The supply of mineral and organic manuring promotes alterations in the physical and chemical conditions of the soil, with consequent effects on crop productivity. An experiment was accomplished in the county of Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, from February 2004 to July 2006, to compare different organic fertilizers with the traditional chemical manuring of the yellow passion fruit plant regarding their effects on chemical and physical characteristics of the fertilized soil. The experiment had a randomized complete block design with four replicates, with six treatments of fertilizer levels per plant as follows: (AQ) Chemical manuring = 100 g of the formula 20-5-20 (N-P2O5-K2O) + mulching (CM); EB = 5 L of bovine manure + CM; FOC = 500 g of bone and meat flour + CM; RM = 5 L of cassava abrades + CM; TF + CM = 5 L of sugar cane plant filter pie + CM; TF = 5 L of sugar cane filter pie without CM. Chemical manuring was done every 30 days, while organic manuring every 60 days. The soil chemical characteristics (pH, electric conductivity, levels of P, K, Ca, Mg, Na Al, H + Al, and organic matter) and physical characteristics (granulometry, density of the soil and of the particles, total porosity, macro and microporosity, field capacity, wilting point and water availability) were determined in 0-5, 5-10, 10-15 cm soil layers. The organic fertilizers applied to passion fruit plant modified significantly the soil chemical characteristics, in comparison to the traditional chemical manuring, increasing pH and H + Al in all soil depths, and reducing Al availability in the deepest layers. There was also an increase in the availability of nutrients in the soil and so in the sum of bases, mainly in the surface layer, the filter pie being the most efficient organic manure in promoting such improvements, besides increasing soil CTC. Only the filter pie modified the soil physical characteristics, reducing the amounts of coarse sand and increasing the amounts of silt, clay and organic matter. The other physical characteristics of the soil were not influenced by the addition of organic fertilizers to the passion fruit plant, in comparison with the traditional chemical fertilizers.
Organic manuring; chemical manuring; soil fertility; Passiflora edulis
