A field experiment was conducted to determine the effect of sulphur application with Rock phosphate mixed compost on phosphorus (P) solubility and its effect on yield and P uptake of wheat crop. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications at the research farm of The University of Agriculture Peshawar. The experiment was conducted during rabi 2015-16 with plot size of 3 m × 5 m. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were applied at the rate of 120, 90 and 60 kg ·ha -1 in the form of urea, compost, or single super phosphate and potassium sulphate, respectively. Elemental sulphur was applied at the rate of 10, 20 and 30 kg ·ha -1 at the time of sowing. Results showed that sulphur applied with compost significantly improved wheat yield and yield components, soil organic matter, soil total N and AB-DTPA extractable P contents, plant N and P concentrations and their uptake, plant micronutrients concentration and their uptakes. No significant changes were noted in soil pH, ECe and lime contents. Maximum grain yield of 4076 kg ·ha -1, total dry matter yield 9721 kg · h a -1, straw yield 5644 kg · h a -1, plant height 98.3 cm, spike length 11.2 cm, grain per spike 61.0, thousand grain weight 50.2 g were recorded on the application of S at the rate 20 kg · h a -1 with compost. The highest soil organic matter content of 1.41% was found for the application of S at the rate of 10 kg · h a -1 with compost. Maximum soil total N content of 1756 mg ·kg -1 and P 5.7 mg · k g -1 were observed by the application of double recommended S with compost. Plant N uptakes of 125.7 kg · h a -1, and P uptake of 17.5 kg · h a -1, were maximum with application of compost and S @ 20 kg · h a -1. Highest plant uptake of Fe 0.56 kg · h a -1, Zn 0.41 kg · h a -1, Cu 0.16 kg · h a -1 and Mn 0.93 kg · h a -1 were found by the application of full recommended S with compost. Results suggested that S at the rate of 20 kg · h a -1 application with compost prepared from farm yard manure and rock phosphate proved better combination to enhance wheat yield, yield components and nutrients uptakes of wheat crop.
Phosphorous (P) is the succeeding important macronutrients following nitrogen (N) indispensable for plant growth [
Among different factors accountable for low yield, fertilizer management may be of much importance [
Sulfur is one of the imperative nutrients for plant growth and plant tissue containing 0.2% to 0.5% on dry matter basis. [
Compost contains lot of nutrients having high content of organic matter. By using compost, the properties of soil such as chemical and physical can be enhanced, which may increase crop yield ultimately. [
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a winter self-pollinated crop, belongs to family Poacceae tribe Hordeae is the world’s leading cereal crop both in area and production and feeding about one third of the whole world population. Pakistan is the 8th largest wheat producing country of the world. It is a vital staple food inside the country. Wheat is one of the mainly plentiful sources of protein and energy for the world population. It is a most important component in many foods such as breakfast cereals, cakes, doughnuts and roll, pies, pastries, bread, pancakes and other alcoholic beverages. It has been reported that 100 g of spring wheat contains about 12.2 g of fiber, 71 g of carbohydrates, 1.54 g of fats, 12.6 g of protein, vitamins in trace amount and a massive quantity of nutrients [
A field experiment was conducted at research farm of The University of Agriculture, Peshawar during Rabi season 2015-2016 to study the effect of phosphorous solubility from compost prepared with FYM and RP as influenced with sulphur and its effect on yield and P uptake of wheat crop. The experiment was laid out in randomized completely block design (RCBD) with three replications. Wheat variety (Atta Habib) was sown with seed rate of 100 kg∙ha−1. There were 8 treatments in the experiment and the plot size was kept 5 m long and 3 m wide containing ten rows of plants. The row to row distance of wheat plants was kept 30 cm apart. Sulphur and compost prepared from rock phosphate (RP) and farm yard manure (FYM) were applied at the time of sowing. Sulphur was applied at three different levels as 10, 20 and 30 kg∙ha−1 [
1) Control (No fertilizers)
2) N and K fertilizers as basal dose applied to all treatments except control.
