Newswise — RUDN University agronomists conducted field research and proved that the "green" alternative to classic fertilizers does the job just as well while being totally harmless to the environment and more accessible to farmers. The results were published in Heliyon.
Nitrogen, phosphorus, and other synthetic fertilizers are considered powerful, but they are expensive and can damage the microfauna of fields. Green manure is an alternative way of soil fertilizing. These are organic biomass from plants, mainly from the legume or cereal genus. Their young shoots are cut and sprayed directly onto the soil before loosening. The green mass gradually decomposes and saturates the soil with necessary elements. This method of fertilization is sometimes called "green manure." It suppresses the growth of weeds, protects against pests and diseases, increases productivity, and improves soil structure. The main thing is that green manure is safe for plants and humans. An agronomist at RUDN University and colleagues from Kazakhstan and Sierra Leone showed, using the example of corn, that green manure is not inferior in efficiency to classical fertilizers and is necessary for sustainable agriculture.
"Pests and diseases are a constant threat to corn production. Major threats include corn spot virus, late blight, African stem borer, and gray leaf spot. Standard methods commonly used to reduce losses have limitations. For example, nitrogen fertilizers often do not fit due to high costs, destruction of soil microfauna, and so on. Pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides are harmful to the environment. Therefore, it is necessary to develop fertilization methods that would be more accessible to farmers and harmless to the environment," Meysam Zargar, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Agrobiotechnology at RUDN University.
Agronomists conducted field research at an experimental site in Sierra Leone. They divided corn into four groups, each treated with green manure made from switchgrass or a mixture of Pueraria and Calopogonium plants in different concentrations. The effect of green manure was compared with classical fertilizers - phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen (NPK).
Green manure from a mixture of leguminous plants turned out to be more effective - it improved the growth performance of corn. This soil treatment matched by all main parameters with the classic complex of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Calopogonium and Pueraria, like AFC, increased the number of leaves, plant height, and stem diameter. In addition, the quantity and quality of the crop, as well as the speed of ripening, have increased. Green manure did not completely protect against pests and diseases, but in some cases, it was effective. For example, it reduced susceptibility to corn stripe virus to 0%. Agronomists have concluded that green manure is useful for sustainable agriculture.
"Plants fed with green manure in higher doses gave higher yields and growth rates compared to lower doses. Green manure likely increases the amount of organic matter and available soil nitrogen. This enhances the uptake of these nutrients by the plants," Maysam Zargar, Dr. of Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor of the Agrobiotechnological Department of RUDN University.
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