Addition effects of certain organic materials on some chemical properties and available calcium and phosphorus of calcareous soils

Four soil samples were collected from the surface layer of some cultivated and uncultivated calcareous soils located in the areas of Wadi ElAssiut and its interference zone with the Nile valley at Assiut to evaluate the application effects of certain organic materials on some chemical properties and the available Ca and P of these soils. The organic materials included , humic acid (HA), vinasse (V), clover straw (CS) and ethyllyene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA). They were applied to the soil samples at levels of 2.5 and 5.0%. Soil samples treated with organic materials as well as the controls were moistened to the field capacity and then incubated at 24¡À2¡ãC for different time periods (30, 60 and 120 days). The EC of studied soils significantly increased with the addition of the studied organic materials and with increasing the addition level. It also increased with the time of incubation until 60 days but then decreased after 120 days of incubation. The soil pH increased with adding both humic acid and EDTA compared to the control. However, the application of vinasse and clover straw to all studied soils at both application levels showed a reduction in the soil p1l. The CaCO3 content of the organic material treated soils decreased with increasing both the application level of each organic material and the incubation time. Most organic material treated soils showed decreases in CaC03 in the order of CS HA ¡ÖEDTA¡Ö Vinasse. The available Ca of the studied soils increased with adding the investigated organic materials as well as their application level, except using CS. EDTA as a synthetic chelating agent gave the highest amounts of the available calcium in all studied soils. The increases in the soil available Ca induced by addition of the investigated organic materials showed the order of Vinasse HA EDTA CS in all soils.