Agronomic performance of experimental fertilizers on spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) in organic farming

In organic farming, soil application of processed agro-industrial by-products could sustain soil fertility for vegetables, which have short cropping cycles. Therefore, the objectives of this 2-year research on organic spinach crop were to assess the productive performance of different experimental fertilizers, the effects on soil fertility, and investigate the dynamics of some soil properties and the N balance. Two types of olive pomace mixtures, with a different initial C/N ratio, were composted and both stopped at the active phase (A1 and B1) and processed until maturation (A2 and B2). Also an anaerobic digestate (DA), and the B2 applied as amendment (B2A) were studied. The four composts, DA, and B2A were compared with a commercial organic fertilizer (Org), and a control (N0). The Org resulted as not sustainable in maintaining soil fertility in the long-term, mainly due to reduction in the soil of total organic carbon by 32 %, compared to the average of the other treatments. Conversely, choosing stage of maturity and adequate C/N of starting mixtures was among the best practices for compost use in spinach crop. The great content of nutrients (N and K higher by 102 and 86 % than Org, respectively), and N surplus (1431 kg ha−1) in the B2A plots would suggest that they could accumulate after subsequent soil applications, with the risk of losses in the environment. The DA appeared to be the most suitable fertilizer to get a favorable trade-off among yield, quality and N-use efficiency, when applied according to best agronomic practices.