Europ. J.

Agronomy 19 (2003) 357
/368

www.elsevier.com/locate/eja

Effects of the application of a compost originating from

crushed cotton gin residues on wheat yield under dryland
conditions
M. Tejada a,*, J.L. Gonzalez b
a
Departamento de Cristalografı́a, Mineralogı́a y Quı́mica Agrı́cola, E.U.I.T.A. Universidad de Sevilla, Crta de Utrera km. 1, 41013
Seville, Spain
b
Departamento de Quı́mica Agrı́cola y Edafologı́a, Universidad de Córdoba, Campus de Rabanales, Edificio C-3, Crta N-IV-a, km. 396,
14014 Cordoba, Spain

Received 26 February 2002; received in revised form 24 June 2002; accepted 21 July 2002

Abstract

The influence of four doses of a compost originating from residues of crushed cotton gin on wheat (Triticun aestivum
cv. Cajeme) in dryland conditions (Guadalquivir Valley, Andalusia, Spain) has been studied. The results obtained in
this study showed that this compost is of great agricultural interest product because of its organic matter content. The
application of this byproduct to the soil resulted in an increase in soil microbial activity, structural stability and soil
porosity. Mineralization of organic matter produced a higher concentration of NO3
/N in soil, and an increase on the
yield parameters and grain yield in both seasons.
# 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Compost originating from crushed cotton gin; Structural stability; Soil porosity; Soil microbial activity; Wheat yield

1. Introduction in soils, directly influencing the physical, chemical

Soil fertility is a dynamic concept influenced by
climate and cultural practices (Ayoub, 1999).
Nowadays, mineral fertilizers are the major factor
in the maintenance of soil fertility. However, the
massive use of mineral fertilizers and some bad
cultivation practices such as burning the stubble
have greatly reduced the content of organic matter
* Corresponding author. Tel.: /34-54-23-36-69; fax: 34-54-
23-26-44.
E-mail address: mtmoral@us.es (M. Tejada).
1161-0301/02/$ - see front matter # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 1 1 6 1 - 0 3 0 1 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 8 9 - 8
and biological properties, and the risk of degrada-
tion of these soils. So the main consequence of the
agronomic practices above mentioned could be the
mineralization and desertification of soil (Tejada
et al., 2001).
For this reason, issues of agricultural sustain-
ability and minimal environmental hazards should
be addressed simultaneously. Recycling of organic
residues along with judicious use of mineral
fertilizers could easily mitigate environmental
hazards resulting from intensive agriculture. The
application of organic wastes, such as animal
 358
M. Tejada, J.L. Gonzalez / Europ. J. Agronomy 19 (2003) 357
/368
Table 1
Main soil characteristics

pHa Electric conductivityb (dS m 1) Texturec Instability indexd Porositye (cm3 g 1) Total Nf (g kg 1) Total Cg (g kg 1)
(log10 Is)
Clay (g kg1) Silt (g kg 1) Sand (g kg 1)

