Release of Ammonium-N (NH4+) and Nitrate-N (NO3-) by Different Leguminous Cover Crops (LCCs) Planted in Peat Soils
Muhammad Rahmat Abdul Rahman1, Nur Qursyna Boll Kassim2
1Muhammad Rahmat Abdul Rahman, Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Melaka Kampus Jasin, Merlimau, Melaka, Malaysia.
2Nur Qursyna Boll Kassim*, Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Melaka Kampus Jasin, Merlimau, Melaka, Malaysia.
Manuscript received on November 20, 2019. | Revised Manuscript received on November 28, 2019. | Manuscript published on 30 November, 2019. | PP: 6793-6797 | Volume-8 Issue-4, November 2019. | Retrieval Number: D5224118419/2019©BEIESP | DOI: 10.35940/ijrte.D5224.118419
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: Peat soils is renowned for the low mineral-N concentration which is crucial for crop’s growth. One of the effective and conserving method to improve the soil mineral-N concentration is by planting leguminous cover crop (LCC) which is common in oil palm plantation area. However, different LCCs was found to release different concentration of mineral-N into the soils. Hence, this study aims to determine the concentration of soil mineral-N in form of soil ammonium-N (NH4+) and soil nitrate-N (NO3-) by different types of LCCs namely Mucuna bracteata, Calopogonium mucunoides, Pueraria javanica and Centrosema pubescens as well as to evaluate the effects on physico-chemical properties of peat soils. Results showed most of the LCCs can survive in acidic peat condition whilst improving the concentration of mineral-N in the soils. Mucuna bracteata was found to release a significant amount of mineral-N into the soils and shows a vigorous growth compared to others during the study period. However, it should be noted that different LCCs required distinct time to fix N since the maturity for different LCCs is different. Hence, prolonged studies on release of mineral N into the soil by LCCs are recommended.
Keywords: Ammonium, LCC, Mucuna Bracteate, Nitrate, Peat.
Scope of the Article: Plant Cyber Security.