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The Effect Of Municipal Solid Waste
Compost Application On Soil Water and
Water Stress in Irrigated Corn
a
b
b
a
M. Mamo , J.F. Moncrief , C.J. Rosen & T.R. Halbach
a
University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska
b
Department. of Soil, Water, and Climate, Univ. of Minnesota, St.
Paul, Minnesota
Published online: 23 Jul 2013.
To cite this article: M. Mamo, J.F. Moncrief, C.J. Rosen & T.R. Halbach (2000) The Effect Of Municipal
Solid Waste Compost Application On Soil Water and Water Stress in Irrigated Corn, Compost Science &
Utilization, 8:3, 236-246, DOI: 10.1080/1065657X.2000.10701996
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Compost Science & Utilization, (2000), Vol. 8, No. 3, 236-246
The Effect Of
Municipal Solid Waste Compost Application
On Soil Water and Water Stress in Irrigated Corn
1
2
2
2
M. Mamo, J.F. Moncrief, C.J. Rosen and T.R. Halbach
1
. University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska
. Department. of Soil, Water, and Climate, Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota
2
Land application of municipal solid waste (MSW) compost increases soil organic
matter content and influences soil physical properties. This study was conducted to
measure the effect of compost on the water holding capacity of soil and water status
in corn (Zea mays L.) from 1993 to 1995. The soil was a Hubbard loamy sand (sandy,
mixed, Udorthentic Haploboroll) cropped to irrigated corn at the Sand Plain Re-
search Farm at Becker, MN. Compost treatments on dry weight basis were 0 and 90
-
1
-1
-1
Mg ha yr from 1993 to 1995, and a one time application at 270 Mg ha in 1993. The
soil moisture retention curves were generated in 1994 and corn leaf water potential
and soil bulk density were measured each growing season. Based on water retention
curves, the addition of compost increased the water holding capacity of soil without
significant increase in the estimated available water. This was contradicted by field
measurements which showed that compared to a fertilized control one compost
source at the 270 Mg ha- rate in the year of application increased plant water stress
by 0.22 MPa, likely due to salt loading. In the year after the application of the 270 Mg
1
-
1
3
- 3
ha , two compost sources increased soil water content and corn yield 0.14 cm cm
-
1
and 0.9 Mg ha respectively. The yield increase was also associated with a reduction
in plant water stress of 0.14 MPa due to one of the compost sources.
Introduction
Soil physical properties such as aggregate stability, soil structure, pore size dis-
tribution, soil density, and water holding capacity can change when soil is amended
with organic matter. The addition of organic soil conditioners has been shown to re-
duce aggregate breakdown and slow seal formation by rain drop impact due to the
increased strength in the bonds between the constituents forming aggregates (Shain-
berg et al. 1992). The reduction of organic matter upon cultivation and crop pro-
duction can also result in increased soil erosion and decreased soil productivity (De
Haan 1981; Elliott 1986).
Sewage sludge and refuse compost amendments have been shown to increase
total porosity and pore size distribution of soil (Pagliai et al. 1981). Bugbee and Frink
(
1989) found that composted waste in potting mixes was similar in aeration, water
holding capacity, and other media properties compared to potting mixes alone. Or-
ganic amendments can reduce soil penetration resistance and bulk density (Tester
1
990; Kreft 1987) and increase water holding capacity of soils, particularly in coarse-
textured soils (Kreft 1987). A reduction in available water capacity is considered a
major factor contributing to loss of soil productivity (Bauer and Black 1992). In a field
study, municipal solid waste (MSW) compost applied in well-drained sandy soil has
been shown to increase moisture availability to young slash pine (Bengtson and Cor-
nette 1973) without an adverse effect of compost on soil or trees. The objectives of
this study were to evaluate the effect of MSW compost amendment on corn grain
yield, soil bulk density, soil water content, and moisture availability in well-drained
sandy soils amended with MSW compost.
