Bio-fertilizer and Organic Manure Affects Rice Productivity in Newly Reclaimed Saline Soil

摘要

Bio-fertilizers and organic manure are two known enhancers of soil quality and productivity. Agriculture in newly reclaimed soils usually encounters a high level of salinity which hinders plant productivity and causes substantial economic losses. In this field experiment, the effect of applying different rates of bio-fertilizers, either a special isolate of Azospirillum brasilense (NO40), chicken manure (10 m3/feddan; 1 feddan = -0.42 million ha) or mineral nitrogen fertilization, were studied in rice (Oryza sativa cv. 'Sakha 101') straw and grain production. Overall rice productivity in newly reclaimed saline soil was estimated in two successive summer seasons of 2007 and 2008 at a newly reclaimed experimental farm in Sah-El-Hossinia, El-Sharkia governorate, Egypt. The land area was irrigated with El-Salam canal water, which contains a 1: 1 mix of water from the Nile River and drainage water. All applied fertilization treatments resulted in significant increases in the productivity of straw and grain/plant and in the total weight of 1000-grains. In addition, the N, P and K concentrations in grains and straw increased by increasing the rate of N addition, but decreased by adding bio-fertilizer. Concomitantly, there was a more pronounced increase in Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu concentrations with a resulting decrease in soil pH. Bio-fertilizers significantly increased N, P and K content in plants, and increased the Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu concentration in the soil compared to the control experiment in which theland was singularly treated with mineral N.