6.2 0.24 (not saline) 190 141 840 1.10 (stable) 0.358 0.8 9.7
a
Determined in distilled water with a glass electrode (soil:H2O ratio 1:1).
b
Determined in distilled water with a glass electrode (soil:H2O ratio 1:5).
c
Determined by the Robinson’s pipette method (SSEW, 1982).
d
Structural stability, determined by Henin and Monnier method (1956) and classified by Baize criteria (1988).
e
Determined by mercury intrusion porosimetry.
f
Determined by MAPA methods (1986).
g
Determined by dry combustion method (MAPA, 1986).
 M. Tejada, J.L. Gonzalez / Europ. J. Agronomy 19 (2003) 357
/368
manure, sewage sludge, city refuse, compost, etc.
to soil is a current environmental and agricultural
practice for maintaining soil organic matter,
reclaiming degraded soils and supplying plant
nutrients.
In this respect, in the last decade much work has
been done on the use of composts for plant
nutrition. Compost is used in agriculture (Gonza-
lez et al., 1992; Sikora and Azad, 1993; Chen et al.,
1996; Pinamonti and Zorzi, 1996; He et al., 2000),
horticulture (Chen et al., 1992; Roe et al., 1997),
and land reclamation (Vangronsveld et al., 1996).
Compost may improve the stability of soil
aggregates and applied as a much it reduces the
risk of erosion (Pinamonti and Zorzi, 1996).
Compost may increase soil porosity and water
holding capacity (Epstein et al., 1976; McConell et
al., 1993; Giusquiani et al., 1995), decreases soil
acidification (Bengtson and Cornette, 1973) and
releases nutrients (Gonzalez et al., 1992; Chen et
al., 1996; Hadas and Portnoy, 1994; Benitez et al.,
1998; Sikora and Enkiri, 1999; He et al., 2000;
Chodak et al., 2001; Tejada et al., 2001; Benitez et
al., submitted for publication). All these effects
and probably also additional ones (e.g. suppres-
sion of pathogenic microorganisms) have advanta-
geous effect on plant and health (Pinamonti and
Zorzi, 1996).
However, most composts contain relatively low
levels of nutrients (10
/20 g N kg1, B/10 g
P kg 1) compared with complete fertilizer (Sikora
and Enkiri, 1999). In addition, low mineralization
rates require high application rates (40
/100
Mg ha 1) to satisfy the complete N or P require-
ment of a crop (Hornick et al. 1984).
On the other hand, under field conditions, the
decomposition of compost is complex, and is
controlled by numerous factors such as availability
of carbon and nitrogen, chemical nature of the
compost, contact between soil and compost and
soil and weather factors (Hadas and Portnoy,
1994). Moreover the N concentration of the com-
post and its C:N ratio have a considerable effect
on the dynamics of mineral N in the soil (Trinsou-
trot et al., 2000). The C:N ratio of the compost will
largely determine the balance between mineraliza-
tion and immobilization.
359
Combining compost with sufficient N fertilizer
to meet crop requirements is an appealing alter-
native that (i) utilizes composts at lower than
fertilizer rates, (ii) reduces the amount of N-
inorganic fertilizer applied to soils, and (iii)
reduces the accumulation of non-nutrient consti-
tuents in soils (Sikora and Enkiri, 1999).
Since the amount of available soil NO3
/N
originating from the mineralization of compost is
governed by soil microbial activity, the first
objective of this study was to determine the effects
of compost originating from crushed cotton gin
and N fertilizer application rates on soil microbial
respiration and N mineralization under controlled
environmental conditions. The second objective of
this work was to test the effect of the compost on
the physical properties of soil and its impact on
wheat yield parameters.
2. Material and methods
2.1. Site and climatic conditions
The study was conducted from December 1998
to June 2000 near Sevilla (Andalusia, Spain). The
soil of the field experiment is a calcareous Fluvisol
(FAO, 1989). The general properties of this soil
(0
/25 cm) are shown in Table 1.
The climatic characteristic of the study area are:
precipitation was variable throughout the study
time. The total annual rainfall was 438, 301, and
186 mm for 1998, 1999 and 2000, respectively. The
average mean air temperature was 18.7, 19.1, and
18.6 for 1998, 1999 and 2000, respectively. These
values are typical of mediterranean climate.
2.2. Properties of the compost
The material used consisted of residues of
crushed cotton gin. These residues of cotton gin
