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Abstract
Municipal organic waste (MOW) compost is considered a sustainable and environmental friendly fertilizer management system throughout the world for hybrid maize production. It can enhance the production of maize by using MOW compost as a soil amendment. Therefore, two field trials were executed during November 2021–March 2022 and November 2022–March 2023 to study the consequences of compost treatments derived from MOW, MOW added with vermiculite, MOW added with cow manure, and combination of 150 kg/ha NPK fertilizer and MOW compost on maize yield and yield components. The MOW compost was applied at three levels (5, 10 and 15 t ha−1) in the maize field. The statistical design was a split plot with three replications. Compost levels were in the main plots, and sub-plots were four treatments (MOW, vermiculite + MOW, cow manure + MOW and a combination of 150 kg/ha NPK fertilizer with MOW compost). Each plot was 6 m2, with 50 cm line to line and 30 cm plant to plant distance. MOW compost with NPK fertilizer significantly affected the yield and yield-contributing characters, followed by vermiculite and cow manure-added composts. These effects were more pronounced at the rate of 15 t ha−1 compost than 10 t ha−1. In conclusion, MOW mixed with NPK at the rate of 15 t ha−1 was found to be the best for all studied traits of maize. This qualitative and quantitative assessment will not only provide new information about the MOW conversion methods to compost in the arid land agriculture but also will open new avenues for maize production in a significant and worthwhile way.
REVIEWING EDITOR:
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge DR. Mohammed Reda Kabli dean of the faculty of engineering at King Abdulaziz university and Professor Qing Chen from the College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China, for their help in writing the project proposal and achieving the funding under Project 397. The authors also extend their appreciation to the Deputyship for Research and Innovation, Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia, for funding this research work through project number (397).
Disclosure statement
The authors state that the research had no commercial or financial conflicts of interest.
Additional information
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Notes on contributors
Shahadat Hossain
Shahadat Hossain is working as a scientific officer at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute. He is currently pursuing a PhD degree with the Department of Agriculture at King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia. His research interests include organic waste management for sustainable crop production.
Samir G. M. Al-Solaimani
Professor Samir G. M. Al-Solaimani works on soil chemistry and fertility in the Department of Agriculture at King AbdulAziz University. He has dedicated his career to researching irrigation, fertilization, and the utilization of treated sewage water for crop production. His current research interests are in phytoremediation and organic crop production.
Fahad Alghabari
Dr. Fahad Alghabari is a professor in the Department of Agriculture at King AbdulAziz University. He has obtained his PhD from the University of Reading, UK. The current research interest is sustainable crop production techniques for stress environments in Saudi Arabia.
Khurram Shahzad
Dr. Khurram Shahzad A lifecycle-based ecological assessment expert with a background in chemical engineering and environmental sciences. More than ten years of international experience and cross-sector exposure. Experienced in team-based and multidisciplinary projects. Passionate about sustainability and dedicated to sustainable development, circular economy, climate change issues, net zero emission technologies, processes, and services that can positively contribute to society/organization’s economic and social impacts. The google scholar citation index reveals that his published work has been cited more than 2500 times with an H-index of 21 and an i-10 index of 45.
Muhammad Imtiaz Rashid
Dr. Muhammad Imtiaz Rashid He completed his PhD from Wageningen University, The Netherlands, in soil quality and farming system ecology groups. He has >10 years’ research experience in soil, plant, and environmental interactions. His research interests include nutrient cycling in agro-ecosystems, organic waste (municipal and agricultural) management for composting, biochar, and nanobiochar production and their sustainable use in agriculture, as well as assessing the microbiology of compost. He also worked in soil-plant interactions and feedback, nano-agrochemicals in agriculture and their toxicity assessment for soil biota, soil functions and plant production, reclamation of degraded soil with use of organic fertilizers, nanomaterial use in agriculture for sustainable and smart fertilizers production.