Use of organic fertilizers in nursery production of ornamental woody species

In the nursery industry, fertilization technique is very important to obtain plants of good quality in the open field as well as in container production. Currently, because of a scarcity of manure, mineral fertilizers are widely used. This leads to a depletion of the soil in terms of soil organic matter, which involves a reduction in the overall fertility. In this trial, the effectiveness of two organic fertilizers (pelleted manure and compost), compared to a mineral complex fertilizer, was tested in field nursery cultivation of Ligustrum vulgare L. and Carpinus betulus L. Different fertilizer amounts were used in order to apply 150 kg ha(-1) of N. In the two-year trial, plant height and width were monitored and, at the end of the second year, their fresh and dry weights were measured along with other biometric evaluations. Root growth was assessed by means of auger sampling and the soil organic matter concentration was determined at the beginning and end of the experiment. In the first year, a higher vegetative growth of plants fertilized with pelleted manure was obtained in both species. In the second year L. vulgare showed minimal differences among treatments in terms of plant growth. In C. betulus, at the end of the second year, more growth was obtained in plants fertilized with pelleted manure and compost. A minimal effect of the treatments was observed on root growth and organic matter concentration in the soil.