resulted mainly from the waste material from
cleaning the cotton of solid residues (mainly seeds
and husks of the flowers). These residues were
produced by a Culatti mill, obtaining a particle
size of 2 mm and were exposed to an aerobic
digestion in heaps of approximately 2/1/0.5 m3
volume. The material was turned at intervals, the
360 M. Tejada, J.L. Gonzalez / Europ. J. Agronomy 19 (2003) 357
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Table 2
Chemical properties and elemental composition of the compost
(wet weight)
pH (H2O)/7.0 Mg (mg kg1) /30
Total C (g kg 1) /156 Fe (mg kg1) /3.9
Total N (g kg1) /13 Cu (mg kg 1) /0.1
Organic N (g kg 1) /12.9 Mn (mg kg 1) /0.6
C:N/12 Zn (mg kg1) /0.5
NH4 
/N (mg kg 1)/32.5 B (mg kg 1) /0.2
NO3 
/N (mg kg1) /20.3 Cd (mg kg 1) /0.1
P (g kg1) /6.3 Pb (mg kg 1) /0.1
K (g kg 1)/126 Ni (mg kg 1)/0.1
Ca (mg kg 1) /275
The analysis has been described in detail elsewhere (Tejada et
al., 2001). Inorganic-N was extracted with 2 M KCl. NH4 
/N
was determined by distillation in alkaline medium (MgO), and
the same procedure was utilized for NO3 
/N after reduction
with Devarda’s alloy (Bremner, 1965), P (Willians and Stewart,
described by Guitian and Carballas, 1976), K (by atomic
emission spectrophotometer) Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, B, Cd,
Pb and Ni (by atomic absorption spectrophotometer), were
determined after calcination of the compost and solution of the
ashes in HCl (MAPA, 1986).
temperature was controlled to be never above 60
/
65 8C and the moisture (not lower than 40%), by
adding water if necessary and turning the mixture.
This temperature was measured by introducing a
thermometer into the center of the pile. A tem-
perature of 60
/65 8C was not surpassed, to avoid
alterations that might take place in the microflora
and losses of NH4
/N.
The composting process was carried on for 191
days, when the C:N ratio and the temperature had
become constant, and characteristics such as the
color and the scent were adjusted according to that
described in the bibliography (Gonzalez et al.,
1989, 1990, 1992).
This compost was selected because of their wide
range of organic concentration and their potential
utilization as a soil amendment. The general
properties of this compost are shown in Table 2.
2.3. Experimental layout and treatments
The experimental layout was in a randomized
complete block with a total amount of 20 plots,
with each plot measuring 9 /8 m2. Five treat-
ments were used (4 replicates per treatment): (1)
treatment A0, with incorporation of NH4NO3
fertilizer at 150 kg N ha 1; (2) treatment A1,
with incorporation of 20 t ha1 of compost with
NH4NO3 fertilizer at 150 kg N ha 1; (3) treatment
A2, with incorporation of 40 t ha1 of compost
with NH4NO3 fertilizer at 150 kg N ha 1; (4)
treatment A3, with incorporation of 60 t ha1 of
compost with NH4NO3 fertilizer at 150 kg
N ha 1; and (5) treatment A4, with incorporation
of 90 t ha1 of compost with NH4NO3 fertilizer at
150 kg N ha1.
The compost was surface broadcast on 16
November 1998 and 17 November 1999, respec-
tively and incorporated to a 25-cm depth by chisel
plowing and disking the day after application.
Also, the split plots received surface broadcast
NH4NO3 fertilizer on 15 November 1997 and 18
November 1998, respectively. NH4NO3 fertilizer
was applied as close as possible to seeding, in order
to minimize potential NO3 leaching from the
sandy soil.
Wheat (Triticum aestivum cv. Cajeme) was
chosen as the test crop, and used at a rate of 150
kg ha1, which is the common practice in the area.
The sowing dates were 16 December 1998 and 19
December 1999, respectively. The investigation
was focussed on wheat yield parameters in relation
to mineralization of soil organic-C in the compost-
amended treatments. The number of grains/spike,
the number of spikes m 1, the weight of 1000
grains and crop yield (kg ha1) were determined
on samples collected in each plots on 15 June 1999
and 20 June 2000, respectively.
The herbicides 2,4-D and MCPA and the
fungicides Zineb and Maneb were applied to
prevent suboptimal plant growth conditions due
to weed diseases and fungi attack.
2.4. Soil sampling and analytical determinations
Soil samples (0
/25 cm) were collected from each
plot with a gauge auger (30-mm diameter) at three
stages during the two wheat growth cycle on the
following dates: (1) 16 February 1999 and 20
