Biomass and nutrient concentration of lettuce grown with organic fertilizers |
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Authors: | Omid Reza Zandvakili Masoud Hashemi Fatemeh Etemadi |
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Affiliation: | 1. Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA;2. Professor of Plant and Soil Sciences, Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA |
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Abstract: | The responses of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. ‘Arroyo’) to organic nitrogen (N) fertilizers were investigated in a greenhouse. Fertilizers were blood meal (BLO), feather meal (FM), cottonseed meal, alfalfa meal, sewage sludge, compost, cow manure, a chemical fertilizer, and a treatment without fertilizer. Amounts of N from fertilizers were 100, 200, 400, or 800?mg per pot. Lettuce yield was higher for plants receiving fertilizers than with no fertilizer and increased with increased N applications, but high applications of BLO or FM suppressed yields. Nitrogen and nitrate increased in leaves as N supply increased with all fertilizers. Small changes in leaf nutrient contents other than N occurred among or with increased application of the various fertilizers. The soil carbon dioxide release and ammonia volatilization were high from fertilizers with high N concentrations. Organic fertilizers with high N increased lettuce growth at lower applications than those with low N content. |
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Keywords: | ammonia volatilization nutrient concentration in vegetables respiration seed germination |
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