Enhancing fenugreek productivity under water deficient Egyptian sandy soils: optimizing organic inputs and nutrients efficiencies
Abstract Organic farming could be a promising approach as an agricultural system utilizing available organic materials without retrogradation natural resources. In this study, the effect of four levels of compost (0, 12, 18, and 24 t/ha) on fenugreek plants (Trigoneila foenum-greecum) over two seaso...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-98314-3 |
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| author | A. A. Hassan M. M. Abd El-Azeim A. M. Menesi N. S. Abdelkarim Jean Diatta W. H. Al-Qahtani A. Saleh Samir A. Haddad |
| author_facet | A. A. Hassan M. M. Abd El-Azeim A. M. Menesi N. S. Abdelkarim Jean Diatta W. H. Al-Qahtani A. Saleh Samir A. Haddad |
| author_sort | A. A. Hassan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Organic farming could be a promising approach as an agricultural system utilizing available organic materials without retrogradation natural resources. In this study, the effect of four levels of compost (0, 12, 18, and 24 t/ha) on fenugreek plants (Trigoneila foenum-greecum) over two seasons (2021–2022 and 2022–2023) was investigated in combination with different planting timings on a sandy soil. A randomized complete block design with three replications was used for the experiment conducted at the Agricultural Experiment and Research Centre of Minia University, Egypt. The Results showed that fertilizing fenugreek plants with compost significantly increased the vegetative growth traits such as plant height, number of branches/plants and herb biomass. The highest values of soil organic carbon (SOC), 986.3 mg kg-1, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), 21.l6 mg kg-1, dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), 9.43 mg kg-1, microbial biomass-C (59.67 mg kg-1.), -N (24.88 mg kg-1), -P (14.67 mg kg-1), net bacterial [95.3 (×105 cfu g-1)] and fungi [74.32(×104 cfu g-1)] counts were obtained with 24t/ha of compost. Enzyme activities of dehydrogenase (DH), urease and β-glucosidase (βG) increased significantly as the compost rate increased. For planting dates, the beginning of October was the optimal time for fenugreek production in April. For sandy soils with low fertility under arid conditions, organic and inorganic fertilizer use will enhance crop quality and productivity, soil health and soil organic matter build-up. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5f34fc0366bd49ebba2d348caa2d3a75 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
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| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-5f34fc0366bd49ebba2d348caa2d3a752025-08-20T02:29:45ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-05-0115111210.1038/s41598-025-98314-3Enhancing fenugreek productivity under water deficient Egyptian sandy soils: optimizing organic inputs and nutrients efficienciesA. A. Hassan0M. M. Abd El-Azeim1A. M. Menesi2N. S. Abdelkarim3Jean Diatta4W. H. Al-Qahtani5A. Saleh6Samir A. Haddad7Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Minia UniversitySoil Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Minia UniversitySoil Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Minia UniversityBotany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Minia UniversityDepartment of Agricultural Chemistry and Environmental Biogeochemistry, Poznan University of Life SciencesDepartment of Food Sciences and Nutrition, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud UniversityDepartment of Agricultural Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Minia UniversityDepartment of Agricultural Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Minia UniversityAbstract Organic farming could be a promising approach as an agricultural system utilizing available organic materials without retrogradation natural resources. In this study, the effect of four levels of compost (0, 12, 18, and 24 t/ha) on fenugreek plants (Trigoneila foenum-greecum) over two seasons (2021–2022 and 2022–2023) was investigated in combination with different planting timings on a sandy soil. A randomized complete block design with three replications was used for the experiment conducted at the Agricultural Experiment and Research Centre of Minia University, Egypt. The Results showed that fertilizing fenugreek plants with compost significantly increased the vegetative growth traits such as plant height, number of branches/plants and herb biomass. The highest values of soil organic carbon (SOC), 986.3 mg kg-1, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), 21.l6 mg kg-1, dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), 9.43 mg kg-1, microbial biomass-C (59.67 mg kg-1.), -N (24.88 mg kg-1), -P (14.67 mg kg-1), net bacterial [95.3 (×105 cfu g-1)] and fungi [74.32(×104 cfu g-1)] counts were obtained with 24t/ha of compost. Enzyme activities of dehydrogenase (DH), urease and β-glucosidase (βG) increased significantly as the compost rate increased. For planting dates, the beginning of October was the optimal time for fenugreek production in April. For sandy soils with low fertility under arid conditions, organic and inorganic fertilizer use will enhance crop quality and productivity, soil health and soil organic matter build-up.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-98314-3 |
| spellingShingle | A. A. Hassan M. M. Abd El-Azeim A. M. Menesi N. S. Abdelkarim Jean Diatta W. H. Al-Qahtani A. Saleh Samir A. Haddad Enhancing fenugreek productivity under water deficient Egyptian sandy soils: optimizing organic inputs and nutrients efficiencies Scientific Reports |
| title | Enhancing fenugreek productivity under water deficient Egyptian sandy soils: optimizing organic inputs and nutrients efficiencies |
| title_full | Enhancing fenugreek productivity under water deficient Egyptian sandy soils: optimizing organic inputs and nutrients efficiencies |
| title_fullStr | Enhancing fenugreek productivity under water deficient Egyptian sandy soils: optimizing organic inputs and nutrients efficiencies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enhancing fenugreek productivity under water deficient Egyptian sandy soils: optimizing organic inputs and nutrients efficiencies |
| title_short | Enhancing fenugreek productivity under water deficient Egyptian sandy soils: optimizing organic inputs and nutrients efficiencies |
| title_sort | enhancing fenugreek productivity under water deficient egyptian sandy soils optimizing organic inputs and nutrients efficiencies |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-98314-3 |
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