February 2000, respectively (three-leaf stage); (2)
17 April 1999 and 25 April 2000, respectively
(anthesis stage); and (3) 15 June 1999 and 20 June
2000, respectively (complete maturation stage).
Soil samples were also collected between successive
 M. Tejada, J.L. Gonzalez / Europ. J. Agronomy 19 (2003) 357
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crops, on 19 July and 30 September 1999, respec-
tively.
Soil samples were either immediately oven-dried
at 32 8C or frozen at /10 8C and oven-dried at a
later date. After drying, soil samples were ground
to pass a 2-mm sieve and stored in sealed poly-
ethylene bags for laboratory analysis in a cool, dry
place until chemical analysis. Soil NO3
/N was
extracted with 2 M KCl (250 ml) on an orbital
shaker for 2 h. The suspension was filtered and
stored at /15 8C until analysis. The concentra-
tion of NO3
/N in the extracts was determined
by the colorimetric method of Griess and Illosvay
as modified by Barnes and Tolkard (1951) and
Bremner (1965). Soil organic carbon was deter-
mined by oxidizing organic matter in soil samples
with K2Cr2O7 in very strong sulphuric acid for 30
min, and measuring the concentration of Cr3
formed (Sims and Haby, 1971).
Structural stability test was determined by the
Henin and Monnier method (1956). The aggregate
size fraction B/2 mm was used. The proportions
(%, w/w) of stable Ag, Aga and Agb aggregates
(corresponding to untreated, alcohol-treated and
benzene-treated aggregates, respectively) retained
on a 0.2 mm mesh sieve. The instability index, Is,
was obtained using the equation
(% B 20 mm)max
Is 
(Ag  Aga  Agb )=3  0:9(%CS)
where ‘(% B/20 mm)max’ indicates the largest pro-
portion of suspended particles B/20 mm deter-
mined for the three samples treatments, and %CS
is the largest proportion of coarse sand (the
fraction 0.2
/2 mm) forming part of the stable
aggregates.
Porosity was determined by mercury intrusion
porosimetry. For mercury intrusion porosimetry,
rounded aggregates obtained by mechanical abra-
sion of 3
/5 mm aggregates were used. In this
technique, the volume of pores of a given size is
determined by measuring the volume of mercury
intruded into the soil sample (4 g representing
around 100 aggregates) at a given pressure (Barral
et al., 1998). The equivalent pore diameter (D , in
m) is calculated from the applied pressure (P , in
Pa) by means of Jurin’s law,
361
4s cos a
D
P
where s is the surface tension of the mercury (0.48
N m 1), and a is the contact angle of the mercury
meniscus at the pore wall (1308). The measure-
ments were carried out at between 0.03 and 206
MPa (equivalent to D /400 and 0.006 mm, respec-
tively) in a Coultronics 9300 pore sizer.
2.5. Soil microbial activity
Since the amount of available soil NO3
/N
originating from the mineralization of the compost
is governed by soil microbial activity, the soil
microbial biomass was determined using the
CHCl3 fumigation
/extraction method (Vance et
al., 1987). Samples of most soil (10 g) were used,
and K2SO4-extractable C was determined using
the dichromate digestion. Soil respiration was
measured by incubation in all treatments. For
this measurement, compost and N fertilizer treat-
ment combinations with three replications of 100 g
of soil were filled into 250-ml Erlenmeyer flasks.
The soil-treatment mixtures were adjusted to a soil
moisture potential of /10 kPa using distilled CO2-
free water (Eriksen et al., 1999). The incubation
flasks were randomly placed in an incubation
chamber and connected to a manifold system
supplying continuous aeration with CO2-free air.
The experimental design was similar to that
described by Zibilske (1994) and Eriksen et al.
(1999). Temperature was maintained at constant
20 8C and the time of incubation was 60 days. The
effluent air stream was bubbled through 60 ml of 1
M NaOH solution in 100-ml Erlenmeyer flasks for
CO2 absorption. Total CO2
/C collected in the
NaOH solution was determined by addition of an
excess of 1.5 M BaCl2, followed by titration with
standardized HCl using phenolphthalein indicator
(Zibilske, 1994; Eriksen et al., 1999).
2.6. Statistical analysis
Soil microbial biomass data, structural stability,
soil porosity in soil and wheat crop yield para-
meters were analysed by ANOVA using the
Statgraphics v. 5.0 software package (Statistical
362 M. Tejada, J.L. Gonzalez / Europ. J. Agronomy 19 (2003) 357
/368

