ABSTRACT
GARBAGE COMPOST AS AN ORGANIC FERTILIZER SOURCE, COMPARED WITH CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS. FIRST CYCLE

Inés Sotomayor R.1
 

A permanent field experiment was stablished at La Platina Experimental Station, close to the city of Santiago, Chile, to evaluate the efficiency of mineral vs. organic nutrition. Several vegetables were tested. Urea and superphosphate were used as mineral fertilizers and garbage compost as organic fertilizer. Two nitrogen levels were tested: 200 y 400 Kg/ha/year. The resuIts reported are those for the first four years cycle, from October 1971 to December 1975.
The soil of the Experimental Station belongs to the Santiago series. On all occasions the mineral fertilizers proved to be more efficient than the organic. Also, the high dosis treatment yielded bet ter than the low one. In those plots fertilized with compost, accumulation of organic matter, phosphorus and potassium was detected in the soil. In those plots supplied with mineral fertilizers, phosphorus accumulation was detected with the high rate treatment. A slight increase in organic matter levels were observed in those plots fertilized with urea at the high rateo This effect was attributed to a larger development of roots due to nitrogen.

Keywords:
1Ing. Agr. Programa Fertilidad de Suelos, Estación Experimental La Platina, Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA) , Casilla 5427, Santiago, Chile.