Comparative evaluation of conventional and vermicompost fertilizers on broccoli (Brassica oleracea L.) in different agroecological zones

Aygül Dayan; Ceren Ayşe Bayram

doi:10.2478/fhort-2025-0006

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Comparative evaluation of conventional and vermicompost fertilizers on broccoli (Brassica oleracea L.) in different agroecological zones

Folia Horticulturae

Volume 37 (2025): Issue 1 (July 2025)

By: Aygül Dayan and Ceren Ayşe Bayram

Open Access

|Oct 2025

Figures & Tables

Coordinates of experimental sites and map images of Adiyaman and Pozantı locations, respectively.

Table 1.

Climate data for Adıyaman and Pozantı during broccoli cultivation in 2022–2023.

Year	Location	Average temperature (°C)	Average humidity (%)	Total rainfall (mm)*
2022	Pozantı	11.78	55.92	186
2022	Adıyaman	18.07	46.22	456
2023	Pozantı	12.32	58.60	155
2023	Adıyaman	18.90	45.62	609

1* The variation in rainfall across different locations can be primarily attributed to seasonal differences.

Table 2.

Soil analysis of Adıyaman and Pozantı locations.

Parameters	Adıyaman	Pozantı
Texture	Clay	Clay-loam
CaCO₃ (%)	2.05	6.85
pH	7.60	7.43
EC (μS · cm⁻¹)	1158.0	0.045
Organic matter (%)	1.42	1.07
P (kg · ha⁻¹)	14.01	18.5
K₂O (kg · ha⁻¹)	51.26	42.42
Fe (mg · kg⁻¹)	5.5	4.9
Zn (mg · kg⁻¹)	8.0	5.8
Cu (mg · kg⁻¹)	5.2	3.6
Mn (mg · kg⁻¹)	10.3	1.5

1 EC, electrical conductivity.

Table 3.

Effects of vermicompost and conventional fertilizer applications on head width-height (cm) and SPAD reading in the cultivation of ‘Orantes’ F₁ and ‘Robredo’ F₁ broccoli cultivars in different locations.

Plant growth parameters	Fertilizers	Cultivars/locations/applications
		Adiyaman				Pozanti
		Orantes		Robredo		Orantes		Robredo
		First year	Second year	First year	Second year	First year	Second year	First year	Second year
Head width (cm)	Vermicompost Conventional fertilizer	8.96 e 12.10 b	12.06 ab 12.96 a	9.90 d 11.63 bc	11.66 b 12.53 ab	10.95 c 12.16 b	12.66 ab 12.72 ab	13.01 a 13.74 a	13.05 a 12.79 a
LSD_0.05 = NS for first year; LSD_0.05 = NS for second year
Head height (cm)	Vermicompost Conventional fertilizer	12.10 e 14.20 abc	14.26 a 14.83 a	11.83 e 13.23 d	13.86 a 14.50 a	14.01 bcd 13.40 cd	14.42 a 13.97 a	14.76 ab 14.87 a	14.47 a 14.74 a
LSD_0.05 = NS for first year; LSD_0.05 = NS for second year
SPAD reading	Vermicompost Conventional fertilizer	55.20 e 69.73 d	82.96 a 61.76 e	73.33 c 69.40 d	74.10 c 73.90 c	79.48 b 85.72 a	77.22 bc 81.76 a	71.86 cd 78.92 b	69.76 d 80.85 ab
LSD_0.05 = 0.79 for first year*; LSD_0.05 = 1.15 for second year

1*** p ≤ 0.001;

1** p ≤ 0.01;

1* p ≤ 0.05. Different lowercase letters within the same column (or row) indicate statistically significant differences at the p< 0.05 level. Groups sharing the same letter are not significantly different.

1 NS, not significant; soil and plant analyzer development (chlorophyll meter).

Table 4.

Yield parameters of vermicompost and conventional fertilizer applications in the cultivation of ‘Orantes’ F₁ and ‘Robredo’ F₁ broccoli cultivars in different locations.

