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The Importance of Neem Tree in Fertilizing Soil
Organization(s):Umm Klthoom bint Uqba
Country:Oman
Student(s):Aysha bint Suroor Al Saadi
Shahad bint Muslim Al-Khuzairi.
Grade Level:Middle School (grades 6-8, ages 11-14)
GLOBE Teacher:Amira Salim
Contributors:T. Souaad Al-Manwari
T. Hoda Al-Nomani
T. Afrah Al-KhamisiEngineer: Nasser Al-Wahaibi
Report Type(s):International Virtual Science Symposium Report
Protocols:Land Cover Classification, Green-Up / Green-Down, Soil Characterization, Soil pH
Presentation Poster:
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Optional Badges:I am a Collaborator, I make an Impact, I work with a STEM Professional
Language(s):English
Date Submitted:01/02/2020
Fertilizer, consisting of tree leaves, is an organic fertilizer formed by combining leaves from all sources. It is also used as a nutrient for soil and it increases soil fertility in a healthy way. Therefore, we used the leaves of the Neem plant to obtain a beneficial organic fertilizer for the soil and help to reduce the acidity of the soil and turn it into fertile soil. We raised the following questions:
1- What is the effect of the fertilizer extracted from the neem on the plants?
2- What is the effect of neem tree fertilizer on reducing the acidity level in the soil?
To take advantage of the neem leaves we harvested a large amount of them and dried them in the sun for two weeks due to the cold weather at the time of the study. Then, we grinded and mixed them with the soil with three different proportions and added them to three pots and then we planted seedlings of the eggplant and watered with water and a nutrient solution for a period of five weeks and monitoring the length of the plant and the number of its leaves in the three pots. After that, we recorded the results using the ground cover protocol to get the results. We also took a sample of the soil mixed with neem fertilizer to the laboratory to use soil protocol measurements and compare them with the soil before mixing.
We reached the following results:
When adding neem fertilizer to seedlings, the length of the eggplant plant increased in the pot that contains 75%. In addition, the number of leaves increased as well. We also noticed a low acidity in the fertilized soil and we concluded that the fertilizer extracted from the neem plant is effective in increasing soil fertility, reducing its acidity and combating agricultural pests like insects, rodents, etc. Finally, the research recommends on the importance of this local tree and the need to educate farmers about using it as a fertilizer extract for the soil because it is beneficial. Moreover, it can be obtained in easy and inexpensive ways financially and it has many advantages for soil and plants. So, we hope from the Ministry of Agriculture to adopt this study and generalize it on all local farms.