3) N, P and K at the rate of 120, 90 and 60 kg∙ha−1
4) Compost @ recommended level of P
5) N, P and K + Sulphur @ 20 kg∙ha−1
6) Compost + S @ 10 kg∙ha−1
7) Compost + S @ 20 kg∙ha−1
8) Compost + S @ 30 kg∙ha−1
Ten g soil sample was taken in a shaking bottle. 50 ml distilled water was added and soil water suspension (1:5) was made. The suspension was then shaked for 30 minutes on horizontal shaker. The suspension was then brought for pH meter. With the help of pH, meter pH of the soil was determined. Before measuring the pH meter was calibrated with standard buffers of 4.0 and 10.0 as method shown by [
Electrical conductivity of the soil suspension was determined by adding ten g soil with 50 ml distilled water and soil water suspension (1:5) was made. EC of the suspension was determined by EC meter [
Soil organic method was determined by the method of [
By acid neutralization method lime content of soil was determined [
Total nitrogen of the soil was determined by the Kjeldhal method of [
Phosphorus content of soil was determined by extracting it with AB-DTPA extracting solution as described by [
Plant nitrogen concentration was determined by the Kjeldhal method of [
In a conical flask plant sample of 0.5 g and 10 ml of nitric acid was taken in conical flask to determine concentration of P in plants [
Plant sample of 0.5 g plant sample with 10 ml of nitric acid in a conical flask was taken for determination of micronutrients. The flask was kept for the night to complete the reaction. Then 4 ml perchloric acid was added to it. The flask was then kept on a hot plate for digestion until the color changes and white fumes were appeared. The sample was then allowed to cool for some time. The sample was then diluted into 100 ml volumetric flask and the volume was adjusted up to 100 ml by adding distilled water. The samples were analyzed by the help of atomic absorption spectrophotometer for the determination of Fe, Zn, Cu and Mn.
Nutrients uptake by wheat crop were determined by using the formula.
Plant nutrient concentration × total dry matter yield.
A field experiment was conducted at the research farm of the University of Agriculture Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan to determine the influence of sulphur applied with compost on yield and nutrients uptake of wheat crop.
Physical and chemical properties of soil under investigation are presented in
Data in
Concentration of N and P in compost under use contains 1.189% N and 0.547% P2O5.
Yield and yield components of wheat are significantly affected by sulphur applied with compost prepared with FYM and RP is presented in
Property | Units | Concentration |
---|---|---|
Silt | % | 64.5 |
Sand | % | 29.6 |
Clay | % | 5.4 |
Textural Class | - | Silt loam |
EC(e) | dS∙m−1 | 0.25 |
pH | - | 7.81 |
Organic matter content | % | 0.76 |
Lime | % | 14.7 |
Soil total N content | % | 0.12 |
AB-DTPA extractable P | mg∙kg−1 | 3.26 |
Treatments | Grain | Total dry matter | Straw | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
___________yield (kg∙ha−1)__________ | |||||
Control (No fertilizers) | 2463e* | 6705f* | 4242c* | ||
N and K fertilizers | 2769d | 7706e | 4937b | ||
N, P & K fertilizers | 3670b | 9085b | 5415ab | ||
Compost | 3198c | 8323d | 5125ab | ||
N, P & K + S @ 20 kg∙ha−1 | 3688b | 9303b | 5615a | ||
Compost + S @ 10 kg∙ha−1 | 3396bc | 8710c | 5313ab | ||
Compost + S @ 20 kg∙ha−1 | 4076a | 9721a | 5644a | ||
Compost + S @ 30 kg∙ha−1 | 4037a | 9645a | 5638a | ||
LSD P ≤ 0.05 | 299.2 | 341.7 | 531 | ||
*Means with different letter (S) in columns are significantly different at P ≤ 0.05.