Fig. 1. Cumulative CO2
/C evolved for the various treatments.

Graphics Corporation, 1991) and considering the 3. Results and discussion

treatment as the independent variable. The means
were separated by the Tukey’s test, considering a
significance level of P B/0.05 throughout the 3.1. Soil respiration
study.
Fig. 1 shows the cumulative CO2 evolution
trends for the compost treatments obtained by
laboratory soil incubation. The cumulative CO2
evolution trend, or soil respiration, was signifi-
cantly greater and more rapid, immediately after
Table 3 incorporation of the compost, for the compost-
Soil microbial biomass for all treatments amended soils than for the non-compost-amended
Treatments Biomass-C (mg C g 1 dry soil) soils. The supply of readily metabolisable C of the
organic byproduct (crushed cotton gin) induced a
A0 1146aa
significant biomass increase (Table 3). Soil micro-
A1 1298b
A2 1474c bial biomass responds, rapidly in terms of activity
A3 1613d to additions of readily available C, according to
A4 1810e Bending et al. (2000), Blagodatsky et al. (2000), De
a
Different letters following the figures indicate a significant
Neve and Hofman (2000), Schaffers (2000) and
difference at P B/0.05. Trinsoutrot et al. (2000).
 M. Tejada, J.L. Gonzalez / Europ. J. Agronomy 19 (2003) 357
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Fig. 2. Evolution of organic-C concentration in soils for the two experimental seasons.
3.2. C and NO3
/N evolution in soils
Fig. 2 shows the cumulative CO2 release and
Fig. 3 the evolution of NO3
/N concentration in
soils for the two experimental season for all
treatments. In the first experimental season (16
February 1999 to 15 June 1999), A4 produced the
highest values of organic-C, followed by A3, A2
and A1. This is due a higher supply of organic
matter to the soil. A0 yielded the lowest value
concentration of organic-C, because no crushed
cotton gin was applied. The A4 treatment gave the
highest concentrations of NO3
/N in the soil
followed by A3, A2, A1 and A0 because of a
higher mineralization of organic-N in the plots
where higher doses of organic matter were applied.
NO3
/N concentrations in soils increased gradu-
ally along the first experimental season, mainly
due to mineralization of organic-N.
For the second experimental seasonal (20 Feb-
ruary 2000
/20 June 2000), highest values of
363
organic-C and NO3
/N in soils for A4 were
observed again, followed by A3, A2 and A1. These
results indicate that the cotton gin compost is of
great agricultural interest because of its organic
matter. The application of the compost to the soil
resulted an increase in NO3
/N concentrations in
soils, and an increase of NO3
/N uptake by
plants (Tejada et al., 2001).
3.3. Structural stability and porosity in soils
Table 4 shows the structural stability (log10 Is)
and porosity (cm3 g1) in soils for the two
experimental seasons.
The structure of soil is determined by the spatial
arrangement of its constituent particles and the
nature and intensity of the binding forces between
them. The spatial arrangement also largely deter-
mines the complementary porous volume of the
soil, and thus influences mass- and energy-transfer
properties, while the interparticular binding forces
364 M. Tejada, J.L. Gonzalez / Europ. J. Agronomy 19 (2003) 357
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Fig. 3. Evolution of NO3
/N in soils for the two experimental seasons.

relate the soil to the particle stability (Barral et al.,
1998). According to Baver et al. (1972), for
flocculated soil particles to form stable aggregates,
it is necessary that the these particles are cemented
by organic matter, aluminium or iron oxides,
colloidal silica or calcium carbonate. The relative
importance of these cementing substances depends
on their abundance in the soil, which in turn is
related to the soil type and the use to which it is
put. Benito and Diaz-Fierros (1989, 1992), Chaney
and Swift (1984) and Chenu et al. (2000) deter-
mined the composition of stable aggregates of soils
and found that only the organic matter concentra-
tion was significantly correlated with aggregate
stability. Soil organic matter is assumed to stabi-
lize aggregates against disruptive processes by two

Table 4
Structural stability and porosity in soils for the two experimental seasons

Instability index (log10 Is) (classified by Baize criteria, 1988) Porosity (cm3 g 1)

