Soil and Plant Response of Organic Amendments on Strawberry and Half-high Blueberry Cultivars

Shankar G. Shanmugam and Phil R. Warman

There is a growing interest among consumers in organically produced crops. A comparative study between organic amendments and chemical fertilizers is vital in order to understand the feasibility of using organic amendments in place of chemical fertilizers. Thus a three year field experiment was initiated in May 2002 at Boutilier’s Point, near Halifax, N.S., where the soil is a Gibraltar brown sandy loam.

The overall objectives of the research were to evaluate four different organic amendments in comparison with chemical fertilizers on three strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) cultivars and on two half high blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L./V. angustifolium Ait.) cultivars. Treatment consisted of a randomized complete block design with five treatments: municipal alfalfa meal, Municipal solid waste (MSW) compost, NPK fertilizer, Ruminant compost and YMFC (Yard waste, manure and food waste compost). Yield, soil fertility and plant nutrition of strawberry and half-high blueberry were evaluated over three years.

The Ruminant compost had a strong (K) and mild effect (P and Mg) on extractable soil nutrients and leaf nutrients in strawberry cultivars. The Ruminant compost also had a strong effect on soil extractable and leaf K levels in half-high blueberry cultivars. The MSW compost plots showed significantly higher soil and leaf Ca levels in most of the cultivar-year combinations. Other fertility treatments produced significant effects for individual cultivars and growing seasons, but failed to produce significant soil-leaf correlations. Few micronutrients were influenced by fertility treatments. Fruit yield was not statistically different among the fertility treatments but the compost treatments produced numerically higher yields than the NPK treatment in the second fruiting year.

Therefore, the Ruminant compost treatment provided an equivalent amount of plant- essential nutrient compared to chemical fertilizer treatments in strawberry and half-high blueberry.

Funding Agencies:
Technology Development Program, Nova Scotia, Canada
Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada
NSERC – AAFC funding program
Nova Scotia - Canada Tech Development Agreement
NSERC Discovery Grant