Erdem Yilmaz

Effects of Different Sources of Organic Matter on Some Soil Fertility Properties: A Laboratory Study on a Lithic Rhodoxeralf from Turkey

In this experiment, the influences of three different organic sources on some physical and chemical fertility properties in soil were investigated. The approach involved establishing a plot experiment in the greenhouse with a Lithic Rhodoxeralf and a variety of carbon sources having specific chemical properties applied to the soil of individual plots. Treatments include potassium (K)–humate (KH, 25, 50 and 100 kg ha−1), concentrated plant extract (CPE, 50, 100 200 kg ha−1), and molasses (M, 50, 100 200 kg ha−1). After a 7-month incubation period, soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (N), soil reaction (pH), electrical conductivity (EC), cation exchange capacity (CEC), base saturation (BS), and bulk density (BD) were determined, and their correlation to different C sources was developed. With respect to the unamended soil, soil treated with intermediate and high doses of all organic amendments showed apparent increases of SOM, total N, pH, EC, and CEC and a slight decrease of BD.

Effects of Zeolite on Seedling Quality and Nutrient Contents of Cucumber Plant (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Mostar F1) Grown in Different Mixtures of Growing Media

Zeolite has been successfully used in growing media for containerized production systems. In this study the effects of zeolite utilization with the mixture of different growing media (GM) on the seedling quality and nutrient contents of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Mostar F1) were determined under the greenhouse conditions. For this purpose, natural zeolite, perlite, turf, and their different mixture forms were used as GM for growing of cucumber seedlings. Effects of these substances on the seed germination, plant height, stem diameter, seedling fresh weight, and macronutrient [nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg)] and micronutrient [iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), and copper (Cu)] contents were studied. As a result of this study, the effects of GM on the seedling quality parameters were found to be significant for seed germination, plant height, stem diameter and fresh weight, and nutrient contents of seedlings. The best results were generally obtained from turf + zeolite mixtures.