Wheat grain yield as affected by sulphur applied with compost is presented in
applied with [
Data regarding total dry matter yield of wheat as affected by sulphur practical by means of compost prepared with RP are presented in
that straw yield of wheat enhanced with composts submission organized from different organic materials. The results compiled by [
Plant height as affected by sulphur applied with compost is shown in
Spike length as affected by sulphur applied with compost is present in
Treatments | Plant height | Spike length | Grain per spike | Thousand grain weight |
---|---|---|---|---|
_____(cm)_____ | No | (g) | ||
Control (No fertilizers) | 78.0e* | 7.4e* | 39.3e* | 33.0f* |
N & K fertilizers | 81.1d | 8.4d | 43.3de | 37.9e |
N, P & K fertilizers | 95.7ab | 10.1b | 56.7b | 48.3ab |
Compost | 87.5c | 9.0cd | 47.4d | 40.7d |
N, P & K + S @ 20 kg∙ha−1 | 95.8ab | 10.3b | 56.7b | 48.6ab |
Compost + S @ 10 kg∙ha−1 | 89.3c | 9.2c | 52.3c | 43.2c |
Compost + S @ 20 kg∙ha−1 | 98.3a | 11.2a | 61.0a | 50.2a |
Compost + S @ 30 kg∙ha−1 | 93.6b | 9.9b | 54.7bc | 46.8b |
LSD P ≤ 0.05 | 3.0 | 0.62 | 4.108 | 2.40 |
*Means with different letter (S) in columns are significantly different at P ≤ 0.05.
compost. Maximum spike length of 11.2 cm was recorded in the plot treated with compost with S @ 20 kg∙ha−1 followed by N, P and K with S at the rate 20 kg∙ha−1 and compost with S at the rate of 30 kg∙ha−1 and N, P and K fertilizers with 10.3, 9.9 and 10.1 cm respectively. The smallest plant height of 7.4 cm was recorded in the control treatment. The above values are in lined by means of the outcome of [
Sulphur applied with compost significantly influenced grain spike−1 as shown in
Thousand grains weight of wheat as affected by sulphur applied with compost is presented in
pH values noted after crop harvest were non considerably exaggerated by the treatment combination of sulphur applied with compost is shown in
The pH values ranged from 7.75 to 7.46. These results are in contrast with [
Treatments | pH | EC(e) | SOM | Lime |
---|---|---|---|---|
(1:5) | (dS∙m−1) | ____(%)_____ | ||
Control (No fertilizers) | 7.75 | 0.29 | 0.50d* | 17.61 |
N & K fertilizers | 7.76 | 0.31 | 0.64cd | 18.67 |
N, P & K fertilizers | 7.76 | 0.33 | 0.73c | 17.55 |
Compost | 7.75 | 0.34 | 1.28a | 18.45 |
N, P & K + S @ 20 kg∙ha−1 | 7.63 | 0.38 | 0.96b | 17.63 |
Compost + S @ 10 kg∙ha−1 | 7.61 | 0.36 | 1.41a | 18.09 |
Compost + S @ 20 kg∙ha−1 | 7.54 | 0.38 | 1.28a | 17.99 |
Compost + S @ 30 kg∙ha−1 | 7.46 | 0.39 | 1.20a | 18.36 |
LSD P ≤ 0.05 | NS | NS | 0.21 | NS |
*Means with different letter (S) in columns are significantly different at P ≤ 0.05.
reported soil pH increase with compost consumption.
The soil EC recorded after cop harvest were non significantly affected by sulphur applied with compost as shown in
Analysis of data revealed that soil organic matter content was significantly affected by sulphur applied with compost as presented in
Post harvest soil total nitrogen as affected by sulphur applied with compost is given in
Treatments | Total soil N | AB-DTP A extractable P |
---|---|---|
______Contents (mg∙kg−1)______ | ||
Control (No fertilizers) | 940d* | 3.10f* |
N & K fertilizers | 1275c | 3.859e |
N, P & K fertilizers | 1230c | 4.193d |
Compost | 1101cd | 4.580c |
N, P & K + S @ 20 kg∙ha−1 | 1111cd | 5.168b |
Compost + S @ 10 kg∙ha−1 | 1477b | 4.925b |
Compost + S @ 20 kg∙ha−1 | 1613ab | 5.567a |
Compost + S @ 30 kg∙ha−1 | 1756a | 5.704a |
LSD P ≤ 0.05 | 194.56 | 0.321 |
*Means with different letter (S) in columns are significantly different at P ≤ 0.05.
