Soil chemical attributes under combinations of organic fertilizing and water salinity

Abstract

The use of brackish water causes chemical changes in cultivated soils. It is therefore necessary to apply strategies that can minimize its negative impacts, such as the use of organic fertilizers. This study aimed to evaluate in the field the chemical attributes of a Red Yellow Argisol under irrigation with saline water and organic fertilizing in an area cultivated with corn. The design was randomized blocks, in a split-plot scheme, with the plots comprising salinity levels for the irrigation water (0.8 and 3.0 dS m-1) and the subplots combinations of organic fertilizers (cattle manure + poultry biofertilizer + goat biofertilizer; cattle manure + goat biofertilizer; cattle manure + poultry biofertilizer; control), with four replications. The 3.0 dS m-1 irrigation has a negative effect on the soil chemical attributes, particularly reducing the pH and increasing the sodium, exchangeable sodium percentage and electrical conductivity of the soil saturation extract. The combination of cattle manure + poultry biofertilizer + goat biofertilizer mitigates the salt stress by favouring the accumulation of nitrogen and organic matter, while the cattle manure + poultry biofertilizer favours the potassium accumulation in the soil. The combination of cattle manure + poultry biofertilizer + goat biofertilizer increases the contents of phosphorus and potassium when using the 0.8 dS m-1 irrigation.

KEYWORDS: Zea mays L., organic fertilizers, salt stress.