title: [Effects of herb residue vermicompost on maize growth and soil fertility].
abstract: A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of herb residue vermicompost on maize growth and soil fertility. With the increasing application rate of vermicompost, the plant height, stem diameter, leaf area, and chlorophyll content of maize all increased significantly. After 60 days growth of maize, the soil bulk density in most vermicompost treatments decreased significantly. The soil pH in vermicompost treatments was significantly higher than that in CK and in chemical fertilization treatments. In addition, the soil total nitrogen and organic matter contents in vermicompost treatments were obviously higher than those in chemical fertilization treatments. It was suggested that herb residue vermicompost could be used as an efficient and high-quality organic fertilizer, and its appropriate application could improve soil physical structure, alleviate soil acidification, increase soil organic matter and nitrogen contents, and promote crop growth.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation/Ministry of Land and Resources Key Laboratory of Construction Land Transformation/Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Land Use and Consolidation, College of Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. lijingjuan.hd2008@163.com
authors.forename: Jing-Juan
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation/Ministry of Land and Resources Key Laboratory of Construction Land Transformation/Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Land Use and Consolidation, College of Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation/Ministry of Land and Resources Key Laboratory of Construction Land Transformation/Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Land Use and Consolidation, College of Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
authors.forename: Chi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation/Ministry of Land and Resources Key Laboratory of Construction Land Transformation/Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Land Use and Consolidation, College of Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation/Ministry of Land and Resources Key Laboratory of Construction Land Transformation/Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Land Use and Consolidation, College of Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
authors.forename: Huan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation/Ministry of Land and Resources Key Laboratory of Construction Land Transformation/Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Land Use and Consolidation, College of Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Xue
authors.initials: XX
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation/Ministry of Land and Resources Key Laboratory of Construction Land Transformation/Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Land Use and Consolidation, College of Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
authors.forename: Xu-Fei
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation/Ministry of Land and Resources Key Laboratory of Construction Land Transformation/Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Land Use and Consolidation, College of Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018533:Biomass; D005308:Fertilizers; D008372:Manure / Q000032:analysis*; D009835:Oligochaeta / Q000378:metabolism*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D012037:Refuse Disposal; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D003313:Zea mays / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D008372:Manure; D012987:Soil