Global Advanced Research Journal of Agricultural Science (GARJAS) ISSN: 2315-5094
September 2015 Vol. 4(9): pp. 493-500
Copyright © 2015 Global Advanced Research Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Effect of Compost and Bovine Dry Manure on Soil Chemical Characteristics and Production of iceberg Lettuce (Lactuca Sativa L.)

Alfonso De Luna-Jiménez^a*, José Luis Arredondo-Figuero^a, Jorge Ramón Rocha-Ruiz^a and José de Jesús Luna-Ruiz^a

^aCentro de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, km 3 de la carretera Jesús María-La Posta, Apartado Postal 2, Jesús María C.P: 20900, Aguascalientes, México.  

*Corresponding Author’s Email: lunaji@yahoo.com;

 Tel: 01(449) 910-74-00. Ext. 8109.

Accepted 09 September, 2015

Abstract

Lettuce is one of the most important vegetables consumed worldwide. In recent years, lettuce production has greatly increased, and new interest has surged in their cultivation. The use of organic fertilizers in lettuce culture has been demonstrated to augment growth rate, increase yields and improve plant quality. The main goal of this research was to evaluate the effect of application of compost amended with E. densa and dry bovine manure in different combinations on the soil chemistry and the productivity of Iceberg lettuce (L. sativa). An experimental randomized block design with five treatments and four repetitions was carried out. The treatments were T1S=100% soil, T2SC=50% soil+ 50% compost, T3SCM=50% soil + 25% compost + 25% dry bovine manure, T4CM=50% compost + 50% manure and T5M =100% manure. The plants were grown inside an experimental greenhouse in 20 plastic pots, each with 2 kg of capacity. The experiment lasted 53 days from the transplant of planters to final harvest. At the end of the experimental period, a 1 kg sample of each experimental unit was removed for soil chemistry analysis. Additionally, production was evaluated throughout the experiment. The results indicated that the soil chemical parameters were significantly different (P<0.05), especially in the treatments that included organic fertilizers, which enhanced soil quality by increasing CIC, raising pH, and increasing the EC, OM, inorganic N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu, B and Na contents. Treatments T1S, T3SCM and T5M resulted in the highest Iceberg lettuce production and reached an acceptable production of fresh weight, thereby confirming the importance of incorporating these fertilizers to increase yields. Moreover, a direct relation between the number of leaves (NL) and foliar area (FA) was observed with respect to lettuce fresh weight (FW). Consequently, the use of both dry bovine manure mixed with soil and a combination of soil, compost and manure can be recommended for the culture of Iceberg lettuce.

Keywords:  Iceberg lettuce culture, compost, dry bovine manure, soil chemistry, productive variable, yields.