Analysis of data indicated that soil total nitrogen content was considerably affected by sulphur applied with compost. Highest total soil N of 1756 mg∙kg∙ha−1 was observed with submission of compost and S at the rate of 30 kg∙ha−1 followed by compost with S @ 10 kg∙ha−1. The lowest total soil nitrogen of 940 mg∙kg−1 was noted in the control treatment. [
Analysis of data revealed that post harvest soil P content was considerably affected by treatment combination of sulphur applied with compost is present in
Data regarding plant N and P concentration as affected by sulphur applied with compost are presented in present in
Data regarding plant N concentration as affected by sulphur applied with compost are presented in
Data regarding plant N concentration as significantly affected by the submission of sulphur applied with compost. Maximum plant N concentration of 1.29% was obtained with appliance of compost with S @ 20 kg∙ha−1 followed by compost and S @ 30 kg∙ha−1. The lowest plant N concentration of 0.85% was
Treatments | Plant N | Plant P |
---|---|---|
______Concentration (%)______ | ||
Control (No fertilizers) | 0.85d* | 0.07d* |
N & K fertilizers | 1.22b | 0.10c |
N, P & K fertilizers | 1.12c | 0.14b |
Compost | 1.25ab | 0.13bc |
N, P & K + S @ 20 kg∙ha−1 | 1.13c | 0.14b |
Compost + S @ 10 kg∙ha−1 | 1.23b | 0.15ab |
Compost + S @ 20 kg∙ha−1 | 1.29a | 0.18a |
Compost + S @ 30 kg∙ha−1 | 1.27ab | 0.17a |
LSD P ≤ 0.05 | 0.06 | 0.03 |
*Means with different letter (S) in columns are significantly different at P ≤ 0.05.
observed in the control treatment. This result is an agreement with [
Wheat plant P concentration as affected by sulphur applied with compost is shown in
Wheat plant N uptake as affected by sulphur applied with compost is shown in
Analysis of data shows that plant N uptake was significantly affected by sulphur applied with compost. Highest N uptake of 125.7 kg∙ha−1 was recorded by the use of compost and S @ 20 kg∙ha−1 which was 141% increase over control (
Plant P uptake was significantly affected by sulphur applied with compost is shown in
Treatments | N | P |
---|---|---|
_____Plant uptake (kg∙ha−1)_____ | ||
Control ( No fertilizers ) | 57.0c* | 4.7c* |
N & K fertilizers | 94.2d | 7.9d |
N, P & K fertilizers | 101.5b | 12.7b |
Compost | 103.7b | 11.1b |
N, P & K + S @ 20 kg∙ha−1 | 105.1b | 13.0b |
Compost + S @ 10 kg∙ha−1 | 106.8b | 13.4b |
Compost + S @ 20 kg∙ha−1 | 125.7a | 17.5a |
Compost + S @ 30 kg∙ha−1 | 122.9a | 16.7a |
LSD P ≤ 0.05 | 6.73 | 2.73 |
*Means with different letter (S) in columns are significantly different at P ≤ 0.05.