236 Compost Science & Utilization
Summer 2000

The Effect of Municipal Solid Waste Compost Application on
Soil Water and Water Stress in Irrigated Corn
Materials and Methods
The field experiment was conducted from 1993 to 1995 on a Hubbard loamy sand soil
pH of 5.8 and organic matter content of 1.4 percent) at the University of Minnesota Sand
(
Plain Research Farm at Becker, MN. The two composts, Truman and Wright, were ob-
tained from Truman, Minnesota and Buffalo, Minnesota respectively. The Truman com-
post was made using the Siloda process (OTVD French technology) and the Wright com-
post was made using the windrow process (Buhler Swiss technology). The feedstocks for
composting were highly variable and included various proportions of cardboard, paper,
food waste, and yard waste. Plastic, glass, stone, and metal contaminants were removed
before composting. The compost had less than 2.8% inert fraction (< 6 mm) by weight.
Selected chemical properties of the composts from 1993 to 1995 are presented in
Table 1. Total N and C in compost were measured by Kjeldahl and dry combustion
methods, respectively (Bremner and Mulvaney 1982; Nelson and Sommers 1982). Com-
post NO —N and NH4+-N were extracted in 2 M KCl (Keeney and Nelson 1982) and
3
measured by conductrimetic method (Carlson 1990). Total P and K in the composts were
measured by ICP following dry ashing procedures (Munter 1984). Total P ranged from
-
1
-1
1
.7 to 2.6 g kg for Truman compost and from 1.3 to 2.9 g kg for Wright compost. To-
-1
-1
tal K ranged from 2.4 to 3.8 g kg for Truman compost and from 1.8 to 3.8 g kg for
Wright compost. The composts met heavy metal standards of the United States Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency 503 regulations for sewage sludge (USEPA 1993).
TABLE 1.
Selected chemical characteristics of composts
Compost
Rate†
Mg ha
Organic
C
Inorganic Organic
Compost
Source
N
N§
N§
EC
S m
-1
(g kg-1
(kg ha-1
-1
Year
)
C:N
)
1
993
Truman
Wright
90
200
200
170
170
240
180
230
200
9
9
22
22
15
15
27
18
23
22
27
81
46
138
66
31
27
27
783
1.7
1.7
1.6
1.6
1.5
0.9
1.3
1.6
2
70
2349
944
2830
744
869
873
783
90
11
11
9
2
70
90
90
90
90
1
994
995
Truman
Wright
Truman
Wright
10
10
9
1
Compost applied one time at 270 Mg ha-1 in 1993 or annually at 90 Mg ha from 1993 to 1995.
-1
†
§
N applied at compost application rate of 270 Mg ha- or 90 Mg ha- y
1
1
-1
.
The soil was amended with either Truman or Wright compost each at 90 and 270 Mg
-1
-1
ha (dry weight basis) in 1993. In 1994 and 1995, plots that had received 90 Mg ha com-
-1
-1
post received an additional 90 Mg ha each year (total 270 dry Mg ha from 1993 to 1995).
Municipal solid waste compost was weighed in a tractor mounted front-end loader on
load cells to within ±10 kg, transferred into a manure spreader, applied to each desig-
nated 7.6 m by 4.6 m plot, and then incorporated by moldboard plowing to a depth of
2
0 cm. The compost and nonamended control treatments which were replicated four
-1
times also received sidedress applications of 250 kg N ha as urea each year. In addition
to the N treatment, starter fertilizer at rates of 13 kg N ha , 7 kg P ha , and 50 kg K ha
-1
-1
-1
was banded each year at planting to all plots. All sidedress N was immediately incor-
porated by irrigation or cultivation. Details of the experimental design can be found in
Mamo et al. (1999).
Compost Science & Utilization
Summer 2000 237

M. Mamo, J.F. Moncrief, C.J. Rosen and T.R. Halbach
Corn was irrigated using the soil water deficit (checkbook method) for irrigation
scheduling (Wright and Bergsrud 1991). The soil water deficit is the amount of water
needed to restore the soil water in the rooting zone to field capacity. Usually, the allow-
able soil water deficit is set for a given crop and soil specifying the maximum amount of
water to be depleted before initiating irrigation. The water balance method was used to
estimate the daily change in soil water storage (ÎS) for the entire growing season.
