The effects of organic fertilizer applications on the nutrient elements content of eggplant seeds

Abstract

This research was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of using organic fertilizers in improving the organic seed production process and increasing the seed quality needed in organic agriculture production. The experiment was established with organic fertilizers (farmyard manure-FYM, leonardite-L, vermicompost-VC) and the eggplant plant 'Pala-49' variety and conducted for two years. As a result of the study, vegetative growth height varied between 52.65 and 68.06 cm, plant diameter width ranged from 51.85 to 61.20 cm, fruit height ranged from 14.67 to 21.90 cm, and fruit diameter varied between 4.73 and 6.73 cm. These differences were observed among farmyard manure (FYM), leonardite (L), and vermicompost (VC) organic fertilizer applications. In general, it was determined that the first year gave better results. In terms of parameters, the best result in all parameters was obtained from farmyard manure (FYM) organic fertilizer application. In addition, the nutrient element contents of the seed samples were found to be statistically significant. Organic applications significantly increased the nutrient element content of the seed samples according to the control. The nitrogen content varied between 0.242% and 0.271%, and the phosphorus content ranged between 0.274% and 0.456%. The highest K content was determined in farmyard manure (FYM) application in both years (0.272% and 0.309%). In contrast, Fe, Zn, and Mn contents were 35.1 mg kg-1, 63.7 mg kg-1, and 200.7 mg kg-1 in vermicompost (VC) application in the second year, respectively. The effect of the treatments on soil available nutrient content was also found to be significant. The amount of soil available for plant nutrients was higher in the second year.