were significantly increased with residual effect of N-based compost. [
Treatments | Fe | Zn | Cu | Mn |
---|---|---|---|---|
___________mg∙kg−1___________ | ||||
Control (No fertilizers) | 38.2e* | 25.07d* | 6.0e* | 65.8e* |
N & K fertilizers | 42.5d | 28.30c | 8.4d | 72.5d |
N, P & K fertilizers | 57.3a | 40.57a | 10.4c | 93.7a |
Compost | 47.0c | 34.13b | 12.0bc | 79.2c |
N, P & K + S @ 20 kg∙ha−1 | 57.3a | 40.87a | 10.6c | 94.6a |
Compost + S @ 10 kg∙ha−1 | 51.1bc | 35.73b | 13.1b | 86.6b |
Compost + S @ 20 kg∙ha−1 | 58.1a | 42.03a | 16.3a | 95.5a |
Compost + S @ 30 kg∙ha−1 | 52.7b | 39.03a | 15.3a | 90.2ab |
LSD P ≤ 0.05 | 4.05 | 3.043 | 1.80 | 6.16 |
*Means with different letter (S) in columns are significantly different at P ≤ 0.05.
that using organic fertilizers the organic matter of the soil increases and thus increases the concentration of Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, N, P, and K in plant.
Concentration of Cu in wheat plant as affected by sulphur applied with compost is presented in
Concentration of Mn in wheat plant as affected by sulphur applied with compost is given in
Wheat plant Fe uptake as affected by sulphur applied with compost is present in
Treatments | Fe | Zn | Cu | Mn |
---|---|---|---|---|
__________Plants uptake (kg∙ha−1)__________ | ||||
Control (No fertilizers) | 0.26g* | 0.17f* | 0.04f* | 0.44d* |
N & K fertilizers | 0.33f | 0.22e | 0.06e | 0.56c |
N, P & K fertilizers | 0.53b | 0.38b | 0.10b | 0.88b |
Compost | 0.39e | 0.28d | 0.10d | 0.66b |
N, P & K + S @ 20 kg∙ha−1 | 0.53b | 0.38b | 0.10b | 0.88b |
Compost + S @ 10 kg∙ha−1 | 0.44d | 0.31c | 0.11c | 0.75b |
Compost + S @ 20 kg∙ha−1 | 0.56a | 0.41a | 0.16a | 0.93a |
Compost + S @ 30 kg∙ha−1 | 0.50c | 0.38b | 0.15b | 0.87a |
LSD P ≤ 0.05 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.04 |
*Means with different letter (S) in columns are significantly different at P ≤ 0.05.
calcareous soils by sulphur application.
Wheat plant Zn uptake as affected by sulphur applied with compost is shown in
S at the rate of 30 kg∙ha−1. The lowest plant Zn uptake of 0.17 kg∙ha−1 was recorded in the control treatment. [
plant Mn of 0.44 kg∙ha−1 was observed in the control treatment. [
Following conclusions are drawn from the results of the conducted research work.
➢ Sulphur application with compost prepared from farm yard manure and rock phosphate significantly increased grain (4076 kg∙ha−1), total dry matter yield (9721 kg∙ha−1) and straw yield (5644 kg∙ha−1) of wheat crop.
➢ Maximum plant height, thousand grains weight and spike length of wheat were recorded by the application of sulphur with compost.
➢ Plant N and P uptake of wheat crop improved significantly by the addition of S with compost.
➢ Micro nutrients (Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn) uptake by wheat plants significantly increased by S application with compost.
➢ Post harvest soil total N, OM, and AB-DTPA extractable P contents improved by the addition of S with compost.
Following recommendations could be drawn on basis of findings of the conducted research work.
➢ Sulphur application with compost prepared with RP has the potential to improve yield, yield components and nutrients uptake of crops.
Further research work is needed to conduct experiment on sulphur application with composts of different crops and organic materials at various agroecological conditions of Pakistan
Khan, K., Sharif, M., Azeem, I., Ibadullah, Khan, A.A., Ali, S., Khan, I. and Khan, A. (2017) Phosphorus Solubility from Rock Phosphate Mixed Compost with Sulphur Application and Its Effect on Yield and Phosphorus Uptake of Wheat Crop. Open Journal of Soil Science, 7, 401-429. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2017.712028