Md Bayazid Hossain
Department of Soil, Water and Environment, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Md Harunor Rashid Khan
Department of Soil, Water and Environment, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Sayma Khanom
Department of Soil, Water and Environment, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Shahid Akhtar Hossain
Department of Soil, Water and Environment, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Soil acidity, Maize straw ash, Mixed soil, Malabar spinach, Soil quality, Eco-friendly
Department of Soil, Water and Environment, University of Dhaka.
Crop-Soil-Water Management
Soil quality, Soil acidity
Soil sampling and preparation: The pot experiment was conducted at the net house of the Department of Soil, Water and Environment, University of Dhaka. Two types of surface soils were collected (0-15 cm depth) by using spade from two different sites. Acid soil was collected from Binnapara, a village of the Chehelgazi union of Dinajpur Sadar Upazila in the Dinajpur district. The geographic location of Binnapara is 25042/52.58//N and 88039/36.07//E. On the other hand, calcareous soil was collected from Poschim Gangabardi, a village of Krishnonagar union of Faridpur Sadar Upazila in Faridpur district. The spatial location of the sampling site is 23034/59//N and 89047/17.9//E. After being air-dried, soils were gently crushed by a wooden hammer. Then, ground samples were screened to pass through a 2 mm stainless steel sieve. After that, the acid and calcareous soil samples were mixed properly in a 3:1 ratio. The mixed soil got a status of pH of 7.03, EC of 362 μS/cm, 1.71% OM, 131 mg/kg available N, 10.1 mg/kg available P, 71 mg/kg available K, 22.8 mg/kg available S, 1530 mg/kg available Ca, 179 mg/kg available Mg, 60.3 mg/kg available Fe, 27.7 mg/kg available Mn, 2.1 mg/kg available Zn and 0.84 mg/kg available Cu. Maize straw collection and analysis: Maize straws were collected from a field after the harvest and were burned in local cooking stoves. The ash was collected, smashed, and sieved through 2 mm sieving and its chemical composition was determined. Pot preparation: Each earthen pot containing 2 kg friable soils mixed in a ratio of acid to calcareous soil was 3:1. A basal dose of N, P, K and S were applied as recommended by the Fertilizer Recommendation Guide(11). The pot experiment was conducted with two varieties of Malabar Spinach such as White Malabar Spinach (Basella alba L.) and Red Malabar Spinach (Basella rubra L.). Three different rates of maize straw ash such as 1 ton/ha, 2 ton/ha, and 3 ton ha-1 were designated as T2, T3, and T4 respectively were applied as amendments in the mixed soil. There was control of mixed soil which was designated by T1. Pots were kept according to Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications. Certified seeds of two varieties of Malabar were sown into pots. After 50 days of sowing, the plants were harvested. Analysis of the soil sample: The pH of soils was measured electrochemically by using a combined electrode digital pH meter. The ratio of soil to water was 1: 2.5 by volume. The electrical conductivity of soils was measured at a ratio of 1:5 by an EC meter. The organic carbon of the soil sample was determined volumetrically by the wet oxidation method of Walkey and Black. The organic matter was calculated by multiplying the percentage of organic carbon with conventional Van-Bemmelen’s factor of 1.724. Available nitrogen was determined by extracting with 1N KCl and distilling with the help of Micro- Kjeldhal’s distillation apparatus and the distillate was titrated against standard H2SO4. The available soil P of soils was estimated colorimetrically following the ascorbic acid blue color method and the extractant was analyzed by a Shimadzu UV-VIS spectrophotometer at 420 nm. Available K of soil was extracted by 1N ammonium acetate at pH 7.0 and was determined by a flame photometer (Jenway PFP7) at 767 nm wavelength. Available S content was determined in the tween-80 method. It was measured by a spectrophotometer (Shimadzu UV-1800) at a wavelength of 420 nm. Soil available Ca and Mg were extracted by 1N ammonium acetate at pH 7.0 and were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Available contents of micro-nutrients such as Fe, Mn, Cu, and Zn; were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (Varian AA 240), after being extracted with DTPA solution at a 1:2 ratio. Analysis of plant sample: After harvesting, fresh weight, height, and diameter of the plants were measured. The leafy upper and root part was separated with a knife and processed individually. The samples were initially dried in the air and then oven-dried at 70-800C for 3 days. Finally, the dried weight of the plant sample was taken. The dried plant samples were then ground in a grinder machine and were kept in a plastic container with a proper label and stored in a dry place for chemical analyses. The sample was digested by nitric acid and later perchloric acid. The digest was used for the determination of the nutrient contents of the plant. Plant N was determined by Micro-Kjeldhal’s method following H2SO4 acid digestion and steam distillation with 40% NaOH. Evolved ammonia was collected in boric acid and then determined titrimetrically with standard 0.01 N H2SO4. After wet oxidation with HNO3 and HClO4 acids, plant contents of P, K, S, Na, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu were determined by using the procedure mentioned earlier for soil. Data analysis: A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the significant difference between treatments. LSD test was also performed to assess the difference between parameters measured. Statistical analysis were conducted at > 95% confidence level (p < 0.05) using Microsoft Excel (2010) and SPSS (version 20).
Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 30(2): 207-219, 2021 (July)
Journal