Table 3. Microcosm experiment treatments.
| Microcosms experiment: nine treatments | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| dH2O | Urea | NH3 | K;NO3 - | P | Organic * | Fe | Mg | CaC03 | |
| Product name | NA | Thrive all purpose | Acticote natives | Thrive flower & fruit | Orchid Food | Organic slow release, 10–88 | Soil acidifier | Epsom salt | Garden lime 32% w/w |
| Brand (Australia) | NA | Yates | Yates | Yates | Yates | Tropigro | Richgro | Richgro | Richgro |
| Amount (g) (g for sand) | ** | 0.26 (0.15) | 0.26 (0.15) | 0.26 (0.15) | 0.26 (0.15) | 1.12(1) | 0.26 (0.15) | 0.26 (0.15) | 0.8 |
| N tot | NA | 27.0 | 19.0 | 15.0 | 21.5 | 4.0 | NA | NA | NA |
| NH 3 | NA | 2.6 | 10.2 | 3.6 | 5.5 | 0.1 | NA | NA | NA |
| NO 3 - | NA | 3.0 | 5.1 | 8.8 | 4.5 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Urea | NA | 21.4 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 11.5 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| P | NA | 5.5 | 0.3 | 4.0 | 8.3 | 3.2 | NA | NA | NA |
| K | NA | 9.0 | 9.0 | 26.0 | 13.0 | 2.0 | NA | NA | NA |
| B | NA | 0.005 | NA | 0.005 | 0.005 | 0.001 | NA | NA | NA |
| Na | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | 0.420 | NA | NA | NA |
| Mg | NA | 0.500 | 0.100 | 0.500 | NA | 0.900 | NA | 9.0 | NA |
| S | NA | 0.200 | 6.000 | NA | 0.060 | 0.500 | 11.5 | 13.0 | NA |
| Ca | NA | NA | 0.200 | NA | NA | 12.000 | NA | NA | NA |
| Mn | NA | 0.040 | NA | 0.040 | 0.040 | 0.060 | NA | NA | NA |
| Fe | NA | 0.180 | NA | 0.180 | 0.006 | 0.160 | 20.0 | NA | NA |
| Cu | NA | 0.005 | NA | 0.005 | 0.005 | 0.004 | NA | NA | NA |
| Zn | NA | 0.020 | NA | 0.020 | 0.020 | 0.080 | NA | NA | NA |
| Mo | NA | 0.002 | NA | 0.002 | 0.002 | <0.001 | NA | NA | NA |
Nine treatments used (plus control) which were each applied in triplicate to each soil type. Fertilizers were applied as per manufacturer’s instructions. All treatments were added with the same amount of water. Ingredients are listed based on package labelling. Numbers indicate % w/w.
* organic matter 61.5%, organic carbon 35.7%
** water added to increase VSW of soil by 20%