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Agronomy
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Characteristics of Organomineral Fertilizers (OMFs) and Their Effects on Increasing...
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Characteristics of Organomineral Fertilizers (OMFs) and Their Effects on Increasing Nutrient Use Efficiency, Biostimulant Effects, and Enhancing Crop Production

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil and Plant Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 2583

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Everton Geraldo de Morais

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Ciência do Solo, Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, Brazil
Interests: biochar; waste management; nitrogen dynamics; nitrogen volatilization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Massimo Zaccardelli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CREA Research Centre for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Pontecagnano Faiano, Italy
Interests: microbiology; compost; compost tea; biostimulants; biological control; pest management by natural compounds; plant biodiversity; legumes; circular economy; green management in agriculture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The use of organomineral fertilizers (OMFs) has recently increased, and they mainly comprise fertilizers synthesized through processes such as composting, pyrolysis (biochar), and the use of humic substances. Compared with mineral fertilizers, OMFs can enhance crop productivity, especially in soil conditions where nutrients naturally have low use efficiency when applied via soil.

The synthesis route used, as well as the properties and nutrient pools in OMFs, controls the efficiency of the applied nutrients. For some nutrients, reducing the amount of readily soluble nutrients while maintaining available fractions has a high correlation with nutrient crop demand, thus increasing their use efficiency.

In addition to directly controlling nutrient availability, these classes of fertilizers, compared to mineral fertilizers, contain organic compounds that can act as plant biostimulants due to their organic matrix, which mainly comprises organic compounds. However, little is known about this effect in this class of fertilizers, with studies primarily focused on pure organic materials such as biochar, compost, or humic substances.

Therefore, the aim of this Special Issue is to provide more information related to the properties and nutrient pools in OMFs, linking these characteristics to increased nutrient use efficiency, biostimulant effects, and enhanced plant production in order to promote the advancement of this field. 

Dr. Everton Geraldo de Morais
Dr. Massimo Zaccardelli
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • humic acid
  • biochar
  • composting
  • mineral nutrition
  • metabolism
  • organomineral fertilizers

