Introduction

Soil degradation is the results of intensive agriculture activities without considering environmental cares especially in the semi-arid area regions of Iran. This also negatively influenced sustainable productivity of agronomic crops. SOC is the source of energy for soil microbial activities and processes (Reeves 1997; Woomer et al. 1994). Among the soil management practices, adding organic amendments is important for enhancing the soil quality (Celik et al. 2010). The addition of organic materials such as manure or Azolla improves soil chemical, physical and biological properties and hence reduces soil compaction, erosion and degradation (Bandyopadhyay et al. 2010; Yousefzadeh et al. 2013).

Alternative nutrition management, such as integrated nutrient fertilizer management leads to increase crop productivity and minimizes the environmental devastation (Conacher and Conacher 1998; Reganold 1995). Composting manure improves soil structure for root growth and drainage, increases total porosity, soil water retention, soil nutrients, caution exchange capacity, and greater biological activity by supplying carbon and energy to soil organisms (Goladi and Agbenin 1997). Azocompost is the newly amendment used by the producers for enhancing phosphorus and potassium of soil and crop production (Yousefzadeh et al. 2013). Also, the indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers and the resulting environmental damages made it essential to shift to utilizing organic fertilizers and soil amendments for increasing fertilizer efficiency in sustainable agriculture (Heidarzadeh et al. 2021).

Zeolite is a soil enhancer material with high ion-exchange capacity. Application of zeolite in the soil, prevents unnecessary losses of nutrients, besides, they are good carriers and regulators of mineral fertilizers. Some of the properties of zeolite such as high cation exchange capacity, easy incorporation with soil and water retention make them in favor to be used in agricultural farms (Ok et al. 2003; Baghbani-Arani et al. 2017). The researchers also showed that the integration of zeolite in fertilizer management systems preserved nutrients in the rhizosphere (Akbari et al. 2021).

Crop rotation is an agronomic management tool in ecological science. This could play an important role in maintaining soil fertility and sustaining crop production by increasing mineral nitrogen in the soil of the root zone. Crop rotation of legumes-cereals increased the yield and quality of seeds due to the increase of soil nitrogen by legumes (Galantini et al. 2000). Crop sequence improves soil properties such as porosity and structure formation and breaks cycles related to pathogens and weeds (Franzluebbers et al. 1995).

Growth analysis with the physiological parameters is an important tool to establish the nutritional needs of crops. Leaf area index (LAI) is a useful parameter that shows the photosynthetically active radiation rate absorbed by the canopy (Muchow 1988). LAI affects the total amount of CO2 assimilated; thus, dry matter is a function of the leaf area. To increase dry matter, a larger and a longer duration of LAI are required (Muchow 1988). Thus, crop physiologists with quantifying growth could be understood differences among treatments.

The objectives of this study were evaluated the impacts of different nutrition management on soil physicochemical properties, specify the length of the growth period and quantifying dry matter accumulation and LAI for understanding the differences among fertilization strategies under canola-soybean-wheat crop rotation.

Materials and Methods

Site Description; Climate and Soil

The study was conducted during four consecutive growing seasons (from 2014 to 2018) at the experimental farm of Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran (35°44′ N, 51°19′ E, 1215 ASL) on the poorly drained sandy-loam soil. This site was characterized by a semi-arid climate having relatively hot summers and cold winters with a mean annual precipitation of 289 mm which mostly occurs during the fall and winter seasons. Weather data (minimum and maximum temperatures, precipitation and evapotranspiration) were collected from the nearest meteorological station (Chitgar—Tehran, Iran) (Fig. 1). Soil samples were prepared before cultivation from the depth of 0–30 cm. Samples were mixed together, air-dried, crushed and prepared for the determination of physicochemical properties (Table 1).

Fig. 1
figure 1

Rainfall, minimum and maximum air temperature, and ∆ (rainfall—evapotranspiration) at the experimental site of the October-July period from 2014/2015 to 2017/2018

Full size image
Table 1 Initial soil chemical and textural properties of the experimental field
Full size table

