The Physico-Chemical Characteristics of the Soil Variations in Response to Different Agricultural Systems in Agricultural Landscapes

The application of organic fertilizer is one of the fundamentals of sustainable farming systems to provide nutrients for plants in order to eliminate or reduce the chemical inputs consumption substantially. This research investigate the effects of various levels of vermicompost (V: zero, 3, 6 and 9 t.ha-1) and foliar application of humic acid (HA: 0, 1000, 2000 and 3000 ppm) on the physicochemical properties of soil after harvesting spring safflower (Local variety of Isfahan) in Kerman during the 2012-2013 growing seasons. The experiment was performed based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. Vermicompost and humic acid were considered as 16 integrated organic treatments. In addition, a chemical treatment (NPK: 75, 50 and 50 kg.ha- 1 and 1000 ppm iron and zinc as foliar spraying) was considered as conventional agriculture (CA). At the end of the second year, some physical and chemical properties of soil were evaluated. With an increase in the amount of V and foliar concentration of KH, the bulk density, EC and pH of the soil were reduced significantly whilst porosity percentage and organic carbon in soil were increased in comparison with the CA. The results indicated that the mean values of porosity percentage and organic carbon in the organic treatments of 3 and 6 t.ha-1 V + 3000 ppm HA were increased significantly in comparison with 9 t.ha-1 V without foliar spraying of HA, while they had the lower bulk density and EC averages. These results are important economically.