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [1]
where P is measured rainfall precipitation (mm), I is amount of irrigation water ap-
plied (mm), and ET is evapotranspiration (mm) or crop water use for different growth
stages of corn estimated by Wright and Bergsrud (1991) using the Penman equation.
Bulk Density
In 1993, a bulk density sampler was used to obtain field cores with 5 cm diameter
by 5 cm height at depths of 0 to 10 cm and 10 to 20 cm. In 1994, soil samples were only
taken from 0 to 10 cm depth. All measurements were done on four replications.
Moisture Retention Curves
Moisture retention curves were generated on soil (0 to 25 cm depth) collected in
1
994 after the second year compost application. The field moist soil was artificially
-4
packed in cores with 5 cm diameter by 5 cm height. For the lower tensions (5 x 10 ,
-3
-3
-3
-3
-3
1
x 10 , 2 x 10 , 3 x 10 , 5 x 10 , 7.5 x 10 , and 0.01 MPa), the hanging water column
method was used (Klute 1986). Approximately 24 to 48 hours were allowed for the sys-
tem to equilibrate after which the weight of the core was recorded. For the higher ten-
sions (0.03, 0.05, and 0.1 MPa), a pressure plate chamber was used. The pressure of the
plate was set for each pressure and allowed to equilibrate for two days after which soil
cores were taken out. The van Genuchten equation (van Genuchten 1980) was used to
predict the water content (ꢀ) at tension, h as:
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [2]
where, ꢀ and ꢀ are the residual and saturated water contents, respectively; and a, n,
r
s
and m are empirical parameters. The available water holding capacity (AWHC) was
taken as the difference between water content at h = 0.01 MPa (ꢀ0.01) and h = 1.5 MPa
(
ꢀ ) using Equation [2].
1.5
Plant Moisture Status Measurement
From 1993 to 1996, plant water status was measured using the pressure chamber
method (Hsiao 1990). In 1993, plant water status measurements were made on treat-
-
1
-1
ments with 270 Mg ha compost receiving 250 kg N ha . In 1994 and 1995, plant wa-
-1
ter status measurements were made on the residual 270 Mg ha compost treatments
-1
-1
-1
and the 90 Mg ha yr compost treatments all receiving 250 kg N ha . Although an ir-
rigation schedule to minimize water stress was used, stress measurements were made
two to three days following rainfall or irrigation to characterize any stress just prior to
the next irrigation or rainfall. Rainfall and irrigation data are presented in Figure 1.
238 Compost Science & Utilization
Summer 2000

The Effect of Municipal Solid Waste Compost Application on
Soil Water and Water Stress in Irrigated Corn
The first measurement of
the day was made before 1000
hrs. when evaporative de-
mand was low, and the sec-
ond measurement of the day
was made in the afternoon be-
tween 1200 and 1600 hrs.
when demand was high. Mea-
surements were made on two
leaves per plant and four
replications after silk emer-
gence between the end of July
and early August. A pressure
chamber equipped with com-
pressed N gas, a pressure
gauge, a leaf holder, and pres-
sure vessel was used for the
measurements. The proce-
dure involved sealing the
freshly cut leaf into the cham-
ber with the cut surface pro-
truding and applying pres-
sure to force water out of the
leaf cells. The pressure needed
to force the first drop of water
out of the leaf is the leaf water
potential (Kramer 1983).
Data Analysis
Data were compared by
analysis of variance proce-
dures. Statistical analyses
were performed using Statis-
tical Analysis System version
6
.04 (SAS 1986). The level of
Figure 1. Rainfall and irrigation for the a) 1993, b) 1994, and c) 1995
growing seasons.
significance was set at statisti-
cal P ≤ 0.100.
Results and Discussion
Moisture Retention Curve
The Wright compost generally had lower C:N ratio than the Truman composts in
all three years (Table 1). Higher C:N ratios are often associated with immaturity and
can affect plant response when applied to soils (He et al. 1992). While specific maturi-
ty tests were not conducted on any of the composts used in this study, visually, the
Wright compost was darker and appeared more decomposed than the Truman com-
post. In addition the salt content of both composts was high (Table 1) considering that
most compost for agricultural land application have much lower salt content.
