الفهرس 
Effect of some soil amendments on growth of Gazania splendens plantOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 63 |  |  |
| | | from | 63 | | |
Abstract
Gazania rigens (Syn. G. splendens), sometimes called treasure flower, it is an herbaceous perennial named for a flower shape resembling a medal (Zeng et al. 2016). It is a member of the family Asteraceae, native to Southern Africa. Additionally, species are naturalized widely cultivated as an ornamental garden plant (Sardoei et al. 2014). It is spreading low-growing, half-hardy perennial, growing to 50 cm (20 in) tall and wide, with blue-grey foliage and brilliant yellow, daisy-like composite flower heads throughout the summer (Sardoei et al. 2014). They close at night and during cloudy weather, they are commonly used as ground covers and can be planted to cover large areas or embankments, assisted by their fast growth rate, duce as bedding plants and pot plants.
This plant has become very attractive to domestic producers in the last few years because of its ornamental and medicinal properties, the plants prefer a sunny locations and are tolerant of dryness and poor soils. Plants are salt tolerant of and can be used in coastal regions very effectively (Ball, 1992).
Most of the newly reclaimed soils in Egypt are sandy and calcareous soils that are of poor available nutrients. To increase their productivity, organic matter application plays an important role to retain the inorganic elements in complex and chelate forms. In this accord, organic manures are well established to be involved in fertilization of plants in almost worldwide, due to their beneficial effects on soil physico-chemical and biological characteristics, which in turn influence the growth and increase plants production (Youssef et al., 2001).
The utilization of agricultural wastes in producing organic fertilizers minimizes the environmental pollution and overcomes the organic matter deficiency. Recycling the agricultural wastes through composting process under aerobic conditions converts it to stabilized and useful compost product (Osman et al., 2008).
In Egypt, recycling rice straw and organic wastes is of great concern as well as improvement of soil properties. Rice straw compost could improve both organic waste recycling and soil quality. Rice straw has become a very serious problem in Egypt due to the huge production of straw of about 20 million tons’ year. Being a suitable material for insects and pests, rice straw is considered a problem for the farmers who store it near their houses or fields. The farmers then burn the straw causing black clouds and severe pollution in the Egyptian atmosphere (Afify et al. 2002).
Sugar beet residual compost processed as local organic material. Sugar beet residual compost is an important issue in ornamental plants production. (El- Keltawi et al., 2005 and Soliman, 2005), mainly due to its enrichment with S, N, P and K mineral elements.
Soil amendments are offered with the promise of improving soil fertility characteristics, such as reducing or eliminating the need for fertilizer elements, making native soil elements more available to plants, providing balanced soil fertility, or inoculating soil
INTRODUCTION
- 2 -
with proper or improved strains of bacteria, enzymes or hormones (James and Topper,1993), (Davis and Wilson, 2005).