Changes in Soil Properties and Vegetable Growth in Preparation for Organic Farming in Hawaii
2011
Ortiz-Escobar, Maria E. | Hue, N. V.
Changes in soil properties and vegetable growth were quantified on a low-fertility tropical soil. Four treatments (two composts, urea, and control) were applied to an Oxisol (Rhodic Haplustox, Wahiawa series) in a field on Oahu, Hawaii. Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa, Chinensis group) and eggplant (Solanum melongena) were grown sequentially as test crops. Soil quality as measured by hot-water-soluble carbon, dehydrogenase activity, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) increased by compost amendments. Total organic carbon or carbon dioxide (CO₂) respiration rate did not correlate with the soil amendments. Nitrogen (N) nutrition was the main factor that improved growth and carotenoid content in cabbage. The urea treatment promoted better growth in cabbage, whereas good-quality compost, made of grass clippings/tree trimmings, lime, and rock phosphate yielded better growth in eggplant, suggesting organic N requires time to mineralize and to be available to crops.
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