Organic Waste from the Management of the Invasive Oxalis pes-caprae as a Source of Nutrients for Small Horticultural Crops.

ABSTRACT

The management of invasive plants is a challenge when using traditional control methods, which are ineffective for large areas, leading to the abandonment of invaded areas and the subsequent worsening of the situation. Finding potential uses for waste resulting from invaders' management could motivate their control in the long-term, concurrently providing new bio-based resources with different applications. Oxalis pes-caprae is an invasive plant, widely distributed worldwide, which spreads aggressively through bulbils, creating a dense ground cover. This study was designed to assess the potential of Oxalis aboveground waste for use as fertilizer and in ameliorating deficit irrigation effects in growing crops. Diplotaxis tenuifolia (wild rocket) seedlings were planted in pots with soil mixed with Oxalis waste at 0, 2.2 and 4.3 kg m-2 or with commercial fertilizer, left to grow for 27 days and then irrigated at 100% or 50% field capacity for 14 days. The incorporation of the Oxalis waste improved the biomass, photosynthesis, sugars, total phenols and total antioxidant capacity in the crop, achieving commercial fertilization values, as well as increasing the phosphorus in soils. However, Oxalis waste seems not to directly affect plants' relative water contents. Our results support the use of Oxalis waste as fertilizer, which can encourage the long-term control of this invasive species.