Organic and Mineral Fertilisers Improve Nitrogen Availability, Yield Formation and Carbon Efficiency of Spring Barley in a Typical Chernozem
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Ukryj
1
National university of life and environmental sciences of Ukraine, Heroiv Oborony Str., 15, Kyiv, Ukraine
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Autor do korespondencji
Bohdan Mazurenko
National university of life and environmental sciences of Ukraine, Heroiv Oborony Str., 15, Kyiv, Ukraine
SŁOWA KLUCZOWE
DZIEDZINY
STRESZCZENIE
Spring barley productivity and environmental performance depend on the synchronisation of nitrogen supply with crop demand, especially under variable hydrothermal conditions. A two-year field experiment was conducted in 2024–2025 on a typical Chernozem in the Right-Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine to evaluate fertilisation systems based on compost and vermicompost applied alone or in combination with mineral nitrogen. All fertilised treatments had a planned total nitrogen input equivalent to 50 kg N/ha; however, the organic amendments also supplied additional phosphorus and potassium, so the results are interpreted as fertilisation-system effects rather than isolated nitrogen-source effects. The experiment included an unfertilised control, mineral nitrogen, full-rate compost, compost combined with mineral nitrogen, full-rate vermicompost and vermicompost combined with mineral nitrogen. All fertilised treatments increased grain yield compared with the control, which averaged 5.72 t/ha. The highest two-year mean grain yield was obtained with vermicompost N25 + mineral N25, reaching 7.01 t/ha, followed by full-rate compost with 6.80 t/ha. Compost mainly improved yield through increased spike density, whereas the vermicompost–mineral nitrogen combination promoted biomass accumulation and grain filling. Assessment of CO2-equivalent emissions indicated that fertilised treatments reduced yield-scaled emissions compared with the control. The vermicompost–mineral nitrogen combination showed the lowest emission intensity, at 692.6 kg CO2-eq/t of grain. These results suggest that partial substitution of mineral nitrogen with vermicompost may improve spring barley productivity and estimated carbon efficiency; however, longer-term studies with direct greenhouse gas and soil carbon measurements are needed to confirm the environmental effects.