IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v14y2024i1p144-d1321916.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effect of Mussel Shells as Soil pH Amendment on the Growth and Productivity of Rosemary ( Rosmarinus officinalis L.) Cultivation

Author

Listed:
  • Alexios Lolas

    (Laboratory of Marine Biology, Department of Ichthyology & Aquatic Environment, University of Thessaly, Fytokou Street, 38446 Volos, Greece)

  • Aikaterini Molla

    (Hellenic Republic, Ministry of Rural Development and Food, Acharnon 2 Street, 10176 Athens, Greece)

  • Konstantinos Georgiou

    (Laboratory of Marine Biology, Department of Ichthyology & Aquatic Environment, University of Thessaly, Fytokou Street, 38446 Volos, Greece)

  • Chrysoula Apostologamvrou

    (Laboratory of Marine Biology, Department of Ichthyology & Aquatic Environment, University of Thessaly, Fytokou Street, 38446 Volos, Greece)

  • Alexandra Petrotou

    (Laboratory of Marine Biology, Department of Ichthyology & Aquatic Environment, University of Thessaly, Fytokou Street, 38446 Volos, Greece)

  • Konstantinos Skordas

    (Laboratory of Marine Biology, Department of Ichthyology & Aquatic Environment, University of Thessaly, Fytokou Street, 38446 Volos, Greece)

Abstract

Mussel shells, with their calcium carbonate content, serve as a natural pH buffer, aiding in neutralizing acidic soils and, consequently, enhancing nutrient availability for plants. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of treating soils with mussel shells as a soil pH amendment on the agronomic characteristics and productivity of Rosmarinus officinalis . A pot experiment was set up for two growing years. The treatments were amended using different doses of mussel shells. Overall, the treatments were the following: C: unamended soil (control); T1: 0.1%; T2: 0.3%; T3: 0.5%; T4: 1%; T5: 3%; T6: 6%. Plant height was higher in pots amended with 6% mussel shells and reached the value of 32.2 cm in the first year and 51 cm in the second. The application of mussel shells increased the branch length by 53.4–58.7% and the number of branches per plant by 61.3–62% in T6 compared to the control. The total yield of fresh and dry weight in the 1st and 2nd year was ordered as follows: T6 > T5 > T4 > T3 > T2 > T1 > C. In conclusion, while the established optimal quantity for neutralizing soil pH is 300 g of mussel shells per 10 kg of soil, it has been observed that a ratio of 600 g of mussel shells proves more effective in terms of both the productivity and agronomic characteristics of rosemary.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexios Lolas & Aikaterini Molla & Konstantinos Georgiou & Chrysoula Apostologamvrou & Alexandra Petrotou & Konstantinos Skordas, 2024. "Effect of Mussel Shells as Soil pH Amendment on the Growth and Productivity of Rosemary ( Rosmarinus officinalis L.) Cultivation," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:1:p:144-:d:1321916
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/1/144/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/1/144/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Elsayed Omer & Saber Hendawy & Abdel Nasser ElGendy & Alberto Mannu & Giacomo L. Petretto & Giorgio Pintore, 2020. "Effect of Irrigation Systems and Soil Conditioners on the Growth and Essential Oil Composition of Rosmarinus officinalis L. Cultivated in Egypt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-14, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Salvatore La Bella & Giuseppe Virga & Nicolò Iacuzzi & Mario Licata & Leo Sabatino & Beppe Benedetto Consentino & Claudio Leto & Teresa Tuttolomondo, 2020. "Effects of Irrigation, Peat-Alternative Substrate and Plant Habitus on the Morphological and Production Characteristics of Sicilian Rosemary ( Rosmarinus officinalis L.) Biotypes Grown in Pot," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:1:p:144-:d:1321916. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.