Impact of Plastic Enriched Composting on Soil Structure, Fertility and Growth of Maize Plants
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Date
2012
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
European Journal of Applied Sciences
Abstract
The impact of plastic enriched composting on soil structure, fertility and growth of maize (Zea mays
L.) was examined in this study. A completely randomized blocked design (RCBD) consisting of five treatments
viz., A (Control, untreated soil), B (0.83% treatment level), C (1.67% treatment level), D (2.50% treatment level)
and E (3.33% treatment level) with three replicates each was used. The result of the physico-chemical parameters
of the soil revealed that the addition of plastic granules to the soil resulted to increase in the total organic
carbon content and bulk density of the soil. However, other nutrient elements of the soil were not affected.
Among the treatments, there was no significant difference (P<0.05) on the germination of Zea mays seedlings.
The result of impact of plastic on the growth showed that the higher the plastic granules the more its negative
impact on Zea mays growth. A (36.51 ± 1.30 cm) had the highest growth while the least growth was observed
in D (28.50 ± 0.74 cm) and E (28. 78 ± 1.64 cm) treatments after eight weeks of planting.