were evaluated at six-time intervals (0, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 days), and microstructure was evaluated at the beginning and the end of the experiment, with scan...
Source: Environmental Science and Pollution Research International - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Source Type: research