Plant yield parameters	Fertilizers	Cultivars/locations/applications
		Adiyaman				Pozanti
		Orantes		Robredo		Orantes		Robredo
		First year	Second year	First year	Second year	First year	Second year	First year	Second year
Average head weight (g · plot⁻¹)	Vermicompost Conventional fertilizer	110.70 c 133.79 c	190.63 de 216.58 cde	185.71 b 201.17 b	238.09 bc 376.85 a	202.50 b 303.66 a	232.61 bcd 336.50 a	195.66 b 212.50 b	187.00 e 272.33 b
LSD_0.05 = NS for first year; LSD_0.05 = 42.91 for second year**
Total yield (kg · plot⁻¹)	Vermicompost Conventional fertilizer	1.69 cd 2.01 bc	1.96 ab 1.87 ab	2.54 ab 2.82 a	2.14 ab 2.37 a	1.21 cd 2.59 ab	0.90 c 2.60 a	1.73 cd 1.74 cd	1.38 bc 1.85 ab
LSD_0.05 = 0.63 for first year*; LSD_0.05 = NS for second year
Yieldt (kg · da⁻¹)	Vermicompostt Conventional fertilizer	753.88 de 893.55 cd	873.92 b 831.71 bc	1130.17 b 1256.43 ab	953.31 b 1054.35 ab	683.97 e 1403.74 a	1327.65 a 531.68 c	948.43 c 912.56 c	788.61 bc 1035.31 ab
LSD_0.05 = 149.43 for first year**; LSD_0.05 = 334.33 for second year

1*** p ≤ 0.001;

1** p ≤ 0.01;

1* p ≤ 0.05. Different lowercase letters within the same column (or row) indicate statistically significant differences at the p < 0.05 level. Groups sharing the same letter are not significantly different.

1 NS, not significant.

Table 5.

Effect of vermicompost and conventional manure applications on vitamin C, total phenolic and colour parameters in the cultivation of ‘Orantes’ F₁ and ‘Robredo’ F₁ cultivars in different locations

Quality parameters	Fertilizers	Cultivars/locations/applications
		Adiyaman				Pozanti
		Orantes		Robredo		Orantes		Robredo
		First year	Second year	First year	Second year	First year	Second year	First year	Second year
Vitamin C (mg · 100 g⁻¹)	Vermicompost	1044.93 c	974.46 c	1249.06 b	1257.83 ab	115.00 f	212.33 d	113.66 f	145.00 d
Vitamin C (mg · 100 g⁻¹)	Conventional fertilizer	1392.13 a	1128.93 bc	951.60 d	1418.53 a	172.33 e	195.00 d	112.66 f	188.66 d
LSD_{0.05 =} 18.62 for first year***; NS for second year
Total phenolic (mg · 100 g⁻¹)	Vermicompost	364.46 b	315.82 a	323.67 b	347.72 a	155.61 c	116.64 bc	136.64 c	108.45 c
Total phenolic (mg · 100 g⁻¹)	Conventional fertilizer	434.11 a	358.48 a	331.81 b	311.51 a	163.05 c	165.61 b	136.64 c	156.38 bc
LSD_0.05 = NS for first year; LSD_0.05 = NS for second year
Colour parameter chroma \|(C)	Vermicompost	125.96 ab	127.23 b	126.37 ab	130.62 b	92.37 d	100.99 d	95.98 d	100.23 d
Colour parameter chroma \|(C)	Conventional fertilizer	129.85 a	128.71 b	120.71 b	145.84 a	99.51 cd	106.35 c	106.35 c	110.31 c
LSD_0.05 = NS for first year; LSD_0.05 = NS for second year
Colour parameter (h°)	Vermicompost	8.84 cd	10.93 b	7.40 de	8.96 c	9.71 bc	10.32 bc	12.51 a	10.37 bc
Colour parameter (h°)	Conventional fertilizer	4.52 f	9.41 c	6.65 ef	3.79 d	5.54 ef	9.08 c	11.50 ab	12.77 a
LSD_0.05 = NS for first year; LSD_0.05 = NS for second year

1*** p ≤ 0.001;

1** p ≤ 0.01;

1* p ≤ 0.05. Different lowercase letters within the same column (or row) indicate statistically significant differences at the p < 0.05 level. Groups sharing the same letter are not significantly different.

