Response of Some Citrus Rootstocks to Organic Fertilizers

Abstract

Pressures to sustain modern agricultural systems may agronomic quality caused progressive degradation of soil structure and depletion of soil fertility level as a result of organic matter reduction (Masciandaro et al. 1997). Orange production is of a great socio-economic interest in the world, in which soils with very low organic matter content are prevalent. These soils need organic matter application to improve and maintain their agronomic quality. The use of organic manure as a source of organic matter is a common practice to improve soil conditions. Organic matter improves soil physical properties such as water retention capacity, reducing the volume of water needed for irrigation (Entry et al. 1997) and soil enzymatic activity (Salam et al. 1999), as well as increases soil nutrients (Bellamy et al., 1995, Barker 1997 and Abdelaal et al., 2013).