Compost Science & Utilization
Summer 2000 239

M. Mamo, J.F. Moncrief, C.J. Rosen and T.R. Halbach
Compost treatments did not significantly affect moisture retention over the range
of pressures studied (Figure 2). Since, the retention curve was generated one year af-
ter compost application, the effect on the AWHC was expected to be high. However,
the moisture retention curve was shifted upward without any significant increase in
the available water (Table 2). Khaleel et al. (1981) also reported that organic amend-
ment increased the moisture content at both field capacity and wilting point resulting
in no net change in AWHC. In a field study, Turner et al. (1994) observed that water
content was lower and approaching the control soil one year after compost applica-
tion on a sandy soil.
Figure 2. Experimental and modeled moisture retention curve of soil amended with MSW compost.
The corresponding values of the van Genuchten’s equation (van Genuchten et al.
991) parameters are presented in Table 2. The water content at 0.01 (ꢀ0.01) and 1.5 (ꢀ1.5)
1
MPa were not different among treatments. Orthogonal contrasts showed no signifi-
cant difference in van Genutchen’s parameters between control and compost treat-
ments. The AWHC by volume ranged from 6.2 percent to 12.1 percent.
240 Compost Science & Utilization
Summer 2000

The Effect of Municipal Solid Waste Compost Application on
Soil Water and Water Stress in Irrigated Corn
TABLE 2.
Parametric constants used in van Genuchten's equations describing water content relationship
to pressure head for Hubbard loamy sand soil soil amended with MSW compost.§
Compost
a
n
ꢀ
ꢀ
ꢀ
ꢀ
1.5
AWHC
s
r
0.01
-
1
(cm-1)
3
-3
Source
(Mg ha
)
cm cm
Control
Truman
Truman
Wright
Wright
0
0.153
0.141
0.102
0.112
0.167
2.0
1.5
1.9
1.8
2.2
0.480
0.506
0.524
0.465
0.510
0.05
0.03
0.09
0.03
0.06
0.1160
0.1624
0.1706
0.1040
0.1428
0.0544
0.0420
0.0887
0.0280
0.0759
0.0616
0.1204
0.0819
0.0760
0.0669
90+ 90†
270‡
90+ 90†
270‡
Compost (P-value)
0.89
0.78
1.4
0.03
0.82
0.16
0.45
0.80
0.41
LSD
0.209
0.033
0.1053
0.1519
0.0808
§
†
‡
ꢀ and ꢀ saturated and residual water contents, respectively, and a and n, empirical constants.
s r
-1
90 Mg ha applied annually from 1993 to 1994.
-1
270 Mg ha applied in 1993.
Field Bulk Density and Water Content
TABLE 3.
Compost application at the 270 Mg
-
1
Bulk density and water content
measured in 1993
ha rate decreased soil bulk density and
increased water content in 1993 and 1994
Tables 3 and 4). Since, the compost was
incorporated by moldboard plowing to a
0 cm depth, soil bulk density at 10 to 20
Bulk
Density
(Mg m
Volume
Water-ꢀ
(
Rate
(Mg ha-1)
-3
)
(cm cm-3)
3
Compost
2
0-10 cm
cm depth was much lower than that of
the control the first year. The decrease in
bulk density as a result of organic
amendment with compost has also been
reported by Kreft (1987), Gupta et al.
Control
Truman
Wright
0
1.55
1.50
1.48
0.16
0.16
0.16
270‡
270‡
10-20 cm
Control
Truman
Wright
0
1.61
1.09
1.24
0.18
0.32
0.24
(
2
1977) and Khaleel et al. (1981). At 10 to
270‡
270‡
0 cm depth, the addition of 270 Mg ha-
1
P-Value
Truman or Wright composts decreased
the bulk density of the soil by 31 percent
and 25 percent, respectively. Others have
shown similar findings, where the addi-
tion of organic waste decreased the bulk
density of soil by 28 percent to 30 percent
Gupta et al. 1977; Weil and Kroonjte
979). The water content was significant-
ly higher with depth in soil with 270 Mg
ha- compost (significant compost by
depth interaction, P < 0.05).
Compost
0.10
0.19
0.08
0.15
0.03
0.07
Depth
Compost*depth
‡
270 Mg ha-1 applied in 1993.
TABLE 4.
