Compost Amendments Enhance Crop Productivity and Yield for Sustainable Agriculture: A Global Meta-Analysis

Compost application to soil is an effective strategy to enhance soil fertility, promote plant growth, and support sustainable agriculture. Nevertheless, the variability in the responses of plants to compost amendments across different compost types, concentrations, exposure durations, application media, and across different physiological traits of plants is not well understood. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis using data from 92 peer-reviewed scientific articles to better understand the effect of compost amendments on plant physiological, biochemical, and yield traits. The results of this study showed that compost amendment significantly improved plant growth parameters, and the increase in shoot biomass and plant height was the highest (~19.4–42.7%), followed by root length (20.4%) and root biomass (19.7%), indicating the important role of compost in promoting root development. In addition, photosynthetic efficiency was significantly enhanced, and total chlorophyll and carotenoid content increased by 13.5–49.1%. The yield-related traits, total yield, and 100-grain weight responded positively and significantly increased by ~18%. There were variations among different plant species and different exposure conditions. The mechanistic interaction between compost components, soil agrochemical properties, and plant physiological and yield responses should be further explored to maximize the benefits of compost application in sustainable agriculture.