Response of Young Maize Plants to Rational and Above-Limit Doses of Vermicompost

In a two-year pot experiment carried out in a vegetation cage located on the premises of the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, the effect of vermicompost (Vc) used at a dose 8.3 to 16.6 times higher than permitted by the Nitrates Directive on young maize plants on their phytomass was investigated. The results showed that excessive amounts of vermicompost did not have a depressing effect on the growth of young maize plants. On the contrary, they increased the production of phytomass. The legislatively determined nutrient doses should take into account the type of organic fertilizer and the different abilities of plants to convert nutrients into phytomass formation.