(
1
Bulk density and water content
measured in 1994
Bulk
Volume
Water-ꢀ
1
Rate
Density
(Mg m
(Mg ha-1)
-3
)
(cm cm-3)
3
Compost
In 1994, bulk density was much low-
er in soil amended with 270 Mg ha com-
post compared to that in 1993 at the 0 to
0
-10 cm
-1
Control
Truman
Truman
Wright
Wright
0
90+ 90†
270‡
1.61a
1.54a
0.95b
1.45a
0.98b
0.09c
0.08c
1
0 cm depth (Tables 3 and 4). The de-
0.23ab
0.10abc
0.25a
90+ 90†
270‡
crease in bulk density in soil amended
-1
with 270 Mg ha compost was 44 percent
for Truman and 38 percent for Wright.
The bulk density at the surface was low-
er in 1994 than 1993 (average decrease of
Compost (P-value)
< 0.01
< 0.01
90 Mg ha-1 applied annually from 1993 to 1994.
†
-1
‡ 270 Mg ha applied in 1993.
Compost Science & Utilization
Summer 2000 241

M. Mamo, J.F. Moncrief, C.J. Rosen and T.R. Halbach
-3
-3
0
.5 Mg m at P = 0.01 and LSD = 0.21 Mg m ) because the soil was moldboard plowed
following compost application every year and more mixing occurred with every plow-
-1
-1
ing. The 90 Mg ha yr compost addition did not result in a measurable change in soil
-
1
bulk density or higher water content. The lower water content in soil with 90 Mg ha
-1
yr compost may be due to less dilution effect and higher soil to compost ratio at the
surface 0 to 10 cm depth.
Leaf Water Potential
Although corn was irrigated, the effect of compost on leaf water potential (ꢁ ) was
l
significant in every year (Tables 5, 6, and 7). Significant differences in ꢁ were observed
l
between treatments in morning and afternoon measurements in 1993. Higher water
potential in 1993 is likely associated with high salt loading (soluble salts in Truman
-1
and Wright were 1.7 and 1.6 S m , respectively). This increase in stress occurred even
though over 120 mm of rainfall fell four days before the measurements (Figure 1).
Above average rainfall fell during the 1993 growing season (rainfall May to October,
6
36 mm) and plants did not experience extensive water stress as indicated by the mea-
sured values in that year. This is based on the point where initial photosynthetic inhi-
bition during corn reproductive stage begins at 0.8 MPa (Boyer 1976).
TABLE 5.
Corn leaf water potential measured in 1993
Leaf water potential- ꢁl¶
Compost
rate§
8-26-93
MPa
1245-1345
Grain
Yield
¥
ꢀ
(Mg ha-1
)
0850-0955
Average
(cm cm-3)
3
(Mg ha-1)
Source
Control
Truman
Wright
0
0.24b
0.51a
0.43a
0.39
0.68b
0.84a
0.68b
0.73
0.46b
0.68a
0.56b
0.57
0.12
0.15
0.15
0.14
9.9a
8.9a
9.4a
9.4
270‡
270‡
Average
P-value
0.03
Compost
Time
< 0.01
0.43
Time*Compost
‡
§
¥
¶
270 Mg ha-1 amended in 1993.
Electrical conductivity: 1.7 and 1.6 S m for Truman and Wright composts, respectively.
Volumetric water content measured after leaf water potential measurements.
-1
Air temperature: 31.2°C; Rainfall before measurements: 123 mm on 8/22/93; Rainfall after measurements: 79 mm on
2
-1
8
/26/93; Irrigation: None; Solar radiation: 97.7 cal cm- day
-1
In 1994, the 270 Mg ha Wright compost treatment resulted in lower ꢁ compared
l
to the control and other compost treatments (Table 6). The total soil volumetric water
-
1
obtained after ꢁ measurements showed higher water content for the 270 Mg ha com-
l
3
-3
3
-3
post treatments (ꢀ = 0.25 cm cm for Wright and ꢀ = 0.23 cm cm for Truman) com-
pared to either the 90 Mg ha yr compost or control treatments (Table 6). Although,
water content levels were the same between the 270 Mg ha compost treatments, the
lower ꢁ in the 270 Mg ha Wright compost treatment one year after application may
-1
-1
-1
-1
l
be suggesting more available water to plants, better hydraulic conductivity, and root
-1
distribution compared to that of 270 Mg ha Truman compost. These quantitative ob-
servations measured in the field in 1994 did not agree with the measured laboratory
available water holding capacity (AWHC), which showed no change in AWHC of the
242 Compost Science & Utilization
Summer 2000

The Effect of Municipal Solid Waste Compost Application on
Soil Water and Water Stress in Irrigated Corn
TABLE 6.
