Special Issue "Effects of Compost Fertilizer on the Vegetative and Productive Performance of the Fruit Tree"

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Horticultural and Floricultural Crops".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 January 2022.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Luca Regni
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, 1, 06123 Perugia PG, Italy
Interests: tree plant physiology; abiotic stress; climate change; sustainability; environment; agricultural byproduct valorization; environmental impact assessment
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Dr. Primo Proietti
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze Edificio 4 Ingresso H, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Interests: soil fertility; agriculture environment; plant physiology; sustainable agriculture
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Dr. Mirko Cucina
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences - Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, University of Milan, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milano, Italy
Interests: organic waste treatment; waste-derived organic amendments/fertilizers; emerging contaminants; anaerobic digestion; composting; sewage sludge
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Today, interest in the composting is increasing because it allows reducing the cost of disposal of organic byproducts and residues, transforming them into amendments or plant nursery substrates. Composting allows subtracting organic byproducts from the disposal cycle and putting them back into the production cycle, enhancing their quality and closing the organic carbon cycle. The return of organic matter to the soil is of great environmental and ecological interest, since it positively contributes to the mitigation of environmental issues, such as the severe degradation processes affecting some regions of the world, also caused by climate change. A growing body of literature reports mostly agronomical and environmental benefits related to compost use in a wide range of agroecosystems. However, methods to improve the composting process and compost quality using different byproducts, the effects on the soil and plants of the compost amendment, and the mechanisms of action are yet not totally clear, especially in perennial fruit trees. The aim of this Special Issue is to advance knowledge on the influence of compost use on the whole fruit tree system: byproducts and their composting, amendment effects on physiology, productive and vegetative activities, biomass organ partitioning, nutritional status, biostimulant activity, suppressiveness effects, and fruit quality.

Dr. Luca Regni
Dr. Primo Proietti
Dr. Mirko Cucina
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 papers will be 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 1800 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

  • recycle
  • organic waste
  • compost
  • sustainability
  • tree fruit plants
  • tree physiology
  • nutritional status
  • fruits quality

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
Integrated Nutrient Management Significantly Improves Pomelo (Citrus grandis) Root Growth and Nutrients Uptake under Acidic Soil of Southern China
Agronomy 2021, 11(6), 1231; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11061231 - 17 Jun 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 463
Abstract
Root system plays a crucial role in plant growth and development by uptake of soil nutrients, which is affected by intensive use of NPK fertilizer. However, it is unknown how integrated nutrient management (INM) could affect the root growth and its nutrient uptake [...] Read more.
Root system plays a crucial role in plant growth and development by uptake of soil nutrients, which is affected by intensive use of NPK fertilizer. However, it is unknown how integrated nutrient management (INM) could affect the root growth and its nutrient uptake in the red soils of southern China. For this, the impacts of different INM practices on root morphological traits and root nutrient uptake were investigated in the pomelo tree. First, we investigated the spatial root distribution of various tree ages (i.e., 8, 13, 18, and 23 years old) and found the optimum root growth at 20–80 cm around the tree trunk in topsoil (0–20 cm). Hence, the pomelo trees were fertilized at 20–80 cm around the trunk, i.e., FFP (farmer fertilization practice), optimization NPK fertilizer (O) combined with lime (L) and mushroom residue (M) known as O+L+M treatment, and O+L combined with Mg fertilizer called as O+L+Mg treatment. We found that root length (RL) significantly increased by application of O+L+M (108.5 and 219.1 cm) and O+L+Mg (73.6, 66.8 cm) in topsoil and subsoil, respectively, in 2019. Similarly, root surface area (RSA) was significantly higher under INM, i.e., O+L+Mg > O+L+M > FFP. For root diameter (RD), O+L+M (0.8 mm) and O+L+Mg (1.5 mm) showed significantly lower diameter than FFP (2.54 mm). The root tips (RT) also improved considerably under INM practices compared with FFP. Besides, root nutrient contents (N, P, K, Ca, and Mg) also significantly improved under O+L+M and O+L+Mg over FFP. Similar trends of root growth and nutrients uptake were recorded in 2020. Overall, these findings suggest that INM plays a significant role in root development and nutrient uptake under acidic soil, which could be useful for maximizing crop productivity. Full article
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