Performance of Sweet Corn and Increasing Soil Total Nitrogen after the Application of Vegetable Waste-Based Liquid Organic Fertilizer in Coastal Entisols

Abstract

Coastal Entisols generally have coarse-textured, low organic matter and total soil nitrogen (N), and low water holding capacity. The liquid organic fertilizer is expected to increase soil organic matter in soil. The study's objective was to determine the total soil organic carbon (TSOC) and TSN on coastal Entisols and the performance of sweet corn under the application of liquid organic fertilizer (LOF) produced from vegetable waste. The study used a completely randomized design (CRD) with the treatments rates of LOF from vegetable waste consisting of 0, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 ml l-1 with three replicates. The results indicated that applied LOF linearly increased TSOC and TSN. The addition of LOF at the rate of 600 ml l-1 improved TSOC and TSN by as much as 19.5% and 24.70%, respectively, compared to the control. The growth of sweet corn was insignificantly dependent on the LOF, except plant height. The optimum concentration of LOF was approximately 250 ml l-1 to reach the highest yield, indicated by unhusked ear diameter (5.57 mm), unhusked ear weight (319.75 g plant-1), and husked ear weight (215.12 g plant-1). The study is significant for the productivity improvement of coastal Entisols.