Land Preparation and Description of Treatment

Research farm was subjected to shallow plowing in Sep 2014 following disking to be fully prepared for cultivation practice. Chemical weed was controlled by applying Trifluralin (3.5 lit/ha) and then incorporating it into the soil using a disk. The dimension of plots was 12 m2 (4 m × 3 m), and the distance between each plot was considered 1 m. There were 2 m distance between the blocks and 1 m alley was established between each plot to prevent any interferences. A split-plot experiment was conducted based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. Main plots were two crop rotations including CR1: Canola-Soybean-Wheat and CR2: Canola-Wheat. The Subplots were different fertilizer treatments including: 140 and 120 kg ha−1 N as urea (F1); 140 and 120 kg ha−1 N as urea plus 8 ton ha−1 zeolite (F2); 140 and 120 kg ha−1 N as composted manure (F3); 140 and 120 kg ha−1 N as composted manure plus 8 ton ha−1 zeolite (F4); 70 and 60 kg ha−1 N as urea +70 and 60 kg ha−1 N as composted manure (F5); 70 and 60 kg ha−1 N as urea +70 and 60 kg ha−1 N as composted manure plus 8 ton ha−1 zeolite (F6); 70 and 60 kg ha−1 N as urea +70 and 60 kg ha−1 N as azocompost (F7); 70 and 60 kg ha−1 N as urea +70 and 60 kg ha−1 N as azocompost plus 8 ton ha−1 zeolite (F8) for canola and wheat, respectively, and no organic and chemical fertilization (F9). Manure compost and azocompost (F3, F4, F5, F6, F7 and F8) were applied in the autumn and incorporated with soil (depth of 15 cm) by hand before planting. Chemical fertilizer was divided into three parts which were applied at three different stages (Plantation, stem elongation and flowering initiation). Based on soil chemical properties, there was no need for phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. Planted cultivars were Okapy (Brassica napus L.); Pishtaz (Triticum aestivum L.) and Williams (Glycine max (L.) Merr.). Planting dates were: Canola: October 12th, 2014 and October 31th, 2016; Wheat: November 5th, 2015 and November 6th, 2017; Soybean in the first crop rotation was planted for four years with planting date of June 18th, 24th, 26th and 25th in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively. Plant density was as followed: Canola: 84 plants m−2; Soybean: 45 plants m−2 and wheat 250 plants m−2. Immediately after sowing the soil was irrigated. Polyethylene pipes and counter were used to manage irrigation water.

Zeolite, Composting Manure and Azocompost

A known amount of fresh manure was placed in some separate rows (12 m long, 3 m width and 1 m height). In order to protect the rows from direct sunlight, all of the rows were covered by herbal straw. Temperature and moisture were daily controlled under aerobic condition until the end composting procedure (day 90th). At the end of the composting process one composite sample of each row was collected and analyzed in each year (Table 2). Azocompost were purchased from Salem Saze Mohite Gil Research Production Company, (Gilan, Iran). The physiochemical analysis of azocompost is shown in Table 3. Zeolite was prepared from the Myaneh mines in the northwest of Iran. Chemical properties of zeolite with X‑ray Spectrophotometry are shown in Table 4. Composted manure and azocompost were applied on the basis of the assumption that 20 and 15% of the N in composted manure and azocompost will become available for crops in the first year after application, respectively (Yousefzadeh et al. 2013). The amounts of composted manure, azocompost and zeolite applied for each treatment in each year are given in Table 5.

Table 2 Chemical analysis of cattle manure after composting
Full size table
Table 3 Physicochemical properties of azocompost
Full size table
Table 4 Zeolite chemical properties
Full size table
Table 5 The amount of composted manure, azocompost and zeolite application according to soil nitrogen content
Full size table

Dry Matter Accumulation (DMA) and Leaf Area Index (LAI)

With considering the marginal effect, five crops from each plot and each replication were sampled every two weeks from 30 days after emergence to harvesting for measuring DMA and LAI. Leaf area index was measured with a leaf area meter (Delta-T area meter; Delta‑T Devices Ltd., Cambridge, UK). Averages of the five crops per plot in two years were used for statistical analysis.

Soil Sampling and Analysis

Three soil samples were collected from 0–30 cm depth at each plot after harvesting crops. Soil samples were composited for each plot and were sealed in plastic bags and transported to the Soil and Plant Laboratory at the University of Tarbiat Modares for analyzing soil chemical and physical properties including: soil organic carbon, phosphorus, cation exchange capacity, electrical conductivity (EC), potassium (Manteghi 1986), and nitrogen, manganese and zinc (Page 1982).

Regression Analysis

In order to describe the trend of dry matter (w) against days after planting (t) the truncated expolinear function was used (Goudriaan and Monteith 1990; Yin et al. 2003):

$$w=\begin{cases} \frac{c_{m}}{r_{m}}\ln \left(1+e^{{r_{m}}\left(x-t_{o}\right)}\right)\;if\ x< t_{o}+w_{\max }/c_{m}\\ w_{\max }\qquad if\ x\geq t_{o}+w_{\max }/c_{m} \end{cases}$$

where is wmax is the maximum dry matter accumulation, the cm and rm are maximum growth rate in the linear phase and maximum relative growth rate (RGR) in the exponential phase, respectively and to is the lost time when linear phase effectively begins.

