Abstract

GARCIA-CRUZ, A.; FLORES-ROMAN, D.; GARCIA-CALDERON, N. E.  and  FERRERA-CERRATO, R.. Effect of Organic Amendments, Fig Tree and Mycorrhiza on Characteristics of Tepetate. Terra Latinoam [online]. 2008, vol.26, n.4, pp.309-315. ISSN 2395-8030.

Tepetate is an indurated layer of material of volcanic origin, with massive structure, limited porosity, low organic matter, nitrogen, and phosphorous content. To improve the productive quality of these materials and to contribute to its habilitation, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of organic amendments, fig tree (Ficus carica L.), and mycorrhiza on physical and chemical characteristics of a fragmented tepetate. The experiment was conducted using tepetate from Tetela del Volcán, Morelos, Mexico. A bifactorial experimental design was used with a completely random treatment distribution and four replications. The factors were: (1) plant (without plant, plant, and plant + inoculum (Glomus spp.) and (2) amendment (without amendment, bovine manure, compost, and vermicompost), resulting in 12 treatments. At the end of the 18-month experiment, the tepetate material was sampled to perform physical (aggregation and stability) and chemical (pH, C, cation exchange capacity (CEC), Ca²+, Mg²+, Na+ and K+) analyses. Aggregation and stability were enhanced by the amendments and the plant, showing a dominance of fractions > 5 mm in dry aggregation, and > 5 mm and > 0.25 mm in moist aggregation. The mean weight diameter (MWD) varied from 2.75 to 3.78 mm. pH was slightly alkaline. The value of organic carbon increased in all treatments relative to the control. Exchangeable bases increased. CEC had high values. The addition of manure, compost, vermicompost, and mycorrhiza favored physical and chemical characteristics of tepetate, allowing the fig tree to develop and to improve the tepetate productive quality.

Keywords : indurated layers; aggregation; stability, habilitation.