Organic fertilizer Biohumus “Hermetia” contains a complex of beneficial microorganisms, balancing and stimulating the activity of soil microbiocenosis, biologically active metabolites of insects. It is enriched with phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium and is used to improve the soil, to protect plants, to increase soil fertility, crop yields and product quality.
Organic fertilizer “Hermetia” is able to suppress the root knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita. The effect of the organic fertilizer “Hermetia” on the development of tomato plants infected with the root knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita is shown in photo 1 and in table 1.
Table 1. The effect of organic fertilizer “Hermetia” on the development of tomato plants infected with the root knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita.
| № | Processing option | average weight of aboveground organs, g | average plant height, cm
|
m/L |
| 1 | Control group without nematode | 15,2 | 54,7
|
0,273 |
| 2 | Control group + nematode | 4,0 | 34,7
|
0,115 |
| 3 | Organic fertilizer “Hermetia” 6.5 g / plant + nematode | 13,0 | 38,1 | 0,362 |
Photo 1 shows the plants infected with a nematode in the control group (with green tags) and sampled plants with the application of organic fertilizer “Hermetia” in the soil contaminated with nematodes (red tags).
Infection of plants with a root knot nematode leads to inhibition of development, which is reflected in the biometric characteristics of the plant: the height and mass of the aboveground organs. Moreover, the limiting factor is the reduction of plant weight. The application of the fertilizer “Hermetia” into the soil made it possible to approximate the ratio of plant weight to length to that of healthy plants without nematodes. There was no effect on the height of the plants, which were practically at the level of control group, infected with a nematode, however the application did affect the increase in the mass of tomatoes.
In general, biological methods of fighting root knot nematode are reduced to increasing the number of organisms in the soil that eat invasive nematode larvae. These can be predatory mites, predatory fungi or predatory nematodes specially reproduced and introduced into the soil. It is proposed by some authors to apply organic fertilizer to the soil. A fair amount of saprophytes will develop on this organics, and as a result the above-mentioned predators will be able to multiply.
Our results show that the introduction of organic fertilizer “Hermetia” in the soil contributes to a significant increase in the process of nitrogen fixation, and an increase in the biomass of the soil community compared to the control group without organic fertilizer (Table 2). The anti-nematode effect of the organic fertilizer “Hermetia”, in our opinion, is associated not only with the activity of the soil cenosis, but also with the presence of organic metabolites of the black soldier fly larvae.
Table 2.
| №* | Nitrogen fixation
ng C2H4 / g day |
Denitrification
µg N2O / g day |
CO2 emission
µmol CO2 / g day |
CH4
ng CH4 / g day |
Biomass
Mkg s / g soil |
|||
| Current | Potential | Current | Potential | Current | Potential | |||
| Soil 2 + organic fertilizer “Hermetia”,
6.5 g / plant |
8.59 | 823.66 | 2.699 | 55.559 | 23.100 | 137.364 | 0.907 | 851.883 |
| Soil (control group) | 4.32 | 88.37 | 2.582 | 46.923 | 25.063 | 127.124 | 0.795 | 804.458 |
Evaluation of the effectiveness of organic fertilizer “Hermetia” was carried out on lettuce on the experimental field of the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Vegetable-Growing – a branch of the FSBSI Federal Research Center for Vegetable Farming (Moscow region, Ramensky district). Soil and climatic zone – Central region of podzolic and soddy podzolic soils of the taiga-forest region. The experimental plot is located on the medium loamy alluvial-meadow soil of the Moskvoretskaya floodplain. The relief of the area is flat. The thickness of the humus horizon is 80 cm, the reaction of the medium is neutral (the pH of the salt extract is 6.8), the humus content in the topsoil is 3.1%, mobile phosphorus is 23.5 mg and exchangeable potassium is 17.6 mg per 100 g of soil. The forecrop is cabbage. Field preparation included autumn plowing in September to a depth of 20-25 cm. Organic fertilizer “Hermetia” was applied on May 31 under the spudded soil. The sowing of lettuce was done on June 4, the sowing depth was 1 cm, the seeding rate was 2 g / m². Mass shoots on June 13. Harvesting – July 9th.
In the experiment a variety of leaf lettuce from Moscow greenhouse breeding VNIISSOK has been used. Trial establishment, phenological observations, biometric measurements were carried out according to the “Methods of experimental work in the vegetable and melon farming” (Belik VF, 1992) while observing the standard technology of growing lettuce.
Testing of organic fertilizer was performed according to the scheme of experience:
- Control group. NPK ground
- NPK ground + Hermetia organic fertilizer. Application under the spudded soil or during pre-sowing loosening of the soil with the incorporation of fertilizer to a shallow depth, the use of fertilizer “Hermetia” – 200.0 g/m2.
- NPK ground + Hermetia organic fertilizer. Application under the spudded soil or during pre-sowing loosening of the soil with the incorporation of fertilizer to a shallow depth, the use of fertilizer “Hermetia” – 300.0 g/m2.
- NPK ground + Hermetia organic fertilizer. Application under the spudded soil or during pre-sowing loosening of the soil with the incorporation of fertilizer to a shallow depth, the use of fertilizer “Hermetia” – 400.0 g/m2.
The area of the experimental plots – 5 m2, the area of the registration plots – 2 m². Repetition of the experiment – four times.