The beta function was used for describing the trend of changing in LAI at during the growing season. The beta function was determined as follows (Yin et al. 2003):

$$y=l_{\max }\left[\left(\frac{t_{e}-x}{t_{e}-t_{m}}\right)\left(\frac{x-t_{b}}{t_{m}-t_{b}}\right)^{\frac{t_{m}-t_{b}}{t_{e}-t_{b}}}\right]^{\delta }$$

where is in this model, x is days after planting, y is the leaf area index, lmax is the maximum leaf area index, which is achieved at time tm, tb and te are times at the beginning and end of the growth period, respectively.

Statistical Analysis

PROC GLM was used to compare the effects of year, crop rotation and fertilizer treatments on soil physiochemical properties. The assumptions of variance analysis were tested by ensuring that the residuals were random, homogenous, and with a normal distribution about the mean of zero. Bartlett’s tests showed homogeneity of variance for all traits in all year. Means were compared using the LSD test at the probability level of p ≤ 0.01 and p ≤ 0.05.

Results and Discussion

Total Dry Matter (TDM) and Leaf Area Index (LAI)

Parameter values of the truncated expolinear function fitted to the dry matter data on the growing seasons are shown in Figs. 2 and 3 for canola and wheat, respectively. The maximum dry matter (wmax) and the maximum growth rate in the linear phase (cm) were estimated in F6 fertilizer treatment in canola (665.05 g m−2 and 6.67 g m−2 d−1) and wheat (716 g m−2 and 7.19 g m−2 d−1), respectively (Figs. 2 and 3). In addition, t0 was lower in F6 and F8 than the other chemical, organic and integrated fertilizer treatments in both crops. The maximum dry matter in the F6 fertilizer treatment was higher by 13 and 12% compared with the F2 fertilizer treatment in canola and wheat, respectively. Application of zeolite increased the maximum dry matter (wmax) by 7% in F4 and 12% in F2, F6 and F8 (Figs. 2 and 3). The trend of changes in LAI and parameter estimates for the beta function fitted to LAI are shown in Figs. 2 and 3 for canola and wheat, respectively. Using the beta function, the maximum leaf area index (lmax), was higher in F6 than the other fertilizer treatments in canola (4.90) and wheat (5.17). The arriving time to the maximum LAI (tm) was lower compared to the other treatments in both crops (Figs. 2 and 3). Leaf growth under chemical fertilizer treatments ended earlier compared with the integrated fertilizer treatments. In the other words, canola and wheat had a greater leaf area duration under organic and chemical fertilizer treatments.

Fig. 2
figure 2

Parameter estimates, observed and predicted values from the truncated expolinear function and the beta function for dry matter and leaf area of canola (Brassica napus L. c.v ‘Okapy’), respectively

Full size image
Fig. 3
figure 3

Parameter estimates, observed and predicted values from the truncated expolinear function and the beta function for dry matter and leaf area of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. c.v ‘Pishtaz’), respectively

Full size image

A higher significant value obtained for leaf area and dry matter in this study for the integrated nutrient management show that at super-optimal nutrient conditions, these parameters will be increased. In this research, the application of manure compost and azocompost alone or along with inorganic fertilizer promoted soil nutrient availability (Table 7). Therefore, crop fertilized with organic amendments grew better than those fertilized with inorganic fertilizer. These results are consistent with previous studies (Vats et al. 2001). In this study better crop growth observed under integrated nutrient management enables the crops to produce more leaves and leaf area. The previous study suggested that increasing of leaf area index led to higher photosynthetic activities and the more dry matter is produced (Dreccer et al. 2000). Thus, integrated fertilizer treatments combined with zeolite (especially F6 and F8) with increasing nutrient availability and leaf area duration led to higher photosynthesis and biomass accumulation.

Soil Organic Carbon (SOC), Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) and Electrical Conductivity (EC)

SOC, CEC and EC were significantly influenced by the main effect of fertilizer treatments and interaction effects of fertilizer treatments × year (Table 6). The maximum SOC was observed in the second year by the integrated fertilizing management (F6 = 1.26%) while the lowest SOC was observed in control (F9 = 0.65%). In all organic and integrated treatments, at the second year of experiments exhibited higher SOC compared to the first year. The highest changes of SOC were observed in F4 (9%) organic treatment (Table 7). In chemical fertilizers, SOC was reduced by 20% and 11% in F1 and F2 respectively. Also, SOC in the control treatment was reduced by 13% in the second year of experiments (Table 7). The maximum CEC was observed in the second year by the F6 fertilizing management (11.63 meq 100 g−1) while the lowest CEC was observed in control (F9 = 0.80 meq 100 g−1). There was no significant difference between integrated fertilizer treatments in both years (F6 and F8). Application of zeolite in all of the experimental treatments resulted in higher soil CEC. The highest changes in CEC were observed in the F6 (54%) fertilizer treatment (Table 7). The maximum soil EC was observed in the second year by the organic fertilizing treatments (F4 = 1.294 mmoh cm−1) while the lowest EC was observed in control (F9 = 0.574 mmoh cm−1). Soil EC was increased in the second year of the experiment by the organic and integrated fertilizers while in chemical fertilizer without zeolite and control soil EC was reduced (Table 7).

