Abstract

BUSTO SALDIVAR, María Magdalena et al. Sugar industry waste transformed into organic fertilizer: effect of different doses on carrot (Daucus carota L.) growth and yield. Investig. Agrar. [online]. 2025, vol.27, n.2, e2702839.  Epub Sep 11, 2025. ISSN 2305-0683.  https://doi.org/10.18004/investig.agrar.2025.e2702839.

Carrot is a food source rich in bioactive compounds essential for human nutrition. Being a short-cycle crop, it has high nutritional demands that are commonly satisfied through intensive use of chemical fertilizers, which increase production costs and deteriorate soil health. As a sustainable alternative, the valorization of organic waste for fertilizer production emerges. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of different doses of composted organic fertilizer, derived from sugar byproducts, on carrot crop growth and yield. The experiment was conducted at the experimental field of the Paraguayan Institute of Agricultural Technology (IPTA) in Caacupé, Paraguay, using the Shin Kuroda variety under a randomized complete block design with three replications per treatment. Treatments consisted of four increasing doses of organic fertilizer (2, 4, 6, and 8 t ha⁻¹) and a control treatment without fertilization. Plant height, root length and diameter, root weight, and total yield were evaluated. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance (p < 0.05). Results showed that plant height, root weight, and yield were not significantly influenced by the applied organic fertilizer doses. However, significant differences were observed in root diameter and length. It is concluded that the evaluated organic fertilizer doses were not sufficient to completely satisfy the nutritional demands of the carrot crop.

Keywords : organic amendments; circular economy; sustainable horticulture; plant nutrition.

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