Effects of municipal solid waste compost and chemical fertilizer on plant growth in different soils

A pot experiment was conducted to compare the effects of municipal solid waste compost and chemical fertilizer on the growth of ryegrass(Lolium perenne L.) in different soils. The results show that the compost and chemical fertilizer significantly increase the dry matter production of ryegrass.The application of 50t/hm² of compost alone inceases the dry matter yield by 39.53% and 109.38%, while that of chemical NPK alone, by 267.44% and 406.25% for Yangchun and Da'an soils,respectively. The combination of compost and chemical NPK( NPK+C₂₅ for Yangchun and NPK+C₅₀ for Da'an) shows the highest crop yields. The contents of soil organic carbon,available P,K,Fe,Mn,Zn,Cu,and pH are obviously increased after the treatment with compost.