Influence of organic matter and inorganic fertilizer on the growth and nitrogen accumulation of corn plants

Effects of different nitrogen (N) sources on the growth and N accumulation of corn plants were studied on plots treated with a compost, a leguminous green manure, and a peat, respectively, associated with a chemical N fertilizer. The experiment included seven treatments with a no-fertilization check and a conventional chemical fertilizer treatment. Whole corn plants were sampled, and total N was analyzed at 22, 33, 56, 77, and 120 days after seeding (DAS). The results showed that compost with an adequate amount of chemical N fertilizer could reach a high dry matter yield and a high N accumulation, even higher than those of the conventional chemical N fertilizer treatment. With green manure, a considerable amount of N was mineralized and utilized by the corn plants for growth and resulted in a good yield. Neither the peat nor the compost alone could supply enough N for the growth of corn plants. There were no significant effect of treatments on the distribution of dry matter yield and N accumulated in various organs. The crop growth rate of the corn plants of different treatments were significantly different at the vegetative growth stage, however, there were no significant difference during the grain filling period. The apparent N recovery of various treatments were between 0.22 to 0.51 kg N for each kg N applied.