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 g reen manure, and a peat, respectively, associated with a chemical N fertili zer. The experiment included seven treatments with a no-fertilization check and a conventional chemical fertilizer treatment. Whole corn plants were s ampled, and total N was analyzed at 22, 33, 56, 77, and 120 days after seed ing (DAS). The results showed that compost with an adequate amount of chemi cal N fertilizer could reach a high dry matter yield and a high N accumulat ion, even higher than those of the conventional chemical N fertilizer treat ment. With green manure, a considerable amount of N was mineralized and uti lized by the corn plants for growth and resulted in a good yield. Neither t he 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 ra te of the corn plants of different treatments were significantly different at the vegetative growth stage, however, there were no significant differen ce during the grain filling period. The apparent N recovery of various trea tments were between 0.22 to 0.51 kg N for each kg N applied.