organic matter in tepetate cultivated with fig tree and grass, amendmented whit manure and fertilizer

Abstract

Plants and amendments increase quality of the tepetates once these hard layers, abundant in the Mexican Volcanic Belt, have been rototilled. In tepetate, which has a mass structure and lacks organic reserves, the addition of organic matter (OM) has proven to have a significant effect on fertility by supplying N and P, essential for the development of biota, and which promotes a stable structurization. Although it is known that soil quality is related to the nature of the organic compounds, there are few studies referring to the basic compounds of OM, once it has been incorporated into hard layers such as tepetate. The objective of the present study was to quantify the total organic carbon, polysaccharides, humic acids and fulvic acids, supplied to the tepetate by cultivation of fig (Ficus carica L.) and Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana Knuth), with the addition of bovine manure and fertilizer, for two years. The experiment was conducted in the greenhouse with duripan tepetate. The equivalent of 72 Mg ha(-1) of manure was applied per experimental unit and fertilization dose of 80-80-20 for fig and 250-200-00 for grass. The manure doubled the organic carbon content of the tepetate from the first months of application. The fertilizer influenced the production of polysaccharides. The plants, with and without amendments, provided an increase of as much as 100% of organic carbon and polysaccharides. The humic and fulvic acids were not modified by the treatments. The highest content of carbon and polysaccharides was at 12 months.