Fran GJOKA¹, Enkeleida BEQIRAJ (GOGA)², Fabrice MULLER³, Patrick BAILLIF³,
Lush SUSAJ¹ & Pashk LEKAJ^1
1Agricultural University of Tirana, Koder-Kamez, Albania, fgjoka2001@gmail.com
²Polytechnic University of Tirana, Sheshi “Nene Tereza”, Albania
³Institut des Sciences de la Terre d’Orleans, Rue de la Férollerie Orleans, Cedex 2, France

EFFECT OF INORGANIC AMENDMENTS ON GROWTH OF RYEGRASS AND PROPERTIES OF A SANDY SOIL

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A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to study the effect of natural zeolite and NPK application on the ryegrass and chemical properties of a sandy soil. The soil and plant samples were collected and analyzed for the pH, humus, cation exchange capacity, available P and K, total N, Cu, Zn, Mn, Fe and Ca and clay, and for the total P, K, Ca, Mn, Cu, Zn and Fe respectively, by the standard methods. The results showed that application of both zeolite and NPK resulted in a significantly increase in the shoot and roots yield of ryegrass compared to control. The highest yields were recorded in the treatment receiving 6 q zeolite ha^-1 and NPK. The addition of zeolite to the soil improved uptake of P, K, Ca, Mn, Cu and Fe by 29.11%, 26.11%, 10.44%, 11.84%, 10.43%, and 37.01%, respectively. Among the various treatments, application of 6 q zeolite ha^-1 and NPK was also found to be the best treatment in enhancing the uptake of Ca, Mn and Cu by ryegrass. The correlation analysis revealed the vital role of Ca, Cu and K in the yield of ryegrass. All the treatments generally decreased the analyzed soil properties. However, a significant decrease in humus, N, P, Ca, Fe and Zn losses due to application of zeolite and NPK was noticed. The zeolite at 6 q ha^-1 + NPK was most significant in increasing crop yield and in maintaining and improving soil properties and nutrient status in soil.