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Effect of Diverse Compost Products on Potato Yield and Nutrient Availability

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Abstract

Compost application to agricultural fields can increase soil organic matter content and soil productivity. This study compared diverse compost products with a non-amended control in small plot and on-farm trials for effects on tuber yield and plant nutrient availability under rain-fed potato production in New Brunswick, Canada. In the small plot trial, mature compost products resulted in a small increase in plant N availability, whereas immature products resulted in net N immobilization. Composts high in K increased plant K availability. However, these effects on nutrient availability did not result in a significant effect on tuber yield. In on-farm trials, compost did not significantly increase yield averaged across 19 site-years of trials. This suggests that any short-term nutrient benefit from application of these wood waste and manure based composts is unlikely to influence crop yield, although there may be the potential to reduce nutrient application rates, particularly for K.

Resumen

La aplicación de composta a los campos agrícolas puede aumentar el contenido de la materia orgánica del suelo y su productividad. En este estudio se compararon diversos productos de composta con un testigo sin ella en ensayos de lote pequeño y de campo para efecto de rendimiento de tubérculo y de disponibilidad de nutrientes para la planta bajo producción de papa de temporal (secano) en New Brunswick, Canadá. En el ensayo de lote pequeño los productos maduros de composta resultaron en un pequeño aumento en la disponibilidad del N en la planta, mientras que los productos inmaduros resultaron en inmovilización neta del N. Las compostas altas en K aumentaron su disponibilidad. No obstante, estos efectos en la disponibilidad de nutrientes no resultaron en un efecto significativo en rendimiento de tubérculo. En los ensayos de campo, la composta no aumentó significativamente el promedio de rendimiento a lo largo de 19 sitios-año de ensayos. Esto sugiere que cualquier beneficio nutrimental a corto plazo de la aplicación de estas compostas a base de desperdicios de madera y estiércol es improbable que influencie el rendimiento del cultivo, aunque debería de haber el potencial de reducir los niveles de aplicación de nutrientes, particularmente para K.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Ginette Decker, Yulia Kupriyanovich, Kyle McKinley, Karen Terry, and summer students at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for technical support. Funding contributions for this project were provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, National Science and Engineering Research Council, Enabling Agricultural Research and Innovation program of the New Brunswick Department of Agriculture and Aquaculture, McCain Foods (Canada) and Potatoes New Brunswick.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, P.O. Box 550, Truro, Nova Scotia, B2N 5E3, Canada

    Carolyn Wilson & David L. Burton

  2. Fredericton Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, P.O. Box 20280, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 4Z7, Canada

    Carolyn Wilson, Bernie J. Zebarth & Claudia Goyer

  3. McCain Foods (Canada) Ltd., 8800 Main Street, Florenceville-Bristol, New Brunswick, E7L 1B2, Canada

    Gilles Moreau & Tom Dixon

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  1. Carolyn Wilson
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  2. Bernie J. Zebarth
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  4. Claudia Goyer
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  5. Gilles Moreau
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Correspondence to Bernie J. Zebarth.

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Wilson, C., Zebarth, B.J., Burton, D.L. et al. Effect of Diverse Compost Products on Potato Yield and Nutrient Availability. Am. J. Potato Res. 96, 272–284 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-019-09714-x

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