Table 6 Analysis of variance (mean squares) for the effects of different parameters (year, crop rotation and fertilizer treatments) on the measured traits in canola a
Full size table
Table 7 Mean comparison of interaction effects of year × fertilizer treatments
Full size table

Our results clearly showed that azocompost and manure fertilizer application had a great positive impact on SOC and CEC. We also found that the zeolite application in chemical, organic and integrated fertilizer management significantly improved CEC. Similar results have been reported by other experiments (Bandyopadhyay et al. 2010; Gholamhoseini et al. 2012). In this study, the accumulation rate of SOC content ranged from 0.654% (in F9 treatment) to 1.264% (in F6 treatment), respectively, after four years continuous cropping (Table 7). These results showed that organic amendments application could accelerate the accumulation of SOC. These findings consistent with previous reports. Previous reports showed organic fertilizer alone or in combination with inorganic fertilizer has increased the overall SOC (Liang et al. 2012; Xin et al. 2016). The electrical conductivity ranged between 0.574 to 1.298 mmoh cm−1 in F9 (control treatment) and F4 (organic fertilizer), respectively (Table 7). A previous study reported that plots received manure increased soil EC. Similarly, Eghball (2002) reported that increasing the manure rate also increased soil EC compared with chemical treatments. The positive effect of zeolite application was greater at organic treatments in cation exchange capacity. Zeolite increased the soil CEC, which resulted in more available P, K, Mn and Zn in the soil. Our results showed that zeolite in chemical treatments enhanced soil CEC (Table 7). Studies have shown that the nutrient supplying capacity of azocompost and manure applied singly or in combination with zeolite are higher than compost alone (Gholamhoseini et al. 2012).

Soil Chemical Prosperities

The main effects of fertilizer treatments were significant on all soil elements (p ≤ 0.01) (Table 6). The maximum soil N (0.1915%) was observed in the F6 fertilizer treatment. On an average, the F6 treatment significantly increased soil nitrogen content by 72, 22 and 14% compared to F2, F4 and F8 fertilizer treatments. Integrated fertilizer treatments combined with zeolite (F6 and F8) had higher soil nitrogen content than the chemical and organic fertilizer treatments (F1, F2, F3 and F4) (Table 8). The maximum soil K (209.93 ppm), P (71.93 ppm), Zn (10.07 ppm) and Mn (12.35 ppm) were observed in organic treatment incorporated with zeolite (F4). Organic and integrated fertilizer treatments (F3, F4, F5, F6, F7 and F8) resulted in an increase in N, P, K, Mn and Zn content while application of chemical fertilizers (F1 and F2) and control (F9) led to lowering N, P, K, Mn and Zn content of the soil. Application of zeolite considerably increased soil nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, manganese and zinc in all of the chemicals, organic and integrated fertilizer treatments (F2, F4, F6 and F8). Our results revealed that organic amendments have the potential to increase soil nutrients. Zeolite application as a mixed form with organic amendments had a more positive effect on soil elements than direct consumption. A previous study reported that organic amendments application can enhance soil available elements (Hartl et al. 2003). The higher nitrogen contents in integrated plots combined with zeolite could be due in part to the nutrient supply with the composts and especially by the decrease of nutrient leaching by zeolite during growth season (Evanylo et al. 2008). The application of composted manure and azocompost with a more phosphorus and potassium content increased the availability of these nutrients to the crops (Bulluck et al. 2002; Laboski and Lamb 2003). It has been reported that higher microbial activity in organic soil compared with chemical soils significantly increased soil micronutrient contents.

Table 8 Mean comparison of fertilizer treatments main effect
Full size table

Conclusion

This study revealed that the maximum dry matter and leaf area index were estimated in integrated nutrient management. Zeolite application in fertilizer treatments led to increases in soil CEC and more available cautions such as P, K, Mn and Zn. The organic treatment showed a significantly higher increase in soil macro and micronutrients. The application of azocompost and manure increased soil EC, however, inorganic fertilizer decreased the soil decreased the soil EC as compared to organic and control treatments. Integrated nutrient management increased the SOC as compared to inorganic fertilizer and control treatments. Our study found that application of organic amendments such as azocompost and manure composts incorporated with chemical fertilizer and zeolite can be recommended to improve soil fertility and growth properties of wheat and canola crops. Also, based on the results, complete or partial (half) replacement of chemical N source with composted manure combined with application of zeolite is recommendable in the region (sandy soil) to achieve both economic and environmental advantages.