Humic acid from Melastoma affine D. Don compost enhances key chemical properties of tropical coastal Entisols and Inceptisols
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Abstract
The study demonstrated that the application of humic acid derived from Melastoma affine D. Don up to a rate of 4000 mg kg-1 increased total soil organic carbon (TSOC), total soil nitrogen (TSN), exchangeable potassium (K), and cation exchange capacity (CEC) of Entisols and Inceptisols from a tropical coastal area. However, humic acid application had no effect on soil available PO4 or electrical conductivity (EC) in either soil. In contrast, soil pH decreased significantly with the humic acid application. An application rate of 1000-2000 mg kg-1 was sufficient to improve key soil properties while minimizing further pH reduction. Entisols revealed greater response in enhancing TSN, K, and CEC while Inceptisols had higher increase in TSOC. At highest humic acid concentration (4000 mg kg-1), Inceptisols increased TSOC by 93% higher than the control whereas Entisols only by 68%. Moreover, at the same rate, Entisols showed 49% and 35% increase in TSN and exchangeable K, respectively while no significant change in TSN and a 12.5% increase in K was observed in Inceptisols. These results indicates that humic acid derived from Melastoma compost had strong potential to improve chemical properties of coastal soil such as Entisols and Inceptisols, contributing a sustainable strategy for soil quality improvement.
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