Effect of Combined Organic and Inorganic Fertilizer Application on Soil Attributes, Yield and Quality of Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas L.)

Abstract

The use of organic fertilizers in adequate doses is an alternative to reduce the use of inorganic inputs, improving the soil chemical attributes, and increasing the production and quality of sweet potato. In this perspective, the objectives of this study were: (i) to evaluate the effects of fertilization with poultry and bovine manure, Ribumin®, and of conventional fertilization on soil attributes, production, and quality of sweet potato; and (ii) to evaluate the residual effect of organic fertilization on the production components and quality of sweet potato, in the second crop cycle. The two experiments were developed in the 2018/2019 crop year at the Agrotechnical School of the Federal University of Roraima (UFRR), Brazil. The treatments were arranged in a randomized block design with three replications, using a (2 × 5 × 2) + 1 factorial arrangement referring to two manure sources (bovine and poultry manure) and five doses, aiming at increasing the content of soil organic matter (1.35%) to 2.35; 3.35; 4.35, and 5.35%, in the absence and presence of Ribumin®, and an additional treatment referring to organomineral fertilization. For the evaluation of the second cycle, the residual effect of the manure was evaluated by applying only Ribumin® and conventional fertilizers. In the first cycle, the addition of 50.4 t ha-1 of bovine manure without Ribumin® provided the highest values of total (14.7 t ha-1) and marketable yield (14.6 t ha-1). However, the addition of poultry manure associated with the application of Ribumin® provided no increments in the sweet potato production components. Under the same experimental conditions, chemical fertilization can be replaced by fertilization with organic sources.