Biomass and water use efficiency of chrysanthemum under organic, mineral, and organomineral fertilization

Abstract

Most soils are excessively acidic, which decreases the productive efficiency of plants. There are several ways to correct soil acidity to make nutrients available to crops. Wood ash is a residue generated by the combustion of vegetal biomass and is used to correct soil acidity for use as a fertilizer. The application of organomineral wood ash to crops is yet another alternative fertilizer that reduces the doses of wood ash and mineral fertilizer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the biomass production and water use efficiency of chrysanthemum cultivated with organic, mineral, and organomineral fertilizers associated with liming. The greenhouse experiment was conducted in a 5 × 2 factorial randomized block design with five fertilization managements (incubated wood ash, non-incubated wood ash, organomineral, mineral fertilization, and control) and two liming values (0 and 100% of the recommendation), with five replicates. Biomass production was significantly affected by fertilization alone and organomineral application resulted in higher biomass production. Incubated ash was more appropriate because resulted in higher yields.