Effect of vermicompost application on fertility of calcareous soil at summer squash (cucurbita pepo) cultivation

Abstract

The study investigated the effect vermicompost compared with the effect of chicken manure on the number of soil bacteria (heterotrophic aerobic mesophilic) and enzyme activities (urease, alkaline phosphatase, beta-glycosidase, dehydrogenase) in the same field cultivated with summer squash for two consecutive years. The study was established as a factorial design according to randomized block design and in the experiment, organic fertilizers which were planned into 6 factors as 2 different fertlizers (vermicompost-VC and chicken manure-CM) and 3 different mineral fertilization doses (control-0, 20 t ha(-1) and 40 t ha(-1)) were applied to 24 plots with 4 replications. The details of the test subjects are as follows: a) VC 0, b) VC 20, c) VC 40, d) CM 0, e) CM 20; and f) CM 40. According to the results obtained, it was determined that the soil was significantly affected by organic fertilization both in terms of enzyme activities (except urease and dehydrogenase) and the presence of bacteria. It was found that the measured parameters were higher in the first year (except urease) compared to the second year and the differences between the applications in the first year were statistically significant. In this context, it was determined that alkaline phosphatase and beta-glycosidase activities dominated by VC 20 and number of bacteria VC 40 for the first year. In addition, the differences between the sampling periods (excluding beta-glycosidase in the second sampling period) of the measured parameters over the years were significant. As a result, in the light of the obtained data, it was concluded that the vermicompost is an important organic fertilizer that can be used to maintain fertility of calcareous soil at summer squash cultivation.