The aim of this study was to evaluate the residual effect of fertilization with sewage sludge compost and rock phosphate on the chemical properties of the soil, nutrient content in plant and corn yield. The study was conducted on Haplic Cambisol. The treatments, in a factorial 2 x 4, corresponded to two doses of Gafsa phosphate (0 and 90 kg P2O5 ha-1) and four doses of sewage sludge compost (0, 25, 50 and 75 Mg ha-1 dry weight basis). The experimental design was in randomized blocks with three replications. In general, the corn yield and content of macronutrients in soil and plant on the second crop of corn were not influenced by the residual effects of fertilization with phosphate rock. However, corn yield and nutrient content in soil and leaves increased with the dose of sewage sludge compost applied to the soil, and the dose of 75 Mg ha-1 was the one with the highest residual effect. The yield of corn was lower in the second successive cultivation, due to the impoverishment of the soil phosphorus and potassium, recommending new fertilization with sewage sludge in every cultivation.
Zea mays; biosolids; reactive phosphate rock