Corn leaf water potential measured in 1994
Leaf Water Potential- ꢁ (MPa)
Average- ꢁ (MPa)
l
l
Compost
Grain
Yield
Rate§
1
7-29-1994¶
8-1-1994£
Morning Afternoon Overall
ꢀ¥
(Mg ha- ) 0815-0915 1230-1330 Avg. 0815-0915 1230-1330 Avg.
(cm cm-3) (Mg ha-1)
3
Source
Control
Truman
Truman
Wright
Wright
Average
0
0.25a
0.17a
0.17a
0.18a
0.20a
0.19
0.74a
0.85a
0.74a
0.84a
0.51a
0.74
0.50
0.51
0.42a
0.47a
0.43a
0.45a
0.39a
0.43
1.08ab
1.23a
1.04ab
1.09a
0.82b
1.05
0.75
0.85
0.74
0.77
0.61
0.74
0.34a
0.32a
0.30a
0.32a
0.30a
0.32
0.91a
1.04a
0.89a
0.97a
0.67b
0.90
0.63a
0.68a
0.60a
0.09c
0.08c
11.1a
11.7a
11.9b
11.5a
90+ 90†
270‡
0.46
0.23ab
90+ 90†
270‡
0.51
0.65a 0.10abc
0.36
0.25a
0.61
12.0b
0.47
P-value
< 0.01
< 0.01
0.01
Compost
Time
Time*Compost
Date
0.03
Time*Date
0.53
Compost*Date
Compost*Date*Time
0.85
0.86
†
‡
§
¥
¶
90 Mg ha-1 applied annually from 1993 to 1994.
270 Mg ha-1 applied in 1993.
-1
Electrical conductivity of compost applied in 1994: 1.5 and 0.9 S m for Truman and Wright composts, respectively.
Volumetric water content measured after leaf water potential measurements on 7/29/94 at 0-10 cm depth.
Air temperature: 27.8°C; Rainfall before measurements: 18 mm on 7/22/94; Rainfall after measurements: None;
2
-1
Irrigation: None; Solar radiation: 99.9 cal m day
.
£
Air temperature: 31.1°C; Rainfall before measurements: 3 mm on 7/31/94; Rainfall after measurements: 18 mm on 8/1/94;
Irrigation: None;
Solar radiation: 98.9 cal cm-2 day-1.
TABLE 7.
Corn leaf water potential measured in 1995
Leaf Water Potential- ꢁ (MPa)
Average- ꢁ (MPa)
l
l
Compost
Rate§
Grain
Yield
(Mg ha-1)
8-9-1995¶
8-18-1995£
Morning Afternoon
Overall
(Mg ha- ) 0815-0930 1310-1420 Avg. 0810-0910 1200-1300 Avg.
1
Source
Control
Truman
Truman
Wright
Wright
Average
0
0.69a
0.75a
0.67a
0.74a
0.75a
0.72
0.89bc
0.95b
0.83c
1.08a
0.88bc
0.93
0.79
0.85
0.42a
0.47a
0.52a
0.56a
0.50a
0.49
1.02a
1.10a
1.03a
1.06a
1.06a
1.05
0.72
0.79
0.78
0.81
0.78
0.78
0.56a
0.61a
0.60a
0.65a
0.63a
0.61
0.96bc
1.03ab
0.93c
0.76bc
0.82ab
0.77c
9.4a
9.3a
9.6a
9.6a
10.5a
90+ 90+
270‡
1.09
90+ 90+
270‡
0.91
1.07a
0.97bc
0.99
0.86a
0.80bc
0.80
0.82
0.89
P-value
0.03
Compost
Time
<0.01
0.61
Time*Compost
Date
0.36
Time*Date
<0.01
0.41
Compost*Date
Compost*Date*Time
0.27
†
‡
§
¶
90 Mg ha-1 applied annually from 1993 to 1995.
270 Mg ha-1 applied in 1993.
Electrical conductivity of compost applied in 1995: 1.3 and 1.6 S m for Truman and Wright composts, respectively.
