Effect of elemental sulphur and compost on pH, electrical conductivity and phosphorus availability of one clay soil
Suitable plant nutrition is one of the most important factors in the quantity and quality of crops’ yield. In plant nutrition, each nutrient should be in adequate level. The most important role of pH is the control of nutrients solubility in soil. Nutrient availability usually decreases with increasing pH. Experimental soil sample was collected from 0 to 30 cm depth from Niar village around the Ardabil city.The soil samples were mixed with solid acidifying material including elemental sulphur (S) in three levels (0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 g/kg soil), farm yard compost manure in three levels (2.5, 5 and 10 g/kg soil) and elemental S + organic matter in three levels (the same amounts of S with 5 g/kg cattle manure), and filled in 4 L pots. Soil water content was held close to field capacity and green house temperature was kept to 25 ± 5°C. Before the experiment, the physicochemical properties of soil and chemical properties of the compost were measured. At eight, 16 and 32 weeks of incubation, compound soil samples were collected from pots, and their pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and phosphorus (P) were measured.
