THE EFFECT OF COMPOST FROM VINE SHOOTS ON THE GROWTH OF BARLEY

The influence of the starting material in the composting process for the transformation of vine shoots to products which can be used as soil conditioners has been studied. A greenhouse experiment was carried out in order to evaluate the response of barley to different compost fertilizers obtained after a 1-month aerobic biotransformation. Different proportions of compost (2 percent, 3 percent and 4 percent of organic matter) were employed on a sandy loam soil (Typic Haploxeralf), while a simultaneous experiment was carried out adding an inorganic fertilizer (NPK) to the pots. Barley (Hordeum distichum) was the test plant. The highest plant yield was obtained in the treatment with a mixture of vine shoots and pig slurry (10 percent). In the vine shoot compost without a nitrogen source a diminishing effect was observed. In general, the best results were found after simultaneous application of compost and inorganic fertilizers.