-1
Air temperature: 27.8°C; Rainfall before measurements: 23 mm on 8/07/95; Rainfall after measurements: None; Irrigation:
None; Solar radiation: 150.8 cal m2 day-
1
.
£
Air temperature: 31.1°C; Rainfall before measurements: 33 mm on 8/14/95; Rainfall after measurements: 20 mm on 8/18/95;
Irrigation: 3 mm on 8/17/95.
Solar radiation: 432.9 cal cm-2 day-1.
Compost Science & Utilization
Summer 2000 243

M. Mamo, J.F. Moncrief, C.J. Rosen and T.R. Halbach
Figure 3. Relationship of change in corn grain yield to change in leaf water potential in soil amended with MSW compost
a) Truman compost b) Wright compost. Each point represents average of four replications for each treatment.
soil due to compost addition. Even though, laboratory soil water retention curves were
useful in showing general differences in water content, they were static measurements.
Field measurements account for environmental conditions influencing evaporative de-
mand, plant parameters such as root distribution and density, and soil water hydraulic
conductivity and spatial variability. Leaf water potential measurements in the field take
all these factors into consideration. Thus, a decrease or increase in laboratory measured
AWHC was not necessarily correlated with more or less plant water stress. In 1995,
higher ꢁ was again observed in the annual compost treatments, especially in the an-
l
-1
nual Wright compost treatment (EC = 1.6 S m ). Three years after the application of 270
244 Compost Science & Utilization
Summer 2000

The Effect of Municipal Solid Waste Compost Application on
Soil Water and Water Stress in Irrigated Corn
-1
Mg ha compost, the effect of the compost on ꢁ diminished. In 1996, the residual effect
l
of compost (annual or one time) on ꢁ was not significant (data not presented). Thus,
l
plant water stress tended to increase when compost was applied at high rate in one ap-
plication due to the ephemeral influence of salt on soil water. However, in subsequent
years after compost application compost reduced or had no effect on water stress.
The change in ꢁ against the change in corn grain yield showed that the 270 Mg
l
-
1
ha compost rate increased water stress and reduced corn grain yield compared to a
fertilized control in the year of application (Figures. 3a and 3b). Although not statis-
tically different, the negative effect of compost on corn grain yield was most appar-
-
1
-1
ent with the 270 Mg ha Truman compost with nearly 1 Mg ha yield loss for 0.2 MPa
increase in water potential. The apparent negative relationship of ꢁ to corn grain
l
yield is likely due to the influence of salts which increases the soil osmotic potential
affecting water availability. The overall effect of salts is decreased soil water poten-
tial causing plant roots to exert more force to extract water from the soil (Slatyer 1967).
However, in subsequent (second year residual) year, the high compost rate decreased
water stress and resulted in increased corn grain yield. There was no trend in the re-
-
1
-1
lationship of corn grain yield to water potential with the 90 Mg ha yr compost. This
may be due to the lower annual compost application which was three times less than
the one time compost application resulting in lower annual salt loading.
Conclusions
The addition of the MSW composts studied did not significantly affect available
water based on laboratory measurements. However, measurements of leaf water po-
tential are more realistic than laboratory measured AWHC in assessing the effect of
compost on soil and plants because leaf water potential integrates the plant, soil, and
environmental components. Overall a high compost rate applied one time increased
plant water stress but did not significantly reduce grain yield compared to a fertilized
control in the year of application. The increase in water stress was likely due to the salt
loading, as both composts were relatively high in salinity. The salt effect on water po-
tential was ephemeral. In the second year after the high compost rate application, com-
post increased plant water availability and resulted in increased yield compared to the
annual compost application and the fertilized control treatments.
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