1 NS, not significant.

Table 6.

Effects of vermicompost and conventional fertilization on nutrient elements in the cultivation of Orantes and Robredo cultivars in different locations.

Plant nutrient contents	Fertilizers	Varieties/locations/applications
		Adiyaman				Pozanti
		Orantes		Robredo		Orantes		Robredo
		First year	Second year	First year	Second year	First year	Second year	First year	Second year
N (%)	Vermicompost	5.50 c	5.50 b***	3.97 e	5.08 c	4.04 e	4.15 e	5.48 c	5.11 bc
N (%)	Conventional fertilizer	6.36 b	6.53 a	4.42 de	5.44 bc	4.82 d	4.65 d	7.04 a	6.74 a
LSD_0.05 = NS for first year; LSD_0.05 = 0.36 for second year***
K (%)	Vermicompost	26707.98 b	27862.72 d	18859.24 c	31279.59 b	29355.80 a	34739.57 a	27619.04 ab	35887.03 a
K (%)	Conventional fertilizer	20646.86 c	28125.41 cd	28129.27 ab	30425.45 bcd	26089.09 b	31067.29 bc	29746.07 a	31508.28 b
LSD_0.05 = 2485.77 for first year***; LSD_0.05 = NS for second year
Fe (ppm)	Vermicompost	44426.70 ef	82800.23 b	34616.82 f	65180.09 b	79345.11 c	64633.04 b	120686.83 a	115300.63 b
Fe (ppm)	Conventional fertilizer	55665.12 de	66258.16 b	53745.76 e	311217.72 a	69281.08 cd	55887.57 b	101680.64 b	116183.29 b
LSD_0.05 = NS for first year; LSD_0.05 = NS for second year
Zn (ppm)	Vermicompost	39989.98 bc	34187.30 b	33587.70 cd	28548.90 c	38632.63 bc	37312.20 b	51124.68 ab	52323.36 a
Zn (ppm)	Conventional fertilizer	35845.47 cd	27718.59 c	23872.60 d	34083.73 b	46698.52 abc	26375.05 c	58923.15 a	51639.39 a
LSD_0.05 = NS for first year; LSD_0.05 = NS for second year
Mn (ppm)	Vermicompost	2052.54 ef	22682.51 b	18749.85 f	20686.95 b	32497.24 b	23819.90 b	36774.72 a	29095.14 a
Mn (ppm)	Conventional fertilizer	19278.51 f	217551.14 b	22441.96 e	22217.85 b	25842.62 d	23447.35 b	28358.24 c	24896.91 ab
LSD_0.05 = 2315.69 for first year**; LSD_0.05 = NS for second year

1*** p ≤ 0.001;

1** p ≤ 0.01;

1* p ≤ 0.05.Different lowercase letters within the same column (or row) indicate statistically significant differences at the p < 0.05 level. Groups sharing the same letter are not significantly different.

1 NS, not significant.

References

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fhort-2025-0006 | Journal eISSN: 2083-5965 | Journal ISSN: 0867-1761

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Language: English

Page range: 65 - 77

Submitted on: Feb 10, 2025

Accepted on: Apr 28, 2025

Published on: Oct 14, 2025

Published by: Polish Society for Horticultural Sciences (PSHS)

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 2 issues per year

Keywords:

Brassica oleracea L,

nutrient concentration,

quality parameters,

total phenolic content,

Related subjects:

© 2025 Aygül Dayan, Ceren Ayşe Bayram, published by Polish Society for Horticultural Sciences (PSHS)
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Volume 37 (2025): Issue 1 (July 2025)

Comparative evaluation of conventional and vermicompost fertilizers on broccoli (Brassica oleracea L.) in different agroecological zones

Figures & Tables

Figure 1.

Table 1.

Table 2.

Table 3.

Table 4.

Table 5.

Table 6.

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