15 November 1998 15 June 1999 20 June 2000 15 November 1998 15 June 1999 20 June 2000

1.10 (stable) 0.358

A0 treatment 1.11aa(stable) 1.12a (stable) 0.358a 0.357a
A1 treatment 1.09b (stable) 1.07b (stable) 0.362a 0.365b
A2 treatment 1.07c (stable) 1.04c (stable) 0.367b 0.371c
A3 treatment 1.05d (stable) 1.01d (stable) 0.370c 0.376d
A4 treatment 1.04e (stable) 0.98e (very stable) 0.374c 0.381e
a
Different letters following the figures indicate a significant difference at P B/0.05.
 M. Tejada, J.L. Gonzalez / Europ. J. Agronomy 19 (2003) 357
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Table 5
Wheat yield parameters and grain yield

1998
/1999 season 1999
/2000 season

No Weight 1000 grains No Yield No Weight 1000 grains No Yield

Grain spike 1 (g) Spikes m 2 (kg ha1) Grain spike 1 (g) Spikes m 2 (kg ha 1)

A0 treat- 40aa 27.36a 290a 3246a 39a 27.30a 291a 3211a

ment
A1 treat- 42b 28.16b 292a 3297a 43b 28.14b 294b 3317b
ment
A2 treat- 44c 28.53c 295b 3386b 46c 28.96c 297c 3446c
ment
A3 treat- 45b 28.74c 298c 3457c 47c 29.22d 308d 3489d
ment
A4 treat- 47d 29.36d 310d 3519d 49d 30.46e 317e 3577e
ment
a
Different letters following the figures indicate a significant difference at P B/0.05.

365
366 M. Tejada, J.L. Gonzalez / Europ. J. Agronomy 19 (2003) 357
/368
major actions. Firstly, organic matter increases the
cohesion of aggregates, by the binding of mineral
particles to organic polymers, or through the
physical enmeshment of particles by fine roots or
fungi (Tisdall and Oades, 1982; Chenu and Guerif,
1991; Dorioz et al., 1993; Chenu et al., 1994).
Secondly, organic matter may decrease the wett-
ability of aggregates, slowing their rates of wetting
and thus the extent of slaking (Sullivan, 1990).
Table 4 shows an increase of the structural
stability of the soil with an increase of the rates of
the compost applied. These results are in line with
Puget et al. (2000). Particularly organic matter as a
source of carbon and energy for microorganisms
are supposed to increase the aggregate stability.
Structural stability was still higher in the second
experimental season. This is particularly true for
the macroaggregates. Macroaggregation is very
sensitive to changes in land use and cultivation
practices (Chaney and Swift, 1984; Robertson et
al., 1991; Angers, 1992), in contrast to microag-
gregation (Besnard et al., 1996). Such changes in
stable aggregation were monitored over several
years (Tisdall and Oades, 1982) and were corre-
lated with changes in organic matter fractions in
shorter-term studies (Baldock and Kay, 1987;
Robertson et al., 1991; Angers et al., 1993). Our
results confirm that the compost stabilized the
macroaggregates and that the formation of stable
macroaggregates is strongly linked to soil organic
matter dynamics, as suggested earlier by Monnier
(1965), Chenu et al. (2000) and Puget et al. (2000).
In addition, soil aeration increased because of
the increase in soil porosity with the structural
stability. This increase is shown in Table 4 and was
especially evident for high doses of compost and
for the second experimental season.
3.4. Wheat response to fertilizer treatments
Table 5 shows that in both years compost
application increased the number of grains/spike,
the 1000 grain weight, the number of spikes m 2
and the grain yield. For all parameters including
grain yield best results were obtained with the
highest compost rate.
This positive effect was mainly due to a better N
supply with the compost application. Presumably
also to a better soil structure improving soil
aeration and water supply.
4. Conclusions
It was found that the application of crushed
cotton gin residues compost is of great agricultural
interest due mainly to its organic matter content.
The application of this byproduct to the soil
yielded an increase in soil microbial activity,
structural stability and porosity. Mineralization
of organic matter produced a higher NO3
/N
concentration in soil, and an increase of NO3
/N
uptake by plants. Due to the higher NO3
/N
uptake by plants, better wheat yield parameters
were obtained. The yield parameters of the second
experimental season were better than those of the
first experimental season, due to the residual effect
of the organic matter after its application in the
first season.
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