Compost response on fertility, soil moisture, nutritional content in leaves and productivity in olive trees

Abstract

The use of organic residues represents a good alternative for the vegetable nutrition of the olive tree. The objective was to evaluate the effect of the compost application on the physical and chemical conditions of the soil, nutritional level in leaves, soil moisture and olive productivity in desert regions. The evaluation was carried out in an orchard located in the Caborca region, Sonora, Mexico during the years 2018 and 2019. The cultivar used was Manzanilla de Sevilla, with a spacing of 10 x 5 m (200 trees ha-1). The evaluated treatments were: 1) compost + wheat straw (C+P); and 2) absolute control (without compost or straw) (T). The parameters evaluated were: soil fertility, nutritional content in leaves, soil moisture, yield and fruit quality. The experimental design used was completely randomized with four replications. With the application of compost and wheat straw (C+P) the concentration of most of the edaphic nutrients, the content of organic matter, the cation exchange capacity and the salinity of the soil increased. In plant it increased the nutritional content in leaves. On the other hand, soil moisture, yield and quality of olives were not statistically affected with the incorporation into the soil of compost and wheat straw (C+P), in relation to the control (T). Despite an improvement in the soil, the application of compost in two years has not increased productivity in the olive tree.