Changes in Soil Chemical Properties and Growth Performance of Corn (Zea mays L.) Grown in an Acidic-tropical Soil Amended with Fly-Ash

Abstract

Fly-ash, by product in coal power-plant production, has many essential nutrients for plant growth along with toxic metals. Therefore, fly-ash is frequently applied for improving soil fertility. In this experiment, we applied four different amounts of fly-ash, viz. 0 (100% soil), 25, 50 and 75 Mg ha-1 to an acidic-tropical soil and determined the changes in soil chemical properties and corn production in a green-house experiment. Results of study showed that fly-ash application improved soil pH, exchangeable cations (Na, K, Ca and Mg), cation exchangeable capacity (CEC), concentrations of aluminium and iron. The experiment also showed that fly-ash application to soils also improved corn growth (plant height and dried-weight shoot) and production. Fly-ash 50 Mg ha-1 lead to higher corn production than the fly-ash application of 25 Mg ha-1, and increasing the amounts of added fly-ash did not significantly increase the corn production. Results of this study demonstrate that medium-level of fly-ash application resulted in the improvements of soil chemical properties and corn production.