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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13 pages, 836 KiB  
Article
Biochar: A Valid Additive to Enhance Kiwifruit In Vitro Proliferation
by Samreen Nazeer, Valentina Morresi, Francesca Balducci, Leandra Leto, Andrea Di Fazio, Martina Cirlini, Anna Agosti and Benedetta Chiancone
Agronomy 2025, 15(4), 849; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15040849 - 28 Mar 2025
Viewed by 236
Abstract
Biochar, a by-product of agri-food waste, has shown benefits in plant growth and soil health. However, its use in vitro remains underexplored. This study investigates the impact of biochar supplementation in the culture medium, alone or in combination, with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), on kiwifruit [...] Read more.
Biochar, a by-product of agri-food waste, has shown benefits in plant growth and soil health. However, its use in vitro remains underexplored. This study investigates the impact of biochar supplementation in the culture medium, alone or in combination, with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), on kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis var. deliciosa), cv. Tomuri proliferation. Kiwifruit explants were cultured on media enriched with 0, 4, or 6 g/L biochar, without or with BAP (0.2 mg/L), over two subcultures (SUB1 and SUB2). Parameters such as shoot and root number and length, fresh and dry weight, as well as plantlets’ total phenolic content and antioxidant activity, were measured and analyzed. Biochar enhanced plantlets proliferation, particularly with BAP. In SUB1, at 4 g/L, biochar promoted shoot production (2.00 vs. 1.63) and their length (1.50 cm vs. 0.98), independently of the presence of BAP. The presence of biochar in the BAP-free media, favored rhizogenesis; particularly in SUB2, where on average, 5.58 roots per plantlets were recorded. Biochar increased the plantlets’ total phenolic content and antioxidant activity, especially in BAP-free media. The addition of biochar as an additive to the culture medium during the kiwifruit in vitro proliferation phase could be a breakthrough outcome for the nursery sector. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characteristics of Organomineral Fertilizers (OMFs) and Their Effects on Increasing Nutrient Use Efficiency, Biostimulant Effects, and Enhancing Crop Production)
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22 pages, 5644 KiB  
Article
Biochar and Ammonium Nitrate Synergies: Enhancing Nitrogen Availability and Maize Growth in Oxisols
by Igor de Oliveira Paiva, Everton Geraldo de Morais and Carlos Alberto Silva
Agronomy 2025, 15(3), 633; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15030633 - 2 Mar 2025
Viewed by 1072
Abstract
Effective nitrogen (N) management and the development of novel N fertilizers are essential for enhancing maize growth in tropical soils. One strategy to increase N use efficiency is the use of organic matrices as a source of N or their combination with the [...] Read more.
Effective nitrogen (N) management and the development of novel N fertilizers are essential for enhancing maize growth in tropical soils. One strategy to increase N use efficiency is the use of organic matrices as a source of N or their combination with the application of mineral N sources. Among these organic matrices, biochar emerges as a highly promising option for optimizing N use efficiency. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different feedstocks, their respective biochars, and their combination with N on the dynamics and uptake of N by maize plants in two contrasting Oxisols. A 30-day greenhouse experiment was conducted using maize grown under treatments with four feedstocks (bamboo, sunflower cake, chicken manure, and shrimp carcass) and their respective biochars. The biochars were applied with or without ammonium nitrate (AN), alongside negative (no N) and positive (AN-only) controls. Ammonium and nitrate levels were analyzed in the soil solution at 1 and 15 days and in the whole soil before and after cultivation. Maize biomass production and shoot N accumulation were also evaluated at the end of the experiment. Among the main results, it was observed that soil type played a key role in available N, maize nutrition, and growth. In the medium-textured Oxisol studied, native soil organic matter partially met maize N requirements due to high content of available N observed. Biochars influenced N availability by increasing nitrate-N prevalence in the soil solution. Although whole-soil N levels were sufficient for robust maize growth, post-cultivation residual N remained low (<75 mg kg−1), indicating the need for supplemental N fertilization for plants grown in pots. In the medium-textured Oxisol, bamboo or sunflower cake biochar combined with AN increased biomass production by ~12% compared with AN alone. Similarly, in the clayey Oxisol, maize fertilized with sunflower cake or shrimp carcass biochar—regardless of AN addition—outperformed AN-fertilized plants by 19–30%. Thus, this study highlights the potential of integrating biochar with N fertilization to improve soil and solution N availability and increase N use efficiency by maize plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characteristics of Organomineral Fertilizers (OMFs) and Their Effects on Increasing Nutrient Use Efficiency, Biostimulant Effects, and Enhancing Crop Production)
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29 pages, 5037 KiB  
Article
Evaluating Copper-Doped Biochar Composites for Improving Wheat Nutrition and Growth in Oxisols
by Loren Chisté, Carlos Alberto Silva, Flávio Henrique Silveira Rabêlo, Keiji Jindo and Leônidas Carrijo Azevedo Melo
Agronomy 2025, 15(1), 144; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15010144 - 9 Jan 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 847
Abstract
Copper (Cu) is a critical micronutrient for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), essential for growth and grain baking quality, yet its availability is limited because Cu is specifically adsorbed on colloids of highly weathered tropical soils like Oxisols. This study hypothesizes that Cu-doped [...] Read more.
Copper (Cu) is a critical micronutrient for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), essential for growth and grain baking quality, yet its availability is limited because Cu is specifically adsorbed on colloids of highly weathered tropical soils like Oxisols. This study hypothesizes that Cu-doped biochar composites can outperform traditional Cu fertilizers in improving wheat growth and Cu use efficiency. Composites were synthesized from chicken manure (FCM), shrimp shells (FSC), and sewage sludge (FSS), doped with copper sulfate (CuSO45H2O) or copper oxide (CuO), and pyrolyzed at 300 °C or 550 °C. The experimental design involved greenhouse trials in two Oxisols (RYL and DRL), assessing Cu release kinetics, plant Cu uptake, and dry matter production. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed successful Cu integration. Results revealed that CSS/CS-5 (FSS + CuSO45H2O at 550 °C) improved Cu uptake and shoot biomass in DRL soil, while CSC/CS-3 (FSC + CuSO45H2O at 300 °C) enhanced wheat CuSO45H2O growth in RYL soil. Peak Cu availability varied by CuSO45H2O soil and composite type, with residual Cu highest CuSO45H2O in CuSO45H2O-treated soils. These findings demonstrate that Cu–biochar composites, tailored to soil conditions, offer a sustainable alternative to mineral Cu fertilizers by enhancing the nutrient availability and wheat grain yield. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characteristics of Organomineral Fertilizers (OMFs) and Their Effects on Increasing Nutrient Use Efficiency, Biostimulant Effects, and Enhancing Crop Production)
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