Related observations of lettuce crops in the process of research included taking into account the reaction rate of phenological stage, the spread of pests and diseases. Accounting for the mass of the crop was carried out by weight method as per plot. The biochemical composition of the products was determined by standard methods: dry matter content using a thermostat-weight method, sugar content using the Bertrand method, and vitamin C content using the I. K. Murray method. Methods of variation statistics (B. А. Dospekhov 1985), and software Statistica v.6.0 were used for data processing.
Results.
Phenological observations of the growth and development of lettuce plants revealed some differences between the samples of the experiment. As follows from the data presented in Table 1, under the influence of the organic fertilizer “Hermetia”, the reaction rate of the main phenological stages were reduced by 1-2 days compared with the control group. Full shoots on the experimental plots were obtained 2 days earlier than in control group. The timing of the onset of the phase of 3-4 true leaves, the formation of rosettes of leaves, the phases of 6-8 true leaves were ahead of control group by 1-2 days. The period from full sprouting to the onset of economic viability was 32 days in control group, while on sample plots – 30-31 days. The differences between the experimental samples in the reaction rate of the main phenological stages can be considered insignificant.
Table 1. The reaction rate of the main phenological stages of lettuce, depending on the rate of consumption of organic fertilizer “Hermetia”.
| Sample groups | Agrochemical consumption rate, g/m2. | Sowing date | Full shoots | Phase 3-4 of true leaves | Formation of rosette | Phase 6-8 true leaves |
| 1.Control group | – | 4.06 | 13.06 | 20.06 | 27.06 | 6.07 |
| 2.Organic fertilizer “Hermetia” | 200 | 4.06 | 11.06 | 19.06 | 26.06 | 5.07 |
| 3.Organic fertilizer “Hermetia” | 300 | 4.06 | 11.06 | 18.06 | 25.06 | 4.07 |
| 4.Organic fertilizer “Hermetia” | 400 | 4.06 | 11.06 | 19.06 | 25.06. | 4.07 |
As studies have shown, the introduction of organic fertilizer “Hermetia” had a positive impact on the biometric indicators of plants, the mass of the rosette of leaves and the yield (Table 3). The best results are obtained when applying fertilizer in the consumption rate of 300 g/m2 and 400 g/m2. On these samples of the test, the outlet diameter was 19.6 … 20.1 cm, the length of the leaf – 16.9 … 17.2 cm, the width of the leaf – 12.1 … 12.6 cm, the mass of the rosette – 116.6 … 117.9 g, which significantly exceeded these figures in the control group. On the registration plots, where a lower rate of fertilizer consumption was used – 200 g/m2, the biometric indicators of the plants and the rosette mass did not have significant differences with the control group.
The increase in the rosette mass under the influence of the fertilizer “Hermetia” provided an increase in the yield of lettuce at fertilizer consumption rates of 300 g/m2 and 400 g/m2. On these sample groups, the yield increase amounted to 0.2 … 0.3 kg/m2, which amounted to 16.7-22.2% of the control group.
Table 3
The effect of organic fertilizer “Hermetia” on biometric indicators and yield of lettuce
| Sample groups | The consumption rate of the fertilizer
g/m2. |
Rosette diameter,
cm |
Leaf length
cm |
Leaf width
cm |
Rosette mass, g | Сrop yield
kg/m2. |
Increase compared to control group |
| kg/ m2 % | |||||||
| 1. Control group
|
– | 17,4 | 15,9 | 11,7 | 92,5 | 1,8 | – – |
| 2. Organic fertilizer “Hermetia” | 200 | 18,9 | 16,7 | 10,9 | 111,3 | 2,0 | 0,2 11,1 |
| 3. Organic fertilizer “Hermetia” | 300 | 20,1 | 17,2 | 12,1 | 116,6 | 2,1 | 0,3 16,7 |
| 4. Organic fertilizer “Hermetia” | 400 | 19,6 | 16,9 | 12,6 | 117,9 | 2,2 | 0,4 22,2 |
НСР 05 1,9 1,1 0,9 21,2 0,3
Least significant difference 05 1,9 1,1 0,9 21,2 0,3
The study of the biochemical composition of lettuce depending on the samples of the experiment (Table 4) showed that when applying organic fertilizer “Hermetia”, the percentage of sugar and vitamin C increased compared to the control group. The content of nitrate nitrogen in products in all samples of the experiment was significantly less than the MPC value, which is 2000 mg/kg of the wet weight for lettuce.
Table 4. The effect of organic fertilizer “Hermecia” on the biochemical composition of the lettuce Moscovskiy parnikoviy
| Sample groups | Agrochemical consumption rate, g/m2. | Dry matter, % | Sugar, % | Vitamin C, mg/% | Nitrates, mg/kg |
| Control group | – | 5,3 | 0,47 | 6,7 | 744 |
| Organic fertilizer “Hermetia” | 200 | 5,3 | 0,61 | 10,7 | 670 |
| Organic fertilizer “Hermetia” | 300 | 5,2 | 0,52 | 8,4 | 750 |
| Organic fertilizer “Hermetia” | 400 | 5,7 | 0,56 | 9,2 | 1074 |
Thus, as a result of the experiments, a positive effect of the organic fertilizer “Hermetia” on the growth and development of lettuce plants, yield and product quality has been established.
Based on the results obtained, the organic fertilizer “Hermetia” was recommended for use in lettuce crops. The rules of application are as follows: application under the spudded soil or during pre-sowing loosening of the soil with the incorporation of fertilizer to a shallow depth, fertilizer consumption – 300-400 g/m2.